World History
Iconic Plague Images Are Often Not What They Seem
Many of the images we associate with the plague actually depict leprosy or smallpox. In fact, there are very few images of the Black Death from the time of the scourge.<p>A few weeks ago, I reported a story about three cases of the plague in New Mexico. The bacterial illness pops up fairly regularly …
World NewsWhy Didn’t The Eastern Roman Empire Fall?
When the Roman Empire disintegrated over the course of the fifth century, only half of it actually fell, the western half. The eastern half of the …
HistoryRemembering World War II’s doomed Dieppe Raid, 75 years on
On August 19, 1942, more than 6,000 men landed in Normandy as Allied forces launched a raid on the French port of Dieppe. But the poorly prepared operation would fail, with deadly consequences. FRANCE 24 looks back at the Dieppe Raid, 75 years on.<p>Dieppe Beach. Under a clear blue sky, tourists …
World NewsHistory Hot 100 results: the historical figures who fascinated you most in 2017
<i>Illustrations: Andy Tuohy / Design: Rachel Dickens / Words: Charlotte Hodgman</i><p>Welcome to this year’s <i>BBC History Magazine</i> Hot 100 list, featuring the …
HistorySeptember 2017 issue of BBC History Magazine out now!
In our cover feature on <b>Vikings at war</b>, Tom Williams explores some crucial battles that shaped Britain in the Viking era.<p>Dominic Sandbrook looks back …
HistoryAmid US racial divisions, Auschwitz memorial issues warning
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The memorial site of Auschwitz-Birkenau is weighing in on the anti-Semitic and racially charged violence that has erupted in the United States, noting that hatred comes from people who promote it.<p>The state museum, which preserves the site of the former Nazi German death camp, …
NewsToppling Monuments, a Visual History
History is littered with the shattered remains of toppled statues, and more are toppling now in the American South.<p>A violent rally this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., centered in part on the city’s plan to relocate a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. A memorial to Confederate soldiers …
HistorySilver Composition in Coins Confirms the Story of the Rise of Rome
Archaeologists love coins. Not only are they a great way to date a dig site, they also show the extent and influence of an ancient culture and …
ArchaeologyHow Russian nobleman Baron von Ungern conquered Mongolia
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg (1886 – 1921) lived an extraordinary life. An aristocrat of German origin, he embraced Buddhism and freed Mongolia from Chinese occupation, all while attempting to defeat the Bolsheviks and create a great Eurasian empire.<p>“There were many people in Europe who were …
HistoryA history of the Ottoman ‘worldview’
FOLDED CORNER - ‘A History of the Ottoman Empire’ by Douglas A. Howard (Cambridge University Press, 393 pages, $35)
HistoryHindu extremists challenge Kashmir's 'special status'
An attempt to amend a provision in the Indian constitution that allows only long-term residents of Kashmir to own land has sparked a controversy. …
PakistanHead of the Virgin Mary
One of the few fragments of the original Urakami Cathedral to survive the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.<p>At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, an atomic …
CulturePolitical Rage Over Statues? Old News in the Old World
WARSAW — Recent episodes of rage and bloodshed over the removal of Confederate statues in the United States have a familiar ring for Europeans, who have been battling over their historical narratives and tearing down statues of noxious former leaders since the Bronze Age — and probably …
World NewsWeimar exhibition kicks off Bauhaus centennial
Bauhaus members wanted to revolutionize the arts by returning to artisanry and creating total works of art. Sculptor Gerhard Marcks helped shape the …
World NewsHe put on an 82nd Airborne cap and gave a KKK salute in Charlottesville. Vets had words.
One thing set the man with sandy blond hair apart, and it wasn’t the Ku Klux Klan gesture he was making with his left hand.<p>He was, after all, at a white supremacist rally Saturday. And he was flanked by several other men making the same salute: thumb tucked under four fingers, arm extended. Some …
News (U.S.)Spandau neo-Nazi rally to go ahead, authorities say
Neo-Nazi conspiracy theorists have been given the go-ahead for a rally marking the death of Rudolf Hess. They believe Hess was murdered by British …
GermanyWhat are the links between US and German neo-Nazis?
Swastikas on shields. Cries of "Blood and Soil." Nazi symbols and slogans were on full display in the Charlottesville confrontations. DW looks at …
RacismIs man the eternal migrant?: Neanderthal Museum explores history of human movement
The museum's special exhibit, entitled "Two Million Years of Migration," shows that ultimately we're all migrants. It also reveals that today's …
World NewsLincoln Memorial in Washington defaced with expletive
Reuters Staff<p>2 Min Read<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Lincoln Memorial in the U.S. capital was spray painted with expletive graffiti that was discovered on Tuesday, days after violence broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, over an American Civil War-era monument.<p>The graffiti appeared to read "fuck …
HistoryPoland seeks Jewish-American lawyers
Polish seijm member expresses hope American president Donald Trump will aid Poland in the struggle to gain compensation from Germany for WW2 …
World NewsHellboy's Rasputin Is Getting An Occult Origin Story in Voice of the Dragon
In Mike Mignola’s <i>Hellboy</i> series, Grigori Rasputin is the famed Russian occultist whose collaboration with German Nazis to bring about the apocalypse …
GeekRanked: 6 Armies That Dominated History
<b>By Zachary Keck and Akhilesh Pillalamarri</b><p>In an anarchical system like international relations, military power is the ultimate form of currency. A …
WarHow the British East India Company managed to colonise India for nearly 200 years
<i>Rising over regional powers, deposing the Mughals and eliminating European competition, the East India Company deftly brought India under its …
HistoryHow other countries have dealt with monuments to dictators, fascists and racists
The waning days of the Confederacy did not look so different from the last hours of Nazi Germany. As Matthew Schofield of McClatchy Newspapers explained: “Flags were torn down while defeated cities still burned, even as citizens crawling from the rubble were just realizing that the governments they …
HistoryPrince Charles May Become King Sooner Than You Think
Over the weekend, royal watchers were stunned to read of a possible shakeup at Windsor Castle. A story, published and quickly deleted by Yahoo, …
TravelWhen Russia Owned Part of America
Mikhail Malakhov has been to the North Pole 31 times, he says, following in the footsteps of generations of Russian explorers.<p>He even did a trip on skis.<p>So his latest adventure is a cinch. For nearly a month, Mr. Malakhov has been kayaking upriver with the salmon and hiking through mountainous bear …
News (U.S.)How India Celebrated Its First Independence Day 70 Years Ago
As India celebrates its Independence Day this Tuesday, the annual holiday will come with an added layer of meaning: This marks 70 years since the …
IndiaIndia's partition and 70 years of proxy jihad
The use of proxy jihadis in the Indian sub-continent is as old as India and Pakistan's independence from British rule. 70 years after partition, the …
PakistanMillions Of Lives Were Changed Immediately With The Partition Of India
Seventy years ago, India won its freedom from the British empire. But it came at a price: the partition of India. Survivors reflect back at that time.
World NewsHolocaust memorial urges vigilance after US protests
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's official Holocaust memorial has expressed concern over the violence in Charlottesville, where far-right activists marched with Nazi flags and gave the Nazi salute, and where a counter-protester was killed over the weekend.<p>Yad Vashem said Monday "in our post-Holocaust …
History