Middle Ages
Harsha's Empire (606–647): Kanauj and the Last Northern Kingdom
Harsha built a loose but extensive overlordship across northern India, which broke apart after his death without an heir in 647.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Chang'an: The Tang Capital and Greatest City of Its Age
A walled grid city of about 84 square km that served as the capital of the Sui and Tang and, at its height, was probably the largest city in the world.
Middle Ages
Rise of Islam (610): Muhammad and the First Revelations
Muhammad began preaching a strict monotheism in Mecca, forming a small, persecuted community that would leave for Medina in 622.
Middle Ages
Bayeux Tapestry: The Embroidered Story of the Norman Conquest
A unique embroidered narrative of the events of 1064-1066 that survived more than 900 years and is now displayed in Bayeux.
Middle Ages
Clovis I and the Battle of Vouillé (507): Rise of the Franks
Frankish victory; Alaric II was killed, the Visigoths lost most of Gaul, and Clovis became the dominant ruler between the Pyrenees and the Rhine.
Middle Ages
Justinian I: The Byzantine Emperor Who Tried to Restore Rome
Justinian recovered North Africa, Italy and part of Spain, codified Roman law and built Hagia Sophia, but left an exhausted, plague-stricken empire.
Early Modern
Irish Rebellion of 1641: Uprising in Ulster and Its Aftermath
The plot on Dublin failed, but the Ulster rising spread across Ireland, killed thousands of settlers and helped push England into civil war.
Early Modern
Benin Bronze Plaques: Brass Art of the Oba's Palace, 1500-1650
Several hundred cast brass plaques recorded the court, rituals and foreign contacts of the Benin Kingdom; most were taken by British forces in 1897 and are now in museums abroad.
Early Modern
Encomienda System (1503): Forced Labour in the Spanish Americas
The encomienda became the main early system for exploiting Indigenous labour in Spanish America; royal reforms limited it from 1542 and it slowly declined until its formal abolition in the 18th century.
Early Modern
Jiajing Wokou Raids (1540s-1567): Piracy on the Ming Coast
Ming armies suppressed the main pirate bands by the mid-1560s, and in 1567 the court relaxed the sea ban by opening Yuegang to licensed private trade.
Early Modern
Shah Ismail I and the Founding of the Safavid Empire (1501)
Ismail became shah at Tabriz, founded the Safavid dynasty and made Twelver Shi'ism the official religion of Iran.
Early Modern
Aldine Press and Italic Type (1501): Aldus Manutius in Venice
The Aldine Press introduced italic type and small-format editions of the classics, setting models for European book design that lasted for centuries.