Who could fail to be fascinated by the ancient world? From the pyramids of Egypt to the great emperors of Rome, it is filled with astonishing stories, momentous achievements and people who can be both surprisingly similar and utterly different to...
Central to three major faiths, the land that is now Israel and the Palestinian territories has a global significance that far exceeds its small size. It is, of course, bitterly contested today, with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute seemingly one of...
It is surely the most famous date in English history. On 14 October 1066 William of Normandy’s army defeated and killed King Harold at the battle of Hastings. It was the decisive moment in the Norman conquest of England, which heralded the end of...
From the crumbling of Roman rule in the fifth century AD until the triumph of the Normans (themselves descended from Norsemen) in 1066, Britain’s – and especially England’s – history is dominated by two groups: the Anglo-Saxons and the...
Russia under Vladimir Putin has proved a prickly partner for the West, a far cry from the democratic ally many hoped for when the Soviet Union collapsed. Abroad, Putin has used Russia’s energy strength as a foreign policy weapon, while at home he...