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 difficult of the Normandy landings, but by the end of the day, the beachhead...
Featured
Collection
The Normandy Landings
In this collection of resources, we look at the events of D-Day, 6 June 1944, when the Allies stormed the Normandy beaches in France on the first day of a campaign to free Western Europe...
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...
Featured
Image
Map of The D-Day and the Normandy Landings, June 1944 - Operation Overlord & History's Largest Amphibious Invasion
The Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, commonly known as D-Day, marked one of the most significant...
Latest Content
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 - Building the Atomic Bomb
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...
Definition
Almourol Castle - Island Fortress of the Knights Templar
Almourol Castle in Portugal was built on a 310-meter-long and 75-meter-wide granite islet in the middle of the Tagus River. Earlier Roman and Moorish structures...
Definition
George H. Thomas - The Underrated Hero of the Union
George H. Thomas (1816 to 1870) was a Union general in the American Civil War who first came to national attention after his victory at the Battle of Mill Springs...
Article
Why Japan's Kamikaze Attacks Failed in WWII
Kamikaze attacks were made by Japanese servicemen throughout the final, desperate year of the Second World War (1939-45). Planes, piloted rockets, and boats were packed...
Definition
Abraham Lincoln - Preserver of the Union
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the sixteenth president of the United States. He led the country through the tumultuous...
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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...
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...
Image
Map of the Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1492–1504 - Routes, Landfalls & Colonial Expansion in the Americas
Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506) led four transatlantic expeditions between 1492 and 1504 under the patronage...
For You
Definition
Wampanoag Confederacy
The Wampanoag Confederacy was a coalition of over 30 Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes who lived in the region of modern-day New England, specifically from Rhode Island down...
Article
Hegra and Jabal Ikmah, AlUla, Saudia Arabia - Two different but stunning archaeological sites on the ancient incense trail
Although 30,000 archaeological sites have been identified in the AlUla area of Saudi Arabia, only 8 are...
Definition
Persian Seven-Colored Tiles
Persian Haft Rang tiles, also known as seven-colored tiles, are highly decorative glazed tiles used to adorn the exteriors and interiors of both secular and religious buildings...
Article
Norse Ghosts & Funerary Rites
In Norse belief, the soul of the deceased might wind up in any one of a number of afterlife realms. There was Valhalla, the realm of Odin where the dead warriors drank, fought...
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
Two Romes: Rome and Constantinople in Late Antiquity (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity)
This book is separated into six parts discussing Rome and Constantinople in context, the urban space and development in a comparative...
Book Review
The Forty-Seven Rōnin: The Vendetta in History
The story of the forty-seven samurai is a well-known tale not only in Japan but also around the world. There are many different versions but the plot always revolves...
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| 1,749 | articles |
| 19,722 | illustrations |
| 2,623 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
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| 1,330 | contributors |
| 15,390 | keywords |
| 54,925 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Metapontum
Metapontum, located on the southern coast of Basilicata, Italy, was an Achaean colony founded in the late 8th century BCE. Thriving on agriculture and trade, the city became one of the most...
Definition
Hyksos - The Rulers of Foreign Lands Who Transformed Egypt
The Hyksos were a West Semitic-speaking people who gained a foothold in Egypt circa 1782 BCE at the city of Avaris in Lower Egypt, thus initiating the era...
Article
Pompeii: Graffiti, Signs & Electoral Notices
The Roman town of Pompeii was preserved in metres of volcanic material following the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Often, we may experience the ancient...
Article
Ancient Egyptian Medicine: Study & Practice
In Europe, in the 19th century CE, an interesting device began appearing in graveyards and cemeteries: the mortsafe. This was an iron cage erected over a grave to keep...
Definition
Villanovan Culture
The Villanovan culture flourished during the Iron Age in central Italy from c. 1000 to c. 750 BCE. It was a precursor of the Etruscan civilization, although the two populations are actually...
Article
Disarming Aphrodite: Rediscovering the Venus de Milo
The so-called Vénus de Milo is perhaps one of the most iconic works of Western art of any period. The statue of the goddess was found on the Aegean island of...
Definition
Maya Government
Ancient Maya government was formed on the basis that rulers were thought to have been god-like, which to some might suggest one unified state. However, the consensus amongst anthropologists...
Definition
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was born 12 July 100 BCE (though some cite 102 as his birth year). His father, also Gaius Julius Caesar, was a Praetor who governed the province of Asia and his mother...
Medieval Period
Definition
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (1601-1666), as the wife of King Louis XIII of France (r. 1610-1643), was queen consort of France and of Navarre when the Kingdom of Navarre was annexed by the French Crown...
Article
Ghosts in the Middle Ages
The medieval Church informed the people's religious imagination during the Middle Ages (c. 476-1500) and the world was therefore interpreted - even by heterodox Christians - through...
Article
The Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was an arena used for chariot racing throughout the Byzantine period. First built during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus in the...
Article
Anselm's Proslogion
The Proslogion (Latin for Address or Discourse; the title was chosen because it is written in the form of a prayer addressed to God) is a book written by the medieval theologian St. Anselm...
Definition
Sengoku Period
The Sengoku Period (Sengoku Jidai, 1467-1568 CE), also known as the Warring States Period, was a turbulent and violent period of Japanese history when rival warlords or daimyo fought bitterly...
Article
Early Explorers of the Maya Civilization: From Aguilar to Waldek
Although John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood are consistently credited with the `discovery' of the Maya Civilization, there were many who...
Definition
Pietro Perugino
Pietro Perugino (c. 1450-1523), real name Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance artist who created frescoes for the Vatican's Sistine Chapel and was in demand across...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Reconstructed Palaces
In this gallery, we present reconstructions of seven famous palaces through history. The palaces, presented here in the chronological order of their construction, are: -...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Calico Jack
John Rackham (d. 1720), also known as Jack Rackham or 'Calico Jack' for his preference for cotton clothing, was an English pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Rackham took over...
Article
La Malinche - A Complicated Woman in Context
La Malinche, or Malintzin, was the primary interpreter in the retinue of Hernán Cortés during his conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century and has become one of...
Definition
Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was an English navigator and hydrographer. He was the first person to map the coastal outline of Australia in 1801-1803, following his circumnavigation of the...
Definition
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico from 1519. Taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortés plundered Mesoamerica...
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...
Collection
12 Great Scientists of the Scientific Revolution
In this collection, we gather together some of the greatest minds of the Scientific Revolution (1500-1700) when European science made great leaps forward, particularly...
Collection
Portugal & the Age of Exploration
The Portuguese built an empire from 1420 onwards that was largely composed of trade centres dotted around the coasts of three continents. This colonial enterprise was driven...
Definition
Château d'Amboise
The Château d'Amboise, located in the Loire Valley, in central France, was built over several centuries and was the centre of royal power during the Renaissance (from the 15th to the early...
Modern Period
Article
The Gilded Age Estates of Staatsburg, New York
The great estates of the Gilded Age were more than lavish displays of wealth for the American aristocracy c. 1870-1917, they supported the economy of the local communities...
Collection
British House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a royal house that first ruled Hanover and then Great Britain from 1714 to 1901. The British Hanoverians began with George I when he succeeded the last of...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of North American Plains Indians
The Great Plains of North America were once home to over 30 distinct Native American nations now referred to as the Plains Indians, Native Americans of the Plains and...
Article
A Teton Ghost Story
A Teton Ghost Story is a tale from the Native American Teton (Tetonwan) of the Oceti Sakowin (People of the Seven Council Fires), better known as the Sioux, on one of the possibilities...
Definition
Thames Tunnel
The Thames Tunnel was completed in 1843 and connects the two banks of the River Thames at Rotherhithe and Wapping in London. The 20-year project was masterminded by Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849...
Article
Chinookan Peoples, Creation Story, & Blue Jay Tales
The Chinook people (Chinookan peoples) are a Native American nation of the US Pacific Northwest who inhabited the region of modern-day southwest Washington state...
Article
Falling Star
Falling Star is a Cheyenne tale of the great hero Hotoketana'ohtse ("Falling Star") who came from the heavens to stand up for those who could not defend themselves, slay monsters, and save...
Article
Cheyenne Creation Story
The Cheyenne Creation Story is the account of the beginning of the world, the seasons, and the first people in the time before time when all was water, and nothing existed but the...
Prehistoric Period
Image Gallery
A Gallery of the Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 7000-c. 600 BCE) is among the oldest in the world but, as it was only “discovered” in 1829 – after ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian...
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
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
Homo Naledi
Homo naledi is an extinct species of human discovered in Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013 CE in what has become the biggest single-species hominin find in Africa to this day, which is...
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
Ceide Fields
The Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, on the western coast of Ireland, are recognised as one of the oldest and largest Stone Age farming sites in the world, dating back to c. 3700 BCE...
Article
Dynamics of the Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution began between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago at several widely dispersed locations across the world, when our ancestors first began planting and raising...
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...
