16th century: Did you mean...?

Dithmarschen in the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Abraham Ortelius, 1570

In the ancient world, some coins had dates on them. giving us precise information as to when people ruled. These coins are inscribed with dates, so they give fixed points in the chronology of ancient states, to which other evidence can be...

Map of Pen/Insular states and potential centres in the 3rd–6th centuries CE.

Anglo-Saxon depiction of a biblical king and his council - likely inspired by the councils/witans contemporary to the artist - Old English Illustrated Hexateuch, Cotton Claudius B IV, f 59. British Library, London.

Tobacco paper for Sharpe's Best Virginia, at Fleet Street, London, c. 1725-1775 CE. British Museum, London.

This map illustrates the sweep of Viking exploration between the late 8th and early 11th centuries, charting longship routes from Scandinavia to the British Isles, Normandy, Iberia, Russia, the Mediterranean, and across the North Atlantic...

These maps illustrate the trajectory of the early Crusades (1096–1192), a series of military campaigns launched by the medieval Latin Church with the declared goal of reclaiming the Holy Land—centered between the Mediterranean Sea and the...

The Wolof (aka Jolof or Djolof) Empire was a state on the coast of West Africa, located between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, which thrived from the mid-14th to mid-16th century CE. The empire prospered on trade thanks to the two rivers...

The Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the Imperial Crisis, 235-284 CE) was the period in the history of the Roman Empire during which it splintered into three separate political entities: the Gallic Empire, the Roman Empire, and...

The 17th Century CE in Europe was pretty rough in a lot of ways. The Thirty Years War involved a lot of countries, and a lot of battles, and it was terrible for everyone involved, as wars have aa historical tendency to be. At the same time...