History Today

Hercules and Omphale

The cross-dressing saga of the Queen of Lydia and the most formidable of Classical heroes.

Genealogical chronicle of the English kings, 14th century. Royal MS 14 B V f.3r. © Bridgeman Images.

Battle of Hastings

After the death of Harold on 14 October 1066, Edgar Ætheling’s claim to the throne gained support.

A gyrfalcon. 18th-century coloured engraving, by François-Nicolas Martinet.

A Philosophy of Falcons

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was obsessed with falconry. This led him to write a truly revolutionary book on the subject.

Ira attacking Patientia, from Prudentius’ Psychomachia, English, 11th century.

Women at War

How did women experience warfare in early medieval Britain?

‘Fishes Close to the Quayside’, 19th-century illustration.

Fishing for the Facts

E.H. Carr’s belief that the histories we get depend on the questions we ask is more relevant than ever.

A commuter reads Lady Chatterley’s Lover over their neighbour’s shoulder, London Underground, 1960.

Think of the Children!

Britain’s obscenity trials and censorship laws.

Pictures from the area of the secret radio reporting service of the OKW Office Abroad / Defense.

Hitler’s Men in the States

The 1930s spy ring who informed on technological advances in the defence industries.

The Battle of Lepanto, attributed to Georgios Klotzas. National History Museum of Greece (CC BY 4.0).

How Important Was the Battle of Lepanto?

The great sea battle between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire was seen as a pivotal moment in history. Have the consequences of Lepanto been exaggerated?

Gustave Paul Cluseret, c.1862. Library of Congress.

A Rebel with Every Cause

The extraordinary insurrections of Gustave Paul Cluseret.

Graveyard of history: an Afghan man prays at the tomb of a relative, Shuhada cemetery, Kabul.

The Dust of Kabul

Afghanistan has one of the richest architectural legacies on earth. Its future, like that of the country and its people, is uncertain.