Cultural

Emily Parton asks a key question about Italian unification, in the winning entry of History Review magazine's 2009 Julia Wood Award.

Simon Lemieux examines examples of German Protestant propaganda.

Alexandria’s reputation as the intellectual powerhouse of the Classical world, fusing Greek, Egyptian and Roman culture, lives on, writes Paul Cartledge.

India’s rulers demonstrated what power they had by adopting the crafts of their conquerors – first the Mughals, then the British. Corinne Julius looks at the background to a new exhibition of dazzling artefacts

Plant-based diets high in carbohydrates made the Roman ‘barley men’ appear more spectacular.

Lucy Wooding introduces a highly significant, but often much misunderstood, cultural force.

Sex, scandals and celebrity were all part of a blame and shame culture that existed in the 18th century, one that often fed off the misfortune of women at the hands of men. Prostitutes, courtesans and ladies with injured reputations took up the pen in retaliation.

Christians have long relied on scribes’ copies of Biblical texts; J. K. Elliot describes how the Codex Sinaiticus, discovered in 1844, dates from the fourth century.

As Algeria prepares this month to host the second Pan-African Cultural Festival, with 48 countries participating, Martin Evans describes the original festival held 40 years ago in Algiers and the spirit of creativity and anti-colonialism that defined it.

Richard Cavendish remembers how the daredevil Jean-François Gravelet stunned the world on 30 June 1859.