Faisal Of Iraq

Middle East

An open Bible on an altar

General ancient history

A history of the BibleWho wrote it and when?

Holy sites of multiple religions stud Jerusalem’s skyline, including the Dome of the Rock (Photo by KiyechkaSo/Shutterstock)

“I don’t underestimate how difficult it is to satisfy everybody” | Simon Sebag Montefiore on writing the history of Jerusalem. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Leper Crusaders: how disease-stricken knights forged an army in the Holy Land. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on Gaza's astonishing cultural heritage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Catalan Atlas from 1375

North, south, east and west: how ancient civilisations found their bearings before the compass. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Video podcastThe Iranian embassy siege: an SAS hostage drama in London. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on the Bangladesh Liberation War“From Africa to the Indian subcontinent, imperialism has left a trail of damage”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photo of a group of pyramids against a clear blue sky.

Wanderlust: the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Watercolour illustration of Istanbul

Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul: the history of a city of many names. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The big questions of the crusades

Israel and the Palestinians: a history of conflict in 8 key episodes

The head and upper body of a monumental statue of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, which has been exhibited at the British Museum, London, since the 19th century (Photo by World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Was Ramesses II the greatest pharaoh of ancient Egypt?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The crusader statesWhat was life like?

A joint British-Jewish patrol in Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab Revolt (Photo by Bridgeman Images)

How Britain stirred the cauldron of conflict in Palestine. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Genghis Khan’s tent, as shown in a 14th-century Persian miniature. The Mongols’ conquests transformed the way the people of Eurasia did trade, shared knowledge, paid taxes and fought wars (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

What was life like under the Mongol empire?

Composite image of depictions of Queen Cleopatra

The face of Cleopatra: what did she look like, and was she really so beautiful?

Illustration of King Richard I, on horseback, in the Holy Land, by Henry Justice Ford (Photo by The History Emporium / Alamy Stock Photo)

What if...Richard the Lionheart had recaptured Jerusalem?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Thousands of Muslims gather in India in 2019 to offer Eid prayers, marking end of holy month of Ramadan

General ancient history

A brief history of Ramadan

Fires burn in Baghdad following an attack on the Iraqi capital, March 2003. The motives for the war continue to spark controversy (Photo by Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

“The early 2000s was a strange era of fear and terror”: remembering the Iraq War 20 years on. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Aerial view of the 2,000-year-old Gaziantep Castle in Turkey, showing the damage caused by the earthquakes that hit the nation and neighbouring Syria in February 2023 (Photo by Yan Zhigang/VCG via Getty Images)

Preservation of heritage sites: what happens in the aftermath of a catastrophe?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mavia of Tanukh, illustration by Lynn Hatzius

Mavia Of TanukhWarrior queen of Arabia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cover illustration from Le Petit Journal, 1908, showing Ferdinand I of Bulgaria declaring independence (centre) and Franz Joseph I of Austria Hungary seizing Bosnia and Herzegovina from a forlorn-looking Ottoman sultan, Abdülhamid II (Photo by Archives Charmet / Alamy Images)

Divided they fell: how war, revolution and sectarianism led to the end of the Ottoman empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval illustration showing a doctor bleeding a patient

General History

A history of medicine14 surprising facts

Theban mural showing people plucking geese. (Photo by DEA / G Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Life in Ancient Egypt: what was it like?

Saint Michael and the DragonSaint Michael and the Dragon

DragonsFrom mythological beasts of history to the firebreathers of fantasy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lost languages & travelling communities: unexpected medieval histories. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Persian courtiers in the throne room at Persepolis, as depicted in a relief detail.

Persepolis: the creation of the Persian empire’s foremost citadel. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from a relief at Persepolis, ancient Persia’s magnificent ceremonial capital

The Persians: empire of the greats. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Christopher de Bellaigue“Suleyman was just as bellicose as his father, if not as gratuitously cruel”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Immortals shown holding long spears on a frieze from the palace of Darius the Great

General ancient history

The Persian Immortals: the feared elite guard of the Achaemenid empire