History Today

A page from a manuscript of the Qur'an from Islamic Spain, c. 12th century. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.. Public Domain.

‘Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain’ review

A history of medieval Iberia that reaches beyond simply a tale of Convivencia and Reconquista.

Fighting Across Borders

The national campaign for suffrage saw women forming societies from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Paradise lost: Native Americans in the Yosemite Valley, California, c.1870.

California: The Not-So Golden State

Blessed with beauty and wealth, California fails to come to terms with its past.

‘Enlightened Princesses’ review

Three German-born princesses made important contributions to the art, medicine and science of Georgian Britain.

A New Peru

The rise and fall of José Luis Bustamante’s left-wing presidency.

The Parthenon is Blown Up

The Athenian temple was partly destroyed on 26 September 1687.

Cardinal virtue: Thomas Wolsey, by Sampson Strong, 16th century. (Bridgeman Images)

Wolsey’s Own Accord

Projects for a peaceful Europe go back centuries. Occasionally, they succeed – for a while at least.

Sheet music for Charles Borel-Clerc’s 1804 – Marche Francise, 1903. Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. Public Domain.

The Music of the Napoleonic Era

The power and perils of reconstructing the music of Napoleon's time.

‘The Gutenberg Bible’ Göttingen Library Edition review

How one of the greatest advances in human culture, the Gutenberg Bible, also helped divide Christendom.

The coronation procession of Anne Boleyn, by James Stephanoff, c. early 19th century. Folger Shakespeare Library. Public Domain.

Divided Loyalties in Tudor England

For the lesser-known members of the great Tudor dynasties, loyalties were divided by Henry VIII’s Great Matter. Should you support your king, queen or family?