Religion

Four figures in a boat, including the ibis-headed god Thoth and the scarab-headed god Khepri

8 ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses you might not know about

A painting by Italian painter Defendente Ferrari (c1480-1540) showing a Saint performing a miracle.

Medieval saints and sinners: tales of saintly miracles in the Middle Ages

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Tom Holland by Helen Atkinson

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jan Žižka, the general whose peasant army defied the Holy Roman Empire in the 1420s.

Christ’s communists: the radical religious sect that challenged the Holy Roman Empire

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Dan Jones by Steve Sayers and Helen Castor

The Crusades, with Dan Jones . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Crusaders defeat the Turks at Dorylaeum in 1097, as shown in a 14th-century illumination

Crusaders: did they fight for God or gold?

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St Mary's Church is revered as one of England's greatest architectural achievements. (Image by Alamy)

Explore A masterpiece of Gothic grandeur: the Church of St Mary, Warwick . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Popes Palace, or Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France.

Q&A Why did the papacy move to Avignon in the 14th century?

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The magnificent gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, claimed to be 2,500 years old, dominates central Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. (Patrick Foto/Getty Images)

Explore Yangon, Myanmar: City of Golden Pagodas . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The fact that so many cultures have a myth about a devastating flood has led some historians to wonder if there may have been a real event that explains the myths. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General prehistory

Q&A Was there really a 'Great Flood'?

(© Public Domain)

General Early Modern

Everything you need to know about the Holy Roman Empire

One of the earliest and most famous examples of extremism comes from ancient Rome. Starting in 264 BC and continuing for more than a century, Rome engaged in a series of wars with neighbouring Carthage. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of extremism – from ancient Rome to al Qaeda

For our forebears, the secret to a good night's sleep lay in the contents of your gut. (Photo by Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)

6 sleeping tips and tricks from history

Construction of a medieval church

Bravado or blunder? Architectural fails of medieval church builders

The Knights Templar depicted on an antique map of Jerusalem. (Alamy)

The rise and fall of the Knights Templar