Middle Ages
Siege of Acre (1189-1191): The Third Crusade's Long Siege
The Muslim garrison surrendered on 12 July 1191; Acre became the capital of the restored crusader kingdom.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Charles Bridge, Prague: Charles IV's Gothic Bridge of 1357
Prague gained a stone bridge of 16 arches that was its only Vltava crossing until 1841 and is now its most famous landmark.
Middle Ages
Jelling Stones (c. 965): Harald Bluetooth and Christian Denmark
The Jelling monuments became a royal statement of Denmark's unification and conversion to Christianity, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Middle Ages
Fall of Trebizond (1461): The Last Byzantine Successor State
Trebizond surrendered to the Ottomans, ending the last Byzantine Greek empire; Emperor David and most of his family were executed in 1463.
Early Modern
Kościuszko Uprising (1794): Poland's Last Stand Before Partition
The uprising was crushed by Russia and Prussia, and the Third Partition of 1795 removed Poland-Lithuania from the map of Europe.
Early Modern
Haitian Revolution (1791): The Slave Uprising in Saint-Domingue
The uprising led to the abolition of slavery in Saint-Domingue in 1793–1794 and ultimately to Haitian independence in 1804.
Early Modern
Battle of Rocroi (1643): France Breaks the Spanish Tercios
Decisive French victory; the Spanish siege of Rocroi was broken and the Army of Flanders suffered heavy losses, though the war continued until 1659.
Early Modern
1715 Treasure Fleet Disaster: Spanish Galleons Lost off Florida
Eleven of twelve ships were wrecked and roughly 1,000 people died; much of the silver was salvaged by Spain, but wrecks and coins are still being found today.
Contemporary
2015 Nepal Earthquake: The Gorkha Quake and Everest Avalanche
The earthquake and its aftershocks killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal, destroyed about half a million homes and badly damaged UNESCO-listed monuments, causing losses of about 7 billion US dollars.
Contemporary
Battle of Mogadishu 1993: Black Hawk Down in Somalia
The US raid captured its targets, but 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed, and the US withdrew from Somalia by March 1994.
Contemporary
Able Archer 83: The NATO Exercise That Alarmed Moscow
The exercise ended without incident, but later evidence showed some Soviet forces went on heightened alert, prompting Reagan to seek to ease tensions.
Ancient World
Gwanggaeto Stele (414): The Monument to Goguryeo's Great King
King Jangsu raised a giant inscribed stone recording his father's deeds; it is the longest surviving inscription from early Korea and a key, much-debated source for the region's history.