Empress Irene: the Woman that Built the Holy Roman Empire

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Imperator Romanus – Emperor of Rome. Leo’s decision to crown a new Roman Emperor despite one already existing in Constantinople stemmed from the fact that the holder of this title in the east was a woman – Irene of Athens. But who was this female Emperor who ruled one of the most powerful and prestigious Empires in the Middle Ages?

Woodcut Illustration of Empress Irene (in the left) and Charlemagne (in the right), from Penn Provenance Project, CC by 2.0

Sipahi: Heavy Weight of the Ottoman Empire

Sipahi

The Ottoman Army became the most feared army in Europe. In 1453, it dealt a blow that shocked Christian Europe to its core.  The mighty citadel of Constantinople fell to the hands of the Ottoman Turks, who turned it into their magnificent capital and renamed it Istanbul. The Ottoman army credited for victory became even more well-known. It had a lot of elite units within its ranks. It had the famous Janissaries. But to the belief of many, the through strength and fierce warriors within the Ottoman army was its horsemen known as the Sipahis.

1683 Siege of Vienna - A Turning Point

The Siege of Vienna in 1683 was the last attempt of the Ottoman Empire to encroach in Europe. With a huge army, the Ottomans battled for the control of city and with time. Against them, another coalition of Catholic armies aiming to stop the Ottomans from capturing the Austrian city and advancing towards Europe. The Siege of Vienna was a turning point in European history.

Hittite Innovation: Chariots

Mobile warfare has been with mankind ever since horses and other fast or big moving animals were utilized for battle. Horses were used for cavalry and served as shock units. In the ancient world horses were not enough to win battles. Kingdoms and empires back then needed more than just a horse in order to win battles. The chariot was an innovation that brought to the front line the efficiency of archery and deadliness of spear attacks in fast speed. Among the most well-known civilization that developed the chariot was the Hittites.

Hittites: The Great Civilization of Anatolia

Hittite Empire during its heights 

Before 2,000 BCE, Mesopotamia was a flourishing region of human civilization. Sumerian city states, the Akkadian Empire, and finally, the Early Babylonian Empire had risen and fallen as time went by. The Early Babylonians, in particular fell in the hands of another empire. This invaders, however, did not came from Mesopotamia. But rather, its conquerors started from the plateaus of the Anatolia – the Hittite Empire.

Justinian Plague: The Declined of the Byzantines

Emperor Justinian

Two major civilization declined and fell in the hands of vicious plagues. Athens, the center of learning and culture of the ancient world, fell in the hands of the Great Athenian Plague. It led to the eventual collapse of the most powerful city-state in the region. Then in the 2nd century CE, the glorious and peaceful period of Rome, dubbed as Pax Romana, ended with the deaths caused by another plague, the Antonine Plague. Almost four centuries after the spread of the Antonine Plague, another Empire was on the brink of either glory or the abyss, the Byzantine Empire. And with an ambitious Emperor in the throne, the Justinian Plague would decide the destiny of a revival of the glory that was Rome.

Catal Hoyuk: The First City of the World?

The Neolithic Age saw humanity’s great leap forward in its history. Agriculture, animal domestication, and sedentary living developed building the foundations of future civilizations. In Asia Minor, Çatalhöyük have been the most famous example of Neolithic settlement in the region.