General ancient history

Michael Wood on Afghanistan“A new world is emerging, reviving older connections”.

Michael Wood on Tamil culture“Let’s cherish this shining light of the great Bronze Age civilisations”.

Boats clash at sea in this illustration of the 480 BC battle of Salamis, fought between a Persian army led by King Xerxes I and the Greek army led by Themistocles

Salamis, 480 BC: a horror at sea for the Persian empire

A bust of Ashoka the Great

History heroNihal Arthanayake chooses Ashoka the Great (c304–c232 BC).

Ornate water gardens of the ancient fortress of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka

From Nan Madol to Karakorum: 7 cities that history forgot.

The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&AWhat was Greek fire?

Illustration representing various empires across history

General ancient history

Have empires ever been a force for good?

LectureNiall Ferguson on the politics of catastrophe.

Entrance to Doo Cave, one of the caves in the Wemyss Caves system. Wemyss Caves are home to the largest collection of Pictish-inscribed symbols in one place. (Photo by Getty Images)

General ancient history

Discover Fife: 6 fascinating historical places to explore

In partnership with Welcome to Fife

The Maya: everything you wanted to know.

Bog bodies: what can they teach us?.

Assassinations: from the ancient world to JFK.

Voices of China.

The assassination of Julius Caesar

What if…Julius Caesar had not been assassinated?.

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)

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history.

View of a gay pride parade in Boston, Massachusetts, c1977. (Photo by Spencer Grant/Getty Images)

From the ancient world to the 1969 Stonewall Riots: a brief guide to LGBT+ history.

Daily life in ancient Egypt: everything you wanted to know.

Werewolves of the ancient world.

The Persian empire: everything you wanted to know.

Michael WoodThe story of China.

Qing dynasty emperor Kangxi

The voices of China: 5 perspectives on an extraordinary past.

Cundill Prize-winner Camilla Townsend on global history.

The ‘lost’ city of Atlantis.

Ancient Babylon: everything you wanted to know.

Chess players in the 14th century

Ancient board games: which ones did people play for fun in the past?.

Women in Greek myths.

Claudia Jones at the Brixton offices of 'The West Indian Gazette'

Black British historyBritain's black trailblazers.

Neil Oliver

Neil Oliver on searching the ancient past for timeless wisdom.

Ancient wisdom with Neil Oliver.

Halloween postcard

10 things you didn’t know about the history (and mystery) of Halloween