Featured
Definition
Socrates
Socrates of Athens (l. c. 470/469-399 BCE) is among the most famous figures in world history for his contributions to the development of ancient Greek philosophy which provided the foundation for all of Western Philosophy. He is, in fact, known as the "Father of Western Philosophy" for this reason. He was originally a sculptor who seems to have also had a number of other occupations, including soldier...
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...
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
Battle of Fort Donelson - The Victory that Might Have Won the War in the West
The Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) was a Union victory in the Western theater of the American Civil War on the Cumberland River...
Article
Paper Money in Song China
Paper money was invented in China and became widely used by merchants during the Song dynasty (960-1279), principally as proof of cash holdings in state treasuries and for larger...
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...
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Map of Edmond Halley’s Scientific Voyages - Exploration, Astronomy & Navigation, 1676–1703
The travels of Edmond Halley (1656–1742) illustrate how the Scientific Revolution increasingly joined theoretical knowledge with...
Image
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...
For You
Interview
Interview: Scotland & the Flemish People
The Flemish are among the most important and perhaps the most underappreciated immigrant groups to have shaped the history of medieval and early modern Scotland. They...
Definition
Jeanne d'Albret
Jeanne d’Albret (Joan III of Navarre, l. 1528-1572) was Queen of Navarre, daughter of Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549) and niece of King Francois I (Francis I of France, r. 1515-1547...
Article
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie (10 September 1813), also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was a decisive naval engagement in the War of 1812. It saw a squadron of US ships, under Oliver Hazard...
Definition
Pelopidas
Pelopidas (c. 410 - 364 BCE) was a gifted Theban general and leader of the elite Sacred Band who, along with Epaminondas, is credited with helping Thebes rise to its greatest power. Defeating...
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
Gone Viking III: The Holy Grail
Gone Viking III: The Holy Grail by Bill Arnott is a travel writing narrative with not just insight but also quirkiness gifted by the author. General enthusiasts and armchair...
Book Review
Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity
J. E. Lendon in his book, Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity, uses Greek and Roman culture to explain fundamental changes...
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| 1,755 | articles |
| 19,799 | illustrations |
| 2,641 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,086 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
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Ancient Period
Article
Ten Ancient LGBTQ Facts You Need to Know
Issues in the modern-day regarding gender identity and civil rights for members of the LGBTQ community are a relatively recent phenomenon as are the terms 'homosexual'...
Definition
Britomartis
Britomartis, also known as Diktynna (Dictynna), was the Cretan goddess of hunting and fishing nets in Greek mythology. Although referred to as a nymph and worshipped locally, she had at least...
Image Gallery
Gallery of Chariots in the Ancient World
The chariot was the premier weapon of war in the ancient world for more than 700 years, and was adopted by empires such as the Hittites, Egyptians, and Assyrians. Chariots...
Definition
Red-Figure Pottery
Red-figure Pottery is a style of Greek vase painting invented in Athens c. 530 BCE. The style has drawn red figures and a painted black background. Red-Figure Pottery grew in popularity...
Definition
Valerian
Valerian ruled as emperor of the Roman Empire from 253 CE until his capture in 260 CE. In 253 CE an elderly Roman military commander and experienced former senator was proclaimed emperor by his...
Definition
Fertile Crescent - A Modern Term For An Ancient Region
The Fertile Crescent, often called the 'cradle of civilization', is the region in the Middle East that curves like a quarter-moon shape from the Persian Gulf...
Definition
Amphitheatre - The Roman Contribution to Public Architecture
An amphitheatre was a structure built throughout the Roman empire where ordinary people could watch such spectacles as gladiator games, mock naval battles...
Definition
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea Maritima was a city built over 2,000 years ago (c. 22-10 BCE) on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean. With Roman engineering and largesse, Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) accomplished...
Medieval Period
Definition
Wari Civilization
The Wari civilization flourished in the coastal and highland areas of ancient Peru between c. 450 and c. 1000 CE. Based at their capital Huari, the Wari successfully exploited the diverse...
Definition
Kingdom of Northumbria
The Kingdom of Northumbria (c. 604-954 CE) was a political entity in the north of modern-day Britain with Mercia directly to the south, the Kingdoms of the Welsh to the west, and the...
Definition
Ehecatl
Ehecatl was a Mesoamerican god of air and winds, especially those which brought rains. Regarded as a manifestation of the great feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, he was sometimes known as Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl...
Definition
Donation of Constantine
The Donation of Constantine (Donatio Constantini or the Donatio) is a medieval forgery dated to the 8th century purporting to be an original 4th-century document in which the Roman...
Collection
Persian Poets and Literature
Persian literature is usually dated to the Behistun Inscription of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE) at c. 522 BCE. It is generally understood that a significant body of work...
Definition
Lagertha
Lagertha (also spelt Lathgertha or Ladgerda) is a legendary Viking shieldmaiden known from Saxo Grammaticus' early 13th-century CE Gesta Danorum. In this work, written in Latin and concerning...
Article
Twelve Greatest Illuminated Manuscripts
Illuminated manuscripts are, as their name suggests, hand-made books illumined by gold and silver ink. They were produced in Western Europe between c. 500 and c. 1600...
Definition
Runes
Runes are letters in the runic alphabets of Germanic-speaking peoples, written and read most prominently from at least c. 160 CE onwards in Scandinavia in the Elder Futhark script (until c. 700...
Early Modern Period
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...
Curriculum Collection
AP World History Unit 4 - Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450–1750)
Between 1450 and 1750, new maritime technology allowed European states to reach the Americas, Africa, and Asia by sea for the first time, linking...
Definition
US Presidential Election of 1789
The US presidential election of 1789 was the first presidential election to take place after the ratification of the United States Constitution. Held on 4 February 1789, it...
Definition
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a Corsican-born French general and politician who reigned as Emperor of the French with the regnal name Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and then again briefly...
Definition
James Madison
James Madison (1751-1836) was a statesman, diplomat, and a Founding Father of the United States, who served as the fourth US president from 1809 to 1817. He played an important role in the...
Definition
Calico Jack
John Rackham (d. 1720), also known as Jack Rackham or 'Calico Jack' for his preference for cotton clothing, was an English pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Rackham took over...
Article
The Gold of the Conquistadors
The staggering quantity of gold the conquistadors extracted from the Americas allowed Spain to become the richest country in the world. The thirst for gold to pay for armies and...
Article
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth (28 June 1778), or the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was the last battle of the Philadelphia Campaign during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). After...
Modern Period
Article
How the Turtle Went to War
How the Turtle Went to War (also Turtle Goes to War) is a Native American legend commonly associated with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux nations, but the narrative also appears...
Article
Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Sioux
The Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Sioux (Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota Oyate) are the spiritual observances of the Native American Sioux nation that maintain their...
Article
Found In the Grass
Found In the Grass is a legend of the Algonquian-speaking nations of the Plains Indians and one of the most famous. The story is told in many different versions, but the best-known comes...
Definition
Portuguese Goa
Goa, located on the west coast of India, was a Portuguese colony from 1510 to 1961. The small coastal area was conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque (c. 1453-1515) and became an important trade...
Article
Anahuac Disturbances - The Actual Beginning of the Texas Revolution
Although the Battle of Gonzales (2 October 1835) is recognized as the first of the Texas Revolution of 1835-1836, hostilities actually began in 1832...
Article
Panic at Bull Run - Russell's Account of the Union Retreat
Panic at Bull Run is an excerpt from a longer article, The Battle of Bull Run, by the famous English journalist William H. Russell (1827 to 1907, also known...
Definition
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
The Chesapeake-Leopard affair was an incident that took place off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 June 1807 when the British warship HMS Leopard fired on and boarded an American...
Article
Why Was Fascism Obsessed With Sports?
Can physical education be part of a totalitarian project to control and reshape the masses? Both the leader of Fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), and the leader...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Skara Brae
Skara Brae is a Neolithic Age site, consisting of ten stone structures, near the Bay of Skaill, Orkney, Scotland. Today the village is situated by the shore but when it was inhabited (c.3100-2500...
Definition
Denisovan
The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with Homo sapiens. Thus far, they are known only from Denisova...
Article
Legends of the Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire
The Rollright Stones is the collective name for a group of enigmatic prehistoric monuments located next to an ancient ridgeway known as the Jurassic Way, on the border...
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...
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...
Article
The Neanderthal-Sapiens Connection
In May 2010, after years of intense discussions surrounding possible fossils of mixed Homo sapiens and Neanderthal descent floating around the scientific community, a team...
Definition
Neolithic Period
The term Neolithic Period refers to the last stage of the Stone Age - a term coined in the late 19th century CE by scholars which covers three different periods: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic...
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”...
