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An engraved depiction of John Lilburne, who "stands as a towering icon of the liberal tradition". (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: John Lilburne (c1615-57)

Ye olde travel guide: Thessalonica 1423

Marston Moor, near York, was the site of the greatest battles of the Civil War – the battle of Marston. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History explorer: the Civil War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview: the life and career of Benjamin Disraeli. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A colourful painting from the 15th century showing several merchants gathered together

The LibraryMoving to medieval England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Borneo 1856. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph of historian Sarah Foot at St Mary the Virgin Church

The LibraryHistory Explorer: the rise of English Christianity. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Residents of Chongqing on the streets of their bombed-ravaged city in the autumn of 1940. China's temporary wartime capital was subjected to 218 Japanese air raids between May 1938 and August 1941, costing nearly 12,000 lives. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

China’s forgotten Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The master of dressage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

6 royal births that rocked a nation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Royal Artillery Memorial in London is a tribute to the immense power of artillery and its dominant role in the Great War. Pictured here is a bronze statue of a Royal Artillery driver, leaning back against the parapet in an attitude of exhaustion or contemplation. (Photo by View Pictures/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: remembering the Great War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Astrakhan 1747. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George G Meade, best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E Lee at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. (Photo by Matthew Brady/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Gettysburg: Lincoln’s greatest victory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Three coal miners. (Photo by W. Eugene Smith/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

History through the eyes of the working man. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth I: the monarch behind the mask. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 1832 Reform Act made wide-ranging changes to the British electoral system, creating 67 new constituencies, disenfranchising 56 boroughs and reducing another 31 to a single MP. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

When the people spoke: the Great Reform Act. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Winnipeg 1913. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History heroJo Brand chooses Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A depiction of Hannibal at the battle of Trasimene, which is "today remembered as one of the most stunning victories in military history". (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

A big day in history: Hannibal smashes his foes "at the very gates of Rome". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tironensian communities such as that of Kelso Abbey were particularly popular in Scotland. (Heartland-Arts/Getty Images)

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

Aerial view of the Roman fort of Vercovicium

10 places where history was made. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

German soldiers with a horse-drawn cart during the retreat from Ukraine in 1943. The idea of Teutonic efficiency was a triumph of Nazi spin, says James Holland. (Keystone/Getty Images)

The great misconceptions of the Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryBritain’s brutal battles for hearts and minds. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Truth, lies and historical fiction: an interview with 'The White Queen' writer Philippa Gregory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Madrid 1621. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A big day in history: Rioters give East Anglia's rich and respectable a fright. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Spanish Armada: Tudor spin portrayed the events of August 1588 as a glorious English victory but, argues Robert Hutchinson, bad weather and bad tactics had more to do with the Spanish fleet's failure than Elizabethan derring-do. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Spanish Armada: England's lucky escape. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Pompeian fresco from the first century showing a woman tuning a musical instrument. Excavations at the partially buried Roman city reveal that women played a prominent role in the home, and that they took personal grooming very seriously indeed. (Photo by: Werner Forman/UIG via Getty Images)

At home with the Romans. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.