National Geographic History

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FROM THE EDITOR

National Geographic History

The Mysterious Menhirs of Central France • Lines of stones and an enigmatic statue have been found far from France’s other megalithic sites.

THE STONES CAME TUMBLING DOWN

A Life in Art

The Baroque Brilliance of Artemisia Gentileschi • A victim of violence in her youth, the 17th-century Italian painter later triumphed in Florence and London, leaving signs of a traumatic past in her dramatic works of art.

PAINTING HERSELF PAINTING

FIRST HAND

A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW

Prohibition Passes, and America Goes Dry • In the 1900s women’s groups and religious leaders powered the U.S. temperance movement, promising Prohibition would usher in a golden age, free from the evils of alcohol. After the 18th Amendment went into effect, they would see just how wrong they were.

A NEW AGE FOR WOMEN

Prayers and Hatchets

CRIME ON THE BIG SCREEN

THE BATTLE OF MARATHON • The Greek victory against the vastly superior forces of the Persian Empire at the Battle of Marathon in 490 b.c. was the beginning of the Athenian Golden Age and became a foundation of Athenian identity.

Buildup to Marathon

THE PERSIAN THREAT

MOMENT OF VICTORY

THE CLASH OF BRONZE AND LEATHER

THE FIRST MARATHON

THE TOMB OF THE BRAVE

SASSANIAN SPLENDOR • In a.d. 224, a Persian nobleman toppled the Parthians to become the sole ruler of lands stretching from Turkey to Pakistan. Inspired by Persia’s imperial past, the Sassanians shaped the landscape, faiths, and scholarship of western Asia.

THE LAST DYNASTY

FIT FOR A PERSIAN KING

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE • Ruler of Aquitaine, queen of two nations, mother of kings: From her teenage years to her death in her 80s, Eleanor was a savvy power player known for outwitting and outlasting political rivals in medieval France and England.

England’s Royal Legends and Lore

Like Mother, Like Daughter

VILCABAMBA LAST STRONGHOLD OF THE INCA • The Peruvian jungle holds the ancient city of Vilcabamba, the secret center of Inca resistance, which held out for 40 years against Spanish invaders

THE LAST INCA REBELS

THE INCA EMPIRE

VILCABAMBA CITIES IN THE CLOUDS

THE ASSASSINATION OF MANCO INCA

THE SEARCH FOR VILCABAMBA

DEATH OF A REVOLUTIONARY

QUEST FOR THE NORTH POLE • From the 1840s, numerous expeditions set out to reach 90° north. Although none succeeded until the 20th century, each attempt pushed ever farther into the mysterious Arctic lands.

Struggling for Pole Position • From the 1840s, teams from Europe and North America edged farther into the Arctic, often enduring unspeakable hardship. The advent of powered flight brought the conquest of the pole within reach.

Go North

A BREAKTHROUGH

Ice, Darkness, and Hunger • Visitors to Arctic climes were awed by the power of ice, a force that could crush and sink a ship. To survive, explorers had to adapt to months without sun, and to eke out food and shelter from the most unforgiving terrain on the planet.

THE POWER OF ICE

Moving In on the North Pole • The Italian Umberto Cagni tried to reach the pole by sledge, while the Swede Salomon Andrée was bolder and used a balloon. Both failed, but while Cagni returned alive, Andrée died in the attempt.

BRUTAL CONDITIONS

A THOUSAND DAYS OF ICE

PEARY AND THE POLE

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