Contemporary
Tsar Bomba (1961): The Largest Nuclear Weapon Ever Detonated
A thermonuclear device with an estimated yield of 50 to 58 megatons was detonated, the largest man-made explosion in history.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Ancient World
Petra: Rock-Cut Capital of the Nabataean Kingdom in Jordan
Petra grew into the wealthy capital of the Nabataean kingdom, became part of the Roman province of Arabia in AD 106 and is now Jordan's best-known World Heritage Site.
Ancient World
Moche Civilization: Warrior-Priests of Peru's North Coast
The Moche created the first great states of Peru's north coast; their traditions passed to the later Lambayeque (Sicán) and Chimú cultures.
Ancient World
Battle of Baideng (200 BC): Han Emperor Gaozu Besieged by Modu
Gaozu escaped after seven days, but Han abandoned offensive war against the Xiongnu and adopted the heqin policy of marriage alliances and annual gifts.
Ancient World
Barabar Caves: India's Oldest Surviving Rock-Cut Caves
Mauryan rulers created polished rock-cut retreats for the Ajivika ascetics, setting the model for later Indian cave architecture.
Ancient World
Jugurthine War (112-105 BC): Rome Against the King of Numidia
Jugurtha was betrayed by Bocchus of Mauretania, handed to Sulla and executed in Rome; Numidia was divided among Roman client kings.
Ancient World
Battle of Mycale (479 BC): The Greeks Strike Back in Ionia
Greek victory; the Persian camp was stormed, the beached Persian fleet burned and the Ionian Greeks rose in revolt.
Ancient World
Tomb of Rekhmire: Vizier of Thutmose III and Daily Life Scenes
A richly painted tomb chapel that is a key source for Egyptian government, crafts and foreign contacts in the mid-18th Dynasty.
Ancient World
Babylonian Astronomical Diaries: 600 Years of Sky Records
A body of systematic observations spanning about 600 years that underpins much of our knowledge of ancient astronomy and late Babylonian history.
Prehistory
Norte Chico Civilization: Origins of the Americas' Oldest Cities
The earliest known complex society in the Americas, whose monumental towns set patterns later followed by Andean civilizations.
Prehistory
Sweet Track: Britain's Neolithic Timber Walkway of 3807 BC
One of the oldest dated timber trackways in the world, preserved in peat and studied by the Somerset Levels Project.
Prehistory
Niaux Cave: The Salon Noir and Magdalenian Art of Ariège
Niaux became one of the best-known painted caves of the Magdalenian period and one of the few original decorated caves in France still open to small guided groups.