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
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...
Collection
History by the Numbers, Volume II - 12 More Visual Stories of Power, Science & Discovery
History by the Numbers, Volume II brings together twelve visual infographics exploring rulers, warfare, exploration, science, technology...
Definition
Battle of Fort Henry - The First Ironclad Engagement on a Fortification
The Battle of Fort Henry (6 February 1862) is often referenced as the first major Union victory in the Western theater of the American Civil War...
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...
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Map of the Spread of the Black Death, c. 1346–1353 - Trade, Transmission & the Second Plague Pandemic
The Black Death was the catastrophic first great wave of the Second Plague Pandemic, caused by the bacterium Yersinia...
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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...
Image
Map of the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean Trade Networks - Trade, Diplomacy & Interdependence, c. 1400–1200 BCE
Between c. 1400 and 1200 BCE, the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean formed a densely interconnected system of exchange...
For You
Definition
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher and is considered to be the first existentialist, influencing such notable philosophers as Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Martin...
Definition
Ephesus
According legend, Ephesus (also Ephesos) was founded by the tribe of the Amazons, great female warriors. The name of the city is thought to have been derived from "Apasas", the name of a city in...
Definition
Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro (c. 1475-1538) was a Spanish conquistador who was second-in-command to Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) during his expedition that attacked the Inca civilization from 1531...
Definition
Cyclops (Play)
The satyr-play The Cyclops was written by Euripides, one of the great Greek tragedians, in 412 or 408 BCE. Like many of his fellow tragedians, Euripides centers his play on a well-known story...
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
The King’s Road: Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road
Since the appearance of "world history" as an academic subgenre in the 1990s, the Silk Road has received considerable attention. The causes behind this...
Book Review
Empire's Mistress, Starring Isabel Rosario Cooper
Born in January 1914, Isabel Cooper grew up in the Philippines and supported herself through working in the entertainment industry, performing, singing, and acting...
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Ancient Period
Definition
Gorgias
Gorgias (l. c. 427 BCE) was a Greek Sophist and philosopher, considered the greatest Rhetorician of his day. He is said to have created several aspects of public speaking still in use and to have...
Definition
Ninigi
Ninigi-no-Mikoto, or simply Ninigi, is the grandson of the supreme Shinto deity Amaterasu, the sun goddess. He is the son of Ama-no-Oshiho-mimi and, descending to earth as the first just ruler...
Article
Greek Temples of Sicily
There are at least a thousand reasons to visit Sicily, the great island – indeed the largest in the Mediterranean – that forms the triangular football to the boot that is the Italian...
Definition
Juvenal
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (l. c. 55-138 CE), better known as Juvenal, was a Roman satirist. He wrote five books, containing 16 satires, each of which criticized a different element of Roman society...
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...
Definition
Asherah
Asherah is a Hebrew word for what was either a goddess or a cultic object or perhaps both. Although many see evidence for Asherah being an individual goddess known to the Israelites, some scholars...
Definition
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (active 1st century BCE) was a Greek historian, known for his universal history Bibliotheca Historica. Originally, it was a 40-volume monumental work...
Article
Aztec Food & Agriculture
The Aztec civilization, which flourished in central Mexico between c. 1345 and 1521 CE, was able to provide an astonishingly wide range of agricultural produce thanks to a combination...
Medieval Period
Definition
First Fitna
The First Fitna (656-661 CE) was the first civil war of the Islamic Empire fought between the fourth Rashidun Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661 CE), and the governor of Syria, Muawiya (later...
Definition
Christine de Pizan
Christine de Pizan (also given as Christine de Pisan, l. 1364 - c. 1430) was the first female professional writer of the Middle Ages and the first woman of letters in France. Her best-known...
Article
Boccaccio on the Black Death: Text & Commentary
The Black Death is the name given to the plague outbreak in Europe between 1347-1352 CE. The term was only coined after 1800 CE in reference to the black buboes...
Definition
Mitla
Mitla, located in the eastern portion of the Valley of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, was an important site of the Zapotec civilization. Gaining prominence from the early Post-Classic period (c. 700-900...
Article
Visiting Glastonbury - the Town of Myths & Legends
The Somerset Levels is an area of the British Isles that captivates visitors with its stunning natural landscape and historical sites and monuments. Glastonbury...
Definition
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface (born as Wynfreth, l. 672-754) is one of the most famous saints in the Netherlands. He helped Pope Gregory II (r. 715-731), who was keen to convert pagan Germanic tribes, to...
Article
Polynesian Navigation & Settlement of the Pacific - Migration in Oceania
Polynesian navigation of the Pacific Ocean and its settlement began thousands of years ago. The inhabitants of the Pacific islands had been voyaging...
Definition
Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night (30 April, annually) is a modern-day European and Scandinavian festival derived from the merging of the ancient pagan celebration of Beltane with the commemoration of the...
Early Modern Period
Article
Top 5 'Deep-Dive' Virtual Shipwrecks
According to UNESCO, an estimated three million shipwrecks are scattered in the oceans’ deep canyons, trenches, and coral reefs and remain undiscovered. These shipwrecks...
Definition
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an Italian violin virtuoso and composer of baroque music (c. 1600-1750). Best known for his violin concertos, notably The Four Seasons, Vivaldi made a significant...
Definition
Squanto
Squanto (l. c. 1585-1622) was the Native American of the Patuxet tribe who helped the English settlers of Plymouth Colony (later known as pilgrims) survive in their new home by teaching them how...
Collection
Portugal & the Age of Exploration
The Portuguese built an empire from 1420 onwards that was largely composed of trade centres dotted around the coasts of three continents. This colonial enterprise was driven...
Definition
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado (c. 1485-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who became the first governor of Guatemala in 1527. Living an extraordinary life of adventure, Alvarado participated in separate...
Definition
Mary II of England
Mary II of England (r. 1689-1694) ruled jointly with her husband William III of England (r. 1689-1702) until her death from smallpox. While William suffered a xenophobic reaction to his...
Definition
Spanish Galleon
The Spanish galleon (Spanish: galeón, nao, or navío) was a particularly large type of galleon used for both carrying cargo and as a warship armed with up to 60 cannons. Used from the mid-16th...
Article
Baroque, Age of Contrasts - Exhibition Interview Schweizerisches Landesmuseum
The Baroque era, which lasted from roughly 1580 and 1780, was a time of enormous contrasts: Opulence and innovation, on the one hand; death...
Modern Period
Definition
Gabriel's Rebellion
Gabriel's Rebellion (30 August 1800) was a carefully planned slave revolt in Virginia orchestrated by the literate slave blacksmith Gabriel (l. c. 1776-1800), property of one Thomas Prosser...
Collection
WWII's Pacific War - A Collection of Resources
This collection of resources presents the Pacific theatre of the Second World War (1939-45), which saw the expansion of the Japanese Empire before the USA was brought...
Definition
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer of around 40 operas, including the comic operas The Italian Girl in Algiers and The Barber of Seville. Rossini championed melody and...
Definition
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was an impressionist painter based in France who focussed on landscapes but frequently changed his style and subjects. He was an instrumental figure in the new...
Image Gallery
Mary Cassatt: A Gallery of 30 Paintings
In this gallery, we showcase 30 works by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), the American impressionist painter. The selection here is presented in chronological sequence to show...
Definition
George IV of Great Britain
George IV of Great Britain (r. 1820-1830) was the fourth of the Hanoverian monarchs. He first reigned as Prince Regent from 1811 for his mad father George III of Great Britain (r...
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...
Definition
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement, signed on 30 September 1938 at the Munich Conference attended by the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, handed over the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Migration Age
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or German: Völkerwanderung (wandering of the peoples), was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between 300 to 700 CE...
Definition
Venus Figurine
The term Venus figurine is used to describe the more than 200 small statuettes of voluptuous female figures that have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe and some parts of...
Definition
Lascaux Cave
Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave...
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...
Article
Origins of World Agriculture
Agriculture arose independently at several locations across the world, beginning about 12,000 years ago. The first crops and livestock were domesticated in six rather diffuse areas...
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...
Article
The Megalithic Temples of Malta
The megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo rank amongst the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. Construction of these temples started c. 3500 BCE, an impressive architectural...
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...
