Herodotus
How the barbarians of the steppes shaped civilisation
The nomadic tribes of Central Asia eventually created vast empires that changed not only their own world but western history, says Kenneth W. Harl
Did the fabled Phoenicians ever actually exist?
So the Phoenicians never existed. Herodotus, that unreliable old fibber, made it all up in the Histories. Is this really…
Don’t damn the ancients for failing to give women the vote
This year will be the 100th anniversary of some women over the age of 30 getting the vote, and for…
Don’t damn the ancients for failing to give women the vote
From The Spectator, 2 January 1847: The New Year opens for England with heavy clouds in the sky, but with…
The icemen cometh
You wouldn’t want to stumble upon the Scythians. Armed with battle-axes, bows and daggers, and covered in fearsome tattoos, the…
The history of Ukraine — from Herodotus to Hitler
Timothy Snyder traces Ukraine’s complex history from its classical heritage to the present day
Allah, Zeus and the Church of England
A ‘prominent liberal cleric’ in London has held an Islamic prayer service in his church, St John’s Waterloo. ‘We all…
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
The Magna Carta was hopelessly behind the times
Important as the Magna Carta (ad 1215) has been as a founding myth for everything we hold dear about law…
Ancient and modern: Herodotus on 111
The NHS 111 line, designed to deal with problems that do not count as emergencies, is in financial and organisational…
The history girl
Ronald Knox, found awake aged four by a nanny, was asked what he was thinking about, and he replied ‘the…
