How Alexander the Great became Iskandar Zulkarnain, the legendary ancestor of Malay kings

The Greek emperor’s entry into the Malay world was through a Persian prototype.

Annabel Teh Gallop

· Yesterday · 07:30 pm

As the last Boeing 747 rolls out of the factory, a history of how it became the ‘queen of the skies’

The 747 was, and is, probably the most easily recognisable jet airliner.

Janet Bednarek, The Conversation

· Feb 03, 2023 · 11:30 pm

Fact vs fiction: Pakistan must accept the uncomfortable truths about the 1971 war

Official discourse reveals and conceals selective aspects of the past, carefully crafting narratives that hide inconvenient histories.

Anam Zakaria

· Jan 11, 2023 · 07:30 pm

Daggers drawn: How contracts in Western India were guaranteed in blood 300 years ago

With no formal legal system in place, Bhat and Charan communities performed the role of guarantors for contracts, backed by threats of self-harm or even death.

Leah Verghese

· Jan 07, 2023 · 11:30 am

How Persian literature imagined Alexander the Great’s romantic relationships around the world

A range of texts depicts his travels to foreign lands and the women he encounters in each place.

Sunil Sharma

· Jan 04, 2023 · 09:30 pm

In ancient Athens, the ultrarich often paid more tax than they were due – and then boasted about it

The Athenians were more interested in social wealth than monetary riches.

Thomas Martin, The Conversation

· Dec 27, 2022 · 07:30 pm

How the world discovered chocolate

Cacao, which is used to make chocolate, was domesticated at least 4,000 years ago, first in the Amazon basin and then in Central America.

Kathryn Sampeck, The Conversation

· Dec 26, 2022 · 11:30 pm

Cries for help: Letters to the British India Office in the 19th century

The department would frequently field pleas for help from members of the public.

John O’Brien

· Dec 05, 2022 · 09:30 pm

Hyderabad Liberation: An Urdu journalist’s murder in 1948 warns India about the perils of autocracy

Political parties still invoke the legacy of Shoebullah Khan, but his killing reminds us of the dangers of speaking truth to power.

Gautam Pemmaraju

· Sep 17, 2022 · 09:00 am

19th century letters reveal the mood in Britain when inflation reached the highest levels in history

The incredible rise was fuelled by 20 years of Napoleonic Wars and a demand spike provoked by the industrial revolution.

Jessica Gregory

· Jul 02, 2022 · 09:30 pm

In Elizabethan England, a law that made it illegal to let anybody starve led to economic gains

More than 400 years later, in the closing years of Elizabeth II’s reign, the United Kingdom once again faces perilous spikes in living costs.

Simon Szreter, The Conversation

· Jun 08, 2022 · 11:30 pm

Two plaques in Srirangapatna claim to mark the spot where Tipu Sultan died. Which one is accurate?

An amateur historian uses paintings to try to clear the confusion.

Harshavardhana Yadumurthy

· May 22, 2022 · 11:30 am