Historiography

Historiography

Five World War I soldiers in uniform stand and sit near sandbags in a trench, with a sign reading "Surrey Lane" visible in the background—evoking camaraderie amid the Ring of Fire on the front lines.
Historians Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst reexamine the pivotal conflict from a grassroots perspective.
A classical painting of the historical Jesus carrying a cross, with his face obscured by white scribble marks.
The Gospels aren’t historical biographies but genre-defining works that blend myth, theology, and a promise of hope.
A painting presents a group of people at a table, leaving room for interpretation and inviting viewers to formulate hypotheses about their interactions and relationships.
A sober look at a wild conspiracy theory that argues the Middle Ages never happened.
A painting of a monk reading a book.
Discover how the threads of myth, legend, and artistry have been woven together by storytellers to craft history.
Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.
A painting of Nero sitting on a throne with a loyal dog.
Nero’s reputation as one of the most malevolent emperors in Roman history might be partly slander.
A group of silver balls resembling mercury surrounding a statue of a man influenced by Maya culture.
Today, many Maya sites are polluted with toxic levels of mercury. The contamination likely originated from cinnabar paints and art.
This year marks 2,000 years since the birth of the Roman author of the first natural encyclopedia.
ice
Seneca thought the use of ice was a "true fever of the most malignant kind."
Long before Christopher and Magellan, ancient explorers voyaged into the unknown and brought home extraordinary tales.
Genghis Khan
Unlike other world rulers, Genghis Khan was laid to rest not inside an elaborate mausoleum but an unmarked grave somewhere in Mongolia. Maybe.
experimental archaeology
Experimental archaeology is the practice of recreating past events using knowledge and tools available at the time. Sometimes, it involves elephants.
ss
Were Hitler’s SS henchmen willing executioners fueled by racial propaganda or mindless servants vying for promotions?
Putin
In theory, history is the sum of everything that ever happened; in practice, it’s a story we tell ourselves to make sense of and justify our actions in the present. 
The Capture of Blackbeard
Many first-hand accounts from the golden age of piracy were grossly embellished, meaning it's extremely difficult to separate Blackbeard the legend from Edward Thatch the person.