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Clava Cairns
Clava Cairns is an early Bronze Age site in Scotland, located east of the city of Inverness, consisting of three well-preserved cairns (two of which are passage graves) and a number of free-standing stones strategically placed for astronomical...
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Death of Marion du Fresne at the Bay of Islands
Painting by Charles Meryon (1821-1868) depicting the death of French explorer, Marion du Fresne (1724-1772), who is surrounded by Maori with children in the background and showing parts of a pa (fortification).
Definition
Helena of Constantinople
Saint Helena of Constantinople (248/250-328 CE) was the mother of Roman emperor Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE). She famously made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where tradition claims found Christ's true cross and built the Basilica of the Holy...
Article
Slavery in the Roman World
Slavery was an ever-present feature of the Roman world. Slaves served in households, agriculture, mines, the military, workshops, construction and many services. As many as 1 in 3 of the population in Italy or 1 in 5 across the empire were...
Article
12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read
The AHE team live and breathe history, but we all have our favourite historical periods and authors. We thought it would be fun for each of us to nominate one or two books that we would recommend for the general reader as well as high school...
Definition
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) was a French noblewoman who was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). She was therefore Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until the annulment of her marriage on 10 January 1810, as well...
Article
Religious Developments in Ancient India
For well over 1,000 years, sacred stories and heroic epics have made up the mythology of Hinduism. Nothing in these complex yet colourful legends is fixed and firm. Pulsing with creation, destruction, love, and war, it shifts and changes...
Article
Buffalo and Eagle Wing & The American Indian Boarding School
Buffalo and Eagle Wing is a legend of the Plains Indians culture of North America, which is part origin myth and part cautionary tale on the importance of keeping one's promises. Although scholars agree on the general provenance of the tale...
Article
The French Exploration of New Zealand
The French exploration of New Zealand has been overshadowed by the achievements of British navigator Captain James Cook (1728-1779), but French navigators who visited Aotearoa's (New Zealand) shores named over 100 geographical places and...
Article
10 Years of Ancient History Encyclopedia
Ancient History Encyclopedia's CEO Jan van der Crabben writes about the organization's 10-year history. Ancient History Encyclopedia just turned ten! On 25 August 2009, we officially launched the Ancient History Encyclopedia website by...