Featured
Definition
Athenian Democracy
Athenian democracy refers to the system of democratic government used in Athens, Greece from the 5th to 4th century BCE. Under this system, all male citizens - the dēmos - had equal political rights, freedom of speech, and the opportunity to participate directly in the political arena. In Athenian democracy, not only did citizens participate...
Featured
Definition
Omaha Beach - D-Day's Deadliest Beach
Omaha Beach was one of two beaches attacked by the US armed forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Strong German defences on the bluff overlooking the beach made this area the most...
Featured
Image
Twelve Spices That Changed the World - Trade, Empire, and the Global Age of Spices, 1450–1650
Between c. 1450 and 1650, demand for spices and other high-value plant commodities became an important catalyst for European...
Featured
Image
Map of the Korean War, 1950–1953 - Major Campaigns and Front-Line Movements
The Korean War (1950–1953) began on 25 June 1950 when communist North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), invaded South...
Latest Content
Article
The Debate Between Sheep and Grain - A Sumerian Argument Between Animal Husbandry & Agriculture
The Debate Between Sheep and Grain (circa 2000 BCE) is one of the best-known Sumerian literary debates in a genre that was...
Definition
Korean War - How the Cold War Became a Hot War
The Korean War was a Cold War conflict that took place between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. It pitted US-led United Nations (UN) forces against the communist...
Article
G. H. Thomas's Account of the Battle of Mill Springs - Excerpts From the Official Action Report
At the Battle of Mill Springs (19 January 1862) in Kentucky, Union Brigadier General George H. Thomas had originally planned...
Definition
Franklin Pierce - The Tragic US President
Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fourteenth president of the United States. An unremarkable politician prior to his...
Article
The Home of the Fish - A Sumerian Poem of a Trap or a Welcome
The Home of the Fish is a Sumerian poetic monologue, most likely from the Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE), in which the speaker tries to...
Definition
Manhattan Project - How the Atomic Bomb Was Built
The Manhattan Project was the code name for the secret US-led programme to develop an atomic bomb during the Second World War (1939-45). Hugely expensive and employing...
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Image
Twelve Spices That Changed the World - Trade, Empire, and the Global Age of Spices, 1450–1650
Between c. 1450 and 1650, demand for spices and other high-value plant commodities became an important catalyst for European...
Image
Map of the East India Company's Rise to Power, c. 1765 - Robert Clive and the Making of Company Power in India
The British East India Company's (EIC) rise to power in India accelerated between 1757 and 1765 as a commercial...
Image
Map of the Ancient Near East after Hammurabi, c. 1700 BCE - Kingdoms, Cities & Shifting Power in the Bronze Age
By c. 1700 BCE, the political landscape of the Ancient Near East had been reshaped by the rapid rise and fragmentation...
For You
Article
In Search of the Promised Land: Saint Brendan’s Voyage
Between the 9th and the 10th century CE, in an unknown European abbey, an anonymous author told the story of an Irish monk and his 14 companions who embarked...
Definition
Antikythera Mechanism
The Antikythera mechanism (also known as the Antikythera Device), dated to the late 2nd century/early 1st century BCE (roughly 205-60 BCE) is understood as the world's first analog computer...
Definition
Carthaginian Religion
Carthage was founded by the Phoenician city of Tyre in the 9th century BCE, and along with many other cultural practices, the city adopted aspects of the religion of its founding fathers...
Definition
Brasidas
Brasidas (d. 422 BCE) was an enterprising and successful Spartan general during the early years of the second Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) between Athens and Sparta. His successes against the...
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 Philosophy of the Brahma-Sutra: An Introduction
This book is a spectacular addition to the literature on the Brahma-Sutra, a core text in Hindu religious and philosophical thought. Its estimated completion...
Book Review
Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History
The Etruscans have long been a neglected civilization of the ancient Mediterranean and reading this book you will wonder how on earth that situation was ever allowed...
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| 2,624 | videos |
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| 1,330 | contributors |
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| 55,287 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Article
Biblical Apocalypse
Apocalypse (Greek: apokalypsis, an "unveiling of secrets") is not an event, but a text that contains prophesies concerning God’s future intervention, and apocalypticism is a reference...
Definition
Kassite
It is thought that the Kassites originated as tribal groups in the Zagros Mountains to the north-east of Babylonia. Their leaders came to power in Babylon following the collapse of the ruling dynasty...
Definition
Ancient Crete
Crete is an island in the eastern Mediterranean which during the Bronze Age produced the influential Minoan civilization with its distinctive architecture and art. An important member of the...
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...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Jordan
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was established in 1946, but the region has a history stretching back thousands of years. From the megalithic dolmens through the rise of cities, the reign...
Definition
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus (l. c. 56 - c. 118 CE) was a Roman historian, active throughout the reign of Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) and the early years of Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). His best-known works...
Definition
Todaiji
Todaiji is an ancient temple complex in Nara, Japan. Founded in 738 CE and officially opened in 752 CE when Nara was the capital, the temple is the headquarters of the Buddhist Kegon sect. The...
Definition
Battle of Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a mountain pass near the sea in northern Greece which was the site of several battles in antiquity, the most famous being that between Persians and Greeks in August 480...
Medieval Period
Interview
Interview: Buddhism in Korea
In this interview, James Blake Wiener, Co-Founder and Communications Director at Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE), speaks to Emeritus Professor James H. Grayson, Professor of...
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
Timbuktu - West Africa's Great Trading Centre
Timbuktu (Timbuctoo) is a city in Mali, West Africa which was an important trade centre of the Mali Empire which flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries. The...
Definition
Khamsa of Nizami
Khamsa (also known as Quintet or Panj Ganj) is the best-known work of Nizami Ganjavi (c. 1141-1209 CE) and without a doubt one of the most prominent works of Persian literature. Written...
Definition
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku (or Tiahuanaco) was the capital of the Tiwanaku empire between c. 200 - 1000 CE and is situated in the Titicaca basin. At an altitude of 3,850 metres (12,600 ft) it was the highest city...
Article
Exploring Mount Nemrut - A Meeting Point Between East & West
Set within the Anti-Taurus mountain range in southeastern Turkey, beyond the borders of Adiyaman, is the archaeological wonder of Mount Nemrut. Forgotten...
Definition
Birka
Birka, located on the island of Björkö in present-day Sweden, was an important trading center and strongly fortified town in the Viking Age which flourished from the 8th through the 10th centuries...
Definition
Byzantine Emperor
The Byzantine Emperor ruled as an absolute monarch in an institution which lasted from the 4th to 15th century CE. Aided by ministers, high-ranking nobility, and key church figures, the...
Early Modern Period
Definition
French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of major societal and political upheaval in France. It witnessed the collapse of the monarchy, the establishment of the First French Republic...
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...
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...
Article
Colonial Government in the Spanish Empire
The apparatus of colonial government in the Spanish Empire consisted of multiple levels, starting with the monarchy and Council of the Indies at the top and moving down...
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
Marguerite de Navarre
Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549) was a writer, philosopher, diplomat, and Queen of Navarre, sister of King Francois I (Francis I of France, r. 1515-1547), mother of Jeanne d’Albret...
Definition
Providence Colony
Providence Colony (also known as Providence Plantation, modern-day Providence, Rhode Island, USA) was a settlement established in 1636 CE by the Puritan separatist theologian and pastor...
Article
The Ghost Bride
The Ghost Bride is a story from the Pawnee nation on the danger of interacting with ghosts but also emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word, whether with the living or the dead...
Modern Period
Article
Battle of New Orleans - The American Agincourt
The Battle of New Orleans (8 January 1815) was the final major battle of the War of 1812, in which a ragtag American army under Major General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845...
Article
Sydney Harbour Bridge Construction
The Sydney Harbour Bridge – affectionately known as The Coathanger by Australians – was opened to great fanfare and a touch of scandal on 19 March 1932 and was the longest...
Definition
Sam Houston - Man of Two Worlds
Sam Houston (1793-1863) was an American soldier in the War of 1812, a statesman, a general in the Texas Revolution, the first president of the Republic of Texas, and a citizen...
Article
Arsenale - The Shipyard and Arsenal of Venice
The immense commercial trade, wealth, and sea power of the Republic of Venice was rooted in the ships built in the industrial site known as the Arsenale, or arsenal...
Article
The Unseen Helpers
The Unseen Helpers is a Cherokee tale on the importance of kindness. Generosity is a central cultural value of the Cherokee nation, as it is with Native American nations generally, and...
Article
Kiowa Death-Origin Myth: Two Versions
The Kiowa nation has at least two different versions of their origin myth concerning death: How Death Came into the World and Why the Ant is Almost Cut in Two. Both explain...
Article
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - The Road to WWI
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in the Balkans in the summer of 1914 set off a chain of events that led to the First World War...
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...
Prehistoric Period
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...
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...
Definition
Ҫatalhöyük
Ҫatalhöyük is one of the largest Neolithic settlements ever discovered. Built more than 9000 years ago in modern Konya Plain, central Turkey, it is known in archaeology as a proto-city, a link...
Article
The Stonehenge Burials
A great deal has been written about why the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, southern England, was constructed. Perhaps it was designed as a temple to the ancestors...
Definition
Homo Erectus
Homo erectus, or 'upright man', is an extinct species of human that occupies an intriguing spot within the human evolutionary lineage. These prehistoric hunter-gatherers were highly successful...
Definition
Knap of Howar
The Knap of Howar is a Neolithic site on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The name is Old Norse for `mound of mounds' or `large barrow'. The building preserved at the site...
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...
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...
