Asia

Crossing the line: Japanese soldiers seize a railway during the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 – prompted by a staged bombing near the city of Mukden. (Photo by adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

A gathering storm: why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor in 1941?

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Second World War

Pearl Harbor Episode 1 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A follower is reflected on a framed photograph of Bhimrao Ambedkar

Bhim Rao Ambedkar: India’s ‘untouchable’ hero

A 14th-century illustration of a farmer leading a pack animal through the ice and snow

The surprisingly modern Middle Ages

A modern fireworks display

General ancient history

Q&A How were fireworks made in ancient China?

Workers package Chicken Ramen, the first mass-produced instant noodles, in a factory in Japan, c1960

The age of noodles: Momofuku Ando and the rise of ramen in post-war Japan

Tim Harper reveals how clandestine networks of anti-colonialist rebels operated across Asia in the early 20th century

Asia’s anti-imperial revolutionaries

Illustration of the Red Dragon of China

Has China always been the world’s greatest superpower?

Manan Ahmed Asif

How Hindustan became India

Sumita Mukherjee discusses India’s women’s suffrage movement, and how it connected to the wider struggle for Indian independence

India’s Suffragettes

Japanese boats approaching a 'black ship' of US Commodore Matthew C Perry. His arrival in Japan in 1853 forcibly introduced the modern west to the semi-self-isolated island nation (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

From Meiji to modernity: how Japan reinvented itself through the 20th century

Statue of Ibn Battuta at the Islamic culture center, Quanzhou, Fujian, China

Ibn Battuta: the most famous traveller of the medieval Arab world

A photograph of the England team that faced Australia at the Oval in the 1896 Ashes series

Batting for the British Empire: how Victorian cricket was more than just a game

Fatima Manji talks about objects and landmarks that are often obscured by the traditional stories told in many heritage sites. (Photographed by Sophie Davidson)

The history hidden in British heritage sites

The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&A What was Greek fire?