Featured
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Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know - A Celebration of Transformation
Halloween is the most popular holiday in the world, after Christmas (based on level-of-celebration and consumer spending) and, increasingly...
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...
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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...
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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...
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Religions of the World
Religion has always been an integral aspect of the human condition. Archaeological evidence strongly suggests religious practices dating back to c. 60,000 BCE and it seems probable...
Article
The Battle of Pharsalus
Pharsalus, in eastern Greece, was the site of a decisive battle in 48 BCE between two of Rome's greatest ever generals: Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar. After several previous encounters...
Definition
Bes
Bes is the ancient Egyptian god of childbirth, fertility, sexuality, humor, and war, but served primarily as a protector god of pregnant women and children. He is regularly depicted as a dwarf with...
Definition
Gordian Emperors
When Maximinus Thrax was named Roman emperor upon the death of Alexander Severus, the news was not well-received by many in Rome and the Roman Senate considered him an illiterate barbarian...
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
Naukratis: Trade in Archaic Greece
Naukratis: Trade in Archaic Greece is an edited and translated adaptation of Astrid Möller's doctoral thesis from 1990. She provides the first complete account of the archaeology...
Book Review
The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom
Born in the year 894, Aethelstan was the third in a remarkable line of great warrior kings from Wessex. His grandfather, Alfred the Great, halted the...
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Ancient Period
Definition
Hammurabi - Conquerer, King, and Law-Giver
Hammurabi (reign 1792-1750 BCE) was the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, best known for his famous law code, which served as the model for others...
Article
Upanishads: Summary & Commentary
The Upanishads are among the best-known philosophical-religious works in the world and also among the oldest as the earliest texts are thought to have been composed between...
Article
The Value of Family in Ancient Greek Literature
When looking at Ancient Greek literature, one can see the importance family plays in Greek culture. We see this displayed in the Greek works Medea by Euripides and...
Definition
Tairona Civilization
The Tairona civilization - one of the Chibcha family tribes - flourished in northern Colombia between 200 CE and 1600 CE. Like the Muisca of Cundinamarca, the Tairona were known for...
Article
Inanna and Su-kale-tuda - An Ancient Condemnation of the Crime of Rape
Inanna and Su-kale-tuda (circa 1800 BCE) is a Mesopotamian myth dealing with rape and justice in ancient Sumer. The work has been interpreted as...
Collection
The Art & Culture of Ancient Greece
The ancient Greeks were masters at picking up ideas from other cultures, mixing these with their own innovations and producing unique contributions to world culture. Greek...
Article
A Visitor's Guide to Rome's Frontier in Germany
In the 2nd century CE, the Roman Empire stretched from Scotland in northern Europe to the deserts of southern Egypt, encompassing the entirety of the Mediterranean...
Definition
Third Dynasty of Egypt
The Third Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2670-2613 BCE) begins with king Djoser, famous for his Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Although there are some sources which claim a king named Sanakht (also...
Medieval Period
Article
Twelve Great Viking Leaders
The Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE) transformed every aspect of the cultures the Norse came in contact with. The Vikings usually struck without warning and, in the early years, left...
Definition
Franks
The Franks were a Germanic people who originated along the lower Rhine River. They moved into Gaul during the Migration Age, where they established one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms...
Definition
Constantine IV
Constantine IV ruled as emperor of the Byzantine empire from 668 to 685 CE. His reign is best remembered today for the five-year Arab siege of Constantinople from 674 CE, which the Byzantines...
Article
Indigenous Intercultural Health in Chile
Since the return to democracy in Chile in 1990 CE, the new governments have dealt with one of the great historical debts of the Chilean state, its relationship with the...
Article
1453: The Fall of Constantinople
The city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) was founded by Roman emperor Constantine I in 324 CE and it acted as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire...
Definition
Kilwa
Kilwa, an island located off the coast of East Africa in modern-day southern Tanzania, was the most southern of the major Swahili Coast trading cities that dominated goods coming into and out of...
Article
Magic Rings in Norse Mythology
Elements of Norse mythology abound in The Lord of the Rings, and none is so compelling as the ring itself. The One Ring is reminiscent of magic rings in Norse lore, especially...
Definition
Mutapa
Mutapa (aka Matapa, Mwenemutapa, and Monomotapa) was a southern African kingdom located in the north of modern Zimbabwe along the Zambezi River which flourished between the mid-15th and mid-17th...
Early Modern Period
Article
4 Women of the French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) sought to dismantle the oppressive society of the old regime and build a new world based on the principles of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"...
Article
Napoleon Bonaparte During the Early French Revolution (1789-1794)
Of all the careers that soared to meteoric heights during the chaotic decade of the French Revolution (1789-1799), none was more spectacular nor impactful...
Definition
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment (Age of Reason) was a revolution in thought in Europe and North America from the late 17th century to the late 18th century. The Enlightenment involved new approaches...
Article
Battle of the Pyramids
The Battle of the Pyramids (21 July 1798), or the Battle of Embabeh, was a significant battle fought during Napoleon's Campaign in Egypt and Syria. On a battlefield 15 km (9 mi) away...
Definition
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and author. Bacon is often considered one of the founders of modern scientific research and scientific method, even as "the...
Article
Women in the American Revolution
In Colonial America, women were discouraged from taking an interest in politics and were instead expected to focus only on traditionally 'feminine' matters, such as homemaking...
Definition
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction refers to the period of the French Revolution (1789-1799) between the fall of Maximilien Robespierre on 27-28 July 1794 and the establishment of the French...
Definition
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a post-modernist French philosopher and is considered one of the most influential philosophers of modern times. Aside from his critiques of social institutions...
Modern Period
Definition
Andrew Johnson - The First US President to be Impeached
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the 17th President of the United States, who was suddenly thrust into the office in 1865 after the assassination of Abraham...
Article
How the Rabbit Lost His Tail
How the Rabbit Lost His Tail is a Sioux legend, part origin myth and part didactic tale, explaining why the rabbit looks as it does, why the owl is a night bird, and how one should...
Definition
RMS Titanic
The RMS Titanic was a White Star Line ocean liner, which sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 15 April 1912. Over 1,500 men, women, and children...
Article
Friedrich Gentz's Stance on the French Revolution - The Fusion of Berlin Enlightenment and British Conservatism
The story of the French Revolution is incomplete without the Prussian-Austrian diplomat and writer Friedrich von...
Article
The Sioux who Married the Crow Chief's Daughter
The Sioux who Married the Crow Chief's Daughter is a legend of the Lakota Sioux about Chief Big Eagle who left his people to marry a woman of the enemy Crow nation...
Definition
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was a Russian composer (born in Ukraine) who was at the forefront of the Modernist music movement. His symphonies, orchestral suites, and ballets display endless...
Definition
The Tempest - Shakespeare's Magical Tragicomedy
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare (c. 1564-1616), written in 1610 or 1611, and first performed for the court of James I of England (r. 1603-1625) on 2...
Definition
Gallipoli Campaign - Churchill's Folly in World War I
The Gallipoli Campaign took place in Turkey in 1915-16 during the First World War (1914-18). This major expedition involved British, French, Australian, and...
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...
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...
Article
The Dolmens of Sicily
It is a well-known fact that Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean sea, went through a quite complex prehistoric period. So much so that it is difficult to navigate through...
Definition
Skara Brae
Skara Brae is a Neolithic Age site, consisting of ten stone structures, near the Bay of Skaill, Orkney, Scotland. Today the village is situated by the shore but when it was inhabited (c.3100-2500...
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...
Article
Prehistoric Alpine Stilt Houses
Alpine stilt houses are a unique and fascinating aspect of prehistoric architecture in the Alps, which provide valuable insights into the lives and culture of the ancient communities...
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...
Article
Stone Age Tools
As the Stone Age covers around 99% of our human technological history, it would seem there is a lot to talk about when looking at the development of tools in this period. Despite our reliance...
