Images

A cartoon from a 1906 edition of Punch magazine highlighting the rapacious regime of Leopold II, King of the Belgians (here depicted as a snake), in the Congo Free State (Belgian Congo from 1908). Congo was ruthlessly exploited for its natural...

One of the most remarkable builds of the ancient world, the metropolis of Caesarea Maritima was literally built from the ground up. In the latter years of the 1st century BCE, as a port city, it served Rome’s purpose in extending its military...

The Hittite Empire emerged in central Anatolia during the early second millennium BCE and developed into one of the major powers of the Late Bronze Age. Centered on Hattusa, it ruled over a culturally diverse realm rooted in the older land...

Enheduanna, high priestess of Ur, daughter of Sargon of Akkad, the first author in the world known by name. Cropped image from the Disc of Enheduanna, an artifact discovered in 1927. Object B16665, Courtesy of the Penn Museum.

The mid-19th century transformation of Europe was driven above all by the unification of Italy and Germany, which reduced long-standing political fragmentation and introduced powerful new nation-states into an already competitive continental...

The rise of Constantine I "the Great" (c. 272–337 CE; reign 306–337 CE) occurred amidst the political instability of the later Roman Empire, following the collapse of Diocletian’s Tetrarchic system. Proclaimed emperor by his troops at Eboracum...

Coronation of Maria Theresa as Queen of Hungary in 1741, oil on canvas, c. 18th century.

Portrait of Frederick II of Prussia, the future Frederick the Great, shortly after ascending to the throne, oil on canvas by Antoine Pesne, c. 1740s. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria shortly after coming to power, oil on canvas by Martin van Meytens, c. 1744. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

George II at the Battle of Dettingen, oil on canvas by Robert Alexander Hillingford, 1902. Depicted here is King George II of Great Britain directing troops at the Battle of Dettingen, 1743, part of the War of the Austrian Succession.