Ancient World
Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad): Sargon II's Lost Assyrian Capital
A vast planned capital completed in about a decade, abandoned soon after Sargon II's death, and in 1843 the first Assyrian palace ever excavated.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Prehistory
Carrowmore: Ireland's Great Neolithic Megalithic Cemetery
A cemetery of some 30 surviving passage tombs and stone circles that ranks among the earliest megalithic complexes in Ireland.
Prehistory
Badarian Culture: Early Farmers of Upper Egypt
The Badarian culture established farming, herding and elaborate burial in Upper Egypt and was followed by the Naqada culture that led towards the Egyptian state.
Prehistory
Ishango Bone: Notched Tally Stick from Ice Age Congo
The bone became one of the most famous early tally objects, often cited in debates about the origins of counting.
Prehistory
Toba Supereruption: The Volcano and the Human Bottleneck Debate
A colossal eruption spread ash from the South China Sea to Africa, but most current evidence suggests it did not cause a near-extinction of humans.
Prehistory
Deinonychus and the Dinosaur Renaissance: Ostrom's 1964 Find
Deinonychus showed that some dinosaurs were agile, active predators and revived the theory that birds descend from dinosaurs.
Prehistory
Cambrian Explosion: The Sudden Rise of Animal Life on Earth
Within some 20 to 30 million years, most major animal body plans, including arthropods, molluscs and chordates, appeared in the fossil record.
Modern Era
Dust Bowl (1930s): Drought and Dust Storms on the Great Plains
Severe drought and wind erosion stripped topsoil from millions of acres, drove hundreds of thousands of people from the Plains and led to lasting federal soil conservation programmes.
Modern Era
Battle of Moscow (1941–1942): The Red Army Saves the Capital
Soviet victory; the German advance was stopped short of Moscow and pushed back 100–250 km, ending hopes of a quick German win in the East.
Modern Era
Battle of Caporetto (1917): Italy's Disaster on the Isonzo Front
Decisive Austro-German victory; the Italian army retreated about 100 km to the Piave, where the line was stabilised.
Modern Era
Aceh War (1873-1904): The Dutch Struggle to Conquer Sumatra
The Netherlands conquered Aceh after three decades of war at great human cost, though local resistance continued for years afterwards.
Modern Era
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): The Supreme Court and Slavery
By 7 votes to 2 the Court denied Scott his freedom, declared that Black Americans were not citizens and struck down the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery in the territories.