Arab Women Shame Their Fleeing Men Back Towards the Fight At The Battle of Yarmouk
Most people are familiar with the general history of the Arab expansion after the death of Mohammad. The Arabs didn’t sit idly in Saudi Arabia,…
The Viking Mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire – The Varangian Guard
The Byzantines Hired Viking Mercenaries as Guards The relationship between the Byzantine Emperors and their Varangian Guard was a complex affair. The Byzantines were first…
The United States Navy’s First Submarine – Lost at Sea
The USS Alligator was the first known submarine of the United States Navy. But it wasn’t the first American submarine. That was the “Turtle,” a…
Heroes of America: The Red String Band who rebelled against the Confederacy in the Southern States
It is easy to think of wars from earlier centuries in rather simplistic terms, especially as they fade further into the past. The American Civil…
The Many Lives of The US Ship Harriet Lane, Which Fired the First Shot of the American Civil War
Late in the day on April 11th, 1861, the ship Nashville was sailing past Charleston harbor. The crew could see a fleet of ships at…
Massive Towers, Unbreakable Walls, Terrifying Siege Engines – This Was The Hundred Years War
As the sun rises over the battlefield, a column of knights gallops towards the assembled infantry. Banners flutter and arrows hurtle through the air as…
The Slave Who Stole A Confederate Ship, Met President Lincoln & Bought His Master’s House
In 1862, Robert Smalls stole a Confederate ship, gave it to the Union Army, freed slaves, and met President Abraham Lincoln. After the war, he…
AD 732, Battle of Tours: Charles Martel the ‘Hammer’ Holds The Line Of Battle
Few Empires emerged as quickly as that of the Muslim Caliphates. Bursting out from what is now Saudi Arabia in the mid-7th century, the Islamic…
The Great Military Men Who Inspired The Young Napoleon Bonaparte
From an early age, Napoleon Bonaparte showed the ambition and intelligence that would eventually make him the emperor of half of Europe. As a child,…
When A Bloody Medieval War Was Fought Because Of A Bucket Full of Treasure
In 1325, two armies clashed near what is today the Italian town of Castello di Serravalle in the region of Emilia-Romagna. It was a huge…
The Tide Turns On The Unstoppable Mongol Invasion
There are few military forces more infamous and renowned in history than the Mongolian armies of the 13th Century. They swept through Asia and into…
The Most Effective Female Spies of the American Civil War
Rose Greenhow Just before Virginia’s secession, the governor of that state John Letcher wanted to set up a spy network while he was still able…