The Balkan Federation: Doomed to Disunity?
Talk of a Balkan federation became a hot topic at the end of the Ottoman Empire, eventually dying a death at the dawn of the Cold War. Was Europe’s ‘Little Orient’ destined to fall apart?
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Winston Churchill’s Gold Record
Once the Second World War was won, Winston Churchill had two preoccupations: preserving his place in posterity and making lots of money. If they could be achieved simultaneously, so much the better.
The Warsaw Ghetto in Flames
The story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is typically one of defiance against the odds during the Holocaust. But what of those unable to fight?
The King Who Wasn't There
Belief in Prester John, a lost Christian king ruling over a distant kingdom, gripped medieval Europe for half a millennium. Once seen as a saviour, he would become an adversary.
Maximilien Robespierre: Terror and Oranges
Liberté, égalité, fraternité – oranges? What does Maximilien Robespierre’s fondness for citrus fruit reveal?
William Shakespeare’s First Folio
The stage has a short memory, print a long one: 400 years since its first publication, Shakespeare’s First Folio is the reason we remember him.
A Life of Retirement
The Roman veterans village of Karanis in Egypt did not change the world. Its ordinariness is what makes it remarkable.
Asia and Africa Unite
In 1955, the Bandung Conference brought together post-colonial nations in the hope of forging a new solidarity. Could such disparate countries overcome their inherent differences?
Fostering the Foundlings
The governors of the London Foundling Hospital recruited an external network of nurses to care for children. For many, the bonds established endured.
The One True Emperor on Earth
As sultan, Süleyman the Magnificent was portrayed as the Shadow of God on Earth, the Caliph of Islam, the Last World Emperor, the distributor of crowns to other rulers and the purveyor of justice.