Ancient History

The web's source of information for Ancient History: definitions, articles, timelines, maps, books, and illustrations.

Explore classical history, Greek and Roman mythology, Latin language and literature, and the many fascinating figures of the ancient world.

Learn about the amazing World of Antiquity.

The Roman invasion of Britain was arguably the most significant event ever to happen to the British Isles. It affected our language, our culture, our geography, our architecture and even the way we think. Our island has a Roman name, its capital is a Roman city and for centuries (even after the Norman Conquest) the language of our religion and administration was a Roman one.

Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from the beginning of recorded human history and extending as far as the Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC.

Explore Ancient History, including videos, pictures, and articles on cultures such as Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and more. Get all the facts on History.

Ancient History section of the BBC History website.

Frontline explores the life of Jesus and the rise of Christianity. Drawing upon new and sometimes controversial historical evidence and interviews with the nation's leading New Testament scholars, the program challenges familiar assumptions about the origins of Christianity.

Egypt is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is among the oldest civilizations on earth. The name 'Egypt' comes from the Greek Aegyptos which was the Greek pronunciation of the Egyptian name 'Hwt-Ka-Ptah' (which means "House of the Spirit of Ptah", who was a very early God of the Ancient Egyptians).

An illustrated history of the Roman Empire.

Turning the Pages is an award-winning interactive display system developed by The British Library. There are currently fifteen treasures on display in Turning the Pages including: the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Diamond Sutra, the Sforza Hours, the Leonardo Notebook, the Golden Haggadah, the Luttrell Psalter, Blackwell's Herbal, the Sherborne Missal, and Sultan Baybars' Qur'an.

Enter the world of the ancient Egyptians. Find out why their mysterious civilisation, gods, godesses and pyramids capture the imagination.