The people of late medieval and early modern England were almost universally numerate. Is our ability to count the thing that makes us human?

A Brief History of English Numeracy

by David Bellos and Alexandre Montagu has plenty of copy but is it right?

‘Who Owns This Sentence?’ review

by Roland Philipps unearths the complexities and contradictions of the Irish rebel.

‘Broken Archangel’ by Roland Philipps review

The earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755 toppled buildings and shook the foundations of the Enlightenment. Was God punishing humanity, or was the disaster man-made?

How the Lisbon Earthquake Shook the Enlightenment

The Queen of the Night, rendered in clay in ancient Babylon, was evidently an important goddess who enjoyed considerable status – but who is she?

Babylon’s Mystery Goddess

The British East India Company (1600-1874) was the largest and most successful private enterprise ever created. All-powerful wherever it colonised, the EIC's use of its own private army and increasing territorial control, particularly in...

Fall of the East India Company

The English East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and it came to control both trade and territories in India, as well as a trade monopoly with China. Goods the EIC traded included spices, cotton cloth, tea, and opium, all in such...

Trade Goods of the East India Company

In the early 17th century, the Dutch and English East India Companies turned their eyes towards India, as part of their grand schemes to develop extensive trade networks across the Indian and China Seas. They were faced with two significant...

The English and Dutch East India Companies' Invasions of India

Sub-Saharan Africa was explored by Roman expeditions between 19 BCE - 90 CE, most likely in an effort to locate the sources of valuable trade goods and establish routes to bring them to the seaports on the coast of North Africa, thereby minimizing...

Roman Expeditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Mongol invasions of Japan took place in 1274 and 1281 CE when Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294 CE) sent two huge fleets from Korea and China. In both cases, the Japanese, and especially the samurai warriors, vigorously defended their shores...

The Mongol Invasions of Japan, 1274 & 1281 CE

West Africa was one of the world's greatest producers of gold in the Middle Ages. Trade in the metal went back to antiquity but when the camel caravans of the Sahara linked North Africa to the savannah interior, the trade really took off...

The Gold Trade of Ancient & Medieval West Africa

Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated...

The Spread of Islam in Ancient Africa

The Mediterranean Sea was the economic focal point of the Roman Empire. Rome's armies first established an empire across these waters beginning back in the times of the Roman Republic. In 200 CE, the Mediterranean was still the channel that...

North Africa’s Place in the Mediterranean Economy of Late Antiquity

At its fullest extent, the Roman Empire stretched from around modern-day Aswan, Egypt at its southernmost point to Great Britain in the north but the influence of the Roman Empire went far beyond even the borders of its provinces as a result...

The Roman Empire in West Africa

The “Ancient Japan” initiative at Ancient History Encyclopedia arose as there is a dearth of open access and digitally curated information concerning early Japanese history available online and in English. East and Southeast Asia...

Ancient History Encyclopedia in Japan

Ancient East Asia was dominated by the three states known today as China, Japan, and Korea. The complex chain of successive kingdoms created a rich web of events that archaeologists have sometimes found difficult to disentangle; a situation...

Interview: Korea-Japan Relations Through the Prism of Archaeology

The 'horse-rider theory' is a controversial proposal that Japan was conquered around the 4th or 5th century CE by a culture from northern Asia to whom the horse was especially important. Although archaeological evidence and genetics point...

The Horse-rider Theory in Ancient Japan

Ancient East Asia was dominated by the three states known today as China, Japan, and Korea. These kingdoms traded raw materials and high-quality manufactured goods, exchanged cultural ideas and practices, and fought each other in equal measure...

Ancient Korean & Japanese Relations

Cyrus the Great (558-530 BCE) built the first universal empire, stretching from Greece to the Indus River. This was the famous Achaemenid Empire of Persia. An inscription at Naqsh-i-Rustam, the tomb of his able successor Darius I (521-486...

Cultural Links between India & the Greco-Roman World

Herodotus (484 BCE – c. 425 BCE) has been called the Father of History since he was the first historian known to collect his materials in detail, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid...

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A Brief History of English Numeracy →

‘Who Owns This Sentence?’ review →

‘Broken Archangel’ by Roland Philipps review →

How the Lisbon Earthquake Shook the Enlightenment →

Babylon’s Mystery Goddess →

Fall of the East India Company →

Trade Goods of the East India Company →

The English and Dutch East India Companies' Invasions of India →

Roman Expeditions in Sub-Saharan Africa →

The Mongol Invasions of Japan, 1274 & 1281 CE →

The Gold Trade of Ancient & Medieval West Africa →

The Spread of Islam in Ancient Africa →

North Africa’s Place in the Mediterranean Economy of Late Antiquity →

The Roman Empire in West Africa →

Ancient History Encyclopedia in Japan →

Interview: Korea-Japan Relations Through the Prism of Archaeology →

The Horse-rider Theory in Ancient Japan →

Ancient Korean & Japanese Relations →

Cultural Links between India & the Greco-Roman World →

Depictions of India in Ancient Literature →