Feature

The Library of Ashurbanipal

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

Curbing the Power of the Popes

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

The Firebombing of Tokyo

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. 

The Great German Peasants’ War

More than 100,000 people took up arms across the Holy Roman Empire in the spring of 1525. What drove them? And why were they ultimately crushed?