Ancient World
Marcomannic Wars (166-180): Marcus Aurelius on the Danube
Rome restored the Danube frontier after years of costly fighting; Commodus made peace in 180 and the planned new provinces were never created.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Ancient World
Antikythera Mechanism: The Ancient Greek Astronomical Computer
The oldest known geared device, it showed that Hellenistic Greeks could model the movements of the Sun, Moon and probably the planets mechanically.
Modern Era
Operation Fortitude (1944): The Deception Behind D-Day
Germany kept strong forces in the Pas-de-Calais and Norway during and after the Normandy landings, helping the Allied invasion succeed.
Modern Era
Bombing of Guernica (1937): The Air Raid That Inspired Picasso
Most of the town centre was destroyed and an estimated 150 to 300 people were killed; Nationalist troops occupied the ruins three days later.
Middle Ages
Hu Weiyong Case (1380): The Hongwu Emperor's Great Purge
The Secretariat and the office of chancellor were abolished, the six ministries were placed directly under the emperor, and purges linked to the case killed an estimated 30,000 people.
Middle Ages
Ibn Battuta's Travels (1325-1354): Journeys Across Islam
Ibn Battuta's dictated account, the Rihla (completed 1355), became one of the most important sources on the 14th-century Islamic world.
Middle Ages
Brunelleschi's Dome: Building Florence Cathedral's Cupola
The dome was closed in 1436 and remains the largest masonry dome ever built, a landmark of early Renaissance engineering.
Ancient World
Antonine Plague (AD 165-180): The Epidemic That Shook Rome
A pandemic, probably smallpox, killed millions across the Roman Empire and strained its army, finances and frontiers.
Ancient World
Battle of Pydna (168 BC): Rome Ends the Kingdom of Macedon
Decisive Roman victory; the Third Macedonian War ended and the Antigonid monarchy was abolished.
Modern Era
Exercise Tiger (1944): The Deadly D-Day Rehearsal at Slapton
German E-boats sank two landing ships and damaged others; around 750 US servicemen died, but the Normandy invasion plans were not compromised.
Modern Era
Abdication of Edward VIII (1936): The King Who Gave Up the Throne
Edward VIII abdicated after 326 days as king; his brother became George VI, and Edward, created Duke of Windsor, married Wallis Simpson in 1937.
Middle Ages
Jikji (1377): The Oldest Book Printed With Metal Movable Type
Jikji became the oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type; its only known copy is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.