Period

A stained glass depiction of the nativity.

General ancient history

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

Listening in: a doctor uses a stethoscope to examine a patient in 1948. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

The birth pains of the NHS

Ivar the Bonelss arrives in England

Who was Ivar the Boneless? Plus 6 more Vikings facts you should know

Coins depicting Viking longships

A brief history of the Vikings

Edwardian hat pin head found on the Thames shore. (Photo by Bloomsbury)

Secrets of the river

Pearl Harbor sparked an aircraft-manufacturing drive – and, for the first time, allowed US women to perform jobs previously held only by men. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Pearl Harbor aftermath: the fallout from the attack

British mystery writer Agatha Christie, c1926. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie

A statue of Leif Eriksson

Russia, North America and the Middle East: where did the Vikings visit to trade and raid?

Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was constructed of iron and glass – so how and why did it burn down?

The Persian ambassador bows before Louis XIV in the Palace of Versailles

King of the world: how Louis XIV turned France into a global power

The Varangian Guard, as shown in the 12th-century Madrid Skylitzes. Around this time, the guard, which protected the Byzantine emperor, was apparently dominated by English warriors who had fled the Norman conquest. (Image by Bridgeman)

A medieval new England: the Anglo-Saxons’ eastern odyssey

Lord Mountbatten at a desk

Lord Mountbatten: Did Prince Philip’s uncle attempt to lead a coup against Harold Wilson’s government?

Einstein on the run

Second World War

Einstein on the run: when the brilliant scientist fled to England

Knole, a house on an epic scale that's now run by the National Trust.

Explore Knowle: the grandest of family homes

Lord Louis Mountbatten with his fiancee Edwina Ashley in 1922. (Photo by Getty Images)

The Mountbattens: success and scandal