National Geographic History

See how National Geographic History magazine inflames and quenches the curiosity of history buffs and informs and entertains anyone who appreciates that the truth indeed is stranger than fiction with a digital subscription today. And that history is not just about our forebears. It’s about us. It’s about you.

FROM THE EDITOR

National Geographic History

A Dog’s Life in Stone Age Scotland • Neolithic dogs were prized companions of Orkney Islanders 4,500 years ago, and new technology reveals what these pups looked like.

WHERE EAGLES DARED

The Story of Their Lives

The Brothers Grimm: Fathers of Fairy Tales • In 1812 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published an academic collection of German folklore that became the world’s most famous anthology of children’s stories.

FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY

MASS APPEAL

SUPERSTITION UNDER STUDY

Legends of the Vampire • In the 17th and 18th centuries, vampire mania swept through eastern Europe, and a French cleric collected all the tales he could find. His work inspired not only scholarly debate but also the first works of vampire fiction.

AN OLD OBSESSION

BEFORE DRACULA

To Vanquish a Vampire

MINOTAUR THE MONSTER IN THE MAZE • Greeks and Romans loved the myth of the Minotaur, a half man, half bull who dwelled in the Labyrinth until he was slain by the Athenian hero Theseus. The legend’s details and symbols reveal much about the distant past that shaped the Mediterranean world.

The Boy Who Flew

The Sad Fate of Ariadne

JEWEL OF ANCIENT JORDAN JERASH • The glorious city of Jerash was a multicultural trading hub that grew prosperous off the commerce flowing through the region. Absorbed by Rome, the wealthy city built fabulous monuments, becoming a beacon of Roman civilization on the eastern fringes of the empire.

JEWEL OF THE EAST

A ROMAN CITY

BIG, BAD BOUDICA BRITAIN REBELS AGAINST ROME • Britain had been under Roman control for less than two decades when a massive revolt erupted, led by Boudica, queen of the Iceni people. Thousands of Britons united behind Boudica in A.D. 60 and scored several victories against Roman forces, whose grip on Britannia was in jeopardy.

ROME COMES TO BRITAIN

TEMPLE OF DOOM

WARRIOR QUEEN • When depicting people from the past, artists often turn to historical documents and archaeology in search of details about someone’s features, garments, and possessions. To create a portrait of Boudica for the cover of National Geographic History US, the artist turned to the ancient accounts of Roman historians (in particular, the secondand third-century Greco-Roman author Dio Cassius) and archaeological evidence to create a vivid depiction of the Iceni queen.

LONDON’S COMMERCIAL CONCEPTION

FINAL BATTLE

THERE AND BACK AGAIN The Travels of Marco Polo • Marco Polo’s account of his odyssey to China became one of the world’s first best-selling books, and not just for its fantastic tales. Its commercial details awoke Europeans to the possibilities of global trade two centuries before the age of discovery.

TRAILBLAZING FRIARS

ENCOUNTERS IN THE HOLY LAND

SPLENDOR OF KUBLAI KHAN

KING JAMES AND THE WITCH HUNTS OF SCOTLAND • Fed by religious fervor and a king's fear of black magic, Scotland's witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries were among the most intense and violent in Europe.

Scotland Under a Spell

A SCHOLAR AND A KING

THE REALM OF JAMES VI

Tempests, Cauldrons, and Chaos

The Case Against Witchcraft

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Official Records

MONUMENTAL MYSTERY

KING HEREAFTER

Sigiriya: A Palace Fit for a Lion King • Built in the fifth century, Sri Lanka’s Sigiriya fortress attracted the...