Ethiopian children watching a play

Africa

Four figures in a boat, including the ibis-headed god Thoth and the scarab-headed god Khepri

8 ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses you might not know about

Ramesses II holding prisoners

Was Ramesses II really that great?

Great Pyramid of Giza

5 facts about the Great Pyramid of Giza

Why black hair matters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anna WhitelockConfronting slavery’s legacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

10 photographs that made history

Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

Great Pyramid of Giza. Egypt. (Photo by Olgakostenko | Dreamstime.com)

10 of the most surprising numbers in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

ExploreFès, Morocco: Morocco’s spiritual capital. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British Indian soldiers stand at attention prior to inspection at Singapore, December 1941. (Photo by Alamy)

World War Two’s ‘ordinary’ soldiers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Julian Baggini and Justin Champion. (Photo by Fran Monks)

A global history of philosophy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dramatic view of the sun setting over a megalithic tomb and stone circle. (Dreamstime)

Egypt’s lost tombs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The First World War promoted advances in medicine, and in sectors such as aviation, that had not just military but also peacetime benefits, says David Stevenson. Here Captain Francis Derwent Wood treats the face of a patient, creating a mask which matches as closely as possible to the man's faces before he was injured, c1916. (Photo by Horace Nicholls/ IWM via Getty Images)

The First World War: what was it good for?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Rags and riches: Enslaved people wash diamonds in Brazil, guarded by armed overseers, in a German engraving of 1828. Diamonds were discovered in Minas Gerais state in the late 17th century. (Picture by Alamy)

Brazil: a society shaped by slavery. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Men sealing cases of Rowntree’s Elect Cocoa, York, Yorkshire, 1893. (Photo by Borthwick Institute/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Chocolate and empire: from the land where the cocoa grows. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee, Richmond (Photo by Library of Congress)

Who should we commemorate?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An elevated view of Cairo's Old City, which is home to a Roman tower, a Greek Orthodox church and an array of historical mosques and madrasas. (Photo by Getty Images)

Battleground of empires: Cairo in 5 cultures. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting in the tomb of Inherkha – a priest wearing the mask of Horus is performing the opening of the mouth ritual. The purpose was to restore to the deceased the use of the senses, thus restoring life in the next world. Ancient Egyptian 20th dynasty c1186-1070 BC. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Why was mummification used in Ancient Egypt, and why did they leave the heart in the body?

A photograph of Nelson Mandela. Peter Hain told the History Extra podcast about the South African leader’s remarkable achievements in the face of tremendous adversity. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

Peter Hain on Nelson Mandela: “A symbol for good leadership in the world”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson Mandela podcast

Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson Mandela

Mandela: the 20th century’s greatest leader?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britain’s refugee camps. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bronze statue of a she-wolf suckling twin brothers Romulus and Remus, the main characters of Rome's foundation myth. (Photo By DEA/G NIMATALLAH/De Agostini/Getty Images)

10 key Roman dates you need to know

A still from the 2017 film Viceroy's House

Raj nostalgia: reconsidering the stories through which we view empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Entebbe raid. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Africa’s contested past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Creating the SAS. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Sultanahmet district in Istanbul, Turkey, which is classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. (Photo by DOZIER Marc via Getty Images)

A new civilisation rises. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Living with the oceans. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.