History

Anglo-Saxon runes (Futhorc): history, characteristics and uses Anglo-Saxon runes Anglo-Saxon runes (Futhorc) are an expanded runic alphabet used to write Old English and Old Frisian, adapted from the Elder Futhark and found on inscriptions and artifacts from la…

Anglo-Saxons: People, Language, Kingdoms and Legacy Anglo-Saxons Germanic-speaking peoples who settled in England from the mid-5th century until 1066; their language, social structures, kingdoms and culture helped shape medieval England and mode…

Angolan War of Independence (1961–1975) Angolan War of Independence Armed struggle by Angolan nationalist movements against Portuguese colonial rule from 1961 to 1975, leading to decolonization, a transfer of power and long-term regional consequenc…

Anna (安和) — Japanese era name (968–970) Anna (era) Anna (安和) was a Japanese era name from August 968 to March 970 during the Heian period, spanning the reigns of Emperors Reizei and En'yū and associated with court succession and po…

Annals (year-by-year historical records) Annals Annals are concise chronological records that list events year by year; used from antiquity through the Middle Ages to modern historiography for chronology, reference, and document…

Anne of Cleves — Fourth Wife of Henry VIII Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (1515–1557), a German duchess whose politically arranged marriage to Henry VIII was annulled after months; she remained in England with a generous settlement and ret…

Anschluss (1938): Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany Anschluss The Anschluss was the 1938 political and military union by which Nazi Germany absorbed Austria, ending its independence and reshaping Central Europe before World War II.

Ansei era (1854–1860) — a turbulent phase of late Edo Japan Ansei Ansei was the Japanese era from November 1854 to March 1860 during Emperor Kōmei's reign. Marked by foreign pressure, major earthquakes, and political repression, it helped shape t…

Antei (Japanese era, 1227–1229) Antei Antei was a Japanese era name (nengō) from December 1227 to March 1229, during the Kamakura period under Emperor Go-Horikawa; used for official dating and court records.

Anti-Comintern Pact 1936 agreement first signed by Germany and Japan to oppose the Communist International; later extended by other states and seen as a step toward the Axis alignment before WWII.

Antigonid dynasty (Macedonian Hellenistic ruling house) Antigonid dynasty Macedonian royal house descended from the Diadoch Antigonus I. It ruled parts of Greece and Macedonia in the Hellenistic era until Rome ended the line after the Battle of Pydna (16…

Antipatrid dynasty Short-lived Macedonian ruling house founded by Cassander after Alexander the Great's death; ruled in the early Hellenistic period and was replaced by the Antigonid dynasty.

Antiquity: the ancient past and its cultural legacy Antiquity Antiquity refers to the historical period of early complex societies and the surviving cultures, texts, monuments and ideas from ancient civilizations, especially the classical Med…

Antisemitism: definition, history, manifestations, and contemporary issues Antisemitism Antisemitism is hostility, prejudice, or discrimination directed at Jews. This article explains its forms, historical development (including the Holocaust), modern expressions, and…

Appanage: hereditary land grants for younger royal family members Appanage An appanage is a grant of land, title, or income made by a sovereign to a younger child to provide status and support while maintaining primogeniture; widely used in medieval Franc…

Arab Revolt (1916–1918): revolt, campaigns and aftermath Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt (1916–1918) was an uprising by Arab leaders and tribal forces against Ottoman rule in World War I, allied with Britain and influential in the creation of several mo…

Arab Winter: the post‑2011 backlash and regional instability Arab Winter Period of renewed authoritarianism, conflict and instability across parts of the Arab world after the Arab Spring, marked by civil wars, extremist insurgencies, displacement and re…

Arab–Israeli conflict: origins, major events, and contemporary overview Arab–Israeli conflict A concise, neutral overview of the Arab–Israeli conflict: its origins in the early 20th century, major wars and political developments, and its transition toward an Israeli–Palesti…

Aramaic alphabet A Semitic abjad derived from Phoenician, the Aramaic alphabet became a lingua franca script across the Near East and gave rise to Hebrew square, Syriac, Nabataean and later Arabic…

Archaic Greece: formation, society, art, and legacy (c. 800–480 BCE) Archaic Greece Archaic Greece (c. 800–480 BCE) is the era between the Bronze Age collapse and the Persian wars when city-states, alphabetic writing, panhellenic institutions, and distinctive art…

Ardashir I — Founder of the Sasanian Empire Ardashir I Ardashir I (late 2nd–3rd century) founded the Sasanian dynasty, overthrowing the Parthians and restoring a centralized Persian monarchy; his reign shaped late antique Iran's instit…

Argead dynasty: rulers of ancient Macedon and creators of a Hellenic empire Argead dynasty The Argead dynasty ruled Macedon from about 700–310 BC. Founded by Perdiccas I, it produced Philip II and Alexander the Great, expanded Macedonian power, and shaped the Hellenistic…

Argentine National Museum of History National museum in Buenos Aires devoted to Argentina's history, collections from the colonial era through independence and the 19th century, housed in a historic building and activ…

Armenian calendar (medieval 365‑day civil calendar) Armenian calendar A civil calendar used historically in Armenia with 12 months of 30 days plus five epagomenal days, starting from AD 552. It lacks leap days and slowly shifts relative to the solar…

Armenian genocide Systematic mass killings and deportations of Armenians by Ottoman authorities beginning in 1915, widely studied as one of the major genocides of the 20th century and a subject of o…

Armenian hypothesis (Proto-Indo-European homeland) Armenian hypothesis A linguistic and historical proposal that Proto-Indo-European originated in the Armenian Highlands in the 3rd millennium BC, advanced by Tamaz Gamkrelidze and V. V. Ivanov; contras…

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Medieval Armenian state (late 11th–14th centuries) on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor; a maritime and Crusader‑era polity that preserved Armenian sovereignty and fostered East…

Armenians in the Ottoman Empire Overview of the Armenian population under Ottoman rule: social status, legal framework, 19th–20th century changes, rising nationalism, persecutions and the legacy of the 1915–1918…

Armistice and Preliminaries of Villafranca (11 July 1859) Armistice of Villafranca Agreement signed at Villafranca di Verona on 11 July 1859 between France and Austria that ended the Austro–Franco–Sardinian War and shaped the next steps toward Italian unification…

Arsacid (Arshakuni) Dynasty of Armenia Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia Armenian ruling house of Parthian origin (54–428 CE) that shaped Armenian politics, adopted Christianity, and fostered the creation of the Armenian alphabet and literary culture.

Artaxiad dynasty of Iberia (ancient Georgia) Artaxiad dynasty of Iberia A branch of the Armenian Artaxiad house that ruled ancient Iberia (eastern Georgia) c. 90 BC–AD 30, known for Armenian influence, Roman encounters, and fragmentary historical and a…

Arzashkun — an early capital of the Kingdom of Urartu Arzashkun Arzashkun was an early royal stronghold of Urartu in the 9th century BCE, known from Assyrian inscriptions and described as a fortified city north of Lake Van; its exact site remai…

Ash heap of history Figurative expression for people, ideas or events deemed destined to be forgotten or discarded; used in politics and literature and associated with Trotsky and later anti‑communist…

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1914) Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria The 28 June 1914 killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip; the act touched off the July Crisis and precipitated the First World War.

Assyrian genocide (Sayfo) — mass violence against Assyrians in the early 20th century Assyrian genocide The Assyrian genocide, known as the Sayfo, was mass violence and forced displacement of Assyrian Christians in the late Ottoman period. Estimates and recognition remain contested;…

Asuka period — formative era of early Japan (c. 538–710) Asuka period Japanese Asuka period (c. 538–710): political centralization, the arrival of Buddhism, continental influence, art and architecture, and the reforms that led to the Nara state.

Atahualpa — last sovereign Sapa Inca Atahualpa Atahualpa was the last independent emperor of the Inca state; he won a civil war, was captured by Francisco Pizarro, and executed in 1533, accelerating Spanish conquest of the Ande…

Atlantic slave trade: history, scale, and legacy Atlantic slave trade Overview of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans: origins, trade routes, the Middle Passage, conditions, economic role, abolition, and lasting social and cultural eff…

Atropatene — ancient kingdom in northern Iran Atropatene Ancient Iranian kingdom south of the Caspian Sea, founded by satrap Atropates in the late 4th century BCE; it persisted under Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian suzerainty until the 3…

Auld Alliance: Scotland and France, 1295–1560 Auld Alliance A diplomatic and military partnership between Scotland and France from 1295 to 1560 that coordinated resistance to English power and produced long-lasting military, dynastic, and c…

Auschwitz: Nazi concentration, forced-labor and extermination complex Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (1940–1945) where more than a million people were murdered; today it is a central Holocaust memorial an…

Australian gold rushes (mid-19th century to 1890s) Australian gold rushes Rapid series of gold discoveries across colonial Australia (from 1851) that reshaped demography, economy and politics through mass migration, mining innovation and major events suc…

Austria-Hungary (Austro-Hungarian Empire): history, structure and legacy Austria-Hungary Multiethnic dual monarchy in Central Europe (1867–1918). Formed by the Compromise of 1867, it combined Austria and Hungary under one monarch, modernized economically, and dissolved…

Austrian Empire (1804–1867): Habsburg monarchy, political evolution and territorial legacy Austrian Empire Overview of the Austrian Empire (1804–1867): Habsburg rule, political evolution from the Holy Roman Empire to Austria-Hungary, and its territorial legacy across modern Central and…

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (Ausgleich / Kiegyezés) Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 Agreement of 1867 that reorganized the Habsburg lands into the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, creating separate Austrian and Hungarian governments under one sovereign with share…

Auxiliary Sciences of History Fields and methods that support historical research by analyzing documents, objects, and evidentiary traces to authenticate, date, and interpret the past.

Avignon Papacy: the period when popes resided in Avignon (1309–1377) Avignon Papacy Period from 1309 to 1377 when seven successive popes governed the Roman Catholic Church from Avignon, shaped by French influence, administrative reforms, financial changes and last…

Awal — the pre-Islamic name and deity associated with Bahrain Awal Awal was an ancient name and deity linked to the islands now known as Bahrain. It refers to a pre-Islamic ox-headed god and persisted as a place-name for many centuries in the Pers…