Europe
Asia
Oceania
Americas
Africa
Why these once-powerful nations disappeared, leaving abandoned artefacts a
The fall of the Aztec empire in the early 16th century appears to have been one of history’s clearest before-and-after moments. According to the myth, a handful of Spanish conquistadors quickly crushe
Centuries before Samarkand’s stately mosques, mausoleums and madrassas (Islamic schools) were built, a trading hub arose on what became known as the Silk Road. The site of the first ancient settlement
Globetrotter’s diary
From voyages to battles, gods to monsters, heroics to cowardice, the Viking sagas explore all of these themes in magnificent detail
The samurai’s history and legacy, Angela Merkel’s 21st-century military and a new aviation festival
John Tolan Islam A new history from Muhammad to the present 304pp. Princeton University Press. £25 (US $29.95). James McDougall Worlds of Islam A global history 608pp. Allen Lane. £40. Elizabeth Drays