BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME MAY 2022

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

Warnings from history? • To what extent do the roots of the conflict in Ukraine lie in the Cold War? ‘That was a question exercising Twitter commentators, as ANNA WHITELOCK reports

HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THE DIVERSE HERITAGE OF UKRAINE’S BLACK SEA COAST

ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place in May in history

WHY WE SHOULD REMEMBER… • The Amnesty Act, which shaped the post-Civil War US’s reconstruction

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI explores lesser-known stories from our past

LETTERS

BBC HiSTORY MAGAZINE

EMPIRE OF THE GREATS • Not even a 2,000-year smear campaign, instigated by the Greeks, can obscure the staggering achievements of the ancient Persians. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the story of the Iranian dynasty that forged the greatest empire the world had ever known

TIMELINE • The rise and fall of the Persian empire

A WONDER OF THE WORLD • How Darius the Great turned Persepolis into the empire’s foremost citadel

The family behind the Tudors • The name Tudor has reverberated down the centuries, but another family lurked in the background, helping the dynasty to greatness – and sometimes seeking to tear it down. Joanne Paul chronicles the meteoric rise and deadly fall of the Dudleys

Feather beds, cockfights and midnight flights to the moon • From seeing feathers as omens of death to saving soldiers with homing pigeons, our interactions with birds have always been contradictory. Roy and Lesley Adkins select five chapters from avian history to illuminate this complex relationship

PANEL / CONFLICT IN UKRAINE • In February, following months of escalating tensions, Russia invaded Ukraine. Are parallels with the past useful in making sense of the war, or is history being used for more sinister ends? Four experts have their say

TIMELINE RUSSIA & UKRAINE: 10 KEY MOMENTS

Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

A cruel Renaissance • “Wicked, an abomination, and against all humanity.” These words, uttered in 1416, shine a light on a dark truth: that slavery thrived in Renaissance Europe. HANNAH SKODA tells the stories of people living in bondage in a period when ideals of liberty and the nobility of human nature didn’t apply to all

Victoria Drummond Engineering trailblazer • A century ago, the barriers facing any woman longing for a career in marine engineering seemed almost insurmountable – but not quite. JO STANLEY introduces a woman who had the talent, bravery and determination to make her mark in the male-dominated maritime world

How Britain became a cultural colossus • The secret to the nation’s status as a creative superpower lies not in stability and peace but a past dominated by invasion, disruption and war

Sounds of the sixties • Facing fleets of pirate radio stations and teenagers hungry to hear the latest hits, the BBC had to change its tune. DAVID HENDY explores how the corporation attempted to reach new...