Feature

When VE Day finally came in May 1945 it was met with relief, exhaustion, and cynicism. Was the Second World War in Europe really over?

Eager to be first in line, the astute James VI of Scotland responded to the question of the English succession with a war of words.

In April 1945 ten British politicians flew to Germany tasked with investigating the ‘truth’ about Buchenwald concentration camp.

In the first millennium BC the Brahmin class organised as a community and assumed responsibility for learning the sacred Vedas. What are the origins of India’s priestly caste?

When it was discovered in the 19th century, the Library of Ashurbanipal revealed an ancient Assyrian empire previously known only through myth.

King Lewanika’s invitation to the coronation of Edward VII was intended to stabilise British relations with the Barotse nation. Instead, it exposed the cracks in the imperial veneer.

The survival of the papacy has always been dependent on a precarious balancing act between the pope’s religious and secular powers.

As Late Imperial China sought to rebuild as a modern state from the ashes of war, a new national post office was born.

Pelayo, King of Asturias, is Spain’s first national hero, credited with beginning the Reconquista with his victory at the Battle of Covadonga. What do we really know about him?

American air raids on Japan’s capital burned the city in March 1945, killing 80,000 people in one night alone. ‘Had to be done’, said the general who ordered it.