Africa

The step pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara

Q&A How many pyramid tombs are there in Egypt?

Bust of Emperor Alexander Severus

The Library Ancient Rome in crisis

Archaeologist Howard Carter opens the coffin of Tutankhamun. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

What killed Tutankhamun?

Portrait of Hendrik Witbooi

My history hero: Hendrik Witbooi (born c1830)

Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie Mandela upon his release from prison. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

My history hero Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

(Illustration: Jonty Clark for BBC History Magazine)

Ye olde travel guide: Goree, 1782

Napoleon in exile

Q&A Why was Napoleon exiled to St Helena?

Illustration of the Zodiac Man

General ancient history

Q&A Why did physicians ‘bleed’ their patients?

Portrait of Miranda Kaufmann. (Image by Jeni Nott)

History explorer: Africans in Tudor and Stuart Britain

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African history special

An Egyptian mummy receiving a CT scan

Looking inside ancient Egyptian mummies

The Sunken Rock Hewn church of Bet Giyorgis (St George), Lalibela, Northern Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Africa *** Local Caption *** The most famous of Lalibela's Rock Hewn churches, The Sunken Rock Hewn church of Bet Giyorgis, 'St. George', dating from the 12th Century, Lalibela's Rock Hewn Churches rank amoung the greatest religio-historical sites, not only in the African continent but in the Christian World

My favourite place: Tom Hall

Tasmanian aborigines and the historic importance of the River Nile

Photo of Lincoln Cathedral

Q&A What overtook the Great Pyramid of Giza as the tallest manmade structure?

Journalist Ruth First, pictured right, at Anti-Apartheid Movement's freedom day rally in Trafalgar Square, London in 1965. Also pictured are actor Patrick Wymark (left) and Bishop Reeves (middle). (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

My history hero: Ruth First (1925-82)