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History of Europe Timeline
Europe depicted by Antwerp cartographer Abraham Ortelius in 1595.
360 BC	Plato attacks Athenian democracy in the Republic.
323 BC	Alexander the Great dies and his Macedonian Empire fragments.
44 BC	Julius Caesar is murdered. The Roman Republic drawing to a close.
27 BC	Establishment of the Roman Empire under Octavian.
AD 330	Constantine makes Constantinople into his capital, a new Rome.
395	Following the death of Theodosius I, the Empire is permanently split into eastern and western halves.
527	Justinian I is crowned emperor of Byzantium.
800	Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.
1054	Start of the East-West Schism, which divides the Christian church for centuries.
1066	Successful Norman Invasion of England by William the Conqueror.
1095	Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade.
1340	Black Death kills a third of Europe's population.
1337 - 1453	The Hundred Years War
1453	Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.
1492	Christopher Columbus lands in the New World.
1498	Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper in Milan, as the Renaissance flourishes.
1517	Martin Luther nails his demands for Reformation to the door of the church in Wittenberg.
1648	The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War.
1789	The French Revolution.
1815	Following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte the Treaty of Vienna is signed.
1860s	Russia emancipates its serfs and Karl Marx completes the first volume of Das Kapital.
1914	Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated and World War I begins.
1945	The World War II ends with Europe in ruins.
1989 - 1992	The Berlin Wall comes down and the Treaty of the European Union is signed in Maastricht.

The history of Europe describes the passage of time from humans inhabiting the European continent to the present day. For convenience's sake, historians divide long periods into more manageable eras. The first evidence of Homo sapiens in Europe dates back to at least 35,000 BC, the European Paleolithic period. When settlements, agriculture, and domesticated livestock appear would be the start of the Neolithic, which in Europe would be around 7000 BC. From the earliest civilization with writing to the temporary disappearance of civilization around 1200 BC, the preferred metal for tools and weapons was bronze, and historians have labeled this the Bronze Age.
Europe's classical antiquity dates from the reappearance of writing in Ancient Greece of around 700 BC. The Roman Republic was established in 509 BC. The Romans expanded their territorial control over Italy, then over the Mediterranean basin and western Europe. The Roman Empire reached its greatest extent around 150.
The Christian religion became legal under the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. Within a few generations, Christianity had become the official religion of the empire. The Vulgate Bible in Latin emerged just before the sack of Rome in 410 by a Germanic people, the Visigoths. These were the first of a number of tribes to move west and south from beyond Roman boundaries into former Roman territories. The last Roman emperor in the west was removed from power in 476. Southeastern Europe and some parts of the Mediterranean remained under the increasingly beleaguered Roman Empire, but ruled from Constantinople rather than Rome. Under the Emperor Justinian, Roman armies restored imperial rule to many parts of the Mediterranean, but this expansion began to erode in the later sixth century. As Constantinople's hold on western territories faltered, more Germanic peoples invaded and established kingdoms. Eastern Mediterranean territories remained largely in the hands of the Christian emperor in Constantinople through the sixth century. Historians generally label this remnant of the Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire. A serious threat to its power and lands was to emerge in the seventh century from an unexpected source: the Arabian peninsula and the newly united and converted peoples of Islam. For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Abraham Ortelius. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Athenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies. ... The Republic (Greek: ) is a Socratic dialogue by Plato, written approximately 360 BC. It is an influential work of philosophy and political theory, and perhaps Platos best known work. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... This article is about the ancient kingdom in Greece. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... May refer to the persons: Augustus, Roman Emperor Pope John XIII nigger Category: ... Constantine. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... A capital is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; it is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and fixed by law, but there are a number of exceptions. ... New Rome has been used for: It was a common name applied to Constantinople, the city founded by emperor Constantine I the Great in 324 (known as Byzantium before that date; renamed Istanbul in modern times). ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... A asses is a ceremony marking the investment of a monarch with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a crown upon his or her head. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... William I ( 1027 – September 9, 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087. ... Pope Urban II (1042 – July 29, 1099), born Otho of Lagery (alternatively: Otto or Odo), was a Pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099. ... Belligerents Christendom: Holy Roman Empire Genoa Lower Lorraine Provence Kingdom of France Blois Boulogne Flanders Le Puy-en-Velay Vermandois Kingdom of England Normandy Duchy of Apulia Taranto Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Cilicia Saracen: Great Seljuq Empire Danishmends Fatimids Almoravids Abbasids Commanders Guglielmo Embriaco Godfrey of Bouillon Raymond IV Stephen... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... This article is about the painting by Leonardo da Vinci. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... Statue of Martin Luther in the main square Wittenberg, officially [Die] Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12° 59 E, 51° 51 N, on the Elbe river. ... Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway[1] Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Austria Bavaria Spain Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Vicomte de Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... There were several treaties of Vienna: Treaty of Vienna, 1725 Treaty of Vienna, 1731 Treaty of Vienna, 1738 Treaty of Vienna, 1809 Treaty of Vienna, 1815 Treaty of Vienna, 1864 Category: ... The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia was the first and most important of liberal reforms effected during the reign of Alexander II. The reform amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by Russian peasants. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Das Kapital (Capital, in the English translation) is an extensive treatise on political economy written by Karl Marx in German. ... For other uses, see Franz Ferdinand (disambiguation). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... View in 1986 from the west side of graffiti art on the walls infamous death strip Walls poster in memory of the fall. ... The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 60. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. ... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Look up Constantine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century translation of the Bible into Latin made by St. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... A votive crown belonging to Reccesuinth (653–672) The Visigoths (Latin: ) were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe, the Ostrogoths being the other. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Byzantine redirects here. ...

In western Europe, many of the new states had only the Latin written language, some lingering Roman customs, and the Christian religion in common. Much of Christian territory in the west was brought under the rule of the Franks, particularly king Charlemagne, whom the pope crowned as western Emperor in 800. His territories were divided within two generations and Europe came under attack from three groups: Vikings of Scandinavia, Muslims from north Africa, and Magyars from Hungary. The response to these attacks differed; some regions united to deal with the threat, others divided. Starting in the mid-tenth century, the Muslim and Magyar threat to western Europe had diminished, but the Vikings remained entrenched or threatening for longest in the British Isles.
A schism within the church in 1054 A.D. aggravated earlier divisions that emerged at the 451 Council of Chalcedon and was followed by the Crusades from the west to rescue the east from Muslim conquests that had begun to encroach on the Byzantines. However, the Crusades were not confined to recapturing Muslim lands taken in the East: Spain, southern France, Lithuania and other pagan regions were consolidated under the papal power at this time. Feudal society began to break down as Mongol invaders broke through frontier areas in Europe and growing trade with other regions brought Black Death to first southern and then most of Europe.^[1]. Complex feudal loyalties developed and nobles of most of the new nations were very closely related by intermarriage. Thanks largely to learning recovered from Muslim and Jewish scholars in Spain and the Mideast, and its own monastic traditions, Europe awoke from the medieval period through rediscovery of classical learning of the Greeks and Romans and a few key innovations from the Muslim world (including colleges, scientific medicine, copyright, guilds, the citation index and astronomy) - respected to this day by the wearing of caps and gowns originally derived from learned Muslim scholars' attire at graduations. After the Renaissance consolidation of knowledge began to challenge some traditional doctrines in both science and theology, the Protestant Reformation began, as German priest Martin Luther attacked Papal authority. Simultaneously the turbulent love life, desire for a son, and political ambitions of Henry VIII sundered the English Church from that same authority and let the English ally more flexibly in the ensuing religious wars between German and Spanish rulers. The Reconquista of Spain and Portugal in 1492 and opening of the Americas to European colonization by Christopher Columbus simultaneously ended the Crusades east and began European colonization of the Americas west. However, religious wars continued until the Thirty Years War,^[2], which was ended 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia; the Glorious Revolution consolidated that consensus. For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Magyar may refer to: The Magyar language The Magyar people Categories: Disambiguation ... This article explains the archipelago in north-western Europe. ... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet... The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209 - 1229) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the heresy of the Cathars of Languedoc. ... Pagan and heathen redirect here. ... Expansion of the Mongol Empire Mongol dominions, ca. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... For other uses, see College (disambiguation). ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ... A guild is an association of craftspeople in a particular trade. ... A citation index is an index of citations between publications, allowing the user to easily establish which later documents cite which earlier documents. ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... For other uses, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ... The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland) in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange), who as a result ascended the English throne as William...

The combination of resource inflows from the New World and the Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain, allowed the development of a new economy based more on manufacturing and trade and less on indigenous subsistence agriculture.^[3] The early British Empire split as its colonies in America revolted to establish a representative government. Political change in continental Europe was spurred by the French Revolution, as people cried out for liberté, egalité, fraternité. The ensuing French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, conquered and reformed the social structure of the continent through war up to 1815. As more and more small property holders were granted the vote, in France and the UK, socialist and trade union activity developed and revolution gripped Europe in 1848. The last vestiges of serfdom were abolished in Austria-Hungary in 1848. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861.^[4] The Balkan nations began to regain their independence from the Ottoman Empire. After the Franco-Prussian War, Italy and Germany were formed from the groups of principalities in 1870 and 1871. Conflict spread across the globe, in a chase for empires, until the search climaxed with the outbreak of World War I. In the desperation of war and extreme poverty, the Russian Revolution promised "peace, bread and land", and radically altered the politics of Eastern Europe, and the world, up to the present day. The defeat of Germany came at the price of economic destruction, codified into the Treaty of Versailles, manifested in the Great Depression and the return to a Second World War. With the victory of capitalism and communism over fascism, Western Europe now formed a free trade area, divided by the former Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union, which had formed a complex of communist police states. With the events of Autumn of Nations in 1989, Europe signed a new treaty of union, which, as of 2007, encompasses 27 European countries with a population of over 400 million people. Despite the end of the Cold War, tensions between post-Soviet Russia and Western Europe continue to the present day. NATO, a post World War II military organization, also expanded to include states up to the border of Russia - the most unified and militarily dominant Europe since the first century Roman Empire. A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... This article is about political and social developments, including the origins and aftermath of the war. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... Serf redirects here. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... A Peasant Leaving His Landlord on Yuriev Day, painting by Sergei V. Ivanov. ... ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with South German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III François Achille Bazaine Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at wars beginning 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Russian Revolution (1917) was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ... This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . Left to right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Fascism is a term used to describe authoritarian nationalist political ideologies or mass movements that are concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence. ... For the fall of the Iron Curtain, see Revolutions of 1989. ... The Autumn of Nations is the series of events in Central and Eastern Europe in the autumn of 1989, when various communist satellite states of the Soviet Union were overthrown in the space of a few months[1]. The name of this event refers to the Revolutions of 1848, known... The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article is about the military alliance. ...

Prehistory

Europe's physical landscape

Homo erectus and Neanderthals migrated from Africa to Europe after the emergence of modern humans, Homo sapiens. The bones of the earliest Europeans are found in Dmanisi, Georgia, dated at 1.8 million years ago. The earliest appearance of anatomically modern people in Europe has been dated to 35,000 BC. Evidence of permanent settlement dates from the 7th millennium BC in the Balkans. The Neolithic reached Central Europe in the 6th millennium BC and parts of Northern Europe in the 5th and 4th millennium BC. The Cucuteni-Trypillian culture 5508-2750 BC was the first big civilization in Europe and among the earliest in the world. Homo erectus and Neanderthals settled Europe long before the emergence of modern humans, Homo sapiens. ... Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the 7th to the 5th millennium BC Europe in ca. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... A simplified map archaeological cultures of the late Bronze Age (c. ... In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. ... For the 2007 comedy film, see Homo Erectus (film). ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... This article is about modern humans. ... Dmanisi is a site in eastern Georgia approximately 85 km southwest of Tbilisi in the Mashavera River Valley. ... Balkan redirects here. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Northern Europe Northern Europe is the northern part of the European continent. ... Reconstruction of a Trypillia hut, in the Trypillia museum, Ukraine. ...

Starting from Neolithic we have the civilization of the Camunni in Valle Camonica, Italy, that left to us more than 350,000 petroglyphs, the biggest site in Europe. Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the 7th to the 5th millennium BC Europe in ca. ... Val Camonica is a valley in the lower Alpine regions of Lombardy, between the province of Brescia and province of Bergamo, Italy. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Also known as the Copper Age, European Chalcolithic is a time of changes and confusion. The most relevant fact is the infiltration and invasion of large parts of the territory by people originating from Central Asia, considered by mainstream scholars to be the original Indo-Europeans, although there are again several theories in dispute. Other phenomena are the expansion of Megalithism and the appearance of the first significant economic stratification and, related to this, the first known monarchies in the Balkan region. The first well-known literate civilization in Europe was that of the Minoans of the island of Crete and later the Mycenaens in the adjacent parts of Greece, starting at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos copper stone) period, also known as the Eneolithic (Aeneolithic) or Copper Age period, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to... Indo-Europeans are speakers of Indo-European languages. ... The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ... For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... A clay tablet with writing in Linear B from Mycenae. ...

Though the use of iron was known to the Aegean peoples about 1100 BCE, it didn't reach Central Europe until 800 BCE, giving way to the Hallstatt culture, an Iron Age evolution of the culture of the Urn Fields. Probably as by-product of this technological peculiarity of the Indo-Europeans, soon after, they clearly consolidated their positions in Italy and Iberia, penetrating deep inside those peninsulas (Rome founded in 753 BCE). Fe redirects here. ... The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture during the local Bronze Age, and introduced the Iron Age. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

Classical Antiquity

Roman expansion by stages from 264 BC to 180 AD

The Greeks and the Romans left a legacy in Europe which is evident in current language, thought, law and minds. Ancient Greece was a collection of city-states, out of which the original form of democracy developed. Athens was the most powerful and developed city, and a cradle of learning from the time of Pericles. Citizens forums debated and legislated policy of the state, and from here arose some of the most notable classical philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the last of whom taught Alexander the Great. The king of the Greek kingdom of Macedon, Alexander's military campaigns spread Hellenistic culture and learning to the banks of the River Indus. But the Roman Republic, strengthened through victory over Carthage in the Punic Wars was rising in the region. Greek wisdom passed into Roman institutions, as Athens itself was absorbed under the banner of the Senate and People of Rome (Senatus Populusque Romanus). The Romans expanded from Arabia to Britannia. In 44 BC as it approached its height, its leader Julius Caesar was murdered on suspicion of subverting the Republic, to become dictator. In the ensuing turmoil, Octavian usurped the reins of power and bought the Roman Senate. While proclaiming the rebirth of the Republic, he had in fact ushered in the transfer of the Roman state from a republic to an empire, the Roman Empire. Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Western philosophy is a modern claim that there is a line of related philosophical thinking, beginning in ancient Greece (Greek philosophy) and the ancient Near East (the Abrahamic religions), that continues to this day. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... For the Shakespeare play, see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Ancient Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (Greek ) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east. ... The Indus (sometimes considered a misnomer) is the English name for the Sengge Chu which flows from Tibet into Ladakh and Baltistan, finally arriving into Pakistan. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC.[1] They are known as the Punic Wars because the Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici (older Poenici, from their Phoenician ancestry). ... SPQR is an acronym for the Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... May refer to the persons: Augustus, Roman Emperor Pope John XIII nigger Category: ... The reins are the leather straps attached to the outer ends of a bit. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Ancient Greece

A mosaic showing Alexander the Great battling Darius III

The Hellenic civilization took the form of a collection of city-states, or poleis (the most important being Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Corinth, and Syracuse), having vastly differing types of government and cultures, including what are unprecedented developments in various governmental forms, philosophy, science, mathematics, politics, sports, theatre and music. Athens, the most powerful city-state, governed itself with an early form of direct democracy founded by Athenian noble Cleisthenes. In Athenian democracy, the citizens of Athens themselves voted on legistlation and executive bills in their own right. From here arose Socrates, considered one of the founders of Western philosophy.^[5] Socrates also created the Socratic Method, or elenchus, a type of pedagogy used to this day in philosophical teaching, in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. Due to this philosophy, Socrates was put on trial and sentenced to death for "corrupting the youth" of Athens, as his discussions conflicted with the established religious beliefs of the time. Plato, a pupil of Socrates and founder of the Platonic Academy, recorded this episode in his writings, and went on to develop his own unique philosophy, Platonism. The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... The Alexander Mosaic, dating from approx. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Darius III or Codomannus (c. ... A polis (πολις) — plural: poleis (πολεις) — is a city, or a city-state. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... Thebes (Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva; Katharevousa: — Thêbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Syracuse (Italian Siracusa, Sicilian Sarausa, Greek , Latin Syracusae) is an Italian city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy,[1] comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. ... Cleisthenes (also Clisthenes or Kleisthenes) was a noble Athenian of the accursed Alcmeonidate family. ... Athenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies. ... Western philosophy is a modern claim that there is a line of related philosophical thinking, beginning in ancient Greece (Greek philosophy) and the ancient Near East (the Abrahamic religions), that continues to this day. ... Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) is a dialectic method of inquiry, largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts and first described by Plato in the Socratic Dialogues. ... Socrates Scholasticus; for the Brazilian football player, see Sócrates (football player) Socrates Socrates (June 4, 470 – 399 BC) (Greek Σωκράτης Sōkrátēs) was a Greek (Athenian) philosopher and one of the most important icons of the Western philosophical tradition. ... A Mongolian Pedagogical University Graduation Award Badge. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... The School of Athens by Raphael (1509–1510), fresco at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. ... Platonic idealism is the theory that the substantive reality around us is only a reflection of a higher truth. ...

The Parthenon, an ancient Athenian Temple on the Acropolis (hill-top city) fell to Rome in 176 BC

The Hellenic city-states founded a large number of colonies on the shores of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean sea, Asia Minor, Sicily and Southern Italy in Magna Graecia, but in the 5th century BC their eastward expansions led to retaliation from the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the Greco-Persian Wars, the Hellenic city-states formed an alliance and defeated the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea, repelling the Persian invasions. The Greeks formed the Delian League to continue fighting Persia, but Athens' position as leader of this league led to Sparta forming the rival Peloponnesian League. The two leagues began the Peloponnesian War over leadership of Greece, leaving the Peloponnesian League as the victor. Discontent with the Spartan hegemony that followed led to the Corinthian War where an alliance led by Thebes crushed Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra. Continued Hellenic infighting made Greek city states easy prey for king Philip II of Macedon, who united all the Greek city states. The campaigns of his son Alexander the Great spread Greek culture into Persia, Egypt and India, but also favoured contact with the older learnings of those countries, opening up a new period of development, known as Hellenism. Alexander died in 323 BC, splitting his empire into many Hellenistic civilizations. The Parthenon west façade For other uses, see Parthenon (disambiguation). ... A view of the Acropolis of Athens during the Ottoman period, showing the buildings which were removed at the time of independence The history of Athens is the longest of any city in Europe: Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years. ... Acropolis (Gr. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Magna Graecia around 280 b. ... After Islamic Conquest  Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Iran  Iraq  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan  The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire (Persian: IPA: ) (550–330 BC) was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, and the second great Iranian empire (after the... Persian Wars redirects here. ... Combatants Greek city-states Persia Commanders Pausanias Mardonius â€  Strength 110,000 (Herodotus) ~40,000 (Modern Consensus) 300,000 (Herodotus) 50,000-70,000 [1][2][3] (Modern Consensus) Casualties 10,000+ (Ephorus and Diodorus) 1,360 (Plutarch) 759 (Herodotus) 43,000 survived (Herodotus) The Battle of Plataea was the final... Delian League (Athenian Empire), right before the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. Corcyra was not part of the League The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. It was led by Athens. ... The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. By the end of the 6th century, Sparta had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos, the next most powerful state. ... Athenian War redirects here. ... Period in classical Greek history. ... Combatants Sparta, Peloponnesian League Athens, Argos, Corinth, Thebes, and other allies Commanders Agesilaus and others Numerous The Corinthian War was an ancient Greek conflict lasting from 395 BC until 387 BC, pitting Sparta against a coalition of four allied states; Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos; which were initially backed by... Combatants Thebes Sparta Commanders Epaminondas Cleombrotus I † Strength 6,000–7,000 10,000–11,000 Casualties Unknown About 2,000 The Battle of Leuctra is a battle fought between the Thebans and the Spartans and their allies in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory... Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. ... Ancient Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (Greek ) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Motto: Esteqlāl, āzādÄ«, jomhÅ«rÄ«-ye eslāmÄ« 1 Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic Anthem: SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān Â² Capital (and largest city) Tehran Official languages Persian, Constitutional status for regional languages such as Azeri and Kurdish [1] Demonym Iranian Government Islamic Republic  -  Supreme Leader  -  President... The major Hellenistic realms included the Diadoch kingdoms:  Kingdom of Ptolemy I Soter  Kingdom of Cassander  Kingdom of Lysimachus  Kingdom of Seleucus I Nicator  Epirus Also shown on the map:  Greek colonies  Carthage (non-Greek)  Rome (non-Greek) The orange areas were often in dispute after 281 BC. The kingdom...

The rise of Rome

Cicero addresses the Roman Senate to denounce Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow the Republic, by Cesare Maccari

Much of Greek learning was assimilated by the nascent Roman state as it expanded outward from Italy, taking advantage of its enemies' inability to unite: the only real challenge to Roman ascent came from the Phoenician colony of Carthage, and its defeat in the end of the 3rd century BC marked the start of Roman hegemony. First governed by kings, then as a senatorial republic (the Roman Republic), Rome finally became an empire at the end of the 1st century BC, under Augustus and his authoritarian successors. The Roman Empire had its centre in the Mediterranean Sea, controlling all the countries on its shores; the northern border was marked by the Rhine and Danube rivers. Under emperor Trajan (2nd century AD) the empire reached its maximum expansion, controlling approximately 5,900,000 km² (2,300,000 sq mi) of land surface, including Britain, Romania and parts of Mesopotamia. The empire brought peace, civilization and an efficient centralized government to the subject territories, but in the 3rd century a series of civil wars undermined its economic and social strength. In the 4th century, the emperors Diocletian and Constantine were able to slow down the process of decline by splitting the empire into a Western and an Eastern part. Whereas Diocletian severely persecuted Christianity, Constantine declared an official end to state-sponsored persecution of Christians in 313 with the Edict of Milan, thus setting the stage for the empire to later become officially Christian in about 380 (which would cause the Church to become an important institution). Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cicero (disambiguation). ... For the band, see Senate (band). ... Lucius Sergius Catilina (108 BC–62 BC), known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline (or Catilinarian) conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... Phoenicia (nonstandardly, Phenicia; pronounced [1], Greek: : PhoiníkÄ“, Latin: ) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Mediterranean redirects here. ... For other uses, see Rhine (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Danube River. ... This article is about the Roman Emperor. ... Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ... A government in which power is concentrated in a central authority to which local governments are subject. ... This article is about the definition of the specific type of war. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (c. ... Constantine. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... A Christian Dirce, by Henryk Siemiradzki. ... The Edict of Milan was a letter that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box...

Late Antiquity and Migration period

In 526 Europe under gothic control, and 600 with Byzantium at its height

When Emperor Constantine had reconquered Rome under the banner of the cross in 312, he soon afterwards issued the Edict of Milan in 313, declaring the legality of Christianity in the Roman Empire. In addition, Constantine officially shifted the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the Greek town of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople ("City of Constantine"). In 395 Theodosius I, who had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, would be the last emperor to preside over a united Roman Empire, and from thenceforth, the empire would be split into two halves: the Western Roman Empire centered in Ravenna, and the Eastern Roman Empire (later to be referred to as the Byzantine Empire) centered in Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire was repeatedly attacked by marauding Germanic tribes (see: Migration Period), and in 476 finally fell to the Heruli chieftan Odoacer. Roman authority in the West completely collapsed and the western provinces soon became a patchwork of Germanic kingdoms. However, the city of Rome, under the guidance of the Roman Catholic Church, still remained a centre of learning, and did much to preserve classic Roman thought in Western Europe. In the meantime, the Roman emperor in Constantinople, Justinian I, had succeeded in codifying all Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis (529-534). For the duration of the 6th century, the Eastern Roman Empire was embroiled in a series of deadly conflicts, first with the Persian Sassanid Empire (see Roman-Persian Wars), followed by the onslaught of the arising Islamic Caliphate (Rashidun and Umayyad). By 650, the provinces of Egypt, Palestine and Syria were lost to the Muslim forces, followed by Hispania and southern Italy in the 7th and 8th centuries (see Muslim conquests). Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Latin: , ) was an ancient Greek city, which was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... Also known as the Latin cross or crux ordinaria. ... The Edict of Milan was a letter that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... Province of Ravenna Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... Justinian I depicted on a mosaic in the church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy The Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) is the modern name[1] for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. ... The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: []) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian Empire (226–651). ... Combatants Roman Republic, succeeded by Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire later Persian Empire projected through Parthian and Sassanid dynasties Commanders Lucullus, Pompey, Crassus, Mark Antony, Trajan, Valerian I, Julian, Belisarius, Heraclius Surena, Shapur I, Shapur II, Kavadh I, Khosrau I, Khosrau II, Shahin, Shahrbaraz, Rhahzadh The Roman-Persian Wars... A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. ... The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs ( transliteration: ) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to certain of the Caliphs. ... The Umayyad Dynasty (Arabic الأمويون / بنو أمية umawiyy; in Turkish, Emevi) was the first dynasty of caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad who were not closely related to Muhammad himself, though they were of the same Meccan tribe, the Quraish. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Muslim Arabs (Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates) The Age of the Caliphs The Muslim conquest of Syria occured in the first half of the 7th century. ... The Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphates armed forces of 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun caliphate Navy. ... The Umayyad conquest of Hispania (711–718) commenced when an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Moors, the Muslim inhabitants of Northwest Africa, invaded Visigothic Christian Hispania (Portugal and Spain) in the year 711. ... The Islamic conquest and domination of Sicily (as well as parts of southern Italy) is a process whose origin must be traced back in the general expansion of Islam from the 7th century onwards (see Muslim conquests for more details). ... Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet...

In Western Europe, a political structure was emerging: in the power vacuum left in the wake of Rome's collapse, localised hierarchies were based on the bond of common people to the land on which they worked. Tithes were paid to the lord of the land, and the lord owed duties to the regional prince. The tithes were used to pay for the state and wars. This was the feudal system, in which new princes and kings arose, the greatest of which was the Frank ruler Charlemagne. In 800, Charlemagne, reinforced by his massive territorial conquests, was crowned Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum) by Pope Leo III, effectively solidifying his power in western Europe. Charlemagne's reign marked the beginning of a new Germanic Roman Empire in the west, the Holy Roman Empire. Outside his borders, new forces were gathering. The Kievan Rus' were marking out their territory, a Great Moravia was growing, while the Angles and the Saxons were securing their borders. A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the late modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the... For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... Infobox Pope| English name=Leo III| image= | birth_name=Unknown| term_start=December 27, 795 | term_end=June 12, 816| predecessor=Adrian I| successor=Stephen IV| birth_date=Date of birth unknown| birthplace=Rome, Italy| dead=dead|death_date=June 12, 816| deathplace=Place of death unknown| other=Leo}} Pope Leo III (died June 12... Trydent of Yaroslav I Map of the Kievan Rus′, 11th century Capital Kiev Religion Orthodox Christianity Government Monarchy Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 9th century  - Disestablished 12th century Currency Hryvnia Kievan Rus′ was the early, predominantly East Slavic[1] medieval state of Rurikid dynasty dominated by the city of Kiev... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ... White cliffs of Dover in England White cliffs of Rugen down the Baltic coast from Schleswig The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestor of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig, Germany. ... For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). ...

Decline of the Roman Empire

Romulus Augustus surrendering to the Germanic in 476

The Roman Empire had been repeatedly attacked by invading armies from Northern Europe and in 476, Rome finally fell. Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire surrendered to the Germanic King Odoacer. British historian Edward Gibbon argued in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776) that the Romans had become decadent, they had lost civic virtue. Gibbon said that the adoption of Christianity, meant belief in a better life after death, and therefore made people lazy and indifferent to the present. "From the eighteenth century onward", Glen W. Bowersock has remarked,^[6] "we have been obsessed with the fall: it has been valued as an archetype for every perceived decline, and, hence, as a symbol for our own fears." It remains one of the greatest historical questions, and has a tradition rich in scholarly interest. This article is about the historiography of the decline of the Roman Empire. ... Emperor Maximinus Thrax, ruled 235-238, was the first of the emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century. ... This article is about the Roman Emperor. ... This article is about the Roman Emperor. ... This is a list of Roman Emperors with the dates they controlled the Roman Empire. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Edward Gibbon (1737–1794). ... The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of Eighteenth Century, was written by the British historian, Edward Gibbon. ...

Some other notable dates are the Battle of Adrianople in 378, the death of Theodosius I in 395 (the last time the Roman Empire was politically unified), the crossing of the Rhine in 406 by Germanic tribes after the withdrawal of the legions in order to defend Italy against Alaric I, the death of Stilicho in 408, followed by the disintegration of the western legions, the death of Justinian I, the last Roman Emperor who tried to reconquer the west, in 565, and the coming of Islam after 632. Many scholars maintain that rather than a "fall", the changes can more accurately be described as a complex transformation.^[7] Over time many theories have been proposed on why the Empire fell, or whether indeed it fell at all. Combatants Eastern Roman Empire Goths Commanders Valens â€  Fritigern, Alatheus, Saphrax Strength 15,000–30,000 10,000–20,000 Casualties 10,000–20,000 Unknown The second Battle of Adrianople (August 9, 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Roman... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... For other uses, see Rhine (disambiguation). ... Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... An 1894 photogravure of Alaric I taken from a painting by Ludwig Thiersch. ... Stilicho (right) with his wife Serena and son Eucherius Flavius Stilicho (occasionally written as Stilico) (ca. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages are commonly dated from the fall of the Western Roman Empire (or by some scholars, before that) in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the rise of nation-states, the division of Western Christianity in the Reformation, the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance, and the beginnings of European overseas expansion which allowed for the Columbian Exchange.^[8] The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. ... The Roman Empire is not the Holy Roman Empire (843-1806). ... The early modern period is a term initially used by historians to refer mainly to the post Late Middle Ages period in Western Europe (Early modern Europe), its first colonies marked by the rise of strong centralized governments and the beginnings of recognizable nation states that are the direct antecedents... Max Barry set up Jennifer Government: NationStates, a game on the World Wide Web inspired by, and promoting, his novel Jennifer Government. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... For the specific belief system, see Humanism (life stance). ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ... Inca-era terraces on Taquile are used to grow traditional Andean staples, such as quinua and potatoes, alongside wheat, a European import. ...

The Middle Ages witnessed the first sustained urbanization of northern and western Europe. Many modern European states owe their origins to events unfolding in the Middle Ages; present European political boundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynastic achievements during this tumultuous period.

Early Middle Ages

The Early Middle Ages span roughly five centuries from 500 to 1000.^[9] During this period, most of Europe was Christianized, and the "Dark Ages" following the fall of Rome took place. The establishment of the Frankish Empire by the 9th century gave rise to the Carolingian Renaissance on the continent. Europe still remained a backwater compared to the rising Muslim world, with its vast network of caravan trade, or India with its Golden Period under the Gupta Empire and the Pratiharas or China, at this time the world's most populous empire under the Song Dynasty. By AD 1000, Constantinople had a population of about 300,000, but Rome had a mere 35,000 and Paris 20,000. Islam had over a dozen major cities stretching from Córdoba, Spain, at this time the world's largest city with 450,000 inhabitants, to central Asia. Justinians wife Theodora and her retinue, in a 6th century mosaic from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. ... The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once (a political shift as much as a spontaneous mass shift in individual consciences), also includes the practice of converting pagan cult practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. ... The Frankish Empire was the territory of the Franks, from the 5th to the 10th centuries, from 481 ruled by Clovis I of the Merovingian Dynasty, the first king of all the Franks. ... Sample of Carolingian minuscule, one of the products of the Carolingian Renaissance. ... Nations with a Muslim majority appear in green, while nations that are approximately 50% Muslim appear yellow. ... The Gupta Empire under Chandragupta II (ruled 375-415) The Gupta Empire was one of the largest political and military empires in the world. ... For other uses, see Liu Song Dynasty. ... Location Coordinates : , , Time zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer : CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Córdoba (Spanish) Spanish name Córdoba Founded 8th century BC Postal code 140xx Website http://www. ...

A Byzantine light

Constantine I and Justinian I offering their fealty to the Virgin Mary inside the Hagia Sophia

Many consider Emperor Constantine I (reigned 306–337) to be the first "Byzantine Emperor". It was he who moved the imperial capital in 324 from Nicomedia to Byzantium, refounded as Constantinople, or Nova Roma ("New Rome").^[10] The city of Rome itself had not served as the capital since the reign of Diocletian. Some date the beginnings of the Empire to the reign of Theodosius I (379–395) and Christianity's official supplanting of the pagan Roman religion, or following his death in 395, when the political division between East and West became permanent. Others place it yet later in 476, when Romulus Augustulus, traditionally considered the last western Emperor, was deposed, thus leaving sole imperial authority with the emperor in the Greek East. Others point to the reorganization of the empire in the time of Heraclius (ca. 620) when Latin titles and usages were officially replaced with Greek versions. In any case, the changeover was gradual and by 330, when Constantine inaugurated his new capital, the process of hellenization and increasing Christianization was already under way. The Empire is generally considered to have ended after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541–542. It is estimated that the Plague of Justinian killed as many as 100 million people across the world.^[11][12] It caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between 541 and 700.^[13] It also may have contributed to the success of the Arab conquests.^[14][15] Byzantine redirects here. ... Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... For other uses, see Hagia Sophia (disambiguation). ... Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February c. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Nicomedia (modern Ä°zmit, also known as Iznik) was founded by Nicomedes I of Bithynia at the head of the Gulf of Astacus (which opens on the Propontis) in 264 BC. The city has ever since been one of the chief towns in this part of Asia Minor. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Latin: , ) was an ancient Greek city, which was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... New Rome has been used for: It was a common name applied to Constantinople, the city founded by emperor Constantine I the Great in 324 (known as Byzantium before that date; renamed Istanbul in modern times). ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (c. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Roman polytheism was the religion of the Etruscans, Romans, and most of their subjects. ... Romulus Augustus (460s/470s - after 511) was the last of the Western Roman Emperors. ... The term Greek East is used to define the territories of the Greek-speaking, Hellenized, Eastern Roman Empire, as opposed to the Latin West. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting pagan practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541–542 AD. It has been speculated that this pandemic marked an early recorded incidence of bubonic plague, which centuries later became infamous for either causing or contributing to the Black... For other uses, see Pandemic (disambiguation). ... Byzantine redirects here. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. ... Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Mohammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet...

Feudal Christendom

In 814 the Frankish Empire reached its peak, while Byzantium had before Islamic conquest

Pope Hadrian I asks Charlemagne, King of the Franks for assistance against invasion in 772

The Holy Roman Empire emerged around 800, as Charlemagne, king of the Franks, was crowned by the pope as emperor. His empire based in modern France, the Low Countries and Germany expanded into modern Hungary, Italy, Bohemia, Lower Saxony and Spain. He and his father received substantial help from an alliance with the Pope, who wanted help against the Lombards. The pope was officially a vassal of the Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantine emperor did (could do) nothing against the Lombards. For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... ... First Bulgarian Empire Second Bulgarian Empire Category: ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Trydent of Yaroslav I Map of the Kievan Rus′, 11th century Capital Kiev Religion Orthodox Christianity Government Monarchy Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 9th century  - Disestablished 12th century Currency Hryvnia Kievan Rus′ was the early, predominantly East Slavic[1] medieval state of Rurikid dynasty dominated by the city of Kiev... Belligerents Sassanid Persian Empire, Arab Christians Arab Muslims (Rashidun Caliphate) Commanders Yazdgerd III Rostam Farrokhzād Mahbuzan Huzail ibn Imran Hormuz Qubaz Anushjan Andarzaghar Bahman Karinz ibn Karianz Wahman Mardanshah Pirouzan Khalid ibn al-Walid Abu Ubaid Sad ibn Abi Waqqas al-Numan ibn al-Muqarrin al-Muzani... Charlemagne comes to the aid of Pope Adrian I Adrian, or Hadrian I, (died December 25, 795) was pope from 772 to 795. ... For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Charlemagne (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... For other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ... With an area of 47,618 km and nearly eight million inhabitants, Lower Saxony (German Niedersachsen) lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the countrys sixteen Bundesl nder (federal states). ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, whence comes the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe that entered the late Roman Empire. ... Byzantine redirects here. ...

To the east Bulgaria was established in 681 and became the first Slavic country. The powerful Bulgarian Empire was the main rival of Byzantium for control of the Balkans for centuries and from the 9th century became the cultural center of Slavic Europe. Two states, Great Moravia and Kievan Rus', emerged among the Western and Eastern Slavs respectively in the 9th century. In the late 9th century and 10th century, northern and western Europe felt the burgeoning power and influence of the Vikings who raided, traded, conquered and settled swiftly and efficiently with their advanced sea-going vessels such as the longships. The Hungarians pillaged mainland Europe, the Pechenegs raided eastern Europe and the Arabs the south. In the 10th century independent kingdoms were established in Central Europe, for example, Poland and Kingdom of Hungary. Hungarians had stopped their pillaging campaigns; prominent nation states also included Croatia and Serbia in the Balkans. The subsequent period, ending around 1000, saw the further growth of feudalism, which weakened the Holy Roman Empire. Countries with dominating Slavic ethnicities  West Slavic  East Slavic  South Slavic Slav redirects here. ... First Bulgarian Empire Second Bulgarian Empire Category: ... Great Moravia was an empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Trydent of Yaroslav I Map of the Kievan Rus′, 11th century Capital Kiev Religion Orthodox Christianity Government Monarchy Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 9th century  - Disestablished 12th century Currency Hryvnia Kievan Rus′ was the early, predominantly East Slavic[1] medieval state of Rurikid dynasty dominated by the city of Kiev... For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... A longship tacking in the wind Longships Are Built in the Land of the Slavs by Nicholas Roerich (1903) Longships were ships primarily used by the Scandinavian Vikings and the Saxon people to raid coastal and inland settlements during the European Middle Ages. ... Pechenegs or Patzinaks (Armenian: Badzinag, Bulgarian/Russian: Pechenegi (Печенеги), Greek: Patzinaki/Petsenegi (Πατζινάκοι/Πετσενέγοι) or less commonly Πατζινακίται, Hungarian: BesenyÅ‘, Latin: Расinасае, Old Turkish (assumed): *Beçenek, Turkish: Peçenekler) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Anthem:  Serbia() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Albanian 2 Demonym Serbian Government Parliamentary Democracy  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica    -  First state 7th century   -  Serbian Kingdom3 1217   -  Serbian Empire 1345   -  Independence lost... Balkan redirects here. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the late modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the...

High Middle Ages

In 1097, as the First Crusade to the Holy land commences

The slumber of the Dark Ages was shaken by renewed crisis in the Church. In 1054, a schism, an insoluble split, between the two remaining Christian seats in Rome and Constantinople. Belligerents Christendom: Holy Roman Empire Genoa Lower Lorraine Provence Kingdom of France Blois Boulogne Flanders Le Puy-en-Velay Vermandois Kingdom of England Normandy Duchy of Apulia Taranto Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Cilicia Saracen: Great Seljuq Empire Danishmends Fatimids Almoravids Abbasids Commanders Guglielmo Embriaco Godfrey of Bouillon Raymond IV Stephen... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. ... The word schism (IPA: or ), from the Greek σχίσμα, skhísma (from σχίζω, skhízō, to tear, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization or a movement. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ...

The High Middle Ages of the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries show a rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era. By 1250, the robust population increase greatly benefited the economy, reaching levels it would not see again in some areas until the 19th century. From about the year 1000 onwards, Western Europe saw the last of the barbarian invasions and became more politically organized. The Vikings had settled in the British Isles, France and elsewhere, whilst Norse Christian kingdoms were developing in their Scandinavian homelands. The Magyars had ceased their expansion in the 10th century, and by the year 1000, a Christian Kingdom of Hungary was recognized in central Europe. With the brief exception of the Mongol invasions, major barbarian incursions ceased. Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. ... Invasion is a military action consisting of troops entering a foreign land (a nation or territory, or part of that), often resulting in the invading power occupying the area, whether briefly or for a long period. ... For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... This article explains the archipelago in north-western Europe. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mongol invasions can refer to: 1205–1209 invasion of Western China 1211–1234 invasion of Northern China 1218–1220 invasion of Central Asia 1220-1223, 1235-1330 invasions of Georgia and the Caucasus 1220–1224 of the Cumans 1223–36 invasion of Volga Bulgaria 1231–1259 invasion of Korea 1237...

In the 11th century, populations north of the Alps began to settle new lands, some of which had reverted to wilderness after the end of the Roman Empire. In what is known as the "great clearances," vast forests and marshes of Europe were cleared and cultivated. At the same time settlements moved beyond the traditional boundaries of the Frankish Empire to new frontiers in eastern Europe, beyond the Elbe River, tripling the size of Germany in the process. Crusaders founded European colonies in the Levant, the majority of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered from the Moors, and the Normans colonized southern Italy, all part of the major population increase and resettlement pattern. Alp redirects here. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... The Frankish Empire was the territory of the Franks, from the 5th to the 10th centuries, from 481 ruled by Clovis I of the Merovingian Dynasty, the first king of all the Franks. ... The Elbe River (Czech Labe, Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, Polish Łaba, German Elbe) is one of the major waterways of central Europe. ... The Near East in 1135, with the Crusader states in green hues. ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: ) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... For other uses, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... Norman conquests in red. ...

The High Middle Ages produced many different forms of intellectual, spiritual and artistic works. This age saw the rise of modern nation-states in Western Europe and the ascent of the great Italian city-states. The still-powerful Roman Church called armies from across Europe to a series of Crusades against the Seljuk Turks, who occupied the Holy Land. The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle led Thomas Aquinas and other thinkers to develop the philosophy of Scholasticism. In architecture, many of the most notable Gothic cathedrals were built or completed during this era. Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are a crowning glory of Medieval Art. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The Seljuk coat of arms was a double headed eagle The Seljuk Turks (also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; in modern Turkish Selçuklular; in Persian سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; in Arabic سلجوق Saljūq, or السلاجقة al-Salājiqa) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that ruled parts of... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... Aquinas redirects here. ... Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means that [which] belongs to the school, and is the school of philosophy taught by the academics (or schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100–1500. ... The western facade of Reims Cathedral, France. ...

A divided church

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings and the events leading to it.

The Great Schism between the Western and Eastern Christian Churches was sparked in 1054 by Pope Leo IX asserting authority over three of the seats in the Pentarchy, in Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. Since the mid eighth century, the Byzantine Empire's borders had been shrinking in the face of Islamic expansion. Antioch had been wrested back into Byzantine control by 1045, but the resurgent power of the Roman successors in the West claimed a right and a duty for the lost seats in Asia and Africa. Pope Leo sparked a further dispute by defending the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed which the West had adopted customarily. Eastern Orthodox today state that the 28th Canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council explicitly proclaimed the equality of the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople. The Orthodox also state that the Bishop of Rome has authority only over his own diocese and does not have any authority outside his diocese. There were other less significant catalysts for the Schism however, including variance over liturgical. The Schism of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox‎ followed centuries of estrangement between Latin and Greek worlds. The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... The Bayeux Tapestry (French: Tapisserie de Bayeux) is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft) long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to the 1066 Norman invasion of England as well as the events of the invasion itself. ... Belligerents Normans supported by: Bretons (one third of total), Flemings, French Anglo-Saxons, the Þingalið Commanders William of Normandy, Odo of Bayeux Harold Godwinson † Strength 7,400-8,400 (maximum 2,200 cavalry, 1,700 archers, 4,500 men-at-arms) 7,500 (2,000 housecarls, 5,500 fyrd) Casualties... Leo IX, born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg (June 21, 1002 – April 19, 1054) was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. ... The Pentarchy, a Greek word meaning government of five, designates the Five Great Sees or early Patriarchates, which were the five major centres of the Christian church in Late Antiquity. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... For other places with the same name, see Antioch (disambiguation). ... In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8-November 1, 451 A.D at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ... A liturgy is the customary public worship of a religious group, according to their particular traditions. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ...

Further changes were set afoot with a redivision of power in Europe. William the Conqueror, a Duke of Normandy invaded England in 1066. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for several reasons. This linked England more closely with continental Europe through the introduction of a Norman aristocracy, thereby lessening Scandinavian influence. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered a sophisticated governmental system. Being based on an island, moreover, England was to develop a powerful navy and trade relationships that would come to constitute a vast part of the world including India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many key naval strategic points like Bermuda, Suez, Hong Kong and especially Gibraltar. These strategic advantages grew and were to prove decisive until after World War II. William I of England (1027[1] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (French: ), was Duke of Normandy from 1035 and King of England from 1066 to his death. ... Elizabeth II the current Duke of Normandy. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Northermost part of Gulf of Suez with town Suez on map of 1856. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Holy wars

A mitred Adhémar de Monteil carrying the Holy Lance in one of the battles of the First Crusade

After the East-West Schism, Western Christianity was adopted by newly created kingdoms of Central Europe: Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. The Roman Catholic Church developed as a major power, leading to conflicts between the Pope and Emperor. In 1129 AD the Roman Catholic Church established the Inquisition to make Western Europeans Roman Catholic by force. The Inquisition punished those who practised heresy (heretics) to make them repent. If they could not do so, the penalty was death. During this time many Lords and Nobles ruled the church. The Monks of Cluny worked hard to establish a church where there were no Lords or Nobles ruling it. They succeeded. Pope Gregory VII continued the work of the monks with 2 main goals, to rid the church of control by kings and nobles and to increase the power of the pope. The area of the Roman Catholic Church expanded enormously due to conversions of pagan kings (Scandinavia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary), Christian reconquista of Al-Andalus, and crusades. Most of Europe was Roman Catholic in the 15th century. This article is about the medieval crusades. ... For other uses, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English charter issued in 1215. ... A mitred Adhémar de Monteil carrying the Holy Lance in one of the battles of the First Crusade Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (d. ... Belligerents Christendom: Holy Roman Empire Genoa Lower Lorraine Provence Kingdom of France Blois Boulogne Flanders Le Puy-en-Velay Vermandois Kingdom of England Normandy Duchy of Apulia Taranto Byzantine Empire Kingdom of Cilicia Saracen: Great Seljuq Empire Danishmends Fatimids Almoravids Abbasids Commanders Guglielmo Embriaco Godfrey of Bouillon Raymond IV Stephen... The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Western Christianity... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... For other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... This article is about the Inquisition by the Roman Catholic Church. ... Pope Gregory VII (c. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

Early signs of the rebirth of civilization in western Europe began to appear in the 11th century as trade started again in Italy, leading to the economic and cultural growth of independent city states such as Venice and Florence; at the same time, nation-states began to take form in places such as France, England, Spain, and Portugal, although the process of their formation (usually marked by rivalry between the monarchy, the aristocratic feudal lords and the church) actually took several centuries. These new nation-states began writing in their own cultural vernaculars, instead of the traditional Latin. Notable figures of this movement would include Dante Alighieri and Christine de Pisan (born Christina da Pizzano), the former writing in Italian, and the latter although an Italian (Venice) relocated to France and wrote in French.(See Reconquista for the latter two countries.) On the other hand, the Holy Roman Empire, essentially based in Germany and Italy, further fragmented into a myriad of feudal principalities or small city states, whose subjection to the emperor was only formal. A current understanding of Western Europe. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Venice (Venetian: Venezsia, Italian: Venezia, Latin: Venetia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Florence (Italian, Firenze) is a city in the center of Tuscany, in central Italy, on the Arno River, with a population of around 400,000, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... DANTE is also a digital audio network. ... Christine de Pizan, showing the interior of an apartment at the end of the 14th or commencement of the 15th century Christine de Pizan (circa 1365 - circa French poet and arguably the first female author in Europe to make a living from being a writer (Marie de France being the... For other uses, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ...

The 13th and 14th century, when the Mongol Empire came to power, is often called the Age of the Mongols. Mongol armies expanded westward under the command of Batu Khan. Their western conquests included almost all of Russia (save Novgorod, which became a vassal),^[16] Kipchak lands, Hungary, and Poland (Which had remained sovereign state). Mongolian records indicate that Batu Khan was planning a complete conquest of the remaining European powers, beginning with a winter attack on Austria, Italy and Germany, when he was recalled to Mongolia upon the death of Great Khan Ögedei. Most historians believe only his death prevented the complete conquest of Europe^{[citation needed]}. In Russia, the Mongols of the Golden Horde ruled for almost 250 years. Expansion of the Mongol Empire Mongol dominions, ca. ... Batu Khan (Russian: , Ukrainian: , Chinese: ) (c. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Kipchaks (also Kypchaks, Qipchaqs) are an ancient Turkic people, first mentioned in the historical chronicles of Central Asia in the 1st millennium BC. Their language was also known as Kipchak. ... Ögedei Khan, (Mongolian: , Ögöödei; also Ogotai or Oktay; c. ... The Golden Horde (Mongolian: Altan Ordyn Uls; Tatar: ; Russian: ) is a Russian designation for the Mongol[1][2][3] — later Turkicized[4] — khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus. ...

Late Middle Ages

Europe in 1400

Europe in 1477

The Late Middle Ages span the 14th and 15th centuries. Around 1300, centuries of European prosperity and growth came to a halt. A series of famines and plagues, such as the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population by as much as half according to some estimates. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare. France and England experienced serious peasant risings: the Jacquerie, the Peasants' Revolt, and the Hundred Years' War. To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was shattered by the Great Schism. Collectively these events are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages.^[17] Dante by Michelino The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th to 16th centuries (AD 1300–1500). ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... From the Apocalypse in a Biblia Pauperum illuminated at Erfurt around the time of the Great Famine. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... Endemic warfare is the state of continual, low-threshold warfare in a tribal warrior society. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Jacquerie in Froissarts chronicles The Jacquerie was a popular revolt in late medieval Europe that took place in northern France in 1358, during the Hundred Years War. ... Peasants revolt redirects here. ... Belligerents House of Valois Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Crown of Aragon Brittany House of Plantagenet Burgundy Brittany Portugal Navarre Flanders Hainaut Aquitaine Luxembourg Holy Roman Empire The Hundred Years War (French: Guerre de Cent Ans) was a prolonged conflict between two royal houses for the French throne, vacant with... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... Historical map of the Western Schism: red is support for Avignon, blue for Rome The Western Schism or Papal Schism (also known as the Great Schism of Western Christianity) was a split within the Catholic Church (1378 - 1417). ... Around the start of the 14th century a series of events began that brought centuries of European prosperity and growth to a halt. ...

Despite these crises, the 14th century was also a time of great progress within the arts and sciences. A renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts led to what has later been termed the Italian Renaissance. Toward the end of the period, an era of discovery began. The growth of the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453, cut off trading possibilities with the east. Europeans were forced to discover new trading routes, as was the case with Columbus’s travel to the Americas in 1492, and Vasco da Gama’s circumnavigation of India and Africa in 1498. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see Vasco da Gama (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

Monks infected with plague given a priest's blessing

One of the largest catastrophes to have hit Europe was the Black Death. There were numerous outbreaks, but the most severe was in the mid-1300s and is estimated to have killed a third of Europe's population. This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ...

Beginning in the 14th century, the Baltic Sea became one of the most important trade routes. The Hanseatic League, an alliance of trading cities, facilitated the absorption of vast areas of Poland, Lithuania and other Baltic countries into the economy of Europe. This fed the growth of powerful states in Eastern Europe including Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Muscovy. The conventional end of the Middle Ages is usually associated with the fall of the city Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Turks made the city the capital of their Ottoman Empire, which lasted until 1922 and also included Egypt, Syria and most of the Balkans. The Ottoman wars in Europe, also sometimes referred as the Turkish wars, marked an essential part of the history of southeastern Europe. For other uses, see Baltic (disambiguation). ... A trade route is the sequence of pathways and stopping places used for the commercial transport of cargo. ... Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania The terms Baltic countries, Baltic Sea countries, Baltic states, and Balticum refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea. ... The economy of Europe comprises more than 710 million people in 48 different states. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Byzantine redirects here. ... The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Balkan redirects here. ... The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

• Hanseatic League, Marco Polo, Lex Mercatoria, History of trade
• Western Schism (1378-1417)
• Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc

Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254[1] – January 9, 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325[2]) was a Venetian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book Il Milione (The Million or The Travels of Marco Polo). ... This article needs cleanup. ... Historical map of the Western Schism: red is support for Avignon, blue for Rome The Western Schism or Papal Schism (also known as the Great Schism of Western Christianity) was a split within the Catholic Church (1378 - 1417). ... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see Joan of Arc (disambiguation). ...

Early Modern Europe

Europe in 1519

Europe as a Queen, 1570 print by Sebastian Munster of Basel.

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man depicts his vision for the perfectly proportioned man.

The Early Modern period spans the centuries between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution, roughly from 1500 to 1800, or from the discovery of the New World in 1492 to the French Revolution in 1789. The period is characterized by the rise to importance of science and increasingly rapid technological progress, secularized civic politics and the nation state. Capitalist economies began their rise, beginning in northern Italian republics such as Genoa. The early modern period also saw the rise and dominance of the economic theory of mercantilism. As such, the early modern period represents the decline and eventual disappearance, in much of the European sphere, of feudalism, serfdom and the power of the Catholic Church. The period includes the Protestant Reformation, the disastrous Thirty Years' War, the European colonization of the Americas and the European witch-hunts. The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies which spans the two centuries between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... For other uses, see Baroque (disambiguation). ... The word Enlightment redirects here. ... This article is about the period in history. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The term European miracle was coined by Eric Jones to describe his position that Europe was more advanced and progressive than all other civilizations prior to the year 1492, allowing it to develop capitalism, reach the New World first, and dominate world trade and politics. ... Portrait of Sebastian Münster by Christoph Amberger, c. ... For other uses, see Basel (disambiguation). ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man (1492). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... A nation-state is a specific form of state, which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation, and which derives its legitimacy from that function. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the late modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway[1] Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Austria Bavaria Spain Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Vicomte de Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I... Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ...

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the north and west during a cultural lag of some two and a half centuries, its influence affected literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, history, religion, and other aspects of intellectual enquiry. This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... The early modern period is a term initially used by historians to refer mainly to the post Late Middle Ages period in Western Europe (Early modern Europe), its first colonies marked by the rise of strong centralized governments and the beginnings of recognizable nation states that are the direct antecedents...

The Italian Petrarch (Francesco di Petracco), deemed the first full-blooded Humanist, wrote in the 1330s: "I am alive now, yet I would rather have been born in another time." He was enthusiastic about Greek and Roman antiquity. In the 15th and 16th centuries the continuing enthusiasm for the ancients was reinforced by the feeling that the inherited culture was dissolving and here was a storehouse of ideas and attitudes with which to rebuild. Matteo Palmieri wrote in the 1430s: "Now indeed may every thoughtful spirit thank god that it has been permitted to him to be born in a new age." The renaissance was born: a new age where learning was very important. From the c. ... Matteo Palmieri (1406 - 1475) was an Italian humanist and historian from Florence. ...

The Renaissance was inspired by the growth in study of Latin and Greek texts and the admiration of the Greco-Roman era as a golden age. This prompted many artists and writers to begin drawing from Roman and Greek examples for their works, but there was also much innovation in this period, especially by multi-faceted artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Many Roman and Greek texts were already in existence in the European Middle Ages. The monks had copied and recopied the old texts and housed them for a millennium, but they had regarded them in another light. Many more flowed in with the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople while other Greek and Roman texts came from Islamic sources, who had inherited the ancient Greek and Roman texts and knowledge through conquest, even attempting to improve upon some of them.^{[citation needed]} With the usual pride of advanced thinkers, the Humanists saw their repossession of a great past as a Renaissance—a rebirth of civilization itself. “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires...

Important political precedents were also set in this period. Niccolò Machiavelli's political writing in The Prince influenced later absolutism and real-politik. Also important were the many patrons who ruled states and used the artistry of the Renaissance as a sign of their power. Machiavelli redirects here. ... This article is about the book by Niccolò Machiavelli. ...

In all, the Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt by intellectuals to study and improve the secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas from antiquity, and through novel approaches to thought—the immediate past being too "Gothic" in language, thought and sensibility. This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ...

Reformation

The Ninety-Five Theses of German monk Martin Luther which broke Papal autocracy

During this period corruption in the Catholic Church led to a sharp backlash in the Protestant Reformation. It gained many followers especially among princes and kings seeking a stronger state by ending the influence of the Catholic Church. Figures other than Martin Luther began to emerge as well like John Calvin whose Calvinism had influence in many countries and King Henry VIII of England who broke away from the Catholic Church in England and set up the Anglican Church(Contrary to polular belief this only half true, his daughter Queen Elizabeth finished the organization of the church). These religious divisions brought on a wave of wars inspired and driven by religion but also by the ambitious monarchs in Western Europe who were becoming more centralized and powerful. Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... The Ninety-Five Theses The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power of Indulgences, commonly known as The Ninety-Five Theses, were written by Martin Luther in 1517 and are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Reformation redirects here. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Calvinism... The Anglican Communion is a world-wide organisation of Anglican Churches. ... Queen Elizabeth, or Elizabeth, may refer to: Elizabeth II, Queen Regnant of the Commonwealth Realms Elizabeth I of England, reigned 1558–1603 Elizabeth Woodville Queen Consort of Edward IV Elizabeth of York Queen Consort of Henry VII Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), Queen Consort of George VI and mother of...

The Protestant Reformation also led to a strong reform movement in the Catholic Church called the Counter-Reformation, which aimed to reduce corruption as well as to improve and strengthen Catholic Dogma. An important group in the Catholic Church who emerged from this movement were the Jesuits who helped keep Eastern Europe within the Catholic fold. Still, the Catholic Church was somewhat weakened by the Reformation, portions of Europe were no longer under its sway and kings in the remaining Catholic countries began to take control of the Church institutions within their kingdoms. The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

Unlike Western Europe, the countries of Central Europe, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Hungary, were more tolerant. While still enforcing the predominance of Catholicism they continued to allow the large religious minorities to maintain their faiths. Central Europe became divided between Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and Jews. Another important development in this period was the growth of pan-European sentiments. Eméric Crucé (1623) came up with the idea of the European Council, intended to end wars in Europe; attempts to create lasting peace were no success, although all European countries (except the Russian and Ottoman Empires, regarded as foreign) agreed to make peace in 1518 at the Treaty of London. Many wars broke out again in a few years. The Reformation also made European peace impossible for many centuries. A current understanding of Western Europe. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article deals with the meeting of European Union leaders. ... Treaty of London in 1518 was a non aggresion pact between the major European nations. ...

Another development was the idea of European superiority. The ideal of civilization was taken over from the ancient Greeks and Romans: discipline, education and living in the city were required to make people civilized; Europeans and non-Europeans were judged for their civility, and Europe regarded itself as superior to other continents. There was a movement by some such as Montaigne that regarded the non-Europeans as a better, more natural and primitive people. Post services were founded all over Europe, which allowed a humanistic interconnected network of intellectuals across Europe, despite religious divisions. However, the Roman Catholic Church banned many leading scientific works; this led to an intellectual advantage for Protestant countries, where the banning of books was regionally organized. Francis Bacon and other advocates of science tried to create unity in Europe by focusing on the unity in nature.¹ In the 15th century, at the end of the Middle Ages, powerful sovereign states were appearing, built by the New Monarchs who were centralizing power in France, England, and Spain. On the other hand the Parliament in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth grew in power, taking legislative rights from the Polish king. The new state power was contested by parliaments in other countries especially England. New kinds of states emerged which were cooperations between territorial rulers, cities, farmer republics and knights. For other uses, see Discipline (disambiguation). ... Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (French pronounced ) (February 28, 1533–September 13, 1592) was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. ... Renaissance humanism (often designated simply as humanism) was a European intellectual movement beginning in Florence in the last decades of the 14th century. ... For other persons named Francis Bacon, see Francis Bacon (disambiguation). ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... This article is about the physical universe. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This article discusses states as sovereign political entities. ... New Monarchs were the rulers of European nations during the 15th century who unified their nations, creating a stable and centralized government. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Exploration and Conquest

A seaport of the Villa Medici in 1638 by Claude Lorrain

The numerous wars did not prevent the new states from exploring and conquering wide portions of the world, particularly in Asia (Siberia) and the newly-discovered Americas. In the 15th century, Portugal led the way in geographical exploration, followed by Spain in the early 16th century. They were the first states to set up colonies in America and trade stations on the shores of Africa and Asia, but they were soon followed by France, England and the Netherlands. In 1552, Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered two major Tatar khanates, Kazan and Astrakhan, and the Yermak's voyage of 1580 led to the annexation of Siberia into Russia. A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... See also: Age of Sail and Afro-Asiatic age of discovery For the computer wargame, Age of Discovery, see Global Diplomacy. ... The Villa Medici is a villa in Rome, founded by Ferdinando I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, housing the French Academy in Rome. ... Claude Lorrain. ... This article is about Siberia as a whole. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas in an equal-area projection The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ... Ivan IV (August 25, 1530–March 18, 1584) was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of tsar. ... Historically, the term Tatar (or Tartar) has been ambiguously used by Europeans to refer to many different peoples of Inner Asia and Northern Asia. ... St. ... The Khanate of Astrakhan (Xacitarxan Khanate) was a Tatar feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the Golden Horde. ... Yermak Yermak Timofeyevich (Russian: Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, also Ermak) (born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585), Cossack leader and explorer of Siberia. ...

Colonial expansion proceeded in the following centuries (with some setbacks, such as successful wars of independence in the British American colonies and then later Mexico, Brazil, and others surrounding the Napoleonic Wars). Spain had control of part of North America and a great deal of Central America and South America, the Caribbean and the Philippines; Britain took the whole of Australia and New Zealand, most of India, and large parts of Africa and North America; France held parts of Canada and India (nearly all of which was lost to Britain in 1763), Indochina, large parts of Africa and Caribbean islands; the Netherlands gained the East Indies (now Indonesia) and islands in the Caribbean; Portugal obtained Brazil and several territories in Africa and Asia; and later, powers such as Germany, Belgium, Italy and Russia acquired further colonies. This article is about political and social developments, including the origins and aftermath of the war. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... West Indies redirects here. ... The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. ... Flag Capital Hanoi Language(s) French Political structure Federation Historical era New Imperialism  - Addition of Laos 1893, 1887  - Vietnamese Declaration of Independence September 2, 1945  - Independence of Laos July 19, 1949  - Independence of Cambodia November 9, 1953  - Recognized Independence of Vietnam 1954, 1954 Area  - 1945 750,000 km² Currency French... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives... West Indies redirects here. ...

This expansion helped the economy of the countries owning them. Trade flourished, because of the minor stability of the empires. By the late 16th century American silver accounted for one-fifth of the Spain's total budget.^[18] The European countries fought wars that were largely paid for by the money coming in from the colonies. Nevertheless, the profits of the slave trade and of plantations of the West Indies, most profitable of all the British colonies at that time, amounted to less than 5% of the British Empire's economy (but was generally more profitable) at the time of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... This article is about the political and historical term. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... For specific articles on the slave trade, see: Atlantic slave trade Slave trade in the ancient world Slave trade in the Middle Ages Slave trade in Islamic World Slave trade in Africa Slave trade in the Americas Slave trade and the British Empire Swedish slave trade Abolitionism Categories: Disambiguation | Slavery... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ...

Enlightenment

The Battle of Nördlingen in the Thirty Years' War.

Throughout the early part of this period, capitalism (through Mercantilism) was replacing feudalism as the principal form of economic organization, at least in the western half of Europe. The expanding colonial frontiers resulted in a Commercial Revolution. The period is noted for the rise of modern science and the application of its findings to technological improvements, which culminated in the Industrial Revolution. Iberian (Spain and Portugal) exploits of the New World, which started with Christopher Columbus's venture westward in search of a quicker trade route to the East Indies in 1492, was soon challenged by English and French^[19] exploits in North America. New forms of trade and expanding horizons made new forms of government, law and economics necessary. The word Enlightment redirects here. ... Combatants Sweden Saxony Holy Roman Empire Spain Commanders Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Gustav Horn Cardinal-Infante of Spain Ferdinand of Hungary Matthias Gallas Strength 16,300 infantry 9,300 cavalry 54 guns 20,000 infantry 13,000 cavalry 32 guns Casualties 13,000–15,000 dead or wounded 3,500... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway[1] Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Austria Bavaria Spain Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Vicomte de Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the late modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the... The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately 1520 until 1650. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... British colonization of the Americas (including colonization under the Kingdom of England before the 1707 Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain) began in the late 16th century, before reaching its peak after colonies were established throughout the Americas, and a protectorate was established in Hawaii. ... Constitutionalism is the limitation of government by law. ... A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy...

The Reformation had profound effects on the unity of Europe. Not only were nations divided one from another by their religious orientation, but some states were torn apart internally by religious strife, avidly fostered by their external enemies. France suffered this fate in the 16th century in the series of conflicts known as the French Wars of Religion, which ended in the triumph of the Bourbon Dynasty. England avoided this fate for a while and settled down under Elizabeth to a moderate Anglicanism. Much of modern day Germany was made up of numerous small sovereign states under the theoretical framework of the Holy Roman Empire, which was further divided along internally drawn sectarian lines. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is notable in this time for its religious indifference and a general immunity to the horrors of European religious strife. The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants) from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, including civil infighting as well as military operations. ... Also see:  Early Modern France The House of Bourbon is an important European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... This box:      Anglicanism most commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, a world-wide affiliation of Christian Churches, most of which have historical connections with the Church of England. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. ...

The Thirty Years' War was fought between 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of today's Germany, and involved most of the major European powers. Beginning as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, it gradually developed into a general war involving much of Europe, for reasons not necessarily related to religion.^[20] The major impact of the war, in which mercenary armies were extensively used, was the devastation of entire regions scavenged bare by the foraging armies. Episodes of widespread famine and disease devastated the population of the German states and, to a lesser extent, the Low Countries and Italy, while bankrupting many of the regional powers involved. Between one-fourth and one-third of the German population perished from direct military causes or from illness and starvation related to the war.^[21] The war lasted for thirty years, but the conflicts that triggered it continued unresolved for a much longer time. In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. ... For other uses, see Mercenary (disambiguation). ... <nowiki>Insert non-formatted text hereBold text</nowiki>A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. ... This false-colored electron micrograph shows a malaria sporozoite migrating through the midgut epithelia. ... For information about the confusion between the Low Countries and the Netherlands, see Netherlands (terminology). ...

After the Peace of Westphalia, Europe's borders were still stable in 1708

After the Peace of Westphalia which ended the war in favour of nations deciding their own religious allegiance, Absolutism became the norm of the continent, while parts of Europe experimented with constitutions foreshadowed by the English Civil War and particularly the Glorious Revolution. European military conflict did not cease, but had less disruptive effects on the lives of Europeans. In the advanced north-west, the Enlightenment gave a philosophical underpinning to the new outlook, and the continued spread of literacy, made possible by the printing press, created new secular forces in thought. Again, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would be an exception to this rule, with its unique quasi-democratic Golden Freedom. Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ... Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ... Absolutism is a political theory which argues that one person, who is often generally a monarch, should hold all power. ... For other uses, see English Civil War (disambiguation). ... The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland) in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange), who as a result ascended the English throne as William... ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ... Golden Liberty (latin: Aurea Libertas, Polish: Złota Wolność, sometimes used in plural form; this phenomena can be also reffered to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles Democracy or Nobles Commonwealth, Polish: Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka) refers to a unique democratic political system in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after the Union of Lublin...

Eastern Europe was an arena of conflict for domination between Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. This period saw a gradual decline of these three powers which were eventually replaced by new enlightened absolutist monarchies, Russia, Prussia and Austria. By the turn of the 19th century they became new powers, having divided Poland between them, with Sweden and Turkey having experienced substantial territorial losses to Russia and Austria respectively. Numerous Polish Jews emigrated to Western Europe, founding Jewish communities in places where they had been expelled from during the Middle Ages. Eastern Europe is a concept that lacks one precise definition. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... The Partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Lietuvos-Lenkijos padalijimai, Belarusian: Падзелы Рэчы Паспалітай) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...

1789 to 1914

In 1815 Europe's borders were resettled, its roots shaken up by Napoleon's armies

The "long nineteenth century", from 1789 to 1914 sees the drastic social, political and economic changes initiated by the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and following the re-organization of the political map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the rise of Nationalism, the rise of the Russian Empire and the peak of the British Empire, paralleled by the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, the rise of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire initiated the course of events that culminated in the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Long 19th Century refers to the period between 1789-1914, that is between the French Revolution which established a non-monarchial republic in Europe, to the beginnings of the World War I , the conclusion of which late in 1918 and via the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 eliminated many... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolizing French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... Graphical timeline Decline of the Ottoman Empire covers the military and political events between 1828 to 1908. ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... Official languages Latin, German, Hungarian Established church Roman Catholic Capital & Largest City Vienna pop. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Industrial revolution

London's chimney sky in 1870, by Gustave Doré

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transport had a profound effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain and subsequently spread throughout Europe and North America and eventually the world, a process that continues as industrialisation. In the later part of the 1700s the manual labour based economy of the Kingdom of Great Britain began to be replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Once started it spread. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity.^[22] The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world. The impact of this change on society was enormous.^[23] A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Doré photographed by Felix Nadar. ... Socioeconomics or socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. ... The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... An industrial factory located in Ilmenau, Germany around 1860 Industrialisation is social and economic change where a human group is made into a societly inquireing a lot of businesses. ... For an explanation of terms such as Scotland, Wales, England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom, see British Isles (terminology). ... This article is about devices that perform tasks. ... For other uses, see Textile (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ... // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ... Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest of mans technologies. ... A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by machining, which is the selective removal of metal. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ...

// The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ... For other persons named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation). ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ) (26 February [O.S. 15 February 15] 1748) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), British philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ...

Political revolution

The storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution of 1789

French intervention in the American Revolutionary War had bankrupted the state. After repeated failed attempts at financial reform, Louis XVI was persuaded to convene the Estates-General, a representative body of the country made up of three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. The members of the Estates-General assembled in the Palace of Versailles in May 1789, but the debate as to which voting system should be used soon became an impasse. Come June, the third estate, joined by members of the other two, declared itself to be a National Assembly and swore an oath not to dissolve until France had a constitution and created, in July, the National Constituent Assembly. At the same time the people of Paris revolted, famously storming the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789. This article is about political and social developments, including the origins and aftermath of the war. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... This article is about the building. ... This article is about military actions only. ... Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste de France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ... The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... This article is about the city of Versailles. ... During the French Revolution, the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly that existed from June 17 to July 9 of 1789. ... Sketch by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath. ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... This article is about the building. ...

At the time the assembly wanted to create a constitutional monarchy, and over the following two years passed various laws including the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the abolition of feudalism, and a fundamental change in the relationship between France and Rome. At first the king went along with these changes and enjoyed reasonable popularity with the people, but as anti-royalism increased along with threat of foreign invasion, the king, stripped of his power, decided to flee along with his family. He was recognized and brought back to Paris. On 12 January 1793, having been convicted of treason, he was executed. Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A constitutional monarchy or limited monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not... Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: Revolutionary patriotism borrows familiar iconography of the Ten Commandments Wikisource has original text related to this article: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: La... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... The law of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (Fr. ...

On 20 September 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Due to the emergency of war the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, controlled by Maximilien Robespierre of the Jacobin Club, to act as the country's executive. Under Robespierre the committee initiated the Reign of Terror, during which up to 40,000 people were executed in Paris, mainly nobles, and those convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal, often on the flimsiest of evidence. Elsewhere in the country, counter-revolutionary insurrections were brutally suppressed. The regime was overthrown in the coup of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) and Robespierre was executed. The regime which followed ended the Terror and relaxed Robespierre's more extreme policies. This article is about the legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Great Britain Austria Prussia Spain[1] Russia Sardinia Ottoman Empire Portugal Dutch Republic[2] France The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states. ... The Committee of Public Safety (French: Comité de salut public), set up by the National Convention on April 6, 1793, formed the de facto executive government of France during the Reign of Terror (1793-4) of the French Revolution. ... Maximilien François Marie Odenthalius Isidore de Robespierre [1] (IPA: ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of the best-known leaders of the French Revolution. ... It has been suggested that Jacobin/Sandbox be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses of terror, see Terror; Great Fear . ... The Revolutionary Tribunal (French: Tribunal révolutionnaire) was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and became one of the most powerful engines of the Terror. ... Flag of the so-called Armée Royale et Catholique (Royal and Catholic Army) from Vendée Insigna of the royalist insurgents During the French Revolution, the 1793-1796 uprising in the Vendée, variously known as the Uprising, Insurrection, Revolt, Vendéan Rebellion, or Wars in the Vendée... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Thermidorian Reaction. ...

The Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington in 1815

Napoleon Bonaparte was France's most successful general in the Revolutionary wars, having conquered large parts of Italy and forced the Austrians to sue for peace. In 1799 he returned from Egypt and on 18 Brumaire (9 November) overthrew the government, replacing it with the Consulate, in which he was First Consul. On 2 December 1804, after a failed assassination plot, he crowned himself Emperor. In 1805, Napoleon planned to invade Britain, but a renewed British alliance with Russia and Austria (Third Coalition), forced him to turn his attention towards the continent, while at the same time failure to lure the superior British fleet away from the English Channel, ending in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October put an end to hopes of an invasion of Britain. On 2 December 1805, Napoleon defeated a numerically superior Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz, forcing Austria's withdrawal from the coalition (see Treaty of Pressburg) and dissolving the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, a Fourth Coalition was set up, on 14 October Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, marched through Germany and defeated the Russians on 14 June 1807 at Friedland, the Treaties of Tilsit divided Europe between France and Russia and created the Duchy of Warsaw. Combatants French Empire Seventh Coalition: United Kingdom Prussia United Netherlands Hanover Nassau Brunswick Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte, Michel Ney Duke of Wellington, Gebhard von Blücher Strength 73,000 67,000 Anglo-Allies 60,000 Prussian (48,000 engaged by about 18:00) Casualties 25,000 killed or wounded 7,000... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... Italic text His Grace Field Marshal the Most Noble Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ... Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... Napoléon Bonaparte in the coup détat of 18 brumaire. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Map of the First French Empire in 1811, with the Empire in dark blue and satellite states in light blue Capital Paris Language(s) French Government Constitutional Monarchy Emperor  - 1804 - 1814/1815 Napoleon I  - 1814/1815 Napoleon II Legislature Parliament  - Upper house Senate  - Lower house Corps législatif Historical era... In the Napoleonic Wars, the Third Coalition against Napoléon emerged in 1805, and consisted of an alliance of the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, Naples, and Sweden against France. ... For the Thoroughbred racehorse of the same name, see English Channel (horse). ... Combatants United Kingdom First French Empire Kingdom of Spain Commanders Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson † Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve Strength 27 ships of the line and 6 others. ... Combatants French Empire Russian Empire Austrian Empire Commanders Napoleon I Alexander I Francis II Strength 65,000[1] 73,000[2] Casualties 1,305 dead, 6,940 wounded, 573 captured, 1 standard lost[3] 15,000 dead or wounded, 12,000 captured, 180 guns lost, 50 standards lost[3] The... The Treaty of Pressburg was signed on December 26, 1805 between France and Austria as a consequence of the Austrian defeats by France at Ulm (September 25 - October 20) and Austerlitz (December 2). ... In the Napoleonic Wars, the Fourth Coalition was an alliance organized against Napoleons French Empire in 1806–1807. ... Combatants First French Empire Prussia Commanders Napoleon I Louis Nicolas Davout Duke of Brunswick Prince Hohenlohe Strength 90,000 (Jena); 27,000 (Auerstedt) 38,000 (Jena); 63,000 (Auerstedt) Casualties 5,000 dead and wounded (Jena); 7,000 killed, wounded, or missing (Auerstedt) 25,000 dead, wounded, or captured (Jena... Combatants First French Empire Russian Empire Commanders Napoléon Bonaparte General Bennigsen Strength 80,000 60,000 Casualties 8,000 killed and wounded[1] 20,000 killed and wounded[2] The Battle of Friedland, fought on June 14, 1807 about twenty-seven miles (43 km) southeast of the modern Russian... The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807. ... Coat of arms Map of the Duchy of Warsaw after 1809. ...

On 12 June 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with a Grande Armée of nearly 700,000 troops. After the measured victories at Smolensk and Borodino Napoleon occupied Moscow, only to find it burned by the retreating Russian Army, he was forced to withdraw, on the march back his army was harassed by Cossacks, and suffered disease and starvation. Only 20,000 of his men survived the campaign. By 1813 the tide had begun to turn from Napoleon, having been defeated by a seven nation army at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. He was forced to abdicate after the Six Days Campaign and the occupation of Paris, under the Treaty of Fontainebleau he was exiled to the Island of Elba. He returned to France on 1 March 1815 (see Hundred Days), raised an army, but was comprehensively defeated by a British and Prussian force at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ... La Grande Armée (French for the Great Army or the Grand Army) first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain and re-deployed it East... The First Battle of Smolensk took place on August 17, 1812, between 175,000 French under Napoleon Bonaparte and 130,000 Russians under Prince Bagration, of whom about 50,000 and 60,000 respectively were actually engaged. ... Combatants First French Empire Russian Empire Commanders Napoleon I Mikhail Kutuzov Strength 82,400 infantry 26,700 cavalry 14,900 artillery troops with 587 guns[1] 72,000 infantry 17,300 cavalry 14,500 artillery troops with 637 guns[2] Casualties ~6,600 killed ~21,400 wounded [3] ~43,000... For other uses, see Cossack (disambiguation). ... The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and a number of German States against Napoleonic France. ... Belligerents French Empire Italy Naples Duchy of Warsaw Saxony[1] Russia Austria Prussia Sweden Saxony[1] Commanders Napoleon I Jozef Antoni Poniatowski â€  Frederick Augustus Prince of Schwarzenberg Gebhard von Blücher Carl Johan Barclay De Tolly Count Benningsen Strength 195,000[2] 365,000[2] Casualties and losses 38,000... The Six Days Campaign was a critical series of battles in Napoleons final defence of France in 1814 as the Allies advanced on Paris. ... Elba (bottom centre) from space, February 1994. ... The Hundred Days (French Cent-Jours) or the Waterloo Campaign commonly refers to the period between 20 March 1815, the date on which Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Paris after his return from Elba, and 8 July 1815, the date of the restoration of King Louis XVIII. The phrase Cent jours... Combatants French Empire Seventh Coalition: United Kingdom Prussia United Netherlands Hanover Nassau Brunswick Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte, Michel Ney Duke of Wellington, Gebhard von Blücher Strength 73,000 67,000 Anglo-Allies 60,000 Prussian (48,000 engaged by about 18:00) Casualties 25,000 killed or wounded 7,000...

Nations rising

Cheering the Revolutions of 1848 in Berlin

After the defeat of revolutionary France, the other great powers tried to restore the situation which existed before 1789. In 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, the major powers of Europe managed to produce a peaceful balance of power among the empires after the Napoleonic wars (despite the occurrence of internal revolutionary movements) under the Metternich system. However, their efforts were unable to stop the spread of revolutionary movements: the middle classes had been deeply influenced by the ideals of democracy of the French revolution, the Industrial Revolution brought important economical and social changes, the lower classes started to be influenced by socialist, communist and anarchistic ideas (especially those summarized by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto), and the preference of the new capitalists became Liberalism. Further instability came from the formation of several nationalist movements (in Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary etc.), seeking national unification and/or liberation from foreign rule. As a result, the period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence wars. Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon I, returned from exile in England in 1848 to be elected to the French parliament, and then as "Prince President" in a coup d'état elected himself Emperor, a move approved later by a large majority of the French electorate. He helped in the unification of Italy by fighting the Austrian Empire and fought the Crimean War with England and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. His empire collapsed after an embarrassing defeat for France at the hands of Prussia in which he was captured. France then became a weak republic which refused to negotiate and was finished by Prussia in a few months. In Versailles, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, and modern Germany was born. Even though the revolutionaries were often defeated, most European states had become constitutional (rather than absolute) monarchies by 1871, and Germany and Italy had developed into nation states. The 19th century also saw the British Empire emerge as the world's first global power due in a large part to the Industrial Revolution and victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Italian Unification (Italian: il Risorgimento, or The Resurgence) was the political and social movement that unified different states of the Italian peninsula into the single nation of Italy. ... Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with South German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III François Achille Bazaine Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at wars beginning 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as... The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ... In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... Klemens Wenzel von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneberg-Beilstein (May 15, 1773 - June 11, 1858) (sometimes rendered in English as Prince Clemens Metternich) was an Austrian politician and statesman and perhaps the most important diplomat of his era. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Theory and practice Issues History Culture Economics By region Lists Related Anarchism Portal Philosophy Portal Politics Portal        Anarchism (from Greek ἀν (without) + ἄρχειν (to rule) + ισμός (from stem -ιζειν), without archons, without rulers)[1] is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory government[2][3][4][5... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolizing French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack...

Empires

Paris with the World Fair of 1884

The peace would only last until the Ottoman Empire had declined enough to become a target for the others. (See History of the Balkans.) This instigated the Crimean War in 1854 and began a tenser period of minor clashes among the globe-spanning empires of Europe that set the stage for the First World War. It changed a third time with the end of the various wars that turned the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Prussia into the Italian and German nation-states, significantly changing the balance of power in Europe. From 1870, the Bismarckian hegemony on Europe put France in a critical situation. It slowly rebuilt its relationships, seeking alliances with Russia and Britain, to control the growing power of Germany. In this way, two opposing sides formed in Europe, improving their military forces and alliances year-by-year. Colonialism is a system in which a state claims sovereignty over territory and people outside its own boundaries, often to facilitate economic domination over their resources, labor, and often markets. ... The historical phenomenon of colonisation is one that stretches around the globe and across time, including such disparate peoples as the Hittites, the Incas and the British, although the term colonialism is normally used with reference to European overseas empires rather than land-based empires, European or otherwise, which are... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... For the French colonial postage stamps, see French Colonies. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... A map showing the territory that the Netherlands held at various points in history. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1839: Mainland Piedmont with Savoy, Nice, and Sardinia in the inset. ... Anthem Preußenlied, Heil dir im Siegerkranz (both unofficial) The Kingdom of Prussia at its greatest extent, at the time of the formation of the German Empire, 1871 Capital Berlin Government Monarchy King  - 1701 — 1713 Frederick I (first)  - 1888 — 1918 William II (last) Prime minister  - 1848 Adolf Heinrich von Arnim... Bismarck redirects here. ...

1914 to 1991

Trenches became one of the most striking symbols of World War I

The "short twentieth century", from 1914 to 1991, sees World War I, World War II and the Cold War, including the rise and fall of Nazi Germany and of the Soviet Union. These disastrous events spell the end of the European Colonial empires and initiated widespread decolonization. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 to 1991 leaves the United States as the world's single superpower and triggers the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reunification of Germany and an accelerated process of a European integration that is ongoing. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Colonialism is a system in which a state claims sovereignty over territory and people outside its own boundaries, often to facilitate economic domination over their resources, labor, and often markets. ... Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. ... Superpowers redirects here. ... For the fall of the Iron Curtain, see Revolutions of 1989. ... German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) refers to the reunification of Germany from its constituent parts of East Germany and West Germany under a single government on October 3, 1990. ... European integration is the process of political and economic (and in some cases social and cultural) integration of European states into a tighter bloc. ...

Apocalypse

After the relative peace of most of the 19th century, the rivalry between European powers exploded in 1914, when World War I started. Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 – 1918.^[24] On one side were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria (the Central Powers/Triple Alliance), while on the other side stood Serbia and the Triple Entente - the loose coalition of France, the United Kingdom and Russia, which were joined by Italy in 1915 and by the United States in 1917. Despite the defeat of Russia in 1917 (the war was one of the major causes of the Russian Revolution, leading to the formation of the communist Soviet Union), the Entente finally prevailed in the autumn of 1918. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Russian Revolution (1917) was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ... This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . Left to right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320... Red: Central Powers at their zenith. ... For other uses, see Triple Alliance. ... Anthem:  Serbia() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Albanian 2 Demonym Serbian Government Parliamentary Democracy  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica    -  First state 7th century   -  Serbian Kingdom3 1217   -  Serbian Empire 1345   -  Independence lost... European military alliances in 1914. ... The Russian Revolution (1917) was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ...

In the Treaty of Versailles (1919) the winners imposed relatively hard conditions on Germany and recognized the new states (such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Yugoslavia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) created in central Europe out of the defunct German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, supposedly on the basis of national self-determination. Most of those countries engaged in local wars, the largest of them being the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921). In the following decades, fear of communism and the Great Depression of 1929-1933 led to the rise of extreme nationalist governments – sometimes loosely grouped under the category of fascism – in Italy (1922), Germany (1933), Spain (after a civil war ending in 1939) and other countries such as Hungary. This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . Left to right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France... Motto: One nation, one king, one country Anthem: Medley of Bože pravde, Lijepa naÅ¡a domovino, and Naprej zastava slave Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croato-Slovenian (see: Serbo-Croat and Slovenian) [1] Government Value specified for government_type does not comply King  - 1918-1921 Peter I  - 1921-1934 Alexander... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Combatants Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Republic of Poland Ukrainian Peoples Republic Commanders Mikhail Tukhachevsky Semyon Budyonny Józef PiÅ‚sudski Edward Rydz-ÅšmigÅ‚y Strength 950,000 combatants 5,000,000 reserves 360,000 combatants 738,000 reserves Casualties Dead estimated at 100,000... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Fascism is a term used to describe authoritarian nationalist political ideologies or mass movements that are concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ...

"Peace, Bread and Land" was the revolutionary message Bolshevik party and Lenin's message to a Russian people, ravaged by war

After allying with Mussolini's Italy in the "Pact of Steel" and signing a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the German dictator Adolf Hitler started World War II on 1 September 1939 attacking Poland and following a military build-up throughout the late 1930s. After initial successes (mainly the conquest of western Poland, much of Scandinavia, France and the Balkans before 1941) the Axis powers began to over-extend themselves in 1941. Hitler's ideological foes were the Communists in Russia but because of the German failure to defeat the United Kingdom and the Italian failures in North Africa and the Mediterranean the Axis forces were split between garrisoning western Europe and Scandinavia and also attacking Africa. Thus, the attack on the Soviet Union (which together with Germany had partitioned central Europe in 1939-1940) was not pressed with sufficient strength. Despite initial successes, the German army was stopped close to Moscow in December 1941. The Russian Revolution (1917) was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ... This article is about the Bolshevik faction in the RSDLP 1903-1912. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... The Pact of Steel, known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the foreign ministers of each country and witnessed by Count Galeazzo Ciano for Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop... Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Balkan redirects here. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

Over the next year the tide was turned and the Germans started to suffer a series of defeats, for example in the siege of Stalingrad and at Kursk. Meanwhile, Japan (allied to Germany and Italy since September 1940) attacked the British in Southeast Asia and the United States in Hawaii on 7 December 1941; Germany then completed its over-extension by declaring war on the United States. War raged between the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allied Forces (British Empire, Soviet Union, and the United States). Allied Forces won in North Africa, invaded Italy in 1943, and invaded occupied France in 1944. In the spring of 1945 Germany itself was invaded from the east by the Soviet Union and from the west by the other Allies respectively; Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered in early May ending the war in Europe. Belligerents Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Wolfram von Richthofen Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Gariboldi Gusztáv Vitéz Jány Viktor Pavičić Joseph Stalin Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Andrei Yeremenko... Belligerents Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Günther von Kluge Hermann Hoth Walther Model Hans Seidemann Robert Ritter von Greim Georgiy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovskiy Nikolay Vatutin Ivan Konyev Strength 2,700 tanks 800,000 infantry 2,109 aircraft[1] 3,600 tanks 20,000 guns[2] 1... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ...

This period was marked also by industrialized and planned genocide. Germany began the systematic genocide of over 11 million people, including the majority of the Jews of Europe and Gypsies as well as millions of Polish and Soviet Slavs. Soviet system of forced labour, expulsions and great hunger in Ukraine had similar death toll. During and after the war millions of civilians were affected by forced population transfers. Roma arrivals in the Belzec extermination camp await instructions The Porajmos (also Porrajmos) literally Devouring, or Samudaripen (Mass killing) is a term coined by the Roma (Gypsy) people to describe attempts by the Nazi regime to exterminate most of the Roma peoples of Europe during The Holocaust. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Gulag (from the Russian ГУЛАГ: Главное Управление Исправительно— Трудовых Лагерей, Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey, The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps) was the branch of the Soviet internal police and security service that operated the penal system of forced labour camps and associated detention and transit camps... Not by Their Own Will. ...

Cold War

East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961

World War I and especially World War II ended the pre-eminent position of western Europe. The map of Europe was redrawn at the Yalta Conference and divided as it became the principal zone of contention in the Cold War between the two power blocs, the Western countries and the Eastern bloc. The United States and Western Europe (the United Kingdom, France, Italy, The Netherlands, West Germany, etc.) established the NATO alliance as a protection against a possible Soviet invasion. Later, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, and Romania) established the Warsaw Pact as a protection against a possible U.S. invasion. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article is about the military alliance. ... Map of Cold-War era Europe and the Near East showing countries that received Marshall Plan aid. ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... This article is about the military alliance. ... This article is about the state which existed from 1949 to 1990. ... -1...

Meanwhile, Western Europe slowly began a process of political and economic integration, desiring to unite Europe and prevent another war. This process resulted eventually in the development of organizations such as the European Union and the Council of Europe. The Solidarność movement in the 1980s in weakened the Communist government in Poland. The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev initiated perestroika and glasnost, which weakened Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. Soviet-supported governments collapsed, and by 1990 the Federal Republic of Germany had absorbed the GDR. In 1991 the Soviet Union itself collapsed, splitting into fifteen states, with Russia taking the Soviet Union's seat on the United Nations Security Council. The most violent breakup happened in Yugoslavia, in the Balkans. Four (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia) out of six Yugoslav republics declared independence and for most of them a violent war ensued, in some parts lasting until 1995. In 2006 Montenegro seceded and became an independent state, followed by Kosovo, formerly an autonomous province of Serbia, in 2008. In the post-Cold War era, NATO and the EU have been gradually admitting most of the former members of the Warsaw Pact. Anthem Ode to Joy (orchestral)  ten founding members joined subsequently observer at the Parliamentary Assembly observer at the Committee of Ministers  official candidate Seat Strasbourg, France Membership 47 European states 5 observers (Council) 3 observers (Assembly) Leaders  -  Secretary General Terry Davis  -  President of the Parliamentary Assembly Rene van der Linden... Solidarity (Polish Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Gdansk Shipyards, originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev[1] (Russian: , IPA: ; born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... “Security Council” redirects here. ... General location of the political entities known as Yugoslavia. ... For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... -1...

Recent history

The European Flag

In 1992, the Treaty on European Union was signed by members of the European Union (EU). This transformed the 'European Project' from being the Economic Community with certain political aspects, into the Union of deeper cooperation. European integration is the process of political and economic (and in some cases social and cultural) integration of European states into a tighter bloc. ... The Post-Cold War era began immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union and, according to differing accounts, ended on September 11, 2001 or is still ongoing as of 2008. ... The Flag of Europe consists of a circle of twelve golden (yellow) stars on a blue background. ... The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty of European Union, TEU) was signed on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, Netherlands after final negotiations in December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. ... Austria Poland Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech   Rep. ... The European Community (EC) was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... EU redirects here. ...

In 1985 the Schengen Agreement created largely open borders without passport controls between those states joining it.^[25] For other uses, see Schengen. ... Border control Border crossing between Germany and The Netherlands Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders. ... For other meanings, see Passport (disambiguation). ...

A common currency for most EU member states, the euro, was established electronically in 1999, officially tying all of the currencies of each participating nation to each other. The new currency was put into circulation in 2002 and the old currencies were phased out. Only three countries of the then 15 member states decided not to join the euro (The United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden). In 2004 the EU undertook a major eastward enlargement, admitting 10 new member states (eight of which were former communist states). Two more joined in 2007, establishing a union of 27 nations. For other uses, see Euro (disambiguation). ...

A treaty establishing a constitution for the EU was signed in Rome in 2004, intended to replace all previous treaties with a new single document. However, it never completed ratification after rejection by French and Dutch voters in referenda. In 2007, it was agreed to replace that proposal with a new Reform Treaty, that would amend rather than replace the existing treaties. This treaty was signed on 13 December 2007, and will come in effect in January 2009 if ratified by that date. This will give the European union the first permanent President and foreign minister. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The constitutional treaty as signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the EU member states The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an unimplemented... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A referendum (plural referendums or referenda), ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... For other uses, see Treaty of Lisbon (disambiguation). ... The Treaties of the European Union are effectively the basic constitutional texts of the Union. ...

The Balkans are the part of Europe most likely to join the EU next, with Croatia notably hoping to join in 2011.

See also

• English and French monarchs overlap chart
• Historic list of cities of Europe
• History of Western civilization

The history of western civilization traces its roots back to the fall of the Roman Empire and continues to the present era in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand // In 476 A.D. the western Roman Empire, which had ruled modern-day Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and England for...

References

Founded in 1967, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. ... The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks under Clovis I and the Alamanni, traditionally in 496. ... The Gothic War, 535–552, was the expression of Justinians decision in 535 to reverse the course of events of the past century in the West and win back for the Eastern Roman Empire the provinces of Italy that had been lost, first to Odoacer and then to the... Otto I at his victory over Berengar of Friuli Grave of Otto I in Magdeburg Otto I the Great ( November 23, 912 - May 7, 973), son of Henry I the Fowler, king of the Germans, and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of the Germans and arguably the... The term Great Schism may refer to: The East-West Schism, in 1054 between Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ... Europa (also written EUROPA), the official web portal of the European Union, is designed to improve the public’s interaction with the EU institutions by quickly directing website visitors to the services or information they are seeking. ...

External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of European History

Wikiversity has learning materials about European History

• Maps of Europe at Wikimedia
• An Atlas of European History at Wikimedia
• European History Primary Sources Online access to primary sources for historians

For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The population growth/decline of European countries The Demographics of Europe refers to the changing number and composition of the population of Europe. ... This article deals with the politics of the European continent. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Also see articles: History of painting, Western painting Clio, muse of heroic poetry and history, by Pierre Mignard, 17th century. ... The History of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various countries and dates. ... The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. ... This article is about Western art music from 1000 AD to the present. ... This film, television, or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... See also Western art, History of painting, History of art, Art history, Painting, Outline of painting history Jan Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, known as the Mona Lisa of the North 1665-1667 Édouard Manet, The Balcony 1868 The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition... Sculptor redirects here. ... See the individual entries for: // Belarusian cuisine Bulgarian cuisine Czech cuisine Hungarian cuisine Jewish cuisine Polish cuisine Romanian cuisine Russian cuisine Slovak cuisine Slovenian cuisine Ukrainian cuisine British cuisine English cuisine Scottish cuisine Welsh cuisine Anglo-Indian cuisine Modern British cuisine Nordic cuisine Danish cuisine Finnish cuisine Icelandic cuisine Lappish... Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. ... Predominant religions in Europe  Roman Catholicism  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Sunni Islam  Shia Islam Religion in Europe spans the approximately 50,000 years of human settlement in the continent of Europe, from the earliest prehistoric spirituality to later pagan religions, such as the Ancient Greek, Roman and Nordic faiths, to the... This article deals with the history and the evolution of the Islamic religion in Europe. ... Logo of the University of Bologna European research universities have a long history that arguably dates back to the founding of the University of Bologna in 1088, although the University of Paris and the University of Magnaura are other contenders for this position. ... The purpose of the Bologna process (or Bologna accords) is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. ... The ERASMUS programme was established in 1987 and forms a major part of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013. ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies which spans the two centuries between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The population growth/decline of European countries The Demographics of Europe refers to the changing number and composition of the population of Europe. ... The diversion of Haplogroup F and its descendants. ... European Free Trade Association() on the European continent() Secretariat Geneva, Switzerland Official languages German, French, Norwegian, and Icelandic Type Trade bloc Member states Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Switzerland Establishment 3 May 1960  -  4 January 1960  Area  -  Total 529,600 km²  204,518 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 12,660,623   -  Density... Map of Europe indicating current CEFTA members Type Trade agreement Member states 7 Balkan states, Kosovo Establishment  -  Signed 21 December 1992  Area  -  Total 298. ... Flag of EurAsEC The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC or EAEC) was put into motion on 10 October 2000 when Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the treaty. ... Colours indicate the current population of European countries omg // The whole of Russia and Turkey are referred to in the table, although they are only partly in Europe. ... Pages in category Lists of cities in Europe There are 51 pages in this section of this category. ... The Geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary. ... These are the main rivers of Europe (ecologically, the extreme west of the Palearctic ecozone - which includes Russia in the east). ... // This list of major or noteworthy lakes is sorted alphabetically by continent. ... This is a list of mountain ranges organized alphabetically by continent. ... // This is a list of the extreme points of Europe, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in Europe. ... This article deals with the politics of the European continent. ... The following table lists the independent European states, and their memberships in selected organizations and treaties, and their use of the euro (€). 1 The United Nations is a world-wide organization with members from all continents, not only from Europe. ... European integration is the process of political and economic (and in some cases social and cultural) integration of European states into a tighter bloc. ... The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. ... Anthem Ode to Joy (orchestral)  ten founding members joined subsequently observer at the Parliamentary Assembly observer at the Committee of Ministers  official candidate Seat Strasbourg, France Membership 47 European states 5 observers (Council) 3 observers (Assembly) Leaders  -  Secretary General Terry Davis  -  President of the Parliamentary Assembly Rene van der Linden... This article is about the military alliance. ... In the framework of Commonwealth of Independent States the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city of Tashkent. ...  Member state  Associate member Headquarters Minsk, Belarus Working language Russian Type Commonwealth Membership 11 member states 1 associate member Leaders  -  Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev Establishment December 21, 1991 Website http://cis. ... Post-Soviet states in alphabetical order: 1. ... Atlantic derives from Ancient Greek mythology: Altas as one of the Titans at the Rockefeller Center in New York City Transatlantic relations refers to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean, specifically between the United States, Canada and the countries... Map showing countries by their relation to the Union, including ENP and ACP countries (covering much of the Eurosphere). ... A Member State of the European Union is any one of the twenty-seven nation states that have acceded the European Union (EU) since its de facto inception in 1958 as the European Economic Community (EEC). ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and international organization of 27 member states. ... The European Neighbourhood is the region beyond the frontier of the European Union. ... Foreign relations of the European Union Foreign relations of Austria Foreign relations of Belgium Foreign relations of Cyprus Foreign relations of the Czech Republic Foreign relations of Denmark Foreign relations of Estonia Foreign relations of Finland Foreign relations of France Foreign relations of Germany Foreign relations of Greece Foreign relations... The Eurozone (less frequently called the Euro Area or Euroland) refers to a currency union among the European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. ...  EFTA countries (except Switzerland)  EU countries Together these form the EEA. The European Economic Area (EEA) came into being on January 1, 1994 following an agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Union (EU). ... The Schengen treaty is an agreement originally signed on June 14, 1985, by five European Union countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany). ... Statistics in the European Union are collected by Eurostat. ... The aim of this page is to act as a comparison between European countries in many different aspects, such as population, GDP, life expectancy, etc. ... This is a list of articles holding galleries of maps of present-day countries and dependencies. ...