Featured
Definition
Ming Porcelain
The porcelain of the Ming Dynasty of China (1368-1644 CE) benefitted, as did other arts, from the economic success of the 15th century CE, in particular, and the consequent surge in demand for quality handcraft production both at home and abroad. The Ming dynasty is rightly famous for its fine ceramics and especially the cobalt blue-and-white porcelain produced in...
Featured
Definition
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807-1814), also known as the War of Spanish Independence, was a major conflict of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) that was waged in the Iberian Peninsula by Portugal...
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12 Women Rulers of the Ancient World - Queens, Regents & Empresses Who Exercised State Power
Political power in the ancient world rested on dynastic legitimacy, control of court and military institutions, religious authority...
Featured
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Die Like an Egyptian: How to Reach the Field of Reeds (Aaru) - An Afterlife Guide from New Kingdom Egypt (c. 1550-1069 BCE)
Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife centered on the idea that death marked the beginning of...
Latest Content
Collection
England's Peasant Uprising of 1381
In this collection of resources, we examine the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381, a popular uprising that sought dramatic social changes such as the removal of the poll...
Article
Dialogue of Pessimism - Meaning of Life or Satire?
The Dialogue of Pessimism (circa 1000 BCE) is a Babylonian poem featuring a master and his slave in ten exchanges during which the master proposes an action, and...
Definition
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor - The Great Enlightened Despot
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741-1790), was the son and successor of Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and Francis Stephen, aka Francis I (1708-1765), of the...
Definition
Taj Mahal - Symbol of Love, Power, & Mughal Architecture
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum complex in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to inter and memorialise his wife...
Article
A. H. Foote's Account of the Battle of Fort Henry - Letter to His Wife on the Day of Victory
Union Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote (1806-1863) came to national attention during the American Civil War following his naval victory...
Collection
History by the Numbers, Volume II - 12 More Visual Stories of Power, Science & Discovery
History by the Numbers, Volume II brings together twelve visual infographics exploring rulers, warfare, exploration, science, technology...
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Map of the Growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire - From Early Communities to Imperial Christianity, 30–451
The growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 5th centuries transformed a small religious...
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Map of the Spread of the Black Death, c. 1346–1353 - Trade, Transmission & the Second Plague Pandemic
The Black Death was the catastrophic first great wave of the Second Plague Pandemic, caused by the bacterium Yersinia...
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12 Women Rulers of the Ancient World - Queens, Regents & Empresses Who Exercised State Power
Political power in the ancient world rested on dynastic legitimacy, control of court and military institutions, religious authority...
For You
Collection
Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
Daily life in ancient Egypt was lived with an awareness of the gods and the understanding that they had given the people the gift of the most perfect place on earth. Ancient...
Article
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
The pyramids are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt and still fascinate people in the present day. These enormous tributes to the memory of the Egyptian kings have...
Definition
Ancient Greek Pottery
Greek pottery has four main types: Geometric, Corinthian, Athenian Black-figure, and Athenian red-figure pottery. Pottery vessels were made for everyday use such as the two-handled amphora...
Article
Mongol Multiculturalism
The Mongol Empire accepted and promoted many other cultures. Historians often talk about cultural exchange across Asia in the Mongol Empire as something that was just facilitated by...
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
Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82
Since its original publication in 2002, Pox Americana has become a hugely influential scholarly work. In this book, Elizabeth A. Fenn argues that while the...
Book Review
Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World
Ever since the beginning of time people all over the world have worshipped something more than themselves. Ancient history is peppered with temples, mausoleums...
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| 2,986 | definitions |
| 1,754 | articles |
| 19,781 | illustrations |
| 2,641 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,018 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,334 | contributors |
| 15,491 | keywords |
| 57,507 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gaozu (also Kao-tsu, formerly Li Yuan, r. 618-626 CE) was a Sui military commander who led a rebellion against his former masters, seized control of the state, and founded the...
Article
Roman Students in Athens
Training in oratory was a crucial part of Roman education; it was associated with a young boy's transition into adult life. As Athens was considered the intellectual centre of the...
Article
Balance & the Law in Ancient Egypt
Egyptian law was based on the central cultural value of ma'at (harmony and balance) which was the foundation for the entire civilization. Ma'at was established at the beginning...
Article
The Battle at the Allia River, 390 BCE
The 390 BCE battle at the Allia River was fought between the city state of Rome and Gauls from northern Italy. When the Gauls laid siege to the Etruscan city of Clusium...
Article
The Report of Wenamun: Text & Commentary
The literature of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE) is justly famous as some of the best the culture ever produced. Great works like The Tale of the Shipwrecked...
Article
War of the Eight Princes
The War of the Eight Princes (291-306 CE) is the conflict which weakened and finally ended the Western Jin Dynasty (266-316 CE) in China and resulted in more far-reaching consequences...
Definition
Alchemy
Alchemy is an ancient practice aimed at recreating precious substances using recipes and transformative materials such as the philosopher's stone. Alchemists believed that materials like gold...
Collection
Warfare in Classical Greece
The ancient Greek city-states were in a constant rivalry for land, resources and power which meant that warfare became an ever-present aspect of life. Athens and Sparta were famous...
Medieval Period
Definition
Nasta 'liq
Nasta 'liq is one of the styles of Islamic calligraphy that was developed on Persian grounds by Persian calligraphers. The art of calligraphy has always held a prominent position in Persia...
Definition
Bede
Bede (c. 673-735 CE) was an English monk, historian, and scholar who lived in the Kingdom of Northumbria. He is at times referred to as the Venerable Bede or Bede the Venerable. He was a monk at...
Definition
Ming Dynasty
The imperial Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644. It replaced the Mongol Yuan dynasty which had been in power since the 13th century. Despite challenges from abroad and within, the Ming...
Definition
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza, located at the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula of modern Mexico, was a Maya city which was later significantly influenced by the Toltec civilization. Flourishing between...
Article
The Ideology of the Holy Roman Empire
"The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire," wrote Voltaire, and this interpretation still dominates the popular imagination, so the Holy Roman...
Article
Childhood in the Viking Age
Childhood in the Viking Age (c. 750-1100) was largely undocumented as historical records primarily focus on adults, particularly men. Likewise, little is known about children's...
Interview
Information & Communication Technologies in Cultural Heritage & Tourism
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are revolutionizing the ways in which the public interacts, understands, and appreciates the...
Definition
James I of Scotland
James I of Scotland ruled as king from 1406 to 1437. In 1406, the future king was captured by pirates and then imprisoned by Henry IV of England (r. 1399-1413), a confinement that lasted...
Early Modern Period
Article
Fall of the East India Company
The British East India Company (1600-1874) was the largest and most successful private enterprise ever created. All-powerful wherever it colonised, the EIC's use of its own private...
Article
Astronomy in the Scientific Revolution
The astronomers of the Scientific Revolution rejected long-held theories of ancient thinkers like Claudius Ptolemy and Aristotle and instead set out to systematically observe...
Article
Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden (16 August 1780) was a major battle of the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). It saw a British army under Lord Charles Cornwallis decisively...
Article
Francis Drake's Circumnavigation of the Globe
The English mariner, privateer, and explorer Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) made his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580 CE. Only the second to achieve...
Definition
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille was a decisive moment in the early months of the French Revolution (1789-1799). On 14 July 1789, the Bastille, a fortress and political prison symbolizing...
Article
Cibola - The Seven Cities of Gold & Coronado
The Seven Cities of Cibola are the mythical lands of gold that the Spanish of the 16th century believed existed somewhere in the southwest of North America, comparable...
Definition
Anne Hutchinson - Spiritual Visionary and Champion of Faith
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) was a religious reformer, Puritan dissident, midwife, and alleged prophetess whose beliefs and influence brought her into conflict...
Article
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth (28 June 1778), or the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was the last battle of the Philadelphia Campaign during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). After...
Modern Period
Article
The Boy Who Was Sacrificed
The Boy Who Was Sacrificed is a legend of the Pawnee nation highlighting the belief that everything happens for a reason according to the will of Ti-ra'wa ("Father Above"), the supreme...
Definition
Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion (also known as Cato's Rebellion or Cato's Conspiracy, 9 September 1739) was the largest slave revolt in the British colonies of North America. Led by an educated slave...
Article
Anahuac Disturbances - The Actual Beginning of the Texas Revolution
Although the Battle of Gonzales (2 October 1835) is recognized as the first of the Texas Revolution of 1835-1836, hostilities actually began in 1832...
Collection
Events and People of the Texas Revolution - The War That Made America
The Texas Revolution (1835-1836) is one of the most important events in American history as it established the Texas Republic, leading to the annexation...
Definition
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a Corsican-born French general and politician who reigned as Emperor of the French with the regnal name Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and then again briefly...
Definition
Atlanta Campaign - The Bloody Struggle for Georgia During the US Civil War
The Atlanta Campaign (7 May to 2 September 1864) was a major military campaign in the western theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865...
Article
The Heroic Slave - Frederick Douglass' Novella of the Creole Mutiny
Abolitionist author, orator and statesman Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is well-known for his speeches, autobiography, and other works addressing...
Definition
Great Sioux War
The Great Sioux War (also given as the Black Hills War, 1876-1877) was a military conflict between the allied forces of the Lakota Sioux/Northern Cheyenne and the US government over the...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Migration Age
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or German: Völkerwanderung (wandering of the peoples), was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between 300 to 700 CE...
Definition
Venus Figurine
The term Venus figurine is used to describe the more than 200 small statuettes of voluptuous female figures that have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe and some parts of...
Article
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Hunter-gatherer societies are – true to their astoundingly descriptive name – cultures in which human beings obtain their food by hunting, fishing, scavenging, and gathering...
Definition
Lascaux Cave
Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave...
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...
Article
Origins of World Agriculture
Agriculture arose independently at several locations across the world, beginning about 12,000 years ago. The first crops and livestock were domesticated in six rather diffuse areas...
Definition
Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a Stone Age site in north-west France distinguished by its two large stone tombs and massive granite standing stone or menhir. The monumental structures, all built within metres...
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...
