History Today

The Fall of Isfahan

In March 1722 rebellious Afghan forces laid siege to the Safavid capital. Was the great Iranian empire on the brink of collapse?

On the Spot: Marjoleine Kars

‘As an immigrant, I wanted to understand the roots of my adopted country.’

Haile Selassie during the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935.

Crimes in Africa

Italy’s imperial record of murder and looting, fire and devastation in Ethiopia.

Sherlock Holmes and Cocaine: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

Sherlock Holmes is the 19th century’s most famous cocaine user, but why did he take it?

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and his son Charles the Bold, 15th century.

All that Glitters

An extravagantly entertaining account of a medieval ‘theatre state’.

Photographs and autographs of Baroness Mary Vetsera and Crown Prince Rudolf, 19th century.

Love Lies Dead at Mayerling

Letters discovered in 2015 get us closer to understanding the tragic truth of the royal murder-suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf and Baroness Mary Vetsera at Mayerling.

Page from the Theodore Psalter in Greek script by Theodore of Caesarea, 1066.

Plato to NATO

The spread of Hellenic ideas from Greece to the world.

Playing Saints

Unmasking an audacious saintly fraud in early modern Naples.

The Rise of the Newts

A speculative novel about an amphibious threat held dire warnings for interwar Europe.

The 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, popularly known as ‘Terry’s Texas Rangers’, c.1861.

Choosing Sides

The first Native American troops to enlist for Federal service were fighting to return to their own lands.