Edward Colston gave millions in today's money to schools, almshouses and charitable causes, carefully crafting an image of ...

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BC, he was preparing ships, armies and supply networks for a new phase of ...

King Olaf Tryggvason’s dramatic fall at the battle of Svolder in around AD 1000 became one of the most famous episodes of the ...

Behaving well as a host or visitor wasn’t just a matter of etiquette for the ancient Greeks – it was a sacred duty. Hilary Mitchell explores xenia, the ancient code of hospitality at the heart of Chri ...

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Cosimo de' Medici (later known as Cosimo the Elder) was, according to Pope Pius II, “king in all but name” of Florence. This was not entirely a compliment: like Pius's home city of Siena (a Tuscan ...

The Roman empire was by no means the largest in history: in fact 25 others have occupied a larger land mass either before or since. Yet very few can boast as wide-reaching an influence and impact. At ...

Historians and archaeologists have long speculated on the reasons for crossroads burials. Perhaps it was the nearest resting place the deceased would get to any sort of religious symbol. It may also ...

Josef Stalin was the longest-serving leader of the world’s first socialist state, the Soviet Union, one of the principal architects of the postwar order and among the most ruthless tyrants to have ...

On 23 March 1844, a six-year-old dwarf marched into Buckingham Palace. His name was Charles Stratton, AKA General Tom Thumb, and he was 25in tall. He was dressed in a court suit, and a cocked hat ...