Featured
Article
Clothing in the Victorian Era - Getting the Right Balance of Fabric, Figure, and Flashiness
Striking silhouettes, sumptuous fabrics, bright colours, frills galore, and all manner of ornate accessories define the clothing...
Featured
Definition
Socrates
Socrates of Athens (l. c. 470/469-399 BCE) is among the most famous figures in world history for his contributions to the development of ancient Greek philosophy which provided the foundation...
Featured
Image
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...
Featured
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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...
Latest Content
Article
Officers of the Roman Army
With the appearance of the legionary, the Roman army was able to maintain a vast empire that totally embraced the Mediterranean Sea. Although the success of the army rested on the...
Article
How Music and Politics Intertwined in the Time of Louis XIV
During the reign of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), music accompanied some of the most visible occasions of royal life: entrances, diplomatic receptions...
Article
Ming Taxation & the Silver Economy
The rulers of China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644) acquired an insatiable desire for silver in the 16th century, largely to pay for huge prestige projects like building the Forbidden...
Article
U. S. Grant's Account of the Battle of Fort Donelson - Excerpts from the Official Action Report
Ulysses S. Grant's victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) during the American Civil War elevated him...
Curriculum Collection
AP World History Unit 5 - Revolutions (c. 1750–1900)
Two major revolutions remade the world between 1750 and 1900. The first was a revolution of the mind: thinkers of the Enlightenment argued that authority was...
Definition
Battle of Fort Donelson - The Victory that Might Have Won the War in the West
The Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) was a Union victory in the Western theater of the American Civil War on the Cumberland River...
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Map of the French Revolution & Revolutionary Wars, 1789–1799 - From the Fall of Monarchy to the Rise of Bonaparte
The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a decade of political and social upheaval that dismantled France's Ancien...
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House of Hanover in Britain, 1714–1901 - From George I to Victoria: Monarchy, Reform & Empire
The House of Hanover was the royal dynasty that ruled Great Britain and later the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901. Its accession...
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Map of Edmond Halley’s Scientific Voyages - Exploration, Astronomy & Navigation, 1676–1703
The travels of Edmond Halley (1656–1742) illustrate how the Scientific Revolution increasingly joined theoretical knowledge with...
For You
Definition
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne are a North American Native nation, originally from the Great Lakes region, who migrated to modern-day Minnesota and then to areas in North Dakota and further southwest. They are...
Definition
Ancient Egyptian Art
The artworks of ancient Egypt have fascinated people for thousands of years. The early Greek and later Roman artists were influenced by Egyptian techniques and their art would inspire...
Definition
Armenian Mythology
The mythology of ancient Armenia is a rich blend of indigenous traditions with imported ideas from neighbouring cultures and migrating peoples added over the centuries. The legends and...
Definition
Thebes (Egypt)
Thebes was the capital of Egypt during the period of the New Kingdom (c.1570-c.1069 BCE) and became an important center of worship of the god Amun (also known as Amon or Amen, a combination...
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 Culture of Athens
Previously, I reviewed Vic Kovacs' Ancient Cultures and Civilizations, The Culture of Sparta. In this volume, Kovacs shifts from Sparta to Athens: Ancient Cultures and Civilizations...
Book Review
Beyond the Silk Roads: Trade, Mobility and Geopolitics across Eurasia
This is the story of the "informal networks" established and maintained by mobile traders from the modern geographical region of Afghanistan who...
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| 2,641 | videos |
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Ancient Period
Article
The Battle of Cynossema
The battle of Cynossema, in 411 BCE, was an Athenian victory during the final years of the Peloponnesian War. It marked the resilience of the renowned Athenian democratic system after...
Article
Bronze Age Sicily
The Bronze Age in Sicily, considered one of the most important periods of the island's prehistory, witnessed the establishment of a unitary and in some ways artistically vibrant culture...
Definition
Homer
Homer (c. 750 BCE) is perhaps the greatest of all epic poets and his legendary status was well established by the time of Classical Athens. He composed (not wrote, since the poems were created and...
Definition
Chinese Writing
Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po...
Definition
Mitanni
The Kingdom of Mitanni, known to the people of the land, and the Assyrians, as Hanigalbat and to the Egyptians as Naharin and Metani, once stretched from present-day northern Iraq, down through...
Definition
Inca Government
The centre of Inca power was the capital Cuzco, considered the navel of the world. 40,000 Incas governed an empire of over 10 million subjects who spoke over 30 different languages. Consequently...
Article
The Phoenician Alphabet & Language
Phoenician is a Canaanite language closely related to Hebrew. Very little is known about the Canaanite language, except what can be gathered from the El-Amarna letters written...
Definition
Cambyses II
Cambyses II (r. 530-522 BCE) was the second king of the Achaemenid Empire. The Greek historian Herodotus portrays Cambyses as a mad king who committed many acts of sacrilege during his stay...
Medieval Period
Definition
Jainism
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The name comes from jiva (soul or life force but, capitalized, is also given as Spiritual Conqueror) as it maintains that all living things...
Definition
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface (born as Wynfreth, l. 672-754) is one of the most famous saints in the Netherlands. He helped Pope Gregory II (r. 715-731), who was keen to convert pagan Germanic tribes, to...
Article
The Tizoc Stone
The Tizoc Stone is a huge stone cylinder from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan which depicts a sun-disk on its flat upper surface and carries a frieze around its outer edge showing Aztec...
Definition
Isabella d'Este
Isabella d’Este (l. 1474-1539), was the leading lady of Renaissance Italy who funded the works of such renowned artists as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Many of the greatest Renaissance...
Definition
Coyolxauhqui
Coyolxauhqui (pron. Koy-ol-shauw-kee) was the Aztec goddess of the Moon or Milky Way who was famously butchered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, in Aztec mythology. This story...
Definition
Quetzalcóatl
Quetzalcóatl (pron. Quet-zal-co-at) or 'Plumed Serpent' was one of the most important gods in ancient Mesoamerica. Quetzalcóatl was the god of winds and rain, and the creator of the world and...
Definition
Fatimah bint Muhammad
Fatimah (born between 605 and 615 CE, died sometime in 632 CE; date of death is disputed) was the youngest daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (l. 570-632 CE) and his first wife...
Definition
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales (written c. 1388-1400 CE) is a medieval literary work by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (l. c. 1343-1400 CE) comprised of 24 tales related to a number of literary genres...
Early Modern Period
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Historical Maps
This gallery of 30 maps traces the history of cartography, with examples of maps made by cultures from the Paleolithic to the early modern period. The maps cover cities, states...
Definition
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Patroness of the Americas
Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, is a title for a particular image of Mary, Mother of Jesus, as she appeared in the New World in the...
Definition
John André
Major John André (1750-1780) was a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). He is best known for negotiating with the American turncoat Benedict Arnold...
Collection
Women of the Protestant Reformation
The contributions of women to the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) were frequently marginalized in the past but have gained wider recognition in the present era. Many women...
Article
Ten Notorious Dutch Pirates
While there have been pirates and privateers of all nationalities, some Dutch mariners were particularly troublesome in the early modern period, targeting, in particular, the Spanish...
Article
New York and New Jersey Campaign
The New York and New Jersey Campaign (3 July 1776 to 3 January 1777) was a pivotal campaign waged during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) for control of New York City...
Definition
Japanese War Tales
War tales (gunki monogatari) is a genre of historical writing that developed in Japan from the Heian Period (794-1185) to the Muromachi Period (1333-1573). They form an important element...
Article
Musketeers in the English Civil Wars
Musketeers played a vital role in the battles and sieges of the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). As the war dragged on, weapons became lighter and more accurate, and the musketeers...
Modern Period
Definition
Italo-Ethiopian Wars
Italy occupied Ethiopia for five years, from 1935 to 1941, following a mass-scale invasion launched by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945). However, Ethiopia had been a...
Collection
Native American Creation & Origin Stories
Native American creation and origin stories are tales of the creation of the world and the origin of various aspects of it, including plant and animal life – especially...
Article
The Confessions of Nat Turner
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831) is the first-person account given by the rebel slave leader Nat Turner (l. 1800-1831) to the attorney T. R. Gray (l. c. 1800-1843) following...
Definition
Kappa
A kappa is a Japanese mythological water sprite or, literally, "river child" (河童). One of the more popularly known yōkai (Japanese mythological creature) in Japan, kappa are generally green or yellow...
Article
The Attack on Pearl Harbor - Why the US Entered WWII
A Japanese carrier force attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 and so brought the United States into the Second World...
Definition
Kon-Tiki Expedition - Thor Heyerdahl's Epic Crossing of the Pacific in a Raft
The Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, led by the Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), successfully crossed 8,000 km (5,000 miles) of the Pacific...
Article
The Hindenburg Disaster - End of the Transatlantic Airships
The Hindenburg disaster occurred on 6 May 1937 when the German Zeppelin airship LZ 129 Hindenburg attempted to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey, but burst...
Article
The Boy Who Saw A-ti'us
The Boy Who Saw A-ti'us is a legend of the Pawnee nation about a young man who is granted a vision of the Creator Ti-ra'wa A-ti'us (also known simply as Ti-ra'wa or as A-ti'us) and...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Göbekli Tepe
“Göbekli Tepe” (“Hill with a Navel”, or “Potbelly Hill”) is found approximately 16 km (10 miles) northeast of Şanlıurfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey once named “Edessa” and known...
Definition
Homo Habilis
Homo habilis ("handy man") is an extinct species of human that lived in East and South Africa between 2.3 and 1.5 million years ago and plays an interesting role in the discussion surrounding...
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...
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...
Article
Prehistoric Alpine Stilt Houses
Alpine stilt houses are a unique and fascinating aspect of prehistoric architecture in the Alps, which provide valuable insights into the lives and culture of the ancient communities...
Article
The Megalithic Funerary Art of San Agustín
Beginning approximately 2000 years ago, in a rugged stretch of southwestern Colombia where the Andes split into multiple ranges and the mighty Magdalena River is born...
Definition
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara is an ancient Neolithic Age site in County Meath, Ireland. It was known as the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the site of coronations, a place of assembly for the enacting...
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...
