Empires: Did you mean...?

The Silk Road may have carried the world’s most luxurious fabrics for trade, but it was paved with horses’ hooves. From the Bronze Age to the 20th century, the empires of China, Persia, India, and Mongolia conquered astride the backs of horses...

A map illustrating Spain’s drive to expand its empire following the 1492 Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula and Columbus's discovery of America. Inspired by tales of land and instant riches, thousands flocked to the New World with hopes...

A map of the Hittite Empire and surrounding states, including the Assyrian Empire, the Egyptian Empire, and Ahhiyawa. This map is an extract from the book Empires of Bronze by Gordon Doherty, republished with permission.

Time has seen the rise and fall of a number of great empires - the Babylonian, the Assyrian, the Egyptian, and lastly, the Persian. Regardless of the size or skill of their army or the capabilities of their leaders, all of these empires fell...

A map illustrating the Caucasian states after the First Peace of Nisibis in 299 CE depicts a period of geopolitical stability and well-defined borders between the Roman and Sassanid Empires. This treaty, aimed at settling disputes and establishing...

Robert Guiscard (c. 1015-1085 CE) was a Norman knight who fought with success against the Byzantine and Arab Empires. Painting by Merry-Joseph Blondel (1781–1853 CE). (Palace of Versailles, France)

A map of the Hittite realm, as depicted in the novel Empires of Bronze by Gordon Doherty. Republished with permission.

Portrait of Gordon Doherty, author of Empires of Bronze.

The consequences of the Second World War (1939-45) were many and varied. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and military-dominated Japan were all defeated. Many occupied countries were liberated and regained their freedom while others were obliged...

The ancient Near East, and the historical region of the Fertile Crescent in particular, is generally seen as the birthplace of agriculture. The first agricultural evidence comes from the Levant, from where it spread to Mesopotamia, enabling...