Featured
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World - The Return of the So-Called Dead
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as...
Featured
Definition
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) was an intermittent conflict between England and France lasting 116 years. It began principally because King Edward III (r. 1327-1377) and Philip VI...
Featured
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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...
Featured
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Map of the Rise of the Delhi Sultanate: Mamluk Dynasty - State Formation and Conquest in Medieval India, 1206–1290
The Delhi Sultanate's Mamluk (or Slave) period (1206–1290) marked the emergence of a powerful Muslim-ruled state...
Latest Content
Definition
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor - The Great Matchmaker
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519), belonged to the imperial House of Habsburg, and the imperial electors made him King of the Romans in 1486 during...
Definition
James Longstreet - Civil War Hero and Lost Cause Villain
James Longstreet (1821-1904) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, serving chiefly under Robert E. Lee in the Eastern theater. He was regarded...
Collection
First 16 US Presidents - From Washington to Lincoln
Since the founding of the United States, the office of the presidency – and the men who have occupied it – have had a profound impact on the hearts, minds, and...
Definition
Seven Years' War - The 18th-Century World War
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a global conflict fought between the great powers of Europe in the mid-18th century. The culmination of several decades of conflict...
Article
Top 10 Roman Sites in Bulgaria
Roman Bulgaria occupied an important position in the heart of the Balkans, between the Black Sea, the Aegean, and Asia Minor. In the north, the Danube River formed a heavily...
Definition
Millard Fillmore - The Forgotten US President
Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) was the thirteenth president of the United States. A member of the Whig Party, he was elected vice president in 1849 and assumed the presidency...
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Map of the Latin Empire - A Crusader State in Constantinople - The Fourth Crusade and the Fragmentation of Byzantium
The Latin Empire (Imperium Romaniae, 1204–1261) emerged after the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) captured and...
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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...
Image
Map of the Sasanian Empire at Its Height, c. 620 - Khosrow II and the Byzantine–Sasanian War, 602–628
The Sasanian Empire (224–651), also known as Sassanian Persia, was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire and one of the...
For You
Image Gallery
Berthe Morisot: A Gallery of 30 Paintings
In this gallery, we showcase 30 paintings by Berthe Morisot (1841-95) the French impressionist painter whose many career successes helped open the door for future female...
Article
A Brief History of the Rose
The rose that grows in many different forms in gardens all over the world today is an evolution of rose-like plants that lived in the northern hemisphere between 33 million and...
Article
Game Review: Aggressors: Ancient Rome
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy Audience: Hardcore Strategy Gamers Difficulty: Hard Aggressors: Ancient Rome is a turn-based 4X...
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...
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
Persians: The Age of the Great Kings
The central idea of Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones's Persians: The Age of the Great Kings is simple. The Achaemenid Persian Empire, which flourished from the sixth to fourth centuries...
Book Review
In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-86
In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-86 is a detailed account of the life of Thomas Thistlewood, an Englishman who moved to Jamaica...
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| 1,764 | articles |
| 19,860 | illustrations |
| 2,643 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,366 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,342 | contributors |
| 15,630 | keywords |
| 61,807 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Anu - Mesopotamian Father of the Gods
Anu (also known as An) is an early Mesopotamian sky god who was later viewed as the Father of the Gods and ruler of the heavens, a position which then passed to his son Enlil...
Article
Ten Famous & Not-so-Famous Same-Sex Couples in Ancient History
History is recorded by individual human beings with their own beliefs and interests guiding what they choose to record, and, as such, many events and...
Definition
Arthashastra
The Arthashastra is an Indian treatise on politics, economics, military strategy, the function of the state, and social organization attributed to the philosopher and Prime Minister Kautilya...
Definition
Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Seianus or Sejanus (20 BCE-31 CE) was the commander of the praetorian guard under the emperor Tiberius (14-37 CE). Coming from an obscure equestrian family, he managed to become one...
Definition
Volsinii
Volsinii (modern Orvieto), located in central Italy, was an important Etruscan town from the 8th century BCE when it was known by the name of Velzna. Representatives of the Etruscan League met...
Definition
Kapilavastu
Kapilavastu (“Place of Kapila”) is the name of the city where Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha, l. c. 563-483 BCE) grew up and lived for the first 29 years of his life before leaving to pursue...
Definition
Samaritans
The Samaritans are a religious sect of ethnic Jews living near Mount Gerizim, Nablus, Hebron, and the West Bank in Israel. This community differs from mainstream Judaism by claiming that followers...
Definition
The Seven Wonders
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were seven impressive structures famously listed by ancient writers including Philo of Byzantium, Antipater of Sidon, Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus...
Medieval Period
Definition
Muromachi Period
The Muromachi Period (Muromachi Jidai, 1333-1573 CE) refers to the period of Japanese medieval history when the Ashikaga shogun capital was located in the Muromachi area of Heiankyo (Kyoto...
Article
Saladin & the Unification of the Muslim Front: 1169-1187 CE
Saladin (c. 1137 – 1193 CE), the Muslim ruler who crushed the mighty Crusader army at the Horns of Hattin (1187 CE) and re-took Jerusalem after 88 years...
Definition
Samhain
Samhain (pronounced “SOW-in” or “SAH-win”), was a festival celebrated by the ancient Celts halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. It began at dusk around October 31st and likely...
Definition
Jurchen Jin Dynasty
The Jurchen Jin dynasty (meaning “Golden”) ruled parts of China, Mongolia, and northern Korea from 1115 to 1234 CE. The Jurchen originated from Manchuria, but in conquering the neighbouring...
Definition
Stupa
A stupa (literally “heap” or “pile”) is a reliquary, a shrine containing the remains of a holy or sainted person and/or artifacts (relics) associated with them, originating in India prior to the...
Definition
Hovenweep
Hovenweep or Hovenweep National Monument is comprised of the ruins of six Ancestral Puebloan (or Anasazi) villages located on the border between southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah in...
Definition
Theodosian Walls
The Theodosian Walls are the fortifications of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, which were first built during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450 CE). Sometimes known as...
Definition
Despotate of the Morea
The Despotate of the Morea was a semi-autonomous appanage of the later Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines retook part of the Peloponnese in Southern Greece in 1262 CE, but the Morea was...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Raphael
Raphael (1483-1520) was an Italian painter and architect who is regarded as one of the greatest of Renaissance artists alongside Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Raphael's...
Definition
Mary Rose - Henry VIII's Ill-fated Ship
The Mary Rose was a carrack warship built for the Royal Navy of Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547). The ship infamously sank in the Solent off the south coast of England...
Article
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar (aka Bhaksar or Baksar) in Bihar, northeast India, on 22-23 October 1764 saw a British East India Company (EIC) army led by Hector Munro (1726-1805) gain victory against...
Article
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling
In 1508 CE the Pope commissioned the celebrated Florentine sculptor and painter Michelangelo (1475-1564 CE) to paint scenes on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel...
Definition
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) was a lawyer and politician, often recognized as a Founding Father of the United States. He served as George Washington's aide-de-camp during the American...
Definition
Horatio Gates
Horatio Gates (1727-1806) was an English-born general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Initially viewed as a hero for his stunning victory at the...
Definition
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-1516 CE) was an Italian Renaissance artist best known for his innovative use of colour, interest in light, and emphasis on brushwork. Today, Giovanni is recognised...
Definition
James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland ruled as king from 1513 to 1542. He succeeded his father James IV of Scotland (r. 1488-1513), one of the country's most popular Stuart kings, but as he was still a...
Modern Period
Article
Badger-Woman
Badger-Woman is a story of the Arapaho nation about a noble young hunter who refuses the advances of his sister-in-law and is then betrayed by her. The tale is similar to those of other civilizations...
Definition
Harriet Tubman - Visionary American Hero
Harriet Tubman (circa 1822-1913) was a former slave, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She served as a cook, nurse...
Definition
Estado da India
The Estado da India (1505-1961) was the name the Portuguese gave to that part of their empire which stretched from India to East Asia. However, in its widest sense, the name includes all...
Definition
D-Day
D-Day was the first day of Operation Overlord, the Allied attack on German-occupied Western Europe, which began on the beaches of Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944. Primarily US, British, and Canadian...
Article
The Alamo - The Mission, The Fortress, The Shrine
The poster for John Wayne's The Alamo (1960) celebrates its history with the line, "The Mission That Became a Fortress…The Fortress That Became A Shrine…," which...
Article
The Bombing of Berlin
The bombing of Berlin, aka the Berlin Air Offensive or Battle of Berlin (Air), was a sustained bombing campaign on the German capital by the British Royal Air Force and United States...
Image Gallery
A Panorama of Northern Greece
Northern Greece describes the geographical part of the Greek administrative territory that includes the regions of Macedonia and Thrace. An escape to Macedonia and Thrace for...
Image Gallery
Claude Monet: A Gallery of 30 Paintings
In this gallery, we showcase 30 paintings by Claude Monet (1840-1926), the French painter who is regarded by many as the master of impressionism. The paintings are presented...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes, a Buddhist cave complex located 13 kilometers south of Luoyang in China's Henan province, form some of the most significant and exquisite representations of ancient...
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
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
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief...
Definition
Predynastic Period in Egypt - The Time Before History Began
The Predynastic Period in ancient Egypt is the time before recorded history, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age and on to the rise of the First Dynasty...
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
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...
Definition
Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet Cave (also known as the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave) is a Palaeolithic cave situated near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in the Ardèche region of southern France that houses impeccably preserved...
