Middle Ages
Capture of Toledo (1085): Alfonso VI Takes a Great Moorish City
Toledo surrendered to Alfonso VI and became a Christian capital, prompting the Almoravid intervention in al-Andalus.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Monte Cassino and the Rule of St Benedict (c. 529)
Benedict's monastery survived repeated destruction, and his Rule became the standard guide for monks and nuns across Western Europe.
Middle Ages
Nika Riots (532): The Revolt That Nearly Toppled Justinian
The revolt was crushed by a massacre in the Hippodrome, reported at about 30,000 dead; Justinian's rule was secured and Hagia Sophia was rebuilt.
Early Modern
Battle of Naseby (1645): The New Model Army Breaks the King
Decisive Parliamentarian victory; the king's main army was destroyed and the Royalist cause never recovered.
Early Modern
Leo Africanus and the Description of Africa (1526)
The Description of Africa became the main European source on North and West Africa, including Timbuktu, for about two centuries.
Early Modern
Roanoke Colony (1587): The Mystery of the Lost Colony
The roughly 115 colonists left on Roanoke Island in 1587 disappeared before John White's return in 1590; their fate remains unknown.
Early Modern
Portuguese Macau (1557): Europe's First Foothold in China
The Portuguese gained a tolerated, rent-paying settlement under Ming authority that became the main European gateway to China and Japan for nearly a century.
Early Modern
Suleiman the Magnificent: The Ottoman Empire at Its Zenith
The Ottoman Empire reached its greatest power and prestige, expanding into Hungary, Iraq and North Africa and dominating the Mediterranean.
Early Modern
Vesalius and the Fabrica (1543): The Birth of Modern Anatomy
The Fabrica established direct human dissection as the basis of anatomy, exposed errors in Galen and set a new standard for scientific illustration.
Early Modern
Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520): Henry VIII Meets Francis I
A spectacular display of friendship that produced few lasting results; within two years England and France were at war.
Early Modern
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): Spain and Portugal Divide the World
Castile and Portugal agreed a dividing meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, giving Portugal Africa, the route to Asia and later Brazil, and Castile most of the Americas.
Contemporary
Silent Spring (1962): Rachel Carson and the Fight Against DDT
The book changed public attitudes to pesticides, prompted a presidential science review and helped lead to the US ban on most uses of DDT in 1972.