Death

A bronze Greek warrior statue and a costumed hoplite stand against a sunset sky with tall grass and stylised golden olive branches.

Nude inspections, thigh flashers and fights to the death: 15 things you need to know about the Spartans. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A pale stone figurine head with simplified facial features and carved parallel lines suggesting hair, shown against a dark blue background.

A history of the world in 7 faces: from Tutankhamun to the Virgin Mary. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Retracing Eleanor of Castile's final journey. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A tailor in a black vest and white shirt holds two large horns as he attaches them to a Viking’s helmet. The Viking wears a grey helmet, blue tunic, feathered cloak, and has a long orange beard, all set against a bright green background

What are history's biggest misconceptions? 9 experts reveal what we get wrong about the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

“A collage showing three historical figures: an older person in a coat and hat raising a hand, a middle‑aged person in a suit, and an 18th‑century portrait of a man with curled hair and formal dress, all set against a deep blue textured backdrop

Famous last words: what did Winston Churchill, Walt Disney and Marie Antoinette say on their deathbeds?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval manuscript scene depicting three robed figures with pale, gaunt faces standing side by side. To their right, a hooded figure in a long robe lifts a club or staff in a striking pose. The background is plain parchment with several lines of Latin script written above the figures.

It was medieval England's worst antisemitic massacre. Here's what happened next. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black‑and‑white portrait photograph of a person wearing large round glasses, a collared shirt, and a leather jacket rests on top of an aged folder with a string‑tie closure, placed on a wooden surface.

I wrote a letter to the world's most famous terrorist – and nothing could have prepared me for his reply. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A collage featuring portraits of several historical figures linked to infamous crimes, including a Victorian woman at the center, a mustached man in period clothing, a Renaissance-era woman in ornate dress, and another older figure in a hat. Behind them are a chalk-style body outline on a blue textured background and an old multi‑story building with arched windows

History's most notorious crime scenes: from Lizzie Borden's lair to HH Holmes's 'murder castle'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"It was the greatest act of violence for 66 million years": why the modern world was born of bloodshed. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white illustration showing two men dressed in dark clothing and hats sitting in a rowing boat. One of them sits halfway in the boat, holding the oars. The other is leant over the front of the boat and is pulling the body of a woman out of the water. Behind them is a bridge with two large arches underneath it

He's the Victorian serial killer you've never heard of – and we may now know who he was. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval vampire slayers: why did our ancestors dig up and dismember the dead?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white illustration shows a building on fire, with a woman throwing a young child out of the top window

Humble Victorian heroes: the ordinary Britons who sacrificed their lives for others. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph showing two Asian women, one dressed in white robes sitting in a chair, leaning over with her arm around the other, crouched on the floor wearing blue jeans and a purple top

The Bengal Famine was one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies – so why is there no memorial to it?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An image of a man and an old image of a young woman in a venn diagram style

She defied the Nazis and paid the ultimate price: why I'm in awe of Sophie Scholl's courage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sketch showing a woman surrounded by men. One man is putting a hood over her head and another is reading from a book next to her

These are four of the most brutal Victorian murders. Were women really the perpetrators?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An image of Roman ruins, including tall structures with 6 columns in the background. There is a large curved wall in the foreground

Think you know everything about ancient Rome? These 25 facts will prove otherwise. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a haunted house. The background is black and purple, and the house is split into orange, green, black and white boxes. In each box, there are Halloween themed things such as skulls, ghosts, and eyes looking through keyholes

From tragic Tudor queens to restless Roman soldiers: Britain's 8 most haunted houses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A pair of swords in a cross shape, on top of an orange background that features warriors fighting on horses

The assassins' reign of terror: how these 12th-century killers spread fear in the Middle East. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

After Hiroshima: the atomic plague. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A montage of images showing a man standing in the ruins of Hiroshima; a man dressed smartly wearing circular glasses; and a Japanese family with two parents sitting down with five children around them

Senkichi Awaya: the lost mayor of Hiroshima. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

an illustration of a pale blue gravestone with several small drawings on it, including a moon, a heart, a ring and some flowers. Around the gravestone there are flowers and it is set against a bright blue background

Why we should be better about talking about death, with Dr Helen Gittos. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Woodcut of a man swimming in a river, while another man stands on the bank

The most common accidental way to die in Tudor England reveals surprising truths about daily life

From fatal foliage to the perils of ploughing: the Tudor calendar of death. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Caesar's funeral drama: anger and revenge after death. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A depiction of King Æthelred II holding a sword

The St Brice’s Day Massacre: what really happened?

King James III of Scotland (Photo by Hi-Story/Alamy Stock Photo)

The murder of James III: who killed the king of Scots?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lord Lucan and his wife Veronica, shortly after becoming engaged in 1963. It is thought that Lady Lucan was the intended target of the attack in 1974 (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Murder and vanishing without a trace: the mysterious case of Lord Lucan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Egyptologist Howard Carter near golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun in Egypt in 1922.

Is the mummy's curse real? False tales about ancient Egyptian mummies (plus some true ones). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty

What was the Erfurt Latrine Disaster?

US founding father Benjamin Franklin

Q&AWhy was Benjamin Franklin rumoured to be a serial killer?