History

Joan of Arc retains her status as a religious and patriotic heroine, especially in France.

France's Leading Lady

Relics from her 1431 execution are a forgery. Will we ever know the real Joan of Arc?

One of the few entryways into Petra is a narrow passage, the Siq, at the end of which Petrans carved elaborate monuments into the soft rock.

Reconstructing Petra

Two thousand years ago, it was the capital of a powerful trading empire. Now archaeologists are piecing together a picture of Jordan's compelling rock city

None

Risks and Riddles

The Soviet Union was a puzzle. Al Qaeda is a mystery. Why we need to know the difference

None

Prophet on the Mount

The devout pay respects to Aaron

None

Chat with Jimmy Carter

Discuss "The Ethiopia Campaign" with President Carter

Princess Alexandrina Victoria, 18, ascends to the British throne when her uncle, King William IV, dies June 20, 1837.

June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The Institution's treasures were under 24-hour guard until World War II's end. The superintendent of the Shenandoah National Park selected five residents of Luray and the vicinity to serve as guards. "All fine men thoroughly conscientious in their duty," these guards were led by Lynn Black (far left, front row), and protected the collections against sabotage, theft and fire.

In the Event of War

How the Smithsonian protected its "strange animals, curious creatures" and more

This Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $2.35 million in March.

A Brief History of the Honus Wagner Baseball Card

From cigarette pack insert to multi-million-dollar treasure

The unlikely researcher, George Smith, made one of archaeology's most sensational finds when he uncovered the cuneiform-inscribed clay tablet containing fragments of a lost Babylonian epic.

Epic Hero

How a self-taught British genius rediscovered the Mesopotamian saga of Gilgamesh —after 2,500 years

None

The Epic of Gilgamesh Translation

Translated by Stephen Langdon, University of Pennsylvania

A carving of the tale of Gilgamesh

Lost Treasure

In Gilgamesh, scholars unearthed literary gold

None

Talking to the Feds

The chief of the FBI's organized crime unit on the history of La Cosa Nostra

The Egyptian queen frequently surrounded herself with splendor, but luxury was less an indulgence than a political tool.

Who Was Cleopatra?

Mythology, propaganda, Liz Taylor and the real Queen of the Nile

Adhering to tradition is a way of life among the Zuni Indians of northwestern New Mexico, whether it's dryland farming or wedding ceremonies. "The Zuni's complex social web seems to hold people," says Dennis Tedlock. "Their religion and language provide...ethnic identity."

The Zuni Way

Though they embrace computers and TV, the secret of the tribe's unity lies in fealty to their past

The Old Bailey (in 1809) was the venue for more than 100,000 criminal trials between 1674 and 1834, including all death penalty cases.

Digitizing the Hanging Court

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey is an epic chronicle of crime and vice in early London. Now anyone can search all 52 million words

A player wearing an old-fashioned catcher's mask

April Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Zuni or not, every woman is obliged to pitch in for the Sha'lako corn-grinding ceremony. During the religious festival, says Morell (far right), "people are expected to set aside all feelings of ill-will and hostility."

Mystery and Drama

Virginia Morell, author of "The Zuni Way," on the mystical ceremonies of the Zuni pueblo

None

What's Up

Duke Ellington, animated movies and the old ballgame

Capt. John Smith and Chief Powhatan had historic encounters in Werowocomoco.

Lost City of Powhatan

The Algonquian settlement crucial to the survival of Jamestown 400 years ago has been found. Finally

Congress finally passed the suffrage amendment in January 1918, but the Senate and the states took more than two years to approve it. In August 1920, a young Tennessee representative cast the deciding vote—at the urging of his mother—and ratified the amendment, thereby enfranchising half of the U.S. population. After a 72-year struggle, women had finally won the right to vote.

Equal Say

A photographic essay of how women won the vote

Page 246 of 278