Habsburg Monarchy: Did you mean...?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in the Balkans in the summer of 1914 set off a chain of events that led to the First World War (1914-18). For over a decade before, imperialistic governments, a fierce arms race, rising...

The alliance system in Europe was one of the causes of the First World War (1914-18), although it did not make war inevitable. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Triple Entente powers of Great Britain, France, and Russia stood against...

Gustavus Adolphus (l. 1594-1632; r. 1611-1632) was the King of Sweden who elevated his country to a major power in the 17th century. He also is traditionally recognized as the "Father of Modern Warfare" for his military innovations and his...

The Battle of Valmy was a stunning French victory over a Prussian-led coalition army on 20 September 1792, during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802). Although the battle was little more than a skirmish, it halted the coalition's invasion...

The Napoleonic Concordat of 1801 defined France's relationship with the Catholic Church for over 100 years. The Organic Articles were added in 1802 and provided state recognition of the Reformed and Lutheran confessions alongside the Catholic...

Banquet (en grand couvert) at the court in Vienna, oil on canvas attributed to Johan Lundberg, 1734. The couple seated on the right of the painting are Maria Theresa, future ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, and Francis Stephen, who would...

Portrait of Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740-1780, oil on canvas by Martin van Meytens, 1750. Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.

James I of England (r. 1603-1625), who was also James VI of Scotland (r. 1567-1625), was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and he unified the thrones of Scotland and England following the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603...

George II of Great Britain (r. 1727-1760) was the second of the Hanoverian monarchs, and like his father George I of Great Britain (r. 1714-1727), he faced a Jacobite rebellion to restore the Stuart line. Wars in Europe and beyond drained...

Western Civilization is forever indebted to the people of ancient Greece and Rome. Among the numerous contributions these societies made are in the fields of art, literature and philosophy; however, perhaps their greatest gift to future generations...