Featured
Definition
Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese Tea Ceremony (chanoyu or chado) is a cultural tradition involving very particular places, procedures, and equipment for drinking green tea. Originating as a habit of Chinese Buddhist monks to aid their meditation, tea-drinking in Japan and other parts of East Asia became such a refined activity that, from the 13th...
Featured
Definition
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (1812-1815), referred to by some contemporaries as the Second American Revolution, was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom. Often remembered only as a sideshow...
Featured
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Twelve Spices That Changed the World - Trade, Empire, and the Global Age of Spices, 1450–1650
Between c. 1450 and 1650, demand for spices and other high-value plant commodities became an important catalyst for European...
Featured
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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...
Latest Content
Definition
Battle of Mill Springs - The First Union Victory in the Western Theater
The Battle of Mill Springs (19 January 1862) was the first Union victory in the Western theater of the American Civil War and propelled Union...
Definition
Ulysses S. Grant - The General Who Won the American Civil War
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was a Union general in the American Civil War and, later, the 18th president of the United States of America. He is generally...
Article
Why Were Hiroshima & Nagasaki Bombed in WWII?
The decision to drop the atomic bomb in August 1945 was taken to avoid further Allied casualties in the Pacific War by forcing Japan into an immediate surrender...
Article
The Bombing of Tokyo in WWII - How Napalm Firestorms Destroyed a City
The systematic bombing of Tokyo by US aircraft in repeated raids during the Second World War (1939-45) was intended to force Japan's surrender...
Article
The Debate Between Sheep and Grain - A Sumerian Argument Between Animal Husbandry & Agriculture
The Debate Between Sheep and Grain (circa 2000 BCE) is one of the best-known Sumerian literary debates in a genre that was...
Definition
Korean War - How the Cold War Became a Hot War
The Korean War was a Cold War conflict that took place between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. It pitted US-led United Nations (UN) forces against the communist...
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Spread of the Black Death
A map illustrating the spread of the Black Death plague from its origins in central Asia to western and then central Europe, 1347-1352 CE.
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Map of the World War I in Europe, May 1917 - Front Lines, Occupation and a Continent in Crisis
By May 1917, the First World War (1914–1918) had transformed the political and military geography of Europe. The Western Front...
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Map of the European Colonization of North America, 1492–1750 - Voyages, Claims, Settlements & Imperial Rivalries
European colonization in North America developed gradually between the late 15th century and the mid-18th century...
For You
Definition
Jacques-Pierre Brissot
Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville (1754-1793) was a French journalist, abolitionist, and politician who played a prominent role in the French Revolution (1789-1799). A leader of the...
Definition
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who are first mentioned in Roman history in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (77 CE). The Roman historian Tacitus also mentions them in his Germania (c...
Definition
Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming), also known as Heaven's Mandate, was the divine source of authority and the right to rule of China's early kings and then emperors. The ancient god or divine...
Definition
Arminius
The Cherusci noble Arminius (c. 18 BCE - 19 CE) led the resistance to Roman conquest of Germania during the years 9-16 CE. Likely raised as a child hostage in Rome, Arminius gained command of...
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
Southern Europe in the Age of Revolutions
From the outbreak of war in the 13 British North American colonies in 1775 to the conflicts that erupted throughout the Spanish New World colonies in the 1810s, revolutions...
Book Review
Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War: An Epic Tale From Ancient Iraq (Aesop Prize (Awards))
Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War is a fine re-telling of the ancient tale by Kathy Henderson with beautiful...
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| 1,752 | articles |
| 19,738 | illustrations |
| 2,625 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,892 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,331 | contributors |
| 15,424 | keywords |
| 55,959 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Vitellius
Vitellius was Roman emperor from April to December 69 CE. Vitellius was the third of the four emperors who ruled the Roman Empire in the year 69 CE. One of his predecessors, Galba, who had replaced...
Definition
Horae
The Horae (Horai, sing. Hora) were the personification and goddesses of the seasons and the hours and, later on, were regarded as goddesses of order and justice in Greek mythology. They were the...
Article
The Forty-Two Judges
The Forty-Two Judges were divine entities associated with the afterlife in ancient Egypt and, specifically, the judgment of the soul in the Hall of Truth. The soul would recite the Negative...
Definition
Cuicuilco
Cuicuilco is an ancient settlement site in central Mexico, now located in southern Mexico City. Prominent in the late pre-Classic period, around 500 BCE, it is noted for its large circular temple...
Article
Reforms of Augustus
Emperor Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE) accomplished much during his time on the Roman throne, far more than many of his successors. According to historian Mary Beard in her book SPQR, he transformed...
Article
The Price of Greed: Hannibal's Betrayal by Carthage
Hannibal Barca (l. 247-183 BCE), the brilliant Carthaginian general of the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE), had the military talent, expertise, and skill to have...
Definition
Greek Mythology
Greek mythology was used as a means to explain the environment in which humankind lived, the natural phenomena they witnessed and the passing of time through the days, months, and seasons...
Definition
Melqart
Melqart (also Melkarth or Melicarthus) was an important Phoenician god and patron deity of the city of Tyre. Associated with the monarchy, sea, colonization, and commercial enterprise, both at...
Medieval Period
Definition
Constantine V
Constantine V, also known as Constantine the Dung-named by his enemies, was emperor of the Byzantine empire from 741 to 775 CE. He enjoyed military successes in the Middle East and Balkans...
Definition
Valhalla
Valhalla ("Hall of the Slain") is the afterlife realm in Norse mythology for fallen heroes selected by Odin’s Valkyrie to become members of the army that will fight against the forces of chaos...
Article
Saladin & the Unification of the Muslim Front: 1169-1187 CE
Saladin (c. 1137 – 1193 CE), the Muslim ruler who crushed the mighty Crusader army at the Horns of Hattin (1187 CE) and re-took Jerusalem after 88 years...
Definition
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire existed from 330 to 1453. It is often called the Eastern Roman Empire or simply Byzantium. The Byzantine capital was founded at Constantinople by Constantine I (r. 306-337...
Definition
Anglo-Saxon Warfare
Anglo-Saxon warfare was characterised by frequent and violent conflicts between petty kings, which ultimately led to the rise of larger kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Mercia, the Kingdom...
Definition
Ardagh Chalice
The Ardagh Chalice, one of the finest examples of Irish metalwork from the Middle Ages, was found in 1868 CE as part of a hoard at an Irish ringfort in Reerasta, near Ardagh, Co. Limerick...
Article
Chinese Lacquerware
Lacquer was a popular form of decoration and protective covering in ancient China. It was used to colour and beautify screens, furniture, bowls, cups, sculpture, musical instruments...
Definition
Chavin Civilization
The Chavin civilization flourished between 900 and 200 BCE in the northern and central Andes and was one of the earliest pre-Inca cultures. The Chavin religious centre Chavin de Huantar...
Early Modern Period
Definition
European Colonization of the Americas
The European colonization of the Americas was the process by which European settlers populated the regions of North, Central, South America, and the islands of the Caribbean...
Definition
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was the body of delegates that governed the Thirteen Colonies and, later, the United States during the American Revolutionary War. Between its first...
Definition
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England ruled as king from 1509 to 1547. The second Tudor king after his father Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509), Henry had inherited a kingdom which enjoyed both unity...
Article
Battle of Rhode Island
The Battle of Rhode Island (29 August 1778), also known as the Siege of Newport or the Battle of Quaker Hill, was fought during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). It marked...
Definition
Treaty of Tordesillas
The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas (Tordesilhas) was an agreement between the monarchs of Spain and Portugal to divide the world between them into two spheres of influence. The imaginary...
Definition
Kappa
A kappa is a Japanese mythological water sprite or, literally, "river child" (河童). One of the more popularly known yōkai (Japanese mythological creature) in Japan, kappa are generally green or yellow...
Article
Japanese Castles
Fortifications of one kind or another had been used in Japan since ancient times, but in the period from 1576 until 1639, a new and distinctive style of castle was constructed. Rather than...
Definition
Spanish Treasure Fleets
From the 16th to 18th centuries, two treasure fleets sailed each year, one to Mexico and the other to Central America, then part of the Spanish Empire. There they collected precious...
Modern Period
Article
Why the Industrial Revolution Started in Britain
The Industrial Revolution saw a wave of technological and social changes in many countries of the world in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it began in Britain...
Article
Coal Mining in the British Industrial Revolution
Coal mining boomed during the British Industrial Revolution as it provided fuel for steam engines of all kinds in factories, transport, and agriculture. Draining...
Image Gallery
A Panorama of Central Greece
The uniqueness of modern central Greece's landscape derives from the atmospheric blend of ancient archaeological sites and the Mediterranean flora. The forests are mostly composed...
Definition
Anschluss
The Anschluss ('fusion') of 12 March 1938 was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader of Germany, dreamed of an empire which enclosed...
Article
Battle of Yellow Tavern - The Death of J. E. B. Stuart
The Battle of Yellow Tavern (11 May 1864) was a pivotal engagement of the American Civil War (1861-1865), not so much for any grand strategic reason than for...
Article
David Walker's Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World
David Walker (l. c. 1796-1830) was an African American abolitionist writer best known for his 1829 work An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World...
Definition
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotanka, l. c. 1837-1890) was a Hunkpapa Sioux holy man, warrior, leader, and symbol of traditional Sioux values and resistance to the United States' expansionist policies...
Image Gallery
Europe 1914–1949: History Maps of the World Wars
This map collection explores the geopolitical transformation of Europe between 1914 and 1949. From the First World War (1914-18) and the collapse of empires to...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Carnac
Carnac, located on the north-west coast of France, is the site of the largest concentration of megalithic monuments in the world. Over 100 monuments, which include burial mounds, stone tombs, enclosures...
Definition
Barnhouse Settlement
The Barnhouse Settlement is a Neolithic village located in Antaness, Orkney, Scotland, which was inhabited between c. 3300 and 2600 BCE. The present designation of 'Barnhouse' comes...
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...
Definition
Banpo Village
Banpo Village is a Neolithic site in the Yellow River Valley, east of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, in the People's Republic of China. The site was occupied from c. 4500-3750 BCE and covers almost...
Definition
Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar is a Neolithic Age site discovered in 2002 CE through a geophysical survey of the area of land in Stenness in Orkney, Scotland, which separates the salt water Stenness...
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...
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
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a Neolithic / Bronze Age monument located on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, southern England. The first monument on the site, began around 3100 BCE, was a circular 'henge' earthwork...
