Middle Ages
Tulum: The Walled Maya Port on the Caribbean Coast
A thriving coastal trading town until the Spanish conquest, Tulum declined in the 16th century and is now one of Mexico's most visited archaeological sites.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Jolof Empire: Wolof Kingdom of Medieval Senegal (c. 1350)
A Wolof confederation dominated the Senegambian coast and interior for about two centuries before its vassal kingdoms broke away.
Middle Ages
Siege of Chittorgarh (1303): Alauddin Khalji and Mewar
The Delhi Sultanate captured Chittor after a siege of about eight months; the fort was renamed Khizrabad and placed under Alauddin's son Khizr Khan.
Middle Ages
Huang Chao Rebellion (875-884): The Revolt That Doomed the Tang
The rebellion was crushed in 884, but it devastated the Tang heartland and left power in the hands of regional warlords, leading to the dynasty's end in 907.
Middle Ages
Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171): The Ismaili Empire of Egypt
The Fatimids built a rival caliphate to the Abbasids and founded Cairo, but after a long decline Saladin abolished the dynasty in 1171.
Middle Ages
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212): Turning of the Reconquista
Decisive Christian victory that broke Almohad power in Iberia and opened the Guadalquivir valley to conquest by Castile.
Middle Ages
Charlemagne Conquers the Lombard Kingdom (774): Siege of Pavia
Pavia surrendered in June 774; Desiderius was exiled to Francia and Charlemagne became King of the Franks and the Lombards.
Middle Ages
Boleslaw I the Brave (1025): Poland's First Crowned King
Bolesław became the first crowned King of Poland shortly before his death on 17 June 1025.
Early Modern
Battle of Malplaquet (1709): Marlborough's Costliest Victory
Allied tactical victory; the French withdrew in good order, but Allied losses were roughly twice those of the French.
Early Modern
Dahomey's Conquest of Ouidah (1727): King Agaja and the Coast
Dahomey annexed the kingdom of Hueda and took control of Ouidah, one of the busiest slave-trading ports in West Africa.
Early Modern
Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity (1754): Washington's First War
Washington's ambush killed Jumonville and nine or more of his men; on 3 July 1754 Washington surrendered Fort Necessity, and the clashes helped start the French and Indian War.
Early Modern
Hong Taiji Founds the Qing Dynasty (1636): From Later Jin to Qing
The Later Jin khanate became the Qing empire, with Hong Taiji as emperor of a multi-ethnic Manchu, Mongol and Han Chinese state.