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Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were established c. 1119 and given papal recognition in 1129. It was a Catholic medieval military order whose members combined martial prowess with a monastic life to defend Christian holy sites and pilgrims in the Middle...

Definition
Ancient Celts
The ancient Celts were various tribal groups living in parts of western and central Europe in the Late Bronze Age and through the Iron Age (c. 700 BCE to c. 400 CE). Given the name Celts by ancient writers, these tribes and their culture...

Definition
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange is a term coined by Alfred Crosby Jr. in 1972 that is traditionally defined as the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas. The exchange...

Definition
Hellenistic Period
The Hellenistic Period is a part of the Ancient Period for the European and Near Asian space. The use of this period is justified by the extent of the Hellenic culture in most of these areas, due to the Greek political presence especially...

Definition
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) were a series of conflicts that arose from the tensions surrounding the French Revolution (1789-1799). The wars were fought between Revolutionary France and several European powers, most notably Austria...

Definition
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) was the last major European conflict informed by religious divisions and one of the most devastating in European history resulting in a death toll of approximately 8 million. Beginning as a local conflict...

Definition
King Arthur
King Arthur is among the most famous literary characters of all time. The Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table, Camelot, the Quest for the Holy Grail, the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the wizard Merlin have informed...

Definition
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade (1147-1149) was a military campaign organised by the Pope and European nobles to recapture the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia which had fallen in 1144 to the Muslim Seljuk Turks. Despite an army of 60,000 and the presence...

Definition
Conquistador
The conquistadors, meaning "conquerors", were Iberian military adventurers who operated as the vanguard of empires in the 15th and 16th centuries by exploring areas of the world unknown to Europeans, defeating indigenous armies, and then...

Definition
Romani
Romani is an umbrella term used to describe a diverse ethnolinguistic group of people with a historical presence in Europe and West Asia. The historically common term 'Gypsy' is based on the myth that they came from Egypt. In reality, the...