Featured
Definition
Ptolemy XII
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (r. 80-51 BCE) was king of Ptolemaic Egypt and father of Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). His illegitimate birth and drunkenness inspired ridicule, and he was nicknamed "Auletes" ("the Flute-Player") for his musicianship. He reigned for nearly 30 years, bribing leaders of the Roman Republic like Pompey and Julius Caesar to prevent the Roman annexation of Egypt...
Featured
Definition
Tarquinia
Tarquinia (Etruscan name: Tarch'na or Tarch, Roman name: Tarquinii) is a town located on the western coast of central Italy which was an important Etruscan and then Roman settlement. It is famous...
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Map of the Seven Years' War in Europe, 1756-1763 - Alliances, Battles, and the Global Balance of Power
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a major European and global conflict driven by the rivalry between Austria and Prussia...
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Map of Rome's Civil War (49–45 BCE) - Caesar’s Campaigns and the Collapse of the Roman Republic
The Roman Civil War (49-45 BCE) was a decisive conflict that transformed the Roman Republic and accelerated the transition...
Latest Content
Article
Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird - A Sumerian Hero's Journey
Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird is a Sumerian myth dated to the Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE) featuring the hero-king of Uruk, Lugalbanda, father...
Image Gallery
75 Images of the Pacific War
In this gallery of 75 images, we examine the key features of WWII's Pacific War. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the US naval base in Hawaii, Japan continued to expand its...
Article
Matter of Aratta - The Great Sumerian Epic
The Matter of Aratta is the modern-day title for a collection of four poems – Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana, Lugalbanda in the Mountain...
Article
First Days in the Union Army - Recruitment and Training in the Civil War
Recruitment and training practices during the American Civil War varied according to the year, the commanding officer, and between the opposing...
Article
Battle of Belmont - B. F. Sawyer's Eyewitness Account
The Battle of Belmont (7 November 1861) was an engagement fought during the American Civil War in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat command...
Article
Drinking Customs in Merry Olde England
Raising toasts, sharing cups of cheer, and singing raucous songs while partaking of alcohol are customs which date back to the early Middle Ages in England. Several of...
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Map of the Middle Kingdom Egypt (c. 2050–1800 BCE) - Reunification, Nubian Frontiers & Trade Networks
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2050–1650 BCE) was a period of political reunification, renewed royal authority, and cultural...
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Map of the Seven Years' War in Europe, 1756-1763 - Alliances, Battles, and the Global Balance of Power
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a major European and global conflict driven by the rivalry between Austria and Prussia...
Image
The Seven Sacks of Rome
Across nearly two millennia, the city of Rome was repeatedly captured and plundered as its political position changed from the capital of an expanding republic to the symbolic center...
For You
Definition
Pharisees
The Pharisees were a Jewish sect that emerged c. 150 BCE and promoted the idea of priestly purity for all Jews, belief in providence or fate, and the concept of the resurrection of the dead...
Definition
Gallipoli Campaign - Churchill's Folly in World War I
The Gallipoli Campaign took place in Turkey in 1915-16 during the First World War (1914-18). This major expedition involved British, French, Australian, and...
Definition
Korean Pottery
The pottery of ancient Korea stretches back to prehistory when simple brown wares were made and decorated with geometrical incisions. Potters would benefit from the ideas and techniques of...
Definition
Battle of the Metaurus
The Battle of the Metaurus (207 BCE) was a military engagement fought between the forces of Rome under Gaius Claudius Nero (c. 237 - c. 199 BCE), Marcus Livius Salinator (254-204 BCE...
Book Reviews
Book Review
The Army of Alexander the Great
The Army of Alexander the Great (2025) is a highly detailed and insightful examination of one of the most influential military forces in history. Rather than presenting Alexander...
Book Review
Reading Medieval Ruins: Urban Life and Destruction in Sixteenth-Century Japan
Although this is a wonderful read for anyone having a deep infatuation with Japanese history, it mostly appeals to a scholar or a reader...
Book Review
Strategos: Born in the Borderlands
Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, by Gordon Doherty, is a novel following the incredible exploits of Apion, a Byzantine boy living among Seljuk farmers in the lawless area...
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| 2,988 | definitions |
| 1,761 | articles |
| 19,837 | illustrations |
| 2,642 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,226 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,336 | contributors |
| 15,563 | keywords |
| 60,009 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Arsinoë IV
Arsinoë IV (d. 41 BCE) was a Ptolemaic princess who rebelled against her sister Cleopatra VII during the Alexandrian War in 48 BCE. After being defeated by Cleopatra's ally Julius Caesar, she...
Definition
Saint Peter
Saint Peter the Apostle was a well-known figure in early Christianity. Although there is no information on the life of Peter outside the Bible, in the Christian tradition, he is often depicted...
Definition
Zakutu
Zakutu (l. c. 728 - c. 668 BCE) was the Akkadian name of Naqi’a, a secondary wife of Sennacherib of Assyria (r. 705-681 BCE). Though she was not Sennacherib's queen, she bore him a son, Esarhaddon...
Definition
Ptolemaic Navy
Ptolemaic Egypt was a naval power that exerted influence throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from its foundation in 330 BCE until Cleopatra's defeat by Augustus at the Battle of Actium in...
Collection
Mesopotamian Goddesses
Mesopotamian goddesses are among the oldest in the world. Inanna is commonly referenced as the most ancient goddess, first worshipped during the Uruk Period (~4000–3100 BCE). Veneration...
Article
The Battle of Kadesh & the First Peace Treaty
Ramesses II (The Great, 1279-1213 BCE) ruled Egypt for 67 years and, today, the Egyptian landscape still bears testimony to the prosperity of his reign in the many...
Article
The Heroon of Trysa: A Lycian Tomb Reappears
The Heroon of Trysa was the tomb of a powerful Lycian dynast surrounded by a precinct wall covered with remarkable mythological friezes. It was discovered in 1841...
Definition
Isthmia
Isthmia is a genitive noun with the meaning 'of the Isthmus.' It generally refers to the site that held the famous Isthmian Games near Corinth on the Isthmus. A natural assembly place for many...
Medieval Period
Collection
Maya Religion & Culture
Maya religion and culture is among the most advanced and sophisticated of the Pre-Colombian Americas as evidenced by the ruins of their great cities and what remains of their writings...
Definition
Samurai
The samurai (also bushi) were a class of warriors that arose in the 10th century in Japan and which performed military service until the 19th century. Elite and highly-trained soldiers adept at...
Article
Battle of Edington
The Battle of Edington, fought in May 878 in southwest England, saw Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (r. 871-899), win a decisive victory over the Viking leader Guthrum (d. 890). Two weeks...
Definition
Merlin
Merlin (also known as Myrddin, Merlinus) is the great wizard of the Arthurian Legends best known from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE). The character was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth...
Definition
Isabella of France
Isabella of France (c. 1292-1358) was the queen consort of Edward II of England (r. 1307-1327). After heading a coup to overthrow her husband, she ruled as regent for their young son...
Definition
Ife
Ife (aka Ile-Ife) was an ancient African city which flourished between the 11th and 15th century CE in what is today Nigeria in West Africa. Ife was the capital and principal religious centre of the...
Definition
Umar
Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634-644 CE) was the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE, as the first four caliphs are referred to by the Sunni Muslims). He was an early convert of Islam...
Article
Battle of Tricamarum
The Battle of Tricamarum (533 CE) was the second and last major battle of the Vandalic War (533 – 534 CE). The battle was fought between the forces of the Byzantine Empire under the...
Early Modern Period
Article
Philadelphia Campaign
The Philadelphia Campaign (July 1777 to June 1778) was a major military operation during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), in which a British army under Sir William Howe attempted...
Definition
Simon Forman
Simon Forman (1552-1611) was an Elizabethan physician, astrologer, magician, and alchemist who lived and worked in both London and Wiltshire, England. He was unusual in that despite receiving...
Article
White Buffalo Calf Woman
White Buffalo Calf Woman (Ptesan-Wi) is a supernatural entity of the Sioux religion, who serves as an intermediary between Wakan Tanka (Great Mystery or Great Spirit) and the people...
Definition
Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) was the Tsar of Russia from 1682-1721 and Emperor of Russia from 1721-1725. During his long reign, Peter had absolute power and brought real change to...
Definition
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648, also known as The Dutch Revolt and Dutch War of Independence) was a military conflict between the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands and Spain, which...
Definition
Shimabara Rebellion
The Shimabara Rebellion was a peasant uprising that occurred from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638 in Japan's southern island of Kyushu. Economic desperation, famine, and religious persecution...
Article
The Telescope & the Scientific Revolution
The invention of the telescope in 1608 is usually credited to the Dutchman Hans Lippershey. The astronomical telescope became one of the most important of all instruments...
Definition
Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday (1768-1793) played a prominent role in the French Revolution (1789-1799) when she assassinated radical activist Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub on 13 July 1793. Despite her...
Modern Period
Definition
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a French existentialist philosopher who defined the existentialist movement in the 20th century. Considered the consummate intellectual, he was not only...
Definition
James K. Polk - The Expansionist US President
James K. Polk (1795-1849) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the eleventh president of the United States. A protégé of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845...
Article
The Dun Horse
The Dun Horse is a Pawnee tale about a poor boy and his grandmother, who find an old horse and take it in. The horse turns out to be magical, however, and improves their fortunes considerably...
Article
Escaping Colditz - WWII's Notorious Prison Camp
Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, sits high on a precipitous cliff face that towers above a tributary of the river Mulde. First built in the 11th century, the forbidding...
Article
The Dreyfus Affair & the Separation of Church and State in France
The Dreyfus Affair, or L'Affaire as it has become known, demonstrated the competing forces at work to either reestablish the monarchy and the Church...
Definition
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills passed by the US Congress in September 1850 to diffuse a sectional crisis brewing between the 'free states' of the North and the 'slave...
Definition
Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German conductor and composer of both innovative late-Romantic and Modernist music. He is best known for his symphonic poems and operas like Salome and...
Definition
Nazi-Soviet Pact
The Nazi-Soviet Pact, also called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact after the respective foreign ministers of the USSR and Germany, was a non-aggression agreement signed in August 1939. The pact...
Prehistoric Period
Image Gallery
Paleolithic Art
The first non-functional human-made objects that could be clearly classified as art date back to the Upper Paleolithic (c. 50,000 to c. 12,000 years ago) in Europe. Although Upper Paleolithic...
Article
The Dolmens of Sicily
It is a well-known fact that Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean sea, went through a quite complex prehistoric period. So much so that it is difficult to navigate through...
Definition
Skara Brae
Skara Brae is a Neolithic Age site, consisting of ten stone structures, near the Bay of Skaill, Orkney, Scotland. Today the village is situated by the shore but when it was inhabited (c.3100-2500...
Definition
Europe
Europe is a continent forming the westernmost part of the land mass of Eurasia and comprised of 49 sovereign states. Its name may come from the Greek myth of Europa, but human habitation of the...
Definition
Carnac
Carnac, located on the north-west coast of France, is the site of the largest concentration of megalithic monuments in the world. Over 100 monuments, which include burial mounds, stone tombs, enclosures...
Article
The Neanderthal-Sapiens Connection
In May 2010, after years of intense discussions surrounding possible fossils of mixed Homo sapiens and Neanderthal descent floating around the scientific community, a team...
Definition
The Sweet Track
The Sweet Track is a Neolithic timber walkway, located in the Somerset Levels, England. It was originally part of a network of tracks built to provide a dry path across the marshy ground...
Definition
Homo Heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of human that is identified in both Africa and western Eurasia from roughly 700,000 years ago onwards until around 200,000 years ago – fitting...
