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The Red Army of the USSR began the Second World War (1939-45) with a series of shocking defeats, but from late 1942, it rallied and held on to key cities like the capital Moscow, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), and Stalingrad (Volgograd). Then...

The widespread use of paper and printing were features of ancient China which distinguished it from other ancient cultures. Traditionally, paper was invented in the early 2nd century CE, but there is evidence it was much earlier. As a cheaper...

Leisure activities in the Elizabethan era (1558-1603 CE) became more varied than in any previous period of English history and more professional with what might be called the first genuine entertainment industry providing the public with...

Besides the traditional option of private tuition, Elizabethan England (1558-1603 CE) offered formal education to those able to pay the necessary fees at preparatory schools, grammar schools, and universities. There was, however, no compulsory...

Trade was a fundamental aspect of the ancient Greek world and following territorial expansion, an increase in population movements, and innovations in transport, goods could be bought, sold, and exchanged in one part of the Mediterranean...

The arrival in Europe of the printing press with moveable metal type in the 1450s CE was an event which had enormous and long-lasting consequences. The German printer Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398-1468 CE) is widely credited with the innovation...

Regional, inter-regional and international trade was a common feature of the Roman world. A mix of state control and a free market approach ensured goods produced in one location could be exported far and wide. Cereals, wine and olive oil...

Feudalism in medieval Japan (1185-1603) is the relationship between lords and vassals where land ownership and its use were exchanged for military service and loyalty. Although present earlier to some degree, the feudal system in Japan was...

Women in ancient Egypt were regarded as the equals of men in every aspect save that of occupation. The man was the head of the household and nation, but women ran the home and contributed to the stability of that nation as artisans, brewers...

Trade and commerce in the medieval world developed to such an extent that even relatively small communities had access to weekly markets and, perhaps a day's travel away, larger but less frequent fairs, where the full range of consumer goods...