Education
BBC History UK
Royal progress
Alice Loxton's new book begins with a compelling premise.
1 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
"Leaving Muslim contributions out of European history has allowed Islamophobic sentiment to flourish"
THARIK HUSSAIN speaks to Danny Bird about the long but often overlooked and distorted history of Muslims in Europe - and the enduring resistance to its reappraisal
9 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
7 UNMISSABLE TRIPS IN 2026
With new routes, big anniversaries and fresh ways of discovering familiar favourites, TOM HALL highlights historical destinations to explore this year
4 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
SOPHIE SCHOLL
Novelist Simon Scarrow chooses
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Portrait of the artists
TRACY BORMAN is enraptured by a beautifully written and richly illustrated exploration of early modern English art
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Humble heroes
Statues celebrate monarchs, rulers and conquerors - but who remembers the brave folk who gave their lives to save others? Anna Maria Barry recounts stories of selfsacrificing but otherwise ordinary people from the 19th and 20th centuries who are commemorated in one London park.
9 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
BACK FROM THE DEAD
Britain’s War Office thanked the SAS for its remarkable efforts in WW2 by abolishing it – yet soon realised the error of its ways. Gavin Mortimer tells the story of how the elite unit reinvented itself to confront the challenges of the postwar world
8 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Q&A - A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts
Were Roman gladiators vegetarian?
8 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Martha McGill on a pioneering study of folk beliefs in early modern England
I was recently chatting with a handful of early modernists about the history book we'd take to a desert island.
1 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Independent empires
Viewing the British empire through an American lens provides an intriguing alternative perspective on the 'Land of the Free', says DAVID ARMITAGE
4 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Forged money
A holistic study of Britain's industrial growth, and rise to global dominance, is wide- ranging and welcome but leaves some questions unanswered
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Eastern premise
The success of any short history lies in the art of omission. When dealing with a country as historically rich and varied as Japan, the challenge lies in deciding what to summarise broadly, what to condense, and what to leave out. Achieving this balance requires both a sharp eye for the larger sweep of history and a keen ear for the telling detail. Christopher Harding possesses both, showing the breadth of knowledge to select wisely, and the sensitivity to deploy an evocative image or literary fragment to represent a widespread mood.
1 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
At the turn of the 12th century, two men from a Staffordshire village died suddenly.Their lifeless bodies were taken to the local graveyard and solemnly laid to rest...
...but a few days later, they were spotted walking around the village, with their coffins on their backs
8 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
CLONE WARS
Countries worldwide have established forces based on the British SAS template
1 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Apart together
ALWYN TURNER is impressed by a comprehensive take on Britain's sometimes cordial but often troubled relationship with Europe
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Six scandals that rocked the royals
At a time when the royal family is under significant strain, historians shine a spotlight on some of the biggest crises to have enveloped the British monarchy over the past three centuries.
8 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Doña Gracia A leader of Europe's Jewish diaspora
With the Inquisition active throughout much of Europe, the first half of the 16th century was a perilous time for Jewish people. ANDRÉE AELION BROOKS explores how the fabulously wealthy Doña Gracia worked tirelessly to protect her community
5 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
CONQUEST? WHAT CONQUEST?
1066 is synonymous with the battle of Hastings. Yet while Duke William was launching his conquest of England, the rest of Europe had its own crises to contend with. Charles West takes us on a tour of the continent during a dramatic year
10 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Underfloor heating signalled Roman ingenuity and luxury
The hypocaust - the Roman air-based heating system – was a status symbol as well as a show of engineering prowess
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Menace in the Mediterranean
Killing, burning, pillaging, enslaving. Even when heading to sunnier climes, Viking raiders deployed the same tactics that they had used along the shores of northern and western Europe
10+ min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Scholars have applied models used in genetic research to Homer's Iliad
PROUST’S FAMOUS NOVEL IS CALLED IN SEARCH of Lost Time, and isn’t that the key to why we love history? It’s the urge to recover the lost past. Can we get beyond the mysterious veil to real events and people? Can we even feel how they felt? And as historians, we always hope to find new sources and new ways of seeing.
3 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Who is the most overrated person in history?
In the first of a new monthly series, we asked an expert team of historians to tackle one of the big questions about the past
9 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Guardians of heritage
The Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan marks a proud new era of education and historical conservation for the country
3 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Every one of us has an archive of our life, which is part of a bigger history
HAVING SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN NEWSROOMS and edit suites making television and radio documentaries, I have come to archives late on in my life. These are the precious places that hold records, whether that's a digital file, an audio recording, or perhaps a paper diary, all of which can take you instantly back in time and place. I can lose myself for hours in some hypnotic trance as I stumble across a sentiment, a betrayal, a confession. All the while, I'm piecing together from these different voices a part of history. There are the official records and the private. And in both it can feel as if you are trespassing, as you turn a page that was perhaps once held by its author.
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Vikings evolved very differently in eastern Europe and Iceland
Scandinavians exploring Baltic and Slavic regions developed a strategy and culture distinct from those who settled in the north Atlantic
3 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
For Frederick Douglass, escape didn't bring freedom from fear
Having fled enslavement in the American South, the man who became an abolitionist figurehead continued to dread capture
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Martin Luther condemned the German Peasants' War
With his ideas of equality, the radical theologian inspired ordinary people to rise up against rulers and clerics - then denounced them
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Simon de Montfort convenes an extraordinary parliament
Commoners and nobles meet in Westminster
1 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
Latvian anarchists bring terror to the East End
The siege of Sidney Street grips London and draws in Winston Churchill
2 min |
January 2026
BBC History UK
On the skids
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's smash musical Oklahoma! opened on Broadway on 31 March 1943.
1 min |