Latest Content
Featured Definition

Definition
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and natural philosopher. He created a superior telescope with which...
Featured Image

Image
Cities Named Alexandria by Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great founded, reorganized, or re-established several towns and cities across his empire and gave most of them the name of Alexandria...
Free for the World, Supported by You
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
Become a Member Donate
Article
Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh, fought in the autumn of 937 at an unknown location, saw the English king, Aethelstan (r. 924-939), defeat a coalition of invading...

Article
Trail of Tears: Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation by John Ross
The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of the "Five Civilized Tribes" – Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole – from their...

Article
Boran & Azarmiduxt: Queens of the Sassanian Empire
Boran (r. 630, 631-632) and Azarmiduxt (r. 630-631) were the only queens of the Sassanian Empire who ruled with the power of absolute monarchs. Daughters...

Article
Raven Tales of the Athabaskan (Dene)-Speaking Peoples
The Raven tales are stories featuring the trickster figure Raven that come from the Athabaskan (Dene)-speaking peoples of the Pacific Northwest and...

Definition
Kon-Tiki Expedition
The Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, led by the Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), successfully crossed 8,000 km (5,000 miles) of the Pacific Ocean from...

Collection
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the leaders of the American Revolution (c. 1765-1789), who led the push for American independence from...

Image Gallery
A Gallery of 40 Portrait Paintings Through History
Capturing in paint for all time the faces of particular people has been an endeavour of artists for millennia. In this gallery, we present in chronological...

Definition
Herakleia Lynkestis
Herakleia Lynkestis (Heraclea Lyncestis; Ἡράκλεια Λυγκηστίς) was a city in the ancient kingdom of Macedon not far from modern Bitola, founded c. 358...

Article
Coyote Tales of the Comanche
Coyote tales of the Comanche feature the same trickster figure as the Coyote tales of the Shasta nation, the Coyote tales of the Apache, and those of...

Definition
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) was an American statesman and diplomat who served as the sixth president of the United States (1825-1829). The son of...

Definition
Berenike IV
Berenike IV (r. 58-55 BCE) was queen of Ptolemaic Egypt and the older sister of Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). She ruled briefly after her father Ptolemy...

Article
Paiyatuma & the Maidens of the Corn
Paiyatuma and the Maidens of the Corn is a legend of the Zuni nation of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest of the modern-day USA. Paiyatuma (also given...

Article
Why Kokopelli is Not Kokopelli: Paiyatamu & The Four Flutes
The iconic image of Kokopelli, the flute-playing kachina spirit of the Pueblo peoples, specifically the Hopi, is easily the most recognizable figure...

Article
Why Did Hitler Hate Jewish People?
The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) identified Jewish people as enemies of the state, presenting them through relentless propaganda...

Definition
James Monroe
James Monroe (1758-1831) was an American statesman who served as the fifth president of the United States (1817-1825). The fourth president to belong...

Definition
First Agricultural Revolution
The First Agricultural Revolution, beginning c. 12-20,000 years ago, was characterized by the emergence of different agricultural systems in different...