BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine is Britain’s bestselling history magazine. We feature leading historians writing lively and thought-provoking new takes on the great events of the past. Available from

Editor Rob Attar robertattar@historyextra.com Managing editor Matt Elton mattelton@historyextra.com Production editor Spencer Mizen Sub-editor Paul Bloomfield Picture editor Samantha Nott samnott@historyextra.com Art editor Susanne Frank Designer Dea

Who could fail to be fascinated by the ancient world? From the pyramids of Egypt to the great emperors of Rome, it is filled with astonishing stories, momentous achievements and people who can be both surprisingly similar and utterly different to tho

Across the Nile from the city of Luxor in east-central Egypt, 300 miles south of Cairo A desert valley lined with burial chambers – some 25 tombs of kings of Egypt and another 40 tombs of nobles and members of the royal family. Those of the kings are

Persian forces arrive at Marathon, guided by Hippias, exiled tyrant of Athens. Hippias hopes to return to power in Athens, overturning the fledgling democracy. Miltiades and the other Athenian generals concentrate their forces in the narrow exits of

Alexander is born at Pella, Macedonia, son of King Philip II and his fourth wife, the Greek princess Olympias Alexander accedes to throne of Macedon. His role, if any, in the assassination of his father is unclear, but it is not unlikely that his mot

One day Philoneicus of Thessaly brought Philip a horse named Bucephalas, offering him for sale. The horse allowed no one to mount him… and reared up against anyone who approached him. Philip was angry at being offered an unbroken and vicious animal,

Alexander’s early death was the occasion of a prolonged orgy of funeral games, contested between his so-called successors on a number of Middle-Eastern battlefields. Among the biggest winners was Ptolemy, son of Lagos, a Macedonian companion of the k

The Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War (218–202 BC) was a far better military strategist than any Roman. Despite inflicting a series of defeats on the Romans, culminating in the battle of Cannae (216 BC), he was ultimately defeated by R

Rome is, according to legend, founded by the mythical Romulus, also reputedly the first Roman to have a triumph – a sign that the Romans saw themselves as militaristic from the start. The first of three wars against Carthage, the leading power in the

During the 19th-century era of imperialism, the Roman empire was often seen as a model, particularly by the British. The Romans did not represent themselves as aggressors in any of their wars; they had elaborate rituals for ensuring that the gods rec

Most people went to the public baths only once or twice a week. What about other days? Rooms had no running water, even in wealthy houses, so people washed in the bedroom using a basin of water, heated, if necessary, in the kitchen. In this period, m

(100 44BC) Caesar, Augustus’s great-uncle, joined in an informal alliance with Pompey and Crassus, the two most important men in the state. In 49 BC Pompey and Caesar became rivals when the latter crossed the Rubicon and began a new civil war. Caesar

Rome defeats Persia – a turning point indicating that the third century crisis has been overcome. Constantinople is made imperial capital of the east. From now on, there is usually more than one emperor. Goths cross the Danube, marking the first stag

This Roman emperor expanded the army to fight off the Persian menace, and overhauled tax-raising mechanisms in order to pay the bill. He inaugurated a system of detailed censuses that allowed the empire to tax agricultural production effectively. Con

From Gibbon to the 1960s, the crisis in the third century was thought to herald the end of the Roman west. Apart from political instability and military defeat by Persia, hyper-inflation raged, laws attempted to tie peasants to their lands, and barba

Cyrus II becomes king of the vassal state of Persia. In 550 he deposes his grandfather Astyages, king of Media. The legendarily rich Croesus is overthrown by Cyrus II four years later. Babylon submits in 539. Cambyses succeeds Cyrus II, who died from

How could any empire as splendid and history-shaping as that of the Persians have ended up ‘forgotten’? The answer lies in its failure to record anything we might recognise as history. True, in the aftermath of his usurpation Darius penned a thundero

The Persians, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, taught their sons three things: to ride, to shoot and to tell the truth. He might have added a fourth: horticulture. Even kings prided themselves on their green fingers; perhaps only the hunt

For whom was the Terracotta Army made? Qin Shihuangdi, the ‘First Emperor’, who united warring states to create the country of China. Why was the army made? To protect the emperor in the afterlife. When was it created? Work on the warriors seems to h

FROM THE MAKERS OF Discover how people lived, thought, prayed, dressed and shopped in the Middle Ages with this fascinating compendium of the best articles from BBC History Magazine. Explore the lives of queens, princesses and mistresses – from Boudi