Middle Ages
Machu Picchu: History of the Inca Royal Estate in the Andes
Machu Picchu served as a royal estate until it was abandoned around the time of the Spanish conquest; it became world famous after 1911 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Hangzhou (Lin'an): The Southern Song Capital City (1138)
Hangzhou served as the Southern Song capital from 1138 until its surrender to the Mongols in 1276.
Middle Ages
Sultanate of Rum (1077-1308): The Seljuks of Anatolia
The sultanate made central Anatolia a Turkish and Muslim land, then broke up under Mongol overlordship into the beyliks from which the Ottomans emerged.
Middle Ages
Sicilian Vespers (1282): The Revolt Against Charles of Anjou
Angevin rule in Sicily collapsed; Peter III of Aragon became King of Sicily and the War of the Sicilian Vespers lasted until 1302.
Middle Ages
Battle of Fontenoy (841): Charlemagne's Heirs at War
Victory for Louis the German and Charles the Bald; Lothar retreated, leading to the Oaths of Strasbourg and the Treaty of Verdun.
Middle Ages
Saint Sava (1219): Founding the Independent Serbian Church
The Serbian Church became autocephalous (self-governing) under its own archbishop, with its seat at Žiča, independent of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.
Early Modern
Battle of Quiberon Bay (1759): Hawke Crushes the French Fleet
Decisive British victory; the French Brest fleet was broken up and the planned French invasion of Britain was abandoned.
Early Modern
Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775): War Begins
The British destroyed some militia supplies but were driven back to Boston with heavy losses; the Revolutionary War had begun.
Early Modern
Hōei Eruption (1707): The Last Eruption of Mount Fuji
About two weeks of explosive eruptions created the Hōei craters, spread ash across the Kantō region including Edo, and ruined farmland for decades.
Early Modern
Shivaji's Coronation (1674) and the Rise of the Marathas
Shivaji was proclaimed Chhatrapati, giving the Maratha state a sovereign king and a formal government independent of the Mughals and Bijapur.
Early Modern
Rousseau's The Social Contract (1762): The General Will
The book was condemned and burned in Geneva and Rousseau fled into exile, but its theory of popular sovereignty deeply influenced the French Revolution and modern democratic thought.
Early Modern
Drake's Raid on Cádiz (1587): Singeing the King of Spain's Beard
English victory; dozens of Spanish ships and large stores were destroyed, delaying the Armada until 1588.