Asia

A lithographic Victorian trade card promoting the Forepaugh circus' new white elephant, Buffalo, New York, circa 1880. (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)

Q&A Why do we say ‘white elephant’?

Charles Sobhraj (centre) pictured in 2011, while trying to sue the Nepalese government for unlawful imprisonment

The real history of The Serpent: the true story of Charles Sobhraj

The 'Alexander Mosaic' showing Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great: all you need to know about the empire builder and military genius

100 women who changed the world

Women’s history podcasts: 18 HistoryExtra episodes not to miss

In this lecture, Michael Wood uses the stories of five individuals from across the centuries to cast light on China’s rich and varied history

General ancient history

Voices of China

A Red Cross worker in the United States, 1918

Spanish flu: the virus that changed the world

US marines advance up Iwo Jima's beaches

Second World War

The battle for Iwo Jima: why did it happen and why was it so hard fought?

Graham Hutchings discusses how China was convulsed by the communist revolution of 1949. (Image by Getty Images)

Chaos & communism: China’s 1949 revolution

An Athenian red-figure kylix (cup) dating from around 510–500 BC depicts a young pentathlete pulling his older lover towards him for a kiss. In many of the city-states of ancient Greece, sex between a man and a youth was an accepted – even idealised – form of love, its virtues extolled in works by writers including Plato. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General ancient history

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history

This second-century AD column shows Romans beheading German nobles. Armed with the lethal gladius (short sword), Roman soldiers were feared throughout the empire. (Image by Bridgeman)

A guide to the Roman army, plus 10 facts about life in the legions

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones responds to listener questions and popular internet search queries about one of the dominant powers of the ancient world, the Persian empire. (Image by Getty Images)

General ancient history

The Persian empire: everything you wanted to know

Photo of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria: how and why did she become Empress of India?

‘Inkhorn’ was the term for an inkwell made out of a small horn and became a nickname for the new words being created by playwrights and poets, such as William Shakespeare. (Photo by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)

The evolution of the English language

An engraving depicting London's Piccadilly Circus heaving with crowds on their way to The Great Exhibition of 1851. A banner reading 'God save the Queen and Prince Albert' has been strung across the street. Within the Crystal Palace some 100,000 objects were displayed – taking up ten miles of space – the work of 15,000 contributors. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

From the Great Exhibition to the Festival of Britain: the decline and fall of the British empire

English cavalry attacking the Sikh at the Battle of Aliwal

Victoria the warrior queen