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This portrait presents Saladin wearing an elaborate headdress, emphasising his status as a ruler of the medieval Islamic world.

Meet the shadowy assassins who were seconds from taking out Saladin – and upending the Crusades

Was the Boston Tea Party REALLY a peaceful protest?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This scene comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, the nearly 70-metre-long embroidered narrative that chronicles the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry is beautiful, but what was its purpose? New research might have the answer

We often refer to countries as 'female' – so why has history excluded women from nation-building?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor sleep lessons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A short history of ghost hunting. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Becoming Jane Austen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painted in 1540 by Hans Holbein the Younger, this iconic portrait shows Henry VIII at the height of his power. The king’s imposing stance and lavish dress project authority and magnificence, reflecting a reign that transformed England’s religion, politics, and monarchy.

Henry VIII wanted a giant Tudor tomb. So why didn’t he get it?

Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural history of the Atlantic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a monk writing on a large piece of parchment, with colourful and dramatic scenes spilling out of the pen

The Book of Kells: "a masterpiece of medieval calligraphy and painting". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Everything you think you know about Vikings is WRONG. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Emperor Moctezuma II, ruler of the Aztec Empire at the height of its power. His reign oversaw a flourishing capital at Tenochtitlan and an expansive tribute system, but it ended abruptly with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1519.

Did Aztec civilisation really ‘collapse’? The reality isn’t as simple as you might think

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2025 in review: the historical trends of the year. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

AI: good or bad for history? Our experts weigh in. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The summer that changed everything for the Kennedys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1Why the Ancient Egyptians WEREN'T ancient. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This Roman mosaic depicts Orestes and Iphigenia, with Iphigenia holding a small statue of Artemis — imagery drawn from Greek myth and popular across the Roman world. Mosaics like this often decorated the floors of bath complexes and latrines, where vibrant storytelling scenes enlivened communal spaces.

Ancient Roman culture would be baffling to modern eyes – and their toilet habits prove it

News stories from the HistoryExtra podcast. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General History

Beyond the Podcast

Margaret Beaufort: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Idi Amin's willing helpers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a man with a snake like body, all piled on top of each other, with a sad face and long black hair, plus red wings

The US 'voodoo' scare: why 19th-century racists spread fake news about Haiti. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 4“You can’t kill and maim with impunity”: the powerful legacy of Nuremberg. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This composite image brings together Edmond Halley, the comet that bears his name, and the Bayeux Tapestry’s famous depiction of its 1066 appearance. Halley’s calculations in the 18th century revealed the comet’s regular return, transforming a phenomenon once read as an omen of catastrophe — as it was before the Norman Conquest — into a predictable event governed by celestial mechanics.

Has history’s most famous comet been misnamed for centuries? “The answer is clear,” say historians

A large illustration of Henry VIII with several images imprinted on him

Porpoise for breakfast and late night sex visits: Henry VIII's life in a day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A British government poster highlighting the dangers of Aids, 1987

Aids: the epidemic that changed Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A poster showing a black and white photo of Hitler with a young blond boy in the foreground

Hitler's war on words: how the Nazis used art to bolster their murderous regime. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Assassins vs Templars. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This 1835 painting by Daniel Maclise imagines the first meeting between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Their relationship would set in motion a political and religious upheaval — leading to England’s break with Rome and Anne’s eventual rise and tragic fall as queen.

Want to live like a Tudor? Historian Ruth Goodman did, and here are five crucial lessons she learned