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Featured
Definition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was a US military expedition of exploration, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose goal was to explore the newly acquired western lands that comprised the Louisiana Purchase and to reach the Pacific Ocean. The journey, which covered about 8,000...
Featured
Definition
Golden Fleece
The golden fleece is the fleece of a flying, winged ram named Crius Chrysomallos, or 'Golden-fleeced Ram', in Greek mythology. It is best known from the story of Jason and the Argonauts, who...
Featured
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12 Ancient Scripts We Still Cannot Read - Undeciphered Scripts & Lost Languages of the Ancient World
Throughout history, writing enabled societies to record administration, trade, law, religion, and historical events. From...
Featured
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Map of Hadrian’s African Journey, 128 CE - Military Discipline and the Roman Frontier in North Africa
Hadrian’s African journey (128 CE) was a concentrated inspection of Rome’s military establishment and southern frontier...
Latest Content
Definition
Guadalcanal Campaign - WWII's Brutal Fight to Control the Solomons
The Guadalcanal Campaign (aka Battle for Guadalcanal) in the Solomon Islands was a series of land, air, and sea battles between US and Japanese forces...
Definition
Macedon - Birthplace of Alexander the Great
Macedon was an ancient kingdom located in the north of the Greek peninsula first inhabited by the Mackednoi tribe whose identity was challenged by some southern Greeks...
Definition
Gettysburg Address - Lincoln's Most Important Speech
The Gettysburg Address was a speech delivered by US President Abraham Lincoln on 19 November 1863. It was given during the formal dedication of the Soldiers’...
Article
The Rise of the Christian Cult of the Saints - Relics, Tombs, and Pilgrimages
Many world religions have elevated individuals with the title of "saint," which often simply means "pious one," "devout," or "holy one." The...
Article
Battle of Midway - Japan's First Naval Defeat in WWII
The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June 1942, was the turning point of the Pacific War. The US Pacific fleet sank four Japanese aircraft carriers for the loss of only...
Definition
Strabo of Amasia - Author of the 1st-Century Geography
Strabo of Amasia (c. (c. 64 BCE - c. 24 CE) was the author of Geography, a 17-book geography of the world as it was known to the Greeks and Romans of the time...
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The Royal House of Windsor in Britain - Rebranding the Crown - From Saxe-Coburg to Windsor
The House of Windsor represents the modern phase in the long dynastic evolution of the British monarchy, reflecting how royal identity...
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12 Ancient Scripts We Still Cannot Read - Undeciphered Scripts & Lost Languages of the Ancient World
Throughout history, writing enabled societies to record administration, trade, law, religion, and historical events. From...
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Map of the Travels of Leo Africanus, c. 1509–1518 - Africa, Trade and Empires in the Early 16th Century
The travels of Leo Africanus (al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fāsī, c. 1494–c. 1554) illuminate the political, commercial...
For You
Definition
Enlil - Mesopotamian Keeper of the Tablets of Destiny
Enlil (also known as Ellil and Nunamnir) was the Sumerian god of the air in the Mesopotamian pantheon, but he was more powerful than any other elemental deity...
Article
Twelve Great Women of Ancient Persia
Women in ancient Persia had more rights and greater freedom than any other ancient civilization including, according to some scholars, even ancient Egypt which is famous...
Article
Hidatsa Sun Dance Ritual
The Hidatsa Sun Dance Ritual (also known as Hidatsa Sun Dance) is a Native American story of the Hidatsa nation illustrating the practice of an individual initiating the Sun Dance...
Definition
Piers Gaveston - The Rise and Fall of Edward II's Controversial Companion
Piers Gaveston (lived circa 1284-1312) was a Gascon-born English nobleman, famous as the favorite of King Edward II of England (reign 1307-1327...
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
Troy C. 1700-1250 BC (Fortress, 17)
Another fine Osprey book covering Troy from 1700 to 1250BC and including sections on Bronze Age chronology; the history of the archaeological excavations to the present day...
Book Review
WARFARE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
"Warfare in the Ancient World" by Brian Todd Carey Is a book that not only explains warfare but why certain major events took place during ancient times. The book goes from the...
Statistics
| 2,964 | definitions |
| 1,738 | articles |
| 19,651 | illustrations |
| 2,618 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,503 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,324 | contributors |
| 15,289 | keywords |
| 51,905 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Dodona
Dodona in Epirus, north-west Greece, lies in a valley on the eastern slopes of Mt. Tomaros and was famed throughout the ancient Greek world as the site of a great oracle of Zeus. The site was expanded...
Definition
Kalhu / Nimrud
Kalhu (also known as Caleh, Calah, and Nimrud, in modern-day northern Iraq) was a city in ancient Mesopotamia that became the capital of the Assyrian Empire under Ashurnasirpal II (r. 884-859...
Definition
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix (82-46 BCE) was a Gallic chieftain who rallied the tribes of Gaul (modern-day France) to repel the Roman invasion of Julius Caesar in 52 BCE. His name means "Victor of a Hundred...
Definition
Demeter
Demeter was one of the oldest gods in the ancient Greek pantheon. Demeter was a goddess of agriculture and guaranteed the fertility of the earth. She protected both farming and vegetation. The...
Definition
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the designation of Jesus of Nazareth (d. c. 30 CE), who was an itinerant Jewish prophet from the Galilee in northern Israel. He preached the imminent intervention in human affairs...
Article
Native American Land & The Mysterious Butte Legend
The Native American understanding of the land as a living thing, providing for, guiding, and speaking to the people, is expressed in many of their stories, legends...
Definition
Diomedes
Diomedes is the king of Argos and a hero in Greek mythology. He was one of the leading warriors in the Trojan War, with the reputation of being gifted and strong in combat. He contributed 80 ships...
Definition
Seven Lucky Gods
In Japanese folklore the Shichifukujin are the Seven Lucky Gods who may also be known as the Seven Gods of Happiness or the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. The seven gods are in fact of diverse...
Medieval Period
Article
Pilgrimage in the Byzantine Empire
Pilgrimage in the Byzantine Empire involved the Christian faithful travelling often huge distances to visit such holy sites as Jerusalem or to see in person relics of holy...
Article
The Historical King Arthur
The legends surrounding King Arthur and his knights have charmed and intrigued people for centuries and their popularity continues in the present day. As with any famous figure...
Definition
Gandhara Civilization
The Gandhara Civilization existed in what is now Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan from the middle of the 1st millennium BCE to the beginning of the 2nd millennium CE. Although multiple...
Article
Childhood in the Viking Age
Childhood in the Viking Age (c. 750-1100) was largely undocumented as historical records primarily focus on adults, particularly men. Likewise, little is known about children's...
Definition
Kaupang
Kaupang was a Norwegian Viking Age town with a seasonal emporium established around c. 780 CE and abandoned around c. 950 CE. Kaupang is located on the western side of Oslofjord (Viksfjord) in...
Definition
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry shows in pictures the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, and his 1066 defeat of King Harold Godwinson at...
Definition
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was the European appanage of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE). Begun in earnest by Batu Khan in 1227 CE, the territory that would eventually become the Golden Horde came to...
Image Gallery
The Rise of the Holy Roman Empire in 4 Maps
In this gallery of four maps we chart the rise and expansion of the Holy Roman Empire, a pivotal period in European history following the decline of the Roman Empire...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was an English navigator and hydrographer. He was the first person to map the coastal outline of Australia in 1801-1803, following his circumnavigation of the...
Definition
Antinomian Controversy - Inspiring the Separation of Church and State in the USA
The Antinomian Controversy (1636-1638) was a religious-political conflict that divided the Massachusetts Bay Colony of New England in the...
Collection
Persian Poets and Literature
Persian literature is usually dated to the Behistun Inscription of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE) at c. 522 BCE. It is generally understood that a significant body of work...
Definition
Conquistador
The conquistadors, meaning "conquerors", were Iberian military adventurers who operated as the vanguard of empires in the 15th and 16th centuries by exploring areas of the world unknown to...
Article
HMS Victory - Nelson's Flagship & Oldest Ship of the Royal Navy
Smasher of Napoleon's invasion dream, veteran of three major wars, and scene of the death of the Royal Navy's greatest hero, HMS Victory is one of Britain's...
Definition
Anglo-Mysore Wars
The Four Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799) were fought between the British East India Company (EIC) and the state of Mysore. Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore", were...
Definition
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a post-modernist French philosopher and is considered one of the most influential philosophers of modern times. Aside from his critiques of social institutions...
Article
The Ghost Wife
The Ghost Wife is a Pawnee story dealing with loss, grief, the inability to let go of the past, and the danger of dealing with ghosts. It reflects the Pawnee understanding of the unpredictable...
Modern Period
Article
Sojourner Truth's Escape from Slavery
Sojourner Truth's Escape from Slavery comes from the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, an account of the famous abolitionist's life as given to her friend and admirer Olive...
Article
Poems of Phillis Wheatley and Jefferson's Criticism
Although Phillis Wheatley's poetry found an audience upon publication, it was not well received by everyone and some, notably Thomas Jefferson (l. 1743-1826...
Definition
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, writer, naturalist, and political activist. He is best known for his book Walden, published in 1854, which recounts his two-year...
Article
Olaudah Equiano's Account of the Middle Passage
Olaudah Equiano (l. c. 1745-1797, also known as Gustavus Vassa) was an African of the Igbo village of Essaka, of the Kingdom of Benin (modern Nigeria), who was enslaved...
Article
Jicarilla-Apache Creation Story & Origin of the Animals
The Jicarilla-Apache Creation Story and Origin of the Animals are two origin myths of the Jicarilla-Apache nation of modern-day New Mexico. The Apache people...
Article
Battle of the Ruhr
The Battle of the Ruhr or the Ruhr Air Offensive (March-July 1943) was a sustained bombing campaign by the British and the United States air forces against the industrial heartland of...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of North American Plains Indians
The Great Plains of North America were once home to over 30 distinct Native American nations now referred to as the Plains Indians, Native Americans of the Plains and...
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...
Prehistoric Period
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...
Article
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Hunter-gatherer societies are – true to their astoundingly descriptive name – cultures in which human beings obtain their food by hunting, fishing, scavenging, and gathering...
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
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
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...
Definition
Homo Naledi
Homo naledi is an extinct species of human discovered in Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013 CE in what has become the biggest single-species hominin find in Africa to this day, which is...
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
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, is an extinct herbivore related to elephants who trudged across the steppe-tundras of Eurasia and North America from around 300,000 years ago until...
