History
Anything to do with History
Teagan
@Teagan -
over 1 year ago
On the Spot: Paul Cartledge
The Pnyx plateau in Athens, with the Acropolis in the background. Photographed February 2021. Wiki Commons/George E. Koronaios.Why are you a historian of Ancient Greece?I knew from the age of eight that I loved Homer and wanted to be a historian.What’s the most important ...continued
2 minutes read
Adelia
@Adelia -
over 1 year ago
On the Spot: Soe Tjen Marching
A rally held by the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) commemorating its 45th anniversary, 23 May 1965. Wiki Commons.Why are you a historian of 20th-century Indonesia?Because in Indonesia the recent past is still with us. The legacy of the mass killings of 1965-66 has nev...continued
2 minutes read
Gregoria
@Gregoria -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Julia Lovell
Why are you a historian of modern China?When I was 20, my mother lent me her copy of Jung Chang’s Wild Swans. I read it in a weekend and felt I had to know more about China. The best way to do that was to learn Chinese. What’s the most important lesson history has taught ...continued
2 minutes read
Elian
@Elian -
almost 2 years ago
The Moai of Rapa Nui
Moai at Rano Raraku. Travelling Otter/Wiki Commons.The monumental anthropomorphic stone sculptures – moai – of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, are probably the best-known Polynesian art form. There were around 1,000 moai. Most were carved in tuff, a yellowy-brown condensed vo...continued
3 minutes read
Alexie
@Alexie -
almost 4 years ago
On the Spot: Archie Brown
Why are you a historian of the Soviet Union? Because Leonard Schapiro put the idea in my head. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? That even ‘unreformable’ systems can be reformed or dismantled from within. Which history book has had the greatest inf...continued
2 minutes read
Jaydon
@Jaydon -
over 4 years ago
Travels Through Time: Ruthlessness and Richard III
Edward IV fell ill over Easter 1483, dying on 9 April. His 12-year-old son, Prince Edward, now Edward V, looked set to succeed unchallenged to a stable kingdom. But within months, the new king was declared a bastard and deposed by his own uncle – Edward’s trusted brother,...continued
2 minutes read
Hannah
@Hannah -
over 4 years ago
Travels Through Time: The Crusades
Launched by Pope Urban II in 1095, the Crusades comprised a series of eight or nine major expeditions from western Europe to the Holy Land, continuing into the 15th century. In 1147, the Second Crusade began, with the ambition of repeating the 'success' of the First Crusa...continued
2 minutes read
Alexzander
@Alexzander -
about 1 year ago
On the Spot: Rodric Braithwaite
The Dorset County Museum, photographed in 2017. Wiki Commons/Geni.Why are you a historian of Russia?My family had Russian associations: writing its history helps me understand the place.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? Great leaders are much less i...continued
2 minutes read
Rahsaan
@Rahsaan -
about 4 years ago
On the Spot: Panikos Panayi
Why are you a historian of immigration? Because I am a (second generation) immigrant. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That history seems to have little influence on many of our rulers. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?E.H. C...continued
2 minutes read
Priscilla
@Priscilla -
almost 5 years ago
Travels Through Time #14 – Commodore Perry’s Expedition to Japan, 1853
Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan in 1853 changed the course of the nation’s history. Long into the 19th century Japan had been regarded by a growing group of Western nations as a ‘hermit kingdom’, known for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. Prior to Perry...continued
2 minutes read
Kari
@Kari -
over 4 years ago
Travels Through Time: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful women in medieval Europe. Queen of France for 15 years through her first marriage and queen of England by her second, Eleanor was the mother of kings Richard I and John of England. She was an heiress, a crusader, a prisone...continued
2 minutes read
Colin
@Colin -
almost 2 years ago
On the Spot: Caroline Elkins
Why are you a historian of the British Empire?I’m interested in how the past shapes the world in which we’re living. The British Empire’s massive impact over time and space makes it a natural choice.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? How rarely leade...continued
2 minutes read
Casper
@Casper -
over 4 years ago
On The Spot: Justin Marozzi
Why are you a historian of the Middle East?My father was born in Beirut – and the Middle East and Arab world became a part of my childhood. I’ve studied, worked and travelled there ever since. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That we learn nothing f...continued
2 minutes read
Ericka
@Ericka -
about 1 year ago
On the Spot: Rosa Andújar
Statue of Salomé Ureña in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Wiki Commons/Phyrexian.Why are you a historian of ancient Greece?I went to university intending to study maths and physics, but was inspired to learn ancient Greek by a brilliant teacher.What’s the most importan...continued
2 minutes read
Rex
@Rex -
over 4 years ago
On The Spot: Helen Parr
Why are you a historian of contemporary Britain?Contemporary history seems more important than ever. It offers a counterweight to lazy political evocations of the past and to the instant histories enabled by the Internet.What’s the most important lesson history has taught...continued
2 minutes read
Elvie
@Elvie -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Roger Moorhouse
Why are you a historian of Central and Eastern Europe?The revolutions of 1989 spurred a fascination with Central Europe and with history as a living entity. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That the permanent can be transient and the transient surpr...continued
2 minutes read
Delia
@Delia -
about 1 year ago
On the Spot: Richard J. Blackett
Martin Robison Delany, by an unidentified artist. Print published c. 1865. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.Why are you a historian of 19th-century America?Arriving in Pittsburgh, my interest was piqued by the life of Martin Delany, a leading intellectua...continued
2 minutes read
Americo
@Americo -
about 4 years ago
On the Spot: Catherine Fletcher
Why are you a historian of the Renaissance?I went on holiday to Florence and needed an excuse to go back. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?People are complicated. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?Garrett Mattingly’s Renaissan...continued
2 minutes read
Immanuel
@Immanuel -
over 1 year ago
Death of a Master Forger
‘An inquiry into the genuineness of the manuscript corrections in Mr. J. Payne Collier’s annotated Shakspere, folio, 1632: and of certain Shaksperian documents likewise published by Mr. Collier’, by N.E.S.A. Hamilton, 1860. Special Collections, University of Delaware Libr...continued
2 minutes read
Roger
@Roger -
almost 4 years ago
On the Spot: Philippe Sands
Why are you a historian of law and justice?To be a better teacher, advocate and writer. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?Nothing is only ever what it seems. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?Geoffrey Trease, This is Your Cen...continued
2 minutes read
Angus
@Angus -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Sophie Hay
Why are you an archaeologist of the Roman period?As a child my parents took me to archaeological sites and I was endlessly fascinated.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That context is everything. Without it we cannot begin to understand the past thro...continued
2 minutes read
Arvid
@Arvid -
about 3 years ago
70 Years of History Today
In its 70 years, History Today has moved with the times but has never lost sight of its guiding principle: to bring serious history to a wide audience. To celebrate our anniversary, we have published a special ebook featuring some of the best articles from our extensive a...continued
2 minutes read
Juliet
@Juliet -
over 1 year ago
Kali | History Today
Likeness of the goddess Kali, Nepal, unknown date. Bridgeman Images.With her lolling tongue, garland of decapitated heads and girdle of severed limbs, brandishing a bloodied sword in one of her four arms as she dances wildly on the prostrate body of her consort Shiva, the...continued
2 minutes read
Eleanora
@Eleanora -
over 1 year ago
Chadō | History Today
A mizusashi jar created during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, 16-17th century © Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution/Gift of Charles Lang Freer/Bridgeman Images.Few things are more quintessentially Japanese than the traditional ...continued
2 minutes read
Sandrine
@Sandrine -
about 2 years ago
The End of the Templars
The emblem of the Knights Templar, from the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris, 13th century. British Library Royal MS 14 C VII, fol 42v. Wiki Commons.Less than 25 years after the fall of Acre in May 1291 – the last, decisive defeat for the Crusader states – the Knights Tem...continued
2 minutes read