The present day term is derived from the Greek word “historia”, meaning inquiry or knowledge acquired by investigation. As a science it is concerned with the events that happened in the past. History preserves memory of these events, deals with the discovery of the past ones, collects and organizes them in a chronological fashion. The 5th century Greek historian Herodotus is today commonly recognized as the “father of history” along with his contemporary Thucydides.
As the result of the evolution of the science of history, different branches emerged with the purpose of thoroughly examining specific aspects of history such as religion, gender, military, environment, etc.
Since the 20th century there has been an ongoing debate concerned with the views on history. Some of the French historians associated with the Annales School argued that is a form of art, while others such as Fernand Braudel regarded it more as a social science. Contrary to these interpretations were the ones of the Marxist historians, who worked on the validation of Carl Marx`s theories. A somewhat different perspective on the matter was offered by the feminist historians such as Joan Wallach Scott or Claudia Koons considering the importance of studying the experience of women in the past.
The documentaries and video materials complied in this category are concerned with the matters of history and the factors that had influence on its very course.
Today we are celebrating Halloween by carving pumpkins and encouraging our children to dress up in scary costumes and go from door to door on a hunt for candy. See the ghoulish past of this holiday and learn about the origins of it.
See the new archeological evidence in support of the theory that a devastating Tsunami swept the eastern coast of Britain some 8000 years ago. Tony Robinson and his team examine the newfound evidence and also make a few discoveries of their own.
Learn about the French revolution and take a look at the course of events that lead to the execution of the last Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. It was a highly turbulent time for the entire France and a very violent one as well.
The history of the Forbidden City begins with a bloody coup at the beginning of the 15th century when the ambitious field commander Prince Zhu Di took power.As the Yongle Emperor, he declared Beijing ...
Do you want to know more about the big cities of the ancient world? This documentary takes us to the very heart of urban life in the Mediterranean area, the hub of the ancient world.The mighty metropo...
Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash a...
This documentary vividly brings to life the rise and fall of the Roman Empire through the lens of one of the most exhilarating and brutal arenas in the history of humanity–the Colosseum.From the sav...
In the deserts of Jordan, a city lies hidden for centuries in a valley of rose-red stone. In this documentary, we look at one of the most peculiar stories of civilizational survival to come down to us...
The Neolithic village of Ba'ja in Jordan is a famous archaeological site. It was one of the world's first known settlements, founded some 9,000 years ago.The site has produced magnificent finds includ...
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, or the Conquest of Mexico, is one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The conflict began in February 1519, ...
Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the h...
Have you ever wanted to know, how Earth was before the dinosaurs. When we talk about the history of Earth, we often talk about the dinosaurs and what came after them.But before the...
There is barely a country in Europe that cannot look back on Germanic roots. The term ‘Germanic’ actually refers to a number of tribes and clans that lived in Central and North...
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon, used for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade is longer than a knife or dagger and is attached to a hilt. Swords can be straight or curved.The...
She’s probably the most controversial woman in Chinese history – Wu Zetian, who rose from lowly concubine to become the only woman in all Chinese history to dare to take the ti...
The War of the Roses is one of the bloodiest civil wars in history. Fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century, the battle was a civil war betwe...
The London Bridge is the symbol of London. Recognizable to visitors from all over the world, the London Bridge has existed in one form or another for nearly 2,000 years by now. It ...
King Richard II is part of one of the bloodiest dynasties in British history. Many historians and scholars agree that his ruling contributed vastly to the infamous War of the Roses...
Thirty years after the founding of the Islamic republic, the ideals that inspired the uprising continue to inform every day life in modern Iran. So how has the revolution managed t...
This documentary investigates the very latest archaeological finds at three remote and hugely significant sites - Angkor Wat, Troy and Persepolis. Traveling to each site and throug...
Once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world.How did this shining...
John Harrison was a carpenter by trade who was self-taught in clock making. He was only 21 years old when the Longitude Act was passed. And he spent the next 45 years perfecting th...
Nowadays, we have clocks everywhere. And we can check the time in an instant. But how do humans kept time? How do they calculate time?Do you know the history of timekeeping? This d...
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Northern Africa, and Wes...
On April 26, 1986, the disaster at Chernobyl happened and completely changed the world we live in. It remains one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.Now, this documentary sh...
The Tudor Period in England occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales. The Tudors ruled the country for 118 years. During that period, they encouraged new religious ideas...
Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded Carthage’s main forces against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.Many consider him one of the greates...
The word samurai comes from the Japanese verb saburau, which translates to serve someone and look up to them. Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of med...
If you read Ancient Greece mythology, you will quickly think that Zeus was the Casanova of Ancient Greece. And that is not a far-fetched assumption.The Fathers of Gods and Men had ...
All you need to know about how sexuality was oppressed and demonized by the church, for both men and women. This is why feminism is much needed till today.How much do you know abou...
Back in the day people built a lot of underground tunnels. They used it them mostly for escaping from a city. Rulers needed a quick exit in case of danger.Do you know how many of t...
You might think glass has been here since forever. But that is not true. Yes, glass making dates back to at least 3,600 BC in Mesopotamia. Some historians claim they found co...
The Crown Jewels in any country symbolize the passing of authority from one monarch to another during the coronation ceremony. In England, the earliest detailed account of a ...
Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom of Egyptian History.King Tut was f...
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and merged into the ...
Ancient Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. For almost 30 centuries, from its unification around 3100 BC, to the conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BC,...
Sumer is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia. It emerged during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze ages.The history of Sumer, incl...
Most of us have heard about the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King. But that is not the only speech that completely changed humanity.Words and their delivery c...
Did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte played a huge role in making the Netherlands a kingdom? Napoleon sent his brother Louis Napoleon Bonaparte to rule over the Netherlands a...
The American frontier, or better known as the Wild West or Old West, includes the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of America...
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a mythical creature portrayed in classical times with the head and tail of a bull and body of a man. As the Roman poet Ovid describes him,...
Sparta and Athens were two of the most powerful state-cities in Ancient Greece. And they were different in every sense. While Athens was built on democracy, Sparta was built ...
Nordlingen is a historic German town built inside a meteorite crater. It is one of only 3 towns that has its city walls intact.The city, located in Bavaria, sits on a pile of ...
The Holocaust, or as some call it the Shoah, was the World War II genocide of the European Jews. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators murdered more than ...
North Korea hasn’t always been under the totalitarian rule of the Kim regime. The dynasty began some 100 years ago. It was Kim Il Sung that gained fame in the 1937 Chinese-...
The earliest archeological evidence of bells dates from the 3d millennium BC. You can trace it back to the Yangshao culture of Neolithic China. Bells first started as clapper...
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat serving in Lithuania during World War II. He risked his life and the life of his family. Sugihara went against the decree of the Japan...
The Romanovs were a high-ranking family in Russia during the 16th and 17th century. In 1613, Mikhail Romanov became the first Romanov czar of Russia, following a fifteen-year...
Hieroglyphs are characters used in a system of pictorial writing. They were used on ancient Egyptian monuments. They can represent objects that they depict, but usually they ...
Marco Polo was an Italian merchant, explorer, and writer. He traveled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. He traveled with his family, but also a crew. Du...
Cleopatra is one of the most famous rules in history. She ruled Egypt, and she was brave enough to challenge Rome, at a time Rome was the strongest empire in the world.When R...
Once upon a time in Hollywood is one of the hottest movies at the moment. When you have Tarantino as a director, you expect nothing less than a shocking twist and story.Some ...
One of the many theories about Game of Thrones is that the series is based on British history. George R.R. Martin has never publicly acknowledged that, but many of his readers fi...
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