Today’s featured articles
The Antikythera Mechanism is ingenious, intricate and highly sophisticated. But what is it?
The Crusader state of Acre was the most cosmopolitan city in the medieval world. Its inhabitants thought it too valuable to destroy. They were wrong.
Who should claim Scotland’s royal jewels? After the forced abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, the answer was not clear cut.
Most recent
Smuggling Under the Cover of Plague
For 18th-century smugglers in Guernsey and the Isle of Man, plague was a business opportunity.
Martin Crusius’ Armchair Voyage
The greatest early modern authority on Ottoman Greece was Martin Cruisius – a man who had never left Germany.
‘Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain’ by Sam Wetherell review
In Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain, Sam Wetherell discovers a city of slavery, ships, soccer, and socialism, whose fortunes rose and fell with the tide.
On the Spot: Vladislav Zubok
‘What historical topic have I changed my mind on? The collapse of the Soviet Union. I used to think it was a relatively peaceful event.’
The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper
Arsenic was a hidden killer in Victorian homes, but it also played a large part in the British economy. Which comes first: commerce or public health?
The Otsu Incident
On 11 May 1891 the future Tsar Nicholas II narrowly escaped assassination on a trip to Japan.
Real Monks Cry: Masculinity in the Monastery
How did medieval holy men cope with the strictures their devotion placed upon them?
Remembering South Vietnam
With North Vietnam’s victory in 1975, its southern counterpart ceased to exist. What happened to South Vietnam?
Current issue
- Image
In the May issue:
The fall of Saigon, how Britain greeted VE Day, Renaissance sex workers, how the Roman Empire lost its gods, in defence of the Merovingians, and more.
Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword and much more!
You can buy this issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it as a digital edition via the History Today App.