History Extra

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.

“The scope for disagreement is enormous – this makes ancient history very exciting”

RULERS & ROYALS • Power, passion, and legacy — meet the men, and women, whose empires, triumphs and downfalls shaped the ancient world forever

A DYNASTY OF DESPOTS • From the colossal temples of Luxor to Tutankhamun's death mask, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt's golden age created some of history's greatest treasures. Yet, behind the glittering facade lay a society built on brutality, inequality and corruption

REIGNS OF TERROR • Eight of the most powerful figures of Egypt's golden age

Scurvy, sweat and stunted growth • Excavations of one of ancient Egypt's great cities reveal how the underclass paid for a pharaoh's indulgences

THE GREATEST PHARAOH? • Ramesses II was a genius in the art of self-promotion. Epic palaces, jaw-dropping temples and sycophantic scribes all projected his brilliance. But, do the achievements of Egypt's ‘king of kings’ truly justify the hype?

FIVE OTHER PHARAOHS VYING FOR THE STATUS OF THE ‘GREATEST’ • Ramesses II wasn't the only king to win the hearts and minds of his people…

“Ancient Egypt survived because of the wise rulership of the Cleopatras” • LLOYD LLEWELLYN-JONES talks to Matt Elton about the seven queens who shared the name Cleopatra, and how they were able to shape the ancient world in their image

THE WORLD'S FIRST SUPERHERO • When Alexander the Great died at the age of 32, his transformation into multicultural icon was only just beginning. Here we chronicle the Macedonian king's remarkable afterlife as the original global A-lister

ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

ALEXANDER'S GLOBAL AFTERLIFE • How the Macedonian leader's posthumous impact outstripped even his epoch-shaping empire-building

THE ANTICHRIST? • For centuries Emperor Nero has occupied a place in history's hall of infamy, courtesy of tales of Christian burning, wife beating and mother murdering. Yet does he truly deserve his diabolical reputation?

REIGN OF TERROR • Six of Nero's most infamous crimes

WAR & CONFLICT • From heroic last stands to empire-shaping clashes, journey through the battles, strategies and leaders that defined warfare in the ancient world

SPARTA'S LAST STAND • The 300 Spartans who took on a mighty Persian army at Thermopylae became the stuff of legend. Here, in an article first published in 2020 to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the battle, we scour the sources to reveal the truth behind the epic tale

THE EPIC CLASHES OF THE GRECO-PERSIAN WARS

ANCIENT ARMAGEDDON • The story of a battle that supercharged the rise of Egypt's greatest warrior-pharaoh – at a city that would for centuries be linked with the end of the world

ARMED TO THE TEETH • Eight pieces of military kit employed at the time of Thutmosis III

“It's time to write women back into these world-changing ancient events” • The story of the Greco-Persian Wars through the deeds of the extraordinary female figures who shaped them

ROME'S RELUCTANT KILLER • Marcus Aurelius may not have sought war, but when it came he was more than ready. Here we reveal how a man of peace became one of Rome's greatest...