HistoryExtra

Your search results

Showing 1 to 30 of 7171 results

A statue of an ancient Mesopotamian demon stands before a backdrop of cuneiform text, evoking the richly layered world of ancient Near Eastern religion.

General ancient history

Long before Dracula, an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation raised the world's oldest vampires

This late 15th-century illustration shows crusader forces besieging Damascus during the ill-fated Second Crusade in 1148. The armies of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Emperor Conrad III of Germany, and King Louis VII of France converge on the city, only for the campaign to collapse in defeat. Likely produced in Bruges for a chronicle of the Crusades, the image reflects how later medieval artists interpreted one of the crusading movement’s most damaging failures.

Who won the crusades? The causes, death toll, and number of medieval holy wars explained

Beyond the podcast: Jane Austen

Fake news and the Dreyfus affair: the media-fuelled scandal that divided France.

Did Hitler have a secret Jewish grandfather? Our DNA research has solved the mystery.

This William H. Mumler photograph shows a bearded man seated while a faint female “spirit” appears behind him. Mumler’s images — a blend of portraiture and supposed spirit photography — captivated Victorians eager for proof of the afterlife, even as critics accused him of trickery and photographic manipulation.

Did he photograph the ghost of a president? Meet the scheming Victorian who exploited a grieving America

An illustration of a witch on a broomstick, wearing a pointed hat.

General History

Why do ‘wicked’ witches wear pointed hats? The real history explained

Portrait of Alaric (LEANDER VYVEY) in the day, in armour. Alaric is in battlegear because he leads an army to attack Rome in revenge.

History TV and radio in the UK: what's on our screens this week?

Books of the Year 2025

BBC History Magazine's 2025 Books of the Year37 best books for history lovers

This Roman mosaic depicts gladiators locked in combat. Created to celebrate the spectacle of the arena, it offers a glimpse into one of the most popular, and most brutal, entertainments of the Roman world.

Step inside the ancient Roman empire's gladiatorial arenas, and witness 24 hours of shocking violence

After Franco: Spain's miraculous transition to democracy.

General History

Quiz of the weekWhat was Giuseppe Garibaldi's signature clothing item?

A depiction of Roman communal toilets

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z.

A painting of a ship with several white sails and flags on it. In front of the ship, there are large crowds of people in small boats

Not 1066 again! Should we ditch our obsession with dates?.

Toilets through timeAbsolutely bogging.

An illustration showing a samurai soldier dressed in a black and blue robe. Behind him is a person holding up a bar with two buckets of poo hanging from it.

Let’s think before we flush, with Dr Christopher Harding.

This 15th-century 'Zodiac Man' illustrates how each sign of the zodiac was thought to govern a different part of the human body. Such images helped shape early modern astrology, which blended medieval medical theory with renewed interest in celestial influence. Astrological medicine guided decisions from diagnosis to bloodletting, reflecting a world in which the heavens were seen as active forces in human health and destiny.

How do you cope with living in a century of chaos? By learning how to predict the future

A red and black illustration showing a large wolf jumping up, above a man laying on the floor. Around the central wolf, there are several others

Spectral beasts and hounds of hell: a spooky history of Britain's ghost dogs.

Research into Adolf Hitler's DNA has thrown up some extraordinary insights into the Nazi dictator’s private life. (Images by Getty Images)

Second World War

“We analysed Hitler’s DNA – and what we discovered made us gasp”

This 1865 image shows Giuseppe Garibaldi at Caprera, the veteran revolutionary whose campaigns made him a hero of the Italian unification movement. Celebrated across Europe, Garibaldi became the enduring symbol of Italy’s struggle for independence and national unity.

History’s sexiest revolutionary? Meet the mesmerising general whose charms helped win a war

An illustration showing a large white building with a triangular roof and columns. In front of it, there is an open gate with chains and several padlocks hanging from the left hand side

Who should decide the stories museums tell?.

This late 16th-century portrait by John de Critz depicts Sir Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590), Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster. A shrewd diplomat and master of espionage, Walsingham built the intelligence network that helped safeguard the Tudor state from plots and foreign threats.

Elizabeth I’s shadowy spy network was tasked with uncovering secret conspiracies. Here’s what it found

Shea Whigham as Roscoe Conkling in the Netflix series Death by Lightning, beside a portrait of the real Conkling.

Who was Roscoe Conkling? The real story of how US politics’ ‘spoils system’ met its match

On 27 May 1954, Sir Winston Churchill addresses a meeting of the Women’s Conservative Association. Nearly a decade after leading Britain through the Second World War, the prime minister remained a commanding figure in British politics and public life.

Second World War

It was Operation Unthinkable: Churchill's "impossible" plan to start World War 3

BBC History Magazine 2024 issues

I met two survivors of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz. This is their story.

This 1876 portrait by shows Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), the formerly enslaved man who became one of America’s leading abolitionists, orators, and reformers.

Frederick Douglass escaped enslavement in 1838 – but here's why he was still far from true freedom

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain.

Defendants at the Nuremberg Trials listen to proceedings in 1946. In the front row sit Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner; behind them are Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, and Fritz Sauckel. Together they represent the senior leadership of the Nazi regime held to account for its crimes.

Second World War

“I hope I would have defended the Nazis at Nuremberg”

Hermann Göring in his office at the Reichstag, where he served as a leading figure of the Nazi regime. As Hitler’s deputy and head of the Luftwaffe, Göring wielded immense power during the Third Reich, later facing prosecution for war crimes at Nuremberg.

Second World War

Who was Hermann Göring? The truth about Hitler’s drug-fuelled enforcer who met his downfall at Nuremberg