Understand the forces that made our world.
Explore the civilizations, empires, ideas and turning points that continue to shape the present.
Start with a question. Follow the people, places and events behind the answer.
Civilizations & empires
The rise, reach and legacy of the world's great powers.
Explore →Nations & societies
The geography, people, institutions and economies of states.
Explore →Military power
Capabilities, equipment, doctrine and strategic reach.
Explore →Leaders & institutions
The people and systems that shape decisions and power.
Explore →Four encyclopedias, one standard: every entry written as fact, signed by a correspondent writing as a historian. No slant in the record — bias lives in our opinions, never in our reference.
Universal Encyclopedia
456 entries — empires, great civilizations, great inventors, and the complete timeline from the first hearth to today. Everything that made us, in one place.
EncyclopediaCountry Factbook
195 nations — geography, people, economy, government, and the Bureau's read on each. Every country on earth, one file per nation.
EncyclopediaMilitary Encyclopedia
Every nation's military file — forces, personnel, equipment, deployments. Who commands what, where it sits, what it costs.
EncyclopediaLeaders of the World
Who leads every nation — heads of state and government, ranked and profiled. Power, person by person.