Modern Era
Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855): The Crimean War's Long Siege
After the French captured the Malakoff on 8 September 1855, the Russians abandoned the southern side of Sevastopol, leading to peace talks.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Jokyu War (1221): Emperor Go-Toba Challenges the Shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate defeated the court, exiled three retired emperors and confirmed the supremacy of the Hojo regents over Kyoto.
Middle Ages
Knights Hospitaller: Order of St John from Jerusalem to Rhodes
A hospital brotherhood became one of the great military orders, outlived the crusader states and survives today as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Middle Ages
Dante's Divine Comedy: The Medieval Journey Through Hell
Completed shortly before Dante's death in 1321, the poem became a foundation of Italian language and European literature.
Middle Ages
Viking Winter Camp at Repton (873): The Great Army in Mercia
The Great Army expelled King Burgred and installed Ceolwulf II, ending Mercia's independence; excavations later revealed the camp and a large mass grave.
Middle Ages
Battle of Maritsa (1371): Ottoman Victory Over the Serbs
Decisive Ottoman victory; both Serbian rulers were killed, and the lords of Macedonia and Bulgaria soon became Ottoman vassals.
Early Modern
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
The Assembly adopted 17 articles proclaiming natural rights and national sovereignty; the text became the preamble of the 1791 Constitution and remains part of French constitutional law.
Early Modern
Battle of Monmouth (1778): Molly Pitcher and the Hot Summer Fight
Inconclusive: the Americans held the field after a day of fighting, while the British continued their march to New York.
Early Modern
Tay Son Rebellion (1771-1802): The Brothers Who Reunited Vietnam
The Tay Son overthrew the Nguyen and Trinh lords and the Le dynasty and repelled Siam and the Qing, but were defeated in 1802 by Nguyen Phuc Anh, founder of the Nguyen dynasty.
Early Modern
Nader Shah: The Afsharid Conqueror Who Sacked Delhi
Nader restored Iran's borders and founded the short-lived Afsharid dynasty, but his empire fragmented after his assassination in 1747.
Early Modern
Montgolfier Balloon (1783): The First Manned Flight in History
Two men flew freely over Paris for about 25 minutes, the first recorded untethered human flight, launching the age of aviation.
Early Modern
Plantation of Ulster (1609): English and Scottish Colonists
A large Protestant settler population was established in Ulster, reshaping its landownership, towns and religion and creating divisions that lasted into modern times.