China

A view of Mount Everest

Mystery on Everest: did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit in 1924?

Swastika on a lotus background

Second World War

Why did Hitler choose the swastika, and how did a Sanskrit symbol become a Nazi emblem?

Postcards from the past competition

Postcards from the past: Aged between 6–13? Enter our exciting lockdown competition

The figure Mulan on a silk print, c19th century

General ancient history

Mulan: the history of the Chinese legend behind the film

(Illustration by Laurie Avon for BBC History Magazine)

37 books for history lovers: BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2019

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

Immigrant children are examined by a city health officer upon arrival at the battery from Ellis Island during a Typhus scare, c1911. (Image by Bettmann/Getty Images)

A short history of quarantine

c1955: A child pulls toilet paper from a roll. But what did humans do before toilet paper was invented? (Photo by Mac Gramlich/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

General ancient history

When was toilet paper invented and what did people use before?

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

How do dictators seize power? The malevolent careers of eight 20th-century leaders explained

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

Dictators explained

New issue World 21 1024x768

Issue 21 of BBC World Histories is out now

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

Elizabeth I preferred thoughtful new year gifts suited to her own tastes such as cloth, personal jewellery and trinkets. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Sobriety, royal presents and Victorian-era musings on failure: an unexpected history of New Year

Chinese propaganda poster, c1969. (Photo by Getty images)

Maoism