General ancient history

Illustration representing various empires across history

General ancient history

Have empires ever been a force for good?

LectureNiall Ferguson on the politics of catastrophe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Entrance to Doo Cave, one of the caves in the Wemyss Caves system. Wemyss Caves are home to the largest collection of Pictish-inscribed symbols in one place. (Photo by Getty Images)

General ancient history

Discover Fife: 6 fascinating historical places to explore

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

Bog bodies: what can they teach us?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Assassinations: from the ancient world to JFK. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

The assassination of Julius Caesar

What if…Julius Caesar had not been assassinated?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An Athenian red-figure kylix (cup) dating from around 510–500 BC depicts a young pentathlete pulling his older lover towards him for a kiss. In many of the city-states of ancient Greece, sex between a man and a youth was an accepted – even idealised – form of love, its virtues extolled in works by writers including Plato. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history

View of a gay pride parade in Boston, Massachusetts, c1977. (Photo by Spencer Grant/Getty Images)

From the ancient world to the 1969 Stonewall Riots: a brief guide to LGBT+ history

Daily life in ancient Egypt: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Werewolves of the ancient world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

Michael WoodThe story of China. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Qing dynasty emperor Kangxi

The voices of China: 5 perspectives on an extraordinary past

Cundill Prize-winner Camilla Townsend on global history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The ‘lost’ city of Atlantis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ancient Babylon: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chess players in the 14th century

Ancient board games: which ones did people play for fun in the past?

Women in Greek myths. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Claudia Jones at the Brixton offices of 'The West Indian Gazette'

Black British historyBritain's black trailblazers

Neil Oliver

Life lessons from history: Neil Oliver on searching the ancient past for timeless wisdom. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ancient wisdom with Neil Oliver. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Halloween postcard

10 things you didn’t know about the history (and mystery) of Halloween

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

Chris Harding answers questions on the history of Japan

The history of Japan: everything you wanted to know. 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

Scythians: Warrior Nomads of the Steppe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

What are Roman numerals, where do they come from and how do you read them?

The tomb of Pharaoh Djoser, built at Saqqara

Timeline: the evolution of ancient empires