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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, Spain, and the United Kingdom against the invading First French Empire of Napoleon I (r. 1804-1814; 1815). It remains the bloodiest episode in the modern history of Spain. The war...
Featured
Article
Harrison's Marine Chronometer
John Harrison (1693-1776) invented an accurate marine chronometer after several decades of research and development. While the pendulum clock had already been invented in the...
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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...
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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
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...
Article
How the Pacific War Changed Global Warfare
The Pacific War (1941-45) contributed many lasting innovations and developments to global warfare. This theatre of the Second World War witnessed the end of battleships...
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...
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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...
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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
Roman Triumph
A Roman triumph was a spectacular celebration parade held in the ancient city of Rome for a military commander who had won an important victory on the battlefield. Granted by the Senate, it...
Definition
Slavs
The term "Slavs" designates an ethnic group of people who share a long-term cultural continuity and who speak a set of related languages known as the Slavic languages (all of which belong to the...
Article
Sacred Cakes in Ancient Greece
Sacred cakes in ancient Greece were baked loaves, biscuits, pastries, and sponges sweetened with honey (meli) and prepared as unburnt offerings to the gods and goddesses and...
Article
Cyrus the Great's Conquests
The estimated expanse of the Achaemenid Empire at its height c. 500 BCE was two million square miles. Most of this territory was conquered by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the...
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
Atalanta
There are several versions of Atalanta's story in Greek mythology, and Jennifer Saint, known for writing mythology-based novels, chose to build her story around the most compelling elements that...
Book Review
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper takes a refreshing approach by focusing on the lives of the women believed to be...
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Ancient Period
Article
Chester: A Time-Travelling City
It is said that Chester is the richest city in Britain in terms of archaeological and architectural treasures. One of the finest strategic outposts of the Roman Empire, it is...
Collection
Ancient Mythical Monsters
World mythology is full of weird and wonderful creatures, monsters formed from bizarre mixes of animal parts or simply hideous beings that torment the best-laid plans of gods, heroes...
Article
Sassanian Kings List & Commentary
The Sassanian Empire (224-651) was the greatest expression of Persian culture in the ancient world. It was consciously modeled on the earlier Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330...
Definition
Arslan Tash Amulet
Dated to the 7th century BCE, the Arslan Tash amulet (AT1) was discovered in Arslan Tash, Syria and contains the writing of Phoenician, magic incantations. The limestone plaque includes...
Definition
Yamm
Yamm (from the Semitic word yam for 'sea', also known as Yam and Yam-Nahar) was the god of the sea and storm in the pantheon of the Canaanite-Phoenicians. Depicted consistently as tyrannical, angry...
Definition
Emperor Zeno
Zeno was Byzantine emperor from 474 until 491 CE. An ethnic Isaurian, Zeno was repeatedly criticized as an outsider during his reign, which was full of rebellions and attacks by the Ostrogoths...
Definition
First Intermediate Period of Egypt - Era of Transformation
The First Intermediate Period of Egypt (2181-2040 BCE) is the era that followed the Old Kingdom (circa 2613-2181 BCE) and preceded the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782...
Definition
Bronze Age Aegean
The Bronze Age (c. 3000-1000 BCE) is the period when cultures were either using, producing, or trading bronze. Several cultures flourished around the Aegean Sea during this period: the...
Medieval Period
Definition
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (aka Thomas á Becket) was chancellor to Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189) and then archbishop of Canterbury (1162 to 1170). Thomas repeatedly clashed with his sovereign over...
Definition
David IV the Builder
David IV the Builder or the Restorer (also known as Davit IV Aghmashenebeli) was the king of Georgia from 1089 to 1125 CE. His long reign was marked by a substantial revival of medieval...
Article
Inca Food & Agriculture
The Inca empire controlled four climate zones and, consequently, their agricultural produce was diverse. Ancient Andean people were largely vegetarian, supplementing their diet with...
Definition
Edward II of England
Edward II of England reigned as king from 1307 to 1327 CE. Succeeding his father Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE), his reign saw a disastrous defeat to the Scots at Bannockburn...
Definition
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings...
Definition
Aihole
Aihole (Ayyavole) was an ancient walled city in Karnataka, central India. Aihole was the first regional capital of the Karnakata region under the rule of the Chalukyas. The large number of early...
Definition
Donatello
Donatello (c. 1386-1466 CE), full name Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, was an Italian Renaissance artist best known for his sculptures such as the striking bronze figure of David now in the...
Definition
Byzantine Emperor
The Byzantine Emperor ruled as an absolute monarch in an institution which lasted from the 4th to 15th century CE. Aided by ministers, high-ranking nobility, and key church figures, the...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Ship Money - The Unpopular Tax
Ship Money was a tax applied by medieval monarchs to English coastal communities to pay for ships for the Royal Navy and so ward off pirates and enemies of the state. During the...
Definition
New Model Army
The New Model Army was created in February 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) that turned England from a monarchy to a republic. It was a professional...
Definition
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer served as the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533 to 1555 and was one of the prime architects of the English Reformation during the reigns of Henry VIII of...
Definition
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was a German Renaissance artist who is considered one of the greatest painters and engravers in history. A native of Nuremberg, Dürer was famous in his own lifetime...
Definition
Estado da India
The Estado da India (1505-1961) was the name the Portuguese gave to that part of their empire which stretched from India to East Asia. However, in its widest sense, the name includes all...
Definition
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (also spelt Velásquez, 1465-1524) was a Spanish conquistador who conquered Cuba in 1511, became the island's first governor for the next decade, and sponsored...
Definition
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia, the name given to the multiple treaties, marked the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War. Signed on 24 October 1648, it aimed to secure political autonomy for...
Article
Cajetan's On Faith and Works
On Faith and Works (1532) by Cardinal Thomas Cajetan (l. c. 1468-1534) is a refutation of the central arguments of Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) concerning justification before...
Modern Period
Definition
Fashoda Incident - When Britain and France Almost Went to War in Africa
The Fashoda Incident of 1898 occurred in Sudan and caused a diplomatic crisis between the British and French empires. A small French force claimed...
Article
Badger-Woman
Badger-Woman is a story of the Arapaho nation about a noble young hunter who refuses the advances of his sister-in-law and is then betrayed by her. The tale is similar to those of other civilizations...
Collection
Daily Life in the London Blitz
In this collection of resources, we examine daily life during the London Blitz, the period of intense bombing of the British capital from 1940 to 1941 during the Second World...
Article
Burning of Washington
The burning of Washington (24 August 1814) by a British force was a pivotal moment in the War of 1812 and in US history. Hoping to pull US military resources away from Canada, the British...
Definition
Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a French composer of classical music best known for his innovative piano pieces and orchestral works like Bolero and Daphnis et Chloé. Sometimes called an 'impressionist'...
Definition
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, was an agreement between the victors of the First World War (1914-18) which redivided parts of Europe and imposed reparations, armament...
Article
Siege of Mafeking - Turning Point of the Boer War
The siege of Mafeking (1899-1900) was a major engagement in the Boer War (aka South Africa War, 1899-1902). 8,000 Boers besieged the British-held town, which had...
Definition
Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American impressionist painter who lived most of her life in France. She focussed on capturing women at their daily tasks in oils, pastels, and prints, and produced...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Predynastic Period in Egypt - The Time Before History Began
The Predynastic Period in ancient Egypt is the time before recorded history, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age and on to the rise of the First Dynasty...
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
The Stonehenge Burials
A great deal has been written about why the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, southern England, was constructed. Perhaps it was designed as a temple to the ancestors...
Article
Rock Drawings of Valcamonica
The rock drawings of Valcamonica are prehistoric petroglyphs carved in the glacier-polished, grey-purple Permian sandstone of the Camonica valley that extends for 90 km in the...
Definition
First Agricultural Revolution
The First Agricultural Revolution, beginning c. 12-20,000 years ago, was characterized by the emergence of different agricultural systems in different parts of the world, whose...
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...
Definition
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes, a Buddhist cave complex located 13 kilometers south of Luoyang in China's Henan province, form some of the most significant and exquisite representations of ancient...
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...
