Baltic Crusades: Did you mean...?

This map illustrates the expanding trade networks between England and continental Europe during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603). It highlights the growing reach of English merchants across the North Sea, the Baltic, and...

The siege of Damascus in 1148 CE was the final act of the Second Crusade (1147-1149 CE). Lasting a mere four days from 24 to 28 July, the siege by a combined western European army was not successful, and the Crusade petered out with its leaders...

Siege tactics were a crucial part of medieval warfare, especially from the 11th century CE when castles became more widespread in Europe and sieges outnumbered pitched battles. Castles and fortified cities offered protection to both the local...

Depicted here is the Death of King Władysław Jagiellończyk (r. 1424-1444 CE) at the Battle of Varna. This was a decisive moment in the Crusade of Varna, as the Turks under Sultan Murad II (r. 1421-1444 CE and 1446-1451 CE) won a decisive...

Stained glass window in York Minster depicting Pope Celestine III (1191-1198 CE)

In 1204 CE the unthinkable happened and Constantinople, after nine centuries of withstanding all comers, was brutally sacked. Even more startling was the fact that the perpetrators were not any of the traditional enemies of the Byzantine...

The medieval Church established its monopoly over the spiritual life of Europeans in the Early Middle Ages (c. 476-1000) and consolidated that power throughout the High Middle Ages (1000-1300) and Late Middle Ages (1300-1500). Along the way...

Katherine Pangonis' new book Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule sheds light on the somewhat overlooked women, queens and princesses of Outremer (the Crusader States). The book is about a dynasty of women who ruled in the Middle...

The German-Soviet War, known in the USSR and today's Russia as the Great Patriotic War or, in Western Europe, as the Eastern Front of the Second World War (1939-45), began in June 1941 with Operation Barbarossa and ended in Germany's total...

The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, was an agreement between the victors of the First World War (1914-18) which redivided parts of Europe and imposed reparations, armament limitations, and total blame for the war on Germany, one...