Images

This infographic illustrates the Varna caste system in ancient India. First mentioned in the Rig Veda's Purusha Sukta c. 1200–1000 BCE, it shows society divided into four groups that emerged from the sacrifice of Purusha, a transcendent and...

A modern (and speculative) colourisation of a 1941 photograph showing troops of Germany's Afrika Korps in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45).

The emblem on a tank of the Deutsches Afrika Korps, Germany's armoured divisions active in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)

The German commander Erwin Rommel inspects the German Afrika Korps in North Africa in March 1941. He is accompanied by General Garibaldo on the left. (Imperial War Museums)

Coins of Euthydemus II, early 2nd century BCE. Peshawar Museum, Pakistan.

This map illustrates the rise and growth of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (the name "Rûm" was a synonym for the medieval Eastern Roman Empire and its people, a usage that continues in modern Turkish. It originates from the Aramaic and Parthian...

Constitution of the United States, 17 September 1787. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.

The First Triumvirate was an informal and secret political alliance formed in 60 BCE between three of Rome's most powerful figures: Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. This alliance allowed them to bypass the Roman...

Signature page of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.

French soldiers storm Redoubt No. 9 on 14 October 1781 during the Siege of Yorktown. By Onfroy de Breville, c. 1900.