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Legend says that Rome was founded by two demi-gods, Romulus and Remus. Following an argument, Romulus killed Remus, and named the city after himself.
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Julius Caesar was assassinated by many Roman senators, led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Marcus Junius Brutus. His death was a result of a conspiracy fueled by the fear of potential totalitarianism at the hands of Caesar’s rule.
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The first emperor of Rome was Julius Caesar’s nephew, Octavius. Upon coming into power, he renamed himself to “Augustus”.
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Rome at its greatest extent was reached under the rule of Emperor Trajan, when the Roman Empire advanced the farthest into the east than it ever would.
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Churches were quickly built in Rome after Christianity was legalized by Constantine the Great, as he allowed people to openly worship this religion for the first time.
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Constantine the Great moved the Capital of the Roman Empire to the city of Byzantium. He renamed this city to Constantinople and legalized Christianity during his rule as well.
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The story of the first sack of Rome is steeped in myth and legend, but it most likely began when the young city became embroiled in a conflict with a band of Gallic Celts led by the warlord Brennus (history.com)
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Romulus, the last Roman emperor was overthrown by odoacer, a Germanic leader. This change in leadership was a result of instability in the Roman empire caused by invasions by Barbarian tribes. Military losses contributed to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
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Justinian I ruled Eastern Rome – or Byzantine Empire and was known for his efforts to regain lost provinces of the Western Roman Empire. He enforced better laws and made way for impressive architectural achievements during his rule.
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This Muslim conquest of Maghreb took place when Muslims seized control of Maghreb in Northern Africa. At the end of these battles, The Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Umayyad Caliphate (a Muslim dynasty).
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The Battle of Tours took place near Poitiers, France, when Frankish leader Charles Martel defeated a large army of Spanish Moors. This event was significant, as it halted the advance of Islam into Western Europe.
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Charles the Great was an emperor who ruled Western Europe, and was crowned the emperor of Romans by Pope Leo III. This emperor united much of western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages, and was the first recognized western emperor to rule since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier.
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Viking expansion is the process by which Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, sailed most of the North Atlantic, reaching south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople and the Middle East as looters, traders, colonists and mercenaries. [wikipedia.org]
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Cyril was a professor of philosophy in Constantinople, while Methodius was the abbot of a Greek monastery. Together, the men became known for Christianizing Danubian slavs and translating the Bible to Old Church Slavonic. Another one of their notable achievements was inventing the Slavic alphabet, a Cyrillic (named after Cyril) form of writing that is still used in modern Russian.
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The East-West Schism, also known as the Great Schism, was the break of communion between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.
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The crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims. The motive behind these attacks were primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups, and in total, there were eight major crusade expeditions in this time period.
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The Mongol Empire began expanding in the early 13th century, and resulted in being one of history’s deadliest conflicts. It is speculated that Mongol expeditions may have prompted the spread of Bubonic Plague across Asia and Europe, causing a massive number of deaths during the 14th century.
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The Magna Carta was a charter of rights first drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the King (King John of England) and a group of rebel barons. This document promised the rebels a protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, and access to swift justice.
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The “Duomo” Cathedral of Florence helped set the tone of the Italian Renaissance. It had unique features that helped inspire artists and engineers across Europe.
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The Avignon Papacy was a period in history when seven seven successive popes resided in Avignon, which was back then part of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time period, there was conflict between the papacy and the french crown.
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Divine Comedy is an epic poem (a poem that is very long, like a story). The plot of this poem covers a trip through the afterlife, and talks about Christian hell, purgatory, and heaven. The word “comedy” is used to indicate a positive ending.
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The 100 years war was a struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. In the end, France was able to resume its place as the dominant state of western Europe.
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The Bubonic Plague was brought to Europe in October of 1347, when ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. Inside, most sailors were either dead or gravely ill, covered in black boils and blood. These ships were deemed “death ships”, and brought on a period of biological devastation to Europe for the next five years. They wiped out ⅓ of Europe’s entire population.
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Jan Hus was a religious reformer who believed that the Catholic Church needed to be reformed. After he was burned at the stake for being a heretic, his followers launched a civil war against the Holy Roman Empire.
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The printing press was crucial during this time period, as it helped spread ideas throughout Europe in a more quick and efficient way. Since books were primarily handwritten before this invention, and the printing press prompted the mass production of Bibles and ideas that influenced the minds of many.
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The final leader of the Byzantine Empire was emperor Constantine XI. Constantinople was sacked by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, leading to the end of the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire.
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Medici was a leader during the renaissance that reformed state institutions, suppressed all rivalries existing between families and resolved all family problems. During his reign, he was able to ensure peace across Italian powers.
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The Sistine Chapel was built by primarily two architects – Baccio Pontelli, and Giovannino de Dolci. Later, Michelangelo was appointed to paint on the ceiling of the chapel, making it a crucial landmark in the Vatican.
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The Birth of Venus depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth. There are many allusions to Greek and Roman mythology in this painting, as Renaissance artists tended to paint scenes from antiquity.
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King Harry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after its civil war.
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The Mona Lisa is arguably one of the most famous paintings made in the Renaissance era. This painting is famous for its enigmatic style – Mona Lisa’s expression changes at different angles and Da Vinci was able to achieve an unusual effect with his meticulous painting style.
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The Praise of Folly was one of the most important books of Renaissance Humanism, and was one of the most perfect expressions of the sentiments and philosophy of its author, Desiderius Erasmus.
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Martin Luther nailed 95 papers onto the door of the Wittenberg Castle church, arguing against indulgences and other such immoral practices that the church practiced.
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Published by Copernicus, this theory is based around an astronomical model that shows how the sun is near the center of the universe, while other planets are orbiting it in circular paths.
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The counter-reformation was a movement done by the Catholic church in response to protestantism/ the Protestant Reformation.
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Elizabeth I was able to achieve a number of things during her reign. Notably, she established Protestantism in England, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, and maintained peace insider her country. Lastly, she was able to create an environment where the arts flourished.
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The very first microscope was invented in the 1590s hy Zacharias Janssen, a dutch spectacle maker.
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The Globe theater was a collaborative structure that had many shareholders. Here, many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed.
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In 1609, Galileo made his first telescope with 3x magnification. Later, he improved this version to 30x magnification. Using these inventions, he demonstrated to Venetian lawmakers his use of these devices to observe the sky.
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Using the precise data that Tycho had collected, Kepler discovered that the orbit of Mars was an ellipse. In 1609 he published Astronomia Nova, delineating his discoveries, which are now called Kepler's first two laws of planetary motion. {nasa.gov}
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The Galileo affair was a sequence of events, beginning around 1610, culminating with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633 for his support of heliocentrism. {wikipedia.org}
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The Thirty Years War was a war fought primarily in Central Europe. This war began with wars between protestant and Catholic states within the Holy Roman Empire, and gradually developed into a conflict between all of Europe’s powers.
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The Novum Organum is the title of a book – translated to “new instrument of science”. This book covers a system of logic devised by Francis Bacon, and is based around philosophy and science.
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Peace of Westphalia refers to a pair of treaties signed in October and May of 1649. As a result of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, Sweden gained control of the Baltic and France was acknowledged as the preeminent Western power. The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was broken and the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands. (history.com)
