Otto von Bismarck: Did you mean...?

The Diet of Worms (January-May 1521) was the assembly convened by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to address, among other issues, the works of the reformer Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) who openly criticized the Church. Luther was told to recant...

The Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933 was a possible arson attack on the German parliament building. The fire was blamed on a communist anarchist Marinus van der Lubbe (1909-1934), but it may have been the work of the Nazi party's paramilitary...

Fraumünster Church (“Women's church” in German) is a former Benedictine abbey situated in the heart of Zürich, Switzerland that was founded in the mid-9th century CE by Louis the German and his daughters, Hildegard and Bertha. Flourishing...

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), leader of Nazi Germany, attacked the USSR on 22 June 1941 with the largest army ever assembled. The Axis offensive of June-December 1941 was code-named Operation Barbarossa ('Redbeard') after Frederick Barbarossa...

In this gallery of four maps we chart the rise and expansion of the Holy Roman Empire, a pivotal period in European history following the decline of the Roman Empire. Emerging from the ashes of Rome's collapse, the Merovingian Dynasty in...

The Carolingian Dynasty (751-887) was a family of Frankish nobles who ruled Francia and its successor kingdoms in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The dynasty expanded from Francia as far as modern Italy, Spain, and...

Zoe Porphyrogenita was empress of the Byzantine Empire from 1028 CE until her death in 1050 CE. In an eventful career, she reigned alongside three husbands, had a hand in the succession of her adopted son, and, in 1042 CE, she was co-ruler...

John I Tzimiskes was Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976 CE. Although he took the throne by murdering his predecessor Nikephoros II Phokas, John was a popular emperor. A skilled general and a competent politician, he is known for expanding...

The Ulm Campaign (25 September to 20 October 1805) was a military operation during the War of the Third Coalition (1805-1806). Through a series of maneuvers, the 210,000 men of the French Grande Armée, led by Emperor Napoleon I, encircled...

The Battle of Castiglione (5 August 1796) was one of the most important battles of Napoleon's Italian Campaign of 1796-97. After laying siege to the vital fortress of Mantua, General Napoleon Bonaparte and his Army of Italy defeated an Austrian...