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History by the Numbers - 12 Visual Stories of Power, Conflict, Discovery & Change
History is filled with numbers: years of rule, distances travelled, armies mobilized, cities besieged, territories conquered, and generations...
Featured
Article
Siege of Detroit
The Siege of Detroit (15-16 August 1812) was one of the first major actions of the War of 1812. After a botched invasion of Canada, a US army retreated to Fort Detroit, where it was besieged...
Featured
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Ragnarök: The Complete Timeline - The End and Rebirth of the Norse World
Ragnarök, often translated as the “doom” or “fate of the gods”, is the climactic destruction and renewal of the cosmos in Norse mythology. Its...
Featured
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The Bayeux Tapestry: The Story of 1066 - Conquest, Propaganda, and the Norman Claim to England
The Bayeux Tapestry, created in the late 11th century, probably in England for a Norman patron, is one of the most important...
Latest Content
Article
Vienna’s Legacy: The Habsburg Empire on the Intellectual Map
While most people today know about the influence of London, Paris, and New York on modern...
Image Gallery
History by the Numbers - 12 Visual Stories of Power, Conflict, Discovery & Change
History is filled with numbers: years of rule, distances travelled, armies...
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...
Article
The Integration of Church and State in the Roman Empire
In the ancient world, "religion" and society were not separate entities. Various gods dictated...
Definition
First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) - The Wake-Up Call for Both Sides in the American Civil War
The First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) on 21 July 1861...
Article
Battle of Rich Mountain - The Victory That Created an Army
The Battle of Rich Mountain (11 July 1861), fought in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia...
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Definition
Ashurnasirpal II
Ashurnasirpal II (r. 884-859 BCE) was the third king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. His father was Tukulti-Ninurta II (r. 891-884 BCE) whose military campaigns throughout the region provided...
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
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich (l. 1342-1416 CE, also known as Dame Julian, Lady Juliana of Norwich) was a Christian mystic and anchoress best known for her work Revelations of Divine Love (Julian's...
Definition
Lasus of Hermione
Lasus of Hermione was a celebrated 6th century BCE Greek lyric poet and musician credited with making significant innovations in Greek music. The Suda (a large Byzantine record from the...
Book Reviews
Book Review
Athelstan
“It was the most terrible conflict that anyone could remember. Entire kingdoms were mobilised for combat. Slaughter fit to stupefy poets was visited on the ranks of the rival combatants" (3...
Book Review
Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar
Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar is a deeply researched book, exploring every avenue of the history of sugar. It is a book that historians, academics, and...
Book Review
Rome and Persia - The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry
Adrian Goldsworthy is one of the most steadily prolific classical antiquarians writing today. Having received his DPhil in ancient history from Oxford, Goldsworthy...
Statistics
| 2,960 | definitions |
| 1,735 | articles |
| 19,637 | illustrations |
| 2,617 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,346 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,326 | contributors |
| 15,240 | keywords |
| 50,676 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Collection
Warfare in Classical Greece
The ancient Greek city-states were in a constant rivalry for land, resources and power which meant that warfare became an ever-present aspect of life. Athens and Sparta were famous...
Article
Mesopotamian Education - Creating the First Written Works in History
Mesopotamian education was invented by the Sumerians following the creation of writing circa 3600/3500 BCE. The earliest schools were attached to...
Definition
Electra by Sophocles
Electra is a play written by the 5th-century BCE Greek tragedian Sophocles. Similar to Aeschylus' Libation Bearers, Electra focuses on the return of Electra's brother Orestes from exile...
Article
Police in Ancient Egypt
In any society, members of the community recognize they are required to restrain certain impulses in order to participate in the community. Every civilization has had some form of...
Collection
Ancient Persian Religion & Mythology
Ancient Persian religion developed in the region of Greater Iran by the 3rd millennium BCE and corresponds to what is known today as ancient Persian mythology. This belief...
Definition
Magi
The Magi are the visitors who came to Bethlehem to worship the newly-born Jesus of Nazareth in the gospel of Matthew (2:1-2). 'Magi' is a transliteration of the Greek magos from old Persian magus...
Article
The Celtic Invasion of Greece
Between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, Celtic tribes moved en masse into southern Europe, intent on seizing land and wealth to feed their swelling numbers. As these tribes began...
Definition
Sushruta
Sushruta (c. 7th or 6th century BCE) was a physician in ancient India known today as the “Father of Indian Medicine” and “Father of Plastic Surgery” for inventing and developing surgical procedures...
Medieval Period
Article
Seven Notorious Women Pirates
In this article, we look at the lives and deeds of seven notorious women pirates. There is Teuta, the Balkan enemy of ancient Rome; Alwilda, the Scandinavian princess who chose...
Definition
Frodi
Frodi (Old Icelandic: Fróði) is the name of legendary Danish kings in Norse mythology. There is a whole range of kings bearing the same name, pointing to fascinating traditions in both Old Icelandic...
Definition
Kinkakuji
Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, more formally referred to as Rokuon-ji or 'Deer Garden Temple' and otherwise known as 'The Temple of the Golden Pavilion', was first built in 1397 CE. Originally...
Definition
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of military campaigns organised by popes and Christian western powers to take Jerusalem and the Holy Land back from Muslim control and then defend those gains. There...
Article
The Red Handprints of Cozumel & Tulum
The Maya sites of San Gervasio (on the island of Cozumel) and Tulum (on the mainland of Mexico in Quintana Roo) are often overlooked for the better-known Chichen Itza or...
Collection
Yorks v Lancasters - The Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455-1487 CE) was a four-decade struggle between two branches of the descendants of Edward III of England (r. 1327-1377 CE). These two family...
Article
Vikings TV Series - Historical Accuracy
Vikings (2013-present) is a historical fiction TV series created and written by English screenwriter Michael Hirst for the History Channel. Filmed in Ireland, the show...
Definition
Maya Government
Ancient Maya government was formed on the basis that rulers were thought to have been god-like, which to some might suggest one unified state. However, the consensus amongst anthropologists...
Early Modern Period
Article
Mikhail Kutuzov & the Russian Military Enlightenment
The Military Enlightenment of the 18th century was a concerted effort across Europe to engage with the science of war. Embracing rationalism and professionalism...
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
Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) was the Tsar of Russia from 1682-1721 and Emperor of Russia from 1721-1725. During his long reign, Peter had absolute power and brought real change to...
Article
The Portuguese Colonization of the Azores
The Azores (Açores) are a North Atlantic island group, which was uninhabited before being colonized by the Portuguese from 1439. The Azores were strategically important...
Definition
English Reformation
The English Reformation began with Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE) and continued in stages over the rest of the 16th century CE. The process witnessed the break away from the...
Article
Cheyenne Legends of the Buffalo
Two popular Cheyenne legends are the Origin of the Buffalo and How the Buffalo Hunt Began (also known as The Great Race), both dealing with the importance of the North American...
Definition
Numismatics
Numismatics the study of coinage, and is a wonderfully useful tool in the archaeologist's and historian's toolbox. One of the best things for an archaeologist to find while digging is a coin...
Article
A Teton Ghost Story
A Teton Ghost Story is a tale from the Native American Teton (Tetonwan) of the Oceti Sakowin (People of the Seven Council Fires), better known as the Sioux, on one of the possibilities...
Modern Period
Definition
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-6) was a short and bloody conflict won by the British East India Company (EIC) against the Sikh Empire. The EIC was keen to expand into northern India...
Definition
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre of 29 December 1890 was the slaughter of over 250 Native Americans, mostly of the Miniconjou people of the Lakota Sioux nation, by the US military at Wounded...
Definition
Sword Beach
Sword Beach was the easternmost beach of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The 3rd British Infantry Division was given the task of taking the beach while paratroopers and Royal...
Definition
Bleeding Kansas - Dress Rehearsal for the American Civil War
Bleeding Kansas' was a term coined by the New York Tribune in 1856, referring to the escalating hostilities in the Kansas Territory between pro-slavery...
Definition
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess (1894-1987) was deputy leader of the German Nazi Party and a key figure in the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) until his bizarre decision in 1941 to fly to Scotland. Hess...
Definition
Alexandra David-Néel
Alexandra David-Néel (l. 1868-1969) was a world traveler, writer, and Buddhist spiritualist who wrote over 30 books on her journeys which took her 18,641.136 miles (30,000 km) around...
Definition
Indian Princely States
The Indian Princely states (aka Native States or Princely India) were those states in the Indian subcontinent the British did not conquer but which were typically bound by treaty first...
Collection
The History of The East India Company
The British East India Company (EIC) was founded as a trading company in 1600. Run by a board of directors in London, the company employed a private army, first to protect...
Prehistoric Period
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...
Definition
Poulnabrone
Poulnabrone is a portal tomb in the region known as the Burren, County Clare, Ireland and the oldest dated megalithic monument in the land. The name means "Hole of the Quern Stones", but the...
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...
Image Gallery
Prehistoric Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly are a small island group west of Cornwall. Despite their small size, they abound in prehistoric sites dating from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, including...
Article
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief...
Definition
Newgrange
Newgrange is a Neolithic monument located in the region of Bru na Boinne, County Meath, Ireland. The name is fairly modern and comes from the 'newer' grange (farm) of the monks of Mellifont Abbey...
Definition
Paleolithic
The Palaeolithic ('Old Stone Age') makes up the earliest chunk of the Stone Age – the large swathe of time during which hominins used stone to make tools – and ranges from the first known tool...
Definition
Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a Stone Age site in north-west France distinguished by its two large stone tombs and massive granite standing stone or menhir. The monumental structures, all built within metres...
