Featured
Definition
Gunpowder Plot - Guy Fawkes & the Plan to Blow up Parliament
The 1605 Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt by pro-Catholic conspirators to blow up the English Parliament on 5 November and kill King James I of England...
Featured
Article
Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know - A Celebration of Transformation
Halloween is the most popular holiday in the world, after Christmas (based on level-of-celebration and consumer spending) and, increasingly...
Featured
Image
12 Royal Princes Who Never Reached the Throne - From Germanicus to the Black Prince & Franz Ferdinand
Royal heirs and princes expected to succeed to a throne occupied an unusually precarious position: close enough to power...
Featured
Image
12 Largest Contiguous Land Empires Before 1880 - From the Mongol Empire to Rome, Qing China & Russia
Land empires were expansive states whose rulers exercised authority over large, substantially connected territories and...
Latest Content
Article
James Longstreet's Account of the Battle of Gettysburg - Excerpts From the Official Action Report
At the Battle of Gettysburg (1-3 July 1863) Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet urged his commanding officer...
Article
Gilgamesh and Huwawa - The Epic Battle of the Cedar Forest
Gilgamesh and Huwawa is a Sumerian poem relating the expedition of Gilgamesh and Enkidu to the Cedar Forest and the slaying of the monster-demon Huwawa...
Article
Stalin's Five-Year Plans - Collectivising Agriculture & Industrialising the USSR
Joseph Stalin's Five-Year Plans (1928-50) were a series of state-led initiatives which aimed to grow the economy of the USSR, rapidly industrialise...
Curriculum Collection
AP World History Unit 6 - Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750–1900)
With industrialization, a small number of states gained the ability to project power across the globe. Steamships, railroads, machine guns...
Article
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld - Messages From the Afterlife
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld is a Sumerian poem pre-dating The Epic of Gilgamesh and featuring its central characters. It is sometimes...
Definition
Army of Northern Virginia - General Lee's Army
The Army of Northern Virginia was the main field army of the Confederate States in the eastern theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Famously led by General...
Free for the World, Supported by You
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
Become a MemberHistory should be free for everyone!
If you find World History Encyclopedia helpful, a $10 contribution helps keep trusted history free and accessible to millions of readers and students worldwide. Thanks for making a difference!
Donate $10Maps
Image
The United States Constitution, 1787
The United States Constitution, drafted in Philadelphia in 1787, established the legal and political framework of the American republic, replacing the Articles of Confederation...
Image
Map of the Trade in the Indian Ocean 15th–16th Centuries - Monsoon Routes, Spice Trade, and European Expansion
Indian Ocean trade in the 15th and 16th centuries connected East Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia...
Image
12 Royal Princes Who Never Reached the Throne - From Germanicus to the Black Prince & Franz Ferdinand
Royal heirs and princes expected to succeed to a throne occupied an unusually precarious position: close enough to power...
For You
Article
Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus
The theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus on the south slope of the acropolis of Athens was first built in the 6th century BCE. Modified and expanded over the centuries, it is the...
Article
Death, Burial & the Afterlife in the Ancient Celtic Religion
The ancient Celts who occupied large parts of Europe from 700 BCE to 400 CE displayed a clear belief in an afterlife as evidenced in their treatment of...
Definition
Old Testament
Old Testament is the Christian name for the books of the Jewish scriptures that constitute the first half of the Christian Bible. "Old" in this sense was a means to distinguish Judaism from...
Definition
Piraeus - The Ancient Port of Athens
Piraeus (or Peiraieus) was the ancient port of Athens throughout the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods and in fact consisted of three separate harbours - Kantharos...
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
The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World
The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World has a hefty price tag but as a compendium of stand alone chapters, each written by an expert in their...
Book Review
People of the Ecotone: Environment and Indigenous Power at the Center of Early America
A stereotype in past research toward Native American history is that Native American communities had simple and primitive cultures...
Statistics
| 2,993 | definitions |
| 1,766 | articles |
| 19,870 | illustrations |
| 2,643 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,435 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,344 | contributors |
| 15,635 | keywords |
| 62,712 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Labyrinth
The word labyrinth comes from the Greek labyrinthos and describes any maze-like structure with a single path through it which differentiates it from an actual maze which may have multiple paths...
Definition
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were the fabled gardens which beautified the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, built by its greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562 BCE). One...
Article
The Girl Who Was the Ring
The Girl Who Was the Ring is a Pawnee legend committed to writing by the anthropologist George Bird Grinnell (l. 1849-1938) in his work The Punishment of the Stingy and Other Indian...
Definition
Shapur II
Shapur II (r. 309-379 CE, also Sapur II) was the tenth monarch of the Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE) and among the most successful. Under his reign – which lasted his entire life – the Avesta...
Definition
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was called in 451 CE by the Roman Emperor Marcian (r. 450-457) to settle debates regarding the nature (hypostases, "reality") of Christ that had begun at two...
Article
Mythological Re-Enactments in Ancient Roman Spectacle
To this day the ancient Romans remain infamous for their dramatic use of spectacle and other forms of entertainment. A lesser known variation of Roman spectacle...
Article
Ara Pacis Augustae
The Ara Pacis Augustae or Altar of the Augustan Peace in Rome was built to celebrate the return of Augustus in 13 BCE from his campaigns in Spain and Gaul. The marble structure, which...
Article
An Ancient City Beneath Rome: Visiting The Catacombs of Priscilla
Any visitor to Rome will want to see and explore the popular historical and cultural sites - the Colosseum, the Forum, the Trevi Fountain and, of...
Medieval Period
Definition
Chilperic I
Chilperic I (r. 561-584) was a king of the Merovingian Dynasty, who ruled over the Frankish kingdom of Neustria. During his reign, Chilperic was often occupied with civil wars against his brothers...
Definition
Henry II of England
Henry II of England ruled from 1154 to 1189 CE. He gained the throne by negotiation with his predecessor King Stephen of England (r. 1135-1154 CE) following the civil war that had raged...
Article
The Portuguese Colonization of the Azores
The Azores (Açores) are a North Atlantic island group, which was uninhabited before being colonized by the Portuguese from 1439. The Azores were strategically important...
Definition
Château d'Amboise
The Château d'Amboise, located in the Loire Valley, in central France, was built over several centuries and was the centre of royal power during the Renaissance (from the 15th to the early...
Definition
Viking Raids on Paris
Throughout the 9th century CE, Viking raids on the region of Francia (roughly modern-day France) increased in frequency, destabilizing the region, and terrorizing the populace. The raids...
Definition
Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle, located in the town of Himeji in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan, was built on a natural hilltop between 1581 and 1609 CE. The complex is composed of a maze-like arrangement of...
Article
Cats in the Middle Ages
Cats in the Middle Ages were generally disapproved of, regarded as, at best, useful pests and, at worst, agents of Satan, owing to the medieval Church and its association of the cat...
Collection
Mesoamerican Civilizations
Ancient Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico and Central America) witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of cultures from the beginnings of the Olmec civilization around 1200 BCE, through...
Early Modern Period
Collection
12 Great Composers
In this collection, we consider 12 of the great composers, from Bach to Rachmaninoff. Covering Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music, many of the works remain instantly recognisable even...
Definition
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (1759-1794) was a French lawyer who became a prominent leader of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Danton played a major role in the overthrow of the French monarchy...
Image Gallery
Gallery of the Chateaux of the Loire Valley
This gallery gives an overview of 25 stunning châteaux in the Loire Valley of France, some very well known and others that deserve to be discovered. Some of these châteaux...
Definition
Hobbamock
Hobbamock (d. c. 1643, also given as Hobbamok and Hobomok) was a Native American of the Pokanoket tribe who served the sachem Massasoit (l. c. 1581-1661) of the Wampanoag Confederacy as a pniese...
Definition
Michelangelo
Michelangelo (1475-1564 CE) was an Italian artist, architect and poet, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential of all Renaissance figures. His most celebrated works, from...
Collection
Great African Kingdoms
This collection presents a small sampling of the many great African kingdoms that rose and fell from the ancient period when Punt traded with Egypt up through the common era. Each kingdom...
Article
Coal Mining in the British Industrial Revolution
Coal mining boomed during the British Industrial Revolution as it provided fuel for steam engines of all kinds in factories, transport, and agriculture. Draining...
Definition
Astrolabe
The astrolabe is an astronomical instrument used from around the 6th century to measure time and position by determining the altitude of heavenly bodies like the Sun and certain stars. Measurements...
Modern Period
Article
Battle of Okinawa - WWII's Last Major Battle
The Battle of Okinawa (April to June 1945) was the largest amphibious assault and last major battle of the Second World War (1939-45). A massive naval fleet landed...
Article
Hidatsa Sun Dance Ritual
The Hidatsa Sun Dance Ritual (also known as Hidatsa Sun Dance) is a Native American story of the Hidatsa nation illustrating the practice of an individual initiating the Sun Dance...
Definition
RMS Lusitania - Tragic Victim of WWI
RMS Lusitania was a British transatlantic liner infamously sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915 during the First World War (1914-18). Struck off the coast of southern Ireland...
Article
Why Japan's Kamikaze Attacks Failed in WWII
Kamikaze attacks were made by Japanese servicemen throughout the final, desperate year of the Second World War (1939-45). Planes, piloted rockets, and boats were packed...
Article
Sioux Ceremonial Pipe
The Sioux ceremonial pipe is a sacred object of the Sioux nation used in the seven sacred rites as well as other observances to connect the people with the Great Spirit (Wakan Tanka...
Definition
Red Cloud
Red Cloud (Makhpiya-luta, l. 1822-1909) was an Oglala Lakota Sioux chief, statesman, and military strategist who became the only Native American leader of the Plains Indians to win a war against...
Article
The Paris Impressionist Exhibitions, 1874-86
The impressionist exhibitions in Paris through the final quarter of the 19th century were organised by a group of avant-garde artists who struggled to have their innovative...
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...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Long Barrow
A long barrow is a class of Middle Neolithic (approximately 3500-2700 BCE) burial monument which is found extensively throughout the British Isles and is related to other forms of contemporary...
Definition
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a Neolithic / Bronze Age monument located on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, southern England. The first monument on the site, began around 3100 BCE, was a circular 'henge' earthwork...
Article
Rock Drawings of Valcamonica
The rock drawings of Valcamonica are prehistoric petroglyphs carved in the glacier-polished, grey-purple Permian sandstone of the Camonica valley that extends for 90 km in the...
Article
Early Human Migration
Disregarding the extremely inhospitable spots even the most stubborn of us have enough common sense to avoid, humans have managed to cover an extraordinary amount of territory on this...
Definition
Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar is a Neolithic Age site discovered in 2002 CE through a geophysical survey of the area of land in Stenness in Orkney, Scotland, which separates the salt water Stenness...
Definition
Clava Cairns - Monuments to Memory and More
Clava Cairns is an early Bronze Age site in Scotland, located east of the city of Inverness, consisting of three well-preserved cairns (two of which are passage graves...
Definition
Ceide Fields
The Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, on the western coast of Ireland, are recognised as one of the oldest and largest Stone Age farming sites in the world, dating back to c. 3700 BCE...
Definition
Paleolithic
The Palaeolithic ('Old Stone Age') makes up the earliest chunk of the Stone Age – the large swathe of time during which hominins used stone to make tools – and ranges from the first known tool...
