Featured
Definition
Ming Porcelain
The porcelain of the Ming Dynasty of China (1368-1644 CE) benefitted, as did other arts, from the economic success of the 15th century CE, in particular, and the consequent surge in demand for quality handcraft production both at home and abroad. The Ming dynasty is rightly famous for its fine ceramics and especially the cobalt blue-and-white porcelain produced in...
Featured
Definition
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807-1814), also known as the War of Spanish Independence, was a major conflict of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) that was waged in the Iberian Peninsula by Portugal...
Featured
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12 Women Rulers of the Ancient World - Queens, Regents & Empresses Who Exercised State Power
Political power in the ancient world rested on dynastic legitimacy, control of court and military institutions, religious authority...
Featured
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Die Like an Egyptian: How to Reach the Field of Reeds (Aaru) - An Afterlife Guide from New Kingdom Egypt (c. 1550-1069 BCE)
Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife centered on the idea that death marked the beginning of...
Latest Content
Definition
Cheka - Lenin's Secret Police
The Cheka (Vecheka) Secret Police was created by Vladimir Lenin's Soviet government in December 1917 to ruthlessly stamp out all opposition to the Bolshevik Revolution. During...
Collection
England's Peasant Uprising of 1381
In this collection of resources, we examine the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381, a popular uprising that sought dramatic social changes such as the removal of the poll...
Article
Dialogue of Pessimism - Meaning of Life or Satire?
The Dialogue of Pessimism (circa 1000 BCE) is a Babylonian poem featuring a master and his slave in ten exchanges during which the master proposes an action, and...
Definition
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor - The Great Enlightened Despot
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741-1790), was the son and successor of Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and Francis Stephen, aka Francis I (1708-1765), of the...
Definition
Taj Mahal - Symbol of Love, Power, & Mughal Architecture
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum complex in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to inter and memorialise his wife...
Article
A. H. Foote's Account of the Battle of Fort Henry - Letter to His Wife on the Day of Victory
Union Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote (1806-1863) came to national attention during the American Civil War following his naval victory...
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Map of Peter the Great and the Russian Empire, c. 1725 - War, Reform, and Russia’s Rise as a Great Power
The Russian Empire under Peter I (reign 1682–1725) emerged from an intensified process of military and state-building...
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Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Tsar Samuel - Campaigns against Byzantium and the Struggle for the Balkans
On 3 October 2026, Greece is handing over to Bulgaria the remains identified as those of Tsar Samuel (Samuil), ruler...
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Map of the The Roman Empire under the Flavian Dynasty, c. 96 - Provinces, Frontiers, and Expansion after 69 CE
The Roman Empire at the close of the Flavian dynasty (69–96 CE) reflected a period of political recovery and administrative...
For You
Definition
Medieval Jousting
Jousts were, from the 13th to 16th century CE, a popular part of the European medieval tournament where knights showed off their martial skills by riding against one another with wooden...
Article
Battle of Fleurus
The Battle of Fleurus (26 June 1794) was the climax of the Flanders Campaign of 1792-95 and was one of the most decisive battles in the War of the First Coalition (1792-1797). A French...
Article
Religion & Superstition in Colonial America
Religion and superstition went hand in hand in Colonial America, and one’s belief in the first confirmed the validity of the second. The colonists' worldview was completely...
Definition
Roman Government
Western Civilization is forever indebted to the people of ancient Greece and Rome. Among the numerous contributions these societies made are in the fields of art, literature and philosophy...
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
Alexander the Great: A New Life of Alexander
Alexander the Great's profound impact on Roman culture is undeniable, particularly when considering the fusion of Greco-Oriental influences during the Hellenistic...
Book Review
What Is Paleolithic Art? Cave Paintings and the Dawn of Human Creativity
Clottes' book, translated from the French, introduces the reader to current issues in the study of parietal art, the technical term for prehistoric...
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| 1,754 | articles |
| 19,787 | illustrations |
| 2,641 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,051 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
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| 15,495 | keywords |
| 57,866 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Masada
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt...
Article
A Brief History of the Dog Collar
The dog collar, so often taken for granted, has a long and illustrious history. Anyone fortunate enough to share their life with a dog in the present day is participating in...
Definition
Coyolxauhqui
Coyolxauhqui (pron. Koy-ol-shauw-kee) was the Aztec goddess of the Moon or Milky Way who was famously butchered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, in Aztec mythology. This story...
Article
The Propaganda of Octavian and Mark Antony's Civil War
Propaganda played an important role in Octavian (l. 63 BCE - 14 CE) and Mark Antony's (l. 83 – 30 BCE) civil war, and once victorious at the Battle of Actium...
Definition
Cao Cao
Cao Cao (c. 155-220 CE) was a military dictator in ancient China during the end of the Han dynasty. Something more than a mere warlord, Cao Cao supported a puppet emperor and governed a large area...
Definition
Narmer
Narmer (c. 3150 BCE) was the first king of Egypt who unified the country peacefully at the beginning of the First Dynastic Period (c. 3150 - 2613 BCE). He has also, however, been cited as the last...
Article
Childbirth in Ancient Rome
Childbirth in ancient Rome was considered the main purpose of marriage. Roman girls married in their early teens, and in elite society, some married before they reached puberty...
Definition
Acquarossa
Acquarossa, located in the north of Italy's Lazio region, is the site of an Etruscan settlement of unknown name. Although much smaller than other, more famous Etruscan towns, Acquarossa has...
Medieval Period
Definition
Quran
The Quran (also written Qur’an or Koran), revealed in the 7th century, is the sacred book of Islam, following in the tradition of the Abrahamic faiths, with the Torah as the sacred book of Judaism...
Definition
Battle of Nicopolis
The Battle of Nicopolis in September 1396 CE, also known as the Nicopolis Crusade, was an attempt by French, Hungarian, and other European allies to curb the threat of the Ottoman Turks...
Collection
France v England: The 100 Years' War
There was a bitter rivalry between France and England throughout the 14th and 15th century CE and their frequent battles in this period are now known to history as the Hundred...
Definition
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn (pron. Koo-kul-in), also Cúchulainn, is one of the greatest heroes of Irish-Celtic mythology, particularly the Ulster Cycle. The son of another cultural hero-figure, Lugh, Cú Chulainn...
Definition
Old Dongola
Old Dongola (aka Dungulah or Dunkula), located in modern Sudan, was the capital of the ancient Nubian kingdom of Dongola (aka Makuria or Makurra) which flourished from the 6th to 14th century...
Definition
Guinevere
Guinevere is the Queen of Britain, wife of King Arthur, and lover of Sir Lancelot in the Arthurian Legends best known in their standardized form from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469...
Definition
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram (sometimes simply called Kanchi or Kanci) is an ancient city in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India. Once a capital of the Pallava dynasty, Kanchipuram was also a noted centre...
Article
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Yarmouk River (or Yarmuk River; also written as the Battle of Jabiya-Yarmuk) was fought over the course of six days, from 15 to 20 August 636 CE, between the Muslim army of...
Early Modern Period
Article
Doge's Palace in Venice
The Doge's Palace, or Palazzo Ducale, in Venice, Italy, was the seat of power of one of the world's most powerful city-states, as the Venetian Republic dominated the Mediterranean...
Article
Hei Tiki
The hei tiki is a small personal adornment, fashioned by hand from tough pounamu (New Zealand greenstone or nephrite jade), and is worn around the neck. Hei means something looped around the neck...
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...
Definition
Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare's Greatest Love Story
Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy written by William Shakespeare. First printed in 1597, it remains one of the most famous works of Western literature and...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Historical Maps
This gallery of 30 maps traces the history of cartography, with examples of maps made by cultures from the Paleolithic to the early modern period. The maps cover cities, states...
Definition
Assembly of Notables of 1787
The meeting of the Assembly of Notables in 1787 was a last-ditch effort by the ministers of King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) to fix the disastrous condition of French finances...
Article
Cibola - The Seven Cities of Gold & Coronado
The Seven Cities of Cibola are the mythical lands of gold that the Spanish of the 16th century believed existed somewhere in the southwest of North America, comparable...
Definition
Festival of the Federation
The Festival of the Federation (Fête de la Fédération) was a celebration that occurred on the Champ de Mars outside Paris on 14 July 1790, the first anniversary of the Storming of...
Modern Period
Definition
John Bell Hood - The Most Aggressive Confederate General
John Bell Hood (1831-1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Known for his aggressive style of leadership, he initially...
Article
Battle of Cold Harbor - The 20-Minute Assault That Caused 7,000 Union Casualties
The Battle of Cold Harbor (31 May to 12 June 1864) was the final major engagement of the Overland Campaign, the large-scale Union offensive...
Image Gallery
30 of Japan's Finest Castles
This image gallery includes 30 of the finest castles in Japan, based on their level of preservation as well as their architectural and cultural heritage. It is by no means an exhaustive...
Image Gallery
5 British Royal Houses
In this gallery, we look at the history of the last five royal houses of Britain through their family trees. From the Wars of the Roses to the current House of Windsor, we see an evolution...
Article
8 Innovative Weapons of World War I - How New Tech Transformed 20th-century Warfare
The First World War (1914-18) has a close association with static trench warfare dominated by heavy artillery and machine guns, but the...
Definition
White Bull
White Bull (Tatanka Ska, l. 1849-1947) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux warrior, nephew of Sitting Bull (l. c. 1837-1890), who is among the many claimed to have killed Lt. Colonel George Armstrong...
Article
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein (Oct-Nov 1942) was a major battle in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45). The British Eighth Army...
Definition
Gettysburg Address - Lincoln's Most Important Speech
The Gettysburg Address was a speech delivered by US President Abraham Lincoln on 19 November 1863. It was given during the formal dedication of the Soldiers’...
Prehistoric Period
Article
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief...
Definition
Dolmen
A dolmen is a megalithic structure typically formed from a large horizontal stone slab resting on two or more upright slabs. The oldest European examples are found in Brittany, northern France...
Definition
Homo Naledi
Homo naledi is an extinct species of human discovered in Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013 CE in what has become the biggest single-species hominin find in Africa to this day, which is...
Definition
The Sweet Track
The Sweet Track is a Neolithic timber walkway, located in the Somerset Levels, England. It was originally part of a network of tracks built to provide a dry path across the marshy ground...
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
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
Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a Stone Age site in north-west France distinguished by its two large stone tombs and massive granite standing stone or menhir. The monumental structures, all built within metres...
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...
