History Today

Cadbury Castle

Jessica Hodge traces the significance of a settlement that was the largest known military site in King Arthur’s time.

The Black Death, Part I

Philip Ziegler describes how, in the mid-fourteenth century, about one third of the population of Western Europe perished from bubonic plague.

The Praetorian Guard

Geoffrey Powell profiles the Praetorian Guard. This corps d'elite, first established on a permanent footing by Augustus, played a powerful part in the history of imperial Rome.

The Princess Dashkova, Part I

A. Lentin introduces Princess Dashkova. During the reigns of Peter III and Catherine II, the Russian Princess was a tireless intellectual and a seasoned western traveller.

Companions of the King

Alan Rogers reflects the influence of power among those surrounding the throne and how, throughout the entire medieval period during which Parliament existed, the magnates had greater sway than the Commons.

The Serbian Mission to Russia, 1804

In the year of Napoleon’s coronation, writes Ann Kindersley, three patriotic Serbs officially asked for the help of the Tsar in their revolt against the Turks.