How Artillery Evolved in the 100 Years War
The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) saw the first appearances of gunpowder artillery in English and French warfare. These fearsome weapons, which had been largely unused…
The Bloodiest Medieval War Was Fought Because Of A Bucket
In 1325, two armies clashed near what is today the Italian town of Castello di Serravalle in the region of Emilia-Romagna. It was the largest…
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,…
10 Knightly Orders and What Made Each One Distinct
Combining knightly warfare and a monastic lifestyle, the knightly crusading orders were one of the strongest institutions of medieval Europe. Through them, men sought a…
How Muslims Responded to the Crusades
For Muslims living in the Holy Land, the arrival of Christian crusaders from the late 11th century onwards was hugely disruptive. It brought misery to…
The Rise of The Tokugawa Shogunate – The Beginning Of A Remarkable Period Of Japanese Peace and Prosperity
On October 21st, in the year 1600, the battle whose outcome would establish the hegemony of the Tokugawa Shogunate for the next 268 years was…
Siege of Vienna: Led by a Mercenary, This Desperate Army Turned the Tide on the Ottoman Empire
For four hundred years, the Crusades had seen European powers take war deep into lands far from home, under the banner of Christianity. The clash…
7 Types of Medieval Armor – From Quilted Cloth to Full Steel Plate
More than any other artifact of war, armor dominates visual images of medieval Europe. From the chainmail carefully stitched onto each warrior in the Bayeux…
Battle of Lepanto – The Naval Battle that Saved Europe From The Ottoman Empire
The Siege of Venetian Famagusta, which lasted over a year and ended in Ottoman victory, was a critical loss for the Christian world. The merciless…
The Longbow: Its Rise and Dominance
The growing effectiveness of metal armour created a challenge for medieval soldiers. While the elite of knights and men-at-arms were now well protected, the majority…
9 Factors that Caused the First Crusade
On the surface, the First Crusade looks like something with a simple cause – the hatred of one religious group for another. In reality, the…
The Iberian Wars between Rome and Persia
At the beginning of the 6th century, the Roman and Persian Empires were in the midst of a major conflict. The Second War between Rome and…