History Today

Empire Buying Makes Busy Factories: ’Cutting Bananas in Jamaica‘, C. 1930. Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Henry S. Hacker, Yale BA 1965. Public Domain..

On the Spot: Erik Linstrum

‘In the US, people often think of British history as quaint or niche, instead of a central force in the making of global modernity.’

A Roma camp on the outskirts of paris by photographer Eugène Atget, c. 1913

Europe and the Roma by Klaus-Michael Bogdal review

Klaus-Michael Bogdal’s Europe and the Roma: A History of Fascination and Fear is a history of a people’s battle to tell their own story on their own terms.

Somer’s day: page from the Psalter of Henry VIII showing Henry with William Somer, by Jean Maillart (or Mallard), c.1540. Bridgeman Images.

Fool by Peter K. Andersson review

Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter K. Andersson is the first full length study of William Somer’s life and posthumous mythos.

A portrait of the Venerable Bede in a 14th century Germany homilary. Walters Art Museum. Public Domain.

On the Spot: Janina Ramirez

What will future generations judge us most harshly for? Failure to write on vellum.

A Mughal depiction of the Siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, c. 1596.

Empires of the Steppes by Kenneth W. Harl review

Empires of the Steppes: The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation by Kenneth W. Harl is a rollercoaster of historical narration.

Anwar Sadat raises the Egyptian flag over Sinai, 26 May 1979. William Karel/Getty Images.

Why Egypt Went to War in 1973

In 1973, Egyptian soldiers hoisted their flag over Sinai, smashing the myth of Israeli invincibility. Fifty years on from the October War, who claims the victory: the president or the people?

St. Francis of Assisi showing his stigmata in an illustrated manuscript, c. 1490.

The Death of St Francis of Assisi

St Francis of Assisi died on 4 October 1226, leaving behind the question of how we venerate a saint who resisted veneration.

Chinese warlord Cao Cao – who wrote one of the earliest military commentaries to Sun Tzu’s Art of War – meeting with politician Hua Xin, Chinese, late 19th-early 20th century. Album/Alamy Stock Photo.

Sun Tzu and the Art of Becoming Famous

How did Sun Tzu and The Art of War become synonymous with strategy in the West?

Carving of medieval university students on the tomb of the scholar Giovanni da Legnano, Bologna, 14th century. Sailko (CC BY 2.5).

The Medieval University Experience

The experiences of medieval university students are familiar: they missed their mothers, asked for money and got into trouble.

Musicians the Flying Pickets join a picket line at Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire, in 1984. Virgil Lucky (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Backbone of the Nation by Robert Gildea review

Backbone of the Nation: Mining Communities and the Great Strike of 1984-85 by Robert Gildea is shaped more by heartbreak than heroism.