Featured
Article
Clocks in the Scientific Revolution
Keeping good time proved an elusive objective for centuries, and it was only in the second half of the 17th century, during the Scientific Revolution (1500-1700), that clocks were made which lost seconds rather than minutes each day. The breakthrough...
Featured
Definition
Literature - The Artistic Expression of the Human Experience
Literature (from the Latin Littera meaning "letters" and referring to an acquaintance with the written word) is the written work of a specific culture...
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Alexander the Great’s Eight Bodyguards - The Somatophylakes and the Macedonian Empire
Under Philip II of Macedon (reign 359–336 BCE) and Alexander the Great (reign 336–323 BCE), the somatophylakes (“bodyguards”) formed...
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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...
Latest Content
Article
N. Bart Pearce Account of the Battle of Wilson's Creek - The Confederate View of the Conflict
Nicholas Bartlett Pearce (better known as N. Bart Pearce, 1828 to 1894) was a brigadier general in the Arkansas Militia who allied...
Definition
Thaddeus Stevens - American Jacobin
Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was a US politician and abolitionist, who rose to prominence in the 1860s during the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras. A leader of the...
Definition
Battle of Wilson's Creek - The "Bull Run of the West"
The Battle of Wilson's Creek (also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, 10 August 1861) was the second major battle of the American Civil War and the first major...
Article
Eyewitness Accounts of the Pacific War - From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
The Pacific War (1941-45) was the theatre of the Second World War that saw Imperial Japan and the United States, with its allies, fight for control...
Definition
US Presidential Election of 1860 - The Election That Caused a Civil War
The election of 1860 was one of the most pivotal moments in the political history of the United States and was one of the direct causes of the...
Article
Battle of Okinawa - WWII's Last Major Battle
The Battle of Okinawa (April to June 1945) was the largest amphibious assault and last major battle of the Second World War (1939-45). A massive naval fleet landed...
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Map of the Caucasus after the Peace of Nisibis 299 CE - Roman and Sasanian Power on the Caucasian Frontier
The Peace of Nisibis (299 CE) ended the Roman–Sasanian War of 296–299 CE after Galerius, Caesar under the Roman emperor...
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Map of the African Slave Trade Networks, c. 1750 - Atlantic, Trans-Saharan, Red Sea & Indian Ocean Routes
By c. 1750, the slave trades affecting Africa were entering a period of major transformation. Long-established trans-Saharan...
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Map of the Holy Roman Empire under Otto the Great c. 972 - The Formation of Imperial Rule in Medieval Europe
The Holy Roman Empire emerged from the fragmentation of the Carolingian world during the 9th and 10th centuries...
For You
Definition
The Christmas Truce - When the Fighting Paused in World War I
The Christmas Truce of 1914 occurred on the Western Front during the First World War (1914-18). On Christmas Eve soldiers in the trenches spontaneously...
Definition
Queen Anne's War - When Europe's Succession Dispute Ignited American Frontiers
Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) was the second major colonial conflict in North America, fought between the colonies of England – Great Britain...
Definition
Gorgias
Gorgias (l. c. 427 BCE) was a Greek Sophist and philosopher, considered the greatest Rhetorician of his day. He is said to have created several aspects of public speaking still in use and to have...
Definition
Teutonic Knight
A medieval Teutonic Knight was a member of the Catholic military Deutscher Orden or Teutonic Order, officially founded in March 1198 CE. The first mission of the Teutonic knights was to...
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
A Nation So Conceived: Abraham Lincoln and the Paradox of Democratic Sovereignty
Michael Zuckert, the Nancy R. Dreux Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, has included his analysis...
Book Review
Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind
Edith Hall has a very interesting approach to providing an overview of Ancient Greek history and culture. Rather than a simple...
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Ancient Period
Definition
Roman Invective
Roman invective (uituperatio lat.) was the rhetorical and literary genre that aimed at systematically and publicly blaming a political foe to set him aside from the whole community and turn...
Article
The Column of Marcus Aurelius
The Column of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina which stands in Piazza Colonna in Rome is thought to have been erected by Commodus in memory of his father and mother sometime around...
Definition
Confucianism
Confucianism is a philosophy developed in 6th-century BCE China, which is considered by some a secular-humanist belief system, by some a religion, and by others a social code. The broad range...
Article
Plagues of the Near East 562-1486 CE
Disease has been a part of the human condition since the beginning of recorded history – and no doubt earlier – decimating populations and causing widespread social upheaval...
Article
The Art of Dialectic & Zeno of Elea
The creation of the art of dialectic is credited to Zeno of Elea, the philosophical champion of Parmenides’ claim that the essence of reality is One and unchanging. Zeno...
Definition
Queen Himiko
Queen Himiko, also known as Pimiko or Pimiku (183? - 248 CE), was a 3rd-century CE ruler of the territory in ancient Japan known as Hsieh-ma-t'ai or Yamatai, later to be known as Yamato. Considered...
Article
Herodotus on Burial in Egypt
Herodotus' section of his Histories on burial in ancient Egypt (Book II.85-90) is an accurate description of Egyptian mummification, but he purposefully omits the spiritual significance...
Article
The Women of Athena's Cult
In ancient Athens, women had no life outside the home unless they were prostitutes or were engaged in religious activities such as festivals. Every Greek deity in every city-state...
Medieval Period
Article
Vikings: Jewelry, Weapons & Social Change at The VIKINGR Exhibition
In April 2019, The Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, opened its doors to the new exhibition VÍKINGR, containing rich treasures and unique...
Definition
Ibadat Khana
The House of Worship or the Ibadat Khana was established by Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542-1605 CE) for conducting religious debates and discussions among theologians and professors of different...
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: -...
Collection
The Life of Medieval Knights
In the Middle Ages, knights were at the top of the social ladder. With the best training, the best clothes, the best weapons and, supposedly, the best manners, they were what everyone...
Definition
Leo III
Leo III was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 717 to 741 CE. He founded the Isaurian dynasty which ruled until 802 CE. The emperor was a talented administrator, and he revamped the empire's...
Article
Vikings in Wales
The Norse may have ruled parts of northern Wales in the early 11th century, specifically in Anglesey and Gwynedd, though the degree to which is unclear. Old Norse had relatively little impact...
Definition
Maya Religion
Maya religious beliefs are formed on the notion that virtually everything in the world contains k'uh, or sacredness. K'uh and k'uhul, similar terms which are used to explain the spirituality...
Article
Christianization of Iceland
The Christianization of Iceland was a smooth transition compared to other Scandinavian countries. While in Norway, Denmark, or Sweden, royal authority played a crucial role in conversion...
Early Modern Period
Definition
War in the Vendée
The War in the Vendée was a counter-revolutionary uprising that took place in the Vendée department of France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution (1789-99). In response to the...
Definition
Parson's Cause
The Parson's Cause was a legal and political controversy that arose in the British colony of Virginia in the early 1760s. In response to the royal veto of the Two Penny Act, a policy passed...
Definition
Muqarnas
Muqarnas is a three-dimensional architectural decorative element that flourished in its most complete form mainly during the Islamic period and is most pervasively used in domes and semi-domes...
Definition
John Carver
John Carver (l. 1584-1621 CE) was one of the leaders of the Mayflower expedition, first signer of the Mayflower Compact, and first governor of Plymouth Colony. He was a prominent member of the...
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
Mayflower
The Mayflower is the name of the cargo ship that brought the Puritan separatists (known as pilgrims) to North America in 1620 CE. It was a type of sailing ship known as a carrack with three masts...
Article
Ten North American Native Facts You Need To Know
The history and culture of the Native Peoples of North America are often overlooked as they have been largely eclipsed by the history of the European settlers who...
Definition
Edward Low
Edward 'Ned' Low was an English pirate active in the Caribbean and eastern Atlantic from 1721 to 1724 during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Probably the most sadistic and cruelest of...
Modern Period
Article
Second Battle of the Marne - The Beginning of the End for Germany in WWI
The Second Battle of the Marne took place in July and August 1918 and saw Germany's last advance of the Spring Offensive rebuffed by a strong...
Definition
Chief Joseph (Eastman's Biography)
Chief Joseph (Heinmot Tooyalakekt, l. 1840-1904) was the leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Native American nation, who, in 1877, resisted forced relocation from...
Article
Cheyenne Afterlife
The Cheyenne afterlife is envisioned as a continuation of life on earth. The spirit leaves the body and travels the long road of the Milky Way to arrive at a village very like what one...
Collection
Twelve Stories of the Plains Indians
The stories of the North American Natives articulate and preserve their culture and history. Although the indigenous Nations of North America were, and remain, diverse, storytelling...
Definition
Juno Beach
Juno Beach was attacked primarily by forces of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as part of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The Canadian troops initially suffered heavy casualties...
Article
Battle of Gazala - Rommel's Greatest Victory
The Battle of Gazala in Libya in May-June 1942 was a decisive victory for German and Italian forces led by General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) against British, Commonwealth...
Definition
East India Company
The English East India Company (EIC or EEIC), later to become the British East India Company, was founded in 1600 as a trading company. With a massive private army and the backing of the...
Article
Italian Colonialism in Eritrea
Eritrea, located on the Red Sea coast of the Horn of Africa, was the ‘firstborn’ colony of Italy. The potential of a trade centre and naval base at Assab first attracted Italian...
Prehistoric Period
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...
Definition
Göbekli Tepe
“Göbekli Tepe” (“Hill with a Navel”, or “Potbelly Hill”) is found approximately 16 km (10 miles) northeast of Şanlıurfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey once named “Edessa” and known...
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
Oldowan Tools
The appearance of simple stone tools, widely known as Oldowan tools or the Oldowan industry, marked the beginning of our technological revolution. To our knowledge, these artifacts appeared...
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...
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
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...
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...
