Middle Ages
Osman I and the Founding of the Ottoman State (c. 1299)
Osman founded a frontier principality that his successors expanded into the Ottoman Empire, which lasted until 1922.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Ancient World
Mausoleum of Hadrian: The Origin of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
Built as an imperial tomb, the monument survived as a fortress, prison and papal refuge and is now a national museum.
Ancient World
Pergamon Altar (c. 170 BC): Masterpiece of the Attalid Kingdom
The altar became the masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture; Pergamon passed to Rome in 133 BC and the frieze was moved to Berlin in the 1870s–1880s.
Modern Era
Kamikaze Attacks (1944–1945): Japan's Special Attack Units
Kamikaze aircraft sank dozens of Allied ships and killed thousands of sailors but could not stop the Allied advance on Japan.
Modern Era
Great Purge (1936–1938): Stalin's Terror and the Show Trials
Hundreds of thousands were executed and many more sent to the Gulag; the Communist Party, state and army elites were destroyed and Stalin's personal dictatorship was secured.
Middle Ages
Zeami and the Birth of Noh Theatre in Muromachi Japan (1374)
Shogunal patronage turned Kan'ami's sarugaku troupe into the leading company in Kyoto, and Zeami refined its art into the classical Noh drama still performed today.
Middle Ages
Fall of Acre (1291): The End of the Crusader Kingdom
Mamluk victory; Acre was taken and destroyed, and the last crusader cities on the mainland fell within months.
Ancient World
Hadrian's Wall (AD 122): Rome's Frontier in Northern Britain
The wall became the northern frontier of Roman Britain for most of nearly three centuries and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ancient World
Eratosthenes Measures the Earth (c. 240 BC): Syene and Alexandria
Eratosthenes estimated Earth's circumference at 250,000 stadia, a figure within roughly 1 to 16 percent of the true value, depending on the stadion used.
Modern Era
Battles of Imphal and Kohima (1944): Turning the Tide in Burma
Decisive Allied victory; the Japanese 15th Army was shattered, opening the way for the reconquest of Burma.
Modern Era
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936): Hitler's First Gamble
Germany reoccupied the demilitarised zone without resistance; Britain and France protested but took no action, and the Locarno system collapsed.
Middle Ages
Ming Haijin Sea Ban (1371): China Closes Its Coasts to Trade
Private overseas trade was outlawed and foreign commerce limited to official tribute missions, encouraging smuggling and piracy until the ban was eased in 1567.