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Definition
Commodus
Commodus was Roman emperor from 180 to 192 CE. With the death of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in March of 180 CE, the long reign of the five good emperors came to an end and with it so did the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace). Those emperors who followed for the next century would witness a time of both chaos and decline. The first of these inept emperors was Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, who...
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...
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10 Crowned Monarchs on Crusade for the Holy Land (1107–1254) - Kings and Emperors Who Personally Led Crusades to Jerusalem
Between 1107 and 1254, ten crowned European monarchs personally led or joined major Crusades to the Holy...
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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...
Latest Content
Definition
Kish - The First City of Political Prominence in History
Kish was one of the most significant and politically prestigious city-states in ancient Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerian King List, it was the first...
Article
Battle of Guam - The US Takes Back its Territory in WWII
The Battle of Guam, in the Mariana Islands, took place in July and August 1944 during the Pacific War of the Second World War (1939-45). Guam had been US...
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...
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10 Crowned Monarchs on Crusade for the Holy Land (1107–1254) - Kings and Emperors Who Personally Led Crusades to Jerusalem
Between 1107 and 1254, a small number of Europe's reigning monarchs personally led or joined military...
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Map of Spanish Conquest in Northern South America - Andes, Amazon & Caribbean Expeditions, 1499–1561
Spain’s rapid expansion into South America followed the consolidation of its Caribbean footholds by 1512, marking a decisive...
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Crusader Military Orders of the Latin East - Faith, Warfare & Power in the Outremer
The military orders of the Latin East emerged during the 12th and 13th centuries as institutions combining religious devotion, communal...
For You
Definition
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was an Anglo-American Enlightenment thinker whose radical ideas were taken up by revolutionaries in both the American Revolution (1765-1783) and the French Revolution...
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
Inca Art
The art of the Inca civilization of Peru (c. 1425-1532 CE) produced some of the finest works ever crafted in the ancient Americas. Inca art is best seen in highly polished metalwork, ceramics...
Article
Henry IV of France & the Edict of Nantes
Henry of Navarre became the nominal ruler of France after the assassination of Henry III of France (r. 1574-1589), whose marriage to Louise de Lorraine produced no heir...
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
Thinking Big: How the Evolution of Social Life Shaped the Human Mind
Thinking Big: How Evolution of Social Life Shaped the Human Mind, by Drs. Clive Gamble, John Gowlett, and Robin Dunbar, explores the prehistoric...
Book Review
Norse America: The Story of a Founding Myth
To argue whether the Vikings or Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America is more of an argument of religious and heritage pride than archaeological...
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| 1,743 | articles |
| 19,675 | illustrations |
| 2,619 | videos |
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| 1,326 | contributors |
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Ancient Period
Article
Education in Roman Spain
There was no compulsory state education for children in any of the western provinces of the Roman Empire. The primary sources are sparse when it comes to the education in Roman Spain...
Article
The Roman Toga
The toga was an item of clothing worn by men who were citizens of Rome. The toga consisted of a single length of wool cloth cut in a semicircle and wrapped around the body of the wearer without...
Definition
Lasus of Hermione
Lasus of Hermione was a celebrated 6th century BCE Greek lyric poet and musician credited with making significant innovations in Greek music. The Suda (a large Byzantine record from the...
Definition
Atlas - The Greek Titan Who Held up the World
In Greek mythology, the Titan Atlas was responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, a burden given to him as punishment by Zeus. Father of...
Article
Procopius on the Plague of Justinian: Text & Commentary
The Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE and onwards) is the first fully documented case of bubonic plague in history. It is named for the emperor of the Byzantine...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Women of Ancient Egypt
The high status of women in ancient Egypt was reflected in many aspects of the culture but, notably, in the number of female deities who embodied the concept of the Divine...
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
Leonidas I of Sparta
Leonidas was the Spartan king who famously led a small band of Greek allies at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE where the Greeks valiantly defended the pass through which the Persian...
Medieval Period
Definition
The Medieval Church
Religious practice in medieval Europe (c. 476-1500) was dominated and informed by the Catholic Church. The majority of the population was Christian, and "Christian" at this time meant...
Definition
Pre-Colonial North America
Pre-Colonial North America (also known as Pre-Columbian, Prehistoric, and Precontact) is the period between the migration of the Paleo-Indians to the region between 40,000-14,000...
Definition
Alexander I of Scotland
Alexander I of Scotland reigned from 1107 to 1124 CE. Alexander continued the reorganisation of the Scottish Church, taking the Roman Catholic Church organisation as a model, and he...
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...
Article
Chester: A Time-Travelling City
It is said that Chester is the richest city in Britain in terms of archaeological and architectural treasures. One of the finest strategic outposts of the Roman Empire, it is...
Article
Scandinavia Before the Vikings
In the Merovingian period, Scandinavia was only just emerging from its prehistoric Iron Age. A process of political centralization that had begun in the Migration Period led...
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
John Cabot
John Cabot (aka Giovanni Caboto, c. 1450 - c. 1498 CE) was an Italian explorer who famously visited the eastern coast of Canada in 1497 CE and 1498 CE in his ship the Mathew (also spelt Matthew...
Early Modern Period
Article
Social Change in the British Industrial Revolution
The British Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) witnessed a great number of technical innovations, such as steam-powered machines, which resulted in new working...
Definition
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and leading Enlightenment figure. In The Wealth of Nations, he advocates free trade and limited interference in markets by governments...
Collection
The History of The East India Company
The British East India Company (EIC) was founded as a trading company in 1600. Run by a board of directors in London, the company employed a private army, first to protect...
Definition
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466/69 - 1536) was a Dutch humanist scholar considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Renaissance. A prolific writer who made full use of the printing press...
Article
Second Battle of Newbury
The Second Battle of Newbury on 27 October 1644 was a major battle during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). There was no clear winner despite the Parliamentarians having a numerical...
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...
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...
Article
African Slave Life in Colonial British America
African slave life in Colonial British America was far worse than slavery practiced in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans. The indigenous tribes took...
Modern Period
Article
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a decisive battle of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), fought by the armies of the French and Russian empires. A major French victory, Friedland...
Article
Veuve Clicquot - The Champagne Queen
Innovative, a risk-taker, and utterly relentless in her will to overcome all obstacles, one woman not only matched but beat her competitors in the male-dominated champagne...
Article
Buffalo and Eagle Wing & The American Indian Boarding School
Buffalo and Eagle Wing is a legend of the Plains Indians culture of North America, which is part origin myth and part cautionary tale on the importance...
Article
The Origin of Medicine
The Origin of Medicine is a Cherokee story on the theme of balance and respect told from the point of view of the animals and plant life. When the animal world turns against humanity...
Article
The 1944 Plot to Assassinate Hitler
A group of German generals attempted to assassinate the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) using a bomb on 20 July 1944 but failed. The conspirators were against...
Image Gallery
30 of Japan's Finest Castles
This image gallery includes 30 of the finest castles in Japan, based on their level of preservation as well as their architectural and cultural heritage. It is by no means an exhaustive...
Definition
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a German composer of Romantic music best known for his symphonies, songs, and orchestral, chamber, and piano music. A great student of the history of music...
Collection
12 Great Slave Escapes in US History - Freedom Seekers and Their Means of Escape
Although slaveholders in 19th century America regularly claimed their “property” was content with living in bondage, attempted or successful...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Ice Age
An ice age is a period in which the earth's climate is colder than normal, with ice sheets capping the poles and glaciers dominating higher altitudes. Within an ice age, there are varying pulses...
Definition
Neanderthal
Neanderthals are an extinct group of fossil humans that appeared in Western Eurasia in the mid-Middle Pleistocene and shared the stage with the first modern humans arriving in Europe from around...
Definition
Pre-Colonial North America
Pre-Colonial North America (also known as Pre-Columbian, Prehistoric, and Precontact) is the period between the migration of the Paleo-Indians to the region between 40,000-14,000...
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
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
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”...
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
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...
