All About History Annual - Volume 9 - September 2022

150 Pages·2022·95 MB·English

W
E
N
The events, people & civilisations
that changed the world

ln
a
o
t
i
it
g
i
d
i
D
E
E 9
M
U
OL
V
xxxxxxxxx
From myths and legends to some of the people who fought for
equal rights and helped change the world we live in today, the All
About History Annual brings you some of the most daring and
fascinating stories of the past to life. It’s great to bring you a new
selection of the best history writing from All About History
magazine once again and this year we have another fantastic
selection of tales to share. For instance, you can learn about
Empress Matilda, who perhaps should have been the first queen of
England, but was denied the throne that was promised to her. Or
perhaps you might like to know more about the Gods of Ancient
Greece and where some of them actually came from (most of them
weren’t original creations). As always, we have a wide selection of
history to dig into, including the Pirates who founded their own
nation in the Caribbean, the man who created the SAS during
WWII, and the history of alchemy and why it’s not the
crackpot science you might think it is (although, it certainly
doesn’t create gold or the elixir of eternal life). There’s a
great archive of history waiting for you just a few page
turns away so brace yourself for the journey ahead.

Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA
Bookazine Editorial
Editor Jonathan Gordon
Designer Kym Winters
Compiled by Jonathan Gordon
Editorial Director Jon White
Senior Art Editor Andy Downes
Magazine Editorial
Editor Jonathan Gordon
Designer Kym Winters
Editor-in-Chief Tim Williamson
Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook
Cover images
Joe Cummings, Kevin McGivern, Alamy, Getty Images
Photography
All copyrights and trademarks are recognised and respected
Advertising
Media packs are available on request
Commercial Director Clare Dove
[email protected]
International
Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw
[email protected]
Circulation
Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers
Production
Head of Production Mark Constance
Production Project Manager Matthew Eglinton
Advertising Production Manager Joanne Crosby
Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson
Production Managers Keely Miller, Nola Cokely,
Vivienne Calvert, Fran Twentyman
Printed by William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road,
Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU
www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: [phone]
All About History Annual Volume 9 (AHB4594)
© 2022 Future Publishing Limited
We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed,
certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced
and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and
socioeconomic standards.
All contents © 2022 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved.
No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without
the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number
2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far
as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility
for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and
retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps
and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for
their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and
not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne
company quoted on the Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford
London Stock Exchange Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand
(symbol: FUTR)
www.futureplc.com Tel [phone]
Part of the
bookazine series
CONTENTS
ROYAL WOMEN

042Isabella: Traitor,

adulterer, murderer

The truth about England’s French queen
052China’s shadow

empress
T he extraordinary tale of Empress
Dowager Cixi
058Empress Matilda

The woman who was denied the
throne of England
064Great queens

of Africa

Powerful women who helped
kingdoms to flourish
ANCIENT
CIVILISATIONS

010Real history

of the Gladiators

Brutal reality of Rome’s
famous bloodsport
020Can we trust

Herodotus?
Dissecting the work of the
father of history
024Livia Drusilla: First

Roman Empress

The woman who built a dynasty
030Greek Gods

Origins of the Olympian
deities explained
MYTHS &
LEGENDS

122The secrets

of alchemy

How the hunt for gold also
inspired discovery
128Watch the skies!

Inside America’s 1950s UFO hysteria
134History of Vampires

Bloodsuckers from the ancient world to
Bram Stoker
WAR STORIES
140Here there

be dragons

072The Phantom Major A medieval serpent obsession explained

The Scottish officer who
founded the SAS
078The legendary

Red Tails
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
0848 things to know

about Blitzkrieg

The secrets of Germany’s
devastating tank tactics
RADICALS &
GROUNDBREAKERS

092The lost

Pirate Republic

Outlaws who built a nation in paradise
102Ida B Wells

Life of the journalist, activist and advocate
108The warrior priest

How Miguel Hidalgo helped unify Mexico
114Forgotten moments

of queer history

Lost stories in the fight for equal rights
ANCIENT
CIVILISATIONS
Unearthing the buried past
010 R eal history of 024 Livia Drusilla: First
the Gladiators Roman Empress

Step into the arena and learn what life Wife of the first Roman emperor, Livia set
was really like for the warriors who the template for what it meant to be the
fought in Rome’s famous bloodsport first lady of Rome
020 Can we trust 030 Greek Gods

Herodotus? Discover the origins and some of the
cultural impact of the Olympian deities
He’s known as the father of history,
on civilisation
but does the work of the ancient Greek
author stand up to scrutiny?

GG SS
REAL HISTORY OF THE
LLAADDIIAATTOORR
Brutal reality of Rome’s most
famous bloodsport uncovered
Written by Dr Christopher Epplett
OO
ne of the most well-known Roman word for a gladiatorial trainer, The earliest recorded
legacies of Ancient Rome was Etruscan in origin. However, the gladiatorial duels in Rome
is the spectator events of preponderance of available evidence were staged in a funerary
the arena, in particular seems to support the idea that context, a far cry from the
gladiatorial contests. gladiatorial combat originated among later massive spectacles of
Some may be familiar with Roman the Campanians of south-central Italy. the Colosseum. In 264 BCE,
institutions such as the Plebeian Council A series of late 4th century BCE tomb- for example, the sons of
or the Centuriate Assembly, but almost paintings from Campania, for example, Decimus Junius Brutus
everyone has heard of the gladiators depict duels between armed men staged a combat involving
and the Colosseum. This is due in no reminiscent of later gladiatorial combat three pairs of gladiators in
small part to Hollywood blockbusters in Rome. And the Roman historian Livy the Forum Boarium (‘Cattle
like Spartacus and Gladiator. The records that Rome’s Campanian allies Market’) for their deceased
historical accuracy of most of these during the same period were in the father. In these early
cinematic depictions, however, often practice of dressing up gladiators in the funerary events the fighting
leaves something to be desired and there armour of their enemy, the Samnites, and skill of the participants, as
are many aspects of the gladiatorial forcing them to fight duels to entertain well as the blood they spilled,
phenomenon that are commonly guests at banquets. was meant to honour the
overlooked in popular culture. deceased, an obligation that
One topic of debate among historians EXPERT BIO DR CHRISTOPHER EPPLETT those staging such events were
has been the origin of gladiatorial Dr Epplett teaches happy to fulfil. This idea of family
contests. Such combat existed in Italy history at the University obligation towards dead relatives,
prior to its emergence in Rome, but a of Lethbridge in Canada, or the obligation of later Roman
with a focus on ancient
consensus beyond this has been difficult magistrates to stage combat events
Illustrations by: Joe Cummings tgsbtoholaa acsadtiece idthath ytileeoa ov rrtsfgee e.nro mSloryoir g tmu‘lihanpe-noac rtienseen tdsaaten r’i,aa nctrli h cetIehhtna eetsl r yttEsae, tnsaart drubigmaseurclodeaien ntfyh at © Chris Yauck Photography mpwGSGpalloiaaorlriddttrlidatiicaasr.utt yHolooa farrir sssnAl :ydb an Di nocnsedioo eat kcnBhdsiteeal yiR aln RhAsocotimrl sumeHtednoua earanny n t,s d. fcot(‘ohemfr ent u httshrnepao eelmu rctasoto’aa sisnctnul d ecctsoshh moeo cf fm po stnlphouteenreca sattlte)ras,ert .mo mnIrnaess, a, f u‘anwmscsaeut ,‘sdd n o uufnotseyr’ ’.
10