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

From a cult’s rogue personalities to its foundational ideologies, how have fringe beliefs guided the direction of the American dream?

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

The Great Siege of Malta by Marcus Bull upends the myth of the Knights of Malta and their last stand of 1565. 

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?

A battle of wills between Adolphe Sax and musical instrument makers in 19th-century France saw an unprecedented legal contest unfold.

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. 

On 23 February 303 Roman emperor Diocletian embarked on his Great Persecution of the empire’s Christians. Why?