Middle Ages
Novgorod Republic: Medieval Russia's Merchant City-State
A self-governing merchant republic for over three centuries, Novgorod was annexed by Moscow in 1478 and its veche abolished.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Battle of Dettingen (1743): George II Leads His Army to Victory
Victory for the Pragmatic Army of British, Hanoverian and Austrian troops, which escaped a French trap and reached Hanau.
Early Modern
Zong Massacre (1781): Murder at Sea and the Insurance Case
About 130 or more Africans were killed; the owners' insurance claim was challenged in court, no one was prosecuted, and the case became a rallying point for abolitionists.
Early Modern
Royal Proclamation of 1763: The Line Across the Appalachians
Britain created four new colonies and reserved the interior west of the Appalachians for Indigenous nations, forbidding private purchase of their land.
Early Modern
Great Fire of Meireki (1657): The Blaze That Destroyed Edo
Much of Edo, including the keep of Edo Castle, was destroyed; the shogunate rebuilt the city with firebreaks, wider streets and new districts.
Early Modern
Siege of Baghdad (1638): Murad IV Retakes the City from Persia
Ottoman victory; Baghdad returned to Ottoman rule, where it remained until the First World War.
Early Modern
Leyden Jar (1745): The First Device to Store Electricity
The Leyden jar became the standard tool of electrical research and the ancestor of the modern capacitor.
Early Modern
Rising of the North (1569): Catholic Earls Revolt in England
The rising collapsed without a major battle; several hundred rebels were executed and the power of the great northern Catholic families was broken.
Early Modern
Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire (1532-1572): Pizarro
The Inca Empire was destroyed and replaced by the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, though an Inca state survived in Vilcabamba until 1572.
Contemporary
SARS Outbreak (2002-2003): The Century's First Pandemic Threat
About 8,100 probable cases and 774 deaths in 29 countries; the outbreak was contained by July 2003 through isolation and quarantine.
Contemporary
Siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996): Longest Siege of a Modern Capital
The city held out for almost four years; the siege ended after NATO air strikes and the Dayton Agreement, and Bosnian Serb commanders were later convicted of war crimes.
Contemporary
Woodstock Festival (1969): Three Days of Peace and Music
An estimated 400,000 people attended a largely peaceful but chaotic festival that became the defining symbol of the 1960s counterculture.