Featured
Article
Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know - A Celebration of Transformation
Halloween is the most popular holiday in the world, after Christmas (based on level-of-celebration and consumer spending) and, increasingly...
Featured
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World - The Return of the So-Called Dead
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as...
Featured
Image
12 Largest Contiguous Land Empires Before 1880 - From the Mongol Empire to Rome, Qing China & Russia
Land empires were expansive states whose rulers exercised authority over large, substantially connected territories and...
Featured
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Map of the Rise of the Delhi Sultanate: Mamluk Dynasty - State Formation and Conquest in Medieval India, 1206–1290
The Delhi Sultanate's Mamluk (or Slave) period (1206–1290) marked the emergence of a powerful Muslim-ruled state...
Latest Content
Definition
Army of Northern Virginia - General Lee's Army
The Army of Northern Virginia was the main field army of the Confederate States in the eastern theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Famously led by General...
Definition
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor - The Great Matchmaker
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519), belonged to the imperial House of Habsburg, and the imperial electors made him King of the Romans in 1486 during...
Definition
James Longstreet - Civil War Hero and Lost Cause Villain
James Longstreet (1821-1904) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, serving chiefly under Robert E. Lee in the Eastern theater. He was regarded...
Collection
First 16 US Presidents - From Washington to Lincoln
Since the founding of the United States, the office of the presidency – and the men who have occupied it – have had a profound impact on the hearts, minds, and...
Definition
Seven Years' War - The 18th-Century World War
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a global conflict fought between the great powers of Europe in the mid-18th century. The culmination of several decades of conflict...
Article
Top 10 Roman Sites in Bulgaria
Roman Bulgaria occupied an important position in the heart of the Balkans, between the Black Sea, the Aegean, and Asia Minor. In the north, the Danube River formed a heavily...
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Map of the Latin Empire - A Crusader State in Constantinople - The Fourth Crusade and the Fragmentation of Byzantium
The Latin Empire (Imperium Romaniae, 1204–1261) emerged after the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) captured and...
Image
12 Largest Contiguous Land Empires Before 1880 - From the Mongol Empire to Rome, Qing China & Russia
Land empires were expansive states whose rulers exercised authority over large, substantially connected territories and...
Image
Map of the Sasanian Empire at Its Height, c. 620 - Khosrow II and the Byzantine–Sasanian War, 602–628
The Sasanian Empire (224–651), also known as Sassanian Persia, was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire and one of the...
For You
Article
Arsenale - The Shipyard and Arsenal of Venice
The immense commercial trade, wealth, and sea power of the Republic of Venice was rooted in the ships built in the industrial site known as the Arsenale, or arsenal...
Definition
Operation Compass
Operation Compass (9 Dec 1940 to 7 Feb 1941) was an Allied offensive in North Africa, which pushed Italian forces out of Egypt and then Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). The Allied Western Desert...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of 40 Coins Through History
Coins have been in use since their creation in ancient Lydia in the early 6th century BCE. Stamped by the state to guarantee value and be recognisable as genuine, coins...
Definition
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was a Russian composer of operas, ballets, concertos, string quartets, and 15 symphonies. Shostakovich was frequently denounced by the repressive Soviet...
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
Ancient Mesopotamian Government and Geography (Spotlight on the Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations)
In Ancient Mesopotamian Government and Geography, Laura la Bella attempts to offer a broad overview of ancient Mesopotamian...
Book Review
Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: A Social History
For many years, there have been many studies done on the Roman army. Many of the general studies have been popular, however, the more narrowly focused aspects...
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| 1,764 | articles |
| 19,866 | illustrations |
| 2,643 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,380 | translations |
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Ancient Period
Article
The Death of Gilgamesh
The Death of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian poem relating the death and afterlife of the famous hero-king of Uruk, who had become a legendary figure. The piece is dated to before the Ur III...
Definition
Caesarea (North Africa)
Caesarea was actually the name of three separate cities: one in Palestine, one in Cappadocia (Asia Minor), and one in Mauretania, present-day Algeria. The first city, Caesarea Maritima...
Definition
Ancient Pyongyang
Pyongyang (aka Pyeongyang) was the capital of several successive ancient Korean kingdoms. Located on the Daedong River in the north of the peninsula, the site was chosen by the legendary...
Definition
Hephaestion
Hephaestion was a member of Alexander the Great's personal bodyguard and the Macedonian king's closest and lifelong friend and advisor. So much so, Hephaestion's death would bring the young...
Definition
Psyche
Psyche was the goddess of the soul in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Born a mortal woman, her beauty rivaled that of Aphrodite (Venus) and inspired the love of Aphrodite's son, Eros, god of...
Collection
LGBTQ+ Relationships in the Ancient World
Evidence of what is now defined as LGBTQ+ relationships goes back to over 4,000 years of recorded history to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia but was not regarded as anything...
Definition
Kaskians
The Kaska or Kaskians were a tribe of the Pontus, northern Anatolia (today's Turkey), around the Kizil Irmak river mouth, bordering on and constantly harrasing the Hittite empire. That area is...
Article
Cleopatra & Antony
Regarded by the Romans as "fatale monstrum" – a fatal omen – Cleopatra is one of the ancient world's most popular, though elusive figures. The Egyptian queen has been immortalized by numerous...
Medieval Period
Definition
Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ibn Abdullah (l. 570-632 CE) is venerated today as the Prophet of Islam and the “seal of Prophets” by his followers – the Muslims. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last – hence...
Definition
Aethelwulf of Wessex
Aethelwulf (r. 839-858) was King of Wessex, a region in modern-day Britain, son and successor to Egbert of Wessex (r. 802-839), who had unified and expanded his kingdom with Aethelwulf's...
Article
Aztec Society
Aztec society was hierarchical and divided into clearly defined classes. The nobility dominated the key positions in the military, state administration, judiciary, and priesthood. While traders...
Definition
Trdat the Architect
“Trdat the Architect” or Tiridates (c. 940s-c. 1020s?) was a Armenian architect who is noted for his role in the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia's dome in Constantinople following...
Definition
Möngke Khan
Mongke Khan was ruler of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) from 1251 to 1259 CE. As the third Great Khan or 'universal ruler' of the Mongols, Mongke would oversee administrative reforms that...
Collection
The Viking Age
This collection on the Vikings, who dominated northern Europe from c. 790 CE to c. 1100 CE, examines not only their fearsome reputation for war and invasion but also their celebrated ships...
Definition
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade (aka Cathars' Crusade, 1209-1229 CE), was the first crusade to specifically target heretic Christians - the Cathars of southern France. Not successful in repressing...
Article
Trade & Warfare in the Kievan Rus
Scandinavians from the island of Gotland began to spread throughout the Baltic region along the Russian rivers in the 700s. While the Vikings of Norway and Denmark from the...
Early Modern Period
Collection
Great African Kingdoms
This collection presents a small sampling of the many great African kingdoms that rose and fell from the ancient period when Punt traded with Egypt up through the common era. Each kingdom...
Definition
King George's War - When New England Colonists Captured A Powerful French Fort
King George's War (1744-1748) was the third great colonial conflict fought in North America between Great Britain and France, each side aided...
Definition
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams (1722-1803) was a prominent Patriot leader in the American Revolution (1765-1789), and a Founding Father of the United States. He was one of the most vocal opponents of 'taxation...
Article
Index of Prohibited Books - The Banned Books of the Catholic Church
The Index of Prohibited Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) was a list of written works condemned as heretical or injurious to the Christian faith...
Definition
John Calvin
John Calvin (l. 1509-1564) was a French Reformer, pastor, and theologian considered among the greatest of the Protestant Reformation along with Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) and Huldrych Zwingli...
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
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord - Napoleon's Treacherous Foreign Minister
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) was one of the most significant political figures in modern French history. Beginning...
Definition
The Tragedy of Richard III - Shakespeare's First Great Villain
The Tragedy of Richard III, often referred to as simply Richard III, is a history play by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), probably written around 1592-94...
Modern Period
Article
France’s 1905 Law of Separation of Church and State
The 1905 Law of Separation of Church and State was enacted as the climax of decades of conflict between monarchists and anticlerical Republicans who viewed Christianity...
Article
Slave Hunters in Boston - The Failed Attempt to Capture Ellen & William Craft
In 1848, Ellen and William Craft escaped from slavery in Georgia by Ellen posing as a Southern gentleman and William as 'his' slave (since...
Definition
Fourteenth Amendment - Defining Birthright Citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most important and consequential additions to the United States Constitution. Ratified in 1868, it defines American citizenship...
Definition
Einsatzgruppen - The Nazi Killing Squads of WWII
Einsatzgruppen ('deployment groups') were secret Nazi killing units, who systematically sought out and murdered civilians identified as enemies of the Third Reich...
Article
How Diamonds Transformed Southern Africa - Kimberley's Blood, Sweat & Segregation
The discovery of diamonds in 1867 in Griqualand ultimately transformed the entire region of Southern Africa. Huge European financial investment...
Article
How Christmas Was Shaped by 19th-Century Literature
How we celebrate Christmas today is largely shaped by a small group of authors who recorded festive traditions in the 19th century. These authors include Washington...
Definition
Tehran Conference - The Debate on How the Allies Should Win WWII
The Tehran Conference, code-named Eureka, was a meeting, in November-December 1943, of 'the Big Three' Allied leaders: Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill...
Definition
Blitzkrieg - The Lightning War Tactic of Combined Arms
Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') is a military tactic combining air and land forces deployed at speed against the enemy's weaker points while the rear lines are...
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
Homo Heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of human that is identified in both Africa and western Eurasia from roughly 700,000 years ago onwards until around 200,000 years ago – fitting...
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...
Article
Dynamics of the Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution began between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago at several widely dispersed locations across the world, when our ancestors first began planting and raising...
Definition
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara is an ancient Neolithic Age site in County Meath, Ireland. It was known as the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the site of coronations, a place of assembly for the enacting...
Definition
Ice Age
An ice age is a period in which the earth's climate is colder than normal, with ice sheets capping the poles and glaciers dominating higher altitudes. Within an ice age, there are varying pulses...
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
Clava Cairns - Monuments to Memory and More
Clava Cairns is an early Bronze Age site in Scotland, located east of the city of Inverness, consisting of three well-preserved cairns (two of which are passage graves...
