December 2008 cover

December 2008

Articles from the December 2008 issue of BBC History Magazine

Turkeys, bred in Norfolk, cover the facade of a London butcher's shop, 1929. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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Shop ’till you drop: a brief history of Christmas shopping. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Made of basalt, this inscribed stone dates to the sixth century BC. The figure is Nabonidus who was the last king of Babylon before the Persian invasion under Cyrus II. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

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Babylon: From riches to ruins. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of William Hogarth, whom Simon Jones admires for possessing an extraordinary eye for pictorial detail and social nuance. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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My history hero: William Hogarth (1697–1764). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King Arthur addresses his knights in a 12th-century Arthurian manuscript now held in Rennes, France. (Photo by: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)

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Would the real King Arthur please stand up. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.