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Historian Dennis Duncan guides us through singular stories from the history of the book index

A surprising history of the index.

QuizHow Much Do You Know About Ancient Greece?.

Anna Whitelock's Talking PointsFoundational stories.

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

Tostig Godwinson, brother of King Harold II of England, and King Harald Hardrada of Norway receive the submission of the city of York

Hastings, Stamford Bridge and Gate Fulford: three battles that lost England

Dr Benjamin Pohl explores the role of monks and abbots in the Middle Ages, and asks: why did they write histories?

Why did medieval monks write histories?.

An image of Hippocrates from the 14th century, sitting and holding a book open in front of him

Hippocrates and humours: medicine in ancient Greece

This red-figure pottery depicts a story involving Helen of Troy. Greek tragedies posed their audiences an awkward question: what would you do if you were in a similar situation? Meanwhile, comedy gave satirists a channel through which to cut Athens' political heavies down to size. (DEA/G.NIMATALLAH/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Ancient Greek theatre and the Athenian identity.

The Green Knight shows his severed – and still talking – head to King Arthur in this illustration of the beginning of the 14th century legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: what’s the story?

Perceval meets the Fisher King in an illustration for Chrétien de Troyes’ 12th-century Perceval, The Story of the Grail

How to write a medieval romance.

Download your free Wars of the Roses poster

Adolf Hitler stands with his back to a statue of Discobolos, the Discus Thrower

The classics and racial hatred: how the far right hijacked the ancient world.

The Spartan king Leonidas at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The conflict has become the archetype for the courageous last stand, pitting around 200,000 Persians against 7,000 Spartans.

Your guide to the battle of Thermopylae

A depiction of a Spartan mother saying goodbye to her son, she is seated as he leaves

Women in ancient Greece: what were their lives like?

Tourists at the Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Giza in 1923

Who was ancient Egypt’s most successful pharaoh?

Sumita Mukherjee discusses India’s women’s suffrage movement, and how it connected to the wider struggle for Indian independence

India’s Suffragettes.

Portrait of Prince Philip

Prince Philip: the loyal consort.

A modern illustration shows prisoners of war being sold into slavery

Slavery in ancient Greece: what was life like for enslaved people?

Montage of three talented teenagers. From left to right: Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great, musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and chess player Judit Polgár

The flush of youth: nine talented teenagers from history.

An ancient Greek vase depicting sexual intercourse

A brief history of sex and sexuality in Ancient Greece

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II with her husband Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, on their wedding day

The Prince Philip Years: how did Britain change while he was Queen Elizabeth II's consort?.

A stone bust of the Greek god Dionysius

The gods and their whims: your guide to ancient Greek religion

Neil Faulkner reveals how the Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870-1920 helped give rise to the first modern jihad

Jihad and the British empire.

A trieme is rowed towards a naval battle in a scene depicting the battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC

The ancient Greeks at war: hoplites, the phalanx and the greatest battles

Ancient Greek statesman Solon sits on a throne, with a subject petitioning him

Who’s who in ancient Greece? Meet 14 influential ancient Greeks

From transfusions of lambs’ blood to tooth replacements, Paul Craddock chronicles the strange history of transplant surgery

Transplant surgery: an eye-opening history.

A stone statue of Achilles

Q&AWhy do we say ‘Achilles Heel’?

An ancient Greek vase depicts animal sacrifice of a cow by two women

Your guide to Ancient Greece: everything you wanted to know

Politicians in suits discuss the Paris Peace Treaty inside the Palace of Versailles

The Paris Peace Conference: everything you wanted to know.

World history in 100 moments.