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 JANUARY 2025

THREE THINGS I'VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE'S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in January in history

What inspires our love of history? • What events or youthful experiences nurture an enduring fascination for centuries gone? A diverse panel of historians reveal the pivotal moments that sparked their lifelong passion for the past

“A British Museum team found the Temple of the White Thunderbird” • REDISCOVERING THE ANCIENT HERITAGE OF MESOPOTAMIA

“This breathtaking exhibition celebrates a golden age of Mughal art” • KAVITA PURI on the cultural achievements of the Mughal empire

Marathon man

BBC History Magazine

Land of make believe? • Marco Polo's adventures in Asia earned him everlasting fame. But are his accounts of his travels essentially works of fiction? Peter Jackson asks if we can trust this medieval travel-writing superstar

Marco Polo's life in travels

Have we finally unmasked the killer of the princes in the Tower? • Historians TIM THORNTON and TRACY BORMAN tell our podcast editor Ellie Cawthorne about a remarkable new discovery that may solve history's greatest murder mystery

WHO WAS THE GREATEST US PRESIDENT? • With Donald Trump set to be inaugurated as the 47th president, we asked seven historians to nominate their choice for the most accomplished American leader

George Washington • In 1789, the newly independent nation desperately needed a leader who would put the good of the republic before personal power. And, in its first president, argues Thomas Kidd, that's exactly what it got

Abraham Lincoln • Boundless self-confidence, an acute political radar and an ability to connect with ordinary people. With qualities like these, is it any wonder, asks Richard Carwardine, that Lincoln is widely hailed as the greatest US leader?

Teddy Roosevelt • There were dull presidents… and then there was Teddy Roosevelt. Jennifer Wright lauds a magnetic character who always had the back of working Americans

Franklin D Roosevelt • Iwan Morgan applauds a commander-in-chief who overcame personal adversity to lay the foundation for a modern model of leadership

Lyndon Baines Johnson • Clifford Williamson salutes an intimidating presence who bulldozed through his vision for 'a Great Society'

Ronald Reagan • In 1981, America tasked a former Hollywood actor with prising it from its 70s malaise. He pulled it off with aplomb, writes Jeremy Black

Barack Obama • The first black president was an idealistic reformer who advanced the cause of civil rights at home and turned the spotlight on climate change globally, says Rebecca Brückmann

How to build a radical • The experiences that shaped Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot co-conspirators into violent extremists seem all too familiar today. Lucy Worsley tells a story of religious clashes, state-sanctioned torture and comrades-in-arms willing to die for the cause

A HILL TO DIE ON • In early 1944, the Allied advance in Italy was brought to a halt at a rocky outcrop called Monte Cassino. And at the heart of the bloodbath that followed, writes James Holland, was flawed...