Faisal Of Iraq

Middle East

Trading and crusading in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

When were punctuation marks first used? Illustration by Glen McBeth for BBC History Magazine.

General History

Q&AWhen were punctuation marks first used?

Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in mounted combat

Richard the Lionheart: king of war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Turning points1956: The shock of Suez. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 14th-century illustration of a farmer leading a pack animal through the ice and snow

The surprisingly modern Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A group of Tunisian Jews are rounded up and marched through the streets of Tunis carrying shovels in December 1942

Holocaust in the Middle East. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood on Afghanistan“A new world is emerging, reviving older connections”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anna Whitelock's Talking PointsA history of violence. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Afghanistan: a history of instability. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A homemade ouija board, a treasure hunt and fake madness: the great escape of World War I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration from The Travels of Marco Polo, showing a teenage Marco on the deck of a ship sailing away from Venice

Why are Marco Polo's travels so famous?

Neil Faulkner reveals how the Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870-1920 helped give rise to the first modern jihad

Jihad and the British empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a woman 'Arib al-Ma’muniyya, playing an instrument while four men listen. A chess board is in the foreground

'Arib al-Ma’muniyya: the enslaved medieval woman who sang her way to wealth. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An Israeli pilot after the raid on Entebbe

Operation Thunderbolt: Was the 1976 'raid on Entebbe' a brilliant rescue?

Concerned that Russia was expanding its influence in the region, Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839, ousting ruler Dost Mohammad and replacing him with Shah Shuja, who had been king from 1803–10. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Britain's first war in Afghanistan: what happened and why?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Ottoman empire: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Representations of digits from the ninth century, 11th century and the present day

Digital revolution: the evolution of Hindu-Arabic numerals

Kurdish fighters in north-west Iran, 1918

The history of the Kurds in Iraq: "the largest people never to have achieved statehood". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard I on a Chertsey tile

Does Richard I deserve his reputation as a martial genius?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Melisende of Jerusalem

Melisende of Jerusalem: the queen of a crusader kingdom

Muslim-Crusader interactions: a clash of civilisations?

The Suez Crisis: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Rebels, hostages and diplomats: royal women of the crusader states. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alexander the Great on his horse, Bucephalus

Bucephalus: why is Alexander the Great's horse famous?

A medieval illustration of women fighting and toiling alongside men during a siege

Crusader queens: the formidable female rulers of Jerusalem

A fanciful engraving imagines Peter the Hermit presenting Pope Urban II (centre) with a letter from Simeon II

Launching the First Crusade

Illustration of a mummy with mask

How to make an Egyptian mummy in 6 steps

From the British Isles to Italy and Spain: how the Normans reshaped Europe

Sparta. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Limestone relief depicting a a procession of courtiers paying homage to the Ahiram, king of the Phoenician city of Byblos

General ancient history

Your guide to...the Phoenicians