BBC History Magazine (UK)

BBC History Magazine is a UK-based publication focused on articles about history, covering both British and global topics. It caters to readers with varying levels of knowledge and interest in history. The magazine publishes a total of thirteen issues each year, including one for each month and a special Christmas edition. While it is owned by BBC Worldwide, the magazine is published under license by the Immediate Media Company. BBC History is the top-selling history magazine in the UK and is experiencing an annual circulation growth of almost 7%.

National, Consumer

English

Magazine

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#85005

United States

#44320

Science and Education/History

#23

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Which treasures were lost when Titanic sank, and what did some survivors smuggle onto lifeboats?

3 weeks ago | historyextra.com | Hilary Mitchell

The picture was taken in 2024 by oceanographers from RMS Titanic Inc, a US company that holds the rights to the 113-year-old wreck. The statuette hadn’t been caught on camera since 1986, when marine scientist Bob Ballard led an expedition to the site using the deep-sea vehicle Alvin. Eight subsequent visits had failed to locate her, and there was some concern she had been illegally salvaged and sold.
My history hero: Danny Robins chooses Harry Price (1881-1948)

1 month ago | historyextra.com | York Membery

He had a Walter Mitty quality: he was constantly fictionalising his life and pumping out fake versions of himself – partly, I think, because of his humble background [his father was a travelling salesman]. He lied about where he was born and grew up, and faked archaeological finds and ‘artefacts’ that he’d knocked up in his shed.
“A reminder of my responsibility to ensure the peace we’ve enjoyed for 80 years continues”: Sir Keir Starmer on VE Day

1 month ago | historyextra.com | York Membery

Moreover, it’s an opportunity to look back and remind ourselves that our children – my boy is 16 and my girl is 14 – live in peace in a democracy because of the sacrifices of the Second World War generation. My grandfather was in the army during the war, though he was one of those people who never spoke about what he did and where he went, and he died when I was quite young.
Why it was more dangerous to steal a loaf of bread than commit murder in medieval England

1 month ago | historyextra.com | Kev Lochun

“The jury often reached a not guilty verdict simply because they thought, ‘This person doesn’t deserve to be hanged’”, explains Professor Manuel Eisner, speaking on the HistoryExtra podcast. “They thought, ‘He’s a respectable member of the community. He gives to the Church. He has apprentices who he trains. He does all kinds of things right. And here was this stupid conflict that ended up badly, and somebody died.’”Theft, however, was a different story.
The ancient Mesopotamian civilisation’s weirdest job? Meet the veterinary exorcist

2 months ago | historyextra.com | Kev Lochun

In this early Mesopotamian society, being an exorcist – an āšipu – didn’t mean you were someone who expunged the supernatural. These exorcists were trained healers who treated everything from toothaches to cattle fevers, not only with the aid of scalpels or potions alone, but with rituals, incantations and appeals to the gods.
This medieval king was hunted down and brutally murdered - and we still don’t know who killed him

2 months ago | historyextra.com | Kev Lochun

Instead, he had tried to regroup at Blackness Castle, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, but fled when rebel forces advanced, and was intercepted near a mill outside Bannockburn. What happened next remains one of the most unresolved and politically resonant royal deaths in Scottish history. “We just know there was a pursuit to get to a mill and then he's stabbed by someone,” explains historian Gordon McKelvie, speaking on the HistoryExtra podcast.
When women tied up men for Jesus: why Henry VIII tried to ban the medieval festival of Hocktide

2 months ago | historyextra.com | Kev Lochun

Rooted in both seasonal and religious traditions, Hocktide marked the shift of the agricultural calendar from winter to summer, when those working the fields enjoyed a rare break and a chance to let loose after Lent with sports, games, eating and drinking. But, at its core, Hocktide was a fundraising ritual with a mischievous twist.
John Milton: Your Guide To The Life & Work of 'Paradise Lost' Author

2 months ago | historyextra.com | Matt Elton

What is John Milton’s Paradise Lost about? Paradise Lost is an epic poem of more than 10,000 non-rhyming lines that charts humanity’s fall from grace. It is Milton’s version of the biblical story of the temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The poem tapped into debates about free will and disobeying authority, which struck a chord in the period in which Milton was writing – following the Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy with Charles II.
Aethelred II: Why Was The English King 'Unready'? Rule, Life & Facts

Mar 24, 2025 | historyextra.com | Matt Elton

But the real story of how Aethelred came to be known as ‘the Unready’ is more complex, and more recent. Centuries after his death, his legacy would be rewritten as he became victim to a piece of medieval wordplay. How did Aethelred become known as ‘the Unready’?
Saladin: a hero of Islam and scourge of the crusaders

Feb 28, 2025 | historyextra.com | Emily Briffett

On the podcast | Jonathan Phillips details the astronomic rise of Saladin Only six months after securing a truce with Richard the Lionheart, one of his most significant achievements, he died. Saladin was, and remains, a hero of Islam, and was praised by his enemies in the West for his military skills, his lack of vanity, and his generous and virtuous nature. What was Saladin’s full name? Saladin’s full name was Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.