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Featured
Definition
Mau Mau Rebellion - Nationalism & Terror in British Kenya
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952-60), led by the Kikuyu people of Kenya, was a guerrilla war conducted against British colonial rule, motivated by anger at land...
Featured
Article
Dogs in the Ancient World
Dogs have been a part of the history of human beings since before the written word. The ancient temple of Gobekli-Tepe in Turkey, dated to at least 12,000 years BCE, has provided...
Featured
Image
Map of the Allied Pacific Counteroffensive, 1942–1945 - WWII's Pacific War
From mid-1942, the Allied war against Japan shifted from containing expansion to sustained counteroffensive. The Battle of the Coral Sea (May...
Featured
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12 Ancient Scripts We Still Cannot Read - Undeciphered Scripts & Lost Languages of the Ancient World
Throughout history, writing enabled societies to record administration, trade, law, religion, and historical events. From...
Latest Content
Article
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan took place in June-July 1944. US forces engaged in a titanic three-week struggle with Japanese defenders to finally take the island, part of the Mariana Islands, during...
Article
South Carolina Declaration of Secession - Why South Carolina Left the Union
On 20 December 1860, 169 delegates met in Institute Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, to consider the motion of secession from the United...
Article
Jefferson Davis' Message to Congress - States' Rights and Defense of Slavery
There were many events leading up to the American Civil War, with tensions becoming increasingly heightened between the Fugitive Slave Act...
Definition
Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign - The US Island-Hopping Advance in the Pacific
The Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign (November 1943 to February 1944), a key strategic step forward in WWII's Pacific War, saw...
Article
Georgia's Declaration of Secession - Why Georgia Left the Union
On 19 January 1861, at a state convention held in Milledgeville, Georgia voted to secede from the United States of America, becoming the fifth state...
Definition
Bronze Age Collapse - The Decline and Fall of Mediterranean Civilization
The Bronze Age Collapse (also known as Late Bronze Age Collapse) is a modern-day term referring to the decline and fall of major Mediterranean...
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Map of the Spanish Main & Golden Age of Piracy - Treasure Fleets, Buccaneers & Pirate Havens, c. 1650–1730
Between c. 1650 and 1730, the Caribbean formed the maritime heart of Spain’s American empire and one of the principal...
Image
Map of the Allied Pacific Counteroffensive, 1942–1945 - WWII's Pacific War
From mid-1942, the Allied war against Japan shifted from containing expansion to sustained counteroffensive. The Battle of the Coral Sea (May...
Image
The Royal House of Windsor in Britain - Rebranding the Crown - From Saxe-Coburg to Windsor
The House of Windsor represents the modern phase in the long dynastic evolution of the British monarchy, reflecting how royal identity...
For You
Definition
Semiramis
Semiramis is a legendary queen thought to based on the historical Sammu-Ramat (r. 811-806 BCE) the queen regent of the Assyrian Empire who held the throne for her young son Adad Nirari III until...
Article
Gilgamesh and Huwawa
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. The work predates and informs...
Definition
Khmer Empire
The Khmer empire was a powerful state in South East Asia, formed by people of the same name, lasting from 802 CE to 1431 CE. At its peak, the empire covered much of what today is Cambodia...
Definition
Hafez Shiraz
Hafez of Shiraz (also given as Hafiz, l. 1315-1390) is considered the greatest of the Persian poets and among the most famous and admired writers in world literature. He is among the most often...
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
Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice
Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice, already the most authoritative and accessible introduction in the academic market, has been updated...
Book Review
Uncovering the Culture of Ancient Greece
Uncovering the Culture of Ancient Greece by Alix Wood is a part of the Archaeology and Ancient Cultures series. It is designed for younger, elementary school-aged children...
Statistics
| 2,965 | definitions |
| 1,742 | articles |
| 19,674 | illustrations |
| 2,619 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,568 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,326 | contributors |
| 15,311 | keywords |
| 52,403 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Article
Temple of Athena Nike
The Temple of Athena Nike, on the southwest bastion of the Acropolis, is smaller than the other buildings behind it but no less impressive. It was completed in 420 BCE during the restoration...
Article
Diodorus Siculus: The Battle of Chaeronia
In the following excerpt from his Library of History, Book XVI, chapter 14, the historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BCE) chronicles the famous Battle of Chaeronia...
Article
Agoge, the Spartan Education Program
The agoge was the ancient Spartan education program, which trained male youths in the art of war. The word means "raising" in the sense of raising livestock from youth toward...
Definition
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, constructed 532-537, continues to be revered as one of the most important structures in the world. Hagia Sophia (Greek Ἁγία Σοφία, for 'Holy Wisdom') was designed...
Definition
Harsha
Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the last ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled...
Definition
Linear B Script
Linear B script was the writing system of the Mycenaean civilization of the Bronze Age Mediterranean. The syllabic script was used to write Mycenaean Greek from c. 1500 to c. 1200 BCE. It...
Definition
Legio X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis was a legion of the Roman army formed by either Julius Caesar or Augustus. The legion spent most of its existence in the East, primarily in Judea. It participated in Corbulo’s...
Article
Celtic Feasts
Feasts were an important part of ancient Celtic culture which marked important dates in the calendar and community successes. They were, too, an opportunity to display social status and, of...
Medieval Period
Definition
Saladin
Saladin (1137-93) was the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1174-1193) who shocked the western world by defeating an army of the Christian Crusader states at the Battle of Hattin and then capturing...
Definition
Manorialism
Medieval European Manorialism (Manorial System) was the system where rural society was arranged around a manor house or castle on an estate. The smallest units of these estates were called manors...
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...
Definition
Europe
Europe is a continent forming the westernmost part of the land mass of Eurasia and comprised of 49 sovereign states. Its name may come from the Greek myth of Europa, but human habitation of the...
Article
Pilgrimage in the Byzantine Empire
Pilgrimage in the Byzantine Empire involved the Christian faithful travelling often huge distances to visit such holy sites as Jerusalem or to see in person relics of holy...
Definition
Moundville
Moundville is an archaeological site and park in Hale County, Alabama, USA on the Black Warrior River enclosing a Native American site dated to c. 1100 - c. 1450 CE. The earthen mounds which...
Definition
Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England ruled as king from 1485 to 1509 CE. Henry, representing the Lancaster cause during the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487 CE), defeated and killed his predecessor the...
Definition
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian Renaissance artist, architect, engineer, and scientist. He is renowned for his ability to observe and capture nature, scientific phenomena...
Early Modern Period
Article
Food & Drink in the Elizabethan Era
Food and drink in the Elizabethan era was remarkably diverse with much more meat and many more varieties of it being eaten by those who could afford it than is the case today...
Definition
Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England ruled as king from 1485 to 1509 CE. Henry, representing the Lancaster cause during the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487 CE), defeated and killed his predecessor the...
Definition
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I reigned as queen of England from 1558 to 1603. Her 44-year reign was so long and packed with momentous events that the second half of the 16th century is now known as the...
Article
The History of Japanese Green Tea
The history of green tea in Japan goes back to the 8th century when it was a popular stimulant for meditating monks. In this article, we examine tea's origins and cultivation...
Definition
Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva (aka Grijalba, 1489-1527) was a Spanish conquistador who explored the eastern coast of Mexico in 1518. His notable achievements included a demonstration that the Yucatán...
Definition
Kingdom of Abyssinia
The Kingdom of Abyssinia was founded in the 13th century CE and, transforming itself into the Ethiopian Empire via a series of military conquests, lasted until the 20th century CE. It...
Definition
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1524) was a Portuguese navigator who, in 1497-9, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the south-west coast...
Definition
Andreas Karlstadt
Andreas Karlstadt (also given as Carlstadt, l. 1486-1541) was a reformer, theologian, and early supporter of Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) in the movement that became known as the Protestant...
Modern Period
Image Gallery
400 Years of US History 1607-2007 - A Gallery of Caricatures by Nicha Sursock
In this gallery, we present artist Nicha Sursock's series of 43 works representing the history of the USA. The series is titled 400 years...
Definition
Electrical Telegraph
The electrical telegraph was invented in 1837 by William Fothergill Cook (1806-1879) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in England with parallel innovations being made by Samuel Morse...
Definition
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 - Northern Resistance and Tubman's Rescue of Charles Nalle
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (1850-1864) was part of the Compromise of 1850, drafted to diffuse tensions between Southern 'slave...
Article
Panic at Bull Run - Russell's Account of the Union Retreat
Panic at Bull Run is an excerpt from a longer article, The Battle of Bull Run, by the famous English journalist William H. Russell (1827 to 1907, also known...
Article
Wallace Turnage - The Slave Who Freed Himself
Many enslaved African Americans in the United States escaped bondage with the help of the Underground Railroad, but many others took it upon themselves to seize their...
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...
Definition
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer best known for his operas La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot. Puccini drew inspiration from a wide range of literary sources...
Article
Our Favourite Ancient History Shops
World History Encyclopedia’s main mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. We are achieving this through our definitions...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Stone Age
From the dawn of our species to the present day, stone-made artefacts are the dominant form of material remains that have survived to today concerning human technology. The term “Stone Age”...
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...
Definition
Homo Rudolfensis
Homo rudolfensis is an early human species that lived in East Africa between c. 2.5 and 1.8 million years ago. It is known from a handful of skull, jaw and teeth fragments that remind alternatingly...
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
Barnhouse Settlement
The Barnhouse Settlement is a Neolithic village located in Antaness, Orkney, Scotland, which was inhabited between c. 3300 and 2600 BCE. The present designation of 'Barnhouse' comes...
Definition
Homo Sapiens
Homo sapiens ('wise man'), or modern humans, are the only species of human still around today. Despite having invented countless ways of labelling the world around us, we have so far done a...
Definition
Newgrange
Newgrange is a Neolithic monument located in the region of Bru na Boinne, County Meath, Ireland. The name is fairly modern and comes from the 'newer' grange (farm) of the monks of Mellifont Abbey...
Definition
Maeshowe - The Ancient Meadow Mound of Orkney
Maeshowe (pronounced `maze-ow' or `maze-oo') is a large Neolithic chambered cairn, dating from between 3000-2800 BCE, in the Stenness parish of Orkney, Scotland. According...
