Clive Foss introduces the Kharijites, a radical sect from the first century of Islam based in southern Iraq and Iran, who adopted an extreme interpretation of the Koran, ruthless tactics and opposed hereditary political leadership. After causing centuries of problems to the caliphate, they survive in a quietist form in East Africa and Oman.
Patricia Cleveland-Peck visits the Big Apple in search of its blossoming.
Patricia Cleveland-Peck visits an annual festival of North American history and culture.
Why does England have a special fondness for the three kings – or magi – of the Christmas story?
Carola Hicks takes a seasonal look at the stained glass of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, the subject of her new book.
Author and journalist Jonathan Fenby explains what started him on an endless journey of exploration into China’s past.
The Spanish government managed by the Duke of Lerma was forced to declare a moratorium on its debts on November 19th, 1607.
The Duke of Orleans was assassinated on November 23rd, 1407.
The artist Angelica Kauffman died on November 5th, 1807, aged sixty-six.
Continuing his series on how cartoonists have seen events great and small, Mark Bryant looks at the coverage of one of ‘Victoria’s little wars’.
