BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

Renaissance relic revealed

Emerging from the cocoons • A recent article in The Economist claiming that historians do little to engage the wider public provoked a stir online. ANNA WHITELOCK examines the Twitter reaction

Manuscripts reveal early news networks

HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

FOLLOW THE Pharaohs • The only way to really uncover the mysteries of Egypt is to join Archaeological Paths on its very special Royal Egypt Tour

THE ITINERARY OF KINGS

“It’s a symbolic moment: a primer for the history of America”

Ferdinand and Isabella tie the knot • Celebrated marriage paves the way for a united Spain

ANNIVERSARIES

Suffragettes try to storm House of Commons • ‘Rush’ arranged by Pankhurst and WSPU results in 36 arrests

Egypt and Syria strike against an unprepared Israel • Yom Kippur War is nations’ revenge for humiliation in 1967

Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great • The great Mesopotamian city comes under Persian control

The proclamation of the People’s Republic of China

“Japan’s Ainu people have faced an overlooked history of repression”

LETTERS

WRITE TO US

BBC History Magazine

FAT CATS OF THE CRUSADES • Waging holy war in the Middle Ages could be a lucrative business. Dan Jones tells the story of the crusaders who returned from the front line with their souls cleansed – and their pockets full

PRIZE FIGHTERS • Three money-mad crusaders

“ The elites thought they could ride Hitler like a horse. But they soon discovered that they were the horse and that Hitler was the horseman” • Stephan Malinowski tells Rob Attar how a cocktail of naked opportunism and misplaced arrogance among Germany’s most powerful men facilitated the rise of the Third Reich

HITLER’S USEFUL IDIOTS • Five members of the elite who helped create the Nazi monster

When great minds thought alike • Far from working in isolation, artists and scientists have drawn inspiration from one another for 250 years – as Tilly Blyth, curator of a new Science Museum exhibition, tells Ellie Cawthorne

Elizabeth I’s unlikely ally • She was the defiantly Protestant queen of England, he the Catholic king of France. And yet, against the odds, the two became firm friends. Estelle Paranque reveals how common enemies drove Henri III and Elizabeth I into one another’s affections

Q&A A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts • Was there a period in British history when the average person consumed more calories than today?

DID YOU KNOW…?

CHRIST’S COMMUNISTS • Six centuries ago in Bohemia, a dissenter army led by a one-eyed warrior waged war on the Holy Roman Empire. Tom Holland tells the story of the Taborites, whose creed was to reject money, property… and the Antichrist

Hypocrite, reactionary, usurper, sex maniac? • Catherine the Great’s reputation has come under sustained attack over the past two centuries. But do the charges against her stand up to scrutiny? Janet Hartley has her doubts

TIMELINE Catherine the Great: Russia’s warrior empress

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