Period

The Fire of Rome, by Hubert Robert (1733-1808). "It was the worst possible place for a fire to break out, and fear turned into outright panic," says Dominic Sandbrook. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The LibraryA big day in history: the Great Fire of Rome

A 19th-century woodblock print of Edo, now known as Tokyo. (GraphixaArtis/Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Edo 1850. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard Buckminster standing next to his draft of a house of the 21st century. (Ullstein picture via Getty Images)

My History Hero: Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and British prime minister from 1782–83, was instrumental in the Genevan exiles’ move to southern Ireland. (Getty Images)

The watchmakers of Waterford. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The replica of 'The Matthew' arriving at Douarnenez, France in 1998. It was on the original 15th-century vessel that John Cabot travelled to North America. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: Tudor smuggling. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

America’s ‘birth certificate’ map found in Germany

BBC History Magazine

Trabi jokes

Peover Hall, Cheshire

BBC History Magazine

The BBC Story

BBC History Magazine

Digital roundup

BBC History Magazine

Woman and cow found in Anglo-Saxon grave

Second World War

German bomber insurance

BBC History Magazine

Buy yourself a drink

Abraham Lincoln: 5 facts

General prehistory

St Fagans, Cardiff

Procession portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

How Elizabeth I used parties as a weapon against the Catholic threat to her throne. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

A Rough Justice

Q&A: How did the Romans write fractions?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

It’s time we ditched the myth of German small-arms supremacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Arundel Castle, West Sussex

BBC History Magazine

'Vampire' skeletons found in Bulgaria

BBC History Magazine

Rabbit holiday

BBC History Magazine

Burst bubble

BBC History Magazine

Circulation: William Harvey’s Revolutionary Idea

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Meknes 1681. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph of J Meade Falkner, c1915. He "had an extraordinary mind, the type you don't come across often," says Chris de Burgh of the novelist. (Public Domain)

My history hero: J Meade Falkner (1858-1932). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Flight of Bonaparte from the Battle of Krasnoi, 1815. Artist: Sutherland, Thomas (1785-1838)

How Napoleon was humbled. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Durham Cathedral on a sunny day. Taken near to the water of the River Wear. (Dreamstime)

Where history happened: pilgrimage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard I (also known as Richard the Lionheart) frequently dated documents with the 'regnal year'. An example of this might be "Winchester on the 23 day of April in the fifth year of our reign", which would translate to 23 April 1194. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

A legacy of the lionheart. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The charge of the Scots Greys at the battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815, was immortalised in this famous painting of 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Butler (1846-1933). (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Fighting Scots. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.