General ancient history

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Shiraz, Iran

From conqueror to youth icon: who was Cyrus the Great?.

Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene: why do people want to believe she was a sinner and prostitute?

'The Landing of St Augustine in Kent', AD 597

General ancient history

Q&AWhen did Christianity first arrive in Britain?

Miniature from an Apocalypse of Cambrai depicting the opening of the sixth seal: an earthquake occurs and the sun becomes black. Municipal library, Cambrai, France. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Written in the stars: 7 celestial events that may have changed history.

The figure Mulan on a silk print, c19th century

General ancient history

Mulan: the history of the Chinese legend behind the film

A group of young female Red Army snipers, East Prussia, February 1945 (Photo by Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Women at war.

General ancient history

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

Andrew Ziminski pictured at his workshop in Somerset.

Andrew Ziminski"The stonework at Stonehenge is a Gordian knot of mind-bogglingness".

Bottle of 'love potion'

General ancient history

Spanish fly, holy bread and mashed worms: history's weirdest aphrodisiacs and love potions

Portrait of John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (Lord Lucan), who disappeared in 1974 following a bloody homicide

The curious case of Lord Lucan + 10 other mysterious disappearances from history.

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector

Royalists, beards and cowardice: are these the strangest taxes in history?.

Retiring royals: 9 rulers and royals who stepped down through history.

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

A stained glass depiction of the nativity.

The history of the nativity: how much is known about the birth of Jesus?.

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi

The big questionShould museums return their treasures?.

Cardinal John Henry Newman

How to become a saint.

The Temple Scroll, from the Dead Sea Scrolls

General ancient history

Digging for the Bible: 10 key discoveries from the Holy Land

Daisy Dunn.

The destruction of Pompeii.

Tom Holland by Helen Atkinson

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy.

One of the earliest and most famous examples of extremism comes from ancient Rome. Starting in 264 BC and continuing for more than a century, Rome engaged in a series of wars with neighbouring Carthage. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of extremism – from ancient Rome to al Qaeda.

Medieval trepanning

General prehistory

Q&AWhat is trepanning?

The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides

General ancient history

Happy plants and laughing weeds: how people of the ancient world used – and abused – drugs

AC Grayling on the history of philosophy.

Charlton Hetson races a chariot in Ben-Hur

Wacky races: 10 weird and wonderful contests through history.

ExploreFès, Morocco: Morocco’s spiritual capital.

The food served at the wedding of Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell may be inspired by accounts of ancient Roman excess, says Ayelet Haimson Lushkov. (© Home Box Office, Inc/Sky Atlantic)

Power plays and scheming queens: the ancient history behind Game of Thrones.

Towards the end of the third century BC, the First Emperor of China sought to make his new state immortal by shielding it with what would be the earliest predecessor to the Great Wall. (Photo by Jean-Luc PETIT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

A brief history of border walls – from 2,000 BC to Trump’s Mexico wall.

Miniature from a Persian manuscript depicting Genghis Khan's funeral

General ancient history

Q&AWhere was Genghis Khan buried?

Relief showing lion hunt on horseback.

General ancient history

Ashurbanipal 'the Great', the Lion of Assyria

Max Adams. (Photo by Kona Macphee/Royal Literary Fund)

Remarkable women through history.