Painting of a European marketplace

Europe

A sculpture of Genghis Kahn

The brutal brilliance of Genghis Khan

A cartoon from 'Punch' magazine (1903) titled 'Fidgety Joe', by Edward Linley Sambourne, depicting two parents representing the Duke of Devonshire and Arthur Balfour (centre), respective leaders of the Liberal Unionist and Conservative parties, trying to control their son, Joseph Chamberlain. In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain began his famous crusade for Imperial Preference – an issue which caused deep divisions in the government and ultimately paved the way for the Liberal Party's return to power in the 1906 general election. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Brexit, the Corn Laws and the Common Market: a brief history of Britain’s trade deals. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Battle of Verdun. French trench on the front lines, 1916. (Photo by Roger Viollet/Getty Images)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Verdun. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

As a child king, Henry VI – shown in a c16th-century portrait – learned the lessons of kingship from books. Unfortunately, those books didn't extol the merits of ruthlessness and practising realpolitik. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

How Henry VI's love of peace cost him the throne – and his life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The regions of Britain in 1635, before the 1707 Acts of Union that united England and Scotland. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

“The anglocentric view we have of British history is unsustainable,” says Misha Glenny. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman mosaic of a dog, bearing the legend 'Cave Canem' underneath, from Pompeii, from Naples National Museum's collection, 1st century. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 things you (probably) didn’t know about animals in ancient Rome

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.

Cesare Lombroso, described as the 'father of criminology'. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

The ‘born criminal’? Lombroso and the origins of modern criminology

The Italian-French poet and campaigner for women's rights, Christine de Pizan (1364–c1430). (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Not so silent: the unquiet women of history

A British military post in a street in Dublin during the Easter Uprising, 1916. (Photo by ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The history of Ireland: 11 milestone moments

John Simpson. (Photo by Chris Williamson)

War and music. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Agrippina the Younger. (Photo by Alamy)

Agrippina the Younger: a Roman woman of great power. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration of Isabella of France. From the book ‘Our Queen Mothers’ by Elizabeth Villiers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Isabella of France: the rebel queen

Irish rugby fans in London for the international match between Ireland and England at Twickenham Stadium, 13 February 1937. (Photo by E Dean/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Rugby warriors: the rugby-playing heroes of the First and Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

English journalist and broadcaster Jenni Murray at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 2017. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)

World-changing women. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi

Did the Age of Exploration bring more harm than good?

Mary Fulbrook and Richard J Evans. (Photo by Fran Monks)

Legacies of the Holocaust. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Aleksander Kulisiewicz, wearing a concentration camp uniform, performs at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Italy, 1965. (Image: Kulisiewicz family)

The LibrarySongs of the Holocaust: the music of Aleksander Kulisiewicz. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An 11th-century depiction of the Anglo-Saxon priest Wulfstan, who feared that Viking raids on England signalled the end of the world. (Image by Mary Evans)

Viking apocalypse: the invasion that spelled doom for the Anglo-Saxons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A maid polishes a silver dish. Female domestic servants were highly vulnerable to sexual exploitation, but in Reformation France they found some ways to fight back. (Photo by: Christophel Fine Art/UIG via Getty Images)

The women who wouldn’t be silenced in Reformation France. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Petra Kelly. “Through sheer force of will, Petra Kelly put green politics on the map. Her success in Germany in the 1980s inspired green parties across the world to shake things up,” says Caroline Lucas. (Photo by Schulze-Vorberg/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

My history hero: Caroline Lucas chooses Petra Kelly (1947–92). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The reconstructed Castle Square offers a glimpse of how Warsaw would have looked in the past. (Photo by Alamy)

My favourite place: Warsaw, Poland

Richard Evans. (Photo by Fran Monks for BBC History Magazine)

Books interview with Richard J Evans: “For Hobsbawm, communism was a matter of life and death”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and husband Willy, photographed c1902. (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

Who was the real Colette?

The president of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt and his staff gathered together in New York to find a solution to the economic crisis. 1935. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Icons: the game changers of the 20th century. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Max Adams. (Photo by Kona Macphee/Royal Literary Fund)

Remarkable women through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Paul Morland. (Photo by Frank Monks)

Books interview with Paul Morland: “Even the Spanish flu pandemic wasn’t enough to stop population growth”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 17th-century church of Santi Luca e Martina overlooks the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum

ExploreRome, Italy: the 'eternal city'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How did Henry VIII and Elizabeth I celebrate Yuletide? (Illustration by Becca Thorne for BBC History Magazine)

Tales from a Tudor Christmas. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Wonders of the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.