Holy Roman Emperor: Did you mean...?

The Roman Empire and its predecessor the Roman Republic produced an abundance of celebrated literature; poetry, comedies, dramas, histories, and philosophical tracts; the Romans avoided tragedies. Much of it survives to this day. However...

The Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) functioned as a decentralized political system in Central Europe, where imperial authority depended less on centralized power than on negotiation among its leading elites. Central to this structure were the...

In many societies, ancient and modern, religion has performed a major role in their development, and the Roman Empire was no different. From the beginning Roman religion was polytheistic. From an initial array of gods and spirits, Rome added...

Emperor Taizu (960-976 CE), formerly known as Zhao Kuangyin, was the founder of the Song (aka Sung) dynasty which ruled China from 960 to 1279 CE. Taizu settled for a territorially smaller but more unified and prosperous China than was seen...

Wuzong of Tang (also Wu-Tsung, formerly Li Yan) reigned as emperor of China from 840 to 846 CE. He is best remembered today for his persecution of Buddhists, the worst such attack in all of China's history, and his early death by insanity...

Painted illustration of the quaternion eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, created by Jost de Negker in 1510 CE. It depicts the double-headed eagle crest of the Holy Roman Empire (adopted 1433 CE) with the banners of its towns. It became widely...

Illustration of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556 CE) and Ferdinand I. The illustration depicts the Habsburg brothers Charles V (left) sitting by the imperial coat of arms, while Ferdinand (right) is flanked by the Habsburg coat...

Roman warfare was remarkably successful over many centuries and across many territories. This was due to several important factors. Italy was a peninsula not easily attacked, there was a huge pool of fighting men to draw upon, a disciplined...

To many historians, the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE has always been viewed as the end of the ancient world and the onset of the Middle Ages, often improperly called the Dark Ages, despite Petrarch's assertion. Since...

A little over two years into his imperial administration, the Roman emperor Titus (r. 79-81 CE) and a retinue of followers traveled to the Sabine countryside for a respite. As they made the overland journey, Titus quickly realized something...