General ancient history

Black and white drawing showing King George V using a broom to sweep away several crowns adorned with the words 'Made in Germany'.

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Colourful illustration of 12 historical figures's heads (Winston Churchill, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Thomas Cromwell, Richard III, Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Anne Boleyn, William Marshal, Jane Austen, Hatshepsut, Gandhi and Catherine the Great) shown in a grid pattern.

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A modern fireworks display

General ancient history

Q&A How were fireworks made in ancient China?

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From necromancy and the underworld to getting rid of troublesome spirits, Irving Finkel discusses ghost beliefs in ancient Mesopotamia. (Image by Getty Images)

Ghosts, necromancy & the underworld in ancient Mesopotamia . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Irving Finkel is a British archaeologist and Assyriologist. He is currently the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of Middle East in the British Museum, where he specialises in cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia. (Photograph by Sarah Lee-Eyevine)

Irving Finkel “Ghosts were taken for granted as part of everyday Mesopotamian life”

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Michael Wood on Afghanistan “A new world is emerging, reviving older connections” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Michael Wood on Tamil culture “Let’s cherish this shining light of the great Bronze Age civilisations” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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A bust of Ashoka the Great

History hero Nihal Arthanayake chooses Ashoka the Great (c304–c232 BC) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&A What was Greek fire?

Illustration representing various empires across history

General ancient history

Have empires ever been a force for good?

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Lecture Niall Ferguson on the politics of catastrophe . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Professor Matthew Restall tackles listener questions and popular search queries about the central American civilisation. (Image by Getty Images)

The Maya: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Dr Melanie Giles unravels some of the mysteries around amazingly preserved human remains found in bogs – and reveals what we can learn from them. (Image by Getty Images)

Bog bodies: what can they teach us? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.