I’m a fighter, not a quitter
‘Ring out the old, ring in the new…’ This was the year I discovered that one of my ancestors had…
The desecration of Stonehenge
The Conservative party, over the course of its lengthy history, has been defined by two particular traditions. One emphasis the…
In defence of pigeons
I have done absolutely nothing this past year except pound away at a book. For complicated logistical reasons that are…
The prickly truth: hedgehogs face a struggle to survive
No wild animal is closer to the hearts of the British than the hedgehog. In poll after poll, it has…
The church that’s hosted the Virgin Mary, Benjamin Franklin and Hugh Grant
There is only one place in the world that has played host to both the Virgin Mary and Benjamin Franklin,…
The anxieties that long ago shadowed Christmas are back
The anxieties that long ago shadowed Christmas are back
The history of Thebes is as mysterious as its Sphinx
The Spartans were not the only Greeks to die at Thermopylae. On the fateful final morning of the battle, when…
Sugared with wit: How ‘Mr Spectator’ came to life
Writing for ‘Mr Spectator’
Hostility to Islam has disguised a host of other prejudices
In 2011, when the editor of Charlie Hebdo put Muhammad on the cover, he did so as the heir to…
Thank God for western values
Declarations of hope that Notre Dame can be resurrected have been much in evidence this Holy Week. Such is the…
Decline and fall: why America always thinks it’s going the way of Rome
For a millennium and a half now, one of the great pleasures of being a commentator on current affairs has…
Cynical, one-dimensional and oddly colourless: Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom reviewed
Back in the mists of prehistory, when I was eight, dinosaur films followed a set pattern. The dinosaurs themselves would…
How Christianity saw off its rivals and became the universal church
In the reign of Constantine, whose conversion to Christianity in AD 310 set the entire Roman world on a course…
Don’t forget the Yazidis
As the floodwaters subsided, the Ark drifted across northern Iraq. Finally, with a crunching jolt, it hit dry land. Its…
Would you believe it? A selection of ancient faiths ripe for revival
After the success of Stoicism, more ancient faiths are ripe for revival
Egypt: where gods are born and go to die
Tom Holland on Egypt, where the deities were born and history itself began
Jeremy Corbyn isn’t like Caligula’s horse – he’s like Caligula
Jeremy Corbyn has been compared to plenty of people over the past few months — a geography teacher, Michael Foot,…
Financial crises are nothing new in Greece — they go back at least to the Peloponnesian War
Financial crises are nothing new in Greece. Back in 354 BC, at a time when Frankfurt was still a swamp,…
Darius III: Alexander’s stooge
The ‘Great Kings’ of Persia were renowned for their good looks and imposing stature, but they will always, throughout history, be eclipsed by the Greeks, says Tom Holland
Tom Holland’s diary: Fighting jihadism with Mohammed, and bowling the Crown Prince of Udaipur
As weather bombs brew in the north Atlantic, I’m roughing it by heading off to Rajasthan, and the literary festival…
Tom Holland's diary: Alex Salmond is the Scottish referendum's answer to Shane Warne
I feel a bit about the Scottish referendum as I did about the 2005 Ashes series. In both cases, those of…
The Islamic State is destroying the greatest melting pot in history
The fighters of the Islamic State are bringing a deadly new intolerance to a territory rich in ancient sects
Pompeii’s greatest gifts are not all archeological
The first visitor to take a break on the Bay of Naples was Hercules. He had just defeated some rebellious…
The night that saved England
If he hadn’t survived the Twelfth Night raid of 878, England as we know it might never have existed
