The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

Brazilian peacekeepers under UN command in Haiti during general election 2006

When should countries intervene in others’ affairs?

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.

Witnesses to the Berlin Wall. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

VJ Day: turning the tide in the east. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robespierre’s brutal downfall. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Building utopia after WW1. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Saladin (1560) by Cristofano Dell Altissimo.

Why does Saladin have such an enduring reputation?

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

Scientists Frederic Joliot-Curie and his wife, Irene, at work in their Paris laboratory in December 1932. The couple were among a wide-ranging group of scientists whose work paved the way for the atomic bomb. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Hiroshima: the race to the atomic bomb. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The transformation of India’s glamorous golden couple. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Oliver Cromwell’s remarkable rise to power. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Antwerp: city of innovation & intrigue. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How the 1964 Tokyo Olympics redefined Japan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Samir PuriHow Empires Shaped the World. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britain & France: enemies or economic partners?

Britain & France: enemies or economic partners?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Antony and Cleopatra meet for the first time

What if...Antony and Cleopatra had won the battle of Actium?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The vanquishers of the Bastille before the Hôtel de Ville, 14 July 1789. Found in the Collection of Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

What triggered the French Revolution?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of Elizabeth of York and Henry VII.

Did the Tudors invent the Wars of the Roses?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) in 1807, the spire of the Church of Our Lady on fire, watercolour by Christofer Willem Eckersberg (1783-1853). Napoleonic Wars, Denmark, 19th century. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Britain’s illegal war: the story of the battle of Copenhagen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cnut's invasion of England: setting the scene for the Norman conquest. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Oliver Cromwell at the battle of Marston Moor. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The battle of Marston Moor: what happened?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A contemporary illustration of the Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 – an event that helped create the idea of 'revolution' as we know it today. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Fighting for freedom: the storming of the Bastille and the French Revolution

Second World War

Tobruk: 8 facts about the WW2 confrontation in North Africa

The Cold War battle for Berlin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Japanese Americans in World War Two | Daniel James Brown podcast

Forgotten heroes: Japanese Americans in World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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.

Edward I. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Reassessing Edward I: battle-hungry aggressor or dutiful conqueror?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The untold story of India’s WW2 prisoners of war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

French cuirassiers charging a British infantry square at the battle of Waterloo, 1815 (1906). From Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Vol. V. (Cassell and Company Limited, London, Paris, New York, Melbourne). Artist P Jazet. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

How the French won the battle of Waterloo (or think they did)