Ancient World
Marian Reforms (107 BC): How Gaius Marius Changed the Legion
Roman legions increasingly recruited volunteers from the poor, became more uniform and professional, and looked to their generals for rewards.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Ancient World
Delian League (478 BC): From Greek Alliance to Athenian Empire
An alliance of Aegean Greek states formed under Athenian leadership to fight Persia, which gradually became an Athenian empire and was dissolved in 404 BC.
Ancient World
Amenhotep III: Egypt at the Height of Its Wealth and Power
A 38-year reign of peace and prosperity that left vast monuments and a network of royal diplomacy, followed by the upheaval of his son Akhenaten.
Ancient World
Assyrian Sack of Susa (647 BC): Ashurbanipal Destroys Elam
Susa was plundered and its sanctuaries and royal tombs desecrated; Elam never again rivalled Assyria or Babylon.
Prehistory
Watson Brake: North America's Oldest Known Mound Complex
The oldest known large mound complex in North America, proving that hunter-gatherers built monumental earthworks thousands of years before farming.
Prehistory
Maykop Culture: Bronze Age Chieftains of the Caucasus
An early Bronze Age society of the North Caucasus whose rich burials reveal advanced metallurgy and contacts with the Near East and the steppe.
Prehistory
Rouffignac Cave: The Cave of the Hundred Mammoths, Dordogne
After an initial dispute over authenticity, Rouffignac was accepted as a major Magdalenian painted cave, known above all for its mammoths.
Prehistory
Lake Mungo: Mungo Lady, Mungo Man and Australia's Oldest Burials
The burials are among the oldest known human remains in Australia and the oldest known cremation; both were later returned to their Aboriginal custodians.
Prehistory
Caledonian Orogeny: The Closing of the Iapetus Ocean
The Iapetus Ocean closed and Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia fused into the continent of Laurussia, raising a long mountain belt.
Modern Era
Battle of Hong Kong (1941): The Black Christmas Surrender
Japanese victory; the governor surrendered on 25 December 1941 and Hong Kong was occupied until August 1945.
Modern Era
Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918-1920): The Deadliest Flu in History
An estimated 500 million people were infected and roughly 17 to 50 million or more died, making it the deadliest influenza pandemic on record.
Modern Era
First Boer War (1880-1881): Transvaal Revolt and Majuba Hill
Boer victory; the Pretoria Convention of 1881 restored Transvaal self-government under British suzerainty.