Recently published

The Queen of the Night, rendered in clay in ancient Babylon, was evidently an important goddess who enjoyed considerable status – but who is she?

Cecil Rhodes was once described as the single biggest threat to peace in southern Africa. In 1898 a bitter election campaign did little to suggest otherwise.

Habsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire by Raymond Jonas reveals the cynicism and hubris behind Napoleon III’s Mexican misadventure.

Highwaymen’s reputations plummeted in the 17th century. Once praised as heroes in the manner of Robin Hood, the media now lauded the brave bystanders who resisted them.

In Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World, Roger Crowley explains how Spain and Portugal turned up the heat in the age of imperialism.

The Korean War began as a conflict over territory. It would become a fight for the asylum of North Korean POWs.

‘One historical mystery I’d like to solve? Was there a written Führer Order for the “Final Solution”? Unlikely, but I’d like to know.’

Remembered today as a national hero, Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, had an upbringing which spanned Essex to Ulster. He was a hybrid king to the last.

When a priceless altarpiece was stolen from a Belgian cathedral it sparked a 90-year hunt. The crime remains unsolved.

Miyamoto Musashi was finally defeated on 13 June 1645, but it wasn’t a sword that laid the formidable samurai low.