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
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...
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...
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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...
Image
Map of the Norman Conquest of England, 1066–1086 - From Hastings to Domesday – The Making of Norman England
The Norman Conquest of England began in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor (reign 1042–1066) without a direct...
Image
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...
For You
Definition
Orion - The Hunter Who Became a Constellation
Orion was the great hunter of Greek mythology who was famed for his good looks and many love affairs. Either his assault of or admiration from Artemis resulted in...
Article
Historical Problems in the Trial(s) & Crucifixion in the Gospels
The story of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ is reenacted every year by Christians all over the world in the Easter liturgy. The story has...
Definition
Democritus
Democritus (l. c. 460 - c. 370 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and younger contemporary of Socrates, born in Abdera (though other sources cite Miletus) who, with his teacher Leucippus (l. 5th century...
Article
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right was a list of demands of King Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649) issued by Parliament in June 1628. The petition came after three years of disagreements between the...
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
Nero: Emperor and Court
Of the many emperors of Rome, there is one who has been given considerable attention and is often portrayed in a negative light. In Nero: Emperor and Court, John F. Drinkwater challenges...
Book Review
Religion and Ideology in Assyria (Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records)
Beate Pongratz-Leisten is a Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at New York University (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World...
Statistics
| 2,975 | definitions |
| 1,749 | articles |
| 19,721 | illustrations |
| 2,623 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,791 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,329 | contributors |
| 15,389 | keywords |
| 54,796 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Greek Archaic Period
The Greek Archaic Period (c. 800-479 BCE) started from what can only be termed uncertainty, and ended with the Persians being ejected from Greece for good after the battles of Plataea...
Definition
Syracuse
The city of Syracuse is located on the east coast of Sicily and was originally a Greek colony founded by Corinth in 734 BCE. The city enjoyed a period of expansion and prosperity under the tyrant...
Definition
Yazidism
Yazidism is a syncretic, monotheistic religion practiced by the Yazidis, an ethnoreligious group which resides primarily in northern Iraq, northern Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Yazidism is...
Article
Sioux Ceremonial Pipe
The Sioux ceremonial pipe is a sacred object of the Sioux nation used in the seven sacred rites as well as other observances to connect the people with the Great Spirit (Wakan Tanka...
Image Gallery
Faces of the Roman Empire: From Augustus to Domitian
A series of facial reconstructions of early Roman emperors from the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BCE - 68 CE) to the Flavian dynasty (69-96 CE). From the peaceful...
Definition
Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli (pron. Huit-zi-lo-pocht-li) or 'Hummingbird of the South' or 'Blue Hummingbird on the Left' was one of the most important deities in the Aztec pantheon and for the Méxica...
Definition
Seneca
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Seneca the Younger, l. 4 BCE - 65 CE) was a Roman author, playwright, orator, and most importantly a tutor and advisor to the Roman emperor Nero (r. 54-68 CE). Influenced...
Article
Family Planning in Greco-Roman Antiquity
Family planning was a topic of vital importance in the ancient Mediterranean. Some of the earliest medical literature from ancient Greece and Rome deals with fertility...
Medieval Period
Article
Stave Churches: Norway’s National Treasures
Stave churches are the most famous medieval buildings in Norway and are admired for their unique architecture and beautiful decorations. They are named after the staves...
Definition
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1095-1102) was a military campaign by western European forces to recapture the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control. Conceived by Pope Urban II following...
Article
Madhubani Paintings: People’s Living Cultural Heritage
Mithila, a region in the state of Bihar, northern India (and also stretching into Nepal), has an important tradition of knowledge in the form of paintings...
Definition
Isabella of France
Isabella of France (c. 1292-1358) was the queen consort of Edward II of England (r. 1307-1327). After heading a coup to overthrow her husband, she ruled as regent for their young son...
Definition
Aihole
Aihole (Ayyavole) was an ancient walled city in Karnataka, central India. Aihole was the first regional capital of the Karnakata region under the rule of the Chalukyas. The large number of early...
Definition
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441 CE) was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter who was famous in his own lifetime for his mastery of oil painting, colouring, naturalistic scenes, and eye for detail...
Article
Viking Prophecy: The Poem Völuspá of the Poetic Edda
The Völuspá (Old Norse: Vǫluspá) is a medieval poem of the Poetic Edda that describes how the world might have come into shape and would end according to Norse...
Article
Religion in the Middle Ages
Religion in the Middle Ages, though dominated by the Catholic Church, was far more varied than only orthodox Christianity. In the Early Middle Ages (c. 476-1000), long-established...
Early Modern Period
Article
Loyola's Spiritual Exercises
The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola (1548) is a manual of disciplines formulated by Ignatius Loyola (l. 1491-1556) to prepare one spiritually for Christian service. They...
Article
African Americans in the American Revolution
On the eve of the American Revolution (1765-1789), the Thirteen Colonies had a population of roughly 2.1 million people. Around 500,000 of these were African Americans...
Article
The Idea of the Sublime in the Enlightenment
During the European Enlightenment, a concept was developed in philosophy and aesthetics called the sublime. In the arts, literature, and the works of intellectuals...
Definition
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648, also known as The Dutch Revolt and Dutch War of Independence) was a military conflict between the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands and Spain, which...
Article
The Wreck of the HMS Gloucester
The HMS Gloucester was wrecked in the North Sea, about 30 miles off the shore of Norfolk, England, shortly after dawn on 6 May 1682. It was a warship in the navy of Charles II...
Definition
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was an American statesman from South Carolina who played an important role in the politics of the American Revolution (1765-1789). He served as president of the Second...
Article
Dogs & Their Collars in the Age of Enlightenment - From "Machines" to Pampered Pets
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, dogs were considered little more than "machines" which performed certain tasks, such as guarding...
Definition
Pequot War
The Pequot War (1636-1638) was a conflict between the Native American Pequot tribe and the English immigrants who had established settlements in New England between 1620-1630. The immediate...
Modern Period
Article
Olaudah Equiano's Account of the Middle Passage
Olaudah Equiano (l. c. 1745-1797, also known as Gustavus Vassa) was an African of the Igbo village of Essaka, of the Kingdom of Benin (modern Nigeria), who was enslaved...
Definition
SS Great Britain
The SS Great Britain was a steam-powered ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) which sailed on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in May 1845. It was the largest...
Article
Notes on the State of Virginia
Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) is the only full-length work by Thomas Jefferson (l. 1743-1826) published in his lifetime and was written in response to questions from...
Article
Battle of Omdurman - Britain's Vengeance for the Death of General Gordon
The Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898 saw General Kitchener lead an Anglo-Egyptian-Sudanese army to victory over 50,000 Mahdists in Sudan...
Article
Trade Goods of the East India Company
The English East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and it came to control both trade and territories in India, as well as a trade monopoly with China. Goods the EIC...
Definition
Doolittle Raid - The First Audacious US Strike on Tokyo in WWII
The Doolittle Raid saw 16 US B-25 bombers hit Tokyo and other targets in Japan on 18 April 1942. This was the first time that Japan's home islands had...
Definition
1918 Flu Pandemic - The Deadliest Pandemic in History
The Spanish flu (so-named because the Spanish press openly reported on the outbreak while other World War I belligerents suppressed the news) broke out in March...
Article
Battle of the Coral Sea - First Aircraft Carrier Battle in History
The Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval battle in history between aircraft carriers, took place between 4 and 8 May 1942 during the Second World...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Homo Floresiensis
Homo floresiensis, nicknamed 'hobbit' because it only stood about 1 meter tall, is an extinct species of fossil human that lived on the island of Flores, Indonesia during the Pleistocene...
Article
Dolmens of Ancient Korea
Dolmens (in Korean: koindol or chisongmyo) are simple structures made of monolithic stones erected during the late Neolithic period or Korean Bronze Age (1st millennium BCE). In ancient...
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...
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...
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
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara is an ancient Neolithic Age site in County Meath, Ireland. It was known as the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the site of coronations, a place of assembly for the enacting...
Article
The Megalithic Temples of Malta
The megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo rank amongst the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. Construction of these temples started c. 3500 BCE, an impressive architectural...
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...
