Modern Era
Sieges of Zaragoza (1808-1809): Spain's Heroic Resistance
The first siege was lifted in August 1808; the second ended with Zaragoza's surrender on 20 February 1809 after enormous losses.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Ciudad Perdida: The Lost City of the Tayrona in Colombia
A major Tayrona settlement abandoned during the Spanish conquest; known to outsiders after 1972 and now protected as Teyuna Archaeological Park.
Middle Ages
Mai Hume and Kanem's Conversion to Islam (c. 1085)
Kanem's ruling house became Muslim, and the Sefuwa dynasty ruled Kanem and later Bornu until 1846.
Middle Ages
Temple of Literature, Hanoi (1070): Vietnam's First University
The temple and its Imperial Academy became the centre of Confucian learning and examination culture in Vietnam for some seven centuries.
Middle Ages
Battle of Baekgang (663): Tang and Silla Defeat Japan
Decisive Tang-Silla victory; the Baekje restoration collapsed and Yamato Japan withdrew from the Korean peninsula.
Middle Ages
Battle of Karbala (680): The Death of Husayn ibn Ali
Husayn and most of his male companions were killed; his death became the central event of Shia remembrance, commemorated every year at Ashura.
Middle Ages
Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France and Then of England
Eleanor brought the duchy of Aquitaine first to the French crown and then to the Angevin kings of England, and played a leading political role into her eighties.
Middle Ages
Staffordshire Hoard: Largest Anglo-Saxon Gold Find (c. 650)
The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found, now held jointly by Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent museums.
Middle Ages
Battle of Pliska (811): Khan Krum Destroys a Byzantine Army
Decisive Bulgarian victory; Emperor Nikephoros I was killed and much of his army destroyed.
Early Modern
Monmouth Rebellion (1685): Sedgemoor and the Bloody Assizes
The rebel army was destroyed at Sedgemoor; Monmouth was beheaded and hundreds of his followers were executed or transported.
Early Modern
Dutch Capture of Elmina Castle (1637): Gold Coast Changes Hands
The Portuguese garrison surrendered and Elmina became the Dutch headquarters on the Gold Coast until 1872.
Early Modern
Maryland Toleration Act (1649): Early Religious Freedom Law
The act guaranteed free exercise of religion to Christians who accepted the Trinity; it was repealed in 1654, restored in 1658 and ended after the Protestant takeover of 1689.