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First published in Great Britain in 2011 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
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CONTRIBUTORS

HUMAN ORIGINS TRADE AND INVENTION TECHNOLOGY AND SUPERPOWERS


Dr. Fiona Coward Joel Levy R.G. Grant
Research Fellow at Royal Holloway University Writer specializing in history and scientific History writer who has published more than
of London; contributed to DK’s Prehistoric. history; books include Lost Cities and Lost 20 books, including Battle, Soldier, Flight,
Additional text by Dr. Jane McIntosh Histories. and History for DK.

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS REFORMATION AND EXPLORATION Sally Regan


Dr. Jen Green Thomas Cussans Contributor to several books for DK including
Author of over 250 books on a range Author and contributor to The Times History, World War II, and Science; award-
of subjects from history to nature. newspaper; previous titles for DK include winning documentary maker whose films
Additional text by Dr. Jane McIntosh Timelines of World History and History. include Shell Shock and Bomber Command
for the UK’s Channel 4.
Additional text by Frank Ritter
THE CLASSICAL AGE GLOSSARY
Philip Parker THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
Dr. Carrie Gibson Richard Beatty
Historian and writer; books include The
Empire Stops Here and DK Eyewitness Writer who has contributed to The Guardian
Companion to World History. and Observer newspapers; gained a doctorate
in 18th- and 19th-century history from the
University of Cambridge, UK.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Smithsonian contributors include historians
CONSULTANTS and museum specialists from:
National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space
Dr. Jane McIntosh Dr. David Parrott Museum is one of the world’s most popular
8MYA–700BCE 1450–1749 museums. Its mission is to educate and
Senior Research Associate, Faculty of Asian and Fellow in History and University Lecturer, inspire visitors by preserving and displaying
Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, UK New College, University of Oxford, UK aeronautical and space flight artifacts.
National Museum of American History
Professor Neville Morley Dr. Michael Broers The Smithsonian’s National Museum of
700BCE–599CE 1750–1913 American History dedicates its collections and
Professor of Ancient History, School of Fellow and Tutor, Lady Margaret Hall, scholarship to inspiring a broader understanding
Humanities, University of Bristol, UK University of Oxford, UK of the American nation and its many peoples.
National Museum of Natural History
Dr. Roger Collins Professor Richard Overy The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural
600–1449 1914–present History is the most visited natural history
Honorary Fellow, School of History, Classics, Professor of History, University of Exeter, UK museum in the world and the most visited
and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK museum in the Smithsonian complex.
1 2 3 4
8MYA–3000BCE 3000–700BCE 700BCE–599CE 600–1449

010 HUMAN 022 EARLY 042 THE 106 TRADE &


ORIGINS CIVILIZATIONS CLASSICAL AGE INVENTION

Features Features Features Features


014 Colonizing the Planet 028 The Story of Writing 048 Ancient Greece 122 The Vikings
020 Prehistoric Peoples 032 Ancient Empires 054 The Story of 134 The Islamic World
Metalworking
038 Ancient Egypt 144 The Aztecs, Incas,
064 The Story of Money and Maya
074 The Rise of the 154 The Story of Printing
Roman Empire
084 Ancient Rome
096 Classical Trade

CONTENTS
5 6 7 8
164 REFORMATION 254 THE AGE 338 TECHNOLOGY 468 DIRECTORY
& EXPLORATION OF REVOLUTION & SUPERPOWERS

Features Features Features Categories


172 Voyages of Exploration 262 European Nation States 344 The Great War 476 Rulers and Leaders
182 The Story of Astronomy 274 The Story of Steam Power 350 Soviet Propaganda 478 History in Figures
190 Edo Period 282 The Story of Medicine 354 World War I 480 Wars
198 Mughal Empire 290 American Indians 364 The Story of Flight 480 Explorers
204 The Renaissance 298 The Story of Electricity 374 The Story of 482 Inventions and
Communication Discoveries
216 The Story of Arms 310 American Civil War
and Armor 388 War in Europe 483 Philosophy and Religion
316 The Qing Dynasty
230 The Rise and Fall of 394 War in the Pacific 485 Culture and Learning
324 The Imperial World
the Ottoman Empire
332 The Story of the Car 402 World War II 488 Disasters
238 The Story of Navigation
412 The Space Race
250 The Story of Agriculture
422 End of Empire
428 The Story of Genetics
442 Collapse of the USSR 490 Glossary
452 The European Union 494 Index
466 Global Economy 510 Acknowledgments
Forewor d
Like many people, my early exploration, and commerce. This is
enthusiasm for history focused an exhilarating and comprehensive
on particular dates and events: account of human creativity as
1588 and the defeat of the Spanish much as its destructiveness, of
Armada; the battle of Waterloo in discovery and understanding as
1815; the fall of Constantinople well as natural disasters and
in 1453. Some had personal human folly. Spectacularly
connections: July 1, 1916, when illustrated and succinctly explained,
my grandfather, serving as an key events in history from the first
artilleryman, lost several of his beginnings of agriculture to the
closest friends on the first day most recent astrophysical
of the Somme offensive. discoveries are laid out along what is
From the earliest times, history probably the most comprehensive
was cast as a grand chronicle timeline ever assembled.
of events and actions, the work of No less exciting for me in helping
often larger-than-life protagonists, to compose this book and to choose
and was intended to enthrall and from all facets of human history
capture the imagination in the to build up the timeline, is the
same way as a great novel. But contribution that History Year by Year
during the 20th century, academic makes to an understanding of global
historians grew skeptical about the history. Throughout the book, events,
“history of the event.” Most often discoveries, and achievements
the events were battles, treaties, occurring in Europe and North
and political struggles, a narrative America are set against the equally
that excluded the lives of the momentous and significant events
great majority of men, women, in the Mideast and East Asia, India,
and children. In reaction to this, Africa, or South America and the
historians focused on cultural, Pacific Rim. This is a history that
social, and economic continuities, stimulates awareness of a wider
looking for their evidence in world by placing events from
everyday objects, trading records, across that world side by side
accounts of childhood and old age. and reminding us that progress
The result was certainly a richer and discovery, feats of social
and more diverse account of human organization, and challenges to a
experience, but one that often left political status quo are no monopoly
little sense of change over time. of the Western world, but as likely to
As the present book shows, history originate in India or Egypt as in
constructed on a timeline does not France and Spain.
have to be a narrow account of war The design of this book offers a
and conquest, treaties and treason. unique opportunity to appreciate a
All of these feature here, but so global history of mankind in all its
do the dates of intellectual and facets. I hope that you enjoy reading
technological innovations, the History Year by Year and using it as a
creation of key works of art, crucial reference as much as we enjoyed
shifts in patterns of agriculture, planning and writing it.

DAVID PARROTT
University of Oxford

Lost city of the Incas


Perched 7,970 ft (2,430 m) above sea level,
in the Peruvian Andes, the Inca citadel of
Machu Picchu was probably constructed in
the 15th century, and abandoned in the 16th.
1
HUMAN
ORIGINS
8 MYA–3000 BCE
Our earliest ancestors lived in Africa almost eight million
years ago. Over seven million years later, we appeared and
developed the skills—including sophisticated toolmaking
and agriculture—that allowed us to colonize the world.
8–4.5 MYA 4.5–2 MYA 2 –1.8 MYA 1.8–1.6 MYA

Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania is a site of great archaeological significance and is sometimes referred
to as the “Cradle of Mankind.” At least two species of early hominins are associated with this area.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEVERAL DIFFERENT and still lived partially in trees. ULTIMATELY, THE
HUMANS AND OTHER APES DNA AUSTRALOPITHECINE species Their brains were about the size PARANTHROPINES’ WAY OF LIFE
and blood proteins suggest that lived in Africa between 4.2 and of those of modern chimpanzees, was unsuccessful and they became Boxgrove
Swanscombe
our lineage separated from that 2 MYA. Although they walked on but some australopithecines seem extinct after about 1.2 MYA , while 0.95 MYA Mauer
of the chimpanzees between two legs most of the time, they to have used tools. The earliest their cousins Homo habilis and Steinheim
Atapuerca
8 and 6 million years ago (MYA). were rather small and apelike stone tools come from Ethiopia H. rudolfensis survived. These Tautavel 1.2 MYA EUROPE
Only a few fossil specimens date and date to 2.6 MYA , but bones early Homo species were not very Ceprano
Isernia
to this time: Sahelanthropus with cut marks made by stone different from australopithecines. la Pineta Petralona
Dmanisi
Kocabas
tchadensis (7–6 MYA), Orrorin tools have been found associated It was with Homo ergaster (1.8
with Australopithecus afarensis MYA) that our ancestors started Ubeidiya
1.7 MYA

7 MYA
nearby, and date to 3.4 MYA. The to look much more familiar.
australopithecines’ descendants H. ergaster was tall and slender,
PROBABLY
followed two distinct modes of and may have been the first MORE THAN
life: members of the genus hominin (a term used to describe 1.8 MYA
THE TIME Paranthropus had huge jaws humans and their ancestors) Bodo
and big teeth for eating tough without much body hair. Their
WHEN vegetable foods; meanwhile, Homo brains were larger than those of
AFRICA
Konso-Gardula

THE FIRST Lake Turkana Koobi Fora


rudolfensis and H. habilis seem to their ancestors, and they lost the
Olorgesailie
have eaten more protein, using last of their adaptations to Olduvai Gorge
HUMAN tools to get at the protein-rich tree-climbing to become fully
ANCESTOR marrow inside long-bones by adapted to walking and running.
scavenging from carnivore kills.
APPEARS
tugenensis (6.1–5 MYA), and OLDOWAN TOOL NOT LONG AFTER THE
two species of Ardipithecus, APPEARANCE of Homo ergaster,
kadabba (5.8–5.2 MYA) and hominins expanded their range
ramidus (4.4 MYA). While all beyond Africa for the first time.
of these species seem to A species called H. georgicus
have walked on two legs appeared in Dmanisi, Georgia, by
like us, it is not certain 1.7 MYA . Another close relative of
whether any were actual Homo ergaster, Homo erectus,
ancestors of humans. lived in China and Indonesia
Because species are ACHEULEAN TOOL perhaps not long afterward.
constantly evolving, and Some archaeologists believe that
individuals of those species TOOLS earlier groups of hominins may
can vary, it is difficult to tell also have left Africa, as some of
from isolated and often poorly Many animal species use natural objects as tools, but the the skulls from Dmanisi and from
preserved fossils which species manufacture of stone tools is unique to hominins. The earliest are the much later site of Liang Bua
they should be assigned to, or how simply sharp flakes broken off stone cobbles by striking them with in Flores, Indonesia, (currently
Lucy
these are related to one another. a “hammerstone.” These are known as “Oldowan” tools, after known as Homo floresiensis)
This unusually complete skeleton
However, these fossils do tell us of Australopithecus afarensis, Olduvai Gorge, where they were first found. Later tools, such as resemble those of Homo habilis
a great deal about what the last discovered in Kenya in 1974, was Acheulean handaxes, required more skill. Our manufacture of tools and Homo rudolfensis.
common ancestor we shared named after the Beatles’ song might be one explanation for the evolution of the human brain. Living farther north would have
with chimpanzees was like. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” required a different way of life

t
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12 A .
1.6–0.35 MYA 350,000–160,000 YA

,,
,,
ALL LIVING HUMANS DESCENDED
FROM COMMON ANCESTORS WHO LIVED
IN AFRICA LESS THAN 200,000 YEARS AGO.
Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist, from I Have Landed: The End of
a Beginning in Natural History, 2002

ACHEULEAN HANDAXES made by While Homo Erectus continued


Homo ergaster and H. erectus were to thrive in Asia, Homo antecessor
produced across most of Africa had appeared as far west as
and Eurasia, and demonstrate the northern Spain and Italy by 1.2 MYA.
ability to learn complex skills Marks on their bones at the site of
1.6–1.3 MYA Zhoukoudian from one another and pass them Atapuerca in Spain suggest they
Hexian down over generations. To make practiced cannibalism. However,
ASIA Nanjing
Lantian Yunxian these tools, knappers had to think these early colonists may not
several steps ahead in order to have thrived in these unfamiliar
select a suitable stone and to landscapes, as very few sites are
prepare and place each strike. known. By 600,000 years ago,
Handaxes were used for a wide a new hominin species, Homo
Narmada range of activities, including heidelbergensis, had spread
1.5–1 MYA butchery, but they might also have much more widely across Europe.
been important for personal or H. heidelbergensis seems to have
group identity, demonstrating been a good hunter, or at least a
their makers’ strength and skill. proficient scavenger. Burying the dead
BY AROUND 350,000 YEARS AGO, Neanderthals often disposed
Trinil
Sangiran Mojokerto
while Homo erectus continued to of their dead with care. Some
Ngandong Australopithecines Homo heidelbergensis
hold sway over eastern Asia, were buried in graves, as here
KEY
28 cubic inches 73 cubic inches at Kebara Cave in Israel, which
Site of fossil finds (461 cubic cm) (1,204 cubic cm) Homo heidelbergensis in Europe dates to 60,000 BCE.
More likely route and Western Asia had evolved into
Less likely route Paranthropines Homo neanderthalensis.
32 cubic inches
(517 cubic cm) Neanderthals were stockier and their throat and voice-box anatomy
Hominins beyond Africa Homo neanderthalensis
stronger than modern humans, suggests that a Neanderthal
Our earliest ancestors evolved in Homo habilis 87 cubic inches
Africa. Possible dispersal routes (1,426 cubic cm) and their brains were as large language may have been limited
Homo rudolfensis
from Africa are shown on this map, 40 cubic inches or even larger, although shaped compared to that of humans, they
with dates referring to the earliest (648 cubic cm) slightly differently. Neanderthals must have communicated in some
fossils known from each region. Homo erectus were almost certainly very fashion, perhaps by combining a
Homo ergaster Homo sapiens accomplished hunters. They were less complex form of vocalization
to life in the African savanna. 59 cubic inches 90 cubic inches also highly skilled at making with expressive miming.
(969 cubic cm) (1,478 cubic cm)
The climate was cooler and stone tools and heavy thrusting

200,000
environments were more spears with which they tackled
seasonal, with significant HOMININ BRAIN SIZES even large and dangerous animal
variation in food resources prey, such as horses and bison.
over the course of a year. Humans have a disproportionately large brain for a primate of However, despite burying their
Fewer edible plants meant their size, but archaeologists disagree about how and why this dead—which may have indicated THE NUMBER
that hominins would have had expansion happened. Switching to fatty and calorific foods such ceremonial practices or belief in
to rely more on harder-to-find as bone marrow and meat may have “powered” brain growth, and an afterlife—Neanderthals do not OF YEARS THE
and fiercely competed-for
animal protein for food. They
also demanded more complex tools and effective hunting and
foraging skills. Social skills were also a part of this process, as
seem to have created more than
the most limited art or used any
NEANDERTHAL
needed to move over greater increasing group cooperation and pair-bonding were necessary symbols, as all modern humans DOMINATED
distances and work together to
share resources and information
to sustain the longer periods of childhood that infants needed
for their larger brains to develop.
do. Whether or not they spoke in a
similar way to modern humans is
EUROPE AND
to survive in these regions. also difficult to establish. Although WESTERN ASIA
s ce
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A F tus oa ka Fir denc re vid cor ag
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8 MYA —3 0 0 0 BCE HUMAN ORIGINS

A
COLONIZING THE R
I
C

PLANET
THE SPREAD OF MODERN HUMANS ACROSS THE WORLD
T
H
A
M

Clovis
R
22,000
Skeletal and DNA evidence suggests that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved

O
YEARS AGO
12,000
in Africa and then spread across the globe. The first traces of modern

N
YEARS AGO
Meadowcroft
humans beyond Africa come from fossils in Israel and possibly from stone Buttermilk Creek
tools found in Arabia. They date to before 100,000 years ago. Cactus Hill

Homo sapiens’ colonization of the globe involved many stops, starts, and sometimes retreats, as well
as waves of different groups of people in some areas. Homo sapiens may have moved into Eurasia
via the Mediterranean coast of western Asia, spreading into Western Europe by 35,000 years ago
(YA). Archaeological evidence suggests that people may also have taken a “southern route”
across Arabia into southern Asia. There may also have been movement eastward, perhaps
much earlier, as stone tools have been found in India from 77,000 YA and Malaysia from
70,000 YA. Some possible Homo sapiens finds from southern China are dated to 68,000 YA
(Liujiang), and even 100,000 YA (Zhirendong). However, these finds remain controversial, and
most scholars favor later dates here. In Australia, widespread colonization probably did
not occur until 45,000 YA, though some sites have been dated to as early as 60,000 YA.
Farther north, Homo sapiens first spread across northern Eurasia around 35,000YA.
However, they may have retreated during the last Ice Age, and not recolonized the
region until after 14,000–13,000 YA. Genetically, the North American colonists are likely AT L A N T I C
to have originated in East Asia. They probably traveled across the plain of “Beringia”—
now beneath the Bering Straits between Siberia and Alaska, but exposed by low sea OCEAN

S O U
levels at the height of the last Ice Age. Distinctive “Clovis” spear points (flaked on both
sides) are found across North America around 12,000 YA, so modern humans were
widespread at that point, but earlier sites are also known, including South American
sites such as Monte Verde (15,500–15,000 YA).

T H
NORTH AMERICA
ASIA PA C I F I C
OCEAN
3000 BCE
A

Philippine Hawaiian Pedra


Islands Islands
Furada
M

2500 BCE
500 BCE –1 CE
E

500 BCE
Borneo
New
R

Guinea 400–1200 CE
1500 BCE
Samoan
I C

1400–750 BCE Islands


Fiji

AUSTRALIA
A

1250 CE

NEW PA C I F I C
ZEALAND
OCEAN

LATE ARRIVALS Tracking language


The islands of Oceania were some of the last parts of the The spread of languages can
often be tracked to reflect the
globe to be colonized, via the Philippines, by movement of people. This map
Austronesian-speaking early farmers from Taiwan. The shows the spread of Austronesian Monte Verde
more remote northern and eastern islands of Micronesia speakers across Oceania. Earlier
settlers were already present in
and Polynesia remained uninhabited until after 700 CE, some western areas. 15,000–11,000
and New Zealand was populated as late as 1250 CE. YEARS AGO

14
13,000 YEARS AGO
Bering Straits
C O LO N I Z I N G T H E P L A N E T
Swan Point 14,000 YEARS AGO

Bluefish Caves Ushki Lake


Tuluaq Hill
(Sluiceway-
Tuluaq complex) KEY
General direction
Berelekh of Homo sapiens
around the world
Yana
Site of early
Ust-Mil Homo sapiens
Diuktai

35,000
YEARS AGO

Kara-Bom
Tianyuan 32,000
42,000 YEARS AGO
31,000 YEARS AGO
YEARS AGO
E U R O P E
Trou Magrite Yamashita-Cho
Paviland Cave
Höhlenstein-Stadel Kostienki
Kent's Cavern
Vindija Cave 45,000 YEARS AGO A S I A
Arcy-sur-Cure Korolevo I

PA
Saint Césaire Istállöskö
El Castillo Le Piage
Pestera cu Oase
Riparo Mochi

CI
Cueva Morín
Gato Preto 40,000

FI
El Pendo Bacho 77,000–45,000 YEARS AGO Liujiang
YEARS AGO
Kiro

C
Gorham's Cave Abríc Romaní
Temnata Uçagizli Magara Zhirendong
Cova Beneito Cave

OC
Jebel Irhoud Ksar Akil
Skhul Qafzeh

EA
100,000
YEARS AGO

N
Jebel Faya

Jwalapuram Matenkupkum, Balof 2,


and Panakiwuk

A F R I C A Kota Tampan Niah Caves Huon Peninsula

INDIAN
160,000 YEARS AGO
Herto OCEAN
Omo Kibish

1.7 MYA Temperate grassland,


mediterranean shrubland
Malakunanja
Nawalabila I

Riwi and
Carpenter's Gap
Ngarrabulgan

A
TIME

Puritjarra
LI
40,000 YA 45,000
A

Temperate forest, YEARS AGO


Blombos Cave boreal forest, tundra
R

Klasies
River Mouth 7 MYA Tropical and subtropical Upper Swan
dry broadleaf forest, savanna
T

Allen's Cave Cuddie


Devil's Springs
Lair
S

Going global Changing environments


Skeletal and genetic evidence suggests that modern humans The ancient ancestors of modern humans
U

originated in Africa and spread across the globe from there, evolved in the African tropics. Over time, as Lake Mungo
as reflected on this map. This is called the “Out of Africa” human species evolved larger brains and
A

theory. An alternative “multiregional” theory suggests that developed more advanced skills and behavior, Kow Swamp
Homo sapiens evolved simultaneously in many different parts they became better equipped to deal with the Willandra Lakes
of the world, from ancestors who had left Africa much earlier. challenges of new environments.

15
160,000–45,000 YA 45,000–35,000 YA 35,000–28,000 YA

These cave paintings from Lascaux, France, date to around 17,000 years ago. Most cave paintings are from a similar
period, though some were created by the earliest Homo sapiens to arrive in western Europe, around 32,000 years ago.

IN AFRICA, HOMININ FOSSILS


gradually began to reveal the
characteristic skeletal traits of
HUMANS SPREAD RAPIDLY
across Europe and Asia. In
Europe, modern humans
Flores date to less than 38,000
years ago, and seem to represent
specialized, extremely small
,, THE
NEANDERTHALS
Homo sapiens from around
400,000 YA: smaller brow ridges,
appeared in Turkey from 40,000 YA,
and in western Europe shortly
forms of Homo erectus, or
perhaps even the descendants
WERE NOT
higher and rounder skulls, and afterward. In Asia, fossils of Homo of earlier hominins. More APE-MEN…
chins. DNA analysis of living
humans suggests that the
sapiens in Indonesia and China
date to at least 42,000 YA, and the
evidence comes from Denisova
Cave in Russia—DNA analysis
THEY WERE
common ancestor of all living sea crossing to Australia of bones found here reveals AS HUMAN AS
humans (known as Mitochondrial occurred before 45,000 YA. These genetic material distinct from US, BUT THEY
REPRESENTED
Eve) lived in Africa around dates suggest that the earliest that of both modern humans and

,,
200,000 YA. An Ethiopian fossil modern humans in Asia may Neanderthals, dated to around
A DIFFERENT

250,000
have encountered groups of 40,000 YA. It seems increasingly
Prepared core and flake
Homo erectus, who survived in
China until at least 40,000 years
likely that several groups
descended from hominins who BRAND OF
Neanderthals and other hominins
prepared a stone core before ago. In Indonesia the picture left Africa before Homo sapiens HUMANITY.
YEARS AGO
striking off a sharp flake to use. was even more complicated. may have coexisted in Eurasia
In Europe this technology is Fossils found on the island of at this time. Chris Stringer and Clive Gamble, from
known as the “Mousterian.” In Search of the Neanderthals, 1993
WHEN HOMO
SAPIENS FIRST time and, in such harsh conditions,
complex modern language and
IN EUROPE, MODERN HUMANS
overlapped with Neanderthals,
APPEARED symbolism would have allowed who survived until at least 30,000
groups to exchange resources years ago. How and why
and information with one Neanderthals died out is one of
skull from 160,000 YA is almost another, which could have made the most intensely debated topics
modern in shape; this has been the difference between survival in archaeology. There is little
identified as a subspecies of and extinction. However, others evidence of violent interactions
modern humans, Homo sapiens argue that the impact of the between the species, and
idaltu. Humans moved north into eruption of Mount Toba has been comparison of DNA increasingly
Western Asia some time before exaggerated, and that archaeology suggests that there may have
100,000 YA, but they do not seem in Africa suggests complex hunting been some exchange of mating
to have stayed there for long. practices and the development of HOMO SAPIENS NEANDERTHAL partners between the groups.
It is debated whether uniquely symbolism even before this. Early humans may have
human behaviors such as It is not clear when modern MODERN HUMANS AND NEANDERTHALS outcompeted their relatives for
language and the ability to use humans first spread into Eurasia. food and raw materials in the
symbols evolved before or after Some researchers argue they left Neanderthal skulls (right) were about the same size as rapidly changing environmental
modern human anatomy. One Arabia before 74,000 YA. Others anatomically modern human skulls (left), but they had lower, conditions. Environments at the
theory is that such behaviors say the major migration occurred more sloping foreheads and a double arch of bone over their time were highly unstable, so
became vital only after 74,000 YA, later, 50,000 YA, and via western eyes that created heavy brow ridges. Their lower faces jutted even a slight increase in
when the massive eruption of Asia, after developing a new form out and they did not have chins. Overall, Neanderthal skeletons competition could have been
Mount Toba in Indonesia triggered of stone-tool technology that reveal that they were much more muscular than modern humans, significant. However, populations
a global “volcanic winter.” DNA involved producing long, thin flint as well as being extremely physically active and well-adapted were small and spread out, and
analysis suggests that many “blades,” which probably formed to cold climates. coexisted for up to 10,000 years
human groups died out at this part of composite tools. in Europe, and more than 30,000

YA an
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16
28,000–21,000 YA 21,000–18,000 YA 18,000–12,000 YA

AT L A N T I C
O C E A N
in Indonesia. Alternatively, the PAC I F I C IN EUROPE, SOPHISTICATED BONE and art objects may have helped
O C E A N
exchange of resources and and antler points, needles, and establish group identities and
I N D I A N
information allowed by modern O C E A N harpoons characterize the territories, as the number of
humans’ language and symbol “Magdalenian” technologies that archaeological sites in this period
use, and their planned and were used to hunt a wide range of suggests that populations were
flexible technologies made species, especially reindeer. growing, and competition for rich
Homo sapiens better able to The Magdalenian (18,000– and localized resources may have
withstand climatic downturns THE MAXIMUM EXTENT OF THE LAST ICE AGE 12,000 YA) is famous for its been intensifying.
than Neanderthals. beautiful art objects, engravings, A rise in temperature led to the
Others believe that these European climates after 23,000 BCE grew steadily cooler, and and cave paintings. There are many retreat of the ice sheets that had
behaviors were not unique to during the “Last Glacial Maximum” (21,000–18,000 YA), ice caps theories about what these mean covered northern Europe, and
modern humans. Hominins covered most of northern Europe. Farther south, huge areas of and why they were produced. As these areas were rapidly
would have needed to use rafts grassland with few trees offered good hunting for groups of most depict animals that were recolonized, with groups
or boats to reach the island of humans able to survive the cold. hunted, the paintings may expanding as far north as Siberia
Flores in Indonesia by 800,000 YA . represent a magical means of by around 14,000–13,000 YA. Some
Some late Neanderthal sites ensuring hunting success, or groups later moved on into Alaska
also contain elements of THE “GRAVETTIAN” CULTURE OF AT THE HEIGHT OF THE GLACIAL show information about the best and the Americas. Farther east, in
technologies normally associated Europe and Russia (28,000– Maximum, when the ice caps ways to hunt different species. China and in the Jomon culture of
with Homo sapiens, although it is 21,000 YA) is known for its were at their maximum extent, Paintings of imaginary half-human, Japan, some of the first pots
possible that Neanderthals may elaborate sites, which often have people living in more northerly half-animal creatures and the manufactured from clay appeared
have copied, traded with, or even complex structures and burials, and mountainous areas retreated inaccessibility of some cave art between 18,000 and 15,000 YA.
stolen from modern humans. as well as large amounts of shell to “refuge” areas such as—in suggest that painting may have
A combination of environmental jewelry, and sculpted bone and Europe—northern Spain and been a magical or ritual activity, Altamira cave paintings
unrest and increased competition antler. Also found at Gravettian southwest France, where this perhaps practiced by shamans This Paleolithic cave painting
is currently considered to be the sites are some of the earliest period is known as the “Solutrean.” or during initiation or religious of bison was discovered at the
most likely explanation for known clay objects, including some Globally, many groups probably ceremonies. Alternatively, paintings Altamira cave site in Spain.
Neanderthal extinction. of the famous “Venus” figurines. died out, but some held on in
These may have been fertility or more sheltered regions. To survive
religious charms, or part of a the harsh conditions, much time
system of exchange between and effort was invested in hunting.
EURO P E social networks across the region Weapons include beautifully
as the Ice Age intensified. worked points known as “leaf-
AT L A N T I C points.” Although little evidence
OCEAN
“Venus” statuette survives beyond finely worked
Me This figurine bone needles, people probably
dit
er
ra
from Willendorf, developed sophisticated clothing
ne Austria depicts
an to keep them warm. Perhaps
Se a stylized pregnant
a more importantly, hunters
or obese female
KEY Neanderthal sites figure. would have worked hard to
Modern human sites predict and intercept the
movements of herds of large
Neanderthal and human ranges
Modern humans and Neanderthals animals, ensuring the
exaggerated
coexisted for several thousand belly hunting success that was
years. Sites appear to show evidence the difference between life
of interaction between the groups. and death.

ve ian he YA
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17
10,000–3000 BCE

Megalithic (large stone) architecture was used for monumental tombs in Neolithic Europe. Developments around
3300 CE included the construction of stone circles, such as this example at Castlerigg in northern England.

6700- Settled communities lived here productivity. Farming was were domesticated in the Yellow
6400 BCE by 7000 BCE, including the therefore a choice that people River valley and rice in the Yangzi
Chinchorro, who created made, increasing local valley in China, from where they
7500-
6700 BCE the world’s first mummies productivity, often at the cost of spread through East and Southeast
(see panel, opposite). increasing work and risk. Their Asia. In Africa, other millets and
8500- Another area with reasons for farming may have African rice were domesticated
7500 BCE favorable conditions included extending their period of after 3000 BCE. In the Americas,
9600- was West Asia. Here, residence in a settled village, corn was the principal cereal.
8500 BCE vegetation included wild providing extra food for feasting or However, although it was cultivated
cereals that could be to support a growing population, by 6000 BCE, it was not until
13,000- stored, sustaining and boosting the supply of 2000 BCE that corn was sufficiently
9600 BCE communities throughout the preferred or declining foodstuffs. productive to support permanently Lepinski Vir "fish god"
Abundant fish supported a settled
year when Cereals were common staples of settled villages. Legumes and hunter-gatherer village on the
Population density supplemented early agriculture. Wheat and barley vegetables were grown alongside Danube in Serbia. Its inhabitants
The population in western Asia grew by other wild were domesticated in West Asia, cereals in many parts of the world. carved fish-human sculptures,
rapidly from 13,000 to 6400 BCE. foods such as spreading into North Africa, Tubers, such as manioc and probably representing gods.
gazelle. A period Europe, and Central and South yams, and treecrops were
AS STEEPLY RISING TEMPERATURES of cold, arid Asia. Broomcorn and foxtail millet cultivated in moist tropical only the Andes had animals
between 12,700 and 10,800 BCE conditions from regions, beginning at an early date suitable for domestication:
melted the northern ice sheets, 10,800 to 9600 BCE in the New Guinea highlands and guineapigs, llamas, and alpacas.
global sea levels rose, lakes led to a steep the rainforests of Central America Birds, particularly chickens,
formed, and rainfall increased, and northern South America. ducks, and turkeys, were also kept
promoting the Domestic sheep, goats, pigs,
spread of forests and cattle were raised across
and grasslands Eurasia and Africa, initially just for
and providing new meat. However, in the Americas
opportunities for
hunter-gatherer
communities.
Coastal areas decline in the availability of wild
drowned by rising sea levels were cereals. This prompted some
rich sources of aquatic foods, as West Asian villagers to turn to
were lakes and rivers. Grasslands cultivation, planting cereals.
sustained large herds of animals, Agriculture began in many
while forest margins provided parts of the world at different
abundant plant foods and game. times, using local resources. holes bored
Most hunter-gatherers moved Domesticated plants and animals into skull
seasonally to exploit the spread by trade between
resources of different areas, but neighboring groups and when bone and antler
particularly favored places such farming communities colonized lightened by
as river estuaries could support new areas. Agriculture was not a scraping
people year round. One such discovery: hunter-gatherers had a Star Carr deer cap
region was coastal Peru and Chile, deep knowledge of the plants and This skull cap from a hunter-
where the cold Humboldt current animals on which they depended, gatherer site in England may have
provides especially rich fisheries. and often took actions to increase been used in hunting rituals.

es ,
pid n uc rh e ed
Ra st s:
i
od , nd
s tle ga at at s
BC
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p 90 in C n of spor goa gs 5
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18 tem by M
by Old and New World farmers. By
5000 BCE cattle, sheep, and goats
,, THE NEOLITHIC WAS… A POINT
IN A CONTINUOUS STORY OF
CHINCHORRO MUMMIES

,,
were raised for milk as well as
meat, while cattle were used to
pull plows, enabling people to
GREATER ECONOMIC CONTROL The earliest mummies come
not from Egypt, but from
cultivate much larger areas. OVER RESOURCES... FROM coastal northern Chile, an
Wool-bearing sheep were bred in SCAVENGING TO... FARMING. arid region where natural
West Asia in the 4th millennium mummies occur from
BCE, and rapidly spread into Clive Gamble, from Origins and revolutions: human identity in earliest 7000 BCE. After 5000 BCE the
Europe and Central Asia. The use prehistory, 2007 Chinchorro began artificial
of pack animals such as llamas mummification. They removed
and donkeys allowed long- modeled animal heads. Native (naturally occurring pure) the flesh, reassembled and
distance transport. After 7000 BCE farmers spread copper and gold were being reinforced the skeleton, stuffed
Agriculture was more productive from Turkey into southeast shaped into small objects by cold the skin with plant material,
than foraging and could support and central Europe, while hammering before 8000 BCE in coated it in clay, and painted
larger communities. Settled life Mediterranean hunter-gatherers West Asia. Around 7000 BCE, ores it with black manganese or
also encouraged population gradually turned to agriculture, were smelted here to extract red ocher. Only some
growth. Many early farming using imported West Asian crops metal and by 6000 BCE copper and individuals, particularly
villages in West Asia grew to and animals. By 3500 BCE most of lead were also cast. Metals were children, were mummified.
a considerable size. Most Europe had adopted farming. initially made into small personal
remarkable was Çatalhöyük in Megaliths—stone chambered objects that could enhance
Turkey, occupied around 7400– tombs of which a wide variety were prestige and status. Later, network developed that emerging in Elam (southwest
6200 BCE, which housed as many built, often with earthen mounds— however, copper began to be used stretched from Egypt through Iran) and Egypt. Before 3000 BCE
as 8,000 people. Its tightly packed were constructed in western and for tools, and by 4200 BCE copper West Asia to the mountainous all three regions developed
houses were entered from the northern Europe from the early 5th ores containing arsenic were borderlands of South Asia, with writing systems, used to
roof by ladders, and were millennium BCE. Most housed the deliberately selected to produce a towns controlling sources of record and manage economic
decorated with paintings and bones of a number of individuals. harder metal. The addition of tin materials and strategic points transactions and the ownership
created a stronger alloy, bronze, along the routes. Sumer of property. The earliest known
which was in use in West Asia (southern Mesopotamia) was at pictographic writing, around
by 3200 BCE. the forefront of this development, 3300 BCE, comes from Uruk in
ASIA
The development of water- but social, religious, economic, Sumer, a huge and complex
NORTH
EUROPE
control techniques enabled West and political complexity was also settlement that is deservedly
AMERICA 4000 BCE
7000 BCE 8000 BCE Asian farmers to colonize the known as the world’s first city.
2500 BCE 9000 BCE 9000 BCE
6500 BCE 6000 BCE
southern Mesopotamian plains,
4500 BCE
8000 BCE 6500 BCE Copper ax heads
7000 BCE where agriculture depended Gold and copper were the
6000 BCE 2500 BCE entirely on irrigation but was first metals to be worked.
AFRICA 7000 BCE
7000 BCE SOUTH highly productive. By the mid 4th They became widespread
6000 BCE AMERICA
5000 BCE millennium BCE, this region was in Europe around
AUSTRALASIA 2500 BCE.
densely populated, and villages
KEY
were developing into towns, with
Livestock Other
craft specialists. There was a
Cereals Areas with agriculture
growing demand for raw
The spread of agriculture materials, including metal
Humans began to cultivate plants and manage animals independently, ores, which often came from
in different areas at different times, across the world. distant sources. A trading

g
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19
8 MYA –3 0 0 0 BCE HUMAN ORIGINS

colorful
minerals define
geometric hole for
facial features
design cord

reed
framework geometric,
coated in abstract
thick plaster pattern

finely detailed
engraving

Pottery shard Human figurine Schist plaque Engraved bone


4000 BCE • ROMANIA 6750–6500 BCE • JORDAN 4000 BCE • PORTUGAL 13,000–8000 BCE • FRANCE
Different cultures can be identified This large statue from Ain Ghazal It is unclear what Neolithic engraved Paleolithic artists often carved as well
by their unique ways of decorating is one of several from sites in plaques, like this one from Alentejo, as painted their depictions of animals,
objects—this shard is typical of the the Near East that may have symbolized, but they seem to have as with this scene of a bison being
Cucuteni-Tripolye culture. represented ancestors or gods. been made for burial with the dead. chased, from Laugerie-Basse.

PREHISTORIC PEOPLES
EARLY HUMANS ARE DEFINED BY THE RAW MATERIALS THEY USED TO FASHION TOOLS, WEAPONS, AND ORNAMENTS

Prehistory is traditionally divided into the Stone, Bronze, carefully carved antler
sharpened tip setting
and Iron ages, but many other kinds of raw materials
such as wood, hide, and plant fibers were also used in
early technologies. Little evidence of these survives.
leather or
In addition to being functional aids to survival and subsistence, the objects sinew binding
made by prehistoric peoples would also have been important in their social
lives. Different groups develop their own ways of manufacturing and
decorating objects, and distinctive designs may become badges of identity
or status symbols. The trade and exchange of objects is another vital way in
which individuals and groups establish social relationships and hierarchies.
flint head
set into
scars where wooden
blades chipped sleeve
long, thin
from core
blade

remains of
flaked cobble

reproduced
Oldowan tool Blades and core wooden handle
2.6–1.7 MYA • AFRICA 100,000 BCE ONWARDS • WIDESPREAD
The earliest stone tools were Early modern humans produced uniform,
simple, sharp-edged flakes of narrow blades that would have been fitted
stone, made by striking a stone to wooden and antler handles or held in the
cobble with a hard “hammerstone.” hand, as tools for many different purposes.
thick base is
easy to hold

Flint hand-ax Digging tools with adze heads


Antler harpoon 200,000 BCE • UK 11,660–4000 BCE • EUROPE
8000 BCE • UK barbed head made Hand-axes, such as this one from These Mesolithic adzes were used
This harpoon head is attached to a long from antler Swanscombe, were skillfully made for digging up edible roots or cutting
handle for spearing fish—a key source of food and used for a wide range of activities, wood in the forests that spread across
when sea levels rose as the last Ice Age ended. including woodworking and butchery. Europe after the last Ice Age ended.

20
P R E H I S TO R I C P E O P L E S

Clay burial chest


4000 BCE • NEAR EAST
One Chalcolithic (“copper age”)
burial practice involved leaving
the dead out to decay, then
collecting the bones and placing
excavation
them in clay chests like this one.
damage

Carved spear-thrower
10,500 BCE • FRANCE
Spear-throwers, such as this one from
Montastruc, were often carved into animal
shapes—here, a woolly mammoth made exaggerated
from antler. They enabled hunters to throw features
spears farther and with greater force.

Neolithic flint blade Lespugue Venus


set in reproduction 24,000–22,000 BCE • FRANCE
handle This ivory figurine from Lespugue in Mummified head
the Pyrenees is one of many “Venus” 7000–3000 BCE • PERU
figurines—depicting women who are In very dry climates, bodies can
pregnant or obese, or whose female become mummified. Some of
features are greatly exaggerated. the earliest mummies have
been found in Peruvian deserts.

Bronze Age
sickle
Gold jewelry
gold easily worked
4700–4200 BCE • BULGARIA into decorative
At the cemetery of Varna in animal shapes
Bulgaria, more than 3,000
pieces of some of the earliest
gold jewelry have been found,
mainly buried with elite males. loom
weight

bone
shuttle
soft clay was baked
to preserve design
iron sickle blade

Neolithic seal
Agricultural tools 7500–5700 BCE • ANATOLIA Cloth-making tools
9500 BCE–1834 CE • WIDESPREAD Seals such as this one 6500 BCE • ORIGIN UNKNOWN
First wild and later domesticated from the settlement of From the mid-Neolithic, weaving
cereals were harvested using Çatal Höyük were used became common. Loom weights
sickles like these, until they were during the Neolithic to held vertical threads taut; bone
superseded in most places by the stamp decorative designs shuttles were used to weave
invention of the combine harvester. on to skin or cloth. horizontal threads in and out.

21
2
EARLY
CIVILIZATIONS
3000–700 BCE
This period saw the emergence of complex civilizations.
Communities flourished and trade developed in the fertile
valleys of Egypt, India, western Asia, and China. Europe and
Central and South America also flourished during this time.
3000–2700 BCE

Stonehenge in western Britain was a ceremonial site from around 3100 BCE . An early earth enclosure

50
and a circle of wooden posts were later replaced by the outer circle of stones seen here.

DURING THE LAST HALF OF THE


FOURTH MILLENNIUM BCE, the
world’s first civilizations arose,
THOUSAND The Early Dynastic Period
(c. 3100–2686 BCE) was already
characterized by many of the
made the land fertile. As early
as 8000 BCE, millet had been
cultivated in the area around
first in Western Asia, then North THE POPULATION celebrated aspects of Egyptian Yangshao in Henan Province.
Africa and South Asia. Civilization culture: hieroglyphic writing, a Around c. 2400 BCE, the
also appeared in China in the OF THE CITY OF sophisticated religion (including neighboring Dawenkou culture
early second millennium BCE. By
3000 BCE, the world’s first urban
URUK c. 2800 BCE belief in an afterlife), and
preserving the dead using
developed into the Longshan
culture of Shangdong Province.
culture had begun to develop in mummification. A complex Longshan farmers grew rice
southern Mesopotamia, in what smiths began manufacturing river’s annual flood (known as the hierarchical society developed, after developing irrigation
is now Iraq. The lower Euphrates bronze. The plow had been in inundation) spread black silt along with the king at the apex systems. As in other early
river plains had been farmed use since about 5000 BCE, wheeled its banks. The Egyptian farming accorded semi-divine status. civilizations, agricultural success
from c. 6200 BCE, after the carts from around 3500 BCE, and year began in the fall when the Egyptian kings—later known as allowed the development of an
development of irrigation such advances made farming inundation subsided, and farmers pharaohs—ruled with the help of elaborate society. Chinese
systems—the Greek word more productive. The resulting cultivated wheat, barley, beans, a chief minister, or vizier, regional craftsmen were making bronze
mesopotamia means “land food surplus freed some people and lentils in the fertile soil. governors (nomarchs), and a tools c. 3000 BCE, jade vessels
between the rivers.” By 3500 BCE, from the farming life, allowing By the end of the 4th huge staff of lesser officials c. 2700 BCE, and silk weaving had
farming communities were specialization into professions millennium BCE, farming including priests, tax collectors, begun by 3500 BCE.
growing into towns and then such as priesthood, crafts, trade, communities had evolved into and scribes. The Bronze Age was underway
cities such as Ur, Uruk, and and administration. The world’s two kingdoms: Upper Egypt in In China, civilization originated in western Asia by 3000 BCE, and
Eridu. Over the next 300 years, first tiered society developed, the south and Lower Egypt in in the valleys of eastern rivers possibly considerably earlier. The
each city came to dominate its headed by kings sometimes the north. King Narmer united such as the Huang He (Yellow Bronze Age in Europe seems to
surrounding area, forming a known as lugals. the two kingdoms c. 3100 BCE. River), where the rich loess soil have developed separately from
group of city-states in the land In Egypt, one of the world’s most After Narmer came Menes, around 2500 BCE, using ore
called Sumer in southeast complex ancient civilizations although historians are sources from the Carpathian
Mesopotamia. was forming along the banks of unsure whether Menes Mountains in Central Europe.
Metalworking had begun in the Nile River by 3100 BCE. The was Narmer’s successor This era also saw the
Mesopotamia around 6000 BCE. Nile formed a narrow strip of or a different name for beginnings of the Minoan
Around 3200 BCE, Sumerian cultivatable land, floodplain, as the Narmer himself. Menes civilization on the Greek
is credited with founding island of Crete around
Tigris the Egyptian capital at 2000 BCE, with trading links
s
t ain Memphis and Egypt’s to the nearby Cyclades
o un
M first dynasty. Islands and the wider
r us Euphrate M Zagr
au
s es
op
os M
o
As in Mesopotamia, Mediterranean. In Western
un
T

ota E lam t ai efficient agriculture Europe, the earlier tradition of


m i a Nippur ns
Kish Umma produced prosperity and megalithic tomb building and a
Syrian
Shuruppak Lagash specialism, allowing arts, growing interest in astronomical
an

Desert
a ne

Uruk Ur crafts, engineering, and observation gave rise to a new


Se rra

Persian
t Eridu Gulf early medicine to develop. megalithic tradition of erecting
e

di Arabian Peninsula
Me stone circles, stone rows,
standing stones, and tombs
Ancient cities of Mesopotamia KEY Narmer Palette
Sumer in southern Mesopotamia was the This carved piece of green siltstone including astronomical features.
Extent of Early Dynastic
location of the world’s first urban civilization city-states records the triumph of the legendary These include Newgrange in
from c. 2900 BCE as agricultural success Ancient coastline King Narmer of Upper Egypt over Ireland, Stonehenge in England,
led to a complex society. his enemies. and Carnac in France.

CE
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24
2700–2500 BCE

2.3
MILLION
THE NUMBER OF
BLOCKS USED TO
BUILD THE GREAT
PYRAMID OF GIZA

The three pyramids at Giza were built for the pharaohs Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura between 2575 and 2465 BCE .
They are guarded by the statue of the Sphinx, which may bear the features of King Khafra.

The Indus Valley civilization


began to emerge in South Asia in
the fourth millennium BCE, as flood
control technology developed. By
2600 BCE, the Indus Plain contained
dozens of towns and cities. Of
these, Mohenjo-daro on the
Indus River, and Harappa, to the
northeast, were preeminent, with
populations of around 100,000 and
60,000, respectively.
In Egypt, King Sanakht acceded
to the throne in the year 2686 BCE,
marking the beginning of the Third
dynasty and the Old Kingdom
era—a time of strong, centralized
rule and pyramid-building.
These magnificent monuments
were built as royal tombs. In
Early Dynastic times, kings had
been buried beneath rectangular
mud-brick platforms called
mastabas. Around 2650 BCE, the
Standard of Ur mound—provided the focus for side panels is still a mystery; they resources. This led to conflicts first pyramid, the Step Pyramid of
This boxlike object has two side religious ceremonies, and grain may have formed the soundbox over land and water, and alliances Saqqara, was completed for King
panels—one depicting war, the other was kept in storerooms within the of a lyre. between cities were forged Djoser. Designed by the architect
(shown here) times of peace. temple precincts. From around Arising from the need to keep and broken. Imhotep, it resembled six stone
2500 BCE, some citizens of Ur were economic and administrative The first signs of civilization in mastabas on top of one another.
SOUTHERN MESOPOTAMIA was buried in tombs along with records, the first pictographic the Americas appeared along the Straight-sided pyramids
a patchwork of over 40 city-states, treasures such as the Standard writing developed in Sumer coast of Peru and in the Andes appeared soon after, the greatest
among which Ur, Uruk, Nippur, of Ur. The purpose of its intricate (c. 3300 BCE). Pictographs (pictorial c. 2800 BCE. Andean farmers grew of which were the three pyramids
and Kish were the most important. writing representing a word or potatoes and the cereal quinoa, at Giza. These incredible feats of
Trade flourished using a network phrase) evolved into a script called and raised alpacas and llamas. engineering were constructed not
of rivers and canals, and trade cuneiform c. 2900 BCE, in which There were fishing communities by slaves as was once thought, but
links extended to Anatolia scribes pressed sharpened on the coast, while inland towns by a staff of full-time craftsmen
(modern-day Turkey), Iran, reeds into soft clay to leave became ceremonial centers, and masons supplemented by
and Afghanistan, with grain, wedge-shaped impressions. built around mud-brick temple farmers performing a type of
minerals, lumber, tools, and Southern Mesopotamia platforms. An exceptional example national service during the Nile
vessels traded. The Sumerian became densely populated, is Caral, about 125 miles (200 km) floods. Enormous blocks of stone
population was unique in being putting pressure on natural from Lima and dating from (lower stones of 6–10 tons; higher
predominantly urban. In Ur, c. 2600 BCE. Another, Aspero, had ones of 1–2 tons) were cut from
Uruk, and other centers, people Cuneiform tablet six platform mounds topped by local quarries, hauled on site using
lived in clustered mud-brick Over time, the inventory of signs temples. Cotton was grown in the sleds, and then heaved up ramps,
houses. At the heart of the city, the regularly used in cuneiform script region, and corn was cultivated which grew ever higher as
ziggurat—a terraced temple was greatly reduced. from around 2700 BCE. construction progressed.

d
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E r rt an
26 t 67 uilt ing 648 B 0 B nte ral, l Pe 00 n E ze Po
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(c
25
2500–2350 BCE 2350–2200 BCE

The ruined citadel of Mohenjo-daro was made up of various buildings. It was Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, England, is one of the tallest man-made chalk mounds
built on a platform to guard against flooding of the Indus River. in Europe. These mounds probably had a social or cultural function.

IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 3RD A NEW POWER AROSE IN


BRONZE AGE EUROPE
MILLENNIUM BCE, civilizations Shortughai Hi MESOPOTAMIA c. 2334BCE, King
ma
continued to develop in western la Sargon (c. 2334–2215 BCE) from
ya

s
Indu
Asia, Egypt, and and southern s the northern region of Akkad Bronze-working had begun
Asia, and complex societies were Ropar
defeated Lugalzagesi of Umma to in West Asia c. 3200BCE (see
Ir anian
emerging in China, Europe, and Plateau Harappa
Banawali become the ruler of Sumer. 10,000–3000BCE). It was
South America. Kalibangan Rakhighari Through subsequent campaigns developed by the Únětice

y
lle
In southern Asia, the Indus to the Levant, Syria, and Anatolia, culture of Bohemia and

Va
Nausharo
civilization (see 2700–2500BCE) Sargon carved out the world’s first Poland c. 2500BCE, and

us
Ind
emerged in its mature form Mohenjo-daro empire—the Akkadian Empire— 200 years later had
Z
around 2500BCE, stretching Mo agr stretching from the eastern spread to Italy and the
un os Chanhu-daro
ta
1,060 miles (1,700 km) from east ins Indus Dholavira Mediterranean to the Gulf. Balkans. Bronze
to west and 800 miles (1,300 km) Pe
Sargon’s exploits were recorded provided a hard metal
rs i Lothal
from north to south. The region’s an Sutkagen-dor in several documents, such as the for forging armor,
Gu Kuntasi
prosperity was based on farming, lf Sumerian King List. His name weapons, and tools
Ar a b i a n
mining, crafts, and trade. More Sea means “legitimate king,” which such as this hand ax.
than 100 sites have been Indus civilization KEY led some scholars to believe that The bronze industry
excavated, including the cities Excavations suggest that the Indus Zone of urban civilization he took power through force. also increased trade,
of Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, civilization covered an area far larger than Urban centers Sargon spoke Akkadian, a making Europe more
and Dholovira. Mesopotamia and Egypt combined. Modern coastline Semitic language that replaced interconnected than
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa Sumerian as the official ever before.
were well-planned cities laid such as pottery, bead-making, the surrounding regions in return language of the empire.
out on a grid system. Each city and metalworking. for metal ores, precious stones,
was protected by brick walls
and dominated by a citadel
overlooking a “lower town” of
Indus cities and towns had the
most advanced plumbing system
in the ancient world, with enclosed
and timber. Long-distance trade
routes reached as far as
Mesopotamia and Afghanistan.
,, UNDER HIM
ALL COUNTRIES
grandson, Naram-Sin, extended
the empire, but it lasted for only
four generations before falling
public buildings and residential wells and covered drains. Latrines By around 2500 BCE, an Indus to attacks. Sargon’s rule
town houses of one or two stories. emptied waste into drains, which script of hundreds of signs LAY [CONTENTED] established a practice of
The residential areas ran below the streets. appeared on seals and pottery.
IN THEIR statewide bureaucratic controls

,,
were seemingly These urban centers were also Attempts to decipher the script and standardization in many
divided by industry, connected by extensive trade have failed; hence, many aspects MEADOWS, AND aspects of economic life.
links. Merchants
supplied craft
of this culture remain a mystery.
In western Asia, Mesopotamia
THE LAND In Egypt, this period saw a
weakening of the power of the
products from (see 2700–2500BCE) remained a REJOICED. Old Kingdom rulers (see
the valleys to patchwork of small but powerful 2700–2500BCE), in favor of
city-states, each controlling the Lugalzagesi, king of Sumer, regional governors called
defeated by Sargon c. 2316 BCE
surrounding farmlands where nomarchs, who administered
Agrarian lives barley, legumes, and date palms different parts of the Nile valley
A clay model of were grown. To the west, city- Akkadian rule was enforced and delta. To the south of the first
a bullock cart states were developing in Syria through regional governors who cataract on the Nile, the kingdom
found at Mohenjo-
daro, dating back to and the Levant. A trade network collected tributes and taxes. The of Nubia also grew more
c. 2500–1900 BCE, gives linking Mesopotamian towns empire’s weakness lay in its lack powerful. Nubia was centered
one-piece an insight into farming suggests cooperation between of defensible borders, and it around the city of Kerma at the
cart wheel life in the Indus states, but there was frequent came under regular attacks from third cataract. By the end of
civilization. warfare as well. neighboring hill tribes. Sargon’s the Sixth dynasty (c. 2184 BCE),

s
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26
2200–2000 BCE

Relief sculptures in Egyptian tombs represented everyday life and religious rituals. This carving from
the Sixth dynasty shows boys with sticks, on the left, and youths wrestling, on the right.

the authority of the Egyptian and along the Pacific coast and THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF brought fertility to the Nile Longshan pottery
rulers had steadily eroded. inland valleys. Andean cultures GUTIUM ATTACKED the Akkadian valley. The rule of This elegant pottery tripod
In Western Europe, the Bell were based on farming and Empire c. 2150 BCE. Sumerian Memphis, the capital city pitcher has tapering legs
Beaker culture flourished. herding. Coastal settlements states such as Kish, Ur, and of the Old Kingdom, was and swirling patterns,
characteristic of
Named after the distinctive shape such as Aspero (Peru) were Lagash took the opportunity to overthrown as nomarchs and
the Longshan
of pottery vessels found in unique in their dependence on reassert their independence. nobles seized control of the culture.
graves, this culture emerged by fishing rather than on agriculture. For the next 80 years, the provinces. This ushered in a
c. 2600 BCE in France, Spain, and The coastal people grew cotton for city-states vied for control in time of unrest called the First
the Netherlands. Over the next textiles, and gourds, which were Mesopotamia. In 2112 BCE, Ur Intermediate Period, the first
three centuries, it spread to used as fishing floats. under Ur-Nammu (r. 2112– of the three eras of uncertainty
Germany and Britain. Around 2095 BCE) gained ascendancy. The in Egyptian history. For 140
2300 BCE, bronze technology armies of Ur overran eastern years, kingdoms such as
from Mediterranean regions and Mesopotamia and Elam, and Herakleopolis in central Egypt
from Central Europe started regained much of vied for control with Thebes
to spread northward Sargon’s empire. in the south. In c. 2040 BCE,
along the Rhine and Ur-Nammu founded the the Theban ruler Nebhepetre
Danube. The Third dynasty of Ur, Mentuhotep defeated his
increasingly which witnessed a rivals and united Egypt once
militaristic societies revival of Sumerian more, beginning the start of
used bronze to create power, as well as an what came to be known as the
weapons, triggering artistic and cultural Middle Kingdom.
the appearance of renaissance. Sumerian In China, the Neolithic
small chiefdoms scholars devised a method of Longshan culture (see 3200 BCE)
across Europe. counting, based on units of continued to develop along the been found to confirm the
As populations grew, 60. This system is reflected Yellow River in Shandong existence of a centralized state
competition over land in our modern division of province. According to Chinese in China at this time.
and resources hours into 60 minutes, historical tradition, the first By the end of the 3rd millennium,
intensified. Fields were minutes into 60 seconds, dynasty, Xia (Hsia), was founded Europe’s first civilization was
enclosed, farming and a circle into 360 by Yu the Great. However, no emerging on the Mediterranean
expanded, and boundary degrees. archaeological evidence has island of Crete, which lay at the

100
walls built. Imposing Ur-Nammu also heart of Mediterranean trade
structures such as chalk commissioned the first routes. Known as the Minoan
mounds were constructed ziggurat in Ur—an imposing civilization, it grew prosperous
in many areas. stepped platform topped through trade and farming.
In South America, with a temple. The ziggurats Cretan farmlands produced wheat,
societies continued to later became a characteristic olives, wine, and wool, which could
develop in two distinct of ancient western Asian be easily transported by sea. The
regions: the upland valleys architecture. Minoans also made bronzework,

THOUSAND
and high plains of the Andes, In c. 2181 BCE, Egypt’s Old pottery, and dyes for export. By
Kingdom collapsed following 2000 BCE, Crete was home to
a series of natural disasters, several small kingdoms.
Akkadian warrior king
This bronze cast of an Akkadian including famine. This THE LIKELY
ruler may depict Sargon I or his
grandson, Naram-Sin, who
undermined the authority of
the king, who was believed to
POPULATION
extended Sargon’s empire. secure the annual floods that OF UR c.2100

e , sty ty te
p
Ag pe na th as ho
ze uro dy riod ral ian ou a yn tu ivals
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b b
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em dom
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o d 05 ea cco on d u .
c kk so ag de -N uch uild as 50 Min tion 40 a ne ar M King BC lam nas
22 in at, a aditi rule A Me L in r 2 0 a 2 0 e 4 E dy
c . e tr
U m eb
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20 to
Gr ci
27
3 0 0 0 –7 0 0 BCE E A R LY C I V I L I Z AT I O N S

hieroglyphs
are picture
symbols

Egyptian hieroglyphic and hieratic script


This ancient Egyptian papyrus manuscript shows two forms of
hieratic script reads papyrus, made illustration shows a Egyptian writing: hieratic script (left) and hieroglyphic script
from right to left by pressing priest making an offering (right) above the two figures. Hieroglyphic is an elaborate script
together layers to the god Osiris in which signs take a highly pictorial form, while hieratic is a
of strips of reed simplified version of hieroglyphic for ease of speed and writing.

Prehistory c. 3200 BCE 8th century BCE 100


Pictograms Egyptian hieroglyphs The Greek alphabet The Roman alphabet
Pictures painted on walls Egyptian writing develops The first alphabets, using The Romans adapt the
of caves up to 25,000 100 years after cuneiform. only consonants, develop Greek script to write Latin.
years ago are considered This script begins as a form in the Levant by c. 1150 BCE. Through the Roman Empire,
a precursor to writing, of picture writing, and They include the Phoenician this alphabet spreads across
recording information includes signs for words and alphabet, which spreads to Europe and is used for
that could then be also sounds. It remains in the Greeks through trade, personal as well as official
understood by others. Cave images by Anasazi Indians use until the 4th century CE. who add vowels. Greek wax tablet correspondence.

3300 BCE c. 1900 BCE c. 6th century BCE


Cuneiform Chinese writing Parchment
The first true written The first surviving Chinese Made from dried and
script is developed by the writing appears on oracle processed animal skins,
Sumerians of Mesopotamia. bones, used in divination. parchment becomes a
Writing with a reed stylus This ancient script is still popular medium for writing
creates a wedge-shaped in use today. Chinese script around the 6th century BCE,
impression on tablets of wet involves 50,000 characters taking over from papyrus, a Chinese
clay, which then dry hard. Mesopotamian tablet that stand for words. Chinese paper scroll paper made from reeds. parchment scroll

28
T H E S TO R Y O F W R I T I N G

THE STORY OF
WRITING
FROM CAVE PAINTINGS TO THE DIGITAL AGE, WRITING IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CIVILIZATION

The development of writing was an amazing breakthrough, as it allowed


people to communicate over distance and record information for posterity.
Writing evolved separately in different cultures: in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and
the Indus Valley before 2500 BCE and later in Crete, China, and Mesoamerica.

Some scholars think that prehistoric cave paintings Writing systems can be divided into three types,
featuring images and symbols constitute a form of according to the function of the signs used:
writing. The first true script was developed by the logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic. However,
Sumerians of Mesopotamia (now Iraq) around some scripts make use of two types of signs. In
3300 BCE. Soon, a number of different ancient logographic scripts, each sign stands for a whole
cultures had developed writing, usually to keep word; Chinese writing is an example, although it
economic records or keep track of time. As writing also uses syllabic signs. The drawback is that a very
developed, it was commonly used to reinforce the large number of symbols are needed (Chinese has
authority of rulers. Many early texts, including 50,000 characters). In syllabic scripts, signs stand
Roman mosaic Modern sign
monumental ones in stone, glorify the deeds of for syllables. A smaller but still large number of
kings and attribute their success to divine approval. signs are needed—700 in Babylonian cuneiform. PICTOGRAPHIC SYMBOLS
In alphabetic scripts, each sign stands for a sound.
Far fewer symbols are needed—usually around 26. Pictograms, or picture signs, are an ancient form
of communication. Some scholars do not consider
The first alphabets developed in the Levant between
pictograms to be “true” writing, since the symbols
1450 and 1150 BCE. For years, the spread of writing do not convey the sounds of words in any language.
was limited by the labor involved in hand-copying For example, the pictures above—from a house
texts, but this changed with the invention of in Roman Pompeii dating to 79 CE, and a modern
printing. In the late 20th century, writing became sign—convey the same warning. The symbol
electronic with the invention of word processors. can be read in any language—for instance, as
canis, chien, Hund, or dog. Those words convey
In the 1990s, the spread of information was again
the same idea but reproduce the sounds of different
revolutionized by the arrival of the Internet. languages—Latin, French, German, and English.
Pictograms have limited use but remain
Ancient texts in the digital world widespread, appearing, for example, on street
Nowadays, ancient texts can be viewed digitally.
signs, maps, and clothes labels.
Here, a student examines a digitized page of the Codex
Sinaiticus, handwritten in Greek over 1,600 years ago.

7th century c. 1450 1884 1990–present


Arabic script Invention of printing The fountain pen Text messaging
The Arabic alphabet is In medieval times, the laboriousness The first practical fountain In the 1990s, the first text
used to write down the of copying by hand limits the pen is produced by American messages are sent via mobile
Qur’an, the holy book spread of writing. The invention inventor L. E. Waterman, phones. Texting becomes very
of Islam. Its use spreads of printing using movable type and quickly replaces the popular in the 2000s. In 2009,
with the Islamic faith to makes writing far more accessible. quill pen. Ballpoints, more than 1.5 trillion
become one of the world’s Medieval In 1500, an estimated 35,000 texts invented by László Bíró, Waterman text messages
most widely used scripts. Qur’an are in print. are in use by the 1940s. fountain pen are sent. Smartphone

4th century 7th–9th centuries 1867–1868 1965


The codex Illuminated manuscripts The typewriter Writing enters the digital age
The codex, or manuscript In early medieval times, the American inventor Christopher In the mid-1960s, the first
in book form, gradually use of writing spreads through Latham Sholes helps to build electronic messages (emails)
supersedes the roll of the copying of Christian texts. the first practical typewriter. are sent from one computer to
parchment. Originally Illuminated manuscripts are The patent is sold to another. Emails become popular
developed by the Romans, highly decorative, with ornate Remington, which puts with the spread of personal
the use of codices spreads capital letters and marginal the first typewriters The Remington computers in the 1980s.
with the Christian religion. illustrations. Book of Durrow on sale in 1874. Model I

29
2000–1850 BCE 1850–1790BCE

Egyptian hieroglyphics involved the use of pictorial signs. This example

40
is from a coffin from the Middle Kingdom period.

THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION, named the administration, religious worshipped in Minoan shrines
after the legendary King Minos, facilities, and state storerooms. seem to have been female, with
flourished on the Aegean island Those at Knossos, Phaestos, a goddess of nature being the
of Crete in the early 2nd Mallia, and Zakros were most popular. However, details of
millennium, reaching its peak particularly impressive, judging by Minoan culture remain obscure,
between 2000 and 1600 BCE. It is their remains. Around 1700 BCE, since the Minoan scripts, known as
thought that Crete’s prosperity these palaces were burned down, Cretan hieroglyphic and Linear A,
was based on the export of and only Knossos was rebuilt, on have yet to be deciphered.
pottery, gold, and bronze, as well a more magnificent scale than In Egypt, King Mentuhotep THE NUMBER
as possibly grain, wine, and oil,
to Egypt, Cyprus, and Palestine.
before, suggesting its dominance
over the entire island. The palace
had reunited the country at the
end of the 3rd millennium (see OF DAYS IT
The Minoans established colonies
in many parts of the Aegean,
was five stories high, with rooms
opening onto inner courtyards.
2350–2000 BCE). Yet the second of
Egypt’s eras of strong, centralized
TOOK TO
including the islands of Kythera, This mazelike complex is thought rule only began with the reign of MUMMIFY
Thera, Melos, and Rhodes, and at
Miletos on the Turkish mainland.
to have given rise to the labyrinth
in the legend of the Minotaur, a
Amenemhet I, from about
1985 BCE, during the Middle
A BODY
The farmlands of Crete were bull-headed monster. Kingdom. In 1965 BCE, his
Shang bronze
ruled from cities with central Bulls certainly featured in successor Senwosret I conquered extending Egypt’s borders as far This bronze plate was found at
palaces that housed workshops, Minoan ceremonies. The deities the land of Nubia to the south, as the second cataract of the Nile. Erlitou, and is of the Xia period. It is
Nubia yielded gold, copper, and inlaid with turquoise mosaic, believed
slaves to swell the ranks of to represent a dragon’s scales.
Egypt’s army. Around a century
later, Senwosret III also made IN CHINA, THE SHANG
Levant a vassal state of Egypt. CIVILIZATION developed along
Middle-Kingdom Egypt was the Yellow River by 1850 BCE.
more democratic than it was According to legend, China’s first
during the Old Kingdom period. dynasty was the Xia, but current
Rulers presented themselves as archaeological evidence points
shepherds of the state rather than to Shang as the first dynasty.
absolute monarchs. The process At Erlitou in Henan province,
of mummification, once confined archaeologists have uncovered
to kings, was now permitted for a palace complex built on a
ordinary citizens. In order to

20,000
preserve it as a permanent home
for the spirit, the body was dried
in natron salt, its vital organs were
removed, and it was stuffed with
linen and wrapped in bandages.
THE NUMBER
Charging bull OF CLAY
Minoan rituals included a bull-leaping
ceremony, in which athletes grasped
TABLETS SO
the bull’s horns and vaulted over
its back.This Knossos fresco dates
FAR FOUND
back to c. 1500 BCE. AT MARI
sh
gs of bli ,
ty 0– ols rs rin d eign uers esta mia
Ci es rn 0 E ll To esto from o CE
0 5 B t I b ing CE tI
Ci
ty u cte a
E R onq ia to pot l
CE com the 2 C c t e r 0 B re str BC
B
00 be nor c.  50 B Sma , an read ada 5
19 mh du iod 92 os E
BC con
c o
81 dad; otam Mes t-En
li
20 ur in a 17 ctic tion , sp Can 5 – ne ypt er –1 enw 00 17 p a
c.  Ash ant 98 me Eg m p 6 5 S u low 3– hi-A eso pper hub
i Ar pula Inuit oss d   1
c. ng A ty to gdo 19 of 19 to
c.  Erli Yel a
1
18 ams rn M f U at S
of min ota
m
po the acr nla
n c.  ign pt d
do sop Ki bili Kin Re Egy o oun Chin
f Sh rthe m o ital
of aska Gree sta ddle ar ver, no ngdo cap
Me Al ttle of
Mi Ri Ki th its
se wi

s,
an I
, be ated et BC
E
n
or ultiv ort e
h BC
E sr d nd 0 n
00 of wo ia an s sa s 70 tio
EC c N c n –1 iza ies
BC ash ern tan ce 16 ion t of Se ub far a le wn dom ia 00 ivil ; cit ed
0 t
0 squ es -di pla s 0 – izat eigh E
BC ts
N
as
i T o g ol 19 c s n
20
0
20 ivi l h ing n N CE kin at c.  dus line ndo
w
c.  and uth lon es in
g
c.  n c ches nd bylo 60 fea m on 0 B all An
u 19 t de gdo ract 0 In dec aba
so a; t a
no rea Fo Ba yp kin ata 19 sm ng in
in eric e rou CE of c.  i lly
Mi ete 4 B asty Eg is c lop ua
Am trad r 8 of ds h ond ve ad
C 19 n n c e gr
c.  st dy ex
te se d
30 fir
1790–1650 BCE

,,
,,
KEY
Area of Shang influence A S I A
IF A MAN PUTS OUT THE EYE
Shang city Yellow River
Bo Hai
OF AN EQUAL, HIS EYE SHALL
Shang China
Taixicun
BE PUT OUT.

g
o n
The middle course of the Yellow River Xi’ang Xingtai
a nd
was the heartland of the Shang Shang capital Sh
1400–1300 BCE Yellow Law Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon
Anyang
civilization c. 1800–1100 BCE. From Shang capital S ea
here, Shang influence, such as Huixian 1300–1027 BCE
bronze-working, spread elsewhere. Zhengzhou WHEN THE ASSYRIAN KING measure as the crime committed
Luoyang Shang capital SHAMSHI-ADAD died in 1781 BCE, (“an eye for an eye”). However, it is
1600–1400 BCE
Erlitou he was succeeded by his son thought that the law code was
er

E a st C h ina S ea
Riv
platform of compressed earth. Huai Ishme-Dagan. During his reign, more of a moral statement of
They have also unearthed bronze Henan Assyria declined, allowing the principle than an enforced judicial

R iver
vessels. Evidence suggests that state of Babylon to come to the system. As such, the code bound

tze
Panlongcheng

ng
many features that were to Ya fore. During the reign of Shamshi- the powerful and wealthy as well
characterize Chinese society later, Wucheng Adad, Babylon was probably a as ordinary people; the strong
such as a strong bureaucracy vassal state of Assyria, but as were exhorted to refrain from
and the worship of ancestors, Assyria declined, King Hammurabi oppressing the weak.
date back to this time. of Babylon saw his chance to seize
In southern Asia, the Indus Long-distance trade routes linked in c. 1894 BCE. In the north, the city a wider kingdom. From 1760 BCE,
civilization, which had thrived coastal towns with communities of Ashur became an important Hammurabi embarked on a series
during the 3rd millennium (see in Andean valleys to the east and trading center in the 20th century of conquests, which made
2500–2350 BCE), went into a beyond. This allowed for the BCE. In 1813 BCE, it was taken over Babylon the region’s foremost
decline by around 1800 BCE. spread of pottery from Colombia by the Amorite king Shamshi- state. Between 1763–1762 BCE,
Scholars believe that this was to Peru by 1800 BCE. Meanwhile, Adad, who carved out a kingdom he defeated Elam to the east and
partly caused by the changes in in North America, crops such in northern Mesopotamia. This Larsa, which controlled Sumer, to
the regimes of the rivers that as sunflowers and gourds began kingdom was a forerunner of the the south. In 1757–1755 BCE, King
provided water for irrigation. to be cultivated in the east. Greater Assyrian Empire of the Hammurabi conquered much of
Cities seem to have been ravaged In Western Asia, the fall of the 9th century BCE (see 900–800 BCE). northern Mesopotamia and took
by diseases such as cholera and Ur III Empire led to the rise of two Clay tablets recovered from the city of Eshnunna after
malaria. Trade with Mesopotamia states—Assyria in the north and Mari in central Mesopotamia hold diverting its water supply.
also declined. Meanwhile, new Babylon in the southeast—which records of trade and tributes Hammurabi introduced the
crops such as millet and rice were were to dominate Mesopotamia levied by Assyria from vassal- Babylonian law code in the region
introduced. All these factors seem for the next 1,500 years. The first states. Writing from this period under his control. Its 282 laws
to have led to a decline in urban dynasty of Babylon was established included copies of the earliest covered property, family, trade,
culture, characterized by writing surviving work of literature, and business practices. The Law
and a centralized bureaucracy, in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Code of Hammurabi is famous
favor of a rural-based culture. for punitive laws that meted out
In South America, large-scale punishments in the same
cultivation was taking place along Sumerian hero
the Pacific coast by about Tablets and stone carvings
from the Old Babylonian Set in stone
1800 BCE. Substantial settlements
period provide a record of Hammurabi’s code was inscribed on
such as El Paraíso and Sechin the Epic of Gilgamesh, stone pillars called stele. This stele
Alto in Peru were dominated by previously passed down shows the god of justice Shamash
massive temple complexes. in the oral tradition. (left) dictating laws to the king.

bi
CE ra es
g 5 0 B mu lish na
l
 A
an 7 am tab e in ar
–1 r ef
or itio of ng ine to
Sh gins 92 of H n; es mpi a d g i
E
BC be
7 n
1 ig ylo E n d l cod ire Tr din y K E
L
in
00 tion Re Bab nian ia a lega emp CE un y b BC es
18 6 B r fo ast g to 50 m
c.  iliza a of bylo otam es a his 6
17 te fo dyn rdin y .   17 t co ete
t c rip Cr
civ Chin Ba sop lgat hou da ang cco stor
Me omu oug sc e in
in r r Sh ng, a e hi us
p et h Ta ines
us Ch

in
ial ge m ;
do rest
on ar x g
m rida C E L ple n
Ki un diat )
e
re o u B m lto le by E
Ce a Fl Per 50 co A u dd orn rme 0 BC
E
BC of L lt in .   17 nial chin Per i
M tt te  154
0 c o Se in E p In .
0 ter bui m C y
18 re of ted 25
B
Eg cond (to c
c.  cen ce c 17 Se riod
tru c .  f
ns rt
o Pe
co
sta
31
3000–700 BCE E A R LY C I V I L I Z AT I O N S to Central and
Northern Europe

MYCENAEAN
GREECE
WILUSA
Sardinia Troy
Io nian Gla SEHA
Sea RIVER MASA
LAND
Orchomenos Thebes
Apasa MIRA
Mycenae ARZAWA
Sicily Miletus
Athens
Pylos LUKKA
Menelaion Tiryns
Knossos

Crete
Me
dite
A F R I C A rran
ean S
ea

The importance of trade


Trade was essential to supply societies with the raw
materials and manufactured goods needed for daily life
(such as metals and lumber), for displaying status (such as
fine weaponry), or for embellishing religious monuments
and royal palaces (such as lapis lazuli). Trade also promoted
TRADE COMMODITIES
the spread of knowledge, technology, and ideas.
gold timber glass

S
KEY silver grain faience objects

A
Mycenaean Greece Elam tin ivory turquoise
Hittite Empire New Kingdom Egypt copper ivory objects murex dye

H
Mitanni Arzawa fine metalwork perfumed oils seashells
Assyria Trade routes c.1350 BCE fine pottery olive oil horses

A
Kassite Babylonia textiles wine weapons R
A

ANCIENT EMPIRES
THE BIRTH OF ADVANCED SOCIETIES to sub-Saharan Africa

In the 3rd millennium BCE, states emerged in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the
Indus. Urban society was consolidated in Western Asia in the 2nd millennium, THE WORLD PICTURE
and powerful states vied for control of lands; in contrast, in South Asia, towns Urbanism and complex societies became more
disappeared. Complex societies emerged in China and the Americas. widespread during the 2nd millennium BCE.
While they shared many features such as
The exceptional agricultural productivity of the increasingly focused on urban centers, and came trade, high agricultural productivity, dense
Nile, Euphrates, Indus (see p.26), and Yellow (see into competition for resources and markets. populations, and their managerial needs, urban
p.31) river valleys undoubtedly played a part in the High-level diplomacy was essential to the smooth societies took many different forms. In the
precocious emergence of civilizations in these operation of international trading networks and Americas, large ceremonial complexes with
regions. So did international trade, which was also to success in inter-state power struggles. Royal residential suburbs provided the focus for the
important in the development of the first New letters found in the Egyptian capital, Akhetaten communities of the wider region, strongly
World civilizations. Trade also enabled many (Amarna), provide a fascinating picture of relations connected by shared religion and trade.
neighboring societies to achieve prosperity: between the 14th-century BCE rulers of the rival
Advanced centers
through time they developed complex cultures great states of the eastern Mediterranean. This map shows

,, established and
KEY

,,
emerging civilizations Chavín Assyria

FOR A LONG TIME WE HAVE in the later 2nd


millennium BCE.
Olmec Hittites

HAD GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN


Shang Mitanni
Societies of farmers Mycenaeans Elam
and hunter-gatherers
US KINGS… occupied other
regions.
Egypt
Babylonia

Babylonian king Burnaburiash II to Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten,


from the Amarna letters, 14th century BCE

32
Blac
k S
ea KINGDOMS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
TUMMANNA The Nile Valley's exceptional agricultural Cyprus
PALA KASKAS fertility promoted the early development
Hattusas Me
UPP of urbanism in Egypt. Settlements clung diterr
a ne an Sea
ERL
AND to the Nile delta and riverbanks, beyond
HITTITE URUADRI which lay arid desert. The great mineral Nile Delta
LOWER
EMPIRE (URARTU) resources of the flanking desert regions
Giza
Saqqara
Memphis
Sinai
ISUWA EGYPT
HAPALLA and Nubia, which included gold, were Eastern

NA
Desert

AT
important both for domestic use and to

Ni
le
A

Re
S W W
TA R H U N T A S KIZZ U Carchemish support international trade. ES Abydos

d
Washshukanni DE TER

ME

Se
N UPPER
SE

DJ
MUKISH Harran RT

a
EGYPT

A
Alalah Nineveh Arbil
KEY Elephantine

Ugarit Aleppo Emar MITANNI Trade routes Capital cities NUBIA


Cyprus Arwad Eu
ASSYRIA
NIYA p YAM
SATJU
(Alashiya) Tunip Ashur S IA
N
hr
A
HA NUB ERT
at
Qatna R A DES
es

Tig
Qadesh

ris
to Afghanistan
Simurru Labwe
Byblos Kumida Dur-Kurigalzu Old Kingdom c. 2686–2181 BCE
Sidon Hazor Rulers exercised centralized control
BABYLONIA and commanded impressive resources,
Tyre Shechem Babylon as shown by the pyramids at Giza.
SEALAND Susa ELAM
Gaza Jerusalem Nippur
Lachish
Sharuhen Uruk
Ur
Anshan Cyprus
Memphis
Me
diterr
a ne an Sea
Avaris

Pe
(Tell el-Dab’a)
Liyan

rs
capital
LOWER c.1650–1550 BCE

ia
Akhetaten Memphis Sinai
EGYPT

n
Itjtawy
EGYPT
Gu
capital Eastern
c.1985–1650 BCE Desert

Ni
lf

le

Re
W Waset (Thebes)
ES Karnak

d
DE TERN

Se
Ni

SE
le

RT UPPER

a
capital EGYPT
Thebes DILMUN c.2055–1985 BCE
and c.1650–1550 BCE
NUBIA
Re

WAWAT
A r abian S
AH IA
N
NUB ERT
dS

AR
A DES
Pe n in s u l a KUSH
ea

Middle Kingdom c. 2040–1640 BCE


Decorated tombs record prosperous life
to Punt under the stable 12th dynasty, but the
state disintegrated under later rulers.

Cyprus
S i b e r i a
Me
dite rr
an e an Sea
Hattusas
Mycenae Per-Ramesse (Qantir)
Anyang
Xi’ang LOWER
Ashur EGYPT Sinai
Babylon Susa Zhengzhou PACIFIC Memphis
Memphis
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Eastern
OCEAN S A H A R A Akhetaten (Amarna) Desert
Ni
le

W
Re

San ES Waset (Thebes)


DE TER
d

Lorenzo
N UPPER
Se

SE
RT EGYPT
a

NUBIA
Chavín de ATLANTIC
Huántar INDIAN
OCEAN S N
A IA
OCEAN HA N UB ERT
R A DE S

PACIFIC KUSH
OCEAN

New Kingdom c. 1550–1069 BCE


Egypt reached its greatest power and
prosperity, conquering Nubia and the
Levant, and building several temples.

33
1650–1550 BCE 1550–1400 BCE

Hattusas, the Hittite capital, was founded by Hattusalis I Built over 300 years, the temple complex at Karnak, Egypt, includes the world’s
in 1650 BCE and destroyed in 1180 BCE. largest temple, dedicated to Amun-Re, the patron deity of the pharaohs.

AFTER HAMMURABI’S DEATH in IN c. 1550 BCE, THE THEBAN KING Egyptian religion was very on the Greek mainland. Its
1750 BCE, the Babylonian Empire Ahmose I (r. 1550–1525 BCE) complex. Every village, town, and people are now known as the
(see 1850–1790 BCE) declined. drove the Hyksos from Lower district had its own patron deity. In Mycenaeans, after the fortress-
At the same time, other powers Egypt, ushering in the third paintings and sculptures, many palace of Mycenae, believed to be
were on the rise, such as the period of settled rule in Egypt, deities were shown with animal the home of the mythical king
Hurrians of Mitanni in Syria, and known as the New Kingdom heads, representing their most Agamemnon from Homer’s Iliad.
the Hittites of Anatolia in Turkey. (c. 1550–1070 BCE). During this important attributes. For example, However, the Mycenaeans
By 1650 BCE, the Hittites had time, Egyptian rulers assumed the falcon god Horus protected
built an extensive kingdom in the king, while the ibis-

2000
central Anatolia, with its capital headed Thoth was the
at Hattusas. The Hittites had patron god of scribes.
developed advanced bronze- and By 1600 BCE, a
ironworking skills, and they were IRON-WORKING new civilization
also known to be fierce fighters. emerged
In 1595 BCE, the Hittite king The Hittites developed iron
Mursilis (r. 1620–1590 BCE) raided smelting by c. 1500 BCE. At THE NUMBER
Babylon and expanded his first, iron was used only in OF NAMES FOR
GODS AND
empire. However, he was killed luxury objects, such as in the
soon after, and the empire shrank decoration of this box from
back for about a century.
In Egypt, the Middle Kingdom
Acemhoyek. Later, as
technology developed, iron
GODDESSES
(see 2000–1850 BCE) was waning was used to create superior IN ANCIENT
weapons. Though the Hittites
traded iron goods, they kept
EGYPT
this technology secret for
about 300 years. Around the title “pharaoh,” meaning
1200 BCE, ironworking spread “great house.” A succession of
to Greece, and then to warrior kings campaigned to
Central Europe by c. 750 BCE— expand Egypt’s boundaries
the dawn of the Iron Age. once more. Tuthmosis I
(r. 1504–1492 BCE) drove the
Nubians back in the south and
by 1670 BCE, partly due to erratic recaptured Sinai and parts of
floods in the Nile. As regional Syria and Palestine. Under
governors became more Tuthmosis III (r. 1479–1425 BCE),
powerful, civil war broke out. Egypt controlled a strip along the
Outsiders soon took advantage Mediterranean coast and north of
of the unrest. The Nubians the Euphrates (see p.33). Mask
won back lands that the The conquered states paid huge of gold
Egyptians had taken earlier annual tributes to Egypt, a part of German
Man and beast archaeologist
(see 2000–1850 BCE). In 1650 BCE, which was spent building one of
The Hittite Empire was known for its Heinrich
bronze craftsmanship. Bronze the Hyksos from the Levant the world’s largest religious sites Schliemann found this
weapons and artifacts fetched a high seized Lower Egypt, but at Karnak and the impressive funerary mask at a grave
price. This statuette of a man and a Upper Egypt remained under the mortuary temple of Queen in Mycenae, and claimed it
horse was probably a commission. control of Egyptian kings. Hatshepsut (r. 1473–1458 BCE). belonged to King Agamemnon.

no ing s
lca of s nk s e gin
vo and tly, ent ing , ba ykso unit d be nd CE er
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s
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Th s H o re erio er i, a 0 B th
tit byl
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16 Gr ts n s sh
v H B a
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5
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BC
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1
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CE d
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c s o ue e iod c
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1 ing ce i t am nc
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5 00 ak t heb d
ks con ring Pe
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BC m c c K n of M pot ide king
1 te
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a E
s B ur ea
C i r B
70 egin Ba reg
b ge v c.  Karn at T truc
t d edia 16 tio ek 70 e b n 15 n e er sty eso E or ru x s
yp c.  iliza Gre 15 s ar ings c.  an b ire i g th em yna rn M BC
E
lw Pe ple con
Eg term c i v h e . 
c oh K I r p itin d e 5 00 eta in co
m
I n t a
ar th
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c.  of m
ph of ne
w no
34
1400–1300 BCE

Tutankhamun was buried with fabulous treasure. This detail from the
pharaoh’s throne shows him being anointed by his wife Ankhesenamun.

probably called themselves Black Sea IN c. 1352 BCE, AMENHOTEP IV, Since the 1570s BCE, Egypt’s
Ahhiyawa. They had migrated TH R ACE a religious reformer, became pharaohs had been buried in
from the Balkans or Anatolia IA Egypt’s pharaoh. He broke with rock-cut tombs in the Valley
D ON Sea of
Marmara
about 500 years earlier. Their A CE the traditional religion, with its of the Kings, on the west bank
M
lands were a patchwork of small pantheon of gods, and initiated of the Nile. Rulers hoped their
kingdoms, each later dominated Lemnos the worship of a single god, Aten, tombs would be safe from
THESSALY
by a palace-citadel such as the Iolcus Lesbos
or sun-disk. He changed his name robbers, but almost all the
ones at Mycenae, Tiryns, and Spor Aegean Anatolia to Akhenaten, meaning “living tombs were robbed of their
ades
Pylos. They spread their influence Gla Euboea Sea spirit of Aten,” and founded a new rich goods. However, in 1922,
Ionian Orchomenus
through trade. After the collapse Islands Gulf of Cor Thebes Chios capital between Thebes and British archaeologist Howard
in t h
of the Minoan Empire c. 1450 BCE, Athens Memphis. He named it Akhetaten, Carter found Tutankhamun’s
Mycenae Dendra
the Mycenaeans took over several Argos Aegina
Miletus
meaning “horizon of Aten.” tomb virtually intact. The
Tiryns
sites formerly occupied by the Peloponnese Cyclades Akhenaten’s religious reforms shrine room had four gilded

Do
Ionian Menelaion
Minoans, including Knossos. Pylos were believed to have been shrines, holding the king’s
de
Sea Vapheio Melos an

c
Phylakopi es
After c. 1400 BCE, they also took e unpopular, especially with the coffin and mummy with a solid
Thera
over Minoan trade networks influential priestly elite. After his gold mask. The other rooms
Rhodes
and established settlements Sea of Crete death in c. 1336 BCE, his son contained jewelry, furniture,
Mediterranean
on Rhodes, Kos, and the Chania Knossos Tutankhamun ascended the golden statues, and musical
Sea Crete
Anatolian mainland. Phaistos
throne at the age of nine. He instruments.
The Mycenaeans restored the old gods
Aegean civilizations KEY
inherited Minoan arts Around 1450 BCE Mycenaean and abandoned the new
Mycenaean site
and crafts, adapting influence spread throughout the capital. Tutankhamun is
Mycenaean major palace
the Linear A script Aegean, including to several sites that believed to have died
to write an early had been part of the Minoan Empire. under mysterious
form of Greek circumstances at 18,
known as the the Hurrians, Hittites, Elamites, by defensive walls. Kings and and was hastily buried
Linear B script. Egyptians, and Kassites. In the nobles were buried in tombs, in a minor tomb. It was
They were great 1570s BCE, the Kassites had which held fabulous grave goods. thought for years that
traders, and gained control of Babylon. The Shang capital moved several Tutankhamun died of a
ventured out to Sicily However, by 1450 BCE, the Hittite times during this period. Shang blow to the head, but
and Italy. A ship New Kingdom was growing society was believed to be well the latest evidence
believed to be of in influence, partly due to an organized and extremely suggests he died of
Canaanite origin, alliance with Egypt. Around this hierarchical. Writing began blood poisoning after
wrecked off Uluburun on time, the Mitanni dominated Syria, around 1900 BCE. Most examples breaking his leg in a
the coast of Turkey, was but by the 1400s, the Hittites were of early writing took the form of chariot crash while out
found to contain tin from Iran fighting for control of the region. oracle bones, attesting to the hunting in the desert.
or Afghanistan, copper and In China, the Shang civilization Shang rulers’ practice of
pottery from Cyprus, ivory and (see 1850–1790 BCE) flourished consulting their ancestors on
jewelry from Egypt, and around 1500 BCE, with its rulers important decisions. Questions Sun worship
Mycenaean swords. dominating a large area of concerning the future were Akhenaten instituted the
The late Bronze Age was a central China. However, the inscribed on the bone of an ox or worship of the sun-disk
Aten. In this relief carving
time of unrest in Western Asia. Shang had to regularly fend off on a turtle shell, which was then found at Akhetaten
From 1550–1400 BCE, there was threats to their kingdom from struck with a hot metal tool. (modern el-Amarna), he
a struggle between various nomadic tribes to the north. The way the bone cracked was is seen worshipping the
powers in the region, including Shang capitals were surrounded believed to provide the answer. sun with his wife Nefertiti.

n s g
e- ea he g kin 80– s of
nz na tc an te ty
Ci fro f
m
B ro s to d yce stre ant Sh from ng ti ti r. 13 uer ze E e
M rk Le v E s ’a H I ( nq si BC e eo
ad an
C r
CE
s B re ail
E
wo e 0 B ve Xi BC
E
as co in s
0 ks f i s
00 g sp d Th
BC
50 net to th 40 l mo u to 0s ium efly ypt 30 ;r
4 4   1
c. pita zho 3 0 l bri Eg -1 brea rule r
1
c.  rkin m an
1 g 1 u id
c.  din icily ca eng a c.  ppil CE) ling m hur ian owe
wo tna tra m S Zh Chin Su 34 B riva As tann an p
Vie fro in 13 ria, Mi syri
Sy As

CE CE
le an 6B s 7B
op no e 33 ak 32 ing
pe rom Mi ret s 2 –1 bre to 6 –1 oy-k ian
a f 5 IV; ion d 3 b ypt d
t ize C 13 13 e
E
pi rd BC n an g n
c.  otep reli en a ten
n
c.  of th d Eg ed a ed
La twa olon nds 50 s o ae nd l or
E s c la 14 ce en la h ld At a n o on
c.  ala Myc e is
C a ; st
B
0s e e a to is en t’s o isk hen re
ig n
u re a nd
40 grat esi cific p d; f th Am gyp n-d e Ak
1 ye l o f ief am on ab
- i
id m ela
n Pa
tro ntro
o E su m Br nkh eligi ten
m s ign ith he na ta r ta
M de co Re w hip t the Tu he
e s s Ak
tak r
wo tak
e
35
1300–1200 BCE 1200–1100 BCE

The facade of the temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel features four colossal seated The boulders used to make these walls, now in ruins, at Mycenae on the Greek
statues of the pharaoh, but the statue second from left has crumbled. mainland were so huge, later civilizations believed they were built by giants.

TOWARD THE END OF THE 2ND Ancient propaganda BETWEEN 1250 AND ABOUT 1050 could not prevent them from
MILLENNIUM BCE, the eastern A detail from the temple BCE, many of the powers that colonizing the Levant.
Mediterranean and Western Asia of Ramesses II at Abu had dominated Western Asia for Around 1200 BCE, the
were a mosaic of empires, which Simbel shows the king centuries went into decline, and Mycenaean kingdoms entered a
firing an arrow, taking
comprised Egypt, Babylonia, Elam, on the Hittite army some disappeared altogether. The time of upheaval, a result of both
Assyria, and the Hittites in Anatolia. single-handed at the eastern Mediterranean entered internal disintegration and
Borders fluctuated as each kingdom Battle of Qadesh. a time of turmoil, and many external threats. The defenses of
strove to gain ascendancy over its coastal cities were laid waste by many Mycenean palaces were
neighbors through conquest or unknown invaders—written strengthened. Records at Pylos
diplomacy. In war and peace, vital the most famous was records of the period give few show the inhabitants feared attack
trade routes, through which tin and the Battle of Qadesh clues as to their identity. First to from the sea. By 1100 BCE, most of
copper for bronze reached the (c. 1274 BCE). Although succumb were the Hittites, whose the Mycenaean palaces had been
region, remained intact. Ramesses claimed capital Hattusas was sacked sacked and abandoned. This
A frequent flashpoint for conflict victory at Qadesh, the and abandoned c. 1200 BCE. triggered the so-called Dark Age
was the Levant (modern Syria and battle is believed to By c. 1180 BCE, Hittite possessions of Greece, when writing fell out of
Lebanon), which Egypt had lost to have been inconclusive, in the Levant were lost and the use, not to be reintroduced until
the Hittites following the reign and the Hittites held on empire fragmented. the Homeric age (see 800 BCE).
of Akhenaten (see 1350 BCE). In the to the region. These conflicts were most likely In the late Bronze Age, parts of
13th century BCE, Pharaoh Seti I and In 1259 BCE, after instigated by the waves of migrants Europe came to be dominated by
his son Ramesses II campaigned further campaigns in known collectively as the Sea the Urnfield Culture—named
to win it back. Ramesses’ 67-year Syria, Ramesses tried Peoples. These warlike peoples after the practice of cremating the
reign (r. 1279–1213 BCE) was a different tactic, and came from many different areas, dead and burying the remains in
negotiated a pioneering peace The late 2nd millennium BCE including Sicily, Sardinia, Greece, funerary urns, sometimes
,, YOU ARE A
GREAT WARRIOR
treaty with the new Hittite king,
Hattusilis III. Ramesses also took
two Hittite princesses in marriage
saw the resurgence of Ashur,
in what is now called the Middle
Assyrian Empire (1350–
Libya, and Anatolia. Whatever
their origins, their movements
through the eastern Mediterranean
accompanied by rich grave goods.
This culture originated in the
Danube region in 1300 BCE, and
(he had about seven wives in total). 1000 BCE). Following the death of in c. 1200–1100 BCE led to attacks spread to Italy and central and
WITHOUT EQUAL, Following the treaty, Ramesses Shamshi-Adad in 1781 BCE (see on Cyprus, Egypt, Anatolia, and eastern Europe in the following

,,
VICTORIOUS IN kept up a friendly correspondence
with the Hittite ruler, which was
1850 BCE), Ashur had become
a vassal first of Babylon, then
Canaan and Syria in the Levant.
In 1178 BCE, the Egyptian pharaoh
centuries.
Between 1200 and 700 BCE iron
SIGHT OF THE recorded on clay tablets in of Mitanni. A revival of Ashur’s Ramesses III drove the Sea technology spread northward
WHOLE WORLD. Akkadian cuneiform script.
Ramesses also embarked
fortunes began under Ashur- Peoples from Lower Egypt, but from Greece to Central Europe.
uballit I (r. 1363–1328 BCE), who
Inscription commemorating the
victory of Ramesses II at Qadesh
on an extensive program of
monument-building. On Egypt’s
southern border with Nubia, he
constructed the magnificent
broke free of Mitannian rule and
carved out a kingdom in northern
Iraq. His later successors,
Shalmaneser I and Tukulti-
,,THEY CAME BOLDLY
SAILING IN THEIR WARSHIPS

,,
a time of stability and prosperity temple of Abu Simbel. He founded Ninurta I, continued to gain
for Egypt. Through a combination
of war, diplomacy, and strategic
a new capital at Per-Ramesses in
Lower Egypt, although Thebes in
territory, expanding the kingdom’s
borders west to conquer eastern
FROM THE MIDST OF THE
marriage, Ramesses sought Upper Egypt remained an Mitanni and briefly, from 1225– SEA, NONE BEING ABLE TO
WITHSTAND THEM…
to extend Egyptian influence to important center. West of Thebes 1216 BCE, southeast to Babylonia.
Western Asia. In the 1270s BCE, he he built a vast mortuary temple, In the Aegean, the Mycenaean
fought a series of wars with the which doubled as a palace, court, palace-kingdoms of the Greek
Hittite king, Muwattalis II, of which and center of learning. mainland continued to thrive. An inscription by Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213), referring to the Sea Peoples

ts
lis ign e f
E ra re ypt vín th re n o t’s
0 BC
sto t of Eg ha es in tu eig gyp ,
00 pa he ar in Cg cu
l R E ite
–1 d t St s II B CE
er ec
CE ,
III ao
h
itt es
00 s an ugh n 00 m es
B
BC
E
se m ico 8 4 ses har BCE ) EH s
13 r o i 9 e s ) 12 e e nd l 11 p BC l p
a
c.  rme thr sin 7
12 Ram 3 BC
E c.  ltur an A CE
O ex c.  mes eat 153 80 col
Fa read s Ba ndia cu ruvi 0 B in M Ra t gr (to 1 11 e
of 121 20 es c.  pir
sp nge rn I (to Pe   1
c. erg las rts Em
Ga rthe em sta
no

E
BC
ld d al 50 ses
fie an pit 11
rn es in ns tle ca yed s c.  efen ting
E U g
er ub
e tia Bat sh ite ro ate d a k
BC y p e e itt est St vant an dic tac
00 em an ion Eg t th Qad EH s d E ae , in at
13 re le D reg CE a of BC a BC L the
e
en ned r of
.  
c ltu idd 4 B ght 0 s 00 e y s c
cu m
7 0
12 att
u
  12 in th ed b ple My the fea
12 fi
c.  of H c .
eo g
c.  tites id
ra a P en
Hi
t
Se sr
t

36
1100–1000 BCE
,,
,,
WHEN ALL LONGINGS THAT ARE
IN THE HEART VANISH, THEN A
MORTAL BECOMES IMMORTAL…
Krishna Yajur Veda

Iron rapidly replaced bronze in heads clad in helmets. They also THE CLOSE OF THE 2ND MILLENNIUM In China, a new dynasty replaced sacred writings. Sanskrit, an Indo-
tools and weapons, signaling the established long-distance trade SAW MAJOR CHANGES in the the Shang in 1027 BCE, when King European language related to
end of the Bronze Age. routes. Meanwhile, other cultures power politics of West Asia. Wu of the Zhou defeated the last Iranian and almost all European
In Mesoamerica, the region’s were emerging, such as at Cerro In 1070 BCE, the Egyptian New Shang ruler, Di-Xin. The Zhou languages, is also the ancestor
first great civilization, the Olmec, Sechin, in what is now Peru. Kingdom ended and Egypt dynasty was to rule China for of modern languages such as
was emerging in the lowlands of entered a time of unrest called 700 years. This long era is usually Hindi and Urdu.
Mexico’s southern Gulf coast. The the Third Intermediate Period, divided into two periods: the Sacred writings called the
Stone warrior
Olmecs built ceremonial centers, Monumental carvings from temples which lasted until 747 BCE (see Western and Eastern Zhou. Vedas were transmitted orally
including San Lorenzo, constructed at Cerro Sechin on the Peruvian 800–700 BCE). Historians believe During the first era, the Zhou capital in Sanskrit for many centuries.
temples and houses on earthen coast show warriors, torture victims, that the power of the pharaohs was Zongzhou. This was a time Although the Vedas are largely
mounds, and carved huge stone and human sacrifices. had been eroded by a priestly elite of prosperity and strong central religious writings and hymns,
who had gained control of many control. Zhou territory was divided the geographical information that
areas. By 1000 BCE, all of the into fiefs held by trusted noblemen, they contain not only describes
territories won by New Kingdom in return for military allegiance. the gradual spread of farmers
pharaohs had been lost. But many aspects of Chinese and pastoralists from the Punjab
In Mesopotamia, there were tradition already present in the to the Ganges basin, but also
frequent wars between the Shang period continued in the Zhou, gives some information about
Babylonians, Assyrians, and including ancestor worship and the conflicts with other groups, and
Elamites; the region was also use of oracle bones for divination. local life at the time. For example,
subjected to devastating raids by Meanwhile, in Japan, the Jomon the division of society into
Aramaean nomads from the west. culture, named after the cord varnas or castes is described
Meanwhile, other powers were patterns (jomon) that decorate its in the Vedas, first appearing in
rising in the region. A Semitic- pottery, continued. The Jomon Book X of Rigveda, although there
speaking people, who called people were still hunter-gatherers, is nothing in the text to suggest
themselves Canaanites, had albeit prosperous and sedentary. that the system was hereditary
inhabited the Levant for centuries, In northern India, small groups at the time.
living in city-states that controlled of nomadic pastoralists had been
the surrounding territory. They migrating into the Ganges basin
were skilled seafarers and played from Central
a major role in international trade. Asia since
By 1100 BCE, Canaanite port cities the 1500s BCE.
such as Arwad, Byblos, Tyre, and By the
Sidon were expanding their 1100s BCE, most
operations, establishing trading had begun to
posts and colonies throughout the settle and cultivate
eastern Mediterranean. They crops. They spoke
traded cedarwood from Lebanon, Sanskrit, which became
glass- and ivory-ware, metal ores, the language of early Indian
and, most important, an expensive
purple dye made from murex
shellfish. It was this luxury
Mark of a culture
commodity that caused them to In this example of late-Jomon
be known by their more familiar pottery, the bowl and stand bear
Greek name, the Phoenicians, the distinctive rope patterns that
after phoinix, Greek for “purple.” give the Jomon period its name.

n ds
ea ee
na k cc
yce Dar s t of
at
e u
s e
d gin tar edi id
E M an
ES
av f th es)
BC s be rm ypt E D g o elit
00 end ece BC e C i n a
11 69 nt g B
06 s k Isr
c.  riod Gre 10 ird I in E 10 ul a ws (
pe e of Th riod Sa bre
Ag Pe He

Wu CE
B
ing has f 00 lish
K 10
BC
E g o
kin te c.  stab und
27 g da ule s e aro ean
10 Shan an to r an ts n
s dM n n ici por erra
im ite ave oe nd dit
cla forfe He Ph es a Me
i e
lon th
co
37
3 0 0 0 –7 0 0 BCE E A R LY C I V I L I Z AT I O N S

knob is part of
neck is circled locking device
by a collar

Decorated box of Perpauty


c. 1370 BCE
This sycamore box belonging
to a man called Perpauty may
have held linen. All four sides
are painted with scenes. This
side shows Perpauty and his
Perpauty and children bringing wife being offered gifts by their
his wife offerings son and three daughters.

Duck-shaped flask
Cat figurine Statue with stele c. 1700 BCE
c. 600 BCE c. 1360 BCE This jar is carved in the shape of a
This copper alloy figurine sits on a A carved figure representing a high priest duck, which appears to be trussed
wooden base. Cats were linked with of Amun holds a stele, or carved slab. These and plucked. It probably held cosmetic
the goddess Bastet, who protected slabs were used as grave or commemorative paste, such as eye-paint, which was
the pharaoh. A hole through the markers. The inscription is a hymn to the Sun likely removed and applied using a
nose originally held a ring. god and lists local dignitaries. stopper/applicator, now lost.

material is the rare


blue stone anhydrite

ANCIENT EGYPT
A REMARKABLE CIVILIZATION REVEALED THROUGH EVERYDAY ITEMS AND TREASURES

Artifacts manufactured over some 2,000 years bear Mummiform shabti


c. 1300 BCE
witness to the skills of Egyptian craft workers. They also This large shabti figure
was carved from wood.
reflect Egypt’s wealth and its trade network, through The tools the figure carries
which ebony, lapis lazuli, and turquoise were imported. are traditional symbols of
kingship, while the scarab
represents the god Khepri.
Many of the objects shown here were used in daily life by well-to-do
scarab ornament
Egyptians. They reflect belief in the afterlife and the practice of burying on chest
possessions that it was believed would be used by the dead person’s
spirit in the afterlife. The ruling classes were buried with great wealth,
but almost all of their tombs were stripped of their riches either in
antiquity or more recently.
mask of cartonnage—a combination
of plaster and linen

details such
as eyes are
modeled
in paler
wrappings

Shabtis
1292–1190 BCE
Statuettes of servant-figures called shabtis lapis lazuli
were commonly placed in tombs. The Egyptians inlay
believed they would come alive to serve the
dead person’s spirit in the life to come.

Funerary mask Mummified jackal or dog


c. 1500 BCE c. 600 BCE
This mask would have been placed over the head Jackals and, from the 8th century BCE
of a mummy. The Egyptians mummified bodies onward, also dogs were mummified in
because the deceased spirit could not survive honor of the jackal-headed god Anubis,
unless there was a body for it to return to. who presided over funerals and embalmings.
ANCIENT EGYPT

Necklaces Ear studs and earring


c. 1550–1069 BCE c. 1550–1069 BCE
Egyptian craftsmen had access Once the basic shapes for these
to many semiprecious stones and studs and earring were made,
precious metals. Necklaces were strands of glass in a contrasting
worn in daily life and also buried color were wound around
with the dead. them. The studs required large
perforations in the wearer’s lobes.

backing for
mirror
Wooden comb
c. 300 BCE
This double-sided comb has a
gold band row of longer and shorter teeth.
Many Egyptians had short hair handle and
purple amethyst and wore wigs. Combs were backing made
used to keep both natural hair of ebony
and wigs tidy.
ibex symbolizes grace
and mastery over the
natural world
Cosmetic spoon
c. 1360 BCE
This spoon for cosmetic paste
was carved from schist in the
shape of an ibex, with its head
bent over its back, so that its
straight horns touch the bowl.

disk representing sun

Amulet Mirror handle


912–343 BCE c. 1360 BCE
The wedjat eye symbolizes This hardwood mirror setting
the eye of the god Horus. This originally held a polished
charm was placed on mummies bronze mirror disk. The handle
to protect the dead person’s is carved in the shape of a
spirit in the afterlife. It also papyrus column topped with
symbolized regeneration. the god Bes—a popular deity.

Male figure amulet Frog amulets


c. 2200 BCE c. 1360 BCE
This golden charm shows a Frogs were a symbol of life
kneeling male god clasping and fertility. Women wore
two palm ribs. He is probably frog amulets for luck. These
the god Heh, who symbolized charms are made of blue
eternity. The palm ribs are faience (pottery) with details
notched, representing years. picked out in gold.

inlay held charm may


within cells have been part
of gold of a necklace

Scarab pectoral Winged scarab


c. 1361–52 BCE 644–322 BCE
This magnificent chest ornament Scarabs were common lucky charms.
represents the scarab god Khepri The scarab beetle was a symbol for
rolling the red sun-disk. It was found rebirth and was worn as jewelry
in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. in ancient Egypt.

39
1000–900 BCE 900–800 BCE

In the mid-10th century BCE , during the reign of King Solomon, Megiddo (in The jaguar featured in many Mesoamerican and South American religions.
modern Israel) was an important Israelite fortress and administrative center. Here it is depicted in a stone carving from Chavín de Huántar.

IN THE 10TH CENTURY BCE, THE were skilled engineers and


SHALMANESER III (858–824 BCE)
PERIOD OF DECLINE in the major architects who built canals and
powers of Western Asia continued. leveled slopes for farming and
Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria had In the 9th century BCE, King construction. The main
weakened, enabling the rise of the Shalmaneser III of Assyria settlement, Chavín de
short-lived but historically greatly expanded his empire, Huántar, was high in the
significant Kingdom of Israel. with campaigns against Andes, and seems to have
Grave goods
The Israelites were Semitic- Mesopotamian tribes, Israel been a pilgrimage center for a
This Iron Age brooch
speaking pastoralists who, and Judah, Syria, Urartu, and cult of supernatural beings that was discovered in a grave at Hallstatt
according to the Bible, migrated Anatolia. This black limestone were part-human, part-animal. in Austria. The type of jewelry
into the land of Canaan in the obelisk commemorates his The main god, the “Staff God,” is found suggests that a woman was
1200s BCE. There, they came into deeds and those of his usually depicted with fangs. buried there.
conflict with the local Philistines commander-in-chief, Dayyan- In Europe, iron was gradually
and Canaanites. Around 1000 BCE Assur. It details, in cuneiform, replacing bronze as the metal of plied the western Mediterranean.
King David (r. 1006–965 BCE) the enforced tributes paid by choice for tools and weapons. The Colonies were set up in Cadiz, in
united the Israelite tribes and the people he conquered. area around Hallstatt in Austria Spain, on the Balearic Islands,
established his capital at became a center for an early Iron and, most notably, on the North
Jerusalem. David’s son Solomon Age culture that developed from African coast at Carthage (in
(r. c. 965–928 BCE) increased Israel and, later, Judah became THE OLMEC CULTURE CONTINUED the Urnfield culture (see 1200 BCE). modern Tunisia). Through this
Israelite territory and built a part of the Assyrian Empire. TO DEVELOP IN MESOAMERICA Hallstatt chieftains dominated trading network, the Phoenician
magnificent palace and temple in Meanwhile, Assyria began to in the 9th century BCE. After local salt mining and ironworking. alphabet became known
the capital, but on his death the reemerge as a major power in San Lorenzo was destroyed They lived in hilltop forts and were throughout the Mediterranean.
kingdom split in two. Eventually Mesopotamia. King Ashur-dan II in c. 900 BCE, La Venta to the buried with rich grave goods. In Western Asia, the Neo-
(r. 934–912 BCE) boosted agriculture, northeast became the main During the 9th century BCE, the Assyrian Empire began to
bringing prosperity. His successor Olmec center. This larger Phoenicians were becoming a expand, and, one by one, Israel,
Etched in gold
This golden plaque showing the Adad-nirari II increased Assyria’s settlement was dominated by major power in the Mediterranean. Judah, and the small states of
protective wedjat eye symbol dates territory, regaining lands that had a 111ft (34m) high pyramid, the Their trading ships, previously nearby Syria and Phoenicia were
from the reign of Psusennes I of the been held by the Middle Assyrian forerunner of Mayan temples. confined to the eastern sea, now brought under Assyrian control.
21st dynasty, when Egypt was divided. Empire in the 13th century BCE. The Olmecs also devised a script
KEY
of glyphs—the first in the region.
Assyria
Their influence spread across EUROPE
Egypt
Mesoamerica, impacting on other
Phoenician
cultures that were starting to colonies Black Sea
emerge at this time—the Phoenician
Caere
Pithekoussai
Zapotecs and the Maya. city-states Athens Khorsabad
Corinth Nimrud
In eastern North America, the Greek Gadir Miletus
Syracuse Sparta Al Mina
Adena culture was developing colonies Carthage Me
dite Byblos
Greek rranean
in the Ohio Valley. It was Sea Babylon
city-states Jerusalem
characterized by ritual earthworks Tanis
Emerging AFRICA Bast
and burial mounds containing Etruscan
objects of fine craftsmanship. city-states
Far to the south, the Chavín Mediterranean region
culture had appeared in the This map of the Mediterranean region in the 8th century BCE shows
Peruvian Andes by c. 1200 BCE and the colonies established by the dominant civilizations of the period,
spread to the coast. The Chavín including the Phoenicians and Greeks.

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40
800–700 BCE

In 705 BCE, the Assyrian capital moved to Nineveh. This stone relief shows the Assyrian
king and his queen feasting in the gardens of the royal palace there.

ASSYRIA CONTINUED ITS POLICY In China, the Zhou capital moved been embroiled in a Kushite statue
OF AGGRESSION through the 8th east to Luoyang in 770 BCE, destructive civil war and This alabaster statue dates
century BCE, conquering rival marking the start of the earlier was now divided into from the period of Kushite
states in Western Asia and part of the Eastern Zhou era, small states. In the 8th rule in Egypt. Amenirdis I,
sister of Shabaka (r. c. 716–
reducing them to provinces. which lasted until about century BCE, the Kushite
702 BCE), is shown holding
Assyrian success was based 480 BCE (see 500 BCE). Royal ruler of Nubia to the a flail—a traditional
on a disciplined, technically control had weakened, as the south, Piye (r. 747– symbol of Egyptian rule.
advanced army and an efficient lords who held large fiefdoms had 716 BCE), conquered
bureaucracy. Conquered peoples grown more powerful. Now both Upper and
had to pay costly tributes, and central control disintegrated, and Lower Egypt, and for their own language,
Ritual container
revolts were ruthlessly crushed. Zhou smiths were highly skilled rival warlords fought one another. united them under and not long after, Homer’s
Particularly troublesome nations metalworkers. This bronze bowl Despite the chaos, this era was a Kushite rule. epic poems the Iliad and
suffered forced deportations— dates from the 8th century BCE, the time of technical and cultural In the Mediterranean, the Odyssey—hitherto
large numbers of people were time of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. advancement. Iron tools increased Phoenician influence transmitted orally—were
resettled in Assyria. efficiency in agriculture and food continued to spread, probably written down.
Following a period of weak rule Iran and Anatolia, conquering production. Populations and cities as the city of Carthage In the 8th century BCE,
in the first half of the 8th century Babylon and, in 714 BCE, defeating grew, and philosophy, the arts, in North Africa grew central Italy was a mosaic
BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III (r. 744– the Armenian state of Urartu. He and literature began to develop. powerful. Greece, of small states ruled by the
727 BCE) recouped Assyria’s also defeated the Israelites and In Egypt, the unrest of the Third meanwhile, was starting dominant Etruscans—Italy’s
losses. His successor Sargon II transported the “ten lost tribes” of Intermediate Period continued. to emerge from the Dark first indigenous civilization—
(r. 722–704 BCE) campaigned in Israel to northern Mesopotamia. Since 850 BCE, the country had Age that had followed the and Italic tribes such as the
Mycenaeans’ downfall. Latins, Umbrians, and
City-states or poleis were Sabines. Rome is thought
forming on the Greek to have been founded by
mainland, centered on the Latin chief Romulus
hilltop citadels. To in 753 BCE. In its early
increase their territory, the days, the city, built on
poleis founded colonies seven hills, was ruled by various
around the shores of the Aegean. peoples, including the Etruscans,
Although rivalry between cities Latins, and Sabines.
was often intense, a distinct
Greek identity and culture
was emerging. All Greeks were
identified as “Hellenes.” In 776 BCE
the first pan-Hellenic games were
,, SUCH A
GREAT TASK
held in honor of Zeus at Olympia.
By the mid-700s BCE the Greeks had
IT WAS TO

,,
adapted the Phoenician alphabet
FOUND THE
Twin discovery
This painting by Charles de La Fosse ROMAN
depicts the legend of Romulus and
Remus, who were abandoned as RACE.
babies and suckled by a she-wolf,
before being rescued by shepherds. Virgil, from Aeneid 1:33

-
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41
3
THE
CLASSICAL AGE
700 BCE–599 CE
Culturally dynamic civilizations emerged in Greece, Rome,
Persia, India, and China, marking the beginning of the
Classical Age. The impact of Classical developments in
science, art, and politics is still felt to this day.
700–676 BCE 675–651 BCE
,,
,,
HE EVERYWHERE
SOUGHT EXCUSES FOR
STIRRING UP WAR.
Livy, from Histories book I, xxi, on Tullus Hostilius, third King of Rome

Pyramids from the cemetery at Nuri, Sudan, which was the burial site of the

7
Napatan and Meroitic kings from around 650 BCE .

,,
,,
IN CHINA, THE CITY OF LUOYANG
HAD FALLEN TO THE SHEN in
THE IT TOOK A CONCERTED CAMPAIGN
BY ASHURBANIPAL (r. 668–627 BCE) TAHARQA THE GODLESS
771 BCE, and the Western Zhou
capital was transferred east to
NUMBER in 664–663 BCE to defeat the
Egyptians who had rebelled
CAME OUT TO TAKE
Chengzhou. From there, the OF against Assyrian rule, and to push EGYPT.
Eastern Zhou dynasty presided KINGS Assyrian control as far south as

OF ROME
over the fragmentation of China Thebes (modern Luxor). This Ashurbanipal's account of the conquest of Egypt, 664 BCE
into as many as 148 states. From was not the last rebellion against
around 700 BCE the Zhou were the Assyrians—only ten years
ruled by puppet-emperors, while In Italy, the city-state of Rome later, the vassal king of Saïs, The new ruler, Cypselus (reign assisted Psammetichus I of
real power lay with the ba (“senior was beginning to acquire an urban Psammetichus I (r. 664–610 BCE), c. 657–627 BCE) relied on force of Egypt in his revolt against the
one”) among nearby states. heart, and the first forum was revolted against his Assyrian personality rather than divine Assyrians. He also adopted an
Under Qi Huan Gong (r. 685– constructed. The second king masters, driving them out and sanction, and established a aggressive stance towards his
643 BCE), the state of Qi had of Rome, Numa Pompilius founding the 26th Dynasty, under dynasty under which Corinth neighbors, the Ionian Greeks of
supremacy. After Huan Gong’s (r. 716–674 BCE) is believed to have which Egypt’s independence was enjoyed a seven-decade period Miletus and Smyrna.
death the competition for power established the main Roman restored. After the final collapse of dominance, creating colonies According to Japanese tradition,
between his five sons weakened priesthoods and a calendar. of Assyrian power, in 609 BCE, throughout the western the first emperor, Jimmu Tenno,
Qi, and Jin Wen Gong (r. 685– In the Near East, the Assyrians Egypt was able to establish a Mediterranean. a descendant of the sun goddess
643 BCE), the ruler of Jin, rose to continued their expansion, foothold in Palestine under On the fringes of the Greek Amaterasu, ascended to the
become ba. By the end of the confronting Egypt, whose Pharaoh Necho II (610–595 BCE). world, in western Asia Minor, the throne in 660 BCE. The stories
century, power in China alternated intermittent support for rebels In Greece, the rise to kingdom of Lydia was increasing of his migration from southern
among the states of Qi, Jin, against Assyrian rule in Syria had preeminence of a number of city in power under Gyges (685– Honshu eastward to establish
Qin, and Chu. long been a source of tension. In states, notably Athens, Sparta, 647 BCE), its first great king. He his kingdom near Nara are
671 BCE, the Assyrian ruler and Corinth, began. In Corinth, allied with Ashurbanipal of legendary, but may echo real
Esarhaddon invaded, capturing a new type of ruler, the “tyrant,” Assyria to see off a joint threat events of the Japanese Yayoi
the Egyptian royal capital of emerged with the overthrow of to their two lands by Cimmerian period after 100 BCE, when tribal
Memphis. However, Assyrian the Bacchiadae kings in 658 BCE. raiders in 668–665 BCE, but then chieftains began to consolidate
control over Egypt was weak, their territories.
and the Nubian pharaoh Taharqa ASHURBANIPAL (r. 668–627 BCE) The third king of Rome, Tullus
drove the invaders out. Hostilius (r. 673–642 BCE) was
The Etruscans expanded Ashurbanipal initially shared more martially inclined than his
southward from modern rule over Assyria with his precedessor Numa Pompilius, and
Tuscany and Umbria around brother, Shamash-shuma-ukin.

30,000
700 BCE. Their language remains After defeating his brother’s
undeciphered, but lavish tombs revolt in 648 BCE he greatly
indicate a rich material culture. expanded the Assyrian domains.
During their expansion, the As well as annexing Egypt, he
Etruscans founded cities such attacked Elam, sacking its
as Capua, but came into conflict capital, Susa, in 647 BCE. His THE NUMBER OF
with Greek colonies and with
Rome. Although more powerful
latter years saw none of the
military successes of his early
CLAY TABLETS
Nubian Pharoah at first, the Etruscans were reign. At his death a dispute UNCOVERED IN
Taharqa ruled Egypt for 19 years
before an Assyrian invasion forced
politically disunited, and a long
series of wars with the Romans
between his two sons further
weakened the Assyrian Empire.
ASHURBANIPAL’S
him to return to Nubia in 671 BCE. turned against them. LIBRARY
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44
650–601 BCE

A lion frieze from the Processional Way in Babylon, which was built around 600 BCE and ran
through the heart of the city to the Ishtar Gate.

THE ASSYRIANS HAD FINALLY to them and the Scythian King 600 BCE. New cities were in the 8th century BCE. The
CONQUERED BABYLON in 691 BCE, Bartatua was even sufficiently established as far west as Spain, hereditary monarchy was
PHRYGIA URARTU
MEDES partially destroying the city. influential to be given an Assyrian and around the Black Sea coast. replaced by nine “archons,”
LYDIA Harran
Carchemish Khorsabad Reconstruction work began under princess as his wife. The alliance In Greece itself, the city-state of chosen annually. Shortly after a
Nineveh
Ashur
Cyprus ASSYRIA Esarhaddon (680–669 BCE), and by with Assyria survived into the Sparta was establishing its damaging popular uprising by
Me

PHOENICIA BABYLONIA 652 BCE Babylon had recovered reign of his son Madyes, but dominance in the Peloponnese. A Cylon in 632 BCE, Athens received
di

Se rran Tyre
te

Damascus Babylon ELAM


a ea its importance and became the around 615 BCE the Scythians defeat by the city-state of Argos, its first law code, drafted by Draco
n ISRAEL SYRIAN Uruk
Jerusalem AMMON DESERT Ur
center for a major revolt led by switched sides and played a key in 669 BCE, was followed by in 621 BCE. The Draconian law
EGYPT JUDAH
MOAB Shamash-shuma-ukin against role in Assyria’s destruction. military reforms and victory was later known for the severity of
Memphis
his younger brother Ashurbanipal. Their Median subjects soon turned against the Messenians (660– the punishments it prescribed.
It took four years of war to on them and around 590 BCE the 650 BCE). By 600 BCE, Sparta had To the south of Egypt the state
The Assyrian Empire
From its core around Assur and suppress the Babylonians and Scythians retreated north. conquered almost all the of Napata became a power of the
Nineveh, the Assyrian empire grew to their Elamite allies, and the In the Greek world, there was a southern Peloponnese and first order, conquering Egypt
encompass Babylonia, Media, Elam, fighting drained Assyria’s ability to growing movement to establish established a stratified social under Piankhy (751–716 BCE) and
Urartu, Syria, and Egypt. hold on to its empire. By 630 BCE, colonies in the Mediterranean. system. controlling it under after the death
Assyria had lost Egypt and Among the earliest were in Italy, Sparta’s future rival, Athens, of Taharqa (690–664 BCE).
led the war against neighboring Palestine, and in 626 BCE the including Syracuse, founded gradually united the area
Alba Longa, which ultimately led Babylonians regained their around 733 BCE. In North Africa, surrounding Attica under its rule
to that city’s destruction and the independence. By 616 BCE Greek settlers founded Cyrene (in
deportation of its population to Babylon was strong enough to Libya) in about 630 BCE, and
Rome, in the first major Roman invade Assyria, aided by the Massilia (Marseilles) around
expansion. The fourth king, Medes (whose base was in
Ancus Marcius (641–617 BCE), northwestern Iran). In 612 BCE
expanded Roman territory toward the Babylonians, Medes,
the coast, and founded Rome’s and Scythians sacked
great port of Ostia at the mouth the Assyrian capital of
of the Tiber. His successor, Nineveh. The
Tarquinius Priscus (616–578 BCE) Assyrian empire
was the fifth king of Rome and one crumbled.
of the city’s greatest kings. He A remnant of the
came from an Etruscan Assyrian army
background, a sign of the high regrouped and
level of Etruscan influence over established a small
the early city of Rome. Tarquinius kingdom around Harran,
Priscus won a series of victories but by 609 BCE this, too, stylized
over the Sabines, the Latins, had fallen. body
and the Etruscans, who all The Scythians
competed with Rome for formed part of a
dominance over central Italy. He is culture of nomadic
also said to have established the horsemen which held
Scythian stag
public games in Rome. a large territory on the
The flowing lines and realistic
steppes north of the depiction of the stag’s muscled
Caucasus from around flanks in this late 7th century shield
800 BCE. In 652 BCE they ornament are typical of the art
forced the Medes to submit of the Scythians.

n n
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45
600–551 BCE 550–501 BCE

A medieval view of the city of Jerusalem, which was captured by the Babylonians in 597 BCE . It was taken again, Central Asia became a stronghold of Buddhist beliefs. These cave paintings
and largely destroyed, 10 years later. After both sieges many of its inhabitants were deported to Babylon. in Dunhuang, China, illustrate a variety of Buddhist parables.

HAVING HELPED DESTROY THE Under the last Median king, The powerful city-state of Athens CYRUS, RULER OF THE SMALL
ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, Nabopolassar Astyages (r. 584–549 BCE), Median experienced reforms under Solon KINGDOM OF PERSIS (also called
(r. 626–605 BCE), first king of the armies campaigned in Azerbaijan about 600 BCE, notably a law code Pars) in the west of Persia (Iran),
neo-Babylonian dynasty, and controlled land as far west as that protected the property rights revolted against his Median
embellished the city of Babylon. Lydia (Turkey). But by the 550s BCE, of the poor, forbade debt-slavery, overlords in 559 BCE. By 550 BCE
His son Nebuchadnezzar (r. 605– Media was under pressure from and moderated the more extreme he had conquered the Median
562 BCE) defeated the Egyptians in the Babylonians to the south and parts of the Draconian laws capital of Ecbatana and
605 BCE, repaired Babylon’s main the new power of Persia. (see 650-601). Around 560 BCE, overthrown their ruler, King
ziggurat, and ordered the building The kingdom of Judah had long Pisistratus seized power and began Astyages. Afraid of the increasing
of the famous “Hanging Gardens.” acted as a block to Assyrian and to rule as a tyrant (dictator). Driven power of Persia, the Lydians
The last neo-Babylonian king, Babylonian expansion to the west. out once, he returned in 547 BCE under King Croesus opposed
Nabonidus (r. 556–539 BCE), In 597 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar took and established a stable regime. Cyrus, but he struck west and
moved his royal court to the Jerusalem and deposed King The Greek city of Miletus saw the in 547 BCE, on the Halys River,
Arabian oasis of Tema, but Jehoiakim. The king they installed beginnings of philosophical defeated the Lydian army and
discontent rose among the in his place, Zedekiah, turned thought from about 600 BCE. annexed western Asia Minor. Darius the Great
Babylonians during his reign. against the Babylonians, and in Thales (born c. 624 BCE) tried In 539 BCE Cyrus captured King Darius is shown enthroned and
The Medes of northwest Persia 587 BCE there was another siege. to understand the basic nature Babylon, acquiring most of bearing symbols of power in this
(Iran), consolidated their kingdom Much of the city was burned, the of the universe and thought its Mesopotamia and making the frieze. His son Xerxes succeeded him.
under Cyaxares (r. 624–585 BCE) Jewish Temple destroyed, and fundamental element was water. Persian Empire the greatest in
and took part in the destruction many of its inhabitants deported the Middle East. Cyrus died in Cambyses died in 522 BCE and
of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE. to a life of exile in Babylon. 530 BCE while fighting in what after the brief rebellion of Bardiya,
is today Turkmenistan, and was who was either the younger
succeeded by his son Cambyses. brother of Cambyses or someone
In 526 BCE Cambyses sent his impersonating him, Darius, a
armies south into Egypt. The Persian noble, took over as king.
Pharaoh Amasis had just died and Widespread revolts broke out,
his successor Psammetichus III including in Media, but Darius put

,,
,,
I HAVE FOUGHT 19
BATTLES IN ONE YEAR…
I HAVE WON THEM.
The Behistun inscription of Darius

was not well established. them all down. He then


Cambyses defeated the Egyptian expanded the Persian Empire
army at Pelusium in 525 BCE and by annexing lands in central Asia
then captured the royal capital and on the borders of India from
at Memphis. He installed himself 519 to 515 BCE. In India, the
Lawgiver and reformer as the pharaoh and then subdued political power had coalesced
This image shows the Greek statesman and lawgiver Solon teaching. His southern Egypt. Persian rule in around the Mahajapanadas, a
reforms began to undermine the power of the aristocracy in Athens. Egypt lasted until 402 BCE. group of around 16 powerful

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,,
,,
EVEN DEATH IS NOT
TO BE FEARED BY ONE
WHO HAS LIVED WISELY
Gautama Siddharta (Buddha), 563–483 BCE

482
Roman aristocrats led by Lucius consuls were elected by the material life. He is known as the Spring and Autumn period. From
Junius Brutus and Lucius popular assembly each year. Buddha (which means the the age of 15 he devoted himself
Tarquinius Collatinus (the king’s Some time around 530 BCE, “awakened one” in Sanskrit), and to scholarship, and the political
cousin) won over the army and Gautama Siddharta, a Hindu his followers, who became known philosophy he developed reflects
barred the gates of the city to prince of Kapilvastu (now in as Buddhists, spread his ideas the turbulent times. He taught
THE NUMBER the king, who was deposed. Nepal), had a religious revelation throughout South Asia and, in the that the righteous man (or junzi)

OF YEARS OF The coup leaders then


established a republic in which
and rejected his noble upbringing
to embark on a quest for
late 3rd century CE, into China and
thence to Korea, Japan, and
must have regard to others and
inflict no unnecessary harm.
THE ROMAN supreme authority was held by “enlightenment.” Six years later Southeast Asia. His philosophy, as developed

REPUBLIC
two magistrates called consuls. he received it and began to preach Confucius (or Kong Fuzi) was by his disciples, taught respect for
The power of the consuls was a way of moderate asceticism to born around 551 BCE, in a period of elders and became a cornerstone
limited by the fact that new gain release from the suffering of political instability during China’s of the later imperial system.
kingdoms. Of these, Magadha
was the most important state.
Afterward, Darius subdued most
of the Greek city-states of Ionia,
before he crossed into Europe in
513 BCE to conquer Thrace.
In Italy, Servius Tullius (r. 578–
534), the sixth king of Rome and
said to be a former slave, had
succeeded Tarquinius Priscus in
578 BCE. During his reign he
implemented important reforms,
fixing the formal boundaries of
the city by dividing the Romans
into four “tribes,” a system that CYRUS THE GREAT
would be extended as Roman (r. 559–539 BCE)
territory grew, and also into
classes that were graded by Little is known about the
wealth. The population was early life of Cyrus. He was
divided by what equipment they the ruler of the kingdom of
could afford and what role they Pars when he led a revolt
played in the Roman army. The against his Median overlord
wealthiest class fought as cavalry, Astyages. By defeating
the higher classes as heavy Astyages, Cyrus became king
infantry, and the poor as light of the Medes. He then
auxiliary troops. The votes of the continued to expand Persian
richer classes carried much influence with the conquest
greater weight in the popular of Lydia. Cyrus adapted local
assembly. The last king of Rome, ideas about kingship to cast
Tarquinius Superbus (r. 534– himself as an ideal ruler in
509 BCE) was an Etruscan. the cities he conquered. Persian elite
Concerned at the growing Cyrus died in 539 BCE. These archers from the palace of Darius at Susa were the elite of the Persian army, which
tyranny of his rule, a group of included representatives from provinces as far off as Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

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snake-haired
Medusa figure

Medusa antefix
DATE UNKNOWN
This terra-cotta
antefix—an ornament
placed at the cornice
of buildings or at roof
eaves—is in the form of
Medusa, the mythical
creature whose gaze
turned people to stone.
swept-forward
cheek piece

leaf-shaped blade

Corinthian helmet Spearhead


600–500 BCE 600–400 BCE
The Corinthian helmet, made Greek hoplites (armed
from a single bronze sheet, infantry soldiers) carried
was the most common type in a large thrusting spear,
Greece, from around 750–300 BCE. of which this is the tip.
Aphrodite,
the goddess
of love

ANCIENT GREECE
FROM THE FUNCTIONAL TO THE DECORATIVE, THE GREEKS PRODUCED ART OF GREAT BEAUTY

Bronze mirror
While the Greeks created magnificent monumental art, smaller fastening
490–460 BCE
chain This mirror is richly
items such as jewelry, musical instruments, weaponry, and adorned with an image
vases show the Greek love of intricate forms and decorative of Aphrodite flanked
by cupids.
adornment throughout all periods of their history.

Greek art underwent a series of phases that were reflected in all aspects
of artistic production, but particularly on vases. In the Geometric phase
(c. 850–700 BCE), decoration was mainly composed of geometric forms,
replaced in the Orientalizing phase (c. 700–600 BCE) with floral and
animal themes, followed by the more naturalistic representations
of the Classical phase (from 600 BCE).

Bronze cymbals
500–400 BCE Gold earrings
Greek cymbals are bell- or 420–400 BCE
cup-shaped, and are often These delicate gold filigree
depicted on vases being earrings depict boats containing
held by fauns or satyrs, sirens, mythical creatures
or by women in whose beautiful voices lured
Bacchanalian revels. unwary seafarers to their doom.

Mirror lid and fibula


420–400 BCE
cup-shaped form This silver fibula (brooch) and
chain may have fastened together
a cloak. The ornate mirror-back
Aulos shows Aphrodite with the Gold brooch
400 BCE half-goat god Pan. 650–600 BCE
This wind instrument was This hawk-shaped brooch dates
originally a double one (one from a period in which Oriental
wooden pipe has been lost), (and particularly Egyptian)
silver mouthpiece finger hole
played through a reed. influences were strong in Greece.

48
Ostrakon
c. 475–470 BCE
In Athens, influential politicians could be
ostracized (exiled) by public vote. The name retrograde
of the politician each voter wished to be (right-to-left)
banished was inscribed on a piece of pottery. inscription

Boeotian horse and rider figurine Boeotian figurine Discus


550 BCE 400–200 BCE 600–500 BCE
The depiction of this horse and This terra-cotta figurine of a This fine bronze discus belonged to
rider has an archaic feel about it, woman holding a jar comes an athlete named Exoidas. After he
in contrast to the production of from Boeotia, where a tradition won a victory in a sporting contest
Boeotian terra-cotta workshops of such sculptures began as using it, he dedicated the discus
over 200 years later (see right). early as the 8th century BCE. to the gods Castor and Pollux.

lotus and Attic askos


honeysuckle 425–400 BCE
pattern The askos was a type of vessel for
pouring liquids such as oil, shaped
in the form of a traditional wine sack.
The design is in the red-figure style
that became popular around 530 BCE.

Attic skyphos Apulian pyxis


525–500 BCE 500–400 BCE
This drinking vessel shows a A pyxis was often used for storing
couple at their wedding standing small items of jewelry and cosmetics.
in a chariot. The vase is painted This south-Italian example is decorated
in the black-figure style. with geometrical shapes.

checkerboard
pattern

cylindrical
neck
hero Hercules carrying
Erymanthean boar double band
of meanders
lotus bud
pattern
top of foot and
lower base
painted black

Athenian amphora Attic lekythos Epichysis


540–530 BCE 480–470 BCE 375–340 BCE
An amphora was a type of vessel used Greek vases were often painted with The long-spouted epichysis was a vessel
for storing wine. This one is decorated mythological scenes. This black- used for pouring wine. This south-Italian
using the black-figure technique, which figure vase shows the goddess vase has its base decorated with a
predates the red-figure method. Athena beating a giant to his knees. pattern of white chevrons.

49
500–491 BCE 490–476 BCE
,,
,,
THIS IS GOOD NEWS … IF THE
PERSIANS HIDE THE SUN, WE SHALL
DO BATTLE IN THE SHADE.
Herodotus, ancient Greek historian, quoting words attributed to Dieneces, a Spartan, on being told that the Persian
archers shot so many arrows they would conceal the Sun; from Histories

This 19th-century painting shows the Spartan king Leonidas I (center, facing) and his men at the Battle of
Thermopylae in 480 BCE. Thermopylae became a byword for heroic defiance against overwhelming odds.

THE KINGDOM OF MAGADHA maneuvers to weaken each other, before seizing Eretria, which had
emerged as an important state in periodically interrupted aided the Ionians in 499 BCE.
northern India under the rule of by outbreaks of war. Although the Athenians appealed
Bimbisara (r. 543–491 BCE), friend In 490 BCE, Darius I (548–486 BCE) to Sparta for aid, the only help
and protector of Gautama Buddha of Persia decided to take revenge they received came from Plataea,
(c. 563–c. 486 BCE), who founded on the mainland Greeks for their which sent 1,000 reinforcements.
Buddhism (see 550–501 BCE). support of the Ionian revolt. The Athenians opted to march
Bimbisara’s son Ajatashastru Darius despatched a huge naval out to meet the Persians rather
(r. 491–461 BCE) strengthened the expedition under Artaphernes than wait for a siege, on the
royal capital at Rajagirha and built and Datis, which sailed from advice of their general, Miltiades
a center at Pataligrama on the Cilicia, landing first at Naxos (550–489 BCE). In 490 BCE at
Ganges River, which later became
Pataliputra, the Mauryan royal
capital. By conquering Kosala
and Kashi, and annexing the Vrijji
confederacy, Ajatashastru turned
Plebeians withdraw from Rome Magadha into the dominant
The departure of the plebeians (on the left in this engraving) threatened to power on the Ganges Plain. Persian winged-lion rhyton
split Rome irreparably, so the patricians (right) ceded some political power. In China, the political system of The Persian Empire enjoyed
the Spring and Autumn period vast wealth, as illustrated by
THE GREEK CITY-STATES OF IONIA uprising against the Persians. evolved into the Warring States everyday items such as this
in western Anatolia had been Sparta rejected his pleas, but only period (481–221 BCE), in which golden drinking vessel. They
directed huge resources toward
subjects of the Persian Empire Athens and Eretria sent forces. A seven main states engaged in the conquest of Greece.
since Cyrus conquered Lydia, their failed attack on Sardis led the a constant round of diplomatic
previous overlord, in 547 BCE (see Athenian forces to return home.
550–501 BCE). In 499 BCE, The Ionians gradually lost ground

7
Aristagoras, the ruler of Miletus, to a Persian land offensive from
set out to mainland Greece to 497 BCE. The fall of Miletus to the
recruit allies for a planned Persians that year and the death
of Aristagoras undermined Ionian
unity and, after a great naval
defeat at the Battle of Lade in
494 BCE, the revolt fell apart.
In Italy, the young Roman
600 Republic was rocked by social

THE NUMBER
PERSIA dissent in 494 BCE when the
plebeians (the lower social
353 groups) withdrew from Rome en OF WARRING
IONIA
STATES
masse in protest at their
treatment by the patricians (the
higher social groups); they
The Battle of Lade
threatened to set up an alternative
The Ionian Greek navy fought hard at animals were
Lade, but the prearranged defection state. They were persuaded back often the
of the Samians to the Persians led to only by official recognition of their inspiration for a
its utter defeat. own representatives (tribunes). rhyton’s shape

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475–451 BCE

Marathon, the Greek hoplite T HR ACE


THE ATHENIANS ENJOYED EARLY
(heavy infantry) formation Black Sea
SUCCESS under the direction of
MACEDON IA
advanced head-on against a far Cimon (510–450 BCE), wresting
more numerous Persian force to Pella Byzantium Eion on the Strymon River (in
win an unlikely victory. THESSALY Anatolia) from the Persians in
Chastened, the Persian Larissa Abydus 476 BCE and then attacking
M YS I A
expeditionary force withdrew from Artemisium 480 Aeg e a n Carystos on Euboea (which had
Greece after Marathon, but in Thermopylae 480 Sea LYDI A submitted to the Persians) in
481 BCE Xerxes I (519–465 BCE) Plataea 479 Marathon 490
Sardis 498 470 BCE. An attempt by the island
Salamis 480 Athens Anatolia
dispatched another huge Persian Peloponnese Ephesus of Naxos to leave the Delian
Mycale 479
army, which crossed over the Sparta Miletus 494 League around the same time led
GREECE IONIA
Hellespont (near modern-day to an Athenian expeditionary force
Istanbul) and proceeded south Mediterr anean
that powerfully suppressed the
toward Athens. Many northern The Greco– Sea Rhodes breakaway movement. In 469 BCE,
Persian wars Athenian treasury at Delos
Greek states chose to submit, Crete Athenian forces won a great All members of the Delian League
but Athens and Sparta patched Although the Cyprus
victory over the Persians at the
Persians possessed KEY had to deposit funds at treasuries on
together a league of southern vastly superior numbers, the Eurymedon River on the south Delos, but the contribution of Athens
Annexed by Persia
states. In 480 BCE, a heroic defense Greek forces were motivated Greek victory coast of Anatolia, establishing was the most important.
Persian campaigns
of the pass at Thermopylae by to win crucial land and sea against Greece Persian victory Athenian supremacy in the Aegean.
the Spartan king Leonidas I, engagements. 490–479BCE Indecisive battles Pericles (c. 495–429 BCE), the and by 462 BCE their last stronghold
in which he and all his 10,000 Athenian statesman largely at Ithome had been reduced. Soon
soldiers died, bought time for the victories followed in June 479 BCE, After the initial defeats of the responsible for making Athens after, open conflict broke out
Athenians to evacuate. The on land at Plataea in Boeotia and Persians in 480–479 BCE, Athens the political and cultural focus between Sparta and Athens and
Persians burned the city, but soon at sea at Mycale off the Ionian sought to formalize the league of of Greece, tried but failed to their respective allies. The First
after, under the command of coast. The Greeks then took the anti-Persian allies. A treasury prosecute Cimon in 463 BCE, on Peloponnesian War was
Themistocles (see panel below), offensive, and during 478–477 BCE was set up on the island of Delos a charge of having neglected a inconclusive. It ended in 451 BCE
the Athenian fleet inflicted a won a string of victories in Ionia in around 477 BCE. The league’s chance to conquer Macedonia. with a five-year truce, extended in
serious defeat on Xerxes’s naval and Cyprus, which reversed most funds were to be deposited here From this maneuver, Pericles’ 446 BCE to a Thirty Years’ Peace
force at Salamis. Further Greek of the Persians’ gains. and regular meetings were to take vision and ideas of expansion for between the two sides.
place. But this Delian League Athens were already evident. Meanwhile, the western part of
THEMISTOCLES (c. 524–460 BCE) soon became little more than an When the leading figure among the Greek world was becoming
Athenian empire, and Sparta and the democrats, Ephialtes, was increasingly important, marked by
A clever politician and strategist, its allies refused to take part. assassinated in 461 BCE, Pericles, the rise of the Sicilian city-state of
Themistocles persuaded the his protégé, swiftly took his place. Syracuse. Under a series of able
Athenians to use the wealth of a
,, Periodically, the Persians had rulers (tyrants) that began with

,,
THE GREAT
silver mine discovered at tried to bribe the Spartans into Gelon (r. 485–478 BCE) and his
Laurium in 483/2 BCE to double diversionary attacks on Athens, brother Hieron (r. 478–467 BCE),
their fleet. However, after the
naval victory at Salamis, he STRUGGLE initially to little effect. In 464 BCE, a
revolt of the Messenian Helots
Syracusan forces subdued the
neighboring city of Acragas and
became the object of increasing
jealousy from political rivals. In HAS COME. (unfree men) in the western
Peloponnese further distracted
expanded territory around Catana.
Although Hieron’s younger
about 470 BCE Themistocles was the Spartans from any attempt to brother Thrasybulus was driven
ostracized from Athens (exiled Herodotus, ancient Greek historian, stem the rising power of the out in 466 BCE, the Syracusans
quoting Pausanias, the Spartan
by public vote). commander, before the Battle of Delian League. The Messenians retained their dominant position
Plataea in 479 BCE; from Histories received little outside assistance, in Sicily beyond the 450s BCE.

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Gr t is 1 u 8 B t o the b A ed p ;h d i ve ns beg
 55 a h 47 ran ats n e s e A fi Athe ans
b u (b. Ty efe so ucc gin ciz i
be stra
E
2 B en es
s C
d o 45 twe ponn
e
b elo
P 51
450–431 BCE 430–404 BCE

In the late 5th century, the Mexican city of Monte Albán began to build its public
buildings—the ancestors of its later magnificent pyramids, shown here.

IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, the two


social classes—the patricians and
the plebeians (see 500–491 BCE)—
villages. Monte Albán’s center
housed large-scale public
buildings—including truncated
ATHENS AND SPARTA HAD FOUGHT
EACH OTHER BEFORE (see 451 BCE).
The Athenian Empire had the
,, THE EMPIRE YOU
POSSESS IS BY NOW LIKE A

,,
were still divided. The two sides pyramids, great plazas, and naval advantage as it included
came to an agreement in 451 BCE,
appointing a group of ten men
ballgame courts—as well as
elaborate burial tombs. Within
most of the island and coastal
states around the northern and
TYRANNY—PERHAPS WRONG
(the decemviri) to govern Rome
outside the normal constitution.
150 years, the population of
Monte Albán would swell to
eastern shores of the Aegean Sea.
Meanwhile, the city-state of Sparta
TO ACQUIRE IT, BUT CERTAINLY
In 449 BCE, the decemviri produced
the Laws of the Twelve Tables,
around 17,000, making it the
largest city in Mesoamerica.
led an alliance of independent
states from the Peloponnese and
DANGEROUS TO LET IT GO.
which formed the basis for all central Greece, as well as Corinth, Thucydides, ancient Greek historian, relating a speech by Pericles to the
Roman law codes. and had the strongest army. Athenians; from History of the Peloponnesian War, II.63
Zapotec figure from Monte Albán
Around 450 BCE in Central This elaborate ceramic deity is Despite the Thirty Years’ Peace of
Europe, a new Celtic culture typical of the production of Monte 446 BCE, tensions remained high hostilities in 430 BCE began three force at Pylos southwest of
emerged, called La Tène, which Albán, which became Mexico’s between Athens and Sparta. The years earlier, when Athens had Sparta. Yet neither side could land
supplanted the earlier dominant premier site in the 5th century BCE. events that led to renewed intervened on behalf of Corcyra a fatal blow and in 421 BCE they

12
in a dispute with Corinth; the agreed the Peace of Nicias, which
Spartans took it as a sign that was supposed to last for 50 years.
Athens had breached the peace. The truce soon began to unravel.
An attack by Thebes, a Spartan Corinth refused to recognize its
ally, on Plataea, which supported authority, a pro-war leadership
Athens, was similarly taken by emerged in Sparta, and a complex
the Athenians to indicate Sparta set of political maneuvers by
was fixed on war. Athens, led by Alcibiades (450–404 BCE), the
Pericles, achieved early success in newly dominant politician in
THE NUMBER the Peloponnesian War (431–
404 BCE). In 426 BCE, the Athenians
Athens, led to the renewal of the
war in 419 BCE. The following year,
OF TABLES OF invaded the Peloponnese, and Sparta’s allies won a key victory
ROMAN LAW the following year landed a large at Mantinea. Athens struck back

SOCRATES (469–399 BCE)


Halstatt culture. Ruled over by a
warrior aristocracy that buried its One of the greatest Greek
dead with swords, spears, and philosophers, Socrates served
funerary chariots, La Tène had on the Athenian Council in
important centers in Bohemia (in 406 BCE, but his challenges to
what is now the Czech Republic) conventional morality at a time
and around the Marne and of political uncertainty gained
Moselle rivers (in modern France). him powerful enemies. He
In Oaxaca on Mexico’s Pacific refused to mount a conventional
Coast, a new center arose shortly defense against charges of
before 450 BCE at Monte Albán. corrupting the Athenian youth
This proto-city, on a hilltop above and was sentenced to die by
the Oaxaca Valley, drew people drinking the poison hemlock.
from the surrounding agricultural

e k s
èn in uc g ne of
a T ges on of str ns din rve rel ad
es ty ru
ce
L c t i a s ia i l s te r nv cken Ci n rt ns
CE er tru ity lli rs u n
s b the
n
s i qu
a i BC
E a , a of he
0 B em rope ns c c ico Ca Pe en s ta ri 7 a, lly ye een ce n At
45 e Co pote Mex of and gin n A th in it vitin
g ar st g 42 atae an a s to e- a
c. ltur l Eu ce be e A Sp ens illin l i On betw arta E) Pe wee ts
cu ntra
C E a ea eeks
e
les etw s
E
BC cyr
a , in on C E h k P hen der C E r p BC CE t
5 0 B of Z n in P ic 3 r t h t i 0 B At e, ds At rren 3 B wa d S 22 u
1 B be p t to r
Ce 4
c. gins Alb
á CE Gr r
Pe all irae
b u 43 Co orin talia 43 tica; lagu san 42 the an in 4 42 cias arta hal Wa
9 B en for th C n re t u su arta s i p
be nte 4 4 twe CE
9 B ong rt,
W P A th p tho in hen ded N d S rary sian
o e 4 i
w arta wi ny Sp At ten an po nne
M b 4 e L po a
th d its Sp m (ex tem lopo
an Pe

pe e of n f II
ep t th
of me on n ee o ho ius
St ls a s cti eno ) etw ds t B irt her ar rsian r
CE d e o u b n E p ) D
a
0 B buri k an in bl R tr h CE l
re s lea esia s BC so BCE CE Pe afte f
45 Ta d in ns art 2 B ar 28 philo 347 3B s o
y
c. mad azyr -Ula ria lve opte Co w P d 43 Qu hebe ponn the ta
n 4 42 ome king tion s I
e C E
e e E A r c. ek d.c. c
no P oin ibe Tw y ad 8 B a n ish BC d T
elo een Spa e ( be n a xe
N S e l 4 4 n 3 1 n P Gr ato i
ss xe
r
Th cial s(
fi 4 a a er tw nd Pl sa ta
C E fi i n a e t h b e a as Ar
9 B of be
g
Pl
at ano ar
4 4 Law W
52
403–381 BCE

The Great AFTER ITS VICTORY IN THE (r. 404–358 BCE). Cyrus was
Amphipolis T HRAC E
422
Byzantium Peloponnesian War PELOPONNESIAN WAR, Sparta defeated and killed at the Battle
Abdera
Pella Thasos
Sea of Marmara The period of 431–404 BCE found itself embroiled in a quarrel of Cunaxa in 401 BCE, but in its
Spartolus Thasos Cyzicus saw the destruction of with Persia over whether the aftermath some 10,000 Greek
429 Acanthus
Methone Aegospotami the Athenian Empire at
Lampsacus 410 Ionian Greek cities should regain mercenaries were left trapped in
Potidaea 405
the hands of a coalition of
Lemnos Cynossema PHRYGIA
Sparta and its allies. their autonomy. Through the northern Mesopotamia. Under
EP

411
390s BCE, sporadic fighting and Xenophon, the Greeks marched
IR
US

Corcyra THESSALY PER SIAN


Lesbos EMPIR E
abortive peace talks diverted to the Black Sea coast and
Ambracia Aegean
Sea Mitylene Sparta from a weakening position safety near Trapezus (Trabzon
Arginusae
Leucas 406 in mainland Greece. The “King’s in modern-day Turkey), a feat
Phocaea
Cephallenia Delphi
Delium Chalcis Peace,” a definitive treaty with their commander immortalized
424 Eretria Chios
Gul I O NI A Persia in 386 BCE, deprived the in his book Anabasis.
f of C Thebes KEY
ACHAEA o ri n th Euboea Notium
Corinth 407
Ephesus
Athenian Empire
Ionians of autonomy but allowed In Italy, the Romans widened
Athens
Zacynthus Mantinea Argos Andros the Spartans to quash any threats their territory and annexed the
CA R I A Athenian ally
418 Epidaurus
Miletus to its supremacy. In 385 BCE, they city of Veii in 396 BCE, whose
Do d

Peloponnese Sparta and allied states


Cyc lad es attacked Mantinea in the central submission represented the end
Sparta neutral territory
eca

Pylos
Sphacteria Peloponnese and in 382 BCE of any Etruscan threat. However,
ne

425 se Cnidus Athenian victory


Melos occupied Thebes. Spartan power c. 390 BCE, an army of Celts, who
Spartan victory
Cythera Rhodes seemed unassailable. had been attacking the Etruscan
Lindus In Persia, the death of Darius II city of Clusium, turned south,
(r. 423–404 BCE) was followed by a defeated a Roman army at the
brief civil war, when Cyrus the Battle of the Allia, and then took
7,000 Younger tried to overthrow his Rome itself. This disaster haunted
ATHENIANS
2,800 Spartans 18,500 30,000 Spartans
older brother Artaxerxes II the Romans for centuries.

ATHENIANS BOEOTIANS ATHENIANS


420 3,000

BATTLE OF SPHACTERIA 425 BCE BATTLE OF DELIUM 424 BCE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE 415–413 BCE

in 416 BCE by capturing Melos—the was briefly overthrown. In Magadha in India the
only main Aegean island not in Democracy was restored the Haryanka dynasty founded by
its possession—but fatally following year, and, although the Bimbisara was replaced c. 413 BCE
overreached itself in 415 BCE Athenians won victories at Cyzicus after the death of Ajatashatru
with an expedition to Sicily, ending in 410 BCE and Arginusae in 406 BCE, (c. 459 BCE) and a series of
in the total destruction of the the total destruction of their ineffectual rulers. Shishunaga
Athenian force by the Syracusans fleet at Aegospotami off Ionia in founded a new dynasty, which
in 413 BCE. The Spartans, 405 BCE left Athens defenseless. was responsible for overseeing
meanwhile, established a fort at The Spartans blockaded the city, the final transfer of the Magadha
Decelea in Attica that denied the and, despite a determined royal capital to Pataliputra.
Athenians access to the rich silver resistance, the Athenians were The Shishunaga dynasty lasted
mines. An alliance with Persia forced to surrender. Athens was only 500 years.
further strengthened Sparta’s deprived of its fleet and in 404 BCE Etruscan tomb painting
position in 412 BCE, and a year later a pro-Spartan Council of Thirty The Etruscan language has never been deciphered, so it is through the
the democratic regime in Athens was installed to govern it. frescoes in their tombs that much has been learned of their culture.

te
d ns ng ds
n ea le s rta ; lo nd ea ies ion m
sia s ef who an t pa ens n a l of n l nar bell ea ro ty
ne tan d ini mp e S
th dow nci i l ho e e S y f as ur
e
on par ea s ns lly ag atte ther CE
4 B e A d ou
c
un ns rac
y op erc an r ack wa dyn pt
p
lo ; S tin e nia tua h
rt n e 40 ptur ulle n C p as C o e c X
n
e k m s i B l s a t h ca ii
Pe es an s sid t he ; vir Ca ily i enc p CE
h
At em
o CE ee Pe he
r
ea
k 2 9
an
s e
E
BC su
m f M ge CE
A se
re
d
BC
E
ic nflu ca lls arta et u 3 B in d 1 B Gr a o t br its m of V CE d
9 o n 3 B acu ptu 9 S i k ar wa o-Sp ty s nt 40 irty ed; 40 ,000 ting lon t pt gins Ro ity 6 B an
41 r re ttle cha 41 Syr s ca 40 ade ert ree at w h lv 0
1 ppo ab r y g y E c 38 arta sign s
pr Thir me e
T so ed C
a E b B n
a
W n B gos at my i inv reex he G are dis stor su m B CE d 6
39 rusc
a Sp rsia ing’
wi d Ar to ile t ates of vern 9 B an Pe e “K ”
ar go re fro 39 rsia Et
an wh y-st Pe th ace
cit Pe

hic re
rc a tu er f
ian ga ns; d ul ru so t his ts
en y i is e c n Pe ph
tes nds tar
th Sicil r
l e
d o th dre t
et t h
c si so uted siu ins es and
A fle d a o i lo c y
on g a ns
le u y r r e se
CE to unde s a pte in A Hun las ia n te ng M rge ph xe Di ar a inia m
p fo m
Wa thag acu
5B n e ag tem tion our ls to en ea tti BC
E e ek s e co nd de
to m a Aca
E
41 ditio out iad ar Syr
E
un in t
A lu i th def , pu nian 00 em re rate 7 BC s w
h ag a 3 BC
C
pe ets lcib ish ded dia CE o e F t fa CE
A i
dly m he ac
y c.
4
CE
G c 39 wi Carn t l u
P osi his 38 een s o f
ex s A h
S oun In 1 B rev of th , bu 5 B ba pota to At rem 9B So 8– e BC
E p tw siu
BC
E
yf a, 41
ci l p 40 s nd up 39 39 acus 8 4 Sym be iony
413 ast gadh un set
u o
g e s y r 3
D
c. dyn Ma Co Ae an aval S
n
53
7 0 0 BCE– 5 9 9 CE THE CLASSICAL AGE

plain boss connected circular plate at base


with sliding catch of buckle tongue
on backplate
animal interlace
picked out in circles

Sutton Hoo buckle

Sutton Hoo buckle


Made of solid gold and decorated with an
interlaced animal pattern, the Anglo-Saxon
Sutton Hoo belt buckle was found in a 7th- bird’s head central interlace animal interlace with
century ship burial in East Anglia, England. in profile pattern a biting head and tail

c. 1500–1200 BCE c. 900 BCE–100 CE c. 100–700


Refinement of Using iron Anglo-Saxon
Prehistory bronze casting Ironworking spreads metalworking
Use of copper ore New techniques are from western Anatolia, The Anglo-Saxons
In western Iran and developed for casting reaching Greece around bring a new level
Anatolia, copper ore is and adorning bronze 900 BCE and West Africa of sophistication to
ground or beaten into vessels, such as about 400 BCE, enabling metalworking, often
shape to make small decorating them by Shang stronger tools and using animal forms
objects such as beads. Copper ore beating on the inside. cauldron weapons to be made. Weapon heads as decoration.

2600–2400 BCE c. 1500–30 BCE c. 640–500 BCE


Use of beaten Purifying gold Metal as money
copper plate The ancient Egyptians learn how Metal coins (made of an
Early copper smelting to separate pure gold from silver alloy of gold and silver)
methods are refined, in around 1500 BCE and begin to are first used in Lydia (in
allowing the beating use it more extensively for present-day Turkey) around
of copper while still decorative purposes. 640 BCE. The ancient Greeks
hot into more Funeral mask of adopt the idea and spread it
complex shapes. Sumerian copper bull Tutankhamun around the Mediterranean. Greek coin

54
T H E S TO R Y O F M E TA LWO R K I N G

THE STORY OF
METALWORKING
FROM EVERYDAY OBJECTS TO COMPLEX MACHINES, METALS ARE VITAL FOR OUR CIVILIZATION

Since their earliest known use in the 8th millennium BCE, metals have
played a crucial role in the production of a vast range of objects, and even
today, with the availability of sophisticated polymers and composites,
they still permeate every aspect of modern civilization.

Around 7000 BCE, naturally occurring metals, together in a furnace. This method of production
notably copper, began to be used for small continued until the introduction of blast furnaces
items such as pins in western Iran and in Europe in the 15th century. The Industrial
eastern Anatolia. These were made by Revolution in the 18th century brought new
simply grinding or beating the metal techniques and the use of coking coal in blast
into shape. Heating copper furnaces, but it was English inventor Henry
to make it more malleable was Bessemer’s invention of the Bessemer converter
probably discovered by accidentally in 1856 that permitted the large-scale production
dropping the metal in fire, but it was of steel, a strong, high-quality, iron–carbon alloy.
the introduction of smelting in a Later in the Industrial Revolution, further advances
crucible around 3800 BCE that led to the made it possible to produce other metals, such as
large-scale use of metals. aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, whose light
weight and strength played a vital role in the
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALLOYS development of the aviation and space industries.
About 3000 BCE, the first alloy—bronze—was

1,981°F
produced. Made by smelting tin and copper HOW ALLOYS ARE MADE
together in a crucible, bronze is stronger and
more easily worked than either of its individual An alloy is a mixture of metals or of a metal with
constituents, and it remained the principal metal a nonmetal (such as iron with carbon in steel).
for tools and weapons until the invention of Many metals occur naturally in alloyed form, but
ironworking around 1250 BCE. The technology to THE MELTING POINT OF synthetic alloys were not produced until around
3000 BCE, when copper was melted with tin to
melt pure iron was not invented until the 19th COPPER. WHEN COPPER produce bronze. The technique spread, reaching
century, so early iron objects were made by first
smelting iron ore to an impure iron “bloom,” then IS ALLOYED WITH TIN, Mesopotamia soon after 3000 BCE and Egypt by
2000 BCE or possibly earlier.
separating out the iron pieces and welding them THIS DROPS TO 1,742°F

c. 15th century 1950s


700–800 Weapons from cast metal Titanium aircraft
Sword-making Cast iron is developed. Because Because of its high
In Europe, sword-makers it is strong and can be used strength-to-weight
develop stronger swords by to make shapes such ratio, titanium starts to
welding together successive as tubes, it finds an be used extensively in
layers of iron with carbon added, immediate use in Medieval military aircraft. It is
Viking
or by beating out thin iron strips cannon now also widely used in
sword making artillery.
then welding them together. Lockheed Blackbird commercial aircraft.

800–1300/1450 1810 1856 1910


Christian objects in Tin can Bessemer converter Aluminum foil
precious metals English inventor Peter Englishman Henry The first aluminum foil
Medieval Christians make Durand patents the tin Bessemer invents a is produced. It was made
sacred objects, such as can for preserving food. converter that enables possible by the invention in
crucifixes and reliquaries, His patent was for a can large-scale production 1886 of a method of mass-
from gold and other made of iron and coated of high-quality steel. producing the metal by
precious metals, sometimes with tin to inhibit rusting passing an electric current
encrusted with gemstones. The Verdun Altar of the iron. Bessemer converter through molten ore.

55
380–371 BCE 370–356 BCE

A carving showing the pharaoh Nectanebo I, founder of the 30th Dynasty, making offerings to gods, The ruins of Thebes, Greece’s
including the crocodile-headed Sobek. dominant city-state in the 360s BCE .

150
EGYPT HAD BROKEN AWAY FROM ALTHOUGH THE ATHENIANS
Persian control after the revolt brokered a general peace in
of Amyrtaeus, who founded the Greece in 371 BCE, the Thebans did
28th Dynasty in 404 BCE. However, not participate. Thebes built up a
the Persians had not given up on coalition of allies and invaded
Egypt. Nectanebo I established
the 30th Egyptian Dynasty in COUPLES Sparta in 370–369 BCE. As a result,
Messenia was finally detached
380 BCE. He was able to repel a
force sent by the Persians and
FORMED from Spartan control, but further
Theban success was hampered
their Greek allies in 373 BCE. THE ELITE by the temporary deposition of
Persia was diverted from further
attempts to bring Egypt to heel by
MILITARY UNIT Epaminondas, who was tried for
allegedly sparing the city of Sparta
the Great Rebellion of the THE SACRED in exchange for a bribe. Once
Satraps in the 360s BCE. This
rebellion was partially aggravated
BAND OF alarmed enough to revive the
Temple of Thoth
Situated at Hermopolis in Upper
Epaminondas was back in control,
the Thebans won Persian backing
by the campaigns of Tachos, son of THEBES Theban alliance and try to Egypt, the temple of Thoth dates
from the New Kingdom but was
for their anti-Spartan alliance in
Nectanebo I, in Persian-ruled establish a Second Athenian 367 BCE, and a further invasion of
renovated in the 4th century BCE.
Palestine from 361–360 BCE. Confederacy in opposition to the Peloponnese in 366 BCE gained
Nectanebo II (r. 360–343 BCE) into the Nile Delta region in Sparta. In 375 BCE the Thebans, recruits for the Theban coalition.
succeeded Nectanebo I, and 343 BCE, and Egypt was defeated Athenians, and Spartans signed a Dionysius I (402–367 BCE), who However, Theban successes relied
continued to meddle in the Persian within two years. Now under “Common Peace,” but it broke fought the third in a series of wars too narrowly on the personality of
civil wars. In an ill-judged Persian rule, Egypt was never down almost immediately. The against the Carthaginians from 383 one man, and when Epaminondas
intervention in 346 BCE, he sent again ruled by a native dynasty. Thebans then took the offensive, to 375 BCE. At first, the war went
troops to aid an uprising in Sidon In Greece, the Spartan aided by a new elite force of citizen badly for Dionysius, whose fleet Ancient theater
(Lebanon). In response, occupation of Thebes, which had soldiers, the Sacred Band, which was wrecked in a storm. The Odeon was a temple built in the
Artaxerxes III of Persia marched begun in 382 BCE, was short-lived. consisted of 150 male couples. The Carthaginian efforts to mount an town of Messene, which was founded
In 379 BCE, the Spartan polemarch Sacred Band supplemented the expedition to Sicily were hampered by Epaminondas of Thebes in 367 BCE.
(governor) of Thebes was mercenaries who largely fought by plague in 379 BCE and a revolt by
assassinated, and the Thebans Greek city-states’ wars by this subject cities in Libya, so that it
drove out the Spartan garrison period. Theban attempts to was only in 377 BCE that an army
11,000 with the aid of two Athenian conquer the region of Phocis and was landed. Dionysius, who had
SPARTANS
generals who arrived on their own retain dominance in Boeotia been campaigning against
initiative to help. In retaliation, rankled with Sparta, and Carthage’s allies in southern Italy,
9,000 the Spartans mounted an
expedition under King
scuppered Athenian attempts to
broker a peace in 372 BCE. At
returned to Sicily and crushed
Mago’s force—10,000 are said to
THEBANS AND
Cleombrotus (r. 380–371 BCE). This Leuctra in 371 BCE, the Theban have died. Dionysius allowed the
ALLIES
expedition failed to retake Thebes, army under the general remnants to slip away, and they
but it so alarmed the Athenians Epaminondas fought a tactically regrouped and returned the
that they executed one general and brilliant battle to smash the following year under Mago’s son
Battle of Leuctra exiled the other, and temporarily Spartan phalanx. At Sparta’s Himilco to deliver a stinging defeat
At Leuctra in central Greece, the abandoned the alliance with mercy just eight years before, to the Syracusans. Both sides were
Thebans exploited the tendency of
the Spartans to shift right by Thebes. The Spartans invaded Thebes was now the dominant war-weary and in 375 BCE made
concentrating their attack on the left, the region of Boeotia in 378– power in Greece. peace, leaving Dionysius in
enabling them to defeat an enemy 377 BCE but made little headway, In Sicily, Syracuse continued to possession of most of eastern
with larger numbers than theirs. although the Athenians were flourish under the strong rule of Sicily and parts of southern Italy.

d
an ead ing
bo s ad t th
e
ing pr le ne t xe inv ing i l of
m is s eop r
xe er ro
r
Fa rgy ng p ezi ecta firs ’s ta aft o b nt
r
t i on ndia as
CE u i b N he ypt Ar ted pt t n co a
nd in
I nd
0 B tall eak Zam CE t g E
a a ou sty ino ia
0 B es f E 3 B fe tem rsi
C
8
3 m -sp rn
e F m
. 38 com h o ty 37 s de in at r Pe CE na a n
c n tu te a o s 0 B dy Ep esse
iro Ban Wes fric e
b ara yna II i ypt nde 37 nda BC
E
M
by the of A ph th D Eg ck u N a 9
36 ade
s
in gion 30 ba inv
re

al
er
n ts g en ttle lt
ra n a nd vo
via oc rta an B
Re aps
er und m ad a n pa an eb he , a t
e S o e e a d S ing ict Th ins t arta ains e BC
E t r s)
r
Th ilt a Rom n d s le part an n E p g l 0 sa or ttl
e
1 B s w t S lt a ru
a C
E u ba da t ns en con
d fl 36 the ern the Ba rks
BC
0 s b T he non ro-S par the he e, 37 nda ains evo rtan of (gov s in pire a of
E
38 all i i
d m ep e S s es At eac year o r
ag ns Spa BC m e
i le a h h o n E in gin m 2
36 inea lips wer
W Ex r Ep st t ty. T and Theb C
1 B ke
p t-
h am tra ia be ian e
BC
E
e ain par ab of 37 ma eig Ep euc rcad rs a nt l ec po
d
8 un ag g L A M na tan
37 on city of the Pe of fi ar
ng lin ris Sp
isi ru gar
56 up
r
355–337 BCE
,,
,,
AN ARMY OF DEER LED BY A LION
IS MORE TO BE FEARED THAN AN ARMY
OF LIONS LED BY A DEER.
Attributed to Philip II, king of Macedonia, 4th century BCE

88
was killed in battle in 362 BCE, IN 359 BCE PERDICCAS III OF
PHILIP OF MACEDONIA (382–336 BCE)
Theban power was rapidly eclipsed. Macedonia died and his successor,
In India, the Nanda dynasty Philip II (r. 359–337 BCE) began to
began its expansion in the transform the position of what Philip II reformed the
370s BCE, and continued to expand had been regarded by other Macedonian army and forced
until it was able to take power from Greeks as a very minor kingdom. the Greek states to join a
the Shishunaga in 345 BCE. The In 357 BCE, he made his first major League of Corinth under
dynasty’s founder Mahapadma conquest, Amphipolis in Thrace. Macedonian control. After his
Nanda conquered much of north THE AGE OF He became involved in the Third return to Macedonia, he took a

MAGAPADMA
India, building up a huge army. Sacred War (356–346 BCE), which new wife, Cleopatra, but was
He operated an efficient was fought over perceived stabbed to death at his wedding
administrative system with
centrally appointed tax collectors
NANDA AT violations by Sparta and Phocis of
the sacred oracle at Delphi, using
feast, possibly on the orders of
his son, Alexander the Great,
and undertook irrigation works. HIS DEATH this to cement his position as an who stood to lose his position
However, the deposition of Dhana important player in the power if Cleopatra bore another heir.
Nanda in 321 BCE was followed by Wei, followed by another defeat of politics of central Greece and the
the absorption of the Nanda Wei at the battle of Shimen in Peloponnese. In the 340s, Philip
empire into the Mauryan empire. 364 BCE led to Chu’s decline and the strengthened his position in Athenians and annihilated the advantage of Rome’s exhausted
The state of Chu was the most shift eastward of Wei’s royal center Thessaly and became involved in Theban Sacred Band (see state to launch an attack. During
southerly of China’s Warring to Daliang. A rejuvenated Wei was petty disputes between the 380–371 BCE). Macedonian power the first year of the war, at a battle
States, centered on the Middle strong enough to force the rulers of city-states, as rival factions in Greece was now unchallenged. near Vesuvius, the consul Publius
Yangzi River. Throughout the 5th four other Warring States to attend turned either to him or to Athens Rome’s steady expansion in Decius Mus is said to have
century BCE it annexed a number of its court in 356 BCE. Wei’s for support. In 340 BCE open war central Italy had caused alarm dedicated his body to the gods
states, becoming the dominant supremacy was short-lived, and broke out between Philip and the among its neighbors. This led to a of the underworld and then
power by 380 BCE. In 366 BCE a defeats inflicted on it by Qi armies Athenian-Theban alliance. Just bitter six-year struggle with the undertaken a suicidal charge
resounding victory by the state of at Guiling in 353 BCE and Maling in two years later, at Chaeronea in town of Tibur from 360 BCE, among against the Latin ranks that
Qin against the armies of Hann and 341 BCE reduced it to a Qi vassal. Boeotia, Philip defeated the other conflicts. In 340 BCE, a turned the tide of battle in the
general war broke out between Romans’ favor. By 338 BCE, the
Rome and the Latins, who Romans had defeated the Latin
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus inhabited the modern region League. The peace terms were
Mausolus was the Persian satrap of Lazio around Rome. The favorable, with many Latins being
(governor) of a region of south- Romans had just emerged from granted Roman citizenship. The
western Turkey. After his death in
353 BCE his wife built a tomb for a war with the Samnites, a League was then dissolved, and
him, which became one of people who inhabited the many of the former Latin cities
the Seven Wonders of the central Apennines, and were absorbed into the Roman
Ancient World. the Latins took state, moving Rome further
toward complete dominance of
central Italy.
In Peru, the Nazca culture
began around 350 BCE. These
people created mysterious
geoglyphs, huge lines in the
desert creating animal and
abstract shapes, which cannot be
made out from the ground.

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336–330 BCE 329–323 BCE

Despite being heavily outnumbered at Issus, Alexander the Great, depicted here on his horse

30
Bucephalus, made brilliant use of his cavalry to win a stunning victory over King Darius III.

AFTER HIS MURDER OF DARIUS, of Macaranda (Samarkand) and


Bessus declared himself the new pacify Sogdiana, although the
king of Persia (as Artaxerxes V), fortress of the “Sogdian Rock”
but some of the Persian satraps managed to hold out against the
submitted to Alexander instead of Macedonian forces until 327 BCE.
Bessus. During 330–329 BCE, Alexander then crossed into the
Alexander pursued Bessus into Kabul Valley, and the following
the easternmost regions of the year, at the Hydaspes River, he
Persian Empire, beyond the Hindu overcame the local ruler Porus. THE AGE OF
Kush and into Bactria. Finally, His plans to push further into
in Sogdiana, north of the Oxus India were stymied by his soldiers ALEXANDER’S
River, the local nobles, led by the
Sogdian warlord Spitamenes,
who, demoralized and disease-
ridden, mutinied and demanded
FAVORITE
betrayed Bessus and handed him to go home. Part of the army HORSE,
Ruins of Persepolis
over to Alexander. Once Alexander
had continued his march north,
returned home by sea under
Nearchus, but a detachment
BUCEPHALUS,
AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF The Persian ceremonial capital of however, Spitamenes revolted. It under Alexander marched WHEN IT DIED
PHILIP OF MACEDONIA in 336 BCE Persepolis was burned to the ground took Alexander a year of bitter through the harsh Gedrosian
(see 355–337 BCE), his 20-year-old by Alexander’s troops in 330 BCE. campaigning to relieve the siege desert, suffering heavy losses.
son Alexander (often referred to His army reached central Persia advance of the Romans
as Alexander the Great) became led by Darius III himself. In 331 BCE, early in 324 BCE, but Alexander, into Campania after
Alexander the Great’s conquests
commander of the major Greek the Macedonians defeated Darius still planning new expeditions their abolition of the
Alexander penetrated the farthest
city states. The next year Alexander III again at Gaugamela (in corners of the Persian empire. To into Arabia, died of a fever at Latin League
invaded Thrace, but a rumor that modern Iraq). The next year Darius cement his rule, he founded a series Babylon in May 323 BCE, at age 33. in 338 BCE
he had been killed caused a major was stabbed to death by Bessus, of new cities, almost all named after In central Italy, the Samnites of alarmed the
revolt centered on the Greek city of one of his generals. Alexander himself, notably Alexandria in Egypt. the central-southern Apennines, Samnites, and
Thebes, supported by Darius III of now seemed to have acquired the who had lost a war against the the Roman placing
Persia (r. 336–330 BCE). Alexander whole of the vast Persian Empire. CONQUEST OF ALEXANDER Romans in 342–340 BCE, fought of a colony in their land in
reacted swiftly; the Thebans were Macedonian Empire 336-323BCE them once more in the Second 328 BCE and tensions over the
defeated and their city razed. Route taken by Alexander’s forces Samnite War (326–304 BCE). The control of Neapolis (Naples) led
The other states soon submitted. to the outbreak of war in 326 BCE.
In 334 BCE, Alexander hurried to In 321 BCE, the Samnites defeated
Anatolia, where a Macedonian HIA Alexandria Eschate a Roman army at the Caudine
SCY T A
IAN
S OG D
Ca

army was already established, Forks. The Romans were


sp

B la ck S e a Alexandria ad Oxum
ia

totaling perhaps 43,000 infantry COLCH h Bucephala humiliated by being forced to bow
nS

A
THRACE Byzantium IS Alexandria BACTRId u Kus
ea

and 6,000 cavalry. Although this MACEDONIA Heraclea ARMENIA H in down and “pass under the yoke”
Pella Troy ARACHOSIA
Gordium CAPPADOCIA Alexandria Areion
figure was dwarfed by the forces HELLAS Sardis
ME
SO Nineveh Alexandria (an arch made from their captured
PO MEDIA PARTHIA Arachoton
of the local Persian satraps Ephesus PISIDIA spears). Four years of peace
Sparta TA Ecbatana Quetta
M
I A B PERSIS
(governors), Alexander’s cavalry Crete
M ed it Cyprus SYRIA AB
Susa Pasargadae
Nad-i-Ali followed before the Romans
e r r an e a n S e a YL
INE

Tyre Babylon Patala


smashed the lines of the satrap Jerusalem
O Alexandria renewed the war and, despite
T

Cyrene
NI

Persepolis
ES

Alexandria Gaza Pe
Arsites at the Granicus River in dogged resistance by the
A

rs
L
PA

Arabian ian Gwadar


northwest Turkey. He pushed on Gul f Samnites, finally emerged
Memphis
Aristotle SA
Peninsula
toward the heart of the Persian HA EGYPT victorious in 304 BCE.
The philosopher Aristotle was Arabian
Re

R A Thebes
d

Empire. In 333 BCE, at Issus, employed by Philip of Macedonia Sea


Se
a

northern Syria, he routed an army as Alexander the Great’s tutor.

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58 re
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322–301 BCE
,, TO THE STRONGEST!
Alexander the Great, on his deathbed in reply to a
question about who would succeed him
,,
ALEXANDER THE GREAT had not outlying regions of the Nanda Confucian tradition. His surviving
provided for an orderly succession Empire, pushing his control as work, the Shi Ji, is written in the
after his death in 323 BCE, and his far as Gujarat and the Punjab. form of dialogues with several
In 305 BCE, he began a campaign
most experienced generals were
also dead—except for Antipater, 80,000 against one of Alexander’s
contemporary kings. Meng Zi
stresses the value of de (virtue)
who had been left as regent in ANTIGONUS successors, Seleucus, which for a king and, more practically,
Macedonia. Alexander’s wife ended in a treaty in 303 BCE, under recommends lower taxes, less
Roxane was pregnant, and he which the Greeks ceded control harsh punishments, and ensuring
had a half-brother Arrhidaeus, of eastern Afghanistan and that the people have enough to
who was, unfortunately, Baluchistan to Chandragupta. eat. He believed that if a king
mentally unstable. A clique of 75,000 Having established the Mauryan acted benevolently, everyone
generals who were present at LYSIMACHUS Empire in 307 BCE, Chandragupta would want to be ruled by him,
Alexander’s deathbed— decided to abdicate in favor of and he would have no need of
Ptolemy, Cassander, his son Bindusara (r. 297– conquest. Meng Zi’s benevolent
Seleucus, and Lysimachus— 272 BCE). He then retired to view of human nature had a
engineered a solution by which become a Jain monk, ultimately widespread appeal, and politically
Battle of Ipsus
Roxane’s newborn son Alexander Although slightly outnumbered, starving himself to death. his views were most influential in
IV (323–310 BCE) notionally shared Lysimachus deployed his archers In China, Meng Zi (or Mencius) the time of the Song dynasty
power with Arrhidaeus, who against his enemy’s flank, causing (c. 372–289 BCE) arrived at the Wei (960–1279 CE).
became Philip III. In reality, this Antigonus’s infantry to flee in panic. court around 320 BCE and rapidly
military clique carved up the earned himself a reputation as
empire between themselves and against the four remaining the “second sage” of the
four other generals. Perdiccas principal players: Cassander in
emerged as the main power in Macedonia, Ptolemy in Egypt,
the center; Antipater and Lysimachus in Thrace, and
Craterus took Seleucus in Babylon. War between
Europe; the parties raged inconclusively
Antigonus until 311 BCE. But when it was
Monopthalmus renewed again in 308 BCE, it
(“the one-eyed”) was given looked as if Antigonus might
Phrygia; Ptolemy got Egypt; overcome all the others. Then, in
and Seleucus and Cassander 301 BCE, Lysimachus crushed the
were promoted to senior Antigonid army at Ipsus, and
military commands. annexed most of Antigonus’s
These generals, who became former territories, so cementing a
known as the Diadochoi tripartite division of Alexander’s
(“successors”), then fought a long empire between himself, Ptolemy, ALEXANDER THE GREAT (356–323 BCE)
series of wars for dominance in and Seleucus.
Alexander’s former empire, at In India, in around 320 BCE, At age 20, Alexander inherited much of Greece from his father; by
first pitting the others against Chandragupta Maurya (r. c. 320– his death just 13 years later, he had extended this to cover a vast
Perdiccas, who was assassinated 297 BCE) overthrew the last of the area from the Indus River in the east to Illyria in the west. He
Samnite-style helmet in 320 BCE. Antipater rose to Nandas (see 370–356 BCE) to was a brilliant general but prone to acts of impetuous violence.
The Romans admired the Samnites power next, but he died of natural become ruler of Magadha and the His adoption of Persian court ritual alienated many native
as fighters. This gladiator helmet is causes in 318 BCE, leaving Ganges plain. An energetic ruler, Macedonians, and his not naming an heir proved catastrophic.
based on the Samnite style of armor. Antigonus to make a bid for power he then gradually absorbed the

r
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all
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59
300–281 BCE 280–266 BCE 265–241 BCE
,,
,,
ANOTHER SUCH
VICTORY AND WE
ARE UNDONE.
Pyrrhus, king of the Greek state of Epirus, 279 BCE

The Pharos lighthouse was built under Ptolemy II in around At the Battle of Mylae, in 260 BCE ,
280 BCE . It guided ships into Alexandria harbor at night. Rome defeated the Carthaginian navy.

IN ITALY, A THIRD WAR broke Demetrius Poliorcetes (c.337– IN 281 BCE, THE APPEAL by envoys 500 20 IN INDIA, the accession of Ashoka
out between the Romans and 283 BCE), the son of Antigonus from the southern Italian city of (c. 294–232 BCE) to the throne in
Samnites in 298 BCE, apparently (see 322–301 BCE), was now Tarentum for protection against 268 BCE had marked a watershed

2,0
provoked by Samnite harassment rebuilding his strength from bases the Romans provided Pyrrhus, for the Mauryan Empire. On his

00
of their neighbors, the Lucanians. in the Aegean islands and in the king of the Greek state of 3,0 father Bindusara’s death (see
Despite two Roman victories in Cyprus. He was able to exploit the Epirus, with a perfect excuse 00 322–301 BCE), Ashoka had to fight
297 BCE, the Samnites, this time need of Seleucus, in Babylon, for for fulfilling his ambitions and a four-year civil war with his
allied with the Gauls, could still allies against the now overmighty intervening there. He arrived with brothers before he was enthroned.
field a huge army against the Lysimachus. In 294 BCE, Demetrius an army more than 25,000 strong, Around eight years later, he
Romans at Sentinum in 295 BCE. invaded Macedon, whose ruler including war elephants. He beat launched a campaign against

275
Cassander had died three years
before, leaving his two young
the Romans at the River Siris in
280 BCE, but the Roman senate
20,000 Kalinga (modern Orissa), which
was so bloody that around 100,000
sons to engage in a bitter civil refused to make peace. Pyrrhus people are said to have died. So
war. Demetrius then attacked vanquished another Roman army KEY struck with remorse was Ashoka
Lysimachus’s Asian territories, at Asculum the next year, but his Infantry Slingers at this slaughter, that he ever after
but in 292 BCE he was brought losses were so severe that it Cavalry War elephants rejected war and promoted the
back to Greece by a revolt in seemed more like a defeat. After Archers Buddhist concept of dharma,
Aetolia. By 289 BCE, Demetrius invading Sicily, Pyrrhus retreated meaning mercy or piety. He set up
Pyrrhus's army
THE NUMBER had suppressed the revolt, but he
had lost most of his island bases
back to Epirus in 275 BCE, nursing
huge losses in troops and having
The army that Pyrrhus took over to a series of edicts carved in rock
throughout the empire—many of
Italy included a small number of war
OF YEARS to Ptolemy’s Egyptian fleet. He made no territorial gains. elephants, whose presence caused them on pillars topped with a
retreated to Asia, and died in The defeat and death of the Roman cavalry to panic and flee. lion—promoting his adherence to
THE 283 BCE, a captive of Seleucus. Lysimachus in 281 BCE in battle dharma. Under his patronage the
PTOLEMAIC Of Alexander’s successors, against Seleucus, and the latter’s Third Buddhist Council met at

DYNASTY Ptolemy inherited the weakest


position. A naval defeat in 306 BCE
assassination, soon led to
instability on the frontier between
Pataliputra around 250 BCE, and
Ashoka sought to export his ideas
RULED EGYPT by Demetrius Poliorcetes confined the Seleucid Empire (now ruled abroad, exchanging diplomatic
his ambitions temporarily to Egypt. by his son Antiochus I) and the missions with foreign rulers, such
Yet here he shrewdly chose to Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II as Antiochus II of Syria and
The equally vast Roman army—at exploit the existing mechanisms Philadelphos. Finally, in 274 BCE Ptolemy II of Egypt. At his death
45,000, the largest they had ever of power, establishing himself as the First Syrian War broke out in 232 BCE, the Mauryan Empire
fielded—was threatened with a pharaoh in the old style and between them. The Egyptians had reached its greatest extent
defeat until the Roman consul setting up an administration that emerged victorious, annexing and seemed securely established.
Publius Decius Mus (d. 295 BCE) melded the best of Greek and parts of the Syrian coast and In China, Zhao Zheng succeeded
dedicated himself and the enemy Egyptian traditions. By 295 BCE, southern Anatolia. This position his father to the throne of Qin in
army as sacrificial victims to the Ptolemy’s naval forces had was in part reversed by Egyptian 246 BCE. From 228 BCE, ably advised
gods of the underworld and led a recovered and conquered much of losses in the Second Syrian War by chancellor Li Si, Zhao Zheng
suicidal charge that shattered the the Aegean. In Egypt, Ptolemy’s (260–253 BCE) and then renewed unleashed a final war of conquest
Samnite line. A string of Roman position was sufficiently secure in the Third Syrian War (246–241 against the remaining Warring
successes followed in 293 and that, at his death in 283 BCE, aged BCE), which was fought between States (see 370–356 BCE). Zhao
292 BCE, and two years later the 84, he passed the kingdom on to the Seleucid Antiochus II and and Yan soon fell to his forces, the
Samnites finally surrendered and his son Ptolemy II Philadelphos Pyrrhus of Epirus Ptolemy III. These three Qin armies captured Wei and, in
their lands were annexed. Roman (r. 283–245 BCE), the second king Despite his many campaigns, when debilitating wars left the Seleucids 223 BCE, overcame Chu. Only Qi
territory now stretched across the of a Ptolemaic dynasty that would Pyrrhus died he ruled little more particularly vulnerable to the now still held out but, in 221 BCE, Zhao
Italian peninsula to the Adriatic Sea. rule Egypt until 30 BCE. than the kingdom he had inherited. growing power of Parthia. Zheng finally annexed it, leaving

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60
23
YEARS
THE LENGTH OF
THE FIRST PUNIC
WAR

little headway. However, after they Aegades Islands. This defeat


ROMAN RELIGION
had built their first-ever fleet, the caused Hamilcar Barca, the
Romans’ fortunes changed. In Carthaginian general, to sue for
Early Roman religion combined 260 BCE, they won an important peace. The peace terms involved
the worship of the great gods, victory over the Carthaginians at the Carthaginians leaving Sicily.
such as Neptune (shown here), Mylae. A Roman invasion of North The two sides’ spheres of
with that of more local deities. Africa in 256 BCE failed to capture influence remained uncomfortably
There were several different Carthage only through the overlapping, creating the seeds
types of priest: haruspices ineptitude of the consul, Regulus. of two future conflicts.
made predictions from the On land, the Romans took the
entrails of sacrificed animals; Carthaginian strongholds in Sicily
,,
,,
augures determined the divine
will from signs, such as the
one by one until, by 249 BCE, only
Drepana, in western Sicily, held
IF THEY WILL
flight of birds; and pontifices out against them. A massive NOT EAT, LET
controlled the complex Carthaginian naval victory there THEM DRINK!
calendar of religious festivals. set back the Roman cause, but
In their homes, Romans had in 241 BCE, a new Roman fleet Publius Claudius Pulcher, Roman
appeared off Drepana, took it, consul and general, ordering the
shrines to household gods and
drowning of the sacred chickens
the spirits of their ancestors. and the next year smashed when they refused to eat grain
a Carthaginian fleet at the before the Battle of Drepana, 249 BCE

him the master of all China. The expelled the nomads, but wars the nomadic Parni, led by EUR OP E Alps
same year he proclaimed himself with Egypt (280–272 BCE and Arsaces, entered Parthia in the
Tolosa
P Placentia
yr
the “First Emperor” as Qin Shi 260–253 BCE) overstretched the mid-240s BCE. Numantia e n Narbo Massalia
ee
Huangdi, and the first ruler of the kingdom’s resources. On the Rivalry over Sicily, where the s Ariminum
Pisae
Iberian Emporiae Rhodae
new Qin dynasty. death of Antiochus II (r. 261–246 Carthaginians had possessed Peninsula
Dertosa
Tarraco
Corsica
Perusia
Ad
In Persia, the Greek Seleucid BCE), civil war broke out between colonies since the 8th century BCE, to Rome 238 Aleria ri
at
Saguntum s Rome
le a r e Ostia ic
dynasty, which had inherited the the king’s widow Berenice and his was at the root of the First Punic Ba Olbia Se
a
Gades Sardinia Capua
region after Alexander the Great’s former wife Laodice. This led to War (264–241 BCE), a conflict Malaca to Rome 238 Tarentum
Tingis Mediterr
ane Carales
death in 323 BCE, faced a series of the breakaway of Bactria under between Rome and the North Cartenna
an Panormus Thurii
Rusaddir Se 260BCE Croton
nomad incursions Diodotus and Parthia African power of Carthage. In 264 Iol a 241BCE Mylae
Saldae Rhegium
Utica Agrigentum
after 280 BCE. under Andragoras. BCE, the Romans sent an army to Carthage Ecnomus
Syracuse
Antiochus I (reign Taking advantage help the Mamertines—a group Hadrumetum
256BCE
Sicily
c. 292–261 BCE) of this instability, of south-Italian mercenaries to Rome 241

occupying the Sicilian city of


Messana—in their conflict with A F R I CA
the city of Syracuse, which was Leptis Magna

in turn aided by Carthage. The


Carthaginian’s resistance was so Charax

stubborn that the Romans made


KEY
The First Punic War
Carthaginian Empire in 264 BCE
Great Stupa at Sanchi The two decades of fighting was
This Buddhist stupa in central India Roman gains by 264 BCE concentrated around Sicily, but
was begun by the Mauryan ruler Roman gains by 238 BCE also saw Roman invasions of
Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Roman victory North Africa and Sardinia.

ac r
se n u L ver ); BC
E
ion in s s Wa
s u ia d f A d Ri nam 207 in us as tory at lay ian val ri ism nd ast
y an s
o w v s n S u r i an y
an agin buil e e t
tat in R n Vie iet
in s
an er con
o m i n r
an ter n de
i fe
m
n
an nia um i
ag at n
a
a of dd h o
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n Sy een cids om ictor e at
m h S i e t h s u e d u R
Ro art el to an
s CE ed er V m v
Ro ry o off
E m n
Ro inia nds
i o g
R tha yba r
Ca an ana
s Tis to
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Th t bet Sel CE lv ag
BC
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d C mod t om sica 7 B sh od am BC
E
ar Lil ng ts Ar arth 1 B va rth ds
25 tabli in m by N CE CE g m ep E
24 n na t Ca lan
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R
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s ou and i s
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n e
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an nd es be emi ia er ca tri s 3 B erat an m
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26 vict inia ylae St War mie 4 BCE
s 6B a i y e 25 ids essi lude llian Ha Car e in c. ngdo end em
e on m M by Sicy o
n ya re n n
l ag M CE 25 are nast c ss nc a BC
E
d i d p
lo fro ion of il a
a
v th B n le 25 g dy le u o co ge 0 g i n C E s i v ki dep ucid Pe Sic ic W
a
n ar 0 i a to o an Se ver p 25 an Q 7 B in ns in
26 Syr P (t oy ou ria c. i Hu r of 24 beg offe in ele do
m n
C ids Lu Zh o ar e S Pu
e uc m Sh rul
l
Se
61
240–220 BCE 219–211 BCE

36
THE NUMBER OF
COMMANDERIES
(REGIONS) SET UP
BY EMPEROR QIN
SHI HUANGDI

This rendition of Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps is attributed to Italian artist


Jacopo Ripanda. Amazingly, all 37 elephants survived the mountain passage.

IN 221 BCE, QIN SHI HUANGDI, the In the aftermath of the First Second Punic War
AT L A N T I C
first emperor of China, divided his Punic War (see 264–241 BCE), There were three principal theaters OCEAN EUR OP E
empire into 36 commanderies on which Sicily and Sardinia lost, of conflict: Spain, Italy, and North
the advice of his minister Li Ssu. Carthage turned its attention Africa. By 203 BCE, the Carthaginians
ALPS
were confined to Africa. Tolosa
The dispossessed aristocrats and to Spain. In 238 BCE, Hamilcar P Placentia
Numantia yr Trebia 218 20
nobles of Qin’s former enemies was sent there, and he conquered e n Narbo
e es
Massalia 7
Ariminum
I b e ri a n 208 2 1 0 Pisae
were moved to the capital Xianyang almost all of southern Spain. He Pe ni ns ul a Tarraco 21
8 Rhodae River Metaurus 207
Emporiae Corsica Perusia Lake Trasimene 217
to keep them under close control. died in battle against the Oretani, Aleria Ad
Baecula 208 Saguntum Dertosa Rome S e r ia t
To further encourage a sense of a Celtic tribe, in 229 BCE, but by Ilipa 206 Ostia a ic
209 Olbia
unity, Li Ssu commissioned a then he had won a new empire Capua Cannae 216
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR Gades Baleares Sardinia
single script and a standardized for Carthage and a strong power Tarentum
218–202 BCE Tingis Malaca Carthago Me dite Carales
Nova rra Thurii
system of weights and measures base for his family, the Barcids. Carthaginian Empire 281BCE C Rusaddir
ne
an Croton
Cartenna Iol Messina
Motya
for China. Further conquests were Despite their victory in the First Carthaginian territory 200BCE R Saldae Utica Mylae Rhegium
204 Sicily Agrigentum
made to the north and south in Punic War, the Romans’ position Roman territory 218BCE H
Zama 202 Carthage
219 and 214 BCE, and thousands of in northern Italy was still weak. In Syracuse
Roman gains by 200BCE H Hadrumetum 203
colonists were sent to the new 225 BCE, the Celtic Insubres and Melita

S
Massalian territory 218BCE S

e
territories. Shi Huangdi dealt Boii tribes tried to drive them out.

a
Carthaginian victory
A F R I CA
firmly with opposition. In 213 BCE, At the Battle of Telamon, the Celts Roman victory
he ordered the “burning of the were trapped between two Roman Leptis Magna
Hannibal (219–202)
books,” by which the writings of armies and routed. Although the Hasdrubal (208–207
Charax
philosophers opposed to the Qin Boii accepted defeat in 224 BCE and Scipio Africanus (210–206
state were burned, and in 212 BCE the Insubres sued for peace two and 204–202)
he had many intellectuals who years later, the Romans rebuffed
opposed him brutally killed. them and pushed on for total ALARMED AT CARTHAGINIAN decided to strike first. He Romans—including one of the
victory. The king of the Boii was EXPANSION IN SPAIN, in 226 BCE marched with 50,000 infantry, consuls. Faced with many
killed in single combat against a the Romans sent an embassy to 9,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants defections among the allied
Roman consul, and their capital Hasdrubal—son of Hamilcar and into northern Spain, across the cities, the Romans turned to
Mediolanum (Milan) captured. the new Barcid commander Pyrenees, through southern delaying tactics to hold Hannibal
The Romans established colonies there—and secured an Gaul and—to the Romans’ at bay. But this was a temporary
in the Celtic territories in 218 BCE, agreement that the Carthaginians astonishment—crossed the Alps. measure, and the Romans
including at Piacenza. would not move north of the Ebro Although he now had only around suffered one of their worst ever
A revolt led by Arsaces (see River. In return, the Romans half the force he had started with, defeats at Cannae in 216 BCE, when
265–241 BCE) in Parthava, a pledged not to move south— his presence encouraged the
former satrapy in the northeast of although they did forge alliances north Italian Celts to revolt and, 100
the Seleucid Empire, could not be with cities in the south, such as 50,000 casualties
at Trebia in late 218 BCE, he
quelled by Seleucus II (r. 246–225 Saguntum. In 221 BCE, Hasdrubal routed a Roman army. The FORCES IN THOUSANDS 80
BCE), and a separate Parthian was assassinated; two years following year he smashed 6,000
kingdom emerged in the region later, Hannibal, his brother and another large Roman force at 60 casualties
of modern Iran. The Parthians successor, attacked Saguntum, Lake Trasimene, killing 15,000
40
gradually annexed more territory rapidly leading to the Second
to the west, especially under Punic War (219–201 BCE). 20
Suppressing opposition Battle of Canae
This watercolor-on-silk painting Mithridates I (r. 171–138 BCE). By With the prospect of the Some 35,000 Romans survived the
shows Shi Huangdi, China’s first the early 1st century BCE, only a Romans sending one army to battle of Cannae, but half of those 0
emperor, overseeing the burning of small area of Syria was under Spain and another via Sicily to were captured by the Carthaginians, Roman Carthaginian
books and the execution of scholars. Seleucid control. invade North Africa, Hannibal and many were sold into slavery. TROOPS

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of
62
210–201 BCE

After his death, the First Qin Emperor was buried in a vast mausoleum, in which
an army of 8,000 terracotta warriors, each around 6 ft 6 in (2 m) tall, were placed.

WHEN THE FIRST QIN EMPEROR position there. The Roman senate at Utica in North Africa, the fleet was reduced to a mere 10
DIED IN 210 BCE, resentment sent the young general Publius Carthaginians recalled Hannibal ships; they were not allowed to
against his autocratic rule erupted Cornelius Scipio (c. 236–183 BCE) to head off a threat to Carthage make war outside Africa at all,
in a series of peasant revolts. A to Spain, where he captured the itself. The Romans offered and inside it they needed Roman
number of new kingdoms broke Carthaginian capital of Carthage relatively lenient peace terms, but permission to do so. An annual
away from the center, while the Nova. In 206 BCE, he crushed a the Carthaginians rejected them, tribute of 10,000 talents payable
anti-Qin forces found a talented large Carthaginian force at Illipa. and Scipio captured their towns to the Romans completed the
military leader in Xiang Yu. In In 207 BCE, Hannibal’s brother one by one. Aided by the Numidian humiliation of what had once
208 BCE, Li Ssu was executed and Hasdrubal was defeated and prince, Massinissa, Scipio been Rome’s greatest enemy.
a new army, led by Liu Bang, a killed at the Metaurus River in defeated Hannibal’s last army at
man of peasant origins, emerged northern Italy, denying Hannibal Zama in 202 BCE. The peace terms
The Continence of Scipio
to challenge the Qin. By 206 BCE, crucial reinforcements. By 204 BCE, the Carthaginians now had to Scipio was noted for his mercy. In
the Qin Empire was fragmented many of Hannibal’s south-Italian accept were much harsher. All of this 19th-century painting, he is
and Xiang Yu and Liu Bang were at allies had deserted him, and when their territory was forfeit save a seen handing back a captured
HANNIBAL (247–182 BCE)
war with one another. In 202 BCE, Scipio landed with a Roman army band around Carthage itself; their Carthaginian woman to her fiancé.
Xiang Yu committed suicide after
A brilliant tactician, Hannibal’s being defeated at Gaixia. With no
string of victories against the one left to oppose him, Liu Bang
Romans from 218 BCE was had himself declared emperor as
not matched by the strategic Gaozu, the first ruler of the Han
judgment to convert them dynasty (see 200–171 BCE).
into final victory. Following With Hannibal making little
the surrender of Carthage in headway in southern Italy, the
201 BCE, Hannibal served Romans embarked on a policy of
as the city’s suffete (chief picking off the allies of Carthage.
magistrate) until the Romans Their first target was Philip V of
had him exiled in 195 BCE. Macedonia, whose attacks on
He then offered his service Illyria in 215 BCE had provoked the
to a succession of Rome’s First Macedonian War (215–205
enemies before poisoning BCE) with Rome. In 211 BCE, the
himself in Bithynia. Romans allied with the Aetolians,
who fought the Macedonians on
land while the Romans launched
Hannibal’s army massacred up to naval attacks. Philip’s invasion
50,000 of them. But Hannibal of Aetolia in 207 BCE forced the
did not march immediately on Aetolians to sue for peace the next
Rome, and his campaign lost year, and though the Romans sent
momentum. Although Hannibal fresh forces in 205 BCE, the war
captured much of southern Italy, ended with a recognition of the
including the key city of Capua in status quo between the two sides.
211 BCE, by 212 BCE the Romans In Spain, the Romans had
had raised 25 fresh legions and retaken Saguntum in 212 BCE, but
stood ready to carry the war back a disastrous defeat the following
to the Carthaginians. year in which both consuls died
looked set to destroy the Roman

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63
700 BCE – 5 9 9 CE THE CLASSICAL AGE

owl, the sacred


bird of Athena

crescent symbol in
post-490 BCE coins

Athenian coin
The Athenian
silver tetradrachm
has an image of an
owl on one side and
a helmeted head on
the other. It was also
stamped with the Greek
letters for “ATHE” to identify
the city of its origin.

1200 BCE
Shells as money
Beginning from the 465–454 BCE
Maldives, the use Greek coins
of cowrie shells Almost every Greek city-state
as money spreads issues its own coinage, often with
throughout the Pacific, the name of the state inscribed on
and, by the 19th century, it. Silver replaces electrum as the
into Africa. Cowrie shells main metal used.

Prehistory 1000–500 BCE c. 640–630 BCE Lydian coins 27 BCE–14 CE


Cattle as capital Tool money First true coins Augustan aureus
Prehistoric people In China, common The state of Lydia Emperor Augustus
use cattle as money, tools are cast in produces the first true reforms the Roman
with animals such as metal, punched coins, made of electrum coinage system and
sheep or chickens with holes (for (an alloy of gold and issues a new version of
sometimes acting Cattle stringing several silver) and stamped with the standard gold coin,
as small change. together), and Knife an image of a lion or stag. Gold the aureus, worth
used as money. money aureus 25 silver denarii.

64
T H E S TO R Y O F M O N E Y

THE STORY OF
MONEY
THE ADOPTION OF MONEY ENABLED EARLY SOCIETIES TO FLOURISH AND GROW INTO COMPLEX CIVILIZATIONS

As societies became more complex, a need arose for a uniform medium of


exchange to acquire goods. Money was created to fulfill this role, and it evolved
from cattle to precious metals, and finally, to coins and bank notes. Today, money
is exchanged more abstractly, through credit cards or electronic transfers.

The earliest forms of money—used in ritual code mentions loans paid in silver. In 640 BCE,
exchanges (for example, as a dowry) and in paying in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor, the
fines—included physical items such as cattle. development of money went a stage further with
In the 4th millennium BCE, the growth of trade in the invention of coinage, which later spread to
Egypt and Mesopotamia led to more compact and the Greek world. By the Roman era, a tri-metallic
portable forms of money. For thousands of years, system had been adopted, with coins of gold,
precious metals were used, often in the forms of silver, and bronze (of least value) circulating across
bars and ingots. Babylonian king Hammurabi’s law the empire. All had the head of the ruler stamped
on them, for propaganda as well as fiscal use.
100
90 EXCHANGE NOTES
80 In 1189, paper money came into use in China during
PERCENTAGE OF SILVER

70
Jin rule. Notes could express larger denominations
60
and, therefore, were more convenient than coins.
50
Gradually, government-backed banks began to issue TRADE AND PAPER MONEY
40
notes, which were, in theory, exchangeable for an
30
equivalent amount in bullion (a system known as The growth in paper money in Europe after
20 the Middle Ages was fueled by the needs of
the Gold Standard). However, the economic crisis
10 merchants. Traders would deposit funds in a
following World War I forced countries to abandon
0 bank in one city and receive a promissory note,
160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 the Gold Standard. Subsequently, the “real” value of
which allowed them to withdraw the amount
YEAR notes and coins became nominal, relying instead on in any other city where the bank had a branch.
The debasement of Roman coins a sense of trust that they could be exchanged for Great Italian banking houses, such as the Medici,
Due to inflation, excessive expenditure, and weak control goods. The growth of credit cards from 1950 took were rich enough to fund the military campaigns
of minting, the purity of the Roman denarius fell from of European kings through their loans.
around 90 percent silver under Marcus Aurelius this a stage further, as the purchaser passed on
(r. 161–180) to 4 percent during Gallienus’s rule (r. 260–268). nothing save the promise of payment at a later date.

806–821 1519 1694 1949


Paper money Thalers First bank note Credit and debit cards
In China, Emperor Coin minted from The Bank of England The first credit cards
Xianzong issues the silver found in the is founded to fund appear in the US in
earliest bank notes during Joachimsthal mine, England’s growing 1949. By the 1980s,
a period of copper Bohemia, becomes national debt. It issues debit cards, which
shortage. The Jin dynasty Song standard in the its first bank notes, operate as electronic
issues the first true bank dynasty Spanish and Austrian Joachimsthal backed by the bank’s cash (without deferred
notes around 1189. note Habsburg empires. thaler own gold reserves. payment) appear. Credit cards

1158 17th century 1862


Making change Modern check First dollar bill
Henry II of England By the 17th century, the use The US Treasury
creates high-quality of checks, often backed issues the first
coinage, based on a by goldsmiths, becomes dollar bills for
silver penny, with widespread in national circulation.
a cross design that Europe. These are known
will last over the next British check as “greenbacks”
100 years. Henricus penny from 1659 for their vivid green color. First one dollar bill

65
200–171 BCE 170–147 BCE

The royal entourage of Gaozu, the first emperor of the Han, depicted in the mountains of China. This wall painting shows Judah
Gaozu was one of the few Chinese rulers to come from a peasant background. Maccabee’s revolt in Jerusalem.

THE FIRST HAN EMPEROR OF the beginnings of political Mauryan general, assassinated including the Satavahanas, the THE THIRD MACEDONIAN WAR
CHINA, GAOZU, died in 195 BCE, consolidation in central Japan, the last Mauryan ruler (see Kalingas, and the Indo-Greek ended In 168 BCE, when Paullus
when his successor, Hui Ti, was especially around the lower Nara 265 BCE). He is said to have kingdoms of Bactria. defeated Perseus at the Battle of
just 15. Hui Ti fell under the sway basin (near Osaka). persecuted Buddhists, marking Bactria (in modern Afghanistan) Pydna. A purge of anti-Roman
of his mother, the empress Lu, In India, the Sunga dynasty the beginning of the religion’s had broken away from Seleucid elements swept through the
who took power for herself on took power in Magadha in 185 BCE, decline in its Indian homeland. control around 275 BCE, but a Greek cities, and Macedonia was
his premature death in 188 BCE. when its founder Pusyamitra He also fought a long series of series of Greek kings continued broken up into four republics to
Under her rule China was Sunga (r. 185–151 BCE), a former wars with Magadha’s neighbors, to rule there, starting with prevent it recovering its strength.
invaded by the Hsiung-nu from Diodotus around 250 BCE. Another In 150 BCE, Spartan attempts
the north and the kingdom of Indo-Greek dynasty emerged in to get the Romans to intervene
Nan-yueh to the south, and it India, and became powerful in a quarrel with the Achaean
was only under Gaozu’s grandson under Menander I (c. 165– League (a group of Greek

13
130 BCE), an important patron of city-states) coincided with an
Buddhism. Under the Indo-Greek anti-Roman revolt in Macedonia.
geometrical kings, a new school of art By 148 BCE, the Macedonians had
patterns emerged around Gandhara, which been defeated and the Romans
and shapes fused Buddhist iconography and turned their attention to the
Greek naturalism. Gradually, Achaeans. The Roman consul
these easternmost Greeks came L. Mummius quickly routed the
under pressure from Scythian Archaeans and took Corinth,
and Yuezhi nomads and in 125 BCE which he razed to the ground. The
Bactria collapsed. The last various leagues of Greek cities
THE NUMBER Indo-Greek kingdom of the were dissolved and Greece lost
OF REGIONS Punjab survived until 10 CE.
The Roman victory against
its independence, becoming the
Roman province of Achaea.
THAT MADE UP Philip V of Macedon (see
HAN CHINA 210 BCE) in the Second
Macedonian War (200–197 BCE)
50

NUMBER OF SOLIDERS (IN 1,000s)


Total
did not lead to permanent
40 Total
Wen Ti (r. 180–157 BCE) that acquisitions in Greece,
stability was restored. and the Romans withdrew Captured
By 143 BCE, the number of their army in 194 BCE. 30
commanderies (regions) After the death of Philip V
under central Han control had in 179 BCE, his son Perseus 20
risen from 13 to a total of 40. presided over worsening
Killed
In Japan, the Middle Yayoi relations with Rome, and 10
period (c. 200–100 BCE) saw an in 171 BCE a Third Macedonian Killed
increase in population—possibly War broke out. Initial Roman 0
to as high as 600,000 people—and campaigning achieved little Romans Macedonians
except the alienation of their COMBATANTS
Greek allies, but a more
Yayoi vase Battle of Pydna
The Yayoi period in Japanese history disciplined approach under Philip V of Macedon’s army was
(c. 300 BCE to 250 CE) is named for the consul Aemilius Paullus completely destroyed at the Battle
the site near Tokyo where its pottery (see 170 BCE) yielded better of Pydna. The Romans killed 20,000
was first found. results. Macedonians and captured 11,000.

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146–131 BCE

The ruins of Carthage, which was burned and ritually cursed after its capture
in 146 BCE . A new Roman town was founded near the city around 48 BCE .

After the end of the Second Punic the Elder, who made a series of ,,I SHUDDER TO THINK

,,
War, in 202 BCE, the Romans had speeches to the Senate calling for
allowed their ally King Massinissa
of Numidia to encroach on
the destruction of Carthage.
The first two years of the Third
THAT ONE DAY SOMEONE
Carthaginian territory. The peace
conditions that ended the war
Punic war saw ineffective Roman
attacks on towns around Carthage.
MAY GIVE THE SAME ORDER
forbade the Carthaginians to wage In 147 BCE, a new commander was
appointed, Scipio Aemilianus,
FOR ROME.
,,
,,
who transformed Rome’s fortunes Scipio Aemilianus, Roman general and consul, on giving the order
CARTHAGE in the war within a year. to burn Carthage, from Plutarch’s Apothegmata

MUST BE Carthaginean tophet


A memorial stone from the tophet
In 167 BCE, the Seleucid ruler
Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish
DESTROYED. (cemetery) at Carthage, showing religious practices in Judaea, IN CHINA, RAIDS BY NOMADIC capital, under which a Jewish
Tanit, the goddess of the heavens. leading to the revolt of Judah HSIUNG-NU TRIBES from 177 BCE dynasty ruled until Jerusalem was
Cato the Elder, Roman statesman Maccabee and his brothers in gravely threatened the Han captured by the Romans in 63 BCE.
made to pay an annual fine 164 BCE. Judah Maccabee entered dynasty’s northern borders. In On the Iberian Peninsula, the
of 500 talents. In 151 BCE, the Jerusalem, reconsecrated the 139 BCE the imperial envoy, Zhang Romans had conquered most of
war without Roman approval. Carthaginian government sent a temple, and reestablished Qian, set out to Central Asia to southern Spain and parts of
Unable to act, the Carthaginians military force to relieve a town that Judaism. The Seleucid kingdom seek out possible allies against Portugal (where the Lusitanians
were reduced to sending had been besieged by Massinissa, then continued to decline (see the Hsiung-nu. His epic journey vigorously resisted them) by
embassies to Rome to protest and the Romans reacted by also 280 BCE), with the overthrow helped scout the way for Chinese 174 BCE. A revolt by the Lusitanian
Massinissa’s behavior. However, declaring war. This was the Third of its ruler Demetrius I in 150 BCE expansion as far as Dunhuang, and leader Viriathus from 147 BCE was
Rome sided with its ally, and one Punic War (149–146 BCE). Rome’s by Alexander Balas rapidly leading the foundation of a number of new joined by several Celtiberian
Carthaginian embassy in 162 BCE war was encouraged by the to the loss of the key satrapies Central Asian commanderies by tribes in 144 BCE. This rebellion
even resulted in Carthage being anti-Carthaginian senator Cato (provinces) of Media and Susiana. 104 BCE. Zhang Qian was held petered out after Viriathus was
captive by the Hsiung-nu for some murdered in 140 BCE. In 133 BCE,
years during his journey before he Numantia, the main center of the
was able to make an escape. revolt, finally fell to the Romans
Under emperor Wu (141–87 BCE) after a bitter siege. Its population
the Chinese launched several was sold into slavery and Rome
offensives against the Hsiung-nu, was left in control of all of Iberia,
particularly in 121 BCE and 119 BCE, except the far north of Spain.
after which the frontier was quiet The Third Punic War came to
for almost 20 years. an end when Scipio Aemilianus
In the Near East, the shrunken blocked Carthage’s harbor then
and near-helpless Seleucid launched a successful attack on
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC realm (see 170 BCE) was riven by the city itself in spring 146 BCE.
civil wars and prey to interference The last Carthaginian defenders
After the overthrow of the last king in 507 BCE, orders. Later elections for the consulate became from the Parthians, the died in an inferno in the city’s
Rome became a republic, ruled by two annually bitterly contested as the office provided great Hasmonaeans, and, increasingly, main temple. The defeat of
elected consuls. Over time the consuls came potential for enrichment and personal and family the Romans. In 142 BCE, the Carthage brought its 118-year
to be supported by other magistrates (praetors glory. After Augustus became emperor in 27 BCE Maccabees succeeded in wresting struggle against Rome to an end.
and quaestors), and tribunes of the plebs who had the office of consul lost any real power, being Jerusalem from Seleucid control The Romans burned the whole
a special role in protecting the rights of the lower increasingly awarded to imperial favourites. and established a Hasmonaean city and deported its population to
kingdom, with Jerusalem as its prevent any Carthaginian revival.

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67
130–111 BCE 110–91 BCE
,,
,,
HOWEVER MUCH YOU MAY
TRY TO DELAY, YOU ARE FATED TO
MEET THE SAME DEATH AS I DID.
Tiberius Gracchus, Roman official, speaking in a dream to his
brother Gaius; from an account by Cicero

This 17th-century silk painting from a history of Chinese emperors


shows the Emperor Wudi greeting a scholar.

SAKA (SCYTHIAN) TRIBESMEN


invaded Punjab, northern India,
in about 125 BCE. They gradually
In southern and central India,
the Satavahanas began their
rise to power after the breakup of
IN PALESTINE, THE HASMONEAN
KINGDOM (see 146–131 BCE) had
continued its expansion until the
In North Africa, the Romans
faced a serious challenge when
Micipsa, the son of their former
,, YOU DO
WELL TO
occupied more territory, ending
a brief period of Indo-Greek unity
the Mauryan Empire in the 2nd
century BCE (see 200–171 BCE).
fall of Jerusalem to the Seleucid
Antiochus VII in 131 BCE. However,
ally Massinissa of Numidia (see
170–147 BCE), died in 118 BCE. The
CONSIDER
THE OFFICE

,,
(see 200–171 BCE) under the reign From his capital in the Deccan, the during the reign of John Hyrcanus Romans ordered the kingdom be
of Antialcidas around 110 BCE. Led third Satavahana king, Satakarni, (r. 134–104 BCE) it recovered much divided between Micipsa’s nephew YOUR OWN,
by King Maues, the Sakas took extended his sway considerably of the ground that had been lost. Jugurtha and his sons. Jugurtha
the kingdom of Gandhara and its around 50 BCE, although he and Alexander Jannaeus (r. 103–76 rejected this, killing one cousin FOR YOU
capital Taxila in about 80 BCE. later Satavahana rulers struggled BCE) enlarged the kingdom until it and attacking the other, Adherbal, BOUGHT IT.
After Maues died (c. 60 BCE), the to contain the Saka and Kushan occupied most of modern Israel who fled to Rome. After a brief
Saka kingdom collapsed, but it threats from the northwest. and the West Bank. After defeats division of Numidia between Julius Caesar’s father chastising
the future dictator Sulla for having
was revived under his son Azes I In Rome, social turmoil had by the Nabataean king Aretas III in Jugurtha and Adherbal, Jugurtha
corruptly bought office in 94 BCE;
(r. 58–c. 30 BCE), who conquered erupted over the distribution of 84 BCE and internal strife following renewed his attack on his cousin from Lives by Plutarch
much of northwest India. The public land held by the Senate. Alexander’s death, the and the Romans became involved.
Sakas held this region until the Tiberius Gracchus, who was Hasmoneans were
rise of the Kushan Empire during tribune of the plebs in 133 BCE, increasingly vulnerable Following several disastrous
the 1st century CE. sought to ensure that plots of this to Roman interference. years of campaigning from
land would be handed over to 111 BCE, the Romans sent Quintus
poorer families. When the Senate Caecilius Metellus, who captured
obstructed his plans, he tried to Jugurtha’s strongholds one by
extend his tribunate so that he one. In 108 BCE, Gaius Marius
could pursue his aim. A mob replaced Metellus. Finally,
organized by senators opposed trapped in the far west of his
to the plans beat him to death in territory, Jugurtha was handed to
the Forum. Tiberius’s brother the Romans by his father-in-law
Gaius became tribune in 123 BCE Bocchus of Mauretania.
and tried to carry on his brother’s In Gaul, two Germanic tribes,
work. He also reduced the the Cimbri and Teutones, had
Senate’s role in dispensing justice, been defeating the Romans since
and pushed through a law to allow 107 BCE, notably at Arausio in
the sale of subsidized grain to the 105 BCE, where Roman losses
poor. In 122 BCE, the Senate reached 80,000. Marius took
declared Gaius an enemy of the command of the defense against
state, due to his plans to extend ROMAN MILITARY REFORMS the Germans on his return from
Roman citizenship more widely North Africa, and in 102 BCE
in Italy. He killed himself, and By the late 2nd century BCE, the Roman army was experiencing vanquished the Teutones at Aquae
thousands of his political difficulty recruiting from the traditional propertied classes. Gaius Sextiae in Gaul. He next crushed
supporters were executed. Marius changed this by opening the army to those who fell below the Cimbri at the Battle of
the normal property qualification. The eagle became the universal Vercellae in 101 BCE. He was
legionary standard for the first time, and the legions themselves rewarded with an unprecedented
Amravati relief carving
This carving depicts the life of the were reformed as a heavy infantry force. From this point onward sixth consulship in 100 BCE.
Buddha. It comes from Amravati in Roman light infantry and cavalry were organized into “auxiliary” In China, Emperor Wudi (r.
Andra Pradesh, southeast India, one units, which were recruited from noncitizens. 141–87 BCE) strengthened the Han
of the capitals of the Satavahanas. Empire’s administrative system

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68
90–71 BCE

Maiden Castle hill-fort in Britain underwent several phases of rebuilding after


it was begun around 600 BCE , reaching its final form about 500 years later.

AFTER HIS VICTORY AT VERCELLAE, Senate had voted to put Marius in


(see 110–91 BCE) Marius became charge of the campaign. Enraged,
Rome’s dominant politician, but Sulla entered Rome with his troops
the brutal behavior of his ally and seized power. He moved
Saturninus, tribune of the plebs, against Mithridates in 89 BCE, and
provoked the Senate. Political had driven him out of Greece by
violence flared, and in 100 BCE 84 BCE. Sulla returned to Rome,
Marius had to march an army into defeated his remaining opponents
Rome. Saturninus was killed in the (including the aged Marius), and
ensuing riot. As Marius’s power was appointed dictator in 82 BCE.
waned, discontent rose among Sulla took savage revenge on the
Italians without Roman citizenship. Marians, packed the Senate with
In 91 BCE, this erupted into the his supporters, and curtailed the
Social War. A protégé of Marius, powers of the tribunes. Anti-Sullan
Lucius Sulla (c. 138–78 BCE), took a forces regrouped around Quintus
key role in suppressing the revolt, Sertorius, who had fled to Spain.
Captured in stone
which was largely over by 88 BCE , After Sulla died in 78 BCE, the
The Danzante carvings at Monte
Alban, Mexico, were once thought albeit with some concessions Senate sent Pompey to deal with
to be of dancers, but they are now offered by Rome to the rebels. Sertorius. His military efforts were
believed to represent the mutilated Sulla was elected consul in 88 ineffective; only the assassination
bodies of enemies captured in war. BCE. That same year, while waiting of Sertorius allowed Pompey to
to sail with his army to Greece to return victorious to Italy in 71 BCE.
by beginning civil service counter the threat posed by the In 73 BCE, a slave revolt led by
examinations. Official positions king of Pontus, Mithridates VI the gladiator Spartacus broke
for academics had been (134–63 BCE), Sulla heard that the out near Naples and grew into the
established in 136 BCE, most serious revolt Rome had ever
consolidating the ruling house’s faced. Eventually, the rebel slaves
stranglehold on the intellectual were trapped in southern Italy and
life of China. In 106 BCE, Wudi defeated by the Roman general
appointed 13 regional Marcus Licinius Crassus in 71 BCE.
inspectors to monitor the
behavior of government officials,
70,000 By the 1st century BCE, the Celtic
peoples of southern Britain had
raised taxes, and forbade private SPARTACAN started to expand their existing
REBELS
coin-minting. His armies pushed hill-forts into oppida (“towns”)
deep into Central Asia. By 108 BCE, that were defended by extensive
the Han Empire had reached its 6,000 fortifications. The greatest oppida
largest extent. were formidable obstacles to
In Mexico, the population of attackers and some were royal
Monte Albán had reached about spartican rebels capitals, complete with palaces.
17,000 by around 100 BCE. Monte crucified
Albán’s control began to reach
The rebellion by Spartacus Sacred offering
beyond the immediate vicinity of Crassus crucified slaves along the This 1st-century BCE British Celtic
the Valley of Oaxaca, and many Appian Way, which led to Rome, as shield was discovered in the Thames
large stone platforms and public a warning to any others who might River, where it had probably been
monuments were built in the city. plan a similar insurrection. thrown as an offering to a river god.

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69
70–61 BCE 60–51 BCE

Mound City, Ohio contains a cluster of more than A reconstruction of the Roman ramparts at Alesia,
20 Hopewell earthwork burial mounds. where Caesar forced Vercingetorix to surrender.

3
AFTER POMPEY’S RETURN TO ITALY GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR BECAME area of southern Gaul. He took
(see 90–71 BCE), he was elected CONSUL OF ROME for the first time advantage of the migration of the
consul for the year, despite still in 59 BCE. Having served a term as Germanic Helvetii across Gaul
being below the legal minimum governor of Spain, he was popular toward Italy to cross over the Alps
age. When war broke out with among the equestrians (wealthy and defeat Ariovistus, the
Mithridates of Pontus again, the THE NUMBER nonsenators), but resistance to Helvetian king. Caesar returned to
Romans, under general Lucullus,
forced Mithridates to retreat to OF MILITARY him from the Senate (and the
obstructiveness of his coconsul
Rome, but his deputy, Labienus,
stayed in Gaul and the following
Armenia, which was ruled by his TRIUMPHS Bibulus) led him to join with year he pressed on to conquer the
son-in-law Tigranes. However, Pompey and Crassus, Belgae of northwestern Gaul. By
Lucullus’s troops mutinied in AWARDED and the three 55 BCE, Caesar had subdued most
68 BCE, and Pompey was sent to
replace him. Tigranes surrendered
TO POMPEY dominated Rome
until 53 BCE
of Gaul and had acquired a vast
new province for Rome, without
and Mithridates retired north of the as the “First ever receiving any approval
Black Sea. Having achieved his in Central Asia were replaced by Triumvirate.” from the Senate.
aim, Pompey entered Syria, where the establishment of small, In 58 BCE, In 56 BCE, an anti-Roman revolt
he deposed the last Seleucid king, permanent colonies. Caesar was broke out among the Veneti of
and then captured Jerusalem. In Mexico, the city of Cuiculco in appointed northern Gaul, apparently
In China, the Han Dynasty the south of the Valley of Mexico governor of supported by the Celtic tribes of
retreated from modernizing was destroyed by a volcano some Narbonensis, Britain. Caesar responded by
policies under Zhaodi (r. 87–74 BCE) time in the 1st century BCE. Its the Roman- crossing over to Britain in 55 BCE
and Xuandi (r. 74–49 BCE). The disappearance opened the way for occupied with two legions. A storm
Huo family, which had dominated Teotihuacán, to assert its control
the government for decades, was over the whole valley and become
removed from power, and its Mexico’s dominant power for
leading members executed. more than 500 years.
Government expenditure was By the end of the 1st century
cut, and aggressive expeditions BCE, the Adena peoples of Ohio,
in eastern North America, were
beginning to develop into the
Hopewell bird Hopewell culture. These people
Clay pipes, often in
lived by hunting and gathering,
the shape of birds,
are one of the most but they also built large,
characteristic products elaborate burial mounds
of the Hopewell culture. for their chieftains. Caesar at
the Louvre
Wearing the laurel
wreath of a victorious
general, this statue is
part of Caesar’s cult
of personality.

ia y em
th r ra
l pe sal ea he he
ar afte ane
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on are
P kin a R m ropr u r
p Eb

70
50–44 BCE
,,
,,
…[CAESAR] DREAMED THAT HE WAS FLYING
ABOVE THE CLOUDS, AND NOW THAT HE WAS
CLASPING THE HAND OF JUPITER.
Suetonius, recounting Julius Caesar’s dream the night before his
murder in the Senate House in 44 BCE; from Lives of the Caesars

prevented the arrival of KEY just before a session of the


reinforcements, causing him to Caesar’s movements Senate. If they had hoped to seize
retreat, but he returned the next E U R O P E Siege power, the conspirators were
Gallia
Transalpina
year with five legions (around Gallia Caesar’s victories disappointed: Mark Antony, one
Cisalpina
30,000 men). The Britons did not of Caesar’s leading supporters,

49B
Massilia Black Sea
resist at first, but later, led by came to the fore in Rome, while

CE
a 47BCE
ni Tarraco Rome
Cassivelaunus, chief of the isp
a
47BCE Zela Caesar’s great-nephew and
H 45BCE Carthago PARTHIAN
Catuvellauni, they vigorously Nova CE Brundisium Pharsalus EMPIRE adoptive son Octavian received
45B Ephesus
E
BC

opposed the Romans all the Gades 48BCE widespread support in a bid to

47BC
Antioch
46

Munda Athenae
Sicily Syria Roman Civil Wars

48
way to the Thames River. When Carthage Me take up the mantle of his father.

E
MA

BC
URE TAN IA Thapsus dite Caesar won Italy easily, but he had

E
rran Cyprus
Cassivelaunus’s stronghold at 46BCE ean Sea
to fight hard to overcome Pompey In India, Kalinga (modern
Hierosolyma
Wheathampstead fell, he sued Cyrene
in his Greek stronghold, and then Orissa), which had been a client
for peace, and Caesar returned AF R I CA Alexandria
kingdom of the Mauryas (see
Cyrenaica
PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM Pompey’s sons and remaining
to Rome with hostages and the OF EGYPT supporters in Africa and Spain. 200–171 BCE), rose to prominence
promise of tribute. under Kharavela in the mid-1st
At the end of 54 BCE, shortly after CAESAR ENDED THE GALLIC REVOLT 49 BCE, he forced the Pompeians March 45 BCE he defeated Gnaeus century BCE. Kharavela expanded
Caesar’s second expedition to by the end of 51 BCE, but by this there to surrender. In December, Pompey at Munda, effectively Kalinga far to the north and east,
Britain, another revolt in Gaul, this point the Triumvirate had ended: Caesar set off for Greece in ending the civil war. conquering the Sunga capital of
time led by the Senones, wiped out Pompey’s supporters had turned pursuit of Pompey. A military Caesar was now all-powerful. Pataliputra in Magadha. A strong
much of the Roman force there. against Caesar, and Crassus had engagement at Dyrrachium in He was made dictator in 48 BCE , patron of the Indian religion of
After putting down the revolt, been killed in battle in 53 BCE. The July went against Caesar, but he and in 44 BCE he was given the Jainism, Kharavela established
Caesar’s attentions were diverted Senate ordered Caesar to disband fought back before Pompey’s office for life. Concerns over trading contacts as far afield
to Rome, where political violence his army or be declared an enemy support could grow, and won a Caesar’s power—in particular, as Southeast Asia.
had resulted in the murder of his of the state. Instead, he crossed resounding victory at Pharsalus. fears that he planned to make
former ally Clodius, and where the Rubicon River into Italy with Pompey took refuge in Egypt, himself king—led a group of about
Murder of Caesar
Pompey had been elected sole his troops in 49 BCE. This was where he was murdered on the 60 conspirators to form around Conspirators struck Caesar down
consul in 52 BCE, rupturing the illegal, constituting a declaration orders of Ptolemy XIII, who senators Cassius and Marcus with daggers. As he fell, Caesar saw
Triumvirate. Emboldened by the of war against the Senate. hoped (in vain) to ingratiate Brutus. They murdered Caesar Marcus Brutus, a former protégé,
turmoil in Rome, the Carnutes As Caesar marched toward himself with Caesar. on the Ides of March (March 14) and cried out “you too, child?”
revolted in Gaul. They were Rome, town after town submitted After a short time in Egypt,
joined by the Averni, led by to him. Fearing Caesar, Pompey Caesar returned to Rome,
Vercingetorix, who won several left Rome and fled to Greece. where he raised money by
skirmishes against Labienus. Caesar turned first to Spain, confiscating property from the
Vercingetorix also defeated Caesar where seven legions had supporters of Pompey. In late

,,
himself at Gergovia, but was then declared for Pompey. In August 47 BCE, Caesar set sail for Africa,
trapped at Alesia in September
52 BCE. The Romans constructed
an encircling rampart around the
Gauls’ position and managed to
beat off a Gaulish relief force. With
no hope left, Vercingetorix
,, THE DIE
IS CAST.
where he defeated a new
Pompeian army at Thapsus
(in modern Tunisia). Pompey’s
sons Gnaeus and Sextus escaped
to Spain to continue the
resistance from there, and
surrendered and was taken back Caesar annexed the kingdom of
to Rome, where he was strangled Julius Caesar to his troops on
King Juba of Mauretania, who
in 46 BCE after appearing in crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE; had supported them. Caesar then
Caesar’s triumphal parade. from Plutarch’s Parallel Lives proceeded to Spain, where in

in y r
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lea Ru Ga m “Y b
Ha re of Po

71
43–28 BCE 27–20 BCE

This 18th-century painting shows Mark Antony fleeing from the battle scene at Actium Augustus built a new Forum at Rome,
in 31 BCE. Many of his supporters defected to Octavian’s side as a result. with an imposing new temple to Mars.

10
IN ROME, THE PERIOD AFTER THE agreed, with Mark Antony ruling 500 HAVING DEFEATED HIS ENEMIES,
ASSASSINATION of Julius Caesar the east and Octavian governing Octavian did not take on the title
saw rising tensions between Mark the west; Lepidus had to make do 400 of dictator, as Julius Caesar had.

NUMBER OF WARSHIPS
Antony and Octavian, whom many with Africa. The Triumvirate was He instead ruled informally as the
viewed as Caesar’s rightful heir. renewed in 38 BCE for a further 350 princeps—the first man of the
The two almost came to blows THE NUMBER five years, but it was clear that state. Having acquired control of
early in 43 BCE, when Octavian
marched to raise the siege of OF YEARS conflict between Octavian and
Mark Antony could not long
200
Antony’s legions, he now had an
army of about 500,000 men. He
Mutina (Modena, Italy), where Mark
Antony was besieging Decimus
THE SECOND be postponed.
However, Mark Antony was 100
disbanded more than half of these,
retaining 28 legions (about 150,000
Brutus, one of Caesar’s assassins. TRIUMVIRATE occupied with a war against soldiers), settling the remainder
Mark Antony was forced to retreat
to Gaul. When the Senate voted
RULED ROME the Parthians, who were allied
with remnants of Cassius’s army
0
Octavian Anthony and
in colonies in Italy and abroad. In
27 BCE, Octavian gave up all his
Cleopatra
to transfer Octavian’s legions to and attacked Syria in 39 BCE. In powers, ostensibly restoring the
Battle of Actium
Decimus Brutus, Octavian realized them at Philippi, in northern 36 BCE, Mark Antony invaded Octavian’s fleet outnumbered that of
Republic. The Senate responded
he was being sidelined and formed Greece, after which Cassius Parthia itself—ostensibly to Mark Antony and Cleopatra, with by granting him personal control
a three-way alliance with Mark committed suicide. Three weeks recover the legionary eagles smaller more manoeuvrable ships, of Egypt, Gaul, Germany, Spain,
Antony and Marcus Lepidus, the later, they destroyed the remnants captured by the Parthians at the and fresher, better trained crews. and Syria. He was also given the
governor of Transalpine Gaul. This of Marcus Brutus’s army. Mark Battle of Carrhae (see 53 BCE)— title “Augustus” and, cementing
became the Second Triumvirate. Antony stayed in the east until and advanced to the capital sufficient resources to besiege it. his position further, he was consul
The Triumvirate conducted a war 40 BCE, when he returned to Italy to Phraata, but he did not have In 33 BCE, the Triumvirate each year from 27 to 23 BCE. Over
against Cassius and Marcus try to undermine the expired and Octavian had the time, the Senate voted Augustus
Brutus, two more of Caesar’s growing power of Senate declare Mark Antony a further powers, including that of
Suicide of Cleopatra
assassins, who had seized much Octavian. Their two This 19th-century painting depicts public enemy. The latter had lost imperium maius in 23 BCE, which
of the territory in the east. armies refused to fight, the death of Cleopatra, who killed popularity through his relationship gave him supreme authority in the
In 42 BCE, Mark Antony and a de facto division herself to avoid being captured by with Cleopatra, the Egyptian provinces he had not previously
and Octavian defeated of the Roman world was Octavian and taken to Rome. queen, and Octavian quickly governed, and the permanent
rallied public opinion to himself. powers of a tribune of the plebs
A fleet was rapidly assembled, in 23 BCE. Although the Senate was,
and this destroyed Mark Antony’s in theory, the supreme authority
naval force at Actium, off western in Rome, in practice no one could
Greece, in September 31 BCE. match Augustus’s power, and he is
Mark Antony’s land army then seen as the first Roman emperor.
defected to Octavian, and Antony North Africa had been a center
and Cleopatra fled to Greece, of strong resistance to both Julius
where Octavian caught up with Caesar and Augustus, who settled
them in the summer of 30 BCE. many army veterans there. In
The Roman warlord and the 25 BCE, Augustus gave Mauretania
Egyptian queen both committed (western North Africa) to Juba II
suicide, and Egypt was annexed to of Numidia. Juba, whose wife
the Roman empire. Octavian was was the daughter of Mark Antony
now the unchallenged master of and Cleopatra, proved a reliable
the whole Roman world. Roman ally. Augustus still sent a
legion to garrison North Africa,
where it stayed for over 300 years.

ce
s d a, s es
s or op
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In be c ee
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div Ar of

72
20–10 BCE 9–1 BCE
,,
,,
THOSE WHO SLEW MY FATHER
I DROVE INTO EXILE… AND…
DEFEATED THEM IN BATTLE.
Augustus, from the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, the testament
of Augustus, in Ankara, Turkey

La Maison Carré, in Nîmes, southern France, is one of the finest surviving


Roman temples. It was built around 16 BCE by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.

In western Asia, the ruler of ,, HE COULD JUSTLY BY 9 BCE, DRUSUS HAD DEFEATED

,,
Galilee, Herod I, was allowed to THE MAIN GERMAN TRIBES and
retain his position by Octavian,
even though he had supported
BOAST THAT HE HAD FOUND had reached the Elbe River. After
his death, Augustus appointed
Mark Antony. He was even given
extra territories, including parts
IT BUILT OF BRICK AND Tiberius to replace him. Tiberius
won a series of victories in 8 BCE,
of Syria and Gaza. Herod had been
appointed by Mark Antony in 42 BCE,
LEFT IT IN MARBLE. but then mysteriously resigned
his offices and went into exile in
and by 37 BCE he had conquered Suetonius, on Augustus’s embellishment of the Rhodes. This left Gaius and Lucius
the remains of the Hasmonean city of Rome; from Lives of the Caesars Caesar (both underage) as heirs
kingdom (see 146–131 BCE). apparent to the Roman Empire.
Herod remained a reliable ally In China, the reign of Yuandi
of Rome until his death in 4 BCE. AUGUSTUS’S MILITARY AND when he died. Around this time, (49–33 BCE) saw the economic
POLITICAL SUCCESSES had relied the Romans annexed the provinces retrenchment begun under Xuandi
largely on the abilities of Marcus of Raetia (in modern Switzerland) (see 70–61 BCE) continue. Some
Emperor Augustus
Augustus, seen here dressed as a Vipsanius Agrippa, who rose from and Noricum (between the Alps semi-independent kingdoms that
priest, acquired the title of pontifex a minor family to become consul in and the Danube), moving the the early Han had suppressed
maximus (chief priest) on the death 37, 28, and 27 BCE. After Agrippa empire’s frontiers almost to a line began to reappear. Yuandi and his Khazneh at Petra
of Lepidus in 12 BCE. had married Augustus’s daughter along the Rhine and the Danube. successors Chengdi (r. 33–7 BCE) The Khazneh is one of Petra’s finest
Julia, he received numerous Supporters of Tiberius, now the and Aidi (r. 7–1 BCE) also created monuments. Carved out of a sheer
promotions, including tribune of most high-profile general, tried numerous marquisates, many of cliff-face, it was probably a royal tomb,
perhaps of Aretas IV (c.9 BCE–40 CE).
the plebs in 18 BCE. Augustus’s own to have him displace Lucius and which were granted to the sons of
appointed heir had died in 25 BCE, Gaius Caesar as Augustus’s heir. the new kings, weakening the
so he adopted Agrippa’s children, Augustus himself did little to state’s central control. Chengdi the succession of his half-nephew
renaming them Gaius and Lucius resolve the question of succession. lacked a male heir, resulting in Aidi in 7 BCE. This caused dissent
Caesar. Agrippa seemed likely to among nobles whose candidates
succeed Augustus, but in 12 BCE he ROMAN LITERATURE AT THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS for the throne had been overlooked.
died unexpectedly, throwing open The Nabataean kingdom of
the question of succession. The end of the Republic and northern Arabia grew rich on its
By threatening to invade Parthia the reign of Augustus saw a control of the spice trade from
in 20 BCE, Augustus had engineered golden age in Latin literature. southern Arabia, reaching its
the return of legionary standards The orator Cicero and the height in the mid-1st century BCE
captured by the Parthians at historian Sallust marked the under Malichos I (c. 59–c. 30 BCE).
Carrhae (see 53 BCE). In 16 BCE, the height of late Republican It then faced a growing threat on
Roman governor of Macedonia literature. After Augustus’s its northern borders from Herod I.
began pushing toward the River rise to power, the poets Virgil A disputed succession in 9/8 BCE
Danube, and from 12 BCE Tiberius, (right; 70–19 BCE), author of between Aretas IV and his chief
Augustus’s stepson, the son of his the Eclogues and the epic minister Syllaeus led the Romans
second wife Livia, moved north poem The Aeneid, and Horace to take an interest in the area. An
from Illyria to create the Roman (65–8 BCE), author of the expedition led by Gaius, grandson
province of Pannonia (modern Odes and Carmen Saeculare, of Augustus, may even have
Austria and Hungary). Tiberius’s both flourished under the briefly annexed Nabataea in
brother Drusus pushed Roman patronage of Maecenas, a 3–1 BCE, but the Romans pulled
control across the Rhine toward close confidant of Augustus. back, allowing Nabataea another
the Elbe between 12 and 9 BCE, century of independence.

le , ; his der
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ha
73
700 BCE – 5 9 9 CE THE CLASSICAL AGE

THE RISE OF THE


ROMAN EMPIRE
FROM CITY, TO REPUBLIC, TO DOMINANT EUROPEAN EMPIRE

AT L A N T I C
Soon after its foundation in 753 BCE, the city of Rome began fighting its OCEAN
neighbors to gain new territory. Gradually, the Romans became entangled
in campaigns in the Italian Peninsula and beyond. By the 1st century CE,
the Roman Empire had become the largest Europe had ever seen.

The early growth of Roman territories was slow, with wars their military successes to bolster their position in Rome. A

T
RR
against neighbors often threatening the survival of Rome itself. It was in this period that Pompey annexed Syria and Julius AC
By 290 BCE the Romans dominated central Italy and began Caesar conquered much of Gaul, between 58 and 51 BCE. ON
expanding into the Italian Peninsula. Rivalry with Carthage led The collapse of the Roman Republic and the accession of
to the three Punic Wars between 264 and 146 BCE, but victories the first emperor, Augustus, in 27 BCE did not end the empire’s
brought the acquisition of territory in Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and expansion. The quest for security along the existing frontiers LU S ITA NIA
Olisipo
then North Africa itself. resulted in the frontiers being pushed even farther forward. Toletum
Emerita
In the early 2nd century BCE the Romans fought campaigns in Rome's final large-scale acquisitions were made in the reigns Augusta
the Balkans, leading to the annexation of most of Greece in of Claudius, who oversaw the invasion of Britain in 43 CE, and

,,
BA ETICA
146 BCE. The pace of acquisition quickened in the later years of Trajan, who conquered new provinces in Dacia (modern
the Republic, as generals competed for political power and used Romania) and Mesopotamia between 106 and 117 CE.

,,TO THE ROMANS I SET NO


BOUNDARIES IN TIME OR SPACE.
Tingis

MA U RETA NIA
TING ITA NA

Virgil, Roman poet (70–19 BCE), the god Jupiter, prophesying the future
greatness of Rome, from the Aeneid
ION
MI 4.5
LL

100 CE
By around 100 CE, the Mediterranean had
Roman population become a Roman “lake," and the acquisition

7:1 Around 1 CE, the Roman


Empire contained about
one-seventh of the world’s population—
KEY
Roman territory
of territories in northwest and Central Europe
had brought the northern Roman frontier as
far as the Rhine and the Danube.
45 million out of 300 million people.
45
MILLION

An empire of noncitizens A GROWING EMPIRE


In 1 CE, only a tenth of the It took the Romans nearly 500
Roman population were full years to complete the conquest
citizens. The rest were slaves
1,900,000 mi² or had limited civic rights. of Italy, but only half that time to
117 CE enlarge their territories to include
Spain, Gaul, parts of Germany,
most of the Balkans, much of North
Expanding empire Africa, and large parts of western
1,000,000 mi² Between the accession of Augustus and Asia. Over the following 100 years
25 BCE the death of Trajan, the Roman Empire they acquired Morocco, Britain, and 240 BCE The Romans dominated most of
almost doubled in size, acquiring vast the Italian Peninsula. Victory in the First
new territories in northwestern Europe Dacia, and made small advances
Punic War (264–241 BCE) brought new
and western Asia. into western Asia, but the empire territory in Sicily, but the Romans still faced
began to contract after 250 CE. resistance to their rule in northern Italy.

74
ia
C aledon
North
Sea
60,000
ia

a
rn

Se
be

Eburacum tic MILES


Hi

l
Ba
Lindum Camulodunum THE APPROXIMATE LENGTH
BRITANNIA G OF THE ROMAN FRONTIERS
Colonia e r ndians
Londinium Agrippina m Burgu AT THEIR MAXIMUM EXTENT
a
GERMANIA Augusta n
INFERIOR ia
Treverorum
Durocortorum Mogontiacum S a r m a t i a n s
BE

LUGDUNEN Marcomanni Quadi


SIS GERMANIA
LG

SUPERIOR Vindobona Carnuntum MOSIA


ICA

BOSPORAN
Brigetio INFERIOR
TI

Lugdunum M KINGDOM

AE CU
ORI
P EN O N I A
R IOR
R N Virunun Aquineum Apulum
AQU ITAN IA Aquileia ni
Mediolanum N
PANNONIA
INFERIOR x ola
PAS U Ro
ALPS GRAIAE
ck Sea
DACIA Durostorum
Bla
ALPS COTTIAE
ET POENINAE
Ravenna Sirmium
RBONE
D

Viminacium Trapezus
NA SI
A

S L
ENS
ALPS
M MODESIA
IS MARITIMAE
A SUPERIOR Byzantium
Massilia T Philippopolis PONTUS

ET
IA
Rome

A
I

A
Corsica THRACIA

CI
YN Ancyra O Samosata
s Aleria ITALIA Thessalonica BIT H D
eare PA
Bal MACED
ON AP
Sardinia IA C
ASIA Zeugma
Carales EPIRUS
Valentia GALATIA A
Messana
Delphi
Ephesus
L CI
Carthago Nova IL
Me Corinth Miletus LYCIA C Antioch
Utica
di Sicilia
MA URE TANIA te ACHAIA Cyprus SYRIA
CAESA R IE N SIS Carthage r r Syracuse Sparta
Athens
Thugga
an Damascus
ea Creta Tyrus
n S ea
JUDEA
Sabratha Jerusalem
Bostra
A

Ptolemais
F

R Leptis Magna Alexandria

IA
IC
Cyrene Petra
S A

AB
CYRENE
AR
ET CRETA Memphis
a
h AEGYPTUS Re
a d
r S
ea
a

200 BCE The Roman defeat of Carthage 120 BCE Most of Spain had fallen 60 BCE New North African territories 14 CE The Roman borders had expanded
in the Second Punic War brought new into Roman possession, as well as were gained in 96 BCE, and in 63 BCE Syria to include Gaul beyond the Alps, as well
possessions in Spain and Sardinia. By Carthaginian territory in North Africa. and parts of Palestine were annexed. as new provinces in Raetia and Noricum
200 BCE, a toehold had also been gained Greece and parts of western Anatolia The frontiers in Anatolia were also (Switzerland, south Germany, and
in northwestern Greece. were also acquired. pushed forward. Austria), and Pannonia (Hungary).

75
1–23 24–40
,,QUINCTILIUS VARUS, GIVE
ME BACK MY LEGIONS.
Emperor Augustus, on hearing of the Roman defeat in the Teutoberg Forest, 9 CE
,,
WANG MANG WAS IN CHARGE OF (China’s administrative regions), Consolidating ruler GENGSHI’S REIGN AS CHINESE
BOTH THE CHINESE ARMY and the and reimposed several state Rather than extending EMPEROR WAS SHORT. He
government under Emperor Ping monopolies. Serious floods on the Roman territory through foreign alienated the Red Eyebrows and
Di (r. 1 BCE–6 CE). He strengthened Yellow River in 4–11 led to famine conquests, Tiberius concentrated on angered many of China’s nobility
strengthening the existing empire.
his influence by marrying his and revolts in rural areas. In 23, and bureaucrats by moving the
daughter to the young emperor. the peasant rebels called the “Red capital from Luoyang back to
On Ping Di’s death, many of the Eyebrows” joined forces with Han When Emperor Augustus (see Chang’an. Much of China had
loyalists and overwhelmed Wang 20–2 BCE) died in 14, Tiberius was already slipped from Gengshi’s

28
Mang’s armies. When the capital his obvious heir (Lucius and Gaius grasp by 25, when Chang’an was
Chang’an fell, Gengshi became Caesar having died). Tiberius sacked by the Red Eyebrows. The
the first emperor of the restored already possessed most of emperor was deposed and
Han dynasty. One of his first acts Augustus’s powers and had the replaced by Guang Wudi (25–57),
was to make Luoyang his capital. loyalty of the Praetorian who is regarded as the first
THE NUMBER In Europe, Tiberius (see 20–2
BCE) returned to Germany in 4 to
Guard—the elite army unit based
in Rome, which Augustus had
Eastern Han emperor. The new
ruler had first to face a civil war;
OF DIFFERENT subdue the tribes there. The established. Although there were by 27, he had defeated the Red
TYPES OF COIN Marcomanni resisted, but a
planned attack on them in 6 was
moves in the senate to restore
the Republic, Tiberius rapidly
Eyebrows, but it took him until
36 to overcome the last of the
ISSUED BY postponed because of a revolt in squashed them. His reign (to 37) warlords who opposed him. In 37,
WANG MANG Pannonia, which took three years
to quell. A new Roman commander,
was quiet at home. Germanicus,
Tiberius’s nephew, campaigned Guard, took day-to-day power, but
he abolished all except three of
the kingdoms that had sprung up
Quinctilius Varus, was sent to extensively in Germany up to 16, his rule was tyrannical and in 31
nobility rejected Wang Mang’s Germany, but his corrupt rule but his efforts led to no permanent Tiberius suddenly reasserted
MONGOLIA Sea
choice of successor and rose up angered the German tribes. In 9, reacquisition of territory beyond himself and had Sejanus executed. of
in revolt. Wang Mang easily put Varus was ambushed in the the Rhine and he died of poisoning Gobi Japan
JAPAN
them down, and in 9 he took the Teutoberg Forest, and his three in 19. After Drusus, Tiberius’s son, Pingchang KOREA
Ponte di Tiberio, Rimini, Italy Luoyang
title of first Xin emperor. He legions were annihilated. Augustus died in 23, the emperor tired of Completed in the reign of Tiberius, Chang’an Gaixia
reissued the currency, forbade then ordered a withdrawal to the public life and retired to the this bridge carried the Via Aemilia Mawangdui
East
China
the selling of private slaves, Rhine, where the Roman frontier island of Capri, off Naples. (which ran from Riminia to Piacenza) Sea
reorganized the commanderies remained for the next 400 years. Sejanus, head of the Praetorian across the Marecchia River.
Guanzhou Taiwan

South
China
Sea

KEY
Qin China in 206BCE
Territory added by Former
Han Dynasty 206BCE–9CE
Great Wall under the Han

Chinese Han Empire


When Guang Wudi began the
Eastern Han Dynasty in 25, Chinese
control extended deep into Central
Asia. Much of this territory had been
won under the Western Han Dynasty.

us d es ts d n
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76
41–50

This ornamental brick from China’s Eastern Han period shows


a procession that includes horse-drawn carriages.

IN INDIA, GROUPS OF YUEZHI Colchester, the capital of the


JESUS CHRIST (c. 4 BCE–33 CE)
NOMADS occupying land in Bactria principal British resistance leader,
united under Kujula Kadphises Caractacus. Claudius himself
Jesus, a carpenter from (30–80), who founded the Kushan made a brief appearance at the
Nazareth, began his ministry in Empire and conquered parts of fall of Colchester, before returning
his early 30s . He taught in the Gandhara. Although few details to Rome to bask in the glory of
Jewish tradition, calling for of Kujula’s reign are known, he having acquired a new province.
the reform of the Temple and minted coins in imitation of both In 47, the Romans paused briefly
for the love of one’s neighbour Greek and Roman models, in their conquest of Britain, having
to take precedence over the demonstrating that Bactria and reached a line roughly between
strict observance of religious northwestern India remained very the Humber River in the east and
law. Jesus gathered a group of much a cultural crossroads. the Severn River in the west. They
twelve disciples around him, In northwestern Europe, a group began establishing legionary
but was targeted by Jewish of disgruntled officers of Rome’s fortresses in their new province,
conservatives afraid of his Praetorian Guard assassinated including at Exeter and Lincoln.
growing influence. In 33, the Caligula in January 41, tired of Aulus Plautius’s replacement, EMPEROR CLAUDIUS
Roman authorities in Judaea his cruel and irrational behavior Ostorius Scapula invaded Wales, (10 BCE–54 CE)
executed Jesus by crucifixion, (see 24–40). In 43, the new where Caractacus was continuing
but the disciples, convinced emperor, Claudius (r. 41–54), sent the resistance. In 50, he defeated Caligula’s uncle, Claudius,
that Jesus had risen from the an invasion force of four legions an army of Silurian and Ordovician was an unlikely candidate for
dead, continued his teaching. led by Aulus Plautius, governor tribesmen, and Caractacus fled Roman emperor. However, he
of Pannonia, to conquer Britain. to the imagined safety of the turned out to be intelligent
The Romans landed unopposed Brigantes tribe in northern and forceful, putting down
under his predecessors, and legions in 39, Caligula marched at Richborough, pushed on to England. However, the Brigantian two revolts in 42, after which
reinstated Luoyang as the capital. them to the coast opposite Britain London, and then captured queen, Cartimandua, handed he executed more than 300
He faced renewed tension with to launch an invasion; when they Caractacus over to the Romans, senators. He was unfortunate
the Hsiung-nu on China’s got there, he merely had them and Roman Britain remained in his choice of wives: he had
northern frontier, but failed to take collect seashells along the beach. relatively trouble free during the his wife Messalina executed
advantage of their split into two Independent Jewish kingdoms following decade. after she had an affair, and
rival chiefdoms in 49. in Palestine collapsed as Roman The 40s saw a struggle in the her successor Agrippina
The Roman Empire once again power grew, creating a powerful early Christian community (Caligula’s sister) is reputed
faced an unclear succession at ferment of religious change. between those who wanted to to have poisoned him.
the death of Tiberius in 37. He had John the Baptist preached in remain within the Jewish tradition
named two heirs, but Gemellus the 20s, followed in around 30 and those, led by Paul, who
was soon pushed aside because by a new preacher, Jesus. After favored the inclusion of gentiles the Jews within the Roman
Gaius, nicknamed Caligula (“little Jesus’s death in 33, his disciples (non-Jews) in the Christian church. empire, Paul ensured that
boots”), was popular with the began to spread his message Paul began a series of missionary Christianity spread sufficiently
senate and the army. Caligula’s more widely. By around 50, journeys in 46 which led him to help it weather the storms of
behavior as emperor became communities of Christians, through Anatolia and Greece to persecution that began under the
increasingly erratic—he had as Jesus’s followers were known, Rome, where he was martyred Emperor Nero in 64. By the late
Gemellus executed, and had many would be established throughout around 62. A charismatic preacher, 4th century, Christianity would be
Christian catacomb, Rome
of Tiberius’s supporters killed. Western Asia, with particularly At first, Roman Christians did not Paul also wrote a powerful series the majority religion within the
He also had his sister’s husband— large groups in Antioch and have their own cemeteries. Later, of epistles (letters) to various Roman Empire .
his heir apparent—condemned to the first appearance of they buried their dead in underground fledgling Christian groups. In
death. After visiting the Rhineland Christians in Rome. complexes called catacombs. appealing to a wider group than

y h
em sh ut la,
of tol ia ru lt; ion us so pu
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He of G Or le in
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51–61 62–72

70
THOUSAND
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED
BY BOUDICCA’S ARMY DURING
THE ICENI REVOLT

The ruins at Masada, the last outpost of the Jewish revolt against the Romans,
which began in 66.

WHEN CLAUDIUS DIED IN 54, the Roman procurator (chief Britain, was away on campaign in IN THE EAST, Rome faced further After Nero’s suicide, four men
the Roman imperial throne fell to financial official) ruled that Wales, and by the time he troubles with Parthia over the became emperor in rapid
Nero (37–68), his adopted son and Boudicca could not inherit her returned, Camulodunum had border region of Armenia, where succession, making 69 the “Year
son-in-law. The young emperor’s lands, and that they would be been sacked by the Iceni. The the Parthian king had installed of the Four Emperors.” First,
reign began well when he annexed by Rome. rebels then burned Londinium his own candidate, Tiridates, the praetorian guard recognized
promised the senate he would Boudicca raised an (London) and Verulamium (St. as king in 53. A Roman force Galba (3 BCE–69 CE) as emperor,
avoid making any arbitrary army and marched on Albans) before they were finally invaded Armenia in 59, took its but he made himself unpopular
measures. However, the first sign Camulodunum trapped and defeated by capital cities of Artaxata and by refusing to give the praetorians
of Nero’s tyranny surfaced in 59, (Colchester). Paullinus. It is said the Iceni lost Tigranocerta and put in place a the donative, a customary bonus
when he had his mother Suetonius Paullinus, 80,000 warriors and pro-Roman king, Tigranes VI. His payable on the accession of a
Agrippina (15–59) murdered. In the governor of Boudicca herself was ill-advised invasion of a Parthian new emperor. In January 69, the
62, a new praetorian prefect captured, though she ally in 61 led to his removal, and governor of Upper Germany,
(commander of the imperial died, possibly poisoned, Tiridates was restored. A new Aulus Vitellius, revolted, and
bodyguard), Tigellinus (c. 10–69), soon after. Roman army was then roundly one of Galba’s former supporters,
took office. Tigellinus pandered to beaten by the Parthians in 62, and Salvius Otho (32–69), angered
the less desirable side of only a Roman push into Armenia when Galba recognized another
Nero’s personality, the following year ended the war. senator as his heir, had the
whose rule became Boudicca Tiridates was allowed to keep emperor murdered and took the
This statue of Boudicca
increasingly the throne, as long as he throne. In April 69, the armies of
stands outside the
despotic. Following a Houses of travelled to Rome to seek Otho and Vitellius clashed at
fire that destroyed Parliament in Nero’s approval, which he Bedriacum near Cremona in
much of Rome in 64, London, a city eventually did in 66. northern Italy, and the Vitellian
Nero is said to have that the Iceni Nero’s position as emperor army won. Otho committed
taken terrible queen razed to became increasingly precarious suicide, but Vitellius soon faced
retribution on Rome’s the ground. when Calpurnius Piso led a a further conspiracy when
small Christian conspiracy in 64, which prompted T. Flavius Vespasianus
population, who proved Nero to order further
convenient scapegoats. executions, including those of
Later, during the many senators. In early 68,
reconstruction of Rome, a revolt broke out, led by
Nero alienated senators Gaius Julius Vindex,
by seizing their land to
build himself a new
governor of Gallia
Lugdunensis.
960
palace. He also ordered Shortly after the COMMITED
SUICIDE
additional taxes in revolt of Vindex, the
Palestine, which sparked legion based in Spain
a Jewish revolt in 66. proclaimed the
In Britain, the Romans governor, Sulpicius 7
faced a serious Iceni Galba, as emperor. Vindex’s
revolt in 60. When the revolt was put down by Verginius Survivors
king of the Iceni died, Rufus, the governor of Germany,
Roman invasion
he left his lands to his but Nero panicked and When the Romans finally breached
queen, Boudicca. committed suicide, believing the walls of Masada, all except seven
The revolt was Rufus would be the next to try to defenders committed suicide rather
triggered when claim his throne. than fall into Roman hands.

m us
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78 58 Ro
73–90

A fresco from Pompei—many of Pompei’s elaborate frescoes survived for


nearly 2,000 years buried under the ash.

Jewish revolts between BY THE MID-70S, CIVILIS’S REVOLT destroyed by a volcanic eruption. far into Scotland, until a final
66 and 74 Ptolemais had fizzled out and the rest of Showers of ash came raining defeat of the Caledonii at Mons
Although the Jewish GALILEE
Sea of Vespasian’s reign was largely down from Vesuvius, and those Graupius (possibly near
Galilee
rebels of 66 initially
n S ea

Nazareth peaceful. With a reputation for who did not escape in time were Aberdeen) made it likely that all of
managed to gain control Caesarea frugality, he restored the empire’s overwhelmed by the pyroclastic Scotland would be annexed. But
anea

of a large part of

DECA PO
Palestine, by 69 they had finances, imposing levies on a flow (a fast-moving mass of hot emperor Domitian (81–96) was
i te r r

lost control of all but the SAMARIA number of provinces, including gases, ash, and debris) from the facing trouble on the Danube and
area around Jerusalem. J UDA E A LI S Egypt. By the time he died in 79, volcano. Perhaps a tenth of the a legion was withdrawn from
Me d

Beth
Gadara stability had been restored to population of 20,000 died, Britain around 86, leaving an
KEY Horton such an extent that the succession including the naturalist Pliny the insufficient force to garrison
Emmaus
Jericho
Area of major revolt 66 Jerusalem of his eldest son, Titus (r. 79–81), Elder, who was commanding a northern Scotland, which was
Bethlehem 70 CE
Area of revolt in 69 was unopposed. naval unit nearby and perished in evacuated.
S ea

Gaza
Siege Two months after the accession a failed rescue attempt. Domitian had managed to fend
Dead

Machaerus
Jewish victory of Titus as Roman emperor, on In Britain, the Roman- off the threat from the
Masada
74 CE August 25, 79 the city of Pompeii, controlled area continued to Sarmatians, Marcomanni, and
(Vespasian) (9–79)—the near modern Naples, was expand, with governor Petillius Quadi along the Danube by 84,
general in charge of Cerialis (71–74) occupying the but war then erupted with the
suppressing the Jewish northern English kingdom of Dacians (of modern Romania)
revolt—set himself up as yet Jewish laws caused great Brigantia. Julius Frontinus who crossed the Danube and
another rival emperor. The whole discontent. In 60, the rebuilding (74–77) completed the subjugation killed the governor of Roman
of the East and the Balkans of the Temple that Herod had of Wales, defeating the Silures, Moesia. By 86, Domitian had
defected immediately to ordered built decades before was but it was left to Julius Agricola defeated the Dacians, under their
Vespasian. At a second battle finished, and 20,000 unemployed (77–83/4) to send Roman armies new king, Decebalus. Dacia was
near Cremona in October, workmen added to the rising not occupied by Rome, leaving
Vitellius’s forces were crushed. tension. The Roman procurator Decebalus in place to cause the
ii
By December Vespasian’s army of Judaea aggravated these on Romans further trouble.
C al e d
had taken Rome and Vitellius feelings with his heavy-handed Inchtuthil
was executed shortly afterward. rule, and in 66 an uprising broke
Rome had an unchallenged out. Although the commanders of Du m n o nii Vo North KEY
vae
ta
ruler once again. the uprising were competent, it lgo Sea Atrebates, absorbed 70s
din
Se
Vespasian moved quickly to lacked political leadership and Novantae i Iceni, conquered 60–61
reestablish the loyalty of the army, the Jewish strongholds were Brigantes, conquered 69–74
dismissing Vitellius’s praetorian gradually reduced, first by Stanwick Roman expansion 43–47
s
guard and recruiting another. He Vespasian and then by his son ante
Brig Roman expansion 47–50
Eboracum
also had to face a serious revolt Titus (39–81). In 70, Jerusalem Irish Sea Roman expansion 69–74
along the Rhine, where Julius came under siege, and in late Anglesey ni Roman expansion 79–84
rita
Civilis, a noble of the Batavian August the city fell and the Deva
Cor Co Lindum
Or n ov ii
do
people, joined forces with Temple was destroyed. Perhaps vic
es Virconium Ca
tu Iceni
dissident legionaries and almost as many as 200,000 people died, ve
Dob lla
e s unn un s
r i te
established an independent many sacred Jewish treasures Si
lu Burrium Glevum
i
ov
an
Gallic empire. were taken to Rome, and Tr
in Camulodunum Romans in Britain
Figure from Pompeii Isca Verulamium By 74, Roman legions
thousands of Jews were Londinium
Judaea had been under direct The bodies of those who died in the Calleva
had reached the north
Durotriges Cantiaci
Roman rule since the death of enslaved. Resistance continued Pompeii eruption were coated in Dumnonii of England. They then
Noviomagus
King Agrippa I in 44. Foreign rule at Masada until 74, when it fell volcanic ash, which then solidified, Isca Dumnoniorum
Hengistbury pushed north into
Maiden Castle Gallia
and Roman insensitivity toward after a two-year siege. leaving their outlines behind. Scotland until 83.

l a s to
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,,[AN EMPEROR] UNDER

,,
WHOM EVERYBODY WAS
PERMITTED TO DO
EVERYTHING.
Fronto, Roman orator, on Emperor Nerva, from Cassius Dio’s
History of Rome

Trajan’s Column, in Rome, gives a visual account of Trajan’s campaigns


against Decebalus in the Dacian Wars.

DOMITIAN (51–96) BECAME ROMAN EMPEROR TRAJAN (98–117) WAS and building a bridge across the
EMPEROR after the unexpected FROM A ROMAN FAMILY who had Danube at Drobeta to allow easier
death of his brother, Titus (39–81). settled in Spain—he was the first access across the river. Three
Domitian had never commanded emperor to come from a Roman years later, in 105, the Senate
armies and was unprepared for province rather than Italy. Having declared that Decebalus had 331,000 kg
SILVER
the exercise of supreme returned to Rome from Germany violated the treaty, and Trajan
power. He had some success in 100 to claim his throne, he embarked on his Second Dacian
in his early campaigns, but started a new Dacian War against War. This time the legions
he over-extended himself Decebalus in 101. From a base at reached, and took, Sarmizegetusa
against the Dacians, and in Viminacium (in modern Serbia), in 106. Decebalus fled and then
putting down a legionary he pushed into central Dacia, and committed suicide to avoid 165,500 kg
revolt led by Saturninus, fought a major engagement at capture. The Romans acquired GOLD
the governor of Germania Tapae, in which both sides an enormous amount of treasure
Superior. This distraction suffered serious losses. When in Dacia, which allowed Trajan to
allowed Decebalus, King of Trajan’s legions neared the Dacian embark on a building spree,
The Dacian Fortune
the Dacians (r. 87–106), to renew Emperor Domitian royal capital at Sarmizegetusa including the construction of a The large amount of treasure Trajan
his war against Rome, and Domitian’s reign began well, but Regia, Decebalus sued for peace, new Forum in Rome. Dacia was acquired in Dacia allowed him to
Domitian was forced to pay off the his descent into tyranny proved too agreeing to give up his army’s annexed as Rome’s first province build impressive monuments to
Dacians with an annual subsidy. much for his opponents, who had weapons and siege equipment, across the Danube. It remained in commemorate his Dacian victory.
The conspiracy of Saturninus him assassinated. and to demolish his remaining imperial hands for over 160 years.
led Domitian to become forts. The Roman army did not Some time around 106 the campaign against Parthia itself
paranoid and he had many In Central Asia, the northern withdraw totally, establishing a Roman governor of Syria annexed that gave him greater success
senators executed for treason. Hsiung-nu confederation (see legionary base near the mountains the Nabataean kingdom, which in the east than any previous
In September 96, he was 146–131 BCE) collapsed in 89, became the Roman province of Roman emperor. By late 114 the
murdered in a palace conspiracy allowing the Han to make large Arabia. It was not Trajan’s last Armenians had submitted to him,
Sacred city
and the Senate chose the aged gains in the region, led by general This ruined temple is in the Dacian acquisition in the east—in 113 he and he pushed into Mesopotamia,
M. Cocceius Nerva (30–98) to Ban Chao (32–102). Ban Chao capital, Sarmizegetusa Regia (in set off on a campaign against capturing the Parthian capital of
replace him. The Senate then became protector-general of the modern-day Romania). It contained Parthia. He began by attacking Ctesiphon. By the end of 115,
voted to destroy all statues of Western Regions in 92, and the kingdom’s most sacred shrines. Armenia in 113–114, but it was his Trajan had reached the Persian
Domitian and to recall those he reestablished control over the key
had exiled. However, in 97 Nerva oases along the Silk Route. By
faced a mutiny of the praetorian the time he retired in 102 the
guard, who demanded the Han controlled most of the
punishment of Domitian’s Tarim Basin. Chinese state
murderers. Nerva was forced organization became very
to give in, weakening his complicated under the Han. Three
authority. His position was supreme officials supervised
further diminished by his lack large, complex departments. Each
of an heir. To rectify this he of these was subdivided into nine
adopted M. Ulpius Traianus ministries. Governors oversaw
(Trajan), the governor of Upper each region, with regions divided
Germany, a man with a strong into over 1,000 counties, each
military backing. Nerva died supervised by a magistrate.
soon afterwards and Trajan Eunuchs became increasingly
became emperor. influential at the Han court.

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Te pr
80
118–135

The remains of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. The central portion of the
wall occupies a high position that vastly enhances its defensive value.

985
Gulf near modern Basra, Iraq, TRAJAN’S SUCCESSOR HADRIAN are found from the Oxus river in slaughter, after which the revolt
where he is said to have remarked (r. 117–135) rejected his Afghanistan to as far south as petered out. Hadrian proceeded
that, had he been younger, he predecessor’s policy of expansion Varanasi and Sanchi. He was a with his plan to outlaw Judaism
might have pressed on to India. and concentrated on better strong patron of Buddhism and in Palestine, and many of the
The newly conquered territories defense of the imperial presided over the fourth Jews who had survived the
were organized as the provinces frontiers. In 122, Hadrian visited THE NUMBER Buddhist Council, as well as rebellion fled abroad.

OF VILLAGES
of Mesopotamia and Assyria, but Britain, where there had been building a great stupa
they were already in revolt when frontier troubles. He ordered the at his capital
Trajan returned home in 117. The
Parthians rejected Trajan’s puppet
building of a huge barrier from
the Solway Firth in the west to
RAZED Purushapura
(Peshawar).
king Parthamaspates, and by the the Tyne River in the east. It took DURING THE Hadrian’s ban
time Trajan died in August 117
almost all of his gains in the east
governor Aulus Platorius Nepos
two years to complete Hadrian’s
BAR-KOCHBA on circumcision,
his plan to turn
had been lost. On his death-bed Wall (part in stone, and part in REVOLT Jerusalem into the
Trajan adopted Publius Aelius turf), which ran 76 Roman miles Roman town of Aelia
Hadrianus (Hadrian), the governor (113 km), and was equipped with III (r. 105–147) who ruled the Capitolina, and his
of Syria, effectively appointing a series of forts and milecastles eastern portion, and Osroes intent to ban Jewish
Hadrian as his successor. for its garrison. Hadrian’s Wall (r. 117–129) then Mithridates religious practices in
In 109, Trajan appointed the acted as the northern frontier IV (r. 129–140) in the west. Jerusalem caused a
historian Pliny the Younger line of Roman Britain for the There was no further conflict furious revolt in
(61–c. 112) as his personal next 40 years. between Parthia and Rome for Jerusalem in 132, as
representative to govern Bithynia- The Parthian kingdom was left the time being. religious Jews rose up
Pontus on the Black Sea coast of in some confusion by the In India, the Kushan empire against religious
Anatolia. This was a controversial campaigns of Trajan. His puppet expanded enormously under reforms. Led by Shimon
move, as Bithynia-Pontus was king, Parthamaspates, was Kanishka (127–140), who Bar Kochba, the rebels
theoretically a senatorial province. expelled in 117, but the Parthian conquered Magadha and had early successes
The provinces of the empire had kingdom then seems to have campaigned against the Chinese against Rome. They set
been divided between the emperor been divided between Vologeses in Central Asia; his inscriptions up the beginnings of an
and the senate at the accession independent government
of Augustus in 27 BCE, with the HADRIAN (76–138) and minted their own coins.
emperor receiving only the In response, Hadrian
provinces that held legionary Hadrian came from a Spanish summoned Julius Severus,
garrisons. This division of the background and was the the governor of Britain, to
provinces persisted into the time adopted son of his predecessor, conduct a war against the
of Trajan. Pliny stayed in Bithynia- Trajan. He was mocked by rebels. Severus commanded
Pontus for at least two years, some for his grecophile an army formed of
trying to sort out the finances of tendencies, and was the first detachments from 12
the main cities, which had fallen emperor to sport a beard—a legions. The rebels had no
into confusion. His letters to Trajan Greek fashion. Hadrian was the large towns under their
are an invaluable insight into the first emperor to travel widely control, and so adopted
imperial government of the time. throughout the Roman empire, guerrilla warfare while still
Treasured goblet
giving him first-hand attempting to defend the smaller This beautiful vase was found in
knowledge of the provinces, forts they held. In 135, the rebel’s Kapisa (Bagram) near Kabul, which
from Britain to North Africa. last main stronghold at Bethar was the Kushan summer capital in
was captured amid great the 1st century.

ts
pu g g u
ian risin ra n, se on rim -n ian
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r
ad up ni tra dh cca ine n Y Ta ng dr
vo st 8 H n ola ipu e An De ka Ch l Pa the Hsiu 5 Ha ures and sh
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12 nera uer the 13 capt lem Jew
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12 en pi H on ) l hb an
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to r Ku ure led ines
Tr n a
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13 cap epe Ch
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7 e s e W eg S Ba
11 M b
81
136–160 161–170

200
THOUSAND
THE TOTAL
POPULATION OF
TEOTIHUACÁN
AT ITS PEAK

The Pyramid of the Sun at The ruins of Hatra, which was


Teotihuacán in modern Mexico. a Parthian-controlled city.

THE CITY OF TEOTIHUACÁN famed for his moderation MARCUS AURELIUS SUCCEEDED
IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO and rarely left Rome. TO THE ROMAN THRONE jointly
experienced massive Disturbances in Dacia (in with Lucius Verus in 161. Marcus
growth during the 1st and present-day Romania) was the more capable of the two,
2nd centuries, with its around 140 and an uprising but it was Lucius who was sent,
population reaching over in North Africa in 145 did in 162, to rescue the situation in
80,000 before 200. The city not unduly disturb the the east after the governor of
was planned on a grid, empire’s calm. Antoninus Cappadocia was defeated and
with two huge extended the frontier in killed by the Persians following a
pyramids—of the both Scotland and Upper disastrous invasion of Armenia.
Moon and the Sun—at Germany, ordering the By 163–164 Lucius had brought
either end of the main construction of a new Armenia back under Roman
street. The Teotihuacán turf barrier around control, and renamed its capital
II phase of the city 100 miles (160 km) to the Kaine Polis (“New City”). A new
(0–350) saw the building north of Hadrian’s Wall pro-Roman king was installed
of the enormous (see 188–135 BCE) in there before the legions moved
Temple of Quetzalcoatl Britain. This Antonine on, pushing deeper into Persian
and the acquisition of an Wall was 39 miles (63 km)
empire, with Teotihuacán
dominating vast areas of
Mexico and overseeing
in length. The Hadrian’s
Wall garrison was moved
north to a new set of forts, but
,,IF IT IS NOT
RIGHT, DO NOT

,,
client kingdoms as far south their stay was short—Marcus
as Guatemala. Aurelius, Antoninus Pius’s DO IT: IF IT IS
Hadrian had adopted Antoninus
Pius (86–161) as his son and
successor, ordered a pull-back
to Hadrian’s Wall around 161,
NOT TRUE, DO
successor, a stop-gap until where the Roman frontier NOT SAY IT.
Antoninus’s relative, Marcus of Britain remained until the
Aurelius (121–80), was old enough 5th century. Emperor Marcus Aurelius, from
Meditations, 161–180
to rule, but Antoninus survived As Christianity grew, so did the
Hadrian by 23 years, and became problem of defining a single
Roman emperor in 138. He was doctrine. Among the alternative territory, taking Edessa in
doctrines that sprang up in the Mesopotamia, and reaching the

39
2nd century was Marcionism, Parthian capital of Ctesiphon in
turquoise
which taught that the God of 165. The Roman general Avidius
mosaic pieces
Christians was distinct from the Cassius (c. 130–175) burned the
Jewish God of the Old Testament Parthian palace and then turned
and that Jesus Christ did not have back westward. A swathe of

MILES
a human nature. Justin Martyr Parthian territory down the
(c. 103–165) argued that Euphrates River was annexed as
Mexican mask
THE LENGTH OF This sumptuous
Christianity was the fulfillment
of Jewish prophecy and that
far east as Dura Europos (in
southeastern Syria). However,
THE ANTONINE mask from Teotihuacán
bears the smooth, flat
necklace made
from coral beads
Christians were the new chosen victory celebrations were
WALL IN features that are
characteristic of work
people. Justin also wrote to
Marcus Aurelius, seeking to
short-lived, for the troops
brought the plague back to
SCOTLAND from the city. explain Christian doctrine. Rome and by 167 it had spread

y ca ius e
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fro n al s
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d an ol pt Ro ds lley y) A R
rm tt
an ed W tio m e f m nia he xten r va man he rit ma to 2
16 Ge Cha
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o b 50 er C stab 15
5 p an 0 e a er 16 ine i nd urns all th
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Br o th th m
o
n on ad
t a
ab fr H

82
171–180

A painted stucco of the Moche’s most important god, Al Apaec, who is often
depicted with the fangs of a snake.

widely throughout the THE MOCHE CULTURE EMERGED


THE GERMANIC TRIBES
Mediterranean. ON THE COAST OF NORTHERN
Barely had the Parthian War PERU between 100 and 200. From
ended than the Marcomannic their bases in the Peruvian The Romans had faced Germanic tribes ever since they had
War began. In early 167, a group valleys of Moche, Chicama, and reached the Rhine at the time of Julius Caesar. German groups
of Germanic warriors from the Virú, these people spread to across the Danube, such as the Quadi and Marcomanni, proved
Langobardi and Obii tribes dominate almost the whole troublesome in the 2nd century, but by the late 3rd century new
crossed the Danube to attack the northern coastline. A warlike and more dangerous confederations of Germanic tribes arose,
Roman province of Pannonia. people, they sacrificed those such as the Franks, Alamanns, and Goths, who overran much of
They were pushed back whom they captured to their the Roman Empire by the mid-5th century.
fairly easily, but in spring deities, including Al Apaec
168 Marcus Aurelius (“the decapitator”). They were
resolved to visit the region skilled workers in gold and their had died while on campaign governor of Cappadocia, whom he
to assess the situation. pottery has an extraordinarily prompted a revolt by Avidius had fought alongside during
Two more Germanic tribes, realistic quality. Cassius, the governor of Syria. the Parthian War.
the Marcomanni and The Roman Empire was in Avidius was declared emperor in As Martius’s army approached,
Quadi were threatening to crisis in 170—the Egypt, and received support in the loyalty of the usurper’s troops
force their way across the Marcomanni and Quadi had Arabia, as well as in his own wavered, and in July Avidius
frontier unless they were occupied parts of northern Italy, province of Syria. Critically, Cassius was murdered by a
admitted to settle in the and an invasion by the Iazyges however, he failed to disaffected centurion, putting an
empire, but Marcus’s and Costobocci had overun large secure the support of end to his short-lived but
presence deterred them. parts of the Balkans. The Romans Martius Verus, the dangerous rebellion. There
However, the expedition trapped the Marcomanni as they were suggestions that Marcus’s
was cut short by the death returned across the Danube and wife Faustina encouraged
of Lucius Verus from killed many of them. The Quadi Avidius, as she feared for her
Marcus Aurelius
plague in early 169. Marcus sued for peace later in 171, but husband’s health and worried
This statue shows Marcus Aurelius
returned to Italy, but was back in adopting a pose of victory, something the Marcommani remained her own son Commodus was
Pannonia later in the year to he claimed but never quite achieved recalcitrant, forcing a new unfit to rule.
launch a massive offensive in his Marcomannic Wars. offensive in 172. The forces of Free from the distraction of
across the Danube. It was a Marcus Aurelius could never Avidius’s revolt, Marcus
disaster, with the Romans of the central government, and the quite strike the killer blow, Aurelius returned to the
suffering around 20,000 dead and emperor relinquished active and by 175 the war had Danube in 177. In the winter
the Marcomanni and Quadi control of government to the reached a of 179–80, the Roman army
pouring into Italy, where they laid eunuchs. In 168, an attempt by stalemate. occupied positions deep across
siege to Aquileia. Far from Dou Xian, regent for the 12-year- In May that the Danube, and it looked as
providing an easy victory for old emperor Lingdi (r. 168–89), year, rumors that if Marcus might be able to
Marcus, the war dragged on for to have the eunuchs massacred Marcus Aurelius create two new Roman
another 10 years. failed—the plot was betrayed provinces—Marcomannia
In China, the eunuch faction at and Dou Xian was forced to and Samartia. However,
court had become increasingly commit suicide. Several hundred Moche stirrup jar Marcus was old and
powerful and had even engineered of Dou Xian’s supporters were This jar has a typical tired—he died in March
Moche “stirrup” attached
the murder of the emperor Shaodi executed and, with its enemies 180. His son Commodus
to the back of it. The
in 125. Under Emperor Huandi now dead, the eunuch faction realism of the paddling brought the war to a rapid
(146–68) a series of natural was able to exercise power figure is characteristic of conclusion, allowing him to
disasters weakened the authority almost unopposed. the culture’s ceramics. return to Rome.

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ea ndi o u n
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no an r m cli 3 5 n
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o f
83
700 BCE – 5 9 9 CE THE CLASSICAL AGE

Gold dolphin earrings decorative Plumb line


Earrings adorned with female head This bronze weighted
animal-head motifs were plumb line was attached
especially popular in the to a groma, an instrument
eastern Roman empire. used by the Romans to
This pair bears a symbol survey straight lines.
of the sea god Neptune.

Precious necklace
This necklace, made up
of gold and red garnets,
seems to form the shape
of a spectacular fruit tree.

garnet shaped like


a fruit or berry

Bone pin
This flat, thin blade or pin is topped bronze
gold in the form by a female head, an ornamental weight
of a leaf touch for an otherwise humdrum
household item.
cart carrying
worshipers

ANCIENT ROME
THE ROMANS SPREAD A RICH MATERIAL CULTURE THROUGHOUT THEIR VAST EMPIRE

As Roman political control steadily expanded outside Italy, in its wake came
Bronze dividers and foot rule
the Roman way of life. Roman surveyors laid out new cities, local elites took Dividers allowed engineers to
up Roman practices, and the masses attended gladiatorial spectacles. On copy scale plans or models at
twice or half their size—the
a domestic level, Roman fashions in clothing and accessories also spread. gap between the lower points
is always twice that between
the upper points. The rule,
Although many of the territories that the Romans conquered initially resisted, the populations of central which was one Roman foot
these provinces, particularly the former ruling classes, gradually adopted many Roman customs. pivot long (11¾ in/29.6 cm), folded
for easy carrying.
Influential men became Roman citizens, towns were given new public buildings such as baths and
courthouses, Roman legionary garrisons were established in strategic places, and new trade routes
brought luxury goods from Rome. As a result, similar Roman artifacts have been found across Europe,
metal crest to
the Middle East, and North Africa, dating from around the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. deflect blows

head of
Oceanus
lower
cursive point
letter forms

Ocean baths Wooden tablet


The most important Roman This type of tablet, made from
baths were adorned with very thin wood, was used by
lavish mosaics, such as the Roman military for foot rule
this one of Oceanus, the everyday letters and record-
ocean god, from Sabratha keeping. This one was found
in Libya. at Vindolanda in England.
ANCIENT ROME

Procession bowl
This lekane, a type of shallow
dish, is decorated with
a scene of half-man,
half-goat satyrs
in a procession in
honor of Bacchus,
the god of wine.

modern-
looking grater

flask
containing oil
Ancient grater
Cheese played an important
part in the Roman diet. Graters strigil for
such as this one were invented scraping
to allow cheese to be used as
a topping on other foodstuffs.
Amphora Bathing tools
The Romans transported liquid At the baths, a Roman’s skin
goods such as oil and wine was oiled and then scraped to
in amphoras, a type of large, remove sweat and dirt. A ring
double-handled storage jar. was used to transport the tools.
Short sword
The Roman military sword, or gladius, had a
short blade—ideal for attacks at close range. short blade
It was used by soldiers and some gladiators. ivory grip

satyr carrying
cymbals

Military javelin
Each Roman legionary carried two of these pila (javelins). long iron handle shaped for
The javelin’s iron head was designed to break off on shank throwing
impact to prevent an opponent throwing it back.

Imperial coins
Coins bearing the head of the Latin
current emperor (here Augustus text
and Claudius) acted as powerful
propaganda tools across the
empire, showing even the masses
an image of their ruler.

Proof of citizenship
Noncitizens who served 25 years
in the Roman army were awarded
citizenship and given bronze
diplomas such as this one to
record the grant.

extended
neck-plate

Sling pellets
Roman legionaries normally
relied on their swords, but
auxiliary light infantry used
other weapons to devastating
effect, such as these metal
gridded visor sling pellets.
to protect face
small size would
have offered little
protection

Gladiator helmet Bronze gladiator shield


Roman gladiators bore a variety of arms Thracian gladiators—a class of lightly
and armor. This sort of helmet was armed gladiator—carried lightweight,
worn by a Thracian, a type of gladiator round shields such as this one for
whose equipment was modeled on defense, and a scimitar, with a short,
that of ancient Thracian warriors. curved blade, to attack their opponents.
181–192 193–211

In this engraving by Giovanni Stradano, Emperor Commodus shoots an arrow The Severan arch in Leptis Magna (in modern Libya) commemorates a visit
to subdue a leopard. Fighting in the arena as a gladiator was his great passion. by the North African emperor to his home town.

IN CHINA, INCREASING DISSENT Commodus (r. 180–92), Marcus ,,BE HARMONIOUS WITH

,,
caused by the corruption of the Aurelius’s son, was the first
eunuchs at the court of Han
Emperor Lindi (r. 168–89) and a
Roman emperor to succeed his
father for 90 years, but he proved
EACH OTHER, ENRICH
succession of natural disasters
led to the outbreak in 184 of a
to be a disastrous choice. In 182,
after an assassination attempt on
THE SOLDIERS, IGNORE
major insurrection, named the
Yellow Turban revolt for the
him, apparently organized by his
sister Lucilla, Commodus became
ALL OTHERS…
color of its supporters’ headgear. increasingly despotic. Many Septimius Severus, dying words as quoted in Book 77 of Roman historian
Up to 400,000 rebels swept senators who were implicated in Dio Cassius’s Roman History, 211
westward towards the capital. the plot were executed and control
Another uprising fueled by the of the government fell into the
Five Pecks of Rice sect then hands of Tigidius Perennis, the IN 193, AFTER THE MURDER OF his reign was short, as almost
succeeded in taking over Sichuan praetorian prefect (the COMMODUS, Helvius Pertinax immediately the frontier armies JULIA DOMNA (170–217)
in the southwest. Although the commander of the imperial (126–93), the prefect of the city, rebelled: the army on the Danube
Yellow Turbans had been largely bodyguard). There were minor was declared emperor, but he was proclaimed Septimius Severus The daughter of a Syrian high
crushed by early 185, the control wars in Britain and in Dacia (much murdered after three months. This (c. 145–211) emperor, while the priest, Julia Domna married
of the Han emperor was ever of modern Romania), but in 185 was followed by rival claimants to Syrian legions raised their Septimius Severus in 187. A
weakening. After Lingdi died in Perennis was suspected of a plot the throne engaging in an auction commander Pescennius Niger prophecy had predicted that
189, he was replaced by his to make his own son emperor and outside the praetorian camp to (c. 135–94) to the imperial throne. she would wed an emperor,
younger half-brother Xiandi was executed by his troops. decide who would be emperor. Severus reached Rome first and, and so it turned out. Forceful
(r. 189–220) but he never exercised Commodus increasingly devoted Didius Julianus (133–93) won, but after granting the title of Caesar and intelligent, she failed to
real power. Instead, control of the himself to fighting in the arena as (junior emperor) to Clodius mediate between her sons
empire fell to Han general Cao a gladiator, while the imperial Money offered to each Albinus, governor of Britain, he Caracalla and Geta after
Cao, who contended for 30 years chamberlain Cleander dominated soldier by Didius Julianus turned east where, in spring 194, their father’s death and to
with a series of rival warlords, government and sold public offices his armies defeated Niger at the prevent Geta’s murder. When
notably Liu Bei in the southwest to the highest bidder. The man in Battle of Issus in Syria. Severus Caracalla was killed, she
and Sun Quan in the south. charge of the grain supply, stayed in the east and in 195 deliberately starved herself

18
Papirius Dionysius, engineered a
shortage that led to Cleander’s
25,000 attacked the Parthian Empire. But
he was forced to return west to
to death in protest, a move
that rallied support for the
SESTERCES
downfall. This did not result in a deal with Albinus, who had remaining Severan family.
more stable government, as his revolted, and who was killed near
replacement only lasted a short Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France)
time before being murdered. in 197. Severus then returned to but they soon broke the peace and
Commodus increasingly identified 20,000 Parthia, this time occupying the a new campaign was launched in
himself with Hercules (the Greek SESTERCES capital Ctesiphon in 197. He 210. Severus was by now very ill,
hero) and renamed Rome after pushed the line of Roman control and his son Caracalla took over.
himself—colonia Commodiana. toward the Tigris and created the In February 211 Severus died in
THE AGE At the end of 192, the praetorian new province of Mesopotamia. Eboracum (modern York, England)
AT WHICH prefect Laetus was convinced that
Commodus was planning to have
Money offered to each soldier Trouble in Britain brought the
aging emperor to the province in
and handed succession jointly to
sons Caracalla and Geta. After the
COMMODUS
by Flavius Sulpicianus
him killed and on New Year’s Day Buying loyalty 208. A large-scale Roman Scottish war, both rushed back to
BECAME SOLE 193 took the initiative and had the
emperor poisoned and, when that
The larger bribes offered to the
troops by Didius Julianus meant that
advance forced the Caledonians
and Maetae north of the provincial
Rome, but their joint rule was
short-lived: Caracalla had Geta
EMPEROR did not work, strangled. he won the auction to be emperor. frontier to come to terms in 209, murdered in December 211.

e le is di, en
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212–230

A carving of the Buddha from Sarnath in North India, where a school of


Buddhist art flourished under the Kushans.

2,000
IN INDIA, THE AREA CONTROLLED which citizenship was granted to Arch of Caracalla
BY THE KUSHAN DYNASTY began almost all free males in the Originally the arch
to shrink after the death of King empire. After a successful was topped by a
Kanishka in 140, and particularly campaign on the Rhine (in 213), figure of the
emperor riding in a
severe territorial losses were Caracalla ventured further afield, chariot. It stands in
suffered under Huvishka arriving in Egypt in 215. For some THE NUMBER Volubilis, the main
(r. 160–90). Kushan rule finally unknown reason, he became town of Roman
collapsed under Vasudeva enraged and ordered the OF BATHERS Mauretania Tingitana
(r. 190–225) when Persian invaders massacre of the citizens of (in modern Morocco).
swept through northwestern Alexandria. The next year he THAT COULD
India. Although Kushan kings
continued to rule a much-reduced
launched an invasion of Parthia.
His praetorian prefect Opellius
USE THE BATHS divided into two
realm for a further century, their
influence was purely local and
Macrinus came to suspect that
Caracalla wanted him dead, so he
OF CARACALLA when Vologeses
VI’s brother set
their heyday was at an end. persuaded a disaffected soldier to himself up as a
In Rome, Caracalla’s murder the emperor. After to the Severan family, and a revolt rival king,
government was unpopular. Caracalla’s murder, the army broke out in Syria, which aimed Artabanus V; and a further Persia was temporarily weakened
Among his measures was the declared Macrinus emperor. to put Elagabalus (203–22), Roman invasion in 216 ravaged by a civil war, the Sasanians
Antonine Constitution of 212, by There was much residual loyalty grandson of Julia Domna’s sister much of the province of Media. proved to be much tougher
Julia Maesa, on the throne. Taking advantage of this disorder, adversaries to the Romans than
Macrinus lost support and in June the ruler of the southwestern the Parthians ever had been.
218 he fled to Cappadocia, where province of Pars, Ardashir, In China in 220, Cao Cao’s son
he was killed. In 221, Elagabalus expanded his territory and finally Cao Pi forced Xiandi to abdicate.
adopted as his heir his cousin defeated Artabanus V c. 224. Within two years Cao Pi, Liu Bei,
Alexianus. When the two fell Ardashir I was then declared king and Sun Quan would each declare
out in 222, the army backed (r. 224–42) as the first ruler of himself emperor. The Han dynasty
Alexianus and Elagabalus the Sasanian dynasty. Although and China’s unity were at an end.
was murdered. Alexianus
Black Sea
became Emperor Cau

Ca
cas
us

sp
Alexander Severus Byzantium

ia n
(Constantinople)
at age 13. ARMENIA Balkh

h
s

S ea
R O MA N EMP IR E Merv BACTRIA Ku
In Persia, Parthian rule du Taxila
Antioch Nishapur Hi n Kabul
had been weakened, Cyprus Barbalissus Ecbatana KHURASAN
both by plague and by Mediterranean Dura Europos Jalula
Sea SYRIA ASURISTAN Nehavend SASANI AN
the effects of successive Damascus Seleucia Ctesiphon
Babylon Susa EM PI RE
MESHAN KHUZISTAN
Roman invasions. In 207, Alexandria Jerusalem Dhu Qar FARS
L a Al Qadisiya Persepolis
the kingdom had been khm
ids
KERMAN
Pe

Arabian MAKRAN
rs

ia
Peninsula n
Gul
f
Bronze diploma BAHRAIN Arabian Sea
MAZUN
Diplomas were issued to
auxiliary soldiers in the The Sasanian Empire in Persia
Roman army, granting After rapidly acquiring the former
KEY
them citizenship. This Parthian Empire, the Sasanians
practice ceased after the fought a series of wars with the Sasanian Empire at greatest extent
Antonine Constitution. Romans over control of Mesopotamia. East Roman Empire in 3rd century

ad
lla ar he y
s ca d ne us, , ty by d b ed rus of
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ra ains ao e ia u lus rd; r der
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gr tize e m pire m a n s d nce sa, w balu r t u i e d hr llia s sh ia
ci fre em ota om nu a a o llis hr om Ar “ C t u ie da Syr
op R ri st ae g er Ca ti-C in R 24
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gr bec th
87
231–244 245–260

25
THE NUMBER OF
ROMAN EMPERORS
THAT RULED
BETWEEN
235 AND 284

Roman emperor Gordian III A mural of St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage at the height of the Decian
succeeded his father and grandfather. persecution. He was martyred in 257 during a campaign under Valerian.

IN CHINA, THE FINAL COLLAPSE OF Africa proclaimed the province’s PERSIA ATTAINED A POSITION OF in disarray and Shapur’s armies
G O B I D ES ERT
THE HAN DYNASTY IN 220 was elderly governor as Emperor RENEWED STRENGTH under advanced as far as Iconium
followed by 350 years of instability. Gordian I, but he was quickly and Shapur I (r. 241–72). In 244, he (modern Konya, Turkey).
WEI Yellow
The Three Kingdoms period brutally put down. The Senate Chang’an Luoyang Sea won a decisive battle against The western part of the Roman
(220–80) saw China divided into the declared Maximinus deposed and Jiankang
Gordian III at Misiche near Empire also faced increasing
Wei kingdom of the north; (initially proposed Pupienus and Balbinus Chengdu Ctesiphon. Shortly after, Gordian pressure. The Romans suffered
SHU WU
under Wei Wendi (r. 220–26); the as candidates. Popular sentiment HAN III was killed and replaced by his invasions of Dacia (much of
Shu Han kingdom in the west favored Gordian I’s grandson Taiwan army commander Philip (or Philip modern Romania) by the Carpi
whose first ruler was Shu Han “the Arab”). Philip made peace people from c. 214. The Carpi,
South
Xuande (r. 221–23); and the China with Shapur but had to pay a large together with a new group, the
Hainan Sea
southern Wu kingdom under Wu ransom to escape Sasanian Goths, took part in a raid across
Wudi (r. 222–52). Wei Wendi was a territory. His successors broke the Danube in 239–40. In 248,
KEY
capable ruler, but his successors the terms of the agreement, so in Emperor Philip withdrew an
Wei, 220–225 Wu, 222–280
struggled to contain attacks by 256 Shapur I invaded Syria and annual tribute he had been
Shu Han, 221–263
northern tribesmen. captured the towns of Antioch and paying the Carpi and the Goths,
In 235, the Roman China under the Three Kingdoms Europos Dura. Valerian, who by prompting them to pour into
emperor Alexander Although the Wei kingdom faced the then was emperor (r. 253–60), Moesia (modern Bulgaria). Philip
Severus and his greatest challenges among the three soon retook Antioch. In 260, he fell sent Quintus Decius to deal with
mother Julia Mamaea kingdoms, it would eventually into a trap and was imprisoned the invasion; he was so successful
were murdered by conquer the Wu and the Shu Han. by Shapur. The Romans were left that his troops declared him
mutinous troops, emperor. Early in 249, Decius
putting an end to the Gordian III (r. 238–44), so all marched to Rome and defeated
Relief of Shapur I
Severan dynasty. The three briefly shared the and killed Philip. Hearing of the
In this relief, Shapur I triumphs over
uprising’s ringleader, throne. Balbinus and the Roman emperors Gordian III and Roman civil war, the Goths
Maximinus Thrax Pupienus were Valerian. After Valerian’s capture, invaded again, causing Decius to
(r. 235–38), an officer from killed soon after, Shapur is said to have used him as a return to the Balkans in 250.
a humble background, was leaving Gordian III footstool for mounting his horse. Under their warleader Cniva, the
proclaimed emperor, but he to rule alone. His
spent most of his reign raising six-year reign briefly
funds to reward his troops for restored some semblance of
their support. This time marks stability to the empire, but
the start of a period of “military he was killed while leading an
anarchy” in which Rome had invasion of Persia in 243–44.
dozens of emperors, most of them Compounding the Roman
short-lived rulers who were Empire’s difficulties was the
raised up by the frontier armies appearance of barbarian
and just as quickly deposed and confederacies among
killed. A rebellion in 238 in North the Germanic peoples
of the Rhine and
Danube frontiers.
Art from the Three Kingdoms
Principal among these
High artistic achievements, such as
this fine statue, were a feature of the were the Alemanni. In
late Han dynasty. Its collapse in 220 213, Caracalla campaigned
did not result in an equivalent against them; by 260 they
decline in China’s artistic output. were able to invade Italy itself.

I I or ys;
s
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261–275

The main colonnade at Palmyra, which grew rich on tariffs paid by merchants
who plied the desert route that passed through the Syrian city.

VALERIAN’S CAPTURE BY THE Germany. Postumus declared Balkans to deal with Gaul. Only
PERSIANS in 260 proved himself emperor, but unlike under Aurelian (r. 270–74) was
disastrous for the western part of previous usurpers did not march the Roman Empire strong enough,
the Roman Empire as well as the on Rome, instead setting up a and by then the Gallic Empire was
east. Valerian’s son Gallienus separate Gallic Empire; this weakened, with its last ruler,
(r. 260–68), struggling to contain initially controlled Britain, Spain, Tetricus (r. 270–74), facing splits in
an invasion of Italy by the parts of western Germany, and the army. In 274, Tetricus was
Germanic Iuthungi had no Gaul. He established a form of captured near Châlons, and the
resources to reinforce the Rhine government that mirrored that of Gallic Empire was reabsorbed.
frontier, which was being the official empire, complete with In the east, a serious challenge
SHAPUR I (d.272) breached by Alemmanic and its own Senate. In 269, Postumus to Roman rule emerged after 260.
Frankish raiders. The Governor was murdered by his own troops The city of Palmyra (in Syria)
Shapur’s early leadership of Germania Inferior, Marcus and replaced by his praetorian proved Rome’s only reliable ally
experience came in a role Postumus, revolted and killed prefect Victorinus. Gallienus— against the Sasanian advances of
assisting his father, Ardashir, Gallienus’s son Saloninus, who faced with Gothic invasions and Persia. Its ruler Septimius
in mopping up support for had been left in charge of Gaul and the revolt of Zenobia of Palmyra Odaenathus (c. 220–67) received a
the Parthian Arsacid dynasty. in the east—was never strong number of Roman titles, including
Sepulchral relief from Palmyra
Shapur’s defeats of Gordian enough to put an end to the Gallic Corrector Totius Orientis (“Marshal
The Palmyrenes buried their dead
The Gallic Empire
III in 244 and of Valerian in Postumus began the Gallic Empire Empire. In 268 he was murdered of the entire East”), and invaded with exquisite and realistic personal
260 established a temporary in control of Gaul, Germany, Britain, by the army and replaced by the Sasanian Empire in 262 and portrayals; the dead were interred in
Persian dominance in Syria and Spain. By its collapse in 274, the Claudius II Gothicus (r. 268–70), 266. Odaenathus died in 267; and tower tombs outside the city.
and Mesopotamia. He used last ruler, Tetricus, had lost Spain. who was too busy fighting in the his wife Zenobia (r. 267–73)
the many Roman prisoners created an empire of her own. By In China, Yuandi (r. 260–64)
captured in 256 at Antioch to North
269, her armies had taken Syria restored Wei’s fortunes by
Eburacum
build the new town of Veh Sea and Egypt, and in 271 she declared conquering the Shu Han. But
Antiok Shapur (“Shapur’s KEY BRITANNIA her son Vaballathus emperor. soon after he was overthrown by
town, better than Antioch”). Gallic Empire under S a xo ns Lom Aurelian marched east and soon one of his own generals, Sima
F b a rd
Postumus, 260–68 s rolled back the Palmyrene gains, Yuan, who founded the Western
ra
nks

Gallic Empire under Colonia Agrippina nd ians besieging Palmyra in spring 272. Jin dynasty and took the title
rg u
Alem

Goths ravaged the province of Tetricus, 270–74 Mogontiacum Bu Zenobia was captured while trying Wudi (r. 265–89). His armies
Durocortorum M a rc o m an n i
Moesia, laying siege to the main Roman Empire, 260 to escape, and Palmyra was crushed and annexed the Wu
an

Augusta Iut
ni

town of Nicopolis (modern Treverorum hun


gi sacked in 273 when it tried to kingdom in 280, thus briefly
Nikopol, Bulgaria). The campaign GA LLI A throw off Roman rule again. reuniting China.
Lugdunum
went badly for the Romans, ending Burdigala P
Vienna
,,
A

in defeat and Decius’s death at the Mediolanum


N

YOU DEMAND MY SURRENDER


VIENNENSIS
NO

Battle of Abrittus in 251.


I T

Ravenna
NI

In Japan, the Yamato kingdom


AS THOUGH YOU WERE NOT AWARE
HISPANIA Narbo
Emerita
A

,,
A

emerged on the plain of Nara (in Augusta Tarraco

THAT CLEOPATRA PREFERRED TO


Corsica
L

central Japan) around 250. Its A


I

r es Rome
Corduba
Balea
rulers were interred in large burial
mounds, and its armies conquered
Gades
Tingis
Sardinia
Tarentum
DIE A QUEEN RATHER THAN
most of central Japan. Much of Caesarea
Medit
erra
nea
n S
REMAIN ALIVE.
what is known comes from M A U R E TA N I A ea
Chinese sources, who name the Carthage
Syracuse Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, to Aurelian Augustus
Queen of Yamato in 238 as Himiko. from Historia Augusta c. 375–400

I y
s Jin s I st d b ire
g fe
at im rn
te es ry diu gain s, ate Emp
din de es h s l a u a s
ha thu
fe
e ic d
i d I e ak ito of r C tory us s d all e an
s rb ur tak us 5 W ty t rr er f ro bia alla or cu G h ks ain
ciu t fo hip ap d en 26 nas e te uled u rd us o a, a y pe r vic aiss o
en Vab per tri the ith t an s ag
De edic ors Sh n an alli n dy er th rly r M ath yri all m o 1 Z n,
e
4 T an; w r
7
25 ues ian w
0 a
26 leri er; G om
a 7
26 aen ra, S man 9 E aj at
N
27 r so ed e
m
27 reli ited pire 5 F nn ul
ov me Wei 26 ns m ths 27 ama Ga
iss rist Va ison ed R for the Od lmy r Ro i
w eG o he clar Au reun Em Al vage
C h r r
p cla or by Pa me th de is man ra
de per for Ro
em

m ic ro
r n er
do , th s’s lia e rd s
tyr an Go ace, thu to
pe e
m s th ; re Mu he i s
ar ypri ge ve r nd na es ts e Au es th ra 5 ny
ay si h an er cia 27 lian; citu ho y
8 M C ha aw e as nto T ia, a ce e
da om vol s m ord Da pt
3
27 ress lmy a nt itar
25 of Cart ak pir y 7 M i o n e e 7 O ia c re e Ro ian of Egy e a e
ur by T
A
t so site
. l
re 26 sion ced G
r
26 nob yra, d tak nor 1 l n pp P A 5S a
of m b
0 B c E ed s r Ma 27 ure atio vers Rom su lt of of ded 27 ts to ar th aste
e ry
op 26 alli lish mu u Ze alm , an Mi A cu co for o e
sh inc w P a re
v ce a ne on
Bi G ab stu do n me si a
ev e re uc re ,
es
t Po wi er i t Ro of A h s t
re t life ure
m
w s h r t
po gain muc se fu
a de his
of
89
276–283 284–300
,,
,,
PROBUS WAS ALMOST A
SECOND HANNIBAL BECAUSE OF
HIS KNOWLEDGE OF WARFARE…
Aurelius Victor, Roman historian and official, in
De Caesaribus, c. 360

The Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacán (near modern Mexico City) was built some time after 200 at one end of
the city’s Avenue of the Dead; the Pyramid of the Sun sits at the other end.

IN CHINA, THE FIRST EMPEROR OF short-lived emperors—Tacitus IN 284, THE ROMAN ARMY IN ASIA
THE WESTERN JIN DYNASTY, Wudi and Florianus—before Probus MINOR PROCLAIMED DIOCLES, the
(r. 265–89), was a strong ruler who took power in 276. Within two former commander of the
secured trade routes to the West years, Probus had defeated the imperial bodyguard, Emperor
and built a bridge over the Yellow Goths on the Danube and pushed Diocletian (r. 284–305). In 285,
River to improve communications. back the Franks from the Rhine. he defeated Carinus (the then
However, the wars of the Three A planned campaign against emperor of the Western Empire)
Kingdoms period (see 231–244) Persia was frustrated in 281 by and started a radical
had impoverished the state and the revolt of two usurpers in the reorganization of the empire,
as the tax burden rose, many West: Bonosus and Proculus. reforming the army, and
peasants fled to landowners for Despite his military successes, in subdividing provinces. The
protection, resulting in the rise of 282 Probus was murdered by his challenges on the frontier were
private armies. own troops, who were resentful too great to be faced alone; in 285,
In the Roman Empire, Emperor at being forced to work on civil he appointed Maximian (250–310)
Aurelian—who was murdered in engineering projects near to rule alongside him, first as
275—was followed by two Sirmium (in modern Serbia). Caesar (junior emperor) then as
Augustus (senior emperor). Other
Jin sitting bear sculpture problems with Britain’s break
The first half of the Jin dynasty from the empire under Carausius
under Wudi gave China a in 286 convinced Diocletian that
period of comparative more changes were necessary. In
peace and stability,
which allowed the 293, he and Maximian appointed
arts to flourish. two Caesars: Constantius
Chlorus (r. 293–306) to assist Persian frieze
Diocletian in the Western Empire The Paikuli frieze celebrates the to the Romans. He launched a
and Galerius (r. 293–311) to be victories of Narseh in Armenia and major invasion in 296, defeating
Maximian’s junior in the East. This justifies his deposition of the Caesar Galerius in 297. The
predecessor Vahram III.
tetrarchy (four emperor system) next year, however, Galerius
enjoyed early successes in Britain smashed Narseh’s army in
(296) and in Egypt (298). In 294, After the death of Shapur I in Armenia and captured the Persian
Diocletian reformed the coinage, 272 Persia faced a period of ruler’s family. Galerius marched
reissuing new bronze and silver political instability. In 293, as far as Ctesiphon, which he
coins, and in 301 he issued an Narseh (r. 293–302) ascended to captured in 298. Narseh was
Edict on Maximum Prices to try the Persian throne. He resolved to forced to make peace (Treaty of
to curb rising inflation. Unlike his recover land in Armenia and Nisibis). Persia remained at peace
other measures, this one failed. Mesopotamia that had been lost with the Romans for 40 years.

12
In the Valley of Mexico, the city of
Teotihuacán reached the peak of
SQUARE its power around 300. Its main

MILES
street—the Avenue of the
Dead—ran between the Pyramid
THE AREA OF of the Moon and the Ciudadela

TEOTIHUACAN CITY (which may have been the palace


of the ruler) and was lined with the
AT ITS PEAK residences of the lords of the city.

ls ed r es
es pe a lar de niz r an
s
om fter ex aul, in hin er ec mur ga owe e e oin a)
b
c
e ra n u s G st i n o f C und a
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n he e
r
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e
ad t Ro
m
o f c iopi
b i r g rs ts e t r v h
us ro reig ro om re J h
rn ut ntry let r t n in ak s G sh in a ing Et
ob pe 9 P s fr un te so oc fte tia id ero oin m ow he bli ns efe int nt les
Pr em onth –7 ank own ia es the cou a Ya
o
ed Di or a son iocle , div mp app est i an rsia n all of t ina e sta rsia nd d ius t m ncie op
6 n
27 ma ix-m
7
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28 per us’s us D pi re o e d e W l t
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28 em en tw ast le th
an c
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br Taci an ypt co d un ade Pr ium ny of me the twe he E to ru 28 ace We s fro tle i Di hy Ar per c. Aks 00 ca b e
of Eg an eir le 2 82 irm uti N u e
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aft Ma Wa he

er si
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( fou ism y ho o , ar s s se part c he a l is aya f es nity
ni hae b sc ecti nes o r C take ; siu and Gau
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7 a c i w o m i ar itain hern El pán, 29 with crip Dat ec ers ia t Ch e re ow apa of land
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th
2 Pe nd ste iph c. s at 3 S m ar “L rs r o Ar ac a s 30 e i em te
p a w e s a y e s tro
o al 29 onu lend the Na rule 00 ry to as c. stat ttl (Eas
ias ish l ad cia s m Ct co
n r i
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6 3
c. unt o S e
0 Nui
er inv eleu e die near bu st at
Tib Jew fir co m 30
S h Ya c.
90
301–319

This early 16th-century fresco of the Battle of Milvian Bridge is in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. Before the battle,
the emperor Constantine is said to have seen a Christian monogram in a dream predicting his victory.

SINCE PERSECUTIONS IN THE 250S In 311, Galerius died and over the Eastern provinces. The
AND 260S, THE CHRISTIAN Maximin became Augustus in alliance between Constantine and
COMMUNITY had experienced the East. He ordered renewed Licinius broke down in 316; they
some 40 years of tranquillity in
the Roman Empire. All this 75,000 measures against Christians.
Constantine, meanwhile, invaded
patched up a peace in 317, and for
six years the Roman Empire
changed in 303 when Diocletian MAXENTIUS Italy and in October 312 defeated relapsed into an uneasy calm.
issued an edict ordering the and killed Maxentius at the Battle In China, Wudi’s successor Huidi
destruction of churches and the of Milvian Bridge. Before the (r. 290–306) was mentally disabled
handing over and burning of battle, Constantine is said to have and so a succession of regents
Christian books. A sterner edict
followed, calling for the arrest of
50,000 dreamed of the Chi-Rho symbol
and ordered his troops to mark it
contended for imperial control.
Huidi’s brother Huaidi (r. 307–12)
CONSTANTINE
Christian clergy, and one in 304 on their shields. invited the northern Xiongnu
ordered that all Christians offer Licinius and Constantine met at tribesmen to help him against
a sacrifice to the pagan gods. Mediolanum (modern Milan) in the competing Chinese factions,
Devout Christians could not 313, where they agreed to share but they took him prisoner. The
Battle numbers at Milvian Bridge
accede to these demands, and power and issued the Edict of last Western Jin emperor Mindi
Maxentius’s forces outnumbered
many of them were martyred. those of Constantine, but his Milan, which granted toleration to (r. 313–16) saw the Xiongnu sack
Chi-Rho symbol
In 304, Diocletian fell seriously army became trapped between all forms of worship, in effect the capital of Chang’an (modern The monogram of Chi-Rho, the first
ill, and in 305 he announced that Constantine’s men and the river. legalizing Christianity. Licinius Xi’an); the Jin moved south, where two letters of Christ’s name in
he and Maximian would abdicate. then turned East and defeated Yuandi (r. 317–23) became the Greek, became an important early
Constantius Chlorus and (Galerius’s army colleague). The Maximin Daia, securing control first Eastern Jin emperor in 317. symbol of Christianity.
Galerius would take over as new tetrarchy soon unraveled.
Augusti, while the new Caesars Constantius died in Eboracum
were to be Maximinus (Galerius’s (modern York, England) in July Colonia EUROPE Caspian
Londinium Agrippina
nephew) and Flavius Severus 306 and the troops there Sea
proclaimed his son Constantine Augusta
Treverorum
the new Augustus. By October, Black Sea
Aguontum Poetovio Amisus
Maxentius (r. 306–12), the son of ATL ANTIC Augustodunum Aquileia Sirmium Sinope
Lugdunum Neocaesarea
Maximian, was crowned emperor OCEAN Mediolanum Chalcedon Amasia
Vienna Ravenna Salonae Constantinople Caesarea
Burdigala Valentia Nicomedia Cappadociae
in Rome. Severus was killed trying Nemausus Pisa
Florentia Philippi Nyssa
Stobi Nicaea Edessa
to retake Rome from Maxentius, Biterrae Massilia Rome Thessalonica Troas Cyzicus
Anazarbus
Tarsus
and Maximian restored himself to Barcino Neapolis Nicopolis
Sardes
Ephesus
Hierapolis Antioch Dura-Europos
Myra Seleucia Palmyra
the position of Augustus. In 308, Athens Miletus
Salamis Tripolis
Carales Rhegium Corinth Cos Paphos Damascus
the Conference of Carnuntum Messina Rhodes Tyre Berytus
Corduba Carthago Hippo Syracusa Sidon
was called to settle the disputes, Nova Regius Carthage Jerusalem
Hispalis a
presided over by Diocletian, who Tipasa M e d i t e r r a n e a n Se Bethlehem
Illiberris Melita Petra
Tingis Sicca Veneria
came out of retirement. Ptolemais Cyrene
Alexandria

Constantine accepted a demotion Leptis Magna


to Caesar in the West, with
Licinius as Augustus (r. 308–24), AFRICA Coptus
while Maximin Daia became
Palace of Diocletian
Diocletian built the great palace at Galerius’s Caesar in the East Early spread of Christianity
Split, Croatia, for his retirement (r. 310–13). This new arrangement Christianity spread in the 2nd and 3rd centuries until there
after his abdication in 305. Here, was no more succesful than were strong Christian communities in Anatolia, southern KEY
he tended his cabbages. the old one. Gaul, Italy, Egypt, and the province of Africa (Tunisia). Areas strongly Christian by 325

n:
s t in ius ut
in ila s
ina Jin s
ian te ou ent t f M ffirm us le ria t
let rice mpt n ica to ks ax tis ks o s of o o Ch ie nd ha
c
io s p tte n of cut
i o d
ab ian nd a
re ; M he
a a
on re tat wh u dict ne a ligio is so sty ern tern 6) d exa ine t
i a s l
1 D hi a tio ing rse ian im s a m r b ire y t 1D b s ns 3 E nt re us n h e
dy nort t W 13–
1 A tr e
of doc ivin
30 ues n an infla inn c pe let Max leriu the wa Emp or b of a 31 hism over stia s to 31 nsta m of icini n
s i
is ict trol g
e ni c
io s a ce v i l r ion si sc rica Chri ifice s to Co edo ip. L ster Jin ns ; las i (r. 3 ius ard lly d
3 B tia ns 5 D rce e; G pla Ci an mpe rd ss Per d 6 o
31 and gnu ind
r
8 A rw fu t
ed con 30 ocle istia 30 d fo wis s re
7 m
30 e Ro ed e Gu
a e
cc I in Af ose sacr go ion fre rsh f Ea pire 31 ts fo the hris
to i e u 9A rI th de man ecut wo ler o Em ab Xion or M u ies f C
D Ch r n
a lik nti th clar rian 30 apu a o rs n to e r p o
of do nsta e to m eR e ru ma p n
de ture
d ae Sh th oid p R o e m
Co Pr na
av

e m
ad tu
inv g to un nd e;
u
n din the on a rn ed a as idg s n
ee s
g s
ie on f C os us e Br ntiu n
ion lea in en sd ss d e o ep ini th
n
ia xe er etw iniu s st
4 X na, der te ) nc us d Lic r in pire ilv Ma est ire
b fir r
30 Chi f or f Six 439 tiu n; hi lare s e ck
sa na ut ; Lic kan es ero ign
s
n r ti by ero m f M ats f W mp o l
o t o (to sta tai ec op nfe en d E u i o o s s
ak iniu e Ba
m
co emp pa s on
wn tar iod on Bri ine d e tro Co Max lace em an
p gn Ch tle efe ol nE e b e m
ca ria hine
n
o s C n t 8
0 res re at Rom ion ng, at e d ntr ma br ic th di Jin
akd nd pe r 0 6 n i an y th
3 aig st r b 3
p e
1 X
ya 2 B
t i n co R o ar nd L s in an ern t ine rba e R
e
br rth a oms n o cla itim ern 31 Luo 31 tan kes 4 W a n d u
7 Y st
n a th
p
m Co per de leg est ns ta
e
31 ntin s la 31 Ea sta t b
no ingd ca m W Co and ta s e C on ains
K e ns lo 9 ag
Co 31 91
320–330 331–355
,,
,,
IN OTHER MEN... TASTE FOR SLAUGHTER
SOMETIMES LOSES ITS FORCE... IN
CONSTANTIUS IT BECAME MORE VIOLENT.
Ammianus Marcellinus (d. c. 330) writing on the character of the Emperor
Constantius II in The Later Roman Empire

It was largely Eastern Church leaders who gathered at the Council of Nicaea
(depicted here) in 325; only eight Western bishops made the journey there.

8
CHANDRAGUPTA I ASCENDED TO Having taken up the cause of governed the Eastern Empire. Augustodunum in southern Gaul
THE THRONE of a small kingdom Christianity in 313, the Roman Their reigns began with a (modern Autun, France) and
in the western Ganges Plain in Emperor Constantine (r. 280–337) massacre at Constantinople in Constans was killed. Distracted
320. Through an advantageous found that Christians themselves which almost all of their father’s by a war against Persia,
marriage to Princess Kumaradevi were far from united in doctrine other male relatives were killed in Constantius II tolerated the
of the powerful Liccachevi dynasty or organization. Constantine order to remove any possible upstart initially, but in 351 he
and by conquest, he expanded his called a church council at Nicaea rivals. Constantine II, who was the moved against him. Since
realm to include most of the in western Asia Minor in 325 to THE NUMBER eldest, tried to assert his seniority, Constantius II had no heir, he

OF TYPES OF
central Ganges, from Magadha establish (and impose) orthodoxy but died during an invasion of promoted his cousin Gallus—one
(in southern Bihar) to Prayaga (in in the face of a division over Italy in 340. Constans then took of the few survivors of the
Uttar Pradesh). His descendants,
the Guptas, ruled northern India
Arianism (the theology of Arius,
who held that Jesus Christ was
PURE-GOLD control of the entire Western
Empire, where he was faced with
massacre of 337—to the rank of
Caesar in 351 and left him in
for almost 150 years. subordinate to God the Father). As COINS ISSUED a series of hard-fought campaigns charge in the East, while he
well as Constantine, about 300
church leaders attended, and
BY SAMUDRA- against Frankish invaders in
Gaul, and problems in Britain,
campaigned against Magnentius
in the West. Magnentius’s army
Arius’s views were condemned. GUPTA which led him to visit the far-flung was defeated at Mursa (in

14
province (the last undisputed present-day Croatia); Italy and
IN 335, SAMUDRAGUPTA (r. 335– Roman Emperor to do so) in 343. North Africa were rapidly
75) SUCCEEDED HIS FATHER Disputes between the two recovered, and in 353 Magnentius
Chandragupta I as ruler of the surviving brothers, particularly committed suicide in Gaul.
Gupta domains in northern India. one over the status of Athanasius, For the next seven years
An inscription he set up in Bishop of Alexandria (whom Constantius II ruled the empire
Prayaga survives, recounting a Constantius II had exiled, but alone, mainly preoccupied with
series of campaigns he fought in Constans wanted restored), Frankish incursions into Gaul, the
Uttar Pradesh and Mathura, soured all relations between revolt of the usurper Silvanus in
both of which were annexed to the them. In 350, a senior military 355, and a series of church
THE NUMBER OF Gupta kingdom. He also made officer, Magnentius, revolted at councils that sought to resolve
DISTRICTS IN conquests down the east coast of doctrinal disputes (Constantius II
CONSTANTINOPLE India, as far as Madras, and favored Arianism over the
subdued West Bengal as well as traditional orthodoxy).
parts of Rajasthan and the In the end, Gallus proved too
After defeating Licinius (r. 308– Punjab. Various other regions ambitious and in 354 he was
24) in 324, Constantine founded acknowledged his suzerainty, deposed and executed.
a new capital for the Eastern making him the most powerful Constantius II turned instead to
Roman Empire at the ancient city Indian ruler since the Mauryas. Gallus’s brother Julian, a studious
of Byzantium, strategically sited Constantine died in 337, having youth with a penchant for pagan
between Europe and Asia. He accepted Christian baptism only philosophy. In 355, after Silvanus’s
demolished pagan temples and on his deathbed. He had made no revolt, Julian was despatched to
built new churches, such as Hagia definite provision for succession, Gaul as Caesar, where he proved
Sophia, providing public buildings leaving his sons to divide the surprisingly effective at combating
to rival those of Rome. The city of empire between them: Frankish raiders.
The Column of Constantine Gold Gupta coin
The sole surviving monument from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) Constantine II (r. 337–40) held Many Gupta coins contain images
the forum that Constantine built for was publicly dedicated on April 2, Spain, Gaul, and Britain; of horses, a possible reference to
his new city is this column, which 330. It was the seat of the Eastern Constans (r. 337–50) ruled Italy, the ritual horse sacrifice performed
sits in central Istanbul today. Emperors for over 1,000 years. and Constantius II (r. 337–61) by some Gupta rulers.

, r d
ion ing pir
e s
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ss I, as m il a as r tan ot de
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e u m
0 A m
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i u be t i n p Ch Jeru co s At dria II s st 0C sh eI e ns a nic
32 Aks ra Gu thro om Ta rt tan us ng o f h n r 34 feat ntin hol re ta mm an ul d
nd e sta n f of ch of se ns sp tti on re
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of ana ha of th ends on ns i ince Pa tery n de Co Cri r plo ati ch ha aga de nsta he w mpi o le o p
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m min e b l a gu d by tine pir s pr ans
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n em de ti e na ria ph in dia ior
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ta ec Pe e c an rts Ch ucc pta ire i n Co ide t 41 f Ch Em At lexa 50 Hun and s e j ) an l
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4 C ius n e c ino
a on cae isti ai Ro 3 E nv ity c.
3 3 ag m p l a h o iv
d o n s i a h o oA i te sia sla thic a
m esa Ga
r u
32 icin oma new tant 5 C Ni hr 9 S in 33 co tian ud r ne s
e at s
e on u t i er B i s
d t h
(W P e r an
tr o G o ian a of
L R nds ons 32 il of ox C 32 um hris m s a ng 7D s ec in P 6
34 esto
re
as t ul or (C nor
s Sa ate Ga 33 hree rs J
c d Ak o C pe lfil le in 5 r r
fou C un ho t
e
cr the t r U b 35 mpe Gove
Co ort 5 0 Bi e
92 c.
3
356–360

The acropolis at Tikal, one of the greatest surviving series of


ruins in the Mayan world.

IN ETHIOPIA, THE KINGDOM OF Shapur II hunts a stag began to push across the Rhine,
AKSUM became one of the Sasanian rulers commissioned lavish and in the early 350s they overran
earliest states to embrace silver items depicting themselves part of the Rhine frontier,
Christianity outside the Roman hunting wild beasts as a display occupying some old Roman
Empire. The Syrian Christian of their royal power. fortresses. Caesar Julian
missionary Frumentius engaged in a series of campaigns
converted the king, palace complexes set in a against the Franks (356–59) and
Ezana (r. 320–60) to central “acropolis.” The drove them from most of the
Monophysitism (a Mayans developed a territory they had taken.
doctrine emphasizing hieroglyphic form of In the East, conflict broke
a single nature of writing that survives on out again between the Romans
Christ, the divine). many of the stelae and the Persians, under Shapur
A letter from (carved stone slabs) II (r. 309–79), who took advantage
Constantius II to they set up to of the political turmoil in the
Ezana in 357 has commemorate Roman Empire in the 350s. In
survived, urging important events; in 359, Shapur II advanced farther
Ezana to shift his Tikal the first such west and took the great Roman
allegiance to dated monument is fortress of Amida (modern
Arianism and to from 292. The first Diyarbakir, Turkey). Other towns
replace Frumentius named king of Tikal is were captured and their
with an Arian bishop— Siyaj Chan K’awiil I populations deported to Persia,
evidence that the (c. 305), and by the reign of threatening the Roman position
Roman emperors took Chak Tok Ich’aak I (r. 360– in the East.
seriously the religious 78), Tikal was by far the
loyalties of their neighbors. largest and most powerful of
Ezana conducted military the Classic Maya cities.
campaigns beyond his borders; The Roman Empire faced
an inscription speaks of invasions on both its western and

6
its eastern borders in the 340s
and 350s. In the West, the Franks
o
xic N O R THER N MAYA
Me
f of
Gul
KEY Yucatan
expeditions against neighboring some time in 200–300, with Northern Maya
Peninsula

e an Se a
“Gaze, then the Agame, and the populations declining and Central Maya C EN TR AL
Siguene,” and it seems his MAYA
building activity ceasing. But the Southern Maya Palenque

ri bb
armies may have occupied Meroë region soon recovered, with the Tikal
Mayan site

Ca
city (in northern Sudan). Enriched emergence of a new phase in Trade route
Peten

SQUARE MILES
by such conquests and the control Maya civilization, the Classic
of trade from sub-Saharan Africa period (300–900), in which a
THE AREA and Arabia, Aksum would
dominate the region until the
series of powerful kingdoms
emerged. Their great urban Maya kingdoms SOUTHERN MAYA

OF THE CITY
PA

Classic Maya culture


7th century. centers, such as those at Tikal (in
CI

originated in lowland cities,


OF TIKAL,
IC
F

The pre-Classic Maya Guatemala) and Palenque (in such as Uaxactun and Tikal, OC
kingdoms of Guatemala and Mexico), are characterized by but spread to the highlands EA

c. 400
N
Mexico underwent a collapse huge pyramidal temples and and the Yucatán peninsula.

I II nd
op of ed sI ak
e ur a
sh tiu , qu ap yria da
Bi sius exil tan ning ces les th ern h
S s S mi ’s
6 s
on ban crifi mp
r
ea st 9 ian re
35 hana dria 35 ade es A ul ecla r
At xan ore
C a e ge we inv ptur
J d ro
57 ws d s n t Hu ates 0
36 ops pe
e
Al ce m 6 – la an ga 8 ca
35 ues ion g pa 35 vast inor tro em s
on is inat osin
s de ia M m
hi Par
i
div d cl As in
an

(of
ini a
er i m ilici a
ad t t R in C a—
, le men t sa l d
of
y cil ucia rmu n an s
on e er il II n
ou Sel s fo Aria tian
e cil e
nt mov Des es nc ius c un opl s
t. A stic d “ ,” di 1) ou ues nt ross t ch at moi een hri
s o n
S an er 25
c
h iss ed sta c s ur d o C 0 C nti ate
6 a
35 mon ypt ath n c. rc on ns a gain d Ch s) an he h betw ene 36 sta ulg reed
hu ium cre 8 C ig an 9 n m
Co pro ian c
of in E
g F or
7 C irm rian
a
35 mpa ube adi ans 35 hop ee t ise Nic
(b 5
3 t S -A i r
bis ag rom odo
x Ar
a ro ca Dan Qu at p o-
p rm om orth pr
Sa c 93
361–375 376–382

Here Emperor Julian is seen in religious debate. He attempted to sow discord among The church of Hagia Eirene in

16
Christians by decreeing the return of those who had been exiled for religious reasons. Istanbul was built by Constantine I.

IN CHINA, THE EASTERN JIN


DYNASTY (317–420) brought
comparative stability to the south
Constantius to meet
immediately. He
died in November
but he ceded key border
provinces to Persia, which
lost him popularity,
,, … THE
BARBARIANS,
of the country. Although many of
the emperors were short-lived,
361 as he was
finally marching
and he died (probably
murdered) within
[ARE] LIKE BEASTS
the bureaucracy in the southern west to deal with the months. An officer of the … BROKEN
capital of Nanjing functioned revolt. Now sole imperial bodyguard,
LOOSE… OVER

,,
efficiently and the period saw emperor, Julian Valentinian (r. 364–75), was
a cultural flowering. Artists such THE NUMBER immediately set about then raised to the throne, and THE VAST
as Gu Kaizhi (c. 345–406) painted
masterpieces such as the OF KINGDOMS
restoring the role of
paganism in the Roman
he selected his brother Valens
(r. 364–78) to be his co-ruler.
EXTENT…
Admonitions of the Instructress IN CHINA Empire, trying to Valentinian spent much of his OF COUNTRY.
to the Palace Ladies, as well as establish a kind of pagan reign along the Rhine dealing
producing works on the theory of FROM 304 orthodoxy and an official with Frankish and Alemannic Ammianus Marcellinus, on the
Gothic invasion of the Balkans c. 390
painting. Northern China, on the
other hand, was highly unstable,
TO 439 pagan hierarchy of priests
to counter Christianity’s
invaders. He died in 375 after
suffering some type of seizure,
divided between the Sixteen strengths. He reopened brought on by his anger at IN 376, LARGE GROUPS OF GOTHS
Kingdoms, most of them ruled by (under Xiaouwudi) would be pagan barbarian Quadi ARRIVED AT THE DANUBE
nomadic groups. The Eastern Jin forced to repel a major invasion temples, envoys thought to FRONTIER, pressing to be admitted
emperors alternated between a in the north of the country. and have insulted him. to the Roman Empire. The Huns, a
defensive stance towards the In the Roman Empire, Julian restored the The Western new nomadic group from Central
Sixteen Kingdoms and aggressive was proclaimed Augustus by his right to sacrifice. Roman Asia, were at their rear, and the
campaigns, notably under Mudi troops in 360, so he was a direct In 363, Julian set Empire Goths feared being squeezed
(r. 345–61) who retook Sichuan challenge to Constantius. The out on a campaign was then between them and the imperial
and Luoyang. All these gains were threat from the Persians, who against Persia, subdivided between frontier. Emperor Valens did not
lost, however, under Emperor Aidi were advancing through Asia planning to punish Valentinian’s two sons wait for reinforcements before
(r. 362–65). In 383, the Eastern Jin Minor, was too great for its leader, Shapur II, Gratian (r. 375–83) and marching out to meet the Gothic
for his attacks on the Valentinian II (r. 375–92). army. On August 9, 378, near
JULIAN THE APOSTATE (331–63) empire in 359–60. He In the Eastern Empire, Adrianople, the Romans met the
reached Ctesiphon, Valens was forced to Goths, under Fritigern. Misled by
The nephew of Constantine I, but was then forced spend most of the early the temporary absence of the
Julian was educated as a to retreat up the 370s in Syria to contain Gothic cavalry, Valens attacked but
Christian but c. 351 became a Tigris River. Being the Persian threat, but his army was surrounded by the
pagan under the influence of short of supplies, the growing trouble with returning barbarian horsemen.
Maximus of Ephesus. When Roman army barbarians along the Valens was killed and the Eastern
Julian unexpectedly became suffered constant Danube later forced him army destroyed, leaving the
emperor in 363, he tried to harassment from to turn to the Balkans. Balkans open to the Goths.
restore paganism in the the Persians and, in Gratian reacted by turning to
empire, including banning one such skirmish, Theodosius, a Spanish military
Christians from teaching Julian was killed. Sarmatian dagger officer, who he appointed as his
This dagger belonged to
literature. He became known The pagan reaction imperial colleague. For the next
the Sarmatians, a tribe
by Christian writers as “the was over. of Iranian origin who three years Theodosius patiently
Apostate” for his perceived On Julian’s death the specialized in horseback negotiated, bought off some
betrayal of Christianity. army chose Jovian fighting, and were defeated groups, and struck militarily
(r. 363–64) as emperor, by Valentinian I. where he could. In 382, the two

ins
eg ing of f 16 uan, of ns
nb ad ny a ler o h n, n, ale n
i a o of an I i nv olo ore y
ar uts ru (one Sic izho
u Jia r Ji ol n V tle i
ul t n th i s ann
i
se a c n K u o
2 J ign ga ea ntin ome ign ne es her ilit us p occo a n ,
n e s Gu n l e
6 F rm nt ia
r i
it set
36 mpa e pa the d e pa Alem icto
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O n a l ec p h
Ja blis sou
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u o
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6
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3
c. ce ana 3 T o l
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an per ag d in for Mim offi wn a kin nna 37 com to e Ro
Ro en t
em a do Yu be th

s
siu
g o do edly s;
led er
s kin s rs he ect ing die e at
kil on nd to ca
le
ian upie ia ou f 5 T xp iat n ta ; th s
fe
de der
a n
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rre tory ns -s tain a n c en o fT eo 37 une egot aria ys p
gu ds te h s n e
u u i g e i as oc to n tic n rb vo ra ee ina dia ot s u opl
3 J Ct n s terr rsia ar Br and 9 S r II Arm gin e tin o s
die hile th ba i en
36 ear via 8 L of s, by be urop ar hes onas in ud cc
m II su dom al In 8 G an an
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e
36 ion Scot ted us 36 apu s 3 M l i s m ies e w wi ad a 37 Rom Adri
3 t h as s, ea si Sh un n E 37 stab rst unit rop Qu 5 S ta ow ntr e t
36 inv Pict def odo 0 H ter e efi m Eu 37 gup re n d ce th s a
s e . 37 Eas
c de th com tern ra pi an len
by ns i t Th s
d
an Em rth Va
xo oun a e Ch pta no
a inv W
94 S C Gu
383–391 392–400
,,
,,
THE THICKER
THE HAY, THE EASIER
IT IS MOWED.
Alaric the Goth, speaking of his enemies c. 400

St. Jerome (c. 347–420) completed the Vulgate, the first definitive
translation of the Bible into Latin, c. 405.

sides agreed a truce, whereby the IN CENTRAL AMERICA, THE MAYAN IN 392, VALENTINIAN II, WHO HAD western one. Although there was
Goths were allowed to settle in CITY OF TIKAL had reached the CONTINUED TO RULE OVER ITALY, no clear intention to do so, this
the empire in return for providing peak of its influence in the late 4th was found hanged. His military split marked a permanent
troops for the Roman army. century. In 378, a foreign lord commander Arbogast—suspected division; after 395 no one emperor
The Gupta Empire continued to called Siyaj Kak arrived in the city, by some of Valentinian’s murder— ruled the whole empire again.
expand under Chandragupta II possibly from Teotihuacán. His promptly made Flavius Eugenius, The Goths had taken part on
(r. 375–415) in northern India. arrival, which may represent a a middle-ranking official, Theodosius’s side at the Battle of
He fought against the Sakas, military conquest, led to the death emperor. Theodosius refused to the Frigidus River and felt they
annexing much of northwestern of Tikal’s ruler Chak Tok Ich’aak recognize Eugenius, and in 393 he had not been sufficiently rewarded
India. He also made an astute and the destruction of most of invaded Italy. To gain support in for their losses. In 395, they rose
marriage alliance that extended Tikal’s public monuments. Siyaj the Senate—where paganism up, led by Alaric (r. 395–410).
his realm to the southwest. Kak installed a new dynasty was still strong—the Christian Despite an attempt by Stilicho
on the throne of Tikal, possibly Eugenius revoked all of (c. 365–408), the half-Vandal
drawn from the ruling house of Theodosius’s anti-pagan laws. commander of the Western
Teotihuacán, with Yax Nuun Ayiin But, in August 394, he was Roman army, to suppress them,
(“Curl Snout”; r. 379–404) as the defeated by the Theodosian army the Goths escaped and marauded
St. Ambrose
first ruler. Monuments depict him A Roman nobleman by birth, at the Frigidus River near throughout Greece in 396. Stilicho
in northern Mexican, rather than Ambrose was Bishop of Milan from Aquileia. Theodosius did not enjoy moved against Alaric again in 397,
Mayan, dress. Under his rule, 374 to 397. He exercised a powerful his rule as sole emperor long, but once more failed to defeat
Tikal’s direct influence extended influence over Theodosius I. dying in January 395. The empire him. A brief halt to the Gothic
some 30 miles (50 km) away. was then divided between his two rampage came after Alaric’s
In the Western Roman Empire, freed Theodosius to react when sons: the older, Arcadius, taking appointment by the Eastern
Gratian had spent much of Maximus invaded Italy in 387. In the eastern part and his younger Roman government to magister
his time since the Battle of August 388, he marched swiftly brother, Honorius, taking the militum (a senior general).
Adrianople (378) in northern into northern Italy, capturing
North
Italy, where he continued to Maximus near Aquileia and Sea
BRITANNIA
act against pagans in Rome, having him executed. Fr

Alem
ATL ANTIC

an
ordering the removal of the Altar As well as campaigning against ndians
rgu

ks
OCEAN Bu

an n
of Victory from the Senate House the Goths and Maximus, GALLIA Iuth
ung o ths
O s t ro g

i
i

ns
in 382. In 383, he led an army Theodosius was preoccupied with li

Iazyges
P ru

A la
G ep id a e He

hs
A
north to face an invasion of Gaul the imposition of Orthodox

t
VIENNENSIS

go
NO
I TA

si
by the Alemanni, but was then Christianity. He moved against Vi

NIA
HISPANIA Black Sea
Corsica

LI
THRACIA
faced with a revolt in Britain, the Arians, deposing the Bishop of eares Rome

A
Bal

MOE

EMP NIAN
Sardinia PO N TUS

IRE
where the legions declared their Constantinople in 380 and calling Byzantium

SI A
Med
ite (Constantinople)

A
commander Magnus Maximus a council in 381 in the capital, MAUR ET rr

SAS
ANIA a Sicilia ASIAN A
emperor. Many of Gratian’s which reaffirmed the anti-Arian
n

Be e

S
r be a n
Cyprus

IEN
commanders defected and in decisions of the Council of Nicaea rs S e a Creta
Syrian
LI

OR
August 383 he was captured and (see 325). He connived in the BY

bs
A Desert

Ara
S a
executed by Maximus, who had destruction of many pagan h

AE
a r a

GY
crossed over to Gaul. Theodosius, temples, including the great

Re
PT

d
US
fearful of trouble with Persia or temple of Serapis in Alexandria,

Se
Iron pillar of Delhi

a
This iron pillar at Qutb complex on a Gothic revolt in the Balkans if and in 391 he forbade all pagan Divided in two
he moved west, recognized sacrifices throughout the empire. KEY
the outskirts of Delhi is said to have The split of the Roman Empire into Eastern and
been erected on the orders of Maximus as his colleague. A Western divisions in 395 was permanent. By 476, Eastern Roman Empire
Chandragupta II. peace with Persia in 386, however, its Western part would be overrun by barbarians. Western Roman Empire

s i
siu rn ns s d sh an ler
do aste tern sig give s an nsan I e r
ro die
s ap ch
o
ru
o
he d E es
s u y n g a I th pe n II fJ ili ler ird ian
iu :
os oths ang
e xim or b 8) a
ini at K rde
r pt inst o o l f - S t u g e
9 T inte by W tian d
o G xch
a
M pe r 3 8 m o agu a
m a
2 E ini at d ha ral ve r ire e
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s siv ing
7
3 po or ra e
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pe gi n s
ia
b r
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g
39 lent ) am an he ene ecti mp Ya es P ten uild
ap per or G ies 3 T wi in rvic ag ed e tain op be mb ha wa
Y
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6 lg ff E 9
39 com
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Id 38 ace and y se 5 C ting –Za Va 371 39 nda es e tern
0
40 of ac
Em per rI 3 M aim Bri 8 8 C ucts (b. 3 T n S or be c. riod tihu
Em p u e
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3 ocl n 3 e l g o 8
3 nd s 39 erru he, K Va com Wes
ha si sm Con e o
9S th mil pr ion co aka ov ekc be the p Te
37 for leg on Sh Pa of at

f o ius
il o nif
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nc ple m eu g as rce nce e od kil g e lli r ot s
u
o n o i s r
ei lin sty
fo a an Th and min r th be ero e G gain n
d C nti ism dh ea ius en es 4 s ; o e
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on ta an B ud Kor a W a, ru yna d os lic p re in nica ak al 39 feats beco pero die n tw ajo n e h Af
t
of nas; soo d
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S 8 T e i he p u sa a l iu s m a t vo Gai he i kill ns
1 C ns 3 ive he Ch W 0 T rm as ess os ity o of th re n le o
od ivi
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38 em ar
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nd 38 rthe rth t in he stian gion mp Eu T o b n s 4 0 u e r d
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Ho
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up e 39
95
700 BCE – 6 0 0 CE THE CLASSICAL AGE

CLASSICAL TRADE

les
Se
FLOURISHING TRADE BETWEEN CONTINENTS A WORLD APART

op
BRITAIN

ti
North l
Ba

Pe
Sea
c
lti

lts
The growth of Roman power in the Mediterranean, the unification of China Ba

Ce
under the Qin and Han, and the establishment of the Parthian Empire in Iran E U R O P E
GERMANY
Augusta
created three large political blocs that provided stable conditions under

N
Treverorum

E A
which very long-distance trade routes could flourish. GAUL Aquileia
M A
R O lps N
DACIA

O C
Massilia A Byzantium
The expansion of Han power westward in the that lay on them were able to exact heavy tolls E
M THRACE
2nd century BCE brought the Chinese into contact from merchants, which they used to build IBERIA Rome P
Ostia I

T I C
with new powers they called An-hsi (Persia) and spectacular public monuments. R
E
Li-chien (Rome). A Chinese embassy reached the Farther west, in the Mediterranean, expensive
Carthage
court of Mithridates II of Parthia around 115 BCE. In goods such as fine wine were carried by sea; Gades Caesarea

A N
GREECE
the wake of diplomats came merchants, carrying in general land transportation was expensive, Tingis M
ed Crete
the Chinese silk for which both Parthia and Rome and bulky, low-value products tended to be NIA ins ite
E TA u n t a

A T L
UR o rra
had an insatiable appetite. The main Silk Route produced and consumed locally. M A M nean Sea
s Leptis
la
ran from China through Central Asia, down into At Magna Cyrene
Sijilmassa

8,000
Persia and then across Roman-controlled Syria
toward the ports of the Mediterranean. Garam
ante

s
A thriving trade also spanned the Indian Ocean, s Alexandria

er
S a
MILES a r

rb
transporting spices from the East Indies and h a

Be
EGYP T
southern India to ports in Africa and southern Murzuk

Arabia; from here a land route led up through


THE LENGTH OF THE Ahaggar

Petra, in present-day Jordan, to Syria. Control of TRADE ROUTE FROM Tamanrasset


these trade routes was very lucrative, and towns CHANG’AN TO ROME Tibesti

S
A F R I C A
a h
ROMAN TRADE e l
The expansion of the Roman Empire to cover much of Europe, C h a d i
a n s
western Asia, and North Africa created largely peaceful conditions
in which both internal and external trade could flourish.

Amomum

Balsam of Judea

Cardamom

Cinnamon (uncultivated)
S
SL

AL
AV

A R S-
IM

Cassia (Chinese cinnamon)


W AS
E

E
IN
AN
S

GL
E

Daphnitis FOO
D ES
(high-grade cinnamon) SPIC
Malabathrum
(finest cinnamon leaf)
Frankincense (first quality) C OT D OLI
SIL
K TON GOL VE O
IL
Ginger
SE

SILVER
I VO
EN

Myrrh (Ethiopian) The price of spice


RY
INC

According to the Roman author Pliny, the finest


Nard (Indian)
grade of spices such as cinnamon could fetch
Nutmeg 300 denarii a Roman pound (12 oz/340 g), which
was nearly enough to purchase a male slave. Roman imports Roman exports
Pepper The Romans imported huge quantities The Romans paid for their imports
of raw materials, including luxury with precious metal and coins, and
0 50 100 150 200 250 250 300 350 400 450 500 goods such as gold and ivory and exported products such as wine
PRICE IN DENARII cheaper goods such as food. and glassware.

96
Se J
A
(E a o P
as f
t

A
Ja ea
Lake

pa )
S

N
Baikal

n
KOR
a EA
i
Ye
r A u l lo
w
e n
n g

Se
b I i o i

a
X

Ea
b
i o Kaifeng

st
Ura

P
G
S S

Ch
Alt a i Mo untains Hangzhou

A
Wuwei
l Mou

ina
Luoyang
A

C
Anxi Ningbo
Chang’an
Kitai
R IA

Sea

I
A Hankou
n
NG

F
tains

Lake U
Balkhash DZ Turfan Jiaohei Dunhuang

I
Fuzhou
Kuldja

C
n
h
a NG HAN Quanzhou
S K IA Chengdu
IN n
Aksu S a k a

O
n
I A E M P IR E P

ie
H M
T Aral a t h
kl r

C
Y FERGHANA il

T
se
C t i a n s Sea To c h a r i Ta
De ip
S m a an Kashgar Nanhai

E
s Plateau p
a r n s
Yarkand (Guang-
zhou)
i
S Kunming
i a TRANSOXIANA

A
of Tibet

n
BOSPORAN Khotan
n

e
KINGDOM I r a Pa

N
Is
Marakanda mirs Cattigara
Panticapaeum K

la
(Kerch) C U
S SOGDIANA Tibetans
a

nd
H
A Bactra sh
sp

Caucasus N u s

s
a Sea
Merv
H i m a l a y a
ia

E K
M Taxila
n

Black Sea
u

ARMENIA P Begram Ch
Se

nd

I R BACTRIA
Trapezus Pataliputra Mon a
a

Hi

E Nalanda -Kh
me

m
Alexandria

th Chin
Hecatompylos Areion Mathura MAGADHA rp Moluccas

s
PA R T H I A eo
AS IA M INOR PAHLAVAS Tamluk ple
Thaton
I r anian
Kandahar
t r
Bay of s
Ecbatana
ese

Ctesiphon Plateau
Antioch Bengal Oc Eo

l a y s
Thar D

Za

NA
gro P e r s i a i a

Sou
Tyre s M SHAKAS d

HA
Cyprus
ount
Damascus ains I n

VA

s
Persepolis Barbaricon Ce
SYRIA Babylon leb

M a
HA
Charax Barygaza Andaman

i e
er
P

Jerusalem sia (Broach) Islands

es
Trang

A-ME G
Gaza n Asabon

d
Gu Masulipatam B o r ne o
lf Mandagora M

n
Petra a

I
SATAVAHANAS la

MAH
Gerra Nicobar ys
Islands
Myos Hormus Ommana
Java
Poduca Sea
Arabian S u t
m s
Leucecome Peninsula Arabian PA CH
O LA a
t r E a
Berenice ND a
A r a b s YA Colchi
Sea Taprobane va
Zenobia Muziris Ja
R
e
d

I N D I A N O C E A N
S

Dongola a
e

Sana
Cana
KUSH YEM E N Socotra
Meroe Adulis
Emporion
Aksum Aden
de n World trade
of A Aromata Trade routes c.1 CE criss-crossed the whole
AKSUM Gulf HAN TRADE
Sennar Avalites of the classical world. The means of
transport used depended on location— The establishment of Chinese control in Central Asia
Horn of Bactrian camels were used in Central Asia, from the late 3rd century BCE opened up a series of
Ethiopian A frica while horses, bullocks, and yaks were used routes through Persia to the Mediterranean, which
Highlands elsewhere. Maritime trade was also
extensive—there was an active trading became collectively known as the Silk Route. However, it
Maji network around the Indian Ocean. also involved the Han emperors in continuous and costly
Sarapion
Juba defense of their new territories.
Kushites

30,000
25,000
QUANTITY

20,000 SILK
HO S
KEY 15,000 RS
ICE
ES
SP
Roman Empire 10,000
and client states 5000
Han Empire 0
50 40 30 20 10 0
PRECIOUS

Trade routes Goods traded


STONES

YEAR (BCE)
Roman gold olive oil LACQUERWARE
Trans–Saharan silver amber KEY
(rudimentary route) tin precious Silk floss Silk fabric
Indian Ocean tortoiseshell stones (catties) (pieces)

ivory silk Han imports Han exports


Silk Route
clothing Buying safety The Han valued spices as much as Knowledge of silk in China
China animals
incense
To guarantee security on their frontiers the Romans did, but they also sent goes back to at least 2600 BCE,
East Africa horses and along trade routes, the Han were trade expeditions to Ferghana in but under the Han it became
slaves
Amber grain forced to pay large bribes in silk to Central Asia in search of what a staple export item, alongside
spices barbarian groups such as the Hsiung-nu. they called “heavenly horses.” lacquerware.
Incense
timber
Other
(rudimentary route) wine

97
401–423 424–433
,, SO THE VANDALS, HAVING

,,
WRESTED LIBYA FROM THE
ROMANS IN THIS WAY, MADE
IT THEIR OWN...
Procopius, Byzantine scholar, from
History of the Wars, III iv 1, c. 500–550

Around 200 stone heads decorated Tiwanaku’s Semi-Subterranean Temple. They may represent
the group that founded the city—their flat headdresses denote high status.

ALTHOUGH THE WESTERN ROMAN THE BARBARIANS WHO HAD On the other side of the
EMPIRE SEEMED RELATIVELY INITIALLY CROSSED THE RHINE IN Mediterranean in 429, Boniface,
SECURE IN 400, within a decade it 401 had gone on to sack a number the Roman Governor of North
had suffered a series of disasters. of cities before moving southwest Africa, revolted against his
Gothic raids in 401 and again in into Aquitania and then crossing long-term adversary Aëtius, and
405 ravaged northern Italy. Then the Pyrenees into Spain, where called on the Siling Vandals for
on the last day of 406, hordes of they occupied large swaths of help. The Vandal king, Gaiseric
Vandals, joined by two other Roman territory. In 416–18, (r. 428–77), crossed over the
barbarian groups, the Alans and the Roman army commander Straits of Gibraltar with—it was
Sueves, crossed the frozen Rhine Constantius persuaded the said—80,000 of his people and, far
near Mainz, sacked Treveri Visigoths under Wallia (r. 415– from helping Boniface, swiftly
(modern Trier, Germany) and 18) to invade Spain. There he occupied most of North Africa. In
Remi (modern Reims, France), smashed the Alans and the Siling 435, he made a treaty with the
and forced their way southwest Vandals, but allowed some of Romans, recognizing his
until they reached the Pyrenees. them to settle in southern Spain occupation of Mauretania
Meanwhile, the armies of Visigoths ride on Rome and left the Asing Vandals and (modern Algeria and Morocco).
Britain had raised up a series commander Stilicho persuaded Alaric’s sack of Rome in 410 was Sueves in possession of Gaiseric broke this and in 439 his
of usurpers as emperor from 406. the Senate to agree to pay Alaric particularly shocking, as it was the northwestern Spain. Wallia was warriors captured Carthage, the
The last of these, Constantine III a huge bribe in exchange for first time the city had fallen since the rewarded with official possession Roman capital there, and set up
(r. 407–11), took most of the leaving the city, but there seems Gauls took it in 390 BCE. of much of southwestern Spain. an independent Vandal kingdom.
remaining Roman troops in Britain to have been a coup d’état and
and crossed to Gaul in spring 407, Stilicho was overthrown and of Lake Titicaca (on the border
North
aiming to seize the throne from the killed. In 409, Alaric had Attalus, between modern Peru and Sea
then head of the Western Roman the prefect of Rome, declared Bolivia), reached its greatest EUROPE
Empire, Honorius. Although he emperor in an attempt to seize size in the 5th century, covering
was defeated and captured at Arles the initiative, but all negotiations an area some 3 sq miles (8 sq km)
KINGDOM OF THE
in 412, native leaders in Britain had failed. So, on August 24, 410, the in extent. Its central area BURGUNDIANS
EMPIRE OF
THE HUNS
already expelled the last Roman Visigoths entered Rome and contained a lavish series of Bay of
officials there in 410—probably in subjected it to a three-day sack. ceremonial buildings and Biscay
Black Sea

Ca
revenge for their abandonment by The event shook the entire Roman temples. These included the

spi
Rome

an S
Constantinople
Constantine’s legion. Britain was world, but Alaric was unable to Semi-Subterranean Temple,
ROMAN

ea
now independent from Rome. secure domination over Italy, as decorated with stone heads of Tolentum EMPIRE
Carthage
In 408, Alaric (r. c. 395–410), he died later the same year. humans and supernatural beings,
leader of the Visigoths, invaded In South America, the city of and structures such as the Mediterranean Sea SASANIAN
EMPIRE
Italy once more. The Roman Tiwanaku, 15 miles (25 km) south massive and beautifully decorated
Gateway of the Sun. These AFRICA
were erected by a major pre-
Ransom demands Columbian culture that The barbarian
Pepper
Alaric initially asked dominated the Altiplano (flat invasions KEY
for a huge ransom in high plateau) of Peru and Bolivia, Barbarian groups Roman Empire Burgundians
Gold
return for leaving and whose influence extended took more and more Sasanian Empire Franks
Rome in 410. Even Roman territory in the
Silver
when he moderated into northern Bolivia. first half of the 5th Huns Jutes, Angles, Saxons

his demands, the century, leaving the Goths Irish


0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 Senate refused, and Western emperors Alans Picts
POUNDS so the city was sacked. virtually powerless. Vandals, Alans, Sueves

e ls, ly III nd t
s ad da s e ta le
gg e a y a
oth c inv s an th om ru g sI ian ru ifac ac
i g i e V
f es III Go ck R Pe in e i n
nt st
f t
i s a r s h ly o v e s in in , us ad e he it o S n m
1 V Al tal
y u a
o p of It
s
de Sue int
o
n tin a of ’
ric d s
a
s om a inv forc rt t ale e We tra rica 31 Bo pre s
40 der rn I h r a
t ar e l a n ve re n s ; V S 9– en su nd
ic t o
6 H an de
d ep ns 0A ea
d
ue ing ber
i ltu Su iu h po d th
os
s Af 42 twe for urt e eath
un rthe til ou Co his ain 41 tur 1S k nI cu the ët nis up ate r in cr rth
no 2 S hs 40 ans, ate pire 08 nds Sp 41 blish ster he of 4 A un o s efe ero ls No be tius co ’s d
40 igot ap 42 th H ing t ohn
l
A ne t r E m 4 te to c .
c ta e
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d
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Vis pe man ex le in es rthw 0 M m ick wi end er J Jo s e Va r in Ro Bon
ru 42 Te br int urp 25 ome 29 ralta
Ro no c. ilds lion 4 c 4 in
bu mil us be Gi
b
50

tes
ple n) ine
m Lati le nt by II of
o
eI ter
n us
e c ate ( Bib sta ror n; ch an
o m g e n
o pe tai l d n tin rles es E as e to i ar ches r m n to
er Vul of th rC ri au an ; a
st t A m ,
II gr unse t r g o
Ge si ism
.J pe em B s, n on d a co pire in Pa ea in op mis ian
ne
sti d
St The tion ur red y in nto G an Spai in be nJ ius o a H s, , pr ish ine
4 s A l 1 C ture ta a Em ter ong os ed t the riu ople ingu div ed ish on lag ele elan s es
40 sla U cla rm s i s, into aga e 1
4 ap up t a s S d d
eo rc to to t B in Pe C u m
co uns
tra
n 0 7 e
4 II, d the oss
a e d a l
ly om c ag Gup 0 E Lu nd
i e
Th r, fo ute es ntin dis and emn cal 9
42 rita out o pe to Ir ladi e
I cr an oss Ita R ar
m the 42 wn; y fou 22 ero trib 8 N ta ne an nd eti B t 1 P on Pa
l
la
b
e H
9 V cr es ges u f ro t 4 p l 42 ons ctri um s co her its roo 43 si r tti f th
40 eves vad sie 5K ro th as em nua C do s h t i as vis c. mis nde 3 A ng o
n
Su ric i d b
e 41 rule er dyn w st’ ; i s u 3
4 ki
ov an ne hri ture nd
98 Al
a an C na se
434–450

A colorful Buddhist mural from the Yungang caves, which were begun
under the Northern Wei c. 450.

THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY IN (r. 418–51) occupied sections of ,,THE WORLD IS PASSING

,,
CHINA HAD ENDED IN 420, with the Mediterranean shore of Gaul,
Gongi’s abdication. His successor,
Song Wudi (r. 420–22), a former
before they were pushed back
southwest in 430. Around this time AWAY… LOSING ITS
fisherman, had risen to become a
general and founded the Liu Song
a new group of barbarians, the
Huns, began to menace the
GRIP, THE WORLD IS
dynasty. He strengthened the
southern kingdom’s northern
empire. This nomadic group from
Central Asia, whose pressure from
SHORT OF BREATH.
borders against the barbarian the rear on the Goths had been
St. Augustine of Hippo, theologian and philosopher, from Sermons 81, 8
tribes, but under his son Wendi indirectly responsible for the crisis
(r. 424–53), the northerners of 378 in the Balkans, had since
captured Luoyang in 424 before, moved farther west. In 424, the defeated and thereafter confined to the very end, when he had Aëtius,
some 25 years later, besieging the Roman general Aëtius recruited a a region to the northwest of Italy. the Western Empire’s last effective
Liu Song capital of Nanking. force of Huns to help him bolster These were all just temporary general, murdered.
Although Song Wudi had the cause of John, a usurper successes, however, as the area The barbarians who settled on
strengthened the central raised up at Rome after the death controlled by the Western Roman the former Roman territories
bureaucracy, the growing power of Honorius in 423. Aëtius emperors was diminishing began gradually to establish
and wealth of the Buddhist and continued to use the Huns into the steadily. The loss of almost all of kingdoms of their own, notably FLAVIUS AËTIUS
Daoist monasteries weakened late 420s to secure his power base North Africa to the Vandals in the Franks in northern Gaul and (c. 395–454)
the economic basis of the state. and his appointment as patrician 429–39 (and of Sicily in 440), the Visigoths in southwest Gaul
Wendi’s successors were weak (the most senior post in the late of northern Gaul to the Franks and Spain. In Britain, the situation Born of nobility in Moesia
and by 479 the Liu Song Roman Empire) in 429. In 435, by 450, of southwest Gaul to the was rather different, since the (modern Bulgaria), Aëtius
were overthrown by the he was able to call on Visigoths after 418, and of all province had rebelled against spent time from 408 in the
short-lived Qi dynasty them to aid an attack save a few isolated outposts in Rome rather than being subject to royal court of the Huns. He
(479–502). on the Burgundians Spain by the 430s meant the barbarian conquest. In a bygone used these contacts to gain
Meanwhile, in who had raided remaining strongholds in Italy era, the Roman army might have influence and rose to further
northern China, across the lower and southeastern Gaul could not been expected to reassert its prominence in the late 420s.
the Sixteen Rhine; these provide enough tax revenue to control there, but with the empire The deaths of patricians Felix
Kingdoms had were soundly support armies to reconquer the increasingly dependent on (in 430) and Boniface (in 433)
been united lost provinces. The long reign of barbarian troops fighting under left him with unrivaled
under the Toba Wei (a group of Valentinian III (r. 425–55) in the their own commanders, there was dominance. He shored up the
Turkic nomads), who founded Western Roman Empire virtually no army left to retake it. empire’s position, and in 451
the Northern Wei dynasty did not provide any The Britons were left to their he scored a notable victory
(386–534). The Northern Wei stability as he own devices. It seems that some against Attila the Hun. In 454
ruled over northern China, ascended to the Roman institutions survived for a he was murdered by
until its split into two in the throne as a child while; in 429 Bishop Germanus Valentinian III himself.
early 6th century following a and never of Auxerre visited the island and
revolt against the imposition of asserted found men bearing Roman titles.
Chinese dress and language on himself until But barbarian raiders—attracted Aëtius, appealing for
the Wei nomads. by the weak British defenses and aid. No reply was sent to these
In Europe, the Western Roman the lack of a central political “groans of the Britons.” and
Northern Wei horse
Empire continued to lose ground, authority to counter them—came within a few years the Angle,
The art of the Northern Wei
as barbarians occupied more and often evoked their nomadic in increasing numbers. Around Saxon, and Jutish raiders began
more of its territory. In the 420s the origins, as in this beautiful 446, the leading men of Britain to occupy parts of the former
Visigoths under Theodoric terra-cotta horse. addressed a desperate letter to Roman province.

at ius f
fe t h of s eo
de dos his itis cil pt he 0
45 enc cán far aw
s
un he
o f dd o nd s and Br un acce m, t ist c. dr
n o an u a d e t n , a o fl u ua s ca Peru
4H fT e tio de, le g of
B on nd
m
a gin gla dia al l rn ve 9 C us itis hr In otih es a ala z
43 my o rac ca o i er ed al
a m of be En un ri ge ha 4 4 hes hys at C Te etch tem Na m ph
ar n Th bli n C nc tin nt und at N ois gion ns ern rg pe a rti to axon and t Ep nop e th le, 50 fro gly rt
Pu sia reco nflic pire e a o
ax uth
u m
6 B d i are
o d en str Gua . 4 ple etro dese
II i 8 o o
0 C s f ain 4 D l re ei 9 V ai o S ist Mo ctrin ing re c
43 eod t to of co Em 4 4 die s pl 4 4 cia rn W 5 S so 4 4 ante eva 4 4 ler, s tw eng in K as o
pe eat p s in
Th emp ion man 4 4 in ru ited s, H ettle do s a s natu
stu nge offi rthe c. ttle gr Gen
ha ine gr ture
att nfus Ro Ga No se in inv der to s pic
co s in lea rsa div
law Ho

, th on ao
s e, ing wi
d
ian ag l k icily lli i iH f lan ds
nd uns rth an a a ty ging be We s Cu ect o i py
g u H n a om a d
an s S tre led rica
e
t r ern m til
a f
o hit We cu rlan me
ur by ma e C R ric 0 V ade ns ow Af his th for At d ath rc rn s c
s o the m ies
;
6 B ed Ro ice ur of Af dd Nor t re De in a the form
43 feat g in serv apt est rth 4 4 , inv c sig ackn orth u t s d er e an te 0 a nk Ne e So s II d him
c u No ri II 6 B ns oi un rac bu a or re r in th r
de htin ls nq ric N 5
4 ), m 0F siu ds ro
da co ise ise n I ver 4 4 agai Da ns Th tri ire 1
N ive
at 45 to do ee pe
fig an ing Ga Ga inia le o Hu ade avy Emp  38 str c. up eo succ Em
9 V
e t 2 t
4 4 alen is ru
7
4 4 inv ct h the
e (b. ini
h
0 T an ern
43 mpl V h a m m 45 arci ast
co t r o ad M as E
ex fr 99
451–465 466–500

In this undated painting Attila the Hun is shown with his army—he is said to have The baptism of Clovis the first: Clovis’s baptism made him an easier diplomatic
been turned aside from sacking Rome only by the pleas of Pope Leo I. partner for the eastern Roman Empire than his Arian neighbors.

,,[HUNS] TOOK CAPTIVE IN 456, THE VISIGOTHS, repeated elsewhere in the Roman

,,
encouraged by the western Empire, and the area of imperial
THE CHURCHES AND Roman emperor Avitus, had
invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
control shrank to little more than
Italy. Anthemius (r. 467–472) tried
SLEW THE MONKS The Visigothic king Theoderic
II (r. 453–66) defeated the
to recover some ground, but an
expeditionary force against
AND MAIDENS. Suevic ruler Rechiarius, who
was threatening the Roman
Vandal-controlled North Africa in
468 ended in disaster. In Gaul,
Callinicus, disciple of Hypatius, from Life of Saint Hypatius, c. 450 province of Tarraconensis, Euric conquered almost all
and the remaining Sueves remaining Roman territory in the
retreated. Theoderic took south by 475. In 472, Anthemius
IN JAPAN, THE 5TH CENTURY SAW overseas contacts became more most of Spain for himself, but was overthrown by Gundobad, a
THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT and extensive, with ten diplomatic left the Romans parts of the Burgundian. Gundobad placed
expansion of the Yamato state. missions visiting China between east coast. This policy was Olybrius (r. 472) and Glycerius
Complex irrigation systems began 421 and 478, and increasing reversed by his successor (r. 473–74) on the throne in quick
to appear, and rulers built ever Yamato interference in civil wars Euric (r. 466–84), who overran succession, but, despairing of the
larger burial mounds, such as the between the Korean states of Clay bear figurine the remaining Roman territories empire’s frailty, he then left for
Clay haniwa figurines have been
1,600 ft- (486 m-) long Nintoku Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo. in the late 470s. By the time of Burgundy. The last embers of the
a feature of rich Japanese burials
mound. Ojin founded a new line The Sasanian Persian Empire since the earliest times. The large Alaric II (r. 484–507) the Visigothic empire were contested in 475–76,
of kings, who exercised firmer came under pressure from burial mounds of Yamato rulers kingdom encompassed almost all between Julius Nepos and
control over Japan’s main islands eastern nomadic groups in the contain huge quantities of them. of Spain, as well as Aquitaine and Romulus Augustulus, the son of
from a royal center in the later 5th century. The Hephthalite Provence in southern Gaul. Orestes, commander of the
Kawachi-Izumi area. Yamato Huns moved into Bactria early in Undaunted, Attila invaded Italy in The situation in Spain was Roman army. Feeling that the
the century, and were a particular 452, but turned back short of

A ns
Sa ng lo
KINGDOM OF THE

s
threat to the Sasanians, but a Rome. Attila died after his

xo n
ito
KINGDOM OF BURGUNDIANS

Br
famine during the reign of Peroz wedding feast in 453, and his sons THE FRANKS Sl a v s KINGDOM OF
THE OSTROGOTHS
(457–84) caused them to move began a civil war that led to the .49
6

534
507
KINGDOM OF c
THE SUEVES A lemanni Lo KINGDOM OF THE GEPIDS
west again. In 469 Peroz suffered Hunnish empire falling apart. mbards
PS
AL

HS
a terrible defeat at the hands of Following the death of the Bas
que
s OT C au c a s u s
the Hephthalites. He was Roman general Aëtius in 454, IS
IG 508 B l ac k S e a
EV

5 37
captured, and only released after real power in the western KINGDOM OF TH 53
5

–5
540
0

4
leaving his son as a hostage. In Roman Empire was exercised by
55

533

535
4

EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE


SASANIAN
484, Peroz sought revenge in a series of barbarian kingmakers, 540 EMPIRE
Ber 533
a new campaign against the such as Ricimer, the leader of the be rs
Atlas Mo untains Med
Hephthalites, but was defeated Roman army in Italy. In 457, KINGDOM iterr a
nean Sea
OF THE Lakhmids
and killed. Ricimer placed Majorian on the VANDALS
Ghassanids
Having demanded, and been imperial throne. When Majorian
refused, the hand in marriage of became too independent-minded,

Re
AFRICA

d
Honoria, the sister of Roman Ricimer replaced him with

Se
a
Emperor Valentinian III in 450, the Libius Severus (r. 461–65), who
he later had poisoned. Deprived Barbarian kingdoms in Europe C. 500
Hunnish king Attila (see 401–450) KEY
Pope Leo I By 500, most of the former western Roman
The illustration on this manuscript marched into Gaul. He was of effective leadership, the Empire was divided among several principal Byzantine reconquests
shows Pope Leo I, an Italian defeated near Châlons by an army Roman Empire lost more of its barbarian successor states: the Vandals in Frankish expansion
aristocrat, persuading Attila the Hun of Romans under Aëtius and Gallic territories to the Visigoths North Africa, the Visigoths in Spain and Ostrogothic expanision
not to attack Rome. Goths under Theodoric. and Franks. southern Gaul, and the Ostrogoths in Italy. Sasanian expansion

es
os s f
of ed ns ep n, e po le o
m nd ic lka d
er oria pir Ne s ru f
do th ou m oth e Ba n m pse s eo
g f g no
f s ter cim aj e
ta lla
u e
uli dg f th in
e
bo
f
ps
in or ice fro tro th tio e itu wes ror Ri ls M ibius ror up co 5 J wle o pa lla ng
1 K in N the er en es s Os on ra pir
v 1 l
4 6 d ki ts L mpe 47 kno king in S om u o
45 w 2 V fuge tack 3 s g 5 A es pe 7 G to ls
t k 7C S
o
c. sum is at s po 5
4 re at 45 ack te Em 45 com em an poin s e 4 6 gins da ily ac ric, ths, ole to d 47 e Liu y
Ak rica of it at
t sin h be man be an Sic yh in te
Ke or N ple
by thic Di nnis ap veru V
8 er Eu igo 6
h
t na st
Af ight Go
4
45 e Hu Ro Se 4 6 nqu Vi s 47 pe ) cor m
dy
he th co Em 421
(d.

t
ns of da s
ad
e
ate imer es po ric
Hu t inv king a th un fe m
co man Ne self Eu an
’s l bu a e H e ic rian e g to
l a
tti Gau by
s
un ttac ona 3D e sd R b o r s
iu im o r i n
l k g Ro Gau
m l es )
45 la th ing i tu tia; ajo ome ish als no rn R pero Jul s h per an m 495
1 A e ed hic 2 H , a Ver l k e v n M ev s nd ia e m e a
nd in rn co
45 nvad feat Got ion 45 Italy nd At
ti da Rom 6 A lace ints of R Su iaru e Va din 2 Z ste em 3 m m
47 clai n e Ro th Va ain the pa (to
i de n- lit a n 4 5 P po ro r 6 2 r 47 ea st in d ya ka
e a a n
er dua
a s
5 V ck ap pe 45 ech by th s 4 6 Sa o
pr este
r
6 La ror pose 476 rem sou K as Lan
ar Rom co rth Pa 45 c sa R d th
tak
e
47 mpe t de r s in 7 ri
no r i em k ing ate isigo w
e es ue ry 47 in S
e fe V nq ito er
Ga
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po
100
interests of the Germanic Italy, led by Odoacer. He resolved Odoacer ruled as king of Italy, but the loyalty of the old Roman
barbarians in the army were being this by commissioning the king of the legitimacy of his rule was aristocracy. In 497, the eastern
ignored, Orestes’s deputy, the Ostrogoths, Theodoric, to always questionable. In 489, an emperor Anastasius I recognized
Odoacer, revolted and deposed topple Odoacer in 489. By 500, the invasion by Theodoric’s Theodoric’s right to govern Italy,
Romulus in September 476. He eastern Roman Empire under Ostrogoths led to a four-year providing him with a secure base
did not appoint a new emperor, Anastasius (r. 492–518) was in standoff, with Odoacer blockading to consolidate his rule and extend
claiming that he ruled Italy on little danger of the implosion that himself inside the old imperial it into Gaul.
behalf of the eastern emperor had erased its western capital of Ravenna. After the In northwestern Gaul the Franks
Zeno (r. 474–91). This marked counterpart just 25 years earlier. murder of Odoacer in 493, had emerged as a threat
the end of the Roman Empire The western Roman Empire Theodoric established a regime in the late 4th century, and by the
in the west after 500 years. was replaced by a series of in which the continuation of 460s they were carving out a
However, in the east the Roman Germanic successor Roman administrative kingdom under Childeric. His THEODORIC THE GREAT
Empire survived. The long reign states. practices won successor Clovis (r. 481–511) (454–526)
of Theodosius II (408–50) had transformed that kingdom,
strengthened its position, and defeating Syagrius, ruler of a Son of Thiudmir, a king of the
after 400 the eastern empire had Roman enclave around Soissons, Ostrogoths, Theodoric spent
not had to face such direct threats and expanding along the Rhine at 11 years as a Roman hostage,
from Huns, Goths, Vandals, the expense of the Alamans in to guarantee the good
Alamanns, Burgundians, the 490s. In 507, he defeated behavior of his father. He
and Franks as the west. the Visigoths at the Battle returned home to become
Marcian (r. 450–57) of Vouillé and drove king of the Ostrogoths in 471,
had consolidated the them out of most of and for the next 17 years
eastern empire’s southwestern Gaul. In alternately allied with and
finances, leaving a the late 490s or early attacked Roman territories
surplus of 100,000 500s, Clovis in the Balkans. In 493,
pounds of gold at converted to Theodoric became the first
his death. Leo I Catholic Ostrogothic king of Italy. His
(r. 457–74) fended Christianity, rule was generally pro-
off residual setting him apart Roman, and he was buried in
Gothic threats to from other this Roman-style mausoleum.
the Balkans, and barbarian rulers
even made an who were mostly
attempt to Arians (members Saxons, and Jutes) settled in
recover North of an alternative Britain. The arrival of the Saxons
Africa in 468. Christian church). has been dated to 449, when they
Zeno (474–91) In Britain, the were invited by the British king
faced the challenge expulsion of Roman Vortigern. Seven years later, they
of the new officials had been revolted and set up a kingdom in
Germanic rulers of followed by a period in Kent. Aelle founded a kingdom in
which petty kingdoms Sussex around 477 and Cerdic, in
vied for power. These Wessex (around modern
Saxon brooch
kingdoms were vulnerable Hampshire), by 495. A British
Anglo-Saxon art in the
5th century valued abstract to coastal raiders, and, late in victory at Mons Badonicus around
geometric patterns, as seen the 5th century, groups of 500 stemmed the Saxon tide, but
on this brooch. Germanic barbarians (Angles, the respite was short-lived.

e l
m d ul rs cav ric ra s
his e ba es Ga ule ist g do al ltu se
u dd stat ina s do l
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sto by sia
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su th ch i pe into be ons c.
as sou C
101
501–526 527–540

These 6th-century ivory panels show Emperor Anastasius. He amassed a vast financial This 6th-century mosaic, from the curch of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, depicts
surplus, which his successors spent on expanding the Eastern Roman Empire. Emperor Justinian with his retinue of officials, guards, and clergy.

IN THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE army officer, Vitalian, in Thrace in THE REIGN OF THE BYZANTINE church of Hagia Sophia in 534.
(generally called the Byzantine 513. Anastasius left no clear heir, EMPEROR JUSTINIAN (r. 527–65) The greatest challenge to his rule
Empire from about this date), and on his death Justin (r. 518–27), began with important reforms. In came in 532, when rioting among
Anastasius (r. 491–518) faced head of the palace guard, seized 528, he commissioned a new law the Blue and Green chariot-racing
difficulties in the Balkans, as new the throne. Justin was of humble code to replace the confusion he factions got out of hand and
groups, including the Bulgars, origins and relied heavily on his had inherited. The new code, the turned into the Nika Revolt. The
pressed southward across the nephew Justinian. He restored Codex Justinianus, came into uprising almost caused Justinian
Danube between 493 and 502. red Chalcedonian Christianity and force in 529 (revised in 534). An to flee Constantinople, and its
More serious were problems on enamel developed good relations with the enthusiastic builder, Justinian suppression killed 30,000 rebels.
the eastern frontier, where the Ostrogoths of Italy and the ordered the building of the great With his throne secure, Justinian
Persians insisted on Byzantine Vandals of North Africa. Abroad, looked abroad. In 533 he sent an
financial subsidies to pay for the his reign was generally peaceful, army under Belisarius to
defense of strategic passes in the apart from a minor campaign Vandal-controlled North Africa,
Caucasus against barbarian against Persia in early 527. where Gelimer had deposed King
incursions. In 502, the Persian In Gaul, Clovis, king of the Hilderic, a Byzantine ally. On
ruler Kavadh began a war over Franks, had defeated Syagrius, September 13, Belisarius defeated
the issue; the slow Byzantine ruler of a Roman enclave near Gelimer’s army at Ad Decimum,
reaction allowed him to capture Soissons, in 486, followed by the just outside Carthage, and Vandal
Amida as well as several towns in Alamanns and the Thuringians in resistance collapsed. Carthage
Armenia. Byzantine forces retook 491. The Visigothic kingdom in was occupied and Gelimer was
Amida in 505, and Kavadh— southwestern Gaul was his next sent as a captive to Constantinople.
preoccupied with a Hepthalite target, and it collapsed after a The rapid conquest of the Vandal
invasion in the east—agreed a major Frankish victory at Vouillé kingdom encouraged Justinian to
Frankish fibula brooch
truce, which lasted until 527. Fibula brooches were practical as in 507. Clovis’s marriage to Clotilde, intervene in Italy. An excuse was
Anastasius was almost 60 when well as decorative, being used to daughter of the Burgundian king THEODORA (C.500–548) provided by the murder in April
he became emperor in 491, and fasten clothes.This brooch is Chilperic, led him to convert to 535 of his friend Amalasuintha,
his place on the throne was only decorated with the heads of birds. Catholic Christianity in the 490s, Theodora, who Justinian the Ostrogothic queen. Belisarius
secured by his marriage in 492 to and he maintained cordial married in 525, had once been launched a strike against Italy in
Ariadne, widow of his predecessor terms Anastasius’s reign was less relations with the Byzantine a prostitute and the mistress 535, landing on Sicily with 7,000
Zeno. Almost immediately Zeno’s tranquil, as he was a follower of emperor Anastasius, who gave of Hecebolus, the governor of troops. Sicily was secured by the
brother Longinus revolted, and it Monophysite Christianity, which him the title of consul c. 508. Near Libya Pentapolis. After the end of 535, and Belisarius moved
took six years for Anastasius to held that Christ had only a single the end of his reign, Clovis added death of his adoptive mother, into southern Italy early in 536. He
subdue Longinus’s home area of divine nature and did not combine several previously independent Empress Lucipina (who had took Naples after a three-week
Isauria (in western Asia Minor). human and divine in his person. Frankish domains to his kingdom, opposed their relationship), siege, causing the Ostrogothic
Anastasius gained popularity by At first, Anastasius supported notably that of the Ripuarian Justinian had the law changed king, Vitigis, to retreat northward.
abolishing the chrysargyron Zeno’s Henotikon—an “act of Franks. On his death in 511, in 524 to allow him to marry On December 9, 536, in a symbolic
tax for traders and craftsmen. union” issued in 482 that tried to Clovis’s kingdom was divided Theodora. Theodora became restoration of the empire’s lost
Prosperity continued and over his broker a compromise between among his four sons—Theuderic, a forceful empress, stiffening provinces, the Byzantine army
reign his treasury amassed a supporters of the orthodox creed Childebert, Chlodomir, and Justinian’s resolve during the occupied Rome. Rome was soon
surplus of 320,000 pounds of gold. (established at the Council of Chlothar. This tradition of Nika revolt and acting as the besieged by Goths. Belisarius
He also implemented monetary Chalcedon in 452) and the subdivision would weaken the protector of Monophysite finally took the Ostrogothic capital
reforms in 498 and 512 aimed at Monophysites. However, later his Merovingian dynasty, as the Christians—she was one of Ravenna in 540. Suspicions that
stabilizing the currency, which had attitude became more pro- descendants of Clovis were known. herself—during times of he planned to become emperor
suffered successive debasements Monophysite, which led to serious The Merovingians ruled Francia persecution. led to his recall, encouraging more
in the 5th century. In religious rioting in 512, and the revolt of an (France) until the 8th century. Ostrogothic resistance.

n
Mo (in d n, la
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102
541–550
,,THE PLAGUE FELL UPON THE

,,
WHOLE WORLD... NOT A SINGLE
MAN IN THE WHOLE ROMAN
EMPIRE COULD ESCAPE…
Procopius, Byzantine scholar, from Secret History, c. 550

Argentorate
THE LATTER PART OF JUSTINIAN’S
Franks REIGN lacked the achievements of
Geneva
Burdigala its first half. A serious outbreak of
Slavs
Tolosa Arelate
Ravenna Black Sea
plague, probably bubonic plague,
Naissus
Barcino 537–40 Rome 53 Adrianople began in Egypt in 540 and caused
Tolosa 5
537–40 Constaninople
widespread mortalities, robbing
0

Persians
Carthago Sardinia
7-4

Thessalonica
Nova 554 the empire of desperately needed
53

Tingi Athenae
Sicily manpower. Tax revenues fell,
53

Carthage Antioch
3

Med further weakening the


iterra Cyprus
533 nean Sea administration, and
Cyrene prices rose, leading to
AFRICA Alexandria
the passing of laws in
544 to reduce inflation.
KEY Further outbreaks of
Justinian’s reconquests
Vandal Italy fell to Justinian’s armies in 533, but it
Byzantine Empire, 527 plague occurred in the
was devastated by the 20-year war needed to take Justinian’s reconquests 6th and 7th centuries,
it. An attempted Byzantine reconquest of Spain Byzantine campaigns sapping the vitality of
foundered, capturing only a few coastal areas. Battle the Byzantine Empire.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths
Persia entered a new period of and their followers to serve by made rapid advances
greatness under Khusrau I paying salaries. Khusrau after the departure of
(r. 531–79), who came to the captured Antioch in 540, forcing Belisarius. Their new
throne at a time when the Justinian to pay 5,000 pounds of king, Totila, secured the
Mazdakites—a populist religious gold to regain it. He attacked area north of the Po
movement—had caused serious again, in 544, but a siege of River, and in 542 took
social tensions. Khusrau Edessa failed and so he made a control of much of
reformed the tax system and truce. A further Byzantine– central Italy. Belisarius
established a new army, Persian war (546–51) resulted was recalled to retrieve
encouraging poorer nobles in a 50-year peace. the situation in 544, but
Justinian starved him of

,,TO ME, AND TO MANY


OTHERS, THESE TWO
resources and Rome
fell in 546. Although the
Byzantines retook Rome
in 547, it fell once more
to Totila in 550. Justinian

SEEMED NOT TO BE sent two huge armies under

,,
Artabanes and Narses to finish
HUMAN BEINGS, BUT off the Goths. Artabanes entered
Ravenna in June 552, and in July
Ostrogothic brooch
This gold and enamel
VERITABLE DEMONS… Narses defeated Totila at the
Battle of Busta Gallorum in the
brooch demonstrates
the high level of

VAMPIRES. Apennines. Totila later died of his


wounds. There was still some
workmanship in the
Ostrogothic kingdom
of Italy. Its eagle
Procopius, Byzantine scholar, on Justinian and Empress Theodora, Ostrogoth resistance, but the imagery may indicate
from Secret History, c. 550 war in Italy was effectively over. Roman influence.

hs
ot ue al f
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B s e a i To ich ter t m od is
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Co
103
551–567 568–588
,,WHEN JUSTIN HAD HEARD THESE EVENTS... HE HAD

,,
NO HEALTHY OR SANE THOUGHTS… HE FELL INTO A
MENTAL DISORDER AND MADNESS AND AFTERWARD
HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF EVENTS.
Evagrius Scholasticus, scholar and aide to Gregory of Antioch, on Justin II’s
reaction on the fall of Dara to the Persians, from Ecclesiastical History c. 595

The 13th-century Iona Abbey (pictured) was built on the site of the original

7
monastery founded by St. Columba when he arrived on Iona in 563.

MEROVINGIAN FRANCIA (FRANCE)


HAD BEEN DIVIDED into separate
Ireland had been converted to
Christianity by Patrick (d. 461) in
JAPAN’S SOGA FAMILY CAME TO
PROMINENCE IN 540, when Soga
THE NUMBER OF YEARS
kingdoms on the death of Clovis in the mid-5th century and a strong no Iname was made chief THE “ENDLESS PEACE”
511 (see 501–526). Despite this,
Frankish power continued to grow.
monastic tradition took hold
there. From the 6th century, Irish
minister. Emperor Bidatsu’s
death in 585 led to a succession OF 532 BETWEEN THE
By 558, Chlothar I (511–61), who monks began conducting missions dispute, from which Iname’s BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND
PERSIA LASTED
ruled the area of Francia around abroad. In 563, Columba grandson Yomei emerged
Soissons, had absorbed the (c. 520–97) set up the abbey of successful. The next emperor,
Rheims kingdom and the region Iona on an island off Scotland’s Sushun (r.586–93), had
around Paris after their rulers western coast. Iona became a a Soga mother, reinforcing the fortress of Dara. On hearing this, Byzantine counterattacks in 575
died. This left Chlothar as the sole center of Irish-influenced family’s dominance. When Sushun Justin went insane. His wife took were a disaster. Under Agilulf
Merovingian ruler of Francia for monasticism, which extended into was assassinated in 593, he was power, and had to agree a (r. 590–616) the Lombard kingdom
three years, until his death in 561. northern England, Scotland, and succeeded by another Soga, humiliating peace with Persia. consolidated; the Byzantines were
Francia was once again divided, Francia with the foundation of the Bidatsu’s widow Suiko (r. 593– In 567, the Lombards, who had limited to small territories around
with Charibert I receiving Paris, monastic center at Luxeuil in 590. 628), Suiko’s reign saw the start of settled in the former Roman Rome, Naples, and Ravenna.
Guntram getting Orléans, Sigibert The Gupta Empire fell apart the Asuka Enlightenment, and province of Pannonia (Hungary), Under Khan Bayan (r.c. 562–82),
Rheims, and Chilperic Soissons. after the reign of Vishnugupta was a time of great confidence in destroyed the Gepids and then, the Avars—nomadic horsemen
It was not until 613 that the (r. 540–50); and northern India foreign affairs, state support for under Alboin (reign c. 560–72), from the northern Caucasus—
Frankish kingdom was reunited split into a number of regional Buddhism, and flourishing arts. moved southwest into Italy, where exploited the vacuum left by the
under Chlothar II (r. 613–29). kingdoms. A minor branch of the In 572, the Byzantine emperor the Byzantine authorities were too departure of the Lombards to
Guptas ruled Magadha, but they Justin II (r. 565–78) went to war weak to resist them. In 568–69 they carve out a vast territory
were swept aside by the Maukharis with Persia after he refused to pay occupied the plain of the Po River around modern Austria. Their
Ajanta cave art
The Ajanta caves, a Buddhist holy of Kanauj. The region fell to the a tribute due under the terms of and set up dukes in major cities. conquest of a number of Byzantine
site in Maharashtra, India, Vardhana king Harsha, who Justinian’s 50-year peace deal (see By 572, when Pavia fell to them, towns prompted Emperor Maurice
experienced a second major phase established an empire in the 527–540). In 573, Persia struck they had founded duchies as far (r. 582–602) into a successful
of use during the 6th century. early 7th century. back, invading Syria and taking the south as Benevento. Attempted campaign to dislodge them.

s i d II
se es ne h y e ine s
po n We e p os sig e
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e
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ple ly de ei ac
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pe ne nd s m anu hi king frica th r
3F m
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ir a)
an as th m
co f Ita jue W ar anti an a rd D D el en nC Z yY
h
a o Y st E ting sty s en tern the asty e ba the ibn ornu tral
A
exp em 57 gdo ar 7 I rn n b ds 58 per der Se pays
2 G s l taa r na e
in est
o W s
Yu We ing dyn
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0- By tini sia m
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Se B en ns m
Y kin il w 57 rthe row foun y n
em rre der nd n
55 ina’ or, s Qi dy nt 2 5 een Jus f Per 8 L fro I 70 the C sia ro civ No erth ho ast su mo ars a te
za nqu 57 a’s und hou 6 56 uth vade er es f
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n
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No th
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tat m m a bia of ph ca tin is Ba ting va n tru nsiv e
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5 C d s in ina
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m nsa ibe
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Sa m t of ngl
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58 new all f Ch
55 Pae with illa, val lot uler ge
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5 c o ne h o ad sh arian
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of S
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55 so y k 57 Mu d es Hu no
ain re B mp Ma to C c. ce of e co sout e
ag Ko e pla th th
re

104
589–599

,,
Painted c. 581–618, this fresco is from China’s Dunhuang caves, in a strategic

IN 581, YIANG JIAN, A GENERAL OF


THE ZHOU RULERS of northern
China, rebelled and took the
throne for himself as the emperor
,,
Silk Road oasis. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art.

NOT ANGLES,
BUT ANGELS.
In the Balkans, the Slavs—a
non-Germanic people referred to
as “Sclaveni” in contemporary
sources—seem to have arrived
dependent on Kent—also
converted, but the infant English
Church would suffer a series of
setbacks before the last Anglo-
Wendi (r. 581–604). In 589, he north of the Danube in the early to Saxon kingdoms became Christian
invaded southern China. His mid-6th century. When the Avars in the late 7th century.
Pope Gregory I, on seeing Anglo-Saxon slaves
forces rapidly overcame those of at a market in Rome
moved into the region in c. 559 the
the last Chen emperor, Hou Zhu. Slavs were pushed farther south.
Wendi was now the country’s By the end of the 6th century,
sole ruler and the first emperor that allowed vessels to travel guard and then of the war against Slavic groups had settled as far
of the Sui dynasty; after three 1,240 miles (2,000 km) from the Persians from 578. Tiberius’s south as northern Greece, the
centuries of division, China was Hangzhuo in the southeast to the overspending and ineffective Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic,
finally united. Wendi disarmed northeastern provinces around campaigns against the Persians, and Macedonia, as well as in
private armies and established Beijing, via Luoyang in eastern Lombards, and Avars had emptied those areas of Bulgaria, Bohemia,
agricultural colonies along central China. Austere, strict, and the imperial treasury, leaving Moravia, Serbia, and Croatia
China’s frontiers to strengthen occasionally violent, Wendi seemed Maurice facing an immediate where the great Slav
central control in remote areas. to have set the Sui dynasty on firm financial crisis. His subsequent kingdoms of the Middle
He implemented a major land foundations; in the end, it lasted economizing led to mutinies by Ages would later arise.
reform that increased the only 14 years after his death, the eastern army in 588 and by In 596, Pope
number of households liable to when it was replaced by the Tang. that of the Balkans in 593. Maurice Gregory I sent a
the land tax from 4 million in 589, In 582, Emperor Maurice made his father Paul head of the mission to Britain
to almost 9 million in 606. Wendi succeeded Tiberius II (r. 578–82) Senate and his brother-in-law to revive
also extended the country’s canal as the Byzantine emperor. He had Philippicus head of the palace Christianity,
system to form a “Grand Canal” been commander of the palace guard; such nepotism further following the
increased his unpopularity. invasions by pagan
POPE GREGORY I (590–604) In 584, Maurice renewed the Anglo-Saxons in the
war with Persia, appointing 5th and early
From 572 to 574 Gregory I was Philippicus to oversee it. The new 6th centuries. The
prefect of Rome, and only commander attacked Arzanene, missionaries set out
became a monk on his father’s but his campaign was disrupted under Augustine, a
death. A man of great ability by the defection of the Ghassanid former prior of a
and energy, he was involved in Arabs—former allies alienated by monastery in Rome,
resistance to the Lombards the arrest of their king, al-Mundhir. and arrived in Kent
in Italy in the early part of his The mutiny of the eastern troops the following year.
papacy, but he maintained good in 588 caused Byzantine efforts to Their reception was
relations with the Merovingians stall further, and in 589 they lost reasonably warm as
in Francia and the Visigothic the city of Martyropolis (in Bertha, the wife of
rulers of Spain. Relations with present-day Turkey) to the the Kentish king
the Byzantine emperor Maurice Persians. The Byzantines were Aethelberht, was
broke down over the use of the saved by the outbreak of a civil already Christian.
title “ecumenical patriarch” by war in Persia; the involvement of a After Aethelberht was baptized
Sui dynasty figurine
the Bishop of Constantinople, Byzantine army in the restoration a Christian, Augustine was able to This figure depicting a trader on a
which Gregory viewed as a of one Persian claimant, establish a church in Canterbury. camel emphasizes China’s continuing
challenge to his authority. Chosroes II, led to the recovery King Saebert of Essex and King concern with commerce along the
of Martyropolis and Dara in 592. Sigebert of East Anglia—both Silk Road through Central Asia.

ed ry ice
os lita ur f
g ep mi e he e Ma tine st yo y ne
kin es I I d y a m; h m ui na (“t op r in u tin arm sti
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105
4
TRADE AND
INVENTION
600–1449
In the Medieval period, trade and travel unified the Old World
in a single network, with new ideas and inventions emerging
even as the political landscape was transformed. Meanwhile,
in the New World, great civilizations reached their peak.
600–610 611–620 621–630 631–640

A coin depicting the Eastern Roman A Tang dynasty Mendicant friar, with This 1721 engraving by Austrian architect Johann Fischer von Erlach The ruins of the 7th century Byzantine
emperor Heraclius. an unusual traveling companion. shows Al-Haram Mosque and Ka’aba in Mecca. fortresses at Sbeitla, Tunisia.

UPHEAVAL IN THE MUHAMMAD FIRST RECEIVED A Arabian Peninsula. Muhammad’s BY THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD’S
EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE DIVINE REVELATION IN 610 and rule was then unchallenged. DEATH IN 632, the young Muslim
began when the emperor began to preach in Mecca from Heraclius began to claw back community—united by Islam,
Maurice (r. 582–602) 613; but the start of the territory ceded to the Persians, which transcended traditional
dispatched his armies to Islamic era is traditionally starting at the Battle of Issus in rivalries—was ready for expansion.
the northern Balkans to marked by the Hegira or 622 and later, in 627, at the Battle Although Muhammad had left no
regain imperial control of hijra, the flight to of Nineveh. In 628 the Sasanian guidance as to his successor
the Danube frontier from Medina. Hostility from and Byzantine Empires made (caliph), four men tied to the
the Avars (see 568–88). In the Meccan authorities peace, exhausted by decades of prophet by marriage emerged as
602, the army rebelled under forced Muhammad to flee to war and unaware of the storm
officer Phocas and Maurice was
killed. Phocas became emperor
but Chosroes II of Sasanian
Medina with his family and
followers in 622. In Medina,
Muhammad established a
brewing to the south.
In China the emperor’s son,
Taizong, consolidated Tang
,, THOSE WHO
ARE PATIENT IN
Persia took advantage of the political and religious power power by suppressing rebellions
eastern empire’s weakness, while base. He fought a series of across the empire. In 626, ADVERSITY AND

,,
the Avars invaded from the north.
In 610 the son of the military
attacks by Meccan forces, with
their ultimate surrender in 630
Taizong forced his father to step
down and inaugurated a golden
FORGIVE WRONGS
governor of Roman Africa,
Tang dynasty horse sculpture
when he took possession of the age of trade, prosperity, and ARE THE DOERS
Heraclius, executed Phocas and Horses were symbols of military Ka’aba, the holiest shrine in the cultural exchange. OF EXCELLENCE.
declared himself emperor. prowess, especially warhorses from
In 606, in northern India, Harsha the western fringes of the empire. Prophet Muhammad
(c. 590–647) acceded to the
thrones of Thanesar and Kannauj, SASANIAN CONQUESTS RESTORED
establishing the last native THE PERSIAN EMPIRE at the the Rashidun, or “rightly guided,”
Indian empire of ancient times. expense of the Byzantines with caliphs. The first caliph, Abu Bakr

,, THE EMPEROR
HARSHA, NOBLE
the falls of Jerusalem in
614 and Egypt in 619. By 618,
Constantinople was besieged by
the Avars, and their Slavic
(r. 632–34), suppressed an Arabian
rebellion, reestablished Islamic
dominion over Arabia, and began
the conquest of Syria. His
IN BIRTH AND OF subjects. In 620, Heraclius bought
off the Avars in order to focus on
successor Umar (r. 634–44)
became caliph in 634 and oversaw
WELL-CHOSEN repelling the Persians. the conquest of Syria and the
NAME, THE In 613 Clothar II (584-629)
reunited the Frankish kingdom,
defeat of the Byzantines at
Ajnadayn. By 637, Umar controlled
SURPASSER OF bringing an end to civil war. His Jerusalem and Damascus, and, in
ALL THE Edict of Paris, issued in 614,
introduced reforms to the MUHAMMAD (570–632)
the same year, Arab forces
conquered Persia (modern Iran
VICTORIES WON

,,
Merovingian church and state. and Iraq), occupying the Sasanian
BY ALL THE KINGS In 616–17, rebellions against the
despotic rule of Yangdi (r. 604-17)
Born in Mecca, Muhammad ibn Abdallah worked as a merchant
and shepherd before growing discontented and retiring to a life of
capital at Ctesiphon. Umar
established several important
OF ANCIENT caused the collapse of the Sui contemplation. In 610, he received the first of a series of divine practices: the creation of garrison
TIMES... dynasty in China. A year later revelations—these became the Qu’ran. He preached a towns in conquered territory to
military governor Li Yuan founded monotheistic faith based on complete submission to God (Islam). separate the invading Arabic forces
Banabhatta, Indian poet, from The the Tang dynasty, which ruled Before his death he unified Arabian tribes within his new religion. from the locals; the recruitment of
Deeds of Harsha, c. 640 until 906. soldiers through slavery and tribal

es
rts rs
t sro nd s
an led
;
sta , fi or ho ed a he et ate
s r us ies f s C ac nd ph ph
om kil gin ad cca ro s ing epo
s re er a ro cali
R e
n ric him be m e pe ed; s
f I tor ian k d s
u ow p n
te r sh
a am n M Em rder e o vic rs ina ian s” cli e
th t o
f ria ach
as Ma ed
u s
ar of ia h i ttl of r Pe an iou ra is p ing of star sto s re
u gi u u Ch as ctor on He of h arch to e
2 E or cce 6 H est nd 3 M in 8 S m sty B a g e n S t h
ea ad
; 5 N ian
60 per s su 60 nqu rn I 61 each 61 ngdi yna d 2 ri n
62 a st lius
o v e r
th Ta
ng 8 vi
62 the y his
s 0
63 nith y m tly i
n
63 rist
d
Y ng ishe
a or by 2D m
em oca co rthe pr in rac N II “ in b ze e b han 63 ham Ch ina
Ph no Ta tabl 4 ed a a m p m Mu Ch
He 62 bdu sl f um le
es su tri rusa
Je

di us I ro
r II on
ng cli rI pe s ar s ia t
Ya tion ra tern ha h m y hi g oth ank nd wes
r c
ro u nal ; e
H a s or lot nkis E b n l
C r s I
of
pe tr 10 E er 3 C a om g
an wn izo ds e f c he the th ;
m ons d Ca 610 6 mes mp 61 s Fr ngd 6 T hro Ta ee th a
re y t
o ea akr
E
sc n E e ki s
62 vert on, cc f all D B es
2
60 der Gra plete
d co n
be oma
i t ian s u ng rne 4
63 Abu com ph
re
un rs ypt o s rt g o xa jou
or of om R 9P E
e g be in n
ua pic h be ali
c 61 uer go as k lip r c
D a 0X se ca ma ond
nq 9 63 hi U ec
co 62 s
108
641–650
,,
,,
THEY BEQUEATHED THE
GLEAMING GOLD, TREASURE
OF MEN, TO EARTH.
From the Old English epic poem, Beowulf

One of 20 burial mounds of this type at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England, which conceal the

89
graves and funerary treasures of the royal line of East Anglia.

region. In 642, for instance, the treasures—is believed to have


RIA
MONGOLIA C HU Christian king Oswald of once contained the body of an
i AN KO
G ob M RE Northumbria, hitherto one of the Anglo Saxon king. One of the last
Turfan
n most powerful kingdoms, was burials of this type in England, the

A
Tashkent Sh a
n Ordos
Samarkand Ti e Dunhuang Anxi Desert
Kashgar Takla Makan East China slain by the pagan king Penda of artifacts comprise a fusion of
Bactra Desert Sea
Jinchang
Chang’an
Mercia. The great Anglo-Saxon Christian and non-Christian
Perwali Khotan Hangzhou
Taxila ship burial at Sutton Hoo, elements, suggesting transition
Peshawar
Plateau of Suffolk—filled with marvelously as Christianity gained in

FEET
CHINA
Thar H i Tibet worked artifacts, weapons and popularity and strength.
ma Taiwan
Desert layas
Mathura Sarnath

THE LENGTH
Pataliputra dragon’s head
Bodh Gaya Philippine
BURMA crest
INDIA Islands
Barygaza Nasik
Arabian
Sea
Ratnagiri
Bay of Bengal South OF THE SUTTON
HOO SHIP
C h i na
Nagarjunakonda INDO- Sea
CHINA
Kanchipuram

unchecked even by the


KEY assassination in 644 of Umar by
Borneo
Xuanzang’s route INDIAN Su
m
a Persian slave. His successor,
OCEAN at
ra Uthman, promulgated the first
The travels of Xuanzang
written version of the Qu’ran,
The young monk left the Tang
capital, Chang’an, in around 630. which had previously been
He crossed Central Asia and ISLAMIC EXPANSION CONTINUED transmitted orally.
reached India in 645. as the Arabs defeated the Persian After launching successful
counterattack at the Battle of expeditions against the Tibetans
affiliation—those recruited for Nihavand in 642, dealing the final and Mongolians, but failing to
fighting were made dependents of blow to the Sasanian Empire; conquer Korea, the Tang
tribal members; and a taxation the last emperor, Yazdgird III, died emperor Taizong (r. 626–49)
system that favored Muslims and in 651, and with him died died in 649, and his weak-willed
encouraged conversion but Zoroastrianism, the religion of son began to cede increasing
allowed Christians and Jews to the empire. Conversion of the influence to the Empress Wu
follow their religions. population to Islam proceeded (624–705). In Japan, the Fujiwara
Buddhism became increasingly slowly but steadily over the clan enacted the Taika reforms in
influential in Tang China; the following centuries. The Arabs 646, bringing all land into imperial
Buddhist monk Xuanzang met with similar success in Egypt ownership and centralizing power
journeyed far and wide in search where the Byzantines offered only following the Chinese model.
of wisdom. His travels became token resistance. The fall of In England, Christian converts
legendary and foresaw the Alexandria came in 642, the battled pagan kings for control
increasing mobility of people and same year that the Muslims over territory and the religious
ideas along the Silk Road, made founded the military settlement of and cultural direction of the
possible by the power of the Tang Fustat, which later became Cairo.
and later the caliphate. Also The following year the marauding Sutton Hoo helmet
traveling the Silk Road, Nestorian Islamic armies conquered This reconstruction is made from
Christians reached China from Tripolitania in North Africa as iron with highly decorated panels of
Persia in 635. their advance continued, tinned bronze.

a, ns th
iyy sia nor n hed e
a dis Per far n nia us
a
aik n
n
dia is g ris
Q t s ut
to sa s cr ld 6T si f In ha; h an nd
of efea ia a S a
f S sian vand wa 64 form o o f T ng a
tle d s 1 a l Os th r s p th zo
at es Per 64 ri o
nd er iha
f
o ia re pan ea Ha ks u ea Tai u
7 B rc er c. o bu ath br 7 D or
63 ab fo nqu 2 E e; P f N Ja a 9 D or s W
Ho 64 pir le o De hum 64 per bre 64 per res
Ar d co ul Em Bat
t 2
64 Nor
t em pire em Emp
an Mos at of em of
as

t, of ar o
er
ath ius st
g ob ong e Um an rn els
Da tr gs 1 D ac
l
l i ph thm be retu trav
of he s kin 64 Her a U o ng ia
ath t of t ian 4 C d; n t wn za As
e g 64 nate u’ra n do an an
9 D las vin i
ss s Q tte
u
5 X er
p
63 ro sa te wri 64 aft
Me as ulga n a
i
om Ch
pr
109
651–670 671–690

The weathered landscape of central Anatolia, a Byzantine territory that suffered A modern-day depiction of the Battle of Karbala; al-Husayn’s death is
repeated raids from Arab forces in the 7th century. commemorated in the annual Shiite ritual of the ashura.

THE SPLIT BETWEEN SUNNI AND THE MAYA CITY-STATE OF TIKAL courts, causeways, observatories,
A S I A
SHIITE MUSLIMS was the outcome Aral
Sea Transoxiana
BEGAN ITS RESURGENCE after a and palaces.
of fierce disagreement over how century-long period of political The Arab forces besieging the
KHAZAR Zabulistan
succession to the caliphate ought EMPIRE Ca
sp and cultural domination by city of Constantinople (see 670)
ia nS
to be decided; either by selection British Khurasan neighboring city-states known were unable to breach its massive
Isles EU R OP E

ea
(as in the case of the first three SASANIAN as the Tikal hiatus, which had walls and were eventually beaten
H Sea Armenia
KIS S EMPIRE
AN

caliphs) or by hereditary descent. AN M B lack Kerman been marked by an absence of off with the use of a new
FR NGDO Kh uz i s
OCE

M es o tan F a r s
Caliph Uthman (r. 644–56) had KI Constantinople po ta
mi a inscriptions in the city’s Byzantine secret weapon–
RE
AT L A NT I C

promoted members of his own PI Syria Oman petroglyphic record. An inscription “Greek fire” (see 711–20). Its

an S ea
E EM
clan, the Umayyads. He was B YZ A NTIN Jerusalem Nejd dated to 672 records a military deployment may also have helped
assassinated in 656 by Egyptian r r a ne a n S ea campaign against the rival destroy the Arab fleet at the Battle

abi
M e di t e Arabian
He
j az

Ar
EGYPT Peninsula
soldiers, nursing grievances over h re
b city-state of Dos Pilas, and in the of Syllaeum in 677, forcing the
Mag
their lower status. Ali Ibn Abi Atlas Mountains Yemen
following decades Tikal restored caliphate to agree a 30-year
Talib became the fourth caliph. AF RI CA
its position among the Maya of the truce. The truce bought breathing
As Muhammad’s cousin and Late Classic period (600–900). space for the embattled Byzantine
son-in-law—next in line by KEY The city’s rulers engaged in a Empire, struggling to hold back
Expansion under the caliphate
descent—Ali enjoyed unique The rapid Arab expansion continued throughout
Muslim lands by 656 construction programme to match the Bulgars, who established the
status in the Islamic world, but he the latter half of the 7th century. Islamic armies Byzantine Empire c.610 their political ambitions, building First Bulgarian Empire in 681 on
faced many challenges. At the pushed into Central Asia and North Africa, Sasanian Empire c.610 many impressive structures conquered Byzantine territory
Battle of the Camel in 656 Ali bringing them within striking distance of Spain. Frankish Kingdoms c.610 including massive pyramids, ball north of the Balkan mountains.
overcame a revolt by the prophet’s
widow A’isha and her allies, Byzantine claims to Italy by Anatolia continued and by 670 they
opposing his inclusive policies. In relocating his court to Rome in had reached the Byzantine capital,
657, the Umayyad emir of Syria, 663, but raids deep into Anatolia Constantinople (modern-day
Mu’awiya, asserted his claim on (modern-day Turkey) by Arab Istanbul), launching the first
the caliphate; Ali was also forces led to a collapse in siege on the city, which would
challenged by the Kharijis, a his authority; in 668, he last until 677.
sect that objected to the was assassinated and The Unified Silla kingdom in
application of the Constantine IV took Korea brought to an end the long
hereditary the throne. Arab Three Kingdoms period, with the
principle. In 661, incursions into help of Tang China. In 660
Ali was murdered the Tang destroyed the
by a Khariji, opening kingdom of Paekche,
the way for Mu’awiya while in 668 Silla and
to declare himself Tang forces combined
caliph, instituting the to overcome Koguryo,
Arab Umayyad dynasty. thus bringing all of the Korean ARAB CONQUESTS
Ali’s supporters formed Peninsula under Silla control.
a party of their own, Having consolidated their conquests of Persia and Byzantine
which evolved into a North Africa, Arab armies pressed on eastward and westward. In
Stoneware bird
distinctive branch Central Asia, Arab forces crossed the Oxus River in 667 and
This gray stoneware incense burner
of Islam, the Shiites, dates from the Silla kingdom, which continued to advance to within range of the Silk Road kingdom of
in opposition to the Sunni. was on the verge of becoming the Bukhara. In Africa, they crushed the Berber kingdoms, reaching
Emperor Constans II dominant power during Korea’s late Tangiers in 683.
attempted to reestablish Three Kingdoms period.

ion es ler ya
rs on om ion s ru sh Ma p
ve t i
a ec s e gli of of he elo r
d
ize y ng n sin li b cces
m f
co te o s En ce l se t le ev late bic
rd d b Ki xo s a s e r y —
by er om
n
e ika t u ” by ing nop n d
ia ns t is Ara em
da ue a, Sa die ss n; A e su l b ta ld to
ca y-s bui rva gd rg s
ir fire ur nti Ind icia ha u– yst
an iss n nd lo- cia 6 A ma th hit ov su f T F
t e g er 65 Uth but Pa a cit nd bse f W an kin a Re te o 3 k
67 ree tine ons s d ta
80 mat nd w Hind ue s
1 S ’an ma 4 P An 7
65 May ue cal o
a o o m l a
il ore 2
67 y-st
a 6
c. athe en a the -val
65 Qur Uth 65 the m M of liph uted d
no t R ity 8S K “G zan of C
of liph of ngdo ca disp of lenq omi Sy adop stian 66 ifies cit By ege m se t as ace
l
a n 4 i ba own al p
ca Ki is P tro 66 rgy Chr un si
as cle ltic kn cim
e
Ce d

of it; e : s
pl tin m de
th an s II; eu s ce lish
D ea nals ite s fifth y z n y lla troy a re b
ig an t: i s pi ta ire
1
65 III s sani nd as Sh e lam
s
ue
r f B sta de
eo
f f S des ing e
ni– ecom of Is nq tan n o Con cce eo t r c Em o es mp
ird f Sa re a m o f M roys t un b co is a i o
t or V a S ieg ople ) a ttl flee secu pea ine , wh ian E
g t h s I t
e
zd d o pi nis tle es ee 1 S iya alip b
ra gha
n in
ss pe ne
r st tin 77 B ine s, a r an s
yz gar lga
r
Ya en Em stria at y d e fl 66 ’aw c sa em anti Fir tan (to 6 7 t
67 zan Ara 0-y
b e
5 B nav ntin 4 A Af As 70 ons 1 B ul Bu
r o a 6 5 i c a Mu 66 h of 8 n s t 6 C By 3
68 to B irst
Zo ab Byz uc 66 Co ds F
Ar m lan
110
691–700

Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock—a shrine sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths—
has an octagonal floorplan and a massive gold dome.

3,000
At the Battle of Karbala in 680
the Shiite leader al-Husayn ibn
Ali, grandson of Muhammad, was
surrounded by Umayyad troops,
deprived of water for several
days, and eventually killed. His
death was proclaimed a
martyrdom by the Shiites, who
commemorate it to this day. THE NUMBER OF MAJOR STONE
In China in 690, the Empress
Wu finally took the throne in her
BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED IN
own name—the only woman in TIKAL’S LATE CLASSIC PERIOD
Chinese history to do so—after
decades of controlling it through
her husband and sons. She even ABD AL-MALIK HAD BECOME Temple Mount in Jerusalem,
created her own dynasty, Zhou, CALIPH IN 685, instituting the Dome of the Rock (or
which she headed until 705. important changes to the way the Qubbat as-Sakhrah),
caliphate was ruled, centralizing completed in 692.
government, insisting that all The harsh 10-year rule of the
state business was conducted in Byzantine emperor Justinian
Arabic, setting up the barid (a II had aroused widespread
postal/intelligence gathering opposition and in 695 he was
service), and issuing, around 697, deposed and had his nose cut
new coinage: the dinar and off by Leontius, who became
dirham. He also commissioned a emperor in his stead. However,
great shrine to be built on the in 698, the loss of Carthage,
the last Byzantine stronghold

,,I HAVE NOT


SEEN THE
in North Africa, to the Arabs
led to another revolt and
Leontius suffered the same fate
as his predecessor.
EQUAL; NEITHER The turn of the century was a
time of change and unrest in the
HAVE I HEARD Americas. In North America, the
TELL OF spear was superceded by

ANYTHING…
widespread adoption of the bow
and arrow. In the Valley of Mexico
THAT COULD around 700, the great city-state of Ancient

,,
Teotihuacán
RIVAL IN GRACE Teotihuacán, which once housed
over 100,000 people, collapsed, mask

Temple at Tikal
THIS DOME OF bringing six centuries of growth This mask was
probably tied to
Flanking Tikal’s Great Plaza, the THE ROCK… and dominance to an end. Social,
economic, and environmental
a figurine representing
122ft (38 m) high Temple II was built a god. The mask would
during the construction boom of the Mukaddasi, Arab geographer, factors were probably to blame. have been decorated with
Late Classic resurgence. c. 10th century inlays and ear ornaments.

: r
lis pero
po ; ed of
sto e em enia g os te
a
b tin m tin d ep da t
ch e
f S yzan e Ar fec II has l
na firs lo
ea ian d re
sr eo k e itio ry ao ua che
ab ttl eat B d ta es d tin s an ad nda e, P
r
3 A rs
a f
1 B de I a ac
n r u s
iu r
7 T ge nic 0 H r Mo
69 abs ian I ass e 5 J nt ff 69 mile f Ve festo 7 0 e
68 ngie 69 Leo ut o c. nqu u
Ta Ar stin an m eng b y ec se ge o Ana co Per
Ju stini n rev no
s do cio in
Ju vs i Lu
S la

u
sW , he w oy ity
es ne ft d Pa f str f fc e
pr thro ou e o lete ar te o de ss o s e o in th o
m h ) u a d d s
0 E ese g Z 05 om p g
Ja y-st ture y an ; lo tiu ap n ic n
ica w
69 hin shin to 7 2 D com er nis on ed oll acá Mex er
C li ( 69 ck K ing a cit cap ed b l qu d Tu s Le pos 0 C tihu y of m t bo w
es tab sty o 5 y u l c ika n
co un use e de 7 0 A
op ro
tak es yna
R 69 f Ma km crifi of T bs fo a b c. f Teo Valle th
or ad d ar
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D
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o
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fo 9 8 th tha 7 Ind
6 ar ar c.
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111
701–710 711–720 721–730

A detail from the illuminated Greek fire being deployed, as illustrated in the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript from the An iconic image of Christ held by
manuscript of the Lindisfarne Gospels. 12th century, which chronicles the history of the Byzantine Empire. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople.

ANGLO-SAXON ART FUSED caliphate control from Provence CASA GRANDE FLOURISHED
GERMANIC AND CELTIC to the borders of China. AROUND THE 720s. The success of
ELEMENTS, and, through The Arabs did experience some this settlement of the Hohokam,
travelers and Christian pilgrims, setbacks, however. In 717, yet an ancient people of the Sonoran
it also reflected Roman and another incursion into Byzantine desert in modern-day Arizona, lay
Byzantine influences. A product lands triggered a change at the in a watering system that allowed
of this unique synthesis was head of the empire, bringing Leo a range of crops to be grown,
the Lindisfarne Gospels, an III, founder of the Isaurian despite the arid environment. The
illuminated manuscript produced Dynasty, to the throne. Although Hohokam lived here for more than
c. 701 at the priory of Lindisfarne, unable to prevent the Arabs from a millennium; they were known
on Holy Island, off the northeast reaching the walls of the capital as “canal builders” because of
coast of England. and launching the second siege their sophisticated irrigation
In 705, with the help of Bulgar of Constantinople (717–18), Leo’s technology. Casa Grande was at
allies, the deposed emperor energetic command of the the center of a trade network
Justinian II returned from exile defense, and the deployment of that stretched from the Pacific
(see 690–700), regained the the secret weapon “Greek fire,” coast to Tucson and to the Gulf of
Byzantine throne, and exacted halted Arab advances in the Mexico. The earliest structures
brutal revenge on those who had His favorite concubine Eastern Mediterranean. Byzantine at Casa Grande were probably pit
mutilated him. This Tang dynasty scroll shows Xuanzong watching his fleets, wielding Greek fire- houses; the “great house” that
By 705, Zoroastrian refugees concubine Yang Guifei mount a horse. The emperor’s love spouting siphons, gained control gives the site its name came
fleeing the Islamic conquest of for her inspired much drama and poetry. of the seas, and Leo was able to much later.
Persia established communities begin restoring the empire. In 725, the Khazars, a Turkic
in India and became known as the IN 710, THE VISIGOTHIC KINGDOM resist the invaders, with defeat In 713, the Tang emperor people of Central Asian origin,
Parsees. Persian Zoroastrian OF SPAIN had descended into civil at the Battle of Covadonga in Xuanzong came to the throne. His established their capital at
emigration continued during the war, presenting a tempting 718 checking the Arab advance. 43-year reign would see Tang Atil, on the Volga delta at the
following centuries. prospect to the Islamic armies The year 718 is one of the dates China reach its apogee, northwestern corner of the
now established in North Africa, traditionally given for the start economically and culturally, with Caspian Sea. From here they
just a short distance away across of the process of Christian the establishment of many controlled trade routes to all
the Straits of Gibraltar. In 711, a reconquest of Spain. Nonetheless, schools, patronage of the arts, corners of Asia and built an
Muslim army under general Tariq by the end of the decade further and a great literary flowering. empire that would control a huge
ibn Ziyad, landed at Gibraltar. expeditions across the Pyrenees, swathe of Eastern Europe and
Tariq was a Berber (native of and successful campaigns in Western Asia for centuries
northwestern Africa), or, in the Central Asia, had extended to come.
parlance of the times, a Moor, and In Byzantium in 726, the
it was a mixed army of Arabs and GREEK FIRE emperor Leo III (see 711–20)
Moors that achieved the conquest instituted a policy of iconoclasm
of Spain, known to the Islamic The Arab expansion indirectly proved the savior of the Byzantine (smashing images deemed
world as al-Andalus. According Empire, when Kallinikos, a Syrian Greek forced into exile by the sacrilegious) in response to the
to tradition, Tariq defeated the Arab invasion, brought to Constantinople the recipe for a secret idea that God was punishing
Visigothic king, Roderick, at the weapon that came to be known as Greek fire. Now believed to Christian Byzantines by their loss
Battle of Guadalete, and by the have been a concoction of naphtha, sulfur, quicklime, and nitre— of land to the Arabs and Slavs.
Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory end of the year most of the Iberian a sort of medieval napalm—this highly flammable mixture was The controversy encouraged the
The Benedictine Priory, built in the peninsula was under Islamic sprayed at enemies from a siphon device that could be fitted to Roman papacy to assert their
12th century, replaced an earlier control. Only the northwest, the prow of a Byzantine war galley. independence from Byzantine
church founded by St. Aidan in 635. known as Asturias, managed to imperial authority.

f e,
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731–740 741–750

In 1837, artist Steuben depicted the Battle of Tours–Poitiers as a clash over the fate of The Great Mosque at Samarra, Iraq, built by the Abbasid Caliphate. Once the
Christian Europe. In reality Islamic raiders were beaten back in a minor skirmish. largest mosque in the world, the minaret stands at 171 ft (52 m) tall.

1,050
checked and Europe preserved overtaxed the surrounding THE FOUNDATION OF THE ABBASID Carloman. In 748, Pepin had a
for Christianity. Arabic sources ecology and exceeded their ability CALIPHATE IN 750 was the son, Charles, who would go on to
record it as a minor skirmish, to cope with drought. Collapse culmination of growing tension in unite most of Western Europe
and in reality its main was just around the corner. the Islamic world. Under the under one banner (see 761–90).
significance was that it Umayyads (see 651–70) the Arab Tiwanaku, a pre-Columbian city
demonstrated the need for elite stubbornly maintained their on the altiplano (high plains) of
PEOPLE PER 0the Frankish kingdoms to special tax and political status, Bolivia, reached its height in
present a unified defense.
SQUARE MILE
failing to deal with the growing around 750. Tiwanaku was the
The Maya city-states grievances of the mawali (non- center of a civilization that
THE of the Late Classic
period reached
Arab Muslims). In 747, revolt broke
out in Persian Khorasan,
flourished from the third to tenth
centuries (see 951–60). The city
POPULATION the peak of their stronghold of the Abbasid clan, itself was probably a ceremonial
power and who traced their descent back and trading center; its cultural
DENSITY sophistication to Muhammad through his and economic influence spread
OF TIKAL in the mid-8th uncle, al-Abbas. In 749, Abu far through South America, and
century in al-Abbas al-Saffah was it would profoundly affect the
Central America. proclaimed caliph at Kufa in development of later civilizations
SINCE CONQUERING SPAIN, The population of Iraq, and the following year in the Andean region. Tiwanaku
ISLAMIC FORCES had made Tikal, for instance, at the Battle of the Zab he thrived in the harsh environment
regular raids across the swelled to at least defeated Marwan II, the last of the Bolivian altiplan thanks to
Pyrenees, striking deep into 60,000, in a city Umayyad caliph. Marwan fled its sophisticated raised-field
modern-day France before spread out over to Egypt but his head was sent agriculture system and extensive
retreating to al-Andalus. In 721, 47 sq miles back to Damascus, whereupon use of terracing and irrigation,
an incursion into Aquitaine—a (76 sq km). Mayan al-Saffah instigated a general which enabled it to achieve
dukedom nominally in vassalage rulers built stone massacre of the Umayyad yields in excess of even
to the Frankish kingdom—had temples, palaces, clan to remove potential modern petrochemical farming
been checked by Duke Eudo at ballcourts, and opposition. (see below), and supported the
the Battle of Toulouse. But in observatories, and In 741 Charles Martel development of a sophisticated
731, Eudo was unable to halt a controlled a trade (see 731–40) died and was culture. The Tiwanaku people
fresh invasion of Islamic forces network stretching succeeded by his sons built pyramids, temples, and
under Abd al-Rahman I, emir of from California to Pepin the Short and colossal statues.
al-Andalus. After defeat at the South America. Yet
Battle of Arles, Eudo was forced the height of the 25
to appeal to Charles Martel, the city-states’ glory
YIELD (TONS/HECTARE)

Frankish mayor of the palace, sowed the seeds of 20


for help. Martel raised an army downfall, as the populations
and met the Islamic forces on 15
the banks of the Loire, between Tiwanaku yields
Tours and Poitiers, in 732. He Statue of Chaak, Mayan god Raised fields and 10
was victorious at the Battle of Mayans would have sought irrigation canals
Tours–Poitiers, and subsequent help from god of rain and enabled Tiwanaku to 5
thunder, Chaak, for their achieve yields of up to
Christian historians would depict crops. Their civilization sat 10 tons/acre (21 tons/ 0
this as one of the defining in a region of poor soil and hectare), according Traditional Modern Tiwanaku
clashes of the age—the moment fragile ecology, so rain to experimental Petrochemical Intensive
at which Islamic expansion was was vital. reconstructions. FARMING YIELDS COMPARED

s :
re on , re ler ab
sic s tu oin in tel ue pi ru eZ
as ce vil ap es of s cr abs II, ar hort lag e em th ral
Cl n for of te c i e c c A I M p o le his f e
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La at m d rl g , te c g d p le ts ar rri an ttl
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T ge sa ad wa te of u d c t o n
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113
751–760 761–770 771–780

The interior of the Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, shows architecture from the The two-tier crop rotation system introduced in the 760s divided fields Roland bids farewell to Charlemagne,
earliest phase of construction during the reign of Abd al-Rahman I. between cultivated and fallow land, then alternated, promoting soil fertility. in this medieval illustration on vellum.

UNDER THE NEW ABBASID which led to the loss of most of THE DEATH OF PEPIN III IN 758, Charlemagne’s
CALIPHS (see 741–50) the Islamic Tang China’s Central Asian had seen the Frankish kingdom European Conquests
Hamburg
Empire continued to grow. Initial possessions and introduced the customarily divided between his Charlemagne inherited
success came in 751 against the Islamic world to papermaking. sons Carloman and Charles (see Aachen land from his father then
Paris embarked on war after
Chinese in the Silk Route kingdom Outlying regions of the caliphate panel, below).
AT L A N T I C war, continuing the work
of Tashkent. The Islamic armies asserted their autonomy. In Spain Meanwhile, the great monastic OCEAN E UROP E of his father and
were victorious at the Battle of in 756, one of the last surviving retreat on the Scottish isle of Iona grandfather.
Talas River near Samarkand, Umayyads, Abd al-Rahman I, was developing a reputation for
declared an independent piety and scholarship. It is Avignon
Bologna KEY
Emirate of Cordoba. possible that one of the treasures Barcelona
Frankish Empire on
Charlemagne’s accession
In Europe, the of Celtic Christianity—the Book of Rome
Charlemagne’s
Carolingian Pepin III Kells—was produced by monks conquests
Mediterr anean
(c. 714–68) in the monastery at Iona. Lavishly S ea Regions recognizing
deposed the last decorated and illuminated, this Charlemagne as overlord
Merovingian priceless artifact survived the
king, Childeric III. Viking raids (see 791–800), and Sasanian capital), the new city THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN IN 771
With the pope’s for safekeeping it was later was carefully laid out on a meant that Charlemagne became
support Pepin was transferred to a monastery at circular plan and was connected sole ruler of the Franks. The
crowned and was Kells in Ireland. to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers following year he launched a
soon able to return The founding of Baghdad in by canals. Baghdad became a series of bloody campaigns with
the papal favor. When 762 signaled the arrival of the trading hub that attracted the aim of bringing the peoples
the Lombards first truly Islamic imperial city. merchants from northern Europe, east of the Rhine back under
conquered Ravenna, Sited near Ctesiphon (the old India, and China. Frankish rule—they had been
the last Byzantine subject to the authority of the
territory in Italy, the preceding Merovingian Dynasty.
Lombard king, Aistulf At this time the various Saxon
then set his eyes on tribes were still pagans, and
Rome. Pope Stephen II Charlemagne was determined to
appealed to Pepin for convert them to Christianity and
help, and in 755 and 756 thus bring them under the
Pepin invaded Italy, hegemony of the Frankish state.
seizing Ravenna. It was From 773–74 he conquered the
later claimed by the kingdom of the Lombards,
papacy in a document entitled bringing northern Italy into his
the Donation of Pepin, that empire and establishing his rule
Pepin had conceded all former over Venetia, Dalmatia, and
conquered territories in northern CHARLEMAGNE (748–814 ) Corsica, thus extending his reach
Italy to the pope, but this was down both sides of the Adriatic
almost certainly not the case. Athletic and physically impressive, Charlemagne spoke Latin and coast and into the Mediterranean.
understood Greek, but never learned to read. His intent was to In the late 770s, he attempted to
extend Frankish hegemony, foster a close relationship with the project his power into Spain by
Pepin III
Also known as Pepin the Short, papacy, and reform the Church to ensure divine support for the taking advantage of infighting
Pepin III was the first Carolingian Frankish Kingdom. This depiction from a 15th century tapestry is among the Muslim rulers. Invited
King of the Franks. This carving from testament his enduring legacy. to intervene in local politics by
his tomb dates to the 13th century. disgruntled emirs, Charlemagne

n
lA le h
ra so eat
e ne ated e
pir at i ne r d
r , G sin p
f
to g su d ro em Em ital am ag afte
re an con ina as ids s C yst n
a cap Im m
ec akin e M Ch ass lion as 60 on s in t n rle ks ne
S l- se h n s bb dian 7 ibe ng ee s ha ran ag
1 m th 4 A es lip 7 I
n i e l A c. tati ced 3 T Ta etw iite C F n m
75 per to rld 75 com id ca 75 sha s reb d 0 In
76 opt als ro rodu 76 cks ’an it b i Sh 7 1 of
7 g lom a r le
pa sses c wo e
b bas Lu d hi sse ad mer
l il kin Car ha
int rope sa ang p
5 S ma 4 C ers
pa ami Ab n
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nu Eu Ch 76 d Is of 77 nqu rdy
Isl su an co mba
Lo

te
rt ira f III
, ne
ho st m rt o ag t
e S r E
a st ited
a e pin an m ues
th s fi ng ob P m le q ia of
pin ome n ki ord arks f un hate pe
ls
pit
al of arlo dom
r
ha con anc th i
e C m o ip ex doc ca dad th C g 2 C ns Fr ea ahd
1 P bec ingia 56 ain akup cal es i n e h e h ea and s kin 77 egi ast D
7 5 l 7 m
co cia ep ngu kis t
ha ag
D i 5 M ph
ro Sp bre mic 8 s
76 arle are
h b fE 77 ; al- cali
Ca in a be Mer 9 P La ran ees lip o B o
Isl fa
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7 om s F n Ca es t Ch sh s u r es
7O g r nd Pyre 2
76 mov an com
75 Kin sf l-M be
o or exte le to a
114 M nd ru
a
781–790 791–800

Offa’s Dyke, which roughly follows the line of the Welsh–English border, was The giant Buddha at Leshan in China was begun
constructed during the reign of Offa of Mercia; stretches are still visible today. in 713 and finished 90 years later.

sent his armies across the CHARLEMAGNE’S CONQUEST OF historians in the 1930s as a sort VIKING RAIDS on the shores of
Pyrenees but they failed to take WEST SAXONY in 782 comprised of pre-Christian Germanic the British Isles started in 789
the city of Saragossa (modern- a bloody development with the martyrdom, while others have and gathered pace in the
day Zaragoza in Spain) and were mass execution of 4,500 Saxon called into question its details and 790s with the looting of
forced to retreat. prisoners at Werden. This event even occurrence. Meanwhile, the rich monasteries of
This botched expedition was appropriated by Nazi concerned about ignorance and Lindisfarne and Iona. The
inadvertently launched one of illiteracy among the clergy, “Vikings” (possibly from the
the great romances of Charlemagne launched a Old Norse language)
medieval times, the Carolingian cultural renaissance. originated in Scandanavia.
legend of Roland. In In 786, Haroun al-Rashid In Tang China, the influence
778, Roland, one of (r. 786–809) acceded to the of Buddhism continued to
Charlemagne’s generals, caliphate in Baghdad. Under his grow, signaled by monuments
was killed during an attack rule the Barmakid family gained such as the Leshan Buddha, a
on the rearguard of the great power as his viziers giant statue of the seated Buddha
Functional and stylish brooch
Carolingian armies as they (high-ranking advisors) and carved into a bluff next to the Skillfully crafted out of gold, this
retreated through the favorites, while the intellectual confluence of several major rivers. Viking brooch was not only beautiful
Pyrenean valley of and cultural flowering of the In Constantinople (modern-day but also practical, used to fasten
Roncesvalles. The attack Islamic world gathered pace. Istanbul), the emperor invited his cloaks or other clothing.
was actually carried out by Growing enthusiasm among mother Irene to become
Basques, but Roland’s Breton the rich and powerful for books co-ruler in 792; four years later more or less complete loss
followers took up the tale and as encouraged scholars to begin she had him blinded and declared of authority in Africa west of
it spread through France in the translating ancient Greek and herself empress. This move Egypt. They conceded to the emir
following centuries it morphed Roman texts into Arabic. spurred the scholar Alcuin of York of the province of Ifriqiya
into a legend with many In 785, Offa of Mercia to suggest that the imperial seat (modern-day Tunisia and part of
fictitious elements: Roland (r. 757–96), effective was effectively vacant, and on Algeria) the right to make his post
became the nephew of an overlord of Britain, December 25, 800, Charlemagne hereditary. The emir, Ibrahim ibn
elderly, white-bearded started constructing was crowned Emperor of the Aghlab, thus founded the
Charlemagne; his attackers the monumental Romans by his ally, Pope Leo III. Aghlabid Dynasty. This paid
the perfidious Saracens; earthwork known as In the same year he received an tribute to Baghdad and nominally
and Roland was Count of Offa’s Dyke, on the embassy from Haroun al-Rashid, recognized Abbasid authority, but
the Marches of Brittany. border between emblematic of how the focus of ruled much of North Africa as an
By the 11th century, the Wales and Mercia. power in Europe had shifted. independent state.
“Song of Roland” Originally 89ft In 800, the Abbasid caliphs in
appeared as an early (27m) wide and 26ft Baghdad were forced to recognize
chanson de geste; a heroic
epic of the age of chivalry.
In Constantinople, the
(8m) high, the
purpose of the dyke
is unknown, and it
,, [CHARLEMAGNE] WAS

,,
death of Emperor Leo IV probably fell into disuse
brought to the throne his
infant son, Constantine VI.
soon after its completion. LARGE AND STRONG AND OF
During his minority the empire LOFTY STATURE, THOUGH NOT
DISPROPORTIONATELY TALL.
was under the regency of the Imperial gift
Empress Irene, his mother. An exquisite water pitcher sent
to Charlemagne by Haroun
al-Rashid, probably c. 800. Einhard, Charlemagne’s friend and Frankish historian, c. 830

e r
ian ge ea iit ro ed
ng ie ica Sh pe s wn
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e ak e ler aid les cro ns
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78 con a l
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8 B v a o r r un s c n
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77 nces
t
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n ro me an ids y m d pu VI fa ns cla nc hl ab ria icily
1 N Chi Tabl Ha eco end mak tV m ple d 4 J mo Of dies Co de ss o Ag ) est lge S
Ro 78 6 c ar irs Ar tino e, an tine ge 79 79
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Co
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115
801–810 811–820 821–830

504
THE NUMBER
OF STATUES AT
BOROBUDUR
TEMPLE

Louis the Pious in a copy of Raban This 14th-century manuscript depicts scholars seated in the House of Wisdom;
Maur’s Book of the Cross. the Abbasid caliphs recruited scholars of all religions, from Europe to China.

400
THE TIBETAN EMPIRE EXPANDED CONFLICT BETWEEN THE THE HOUSE OF WISDOM, or Bait
in the early part of the 9th century, BYZANTINES AND BULGARS al-Hikma, was an institute devoted
and extended its control to the (see 671–90) continued through to the translation of classical
Bay of Bengal. Its influence in the early part of the 9th century. scholarship and the pursuit of
Central Asia was indicative of Despite Byzantine emperor learning in Abbasid Baghdad. It
Tang China’s weakness in the
region. Meanwhile, in northern
Nicephorus I (r.  802–11) twice
sacking the Bulgar capital
was the epicenter of the Islamic
intellectual renaissance, the heart
THOUSAND
India, the Gurjara-Prathihara Pliskas, in 809 and 811, the of the Translation Movement, and THE NUMBER
dynasty, which had united the
region and held back the advance
Bulgar khan, Krum, fought back,
meeting his foe in battle later
the home of great scholars such
as Al-Kharwizmi (c. 780–850);
OF BOOKS IN
of Islam, continued to grow in in 811. Nicephorus was killed and algebra takes its name from his THE HOUSE
strength with the conquest of
Kanauj in modern-day India by
Krum had his foe’s skull lined
with silver for use as a drinking
great treatise on mathematics of
c. 830, the Kitab al-Jabir, or The OF WISDOM
Nagabhata II, around 801. cup. Two years later, Krum Compendious Book on Calculation
The Temple of Borobudur, a attempted to besiege the by Completion and Balancing. world. Mimicking the practices
Buddhist monument in central Byzantine capital Constantinople, The House of Wisdom was of the Abbasid’s Persian
Java, Southeast Asia, was but was unable to breach the walls consolidated c. 822 by al-Ma’mun. predecessors, the Sasanians,the
completed in the early 9th and so retreated, devastating After the death of his father Translation Movement collected
century. The colossal structure, Thrace instead. Haroun al-Rashid (see 791–800), manuscripts from other cultures
which is the largest Buddhist Charlemagne (see 760–800) and after a brief struggle, he had and older traditions, and
Jayavarman II
monument in the world, contains This statue of Jayavarman II, from died in 814 and his last remaining succeeded to the Caliphate in 813 translated them into Arabic,
over 2 million stone blocks and the 12th-century Bayon temple at son, Louis the Pious (r.  814–40), and continued the tradition of thus preserving much ancient
is covered in almost 21,500 sq ft Angkor Thom, was constructed by acceded to the throne. He had intellectual patronage, building scholarship that would otherwise
(2,000 sq m) of carvings. The his namesake, Jayavarman VII. been crowned co-emperor by his observatories and gathering the have been lost. Ptolemy’s seminal
monument is a three-dimensional father the year before. best scholars from around the work on cosmology, the Almagest,
mandala, or cosmic wheel; around 770, was powerful enough for instance, was translated from
walking its path, which is a to establish an independent ISLAMIC SCIENCE Greek into Arabic around 827,
journey of over 2 miles (3 km), Khmer Empire and have himself and it was only through this
reenacts the journey toward proclaimed chakravartin, or Thanks to the House of translation that European
nirvana (enlightenment). Its “universal ruler.” In Sanskrit this Wisdom and other similar scholars would later be able to
construction was an epic translates as “god-king”—the centers of scholarship across access this ancient text.
achievement, and a testament to authority of Khmer kings rested the Caliphate, Islamic scholars Civil strife in the Carolingian
the power of the Srivijayan on their direct link to the gods, went far beyond the learning Empire (800–88) resulted from
Empire (c. 760–1402), which had which was reflected in the of the ancient Greeks and tension between Louis the
grown rich from the extensive monuments they would construct Romans. Islamic scientists Pious and his sons over their
maritime trade of the region. at the temple city of Angkor in made great advances in inheritances. After the death in
For much of this era, Srivijayan centuries to come (see 880–90). fields such as alchemy 819 of his first wife—mother of his
influence extended over the Around 801, Bulan, the Khan of (proto-chemistry), medicine, sons Lothair, Pepin, and Louis
Southeast Asian mainland, the Khazar Empire (see 861-70), toxicology, metallurgy, the German—Louis the Pious had
including the Mekong basin hosted a debate between the mathematics, and astronomy. married the ambitious Judith of
kingdom formerly known to the three Abrahamic faiths, and This illustration from The Book Bavaria, who prevailed on Louis to
Chinese as Funan. But, in 802, chose Judaism. of Knowledge of Ingenious grant to her son, Charles the
Jayavarman II, a vassal ruler Mechanical Devices shows an Bald (823–77), lands that had
whose family had been quietly innovative handwashing device. previously been promised to
extending their territory since Lothair. In retaliation, Lothair,

to
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116 a
831–840 841–850

The area around Segesta in Sicily, with its Greek ruins, was occupied early in The ancient city of Pagan, in Burma, became the capital of a powerful
the Aghlabid invasion of the island. Buddhist state occupying roughly the same area as the current region.

Louis’ co-emperor since 824, THE ISLAMIC CONQUEST OF SICILY the Pope to mediate between the THE TREATY OF VERDUN in
rallied his brothers in revolt had begun in 827 with the arrival Frankish rulers, which resulted 843 marked the definitive
against their father. In early 830, of an invasion force from Aghlabid in the desertion of Louis the Pious division of Charlemagne’s
Louis was deposed, and although in North Africa, sent by the Emir and Charles the Bald by their empire. After the death of
Lothair’s misrule saw his father Ziyadat Allah I (r.  817–38) to take followers, and their subsequent Louis the Pious in 840, his
restored by the autumn, the older advantage of internal divisions imprisonment. This was one three surviving sons
man’s authority was compromised among the Byzantine rulers of episode in a series of conflicts (see 821–30)
and the scene set for worse the island. Hindered by outbreaks that saw the collapse of central embroiled
conflict to come. of plague, the Islamic forces made authority and increasing Frankish themselves in further
Wessex, the Anglo-Saxon little headway until 831, when vulnerability to raids from the conflict over land. In
kingdom in south and west Palermo fell after a year-long Norsemen to the north and west, 842, Charles the
England, became the dominant siege. The city then became the Bulgars and Magyars to the east, Bald and Louis the
English power as a result of the capital of Islamic Sicily, although and Saracen pirates to the south. German teamed up
victory of King Egbert over King total conquest of the island did and swore oaths to
Beornwulf of Mercia at the Battle not happen until 902. impose a settlement on Lothair
Saracen warriors
of Ellandun, Wiltshire, in 825. The Field of Lies, in “Saracens” was a European term for that saw the Frankish Empire
Egbert was subsequently able to Alsace in 833, was a Muslims, especially those occupying divided into regions. These
Coffee plant
conquer the southeastern meeting brokered by Sicily and raiding Europe. broadly equated to France in
The coffee bush is native to the
counties of England, and by the west, Germany in the east, mountains of Ethiopia and Yemen,
around 828 Wessex was the most and a middle kingdom that where it was first recorded in use in
powerful state in the land, with would later become known as the mid-15th century.
Egbert recognized as bretwalda, Lotharii regnum, or Lotharingia
or overlord, of England until his (modern Lorraine). for protection from Vikings and
death in 839. The rise of the Cholas, a Tamil other raiders.
The emergence of Great dynasty of southern India, can In around 848, the Burmese
Moravia began around 830, be dated to 846, when the Chola city-state of Pagan was founded
with the establishment of the king Vijayalaya captured the in the Irrawaddy Valley. Indian
Principality of Moimir, to the city of Tanjore from the influence is readily perceptible in
west of the White Carpathians, Pandya kingdom. the architecture of this part of
under the rule of Moimir I. The Capitulary of Meersen was Southeast Asia due to cultural,
Moimir was one of two Slavic a proclamation by the West religious, and mercantile ties.
polities to establish themselves Frankish king Charles the The legendary discovery of
in the power vacuum left by the Bald in 847, ordering every coffee is dated to around 850,
collapse of the Avars in 805; the free man to choose himself a when it is said that an Ethiopian
other—to the east of the White lord. Charles intended the goatherd named Kaldi noticed
Carpathians, in what is now decree to facilitate the levy that, after eating some red
Slovakia—was Nitra, under the of armies, but it was also berries, his goats became
rule of Prince Pribina. In 833, indicative of the increasing extremely lively. He brought a
Moimir would conquer Nitra, inability of the Frankish sample to a local Islamic holy
setting his principality on the rulers to protect their subjects. man, who, disapproving of
path to becoming the Great In place of central authority, intoxicants, threw them on the
Moravian Empire. the peasants relied on local fire, where they roasted and
lords; they gave up freedoms released a delicious aroma.
and bound themselves to a
feudal aristocracy in return

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117
851–860 861–870 871–880

Monument in the courtyard of the The frontispiece of The Diamond Sutra, the earliest known printed work, The landscape of Iceland offered scant
Maya city of Palenque. shows Buddha explaining the sutra (sermon) to an elderly disciple. welcome, yet Vikings settled here by 874.

THE DECLINE OF THE CLASSIC ALFRED THE GREAT OF ENGLAND,


MAYA civilization continued as the an educated man who had spent
wave of abandonments that began time in Rome with the Pope,
with Palenque at the end of the acceded to the throne of the
9th century spread south and east Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex
into the Classic Maya heartland. in 871. During the reign of his
The last recorded inscriptions at elder brother Aethelred I
Mayan cities Quiriguá and Copán (r. 865–71), Danish Vikings had
date to 810 and 822; at Caracol invaded Wessex, but Alfred had
to 859; and at Tikal to 889. A helped defeat them at the Battle
combination of drought, famine, of Ashdown in 870. On assuming
disease, and social upheaval KHAZAR EMPIRE the kingship, Alfred averted
were probably responsible, as crisis by defeating the Danes at
overpopulated cities and their The Caspian Sea is still known in the region as the Khazar Sea for Wilton in southwest England,
overstretched resources reached the empire that ruled the area between it and the Black Sea from but another attack in 875
a tipping point. the 8th to 10th centuries. A contributing cause to the empire’s caught him unawares and he
The first recorded use of a decline may have been a rise of 23 ft (7m) in the sea level. was forced to retreat to the
crossbow was in France in 851. Somerset marshes.
Although slower to reload than According to the popular
a longbow, the crossbow, or CYRILLIC SCRIPT WAS INVENTED Around the mid-9th century, the legend, Alfred was here given
arbalest, required little training by the Byzantine missionary later Khazars adopted Judaisim (see shelter by a peasant woman
or strength to operate. known as St. Cyril in around 863. 801–10). According to tradition, who, unaware of his identity,
The Fujiwara regency, Originally named Constantine, they chose an Abrahamic faith left him to watch some
assumed by Yoshifusa (c. 804–72) Cyril and his brother Methodius to put them on equal footing with cakes that were cooking on
on the accession of his grandson, were sent to convert the Slavs in Christianity in the Byzantine the fire. Preoccupied with the
the child-emperor Seiwa in 858, Moravia by Byzantine emperor, Empire and Islam in the Caliphate. problems of his kingdom, Alfred
marked the Fujiwara clan’s Michael III in around 862. Cyril let the cakes burn. Nonetheless
domination of Japanese power. devised a new “Glagolitic” script he was able to summon his
to translate the Bible into Slavic; armies and defeated the Danish
12 this later became Cyrillic script. king Guthrum at the Battle of
King Alfred
In 867, Basil, a favorite of Michael Edington in 878, forcing him to
NUMBER OF ARROWS PER

A statue of King Alfred was erected


III, deposed his master and took conclude the Peace of Wedmore, at his capital, Winchester, in 1901.
9
the throne as Basil I. His reign under the terms of which His sword doubles as a crucifix,
MINUTE

marked the start of one of the most Guthrum converted to emblematic of his militant faith.
6 glorious periods of Byzantine Christianity and agreed to a
history. Intent on restoring the division of the country (see 881–90). island and even overwintered
3 empire internally and externally, The settlement of Iceland there, but the first permanent
Basil rebuilt the army and navy and demonstrated how the Vikings settlement, according to the
0 revised the legal system. were advancing on other fronts. medieval Icelandic Landámabók
Crossbow Longbow The Diamond Sutra of 868 is the Irish monks had probably already (Book of Settlement), was by
world’s oldest surviving printed reached the North Atlantic island, the Norwegian chieftain
Crossbow versus longbow Early Cyrillic script
Although the longbow could be book. An illustrated Buddhist text, This wax tablet contains psalms of and Viking navigators had other Ingolfur Arnarson in around
fired much faster, the crossbow it was found in a cave in David, written in the early 11th clues to its existence, such as 874. According to legend, he
had a greater range and was easy Dunhuang, a Silk Road town in century. It is believed to be the oldest the passage of migrating birds. selected the spot for his
to operate. northwest China. document written in Cyrillic. Vikings had already visited the homestead by throwing his

ed
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881–890 891–900

The façade of a building known as the Nunnery annex, at Chichen Itza, Symeon of Bulgaria, depicted in the center, had been educated as a monk in
the leading Maya city-state of the Late or Terminal Classic Period. Constantinople before returning to take control of the Bulgars in 893.

,,WE DISCERN
ACROSS THE
SWEDISH VIKINGS, known as the
Varangians or Rus, used rivers
such as the Volga and Dnieper to
THE GROWING POWER OF THE
BULGAR KHANATE (see 811–20)
worried the Byzantine emperor
modern-day Turkey, forcing the
Byzantine emperor to pay tribute.
Symeon would rule for another
CENTURIES A push ever farther inland from the
Baltic, establishing dominion over
Leo VI, who in 895 prompted the
Magyars to attack the Bulgars.
30 years, vying for the Byzantine
throne, only to be thwarted by
COMMANDING the eastern Slavs of the region. However, this merely provoked the the impenetrable walls of its
AND VERSATILE Having founded the settlement
of Novgorod in 862 and launched
new khan, Symeon (r. 893–927),
to mobilize the Pechenegs—a
capital, Constantinople, on
numerous occasions.
INTELLIGENCE, audacious raids on Constantinople tribe that had recently arrived on The Toltecs (c. 800–1000) were
WIELDING WITH by navigating rivers all the way to the Dnieper—to invade Magyar probably refugees from the
the Black Sea, they now colonized collapsed Teotihuacan culture
EQUAL FORCE
lands. The Magyars were forced to

,,
ever farther south. In 882, the Rus migrate west, settling in present- (see 690–700), who settled in the
THE SWORD OF prince Oleg (r. 882–912) defeated day Hungary, from where they Valley of Mexico, founding a

WAR AND OF his rivals Askold and Dir, seized


their settlement at Kiev, and
launched extensive raids on
Frankish territories for years to
capital at Tula c. 900, and forging
a militaristic empire that inspired
JUSTICE. transferred his capital there from
Slavonic–Viking Jewelry
Viking invaders conquered come. In the summer of 896, their descendants, the Aztecs.
Novgorod. The city would become territories along Russia’s waterways, Symeon defeated a Byzantine
Winston Churchill, British the capital of Kievan Rus, a loose establishing a hybrid culture that army at Bulgarophygon, in
Politician, on King Alfred, 1956–58 federation of territories, until 1169. mixed Slavonic and Viking styles.
The Danelaw—the part of
Toltec coyote
England in which Viking law was Paris in 885–86—he was proven Toltec art, such as this depiction
throne pillars overboard and upheld—was formalized by the incapable of protecting his people. of a coyote-god, influenced other
following their drift. Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum in Odo, Count of Paris (c. 860–98), pre-Columbian American
The Twelfth Imam, al-Mahdi— 886, following renewed attacks by who had led a heroic defense civilizations, including the Aztecs.
believed by some Shi’ites to Guthrum. Alfred would keep the against the Vikings in 885, was
be the ultimate savior of south, including London, while the elected king of West Francia in
humankind—miraculously area to the north of a line between 887. From now on, East and
disappeared in 874. According to the Thames and Lea rivers went West Francia would develop as
some Shi’ites, when the Eleventh to the Danish, who would live separate regions.
Imam, Hasan al-Askari, died in under their own laws. The catastrophic decline of the
874, his successor, a seven-year- In 887, Charles the Fat Classic Maya city-states of the
old boy, went into literal and (c. 839–88), the last Carolingian southern lowlands continued
spiritual hiding, and ever since king to rule both the primary throughout the 9th century, and
has been said to be “occulted,” Frankish territories, West and Tikal was abandoned by around
or hidden until the day of his East Francia (modern-day France 889. Maya city-states of the north
messianic return. and Germany), was deposed. (the area of Mexico’s Yucatán
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Charles, already king of the East Peninsula) now took precedence
a unique written record of events Franks since 879, had been in what is known as the Late or
from wars and politics to the elected king of the West Franks in Terminal Classic Period.
weather, was kept from around 880 884. However, he was a victim of Foremost among these
until the mid-12th century. It was the declining power and authority civilizations was Chichen Itza,
indicative of the scholarship that of the Carolingian monarchs (see which commanded the advantage
King Alfred fostered, inviting 841–50). Unable or unwilling to of cenotes, or water holes; of
scholars to England and translating meet the Vikings in battle— vital importance in this drought-
major classical works himself. specifically during their Siege of vulnerable region.

nt
sa
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a
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0 H ur per er es n R 7C st
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88 bel t im emp eiz ieva 88 arle ed 9 89 Alfr of W ng la
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us m T 2 O tal de Bu der Gr 849 90 er
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al a ec f
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9 N nden t n g C s, bu n ed ed o f T la i o s ion One
7
8 pe ibe n on Ta ie ke wn a on nt t u c
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e T ee ax of rm ha ro anci nd ine t v l a ht
ind from tw as -S itten ao ic a er s
c a
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a l o r h k 7 O es al ree e a
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An cle g Z ur ow 88 of W Tik tza p ev ent alle 0 e la w d O
n I an st i an y T g p 9 0 D c V 9 0 ay n
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n 0 ch 4
88 fea
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0 W Pa 88 ki
8 8 de Ch o u
Th
119
901–910 911–920

This stone relief is from the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Breakdown of central authority in the period led to economic contraction.

TANG CHINA HAD BEEN IN fragmenting into ten independent ABD AL-RAHMAN III BECAME THE
ABBEY OF CLUNY
MILITARY DECLINE since defeat by kingdoms. The Later Liang NEW UMAYYAD RULER of the
the Arabs at the Battle of Talas Dynasty was short-lived (907– Córdoba emirate on the death of
River in 751–760, and the Huang 923), with a succession of groups William the Pious, who donated his grandfather, Abdallah, in 912.
Zhao rebellion of the 880s seizing control of the Huang He the land for the abbey in 910, His territories had been reduced
signaled the end of the dynasty. region and founding dynasties of placed no obligations on its by rebellions and he quickly set
Zhuwen (c. 852–912) was a their own, but proving unable to Benedictine monks, so that about regaining much of his lost
warlord who had originally been hold on to power. This period of it was free from secular kingdom. During his reign and
part of the Huang Zhao uprising anarchy, known as the Five oversight and answerable only that of his successors, Córdoba
and then instrumental in the rebel Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, to the Pope. Cluny became the reached the peak of its power
defeat. Richly rewarded for his lasted until the establishment of center of a monastic empire of (see 921–930).
role, he steadily built up his power the Northern Song Dynasty (see great power, governing around According to traditional
base until in 904 he was ready to 951–960), and was a time of great 10,000 monks. In 1098, Pope sources, Prince Igor, ruler of
seize control, executing the Tang hardship. Authority broke down, Urban II, a former Abbot of Kievan Rus from 914–945, was
emperor Zhaozong and most of the economy collapsed, and Cluny, declared it “the light of the son of the legendary Rurik,
his sons, and installing the barter replaced money in many the world.” who founded Novgorod in 862.
emperor’s 13-year-old son on the areas. There was extensive flood Under his protection, Kievan Rus
throne as a puppet ruler. In 907, and famine as flood defenses and (see 881–890) became a
he took the throne for himself, irrigation works fell into disrepair. Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, became Carinthia, in 906 and 907 they
founding the Later Liang To the west and north of the Five the center of a monastic “empire” wreaked havoc in Moravia, and Igor I of Kiev
Dynasty, but although he Dynasties region, Shatuo Turks in Europe (see panel, above). in 908 they attacked Bavaria, Igor, who ruled from 914 until his
controlled the northern heartland and Khitan Mongols consolidated Displaced westward by the Saxony, and Thuringia. With the death in 945, gestures to his court
of China—the Yellow River Valley kingdoms of their own. The Pechenegs (see 891–900), the Frankish emperor unwilling or in this 19th-century illustration.
region of Huang He—he was Khitans of southern Manchuria Magyars launched a series of unable to help, the East Franks
unable to prevent the south from established their empire in 905 devastating raids throughout the elected regional “dukes” to
under the leadership of Yelü decade. In 901, they ravaged defend against the incursions.
Abaoji (872–926). He went on to
The Five Dynasties
declare himself emperor in 916,
A succession of
founding the Liao Dynasty, regimes was unable to
which lasted until 1125, including consolidate power, GANZHOU
Khitans YAN
a brief period as one of the leaving warlords to SHAZHOU
Five Dynasties controlling the north and south to Uighurs
set up independent LATER Yellow
northern China. TANG Sea
In 909, Sa’id ibn-Husayn, an kingdoms. The
fractured geopolitical
Ismaili Shi’ite, overthrew the
situation is reflected in FORMER JINGNAN
Sunni Aghlabid Dynasty in this map, which shows Tibetans SHU WU YUE
Kairouan (modern-day Tunisia), a tangle of borders WU
CHU
declared himself al-Mahdi (the and states. Man MIN
Shi’ite messiah), and founded
the Fatimid Dynasty, named
SOUTHERN HAN
for the daughter of the prophet ANNAM
Fatimid era text KEY South
Named for Muhammad’s daughter, Muhammad, from whom he China
Chinese states
Fatima, the Fatimids proved patrons claimed descent. Sea
States occupied by
of learning through their sponsorship The Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, non–Chinese
of Cairo’s al-Azhar school. founded in 910 by William the peoples

of s ia, r
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120 de
921–930 931–950
,, IN THIS YEAR, KING
AETHELSTAN, LORD OF WARRIORS,

,,
RING-GIVER TO MEN… WON ETERNAL
GLORY, IN BATTLE WITH SWORD
EDGES, AROUND BRUNABURH.
Unknown author, from the Old English poem
The Battle of Brunaburh, 937

This decorative panel at the Caliph’s Palace in Madinat az-Zahra, Spain, was Lögberg, or Law Rock, in Iceland is
erected by Al-Rahman III in imitation of the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad. the center of the oldest parliament.

formidable power in the region, effectively independent fiefs that 100 IN 932, THE UMMAYAD CALIPH ABD counter the threat. The results

NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THOUSANDS


earning the respect of the owed only nominal authority to AL-RAHMAN III (see 911–920) were immortalized in an Old
Byzantines by force of arms the king (see 841–850). A powerful 80 captured Toledo, bringing all of English poem recorded in the
during the Rus-Byzantine war of faction of West Frankish Muslim Spain back under one Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (see
941, and winning lucrative trade magnates had elected Count Odo 60
banner. Al-Rahman also waged a 871–880), which reported that
concessions from them. of Paris to the kingship in 887, so successful war against the five kings and seven earls died
In 911, in recognition of Charles spent much of his reign Christian kingdoms of León and on the battlefield, alongside
40
helplessness in the face of engaged in civil war with Odo and Navarre on his northern borders, “unnumber’d crowds” of soldiers.
constant and devastating Viking his descendants. forcing them to acknowledge his Victory confined the Welsh and
raids (see 881–890), the West One of the tribal dukes who 20 overlordship. In general, Jews and Scottish to their borders, halted
Frankish king, Charles III, came to power with the Christians enjoyed tolerance Viking expansionism, and helped
granted a large area of land impotence of the Carolingians in 0 under the caliphate, though they create England as a nation.
guarding the mouth of the Seine the face of the Magyar threat, 8th 9th 10th remained second-class citizens, In 946, the Persian Shi’ite
River, which consisted of a large Henry I, was elected king of the CENTURY making issues such as tax status Buwayhids took Baghdad and
part of what later became East Franks in 919, founding the a driving force behind conversion. forced the caliph to recognize
Córdoba’s population growth
Normandy, to the Norse chieftain Saxon Dynasty. The last The Silla kingdom (see Ahmad ibn-Buwayh as supreme
This estimate shows how Córdoba
Rollo, also known as Hrolf, on the Carolingian monarch of the East grew rapidly from a small town to 651–670) was conquered by the commander. Although Abbasid
condition that he became a Frankish kingdom, Louis the become one of the world’s Koryo kingdom in 935, caliphs remained in place
Christian. Charles’ grip on the Child, died in 911, after which biggest medieval cities. completing the reunification of until 1258, they were mere
crown was tenuous; the authority Conrad, duke of Franconia, was Korea under the Koryo leader figureheads; real power now
of the Carolingian monarchs had elected as king. On his death he THE WANING AUTHORITY OF THE Wang Kon, who now became King passed to Buwayhid sultans
declined precipitously, with local nominated his strongest rival, ABBASIDS IN BAGHDAD prompted T’aejo (r. 918–943). Wang Kon had who ruled from their capital
counts ruling what were Henry, as successor. Abd al-Rahman III to declare acceded to power in the Three in Shiraz, Persia.
himself the true caliph in 929, Kingdoms state of Koguryo in Henry I (see 911–920) was one
thus amending his kingdom from 918, renaming it and leading it of the tribal dukes who came to
emirate to caliphate. During the in successful military ventures power in the face of Magyar
10th century, his capital, Córdoba, against the Kingdom of Paekche, threat to the Carolingians. Known
became the largest and most who were conquered in 934, as Henry the Fowler, he enlarged
developed city in Western Europe. and the Silla. During his reign, the kingdom and inflicted the
In 930, Icelanders started T’aejo consolidated power by first great defeat that the
meeting to decide on justice incorporating Silla nobility into Magyars (see 901–910) had
and legislation at an outdoor his new ruling bureaucracy. experienced since beginning
assembly on the plains of In one of the bloodiest battles their raids into Europe, at the
Thingvellir. All free men who ever fought on British soil, the Battle of Riade in 933. Henry
had not been outlawed could Anglo-Saxon king Aethelstan was powerful enough to ensure
attend the Althing, making it (c. 893–939) crushed an alliance that on his death the succession
the oldest representative of forces in 937, cementing his would be hereditary, and the
assembly in the world. control of Britain and his kingship election of 936 was a formality,
During what archaeologists call of a the now unified Anglo-Saxon acknowledging his son, Otto, as
the Pueblo II phase, the Pueblo realm of England. Alarmed by the new king. Otto’s coronation
peoples of Chaco Canyon, North the prospect of Anglo-Saxon ceremony in 962 consciously
America, were thriving. They built expansionism, the king of Alba (in emulated that of Charlemagne
immense structures called modern-day Scotland) had joined (see 761–770), and he was
“great houses,” some with up to forces with the Vikings and other crowned at Aachen, the old
700 rooms. northern British realms to imperial capital.

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121
Gold arm ring
Decorated with patterns made
Thor’s hammer by stamping, beading, and
pendant minute engraving, this arm ring
Thor’s hammer— gold beading from Räbylille, Denmark, has
a symbol of power and wire crosses and tree motifs.
work
and virility—was a
common theme for
jewelry. Thor was the sword indicates that
rider is a warrior
Norse god of thunder.

Statue of Frey Silver figure of horseman


The Vikings worshipped Frey, This stylized metal figure from
the Norse god of fertility. This Sweden probably represents a
statue from Sweden shows Frey warrior on horseback. The Vikings
holding his beard—a symbol were fine horsemen, but they
of growth and virility. preferred to travel by ship.

ends of ring are in

THE VIKINGS
shape of cat heads

THE ARTISTRY AND SKILL OF VIKING ARTISANS BELIES THEIR REPUTATION AS SAVAGES

Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Viking world


spanned Europe, from the Pontic Steppes in the south and
east to the shores of North America in the west and north.
buckle plate for
This realm was tied together by a culture of arts and crafts. securing baldric

The unifying motifs of Viking art and crafts were elaborate ornamentation,
interlacing patterns, and stylized animals. The material culture of the baldric (slinglike
shoulder strap)
Vikings was mostly utilitarian yet finely crafted. Common, ceremonial,
and military objects were ornamented heavily. Techniques such as etching,
engraving, and inlaying and the use of metal beading helped to create
patterns of interweaving tendrils, “gripping beasts,” and stylized limbs.

Wooden shield
Shields were made from spruce, fir,
pine, or linden wood with iron
handles behind an iron boss.
They were painted with
bright colors and often
had intricate designs. Silver brooch/pin
This gold-coated silver
brooch or cloak pin from
Sweden is highlighted with
niello, a black metallic
colors signified compound.
intent or
allegiance

iron blade double-edged


blade

sturdy wooden Ax Sword


haft with runic Axes were commonly used by Swords were rare and extremely
inscription poor Vikings, as they were valuable for the Vikings. This
cheaper than swords. This sword could be easily drawn
Danish ax has a metal blade out from its sheath and wielded
and a wooden haft. with one hand.
THE VIKINGS

Gilded weather vane


ornate Weather vanes were originally mounted
etching
on the prows of ships and later on the
lion figure tops of churches. This gilded weather
indicates wind vane was found in Sweden.
direction

Buckle plate
This metal plate was fixed to a
Viking’s leather belt so that it could
be buckled. It has two sections, one
for each end of the belt.

carved teeth

silver and gold


inlay work
Hair comb Brooch
A typical Viking grooming kit included This box brooch (top view), from
a comb, tweezers, and scoops for Martens on the Swedish island stylized great
cleaning ears. This wooden comb has of Gotland, is decorated with four beast with
a handle secured with iron rivets. squatting human figures in gold. sinuous limbs

Early Danish coins


iron crest
Originally, the Vikings used
looted coins, hack silver
(chunks), and barter in place
of their own money. King
Harald Bluetooth started
mass minting of coins in 975.

Trading weights
Found in Sweden, these
brass-coated iron weights
dragon head
were used to measure used to terrify
quantities of goods and enemies
the value of hack silver.

symbol
indicates weight carved scale
patterns

Drinking horn
carved from
an animal horn
Vikings believed they would
use drinking horns like this
in Valhalla, the heaven for
warriors, if they died in
battle. This drinking vessel
was used in feasting.

beech panel with


tin and iron studs

Helmet Sledge Ship’s prow ornament


Made from iron plates face This oak-and-beech sledge is Elements of Viking culture were
welded together over a guard from a ship burial in Oseberg, derived from and prefigured in
leather cap, this Norwegian Norway. It has finely carved earlier cultures. For example,
helmet has an attached face runners and animal heads on this wooden prow ornament is
guard, complete with nose protector. each corner post of the box. from Saxon times.

123
951– 960 961– 970 971– 980
,,A RECKLESS
MAN BY

,,
NATURE [WHO]…
ATTEMPTED
UNUSUAL DEEDS
Leo the Deacon on John
Tzimisces, late 10th century

This detail from the “Gateway of the Sun,” a great stone doorway at This detail from the imperial crown of Otto I shows the biblical figure
Tiwanaku, is carved with a figure known as the Staff God. King Solomon holding a scroll.

THE PRE-INCA, ANDEAN retreated to smaller, rural Iceland 33% 33%

to
CIVILIZATION OF TIWANAKU settlements, and returned to a rowing protecting rowers

Gr
ee
nl
declined precipitously in the pre-urban lifestyle. ia

an

v
d

na
second half of the 10th century. The establishment of the Song

di
an
N
dynasty in China brought an end

Sc
Sophisticated agricultural and

EA
North
Sea

OC
irrigation techniques (see 741–50) to the anarchy and warfare of the

a
Ireland

Se
TIC
had allowed Tiwanaku to Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Dublin

tic
York

al
AN
support a population of up era (see 901–10). Known as the Britain
B 33%

AT L
to 60,000 people, with up to Northern Song in its early stages Vol
ready
g to attack
1.4 million in the wider region, because the capital was at Dniep
er
a
GAUL E U R O P E
according to some estimates. A Kaifeng in northern China, the

Ca
Bordeaux

s
an

pi
prolonged drought is believed dynasty was founded by Zhao Se
a
IBERIA

IT
to have been responsible for its Kuangyin (r. 960-76), who was a Black Sea

AL
Seville

Y
decline, and archaeological general under the Late Zhou, the GREECE
Constantinople
Longboat crew in battle
evidence suggests that the main last of the Five Dynasties. He dealt Athens
Asia Minor
By keeping part of the crew at
Tunis A SIA
city was abandoned as citizens with the threat from external M the oars, Viking raiding parties
ed
states such as the Khitan Liao iter r maintained an aggressive posture
A F R I C A anean Se a
(see 901–10), the Tangut kingdom without sacrificing mobility.
of Xia Xia, a confederation of Viking sea routes KEY
Tibetan tribes, and conquered By the late 10th century, Viking seafarers had Viking expansionist DURING HIS SHORT REIGN, JOHN
several of the Ten Kingdoms to penetrated to every corner of Europe and beyond, exploration 8–10th TZIMISCES, nephew of Nicephorus
the south. Zhao used the civil reaching as far as Greenland in the north. centuries
II (see 961–70), won a string of
service examination system to victories. Having fought off a
assert control over the military THE POPE’S IMPERIAL CORONATION Further afield, Vikings continued revolt by general Bardas Phocas
and centralize power. OF OTTO I as emperor in 962 to prosper as they penetrated into in 971, Tzimisces crushed a
Emperor Otto I, “the Great” revived the Carolingian Roman all parts of Europe. campaign by the Kievan Rus
(912–73), defeated the Empire in the West. In 961, Otto The death of Byzantine emperor leader, Sviatoslav, and conquered
Magyars at the Battle of made an expedition to Italy in Constantine VII in 963 brought Bulgaria as far as the Danube.
Lechfeld in 955. Since response to a plea for protection his infant son Basil II (958–1025) In 972, he campaigned in the East,
being displaced by from Pope John XII, and in Pavia to the throne. In practice, taking Edessa, Damascus, and
Byzantine–Bulgar conflict he had assumed the Italian crown. authority was assumed by the Beirut, reaching the gates
(see 891–900), the Magyars had The following year he went to general Nicephorus Phocas. As of Jerusalem in 976. He died
raided Frankish territories, Rome to receive the imperial Nicephorus II (r. 963–969), he suddenly that year.
reaching as far west as Aquitaine crown and assert his authority continued the restoration of the In 980, the Vikings
in 951. The son of Henry I (see over the fractious papacy. empire that had begun with the started raiding England
911–20), Otto vigorously asserted His son was crowned co-emperor reconquest of Crete in 961, again, though they suffered
royal authority from his coronation as Otto II in 967. regaining Cyprus and Cilicia a reverse in Ireland, where
in 936, gaining control of all the In 965, the King of Denmark, in 965, subduing the Bulgars in Malachy II forced Viking
East Frankish duchies. His Harald Bluetooth, converted to 966–69, and invading northern Dublin to pay tribute.
powerful army ended the Magyar Christianity, and the religion Syria in 969. That same year
menace and also defeated the spread rapidly through the Nordic he was assassinated by his
Bronze Mirror
This intricately decorated mirror Wends—tribes on the eastern region. Denmark had been forced nephew, John Tzimisces.
from the Song dynasty illustrates border engaged in a long struggle to accept missionaries as the
the artistic sophistication of China to resist Frankish colonization consequence of defeat by the East
in this period. and Christianization. Frankish king, Henry I, in 933.

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981– 990 991– 1000

Venice’s modern splendor is the result of control of the lucrative trade routes between
Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the East in the 10th century.

22,000
IN 981, THE ISLAMIC FORCES OF 983 after an expedition to Balam, Chichen Itza was
CORDOBA defeated the Christian southern Italy. Although his infant conquered by Toltecs led by
kingdom of León in Spain, under son, Otto III (r. 983–1001), Kukulcan, the Mayan name for
the leadership of Al-Mansur. managed to hold on to the crown the Toltec god Quetzlcoatl or “the
“Al-Mansur” was the honorific thanks to the strong regency of feathered serpent”—possibly the POUNDS
title taken by Muhammad ibn Abi’
Amir, the powerful and energetic
his mother, Theophano, the East
Franks were also faced with an
exiled Toltec king, Topiltzin.
Despite the record in the THE WEIGHT
vizier who was the true power uprising among the Wends, the chronicle, however, archaeological IN SILVER OF
THE DANEGELD
behind the Umayyad throne (see forcibly converted Slavic tribes on findings suggest that the city
911–20). He campaigned the eastern border. The Wends collapsed around this time.
successfully against León,
Navarre, and Catalonia, making
restored their pagan religion and
resisted Frankish colonization for
By the end of the 10th century,
the mercantile powers of Venice
IN 991
their kings subordinate to the nearly two centuries. and Genoa were beginning to
caliphate, and extended Umayyad In 987, Toltec forces conquered dominate the Adriatic and IN 991, A FORCE OF ANGLO-SAXON
Al-Mansur
control to Africa via campaigns in This 17th century oil painting depicts
the Yucatán Maya and made Tyrrhenian seas, respectively. WARRIORS made a stand against
Mauretania (modern-day Al Mansur, or Almanzor to his Chichen Itza the capital of a Venice, in particular, enjoyed a much larger army of Vikings at
Morocco and part of Algeria). Christian subordinates. Al Mansur Toltec–Maya state. According to lucrative trade links with the the Battle of Maldon in East
In 986, the Viking explorer Eric means “the Victorious.” the early Mayan chronicle Chilam Byzantine Empire. Anglia, England. They were
the Red led a party of Icelandic slaughtered. The English king,
colonists to the shores “Greenland” in the hope of Aethelred II, “the Unready”
of the bleak landmass attracting settlers. He succeeded (r. 978–1016), was forced to pay a
he misleadingly named in recruiting 24 boatloads of men, tribute known as the Danegeld,
women, and children willing to to buy off further incursions.
entrust their lives to Viking Byzantine emperor Basil II
longboats and brave the perilous launched the first of a long series
crossing. Only 14 ships arrived, of campaigns against his
rectangular but they quickly established a greatest enemy, the Bulgarian
wool-cloth thriving colony that may have czar Samuel, in 996. Basil had
sail eventually numbered around won major victories in Syria the
5,000 people. year before, but it took him
Otto II, the emperor and king of nearly 20 years to finally defeat
East Francia, died of malaria in the Bulgarians.
From around 1000, the
Viking longboat TOLTECS inhabitants of Easter Island,
Considered by some to be the greatest or Rapa Nui—an island in the
technical achievement of the early The Toltecs, who ruled a state centered on Tula in modern-day Pacific Ocean—began to carve
medieval era, the Viking longboat Mexico, were notable for their aggressive militarism, which monumental statues known as
combined river, close-to-shore, and
oceangoing capacity. changed society in Central America, paving the way for militaristic moai. Thought to represent
states such as the Aztec. The term “Toltec” came to mean ancestors and to channel
“city-dweller” or “civilized person,” but its literal meaning is mana—spiritual energy—the cult
“reed person”—signifying an inhabitant of Tollan (“Place of the of moai consumed the Easter
Reeds,” the city now known as Tula). Toltec art and architecture, Islanders to the point where they
characterized by monumental masonry and giant statues, was may have fatally compromised
greatly influential in the region. their environment—setting them
on the path to ecological disaster.

t
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an eón st W i n n g on
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Vie lab e e a to
D ai roys t ro han s
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2 st a l l s
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99 emp
98 de apit ro ing in as
ty yz II de das gia t by es
e
an
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B an n Isl be
d om pa c s co yria r viv ade d
8 il ar
98 Bas al B “Var s) se ir o s
f
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n am outh r o
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Ki Cha im ine
,
st
s m tia ra ap er of ing adim Ru cr
o Vie de mp as art cte
Fat lest l de a pe in F gh C n
ge help Vik e Vl evan o rth inva Cha 0 0 E ai st ere
3 Pa 4O 7 C ed Hu ian inc Ki N et se 10 mo
98 98 98 und th
wi uss Pr 00 -V e c . 
fo (R 10 Dai tnam
Vie 125
1001 – 1010 1011 – 1020 1021 – 1030

These ruins at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon reveal one of more than One of the greatest but cruelest Byzantine emperors, Basil II became The Brihadishvara temple was built by
a dozen Great Houses constructed by the Anasazi. emperor in 976 at age 20, and ruled for nearly 50 years. the Cholas in their capital Tanjore.

AROUND 1000, THE ANCIENT many as 10,000 people, and this MURASAKI SHIKIBU (LADY IN 1025, THE CHOLA KING
PUEBLO CIVILIZATION centered on set the Anasazi on a collision MURASAKI) wrote the novel Genji RAJENDRA CHOLADEVRA launched
Chaco Canyon in southwest North course with the fragile ecology of Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) an audacious naval expedition
America reached its climax. The the region (see 1161–65). in installments between 1011 and against the maritime empire of
Anasazi used sophisticated Mahmud of Ghazni (c. 971– 1021. It is regarded as the first Srivijaya in Sumatra, also sacking
dryland agriculture and hydrology 1030) was a Muslim intent on Japanese novel, and possibly the the Pegu kingdom in Burma.
to thrive in the arid environment, spreading the faith into India. In first psychological novel in world Rajendra had inherited a strong
and controlled trade routes that 1001, at Peshawar, he defeated literature. kingdom from his father, Rajaraja I,
extended as far as the Pacific Jaipal, raja of Punjab, who then In 1014, Brian Boru, High King who had conquered Sri Lanka
coast of present-day California committed suicide. of Ireland and self-styled and instituted a program of Hindu
and the Valley of Mexico. They Probably the first European to Emperor of the Gael, defeated a temple building centered on the
achieved impressive feats of set foot on North America, Leif coalition of Dublin Vikings and Chola capital of Tanjore. Under
architecture, most notably the Ericson landed in a place he Celtic Leinstermen at Clontarf, Rajendra, the Cholas
construction of Great Houses called Vinland in around 1002. Ireland. Although the Norse expanded their kingdom
such as Pueblo Bonito, one of 13 Shortly after this discovery, kingdom was crushed and Viking to include Bengal, and
such buildings in Chaco Canyon. Greenlanders under Thorfinn incursions into Ireland halted, shattered the power of
Pueblo Bonito was six stories high Karlsefni tried to establish a Brian Boru was killed in the battle Srivijaya, securing control
and comprised more than 600 colony, spending three winters and his dream of a united Irish of the lucrative Indian-
rooms. It probably functioned there. The remains of kingdom fell apart thereafter. Chinese trade routes.
as a ceremonial center, storage settlements at L’Anse aux In 1014, at the culmination Cnut (also known as
depot, and elite residence. Meadows, in northern of an 18-year war (see 991–1000), Canute) was the son of
Lady Murasaki
Well-maintained roads—some Newfoundland, attest to Viking the Byzantine emperor Basil II A scene from a 16th-century hanging Sven Forkbeard, king of
with stone curbs—connected presence in North America. defeated the armies of the scroll depicts author Lady Murasaki. Denmark and Norway,
Chaco Canyon to thousands of Bulgarian czar at Belasita. Of noble birth, she chronicled the who had invaded England
smaller Anasazi settlements Earning the name Bulgaroktonos affairs of the Heian court. and driven the Anglo-
across the region. The canyon (Bulgar Slayer), he put out the Saxon king, Aethelred II,
itself may have been home to as eyes of 15,000 captured warriors of shock. By the end of the into exile in Normandy in
before sending them home. decade, the Bulgarians finally 1013. After staging his
LEIF ERICSON (970–1020 ) Basil’s arch-enemy, Samuel the submitted to Byzantine own successful invasion in
Bulgarian, was said to have died annexation. 1015, Cnut was accepted
Leif was the son of Eric the Red, founder as overlord of all England
of the Greenland colony (see 981–990). in 1016, and went on
3,000 1,000
Stories differ on the exact details of his survivors survivors
to expand his empire.
discovery of North America. According By 1030, it included
to one account, he was returning from Norway, Denmark, and
a visit to Norway in 1002, where the Faroe, Shetland, and
he had been converted to Orkney islands.
Christianity, and was blown off
course, landing at the place he
4,000 6,000
KILLED KILLED Chola sculpture of Shiva
called Vinland because of the
The Cholas were staunch
grapes growing there. Another GAELIC VIKING
Hindus and enthusiastic
account suggests that he aimed The bloody Battle of Clontarf temple builders. Shiva, one
for a land sighted to the west by Fought between the largest armies yet assembled in Ireland, of the major Hindu deities,
an Icelandic trader. the Battle of Clontarf was a bloody affair. Up to 4,000 Gaels is depicted here as a young
and up to 6,000 Norse and their allies were killed. and handsome man.

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1031 – 1040 1041 – 1050

The Seljuks are shown here battling the Byzantines, Between 1041 and 1048, Bi Sheng invented the first movable type printing
having already conquered Persia. system, using clay letters held in wax within an iron frame.

A wise and capable king, Cnut IN 1037, THE SELJUKS, UNDER BANTU IS A FAMILY OF LANGUAGES use of Hinayana Buddhism as a
managed conciliation between his CHAGRI BEG AND HIS BROTHER that originated in the Bantu cultural and political driver made
Danish and Anglo-Saxon subjects. TUGHRIL BEG, invaded Khurasan homeland (now southern Nigeria Pagan the center of Burmese
He collected Danegeld (Danish in Persia. In 1040, they crushed and northwestern Cameroon). politics, culture, and religion. He
tax) to pay for a standing navy and the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Bantu-speaking people spread developed Burmese as a written
army—an important innovation. Dandanqan, winning control of from here to the east and south language, instituted a program of
eastern Persia, the first step and Bantu became the dominant building, and forged trade and
on the road to creating a new language family in sub-Saharan cultural links to India and China.
Islamic empire. The Seljuks were Africa, although whether this In China, sometime between
Oghuz Turks, originally nomads indicates conquest, colonization, 1041 and 1048, the commoner Bi
from Central Asia who had or simply cultural influence is (or Pi) Sheng invented the first
converted to Islam and moved to less clear. The Bantu expansion movable type system. Block
Transoxiana, where they served started in the Late Stone Age, printing had been in use in China
as mercenaries in the region, accelerating as the Bantu- for centuries, and since the Later
before turning their attentions speakers acquired iron technology Tang dynasty (923–36) had been
to Khurasan. and cattle-husbandry skills. By used for most book production,
In 1031, 40 lesser the mid-11th century, Bantu tribes but Bi Sheng introduced the
dynasties were founded on had become sophisticated innovation of using tiny clay
King and Emperor
the shattered remnants of the Ferdinand I was the first ruler of pastoralists, able to sustain high blocks—one for each character.
Córdoba caliphate, in Spain. Castile to call himself king. He population densities and complex The characters were molded on
Known as the Muluk added the title of emperor after social and economic networks. the ends of thin rods of wet clay,
al-Tawa’if (“Party Kings”), his conquest of León. This in turn led to the emergence which were fired to harden them.
these short-lived dynasties of chiefdoms, and Bantu Unlike wood, this clay type did not
took control of different final breakup of the caliphate, speakers dominated Central and distort when wet and could be
provinces of Córdoba after the with the Abbadids seizing Seville, southern Africa. used over and over again.
strife that brought down the the Jahwarids taking Córdoba, In 1044, Anawrata seized power
Umayyads following the and the Hudids seizing in the Pagan kingdom in Burma.
execution of Abd al-Rahman Saragossa. With the Islamic His military prowess and skillful
Sanchol, son of al-Mansur, in state in disarray, the Christian
1009. He was the last capable kingdoms to the north were
leader of the caliphate, but encouraged to expand southward.
KEY
his attempt to move out Sancho III of Navarre, who
Bantu homeland
from behind the throne had conquered Castile and was 2000 BCE
and take the crown overlord of Christian Spain, died Spread of Bantu AF RICA
led to his downfall. in 1035, and his kingdoms were
Subsequently, the divided between his two sons.
Berber faction nominated Ferdinand inherited Castile, and Bantu expansion Lake
Victoria
their own candidate for in 1037 he killed his brother-in- From their homeland in the Lake
caliph and Córdoba law, the king of Léon, and made border region of southern Tanganyika

descended into civil war himself emperor there in 1039. He Nigeria and northwestern AT L A N T I C c.1000 Lake
Nyasa
OCEAN
for 22 years. In 1031, the went on to conquer Navarre and Cameroon, Bantu-speaking
people spread east and
death of Hisham III, the last impose serfdom on parts of
south, through the tropical c.1000
Umayyad caliph, who had Muslim Spain and Portugal. forest, eventually spreading Kalahari
Desert
already lost control of to all parts of central and c.1000
several provinces, led to the southern Africa.

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1051–60 1061–70 1071–80

Labanga Mosque in Ghana is possibly the oldest mosque in sub-Saharan In this detail from the Bayeux Tapestry, completed in 1080, William the Conqueror
Africa. Ghana was Islamicized by the Almoravids in the 11th century. exhorts his troops to prepare themselves for battle.

IN MOROCCO, IN 1054, A FIREBRAND West Africa, where a number IN 1066, AT THE BATTLE OF
INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY
CLERIC NAMED IBN YASIN inspired of powerful states had arisen, HASTINGS, William Duke of
the unification of Saharan tribal including that of Ghana. Normandy (c. 1028–87) defeated
groups.The confederation—known Yoruba was the name given by Harold Godwinson (c. 1022–66), Which was greater: secular
as the Almoravids, from the outsiders to a group of city-states the last Anglo-Saxon king of or religious authority? This
Arabic “al-Murabitun” (“people of in Nigeria that shared a common England. England had fallen into was the question at the
the frontier garrisons”)—built an language and culture. The oldest the Norman orbit earlier, with heart of the Investiture
empire that would eventually and most prestigious Yoruba Edward the Confessor spending Controversy. This 12th-
encompass much of northwestern kingdom was Ife, where a his youth in exile at the Norman century manuscript
Africa and Muslim Spain (see sophisticated urban culture was court while Cnut (see 1021–30) illumination shows Henry IV
1081–90). In 1056, the Almoravids well established by the mid-11th ruled England. William claimed requesting mediation from
began the Islamic conquest of century. Ife was the spiritual and that Edward had promised him Matilda of Tuscany and Hugh
mythical center of the Yoruba, the English crown, but when of Cluny. Matilda was one of
but its poor location meant that Edward died, in 1066, Harold was the most powerful women of
it never exerted wide-ranging elected king. He marched north the Middle Ages. It was her
military or political control to defeat a Norse invasion, before stronghold of Canossa where
over the other Yoruba dashing south to Hastings to face Henry made his penitence.
states. Ife is most William, where he was killed and
famous for its artistic his army shattered. William the
achievements, most Conqueror quickly took southeast SINCE CHARLEMAGNE’S against the king. In 1077, Henry
notably terracotta England, then the southwest, and CORONATION BY THE POPE (see IV crossed the Alps in the dead of
and bronze heads. suppressed a great uprising in the 791–800), the Western emperors winter and appeared at Canossa,
In 1059, Pope north in 1069. had considered it their divine right dressed as a penitent, to submit
Nicholas II Under their leader Tughril Beg, to appoint—or invest—bishops. to the pope (see panel, above).
recognized Robert the Seljuks had occupied Baghdad Emperors had derived great He was absolved but controversy
Guiscard the and ended the Buwayhid dynasty income and power through their quickly flared up again, with a
Norman as Duke (see 931–50), retaining the Abbasid dispensation of religious offices, rival, Rudolf of Swabia, being
of Apulia and caliph as a figurehead but giving and Emperor Henry III (1017–56) elected to the German (formerly
Calabria, and him the title of sultan. Tughril Beg had gone further still, in 1046, East Frankish) throne. In 1080,
Count of Sicily— died in 1063; his successor Alp insisting that it was the Henry had a rival pope elected,
territories under Arslan extended Seljuk dominion emperor’s right to appoint the while Gregory allied himself with
Byzantine and Arab into Anatolia, Armenia, and Syria. pope. Pope Gregory VII Roger Guiscard, Count of Sicily,
control—legitimizing represented the opposite view; he against the imperial camp.
his attempts to held that only popes had the right In 1071, the Seljuks crushed
conquer them. to invest clerics. In 1075, at the the Byzantine army at Manzikert,
Lent synod, Gregory issued a capturing and ransoming
decree forbidding lay investiture. Emperor Romanus IV and going
The emperor, Henry IV (1050– on to conquer Anatolia (present-
Ife bronze head 1106), who was fighting to reduce day Turkey). This began its
This head probably dates the power of German prelates, transformation into a Muslim

2:1
from the 14th century, but Battle of Hastings defied the decree. In 1076, Turkish region. In 1077, the
it represents an artistic Anglo-Saxon casualties
tradition stretching back to outnumbered Norman Gregory excommunicated him, Seljuks established the Sultanate
the 11th century that was at losses by two-to-one, thanks in part absolving his subjects of their of Rum there, while other
least as sophisticated as to their forced march from the north, oaths of loyalty and triggering a conquests brought them Syria
any in contemporary Europe. and the advanced Norman tactics. rebellion by Saxon nobles and Jerusalem.

f s t, e
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a y o ake id es te er nc lia
Af n n at av lish ch ple zik f ite h
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7 ate Ba y
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10 gs; Eng ell a 10 war st N ngl t o betw nd av t
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55 s K 55 Ba ayh st t ar no r s
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128 N o
1081–90 1091–1100
,, LET SUCH AS ARE GOING TO FIGHT FOR
CHRISTIANITY PUT THE FORM OF THE CROSS UPON

,,
THEIR GARMENTS THAT THEY MAY OUTWARDLY
DEMONSTRATE THEIR DEVOTION TO THEIR
INWARD FAITH.
Pope Urban II, 1095

Hassan-i Sabbah leads initiations at Alamut, in an illustration

13
from Marco Polo’s 13th-century Travels.

IN 1090, A GROUP OF ISMAILI IN 1092, CHINESE POLYMATH


SHI’ITES BECAME INVOLVED IN A SU SUNG DESIGNED AND
DISPUTE over the Fatimid CONSTRUCTED A COSMIC ENGINE.
succession in Cairo (see 901–10). This mechanical astronomical
Under the leadership of the clock was 30 ft (9 m) high, and was
charismatic Hassan-i Sabbah, this water-driven with an armillary
group recognized the claims of an sphere, which showed the position
infant called Nizar, and were of celestial objects.
therefore known as Nizari
Ismailis. Forced to flee Cairo,
THOUSAND In 1094, a Castilian who had
served both Christian and Islamic
Hassan led the Nizaris to his THE NUMBER Masters, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar,
homeland in Persia where they known by the Moors as El Cid
captured a fortress known as OF PLACES (“the lord”), captured Valencia in
Alamut in the mountainous region
of Kazvin and made it the base of a
LISTED IN THE eastern Spain and established
himself as ruler.
de facto Nizari kingdom. Thus was DOMESDAY At the Council of Clermont in
born the group later known as the
Assassins—a name derived from
BOOK 1095, Pope Urban, a French
Cluniac (see 910), preached to an
the word “hashashins,” a label assembly of mainly Frankish Battle of the Crusades
applied by their enemies who threat. Defeating Alfonso at Zallaka clerics and nobles about Muslim This manuscript illustration shows Crusader knights joining battle with
claimed they used intoxicants such in 1086, they annexed most of “defilement” of the Holy Land, Saracens—the generic term used by Europeans to refer to their Muslim
as hashish to brainwash devotees Islamic Spain. urging his audience to take up foes. Around 30,000 knights took part in the First Crusade.
into blind obedience. In 1085, William the Conqueror arms in a holy war. Urban had
Alarmed by the advances of (see 1061) commissioned a survey been entreated by the Byzantines and Baldwin of Bouillon, Count became king the following year.
Alfonso VI of Castile, the of his new kingdom—known as the for help against the Seljuks, and Raymond of Toulouse, and the Under the overlordship of the King
Abbadids (see 1031) summoned Domesday Book—probably to saw a way to channel the energies Norman Bohemond of Otranto, of Jerusalem, the Crusaders
the Almoravids from North Africa regulate military service and of European nobility away from took the Seljuk Rum capital of established four principal states:
to defend against the Christian assess taxation opportunities. constant infighting and toward a Nicaea in 1097, conquered Edessa the kingdom of Jerusalem, which
Christian expansion that would in the same year, captured Antioch thrived on trade mediated by the
benefit the papacy. Fired by in 1098, and marched on Italian trading powers; the county
religious zeal and spurred by the Jerusalem in 1099. Godfrey was of Tripoli, set up by Raymond; the
promise of remission of sins, elected king of Jerusalem but took county of Edessa, established by
together with the prospect of the title Defender of the Holy Baldwin; and the principality of
winning booty, land, and control of Sepulchre; his brother, Baldwin Antioch, set up by Bohemund.
the lucrative trade with the Orient,
many nobles of France (formerly
West Francia) and Lorraine
joined, or “took the cross.”
Other nations were either in The Siege of Antioch
conflict with the papacy or
indifferent, so the First
75,000 Islamic forces at the Siege
of Antioch outnumbered
SARACENS the Crusaders considerably.
The Domesday Book Crusade was a largely In fact Antioch fell only
French affair. Taking advantage of 15,000
Nicknamed “Domesday” in reflection of the trepidation that the great CRUSADERS when a traitor opened a
undertaking inspired in the native English, William’s survey actually disarray in the Muslim world, three gate to a party of knights
comprised two manuscripts; the Great and the Little Domesday. groups of Crusaders under Godfrey led by Bohemond of Otranto.

n s t
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129
1101–05 1106–10 1111–15

An illustration from Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat; of the 600 Monumental ruins in the city of Great Zimbabwe, capital of the Mwene Mutapa The 12th-century Cathedral of
verses, only around 120 are thought to have been written by Khayyam himself. Empire. After it seized control of the gold trade, the empire grew rich. St. Nicholas at Novgorod, Russia.

SOMETIME AROUND THE START much to the disarray of the Islamic NOTED FOR ITS FINE ARTS AND THE 12TH CENTURY SAW AN
OF THE 12TH CENTURY, OMAR regimes it had dispossessed. The CRAFTS and construction of EXPLOSION OF CATHEDRAL
KHAYYAM (1048–1131), an Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo was monumental temple mounds, BUILDING all over Europe,
astronomer and mathematician in rich but decadent; the Abbasids the post-Moche culture, known as population growth,
the service of the Seljuk sultans, in Baghdad were little more than as the Sicán or Lambayeque increased wealth, and
composed a series of four-line figureheads; the Seljuk Turks had on the northern coast of Peru, architectural advances
poems, or “roba’iyat,” which failed to forge a unified empire, reached its height in the early combined with religious
became famous thanks to the and instead warlords and tribal 11th century. But a prolonged zeal, civic pride, and
translation made by Edward groups had set up a patchwork of drought, followed by the personal ambition
Fitzgerald in 1859. Khayyam’s competing states such as Rum, catastrophic flooding, led of potentates. The
career reflected the Seljuk era. Danishmend, and Damascus. to cultural and political development of the
At Samarkand, in the early Throughout the early 12th century, collapse. In the early 12th Romanesque and
1070s, he was able the Crusaders battled century, the state recovered Gothic styles was given
to pursue his constantly against these from the convulsions of the expression in the great
mathematical foes. In 1101, Raymond 11th century and rebuilt cathedrals, but each
studies thanks to IV of Toulouse around a new capital at region developed its
patronage from (c. 1042–1105) led Túcume. New temples were own, distinctive idiom.
a local jurist, a new Crusader built and the capital flourished In Novgorod, for
and under until its conquest by the instance, the Cathedral
the strong Chimú (see 1375), by which of St. Nicholas (started
Seljuk sultan Baldwin of Bourcq time there were 26 mounds in 1113) was given
Malik Shah This coin features and accompanying enclosures. domed cupolas.
Baldwin of Bourcq,
(r. 1072–92), cousin of Baldwin I, In central southern Africa, The Investiture Controversy
Khayyam was who he succeeded as in what is now Zimbabwe, the between the papacy and the
invited to Isfahan count of Edessa, then as Mwene Mutapa Empire, also Western emperors rumbled on
in 1073 to set up an king of Jerusalem (see 1118). known as Great Zimbabwe after (see 1071–80). Henry IV’s failure
observatory and lead its monumental capital, emerged to reconcile with the papacy had
a team of top scholars. army from Constantinople as the most significant regional helped bring about his downfall;
In this period he made many against the Sultanate of Rum, power. A kingdom of the Shona concerned that the ongoing
mathematical and astronomical taking Ankara in June, only to peoples that emerged around 900, dispute was undermining royal
breakthroughs, including be destroyed by Danishmend Mwene Mutapa was initially based authority, his own family had
an unprecedented accurate Turks in August. Baldwin I of on cattle herding, but from around conspired against him, and he
measurement of the length of Jerusalem (c. 1058–1118) 1100 it took control of the lucrative was imprisoned. His successor,
the year to 12 decimal places. steadily improved his access to trade routes linking the gold, Henry V (1086–1125), launched a
Although he is now most famous the Mediterranean by taking a iron, and ivory production centers powerful expedition to Italy to
for the Rubaiyat, it is not certain series of coastal cities from the of the interior to the Arab force an imperial coronation.
that Khayyam wrote most or any Fatimids, defeating them at trading kingdoms on the east Under duress (he was a
of the verses involved, and he was Jaffa in 1102, Acre in 1104, and coast, which offered luxury prisoner of Henry at the
little regarded as a poet in his own Ramleh in 1105, although goods from Asia. time), Pope Paschal II
time. Much of the current Raymond died in an attempt to offered major concessions
reputation of the work derives take Tripoli in 1105. on the investiture issue in
Ceremonial knife
from the very free translation This gold knife is from the Middle the Treaty of Sutri, but he
by Edward Fitzgerald. Sicán culture in Peru. The early repudiated them the following
The success of the First 1100s mark the threshold between year and the issue remained
Crusade (see 1091–1100) owed the Middle and Late Sicán cultures. unsettled (see 1122).

te
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130
1116–20 1121–25

Stained glass window of a Templar Guelph and Ghibelline forces join battle in Italy. These factions, based on the German
Knight in Warwickshire, England. Welf and Hohenstaufen dynasties, would come to dominate Italian politics.

,,IN THIS
RELIGIOUS
IN 1121, MOHAMMAD IB-TUMART,
A BERBER LEADER from the Atlas
Mountains, was hailed as the
SCHOLASTICISM

ORDER HAS al-Mahdi (the Muslim messiah—


see 874) and led his forces, known
The school of thought known as Scholasticism—
because it was taught by the scholastics, or
FLOURISHED as the Almohads, in a campaign school masters—developed as the dominant
AND IS of conquest against Almoravid philosophy of learning in medieval Europe, hand

,,
territories in Africa. in hand with the emergence of the universities.
REVITALIZED A synod at the German town of Scholasticism was an approach to learning
THE ORDER OF Worms, in 1122, presided by a
papal legate drew up a concordat
that used a method of formal discussion and
debating. It became the intellectual basis for
KNIGHTHOOD. (agreement) ending the Investiture medieval religious and philosophical dogma.
Controversy—although not
From The Primitive Rule of the the imperial–papal rivalry. A
Knights Templar compromise was agreed along the at Ascalon (Ashkelon), Venetian Emperor Lothair II (III in some philosopher Boethius of one
lines already adopted between ships destroyed the Fatimid fleet. sources). Immediately he was treatise on logic. This began to
In Jerusalem, in 1119, a group of Henry I of England and Anselm This marked the start of the plunged into a bitter civil war change in the early 12th century, as
knights, led by the French Hugues (see 1107), under which the dominance of Italian maritime with the Hohenstaufens, and the the conquest of Islamic areas such
de Payens (c. 1070–1136), formed emperor would be involved power in the Mediterranean. two opposing sides became as Toledo and Sicily gave Christian
an order to protect pilgrims in investiture but not control it. Emperor Henry V died in 1125 entrenched as propapal and scholars access to Arabic works.
travelling along the dangerous Essentially it was a victory for with no male heir, and an election proimperial factions known as Increasing exposure to the works
road from Jaffa, on the coast, the papacy. was held to choose his successor. the Guelphs and Ghibellines of Aristotle led medieval scholars
to the holy city. The new king of In 1123, Frankish forces from The closest heir was Conrad of respectively. They would plague to consider him the “master of
Jerusalem, Baldwin II (cousin Jerusalem defeated a Fatimid Swabia (1122–90), of the house relations between and within the those who know” and the chief
of Baldwin I and his successor as army at Ibelin, while off the coast of Hohenstaufen (allied to the city-states of northern Italy authority on matters of reason.
count of Edessa), assigned them Salian dynasty and their into the 14th century—long after In 1125, the French king
quarters in part of the Temple antipapal policies), they had ceased to dominate Louis VI (1081–1137) successfully
Mount compound, next to the site but the powerful German power politics—as they rallied French nobles to repel
where the Temple of Solomon archbishops of Mainz became associated with class an English–German invasion.
had once stood. Accordingly, they and Cologne angled struggles and reactionary versus This proved to be a milestone in the
called themselves the Poor Fellow for the election of a reforming parties. French monarchy’s attempts to
Soldiers of Christ and of the candidate more friendly The work of Aristotle assert its authority, and thus
Temple of Solomon—also known to the Church. Lothair (384–322 BCE) had survived in in the emergence of France as
as the Knights Templar. of Saxony (1075–1137), Byzantium and among the Arabs, a nation-state.
Bologna University was the of the house of Welf, was but Western Europeans only had
first in the western world. It was chosen and became access to a translation by the

25
founded in 1119 (or possibly
earlier, depending on the source).
Institutions such as Bologna Aristotle in translation
A page from a translation
PERCENT
University were the incubators
for the philosophical school of of Aristotle’s Nicomachean THE APPROXIMATE
Ethics, written on
thought known as Scholasticism vellum—a writing material PROPORTION OF
(see panel, right). made from calf skin, which
is more durable than
ARISTOTLE’S WORK
papyrus or paper. SURVIVING TODAY

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131
1126–30 1131–35 1136–40 1141–45

A mosaic shows Roger II being St. Alban’s Chronicle shows Matilda An illustration from a 15th-century copy of the History of the Kings of Britain, A scene from the Siege of Damascus,
symbolically crowned by Christ. of England holding a charter. by Geoffrey of Monmouth, shows Brutus the Trojan setting sail for Britain. a battle of the Second Crusade.

IN 1126, THE JIN—the Jurchen THE DEATH OF HENRY I, IN 1135, IN 1137, LOTHAIR DIED SUDDENLY strengthen his position since IN 1141, JOHN OF SEVILLE
dynasty established by Aguda (see PITCHED ENGLAND INTO DYNASTIC while returning from a taking the crown, alienating TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC
1115) in Manchuria—turned on STRIFE. His only male heir died in successful campaign in Italy many of his nobles on one hand, the Epitome of the Whole of
their erstwhile Chinese allies, 1120 while crossing the English against Roger of Sicily. Lothair’s and powerful clerics on the Astrology, while in 1142 Adelard
overrunning northern China and Channel, and although Henry had plans to concentrate German other. He particularly blundered of Bath translated an Arabic
seizing the Northern Song capital made his nobles swear allegiance territories in the hands of the by arresting his chief minister version of Euclid’s Elements of
at Kaifeng. The Jin took control to his daughter, the Empress Welf clan, and create a stable Roger, Bishop of Salisbury. At Geometry, one of the founding
of northern China and moved the Matilda (1102–67), she had spent inheritance for his son-in-law, a stroke, he lost many of his texts of mathematics. This
capital to Beijing. This marked little time in England and her evaporated when the election of ablest administrators, and was transmission of learning,
the end of the Northern Song. second husband, Geoffrey of 1138 chose the Waiblinger Conrad henceforth unable to rein in the ancient and contemporary, via
However, a Song prince, Gaozong, Anjou, was unpopular with the of Hohenstaufen (1135–95). The depredations of barons and Arabic into Latin, was a key
escaped to the south and English nobles. Among those who Waiblingers were descended from other landowners, who became contributor to the emergence of
established the Southern Song had sworn fealty to Matilda was the dukes of Franconia; the name laws unto themselves. The an intellectual renaissance in
dynasty in Hangzhou in 1127. Henry’s nephew and ward was later corrupted by the Italians country deteriorated into a state Europe, and beyond that to the
The death of Pope Honorius, Stephen of Blois (r. 1135–54). On into “Ghibelline.” Conrad set about of anarchy famously lamented by scientific achievements of the
in 1130, resulted in the election his uncle’s death he immediately reversing the grants of Lothair, the author of the Peterborough Early Modern period (1500–1800).
of two rival popes, Innocent II went to London, secured the taking Saxony away from the Chronicle, who wrote that under In an attempt to end
and Anacletus II. During this support of most of the nobles and Welfs, which promptly sparked Stephen’s reign the English the civil war that was
papal schism, Roger II, count the Church, and had himself renewed civil war. “suffered nineteen long convulsing Germany, an
of Sicily, recognized Anacletus proclaimed king. However, In 1139, Matilda entered winters… when Christ and all his 1142 meeting, or diet,
as pope—his reward was the Matilda refused to renounce her England to reclaim her crown saints slept.” at Frankfurt confirmed
throne of Sicily. claim, and their contest would from the usurper Stephen of Sometime around 1140, the the Welf Henry the Lion
lead to a period of warfare and Blois. Stephen had failed to Welsh cleric Geoffrey of (1129–95) as Duke of
breakdown of central Monmouth (c. 1100–55) wrote the Saxony (which he had
authority known as the Legendary castle
History of the Kings of Britain, already taken by force).
Anarchy (see 1136–40). Tintagel, Cornwall, where the ruins an important example of early Henry engaged in
In 1133, Lothair II of a 13th-century castle still stand, Anglo-Norman literature that a vigorous renewal of
(1070–1137) went to Italy to is featured in the Arthurian legends introduced the legend of King German expansion
intervene in the papal schism, created by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Arthur to a European audience. to the east, where his
installing Innocent II. In return,
the Pope confirmed the Matildine
inheritance (the vast estates of
Matilda of Tuscany, which she had
willed first to the papacy and then
to the emperor, sparking a dispute
that would become tied up with
the Guelph versus Ghibelline Pot helm helmet
contest—(see 1121–25) and This type of helmet
crowned Lothair as emperor. In was typical of those
1135, Lothair pacified his rivals, worn by Crusader
Song dynasty porcelain ware Conrad of Hohenstaufen and his knights. Made of
The Qingbai (“blue-white”) glaze on steel, the pot helm
brother Frederick of Swabia, helmet completely
this ewer is characteristic of Song
dynasty porcelain from southeastern apparently securing the German covered the head
China, where the dynasty survived crown for his son-in-law Henry except for two small
the Jin invasion. the Proud, of the House of Welf. eye slits.

n
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1146–50

Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, was built during the reign of Suryavarman II. It covers
nearly 500 acres (200 hectares) and the central tower is 138 ft (42 m) high.

,, THOSE WHO ARE OF GOD... STRIVE


TO OPPOSE THE MULTITUDE OF THE
IN 1146, THE INFLUENTIAL
CISTERCIAN MONK BERNARD OF
CLAIRVAUX (1090–1153) egged on
Aquitaine (c. 1122–04), and the
loss of her territories (see 1151–
55). The Byzantines were forced
INFIDELS, WHO REJOICE IN A by Pope Eugenius III, preached a
new Crusade to liberate Edessa
to step in where the Crusade had
failed, occupying western Edessa,
VICTORY GAINED OVER US, AND from the clutches of the Zengids; but Roger of Sicily took
DEFEND THE ORIENTAL CHURCH Conrad III of Germany (1093– advantage of Byzantine distraction

,,
1152) and Louis VII of France to invade and plunder Greece in
FREED FROM THEIR TYRANNY BY SO (1120–80) “took the cross.” But 1147. The disasters of the Second
GREAT AN OUTPOURING OF THE the expedition was a disastrous Crusade marked the beginning of

BLOOD OF YOUR FATHERS...


affair, except for incidental the decline of the Frankish
success in Portugal achieved by a Crusader kingdoms.
contingent of English and Flemish In 1147, the Almohads under
Pope Eugenius III, from Papal bull calling for the Second Crusade, 1145 Crusaders who helped Afonso- Abd al-Mu’min (1094–1163)
Henriques, Count of Portugal, completed the conquest of
take Lisbon from the Moors in Almoravid Morocco, taking
campaigns against the heathen 1147. Conrad and Louis took Marrakech, before invading
Slavs were given the status different routes to the Holy Land, Moorish Spain (although it took
of Crusades. their armies meeting equally them until 1172 to subjugate all
In 1144, the atabeg (governor) of disastrous fates as they struggled the Islamic kingdoms).
Mosul, Imad el-Din Zengi through Anatolia. In 1148, forced Suryavarman II (c. 1113–50)
(1085–1146), founder of the to hitch a ride on a Byzantine ship, was the most warlike Khmer king,
Zengid dynasty, took advantage having lost his army at the Battle although most of his foreign
Koutoubia Mosque in Morocco
of feuding between the Crusader of Dorylaeum, Conrad met up adventures were unsuccessful. He
The Koutoubia (“booksellers”)
principalities to seize the with Louis. Rather than pitch their Mosque, built by the Almohads, launched attacks against the Dai
Crusader county of Edessa. Fulk, reflects the mercantile success of Vet of northern Vietnam and made
king of Jerusalem, had died in 25,000 Almohad Marrakech, where book, repeated attempts to subjugate the
1143 and his successor Baldwin cloth, and other souqs flourished. Champa. More significant
III (1130–63) was only a child, was his building program, the
20,000
under the regency of his mother depleted forces against the zenith of which was the temple
Melisende. She did not have the powerful Zengids, they decided of Angkor Wat. This vast complex
CRUSADERS

15,000 includes five towers symbolizing


authority to settle a dispute instead to launch an attack on
between Antioch and Edessa, Damascus, the only Muslim state holy mountains, and large numbers
and Imad el-Din besieged Edessa 10,000 that was friendly to the Crusader of elaborate carvings.
until it fell to him. The loss of kingdoms. Hampered by lack

500
Edessa caused alarm and 5,000 of supplies and threatened by
outrage in Europe, and provided the Zengid leader Nur al-Din,
the trigger for the Second 0 successor to Imad el-Din, the
Crusade (see 1146–50). French German Siege of Damascus also failed.
In 1145, Eugenius III issued The Second Crusade broke up
French and German Crusaders
a call-to-arms in the form
of a Papal bull.
The German force outnumbered the
French contingent during the Second
having failed to achieve anything
beyond a damaging fallout. Louis ACRES
Crusade. Neither army achieved any
success: defeat in Anatolia preceded
was cuckolded by one of his
generals, eventually leading to a
THE AREA OF
failure at Damascus. divorce from his wife, Eleanor of ANGKOR WAT
of s e
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133
6 0 0 –14 49 TRADE AND INVENTION

Star–shaped tile
1267 • IRAN
Though distinctively Islamic in its
use of luster (a ceramic technology
mimicking gilding) and arabesques
(stylized foliage), this tile shows
Mongol influence with
the inclusion of
doglike animals.

foliage in
gold leaf

Persian ceramic and gold leaf ewer Bronze vase


1200–1399 • IRAN 18 TH CENTURY • CHINA
It was prohibited to make drinking vessels from Although this bronze vase from China
gold and silver, as these were considered indulgent, displays a text from the Qu’ran in
so Islamic craftsmen became expert in alternatives Arabic, it nonetheless shows clear
such as ceramic, which was then richly decorated. Chinese influence.

THE ISLAMIC WORLD


TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND RELIGIOUS INSPIRATION COMBINE TO CREATE A UNIQUE HERITAGE OF ARTS AND CRAFTS

Islamic arts and crafts were shaped by religious


restrictions, cultural heritage acquired through conquest,
and the elaboration of unique features, notably the use of
ornamentation and color, and inclusion of Arabic script.
inlaid with
Through its rapid conquest of a huge empire, the Islamic caliphate was ornate
exposed to a diverse mix of cultural styles and heritages; Islamic art foliage inscription
reflects these while maintaining a high degree of homogeneity due to reads “Allah,
Muhammad,
religious uniformity. Restrictions imposed by Islam, such as prohibitions Fatima, and
on representative art and on the use of gold and silver, generated creative ‘Ali, Hasan,
and Husayn”
responses, especially stylized abstract designs, elaborate ornamentation,
strong use of color, and the use of Arabic script and Qu’ranic quotations.

Jade necklace
1875–1925 • ORIGIN UNKNOWN Surgical scissors and scalpel
This jade necklace is made from 10 TH CENTURY • ORIGIN UNKNOWN
five pieces, all different in shape Islamic physicians made huge
and engraved with verses from advances in medicine and surgery,
the Qu’ran. Such artifacts including devising a range of
could serve as amulets with surgical instruments such as the
quasi-magical powers. mibda (scalpel) and miqass (scissors).

script border to Khanjar


prevent clipping 19 TH CENTURY • INDIA
Although from India, this curved,
double-edged dagger is actually
a traditional Omani blade. It is
decorated with ornate foliage,
a typical Islamic motif.

Pendant Coins Ornate gilded Shi’ite alam


18 TH CENTURY • INDIA 720–910 • SYRIA/EGYPT 17TH CENTURY • IRAN
From the Indian Mughal Empire, this gold Coins from the Ummayad and Abbadis This alam, or standard, made
pendant shows how Muslim rulers sometimes caliphates, minted in Damascus and of brass and gold, symbolically
disregarded prohibitions on representative Cairo, bear Arabic text in place of recalls the Shi’ite standard planted
art and the use of precious metals. pictures of heads of state. at the Battle of Kerbala in 680.

134
T H E I S L A M I C WO R L D

rim markings
indicate city
head is hinged or location
to body

twisted cord
design in ochre, Feline incense burner
Bowl Candlestick
black, and white
1000–1199 • IRAN/IRAQ 11–12 TH CENTURIES • IRAN/AFGHANISTAN 15TH CENTURY • MAMLUK EGYPT
The bold colors of this simple bowl are Burners like this, in the shape of a big cat, To circumvent the prohibition on precious
typically Islamic, as is the interlacing cord were used in the courts of Medieval Islamic metals, Islamic metalworkers became
design. The lace of highlighted detail lends kings—lions and cheetahs symbolized power. adept at combining baser metals like
a meditative quality to the design. The head tilts to allow insertion of charcoal. brass with silver and gold inlay.

Calligraphy scissors
1700–99 • IRAN
These scissors were used Qibla compass
for shaping pens and brushes. DATE AND ORIGIN UNKNOWN
The blades are inlaid with This ornamental compass was
gold, a variety of damascening used to indicate the direction,
known as koftgari. qibla, of Mecca, so that
worshipers could orient
themselves properly for prayer.
Pen case
1700–1899 • ORIGIN UNKNOWN Islamic lamp
This hexagonal case for DATE AND ORIGIN UNKNOWN

carrying pens bares This hourglass-shaped lamp


geometric shapes, bares a design of Arabic script
a typical feature of on the side, which is picked out
Islamic design. in vibrant blue, a ceramic dye
perfected by Islamic craftsmen.

Illuminated Divan
1800–99 • INDIA
bold colors no empty space Arabic script illuminations
A Divan, or Diwan, is a collection or anthology of poems,
and gold leaf left unfilled inscribed with flout normal
careful calligraphy prohibitions inspired by ancient Persian poetry models. This illuminated
Divan of the Persian poet Hafez from 19th-century India
has typical Kashmiri painted lacquer covers.

135
1151–55 1156–60 1161–65

Monks Mound, the largest mound at Cahokia, is over 100 ft (30 m) high. The University of Bologna was The Hassan Tower in Rabat, Morocco, is all that was built of
It has been estimated that it took 15 million baskets of earth to make it. originally a school for jurists. what was intended to be an Almohad super-mosque.

THE CITY OF CAHOKIA SPRANG Mississippians, Cahokia would WITH ORIGINS DATING BACK TO hereditary, and his son Yusuf
UP AT THE CLIMAX of the decline rapidly, within around PERHAPS 1088, BOLOGNA CLAIMS abn Ya’qub (1135–84) succeeded
Mississippian (or Cahokian) a century, with a return to low- to be the oldest university in the him. He would spend most of his
culture of the American Bottom density farming communities. Western world (see 1116–20)— reign battling internal opposition,
(an area of the Mississippi river In 1152, Conrad III (b. 1093), in the sense of an institution although he was also noted for
valley). Around the mid-12th king of the Romans, died and his specifically designated as a military success in Muslim Spain
century they constructed more nephew Frederick of Swabia, universitas, as opposed to a and for his patronage of the arts.
than 100 mounds, including one known as Barbarossa (see panel, studium generale, as centers for In 1164, the Zengid emir Nur
with a base that is larger than below) was elected as successor. teaching had previously been al-Din (1118–74) defeated the
that of the Great Pyramid at Giza, Of combined Welf and Waiblinger known. In 1158, the emperor Crusader princes at Artah.
along with a huge landscaped parentage (see 1131–35), he Frederick I (1122–90), on Throughout the 1160s, Nur al-Din
plaza that may be the biggest brought relative peace to the advice of scholars contested with the Crusader
earthen city square in the world. Germany. His coronation as who may have been kingdoms, particularly as they
The most remarkable feature of emperor in Rome was delayed Bologna alumni, granted vied for control of the ailing
Cahokia is the speed with which it because the city was in the grip the university a charter, firmly Fatimid kingdom in Egypt,
came into existence. Until around of a revolutionary commune led establishing the institution as led by the vizier Shawar.
1050, Mississippians lived in by radical reformer Arnold of an independent center of Amalric, who had become
small villages and had never built Brescia (1090–1155). Frederick scholarship. Early universities king of Jerusalem in 1162,
on anything approaching this allied with the papacy against tended to specialize in one was the first to occupy
scale. By the 1150s the city may Arnold and Norman Sicily, making field of study, and Bologna was Egypt, but Zengid success
have covered 493 hectares (1,200 his first expedition to Italy in 1154. dedicated to law. at Artah forced him to march
acres) and been home to 30,000 The following year, in the face of In 1159, Alexander III north, leaving the way clear for
people. Its cultural and economic Roman hostility, he was crowned (c. 1100–81) was chosen as pope, Nur al-Din’s general Shirkuh
influence spread across the by the new pope, Adrian IV although his election was and his nephew Saladin to
Midwest, from the present (1100–59), but had to retreat to opposed by the emperor, invade Egypt (see 1167).
Canadian border to the Gulf Coast. Germany, abandoning Adrian, Frederick I. Frederick had Around the mid-12th
Perhaps because urban living who was forced to ally himself once again invaded Italy, this The Bodhisattva Guanyin century, the dense urban culture
was so exceptional for the with the Normans. time intent on assuming his full This 12th-century Chinese statue of the ancient Pueblo peoples at
imperial inheritance. With the aid depicts the Buddhist deity Guanyin, Chaco Canyon in North America
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA (1122–90) of the League of Pavia (Bresci, who protects those in danger— collapsed, probably because their
Parma, and others), he had perhaps accounting for his popularity. marginal system of agriculture
Energetic and ambitious, subdued Milan and its associated had overtaxed the fragile dryland
Frederick I was determined to cities, but at the Diet of Roncaglia, IN 1161, THE SOUTHERN SONG ecology, leaving them vulnerable
make Germany the dominant in 1158, he went too far. Harking REPULSED AN INCURSION by the to drought. Dating of timbers from
state in Europe, and to reassert back to the Roman era, Frederick northern Jin (see 1126–30), the Chaco Canyon pueblos shows
authority over all the imperial insisted that ancient law gave him securing their kingdom from that the newest timbers date from
lands in Italy. Aware of the the right to appoint an imperial invasion. A peace treaty of 1165 around the 1160s—in other words,
historic context of his office, he podestà (local governor) to rule recognized an uneasy truce there was no construction after
desired to restore the imperial each city. Milan was pushed into between the two powers. this. Other Pueblo, or Anasazi,
crown to Roman-era glory, revolt, and other cities joined The Almohad caliph Abd sites show evidence from this
and began to style his realm them in forming a Lombard al-Mu’min died in 1163, having period of fortification, destruction,
the Holy Roman Empire. In League under the auspices of the destroyed the Almoravids and and even cannibalism, but there
Germany, he pacified rebels papacy. Alexander III would earn extended Almohad rule from is also evidence of orderly
and expanded royal lands. the title “the Great” for leading Morocco to Tunisia (the province abandonment, presumably by
this anti-imperial rebellion. of Ifriqiya). He made his office people moving to new sites.

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Attributed to Henry II, 1170

The murder of Thomas Becket is depicted in stained glass at Canterbury Cathedral. Muhammad of Ghur, traveling by elephant, leads his
Canonized in 1173 , Becket became one of the most popular English saints. army in the Islamic conquest of India.

IN 1170, THOMAS BECKET, versus royal jurisdiction. During for instance, replaced the THE GHURIDS WERE A DYNASTY
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, the anarchy of Stephen’s reign Danegeld with new levies, but FOUNDED IN 1151 by Ala-ud-Din
was murdered in Canterbury (see 1136–40), clerical courts had it was the judicial reform that Husayn, who conquered much
Cathedral, England, by four encroached on areas previously brought him into conflict with his of Ghaznavid Afghanistan and
knights of the court of Henry II under royal jurisdiction. Following friend and chancellor Thomas founded a new state based at
(r. 1154–89). Although he swore Stephen’s death, Henry Becket. Becket had already Ghur in western Afghanistan. In
that he had not ordered the crime, Plantagenet came to the throne. been forced into exile after being 1173, Ghiyas-ud-Din became
and was absolved of responsibility He controlled England alongside found guilty of violating the emir, making his brother
by Pope Alexander in 1172, the territories of Anjou, Constitutions of Clarendon Mu’izz-du-Din, better known as
Henry’s famous outburst (see Normandy, and Aquitaine—known (see 1164). On his return he vexed Muhammad of Ghur, co-emir.
above) had prompted the action of as the Angevin Empire—and set Henry by excommunicating Together the brothers brought
the knights. The context for this about instituting a badly needed royally favored bishops. most of Afghanistan under their
outrage was an ongoing dispute reorganization of his new At its height, in the late 12th control, and in 1175 Muhammad
over the extent of ecclesiastical kingdom. Taxation reforms, century, the commercial empire launched the Islamic invasion of
of Srivijaya, based in Sumatra, northern India.
controlled much of the Malay The Spanish rabbi Benjamin of
tablet in clay Archipelago. Its authority Tudela (1130–73) was the first
with molded extended to colonies around the recorded European to have
design East Indies and as far as Sri approached the borders of China,
Lanka and Taiwan. Srivijayan in an epic journey he made from
power was based almost 1159 to 1173. His account, The
exclusively on its maritime Travels of Benjamin of Tudela,
prowess. By securing the seas recounts many exotic legends,
in the region against piracy, they including Noah’s Ark resting
enabled and directed trade on Mount Ararat.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
between China, India, and the In the medieval period, the city Pisa’s famous leaning tower is 179 ft
Islamic world, but imposition of of Pisa, in Tuscany, became the (54.5 m) tall and 57 ft (17.5 m) in
heavy duties and taxes stoked center of a thriving city-state. Its diameter at the base.
resentment and, eventually, revolt. cathedral was constructed in the
Frederick I’s fourth expedition 11th century, but in 1173 work that rejected many of the teachings
to Italy, beginning in 1166, began on a separate bell tower. of Catholicism. Despite initial
prompted the renewal of the Even during construction the blessing by Pope Alexander III,
Lombard League (see 1156–60) foundations sank and the tower the Waldensians’ refusal to abide
and the construction of the mighty began to slant. Eventually it by his injunction against preaching
fortress town Alessandria, came to lean 15 ft (4.5 m) from led to their denunciation as
named for the pope. With this the perpendicular. heretics in 1179 and a long history
citadel guarding the mountain During the 1170s, a new of persecution (see 1206–10).
passes, Italy became virtually religious movement emerged In 1174, the Zengid emir Nur
independent of imperial authority. in Lyons. Also known as the Poor al-Din died. His nephew Saladin,
Men of Lyons and the Vaudois, who had already assumed control
the Waldenses were led by Peter of Egypt, quickly marched north to
Votive tablet
This votive tablet from the trading Waldes (c. 1140–1218), a rich secure Syria, and was duly
empire of Srivijaya is engraved merchant who gave away his recognized as sultan of Egypt and
with Buddhist figures. The ruling property and began to preach a Syria by the caliph in Baghdad,
Sailendras were ardent Buddhists. radical creed of gospel simplicity founding the Ayyubid dynasty.

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F G 137
1176–80 1181–85
,, SALADIN’S HOPE HAD AN
EASY PASSAGE, HIS PATHS WERE

,,
FRAGRANT, HIS GIFTS POURED
OUT, … HIS POWER WAS MANIFEST,
HIS AUTHORITY SUPREME.
Imad al Din, Secretary to Saladin, from Lightning of Syria, c.1200

This depiction of the Battle of Yashima during the Gempei Wars illustrates a
heavily armed Minamoto discovering the terrified mother of Emperor Taira.

EMPEROR FREDERICK comprehensive Peace of BY THE 1180s, THE CRUSADER Saladin mobilized his army,
COAL AND IRON IN
BARBARROSA’S FIFTH EXPEDITION Constance in 1183 (see 1181–85). KINGDOMS OF OUTREMER (“beyond intent on punishing Reynald, but
MEDIEVAL EUROPE
TO ITALY in 1176 (see also Now reconciled with the the sea,” as they were known in his progress was checked by
1151–55) ended in disaster for the emperor, Pope Alexander III was Europe) were in an increasingly Frankish fortresses and another
imperial forces when his army able to call an ecumenical council Growing populations, new precarious position. Europe was prolonged famine. In 1185,
was crushed at the Battle of at the Lateran Palace in Rome, agricultural implements, and deaf to entreaties for Crusader Baldwin died and his sickly infant
Legnano. The battle marked one in 1179. The council decreed that constant military activity reinforcements, and the Christian nephew inherited the crown as
of the earliest occasions in the papal elections would be solely increased the demand for Byzantines were preoccupied with Baldwin V (1177–86).
medieval era when cavalry were in the hands of the cardinals, and iron in the Middle Ages. other matters, such as war with In 1183, the peace between
defeated by infantry. This had that a two-thirds majority was Charcoal was still the main Norman Sicily. Meanwhile, their Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and
class implications as knights on needed to elect a pope. It was source of power for iron Muslim opponents were gathering his Italian foes was ratified as the
horseback generally belonged to hoped that this would draw a forges, but deforestation under the leadership of Saladin, or Peace of Constance, but although
the feudal aristocracy, while line under years of contention caused wood shortages. Salah al-Din, (c. 1137–93) the imperial authority over Italy was
footmen with pikes represented between papal candidates As a consequence, demand sultan of Egypt and Syria. By 1183, recognized, the Lombard cities
freemen of the rising bourgeoisie. elected by the antiimperial party for coal increased and he had suppressed Christian rebels were granted effective autonomy.
In 1177, Frederick was forced to and “anti-popes”—persons scavenging for sea coal was at Edessa and Aleppo, and with The Battle of Dannoura of 1185
concede the Peace of Venice with selected by the emperor to increasingly supplemented both sides reeling from the effects marked the climax of the Gempei
the pope; a prelude to the more oppose the legitimately elected by mining. The first record of a drought, had brokered a peace Wars. Warrior Minamoto
or sitting pope. of a coal mine comes from treaty with the leper king of Yoshitsune, younger brother of
In 1176, the army Escomb near Durham, in Jerusalem, Baldwin IV Yoritomo, the founder of the
of Byzantine northern England in 1183. (c. 1161–85). The uneasy peace was shogunate, destroyed the Taira in
emperor Manuel shattered, however, by the actions the naval battle.
Commenus was of Reynald of Châtillon, an
destroyed by the marked the end of Taira adventurer from the Second
Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria
Turks of the domination of Japan (see Crusade, who persistently raided Saladin escapes from battle on
Sultanate of Rum 641–650), and the start of the unarmed caravans of Islamic a camel in this 18th-century
(see 1100–05) Minamoto shogunate. Civil pilgrims, and sponsored a pirate engraving. He was renowned as
at the Battle of wars in 1156 and 1159 had left fleet that pillaged the Red Sea. a generous and principled leader.
Myriocephalum. control of Japan in the hands of
The Byzantines were Taira no Kiyomori (c.1118–81),
never again able to who quickly assumed a similar
send land forces to level of power to the Fujiwara
help the Crusaders. clan (see 851–860). Not only did
The Gempei Wars he act as prime minister, but he
(1180–85) in Japan also married his daughters to the
imperial family, enabling him to
place his infant grandson on the
Pope Alexander III throne as emperor in 1180. But
This 14th-century his excessive lust for power and
fresco shows perceived corruption alienated his
Pope Alexander III provincial supporters, and in the
presenting a sword same year there was an uprising
to the Venetian Doge
for use against the by the Minamoto clan against
emperor, Frederick Taira rule, which grew into the
Barbarossa. five-year-long Gempei Wars.

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138
1186–90 1191–1200

The Horns of Hattin, an extinct volcano crowned with two rocky outcrops, King Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart, is shown
was the site of the Battle of Hattin in 1187. leading Crusaders into battle.

horns made of
ON JULY 4, 1187, THE CRUSADER 200 Templars and Hospitallers THE THIRD CRUSADE was CRUSADER ARMOR
gilded wood
ARMY WAS DEFEATED by the were executed, while Saladin hampered by infighting among
forces of Saladin. The Crusader
forces were led by the new king of
personally beheaded Reynald.
King Guy was later released,
the European factions of the
Crusaders of Outremer,
69 lb THE WEIGHT
OF ARMOR
Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan, who
had seized power on the death
but, with his army annihilated,
it was easy for Saladin to cow
and although Richard the
Lionheart won most of his 3.3 lb THE WEIGHT
OF A SWORD

0.4 lb
of the infant Baldwin V in 1186. many of the remaining battles, he was unable to THE WEIGHT
Baldwin’s regents had negotiated Crusader strongholds into achieve his sworn aim of OF A MACE
another truce with Saladin, but surrender. He took Acre in July “liberating” Jerusalem. The
and Jerusalem in October. Tyre, Crusade had already gotten off city. With continued infighting
Antioch, Tripoli, and a few castles to a bad start (see 1186–90), and among the Crusader barons, the
were all that remained of the there were further delays en route murder of Conrad of Montferrat
Crusader kingdoms. when, in 1191, Richard stopped to by Assassins (see 1081–90)
The Crusader kingdom of conquer Byzantine Cyprus. He soon after being made king,
Outremer had been pleading for sold the island to the Templars, reinforcements arriving for
European assistance for years who would later pass it on to the Saladin, and bad news from
and the fall of Jerusalem in diminished Crusader kingdoms, England—where his brother John

3:2
Battle of Hattin 1187 finally prompted Pope where it became one of the main was scheming to seize the
Saladin’s troops
Gregory VIII to preach a new supports for continuing Christian crown—Richard was forced to
outnumbered the
Crusaders by 30,000 to 20,000, yet Crusade. The dispatch of presence in the Holy Land. On conclude a peace treaty with
his success was owed to his tactics Anglo-French forces was arriving in Palestine, Richard Saladin in 1192. Outremer would
and the Christians’ desperate thirst. delayed by disputes between joined Philip II of France in the henceforth be confined to a 90
Henry II of England and Philip siege of Acre, which was mile (145km) coastal strip, from
once again, Reynald of Châtillon II of France, and then by the actually a double siege—King Tyre to Jaffa, along with Antioch
had broken it, raiding a caravan of death of Henry and the Guy had laid siege to the city and Tripoli.
pilgrims and provoking Saladin accession of Richard I in on his release from captivity In 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo
into a final campaign to sweep the 1189. Richard I and Philip II (see 1186–90), but Saladin (see 1181–85) awarded himself
Holy Land clear of the Christian finally set out in late 1190. had then encircled his the title Seii tai-shogun
principalities. Goaded by Reynald, Frederick Barbarossa had forces. Acre was taken by (“barbarian-subduing great
King Guy led a combined force already set out overland in the Crusaders in July and general”). Since the end of the
of Crusader knights, Templars, 1189, but was drowned en much of the population Gempei Wars, Yoritomo had
Hospitallers, and English route the following year. was massacred. Philip II dispatched all challengers,
mercenaries (see 1116–20) across returned to France, but including his brother Yoshitsune.
a waterless plateau in the blazing metal plated Richard I had sworn to As undisputed military dictator,
gloves or tekko his bakufu, or administration, at
heat to take up a position on liberate Jerusalem, and
the Horns of Hattin, an extinct marched along the coast, Kamakura now supplanted the
volcano. Between them and Lake skirts split for ease retaking towns and defeating imperial court. Japan would be
Tiberias—the main source of of movement Saladin at Arsuf in September. ruled by shoguns—military
fresh water for the thirst-crazed Although he would go on to dictators—for centuries to come.
knights—lay the well-rested and Samurai armor clear Muslim forces from In 1192, the Ghurids of Persia
provisioned army of Saladin. This beautifully presented the rest of the coastal strip, defeated a Hindu rebellion at the
Japanese armor dates from
Using raiding tactics, Saladin the 19th century, though the and camp within sight of Battle of Taraori near Thanesar in
drove the Crusaders into first samurai warriors fought Jerusalem, Richard did not India. The following year, Delhi was
desperate confusion, surrounding with similar armor in the have the forces he needed taken and Muhammad of Ghur
and capturing them all. More than 12th century. to take and hold the holy founded the Sultanate of Delhi.

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139
1201–05 1206–10

A Persian painting shows Temujin, later known as Genghis Khan, battling the Peterhouse College, Cambridge, was
Tartars. The Tartar tribes fought constantly with the Mongols. founded 75 years after the university.

POPE INNOCENT III HAD Constantinople, where relations avenged the destruction of the BY 1206, TEMUJIN HAD UNITED
PROCLAIMED A NEW CRUSADE in with the Byzantines quickly capital by deposing the Champa ALL THE TRIBES OF MONGOLIA into
1199, intent on restoring papal soured; the city was taken for the king in 1191, suppressed a revolt the Khamag Mongol Ulus, “the All
supervision to the crusading first time in its history, and was in the west, restored Angkor, and Mongol State,” reorganizing tribal
movement, and hoping to reunite brutally sacked. A new Latin finally gained ascendancy over the society into an army grouped on a
the Greek and Latin churches to Empire of the East was Champa kingdom. Jayavarman decimal system. At the Mongolian
fulfill his vision of a single proclaimed under a new emperor, made Mahayana Buddhism the capital of Karakorum, he took the
Christian dominion under the Baldwin of Flanders, while Venice state religion and taxed the title Chinggis Khan or “ruler of the
papacy. In 1201, envoys met was awarded nearly half the city, resources of the kingdom to build world.” His name is now most
Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, to numerous Mediterranean islands, great temples, as well as hospitals, commonly spelled “Genghis.”
arrange passage to Egypt for the and other territories. Although the shrines, roads, and bridges. One In 1208, Pope Innocent III
Fourth Crusade. Under the Byzantine emperors relocated to of his temples, Preah Khan, was proclaimed a crusade against
Peace of Venice (see 1176–80), Byzantine Nicaea, the Fourth served by 98,000 retainers. heretics in the south of France—
the Venetians agreed to transport Crusade marked the end of the In around 1200, the Chimú state, the Albigensians (Cathars based
33,500 men and 4,500 horses for a Byzantine Empire as a true power, centered on their capital at Chan around Albi) and Waldenses
payment of 85,000 marks. In which discredited the Crusading Chan in the Moche Valley in Peru, (see 1171–75). Their teachings
addition, they would supply 50 war movement and helped the Turks. began to expand. Their power challenged the worldliness of the
galleys in return for half of the In the late 12th century, the rested on their mastery of established church, while their
Crusaders’ conquests. Mongolian and Turkic nomads of intensive agriculture techniques anticlericalism attracted nobles
Jayavarman VII
When the Crusaders gathered in the steppes were fearsome but This bronze statue of King and elaborate irrigation. At Chan keen to appropriate church lands;
Venice in 1202, it transpired that disunited. Temujin (c. 1162–1227), Jayavarman VII, in Mahayana Chan, Chimú leaders built the Cathars, for instance, were
there were too few of them, and who later became known as Buddhist style, portrays a serene citadels, or palaces, high-walled under the protection of Raymond
they could not pay the agreed Genghis Khan, was a minor and contemplative king. buildings with audience chambers of Toulouse, who ruled much of
bill. Instead, they agreed to help leader who became a nokhor and storage depots. It is believed southern France. The pope’s
Venice by taking Zara, Dalmatia— (companion) to Toghril, Khan of neighboring Tartar tribes in 1202, that each new Chimú ruler was declaration gave license to the
a rich source of wood for Venetian the Kereits, the dominant tribe in but inciting resentment among obliged to build and fund his own French king, Philip II (1165–1223),
galleys. Pope Innocent protested, Central Mongolia. Through ability other Kereits so that in 1203 he citadel, which drove the expansion to allow his northern lords to
but worse was to come. In 1204, and charisma, he rose to become clashed with Toghril himself. He of the empire. wreak havoc in areas outside of
the Crusaders arrived in a great general, crushing the emerged from this confrontation In 1202, the mathematician
as the dominant leader among
the Mongol tribes.
Leonardo of Pisa, better known as
Fibonacci (c. 1177–1250),
,, KILL THEM

,,
Jayavarman VII (c. 1125–1220)
had returned from exile to claim
produced the most influential
book in European mathematics to
ALL, GOD
WILL KNOW
Novgorod CHAGATAI
Bolgar KHANATE OF THE KHANATE the Khmer crown in 1181. He date, the Liber Abaci, or Book of
GOLDEN HORDE

EUROPE Gran
Kiev
ASIA Karakorum
EMPIRE OF THE
Calculation. Based on Arabic
mathematics, it introduced
HIS OWN.
Tashkent GREAT KHAN KEY
Constantinople Bukhara Beijing
Europe to Hindu numerals (0–9) Abbot Arnaud Amaury, on the
Campaigns of Genghis
Me d i terr Trebizond Nishapur Ningxia and to the word zephirum, a Albigensian Crusade
ane Kashgar JAPAN Khan 1206-1227
an S ea
Herat Balkh Lhasa Kaifeng
Hamadan Empire of Genghis Latinized version of an Arabic
IL-KHANATE Kabul CHINA Ningbo
Medina Patna Dali Khan 1227 word that, in the Venetian
BURMA Guangzhou
AFRICA
Mecca
INDIA Pagan
Silk road dialect, became
Hanoi
Arabian
Sea South Map of Genghis Khan’s empire
zero in algebra,
China
Sea Temujin would go on to unite the Mongol addition, and
tribes and conquer a huge empire. His the Fibonacci
successors would extend it still further. sequence.

es t d ire ire I n is
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9
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140
1211–15 1216–20 1221–25
,,
,,
I AM THE
PUNISHMENT
OF GOD...
Genghis Khan, Mongolian warlord

This 19th-century oil painting depicts the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, A detail from the south gate of the

26
said to have been the decisive battle of the Reconquista. great Khmer city of Angkor Thom.

PETER II OF ARAGON (1178–1213) law when it suited him. The barons DOMINGO DE GUZMAN, A CASTILIAN
AND ALFONSO VIII OF CASTILE revolted and after a brief civil war, CLERIC, DIED IN 1221. In 1203, he
(1155–1214) defeated the John was forced to sign the Articles had gone to Rome to ask
Almohads (see 1146–50) at the of the Barons, known in history as permission to do missionary work
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Great Charter or Magna Carta. with the Tartars (see 1201–10), but
1212. Alfonso had earlier been Although this mainly concerned the was sent to France to preach to
crushingly defeated by the rights of barons, its statement that the Cathars of Languedoc
Almohads in 1195 but had fought the king was not above the law was instead. By adopting absolute
off invasions by the other Christian
Spanish kingdoms and rebuilt his
an important milestone for human
rights. King John immediately
FEET poverty, he was able to challenge
the Cathars and make some
PERSECUTION OF army. After this decisive victory, the disowned the charter, and war THE HEIGHT OF headway, although ultimately his
THE CATHARS Almohads were soon expelled from failure to “correct” the heretics led
Spain, leaving only local Muslim 3 clauses 4 surviving THE WALLS OF to the Albigensian Crusade (see
Although only 200 Cathars dynasties that could not stand up to still in use copies
ANGKOR THOM 1206–10). However, like Francis of
lived in the town of Beziers the Christian advance. Accordingly, Assisi (see 1226–30), he had
in Languedoc, Crusaders this battle is traditionally said to be created a new kind of monastic
massacred the entire a decisive point in the Christian JAYAVARMAN VII DIED IN AROUND order—the Dominicans—adapted
population in 1209. Asked reconquest or Reconquista of 1220, having seen his greatest to the new urban culture. The
how the attackers should Moorish Spain (see 1241–45). creation take shape. At Angkor, in Dominicans and Franciscans
distinguish between Having lost most of his lands in
63 40 modern-day Cambodia, he were mendicant friars, mainly
Catholics and heretics, France, King John of England CLAUSES ORIGINAL COPIES created a new city, Angkor Thom, recruited from the middle classes,
crusade leader Abbot (1166–1216) joined in alliance with centered on the great temple of living off charity rather than
Amaury is reputed to have Emperor Otto IV (1178–1215) and The Magna Carta Bayon. The temple comprises farming, and devoted to preaching
Of the 63 clauses contained in the
given his famous order to others, but they were crushed at
original Magna Carta, only three
towers decorated with huge and charity in towns and cities.
“kill them all.” In its pursuit the Battle of Bouvines in Flanders survive as laws today. Numerous sculpted faces; the identities of A largely ineffective affair, the
of Cathars, the papacy would in 1214 by Philip II of France and copies were made, to be distributed these are disputed, although they Fifth Crusade was the fruit of
eventually create the the rival German emperor, around England; four survive. may include Jayavarman himself. Pope Innocent’s determination to
Inquisition (see 1231–35). Frederick II. This ended Anglo- Having conquered most of reboot the Crusading movement.
Norman hopes of regaining French broke out once more, this time Central Asia and northern China, Targeting Egypt, the Crusaders
territories. King John’s barons with added French involvement. Genghis Khan’s empire (see took that but then lost Damietta,
his control, preparing the way for were forced to concentrate on Retreating from a French invasion 1201–05) now bordered the and failed to account for the Nile
an expansion of royal power. England, where they had cause for force in 1216, the king lost his Khwarazm Empire of Persia. floods, which foiled their advance
In 1209, Cambridge University discontent. Thanks to a dispute baggage train—and his royal on Cairo. They high-handedly
was founded by scholars who had with the pope, the king had been treasure—while crossing the Wash rejected a treaty offered by the
Mongolian dagger
relocated from Oxford. By 1226, briefly excommunicated. More in Lincolnshire, England, and died The Mongolians had a deservedly sultan that would have given them
they had acquired some formal importantly, he was taxing the soon after. His infant son, Henry III fearsome reputation. After archers Jerusalem, and left Egypt in 1221
organization. barons heavily and invalidating the (1207–72) came to the throne. had decimated the enemy, fighters having accomplished nothing.
with hand weapons would close in.

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1226–30 1231–35 1236–40

This 13th-century painting by Giotto di Bonodore This 14th-century image shows Pope Steppe landscape; little changed
shows St. Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds. Gregory IX receiving a list of heretics. since the days of the Mongol Empire.

1,000,000
IN 1231, POPE GREGORY IX ON HIS DEATH, GENGHIS KHAN had
established the Papal Inquisition, informally divided his empire
a campaign by the church among four of his sons. Given
against heresy. Prior to 1231, the authority over the west, Batu
investigation of heresy had been Khan (c. 1207–55) established the
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE the responsibility of bishops but Kipchak Khanate, also known as

KILLED DURING THE it now became the preserve of


specialist inquisitors, mostly
the Golden Horde Khanate. In
the winter of 1237, when the
ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE drawn from the Dominican and
Franciscan orders (see 1221–25).
frozen rivers allowed his cavalry
to cross, Batu invaded Russia.
In 1233, the Dominicans were Over the next four years, his
THE RENEWAL OF THE was followed eventually by the charged with bringing the armies conquered the Russian
ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE (see submission of Raymond VII, Count Inquisition to Languedoc in principalities and blazed a trail of
Crusader coin
1206–10) in 1226 was in spite of of Toulouse —the Cathars’ A rare Crusader coin from the France, where the Cathar heresy destruction deep into Central
the Pope declaring an “official” protector. Under the Treaty of Kingdom of Jerusalem illustrates clung on despite the military Europe. Under the overlordship
end to the Crusade at the Fourth Meaux (also known as the Peace the effects of intermingling policy: defeat of the Count of Toulouse of Ogodei (see 1231–35), the
Lateran Council of 1215. In reality, of Paris) of 1229, the town of the inscription is written in Arabic. (see 1226–30). expanding reach of the Mongol
the battle for the south of France Toulouse was ceded to the Mongolian expansion Empire had important
descended into vicious guerrilla Capetian dynasty—the ruling Meanwhile, Emperor Frederick II continued, although Genghis implications for pan-Eurasian
warfare. Renewal of the Crusade house of France from 987 to 1328. of Germany realized that peace Khan (see 1201–05) had died trade. The Pax Mongolica or
with the Muslims was better than in 1227 while suppressing a “Mongol Peace” achieved in the
military adventures that could not rebellion in Xia Xia in China. He lands under Mongolian control
be won. In 1229, he concluded a was succeeded by his second son, made the perilous passage
treaty with the sultan of Egypt that Ogodei (c. 1186–1241), who was across Central Asia and the silk
restored Jerusalem and some still more ambitious. Ogodei sent road increasingly viable, enabling
surrounding land to the Christians. armies to the east and west, the first direct contact between
The Sixth Crusade thus passed leading the final assault on the Europeans and the Chinese
without bloodshed, although Chinese Jin Empire (see 1126– since Roman times in
Frederick was roundly condemned 30), which was conquered by around 1240.
for this achievment. 1234. The Southern Song had By 1236, the Teutonic
A former soldier, Francis of aided the Mongol advance, but Knights—a military order formed
Assisi, had founded the when they tried to seize Kaifeng in 1198 by German merchants
Franciscan order in 1209 (see in northern China in 1235, the serving at the Hospital of St. Mary
1221–25). In 1224, he received the Mongols turned on them. of the Teutons in Jerusalem—had
stigmata (the wounds of Christ), In 1235, Sundiata, king of the completed the subjugation of the
and he was canonized just two Keita, a Mande people from Pomeranians, a pagan tribe in
years after his death in 1226. sub-Saharan Mali, defeated the Prussia. Under their grand
Susu king Sumnaguru at the master, Hermann von Salza
Battle of Kirina. The Susu had (c. 1179–1239), the knights
destroyed the old Ghana Empire established numerous
(c. 830–1235), and Sundiata now strongholds, and in 1237, they
Cathar stronghold
The Cathar castle of Peyrepertuse in built a new Mande empire on the merged with the Livonian
the Pyrenees was located in a ruins of Ghana. Brothers of the Sword and
strategic defensive position on the advanced into Livonia (present-
French–Spanish border. day Estonia and Latvia).

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142 Kh mo
1241–45 1246–50

This miniature from the Annalistic Code of the 16th century depicts the “Battle of the Ice,” In this 16th-century painting, Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Lon, accepts
fought on the frozen waters of Lake Peipus, Novgorod. the surrender of the city of Seville from the Moors in 1248.

IN 1241, THE GERMAN TRADING Medieval trade IN 1247, FERDINAND III OF CASTILE Theobald of Navarre had
TOWNS OF LUBECK AND HAMBURG A manuscript AND LEON (c. 1199–1252) laid launched a crusade in 1239, but
formed an alliance to protect the illumination of the port siege to the Moorish city of Seville. it was so unsuccessful that it is
Baltic trade routes. This was the of Hamburg, a founder It fell to him in 1248, and with it not usually recognized as an
member of the
first act in the formation of the the last Moorish kingdom in ordinate crusade; Louis’ crusade
Hanseatic League,
Hanseatic League (from the which had its roots in Spain—with the exception of of 1248 is accounted the
medieval Latin hansa, meaning an alliance of 1241 Granada. Here, Mohammad Seventh, the last Crusade of this
a group or association). Lübeck with Lübeck. ibn-Yusuf ibn Nasr had magnitude ever undertaken.
quickly became the center of established the Nasrid dynasty in Louis landed in Egypt and took
expanding German trade in the 1230. By 1238, the Nasrids had Damietta without opposition, but
Baltic region, which extended to extend their begun to reconstruct an old in 1250 his army was destroyed
along the Russian rivers as far Livonian territories fortress, the Alhambra, which by the Egyptians at Fariskur and
as Novgorod, and linked to the eastward and launch would become one of the wonders he was taken captive. His mother,
European trading centers of the conversion of the of world architecture by the Blanche of Castile, raised a large
England and Flanders. Russians from the mid-14th century (see 1350–55). ransom to buy his freedom.
In 1242, the efforts of the Greek to the Roman In 1246, the emir of Granada The Mamluks (or Mamelukes)
Teutonic Knights (see 1236–40) church were checked agreed to become Ferdinand’s of Egypt were slave soldiers
by defeat at the vassal, but the last relic of captured from Turkic and
Battle of Lake Moorish al-Andalus would resist Circassian tribes (of the Pontic–
Peipus. Led by Christian pressure until 1492 (see Caspian steppes), who formed the
Alexander Nevski, 1490–92). main component of the Ayyubid
prince of Novgorod, Louis IX of France (1214–70) army. Eventually they became
the Russians was much respected throughout strong enough to take power for
checked the knights’ progress and traditional, Batu withdrew his Europe and had a reputation themselves murdering Turan
Lake Peipus thereafter served as forces back to Karakorum, the for justice. Under his reign, royal Shah, the last Ayyubid sultan of
the eastern limit of Livonia. Mongol capital, for the election control was extended to the Egypt, in 1250. At first the Mamluk
In a series of stunning victories of a new leader. Elsewhere, Mediterranean, and the previously commander Izz-ad-Din Aybak
in Eastern and Central Europe, Mongol forces had penetrated autonomous realms of Languedoc used the sultan’s widow as a
the Mongol armies destroyed all the Indian subcontinent, sacking and Provence would become part puppet ruler, but he soon married
RECONQUISTA opposition. Early in 1241, an army Lahore in 1241. of French Capetian territories. In her and founded the Mamluk
of horsemen crossed the frozen In 1244, Jerusalem, which 1244, Louis “took the cross,” dynasty, the first slave dynasty to
The notion of the Vistula River into Poland, sacking had been under partial Christian embarking on a crusade in 1248. hold power in its own name.
Reconquista—the Christian Kracow and defeating an alliance control since Frederick II’s treaty
reconquest of Islamic Spain— of Poles, Silesians, and Teutonic with the sultan of Egypt (see THE CRUSADES
as a single, continuous Knights at Leignitz in April. 1226–30), was lost to medieval
project, is a myth, first created Just three days later, another Christians for the final time. The 1096–99 FIRST CRUSADE
by clerical propagandists in
the 14th century. In practice,
force under Batu (see 1236–40)
overwhelmed the Hungarian
Egyptian sultan, Ayyub, was
engaged in a contest with the 1145–49 SECOND CRUSADE
the advance of the Christian army in their camp at Mohi. By Syrian branch of the Ayyubids 1189–92 THIRD CRUSADE
kingdoms was by degrees,
driven by the need for land,
December, Batu was destroying
Pest, the largest city in Hungary.
(see 1171–75) at Damascus,
which had allied itself with the
1202–04 FOURTH CRUSADE
and facilitated by Muslim The Mongols had reached the Christian Crusader kingdoms. 1213–21 FIFTH CRUSADE
dissention and advances in
military technology.
gates of Vienna when, in 1242, the
news reached them that Ogodei,
In 1244, Ayyub’s forces overran
Jerusalem and expelled the
1228–29 SIXTH CRUSADE
the Great Khan, had died. As was Christians. 1248–54 SEVENTH CRUSADE

es IX
ge e ke om is
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ra Lah La b
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on d sa dia tt
Ba lex ts
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4
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Da 12 las
143
6 0 0 –14 49 TRADE AND INVENTION

sharp
obsidian blade

eagle head
sculpted
in gold

Lip ornament Human mask Warrior effigy pot


AZTEC/MIXTEC AZTEC MOCHE
This eagle-shaped lip plug, or labret, Found at the Great Temple of the This pot from the Moche culture of the
would have been worn by a member of Aztecs in their capital Tenochtitlán north coast of Peru shows a warrior in
the Aztec elite. The Mixtec, a conquered (now Mexico City), this greenstone a headdress grasping a club. Constant
tribe, made most Aztec gold jewelry. mask was a votive offering. warfare was a way of life.

THE AZTECS, heavy wooden


handle

INCAS, AND MAYA


THE EXTRAORDINARY ARTISTIC TRADITIONS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA THAT SPANNED MILLENNIA

The Incas, Aztecs, and Maya were advanced civilizations Obsidian knife
AZTEC
with sophisticated arts and crafts and highly developed Long-bladed, razor-sharp
obsidian knives such as
graphic systems. The artifacts they created dazzled the this one were used by
medieval European invaders and still fascinate today. warriors and in the gory
human sacrifices practiced
by the Aztecs.
The art and culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica and
the Andes represent the height of ancient traditions stretching back to the Maquahuitl
AZTEC
4th millennium BCE. The conquistadors had a devastating effect on these Lacking iron or steel, pre-Columbian
cultures, but the artifacts that survive are a testament to their rich heritage. Americans used obsidian (volcanic
Much of Incan culture came from client states, such as the Moche, while the glass) to form cutting edges. The
maquahuitl—a wooden club fringed
Aztecs and Mayans derived theirs from older cultures, such as the Olmecs. with obsidian blades—was a
common Aztec weapon.

Sun stone skin of flayed


AZTEC victim
This sun stone, or calendar stone, is the
largest Aztec sculpture ever found.
It represents the Aztecs’ mythical
history of the universe. The Sun,
believed to have been formed
in the most recent era of
creation, is at the center.

decorated with
pictoglyphs

band showing
days of month

Priceless heart
Xipe Totec, god of the springtime AZTEC
disc is 13 ft (4 m) AZTEC The heart was considered the most
across The name of this grisly god translates as precious organ that could be offered to
“our flayed lord”; he is depicted wearing the gods, and this replica was carved in
the skin of a sacrificial victim, denoting jade, which the Aztecs regarded as their
the spring renewal of the Earth’s “skin.” most valuable substance.
T H E A Z T E C S , I N CA S , A N D M AYA

Necklace Tomb figurine


INCA INCA
Turquoise was highly valued by the This cast gold figurine
Incas (Aztecs and Mayans preferred representing an Inca god
jade and other greenstones), and this made up part of the grave
rare necklace is made from beads goods interred in the tomb
of gold, turquoise, and red shell. of a high-status individual.

size and position of


knots records numbers
ornate
headdress

hunter disguised heavy


as deer earplugs

Panpipes
INCA
Known in Europe
as the syrinx, the
panpipes were
among the most
common Inca musical
instruments. This unusual
set is made of quills from
the feathers of a condor.

elaborate
carvings

Decorative plate
MAYA
This plate from the Yucatán Maya shows hunting
scenes—in the center, a hunter drapes a deer he
has caught across his head and shoulders, while
Counting device
around the edges other hunters wear deer masks.
Greenstone yoke INCA
MAYA This quipu, or counting device, was a
Yokes were worn as protective belts in the versatile accounting tool that helped
Codex Tro–Cortesianus sacred ball game ulama, played by most the Incas keep track of the tribute and
MAYA Jaina figurine Mesoamerican cultures. This ornate yoke population of their empire—data was
One of only four surviving Mayan codices, MAYA
was probably a ceremonial replica. recorded in lengths of string and knots.
this one records instructions for divination This pottery figure from the island of Jaina
(predicting the future) and priestly rituals. shows a powerful man dressed in all his
codex was read
Sheets of bark paper were coated in gesso finery, with a heavy bead necklace, massive bars and dots from top to bottom,
(chalky paste) to form a writing surface. headdress, and ear plugs. represent numbers then left to right

145
1251–55 1256–60

Although not as sophisticated as Mayan hieroglyphs, Aztec pictographs such This illustration of Mongols battling the Seljuks is from a chronicle by Rashid
as the one shown could express simple concepts. al-Din, a Muslim minister in the service of the Il-Khanate.

BY THE MID-13TH CENTURY, THE In 1253, Hulagu led a huge army HULAGU KHAN (SEE 1251–1255)
KUBLAI KHAN (1215–94)
MEXICA TRIBE—better known into Western Asia to conquer the CONTINUED HIS CAMPAIGN
today as the Aztecs—were Great Seljuk sultanate (see AGAINST THE SELJUKS and other
established in the Valley of 1031–40), while Kublai launched Islamic powers. In 1256, he The grandson of Genghis Khan,
Mexico. Aztec legend suggests campaigns against the Southern crushed the Order of the Kublai spent eight years
that they migrated from the Song and the Kingdom of Assassins (see 1081–90), taking campaigning in southern China
ancestral homeland of Aztlan in Nanchao in China. their stronghold at Alamut in before succeeding his brother
the early 12th century. Settling at Persia. In 1258, he sacked Mongke as Great Khan in 1260.
Chapultepec, near Lake Texcoco, Baghdad and executed the His own kingdom, the Great
Mexico, in around 1250, they were Abbasid Caliph—the figurehead Khanate, encompassed
soon expelled by the Tepanecs, of Islam—in just one of countless Mongolia and China, where he
one of the tribal confederations atrocities committed by Mongol founded the Yuan dynasty,
competing for dominance in the invaders who massacred moved the capital to Shangdu,
wake of the Toltec collapse in the hundreds of thousands of and did much to foster trade
early 12th century. Muslims during their campaigns. and international links.
Although the Mongols had In 1259, Hulagu penetrated deep
conquered most of the Russian into Syria, but as with Batu’s
principalities (see 1236–40), and campaign in Europe 18 years regain his Syrian conquests and formally made sultans of Egypt,
the Golden Horde Khanate had earlier (see 1241–45), his the westward expansion of the Syria, and the Levant.
claimed authority over Russia, progress was halted by news of Mongol Empire was halted. Alfonso X of Castile (r. 1252–
surprisingly little changed for the death of the Great Khan, Hulagu’s conquests, which 1284) won the nickname “the Wise”
the Russians. In return for and he withdrew his armies encompassed Iran, Iraq, most of thanks to his learning, patronage of
tribute and military service, while he returned to the Anatolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the arts and Castilian literature,
the Russian princes were left Mongolian capital to help Georgia, became the Il-Khanate, sponsorship of natural philosophy,
in power and the Russian select a new leader. or Ilkhanate. Meanwhile, the and judicial reforms. He oversaw
Church was not interfered Taking advantage of Hulagu’s Mamluks gave refuge to a fugitive the final expulsion of the
with. Alexander Nevski withdrawal, the Mamluk Abbasid prince, setting him Almohads (see 1121–25) from
(c. 1220–63), the prince of general al-Zahir Baybars up in Cairo as the new caliph. Spain in 1257.
Novgorod who had led the marched north and struck at Recognized as guardians of the
Russians to victory against the the Mongol garrisons in Islamic faith, the Mamluks were
Teutonic Knights in 1242, Syria. At the Battle of
became the dominant Russian
noble, appointed Grand Duke of
Vladimir after his brother was
driven out by the Mongols.
Ayn Jalut in Palestine,
General Baybars
defeated the
Mongols and
,,HAD I BEEN PRESENT
AT THE CREATION, I
Under the support of the new expelled them from
Great Khan, Mongke (r. 1251–59), Palestine and Syria.
WOULD HAVE GIVEN

,,
his brothers Kublai and Hulagu On his return to Egypt
renewed the Mongol expansion. he murdered the
sultan and took his
SOME USEFUL HINTS FOR
Prince of Novgorod
place. Distracted by THE BETTER ORDERING
OF THE UNIVERSE.
This statue depicts Russian leader, dynastic struggles, and
Alexander Nevski, whose name later by a protracted
derives from the Russian victory at inter-khanate war,
the Battle of the Neva River. Hulagu was not able to Alfonso X, the Wise, on the Ptolemaic system

cs ki y
te vs s nr d er ls
Az ley Ne es ht He xfor a nd go
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2 5 0
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a r in
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146
1261–65 1266–71 1272–75

This example of Mamluk architecture from the height of the sultanate adorns Geneta Mariam church in Ethiopia, Former stronghold of the Knights Hospitaller, Krak des Chevaliers or “fortress
the entrance to the mausoleum of Qalawun in Cairo, Egypt. built during the Solomonid era. of the knights” in Syria was taken by the Mamluks and fortified further.

ITALIAN NOBLEMAN AND LATER Paleologus would campaign


tirelessly to restore lost C HAGATAI EMPIR E
DOMINICAN MONK, THOMAS KHAN ATE O F THE KHAN ATE O F THE
G O LDEN HO R DE
AQUINAS (1225–74) became one of Byzantine lands. G R EAT KHAN
EUROPE ASIA Karakorum
the most important philosophers The Second Baron’s War in COST OF Venice GOBI Shangdu
in the history of Western thought. England between 1264 and Constantinople
PARCHMENT Rome
Khanbaliq
Renowned for his work in uniting 1267 was brought about by a M e d i t e r r an e an Antioch
Tabriz
faith and reason, Aquinas’s combination of newly kindled COST Se
a Balkh
Baghdad H TIB E T C HIN A
OF MA IL-KHANATE i m a Hangzhou
period of greatest productivity national consciousness and PAPER ML
UK Hormuz
layas
S Quanzhou
occurred between 1258 and 1273, resentment at foreign Mecca IN DIA Guangzhou
S a h ar a Pagan

Re
when he penned his two best- interference. Henry III of England Arabian

dS
Cost of paper versus parchment South

ea
MALI Sea
known works, the Summa contra (r. 1216–72) had introduced many After paper-making technology was
Aden Calicut
Angkor China
AFRICA Sea
Gentiles and the Summa foreign officers into government introduced to Italy, the cost of
Theologiae. and taxed the English heavily to vegetable-based paper fell to 1/6 of INDIAN OCEAN
In 1261, Michael VIII Paleologus fund overseas adventures and the cost of animal-based parchment. Travels of Marco Polo KEY
(r. 1259–61), the Byzantine papal extortion. Rebels led by To reach China, Marco Polo traveled through Route of Marco
emperor of Nicaea, concluded the Simon de Montfort, Earl of THE SOLOMONID DYNASTY IN Anatolia, Iran, and Afghanistan. On his return, Polo 1271–1295
Treaty of Nymphaeum with the Leicester, captured the king at ETHOPIA was founded in 1270 by he sailed to Hormuz in Persia via Sumatra. Silk road
Genoese, agreeing to cede them Lewes in 1265 and summoned the Yekuno Amlak, displacing the
all the trading privileges once first European parliament that previous Zagwe dynasty, and IN 1271,THE VENETIAN MERCHANT the Holy Land, having forced the
enjoyed by the Venetians (see included elected representatives. claiming to have restored the AND EXPLORER, MARCO POLO Mamluks to conclude a 10-year
981–990). He had already secured Meanwhile, the Mamluks began legitimate line of the ancient (c. 1254–1324), traveled to China. truce in his attempts to destroy
an alliance with the Bulgarians, a push to rid the Holy Land of the Christian kings of Aksum. Amlak Arriving at Kublai Khan’s court in Acre, one of the last remaining
and was now poised to achieve his Crusader kingdoms once and claimed descent from the biblical 1275, the Great Khan employed Crusader footholds in Outremer.
dream of re-taking Constantinople for all. Solomon, via the possibly Marco Polo in various capacities. The Mamluks had already taken
from the Latin Empire Ethiopian Queen of Sheba. In 1292, he escorted a Mongol the apparently impregnable Krak
(Constantinople and environs, The town of Fabriano in Italy lies princess to Persia, returning to des Chevaliers from the Knights
captured from the Byzantines close to the Adriatic port of Ancona, Italy three years later and writing Hospitaller in 1271.
during the fourth crusade), which was notable in the 13th a travel memoir while a prisoner

22
and reconstituting the century for trade with the Muslim of the Genoese. Polo’s memoir,
Byzantine Greek Empire. In world. This is probably how paper The Travels—known by Italians as
July 1261, a Byzantine army manufacture became established Il Milione, because of the belief
took advantage of the there in the 1270s. Use of animal that it contains a million lies
absence of the Venetian fleet gelatin in place of more degradable —is a fascinating portrait of the
to cross the Bosporus strait vegetable gel made Fabriano Mongolian Empire at its height.
and take Constantinople. The paper more durable, and the town The Pax Mongolica (see 1236–40)
Latin emperor, Baldwin II became the principal paper allowed freedom of movement PERCENT
fled, and the Paleologus manufacturing site in Europe. through lands under the authority THE WORLD
LAND AREA
Empire was established. In 1270, Louis IX of France made of Il-khanate, and it was said that
another attempt at crusading, but a virgin with a pot of gold on her
on the request of Charles of Anjou,
the Eighth Crusade was diverted to
head could pass unmolested from
Constantinople (modern-day
COVERED BY
Thomas Aquinas
This 15th-century altarpiece Tunis, where disease killed Louis Istanbul) to Beijing. THE MONGOL
depicts Thomas Aquinas,
whose philosophy still
and his army. In 1272, Edward Plantagenet
(r. 1272–1307), heir apparent to
EMPIRE AT ITS
underpins Catholic dogma. the English throne, returned from HEIGHT
n

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pu 12 147
1276–85 1286–90

Statues adorn the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, India. Originally constructed by Kulasekhara Pandya, the Guglielmo Berardi da Narbona was
temple was destroyed by Muslim invaders and later rebuilt. killed at the Battle of Campaldino.

IN SOUTHERN INDIA, KING greatness of the Pandya court was New Zealand around 1280, IN THE 1280S, A TRIBE OF
MAORI CARVING
KULASEKHARA I (r. 1268–1308) attested to by Venetian merchant dividing the territory between TURKOMAN NOMADIC HORSEMEN
expanded the empire of the Marco Polo, who would pass hapu (clans). Hapu that traced a and raiders based in northwestern
Pandyas to its greatest extent. through in 1293, but the empire common ancestry formed iwi Maori culture is noted for its Anatolia, known as the Ottomans,
The Pandyas were an ancient was short-lived, breaking up in (tribes), some of which could trace tradition of arts and crafts; elected Osman (1258–1354) as
Tamil people of the far south, who the early 14th century due to family their lineage back to a single waka chief among these is te toi their chieftain. At this time, the
contended for supremacy over quarrels and Muslim invasions. houra (ocean-going canoe). whakairo (carving). Master political map of Anatolia was
the centuries with neighboring By the late 13th century, the Having conquered Korea and craftsmen were believed to fractured: the Mongol onslaught
kingdoms such as the Cholas and Maori had settled in New Zealand most of China, Kublai Khan channel the voices had broken up Seljuk Rum and
the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). (with the exception of Antarctica, (1215–94) set his sights on of the spirits and replaced it with many small
Under Sundara (r. 1251–68) the the last land mass to be colonized Japan, sending embassies ancestors, and principalities, while also driving
Pandya empire had expanded by humans). Dating the Maori demanding submission as early intricately carved waves of Muslim refugees into the
dramatically and reduced some colonization is contentious. as 1268. Under the bold posts and lintels region. Meanwhile, the Byzantine
neighboring states to vassalage. According to estimates based leadership of the Hojo regency, adorning Empire had been successively
His son Kulasekhara went on to on Maori traditions, the first the Japanese refused to be structures reduced and broken up by Seljuk
conquer Kerala, Kongu, and Polynesians visited the islands in cowed. After a failed invasion around the marae and Latin encroachment. Osman
Ceylon, and in 1279 he defeated the early 10th century, and waves attempt in 1274, Kublai sent (sacred space) was able to lead his tribe in a
the last Chola king, Rajendra III, of colonization climaxed with the 150,000 men in two huge and waka territorial expansion, rapidly
and annexed his territories. The arrival of the Great Fleet of fleets in 1281, but the (canoes) were conquering Byzantine territory.
ocean-going canoes in 1350. Japanese held off the invading believed to Florence, like many other Italian
Divine wind Archaeological findings tell a armada until a great typhoon, accumulate and cities, had developed into a largely
An engraving shows the destruction slightly different story. However, it known in Japan as the pass on mana autonomous republic or
of the Mongol fleet by the kamikaze seems likely that Polynesians, kamikaze (“divine wind”), (spiritual power). commune. It was typically easier
(“divine wind”) in 1281. probably from Tahiti, arrived in devastated the Mongol fleet. for the German emperors—the
notional feudal overlords—to grant
cities powers of self-government
than try to control them directly.
Since the mid-13th century,
Florence had see-sawed violently
between Guelph and Ghibelline
regimes (see 1221–25). This
Guelph–Ghibelline conflict had
gripped the Italian city-states,
providing a vehicle for the
expression of local class tensions
as well as national and
international politics. When one
faction gained the upper hand in a
city, the other was typically
expelled. In the 1280s, the
Guelphs had the upper hand, and
Guelph partisans exiled from
Arezzo encouraged them to take
up arms against the rival city. The
Florentines defeated Arezzo at the

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148
1291–95 1296–1300

The Eleanor Cross in Geddington, Northamptonshire, England, features an William Wallace was outlawed for killing one of Edward’s sheriffs in 1296.
ogee arch, marking a milestone for the English Gothic style. He was one of the first men to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Battle of Campaldino, heralding IN 1291, AFTER A DESPERATE THE EXTINCTION OF THE CANMORE
the start of a period of Florentine SIX-WEEK SIEGE, the Mamluks DYNASTY, followed by dissent
dominance in Tuscany. Among took Acre, the last major Crusader among the Scottish nobles, had
those battling on the Florentine stronghold in Palestine, and a allowed Edward I to exercise
side was the poet Dante Alighieri few months later they took Beirut, increasing dominance over the
(see 1311–17). the last remnant of the Crusader Scots, and in 1292 he awarded the
The line of Slave Kings of Delhi kingdom known as Outremer crown to John Balliol. However, in
Battle of
came to an end in 1290 with the
seizure of power by Firuz of the
Khalji Turks—a tribe living in
(see 1181–85). After nearly 200
years, Christian presence in the
Holy Land was extinguished, and
1295, Balliol made an alliance
with England’s enemy, France.
The following year Edward
1:4 Stirling Bridge
Under William Wallace,
an estimated 2,500 Scots defeated a
Afghanistan—thus founding the the Mamluks plundered the launched a campaign to subdue much larger force of English soldiers
Khalji dynasty. Firuz is best region to deter future Crusades. the Scots, defeating them at (numbering up to 10,000) at the
remembered for releasing into To limit the risk of disastrous Dunbar, and taking the Stone of Battle of Stirling Bridge.
Bengal 1,000 Thugs or Thuggees, fires, Venice moved its glass- Destiny—the Scottish coronation
cult followers of the goddess Kali making industry to the island stone—back to London. In 1297, The Genoese–Venetian naval
devoted to murder and robbery of Murano in 1291. Venetian the Scottish nationalist William conflict continued, with battles in
in her name. Murano glass the Black Sea and the Greek
glassmakers were the only ones Wallace (c. 1272–1305) led a
This Murano glass vessel dates to
in Europe to master the art of around 1330. As well as increasing revolt against English dominance, islands. At the Battle of Curzola,
producing clear glass. Their fire safety, concentrating the glass overcoming a larger English army in 1298, the Genoese fleet inflicted
expertise in working with glass industry on an island helped to at Stirling Bridge, but he was a disastrous defeat on the
had earlier borne fruit in the regulate it and guard its secrets. defeated at Falkirk in 1298 and Venetians, destroying all but a few
invention of spectacles (see 1284). forced into years of guerrilla of their ships and killing up to
Edward I of England (r. 1272– underway. Capable of carrying warfare and overseas fundraising. 7,000 men.
1307) had married Eleanor more cargo and a larger crew, the
of Castile in 1254. Though construction of the first of the great North

a
unpopular with the English, she galleys in 1294 heralded a distinct Sea

Se
lti

c
and Edward enjoyed a happy advantage for the Venetians. ENGLAND Ba
Danzig

165
marriage, and he was devastated Southampton London
Bruges
when she died in 1290. The AT L AN T I C
O CEAN Paris Frankfurt EUROPE
following year he ordered the Bay of
erection of 12 so-called Eleanor Biscay FRANCE Tana
HUNGARY
crosses to mark the passage of Venice Moncastro Kaffa
her funeral cortege to London. CASTILE Marseille Genoa
Lisbon Varna Black Sea
Bastia
The contest for mastery of the Valencia Dubrovnik
Rome Trebizond
Mediterranean between Genoa Cadiz Murcia
Naples Constantinople
and Venice continued, with a Málaga
Honein Trapani Phocaea
Bougie Palermo
Genoese fleet defeating the Bône Syracuse
Venetians off Laiazzo in 1294. The THE NUMBER Tunis
Me Crete
Rhodes

Cyprus
Famagusta
Beirut
following year, Genoa put together
OF GALLEYS
dite
AFRICA rran
ean Sea
a huge fleet, with the aim of
landing a killer blow. However,
Ornate Mughal screen
This screen from the main gateway despite a formal challenge being IN THE 1295 Genoese trade routes KEY
of the Qutb complex in Delhi was
built by the Khalji sultan Ala-ud-din,
made, it was not engaged.
Developments in Venetian
FLEET OF The Genoese opened a lucrative trade route to the
North Sea, and competed with Venice to dominate
Trade routes

murderer and successor of Firuz. shipbuilding, however, were GENOA trade with the Byzantines and the East.

i d
of s d Ma al ate
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149
1301–10 1311–17
,,LET EVIL SWIFTLY BEFALL

,,
THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGLY
CONDEMNED US—GOD
WILL AVENGE US.
Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights
Templar, cursing King Philip and Pope Clement V, 1314

Domenico di Michelino’s painting The Comedy Illuminating Florence, depicts The torture of Jacques de Molay, Grand
Dante, the city of Florence, and scenes from the Divine Comedy. Master of the Knights Templar.

ALTHOUGH THE GHIBELLINES HAD including representatives of the FROM THEIR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, cathedrals and the richness of
BEEN EXPELLED FROM FLORENCE towns and clergy—and received WHEN THEY HAD BEEN SO POOR Red Sea their accessories. At Hereford
(see 1286–90), factionalism still their backing. Boniface that two knights sometimes had Cathedral a huge Mappa Mundi
plagued the city, with a drawn-out excommunicated Philip and to share a horse, the Knights (map of the world) was created
power struggle between the old Philip called for the Pope to face Templar had risen to in around 1300 (its creation is
aristocratic nobility, the new criminal charges. In 1303, agents dizzying heights. With the variously dated to 1285 and 1314)
mercantile nobles, and the acting for Philip forced their way backing of Cistercian and used as an altarpiece; it is the
powerful guilds. The Guelph into the papal apartments in abbot Bernard of largest mappa mundi in existence.
faction split into Black (extreme) Anagni and arrested the Pope, Clairvaux (1090–1153), Such maps encapsulated the
and White (moderate) parties. who died soon after. Facing and subsequently the medieval world view on the eve
In 1301, the Whites expelled the tumultuous conditions in Italy, in Pope, they had won of the Age of Discovery.
Blacks, only for them to return 1303 the cardinals elected the exemption from secular At the Battle of Bannockburn
when Charles, count of Valois, archbishop of Bordeaux as Pope jurisdiction and taxation, in 1314, Robert the Bruce, king
entered the city. The following Clement V. Although hoping to and thrived as donations of Scotland (r.1306–29), finally
year the Black Guelphs sentenced establish himself in Italy when of land and money poured expelled the English from Scotland.
the Whites to death or exile— the violence subsided, Clement in. By the 13th century
among them the poet Dante remained in southern France, they had become de facto
Alighieri (see panel, right). finally settling in Avignon in 1309, bankers to much of
Hereford Mappa Mundi
In 1301, Pope Boniface VIII then owned by the king of Naples. Europe, able to direct a The world is shown as a disk, with
(c. 1235–1303) supposedly issued This temporary arrangement for large fleet and maintain the Jerusalem at the center. Trade and
a bull asserting papal supremacy the papacy would last until 1378. primary Crusader army in pilgrimage routes are illustrated,
over France. In fact, the bull was a Outremer. Templar knights rose together with places of interest.
forgery, put out by the French king to prominence all over Europe,
Palais des Papes
Philip IV the Fair (r. 1285–1314) to Situated on a rocky outcrop, the especially in England, where the years around 60 Templars were
stir up animosity against the pope. papal palace in Avignon is one of the Master of the Temple was the executed. Elsewhere in Europe,
Philip “responded” by calling one largest and most important medieval first baron of the realm. In the some arrests were made, but
of the first Estates General— Gothic buildings in Europe. early 13th century, then Master there was much less appetite for
William Marshal ruled the condemning the order. At the DANTE ALIGHIERI
country as regent for the young Council of Vienne (1311–12), (1265–1321)
king Henry III (1207–72). However, Philip forced Pope Clement to
after the fall of Outremer, the dissolve the Templars, and in 1314 Dante is the greatest Italian
Templars were struggling to stay the last Grand Master, Jacques de poet to have lived and one of
afloat, and presented an easy Molay, was burned at the stake. the most important writers
target for their enemy, Philip IV of Hereford, in England, was an in European literature. He is
France. Philip coveted the Templar important center for the wool best known for his epic poem
lands and cooked up charges of trade—one of the main sources the Divine Comedy, and for
heresy in which to indict them. On of wealth in medieval England. his tragic love for Beatrice,
October 13, 1307, Philip’s officials Foreign buyers flocked to the who married another and
simultaneously arrested every country to buy wool for export to died young. Exiled from his
Templar in France. They were the textile industries of Flanders native Florence for political
accused of a variety of crimes, and Italy, and the wool trade was reasons, Dante spent much
including sexual and occult described as “the jewel in the of his life traveling from one
outrages and worshipping an idol. realm.” The wealth of places city to another. He died in
The use of torture obtained lurid such as Hereford was expressed Ravenna in 1321.
confessions, and over the next few in the magnificence of their

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150
1318–25 1326–39

The earliest European illustration of a cannon, from a book by Walter de The gilded bronze doors on the Baptistry in Florence, sculpted and cast by Andrea

25
Milemete, presented to the future Edward III of England in 1326. Pisano, took six years to make after he won the commission in 1329.

GUNPOWDER WAS SLOWLY BUT FLORENCE IN THE 1320s AND south, led a revolt that resulted in Flanders, which triggered a
STEADILY CHANGING THE FACE OF 1330s WAS HOME TO ARTISTS the establishment of the last great revolt there against French
WARFARE. Arabs and Moors had including Giotto di Bondone Hindu empire in India, centered domination. In 1337, Philip VI
probably gained knowledge of (c. 1267–1337) and Andrea on the city of Vijayanagar. of France declared Edward’s
gunpowder from the Chinese, Pisano (c. 1290–1349)—both seen Edward II of England invested French territories forfeit, while
using cannons in Spain as early as as forerunners of the Italian power in favorites, especially Edward claimed the French
1284. The Mamluks are believed Renaissance (see pp.208–09). Piers Gaveston (murdered by crown, triggering the start of
to have used handguns at Ain Giotto painted naturalistic frescoes resentful barons in 1312) and the the Hundred Years’ War.
Jalut, while the Mongols acquired THE PERCENTAGE on the walls of the Basilica of Despenser family. He also
the technology on conquering
China. Europeans probably picked
OF TIMBUKTU’S Santa Croce in around 1325, and
in 1334 was put in charge of the
alienated his wife, Isabella of
France, who was sent to France
Vijayanagar sculpture
it up from Spain and contact with POPULATION AT construction of the Duomo in 1325 to arrange the marriage of
Lord Hanuman, the Hindu monkey
god, is shown carved on a rock
the Mongols. The first record of
cannons forged from iron comes
SANKORE (cathedral). Greatly influenced by their son. While there, she
became the lover of Roger
surface in Vijayanagar, the heart
Giotto, Pisano won a commission of the last great Hindu empire.
from Metz in 1324; later that year UNIVERSITY to craft a set of bronze doors for Mortimer, and when
an English fortress in Gascony the Baptistry of Florence, they returned, in
was bombarded for a month. passage through Cairo that he finishing them in 1336. 1326, they led a
The Mali Empire of West Africa destabilized the economy. On The Tughluk dynasty of the revolt against
reached its height under Mansa his return, he employed an Delhi sultanate had expanded the king. The
Musa (r. 1312–37), extending from Andalusian architect to build a the reach of the Muslim state, Despensers were
the Atlantic to Nigeria, and from new palace at Timbuktu, which reducing neighboring Hindu hanged, Edward
the Sahara to the rain forest. His became a centrer for Islamic kingdoms to vassal status, and was forced to
great wealth was based on Mali’s scholarship. Mali was later repelling a series of Mongol abdicate in favor of
gold, and when he traveled on visited by the Moroccan scholar incursions. In 1325, Muhammad his teenage son,
pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324–25, Ibn Battuta (c. 1304–69), who first Tughluk (c. 1300–51) murdered and Roger and
he dispensed so much gold on his set out on his travels in 1325. his father and took the throne, Isabella ruled as
and established a reputation for regents. Eight
Moscow Bulgar
KHANATE OF THE CHAGATAI cruelty. In 1327, he transferred the months later,
GOLDEN HORDE KHANATE
Kiev New Sarai capital from Delhi to Daulatabad Edward II was
EUROPE ASIA
Astrakhan EMPIRE OF THE for defensive reasons, forcing the horribly murdered.
GREAT KHAN
Granada
Constantinople population to relocate. In 1336, The regents ceded
Tabriz Samarkand
Tangier
Antioch
IL-KHANATE Balkh H
Harihara I and his brother Bukka Gascony to France
CHINA
Marrakesh Fez Baghdad Multan i m a l a Hangzhou of the Sangama dynasty in the and acknowledged
Cairo Acre yas
Jerusalem Hormuz Delhi
Quanzhou Robert the Bruce

Timbuktu
MALI
Niani
Jenne
MAMLUKS
S a h a r a

AFRICA
Mecca

Aden
Arabian
Sea I N DI A
Calicut
Guangzhou

South
China
,,THE FIRST
KING AFTER THE
as king of an
independent
Scotland. In 1330,

,,
Sea Edward III (r.1327–
Mogadishu
Malindi
CONQUEST WHO 77) had Mortimer
hanged and began
Zanzibar
Kilwa
INDIAN OCEAN
WAS NOT A MAN his own rule. Rising
The travels of Ibn Battuta
KEY
Route of
OF BUSINESS. tension with France
Ibn Battuta’s first journey was the Hajj (pilgrimage) Ibn Battuta was exacerbated by
to Mecca. He made seven further journeys, visiting 1325–1345 William Stubbs, English historian, Edward’s embargo on
almost every corner of the Muslim world. Silk road describing Edward II, 1875 wool exports to

i ) ia t
ier 65 of am d sin ul ion ga
r
igh b.12 uq a kh d an ys assa ell yana a
l
A a( hl gan ols Oc t an r at ar A b t h b rs
e g f
o y a II r ed a efe n cz f i c a e a i oo
nt nn u lin g
n T e on s ng rd oge pos g ye d s o lam De u r Vij Ind sd
Da ave ta s T M iam re rti a bs ria u Is k
ac na n d e n o’
21 in R ul exe the ill f he ppo ual” d dw by R n de owin er lga
g
Ne an
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of ’s of ed zi nd o he ny
or sa ion is wn r ha a la aig ;t r co f
at p er uktu Mu ecca of ss alo e cro ero e r G cae civi ssia G od ency p an we red G as rt o
e d z m b 2 5 M els n c e
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us Met , e Tim 4 – to av begi va n E III gn n l akes om al o
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i gli 1 fro Hum
28 32 sia 33 lem En
13 gla 13 ccle 13
A
7 F by th
e
En e 3
13 151
1340–44 1345–49 1350–55
,,
,,
WHATEVER THE WORLD
FINDS PLEASING, IS BUT
A BRIEF DREAM.
Petrarch, Florentine scholar and poet, from Canzoniere Number 1 (c. 1352)

The Strait of Gibraltar, where Marinid An illustration from Froissart’s Chronicle, of 1346, depicts the Battle of Crécy,
forces destroyed the Castilian fleet. at which the English used mobile artillery for the first time.

THE BATTLE OF RIO SALADO IS HAVING GAINED MASTERY OF THE THE PAPACY WAS REFORMING ITS
CONSIDERED, BY SOME, to be the ENGLISH CHANNEL at the naval BUREAUCRACY and improving its
defining battle of the Reconquista, battle of Sluys in 1340, Edward III finances under the Avignon popes.
ending forever the threat of was free to invade France. He In 1348, Clement VI (1291–1352)
Islamic incursion into the Iberian landed in Normandy in 1346 and bought Avignon from Joanne of
Peninsula from Africa. The Marinid took Caen, but retreated in the Naples, and work continued on
dynasty of Morocco, which had face of a huge French army. At its papal palace. Scholars and
overthrown the Almohads in the bay, on the borders of the forest artists were attracted to the
mid-13th century, gathered a vast of Crécy, Edward took up a papal city, briefly among them the
force and destroyed the Castilian defensive position and inflicted a Florentine Francesco Petrarch
fleet in the Strait of Gibraltar. crushing defeat on the forces of (1304–74), who had been crowned
The Marinids then marched inland Philip VI. This was largely thanks poet laureate in Rome in 1341. In
to the Salado River, where they to the indiscipline and arrogance 1351, Petrarch started to arrange
were defeated by the Christian of the French knights and the THE BLACK DEATH his poems in sonnet form. He was
kings Alfonso XI of Castile effectiveness of the Welsh and also a scholar, whose translation
(r. 1312–50) and Afonso IV of English longbowmen. At the cost The effects of the Black Death and popularization of Classical
Portugal (r. 1325–57). of a handful of casualties, the are best recorded in Europe, literature contributed to the
where it had profound

800,000
English killed tens of thousands, emergence of humanism, a new
including the kings of Bohemia consequences. It depopulated school of philosophy that would
and Majorca, the duke of Lorraine, the land, depressed the help to trigger the Renaissance.
the count of Flanders, the count of economy, checked intellectual In 1354, the Nasrid king of
Blois, eight other counts, and and artistic progress, changed Granada, Yusuf I, was murdered
THE AMOUNT three archbishops. The English the social order, contributed by his son Mohammed V (1338–
use of combined aristocratic and to the end of feudalism, and 91) who took the throne. Under
IN FLORINS yeoman forces had produced a triggered a wave of anti- Mohammed, the Alhambra—the
OWED BY powerful new form of army. They Semitic pogroms on Jews, fortress-palace of Granada—was

EDWARD III
would go on to besiege Calais, who were blamed for the further developed, becoming a
pestilence, forcing many to treasure of Islamic architecture.
migrate to Eastern Europe. The Ottomans were invited to
To finance his expensive war in Gallipoli, on the Dardanelles
TOTAL
France, Edward III of England (the straits separating Asia from
POPULATION
(r. 1327–77) had taken out huge which fell in 1347, after a Europe), by John Cantacuzenus
loans from Florentine bankers, protracted siege. (c. 1292–1383), claimant to the
especially the Peruzzi family. Also in 1347, the Black Death Byzantine throne, to help in his
When the money ran out, Edward arrived in Europe. It is thought to attempt to gain power. Led by
renounced his loan in 1342.
With the king of Naples also
45% have been carried initially by
Genoese returning from the
Orhan, the Turkish dynasty soon
seized the peninsula, securing
KILLED
defaulting on loans, the Peruzzi Crimea, where they had been themselves a foothold in Europe.
were bankrupted, throwing exposed to it by infected Mongols.
Florence into economic chaos. Transmitted by fleas that were
Walter de Brienne, the mercenary carried by rats, the plague was
Plague deaths Architectural jewel
duke of Athens, was called in spread by ship to the principal
It is estimated that up to 45 percent The Court of the Lions is at the heart
to take power in Florence but, of the total population of Europe was ports, and then to every corner of of the Alhambra palace, built by
eventually, a mercantile killed by the various waves of the Europe and Western Asia. A large Mohammed V as the winter
oligarchy took over. Black Death plague. proportion of the population died. residence of the royal family.

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152
1356–65 1366–72

To many people, Petrarch is known This mural features Timur Leng, who rose from humble beginnings to found Constructed of brick and timber, the Bell Tower of Xi’an was built during the
as the “father of humanism.” the Timurid dynasty after outmatching the conquests of Genghis Khan. early Ming dynasty, in the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Ming emperor.

276
BOHEMIA HAD EMERGED AS A dissolution in 1806. The Bull EDWARD, THE BLACK PRINCE, HAD
POWERFUL STATE under the established Bohemia as first BEEN MADE PRINCE OF GASCONY
Premyslid dynasty in the 13th among the electors and AND AQUITAINE in 1362, moving to
century. Under the Luxembourg guaranteed its independence. Bordeaux and becoming a major
dynasty, it became the central Timur Leng (1336–1405)—also player in continental affairs. In
force in German imperial known as Tamerlane—rose from 1367, he intervened in a dynastic THE SPAN, IN
geopolitics, while its ruler modest beginnings to become dispute in Castile, where French
Charles I (Charles IV as Holy leader of a Turkic-Mongol ally Henry of Trastamara (1334– YEARS, OF THE
Roman Emperor) sought to Chagatai tribe in Transoxiana, 79) had deposed English ally MING DYNASTY
modernize the imperial Central Asia, in around 1362. Pedro I, thereby placing control
institution and advance the Despite having a limp, and the of the Castilian navy in the
fortunes of Bohemia. In 1348, he fact that he was not of Chinggid French camp. Edward defeated Under Murad I (r. 1362–89), the
had enlarged the kingdom by descent (directly descended from Henry at Nájera but was forced to Ottoman Turks extended their
granting it territories such Genghis Khan—only Chinggids withdraw owing to illness. control deep into the Balkans.
as Moravia and Silesia, and could become khans), he was Subsequently, Henry regained the In 1371, Murad defeated an
refounded Prague to become one destined to become one of the Castilian throne. In 1372—after alliance of Serbs, Byzantines, and
of the foremost cities in Europe, greatest conquerors in history. Charles V of France (r. 1364–80) Bulgars, and held control over
with a major university. In 1356, Edward of Woodstock, eldest son had fomented a Gascon much of Thrace, Macedonia,
Charles IV issued the Golden of Edward III, also known as the rebellion, restarting the Hundred Bulgaria, and Serbia. He also
Bull, which regularized the Black Prince (1330–76), had won Years’ War—the Castilian navy created the janissaries, a
election of the emperor to a his spurs at the Battle of Crécy at proved instrumental in defeating an slave-warrior corps that became
majority vote of seven electoral age 16. He went on to become one English fleet at La Rochelle. the mainstay of Ottoman armies.
princes, most of which were of the most effective English China was reunited by conquest
hereditary; the papacy would have commanders. When hostilities from the south, as a native 70,000
no role. This, in turn, allowed the renewed between England and rebellion drove out the Mongol
electoral principalities to develop France in 1355, he invaded Yuan dynasty. In 1368, rebels 60,000
sovereign states, and set the France, winning a great victory under Zhu Yuanzhang 7,000 dead
constitutional basis of the Holy near Poitiers in 1356, in which he (1328–98)—a former peasant
50,000

NUMBER OF TROOPS
Roman Empire until its final captured King John of France. turned Buddhist monk then
general—struck north from
40,000
their base in Nanjing,
Golden Bull
displacing the Yuan from
Edicts issued with 30,000
golden seals were Beijing. Taking the imperial 100 dead
called Golden name Hongwu, Yuanzhang
Bulls. That of established the Ming 20,000
Emperor Charles dynasty, setting up a strong,
IV sought to centralized government, 10,000
prevent future in which the position of
imperial elections
emperor was strengthened, 0
from descending
into conflict. but so was access to the English French
bureaucracy. In 1372, he
Battle of Nájera
passed an edict attempting Outnumbered by almost three to
to ban maritime trade and one, the English–Gascon army
thus limit contact with defeated the French–Castilian forces
foreigners. with the loss of only around 100 men.

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153
6 0 0 –14 49 TRADE AND INVENTION

THE STORY OF
PRINTING
A REVOLUTION IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION CHANGES THE WORLD FOREVER

By making it possible to communicate and disseminate information at a


speed and scale previously unthinkable, printing wrought changes that bar to lower platen

are still unfolding today, from triggering religious mania, to scientific


and political revolutions—even changing language itself.

Printing is the impression of marks on a medium— eastern Asia but perfected by German printer paper is pressed
against form to
most commonly ink on paper. The earliest writing, Johannes Gutenberg (see 1454–55). His printing produce imprint
cuneiform, was a form of printing composed of press was so advanced that, except for refinements
indentations made by a stylus in clay. Printing in the such as new typefaces and mechanization of the
modern sense of the word first arose in 8th-century presses and paper handling, the basic process
China with the development of block printing. remained unchanged until the 19th century.
Blocks of wood carved into bas-relief were used as In the 1880s, the development of linotype allowed
stamps to reproduce multiple copies of a single text, a typesetter to compose lines of type using a
complete with images, such as the Diamond Sutra, keyboard, rather than by hand. Stereotyping made
the earliest datable printed book (see 861–70). it possible to duplicate complete pages for multiple
form, or frame, for
printing. In the 20th century, filmsetting enabled setting Gutenberg’s
MECHANICAL PRINTING rapid photographic creation of printing plates. By special type

Block printing was laborious and slow, as each block the end of the century, computers allowed every
was specific to one page. Movable type was a major aspect of printing, from typesetting and graphics wooden coffin,
which slides
advance (see panel, opposite), first achieved in to inking and drying, to be done on one machine. under platen

,,HE WHO FIRST SHORTENED THE LABOUR OF COPYISTS

,,
BY DEVICE OF MOVABLE TYPES WAS … CREATING A
WHOLE NEW DEMOCRATIC WORLD; HE HAD INVENTED
THE ART OF PRINTING.
Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist and historian, 1759–1881

c. 2291–2254 BCE 868 1377


Sumerian cuneiform Block printed book Movable metal type
Stamping cuneiform The earliest dated The first metal
inscriptions, rather book (entire movable type is
than drawing them by manuscript) is cast in bronze in
hand, is introduced. the Diamond Sutra, Korea and is used
Stamps are pressed a Buddhist text to produce the
into soft clay bricks, found in a cave in Jikji Simche Yojeol,
which are then fired. Sumerian cuneiform Dunhuang, China. The Diamond Sutra a Buddhist scripture. Early Korean book

8th century Japanese c. 1275–1313 c. 1455–56 1790s–1820s


Block printing dharani Movable type The printing press Metal presses
Printing using carved scroll Invented in China in the Gutenberg prints the The all-metal
wooden blocks and ink 11th century, movable first book in Europe—the Columbian printing
is known as xylography; the type is refined by Gutenberg or 42-Line Bible press is the first to
earliest surviving xylographic Wang Shen, who uses (because of the number of replace the screw with
fragment is a Buddhist over 60,000 wooden lines on each page). levers and weights.
dharani scroll from Korea. types in his treatise.
Gutenberg’s printing press Columbian metal press

154
T H E S TO R Y O F P R I N T I N G

screw, or spindle,
adapted from
wine press

MOVABLE TYPE

The key technology in the printing revolution was


movable type, in which each character in a script
had a corresponding single, small block, or type,
square sleeve, allowing lines of type to be assembled, and then
or socket reordered for different texts. The first book, printed
by movable type cast in bronze, was published in
Korea in the late 14th century. Gutenberg improved
upon this technology by developing a technique that
enabled rapid, precision casting of metal type.
heavy
platen, or ink impression raised
printing on paper movable type
plate

leather
ink balls
stuffed with
horsehair

Letterpress printing with movable type

sturdy construction Gutenberg’s press


for industrial-scale Gutenberg created a screw
production press for pressing inked
type, set on a wooden frame,
against a sheet of paper. This
was a dramatic improvement
on the traditional method
of taking impressions by
means of rubbing.

Late 20th
century–present
Desktop printing
The laser printer
offers technology
that would once
have filled an
Laser printer entire workshop.

1886 1903 Early 1949


Linotype Offset printing photocopier Photocopying
A linotype machine allows a In offset printing, the inked image Developed by American Chester
typesetter to make up entire lines is transferred (or offset) from the Carlson at the Xerox Corporation
of type, using a typewriter-like printing plate to the paper via a in the US, the photocopier
keyboard, rather than hand- rubber sheet, achieving smooth, uses electrostatic distribution of
compositing letter-by-letter. precise transfer and reducing powder ink or toner, rather than
wear on the plate. wet ink, to create an exact copy.
Linotype typesetter

155
1373–80 1381–85

A 16th-century painting captures the triumphant return of the An illustration from Froissart’s Chronicle depicts the Peasants’ Revolt, the first great popular
Doge to Venice after victory over the Genoese. rebellion in English history, led by Wat Tyler, who was executed by the mayor of London.

THE WAR OF CHIOGGIA, BETWEEN THE BLACK DEATH AND marched on London and hundreds of Noh plays and
VENICE AND GENOA, was triggered SUBSEQUENT LABOUR SHORTAGES siezed the Tower, burning the developed the highly stylized and
by the continuing contest for contributed to rising social palace of John of Gaunt and killing symbolic performances.
control of the trade routes tension in England. Around 1362, Archbishop Sudbury, who was Castilian influence in Portugal
through the Dardanelles, along for instance, the poor country blamed for the poll taxes. Richard in the 1380s threatened the
which flowed the lucrative trade priest William Langland had II cleverly appeased the rebels; independence of the kingdom and
of the Byzantine Empire and the written Piers Plowman, a poem in Tyler was executed and the revolt sparked resentment among the
Silk Road beyond it. In 1376, English sympathizing with the was brutally suppressed. Portuguese. An uprising
the Byzantine emperor John V plight of the poor peasant. Japanese Noh drama developed triggered by a nun resulted in
Palaeologus (r. 1341–76) granted Churchman and scholar John in the 14th century, mainly under Joäo (1358–1453), illegitimate son
to Venice the Aegean island of Wycliffe (or Wiclif) had caused a the aegis of Kanami Kiyotsugo of Pedro I, seizing control of the
Tenedos, key to the Dardanelles. stir with writings that prefigured (1333–84) and his son Zeami country. In 1384, John I of Castile
Meanwhile, his son and rival Protestantism, and a popular Motokiyo (1363–1443), who wrote (1358–90) invaded Portugal, but
Andronicus IV (1348–85) granted Biblical egalitarian sect, known as Joäo was elected king by the
it to Genoa. In the ensuing war, the Lollards, partially inspired Portuguese parliament and, with
the Genoans defeated the by Wycliffe, was winning English help, defeated
Venetians at Pola and, in 1379, widespread support. In Castile at the Battle of
seized Chioggia in Italy and 1377, the so-called Bad Aljubarrota, in 1385.
blockaded Venice. Under Vittorio Parliament, dominated In doing so, he freed
Pisano, the Venetians counter- Executioner of Cesena by the king’s son John Portugal from Castilian
The anti-pope Clement VII was
blockaded the Genoese fleet, known as the “executioner of of Gaunt, Earl of influence and, after
starving it into submission. Cesena” for his brutal suppression Lancaster and marrying the daughter
Genoese maritime power was of a rebellion in the Papal States soon-to-be regent to of John of Gaunt,
broken and Venice now controlled while acting as a papal legate. his infant nephew founded the Anglo-
the Levantine trade. Richard II (1367– Portuguese Avis
after. The Roman mob pressured 1400), introduced a dynasty.
,,NOTHING
GREAT IS EVER
the conclave of cardinals to choose
an Italian pope, and Urban VI
(c. 1318–89) was duly elected.
poll tax; subsequent
parliaments
extended it, causing
In 1384, Philip the
Bold of Burgundy
inherited the county

,,
French cardinals, meanwhile, widespread of Flanders, adding
ACHIEVED elected Robert of Geneva grievance. In 1381, to his extensive
WITHOUT MUCH (1342–94) as anti-pope Clement
VII. The French king, Charles V,
attempts to
reintroduce serfdom
territories. France,
ruled by the young
ENDURING. threw his weight behind Clement, triggered the and mentally ill
while Richard II of England allied Peasants’ Revolt, Charles VI, was now
St. Catherine of Siena, (1347–80) with the Holy Roman Emperor which saw peasants dominated by rivalry
Charles IV in supporting the rising against landlords, between the houses of
In 1376, Dominican mystic and Roman candidate. Thus began the burning manors, and Burgundy and Orléans.
miracle worker Catherine of Siena Western, or Great Schism, which destroying records. Up
travelled to Avignon to convince saw rival popes installed in Rome to 100,000 men, under
Noh mask
Gregory XI (c. 1336–78) to return and Avignon until 1417. Jack Straw and Wat Tyler,
In Noh drama, which involves
the papacy to Rome. A few music, singing, speech, and mime,
months later, Gregory went to mask usually made masks are used by the principal
Rome to attempt to restore order of wood or clay character, and by female and
in the Papal States, and died soon elderly characters.

es er
d’s ri nd
)
nd
oo cena a
ay haila ai s u cow s’ a ;
old es
e
w nt hin ies ak
wk er s t h
ut y T th si a n
o s sa d e of C ls ed eB st
Ha y m e luk ia Ay da uko us f M den
a
Pe lan k
ta rol go iff
l th ecom an
ohn pan nes am en cy e 78 ent- es S 0 R i III o Gol ovo he ng ng nt on yc ili
p b s to
m
J m l a M m pa om 3 3 8
1 T in E Mi e co e M n W rds Ph ndy der Ot
73 Co M i 75 A r
Pa to R
1 e s at 1 itr the ulik 8 2 h 8 4 rgu Flan 85
13 hite the 13 ade 7 (pr bjug Dm feat at K 13 volt 8 et
13 mpl pel
th Jo lla 3
1 Bu of 13 fia
W feat inv
7
13 turn
s u
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s co d ex 13 e of of unt
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s of ia de , of
die m e gg ): or d go tle s
d III II is c his om n hio 381 n n H w an ol o tsu ped at she e
r d of S R o C e iy a B i
wa ar g 78 at ign
f 1
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a ur ld o tr ng i K sh f No s
h 85 abl es
Ed Rich d kin land 13 pes Av im to Go osc con sia Le n m ho 13 est tugu nce
7 7 ); e g o nd 8 Wa gins s G ma 0 T ins ia 82 ks M erts Rus ur rasa na st w ent o , di
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t a or de
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13 312 own En al a 13
7 be en pr 13 beg ers
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(b. nic ng n P r 13 uer 13 dra evel in J jub ind
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156
1386–90 1391–1400

Traveling pilgrims are shown in an illustration from the Canterbury Tales. This unfinished poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, A miniature from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, shows the Battle of
17,000 lines long, vividly illustrates the medieval world view on social, religious, and moral matters. Nicopolis, at which the Ottomans destroyed a crusading army.

JAGIELLO OF LITHUANIA THE START OF THE MING DYNASTY Courts). During this period, the
CHRISTIANIZATION OF EUROPE
(C. 1362–1434), THE LAST PAGAN IN CHINA TRIGGERED CHANGE IN line of the emperor Godaigo—
RULER in Europe, was crowned KOREA, which was considered driven out of the capital, Kyoto, by
king of Poland and converted to In Europe, the medieval period a client state by the Ming. The the Ashikaga shogun Takauji, in
Christianity in 1386. Marriage to saw the vigorous advance Koryo empire had supported the 1336—had maintained a rival
Jadwiga of Poland united the two of Christianity until it new Chinese dynasty, but this did court in the mountainous
kingdoms, and brought Lithuania encompassed the entire region not prevent the Ming from Yoshino region south of Nara.
into the Catholic Church, although (with just a few exceptions). threatening to invade. In 1388, Yi Japan was wracked by civil war
pagan traditions lingered on. The spectacular success in Songgye (1335–1408), a leading until the shogun Ashikaga
Timur Leng (see 1356–65) converting Europe posed general who favored the Chinese, Yoshimitsu (1358–1408)
completed his conquest of Persia extreme challenges to the seized power in Korea. In 1392, negotiated a reunification
in 1386 and raided deep into the Church, as it struggled to as King Taejo, he founded the and brought Ashikaga power
Caucasus, sacking Tbilisi in reconcile temporal and Yi dynasty, also known as the to its apogee.
Georgia and capturing the Georgian spiritual power. Internal Choson (or Joseon), a name The Nicopolis Crusade of
king. However, when the army of forces would continue to taken from an ancient Korean 1396—intended to roll back the
the Golden Horde attacked his revolutionize the religion. kingdom. Taejo restructured his Ottoman advance in the
Central Asian territories, in 1387, government on the Chinese Balkans—saw a Franco-
he was forced to turn back and model, and instituted wide- Hungarian expedition led by
meet them. It took another nine Member of Parliament. He was Canterbury Tales, partially ranging land reforms to Sigismund of Hungary
years for him to destroy the threat. instrumental in the development modeled on Italian author Giovanni redistribute estates from the humiliatingly crushed at the
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340– of Middle English—a combination Boccaccio’s Decameron, tells the hands of the oligarchy, replacing Bulgarian town of Nicopolis on
1400) was a soldier, scholar, writer, of Old English and French story of pilgrims on the road to the them with a new class of the Danube. A huge army,
diplomat, government official, and influences. His greatest work, the shrine of Thomas Becket (see technocrats known as the featuring volunteers from most
1170); it was begun in 1387. yangban. Neo-Confucianism of the Christian states, proved
Yelets KHANATE OF THE At the Battle of Kosovo, in 1389, was adopted as the state religion, ill-disciplined. The failure of this
GOLDEN HORDE the Ottomans defeated the Serbs and a new capital was founded at adventure proved that Christian
New Sarai
Astrakhan Aral and Bosnians, smashing the Hanseong (Seoul). The Yi dynasty Europe had to look to its defense.
Kaffa Sea Ottar
Urgench
CHAGATAI Serbian empire and absorbing lasted until 1910.
Ca

Black Sea KHANATE


sp

Constantinople Ankara Derbent Bukhara Samarkand most of its territories. The Ottoman In Japan, the union of
ia n

Smyria leader, Murad, was killed in the the northern and


S ea

Siras
Konya Balkh
Me Tarsus Alamut Nishapur battle but his son Bayezid the southern imperial
dite Aleppo Kabul
rran Antioch
ean S ea Mosul Qum
Herat Thunderbolt (1360–1403) took over. courts in 1392 brought
PE RS IA Multan
Acre Damascus
Kandahar Delhi
News of Murad’s death prompted to an end the Yoshino
Alexandria Baghdad Isfahan
Cairo Jerusalem IL -KHAN AT E the Ottoman vassals in Europe and period (also known
MAMLUK er Shiraz Anatolia to revolt, but Bayezid as the Period of
Ar

SULTANATE si a Hormuz swiftly reduced most of them, Northern and Southern


ab

nG
ia

EGYP T u lf
Re

bringing their territories under


Pe

Aswan Medina Arabian


dS

ni

su Sea direct Ottoman rule. The Ottomans


ea

la
Mecca Gyeongbokgung Palace
now controlled most of Anatolia and
the Balkans south of the Danube. This colossal palace, built
The Timurid Empire KEY by King Taejo (Yi Songgye)
Bayezid introduced the devshirme
Established by Timur Leng, the Campaigns of Timur in 1395, is also known as
Timurid Empire eventually reached —the levy of Christian children the “Palace of Shining
Extent of Timur’s empire who were converted to Islam and
a greater extent even than that of Happiness” and the
Genghis Khan, but it would not long used in the administration and “Palace Greatly Blessed
survive Timur’s death. Janissary corps. by Heaven.”

of st an , ly a: s
lo pe
, Gi s IV Ho d a gn a, ut
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g l tia f P e ea n
J a ,t E o h w cer un ti, que ce ia n a ,
e o na eth n) Kor Le e a te g
n
86 nia r i of P ris i s n, on en hem or, e erm gu og og so ur ord na en
13 hua rule ing o Ch gl u he ila Visc r con 9 W f Bo per in G ea Bol oin t ho s in im n H kha rL ,
En Cha ite t s M 8 L C T u
Lit gan ed k rts t 87 ey r le 88 zo th ly
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92 ty b 13 ade kes
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n n W ati d; of em ans d o od ou ite om an ; O mp y I En e d lsh
86 p P g tw he oh ansl she as tle n m En peri nd S reun g c Kh lis ca nr in 9 W len We n
13 com st of eor be nd t e
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157
1401–03 1404–07 1408–10
,,WE HAVE SET

,,
EYES ON...
REGIONS... FAR
AWAY...
Zheng He, Chinese explorer

The wall of skulls at the Templo Mayor archaeological site in Mexico City is made from skulls carved in stone, Wladyslaw II Jagiello of Poland prepares
covered with stucco; the Aztecs practised human sacrifice at the vast temples in the centre of Tenochtitlan. for the Battle of Tannenberg.

FOUNDED BY THE AZTECS IN 1325, Meanwhile, they expanded their HAVING CONQUERED AS FAR AS THE RELENTLESS ADVANCE OF
the city of Tenochtitlan—existing political territory through RUSSIA in the East, Timur Leng THE ORDER OF TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
on the apparently unpromising marriages, alliances, and (see 1386–90) set his sights on the (see 1236–40) had brought
site of a marshy island in a conquest. After a flood, greatest empire—China. In 1405, Prussia and much of the Baltic
partially brackish lake—reached Tenochtitlan was laid out on a he embarked on a campaign, but coast under their control, cutting
its height at the beginning of the grid pattern, with quarters died en route to China and was Poland off from the sea. The union
15th century. Tenochtitlan means arranged around a central buried at his capital, Samarkand. of Poland and Lithuania under
“Place of the Fruit of the sacred district, regarded as Despite his possibly exaggerated King Wladyslaw II Jagiello
Cactus”—a reference to the vision the center of the world. A huge reputation for cruelty, Timur was (c. 1362–1434) posed a new threat
that supposedly informed the population of up to 200,000 a devout Muslim and a patron of to the Order, and the Great
choice of location. In this vision, was supported by intensive the arts and architecture. His Northern War ensued. At the
the tossed heart of a conquered agriculture and extensive enormous empire did not long Battle of Tannenberg in 1410—
enemy landed on the island where networks of trade and tribute. survive him, quickly breaking one of the greatest cavalry
an eagle wrestled with a snake on The African Songhay kingdom down into a Timurid state ruled by confrontations of the age—a huge
a cactus growing out of a rock— was centered on the trading Songhay gold coin his son Shah Rukh (1377–1447), Polish–Lithuanian army of up to
as depicted on the present- metropolis of Gao, in the Niger This coin from the Songhay Empire which soon fragmented further. 16,500, including Bohemian
day Mexican flag. The Aztecs Bend area of West Africa. Gao is from the Songhay city of Gao; rich In 1404, John the Fearless mercenaries, Russians, and even
drained the island, reclaiming had long been a prosperous city and powerful, the city provided the (1371–1419) became duke of Tatars (Turkic Mongols), defeated
basis for building the empire.
surrounding land, and joined the thanks to interregional and Burgundy, leading opposition to
land together with causeways. trans-Saharan trade with the the regency of Louis, duke of
Islamic world, especially 15th century, Mali declined and Orleans (1372–1407), brother of
Tenayuca
VALLEY OF in salt, gold, slaves, and Gao won its independence, the mad king, Charles VI of France
MEXICO
ivory. In the mid-13th beginning the growth of a (1368–1422). In 1407, John
century, because of the Songhay Empire that would ordered the assassination of
allure of its riches, it eclipse the other two largest Louis, triggering civil war
Pantlaco
Atepehuacán Atzacualco
became an eastern empires of the late Iron Age in between the Burgundians and the
Coltonco Tepeyacac province of the Mali West Africa—Ghana and Mali. Armagnacs (named for the count
Dyke of Netzahualcoyotl

Azcapotzalco Empire (see 1231–35). In 1398, Timur Leng (see of Armagnac, the father-in-law of
However, in the early 1356–65) had invaded northern Charles, the new duke of Orleans).
Tacuba Altepetlac India and destroyed the Delhi The Burgundians, who favored
Popotlan sultanate with astonishing speed peace with the English, were
Tlatelolco
and terrifying cruelty. Marching popular in Paris and the north,
Map of Tenochtitlan 160 miles (260 km) in two days, he while the Armagnacs, who were
Lake Causeways connected
Texcoco captured and massacred 100,000 anti-English and pro-war, had the
Chapultepec Tenochtitlan to other fugitives outside Delhi before support of Queen Isabeau of
settlements on the lake
TENOCHTITLAN
and the mainland. The
sacking the city, supposedly Bavaria, the great nobles, and
Mixiucan
Tlacateco Acachinanco city and its emperor building a huge pyramid from the the south of the country.
Xola-Xalac Zacatlalmanco dominated the Valley skulls of his victims. In 1401, In 1404, Zheng He (1371–1435)
Tepetlatzinco
of Mexico. Timur massacred the population —a Muslim captured from Yunnan
of Baghdad and launched an in China as a boy, castrated, and
KEY invasion of Syria. He then moved pressed into military service—was
street against the Ottomans (see named grand, or high-ranking,
Mexicatzincgo
aqueduct 1286–90), occupying Anatolia and eunuch at the imperial court. The
Lake
Coyoacán Xochimilco causeway restoring the old Turkoman following year he led the first of
Huitzilopochco
dyke principalities. seven epic voyages of discovery.

– f
t 36 of p o ; a, di rdi
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00 cit n T 02 a; T n 0 D D s id
14 c a 01 ma of 14 kar es ulta 14 con sei d Vi 05 (b. tio e 09 o d hi av
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of noc 14 pula im m i l
N mp rpie
ca tom e
V ro n a T g id E
Te po Ot Ve fra ur co ste
Tim m
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f
s t r eo e
00 ec ule ag in f
14 of hit ti y r hes oy ng H ar s il o
c. sion an rc iber n l a v
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a
Ma abl acc
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ic ian Gh esig ce F i r i v g
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Ex st A mp tal zo d 03 st al 05 ore C
07 rm nd 09 s i
e 0 2 I ren d to oren try 14 ra e of M 14 expl 14 its A rgu 14 sult laim
W ay E 14 Lo ione f Fl ptis va e p u re al c
h o es at ce t B sa pap
ng iss s Ba rm tan an ins Pi
So m door Pa Sul Fr aga
o m
c
158
1411–15 1416–20

This later depiction of the Battle of Agincourt shows cavalry engaged in This illustration from the Chronicle of Ulrich von Richental shows the papal
conflict; around 10,000 French troops were killed or captured. electors taking their leave from Emperor Sigismund at the Council of Constance.

the forces of the Teutonic Knights IN 1413, HENRY IV OF ENGLAND convene a general council—the THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE (1361–1419), sparked a Hussite
who were around 11,000 strong. DIED and his son, Henry V Council of Constance—to resolve ENDED THE GREAT SCHISM in 1417 uprising in Bohemia. This
The Order was crushed, but (1386–1422), came to the throne. the split in the Catholic Church by trying and deposing the last combined a religious tussle
Jagiello was unable to keep the In 1415, Henry concluded an known as the Great Schism (see antipope, Benedict XIII, and between the papacy and
powerful Polish nobles in order alliance with Burgundy and 1373–80). In 1415, the Council electing Martin V (c. 1348–1431) antipapists, with a nationalist
and thus could not press home reasserted the English claim to deposed the existing claimants, as the sole true pope. struggle between Czechs
his advantage. The Peace of the French crown as a pretext for and condemned the Bohemian The burning at the stake of (Bohemians and Moravians) and
Thorn, concluded the following renewing the Hundred Years’ priest, religious reformer, and Bohemian religious reformer Jan Germans. The Hussites, made
year, failed to secure Polish War (see panel, right). In October, philosopher Jan Huss, who was Huss (see 1411–15), and the death up of moderate (Utraquist) and
access to the Baltic and enabled Henry inflicted a terrible defeat on executed the same year. of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia extreme (Taborite) factions, united
the Teutonic Knights to regain a far superior French force at to face a crusading alliance led by
some of their advantage. Agincourt, taking the Duke of Wenceslaus’ brother, the emperor
Andrei Rublev (c. 1370–1430) Orleans prisoner, and going on to Sigismund. The Hussites defeated
was a Russian monk and painter, conquer Normandy. the alliance outside Prague.
based at the St. Sergius monastery In 1411, peace was concluded
of the Holy Trinity in Moscow.
He worked during a period of
monastic revival in Russia, when
,, ...THE LIVING
FELL ON TOP OF
between Portugal and Castile
(see 1381–85). Portugal now
began to look outward, winning
the Eastern Orthodox a foothold on the north coast of
Church offered THE DEAD, AND Africa at Ceuta in 1415. Explorer
comfort in the face of OTHERS FALLING Henry the Navigator (1394–1460)

,,
internecine war and distinguished himself in the
the hated Mongol ON TOP OF THE expedition; his visit to Africa
Yoke—the tribute LIVING WERE sparked an interest in exploration,
and service exacted and he may have set up the first
by the Golden Horde. KILLED AS WELL. . school of navigation in Europe at

45
Though inspired by Sagres, in Portugal (see 1434).
the great icon painter From Gesta Henrici Quinti, c. 1416
Theophanes the
Greek, Rublev was
celebrated for During Chinese explorer Zheng THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
pioneering a new, He’s fourth and greatest
more serene and expedition in 1413, he visited The series of conflicts from 1337 to 1453, later known as the
symmetrical style. Calicut in India, and reached Hundred Years’ War, was triggered by a combination of factors:
Hormuz on the Persian Gulf, tensions over the status of the duchy of Guienne, which belonged
sending ships to explore down the to the kings of England but owed sovereignty to the French
African coast as far as Malindi in crown; English claims to that crown, based on descent from the THE NUMBER
OF SESSIONS
The Holy Trinity Kenya. The fleet included 63 ships Capetians; anxieties of influence on both sides; and the need of
This detail from Andrei of up to 260 ft (80 m) long. English kings to use foreign adventures to shore up support at
Rublev’s greatest icon,
painted around 1410,
In 1414, anti-pope John XXIII—
one of three men claiming to be
home. There should have been little contest between France, the
most powerful nation in Europe, and smaller, poorer England, but
HELD AT THE
shows the three angels
who visited Abraham. pope—was expelled from Rome by the English used new tactics and weapons, especially the longbow, 42-MONTH-
Each angel represents
a different aspect of
King Ladislas of Naples. John
sought refuge with the emperor,
to devastating effect. The war drained resources on both sides, but
also forged a new degree of national identity for both countries.
LONG COUNCIL
the Trinity. Sigismund, who forced him to OF CONSTANCE

f ict of r xes
h– es e o nfl ion nd of ro
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c f r t d tle g ble II n ann cil s ing 60– on, ervi
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14 ussi a de e cru
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Ka o, p i-p s M n 13 S lis ty i 15 at et P H izk sit
n nt ke lore ank 14 lu in ta b
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Ka 0 A I ma in F al b ur es dyn e Na sib tion H
1 n qu s a
14 XII nk pap Jam co po avig
Ba the n
of
159
1421–22 1423–25 1426–30

Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan sits in state; having assassinated his brother to The Doge’s Palace, seat of the doge of Venice, is a masterpiece of 14th-century Joan of Arc leads troops into battle,
become duke of Milan, he restored Visconti hegemony over northern Italy. Gothic architecture, overlain with 15th, 16th, and 17th century additions. wielding a crossbow.

SULTAN MEHMED I Sultan Murad II IN THE 1420S, THE CULTURAL Although Florence was the
(1382–1421) had Murad defended and MOVEMENT known later as the heart of the Renaissance in the
successfully extended the Ottoman Italian or High Renaissance 15th century, the other great
restored the Empire, and was also gathered pace, particularly in the Italian power centers of Milan,
a patron of poetry Rome, and Venice also fostered
Ottoman state field of painting and the visual
and learning,
after the Timurid making his court arts. In 1424, the sculptor artistic and architectural
invasion (see a cultural center. Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455) achievement. In Venice, the
1401–03), completed the gilded bronze Doge’s Palace, which had been
although his navy doors for the Florence Baptistry evolving since its origins in the
had come out between 1386 that he had been commissioned to 9th century, embodied many of
worse in a conflict and 1400; and make in 1403; the following year the architectural high points
with the Venetians threatened Florence he was commissioned for a of the previous six centuries. The
Bodkin point
at the Battle of until his death in further set. Working at the same current building began to take This type of arrowhead is an
Gallipoli in 1416, 1402. Strife between time as Ghiberti were a host of shape around 1340; work on the uncomplicated, squared, metal
forcing the Ottomans to his sons Gian Maria and other artists, including side overlooking the Piazzetta did spike, extensively used during the
recognize Venetian claims in Filippo Maria saw this empire Brunelleschi, Jacopo della not begin until 1424, under Doge wars of the Middle Ages.
Albania. In 1421, Mehmed died disintegrate, but when Filippo had Quercia, Masaccio, Donatello, Francesco Foscari (1373–1457).
and his son, Murad II (1404–51), Gian assassinated in 1412, he set Gentile da Fabriano, Jan van Eyck, In 1424, Timur’s descendant, THE DAUGHTER OF A FARMER,
became sultan. Domestically, he about restoring it, regaining and many more. Ulugh Beg (1394–1449)— JOAN OF ARC (1412–31) was 16
restored the devshirme practice of Genoa in 1421. The Visconti astronomer and future Mongol when in 1429 voices in her head
training Christian slaves for key patronized the arts and leader—built a great observatory commanded her to bear aid to the
The Tribute Money
roles in government; externally, scholarship, helping to drive the Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone in Samarkand. It was equipped French dauphin (see 1421–22).
he pursued a policy of renewed Renaissance (see pp. 208–09). Masaccio died at just 27 years old, but with a 130-ft (40-m) sextant, and The English under John, duke of
expansion, beginning with the The French had suffered great created some of the most influential Ulugh and his team of scholars Bedford (1389–1435), had made
first Ottoman siege of losses at Agincourt (see 1411– artworks of the Renaissance. cataloged over a thousand stars. further gains against the forces of
Constantinople. The siege was 15), and in 1420, at the prompting
unsuccessful and Mehmed was of the pro-English Burgundians,
distracted by an uprising led by Charles VI of France had accepted
the Sufi theologian and preacher the Treaty of Troyes and
Sheikh Bedreddin—it was acknowledged Henry V of England
suppressed, and the sheikh as his heir and immediate regent.
was executed. The agreement ceded all the
The Visconti family had ruled conquered lands up to the Loire
Milan since Archbishop Otto to the English and declared the
Visconti rose to power in 1277; dauphin, Charles, to be
their domain had spread to illegitimate. The English now
encompass much of northern controlled northern France.
Italy, reaching its height under In 1422, both Henry and Charles
Gian Galeazzo (1351–1402), sole died, and under the terms of the
ruler from 1385. He had made Treaty, the infant Henry VI was
marriage alliances with the chief acclaimed king of both England
monarchs of Europe; was made and France. The dauphin, based at
hereditary duke in 1395; mastered Bourges, refused to accept this,
Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Pisa, and the Hundred Years’ War (see
Siena, Assisi, and Perugia 1411–15) continued.

f t
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14 sieg ple Fr ds h lead , M ar lete pti ati e o Ve 27 the tla as fro fA s
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er les 368 an ntin
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14 mo c t f Ch e (b. to m ta s otti com 24 rt or 24 ett dis 28 pe 29 of
t O o nc t
O o n s d ry 14 hibe o Fl 14 iaz 14 inde 14 ege
ur n y i
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ns Ma es s
De er
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160 m re
1431–33 1434
,,WE READ THAT WE OUGHT TO

,,
FORGIVE OUR ENEMIES; BUT WE
DO NOT READ THAT WE OUGHT
TO FORGIVE OUR FRIENDS.
Cosimo de Medici

The Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Painting of the first Medici ruler
Eyck is noted for its detailed interior. of Florence, Cosimo.

the dauphin and were besieging FROM 1431 TO 1433, ZHENG HE SINCE THE 1380S, FLORENCE HAD Compact, and civil war broke out into the Atlantic had discovered
Orleans, while the dauphin had (see 1404–07) made a seventh and BEEN DOMINATED by the Albizzi between the factions, which the islands of Madeira and the
still not managed to secure his final expedition, returning to the family, who extended the city’s represented different classes as Azores. Henry personally
coronation. Joan succeeded in Persian Gulf. Despite this last control of Tuscany. The attempts well as religious ideals. In 1434, at oversaw the colonization of these
obtaining an interview with him at trip, China’s period of exploration of Visconti Milan (see 1421–22) to the Battle of Lipany, the upper- Atlantic outposts, successfully
Chinon, won him over, and was had come to an end with the death gain control over all of Tuscany class Utraquists vanquished the establishing them as centers of
provided with troops and the title of Emperor Yongle in 1424, after forced Florence into a ruinously Taborites, killing Prokops. agricultural production and
chef de guerre (“war leader”). She which the Ming dynasty returned expensive war, although alliance The rising power of the forward bases for Portuguese
successfully relieved Orleans, to its former isolationist policy. with Venice saw Milan defeated. Sukhothai kingdom of Thailand exploration. Henry’s next target
going on to defeat the English Surrendering the lead in A leader of the peace party was had increasingly threatened the was to round Cape Bojador on the
twice more, and stood next to the exploration to Portugal and the wool merchant and banker Khmer Empire (see 1201–05) coast of West Africa, the farthest
dauphin at his coronation as Europeans would have profound Giovanni de Medici, possibly the through the 14th century. Repeated limit of Portuguese exploration;
Charles VII at Reims in 1429. Joan consequences for the Chinese and richest man in Europe. After his Thai raids, particularly an contemporary European sailors’
failed to take Paris, however, and for world history. death in 1429 and a disastrous incursion in 1431, may have helped lore viewed the seas beyond as a
the following year, she was war with Lucca in Tuscany, the
captured by the Burgundians, Albizzi succeeded in having
who ransomed her to their SHIP LENGTHS Giovanni’s son, Cosimo de Medici,
English allies (see 1431–33).
In 1428, Le Loi, leader of 72ft COLUMBUS’S
SHIP
banished from Florence in 1433,
but new elections saw him
Vietnamese resistance to the
Chinese occupation, expelled the
Chinese and founded the Le
440ft ZHENG HE’S
SHIP
returned the following year,
marking the start of Medici
domination of the city. Cosimo
dynasty of Dai Viet. On admitting combined business acumen with
Chinese authority, his dynasty was Not all the great Renaissance political shrewdness, winning
recognized by the Ming. painters were Italian; Jan van popular support for his policies.
Eyck (c. 1390–1441) was Flemish. All attempts by anti-Hussite
Celebrated for his mastery of forces under the emperor
realism and his perfection of oil Sigismund to dislodge the
painting, van Eyck produced some Hussites and regain control of the
of his greatest masterpieces in Czech territories had failed The Windrose
the 1430s. In 1432, he and his (see 1416–20). The superior The windrose mosaic at Sagres in dangerous and terrifying
brother Hubert completed their organization and tactics of the Portugal—possibly a sundial—was otherworld. Cape Bojador was
largest surviving work, the Hussites, first under Jan Zizka commissioned by Portuguese finally rounded by Gil Eannes in
navigator Prince Henry.
altarpiece of St. Bavo’s Cathedral and, after his death in 1424, under 1434. The experiences of his
in Ghent, Belgium. Later that year, Andrew Prokops, made them sailors on these voyages of
in London, van Eyck painted militarily powerful. In 1430, they trigger the 1434 abandonment of discovery convinced Henry that
the Portrait of an Unknown Man invaded Germany and raided as Angkor (see 1146–50) and the the traditional barca ships in use
and the Man with the Red Turban; far as Franconia. Negotiations transfer of the Khmer capital to were unsuitable, and he worked
possibly a self-portrait. with the ecumenical Council of Phnom Penh, farther south, with shipwrights to design a new
In 1431, Joan of Arc was turned Basel in 1413 led to the Compact although it is also possible that type of vessel, the caravel. This
over by the English to the French of Prague, or Compactacta, under the new location offered better was smaller, lighter, and swifter,
ecclesiastical authorities for trial. which moderate Hussites (the connections for foreign trade. with a shallow draft for near-
She was found guilty of heresy, Utraquists) agreed to go back to Sponsored by Prince Henry the shore operations and more space
and was burned at the stake the Catholic Church. The extreme Navigator (see 1416–20), for stores to allow the ships to
in Rouen. anti-papist Taborites rejected the Portuguese explorers pushing out stay at sea for longer.

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1435–37 1438–40 1441–44

This manuscript illustration shows Founded by King Henry VI of England, construction of Eton college was Fresco by Domenico di Bartolo, (c. 1410-1461), of the Sienese school,
Charles VII entering Paris in triumph. halted when the king was deposed during the War of the Roses. from Siena’s hospital of Santa Maria della Scala.

,,THE
KINGDOM OF
IN 1438, PACHACUTEC (C. 1438–
1472) BECAME THE NINTH INCA
KING, or Sapa Inca. His reign
Quito
MACHU PICCHU (meaning “Old
Peak” in Quechua, the language of
the Incas) is a mountaintop citadel
attempted to entrust his crown.
At Adrianople, Murad made a
10-year truce with Albanian
Latacunga

FRANCE… heralded the beginning of a great


expansion of the Inca realm,
Ingapirca Amazon
Basin
about 43 miles (70km) northwest of
Cuzco. Construction probably
military leader Hunyadi
Skandebeg and other resistors of
WILL BE THUS which had been confined to the began in the 1440s, under the Ottoman advance. However, with
RULED BY KING
Piura Huancabamba
immediate area around Cuzco auspices of Pachacutec. The the pope preaching crusade, the

CHARLES VII…
since its foundation (see 1201– Chiquitoy maximum population of Machu resistors were absolved of their

,,
Chan Chan
1205). It began with invasion by Picchu was possibly only around oaths of peace and they launched

An
HE WILL ENTER
Huánuco

de
the rival Chancas, who besieged 1,000, and it is thought that it a new attack. Led by Hunyadi and

s
PARIS IN GOOD Cuzco, and were completely Jauja served as a ceremonial center, Wladyslaw III of Poland and
Pachacamac
Machu Picchu
defeated. Inca expansion was Cuzco as well as being an impregnable Hungary (1424–1444), the
COMPANY.
Vilcas
Lake
facilitated by the sophisticated Nazca Titicaca stronghold for the Inca elite in crusading army—the last major
nature of most of the kingdoms PA C I F I C Pomata
Juli case of attack.
Joan of Arc, Christian visionary and tribes they conquered; OCEAN Resistance to Ottoman
tight-knit, centralized occupation of the Balkans Machu Picchu
KEY High above the Urubamba
administration focused on increased, and in 1443, a
Expansion by 1400 Valley in the Peruvian
THOUGH ALLIED WITH THE the emperor; a genius for crusading army defeated the
Expansion in the reign of Pachacutec Andes, on an
ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF FRANCE, organization and record-keeping Ottomans at Nis, in Bulgaria. The
inaccessible ridge,
the Burgundians (see 1404–07) (despite having no writing); and an Ottoman sultan, Murad II (see lies Machu Picchu,
Inca expansion
were increasingly concerned at imperial road-building program The Inca Empire had expanded 1421–22), was forced out of sacred citadel of
English gains. With the Treaty of rivalled only by the Roman greatly between 1400 and the end of retirement to take over from his the Inca
Arras, the Burgundians and the Empire. Pachacutec’s reign. It would triple in son, Mehmed II, to whom he had kings.
French king, Charles VII, made In 1440, the young king of size by the 16th century.
peace but the English, unwilling to England founded a new
accept the terms, withdrew from college at Eton. The King’s to receive free education before
negotiations. The following year, College of Our Lady of going on to King’s College,
the French alliance took Paris Eton near Windsor, now Cambridge.
from English control. known as Eton College, With the Ottomans (see
The 1430s saw increasing was intended to be part of 1286–90) occupying
tension between the papacy and a large foundation territories on all sides of the
the conciliar movement, which including a massive tiny remnants of the
held that the Church ought to be church, an almshouse, Byzantine Empire, and
governed by a Church council, and 70 scholars who were threatening Constantinople itself,
rather than an individual pope. the embattled Byzantine emperor
Pope Eugenius IV summoned a John VIII Palaeologus (see
General Council at Basel in 1448–49) arrived in Europe to
1431, but it was dominated by plead for help from the Council
antipapal sentiment and, in of Ferrara in 1438.
1437, he tried to transfer the
Council to Ferrara, where it would
Gold llama statuette
be more amenable to his influence. The Inca were so rich in gold that
Most of the delegates refused to emperor Atahualpa was able to offer
leave Basel, resulting in two a ransom of 750 tons of it when
concurrent councils. captured by conquistadors in 1532.

s; e
tin VIII s at seek on de
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1445–47 1448–49

The rocky north coast between Paul and Ribeira Grande Illustration from a Muromachi period manuscript. The arts flourished in
in Santa Antao in the Cape Verde islands. Japan under Ashikaga patronage.

HENRY THE NAVIGATOR’S (see 1421–22). There were IN 1449, ASHIKAGA YOSHIMASA
EXPENSIVE PROJECT to open up multiple claimants to the ducal (1435–90) BECAME SHOGUN, or
the coast of Africa (see 1434) was throne, and eager to avoid military dictator, of Japan.
met with scepticism at home in domination by a foreigner, the Although his reign marked a
Portugal, until in 1441, one of his Milanese powers immediately cultural highpoint of the Ashikaga,
ships returned with gold dust and constituted the Aurea Repubblica or Muromachi period (1336–1573)
slaves, prompting an acceleration Ambrosiana of Milan, or the it was also a period of increasing
Battle of Varna
2:1 The Hungarian-led
crusader army, with a
strength of 30,000, suffered heavy
of activity. Between 1444 and
1446, around 35 of Henry’s vessels
sailed for the West African coast.
Ambrosian Republic, but they
faced insurmountable obstacles.
Riven by internal dissension and
civil strife. Repeated famines
triggered constant uprisings,
while the Ashikaga practice of
losses at the hands of the Ottoman In 1445, sailing in one of Henry’s unwilling to lose control of the issuing tokuseirei or “acts of
troops, who numbered 60,000. new caravels, explorer Dinis Dias other cities controlled by Milan, grace” to cancel debts, damaged
sighted the mouth of the Senegal they were soon forced to turn the economy. Despite this,
attempt to expel the Ottomans River, which offered a trade route military control over to a Yoshimasa presided over a
from the Balkans and relieve deep into the African interior, condotierre, or mercenary soldier- cultural flowering at his PALAEOLOGUS
Constantinople—was decisively and rounded Cape Verde, the leader—the powerful Muzio Higashiyama estate. (1404–53)
crushed by Murad at the Battle of westernmost point of Africa. Dias Attendolo, nicknamed Sforza The new pope, Nicholas V,
Varna. Wladyslaw disappeared returned the following year as meaning “exert” or “force.” elected in 1447, was intent on Constantine XI Palaeologus
in the battle and was presumed part of a fleet of caravels In the mid-15th century, the bringing an end to the schism succeeded to the remnants
dead, despite rumors of his intending to plant the Portuguese Shona kingdom of Mwene Mutapa, caused by his predecessor’s clash of a once-great empire, left
miraculous survival. flag and explore what Henry also known as Great Zimbabwe with the Council of Basel (see without the resources to
believed might be the western (see 1106–10), was nearing the 1435–37), and on restoring peace defend itself. He was the last
branch of the Nile, while another end of its glory days. By this time, to Italy and achieving harmonious emperor of Byzantium, a state
of Henry’s captains, Nuño Tristão, the riches of the gold fields had relations with other rulers. At the that had lasted throughout the
sighted the Gambia River. funded construction of the Great Concordat of Vienna in 1448, he medieval period, providing a
The marriage of Margaret of Enclosure, an elliptical space made concessions to Emperor unique bridge between east
Anjou (c. 1430–82) to Henry VI of enclosed by a giant wall 800 ft Frederick III and the other and west, ancient and
England in 1445 was negotiated by (244 m) around, and up to 36 ft German princes, who in return modern. He died on the walls
William de la Pole, chief advisor to (11 m) high in places, built from abandoned the Council of Basel of Constantinople, having
the king and power behind the almost a million granite blocks. and recognized some papal done everything in his power
throne, whose aim was to stop the powers. The following year, to secure its defense.
war in France (see 1435–37). At Population the Council of Basel finally
first, the match and the bride were of Great disbanded and the anti-pope,
popular in England, but in 1448, the Zimbabwe Felix V, abdicated in return for a them from the Balkans at the
territory of Maine in northern cardinalship. This marked the second Battle of Kosovo in 1448,
France was lost to Charles VII and
the queen was blamed for her 50,000 final victory of the papacy over
the conciliar movement.
regaining control of Albania. It
was clear that there would be
influence over the weak king. POPULATION 20,000 Following the death of Byzantine no European rescue for the
OF LONDON
Margaret would survive this, emperor John VIII, his brother embattled Byzantines. The
however, and become an important Constantine XI Palaeologus (see Ottomans were closing in on
player in the Wars of the Roses panel, right) acceded to the throne Constantinople.
Golden age of Great Zimbabwe
(see 1454–55). In the mid-15th century, the in Constantinople—he would be
The death of Filippo Maria population of Great Zimbabwe was the last Byzantine emperor. The
Visconti in 1447 signaled the end just under half the size of the Ottomans had defeated another of
of the Visconti ducal line of Milan population of London. Jan Hunyadi’s crusades to clear

e
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163
5
REFORMATION
AND
EXPLORATION
1450–1749
The 16th and 17th centuries were determined by new horizons,
as new lands were explored and new ideas formulated.
Religious reform and conflict, global exploration, and a
scientific revolution laid the grounds of a new understanding.
1450–52 1453

A detail from Ghiberti’s Doors of Paradise for Florence Cathedral’s Baptistry. The This 16th-century fresco depicts the siege of Constantinople, which began on
second pair of doors he completed, they show scenes from the Old Testament. April 2, 1453 and ended when the Ottomans took the city on May 29.

THE GREAT ZIMBABWE into competing regional powers France. Bordeaux was
CIVILIZATION of southeast Africa in the aftermath of Timur’s recaptured by the English, but
(see 1106–10) was in decline by invasion of 1398. But in 1451, an attempt in July to relieve the
the mid-15th century. This the new Afghan Lodi dynasty English stronghold of Castillon,
coincided with the rise of the reasserted the sultanate’s former which was besieged by a large
Mutapa Empire in the fertile, dominance in the region, which French force, was a calamitous
copper-rich uplands between lasted until it was ousted by the failure. In the first major
the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers Mughal Babur in 1526. European conflict to be decided
in present-day Zimbabwe and In Europe, Florentine goldsmith by artillery, the English lost 4,000
Mozambique. Sustained by
lucrative trade in copper, cattle,
ivory, slaves, and gold with
Lorenzo Ghiberti completed his
second set of bronze doors for the
Baptistry in Florence in 1452.
men; the French, scarcely 100.
Three months later, in October,
Bordeaux itself fell again to the
1:12 Siege of
Constantinople
Mehmed led
80,000 men against only 7,000

,, French. This brought to an end defenders during the siege of

,,
the Hundred Years’ War and left Constantinople, a disparity that
NO ART, HOWEVER MINOR, Calais on the Channel coast as
the only remaining English
made the city’s fall almost inevitable.

DEMANDS LESS THAN possession in France. For the no match for destructive force on

TOTAL DEDICATION.
English, defeat provoked the first this scale, and the city fell to the
of a series of descents into Ottomans in May 1453.
madness by the country’s hapless Conscious of their destiny as
Leon Battista Alberti, Italian polymath (1404–72) king, Henry VI. For the French, world conquerors in need of a
English defeat at Castillon
The Battle of Castillon decisively victory brought closer the goal suitably imposing capital, the
Muslim coastal settlements, the The first door, begun in 1403, took ended the hopes of England’s French of a properly united kingdom Ottomans were careful to
Mutapa Empire remained the him 21 years; the second, 27 Plantagenet kings to pursue their under a single monarch. preserve the city after they had
dominant regional power for more years. In the same year, Leon claim to the French throne. In Western Asia and on the taken it: they needed it as a
than a century, when repeated Battista Alberti published De Re borders of Christendom, symbol of their own, newly gained
Portuguese attempts to infiltrate Aedificatoria, (Ten Books of THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR, a Constantinople, capital of the grandeur. Its imposing Christian
it finally succeeded (see 1629). Architecture). Both works were grimly drawn-out period of beleaguered Byzantine Empire, buildings were pressed into
On the Indian subcontinent, the masterpieces in their fields and Anglo–French conflict (see remained the center of Orthodox service for Muslim worship, and
Delhi sultanate had fractured exemplified the self-confidence 1411–15), ended with absolute Christian civilization. But it faced the city itself remained a symbol
and intellectual French triumph in 1453. Any an imminent threat from the of Ottoman military might for
daring of the hopes England’s French Muslim Ottoman Empire. This more than 450 years. The
Florentine Plantagenet kings had of threat materialized when the Ottoman conquest of
Renaissance. asserting their rights to the Ottoman sultan, Mehmed II Constantinople—now renamed
French throne came to a final halt (“The Conqueror”), who believed Istanbul—was the clearest
at Castillon outside Bordeaux. that only relentless conquest possible signal that the Turkish
Mosque pavilion in Two years earlier, Bordeaux, would guarantee continued Ottomans were the most dynamic
Mehrauli which had been in English hands Ottoman supremacy, mustered military and political force in the
The remains of a for 300 years, had fallen to the an army of 80,000 to attack region, and that they were an
mosque in Mehrauli, French. This prompted a last, Constantinople; the defenders of unmistakable threat, not only to
Delhi, built during desperate attempt by the English the city could call on fewer than what remained of Christian claims
the reign of the Lodi
dynasty (1451–1526), to reassert themselves against 7,000 troops. In addition, Mehmed in Western Asia but also to Europe
who were the last the forces of the French king, had the most formidable artillery as a whole.
rulers of the Delhi Charles VII, which were massing in the world. The ancient,
sultanate. in strength in the southwest of crumbling walls of the city were

s
ola s, er ts
es ich rsa nd of
an om N ve ity s u ege fea le
gh ec
e
op Di or
n
a si de att
t Af odi, lhi II b 2 P Dum auth tom in ce
an in
B
s L
Fir the at D
e ed 5
14 es us 2 Ot I beg e Fr es
51 y, d e hm ltan ne ish gio ril ed
I
op
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14 nast ishe M su Ju ubl reli rade A p hm ntin l h
Ju glis tillo
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V ing ve t e
M nst a
14 tom En Cas
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for

ith ce
ch m ti II’s an
ren ux o lds iber r ath i ed ure 9 Fr eaux
F ea e g Gh rs fo e 1 rd ing
1 h
tin o lym ert m t
eh cap ple er o d r
45 rd lis o c p o lb Re ob res B h, en ’ Wa
, 1 e Bo Eng en renz s do oren ian a A e s 9 M ces tino t
0
3 tu r o r
l Lo te Fl tal ttist es D ook ) y 2 r a n Oc ptu lis ars
n e p fro m
52
F e
pl ry, I
B re Ma an fo nst ca g
n Ye
Ju ca 14 m st 52 Ba ish m Co re he E ed
co apti 14 on ubl (Ten ectu o t r
B Le p i a h it Ot
t
o m und
to r r c fr e H
ca of A th
d ifi
166 A e
1454–55 1456–60
,, IT IS A PRESS, CERTAINLY, BUT A

,,
PRESS FROM WHICH SHALL FLOW IN
INEXHAUSTIBLE STREAMS…THROUGH
IT, GOD WILL SPREAD HIS WORD.
Johannes Gutenberg, German inventor and printer (c. 1398–1468)

A Turkish miniature painting showing Mehmed II’s forces attacking Belgrade,


which they tried unsuccessfully to take from Hungary in 1456.

THE COMPETING AMBITIONS OF seemed to have been won by the OTTOMAN EXPANSION CONTINUED In 1458, Matthias Corvinus,
ITALY’S CITY-STATES, which had Yorkists. The wars continued until IN THE BALKANS AND GREECE as second son of Janos Hunyadi, the
led to almost a century of war, 1485, when Henry Tudor seized Mehmed II pressed ahead in his man who had led the successful
was ended by the Treaty of Lodi the throne (see 1483–85). determination to conquer the defence of Belgrade against
in 1454. Milan, Venice, Florence, By the mid-15th century, world for Islam. Mehmed Mehmed II’s Ottoman troops
the Papal States, and Naples were Prussia (conquered by the attempted to take Belgrade in 1456, was elected king of
the signatories. The treaty had Teutonic Knights two centuries in 1456 but was repulsed by Hungary. His reign promised
been given additional impetus by earlier) had become resentful of Hungary. However, by 1459 the much: not only to draw the
the fall of Constantinople to the its lowly status within the Baltic rest of Serbia was under Ottoman Hungarians into the wider
Ottomans a year earlier, when it territories of the Teutonic Order. control. Simultaneously, the European Renaissance, but also
became clear there was a need to In 1454 the Prussian Estates Ottomans conquered the to increase the reach and prestige
present a united Christian front. revolted, and asked for Polish Peloponnese in southern Greece, of his country.
In 1454 or 1455, Johannes military support, beginning what with Athens falling in 1456. Over Corvinus was permanently
Gutenberg produced the first was to become the Thirteen the next two decades, Ottoman distracted by the need to defend
major book to be printed with a Years’ War against the Teutonic control of the Balkans was Hungary against further Ottoman
movable type printing press: the Knights. The war ended in 1466 consolidated with the conquest of incursions, but he had territorial
Gutenberg Bible. His method of with the division of Prussia into Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in ambitions to the west. He was
King Henry VI
printing meant that thousands This anonymous portrait is of King two territories: one in the east still the Aegean, remaining Christian- successful in substantially
of copies of books could be made Henry VI, reputedly a peaceful, pious controlled by the Order, and held islands—which were chiefly expanding Hungarian territory at
relatively easily. The result was an man who suffered from prolonged so-called Royal Prussia, now a Venetian and Genoan—were the expense of Bohemia, against
explosion in the spread of ideas bouts of severe mental illness. vassal state of the kings of Poland. clearly under threat. whose Hussite ruler, George of
and knowledge, above all Podebrady (r. 1458–71), he
because works appeared in obtained papal sanction in 1468
vernacular languages rather than to lead a crusade. During the
exclusively in Latin and Greek. crusade, Corvinus gained control
In England, on May 22, 1455, of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia.
armies belonging to the Duke However, in the longer run his
of Somerset and Duke of York actions destabilized both Hungary
clashed in the Battle of St. Albans, and Bohemia, and brought him
the opening conflict of the Wars into conflict with the Holy Roman
of the Roses. These were a series Emperor, Frederick III. His actions
of civil wars between the rival also sparked suspicion among
Plantagenet houses of York and Hungary’s nobles, who feared
Lancaster, both of which had that their own positions would
claims to the throne. Henry VI, a be undermined.
Lancastrian, was on the throne at Despite these initial territorial
the outbreak of the wars, but with gains engineered by Corvinus,
the victory and accession of the net result was that most of
Edward IV in 1461, the conflict Hungary fell victim to Ottoman
conquest in 1526, and Bohemia
and the remaining part of
Gutenberg Bible
Johannes Gutenberg produced only Hungary came under direct
180 copies of his Gutenberg Bible, Habsburg control.
but it marked the start of the age of
the printed book.

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167
1461–65 1466–69

Czar Ivan III, “Ivan the Great,” declared Moscow free of Tartar domination by tearing up Malbork Castle was the headquarters of the Teutonic Knights. It was
the deed (money demand) of Tartar Khan. Europe’s largest medieval brick castle and is in what is now Poland.

APTLY NAMED "THE SPIDER KING,” France was effectively also vast Novgorod Territory, which, THE THIRTEEN YEARS’ WAR The underlying political fragility
Louis XI acceded the French bankrupt. Yet by 1481, Louis had although sparsely populated, between Poland–Lithuania and of Japan and the relative
throne in July 1461, marking a not only seen off the last of the economically marginal, and the Teutonic Knights—a military impotence of the Ashikaga
critical point in the evolution of dukes of Burgundy, bringing imperfectly known, was rich in order founded in Palestine—ended shoguns, rulers of Japan since
the French state. The medieval Artois, Picardy, and Burgundy natural resources. In 1478, Ivan with the Second Treaty of Torun 1333, was made starkly clear by
monarchs of France, whatever itself under his rule, but by a simply annexed it. in 1466. The Teutonic Knights, the 11-year Onin War, which
their nominal power, were heavily combination of inheritance and However much it may have powerful since the early 13th broke out in 1467. It left Japan
limited in their influence. They clever diplomacy had added increased the stability and century (see 1236–40), were devastated and led to more than
exercised direct rule over only a
limited area, chiefly in the north
and center, with the rest of the
country controlled by a series of
mostly hostile magnates, of whom
Roussillon, Cerdagne, Maine,
Provence, and Anjou. This
extension of centralizing royal
authority was a crucial step in
the subsequent emergence of a
prosperity of China, the Ming
dynasty faced a series of
substantial internal threats to its
authority as well as continuing
conflict with the Mongols to the
,,THE CAPITAL THAT WE
BELIEVED WOULD FLOURISH

,,
FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS
the Duke of Burgundy (Charles unified, much more powerful north. If most revolts were the
the Bold) in 1461 was the most French state. In reality, relations product of famine, a number were
obviously threatening (see
1472–76). By the end of the
between the French monarchy
and its most powerful subjects
also the result of the increasingly
autocratic and rigid nature of HAS NOW BECOME A LAIR
Hundred Years’ War in 1453, would remain fraught well into
the 17th century. As elsewhere, it
Ming rule. In every case, they
were harshly suppressed. In FOR THE WOLVES.
proved necessary both to assert 1464, the same year that the
Onin Ki, late 15th–mid 16th century account of the Onin War
authority and to negotiate with 16-year-old Emperor Chenghua
provincial and noble elites. This came to the throne, such a revolt
dual process, central to the broke out among the native Miao obliged to cede much of the a century of turbulence—the
making of early modern France, and Yao people in the provinces western half of their territory Sengoku jidai or Warring States
led to friction and tension long of Huguang and then Guangxi in to Prussia, and, in return for Period—as a series of regional
after the reign of Louis XI. south-central China. The revolt Polish–Lithuanian aid in the war, magnates or daimyo attempted
Expansion on an even more took two years to put down. In this territory became the property to eradicate their rivals. The war
dramatic scale also marked addition to the 160,000 troops of the Polish crown. began as a succession dispute
developments in Muscovy—the stationed in the south, a further over who would replace the
Grand Duchy of Moscow—with the 30,000 were sent to the two elderly and retiring Ashikaga
Samurai sword
accession of Ivan III “the Great” provinces. No accurate estimate This 15th-century katana, with its Yoshimasa as shogun, the
in March 1462. The collapse of of the death toll is possible. The scabbard, is typical of those used in Hosokawa clan supporting the
Mongol rule over the 14th and revolt flared up again in 1467 and, the Onin war. It could deliver a claims of Yoshimasa’s brother,
15th centuries, and the fall of on a larger scale, in 1475. sweeping cut in a single movement. the Yamana clan those of his
Constantinople (now Istanbul) in
silk binding
1453, had opened the way for
covers handle
Muscovy not merely to assert
leadership of the Orthodox world,
but to defy any last Mongol
attempts at overlordship. In the
process, it sparked a burst of
Louis XI
Crowned king of France in 1461, expansion that characterized
Louis XI extended his rule over an Russia well into the 19th century.
increasing number of territories The most notable of these scabbard
during his 22-year reign. extensions under Ivan was in the

ing rs ay nd
gh li co a ins
l low Wa on ni A n Se ssi d eg e
1 o
f the 61 s S o 6 u r b g th od
4 6 ed IV 14 an 65 un s re 4 6 Pr an a n
W ati eri
, 1 pos n (in ard 5, ke m ia 14 ler S raid ging mpi , 1 n, Pol
4 e 1 tto osn ru gins nlar ay E r 9 Toru f of nin niti s p
ch VI d owto Edw ng st ta O B e
b of 7 O an, i tate
r
Ma nry of T es); st k
i gu ans 63 er be li, e ngh to fie 6
14 Jap g S
Au tom ond 14 nqu Oc eaty es a
He ttle Ros ork
i
co Ma e So in rrin 7)
Ot biz th Tr com
Ba the es Y Tr
e
be Wa 147
of com (to
be

he
k ft p ld e
61 ea e o et u c Bo e ak
14 s br na g u s i he ip th t s t h-
2 2 , ome e n
Iva I) lts Chi 6) ea al rat I s t
il as an out ey
ly ec nc 62 n II d vo g 146 5 L n We istoc is X rle Ph e l y m
to n s rk
Ju XI b Fra 4 a Re in 6
14 mo n ar Lou ha eds om und Ot n i Tu
s f h 1 (Iv ran w 64 s M (to C c g 68 ma ral
ui g o rc at G o 14 cros m a
Co as tion
to 67 ce be ur 14 ara ent
Lo kin Ma Gre mes osc 14 suc d to of B c
ta s i o e K
e
th beco of M ou po Go Duk
ke op
Du
168
1470–71
,,
,,
THE LANDLOCKED SEA IS GREEK
OR ROMAN, THE BOUNDLESS SEA
IS PORTUGUESE.
Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet and writer, 1885–1935

2,500
NAVARRE
state in early 16th-century BY ABOUT 1470, PORTUGUESE
FRANCE
Europe. Isabella was 17 years old exploration of the west coast of
when she married Ferdinand. In Africa had reached as far as
KINGDOM OF
choosing to marry him, she risked modern-day Sierra Leone. It had
MILES
U GA L

ARAGON
KINGDOM OF the wrath of her older half- been a hesitant process, limited
PORT

CASTILE
brother Henry IV, who perceived by ship types, principally galleys
Se
a her as a threat to his own power. and cogs, that were unsuited to THE EXTENT
GRANADA
d it
er r an
e an But the marriage, in the Spanish
city of Valladolid, was the
long-range exploration. Its goals
were uncertain beyond a general
OF THE INCA
Me
beginning of an important phase hope to trace the trans-Saharan EMPIRE
Castile and Aragon of Spanish history. Within eight gold trade to its source and to
The two kingdoms of Aragon and years, Ferdinand and Isabella— exploit the West African slave 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of coastline.
Castile became a composite Los Reyes Católicos, the Catholic trade. The death in 1460 of Not only was Portugal able to lay
monarchy through the marriage of Monarchs—were jointly ruling Prince Henry, “the Navigator,” claim to a series of what would
Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469. Castile and Aragon, although the the early champion of Portuguese prove immensely lucrative
kingdoms were not formally exploration (see 1434), had made trading stations (see 1480–82) on
infant son. In the process, not unified. Administratively, further progress unlikely. the West African coast, Gomes also
only was Kyoto, the imperial politically, and financially, they However, in 1469 Portuguese king opened the way to the Portuguese
capital, entirely destroyed, remained separate and, as such, Afonso V agreed—in exchange for penetration of the South Atlantic.
but the Hosokawa and Yamana were consistently bedeviled by an annual fee—to allow a Lisbon The Inca Empire, more short-
themselves became victims of the competing priorities and rivalries. merchant, Fernão Gomes, to lived even than its Aztec neighbor
conflict, their power and status Even at the height of Spanish continue to push Portuguese to the north, was formed in a
swept away as the increasingly power in the 16th and early 17th efforts south along the West surge of conquest after 1438 from
brutal fighting continued. centuries, no Spanish monarch African coast. The results were its Andean heartlands in central
The marriage in 1469 of was able to resolve the problem spectacular. Within five years Peru. Tupac Yupanqui (Topa Inca),
Isabella, heir to the Castilian satisfactorily. Nonetheless, Gomes had explored a further who came to the Inca throne in
Portuguese explorers
throne (which she inherited in Spain's potential to emerge as the 1471, had been Fernão Gomes (right) continued the
1474), and Ferdinand, heir to dominant force in Renaissance made head of the age of exploration begun by Henry the
the throne of Aragon (which he Europe was unmistakable under Inca armies in 1463 Navigator (left) as depicted in the
inherited in 1479), led directly Ferdinand and Isabella. It was a and had already Monument to the Discoveries, Lisbon.
to the emergence of a unified, position that the tirelessly substantially
unbendingly Christian Spain. hard-headed Isabella and the enlarged Inca (4,000 km). Topa Inca's principal
This resulted in the development politically astute Ferdinand were control to the north, contribution to Inca expansion
of Spain as the most powerful well placed to exploit. well into modern- came with his conquest from
day Ecuador. The about 1470 of the Peruvian
empire extended kingdom of Chimor.
tempered point
about 2,500 miles In southeast Asia, the kingdom
of Champa (in modern-day
Vietnam) had existed since the 7th
century. But in 1471 it was
Inca ruler
effectively destroyed by Viet
This 18th-century
painting shows Tupac troops who laid waste the Champa
Yupanqui (Topa Inca), capital, Vijaya. What remained of
the fifth Inca of the the kingdom would henceforth be
Hanan dynasty. a vassal state of the Vietnamese.

i
dic ,
69 nd Me ence n ht e ain f
14 ina ’
de or h i oug
0 on e g ul go
f
9, erd es 47 hr t es ch G
1
r of F nit n n zo f Fl ric l th 0 , 1 ins t 1) es u
g ea n nin
be re l o d a r 3 ga 47 qu tu i
eg pa 493
c )
to ge la ag
u o
Lo tro eri ect
o u
be re (to 1 on gdom or d r
Oc rria abel d Ar 69 con a p ell to VI
c
a in 1 P r an 7 1 B f Tu (to 1
a
M dI s n 14 es ing d int Oc nry land Inc or k 7
14 ngie ea 14 ign o qui
a
tak ginn an He Eng 70 Ta Guin re pan
an stile e 14 Chim
Ca be ltur of of of Yu
cu

tl e g 71
ca an
s es n tin t 14 d
ya l of gu rin d a 1, lan d
a m te
tto pon e tu ing o st p f
Ax tro 81) r
Po rad Coa
h e
h aris 1
ril En on
g eo
69 con 14
O
70 gro n
ic nc lis ps pa
70 t d re tab e, P A p I of r sec d IV lla am ay
14 es (to 14 Ne m Ve 14 egin Gol st
F
es nn V fo ar ne C o h d
y
su
m ire e
ur fro b Fir ess rbo nr ed dw hro 71 of C nt- m)
as emp pt 70 pr So He pos e. E ns t 14 om ese tna
ca 14 e i d (p V r i e
te c re d tim ega ing
Az r K
169
1472–76 1477–79

A carving of the central Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacán


located near present-day Mexico City.

FOLLOWING THE OTTOMAN Christian powers, notably Venice, Expansion of Burgundy North IN JANUARY 1477, CHARLES THE
CONQUEST of Constantinople in in an attempt to enlist them in This map shows the Sea BOLD’S Burgundian forces
1453, its conqueror, Mehmed II, Christian struggles against territories held by Charles confronted the Swiss again, at
set out not merely to extend Ottoman expansion. The result the Bold, who pursued Calais DUCHY OF Nancy in Lorraine. They were
an aggressive Bruges BRABANT
Ottoman rule in the Balkans, but of Uzun Hasan’s efforts was a COUNTY OF Antwerp comprehensively routed and the
expansionist policy. FLANDERS
also to reassert it in Anatolia, comprehensive defeat in 1473 at The duchies of body of the duke was discovered
where Ottoman strength had been the Battle of Otlukbeli, the light Bar and Lorraine COUNTY OF Cologne face down in a frozen pond. While
HAINAUT
significantly reduced in the wake cavalry of the Turcoman forces gave Charles H OLY Louis XI (see 1461) seized the
of Timur’s early 15th-century swept aside by the Ottomans’ an almost COUNTY OF R OMA N Burgundians’ French territories,
VERMANDOIS DUCHY OF
invasion (see 1401–03). It was now overwhelming firepower. continuous LUXEMBOURG
EM P I R E those in the Low Countries
most obviously opposed in the By the mid-1470s, the territories stretch of land Luxembourg passed to the Habsburgs with the
Paris
by 1475.
region by a Turcoman people, the of Burgundy were at their height. marriage of Charles’s only child,
White Sheep Turcomans, under Their heartlands were the Duchy FRANCE DUCHY Margaret, to the future Holy
OF BAR
the rule of Uzun Hasan. They had and County of Burgundy, Roman Emperor, Maximilian I.
been actively, if not particularly awarded to the first duke of DUCHY OF William Caxton (c. 1420–92)
Burgundy, Philip the Bold, brother LORRAINE
successfully, wooed by various was an English merchant whose
of King Charles V KEY continental travels introduced him
DUCHY OF
of France, in Territories BURGUNDY to printing. He established the
held 1467 COUNTY OF
1363. In 1369, COUNTY OF
BURGUNDY first printing press in England in
Territories Zurich
with his marriage added by 1475
CHAROLAIS 1476, printing the first book a year
COUNTY
to Margaret, the Border of Holy OF MÂCON later. He published 87 books,
countess of Roman Empire many also translated by him.
Flanders, Philip also
acquired Flanders being a single, continuous conquest—but to assert its
and Artois—in territory. Furthermore, as many independence as a separate
effect a significant of them were within the Holy kingdom. The Burgundians were
portion of modern- Roman Empire, these were at inevitably opposed by the infinitely
day Belgium. To this least theoretically subject to the more calculating French king,
constellation of Holy Roman Emperor, just as Louis XI. In little more than four
territories, Philip’s Burgundy’s French lands were months in1476, they suffered two
grandson, Philip the nominally subject to the king calamitous defeats by Swiss
Good, then added of France. But their size and, mercenary armies in the pay of
parts of northeast crucially, the fact that they held Louis—at Grandson and at Morat
France and much of many of the richest of the in modern northwest Switzerland.
modern Holland. burgeoning trading centres of The rigidly hierarchical Aztec
These holdings, the Low Countries made the Empire (1428–1521) became
however imposing, Burgundians a formidable a formidable military force,
were still far from power. Philip the Good’s heir, imposing itself with brutal finality
Charles the Bold, inherited this on its neighbors in central Mexico
state within states in 1467 and from Tenochtitlan, its capital.
Ottoman drums
The Janissaries of the determined not just to make it Axayacatl, who came to the
Caxton’s printing press
Ottoman army parade a continuous territory—which by Aztec throne in 1469, added The first printing press in England,
with the drums that 1472 he had succeeded in doing substantially to the empire, mainly established by William Caxton in
were used to urge the through an audacious with the conquest of the state of Westminster, London, produced its
soldiers into battle. combination of purchase and Tlatelolco in 1473. first book in 1477.

t
ch e at
re gu ed of
es
e
he of ia Ut Lea ges iss t 7
gu d of est f t re ed
f 47 feat ath 33)
73 to ce y o atic anta Sw s a
76
1
5, de de 14
t u
r lan ff W n o sido clop 14 t e an ed en at 76 dian land
o
P is o o i
t po I y 1, efea attl tri forc end re nse adv 4
, 1 un tzer
14 r y ns y: b.
2 ca o c t 1 B s
Au gs
T a g 2 , eat at ua ndia anc old (
7 er P bli ish n e
n d
us ns s at ep 74 H in h 2 rg i 2 f nd n
14 cov ndo ast u B a g 74 ur ind ue 14 ants trad rc t Bu , Sw ne de ns la Ja rgu of N e B
dis rna co tp f ti a
Au tom man li 14 bsb ize eag r r d a Ju iss ndia itzer Bu ttle s th
irs es o hris g jo lan M fea son w
Fe rican 2 F logi st C Ot rko kbe Ha cogn ss L a
m Eng de and
u
S rg , Sw Ba arle
A f 7
14 ymo , fir Tu Otlu re Swi in Gr Bu rat Ch
Et ville of of Mo
Se

e
nc
cs ies ian er ra al
zte ex or d nd ht qu f F ost al
rit rate y gu eig ld on Peru o
XI yal P roy s
7 3 A ann co s r
Te o ch
r
Bu ts h Bo
c
s of is
14 and elol an 74 orp u ca ou s Ro pee atio
d n
eti nd 14 inc nd D scov
y 75 t i e In ast L
at Tlat Ven a a us 14 on a s th 76 h co 7 7 iat o s nic
e
efe n
73 yr pr ro Gra Mu
d i
ns harl
e 4
1 ut  14 init ice mm
t u
d o of
14 Sm e Cy vg the p a so rv co
o y ak No into ex er C Se
st r t of d
de un
170
1480–82

The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive Burgundian War, which left Built in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina, Elmina Castle was one of the first
thousands dead, including the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. Portuguese trading forts on the west coast of Africa (now Ghana).

,,
,,
IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO BY ABOUT 1440, THREE SEPARATE
MOSSI KINGDOMS had become
sub-Saharan Africa, designed to
secure a Portuguese monopoly
HOPE IN ORDER TO UNDERTAKE, established in West Africa, roughly of the West African gold trade.
NOR TO SUCCEED IN ORDER TO in present-day Burkina Faso.
These were Tengkodogo, Yatenga,
It proved immensely lucrative.
By the early 16th century, 1,500 lb
PERSEVERE. and Wogodogo. Making use of (680 kg) of gold a year were passing
formidable cavalry, from about through Elmina.
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1433–77) 1480 they exploited the gradual The second development was a
decline of Mali in the face of further series of voyages, led by
Songhay expansion by raiding Diogo Cão, southward along the
The Ottomans continued their Joan, wife of King Afonso V of deep into Mali territories. They West African coast. The voyages
expansion with the Treaty of Portugal, in part to disrupt would remain an important were sponsored by the new king
Constantinople of 1479, which Castilian claims in the exploration presence until colonization by of Portugal, John II, who came
ended the intermittent Ottoman– of the West African coast. At its France some 400 years later. to the throne in 1481 and who
Venetian war that had begun in heart was a dispute as to which The year 1482 saw two crucial committed his country to a
1463. It confirmed the Ottomans country could lay claim to the developments in the continuing deliberately aggressive policy of
as a naval power of growing Atlantic island groups—the Portuguese exploration and Portuguese expansion. On Cão’s
importance. It also brought with it Canaries, the Azores, and settlement of West Africa. first voyage, in 1482, he
Ottoman control of the Greek Madeira—successively colonized The first was the construction of reached—and claimed for
island Negroponte (Euobea) and by Spain and Portugal since the São Jorge da Mina, now called Portugal—the mouth of the
of Lemnos in the north Aegean. early 15th century. The outcome Elmina Castle, on what was later Congo. On his second voyage, in
Cão’s cross
Venice remained a major power was the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas, known as the Gold Coast and is 1484–86, he penetrated almost a
Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão
in much of the region but it was confirming Castile’s claims to the today Ghana. It was a strongly farther 1,000 miles (1,600 km) marked his discoveries of the west
anxious not to jeopardize its Canaries and Portugal’s claims to fortified trading post, built on royal south to Walvis Bay (now in coast of Africa with a series of
lucrative Ottoman trading links. the Azores and Madeira, and authority and the first permanent Namibia), once again imperiously imposing stone crosses.
The accession of Isabella I to the Portuguese rights in West Africa. European settlement in claiming the coast in the name of
throne of Castile in 1474 was the Portuguese throne. Both
challenged by her step-niece, THE SPANISH INQUISITION voyages were epics of tenacity,

87
made in the face of consistently
Founded by Ferdinand and unfavorable winds and currents.
Isabella in 1478, the goal of the This was a discouraging discovery.
Inquisition was to impose an Where sailing conditions around
overarching Christian Catholic West Africa to the Gulf of Guinea
identity on all Spanish were generally benign, aided by
territories. Tribunals were held northeast trade winds and the
in which heretics—which at this Guinea Current, to the south they
time meant Jews and those were much more arduous. Cão’s
who had converted to achievement was impressive, but
THE NUMBER Christianity from Judaism— it emphasized that if a practical
OF BOOKS were punished and expelled.
After the fall of Granada in
route existed to the Indian Ocean
and the East, it would be left to
PUBLISHED BY 1492, it was also applied to later Portuguese navigators—
CAXTON’S Muslims. The Inquisition was
finally disbanded in 1820.
notably Bartolomeu Dias in
1487—to pioneer the new route,
PRESS deep into the South Atlantic.

e
ac
on m Pe ice l nt
of e
xt fro 79 : Ven sta ge th th an ão
Ca ook ss 4
oa re ea 32), n of ric
, 1 le ico D Af go C
m b e 25 op d c ov mes ) 81 14 sio t
s io
llia st pr r y ntin s an ans d 9 14 (b. es We f D 6)
Wi s fir ting a Lu co 49 3, d II acc
7 e n nu sta no m 80 be o 1 y e ; 82 s o 48
7 h
14 blis n pr
i Ja Con Lem Otto 14 orza n (t Ma hm eror 14 yage (to 1
pu ndo of des a to Sf Mila Me nqu id II vo gin
L o ce bani of Co yez be
Al Ba

of
ty
ea rms
ty
of r
9 T nfi tile ri
n e
pir f
g
din a aty
Ci ers 47 co as e wa tes re d
8 d , 1 vas d C d th s  i l a i em ce o i tra Min t 2 T y an e
7 n II v
Ci a s
t l a s e
uil
8
14 re n I 78 r 4 o an an oup Ma in f os es a 14 nd nc
4 , , sur Iva 14 n
ç
be lcá se ica r 80 ay 81 s y M gu e d , b 3, gu Fra
a
y
r od to r 1, itio d em A gue Afr nd g 14 th M 14 aken ds b o rtu Jorg frica e r 2 Bur nto
s t t P ão t A : i
nu or be ui de Se
p rtu est isla no
r
we ra
i b
m as ed
Ja ovg m nq un o irs , S es ce Arr rb
N ve h I fo P n W tic 2 F fort a), W De of abso
No anis s i lan 14
8
in
Sp l a im At lm jou
c (E An
171
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

ARCTIC OCEAN

VOYAGES OF
EXPLORATION
SETTING SAIL AROUND THE GLOBE IN THE AGE OF DICOVERY
A S I A

Christopher Columbus’s voyage across the Atlantic in 1492 sparked an


unprecedented opening-up of the world—first by the Portuguese and
Spanish, then by the Dutch, English, and French. By 1700, European JAPAN
explorers and colonizers had established themselves globally. Nagasaki

European explorers were motivated by glory, The Spanish went west. Theirs was a more dramatic
Christian zeal, and—above all—gold, spices, and discovery: an unknown world, America. By the Macao Philippine Loaisa 152
6
slaves. The goal was the East, source of legendary 1550s, they had conquered two empires—the Islands

riches. With overland routes blocked by Muslim Aztecs and the Incas—and created a huge New
states, maritime routes offered the prospect of World empire. By 1522, they had also completed
outflanking them. By 1488, the Portuguese had the first circumnavigation of the globe. English and PACIF IC
Moluccas
rounded southern Africa. Ten years later they French efforts were directed initially at finding a New Guinea M
ag
reached India and, by 1512, the Spice Islands. way around North America. Though futile, this paved el
la
n
15
There, they were later challenged by the Dutch. the way for two further European empires there. 1 9–

,, 21

,,
I AND MY COMPANIONS SUFFER FROM
A DISEASE OF THE HEART WHICH CAN AUSTRALIA
BE CURED ONLY BY GOLD.
Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer, on his quest to defeat the Aztecs, 1519

Major European voyages


This map shows the date and routes taken by the first
European voyages of discovery and exploration: the
earliest Christopher Columbus in 1492, through to
Francis Drake in 1577–80. Ships sailed for months
5 at a time to cross the vast oceans, often with crude
systems for navigation.
SHIPS IN 1519

1 COST AND IMPACT


SHIP European maritime exploration was
IN 1522 ASIA
Survival ratio made possible by better ship types
1:13 of Magellan's
circumnavigation
Magellan left Spain in September 1519
Ships commanded by Magellan
Five ships set sail on Magellan’s
RICE, BANANAS,
YAMS, AND
SUGARCANE
and navigation. But journeys were
still arduous, and many ships simply
with 237 men. Just 18 men made it back cicumnavigation. Two were disappeared. The fate of Magellan’s
three years later. Magellan himself was wrecked, one abandoned, and one fleet in 1519–22 reflected these risks.
killed in the Philippines, in April 1521. deserted. Only Victoria returned.
AMERICA Relations with native peoples also
CORN, POTATOES,
TOMATOES, AND proved fraught and almost invariably
CHILI PEPPERS
EUROPE ended violently. Europeans generally
HORSES, CATTLE, AFRICA
population in PIGS AND WHEAT saw natives as a resource to be
millions exploited and Christianized. But the
1565
25 population in
startling death tolls in the New World
were more the result of the dislocation
MILLION
11 millions 1565
Biological exchange
New foods—and new of settled ways of life and of imported
CENTRAL AMERICA MILLION diseases—passed
1519
Effect on populations between Europe and the European diseases than of deliberate
2.5 PERU 1.5
1519 The Spanish conquests New World as a direct policy. The sudden intermingling of
had a devastating impact result of the voyages of previously separate worlds had a
on native populations. discovery. The results
ESTIMATED NATIVE POPULATION ESTIMATED NATIVE African slaves were taken were at times beneficial; dramatic impact in both directions,
OF CENTRAL AMERICA POPULATION OF PERU over to replace them. at others, fatal. with crops and animal types
introduced to new environments.

172
VOYAG E S O F E X P LO R AT I O N
ARCTIC OCEAN
Spitsbergen
Novaya
Zemlya
Greenland B arents 1596– 9 7
Baf
fi n Is 553
y1
lan hb

g
lou
Iceland

Wil
Archangel
Frobisher 1576

La ENGLAND
b

ra
Panama

do
NETHERLANDS

r
Cabo t 1497
NORTH
Hochelaga EUROPE A S I A

CE
(Montreal)

C or 5 0 0

AN
Cartier

FR
1534–36
AMERICA

te -
1

N
Re

AI
Azores

SP
a
JAPAN

l
AT L A N T I C Canary
1 5 7 7 – 80

Islands PORTUGAL Nagasaki


OCEAN MI N G
Bahamas CH I N A
Cuba
ke

a Colum b us 1492 Macao Philippine


Dr IN DI A Islands
Goa

AN
Hainan
u s 15 0
2–04 AFRICA ellan
15 19–21

NA
Acapulco Col umb Mag

16
M
–21

15 –
Calicut
26

al
Lo
br Malacca ai s a 15
1519

Cape Sierra Leone

15
Ca 5 77–80

00
O CE AN Drake 15

Pires
Cape Tiburón 1
ellan

Panama
–80

eo
Mogadishu a
am Moluccas

rn
G
da
1577

Bo
9 Sumatra New Guinea
Mag

7–
Malindi 149 INDIAN
Lo

e
ais

de Abreu
Drak

SOUTH Kilwa OCEAN Java


a1

1511
Lima 26
15
52

isa
da Gama
6

AMERICA Loa

r
80

gasca
7– 22
Sofala 157 1–
ake 52
Dr n)
1

Mada
o
an lla
14 9 7

Ca
bra el C age AUSTRALIA
l 15 d of M
–9

00
e ath
8

rd
(a fte

Isla de Chiloé Cape of Good Hope


KEY
Spanish expeditions
Puerto San Julián
Portuguese expeditions
SOUTHERN OCEAN English expeditions
French expeditions
Strait of Magellan Cape Horn
Dutch expeditions

EUROPE EUROPE
NORTH NORT H
A M E R I CA A M ERI CA
ASIA ASIA
PACI F I C PACIFIC
OCEAN OCE AN
AT L A N TI C AT L AN T I C
OCEAN OCEAN

AFRICA AFRICA

INDIAN IND IAN


S O U TH OCEAN S OU T H OCE AN
A M E R I CA A M ERI CA

PAC I F I C PACI F I C
OCEAN OCEAN AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA

S O U TH E R N O C E A N SO U TH E R N OCE AN

1600 Spain took the lead in exploring and claiming KEY 1800 European expansion continued in the 17th KEY
new lands, especially in Central and South America. Spain and Denmark and and 18th centuries, with massive areas of the Britain and Spain and
By 1600, Spain also had claims on the Philippine possessions possessions world claimed by Europe by 1800. Britain, in possessions possessions
Islands. Portugal claimed only a handful of coastal Portugal and Dutch (United particular, despite losing its American colonies, France and Portugal and
possessions Provinces) possessions possessions
trading posts in Africa, India, and the Spice Islands, possessions
was gaining ground—in Canada, in southern
along with a strip of Brazilian coast. England and Africa, and above all, in India. Denmark and The Netherlands
possessions possessions and possessions

173
1483–85 1486–89

Most of what remains of the Great Wall of China was rebuilt during the Ming dynasty.
Dotted with fortifications it extends over 4,000 miles (6,400 km).

IN 1483, THE WARS OF THE ROSES Gulf, reporting favorably on all


THE RENAISSANCE
flared up again (see 1454–55). these routes in 1492. The second
Fought between Lancastrians and expedition, under Bartolomeu
Yorkists—rival Plantagenet The Renaissance (literally Dias, was specifically charged
claimants to the English throne— “rebirth”) grew out of the with finding a navigable passage
it had appeared to have been Italian Middle Ages and around the presumed southern tip
settled for good in 1471. In 1470, marked a reevaluation of of Africa. In January 1488, rather
the Yorkist Edward IV, who had European thought. At its heart than simply following the African
seized the throne from the was a reinterpretation of coast southward as Cão and
hapless Lancastrian Henry VI in Europe’s Classical past. It gave others before him had done, at
1461, had been forced from it by a rise, first in Florence (left), to around 27°S (several hundred
group of vengeful magnates. In an artistic and architectural miles short of the tip of south
1471, with Burgundian support revolution, and later, to a Africa) he headed southwest,
from Charles the Bold (see scientific one. Its early impact away from the coast. By any
1472–76), Edward retook the was fitful but eventually spread measure, that was remarkably
throne. Henry was murdered, to most of Europe in the daring. Miles from land, he picked
probably on Edward’s orders. following 200 years. up the westerlies that blow in the
In 1483, Edward, now grossly South Atlantic and was carried
corpulent, died. Instantly, the almost 300 miles (500 km) to the
conflict reignited, albeit in a probability is that he ordered But there was a further FOLLOWING ON FROM EARLIER east of the Cape of Good Hope
different form. The problem was their killings; his hold on the Lancastrian claimant, Henry PORTUGUESE VOYAGES (see on the tip of southern Africa.
that the new king, Edward V, throne was too shaky to permit Tudor (1457–1509). His right to 1470–71), two further expeditions Dias’s voyage provided a better
was only 12 years old and his any rivals to survive if he could the throne was tenuous at best, were despatched in 1487 to understanding of the wind
mother’s family, the Woodvilles, eliminate them. Richard III was but critically he had the support of investigate routes to and across systems that linked the Atlantic
saw the boy-king as an obvious vilified in later Tudor propaganda. the French king, Charles VIII (r. the Indian Ocean. Pêro da Covilhã and Indian oceans, and proved
opportunity to proclaim But given the turbulent treachery 1483–98). In August 1485, Henry was charged with investigating vital in calculating the route to the
themselves regents—in effect, of late-medieval England, led an invasion from France. By the East African coast as well as Cape of Good Hope and beyond.
to seize the throne themselves, Richard’s actions seem fairly the end of the month, Richard the Indian Ocean. From Aden, Later, Vasco da Gama and Pedro
undoing Edward IV’s legacy. This rational. Sooner or later the was dead, killed at the Battle of reached via the Red Sea, he sailed Cabral exploited this knowledge
at least was the view of the dead Woodvilles would have sought an Bosworth, his superiority in to Calicut in India, as far south as in their own voyages.
king’s most consistent champion, excuse for his death. numbers undone by the ineptitude Sofala in East Africa, and north to Human sacrifice is a feature
his brother the Duke of of many of his commanders. the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian common to many early societies.
Gloucester, who was competent, Henry Tudor, in turn, crowned on

20,000
intelligent, and loyal. Gloucester the field of the battle, had become
characteristically preempted the Henry VII. The Tudor monarch’s
Woodvilles by seizing the throne seizure of the throne might easily
himself, as Richard III, executing have provoked yet another round
the leading Woodvilles, and in this destabilizing infighting. But
imprisoning Edward V with his Henry VII would prove among the
younger brother in the Tower of most pragmatic, capable, and THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF
London where both were then far-sighted of kings. Under the
PEOPLE SACRIFICED AT THE
murdered. If no definitive proof
has ever been offered that Richard
III was responsible for the deaths
5:8 Battle of Bosworth
Henry’s Tudor army of
5,000 troops overcame
Tudors, England was significantly
strengthened, its magnates
tamed, and its government
INAUGURATION OF THE
TENOCHTITLAN PYRAMID
Richard III’s much larger force, which
of his nephews, the overwhelming was undermined by poor leadership. comprehensively overhauled.

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174
1490–93

This 19th-century painting shows the Fall of Granada in 1492, which ended
780 years of Muslim rule in Spain.

None is known to have practiced ambitious rebuilding of the On January 2, 1492, Spanish “crusading” taxes, previously paid
it with the vigor of the Aztecs, 4,000-mile (6,400-km) long Great monarchs Ferdinand and before the fall of Granada. Success
however—or on the same Wall. First built in 200 BCE, the Isabella (see 1469) presided depended on Columbus’s
gargantuan scale. It is estimated wall had presented a symbol of over the fall of the Kingdom of undoubted navigational ability and
that the Aztecs ritually sacrificed superiority as well as a barrier Granada, marking the end of a on his insistence that Asia lay
upward of 20,000 victims a to incursions from barbarians in 10-year campaign to claim the much farther to the east than
year—slaves, enemies captured the north. Under the Ming, its last Moorish territory in Iberia. conventionally believed. On his
in battle, and people simply mountainous eastern length was It was the end of a process begun arrival in the New World on
offered in tribute. The aim was to built mostly of brick and stone, its in the 8th century—the Christian October 12, somewhere in the
placate their gods, above all the western, desertlike length of clay reconquest or reconquista. It Bahamas, he immediately
god of war, Huitzilopochtil, and earth, often reinforced with underlined Spain’s determination despatched emissaries to the
whose daily battles with the sun wood. It stood on average 25ft (8m) to project itself as an aggressively “Chinese” court. Columbus’s
could be sustained only by blood. high and 18 ft (5.5 m) wide and was expansionist Christian power. self-belief blinded him to the
In 1487, on the opening of the new studded with 25,000 towers and In 1492, the Spanish crown finally reality of what he had discovered.
great temple in the Aztec capital, upward of 15,000 garrisons—a decided to back Christopher
Mamluk helmet
Tenochtitlán, up to 20,000 people monumental feat of construction. This 15th-century iron Mamluk
Columbus’s first Atlantic crossing.
were ritually executed, their helmet, as worn by Mamluk soldiers, Columbus had made a series of
hearts sliced from their bodies, in is decorated with inlaid silver extravagant claims about the
Tenochtitlán
a single ceremony that may have This mural of the 16th-century Aztec calligraphy. reward his voyage to the Indies
lasted anything from 4 to 20 days. capital imagined by 20th-century (Asia) would generate. Spain was
In China, the Ming dynasty Mexican artist Diego Rivera shows THE OTTOMAN–MAMLUK peace anxious to match the spoils
(1368–1644) continued the the city’s massive scale. treaty of May 1491 ended a war flowing to Portugal from its West
that had begun in 1485 for control African ventures. It also needed
of the Western Asia and Red Sea to replace the lost revenues from
trade routes. Neither side gained
much but the war exhausted the
Mamluks financially, making their
subsequent conquest by the
,, SAILED THIS
DAY NINETEEN CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Ottomans in 1516–17 inevitable. (c. 1451–1506)
By 1490, Vladislas II (1456– LEAGUES . . .
1516) ruled over a vast kingdom,
including Poland–Lithuania,
(COUNTED) LESS Born in Genoa, Italy,
Christopher Columbus made
Bohemia, and Hungary, whose THAN THE TRUE four transatlantic voyages
crown he accepted in 1490. Despite NUMBER, THAT believing that the riches of

THE CREW
the size of these territories, they the East could be reached by
had little influence on Europe as sailing west from Spain. His
a whole. Poland–Lithuania—vast, MIGHT NOT BE first journey (1492–93) was
desolate, and impoverished—was
DISMAYED IF followed by others in 1493–96,

,,
on the margins of Europe. 1498–1500, and 1502–04.
Hungary and Bohemia, although THE VOYAGE He was the first European to
more sophisticated, remained
not just separate kingdoms but
SHOULD PROVE sight South America, in 1498,
and charted most of the
uneasy rivals. The potential of LONG. Caribbean. He died still
these sprawling lands would certain he had reached Asia.
never be realized. Christopher Columbus, 1492

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Fe
g cr tu to
te Au re 175
1494–97 1498–1500

This map by Alberto Cantino was the first to show Portugal’s discoveries in the West and East This 20th-century painting depicts King Manuel I of Portugal blessing Vasco da
and the division between Spanish and Portuguese territories agreed upon at Tordesillas. Gama and his expedition as they get ready to set sail from Lisbon.

IN 1494, POPE ALEXANDER VI drew with Venice, the papacy, and the THE SOUTHWARD PROBING ALONG Calicut in southwest India. A
up the Treaty of Tordesillas, Holy Roman Empire to oppose him the African coast by the practical route to the East had
which effectively divided up in a Holy League, ending his Portuguese in the 15th century been discovered. Da Gama’s
existing and future New World dreams of Italian conquest. had reached a climax when crossing of the Indian Ocean—
discoveries between Spain and By about 1496, an outbreak of Bartolomeu Dias rounded the tip crisscrossed by Arab and other
Portugal. It drew a north–south what was commonly called the of Africa in 1488. In May 1498, trade routes since the 9th
line 370 leagues (about 1,350 French pox (so-named as it was Vasco da Gama consolidated this century—depended on local
miles or 2,000 km) west of the first recorded among French achievement when he continued Muslim knowledge. His route to
Cape Verde Islands. Land to the troops there) occurred in Italy. It into the Indian Ocean and reached the Indian Ocean, on the other
west was assigned to Spain; that was syphilis. By the middle of the hand, was new. Where previous
to the east, to Portugal. 16th century, about one million Portuguese mariners had hugged
Battle of Zonchio
The political crisis provoked in people had contracted the This woodcut depicts ships in the the African coast, da Gama made a
Florence by the death of Lorenzo LEONARDO DA VINCI disease—probably from a more first battle of the Ottoman–Venetian vast sweep westward into the
(“the Magnificent”) de Medici in (1452–1519) virulent strain brought by sailors War. It was the first time cannons South Atlantic. It was not only the
1492 was expoited by a Dominican returning from the New World. had been used in a naval battle. longest ocean crossing yet made,
monk, Girolamo Savonarola, who Born in Italy, Leonardo was a From about 1490, Genoese
imposed on the city a “Christian self-taught polymath—a mariner John Cabot had lobbied
and religious republic.” In 1494, he painter, sculptor, inventor, Portugal and Spain to sponsor a
denounced tyrants and instituted and scientific enquirer— westward voyage to Asia across
the Bonfire of the Vanities: the whose restless genius drove the Atlantic, but was rebuffed. He
destruction of idolatrous goods. him to embrace a limitless turned his attentions to England,
He was overthrown, tortured, and range of projects, but to basing himself in Bristol. An early
executed four years later. complete almost none. voyage failed, but in May 1497—
The Italian Wars, nominally Among his masterpieces are with royal backing—he set out
sparked by the desire of Charles Mona Lisa and The Last again. He reached northern
VIII of France (1470–98) to assert a Supper. He died in France in Newfoundland, then sailed south
claim to the kingdom of Naples, the service of Francois I. along 400 miles (650 km) of coast.
saw an intermittent 65-year He returned to England certain
struggle between France and he had reached China. The
Spain for control of Italy. Its near Parma in July 1495. However, following year, he led a much
opening salvo, which ended in having made his triumphant way to larger expedition. All but one
1499, was both destructive and Naples to claim its throne, Charles of its five ships were lost, Cabot
inconclusive. The first phase ended VIII found his former Italian allies, with them. But his initial
with the Battle of Fornovo, fought notably Milan, had joined forces success prompted five more
voyages to Newfoundland from

1,000,000
1501 to 1505, which confirmed
the new discoveries were clearly
not Asian. Despite these
disappointments, the English
ventures were important in proving
THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF the existence of a hitherto
unsuspected continent—North
EUROPEANS WHO CONTRACTED America—and in staking a claim
to later English primacy in its
SYPHILIS IN 50 YEARS FROM 1496 exploration and settlement.

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176
1501–04

This scene from a fresco in Chehel Stun Palace in Isfahan, Iran, depicts
Safavid Emperor Shah Ismail I in battle against Uzbek warriors.

but it also initiated the route used 300 THE YEAR 1501 IS CONSIDERED to the west by the military Michelangelo’s David
81 Completed by Michelangelo in
throughout the “Age of Sail” the date the Safavid Empire was might of the Ottomans, the
galleys and galliots 1504, this giant marble statue of
(see pp.172–73). 250 founded. With the Ottoman Safavids increasingly turned
biblical hero David stands at
The ongoing Ottoman naval 200 Empire to the west and the their focus to the east. In
other ships
17 ft (5.2 m) tall.
threat to Christendom was Mughal Empire to the east, it the process the Safavid
NAVAL STRENGTH

200
underlined by the Venetian– 100 formed one of a bloc of capital was moved
Ottoman War of 1499–1503. Both other ships sophisticated, centralized, highly eastward, finally establishment in 1504
sides enjoyed profitable trade 150 cultured Muslim empires that ending at Isfahan. of the Funj Sultanate
64
links. But Venetian sea-power galleys dominated West Asia in the 16th The introduction of Sennar in the north of
represented an obstacle to 100 and and 17th centuries. It began in a of African slaves by Sudan, at the expense of
Ottoman designs in the eastern galliots burst of conquest launched by European settlers to the previous Christian rulers
Mediterranean. The Venetian 50 Shah Ismail I, whose troops the New World began of Sennar. The sultanate
defeat at the Battle of Zonchio in surged westward across Persia, in 1502, hardly 10 rapidly established itself as
August 1499 made Ottoman naval putting an end to the political years after Columbus’s a major power in the
0
power strikingly clear. Ottomans Venetians vacuum and infighting that had first Atlantic crossing. In region, threatening both
followed the death of Timur (see part, this was a response to Ethiopia and the
Zonchio ship numbers
The disparity in numbers between 1386–90) in 1405. Proclaiming the alarming death rates Ottomans in Egypt.
the Ottoman and Venetian fleets was himself Shah of Persia, Ismail I of the native populations, In Europe, the role of
compounded by the refusal of some was a Shi’ite Muslim and who had been similarly Florence in the early
Venetian commanders to fight at all. vigorously promoted his faith as enslaved. The Portuguese years of the High
the official state religion. Checked rapidly followed suit. This Renaissance (see
A further round in the Franco– initial phase of the trade, pp.204–205) was
Spanish struggle for mastery of known as the First highlighted by
Safavid Empire
Italy was launched in 1499, when From modest beginnings on the Atlantic system, lasted two remarkable
Louis XII of France (1462–1515) Caspian Sea, by 1501 the Safavid until around 1580. works: Michelangelo’s statue of
seized Milan. He then allied with Empire extended to occupy a swath The spread of Islam in East David, which he completed in
Ferdinand of Aragon (1452–1516), of Western Asia. Africa was reinforced by the 1504; and Leonardo’s painting
agreeing to divide Naples between Mona Lisa, completed sometime
them. With Naples secured, Louis around 1505–07.
Black KHANATE OF
and Ferdinand fell out. Twice
Ca

Sea GEORGIA KHANATE


BUKHARA

,,
sp

defeated by his former ally, Louis OF KIVA


ian

TRANSOXIANA
reluctantly made peace in 1504. QARABAGH …ANYONE
Sea

The burst of European


WHO HAS SEEN
ARMENIA SHIRWAN
AZERBAIJAN
exploration sparked by Columbus
continued in 1500 when a Spanish KURDISTAN
MICHELANGELO’S
DAVID HAS NO
Tehran KHURASAN
expedition under Vicente Pinzón
AFGHANISTAN
and a Portuguese enterprise
M S A FAV I D E M P I R E Kandahar
NEED TO SEE

,,
ES Baghdad
under Pedro Alvares Cabral bound OP

ANYTHING ELSE
OT Isfahan MUGHAL
for India made the coast of Brazil. AM
IA
LURISTAN
Basra SEISTAN EMPIRE
Cabral’s sighting of this new land
would prove important in OT TO M A N
EMPIRE
KERMAN
BY ANY OTHER
Pe FARS BALUCHISTAN
establishing Portuguese claims to rs
ia
SCULPTOR…
Brazil. Of greater significance was n
Gu
lf
the growing realization that this Gulf of Arabian Giorgio Vasari, Italian author,
Oman Sea
was indeed a New World. from Lives of the Artists, 1568

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177
1505–12
,,THE TRUE
WORK OF ART IS

,,
BUT A SHADOW
OF THE DIVINE
PERFECTION.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian
artist (1475–1564)

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI
(1475–1564) was one of the
defining figures of the High
Renaissance (see pp.204–05). In
1505, he was invited to Rome by
Pope Julius II to begin work on a
monumental tomb, an association
that would last for 40 years. In
1508, he began work painting a
fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling,
which he completed 4 years later.
The pace of Portuguese
expansion across the Indian
Ocean in the early 16th century
was remarkable. From 1505,
the Portuguese established
themselves in a string of ports
along the East African coast. The
goal was simple and ruthlessly
pursued—the domination of the
lucrative spice trade with India
and East Asia. A key player in
this campaign was Afonso de
Albuquerque, who in 1509
became viceroy of the fledgling
Portuguese colony in India. By
1510, he had secured Goa as the
principal Portuguese base in India;
by 1511, he had overseen the
foundation of the first Portuguese
settlement in Southeast Asia,
Malacca. He also sponsored the
first Portuguese voyage to the
Spice Islands, the Moluccas,
which were reached in 1512 by
Francisco Serrão, who had sailed
in company with Antonio de
Abreu and Francisco Rodrigues.

Sistine ceiling
Commissioned by Pope Julius II, the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican is one of the masterworks
of Michelangelo. It depicts scenes
from the Old Testament.

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1
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rtu ba a ize fav Bag n ril nr lan tch Er tr ly pa f Ce Ric re and ize
Sa a n io
Sp t of an 08 or ce a A p f He Eng
S t u n se nd
Po om fric se of
08 15 ins w on e Ch Du rius rical f Fol 09 t o rto ap di ids ia, a va
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sa tu
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10 sh 10 at, B
P en Ac w In er
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15 A S
178
1513–15

Depiction of the Battle of Agnadello, one of the major battles of the Italian This detail shows the coronation of Ottoman Sultan Selim I. The empire
Wars, from the tomb of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, France. almost trebled during his nine-year reign.

,,
,,
Where the latter two were forced
to turn back in the Banda Sea, ARE THEY NOT MEN? NO LESS SIGNIFICANT than
the Spanish exploration of the
artillery, were overpowered at
the Battle of Caldiran. His Eastern
Serrão was able to continue to the
Moluccas using native craft.
DO THEY NOT HAVE Caribbean in the immediate
aftermath of Columbus’s 1492
flank secured, Selim swept
into Syria and Mamluk Egypt,
However initially unpromising, it
was a measure of the excitement
RATIONAL SOULS? crossing was the discovery by
Juan Ponce de León in April
which instantly crumbled.
Selim I not only dramatically
sparked by Columbus’s Atlantic 1513 of the “island” of Florida. It increased Ottoman territories
Antonio de Montesinos, Dominican friar, delivering a sermon
crossings (see 1492) that within to Spanish colonists, Hispaniola, December 4, 1511 was the first Spanish contact with but, in securing almost all the
20 years a variety of Spanish the mainland of North America Muslim holy places of the Near
expeditions had explored and and the basis for subsequent East, added substantially to
mapped almost the entire Antonio de Montesinos, in which, Pope Julius II established the Spanish claims to the region. In Ottoman prestige (see pp.230–31).
Caribbean. This included, in to predictable outrage, he League of Cambrai in 1508. attempting to circumnavigate his
1508–09, the Yucatán Peninsula denounced the “cruelty and The Republic was quickly island, Ponce de León made a
on the east coast of Mexico, a tyranny” of the settlers. plunged into crisis by its defeat further discovery almost as
discovery that led directly to the Similarly aggressive Spanish in May 1509 by Louis XII’s French important in the age of sail as
conquest of Mexico by Hernan and Portuguese attempts at army at the Battle of Agnadello, Columbus’s discovery of the wind
Cortés (see 1519). The European colonization in Morocco, where one of the major battles of the systems of the central Atlantic—
conquest of the New World was both seized coastal strongholds in Italian Wars (1494–1559). The the Gulf Stream.
driven largely by greed and the 15th and early 16th centuries, following year Julius II allied Niccolò Machiavelli was a
effected principally by violence. partly helped the rise of a new himself with Venice against diplomat in Florence when, in
It nonetheless laid claim to a Moroccan dynasty after 1511—the France, anxious that Venetian 1513, he wrote the first modern
Christian imperative, given papal Sa’dis—who filled the political territorial designs in northern handbook of political science,
sanction as early as 1452, by vacuum created by the crumbling Italy had been replaced by The Prince (published in 1532).
which “saracens, pagans, and any of Marinid rule in the 1480s. identical French ambitions. This Its central theme—that the
other unbelievers” could be The Venetian Republic was shuffling of alliances was typical exercise of political power requires
enslaved. It was a view explosively diplomatically isolated and of the period. It was given a violence and deceit—earned it NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
challenged in 1511 in a sermon by opposed by almost every major further twist with the formation lasting notoriety. It offers advice (1469–1527)
a Spanish Dominican friar, Western European power when in 1511 of a new Holy League, about the most effective means
including England, now directed of ruling: essentially a pragmatic Philosopher and writer,
Bangkok
Philippine
Mindanao PACI F I C against France. One outcome of determination to use all means Niccolò Machiavelli was a
Islands
Saigon
S outh O CEAN this was a subsequent Franco– at hand. functionary in Florence,
China
S ea
Celebes
Venetian alliance. Ottoman territorial expansion where he witnessed the
Gulf of
Thailand Sea Hemmed in on the west by the was renewed after the civil war power of aggressive rulers
Moluccas New
(Spice Guinea Ottomans and threatened to of 1509–12 which saw Selim I first hand, including, in
Islands)
the south by the Portuguese, emerge as sultan at the expense 1502–03, that of the pope’s
Borneo Ceram
Malacca the Safavids were nonetheless
Celebes of both his father, Bayezid II, who illegitimate son, the ruthless
Su successful in confronting the was forced to abdicate, and Selim’s Cesare Borgia. He completed
m
at Makassar Banda
ra Sea loose Uzbek confederation of older brother, Ahmed, who was several diplomatic missions,
I ND IAN Java Sea Flores Sea
OCEAN Sumbawa Timor peoples of Central Asia to their killed in battle. Selim initiated this but in 1513 was arrested and
Banten Flores
Java north. In December 1510, with burst of growth—directed south tortured. He wrote The Prince
Sumba
victory over the Uzbeks outside and east against fellow Muslims in the same year. He died
Spice Islands exploration
Portuguese explorer Francisco KEY the city of Merv, substantial rather than north against Christian aged of 58, impoverished,
Serrao successfully reached the Antonio de Abreu / territories, including Herat, Europe—in 1514 when the before his book enjoyed its
Moluccas (Spice Islands) after Francisco Rodrigues 1512 Bactria, and Kandahar, came Safavids, vastly outnumbered and later notoriety.
others had turned back. Francisco Serrão 1512 under Safavid rule. with no answer to the Ottoman

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e ce e M s Sp s ov nt tu Spic s m c te d
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D o d ce ist e r
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Af usa aria Kan M e Du H ie
to no colo slav Fr g Ce
An de n 15 a
H a, Z J a
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179
1516–18 1519–22
,,WHY DOES NOT THE POPE...

,,
BUILD... ST. PETER’S WITH HIS OWN
MONEY, RATHER THAN WITH THE
MONEY... OF POOR BELIEVERS.
Martin Luther, German priest, from 95 Theses, 1517

The fall of Tenochtitlán on August 13, 1521 was the result not just of Spanish
ferocity but of a 20,000-strong native army recruited by Hernán Cortés.

THE OTTOMAN CONQUESTS IN THE


MIDDLE EAST under Selim I—
who in 1517 also brought Algeria
Church in Wittenberg, Saxony,
as part of what was a growing
protest movement against
THE ELECTION OF CHARLES V AS
HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR in 1519
appeared pivotal. Charles
,,HE KNEW
BETTER THAN

,,
into the Ottoman orbit—meant
that the Ottoman Turkish state
religious practices and corruption
in the Catholic Church. In 1521,
(1500–58) was already the
ruler of several territories across
ANY OTHER THE
was now emphatically an empire. after being excommunicated by Europe: in Italy, Austria, the Low TRUE ART OF
It was also rapidly developing as the pope, his opposition to the
Church hardened. The ready
Countries, and in Spain. Now, as NAVIGATION.
a major naval power. Control of Holy Roman Emperor, his status
Egypt both consolidated the response to Luther’s teachings appeared unassailable. For the
Ottoman presence in the eastern and the influence of the printing earnest Charles, the imperatives Antonio Pigafetta, Italian navigator,
on Ferdinand Magellan, 1521
Mediterranean and, crucially, gave press (see pp.154–55) in were clear—to preside over a
them access to the Red Sea. disseminating his ideas resulted in prosperous, pan-European
Already effectively masters of the a major force for religious change Catholic entity which, properly of the first circumnavigation of
overland trade routes with the known as the Reformation. mobilized, would then rout the the globe. The expedition leader,
East, the Ottomans were now The arrival of a Portuguese Ottoman menace. The reality was Ferdinand Magellan (b. 1480)
poised to dominate the lucrative fleet under Tomé Pires in Canton, painfully different. The size of his was a Portuguese nobleman who,
Emperor Charles V
“route of spices.” In doing so, China, in August 1517 was the territories made effective control Few rulers were more dutiful than despite his nationality, succeeded
they found themselves in direct climax of a campaign to open up impossible. Few of his subjects Charles V or as conscious of their in persuading Charles V to bankroll
conflict with the Portuguese, who trading routes across the Indian were prepared to surrender divine destiny. However, his best his scheme to reach the Spice
had been actively probing the Red Ocean, begun when Vasco da Gama traditional “liberties” to a distant, efforts consistently proved in vain. Islands in the Pacific by sailing
Sea since 1513. The stage was set rounded the Cape of Good Hope in foreign ruler; almost none was
for another round of conflict 1498. However, the early results prepared to finance him; and permanent warfare and dutiful
between the Muslim world and of these encounters were not religious differences persistently hopes consistently frustrated.
the Christian West. promising, as the Chinese regarded intruded. Simultaneously, the The daring, ruthlessness, and
In October 1517, the priest and the newcomers as uncouth prospect of Habsburg domination single-mindedness Spain brought
professor of theology Martin barbarians. A Portuguese trade alarmed every other major to overseas adventuring paid
Luther (1483–1546) nailed his mission to Peking in 1520 was European power, above all France. dividends with Hernán
95 Theses to the door of All Saints treated with similar scorn. The result was a reign of near Cortés’s march on
Tenochtitlán, capital of
THE REFORMATION the Mexican Aztec
Empire. Beginning
The Reformation—the religious in 1519, in less than
revolt against the Catholic five years the
Church instigated by Martin Spanish force,
Luther (right)—tore the aided by Tlaxaclan
Western Church apart. Politics warriors, had
intruded from the start as the subjugated an
revolt spread across Europe. entire nation. A
The consequence was a legacy minor noble and self-
of violent religious division financing adventurer,
and confrontation between Cortés brought about Spanish
Catholics and Protestants that domination of Central America.
led to a permanent divide in A further milestone in the
European Christendom. cementing of Spain’s global role
was marked in 1519—the launch

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J of om ba co pa Po nry of t
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Fe gon e se R Ch
a Th fe
Ar De
180
1523–25 1526

At Pavia in 1525, the French army’s siege lines were broken by a Spanish relief Babur’s Mughal empire could only be
army, then the soldiers were cut to pieces by pikemen and gunfire. created—and sustained—by force.

west. Five ships set out; one THE BELIEF THAT THE LANDS IN KEY
ENGLAND
,, IF THERE IS

DS
returned, three years later, and THE WEST discovered by European Habsburg
A PARADISE
HO LY

N
L A
without Magellan, who had been explorers from Columbus onward possessions 1525 HER ROMAN

,,
NET POLAND

ON EARTH, IT IS
Border of Holy EMPIRE
killed by islanders in 1521. It was, were unknown Asian coasts, rather LANDS OF THE
Roman Empire Paris
nonetheless, perhaps the most than a new continent, proved
THIS, IT IS THIS,
BOHEMIAN
ATLANTIC E– CROWN
remarkable enterprise of the age tenacious. It was likewise widely OCEAN FRANCE CH
AN É AUSTRIA

IT IS THIS.
FR OMT Vienna
of sail, an epic which for the first held that a navigable passage C TY
RO
STY
RIA
L Buda
time revealed the immensity of to the East through these DUCHY OF MILAN
CARINTH
IA HUNGARY
VEN CARNIO
the Pacific. landmasses must exist. It was Milan ET
IA
LA
SPAIN N Inscription on Babur’s tomb 1530
1521 saw another round in the only the voyages between 1524

RE
L
Madrid PA ES UB

P
Italian wars (1494–1559), this and 1528 from Florida to Nova Barcelona AT LI

ST A
P
C
KI
time sparked by French fears of Scotia by Giovanni da Verrazzano Rome NG OTTO M A N IN HIS STRUGGLES AGAINST
ic Islands
lear DO
E M P IR E
a Habsburg-dominated Europe (1485–1528), a Florentine in the Ba CHARLES V (see 1521), François I

M
KINGDOM OF

OF
SARDINIA Naples
after the election of Charles V as service of François I of France, Med had solicited the help of the

NAP
iter
rane
Holy Roman Emperor. France and, that revealed the existence of Ottomans in 1525, in the process

LES
an S ea
at least initially, Venice joined a continuous coastline. Yet KINGDOM initiating a Franco–Ottoman
A F R ICA OF SICILY
forces to oppose Charles, England, Verrazzano persisted in the belief alliance that lasted 250 years.
and the papacy. For the French, that the Pacific was within reach. Habsburg Empire under Charles V The alliance also provided the
the war was as unsatisfactory as The German Peasants’ War of The very size of Charles V’s empire such as Anabaptism, which were Ottomans with further justification
its predecessors, culminating in a 1524–25 was a sharp reminder made it effectively ungovernable. considered to challenge both social to renew their conflict with
series of defeats. of the way that the language of Whatever its potential power, it was hierarchy and Protestant authority. Hungary and, in August 1526, they
riven by religious and political strife.
Protestant reformation could be The Battle of Pavia in 1525 saw obliterated a combined Hungarian–
appropriated by groups who François I captured and shipped Bohemian force at Mohács.
Portuguese caravel
usually lacked a voice in politics. gathered in a variety of loose to Madrid, where he was obliged In 1526, the Mughal Empire was
Magellan’s flagship Trinidad was
a caravel like this Portuguese The revolts were attempts by groupings and hastily assembled to surrender all claim to Italy. But founded in northern India. It was
vessel. Typically less than huge numbers of the politically armies. The uprising was it was an agreement the French the creation of Babur (1483–1530),
100 ft (30 m) long, they disenfranchised in Germany and savagely repressed, with king had no intention of honoring. a descendant of Genghis Khan
were sturdily in Austria, by no means all of thousands killed. Luther and (see 1201–05). Babur hailed from
seaworthy ships. them peasants, to end what they other leaders of the “official” Ferghana in central Asia, from
saw as abuses against them— Reformation vehemently denied where he had been expelled. In
chiefly taxes and labor services— any connection with the rebels, 1522, however, he captured
by the Church and the nobility. At and the revolt provoked a Kandahar, an important staging
the war’s height in the spring of brutal clampdown on forms of point on the road to India and, in
1525, perhaps 300,000 people had Protestant religious radicalism, 1526, defeated the Afghan Sultan
of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, and

100,000
declared himself emperor. At its
height at the beginning of the
18th century, the Mughal empire
(“Mughal” is Persian for Mongol)
covered almost the entire
Battle of Pavia
THE NUMBER OF REBELS
KILLED IN THE POPULAR
8:1 The French Army was
virtually wiped out at
Pavia on February 24, 1525, with
subcontinent. It was a byword
for sophisticated and courtly life,
fattened by trade and conquest,
8,000 casualties compared to 1,000 and, though Islamic, tolerant
UPRISING IN GERMANY Imperial casualties. of other religions.

e f at g
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52 ne ct ra p
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181
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

THE STORY OF secondary mirror

primary

ASTRONOMY
(main) mirror

ONE OF THE OLDEST SCIENCES, ASTRONOMY MAY HOLD THE KEY TO THE ORIGIN OF EVERYTHING

The development of astronomy has been influenced by two key factors: the
invention of the telescope, which revealed previously undetectable celestial supporting strut

objects, and advances in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing,


which have been crucial to explaining astronomical observations.

Early astronomy was closely linked to mythology, of the gravitational force controlling that movement Newton’s telescope
(front view)
religion, and prognostication. Celestial by Isaac Newton. In the 19th century, the distance to
observations were used to measure time, devise the Sun and nearby stars was accurately measured,
calendars, set the dates of religious festivals, and spectroscopy was introduced, and advances in
for astrological prediction. For millennia, it was theoretical physics provided explanations for
believed that the Earth was the center of problems such as how stars generate their energy
the cosmos. However, this did not fully (by nuclear reactions in their cores). Prior to 1920,
explain the observed movements of the many thought the Universe consisted of only our hydrogen beta line sodium lines
Moon, Sun, and planets. own Milky Way Galaxy. However, Edwin Hubble
measured the speed at which distant nebulae
MODERN ASTRONOMY were receding, and it was realized that these
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus nebulae were independent galaxies. Not only
magnesium lines
published his heliocentric model, were the galaxies moving away, but the speed
which put the Sun at the center they were moving away increased with THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
of the cosmos and is widely distance, implying that the Universe
considered to mark the birth had a beginning, when everything was Stars and other astronomical objects emit light and
of modern astronomy. close together. It was proposed that the other forms of electromagnetic energy, such as
Then, after 1609, the newly expansion had been caused by a massive X-rays and radio waves. Using spectroscopy, these
electromagnetic emissions can be broken up into
invented telescope revealed explosion—the Big Bang. Findings from
a spectrum of colors. A star’s spectrum is crossed
a host of new astronomical modern space astronomy have supported by dark absorption lines, each corresponding to
objects. The 17th century also the Big Bang theory, but it has also been a different chemical element. By investigating
saw the establishment discovered that much of the Universe the intensity of these lines, a star’s chemical
of the laws of planetary Persian astrolabe consists of dark matter and dark composition can be discovered. Further study
Astrolabes show a representation of the can also establish its temperature, relative velocity,
motion by Johannes night sky and were used until the 17th energy, the nature and origin of
and the pressure and density of its atmosphere.
Kepler, and an explanation century to estimate time and for navigation. which are still unknown.

2000 BCE c. 90–168 CE


Solar and lunar calendars Ptolemy’s Universe
The Babylonians produce the Greek polymath 1543
first calendar by integrating Claudius Ptolemy The Sun-centered Universe
the 365.25 days of the solar proposes that the Nicolaus Copernicus suggests
year with the 29.53 days of Earth is the center the Earth orbits the Sun and
the lunar month. Similar of the cosmos, a view not vice versa. This demotes
calendars are used in that prevailed until the Earth to being just one
ancient Egypt. the 16th century. Ptolemy’s constellations of the six known planets. The Copernican Solar System

c. 1400 BCE 1420 1608/1668 Newton’s


Deities and the Zodiac Ulugh Beg The first telescopes telescope
The ancient Egyptians The Persian Ulugh German-born Dutch
produce the earliest known Beg builds an lensmaker Hans Lippershey
representation of the Zodiac, observatory in makes the first refracting
Babylonian in which stars, planets, and Samarkand. He telescope in 1608. English
boundary
associated deities appear. measures the tilt scientist Isaac Newton
stone
Zodiacs also appear in of Earth’s axis to Ulugh Beg makes the first reflecting
Zodiac of Senenmut Babylonian artifacts. 1/100th of a degree. observatory telescope in 1668.

182
upper tube covered with aperture through
decorative vellum which light enters
telescope

lower tube made


of layers of paper
and cardboard

eyepiece lens
magnifies image
35 times

sphere rotates to
point telescope tube
in different directions

30MM THE DIAMETER


OF THE OBJECTIVE
MIRROR IN NEWTON’S TELESCOPE.
screw that holds TELESCOPES USED BY MODERN
main mirror in
position ASTRONOMERS HAVE MIRRORS
UP TO 10,400MM IN DIAMETER.
supporting
strut
Newton’s telescope
Isaac Newton made his first
reflecting telescope in 1668.
Shortly afterward, he made
a second model (shown here), wooden base
which stands about 8 in (20 cm)
high. Newton’s telescope was
the first to use a primary mirror plaque recording that this
rather than a lens to collect telescope was presented to
light. A secondary mirror then the Royal Society, London,
in January 1672
reflects the light through a
magnifying eyepiece for viewing.

1780s 1990–present
William Herschel Space telescopes
Herschel discovers Telescopes are put
Uranus (1781) using a into space near
homemade telescope. Earth or orbit
He makes over around it, from
400 more, where they probe
including a the sky in a range
1.26m reflector. Herschel’s 1.26m telescope Hubble Space Telescope of wavelengths.

1920s 1930s 1960s–present


Edwin Hubble Radio telescopes Exploring other worlds
Using the US’s 2.5m A new field of astronomy— Spacecraft are used
Hooker telescope, radio astronomy—begins to explore the Solar
Hubble shows that the when early radio telescopes System. They fly past,
Universe has more than detect radio waves from the orbit, and land on
100 billion galaxies, and Sun and distant galaxies. planets, moons,
that it is expanding. asteroids, and comets.
The Hooker telescope Grote Reber’s radio telescope Mars rover

183
1527–31 1532

The Sack of Rome in 1527 shocked Europe and devastated the Church. Although it also Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor,
deeply embarrassed Charles V, it meant his dominance in Italy was confirmed. leads his army at Caxamalca.

THE MOST SHOCKING EVENT OF on his vast territories. As Holy war with the papacy’s Holy SPANISH EXPLORATION AND
THE ITALIAN WARS was the Sack Roman Emperor, Charles V was League—assembled to challenge CONQUEST IN THE NEW WORLD,
of Rome in 1527 by Charles V’s the natural ally of the Catholic his dominance in Italy—some of so decisively reinforced by the
Imperial troops. It also highlighted Church just as he was the natural the troops who had laid waste to subjection of Mexico in 1521, was
the contradictions facing Charles enemy of Lutheranism (see 1517). Rome, when his army ran out of continued on an even more
V as he struggled to impose order Yet not only was Charles now at control in protest at their unpaid spectacular scale with the
wages were openly sympathetic to takeover of the Peruvian Inca
the reformist doctrines of Luther. Empire by Francisco Pizarro
But, while Pope Clement VII (1476–1541) in 1532. In little more
cowered in the Castel San’ Angelo than a year, a force of 188
as churches and palaces were Spaniards defeated a highly
ransacked and nuns raped and organized state of five million.
priests murdered, it was clear Like Cortés’s invasion of Mexico,
that Charles’s control of Italy its success depended on internal
was now absolute. divisions within the Inca Empire,
Following their victory at Mohács SULEIMAN I (1494–1566) and a combination of religious
in 1526 and the conquest of much zeal, greed, and superior military
of Hungary in 1529, the Ottomans The 46-year rule of Suleiman means—steel, guns, and armor
feared the Habsburgs would try to was marked by a succession against the Incas’ weapons of
recapture the lost territories and of victories in the Balkans, sharpened stones and padded
so laid siege to Vienna. It proved the Middle East, and North cotton armour—the whole driven
too ambitious a task even for the Africa that left the Ottomans by Pizarro, a man of huge ambition.
formidable Ottoman army, for the as the most dynamic and On the other side of the continent,
weather proved as arduous a foe dominant presence in the further European penetration of
as the Austrians. A second attempt Western Hemisphere. He is South America was also taking
on the city in 1532 also failed. known as “Suleiman the place, albeit on a far smaller scale.
After his victory at Panipat in Magnificent” in the West and In 1532, Portugal established its
1526, Babur consolidated his hold as Kanuri, “The Lawgiver,” first permanent settlement in
over north India the following year, in the Islamic world, and his Brazil, at São Vicente. This was
defeating a Rajput army under reign saw a flowering of the nucleus of what by the end of
Rana Sanga at the Battle of Ottoman art and culture. the century would be a huge
Khanwa. The final establishment colonial enterprise based on
of Mughal power came in 1529 slavery and sugar plantations.
with the destruction of an Afghan Hesse and Saxony in northern In 1532, hostilities between
army at Ghagra. Germany, under which each Germany’s Schmalkaldic League
In 1531, the Schmalkadic promised to aid the other if and Emperor Charles V ceased
League was formed. This was a Charles V attempted, by force, to with the signing of a treaty at
military alliance, made originally reimpose Catholicism. It rapidly Nuremberg. The concessions
between the Lutheran rulers of expanded to include other German made to the Protestants by
Protestant states and gained the Charles, which, most importantly,
support of Charles’s external included freedom of worship,
Siege of Vienna
The Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529 enemies, the Ottomans and were welcomed by Martin Luther
failed because of the bad weather— France. It was also an opportunity and enabled German Protestants
bitter autumn rains and early snow for each territory to enrich itself to spread throughout the country
—and over-extended supply lines. by taking over church property. in the following decade.

4,
al s nd r 1 lly 1 form e
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9 Se Otto uda ine th 30 niz 31 te Ne ee p sh
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Ma feat ttle 15 io r im de pro
A p ma Dü
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e
184 Ge Ju
n C k
1533–34 1535–37
,,
,,
...THE SCANDAL
OF CHRISTENDOM AND
A DISGRACE TO YOU.
Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII about Anne Boleyn, 1533

Charles V’s seizure of Tunis in June 1935 was almost the only unequivocal success
of his reign. Briefly, the prospect of a resurgent Christendom loomed.

HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND had been suppressed, yielding the crown 1,175
THE JESUIT ORDER people burned
awarded the title Fidei Defensor— an additional income of around
29,590
Defender of the Faith—by Pope £200,000 per annum. However,
PENANCE
Leo X in 1521 in recognition of his The initial Catholic response to within years the money was gone, IMPOSED
vehement defense of the Catholic the Reformation was hesitant squandered by the king.
Church against Protestant and uncoordinated, and was Henry VIII’s divorce from
attacks. Henry would remain led by a series of individuals Catherine of Aragon in 1533 had PORTUGUESE
INQUISITION
a devout Catholic to the end of rather than the Church itself. been necessary to allow him to
his life, opposed to all attempts The Jesuits, the Society of marry Anne Boleyn. When she,
to reform Catholic practice. Jesus, were established in too, failed to produce a son, Henry
644
And yet by 1533 he had been 1534 by a Basque nobleman, had her executed on charges of
effigies burned
excommunicated from the Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola’s adultery in 1536. In the same
Roman Church. The following goal was to produce a new year, tensions at the pace and
Portuguese Inquisition
year, he completed the rupture, generation of highly educated extent of religious change, and the Between 1540 and 1794, tribunals
establishing a national church, priests to spread a new sincere concerns of many that the held in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and
totally independent from Rome, militantly Catholic faith. Given break with Rome signaled larger Evora led to the death by burning of
with himself as its “supreme papal sanction in 1540, the changes in the fabric of the 1,175 people, most of them Jews.
head.” The reasons for this Jesuits spearheaded the traditional Church, had reached
improbable split were simple. Catholic revival. the boiling point in the North of conceded to the movement’s
Initially, Henry wanted a divorce England. The Pilgrimage of demands. But when the crisis
from his aging Spanish wife, Grace saw the largest uprisings was over, he had the rebellion’s
Catherine of Aragon, who after convinced himself this was divine HAVING BROKEN WITH ROME, in England since the Peasants leaders executed.
24 years of marriage had yet to punishment for marrying his it followed that all the structures Revolt in 1381. Those involved had Distracted by events in Europe,
give birth to a son. Henry had brother’s widow—in 1501, of the Catholic Church in England shown little or no dissatisfaction Charles V was rarely able to
Catherine had married Henry’s should be taken over by the state. with the Catholic church and were pursue his goal of driving the
elder brother Arthur, who died This was not just a question of unprepared to see centuries of Ottomans back to their Turkish
the following year; Henry and wanting to eradicate papal settled faith discarded. Faced with heartlands. In 1535, however, he
Catherine married in 1509. authority in England. The Catholic protest on this scale, the king achieved a rare success with the
The pope, under pressure from Church in England was immensely conquest of Tunis in North Africa.
Catherine’s nephew, Charles V, wealthy, and this was money that It proved to be a costly victory,
refused to grant a divorce. Henry’s Henry VIII, permanently strapped provoking an Ottoman raid on
response, formulated over several for cash, was determined to have. Majorca that captured 6,000
years, was in effect to become his In 1535, the king’s secretary, Christians and encouraged the
own pope, able to authorize his Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485– French monarch to cooperate
58% of eligible
own divorce. Prompted in addition 1540), took charge of the two-part monasteries
more closely with the Ottomans.
by the knowledge that, as dissolution of the country’s dissolved While it never achieved the
elsewhere in Europe, any ruler monasteries. Starting in 1536 notoriety of its Spanish equivalent
asserting control of the Church in and culminating with all the great (see 1480), the Portuguese
his own country would necessarily monasteries in 1539, the Inquisition, founded in 1536, was
increase his own authority, in 1534 dissolution involved systematic nonetheless vigorous in rooting
the Church of England was vandalism and saw the greatest out heresy in Portugal and, from
Anne Boleyn Dissolution of monasteries
Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn in brought into being under the Act transfer of land ownership in Under the Dissolution of Lesser 1560, in its colonies, such as Goa.
secret in January 1533, four months of Supremacy. In pursuit of Henry’s England since the Norman Monasteries Act of 1536, 243 of Its chief target was Jews, many
before he divorced Catherine of personal interests, Roman Conquest in 1066. Every one of the the 419 eligible monasteries were originally Spanish, who were
Aragon. She was crowned in June. Catholicism was abolished. 560 monasteries in England was suppressed or dissolved. forcibly converted to Catholicism.

ein rs
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185
1538–41 1542–48

This illustration from the Vallard Atlas of 1547 depicts Jacques Cartier and
members of the abortive French–Canadian colony of 1541–42.

,, I AM INCLINED TO
suppression of the revolt and the
city’s notables were forced to
by nervousness of being beaten
to it by Spain (just as Spain was
THE FIRST CONTACT BETWEEN
EUROPE AND JAPAN WAS IN 1543.

,,
parade barefoot. The underlying anxious not to be outflanked by According to the Portuguese

BELIEVE THAT THIS IS tension, however, remained.


Despite concerted efforts, the
France), proved no more fruitful.
Initial efforts had been made in
writer and explorer Fernão
Mendes Pinto, it occurred on the

THE LAND GOD


Spanish exploration of North 1534 and then in 1535–36 by island of Tanegashima, to the
America in the 16th century Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), in south of the main Japanese
proved discouraging. The myths the course of which the Gulf archipelago. Not only did the
GAVE TO CAIN. that drove it—a waterway linking
the Atlantic and Pacific, the
of St. Lawrence and then the
St. Lawrence River in present-day
Portuguese introduce firearms
to Japan, but they became
Jacques Cartier, French explorer, about Canada, 1536 “Seven Cities of Gold”—proved to Canada were reached and claimed intermediaries between China
be just that. The reality was vast for France. In 1541, by now and Japan, whose merchants had
THE BATTLE OF PREVEZA, fought In August 1539, Ghent, the territories that proved hostile and thoroughly alarmed by Spanish been forbidden to trade with the
off western Greece in September birthplace of Charles V, rose in unrewarding. Nonetheless, from intentions, France launched a Chinese as a result of persistent
1538, further underlined the reach revolt against him. The issue was 1539, Hernando de Soto led a more substantial expedition to raids by Japanese pirates.
of Ottoman naval power. It pitched tax, demanded by Charles to four-year expedition across much Canada with the explicit goal In 1543, the Polish mathematician
the Ottomans against a combined finance his Italian wars. It revealed of the southern territories of of establishing a permanent Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)
Papal, Venetian, Genoese, and the difficulties faced by Charles V today’s US. Similarly, in 1540–42, settlement. It was led by published On the Revolution of the
Spanish fleet brought together in imposing authority over Francisco Vázquez de Coronado Jean-Francois de la Rocque de Heavenly Bodies. It was based not
by Pope Paul III. The Ottoman autonomous cities determined headed a still larger force north Roberval, with Cartier his deputy, on Copernicus’s own observations
victory highlighted the difficulty to guard their “liberties” by from Mexico, penetrating as far and was a dismal failure. Cartier of the heavens so much as on
the Christians faced in welding refusing to pay a distant ruler for as Kansas. And in 1542–43, Juan returned, unauthorized, to France those of Greek and Arab
together disparate, uneasily an equally distant campaign. Rodríguez Cabrillo led a fleet in 1542 with “gold and diamonds” astronomers. Nonetheless, he
allied forces. Charles personally oversaw the north along the unknown Pacific that proved worthless. Roberval was able to demonstrate that
coast, discovering abandoned the colony the these much older observations
San Diego harbor. following year after a winter of were more readily explained by
But none of these near starvation. French efforts in the Earth orbiting the Sun rather
ventures would North America would not be
be followed up renewed for half a century.
until the end of A consequence of the Catholic
the century. response to the Reformation was
French attempts the missionary work undertaken
at settlement in between 1541 and 1552 by Francis
North America, Xavier (1506–52), a cofounder of
promoted in part the Jesuits in 1534. Conceived
on a heroic scale, its aim was to
spread Christianity to East Asia.
Battle of Préveza Xavier traveled via Mozambique
Despite the size of to Goa, then to the Spice Islands
the Christian fleet at between 1545 and 1547, and then
the Battle of Préveza to Canton and Japan before
in September 1538, Copernicus’s Universe
it proved no match
returning to China, where he died This painting by Andreas Cellarius
for the Ottoman fleet in 1552. His Christian conversions from 1660 shows “The system of the
led by Khair ed-Din are said to have been exceeded entire created Universe according
(Barbarossa). only by St. Paul. to Copernicus.”

a rt, , 42 o
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186 T h S
Natives and llamas were pressed into service to transport silver from Potosí,
Bolivia. The sprawling shanty town became the largest in the New World.

204 Holy Roman Emperor. Persistently


tons of gold distracted by the French and the
Ottomans, he had had little option
but to appease the league (see
1532) and only in 1546, with
France temporarily sidelined after
the Treaty of Crépy of 1544, did
he feel able to confront it directly.
The result, decided at the Battle
of Mühlberg in April 1547, was
an overwhelming military success
17,500
TONS OF for Charles. The longer-term
SILVER consequences were mixed.
In 1545, Spanish colonists
discovered at Potosí, in present-
Gold and silver shipped to Seville
The silver mountain at Potosí meant
day Bolivia, the biggest single
it dominated the exports of precious concentration of silver ever found
metals shipped to Spain from Chile —in effect, an entire mountain of
and Mexico from 1503 to1660. silver. Together with silver found
in northern Mexico, it would prove
than the other way around. It to be the motor of the cash-hungry
took others, notably the Danish Spanish Empire, for it was New
astronomer Tycho Brahe in the World silver from Potosí that drove
1570s, to show by direct Spanish trade with China just as
observation that Copernicus it financed Spain’s attempts at
was right. But a major breach in European dominance.
the geocentric universe theory In the same year, at Trent in the
had been made. Italian Alps, the Catholic Church
Also published in 1543 was set out to challenge the Protestant
Vesalius’s On the Fabric of the Reformation by reforming and
Human Body. Like Copernicus, remodeling itself. The Council
Andreas Vesalius (1514–64) of Trent aimed to eradicate
looked to ancient Greek learning. corruption, make the Church’s
Unlike Copernicus, he made his teachings more coherent, and to
own direct observations, based on project itself as a dynamic and
dissections of human bodies. If competitive religious force. It gave
any moment can be pinpointed as rise to a series of new Catholic
initiating a scientific revolution in orders and met twice more, in
the West—the belief the world is 1551–52 and 1559–63.
best understood by empirical
observation—it was perhaps this.
The Portuguese arrive in Japan
Ever since the formation of the Portuguese merchants display some
Protestant Schmalkaldic League of their wares to the intrigue of the
in 1531, Charles V had been forced locals on their arrival on Japanese
to skirt its threat to his authority as shores in 1543.

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1549–51 1552–54 1555–56
,,ART OWES ITS ORIGIN TO
NATURE... THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATION...

,,
SUPPLIED THE FIRST MODEL, WHILE
THE ORIGINAL TEACHER WAS THAT
DIVINE INTELLIGENCE…
Giorgio Vasari, from Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters... 1550

The only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary I was the This copper engraving depicts the
first queen of England to rule in her own right. Peace of Augsburg of 1555.

THE ACCESSION OF THE NINE- of Cranmer’s Book of Common IN 1552, THE LAST CHAPTER of the THE FINAL PHASE OF THE ITALIAN
YEAR-OLD EDWARD VI (1537–53) to Prayer—its use was compulsory. 60-plus years of the Italian Wars WARS made plain that Charles V
the English throne in 1547 marked When the first Portuguese (see 1505–12] was opened. It saw could never impose himself
a violent break with his father’s Governor-General, Tomé de France allied with the Ottomans militarily on those of his nominal
religious settlement. Henry VIII’s Sousa, arrived in Brazil in 1549 he in the Mediterranean, and with subjects within the Holy Roman
Church of England (see 1534) was was accompanied by five Jesuits, a series of German Protestant Empire who had embraced
Protestant only in its rejection of sent at the express wish of the princes, notably Maurice of Protestantism. Charles accordingly,

4:1
Portuguese king, João III, and led Heretics put to death
papal authority. Edward VI, guided Saxony, in Germany. England and reluctantly, allowed his
During her five-year
by the actively Protestant Lord by Manuel de Nóbrega (1517–70). would make a late and disastrous rule, Mary I had 283 brother Archduke Ferdinand, Holy
The Jesuits (see 1533–34), in contribution to the Spanish cause Protestants burned at the stake for Roman Emperor designate, to
other words, were central to the in 1557. This came about because heresy—227 of them were men negotiate a compromise, the
Portuguese colonization of Brazil Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, and 56 were women. Peace of Augsburg, agreed in
from the beginning. Nóbrega not became queen in 1553 and September 1555. At its heart was
only celebrated the first mass in married Charles V’s son, the space of less than a year, England a formula—cuius regio eius religio
Brazil, at Salvador, first capital of future Philip II of Spain, in 1554. was wrenched from one religious (“whose realm, his religion”)—
the new colony, he established the That the ruler of an England that extreme to another. From 1555, she that allowed each ruler to impose
first Jesuit College in the New had been Protestant since 1534 began the systematic persecution his own religion on his territory.
World. He and his companions should be married to the son of of leading Protestant figures, 283 Tolerance of this sort suggested
proved energetic missionaries, the most militantly Catholic ruler of whom she had burned alive a major breakthrough. But the
establishing schools and chapels in Europe is easily explained. —hence her later demonization choice was between Catholicism
and, importantly, concentrating Where her brother, Edward VI, had as Bloody Mary. and Lutheranism only—Calvinism
their efforts among the natives’ been aggressively Protestant (see The execution in Geneva in (see 1552–54) was not included.
children. He was a consistent 1549–51), Mary I was no less October 1553 of the Spanish The accession of the 14-year-old
champion of the Indians in the aggressively Catholic, determined theologian and radical humanist, Akbar to the Mughal throne in
face of routine brutality by the on the full restoration of Catholic Michael Servetus, burned at the 1556 marked a decisive moment
Portuguese colonizers. —and papal—supremacy. In the stake at the express command in the dynasty’s fortunes. His
Throughout the 16th century, of the French religious reformer father, Humayun, had seen a
the North African coast was one John Calvin (1509–64), marked substantial erosion of Mughal
of the key battlegrounds between a critical moment in the power in the face of Afghan and
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer made the Christian West, chiefly Spain, Reformation (see 1516–18). Hindu advances. Having fought
English the language of the English and the Ottomans for control of Servetus was a keen exponent, off a determined Hindu attempt on
Church for the first time. It also the Mediterranean. Spain needed guilty in Calvin’s view of “execrable his throne at the Second Battle
provoked bitter protests and uprisings. to eradicate the devastating raids blasphemies” because he rejected of Panipat in November 1556,
by Barbary pirates—actively Calvin’s belief in predestination— Akbar presided over an enormous
Protector, the Duke of Somerset, encouraged by the Ottomans—that that all events are “willed by God,” expansion of Mughal power.
acting head of the government, and permanently threatened to disrupt with eternal salvation available The claims of Russia’s czars
Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), Habsburg communications with only to those who submit to God’s to be the sole legitimate heirs of
the Archbishop of Canterbury, its Italian lands. The fall of Tripoli will (largely as defined by Calvin). Rome and, therefore, the only
introduced a new, vehemently to the Ottomans in 1551, with What was significant about the guardians of Christianity led
Protestant church, given legal force some assistance from French death of Servetus was that for the naturally to a belief that the
in 1549 by the Act of Uniformity. ships, was a striking blow to first time Protestantism was seen expansion of Russia by conquest
Burned at the stake
Many of the outward forms of Habsburg strategic hopes, just as Michael Servetus died in Geneva, a to be as intolerant of heresy as was not just desirable but
Catholic worship, including it marked a significant victory for copy of his book chained to his leg, Catholicism. The implications inevitable. Under Ivan IV, known
bell-ringing, were forbidden. It the Turks. The city withstood uttering the words: “Jesus, Son of were bleakly ominous. as “the Terrible” (1530–84),
was reinforced by the publication repeated efforts to retake it. the Eternal God, have mercy on me.” such ambitious assertions were

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1557–59

This oil painting shows Henri II of France and Philip II of Spain meeting at Cateau-Cambrésis
on April 3, 1559 to sign the peace treaty. In reality, it was signed by their ambassadors.

THE TENSE RELATIONS BETWEEN KEY


the Portuguese, who had been Territory of
Moscow 1300–1505 Barents Sea
attempting to establish trading
posts in China since 1513, and Expansion of
Moscow 1505–1584 AY
the Chinese, always suspicious RW

ND

Ur
NO Arkhangelsk
of Portuguese intentions, had

LA

al
EN

FIN

Mo
thawed during the 1540s to the

ED
Expansion of

unt
SW
point that by 1552 China agreed Moscow ESTONIA
Nizhny

a
Riga Pskov

ains
to allow Portugal a trading post

Se
In 1547, Ivan IV B a l t i c LATVIA Novgorod
Kazan SIBERIA
Moscow
in Macau on the south coast of transformed the LITHUANIA Ryazan
Smolensk Samara
China. It was the key foothold the Grand Duchy of
Moscow into the POLAND Saratov
Portuguese had been seeking. By Kiev KIRGHIZ
1557, this temporary settlement Czardom of Russia. Tsaritsyn
In the 1550s, he Aral
had become permanent. It would, Rostov Sea
began the expansion HUNGARY Astrakhan
in turn, prove a crucial link in the of its boundaries,

Ca
Portuguese, later Spanish, global

sp
and its territory and Black Sea

ian
trading system. Macau remained population doubled

Se
Constantinople

a
Portuguese until 1999. during his reign.
In 1557, Mary I of England (see
1552–54) was persuaded by her The Treaty of Cateau- predictable consequence was the
husband Philip II to join Spain in its Cambrésis of April 1559 marked death of the French king, Henry
renewed war with France. This the definitive end of the Italian II (b. 1519) three months later in a
proved disastrous, leading directly Wars. It proved a short-lived tournament held to celebrate the
to the loss of Calais to the success. Habsburg Spain was the treaty. The succession of boy-kings
French in January 1558; Calais clear victor, its dominance in Italy that followed led France to 40
had been English since 1360 and absolute (at the expense of the years of bitter civil war (see 1572).
was the country’s last foothold in papacy as much as of France). For In 1558, Czar Ivan IV continued
continental Europe. Mary had its part, France kept Calais as well his policy of Russian expansion
been unable to have children and as Metz, Toul, and Verdun. By the with the beginning of the
when she died in November terms of the treaty, Philip II settlement of the Khanate of Sibir
1558, she was succeeded was tacitly making plain (western Siberia). Ivan’s conquest
by her Protestant that the military of Kazan in 1552 had opened up
half-sister Elizabeth I, and financial the way to the Urals and Siberia
the daughter of contributions of to the east. Colonization was led
Anne Boleyn. the Netherlands by rich merchants, such as the
Akbar the Great in procession to the conflict Stroganovs, who had been
significantly boosted. Although his During the 46-year reign of Akbar, had been granted estates and tax privileges
efforts in the west were thwarted Mughal India enjoyed expansion Capture of Calais principally to by Ivan in the lands they took.
by Lithuanian arms, those to the of territory, prosperity, religious This enamel plaque advance Spain’s Protected by Cossacks, large-
tolerance, and cultural richness. by French artist
south were strikingly successful. Italian goals. scale migration into Siberia
He had already conquered the Leonard Limosin Future conflict followed in the 1570s, establishing
celebrates the
Khanate of Kazan in 1552. In 1556, Russia now found itself not only in capture of Calais by in the Spanish trade links with local tribes. The
he achieved an even more notable control of the trade routes to French forces led by Netherlands was Khanate of Sibir was eventually
breakthrough, destroying the Central Asia, it was also poised Francis, Duke of Guise more or less conquered in 1582, greatly
enfeebled Khanate of Astrakhan. to sweep eastward across Siberia. on January 7, 1558. guaranteed. A less increasing the size of Russia.

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J co nd N E
a 189
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

gold surface

Tea jar
17th century
This formerly lidded jar is
Agano stoneware. Its shape,
black body, and blue glaze
imitate wares imported from
netsuke stops
Lacquer inro China for the tea ceremony.
inro from slipping
1750–1799 off belt
Inros were small boxes hung from
the belt and secured by a netsuke.
This lacquer and gold example is
decorated with scenes around Kyoto.

typical floral
decoration
human figure
connecting
cord Porcelain tea bowl Imari charger
Wrestler’s netsuke 1700–1750 Edo period
1800–1850 Used as a delicate cup, this Vast quantities of Imari porcelain,
In the Edo period much ingenuity went example of blue-and-white Arita named after its principal port of
into the designs of carved toggles called ware, decorated with figures, distribution, have featured this
netsuke. This example, depicting a snail imitates a design of the Chinese charger’s palette, dominated by
on a mushroom, is made of boxwood. Kangxi dynasty period (1662–1722). blue, pink, and orange shades.

bamboo
mount gives

EDO PERIOD
fan rigidity

JAPANESE ARTS FLOURISHED UNDER THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNS’ RULE

The Edo period (1603–1868) was one of peace. The Mount Fuji

merchant class grew wealthier and better educated, and


top piece
began to enjoy arts that were previously the preserve of emphasizes
the landowning elites and the samurai warrior class. height

Japanese craftsmen were inspired by the culture of ukiyo (Floating


World), itself inspired by the Buddhist idea that all is illusion. In Edo
Japan ukiyo became associated with fleeting pleasures—from dallying Printed fan
1858
with courtesans to attending kabuki dance dramas. Craftsmen strove This late Edo artifact is made of split
for an esthetic of otherworldly elegance. Surrounded by beauty, their bamboo and paper. On each side is a
clients set about their pursuits, from writing to prayer, as though they different silkscreen-printed scene by
Hiroshige II (1826–69).
too were part of the illusory Floating World.
decorative
straw hat
lacquered
surface finely carved
detail

Zen ink
decoration

separable
Lotus component
throne

Wooden Buddha figure Ivory figure Brass lantern


18th century 18th century 18th century Folding screen
Buddhism lay at the heart of This delicately carved ivory figure Intended for exterior use, Edo period
Tokugawa ideas of a coherent of an old woman carrying a probably at an entrance approach, Sliding panels (fusuma) and folding
society. This small figure was bundle of faggots carries the this monumental brass lantern screens served as movable interior
kept as a reminder of Buddha. inscription of Gyokusen. disassembles into five parts. walls in Edo Japan.

190
horns confirm
demonic identity

hair accentuates
wild movement

light coloring
denotes an
aristocrat

Brocade picture
18th century gaping mouth and
demonic teeth
Entitled Truth-Sincerity,
this is one of the nishiki-e
(brocade pictures) of Suzuki
Harunobu (c. 1725–70), made
by superimposing printings Theater mask
of woodblocks inked with a Edo period
range of colors. This mask represents Hannya,
a female Noh character turned
into a demon by jealousy and
water pot seal block anger. Noh theater coexisted with
other forms, such as Kabuki.

detail drawn from


bamboo nature
brush

wooden cube
contains
penknife and
a needle

three
volumes
bound
together

Writing tools Bound woodblock prints


1800–1899 1779
Calligraphy was widely practiced by grinding ink block A monochrome print consists of a single
the well-to-do as a leisure pursuit. The block impression from a carved woodblock.
compartments of this box contain brushes Some later examples were hand-colored,
and other paraphernalia of the art. in anticipation of color printing.

191
1560–62 1563–64
,,
,,
WITHOUT DESTRUCTION,
THERE IS NO CREATION…
THERE IS NO CHANGE.
Oda Nobunaga (1534–82)

Oda Nobunaga ruthlessly broke the military power of Japan’s leading regional Construction of the austere yet vast royal residence, El Escorial, began in 1563.
warlords in a drive for control that eventually united Japan. It was intended to underline the piety as well as the majesty of Spain’s rulers.

BY ABOUT 1560, ODA NOBUNAGA, IN 1563, SWEDEN AND DENMARK Escaping persecution at home,
LEADER OF THE ODA CLAN in CLASHED FOR SUPREMACY in the in 1564 a group of Huguenot
central Japan, was emerging as Baltic. The first modern naval settlers established a colony in
the greatest of the country’s war ensued—that is, with sailing Florida on the banks of the St.
regional warlords, or daimyo. ships, rather than galleys (as was John’s River on the site of what
Since the calamitous Onin War, still common in the Mediterranean), today is Jacksonville. Called Fort
which began in 1466, Japan had heavily armed with cannon. Both Caroline, it was the first French
been effectively ungovernable— countries were competing for colony in what would become the
the daimyo brutally vying for control of the maritime invasion US. It lasted little more than a
supremacy. The arrival of the routes, the Danes supported by year before it was destroyed by a
Portuguese in the mid-15th the semi-independent German Spanish force determined not to
century, bringing with them city of Lübeck. Seven major naval allow French settlers, especially
firearms, added to the chaos— battles were fought between 1563 Protestant ones, to encroach on
the Japanese proved to be ready and 1570, by which point both a territory where they enjoyed
students of the possibilities sides were effectively bankrupt. superiority. All the settlers and
of Western-style artillery As other countries would discover, the relieving force, bar a number
bombardments (see 1574–77). custom-built men-of-war may of women and children, were
From 1561, the substantial have been the most formidably killed. In revenge, in 1568, a
Baltic territories of the Livonian Massacre of Huguenots powerful weapons of the period French force destroyed a
Order (see 1236–40), which had 1562 and dragged on until 1598. The killing of 80 Huguenots at Vassy but the ships were prodigiously Spanish colony, Fort Matanzas,
already lost East Prussia in 1525 There were, technically, eight in northeast France in March 1562 expensive. The war ended with no built after the destruction
when the Teutonic Grand Master, separate wars; in reality, it was a was the spark that began the French territorial gain for either side. of Fort Caroline.
Wars of Religion.
Albrecht von Hohenzollern, single, long-drawn-out struggle.
converted to Protestantism, were On one level, it was a purely Battle of Oland
progressively dismembered by religious conflict—was France to crown or the nobles, whether The Danes were victorious at the Battle of Oland
Russia, Sweden, Poland, and be Catholic or Protestant? Catholic or Huguenot. The French on May 30–31, 1564, during which the Swedes
Denmark. Originally a Crusading Inevitably, this meant that the Protestants were known as lost their new royal flagship, Mars.
(that is, Christian) frontier entity, principal Catholic and Protestant Huguenots, from the Swiss–
Livonia was a victim in part of the rulers of Europe were periodically German Eidgenossen or “oath
Reformation, but more of Polish– dragged into the conflict, neither companions.” The Catholics were
Russian rivalries—neither willing the pope nor Philip II of Spain in the majority, but the Huguenots
to see the other strengthened in wanting a Protestant triumph any were exceptionally well organized.
the region at its own expense. more than the Protestant rulers Both parties had powerful
Few conflicts were more wanted a Catholic one. Yet it was aristocratic leaders for whom the
destablizing than the French also a matter of determining who struggle was also political. A royal
Wars of Religion, which began in exercised authority in France—the minority always brought political

44
instability in its wake (see 1557–59),
but from 1560 it was compounded
THE NUMBER OF by three successive kings who had
very limited ability to manage the
KNIGHTS WHO nobles. As none produced an heir
SERVED AS GRAND and civil war intensified, what was
MASTER OF THE at stake by the end was not just
the country’s religious destiny but
LIVONIAN ORDER royal authority itself.

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192
1565–67 1568–69

Although Breugel’s Massacre of the Innocents has a Biblical subject, in reality A priest blesses two soldiers in the Northern Rising of 1569, the last sustained
it is a commentary on Spanish brutality during the Dutch Revolt. attempt by Catholics in England to protest against the Reformation.

IN ESTABLISHING HIS OWN BRAND (see 1532) was to link them with IN 1568, OMURA SUMIDATA , a constitutional arrangement,
of divinely sanctioned Orthodox the Philippines and the Spice Japanese daimyo who in 1563 had anxious it should not be to their
absolutism, Ivan IV (see panel, Islands on the western extremity converted to Christianity, gave disadvantage. For the Poles, the
right) never had to contend with of the Pacific, which, in 1564, permission for Portuguese clinching factor was the transfer
the substantial vested interests— Spain determined to colonize. traders and missionaries to to them of immense territories,
mercantile, aristocratic, or A westward route across the establish a port at a fishing village among them the Ukraine.
clerical—that frustrated his Pacific had been pioneered in at the southern tip of Japan— The Northern Rising of
counterparts in Western Europe. 1527, but no return route was Nagasaki. Until the suppression November 1569 was the most
His principal opponents were the known. Between June and of Christianity in Japan in 1614, serious threat to Elizabeth I’s
Cossacks—free-ranging October 1565, Spanish navigator Nagasaki, a Jesuit colony, was not pragmatic Protestantism. Led by
frontiersmen—and the boyars, the Andrés de Urdaneta made the only almost entirely Catholic—or the Catholic earls of Westmorland
critical breakthrough, “kirishitan”—it was Portugal’s and Northumberland, it swept
sailing far to the north to most important trading center in across northern England before
find favorable winds in IVAN THE TERRIBLE East Asia. being savagely repressed.
the longest nonstop (1530–84) The most urgent task facing In 1569, the Flemish cartographer
voyage yet made— Akbar in his consolidation of Gerardus Mercator (1512–94)
11,600 miles (18,700 km). Though capable of bouts of Mughal power in India (see devised a world map that for the
It completed a vital trade remorse—as when, in 1581, 1555–56) was the defeat of the first time showed the true compass
network. he killed his eldest son and Hindu Rajputs of the northwest. bearing of every landmass. The
In much the same way heir by staving in his head This was a decade-long campaign, Mercator projection remains the
that religious conflict and with a staff—Ivan IV applied a which climaxed in 1569 with the most familiar map of the world.
power politics in the ruthless brutality to his rule. fall of the fortresses of Mewar
French Wars of Religion Hence Ivan “the Terrible”. and Ranthambore. Having
produced a savage One key consequence was secured the submission of the
conflict, so the Dutch that vast numbers fled principal Rajput rulers, Akbar
Revolt—which began in Russia during his reign from married a series of Hindu
Spanish settlement
St. Augustine in Florida, founded by 1566 and lasted until 1648—was 1547 to 1584, depopulating princesses (he had 36 wives in
Spain in August 1565, is the oldest the product of a toxic mix of the country to the point all), tying his defeated enemies to
continuously inhabited European religious intolerance and a drive that serfdom (bonded him in matrimonial alliances.
settlement in North America. for political domination. In 1566, peasantry) was the only In 1659, the failure of Sigismund
Philip II of Spain, Catholic ruler means of retaining an II, last of the Jagiellonian rulers of
hereditary nobility. The Cossacks of the Netherlands, asserted: agricultural workforce. the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and
were co-opted as allies by the “I do not propose nor desire to be of Poland, to produce an heir led
obvious strategy of bribing them, the ruler of heretics.” Given that to a formal union between the
while, from 1565, the boyars were there was considerable support its right to govern itself even while two states. This new Polish–
dispossessed, and in most cases for a growing Protestant minority acknowledging Philip as its Lithuanian Commonwealth
slaughtered. Their former estates in the Netherlands, his divine overall ruler. In particular, it saw became the largest territorial
became Ivan’s “private domain,” obligation to eradicate these no reason why it should pay taxes state in Europe. The move was
the oprichina—a vast area of heresies was inescapable. But to finance the Spanish king’s prompted by Sigismund’s desire
central Russia—parceled out there was a further complication. campaigns elsewhere. While this to ensure that his dynasty’s
among a new nobility, the dvoriane, The Netherlands, whether was a problem that could never be territories were preserved, and
Gerardus Mercator
loyal to the czar. Protestant or Catholic, had no resolved peacefully, even by the the need to protect Lithuania from Mercator was an engraver and a
The key maritime challenge desire to submit to Philip’s rule standards of the period, the the Ottomans and the Russians. mathematician as well as a skilled
confronting Spain after its given that this would mean resulting conflict was shockin in The nobles of both territories cartographer. He devised his world
conquests in Mexico and Peru surrendering its own “liberties”— its violence (see 1572–73). quarreled over the new map of 1569 for marine navigation.

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1570–71 1572–73
,,BEAUTY WILL RESULT

,,
FROM THE FORM AND THE
CORRESPONDENCE OF
THE WHOLE…
Andrea Palladio, from Four Books of Architecture, 1570

Andrea Palladio, the most influential In the background of this painting of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre by
architect of the later Renaissance. the Huguenot François Dubois, Catherine de Medici inspects a pile of corpses.

THE MANILA GALLEON was one of In 1571, the Portuguese 251 Ottoman. The Christian fleet, DESPITE THE SPANISH CONQUEST significant figure in the Revolt,
the most distinctive elements attempted to colonize Angola, commanded by Don Juan of of Inca Peru (see 1532), a remnant agreed to take command of them.
of Spain’s New World trading but the Kimbundu people proved Austria, illegitimate son of Inca state was set up in the Upper Rebellion had turned to open war.
system. From the 1570s, three impossible to subdue, the soil of Charles V, triumphed, largely Amazon in 1539 under a minor The massacre of Huguenots
galleons (two after 1593) made the coast was too poor to cultivate, through its artillery. Although the Inca noble, Manco Inca Yupanqui, in Paris on August 24, 1572,
an annual round-trip between and the salt trade could not be Christians failed in the wider goal in a small settlement, Vilcabamba. St. Bartholomew’s Day, was the
Acapulco in Mexico and Manila in wrested from African control. to retake Cyprus, the threat of From here, he and his descendants worst atrocity of the French Wars
the Philippines. In return for New They did establish trading forts at Ottoman expansion in the western waged an intermittent, generally of Religion. It stemmed from an
World silver, Spain imported silks, Luanda and Benguela in 1575 and Mediterranean was ended. ineffective campaign against the attempt to resolve the wars by a
spices, porcelain, lacquerware, 1587, boosting their slave trade. Spanish. In 1572, Vilcabamba was marriage. Henry of Navarre, a
and ivory. It is estimated that by The Battle of Lepanto, fought overrun and the last Inca leader, leading Huguenot close to the
Battle of Lepanto
1600 the value of a single cargo off the coast of western Greece in An estimated 20,000 Ottomans and Túpac Amaru, was executed. succession of the French throne,
of these ships—the largest in the October 1571, was the last major 7,500 Christians died at the Battle of In 1566, a delegation of Dutch was to wed Marguerite of Valois,
world—exceeded the entire annual engagement between galleys— Lepanto. The ramming tactics of the nobles appeared before Margaret sister of the young French king,
revenue of the English crown. with 208 Christian galleys against Ottoman galleys proved ineffective. of Parma (1522–86), half-sister of Charles IX. This was largely
Philip II and governor-general of brokered by the king’s mother,
the Netherlands, objecting to Catherine de Medici (see panel,
Philip’s drive against heresy in the right) who, as fearful for her son’s
Netherlands. They were referred throne as she was alarmed by
to contemptuously by one of growing Huguenot power, had
Margaret’s counselors as nonetheless persistently sought
“gueux”—“beggars.” The name to bring the warring factions
was enthusiastically taken up by to terms. In this overheated
the protesting Dutch, particularly atmosphere, Catholics and
the Sea Beggars, privateers (or Huguenots descended on Paris
pirates) whose raids on Spanish for the marriage. However, there
shipping from 1568 significantly was a plot to assassinate the
hampered Spain’s military efforts. Huguenot’s dominant figure,
The Sea Beggars depended to a Gaspard de Coligny. Who was
considerable extent on support behind it remains uncertain. In
from England, discreetly doing
what it could to disrupt the
Spanish. But in the spring of 1572,
Elizabeth I (see 1586–89), anxious
not to offend Spain too obviously,
closed English harbors to them. 12–15 MILLION
In response, in a more or less 1.5
desperate gamble, on April 1, 1572 MILLION
the Sea Beggars seized Brill,
Holland. Within three months they 1492 1572
had taken practically every town
Inca population
in Zeeland and Holland, purging The European conquest of the Incas
them of royalists and Catholics. was devastating. Imported European
William of Orange (1533–84), diseases, rather than deliberate
politically and military the most genocide, were the chief culprit.

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194
1574–77 1578–79
,,SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ABSOLUTE

,,
AND PERPETUAL POWER OF A
COMMONWEALTH… THE HIGHEST
POWER OF COMMAND…
Jean Bodin, French political philosopher, 1576

Hopelessly outnumbered, the Portuguese were in effect exterminated at the


Battle of Alcácer Quibir. Portugal lost not only its king but most of its nobles.

THE NORTH AFRICAN COAST of the JUST AS PHILIP II’S ATTEMPTS TO stormed the city of Namur; in
western Mediterranean was a key REASSERT HIS AUTHORITY over retaliation, Calvinist dissenters
focus of Ottoman–Christian the heretical Netherlands were established themselves in cities
rivalry, with Spain, in particular, derailed by his simultaneous need across the south. In January 1579,
seeking to prevent Muslim raids to confront the Ottomans in the the Catholic nobility of the south
on its shipping. Yet, gradually, the Mediterranean, so the Ottomans’ reaffirmed their loyalty to Philip,
handful of North African cities in attempts to confront the heretical forming the Union of Arras. The
Spanish hands were lost—Algiers Safavids in Persia were distracted northern provinces formed the
in 1529, Tripoli in 1551, and Bugia by their conflicts with Spain. The Union of Utrecht. To the miseries
in 1555. By 1574, only Tunis pause in the conflict after the fall of the Netherlands were added
remained. Its final fall in August of Tunis in 1574, confirmed by a the horrors of civil war.
1574 to an overwhelming Ottoman peace treaty in 1580, freed both
CATHERINE DE MEDICI fleet marked the end of Habsburg states to pursue their goals
Chichak helmet
(1519–89) ambitions in North Africa, which elsewhere. The benefits for the
The Ottoman rawhide
from now was to remain firmly Ottomans were immediate—a helmet with copper
The Italian-born Catherine within the Ottoman orbit. string of conquests in Georgia gilt was so effective it
Selimiye Mosque
married Henry II of France in The Battle of Nagashino, fought Built by Mimar Sinan for Selim II in and Azerbaijan that, by the fall was widely imitated
1533. On his death in 1559, in June 1575 between the forces Edirne and completed in 1575, this of Tabriz in 1585, saw both in Europe in the
she became monarch in all of Takeda Katsuyori (1546–82) mosque is the supreme statement incorporated within their empire. 17th century.
but name as France fell into and an alliance led by the warlord of Ottoman Islamic architecture. In August 1578, the king of
turmoil, with her first two Oda Nobunaga (see 1560–62), Portugal, Sebastian, was killed at
sons, Francis II and Charles marked a decisive moment in the the Portuguese in the 1540s had the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in
IX, proving too young and evolution of warfare in Japan—the been eagerly imitated by the northern Morocco. The battle had
inexperienced, and Henry III first effective use of firearms. The Japanese despite being very slow two consequences. One was to
facing a deteriorating political arquebus muskets introduced by to load. Nobunaga’s solution was confirm Ahmad al-Mansur
situation. Her goal to preserve to have three guns for each man (1549–1603) as the new sultan of
the Valois monarchy was a 50 firing them, supported by teams an Ottoman-backed Morocco. The
spectacular failure. 6,000 of loaders. The result was a near other was a succession crisis in
casualties continuous fire against which the Portugal. Sebastian’s heir was
TROOPS (IN THOUSANDS)

40
Takeda clan’s conventional cavalry his 66-year-old great-uncle,
any case, the plot failed—Coligny, and infantry were helpless. Henry, a cardinal. He died,
30
though wounded, survived—but 10,000 Spain’s efforts to suppress the childless, 17 months later.
the mood in Paris became casualties Dutch Revolt (see 1572–73) Among the claimants to the
explosive. Catherine may then 20 foundered in 1575. Unable to levy throne was Philip II (see 1580).
have persuaded the king that a taxes in the Netherlands, Philip II After the Pacification of
Huguenot takeover was in the 10 could not pay his troops and they Ghent (see 1576), Philip II
offing and could be forestalled mutinied, looting and murdering was forced to agree not just
only by killing all the principal 0 indiscriminately. Philip’s authority to pull out his troops but to
Huguenots in the city. Equally, the Nobunaga Takeda in the Netherlands disintegrated. restore traditional privileges
subsequent bloodletting may have forces forces The vacuum was filled by the across the provinces. But
been spontaneous. At all events, Dutch themselves—Catholics and on the question of religion,
Battle of Nagashino
not only was Coligny murdered, but Nobunaga’s men outnumbered the royalists as well as the rebellious he remained adamant—
more than 3,000 Huguenots were Takeda troops by more than 2:1, but Protestants. Their agreement was Catholicism must be restored
killed. Across France, 20,000 may it was Nobunaga’s skillful use of sealed by the Pacification of everywhere. The violence flared
have died in the following weeks. firearms that won the day for them. Ghent, signed in November 1576. again. Philip’s envoy, Don Juan,

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1580–81 1582–85

Resistance to Philip II’s claim on the Portuguese crown in 1580 was weak— Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s victory at Shizugatake in May 1583 was typical of his
while an army advanced on Lisbon, the Spanish fleet assaulted it from the sea. ruthless deployment of overwhelming force against his enemies.

THE PUBLICATION IN DRESDEN THE RITUAL SUICIDE OF ODA Songhay Empire


of the Book of Concord in 1580 NOBUNAGA (see 1560–62) in 1582 The death of Askia
was a pivotal moment in the brought to power his most able Daud in 1582 S
AH
development of Lutheranism (see general, Toyotomi Hideyoshi followed by the AR
A
Moroccan invasion
1516–18). While reaffirming the (c. 1536/37–98). Within a decade,
(see 1591) were Koumbi Saleh Timbuktu
supreme importance of the Holy he had succeeded in unifying key factors in
Gao

Scriptures—the Bible—it set out a almost the whole of Japan under the Songhay SONGHAY EMPIRE
strict interpretation of them “as his rule. It was a remarkable Jenne
Empire’s decline.
the unanimous consensus and achievement for one born a
exposition of our Christian faith.” peasant. All non-samurai were
KEY
It remains the basis of Lutheran disarmed to ensure that
Songhay territory

AT
beliefs today. commoners could not challenge in 1500

LA A
OC
Philip II of Spain’s claim to his authority, while his

N
IC

E
Songhay territory

T
N
the Portuguese crown after the reorganization of the tax system in 1625
throne became vacant (see and redistribution of land
1578–79) was made good in guaranteed the revenues needed Easter was calculated, fell on Sir Francis Drake (1540–96)
August 1580 by a combination to complete his conquests. March 11 rather than March 21. became the first English captain
of military force and bribery. On February 24, 1582, Pope Thus, for doctrinal reasons, the to circumnavigate the globe in
Francis, Duke of Anjou
Gregory XIII (1502–85) decreed a pope’s modest adjustment was 1577–80, renewing English
,, NOTHING
IS SO FIRMLY
Foreign support—English or
French—was essential to defeat the
Spanish, so the Dutch Protestants
made the Duke of Anjou their ruler.
revision to the Julian Calendar,
introduced in 46 BCE, which
underestimated the length of
made. The change was introduced
in October—Thursday the 4th
being followed by Friday the15th—
interest in the New World. Sir
Humphrey Gilbert had already
voyaged to Newfoundland in
every year by 11 minutes. By the but only in Spain, Portugal, Italy, 1578–79. In 1583, he returned,
BELIEVED

,,
assertion that a legal king could late 16th century, the Julian date and Poland-Lithuania. The rest of with Elizabeth I’s backing, and
AS THAT be legally overthrown would was 10 days adrift from the actual Europe, especially Protestant claimed it for England. In 1584,
have significant consequences. date, meaning that the spring Europe, scenting a popish plot, again with royal approval, Sir
WHICH LEAST The impact of the Single Whip equinox, from which the date of was much slower to follow suit. Walter Raleigh (c. 1552–1618)
IS KNOWN. Reform, or “simple rule,” in 1581 sent an expedition to found the
in Ming China was immense. The Virginia Colony, named for the
Michel de Montaigne, French reform meant that not only would “Virgin Queen.” It was established
Renaissance writer, Essais Book I all taxes be based on property— the following year at Roanoke
itself recorded in a universal Island, today in North Carolina,
In July 1581, the northern census—but they would be paid in but, by 1590, it had disappeared.
provinces of the Netherlands—the silver. It was introduced to The surrender of Antwerp on
United Provinces—declared their simplify China’s tax system and to August 17, 1585, to the Duke of
independence by the Act of avoid problems of inflation created Parma was not merely a striking
Abjuration, renouncing their by a paper currency and debased military triumph for Spain, but it
oaths of loyalty to Philip II. With coinage. It was made possible by also brought the city’s commercial
the Spanish king now technically the inflow of Spanish and Japanese preeminence to an abrupt end.
deposed, a new throne, that of the silver. The new tax system created
Netherlands, was created and even greater demand for bullion,
Siege of Antwerp
accepted by the Duke of Anjou raised the price of silver still The 13-month siege reduced the
(1555–84), brother of Henry III further, and in the long term city’s population from 100,000 to
of France. The south remained contributed to destabilizing the 40,000, but it returned the southern
broadly loyal to Philip, but the Act’s entire Ming economy. Netherlands to Spanish control.

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1586–87 1588–89
,,
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I HAVE THE BODY BUT OF A WEAK AND
FEEBLE WOMAN, BUT I HAVE THE HEART
AND STOMACH OF A KING...
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, addressing the troops at Tilbury, August 19, 1588

After keeping her in custody for 19 years, Elizabeth I finally had Mary, Queen
of Scots tried and executed for treason in February 1587.

ENGLAND’S INTERVENTION IN THE abandon. The highlight was a THE SPANISH ARMADA was Philip
ELIZABETH I (1533–1603)
DUTCH REVOLT (see 1572–73) was three-day assault on Cadiz in II’s most obvious military
characterized by the Battle of southern Spain, in which 23 gamble—a massive deployment of
Zutphen in September 1586—it Spanish ships were sunk Spanish naval might meant first to Elizabeth faced many
was a comprehensive defeat of (according to Spanish sources; overthrow England, then to crush problems on her accession to
the combined Anglo–Dutch forces Drake claimed 33) and four were the Protestant provinces of the the English throne in 1558—
by the Spanish. Elizabeth I had captured. The raid delayed Philip Netherlands. It failed entirely. religious division, economic
better luck with her attempts to II’s Armada by over a year. It showed how outright military hardship, and threats from
destabilize Spain. In a series of Plots and rebellions plagued success was elusive, and that Scotland, France, and Spain.
plundering voyages to the Elizabeth’s reign and she had her logistical difficulties confronted She overcame them with a
Caribbean, Drake had highlighted Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of any long-range military operation. combination of guile and
how Spain’s lucrative New World Scots, executed in 1587 as a Launched on May 30, 1588, the intelligence and presided
trade could be disrupted. In April dangerous claimant to her throne. Armada was the victim of English over a reinvention of England
1587, Elizabeth despatched him Christianity in Japan thrived seamanship, of lengthening lines as a defiantly self-confident
on a mission to Spain with a goal when first introduced by the of supply, and of the weather—the Protestant nation.
of further raiding and destruction. Portuguese in the mid-16th gale-wracked Spanish fleet was
Characteristically, she almost century. By about 1580, there forced home in disarray. Spanish
immediately changed her mind, were an estimated 130,000 hopes of exterminating Protestant The death in 1589 of Henry III of of France, and to Philip II in Spain,
but her message recalling Drake Japanese Christians, most in and heresies were decisively checked. France, stabbed by a Dominican the prospect of a Protestant
never reached him. It was a around Nagasaki. For Toyotomi monk, brought Henry of Navarre king of France was unthinkable.
spectacular success—Spanish Hideyoshi (see 1582–85) they (1533–1610) to the throne and Henry IV’s eventual acclamation
Spanish Armada
and Portuguese vessels and ports represented an organized and Severe storms and the English fleet plunged France into crisis. Henry as king came only in 1593, after
were attacked with audacious armed force around which caused heavy losses to the Armada, IV’s claims to the crown were a series of debilitating wars,
opposition to him could be rallied. which numbered around 150 ships clear, yet he was a Protestant. when he—conveniently—
30 A prime motive for the conversion when it left Lisbon. To the powerful Catholic League converted to Catholicism.
4,500 of many warlords had been that it
casualties would make it easier for them to
25
obtain gunpowder, since its trade
ARMY (IN THOUSANDS)

6,000 was still largely controlled by the


20
casualties Portuguese. At the same time,
Hideyoshi was anxious not to
15 jeopardize the trading links the
Portuguese had established.
10 His response was typically
hardheaded—trade was still to
5 be encouraged but Christianity
would be banned. In July 1587,
a Purge Directive Order to the
0
Anglo–Dutch Spanish Jesuits was issued. In addition,
army army Nagasaki was brought under his
direct rule. Though the Order
Battle of Zutphen
The Anglo–Dutch forces suffered was not fully enforced for a
huge losses in the Battle of Zutphen decade or more, Christianity
in 1586, which resulted in the city in Japan would in future be
being handed over to the Spanish. forced underground.

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197
Metal turban helmet Spiked parrying shield
Date unknown 18th century
The warriors of early Mughal armies With its five spikes and central plate, this
wore lightweight but effective turban Mughal device served as an elaborate and
elbow helmets with nose and neck guards dangerously impressive weapon, as well
Dastana forearm guard protector to deflect enemy arrows and blades. as vital protection for its bearer.
Date unknown
Forearm guards (dastanas) were worn
by Mughal warriors to shield limbs
from glancing blows. The hinged plate
also protected the inner arm surface. sliding bar for
nose protection

stylized blade
with battle spikes

each blade is 7 in
(17.7 cm) long
Battle-ax
17th century elaborate
Mughal ideals of beauty extended even to tip
Iron mace weapons, such as this ornate but formidable
18th century cavalryman’s ax from India’s Deccan region.
Solid weapons, like this mace, could crush
enemy skulls, even through plate armor,
and were used by Mughal foot soldiers.

central
plate

MUGHAL EMPIRE
OUT OF A POWER STRUGGLE EMERGED AN ADVANCED, WEALTHY, AND INTEGRATED SOCIETY

For over two centuries (1526–1761), Mughal rulers antelope features


carved in ivory
dominated most of India. Through military might
and administrative prowess, they integrated Hindus
and Muslims into a rich culture of imperial splendor.

With their roots in Mongol and Turkish cultures, seven generations of


Mughal kings, beginning with Babur (r. 1526–30), blended Persian and Islamic Ivory priming powder horn
military and artistic influences into India’s indigenous Hindu culture. The Date unknown
result was one of the most impressive medieval empires, which, at its height Ivory carving had an ancient history
in India, and it became equally revered
(1556–1707), commanded vast wealth, assimilated Hindus into its ruling elite, in Mughal courts. This powder horn,
expanded education, and provided patronage in the arts and literature. used on hunts, has an antelope shape.

Hunt painting
17th century
Hunting and horsemanship
were favorite pastimes of
Mughal rulers, who created
huge hunting parks. A prince
is seen here on horseback
with a servant and hound.

silk embroidery
in chain stitches fleeing
antelope

servant
deer being
with hound
hunted

Satin hunting jacket


Early 17th century Mughal miniature
The sport of kings required Date unknown
beautifully adorned clothing— Arts and architecture flourished under the
this coat is lavishly patronage of Mughal kings such as Akbar
embroidered with typically (r. 1542–1605). Miniature painting, introduced
Persian floral patterns. as manuscript illustration, was most prized.
MUGHAL EMPIRE

Sarpech Hansli necklace


Date unknown 18th century
The extraordinary wealth of the Cast in gold and heavily encrusted
Mughals was evident in their love of with precious stones, this rigid torque
jeweled objects. This sarpech, made or necklace was known as a hansli,
of gold, emeralds, diamonds, rubies, because it was designed to rest on the
and a pearl, adorned a royal turban. wearer’s collarbone—or hansli in Urdu.

Talisman
Date unknown
Mughal craftsmen were famed for
the intricacy of their work. This
enameled talisman, or tabeez, is decorated
floral motif with verses from the Qur’an.

large ruby floral pattern


at center shows through

solid jade
pestle

spike can be
used as weapon

Mortar and pestle Bowl inlaid with jade


17th century 18th century
Jade could only be worked using Parchîn kârî, or inlay, reached
diamond dust, so it was highly prized its peak during the reign of Jahan
in Mughal society. This mortar and (1628–58). This bowl is inlaid with
pestle was carved from one block. jade and precious stones.

Enameled gold wine goblet


17th century
Records of Mughal courtly life describe
kings sipping their wine from enameled
gold or silver goblets, and dozens of
dishes served on gold and silver plates.

engraving of
a dancing girl

bowl for
holding tobacco

deer
motif

water jar
or bowl

golden
base
silver incised
hookah bowl

Mughal court painting Hookahs


17th century Jahan, fifth 18th century
Mughal emperor
The splendor of the Mughal court is clear The Mughals brought the Persian tradition
from this painting of the emperor Jahan of hookah-smoking to India. Both men and
(r. 1628–58) among his nobles, grouped in women used hookahs, in which tobacco
strict hierarchical order around the throne. smoke is cooled with water.

199
1590–91 1592 1593–94

£500,000
THE GREATEST PRIZE EVER
TAKEN BY ENGLISH PRIVATEERS,
FROM THE MADRE DE DEUS
An estimated 40,000–50,000 people died in Paris in 1590 until the Spanish In this Portuguese map of Mombasa,
army led by the Duke of Parma broke the four-month siege in September. Fort Jesus is depicted bottom right.

BY 1590, TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI 1578–79), launched an invasion of THE OTTOMAN–HABSBURG


(see 1582–87) had effectively the troubled Songhay Empire FRONTIER, generally stable after
completed the unification of (see 1582–85). Al-Mansur’s goal the renewed Ottoman attempt on
Japan, and the distinctive was the trans-Saharan gold Vienna in 1529, was a key focus
character of the regime that was trade. The invasion involved a of Ottoman–Christian conflict. It
to dominate the country for over perilous four-month crossing of came center-stage again in 1593
250 years was established. the Sahara by a fighting force with the Long War. A series of
Though it was not the capital, from of 4,000 men sustained by 8,000 inconclusive campaigns followed
1590 Hideyoshi based himself at camels. In March 1592, a Songhay in Hungary and the Balkans, with
Edo, where the feudal nobility, army over 40,000 strong was the nominal Ottoman vassals of
now entirely subservient to him, routed at the Battle of Tondibi by Transylvania, Wallachia, and
were required to spend every other the Moroccans’ vastly superior Moldavia supporting the
year. It proved a highly effective firepower, which included Habsburgs. The net result of the
means of preventing rebellion. This numerous arquebuses and eight eventual peace settlement—the
elaborate social structure was English cannons. Rialto Bridge Treaty of Zsitvatorok of 1606—
largely supported by the peasantry, THE SEVEN YEAR WAR began The Rialto Bridge over the Grand was to leave the frontier in a state
who had to pay heavy taxes. in the spring of 1592 when Canal in Venice was completed in of simmering uncertainty.
Castle complex 1592. It was the fifth bridge built at
Attempting to impose himself on Himeji, or "White Egret," Castle is Japanese forces mounted a On June 10, 1594, in the Spanish
the site, and the first made of stone.
France as king, Henry of Navarre one of 200 massive castles built on sustained invasion of Korea. settlement of St. Augustine,
(see 1588–89) besieged Paris in the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Partly an attempt by Toyotomi Florida, Father Diego Escobar
May 1590. The siege was broken ensure his power across Japan. Hideyoshi to unite the Japanese end until 1608, by 1599 it was de Zambrana baptized Maria,
in September by Spanish troops in a common cause, it was more effectively over. Paradoxically, it daughter of Juan Jimenez de la
under the Duke of Parma. particularly the fulfillment of his was Japan that benefited most. Cueva and Maria Melendez. The
In 1591, the Sultan of Morocco, predecessor Oda Nobunaga’s The defeat had a significant event was recorded in the oldest
Ahmad al-Mansur, (see ambitious goal of a conquest of influence on its subsequent, if public document in what would
Ming China itself. The campaign never absolute, isolation from the become the US and is the first
met with mixed results. Japanese wider world. Korea, by contrast, authentic record of a child born
land victories in Korea were took years to recover, while the to European settlers there.
matched by Korean naval immense cost of the war to Ming Fort Jesus in Mombasa, East
victories—the heavily armed and China not only provoked riots Africa was built at the command of
protected Korean turtle ships against the extra taxes levied but Philip II and completed in 1593. It
proving decisive against Japan’s weakened its military capacity on proved to be crucial to Portuguese
progressively weakened fleets. its vulnerable northeastern frontier. endeavors in the Indian Ocean
Chinese intervention late in the From 1592, Akbar (see 1555–56) throughout the 17th century.
year tipped the balance against launched a further round of

,,
,,
Japan. By the spring of 1593, the conquests that saw the Mughal

PARIS
Japanese were forced to sue for Empire's frontiers reach their
peace. By the middle of the year, greatest extent during his reign.

IS WORTH A
they had begun to pull out. In 1597, In the east, Orissa was annexed. In
the aging Hideyoshi renewed the 1594, Baluchistan and the coastal
campaign, sending larger forces. strip of Makran on the Safavid
The result was a further defeat
for Japan in 1598, but the savage
Persian border were conquered.
And in 1596, the key Afghan city MASS.
fighting devastated Korea. of Kandahar, lost by Akbar's
Though the war did not formally father Humayan, was retaken. Henry IV of France, 1593

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Despite the perils of the venture, all four Dutch ships that set out for the East This ceiling fresco at Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, Iran, shows Shah Abbas I,
Indies in 1595 made it back safely to Amsterdam with their cargo in 1599. seated on the right, playing host to Vali Muhammad Khan of Bukara.

THE FINAL CONVULSIONS OF THE ALTHOUGH THE BANNING OF


FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN had been
(1562–98) were played out after enforced only partially since 1587,
1595. Henry IV (see 1588–89), by in December 1596, certain that
his conversion to Catholicism in Spain and Portugal were using
1593, succeeded in winning broad Christian penetration as a prelude
acceptance as king. Yet his to conquest, Toyotomi ordered the
conversion aroused the suspicions deaths of 26 Christians—six
of the Huguenots—fearful he now Franciscan missionaries and 20
intended to turn against them— Japanese. On February 5, 1597, in
and did nothing to appease the Nagasaki, they were strapped to
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
ambitions of the leaders of the crosses and speared to death. The
(1564–1616)
Catholic League, whose goal was significance of their deaths was
not merely the extermination of less that Christianity would not be
Protestantism in France but the tolerated in Japan, and more that William Shakespeare exerted
seizure of the throne. Henry’s any challenge to the central more influence on English
response, in January 1595, was to authority would not be allowed. literature and European
declare war on Spain. His aim The uneasy compromise drama than any other writer.
was both to eradicate the Catholic Anglo–Dutch fleet attacks Cadiz brokered by Henry IV in France The son of a Stratford-upon-
League, supported by Spain, while 1595 against a combined Nominally a joint Anglo–Dutch after 1597 was symbolized by the Avon wool dealer, he was an
demonstrating to the Huguenots Spanish–Catholic League force operation, in reality, of the 150 ships Edict of Nantes of April 1598. actor turned author, and
that, Catholic or not, he was no in Burgundy was followed the in the fleet that attacked Cadiz in Under it, Protestants in France wrote at least 37 plays and
1596, 130 were English.
puppet of the Spanish monarchy. following spring by a renewed were granted the right to organize 154 sonnets. He is believed
An early French victory in June Spanish offensive that saw the a quasi-independent state within to have written the tragedy
capture of Calais and Amiens. the East Indies. The crews France. Not only could they Hamlet around 1599–1602.
Anglo–Dutch ships The inevitable sieges by Henry endured scurvy and repeated practice their religion freely— He also excelled at comedy.
followed, and the capitulation clashes with local rulers and the other than in Paris—but the
Spanish ships
of Amiens in September 1597 Portuguese, and van Houten was Crown guaranteed their security,
marked his final triumph. killed in Sumatra. When, in 1599, paying them to garrison their rival factions within the Qizilbash
150 40 Until the beginning of the Dutch the beleaguered fleet returned to towns. Nothing if not pragmatic— army and had lost substantial
Revolt in 1566, the Netherlands Amsterdam, it brought with it an and effective enough in the short territories to the Ottomans and
largely dominated the lucrative apparently meager quantity of term in ending the French Wars Uzbeks. Abbas set about a major
maritime trade between Spain spices, yet this was enough to of Religion—inevitably it satisfied reform of his rebellious army,
RAID ON
CADIZ
and Portugal and northern secure a huge profit. The stage for no one. The Huguenots still felt drafting in new troops, principally
Europe—it was Dutch ships that Dutch domination of the East India themselves unequally treated from the Caucasus, who were
carried spices and other New trade was set (see 1602–03). compared to the Catholics, while directly loyal to him. He rearmed
10 32 World goods from Iberia to the One of England's few successes the latter were horrified that the them with muskets supplied by
north. Thereafter, forbidden to in its participation in the Dutch Huguenots should be tolerated at an English diplomat, Sir Anthony
Anglo–Dutch Spanish trade with Iberian ports and Revolt was a raid on Cadiz in all, let alone protected. Shirley, who was negotiating an
ships lost ships lost conscious of the failings of Spain’s southern Spain in July 1596. The accession in 1587 of the Anglo–Persian anti-Ottoman
maritime reach highlighted by the Much like Drake’s raid in 1587, it 16-year-old Abbas I as the shah treaty. Between April and August
Raid on Cadiz
The Spanish lost 80 percent of the Armada, the Dutch determined caused enormous devastation, of Safavid Persia rejuvenated its 1598, Abbas launched a major
fleet anchored at Cadiz. They set to break into the spice trade. In with most of the city destroyed, fortunes. Under his father Shah campaign against the Uzbeks,
many of their ships on fire to deny 1595, four Dutch ships under and contributed to the bankruptcy Mohammed, Persia had been in a driving them from the northwest
the Anglo–Dutch raiders their prize. Cornelius van Houten sailed for of the Spanish crown in 1597. state of near civil war created by of Persia.

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1600–01 1602–03 1604–05

The English East India Company began trading with Surat, a key center of Tokugawa Ieyasu was 60 years old when he received the title of shogun from Guy Fawkes (third from the right) and
Indian Ocean trade, in 1608. By 1615, it had ousted the Portuguese. Emperor Go-Yōzei. He remained the effective ruler of Japan until his death. his fellow Catholic conspirators.

BY ABOUT 1600, THE POLYNESIAN


PEOPLES OF NEW ZEALAND, the
Maori, had become progressively
Maori weapon
The wahaika, a short
wooden club held by a
FOR AROUND 100 YEARS, THE
DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY,
established in 1602 and exact
French exploration in the New
World was resumed by Samuel
de Champlain in 1603. Over the
,, THE SPANISH
ASSAILED THE
dog-skin thong looped
better established in their new
around the thumb
equivalent of its English rival, was following 12 years, he made
UNASSAILABLE;

,,
lands (see 1276–85). Although the most successful commercial a series of pioneering journeys
theirs was still a Stone Age
and wrist, was
used for close venture in the world. Its along the St. Lawrence River THE DUTCH
society—and would remain so
until the arrival of Europeans and
combat. navigators not only outflanked
the Portuguese in the Indian
toward the Great Lakes. In 1605,
he also established a short-lived
DEFENDED THE
the introduction of metal—it was Ocean—pioneering new French colony, Port Royal, in Novia INDEFENSIBLE.
remarkably well adapted to the routes deep into the Southern Scotia and, in 1608, a permanent
new environment. Known as the Ocean as a means of access to French base at Québec. Although Anonymous, Siege of Ostend
Classic Maori phase, the East Indies—but, having partly motivated by a search for
the culture was reached their lucrative goals, a river passage to the Pacific, WHEN SPANISH FORCES UNDER
distinguished by they exploited them with a Champlain recognized that this GENERAL SPINOLA TOOK OSTEND
elaborate wood single-mindedness that left rugged land was valuable in from a combined Anglo–Dutch
carving, precisely their predecessors floundering. itself, above all for its furs. He force on September 16, 1604, it
patterned bone tools In 1602, the Dutch had laid claim subsequently sponsored a series ended a siege that had lasted
and weapons, and to Guiana in South America. More of westward explorations beyond three years, two months, and 17
substantial earthwork East Asia. That said, from the importantly, by 1605 they had the Great Lakes, championing the days. Even by the standards of
settlements. start the East India Company was ousted the Portuguese from the potential of Nouvelle France. 17th-century Europe—a century
The establishment, with royal a speculative venture at best. It Moluccas (Spice Islands). The that saw only four years of
approval, on December 31, 1600 depended not merely on an foundations of a Dutch East Asian Ships of Dutch trade peace—it was an extraordinarily
of the English East India uncertain ability to reach these trading empire had been laid. Dutch East goods in brutal business. Siege warfare
Company was a clear statement distant lands but, once there, to When James I (1566–1625) India Company million tons developed in response to artillery,
of English intent that Spain and present itself—militarily and became King of England in 1603 to which the medieval castle, with
Portugal could not expect diplomatically—as a credible on the death of Elizabeth I, he had high, thin walls, was vulnerable.
exclusive domination of trade with alternative to its European rivals. already been King of Scotland, as Instead, fortifications became

7
It called for a combination of James VI, for 36 years. Although 4,800 2.5 lower, thicker, and very much
seamanship, commercial they remained two quite clearly larger. So much so that many
intuition, and force—the last a separate countries, sharing only fortified towns were beyond the
permanent necessity. Eventually, a common monarch, James did range of contemporary guns, and
it would establish itself almost as manage to drive through the 1602–1798 a blockade was the only practical
an arm of the English, later the repeal of mutually hostile laws. means of taking them.
British, state. But it was never Otherwise, the closest he came The death of Czar Boris
intended as a means of conquest to the union he sought was an 2,700 0.5 Godunov in 1605 brought to a
or colonization—enrichment for Anglo-Scots flag, the Union Jack, head a political crisis rapidly

CUBIC MILES its shareholders was its sole


goal. Ironically, its penetration of
known for his preferred French
name, Jacques.
Ships of
English
English
trade goods
engulfing Russia, one heightened
by a terrible famine that killed
THE VOLUME OF these new markets coincided with
that of another latecomer, the
On the very same day as James’s
accession, Tokugawa Ieyasu
East India
Company
in million
tons
two million people—a third of the
population—in 1601–03. Hoping
MATERIAL Dutch. European domination for (1543–1616) became shogun of to exploit Russia’s divisions to its
Trade in East Asia
EJECTED FROM the riches of the East Indies would the Tokugawa shogunate of The Dutch East India Company was own advantage, and supported by
HUAYNAPUTINA be contested not between England
and Iberia but between England
Japan. He presided over a rigidly
stratified, inward-looking society
five times as successful as its
English equivalent throughout the
disaffected Russian nobles, an
unofficial Polish–Lithuanian
VOLCANO, PERU and the Dutch. that endured for 250 years. 17th and 18th centuries. force had already invaded the

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202
1606–07

A reconstruction of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North


America, established in 1607 on the James River in what is now Virginia.

country, its aim in part to claim


Orthodox Russia for the Catholic
church. With Godunov’s death, the
his own right to the Russian
throne. Alarmed at the prospect
of Poland–Lithuania taking over
,, THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF JUNE,
WE HAD BUILT AND FINISHED
interlopers placed on the Russian Russia, the Swedes invaded and
OUR FORT… THIS COUNTRY

,,
throne a man claiming to be Ivan captured Novgorod. In 1612,
the Terrible’s youngest son. After Russia was saved when a IS A FRUITFUL SOIL, BEARING
less than a year, this False Dimitri
was overthrown by Vasili IV
patriotic rising under Prince
Pozharsky forced the Poles out of
MANY GOODLY AND
(1552–1612), who slaughtered the Moscow and elected the first FRUITFUL TREES…
Poles in Moscow, perhaps 2,000. Romanov czar, Mikhail (1596–
Seeking to strengthen himself 1645). Though unable to oust the George Percy, English colonist, from Jamestown Narratives
against continuing Polish Swedes, Russia came to terms
agitation, in 1609 Vasili allied with with Sweden in 1617 at the cost of IN DECEMBER 1605, PORTUGUESE partly to forestall
Sweden, provoking an official giving up its access to the Baltic. NAVIGATOR Pedro Fernández de Spanish, French, and
Polish declaration of war against In 1619, the Polish–Russian Quiros received royal approval for Dutch attempts at
Russia. The following year, the conflict was ended by Russia a second voyage across the Pacific settlement, and more
Poles had taken Moscow and ceding substantial territories on in search of the presumed particularly to locate a
their king, Sigismund III, asserted its western border. southern continent, Terra sea passage to East
In Strasbourg in 1605, Johann Australis Incognita. After sailing Asia, as well as to
Carolus (1575–1634) published through the Tuamotu Archipelago prospect for gold and
what is generally acknowledged in February 1606, he reached the other precious
as the world’s first newspaper, New Hebrides in May, but was metals. Its early
Relation aller Fürnemmen und swept out to sea by the trade years were
gedenckwürdigen Historien— winds and forced to return to New unpromising.
“Collection of all Spain. The expedition had a The site, chosen
Distinguished and second ship, under the command principally
Commemorable of Luis Váez de Torres. Continuing because it was
News.” Carolus already to the west, he discovered the easily defended,
produced a hand-written strait that bears his name was swampy,
news-sheet. He realized, between New Guinea and malarial, and had
however, that a printed Australia, sighting the continent little arable land. The
version, sold more in the process. In the event, his colonists succumbed to
cheaply and to a wider audience, discoveries, meticulously noted disease and starvation, and
would be more profitable. By but never published, would not be relations with the Powhatan
1617, there were a further four followed up by Spain. It was left to Indians were tense as well. It
German newspapers. the Dutch to confirm the existence was only in 1612, when the first
The hopes of James I of England of Australia. tobacco crop was exported, that
for religious toleration were dashed On May 4, 1607, the first the colony looked to have any
with the discovery on November 5, permanent English settlement prospects of survival.
1605 of a Catholic plot to blow was established in North
up the Houses of Parliament. America. Jamestown, in
First newspaper on sale Torres Strait Islanders mask
The appearance of the Relation in It is possible that the plotters present-day Virginia, was a highly The sea-faring Torres Strait
Europe in 1605 was early evidence of were encouraged by Robert Cecil, speculative venture, financed by Islanders had a range of masks for
a growing demand for information chief minister of James I, in order the London Company (later the ritual occasions, many of the most
in a fast-changing world. to stoke anti-Catholic opinion. Virginia Company). It was intended elaborate made from turtle shells.

,
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203
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

facial expression sumptuous clothing


intended to elicit identifies the artist’s
sympathy patron

Venetian gold ducat


16th century • ITALY
This gold coin depicts the Doge of Venice
(right) receiving the city’s banner from
a dominating St. Mark the Evangelist.

Processional cross The Descent from the Cross


15th century • ITALY c. 1435 • NETHERLANDS
The wealth of the Italian This painting by Rogier van der
Catholic Church is expressed Weyden (c. 1399–1464) exemplifies
by this cross, made of gold, Flemish assimilation of the
silver, and enamel, and Renaissance move toward
paraded on religious holidays. idealization of faces and figures.

horns represent
light rays

THE RENAISSANCE
A REBIRTH OF EUROPEAN CULTURE INSPIRED BY ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

beard demonstrates
A thousand years after the Roman Empire’s collapse, sculptor’s skill

scholars in Florence, Italy, arrived at a renewed


understanding of the art, architecture, and literature larger than
life-size figure
of the classical period, sparking a cultural revolution. (8.33 ft/2.54 m high)

In the 14th century, trade among European states increased and Florence,
Figure of Moses
as a banking and commercial center—eventually under Medici control— c. 1515 • ITALY
developed a class of wealthy, educated individuals who became patrons Sculpted by Michelangelo
of artists and thinkers. If Florence stood initially at the forefront of these (1475–1564) for the tomb
of Pope Julius II, this statue
artistic and intellectual developments, by the 16th century, the lead had now stands in the Church
passed to Papal Rome and Venice. of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.

floor plan lantern lets


under dome in light and air

Florence Cathedral’s dome


15th century • ITALY
The octagonal cathedral dome by
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446)
consists of three parts, with the
innermost visible from inside
the building, as shown by this
19th-century engraving.

inner brick dome


supports light roof

Mona Lisa
1503–06 • ITALY
Also known as La Gioconda, this
enigmatic painting by Leonardo
da Vinci (1452–1519) is the most
famous Renaissance work and
the world’s best-known painting.

20
044
THE RENAISSANCE

straight lines represent


headings of mariner’s compass

Mediterranean sea

Mappa Mundi
1502 • SPAIN
Venice’s wealth derived from
its dominance of world trade
routes. This map shows
Medici ceramic red ball signifies the Mediterranean and
a medicine pill
15th century • ITALY its adjacent seas, which
This tin-glazed majolica plate, Venetian ships regularly
emblazoned with the Medici coat of visited to distribute goods
arms, suggests the wealth and prestige pose of the goddess
that were carried to the west
Venus is based on
of the Medici dynasty in Florence. by overland trade routes.
a Roman statue

torquetum, an
astronomical instrument, Asian carpet
celestial globe symbolizes symbolizes scientific symbolizes
navigational skills learning exploration

The Birth of Venus


c. 1486 • ITALY
This masterly painting of the
early Renaissance by Botticelli
(c. 1445–1510) refers directly
to the Renaissance desire to
appropriate and update ancient
Roman ideals of beauty.

kidney

abdominal cavity
with intestines
removed to reveal
underlying organs

fur-trimmed coat
denotes wealth
and prestige
Organs in the abdominal cavity
c. 1453 • ITALY
From De humani corporis fabrica
by Andreas Vesalius (1514–64), this structure
anatomical diagram typifies the based on a
Renaissance determination to bat’s wing
expand scientific knowledge.

The Ambassadors
distorted skull lute with broken 1533 • GERMANY
symbolizes death; string suggests
A highly detailed painting with
when viewed from religious discord
Hand-powered wing the side, the skull
complex symbolism, this
c. 1490 • ITALY is undistorted portrait of two young French
Leonardo da Vinci produced diplomats by Hans Holbein the
several proposals for human- Younger (c. 1497–1543) includes
powered flying machines, much evidence of their lives and
including this sketch for a hand-crank accomplishments as cultured
hand-cranked wing from his mechanism men of the Renaissance.
12-volume Codex Atlanticus.

205
1608–09 1610 1611
,,SO LONG AS THE MOTHER,
IGNORANCE, LIVES, IT IS NOT

,,
SAFE FOR SCIENCE, THE
OFFSPRING, TO DIVULGE THE
HIDDEN CAUSE OF THINGS.
Johannes Kepler, German astronomer

A copper engraving depicts the assassination of Henry IV, King of This painting shows the Battle of
France, in Paris. Henry IV had survived 18 previous attempts on his life. Kalmar on the Baltic Sea.

ON OCTOBER 2, 1608, HANS minority Morisco population THE ASSASSINATION OF HENRY IV IN 1604, KING JAMES I OF
LIPPERSHEY (1570–1619), a remained on the margins of in Paris on May 14, 1610, stabbed ENGLAND authorized a new
lens-maker in Zeeland in the Spanish society—valued for their by a one-time monk and teacher, English translation of the Bible.
Dutch Netherlands, applied for cheap labor, but suspected for Francois Ravaillac, promised a Since the Reformation there
a patent for a device for “seeing their religious affiliation. In 1609, reawakening of the brutal had been two previous English
things far away as if they were Philip III agreed to expel them religious divisions Henry had translations: the Great Bible of
nearby.” This was soon known from Spain entirely. The decision worked so hard—and killed so 1539 and the Bishops’ Bible
as a telescope. Lippershey’s caused whole communities to be many—to avoid. The reality was of 1568. However, it was felt
device was crude, only magnifying summarily expelled and their quite the opposite. Not only was that both contained minor
by three times, and was soon possessions forfeited. It also Henry’s nine-year-old son inaccuracies and neither fully
exceeded by others. But it was still created economic dislocation immediately accepted as the new reflected the doctrinal authority
a milestone in the development in many parts of the country monarch, Louis XIII, but the and structure of the Church of
of scientific observation in 17th- as a valuable source of labor threat of renewed conflict between GALILEO (1564–1642) England. The new translation,
century Europe. disappeared. Muslim resentment France and Spain was averted. published in 1611 as The Holy
Since 1606, the Dutch had been toward Spain predictably increased. Both had been sparring for Galileo Galilei, born in Pisa, Bible, was the work of 47
trying to broker a truce with Spain In 1609, the Dutch East India control of the duchy of Jülich- was an Italian scientist who, scholars under the direction of
to halt the ongoing wars of the Company had sent Henry Hudson Cleves in Germany, threatening a despite obstruction from the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dutch Revolt. Forty years of war to investigate North America’s renewed pan-European religious religious orthodoxy, revealed Richard Bancroft. Though
had left both sides spent, yet each east coast. He explored the Hudson conflict. With Henry’s death, both an entirely new, scientific accepted relatively slowly by the
feared the other would use a River to present-day Albany, could now legitimately retire with understanding of the world. Anglicans, by the 18th century
ceasefire to regroup—as each claiming the region for the Dutch. no loss of face. Henry IV, first of The Church regarded his it was widely regarded by all
intended to do. Despite this, in April the Bourbon kings, was among revelations as heresy but, English-speaking Protestant
1609, a 12-year truce was agreed. Hudson River the most remarkable of France’s reluctant to condemn the churches as the definitive
In 1526, Charles V had decreed New York State’s river is named for kings: his reconstruction of the scientific pioneer outright, did English-language Bible. It was
that all Muslims in Spain convert Englishman Henry Hudson, who pestilential medieval shambles of its best to accommodate him. only when the revised edition was
to Catholicism. The resulting explored the river’s course. Paris echoed his far-sighted Heretic or not, Galileo died issued in the late 18th century
reconstruction of France itself. with his reputation not just that it became commonly referred
Less than a year after Hans growing but assured.
Lippershey claimed to have
invented a telescope, Galileo
(see panel, right), working from bodies could orbit only one fixed
no more than descriptions of point in the skies: the Earth. 17 15
Lippershey’s device, had devised This explosive revelation was WESTMINSTER OXFORD
his own. It took him, he claimed, reinforced later the same year ABBEY UNIVERSITY
SCHOLARS SCHOLARS
less than one day to put together. when Galileo began a systematic
It was 10 times more powerful. It series of observations of the
was with this basic instrument planet Venus. Its phases— 15
CAMBRIDGE
that, in January 1610, Galileo crescent, partial, and full—could UNIVERSITY
began to observe the “three fixed be explained only if it, too, was SCHOLARS
stars,” invisible to the naked eye, orbiting another body, the Sun.
that were next to the planet Observations made possible by
King James Bible
Jupiter. They were, he realized, the telescope were poised to Several scholars from each
orbiting the planet. This was a revolutionize humanity’s institution translated the Bible
discovery that challenged the understanding of its relationship from Greek, Hebrew, and Latin
accepted notion of how heavenly with a vast, impersonal universe. into English in 1604–08.

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16
206
1612–13 1614–15

Tully Castle in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was built in 1619 for The title page of Don Quixote, part one of which was published in 1605, and
Sir John Hume, a Scottish “planter,” or settler. part two in 1615. It remains a cornerstone of European literature.

100,000
to as the “King James Bible”. And OVER THE WINTER OF 1609–10, cruel Wei Zhongxian. With the
it was only in the early 19th the fledging English colony at semiretirement of the Wanli
century that it came to be known Jamestown in Virginia endured emperor, Wei Zhongxian had
as the Authorized Version. what was known as the Starving assumed personal control of the
In June 1611, English explorer Time, a systematic attempt by the
THE government. The Donglin
Henry Hudson, then in the pay of Powhatan Indians to starve the ESTIMATED scholars, adherents of the moral
a group of English merchants, colony into submission. All but imperatives of Confucianism,
was abandoned by his crew after 60 of the 500 colonists died. NUMBER OF objected to the self-glorification
spending an arduous winter on What transformed its EUNUCHS and extravagance of the eunuchs.
the southern shore of the great prospects was tobacco. The By 1624, Wei Zhongxian had
bay in northwest Canada that Indians themselves cultivated EMPLOYED ensured the execution of the
bears his name. He was never
seen again. Hudson was
one of 37
tobacco but the native strain,
Nicotiana rustica, was so harsh as
BY THE MING leading Donglin academics.
Meanwhile, the Dutch started to
searching for a northwest
pearls
to be unsmokeable. John Rolfe, DYNASTY settle North America. In 1615,
passage to Asia. Just as Magellan who arrived at Jamestown in the Dutch cemented their 1609
had discovered a route to the 1610, had with him seeds of the
IN CHINA claim to the region of present-day
Pacific around the tip of South much sweeter Nicotiana tabacum. Albany by building Fort Nassau
America, so it was believed that a sapphires His first crop, in 1612, found an IN STARK CONTRAST TO ENGLAND, at the same site. In 1625, they
comparable northern passage and instant market in London. where parliamentary authority would build a further settlement
must exist. The search for it had emeralds By 1627, the trade was worth would progressively increase at the mouth of the Hudson
sparked one of the most heroically £500,000 a year. throughout the 17th century, the River, New Amsterdam. Dutch
futile episodes in global Meanwhile, in Ireland the influence of France’s legislative colonial settlement would,
Old
exploration, a series of mostly deliberate settlement of assembly, the Estates-General however, dwindle by the end
Testament
English endeavors from 1576 that scenes Protestants, many from Scotland, withered almost entirely. During of the 17th century.
revealed only unnavigable, started in 1613. It was intended to the crises of the French Wars of
ice-choked, dead-ends. reassure James I’s Scottish Religion and their aftermath, the
Control of the Sound—the subjects that he had not Estates-General met regularly, if
bones
narrow waterway between forgotten their interests ineffectually: six times between
in box,
Denmark and Sweden at the and to “pacify” and 1560 and 1614. But it would shown
mouth of the Baltic—was a convert the rebellious not meet again until 1789, end on
central preoccupation in the Catholic population by which point France
continuing Scandinavian of Ireland. Its would be on the verge
struggle for supremacy in results were of revolution.
the Baltic. In 1611, Sweden, generally only to By 1615, China numbered
determined to end inflame religious was grappling with rod or bone
Denmark’s stranglehold on passions and, by financial crisis and
this vital waterway, began creating a Catholic social breakdown.
what became known as the underclass, to There were tensions in
Kalmar War. The result, in create tensions that the Chinese government
1613, was inconclusive, the still slumber today. over conflict between the
Dutch and England in particular scholars of the Donglin Academy
Napier’s Bones
supporting the Swedes once Czar’s orb (literally, “the Eastern Grove This is an abacus created by John
a Danish victory threatened. This jewel-encrusted orb was Academy”) in eastern China, and Napier around 1615, which used
Future conflict was, in effect, used at the coronation of Mikhail the court eunuchs—particularly numbered rods in order to simplify
merely postponed. Romanov on July 1613. the notoriously capricious and multiplication.

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n
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ac ns Al b E 16
Pe ra c pa Man Cer
207
1616–17 1618 1619–20
,,I HOPE IT WILL BE HARD

,,
FOR THE RUSSIANS TO
JUMP ACROSS THAT
CREEK.
Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, Treaty of Stolbovo, 1617

An illustration depicts the defenestration of two regents by Protestants in The work of the English philosopher Francis
Prague Castle, Bohemia, an event that sparked the Thirty Years’ War. Bacon was to have a lasting impact.

THE SEEDS OF THE LATER FALL of difficult to navigate. In 1616, a ,,THIS IS A SHARP THE DUTCH, IN AGGRESSIVELY

,,
China’s Ming dynasty (see 1644) Dutch expedition under Jakob le SEEKING to supplant the
were sown in 1616 when Manchu
tribal leader, Nurhaci (1559–1626),
Maire and Willem Schouten found
a new route through open water MEDICINE, BUT IT IS A Portuguese in the East Indies,
had first attempted to establish
pronounced himself Great Jin,
establishing the Qing dynasty.
to the south, naming its
southernmost island, Cape Horn.
PHYSICIAN FOR ALL a trading post in Java in 1596.
From 1602, they also had to
One of Islam’s finest buildings
was completed after seven years
DISEASES AND MISERIES. contend with English efforts to
infiltrate themselves in the East

20,000
in 1616. The Sultan Ahmed Sir Walter Raleigh, last words before execution, October 29, 1618 Indies. In 1619, the Dutch struck
Mosque, in Constantinople (now back decisively, ousting the
Istanbul), is known as the Blue English and their Javanese allies,
Mosque because of the many ON MAY 23, 1618, THE PROTESTANT English privateers (state- and establishing themselves in
ceramic tiles of its interior. Count Thurn had the two regents sponsored raiders) had bought Jayakarta, which they renamed
THE NUMBER Gorée Island, to the south of of the Catholic king of Bohemia, and sold African slaves since the Batavia. It would become not
OF BLUE Africa’s Cape Verde, was and future Holy Roman Emperor, late 16th century, but in 1618 merely the capital of the Dutch

CEILING TILES
purchased by the Dutch from its Ferdinand II (1578–1637), thrown England’s involvement in the East Indies but the focal point of
Portuguese owners in 1617. They from an upper window of Atlantic slave trade became the Dutch colonial empire,
THAT GIVE THE turned it into a major slave
trading base, a role continued by
Prague Castle, in Bohemia. The
Defenestration of Prague
deeper when the first slave
shipment to its North American
dismembered only by its conquest
by Japan in 1942.
BLUE MOSQUE the French, who took it in 1677. sparked the brutal Thirty Years’ colonies arrived from West Africa
ITS NAME The 1617 Treaty of Stolbovo
ended the war between Russia
War. It was mostly confined to
Germany, which by 1648 was a
at Jamestown, Virginia.

and Sweden that had lasted seven scene of wholesale destruction EARLY SLAVE TRADE
Since 1599, he had united other years. It drew a new, more secure and slaughter. Initially a religious
Manchu tribes in the Eight boundary for Sweden that made conflict, Ferdinand’s quest to Although it was in the 18th
Banners military system. War use of lakes Ladoga and Peipus. erase Protestantism from all his century that the Atlantic
with the Ming followed in 1618. dominions became a Europe-wide slave trade reached its peak,
Dutch slave base
Although the Magellan Strait, This colored engraving shows the fight for supremacy involving, at in the early 17th century it
linking the Atlantic and Pacific in fort at Gorée Island when it was different points, every major was developing rapidly.
southern South America, had controlled by the Dutch. It proved a European power. Slaves were transported
been discovered in 1519, it was highly profitable venture for them. On October 29, 1618, the English from a series of slave forts
soldier and explorer Sir Walter on the west coast of Africa to
Raleigh (1552–1618) was the burgeoning European
executed by beheading at the colonial lands of the New
Tower of London. He had World. Male
been one of the early English slaves were
colonizers of Virginia, North branded with
America, but his failure to irons (pictured)
find the legendary South on the Atlantic
American city of El Dorado, Ocean crossing,
as well as his attacking in which
a Spanish settlement about 25
against the expressed percent
wishes of King James I, died.
had sealed his fate.

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ish rv (b Sw
P y
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m d
an Ce n t W
ve Sir b . en alvin
Sp de Th (
208 ad C
1621–23
,,
,,
MANY WILL TRAVEL
AND KNOWLEDGE
WILL BE INCREASED.
Francis Bacon, English philosopher, from Novum Organum, 1620

American Indians of the Powhatan attack a farm in the English colony of


Virginia in 1622, massacring all of its inhabitants.

Novum Organum, one of the might have expected. It galvanized 120 hostility. Yet the subsequent relations with the Powhatan they
great books of philosophy, was Protestant opposition to him, fighting was less an attempt by meant it exclusively on their own

POPULATION
written by English philosopher importantly including Denmark. 80 Spain at the reconquest of the terms, rose against them. The
and scientist Francis Bacon The founding of Jamestown in Dutch so much as an effort to predictable consequence was a
(1561–1626) in 1620. It was a 1607 as the first permanent 40 destabilize them politically and violent English backlash, which
major work in the development English colony in the New World economically by attempts to ban by the middle of the century had
of scientific method. was overshadowed by the arrival 0
Dutch mercantile activities and all but eliminated the Powhatan
The initial phase of the Thirty near modern Boston in November 1620 1621 to blockade their principal ports. American Indians.
Years’ War climaxed in the Battle 1620 of the Mayflower. The Population of Plymouth The Spanish were successful in Determined to end the power
of White Mountain in November 102 passengers on board were The population of Plymouth Colony besieging Jülich and Steenbergen of the Janissaries—the elite
1620, when the forces of Holy Puritan pilgrims, Protestant dropped dramatically in the first, in 1622 but an attempted siege military group that formed the
Roman Emperor Ferdinand II self-exiles staking all on a new difficult year of its founding. of Bergen-op-Zoom had to be household troops and bodyguard
decisively routed those of the life in a new world. abandoned at huge cost. of the Ottoman sultan—Osman II
Calvinist Frederick V (1596–1632), THE PURITAN PILGRIMS of the The Banda Islands, in the East (1604–22) had made a dangerous
ruler of what was called the Mayflower had arrived in the New Indies, were the only known enemy for himself since becoming
Battle of White Mountain
Palatinate, in southwest Germany. This major engagement—a Catholic World in 1620 not only late in the sources of nutmeg and mace, sultan in 1618. His attempts to
Ferdinand’s victory over victory—took place near Prague, and year, with the New England winter spices that commanded a huge assert himself as an independent
Frederick had almost exactly the ended the first, or Bohemian, period settling in, but in the wrong place: premium in Europe. They were ruler provoked a Jannissary
opposite effect from what he in the Thirty Years’ War. their original goal was the Hudson accordingly the focus of bitter, uprising that saw him imprisoned
River, several hundred miles to often violent rivalry, first in his own palace. On May 20,
the south. Their early survival between the Portuguese and the 1622, the 17-year-old sultan was
at what they named Plymouth Dutch and, by the early 17th murdered, probably strangled by
Colony was almost entirely a century, between the English and one of his captors.
matter of luck, a harsh winter the Dutch. In 1621, having ousted
survived largely through American the English from the islands, the
Indian aid. Thereafter, they Dutch, actively encouraged by the
scraped a desperate existence, Governor-General of the East
dependent on uncertain Indies, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, set
reinforcement from England and about the extermination of the
their own meagre efforts. islanders. It is estimated that of a
The expiration in 1621 of the population of 15,000, all but 1,000
Twelve–Year Truce between were killed or expelled.
Spain and the Dutch Republic in On March 22, 1622, the
1609 was, perhaps predictably, Powhatan American Indians in
the signal for a further round of what was now the English colony
Spanish–Dutch conflict. Both of Virginia, killed 347 of the
sides had increased their armies settlers—men, women, and
and navies in expectation of a children—approximately 25
resumption of the war. In addition, percent of the total number of
Dutch financial if not military help colonists. As early as 1610,
to Frederick V—now in exile in the tensions between the settlers and
Sultan Osman II
Dutch Republic after his crushing the American Indians had flared This equestrian portrait of gouache
defeat at White Mountain the year into open conflict. By 1622, the on paper shows the Ottoman sultan
before—provided an obvious Indians, realizing that when the Osman II. His short, but brave, reign
motive for renewed Spanish settlers claimed to want peaceful ended in violent tragedy.

w
19 t in ty da le s y Ne ed
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16 of K ple 62 at B No grim th C flow a 2 t S 1 6 h t l s
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Ja o tr
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Ho c r
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Pi ymo Ma
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l a , 21 t en Be po te S
pa yoto c to Po P l on 16 e so Au P ro
K O M 209
1624–25 1626–27
,,
,,
WAR IS ONE OF THE SCOURGES
WITH WHICH IT HAS PLEASED
GOD TO AFFLICT MEN.
Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of France, 1620s

This illustration shows Peter Minuit purchasing the island of Manhattan from
the local American Indians, most likely the Lenape people, in 1626.

IN AUGUST 1624, CARDINAL Fronde (see 1648–49). His political Dutch, taking Breda after an ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS EVER
RICHELIEU (1585–1642) became astuteness and manipulation of 11-month siege, while France, TRANSACTIONS occurred on
chief minister to the king of factions, however, prevented whose policy was now being May 26, 1626 when Peter Minuit,
France, 23-year-old Louis XIII political breakdown, and by his directed by the hawkish Richelieu, director-general of the Dutch
(1601–43). Richelieu claimed that death, France was making became covertly involved in West India Company’s New
his goals were “to destroy the progress against its Habsburg supporting an anti-Habsburg Netherlands settlement, bought
military power of the Habsburgs, enemies. Richelieu also knew that struggle in northern Italy. Manhattan island—site of Fort
to humble the great nobles [of Huguenot military power at home This was an attempt by Richelieu Amsterdam since 1625—from
France], and to raise the prestige (see 1597–98) was a permanent to sever the Spanish Road, the its American Indian inhabitants.
of the House of Bourbon in threat to France’s stability, but tenuous but vital link between The fee was 60 Dutch guilders,
Europe.” It was ambitious, and that the persecution of Protestant Habsburg Italy and the estimated since to be around $24.
involved alliances with groups that worship would lead to last-ditch Netherlands. At almost precisely Neither side felt the deal to be BAROQUE
had little commitment to his resistance at home and imperil the same moment, Christian IV of overly unreasonable. ARCHITECTURE
program. Eventually, the price of France’s alliances with foreign Denmark (1577–1648) entered the The Thirty Years’ War was a
confronting enemies abroad and Protestant powers, on which its war, in part seeking to bolster brutal watershed in 17th-century Gathering pace in the early
Protestants at home would be anti-Habsburg strategy rested. the Protestant cause, but more Europe, but its cruelty was not 17th century, the Roman
popular revolt in France against In 1625, the already tangled particularly to forestall Swedish merely a grim consequence of High Baroque was a strong
the financial and military burdens conflicts of the unfolding Thirty ambitions to control northern battle. Always strapped for money, Catholic response to the
imposed by him. It would also Years’ War became even more Germany and the Baltic. In August armies took funding into their own Protestant Reformation,
lead to rebellion by the elites that complex. With the Twelve-Year 1626, his army was defeated at hands and imposed taxes and reasserted classical
culminated in the civil war of the Truce over, Spain squeezed the the Battle of Lutter (see right) by directly on the peasants and the Renaissance architecture. Its
a Bavarian Catholic towns. Faced by the collection of church building, in particular
army led by Count St. Peter’s Basilica in
Tilly and in alliance 25 Rome (pictured), sought to
with the Habsburg 200 8,500 advertise and glorify the
emperor. It seemed casualties casualties Catholic Church, and
for the moment that 20 produced numerous new
ARMIES (IN THOUSANDS)

French scheming and grandiose buildings.


and Dutch fighting
could not prevent 15
a comprehensive overly heavy taxes by soldiers,
victory for the peasants and poor townspeople
10
Habsburgs. became even more vulnerable to
fluctuations in food supply
5
through bad harvests, military
activity, and looting. Across much
The Surrender of Europe, but notably in France,
of Breda 0 the Austrian Habsburg lands, and
Justin von Nassau is Imperial Danish Spanish southern Italy, peasant
shown surrendering army army revolts and urban riots
Breda in 1625 to threatened to take whole areas
Ambrosio Spinola, the Battle of Lutter
Spanish commander, In 1626, a Danish army, with a huge out of the control of government.
after an 11-month- loss of about 8,500 men, failed to With the onset of the Little Ice Age
long siege. Breda was hold ground against a similar-sized in the mid-17th century (see
retaken in 1637. Holy Roman Empire force. 1645), the problem intensified.

e
24 s th ny
16 an ad , in rs pa e
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R be o an hwe o
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210 Nd
1628–29 1630–31

This 17th-century ink and watercolor miniature of Shah Jahan shows the fifth A hand-colored woodcut depicting the siege of Magdeburg by the Holy Roman
Mughal emperor with a holy nimbus around his turbaned head. Empire. The city was later burned and 20,000 people massacred.

60 Battle of Breitenfeld
5,500 At Breitenfeld in 1631, a strong
casualties Swedish–Saxon army inflicted huge
50 20,000
numbers of casualties on an army of

FORCES (IN THOUSANDS)


casualties
the Holy Roman Empire.
40

have led to nothing, however,


30
had not the Imperial troops
besieging the Lutheran
20
stronghold of Magdeburg in 1631
then massacred the population.
10 This provoked outrage among the
Lutheran princes. With their
0 political support, in addition to Queen of France
Swedish–Saxon Imperial substantial French funding, Portrait of Marie de Medici, the
army army second wife of King Henry IV of
Gustavus Adolphus inflicted a
Siege of La Rochelle THE ENTRY OF SWEDEN INTO THE crushing defeat over an Imperial France, who attempted to displace
Chief minister of France, Cardinal Cardinal Richelieu in 1630.
AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR, THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR in 1630 added army at Breitenfeld, near Leipzig,
SIEGE OF LA ROCHELLE, the Richelieu, inspects the formidable a new dimension to the conflict. in September 1631. At this stage,
strongest Protestant enclave in sea wall defenses of La Rochelle, It was still essentially a religious his army marching triumphantly Medici (1575–1642), the mother of
during the siege of 1628.
France, ended in October 1628 war—one that the Catholic Holy south, Gustavus Adolphus seems the king, and when he retired to
with defeat for the Huguenots. Roman Emperor Ferdinand II was to have conceived a vision of an ponder his decison they believed
The siege was Richelieu’s emperor in 1628. His 30-year clearly winning. Exploiting this, empire that included both Sweden they had been successful. Yet
response to lingering hopes of reign would be a golden age for Sweden’s Lutheran king, and Germany. Yet the events of the powerful friends saved Cardinal
Huguenot opposition to the Mughal India, hugely increasing Gustavus Adolphus (1594–1632), following year would destroy this Richelieu, and the king’s mother
French Crown, and was designed the size of its territory as well as presented himself as the savior hope (see 1632). was exiled to Compiègne.
to both crush Huguenot initiating a great flowering of of the Lutheran princes of north On a day in November 1630,

900
resistance and dismantle its still Mughal architecture and culture. Germany. Yet he was potentially forever known as the Day of
formidable military. Although In the 17th century, rulers as much a threat to them as to Dupes, the enemies of Cardinal
Richelieu acknowledged their across Europe embraced the idea Ferdinand. Having spent the Richelieu attempted to overthrow
right to religious toleration, he of strong central authority as previous 19 years fighting the him. They commanded Louis XIII
made sure they could mount no the only guarantee of stability. In Russians, Poles, and Danes for to replace Richelieu with Marie de
further threat to the Crown. England, for Charles I (1600–49), control of the Baltic, he now copper alloy
The publication in 1628 of On the absolute monarchy was hoped to dominate its German barrel THE
Motion of the Heart and Blood, by legitimized by his conviction that coast too. His intervention might
royal physician William Harvey he had been divinely sanctioned APPROXIMATE
(1578–1657), marked one of the by God to rule. In 1629, irritated by NUMBER OF
PEOPLE BURNT
major discoveries of the 17th its checks on his authority, he
century. It explained both the dismissed Parliament, provoking
circulation of the blood and the
functioning of the heart, by using
a growing resentment among
those seeking to share
AT THE STAKE
observation and experimentation. power at what were
Swedish field cannon
This cannon was used by the army
AFTER THE
One of the great leaders of
India’s Mughal Empire, Shah
seen as attempts to
impose illegal
of Gustavus Adolphus. The barrel
has a caliber (diameter) of 2¾ in
WÜRZBURG
Jahan (1592–1666), was crowned taxes. (7 cm), and weighs 440 lb (200 kg). WITCH TRIALS
7, y
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211
1632–33 1634–35

An oil painting depicting the trial of Galileo shows the Italian physicist and The assassination of Field Marshal Albrecht Wallenstein took place at the
astronomer sitting before the assembled ranks of the Inquisition, in Rome. Pachelbel House, at Eger, Bohemia. He was awoken and killed by his own men.

2,000,000
THE DEFEAT AT LÜTZEN WAS one forces, who crushed the Swedes gradually reversing their previous
of the last times that Albrecht at the Battle of Nördlingen in losses, so Germany was
Wallenstein (1583–1634) led an November 1634. The subsequent devastated. The fighting spilled
Imperial army. Although generally Treaty of Prague, in 1635, made into France when, in 1636,
successful, he was distrusted by clear the extent of the Habsburg a Spanish army invaded the
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE almost everyone and was believed triumph and the Swedish defeat. northeast, briefly threatening

WHO DIED IN THE DECCAN to be negotiating a separate


peace. He was charged with
Germany’s Protestant princes
now backed Ferdinand II. It
Paris, and again, in 1637, when
Spain launched an attack on
FAMINE, 1630–32 treason by Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, but in February 1634
provoked the final and most brutal
phase of the Thirty Years’ War, and
Languedoc in the south. In 1639,
France retaliated by invading
he was murdered by some of his direct French intervention. Catalonia in the northeast of
ANXIOUS TO RECOVER ITS LOSSES the Imperial armies in April 1632 own officers, with the tacit As in the 16th century, France Spain. In this wave of violence, all
TO POLAND–LITHUANIA under the at the Battle of Rain, in Bavaria. A approval of Ferdinand. Yet, with feared Habsburg encirclement. the participants were by now
Treaty of Deulino of 1619, and minor triumph in November at the the Swedes having failed to follow Up to now, it had sought to secure effectively bankrupt. It was Spain
exploiting the death of the Polish Battle of Lützen, near Leipzig, up their victory at Lützen, the itself by financing those states that suffered the most, with
king, Sigismund III Vasa, Russia might then have confirmed initiative returned to the Imperial most likely to defeat the Habsburg attempts at raising revenue
besieged Smolensk in October Swedish territorial ambitions in forces, Sweden above all. With the provoking bitter resentment, even
1632. Polish forces were unable to Germany had King Gustavus Swedes on the verge of pulling out in Spain itself. In 1640, outright
Battle of Nördlingen
attempt a lifting of the siege for Adolphus not been killed in the Fought in southern Germany, this of Germany, the French now took revolt against the Spanish Crown
almost a year. Their ultimate battle. At a stroke, the impetus battle resulted in a crushing victory the field themselves. As Franco– broke out in Catalonia and
defeat of the Russians in 1634, went out of the Protestant for the Habsburgs—but it was not a Swedish armies progressively Portugal, both uprisings openly
however, was absolute. campaign. Habsburg supremacy conclusive end to the war. ravaged Germany, the Swedes encouraged by France. In the
Sweden’s success of the seemed to have been assured.
previous year in the Thirty Years’ In 1633, Italian astronomer
War continued with a defeat of Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was
called before the Roman
30 Inquisition of the Catholic
6,000 6,800 Church. His crime was to support
casualties casualties the heliocentric view of the Solar
FORCES (IN THOUSANDS)

24
System that placed the Sun, and
not the Earth, at its center. He was
18 found guilty of heresy, forced to
recant, and spent the rest of his
12 life under house arrest.
Under Japan’s Tokugawa
6 shogunate, a policy of kaikin (“sea
restriction”) was declared in 1633.
Contact with the outside world
0
Swedish Imperial was strictly controlled, although
army army trade with Korea and China was
allowed, and the Dutch kept a
Battle of Lützen
Similar-sized forces suffered similar trading post. The idea was to
casualties at the Battle of Lützen. prevent possible territorial
Critically, though, the Swedes lost incursions into Japan. It remained
their leader, Gustavus Adolphus. official policy until 1853.

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212
1636–37 1638–39
,,IT IS NOT ENOUGH

,,
TO HAVE A GOOD MIND;
THE MAIN THING IS TO
USE IT WELL.
René Descartes, from Discours de la Méthode, 1637

This engraving depicts the Ottoman sultan, Murad IV, sitting on a horse. His
reign restored internal authority and brought secure borders with Persia.

same year, there was no Spanish Gondar Castle THE INTERMITTENT CONFLICT
New World treasure fleet. By now, Part of the Fasil between the Ottoman Empire and
the original causes of the Thirty Ghebbi, founded by the Safavid Persian Empire, which
Years’ War had been superseded.
Habsburg weakness, in Spain
Fasilides, in Ethiopia,
this 17th-century
had begun in 1623, climaxed
in 1638. Baghdad fell to the
1,200 Portuguese
soldiers
castle shows Arab, NATIVES canoes
as much as in Germany, was Nubian, and Baroque Ottomans under Sultan Murad IV
increasingly apparent. design influences. (1612–40), the last Ottoman ruler
When not conspiring against his to lead his troops in battle. This 70 47
enemies, chief minister Cardinal was followed in 1639 by the
Pedro Teixeira’s
Richelieu schemed to promote ETHIOPIAN EMPEROR Treaty of Qasr-i-Shirin, which
Amazon expedition
French prestige, or gloire. He since 1632, Fasilides definitively settled the long- Teixeira’s expedition was immense
championed colonial expansion, (c. 1603–67) founded disputed Ottoman–Safavid border, and expensive. Of some political
and promoted French arts and a permanent imperial largely to the benefit of the interest, it was financed by the
learning. Among his lasting capital at Gondar in Ottomans. It granted all of governor of Maranhão, in Brazil.
achievements was the Académie 1636. The buildings Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to
Française, set up in 1635. Part he constructed there included the One of the founders of modern the Ottomans, while handing the 1639 by the invasion of England
of a pan-European move toward Fasil Ghebbi, a fortress complex philosophy, French writer René city of Yerevan (in present-day by a “Covenanter” army from
officially sanctioned institutes of that became home to Ethiopia’s Descartes (1596–1650), an Armenia) to the Safavid Persians. Scotland. The king’s options
learning, it was also designed to emperors until the 18th century. advocate of rationalism, produced The problems that would were narrowing.
consolidate what France saw as An early speculative bubble Discours de la Méthode in 1637. eventually lead to the execution In 1638, Portuguese explorer
one of its chief claims to gloire: its burst in February 1637, when the It was one of the most influential of Charles I of England in 1649 Pedro Teixeira (d. 1641) achieved
language. The Académie’s 40 Dutch price of tulip bulbs peaked works of Western philosophy. stemmed from the king’s a remarkable double first in
members continue to pronounce high-handed conviction that he becoming the first person to make

1,000 PERCENT
on language usage today. could always impose himself on the return journey of the entire
In 1635, the system of sankin his kingdoms. This was not length of the Amazon River,
kotai (“alternate attendance”), exclusively a matter of royal reaching Belém, at the river’s
introduced to Japan by Toyotomi versus parliamentary authority. mouth, more than two years after
Hideyoshi in the 1590s, was made A significant element of religious he had set out. The previous year
compulsory. The daimyo (feudal
lords) were forced to spend every
THE RELATIVE PRICE OF TULIP controversy was involved, too.
In 1637, Charles, encouraged by
Teixeira had been the first person
to make the journey upstream,
other year at the shogun’s court at BULBS COMPARED TO THE William Laud, the archbishop of a venture partly inspired by the
Edo to participate in lavish rituals. Canterbury, had made the use of need to know how far east
The cost of such submission, plus ANNUAL INCOME OF A SKILLED the Church of England’s Book of Spanish colonists had advanced

DUTCH CRAFTSMAN
the time spent at court, made Common Prayer compulsory in beyond the Andes and into the
rebellion less likely. When they Scotland. Both Charles and Laud Amazon Basin.
returned to their estates, which cordially despised the Calvinist On November 24, 1639, English
they held from the shogun, each and then suddenly nose-dived, A major new encyclopedia, The Scottish Kirk (Church). For their astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks
daimyo’s wife and heir remained allegedly ruining many investors. Exploitation of the Works of Nature, part, Scotland’s Kirk elders, much (1618–41) became the first person
behind. Exacting demands were A luxury item, they were seen as by minor provincial bureaucrat, like their Puritan counterparts in to both predict and observe a
enforced regarding dress, types a safe haven for investment in an Song Yingxing, was published in England, considered any attempt transit of Venus. This rare event
of weapons carried, soldier uncertain time. Although Tulip China in May 1637. Its wide range to impose Anglican religious sees Venus pass directly between
numbers accompanying each Mania prices are difficult to be of information regarding Chinese uniformity little better than the Sun and the Earth. Observing
daimyo, and the contributions— certain about, and have been technology distinguished it from papism. Their virulent protests in the transit provided information
military and financial—the daimyo disputed, anecdotal evidence earlier traditions, and provided an the following year, known as the vital to calculating the distance
were expected to provide. suggests significant highs. obvious and extensive resource. Great Covenant, were followed in from the Earth to the Sun.

s
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C 213
1640–41 1642–43

An illustration of Malacca, which was taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch A depiction of the Battle of Rocroi, fought on May 19, 1643. It resulted in
in 1641. An earlier attack by the Dutch in 1605 had failed. the crushing victory of a French army over a Spanish force.

FOLLOWING A SCOTTISH INVASION By 1640, French painter Nicolas THE COURSE, NOT TO MENTION 40 domination for that of control by
OF ENGLAND IN 1639, in April 1640 Poussin (1594–1665) completed A THE CAUSES, of the English Civil 10,000 the French. In the longer term,
casualties
Charles I (1600–49) recalled the Dance to the Music of Time, a key War that began in August 1642 Spanish decline seemed

FORCES (IN THOUSANDS)


32
parliament he had dismissed 11 work of the era. Poussin stressed was never clear cut. It pitted a 4,000 inevitable.
years earlier. He needed approval clarity and order rather than the king bent on absolutism against casualties In 1643, Italian physicist and
24
to raise taxes for an army. emotion and color of the Baroque a Parliament determined not so mathematician Evangelista
Determined not to submit to its style dominant at that time. much to overthrow the monarchy Torricelli (1608–47) made a
lists of grievances, he dismissed From 1641, a devastating plague as to reassert its claim to shared 16 major contribution to scientific
it, but a second invasion in August struck China, further weakening sovereignty in the government method in Europe with his
forced a recall. In December 1641, a Ming China threatened by both of the kingdom. As the opening 8 invention of the mercury
Parliament presented a Grand the Manchu military to the north battles were fought, Charles I barometer. He had not intended
Remonstrance, an accusation of and increasingly lawless bands of proved himself a surprisingly 0 to make this invention, but while
royal abuses of power. The king peasants roaming the country, obstinate and able war leader. Swedish Imperial working on a water pump for the
responded, in January 1642, victims of repeated famines. An However, he was soon to become Duke of Tuscany, and substituting
Second Battle of Breitenfeld
with an attempt to arrest his almost complete breakdown of undone, not just by his compulsive the much heavier mercury for
The imperial army of the Holy
parliamentary opponents. By central control in China followed. deviousness but by the fact that Roman Empire suffered heavy water, he realized that the rising
August, the country was at war. Continuing Dutch encroachment he found himself confronting losses at the hands of the Swedish and falling of a column of
on the territory and trade of the increasingly assertive and better army at Breitenfeld, in Saxony. mercury in a tube sealed at one
Portuguese in Asia saw the organized Parliamentarian forces. end was due to changes in
Life dancing to music
Poussin’s A Dance to the Music of capture of the key trading base These would be largely dominated and making the Catholics of the atmospheric pressure.
Time shows four dancing figures of Malacca in 1641. It would prove by the formidably imposing figure Holy Roman Empire more
representing poverty, labor, wealth, a valuable cornerstone of the vast of Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), amenable to negotiation.
and pleasure in a perpetual cycle. Dutch Empire in the East Indies. a Puritan, East-Anglian country The overwhelming French
squire and Member of Parliament. defeat of Spain at the Battle of
The war’s significance, at least in Rocroi in northeast France in May
English terms, was to be that 1643 put to an end to hopes of a
Parliament could claim greater Spanish triumph against either
legitimacy than that of any king: in of the Dutch Republic or France in
short, that Parliament could the Thirty Years’ War. Spain was
restrain a king, divinely already on the defensive against
sanctioned or not, held to have both countries. Rocroi marked the
broken his trust with his people. end of its dreams of European
Eleven years after the village of imperial dominance. The Spanish
Breitenfeld, in Saxony, had seen army in Flanders was destroyed,
King Gustavus Adolphus of losing almost all its most
Sweden defeat a Holy Roman experienced infantry in the
Empire army (see 1631), the battle. Combined with its internal
Second Battle of Breitenfeld in struggles against the Catalonians
October 1642 saw another and the Portuguese, and its
decisive victory for Sweden in the chronic shortage of money, Spain
Thirty Years’ War. Sweden was risked permanent eclipse. In the
Torricelli’s barometer
subsequently free to occupy short term, defeat reduced the In this engraving, Torricelli
Leipzig and the rest of Saxony, threat from the Dutch, who were demonstrates the existence of
further strengthening anxious that they had potentially atmospheric pressure through the
Protestantism in Central Europe, swapped the prospect of Spanish use of mercury-filled tubes.

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1644–45 1646–47
,,WE STUDY THE GLORY OF GOD, AND THE

,,
HONOUR AND LIBERTY OF PARLIAMENT,
FOR WHICH WE… FIGHT, WITHOUT
SEEKING OUR OWN INTERESTS…
Oliver Cromwell, English Parliamentarian general, Battle of Marston Moor, 1644

Carisbrooke Castle, on the Isle of Wight, England, was where Charles I was
imprisoned for 14 months, from 1647, after his defeat in the English Civil War.

ON APRIL 24, 1644, AS A REBEL In the English Civil POWER IN THE EARLY YEARS OF now made this compulsory for
MING ARMY under Li Zicheng War, the Battle of THE QING DYNASTY was exercised all male Han Chinese (the Queue
prepared to take Beijing, the Marston Moor in by the child-emperor’s uncle, Order). Clashing with Confucian
Chongzhen Emperor, the last July 1644 saw a Prince Dorgon (1612–50). A contention that hair, as a gift from
Ming ruler, committed suicide. decisive victory for distinctive feature of the Qing was your parents, should never be cut,
In February, Li had proclaimed the Parliament. The their hair, shaved at the front, to wear a Manchu pigtail was seen
Shun dynasty, but it was not to last following summer, at braided into a pigtail at the back, as a mark of servility, as Dorgon
long. In May, the Manchus, allying Naseby in June 1645, and known as a “queue.” Dorgon intended. Thousands who refused
with a remnant Ming force, ultimate victory was to adopt it were put to death.
attachment for
crushed Li’s army at the Battle of virtually guaranteed On May 26, 1647, the
holding strap
Shanhai Pass. By the autumn, the when the main army Massachusetts Bay Colony
first Manchu Qing emperor of of Charles I was Potala Palace in Tibet banned Jesuit priests from the
China, the six-year-old Shunzhi annihilated by Parliament’s newly The Potala Palace, seen atop the colony. Founded as a staunchly
Emperor (1638–61), had been formed New Model Army. Led by Marpo Ri hill in this view from the Puritan enclave, the colonists
installed in Beijing. Ming Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas south, rises more than 1,000 ft loathed the Jesuits as a sinister
(300 m) above the valley floor.
resistance in the south continued Fairfax, the New Model Army manifestation of popery. Also,
until 1681. The Qing themselves brought a greater professionalism increasingly alarmed by the
ruled until their collapse in 1911. and mobility into the conflict, and emphasized the ultimately French Jesuit missionaries in
superior resources of the Canada, who had converted
KEY RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Parliamentary cause. many Huron and Algonquin
AMUR
Under Manchu From about 1645, the Northern American Indians, they
control by 1644 Hemisphere saw crop failures were determined that a
Under Qing brought about by abnormally cold movement “subversive to
control by 1660 OUTER winters. The result was famine on society” should have no
Under Qing MONGOLIA MANCHURIA Sea of a massive scale, leading to both place in the new colony.
control XINJIANG Mukden Japan
by 1770 war and the collapse of state After escaping
Beijing structures across the globe. Parliament’s siege of
TIBET These climatic changes, Oxford in April 1646,
known since 1976 as the King Charles I
Nanjing Suzhou Maunder Minimum, were surrendered to a
Lhasa
Chongqing
Changsha
the result of reduced Scottish army. The
Fuzhou sunspot activity, the next year they
PACI FI C direct consequence of delivered him to
Guangzhou
OCEAN
INDIA Macao which was the Little Ice Parliament. He
Bay of Age, in which global was imprisoned
Bengal
temperatures fell by at Carisbrooke
GROWTH OF QING EMPIRE several degrees. Castle, on the
In 1645, the 5th Dalai Isle of White.
Having secured control of China proper in 1644, the Qing Empire Lama, Lozang Gyatso From there, he
continued to expand throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, (1617–82), began the continued to try to bargain
provoked in part by the threat of Russian, British, and French construction of the modern with the various parties, but his
English Civil War armor
moves into Asia. Only some areas of the vast empire were Potala Palace, in Lhasa, Tibet. Metal breastplates with appended secret negotiations with the
governed directly by the Manchu or settled by the Chinese. Much Construction finally ended in tassets (to protect the legs and lower Scottish Presbyterians to invade
was secured, at huge expense, through military garrisons. 1694, and it remained the seat of body) were used by foot soldiers on England led to a renewal of the
the Dalai Lama up to 1959. both sides during the civil war. English Civil War.

an t ed in
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215
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

cherub’s head
decoration

THE STORY OF
ARMS AND hole to
attach crest

ARMOR
FROM STICKS AND STONES TO A DEADLY ART FORM

Whether for hunting or sport, conflict or contests of skill, handheld arms


have played a crucial role in human existence and advancement. The first
weapons developed out of survival tools: found objects, such as stones, were
used to bludgeon prey, or to fend off predatory animals or rival humans.

As prehistoric humans’ skills advanced, clubs and daggers, spears, and arrowheads. Soft, easily
stone hand-axes gave way to carefully crafted worked metals such as copper replaced flint,
wooden spears used to hunt animals or impale followed by stronger, sharper, and longer Bronze rope
fish. Even more effective weapons married wooden Age and Iron Age swords, daggers, javelins, and comb
shafts with razor-sharp flint blades to form axes, battle-axes. Until the advent of firearms, the
history of handheld weapons is one of variations on
a theme, culminating in the sophisticated forging
SHIELDS
processes of Japan’s samurai swords, which at
Like arms and body armor, their height in the 14th–16th centuries wrapped
shields—a type of “accessory super-sharp steel around a flexible iron core.
armor”—could be functional,
decorative, or both. During THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMOR two sections of
the medieval period in Europe, skull plate join
Early “armor” consisted of padding: thick layers of
when knights held high status at comb
in society, shields were often cloth with a stiff leather “helmet” to protect the
embellished with elaborate head. Plated helmets, breastplates, and wooden
scenes of courtly devotion or shields were used by classical Greek and Roman
prowess in battle. Decoration armies, but elsewhere, ordinary soldiers relied on French 16th-century embossed helmet
like this was thought to bring padding, leather, and luck—a situation that changed Armor reached its greatest decorative
added protection to the bearer. heights during the Renaissance. Suits and
little in Europe until chain mail was perfected in
helmets were embossed and etched, gilded
15th-century Flemish shield 11th-century France. Full suits of armor were or silvered, particularly for tournaments—
costly, so they were also used as status symbols. and to show the owner’s wealth and status.

2500 BCE 6th–mid-5th


5500–3300 BCE Helmets centuries BCE
750,000–50,000 BCE Flint arrowheads The first part of the The crossbow
Flint cutting edges The wooden bow combined body to be protected Crossbows can
Razor-sharp flint with arrowheads made from is the head. Early be cocked well
daggers, spears, and sharpened flint proves a armies use plated in advance of
axes are used for deadly combination, allowing helmets, but most firing—providing
both hunting and Flint users to strike their victims soldiers rely on one of the earliest Early Chinese
warfare. dagger from a safe distance. leather caps. Attic helmet “loaded” weapons. crossbow

450,000–400,000 BCE 3700–2300 BCE c. 1400 BCE 3rd–4th Roman


Wooden weapons Metal weapons Suit armor develops centuries gladius
Easily worked and readily available, Metalworking gives Plated body armor is Steel blades
wood is shaped into spears rise to sophisticated an early invention, but Adding carbon to iron
for hunting or defense. and effective blades it is expensive and not produces steel, which
in the Bronze and always practical for allows bladed weapons to be
Iron Ages. movement in battle. mass-produced. Blades also
become stronger and longer.
Wooden spear Bronze ax Mycenaean armor

216
T H E S TO R Y O F A R M S A N D A R M O R

surface is made
from bright steel

closed visor protects


face, but limits field
of view breastplate is
combined with a
neck guard

single pivot for visor


and face guard

separate plates
offer protection, but
allow movement

peg for
lifting visor

The return of armor


During World War I, body
armor was revived. German
machine gunners wore suits
like this one when firing
from exposed places.

upper bevor
decorated with
figures in Roman
armor

77 lb
THE
APPROXIMATE
WEIGHT OF
A FULL SUIT OF EUROPEAN 16TH-
CENTURY TOURNAMENT ARMOR

neck guard

1939–1945
Wheel-lock
pistol Flak jackets
Based on the
15th–17th centuries same design as
Firearms developed the cuirass, World
With the invention of guns, body armor War II flak jackets
shrinks back to the cuirass (breastplate), stop shrapnel, Reinforced
to allow for drawing of pistols. but not bullets. flak jacket

11th century 1100 onward 15th century 19th century 20th–21st centuries
Mail perfected Swords improve First suits of full plate Automatic-loading firearms Kevlar and “liquid”
Lighter and less bulky The cross-guard is added armor develop The advent of the revolver, with its body armor
than armor plate, to protect the hand, and Suits of armor provide the rotating cylinder, meant that multiple Kevlar threads are five times
chain mail worn over a marks the first big change best protection. Gloves now shots could be fired before reloading. stronger than steel. Soaked
gambeson (padded to sword design since have jointed fingers, while in shear thickening fluid
jacket) saves lives. Roman times. Refined shoulder plates bring freer (STF), it can withstand
edges mean swords can movement and less exposure. bullet penetration.
Chain mail now cut and stab. Colt 1849 pocket pistol

217
1648 1649–50

Cannon and gunners are seen in this 17th-century painting commemorating This depiction of the execution of King Charles I of England outside the
the actions of the royalist forces in defeating the Fronde uprising in France. Banqueting House, in London, was painted by English artist John Weesop.

THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIII in May ,, DO YOU NOT KNOW, MY ON JANUARY 30, 1649, Charles I

,,
1643 had brought to the French of England was beheaded. He
throne the four-year old
Louis XIV, under the regency of
SON, WITH WHAT LITTLE remains the only king of England
to have been legally executed.
his mother, Anne of Austria (in
direct defiance of Louis XIII’s will).
WISDOM THE WORLD His conviction by the High Court
of Justice as “tyrant, traitor, and
Whatever France’s successes in
the Thirty Years’ War (see 1635)
IS GOVERNED? murderer” was carried by a vote
of 68 to 67. Throughout his trial,
and its emerging supremacy over Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish chancellor, Westphalia, 1648 Charles consistently rejected any
Spain, the country was not only idea that any court could legally
strapped for cash, it had to try a king. “I would know by what
confront continuing peasant manage factional rivalries while twice forced into exile. When it power I am called hither…
uprisings brought about by maintaining a costly war were to fizzled out in 1652, the way lay Remember I am your King, your
harvest failures and punitive lead to government breakdown in open to a better management of lawful King.” In reality, there is
demands for tax. In addition, 1648 with the Fronde—initially a aristocratic loyalties that was to little doubt that since the triumph
those nobles that Cardinal parliamentary protest, but later an come with the personal rule of of the parliamentary New Model
Richelieu (see 1624) had excluded aristocratic uprising. Four years Louis XIV from 1661. Army, dominated by Oliver
from government were invited of turmoil followed: Paris was In October 1648, after four years Cromwell, his death became a
back to counter those supporters taken, the royal family fled, and of negotiations, the Thirty Years’ possible outcome to the crisis.
of Richelieu who were hostile to Mazarin was War in Germany was brought to The awkward question was
Anne and her new chief minister, a close with a series of treaties whether one form of tyranny was
Cardinal Mazarin (1602–61). collectively known as the Treaty being swapped for another.
Bungled attempts to of Westphalia. France was still Nonetheless, what counted was
at war with Spain (as it would be the assertion that a body of law
Dahomey panther mask
until 1659), but Germany’s horrors This bronze pendant in the shape of
at least had been ended. France a stylized head of a panther, dating
secured rather vaguely defined from 17th-century Dahomey, shows
gains on its eastern border; the country’s cultural sophistication.
Sweden was confirmed in its
possession of Pomerania on the separate from the person of the
Baltic coast, as well as receiving a king existed that no one, legal
huge cash payment from the Holy ruler or not, could disregard:
Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III, to Parliament, not the king, was
withdraw its troops. Among the the law’s rightful custodian.
German states, Brandenburg– At the end of the 1640s, the
Prussia gained the most. Kingdom of Dahomey began to
Crucially, Spain also recognized emerge as a powerful force
the independence of the Dutch under King Wegbeja (d. 1685).
Republic, and Germany’s local After uniting the lands of the Aja
rulers were given the right to and the Fon, he introduced new
make alliances with foreign laws, reformed government and
Treaty of Westphalia Oliver Cromwell
This document was agreed over powers, in effect confirming them This portrait of Oliver Cromwell, the bureaucracy, and initiated a
several months and signed by the as sovereign states. The authority chief instigator of the trial and religion and culture that would
seal of one of Holy Roman Emperor and the king of the Holy Roman Emperor execution of the king, was painted by characterize this West African
109 parties of France, ending 30 years of war. appeared fatally undermined. English artist Robert Walker. state for more than two centuries.

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218
1651–52 1653–54
,,
,,
IT IS NOT WISDOM
BUT AUTHORITY THAT
MAKES A LAW.
Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher, from Leviathan, 1651

The Coronation of Louis XIV, a tapestry from a painting by Charles Le Brun,


court artist to Louis XIV, shows the young Louis about to receive his crown.

CHARLES I’S EXECUTION did not POLISH–LITHUANIAN ONE OF THE WORLD’S ICONIC inevitable that the vacuum could merely Poland’s loss of the
FORCES
mark the final collapse of the 40,000
structures, the Taj Mahal, in Agra, be filled only by the restoration of Ukraine to Russia under the
royalist cause in England. A rump cavalry India, was completed in 1653 after the actual king-in-waiting, the Treaty of Andrusovo in 1667;
army, much of it Scottish, was still 19 years. A mausoleum built by future Charles II. rather, that Orthodox Russia was
active. The royalists had an 700 Mughal emperor Shah Jahan Weakened by its struggle with immensely boosted, and its czars’
obvious figure to rally round, casualties (1592–1666) in memory of his the Cossacks during the claims to rule “all the Russias”
Charles’s elder son, also called third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, it Khmelnytsky Uprising, the partial made tangible.
Charles. Yet his defeat at 63,000 combined Indian, Persian, and dismemberment of the Polish– On June 7, 1654, the 15-year-old
INFANTRY
Worcester in September 1651 Islamic styles of architecture. Lithuanian Commonwealth by Louis XIV was crowned king of
marked the final battle of the In December 1653, Oliver neighbors eager for territorial France. Since acceding to the
English Civil War, and saw Charles 40,000 Cromwell was made Lord gains became inevitable. The throne when aged four, first his
forced into a nine-year exile. cavalry Protector of England. Various resulting devastation—its mother and then Cardinal Mazarin
One of the foundations of types of government for the new population almost halved, its acted as regent. His subsequent
Western political philosophy republic had previously been tried, economy all but destroyed—is reign, of 72 years and 110 days,
appeared in 1651 when Thomas including military rule, while known as The Deluge. Not only remains one of history’s longest.
Hobbes (1588–1679) published parliaments were formed and did Poland endure a Russian
100,000
Leviathan. It argued for the INFANTRY
40,000 dissolved, generally by the invasion in June 1654, in what
absolutism of a sovereign casualties irascible Cromwell, with great became known as the Thirteen
Taj Mahal
authority. Though recognizing the COSSACK–CRIMEAN rapidity. Cromwell resisted the Years’ War, the following year This view of the white-domed marble
liberty of the individual, Hobbes TARTAR FORCES idea that he be made king. In the Sweden, too, invaded the country. of the Taj Mahal, in India, has made
believed that anarchy could only end, after his death in September The most enduring consequence it one of the most recognizable and
Battle of Berestechko, 1651
be averted through a strong The Cossack–Crimean Tartar forces 1658, it appeared desirable and of this calamitous period was not admired buildings in the world.
central government. It was an suffered 40,000 casualties at
early example of social contract Berestechko, far more than their
theory (individuals in society are Polish–Lithuanian adversaries.
united by mutual consent) and
was profoundly influential. The first of three wars between
In 1648, the Khmelnytsky England and the Netherlands
Uprising saw a Cossack revolt began in 1652 (two followed in
against the rule of the Polish– 1665–67 and 1672–74). All were
Lithuanian Commonwealth in the naval wars fought for command
Ukraine, which had been awarded of the sea and shipborne
to Poland under the Treaty of commerce. For the Dutch, a
Lublin of 1589. The uprising small nation with few natural
climaxed in 1651 with the Battle resources, but still the leading
of Berestechko, the largest mercantile power of Europe, they
single battle of the 17th century. assumed vast importance. For
The result was a victory of sorts the English, they marked the
for the Polish–Lithuanians. emergence of a new bullish
However, the ultimate effect of the confidence. England’s eventual
struggle was a weakening of the victory signaled the decline of
Commonwealth, which was Dutch commercial preeminence,
already wracked by numerous and launched a new Anglo–
internal disputes among its French rivalry for commercial
querulous nobles. and colonial supremacy.

3
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Ju Ber nyts To Ma glo– out aj d Ju lish Wa Au edi tier
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16 er T iath 16 t de coll ini Par rocl ence n g t B ar 6 l r
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3, yalis e n g E a b , 1 re la Ju on o Rei tu 65 1
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n XI V 4 P n ch 3 0 e die
ilo ite em is B te 16 in F 16 En hus ind n c
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16 nd c Dut
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ce mw ect Co to
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bb e e of W Ma fe P e cif aft
Ho us de R
ca
219
1655–56 1657 1658–59

This engraving on wood depicts Brandenburg forces storming Polish positions A manuscript showing Ottoman
at the Battle of Warsaw in 1656 during the First Northern War. troops on the island of Lemnos.

4,600,000
Las Meninas, an enigmatic work ON MARCH 2, 1657, the Great Fire IN JUNE 1658, AURANGZEB
that has been hugely influential. of Meireki began in Edo (Tokyo). (1618–1707), or Alamgir
A renewed phase of Ottoman In two days, fed by relentless (“Conqueror of the World”) as he
confidence began when Köprülü winds, it destroyed almost 70 called himself, was crowned

SQUARE MILES
Mehmed (1575–1661) became percent of the city, consuming the Mughal emperor. It ended two
grand vizier in 1656, Sultan paper and wooden buildings and years of infighting between him
Mehmed IV handing him control killing around 100,000 people. and his brothers for their father,
THE APPROXIMATE SIZE OF THE of the empire. He ruthlessly Although an offshoot of the First Shah Jahan’s, throne—this
stamped out opposition and Northern War, the Swedish– despite Shah Jahan still being
EMPIRE CLAIMED BY PORTUGAL embarked on a series of military Danish Wars of 1657–58 and alive. All three brothers were
campaigns—completed after his 1658–60 developed into a largely subsequently executed (two by
FEARFUL OF RUSSIAN the Polish capital Warsaw was death in 1661—that saw the separate conflict over control of Aurangzeb). His reign would prove
DOMINATION OF THE BALTIC, taken by a Swedish–Brandenburg empire at its greatest extent. the Baltic when, in June 1657, paradoxical. Mughal India was
Sweden entered the Thirteen force, further undermining the Denmark joined the coalition still immensely rich and powerful.
Years’ War between Russia and Polish–Lithuanian state. confronting Sweden in Poland. Under Aurangzeb, a devout
Las Meninas
Poland–Lithuania in 1655, thus One of the greatest paintings in Diego Velázquez’s painting of Sweden had made consistent Muslim, it reached it greatest
creating the First Northern War. Western culture was created in Margarita, the daughter of Philip IV gains at Denmark’s expense territorial extent (see p.234). Yet
Other countries were sucked in 1656 when Spanish artist Diego of Spain, and her entourage, is since the mid-16th century; the the near continuous warfare of his
and alliances changed. In 1656, Velázquez (1599–1660) painted known for its complex composition. prize, control of The Sound—the 49-year reign, in which immense
strategically and economically
vital entrance to the Baltic—still
under Danish control in 1657. In
the winter of 1657–58, Charles X
of Sweden (1622–60) outflanked
the Danes, marching his troops
into Denmark and then, in
February, across the frozen Baltic
to Copenhagen itself. The Treaty
of Roskilde in 1658 confirmed
Sweden’s territorial dominance.
The second war, if less favorable
to Sweden, still underlined
Sweden’s Baltic superiority.
With the Ottoman Empire now
reinvigorated by Grand Vizier
Köprülü Mehmed, in late 1657 its
fleet captured the Aegean
islands of Lemnos and Tenedos
from the Venetians. The islands,
which dominated the approaches
to the Dardanelles, had been used
Conqueror of the World
by the Venetians to blockade This portrait of the Mughal emperor,
Constantinople, the Ottoman Aurangzeb I, seen here with his
capital. The Venetians would not courtiers, is attributed to the Indian
pose such a threat again. artist Bhawani Das.

58
ire ve 16 , n
s es ce d e tF rri 6, ilde her a
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for to re rmy ur ea an y 2 k ut l
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220 Ch
1660–61
,, THE TRUTH IS, I DO INDULGE
MYSELF A LITTLE THE MORE IN

,,
PLEASURE, KNOWING THAT THIS
IS THE PROPER AGE OF MY LIFE
TO DO IT.
Samuel Pepys, English diarist, diary entry, 1660

The Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 saw Louis XIV of France (center left) meet
Philip IV of Spain to ratify the treaty that ended Franco–Spanish conflict.

Swedish Empire resolved this dilemma. It was


LOUIS XIV (1638–1715)
The Swedish left to his successor, the rather
Nor th Empire reached its less shrewd James II, to provoke
Sea peak in 1658 in the Louis XIV, known as Le Roi the crisis that would later
reign of Charles X,
Soleil (Sun King), had a greater definitively propel England into
following the
Treaty of Roskilde. impact on France than any a unique parliamentary
Trondheim
However, the need other monarch. Determined revolution (see 1688).
FIN L AND to defend its new to be the absolute ruler of his The famous English diarist
NORWAY S W E D E N territories forced it nobles and his country, he Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) began
Helsingfors
Christiania into a series of centralized the state, fought putting his daily thoughts on
Stockholm Narva unsustainably numerous wars, and also paper in 1660. Pepys was a
expensive wars. encouraged culture. By his high-ranking naval official, and
RUSSIA
ea

later reign, France had his diary, which he kept until 1669
cS

DENMARK Riga
expanded its territory and was but which was not published until
l ti

Copenhagen
Ba

Malmö
BREMEN POL AN D– the leading nation in Europe, the 19th century, provided one of
Stralsund
L IT HUAN IA much admired and imitated. the most valuable sources of
information on life during the
English Restoration.
campaigns were launched against The year 1659 marked the start The Peace of the Pyrenees in “I... BLESSED GOD... IT WAS THE The death of Cardinal Mazarin
the Sikhs and the Marathas, of one of the most remarkable November 1659 ended the LORD’S DOING.” With these words (see 1648) in 1661 began the
exhausted the country’s developments of the scientific enduring Franco–Spanish conflict diarist John Evelyn recorded the personal rule of the 22-year-old
treasuries and highlighted the revolution in Europe with the in Europe. France was now overwhelming reception accorded Louis XIV. He would remain on
internal flaws of his vast empire. beginning of what is now known Europe’s major power, and Charles II (1630–85) in London in the French throne for a further
By his death in 1707, it was visibly as the Central England Spain, its New World revenues May 1660 on his restoration as 53 years. A childhood in which
in decline. Temperature, or CET, record. It diminishing, its internal tensions king of England. By any measure, France was divided made him
Near Dunkirk, in northeastern was a scientific experiment on an multiplying, and its support from Charles’s restoration was a aware of the need to develop a
France, on June 14, 1658 a unprecedented scale, an attempt triumphant vindication of the style of personal assertiveness

£400
combined Anglo–French force to measure temperatures almost principles of kingship, as well as and grandeur. This was to impress
defeated the Spanish. This was nationally, but in reality within a of the contradictory limitations of on the French elites that they
the last decisive conflict of the triangle bounded in the north by Oliver Cromwell’s republican were part of his great project for
Franco–Spanish War that had Manchester, the east by London, experiment. Charles II swept back French glory and preeminence in
begun in 1635, and as such the
last battle of the Thirty Years’ War.
and in the west by Bristol. Today, it
constitutes the oldest continuous
THE VALUE OF to his throne on a wave of popular
sentiment. Worldly, knowing, and,
Europe. United under a ruler who
recognized their privileges and
It was also the last confrontation measurement of temperatures THE EARLIEST- at heart, lazy, Charles was always status, French nobles and officials
of the Anglo–Spanish War, which
had begun in 1654. For the
in the world. It had a precedent
of sorts in 1657 in Italy, the
KNOWN CHECK ready to compromise with his
parliamentary opponents. His
supported a series of wars to
assert this position. However,
French, the imperative, as ever, Accademia del Cimento (Academy charm was legendary. That said, these wars would bring France
was dominance in Europe; for the of Experiment) in Florence Austria curtailed, was slowly his weakness for pleasure- to the brink of disaster and
English, to steal whatever instituting what has been called subsiding. The change roused seeking combined with his pauperize most of its population.
advantage, commercial or the “world’s first weather those states able to confront an instinctive sympathy for Yet the cultural impact of Louis’
territorial, they could over Spain, observation network.” If Europe’s assertive France to do just that, Catholicism, especially when rule remained; no other European
hence the pragmatic alliance scientific revolution depended on putting France on a collision funded by Louis XIV in France, country would approach France
between Oliver Cromwell’s accurate observation and course with the other emerging highlighted a still unresolved in the second half of the 17th
Puritan England with Louis XIV’s measurement, the CET was a powers in Europe: England, the political crisis. Charles, by turns century for such a projection of
Catholic France. crucial forerunner. Dutch, and Habsburg Austria. vengeful and forgiving, never national preeminence.

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221
1662–63 1664 1665

A 1635 view of Fort Zeelandia, in The people of New Amsterdam plead with its director-general, Peter This representation of London’s Great Plague shows, in the center foreground,
Tainan, present-day Taiwan. Stuyvesant, not to resist the English warships gathering in the harbor. the Angel of Death holding an hourglass and a spear.

FOR ALMOST FOUR DECADES the NUMEROUS ENGLISH RAIDS on ,,ONE IS EASILY

,,
Dutch East India Company had Dutch shipping and trading posts
controlled western Formosa in this year were the result of an FOOLED BY
(Taiwan), with its trading base Fort
Zeelandia at its heart. Hostile to
English desire to win as much
Dutch trade as possible. The most
THAT WHICH
this alien presence, the Chinese successful of these took place on ONE LOVES.
Ming dynasty besieged the fort, August 27, when a small English
which was inadequately supplied fleet arrived at New Amsterdam, Molière, from Tartuffe, 1664
by water, and captured it in the capital of the Dutch North
February 1662. The Dutch were American colony of New Ottoman army, intent on capturing
forced to abandon Formosa. Netherland, and demanded its Vienna, was defeated by a
The pace of scientific surrender. Director-general Peter Habsburg force at St. Gotthard,
investigation in the 17th century Stuyvesant eventually complied. Hungary. Although the Ottomans
led Europe’s scientists to share By March 1665, the Second gained favorable peace terms,
ideas, and then to form bodies Anglo–Dutch War broke out. their invasion was curtailed.
devoted to a better understanding The Austro–Turkish War that Alarmed at English and Dutch
of science. In 1662, the Royal broke out in 1663 reached a domination of trade with Asia,
Society, the world’s oldest such climax in August 1664, when an in 1664 the French East India
scientific body, was founded in Company was established, with
London. That it had royal approval royal patronage. It was lavishly
Battle of St. Gotthard
showed how both the practical This woodcut, based on a drawing by funded, but it resulted only in
Hooke’s
application of science and the Adolf Ehrhardt, shows an attack by the settlement of the island of findings
pursuit of pure knowledge had the Habsburg cavalry in the defeat of Réunion in the Indian Ocean and a This page from
become of interest to the state. the Ottomans at St. Gotthard. handful of trading posts in India. THE PUBLICATION IN THIS YEAR OF Robert Hooke’s

5
Micrographia, by English natural 1665 publication,
philosopher and polymath Robert Micrographia,
Hooke (1635–1703), was the first shows a detailed
work under the patronage of the illustration of
an ant. Hooke had
Royal Society. It was not merely drawn the ant after
the first time that those other viewing it under his
than a closed circle of specialists microscope, which
had been made aware of the is shown here.
remarkable world revealed by

MILLION
microscopes. His drawings of an of a living organism, the term
ant, louse, and flea, lovingly derived from the fact the cells
detailed and precisely executed, Hooke observed reminded him of
THE PRICE sparked particular astonishment a monk’s cell.
at the complexity of this hitherto The year 1665 also saw the last
IN LIVRES unsuspected microworld. It was, outbreak of bubonic plague in
FOR WHICH according to diarist Samuel
Pepys, “the most ingenious book
England. The disease was
concentrated mostly in London,
FRANCE that I ever read in my life.” Of where, at its height in September,
BOUGHT greater significance was that
Hooke was the first to use the
7,000 a week were dying. In the 18
months the plague ravaged the
DUNKIRK term “cell” for the smallest unit city, 100,000 people died.

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1666 1667 1668
,, THE MIND IS ITS OWN

,,
PLACE AND IN ITSELF, CAN
MAKE A HEAVEN OF HELL,
A HELL OF HEAVEN.
John Milton, English poet, from Paradise Lost, 1667

In 1666, a major fire swept through the central parts of London, consuming A woodcut portrait of the admiral and
thousands of houses and wiping away centuries of history. privateer Henry Morgan.

80,000
THE TREATY OF ANDRUSOVO in THE PORTUGUESE TRADING POST
January 1667 ended the Polish- AT BOMBAY (Mumbai) had passed
Lithuanian Commonwealth’s to the English Crown in 1662 as
calamitous war with Russia part of the dowry of Catherine of
79 84 that had begun in 1654. It also THE NUMBER OF Braganza, Charles II’s Portuguese
SHIPS SHIPS
climaxed The Deluge—its PEOPLE KILLED wife. In 1668, the king leased it to
dramatic decline above all in the East India Company for an
the face of Russian expansion. IN THE SAMAKHI annual rent of £10, making it the
Russia, granted Smolensk and EARTHQUAKE Company’s third trading post
present-day Belarus, could for the in India after those at Surat and
first time claim to have unified
IN AZERBAIJAN Madras. With Bombay Castle
10 ships lost 4 ships lost the Slavic peoples of the region. completed in 1675, from 1687
ENGLISH FLEET DUTCH FLEET The completion in 1667 of the England, Sweden, and the Dutch it became the focus of all the
Four Days’ Battle Piazza San Pietro, by Gian Republic forced the isolated Louis Company’s trading in India,
In one of the longest naval engagements ever, the Four Days’ Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), saw to return most of his gains by the resisting attempts to storm it
Battle, fought in June 1666 during the Second Anglo–Dutch War, the high point of urban planning in 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. by the Mughals and the Dutch.
saw the Dutch inflict a defeat on the English. Baroque Rome. Many of Rome’s In 1667, the epic poem Paradise In 1668, the Welsh privateer
public spaces were ambitiously Lost, by English poet John Milton (state-sponsored raider) Henry
THE BIGGEST ENGAGEMENT OF effective precautions were taken. rebuilt by a series of architects to (1608–74), gave the English Morgan, famous for his attacks
THE SECOND ANGLO–DUTCH WAR, Though drought and a heat wave make them deliberately imposing, language one of its greatest on Spanish settlements in the
which had begun in 1665, the had made the city especially and worthy to be at the center of literary achievements. It told the Caribbean, succeeded in one of
Four Days’ Battle was an English vulnerable, a crucial added factor the Catholic Church. Christian story of man’s fall from the most daring assaults ever
attempt to destroy the Dutch fleet was a strong easterly wind. The The War of Devolution began in grace in the Garden of Eden. when his ships captured the
before it could grow to challenge result was that the whole of the May 1667 as a result of Louis XIV’s well-protected Spanish trading
them. However, the English City was destroyed, including the continuing claims to the Spanish city of Porto Bello, in Panama.
Siege of Lille
suffered such losses that it medieval St. Paul’s Cathedral, 87 Netherlands. It saw France take Louis XIV directs French forces at It won him both great wealth and
handed the initiative to the Dutch. other churches, and upward of some Habsburg cities in Flanders, Lille during the War of Devolution. Its further English support for his
Disaster then followed for 13,000 houses. The official death as well as Franche-Comté to its capture provided one of France’s few buccaneering endeavors.
England in June 1667 after a toll of six has long been disputed. east. However, a Triple Aliance of gains from a frustrating conflict. Just as Philip II’s seizure of the
daring Dutch raid on the Medway Not to be outdone by the Portuguese crown in 1580 was
River, in the Thames estuary. With founding of the Royal Society of a sign of Spanish power, so its
discontent at home, England London (see 1662), in December recognition of Portuguese
brought the war to a halt. 1666 Louis XIV gave his blessing independence in 1668 under the
As the Great Plague ended, a to the creation of the French Treaty of Lisbon, which confirmed
new disaster overtook London, Academy of Sciences, which in the House of Braganza as rulers
the Great Fire, which burned 1699 became the Royal Academy of Portugal, was evidence of its
from September 2 to 5. London of Sciences and was installed in decline. From 1640, Portugal had
was still a medieval city, filthy the Louvre Palace, in Paris. Today, been in open revolt against Spain,
and unplanned, with no great it is part of the Institut de France. and in June 1665 at the Battle of
spaces and few public buildings of It was at the heart of a drive for Montes Claros a combined
note. The City, which was the verifiable scientific knowledge. Anglo–Portuguese force inflicted
commercial heart, was especially As an arm of the state it was also a crushing defeat on them. Close
overcrowded and unsanitary. It interested in discoveries that to bankruptcy, and sure of further
was here the fire began. Although could enrich its country, such as French hostility, the Spanish had
the risk of fire was well known, no in agriculture and armaments. little option but to concede.

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223
1669 1670 1671–72
,,
,,
COME QUICKLY,
I AM DRINKING
THE STARS.
Attributed to Dom Pérignon, while tasting champagne, 1670

The Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, was Portuguese glazed tiles decorate the São Miguel Fortress in Luanda, a key
commissioned by Aurangzeb. military strongpoint in the colonization of Angola in the later 17th century.

ONE OF THE REASONS GIVEN FOR IN 1671, PORTUGAL ENDED THE while the Dutch preferred a weak
THE DISINTEGRATION of the INDEPENDENCE of the kingdom of Spain as a neighbor to a strong
Mughal Empire after the death of Ndongo, in what is today Angola. France. The War of Devolution of
Aurangzeb in 1707 has been his A Portuguese colony had largely 1667–68 had seen French gains,
supposed religious persecution dominated the Ndongo since the and then losses, in the Spanish
of Hindus and other minorities. 16th century, but a rebellion by Netherlands, but in 1672 Louis,
Where his predessor Akbar I their king, Philip, in 1671, saw allied with England and Sweden,
had pursued an active policy of Portuguese troops capture the tried again in the Franco–Dutch
religious toleration as the most capital and take control of its War. The war ended with the
effective means of controlling his entire territory. Dutch granting New Amsterdam
Hindu vassals, Aurangzeb— Just as fears of Spanish to England, while the French—
himself a Sunni Muslim—was dominance in Europe had allied although their conquest of the
said to have systematically France, England, and the Dutch Dutch Republic failed—gained the
destroyed Hindu temples. In Republic, so French dominance former Burgundian territory of the
addition, he banned the use of after 1659 saw anti-French Franche-Comté and a string of
music, central to Hindu practice, alliances throw Spain and the border territories in the Spanish
issuing a decree, perhaps in 1669, Dutch Republic together. Spain Netherlands. Yet the peace proved
to this effect. He also had drawn opposed Louis XIV’s claim to the a brief pause in Louis’ attempts to
Cossack leader
up an exhaustive digest of IN MAY 1670, THE HUDSON’S BAY
Stepan Razin, the Cossack leader Spanish Netherlands by marriage, expand and safeguard France.
Muslim law, the Fatawa-e- COMPANY WAS FORMED under who rose up against the nobility and
Alamgri, said to have been British royal charter on the the czar’s bureaucracy, is seen here
rigorously imposed. All these initiative of two French fur on the Volga River, South Russia.
claims are disputed, however. In trackers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson
fact, the number of Hindu temples and Médard de Groseilliers. They he was devoted to eliminating the
said to have been destroyed varies had learned that the best furs bubbles such wines produced, as
improbably from 80 to 60,000. came from the Cree territory to the pressure they built up in the
That Aurangzeb was strongly the north of Lake Superior. Easier bottles tended to explode them.
anti-Christian, though, seems to reach via Hudson Bay rather But as cellar master of the Abbey,
certain to have been true. than via the rivers and lakes to the he did make a major contribution
south, they proposed a base there. to the production of white wines,

£100
Rebuffed in France, they solicited by using grapes otherwise used in
support in England. The red wine. It was not until the early
Hudson’s Bay Company would 18th century that the taste for
become one of the great sparkling wines, in England and
commercial enterprises of France, grew rapidly. FUR TRADE

MILLION
England, the basis of its claim to A Cossack uprising in South
Canada, and source of regional Russia in 1670 was brutally A valuable natural asset of North America was fur. It drove the

THE ANNUAL
rivalry with France. suppressed by the czar, and its French westward into Canada and saw the English establish the
The claim that in 1670 Dom leader Stepan Razin was executed Hudson’s Bay Company (see 1670). It also led to Anglo–French
REVENUE Pérignon (1638–1715), a monk at
the Benedictine Abbey of
the following year. An attempt to
protect Cossack independence
conflict there. While the French would accompany the American
Indians on fur-trapping expeditions, the English, and the Dutch
RAISED BY Hautvillers, in Champagne in against the centralized Russian (pictured) before them, usually took delivery of furs from the
AURANGZEB’S northeast France, invented the
sparkling wine of that name, is
state had become a revolt by a
disaffected peasantry that saw
Indians at their trading posts. All depended on Indian aid, while
the Indians became dependent on European weapons and tools.
EXCHEQUER largely discounted today. In fact, several cities sacked and looted.

t
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224
1673 1674 1675

Marquette and Jolliet descend the Ceremonial entrance of the Qing emperor, Kangxi, to Beijing. Kangxi oversaw Frederick William I leads his troops
Mississippi River with their guides. the complete suppression of the Three Feudatories revolt. at the Battle of Fehrbellin.

THE EXTENSIVE WATERWAYS FOLLOWING THEIR TAKEOVER OF albeit not until 1681. With the IN 1675, MUGHAL EMPEROR
OF North America provided CHINA WITH THE COLLAPSE of the rebels as wary of each other as AURANGZEB ORDERED THE
a ready-made means of Ming dynasty in 1644, the Qing they were of the Qing, they rarely EXECUTION of Tegh Bahadur,
exploring its interior. In 1673, coopted some of the more cooperated, allowing the Qing to ninth guru of the Sikhs, after he
French–Canadian explorer powerful Ming generals, making pick them off one by one. Those had refused to convert to Islam. It
Louis Jolliet and French Jesuit them regional governors and rebels who did not commit suicide brought to the Sikh throne his
Jacques Marquette traveled allowing them considerable were executed. nine-year-old son, Gobind Singh
down the Mississippi River latitude in their rule over what After freeing the Hindu Maratha (1666–1708). It would be several
to within 370 miles (600 km) became almost independent from the Sultan of Bijapur, Shivaji years later that, under Singh’s
of the Gulf of Mexico. They territories. It was felt that if they (1630–80) was crowned Maratha leadership, the Sikhs would pose
turned back for fear of enriched themselves—as they king in 1674, establishing the a growing military threat to
arousing Spanish hostility did on a prodigious scale—the Maratha Empire (see p.242) Mughal rule, and contribute
but discovered the Missouri less likely it was that they would that would later defeat significantly to its collapse.
Leibniz mechanical calculator and Ohio rivers, as well as revolt. The risk was that their the Mughals to However, the pattern of religious
One of the first calculating confirming that the river led to the progressively greater revenues dominate India until opposition to the Mughals was
machines, developed by Gottfried Gulf and not the Pacific. English would be matched by greater the early 19th century. already well
Leibniz, this device multiplies by exploration inland from their pretensions to rule China. In established in many
making repeated additions.
scattered coastal settlements was 1674, the Revolt of the parts of India,
much more hesitant, rarely Three Feudatories broke most obviously
In 1671, German mathematician coordinated, and additionally out across southern in the Western Ghats,
Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) blocked by the Appalachian China in those where Shivaji had
demonstrated one of the world’s mountain chain. It almost always provinces controlled declared the Maratha
first mechanical calculators. It depended on native assistance. by the three most Empire.
was the first such machine that For example, it was after spending prominent On June 18, 1675, a
could perform all four of the basic a year with a group of Tomahitan rebels, Wu combined Prussian and
arithmetic functions. Leibniz went Indians in present-day Georgia Sangui, Shang Brandenburg army, led by
on to further refine his calculating that Gabriel Arthur traveled with Kexi Gungdong, Frederick William I, Elector
machines, thus providing the them across the Cumberland and Geng Jingzhong, of Brandenburg (1620–88),
basis of the modern calculator. Gap, unwittingly discovering what joined by lesser met and defeated a Swedish
Repeated Cossack and in the 18th century would be the Ming governors. army, led by Count von
Crimean Tartar revolts against principal route to Kentucky and Led by the Kangxi Wrangel, near Fehrbellin, in
the weakened Polish–Lithuanian the west. Emperor (1654– Brandenburg. This relatively
Commonwealth in 1672 drew 1722), the Qing insignificant battle in the Scanian

2,000
their Ottoman allies into a response, with War, itself a by-product of the
four-year Polish–Ottoman War. its superior Franco–Dutch War, nonetheless
Polish resistance under Jan III military, was marked a crucial moment in
Sobieski (1629–96) was greatly successful, Sweden’s long struggle to

MILES, THE
undermined by grudging support impose itself as the dominant
from the Polish parliament, the Baltic power. Defeat at the
Sejm, and was hardly equal to the
progressively larger armies of the
LENGTH Statue of Shivaji
This bronze statue of
hands of an otherwise
relatively minor German state
Ottomans. The result was the loss OF THE Shivaji on horseback in
Maharashtra, India, dealt the Swedes a lasting
of what little prestige Poland
could still claim as well as most
APPALACHIAN commemorates his
leadership of the Maratha
blow. Swedish pretensions to
great power status were
of its Ukrainian territories. MOUNTAINS campaign for self-rule. revealed as precarious at best.

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225
1676–78 1679–81

Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, is about 2,600 ft A 19th-century image of the Asante, who
(800 m) wide. Europeans first discovered this natural wonder in 1677. dominated West Africa from the 1680s.

IN FRANCE, LOUIS XIV’S principal sweeping up to its immense royal patronage. This official state engraving of IN 1679, THE ENGLISH
architectural endeavors façade and 15 courtyards theater aimed to showcase the author PARLIAMENT passed the Habeas
concentrated on his immense clustered behind. Its most glories of the French stage Corpus Act. Like Magna Carta
palace at Versailles, just outside memorable feature, the lavish and French (see 1215), it represented a
Paris. Louis was also determined royal chapel L’Église du Dôme, culture as widely cornerstone of English liberty. It is
to continue the transformation of was added slightly later. Placed as possible. the legal assertion that no one
the French capital, begun by his at the southern end of the European may be unlawfully detained.
grandfather Henry IV at the start complex, it was designed with a explorers began The law was passed for
of the 17th century. Henry’s intent vast dome and spire, with details to realize the pragmatic reasons rather than
had been to lift the city from picked out in gold. immensity of as a liberal principle of justice.
medieval slum to a capital Louis XIV’s reign marked one of North America as Its aim was to prevent James,
worthy of the first power of the most fertile periods of the 17th century Duke of York, the Catholic
Europe—a city to rival Rome for French literature. The year 1677 progressed. The brother and heir of Charles II,
its imposing public buildings and saw the first performance of extraordinary variety from arresting his Protestant
commanding spaces. The Louvre Phèdre, the greatest tragedy of and natural beauty of opponents without legal
Palace, predictably, was French dramatist Jean Racine its landscape also justification, as Charles’s
significantly enlarged and (1639–99). Dramatists such as continued to amaze.
remodeled, notably the east
wing, whose stately façade
Racine, Pierre Corneille (1606–
84), and Molière (1622–73) thrived
The discovery of
Niagara Falls in 1677,
,,YOU MAY

,,
Religious work
encapsulated the French taste
for Classicism at its most austere
under royal patronage, captivating
court audiences in different ways.
a waterfall hugely larger
than any in Europe, with
This is the frontispiece from the HOLD THE BODY,
and precise. But the building that Corneille and Racine reflected over 6,000,000 cu ft (170,000 cu m)
third edition of John Bunyan’s The
Pilgrim’s Progress, a hugely SUBJECT TO
most memorably reflects Louis’s
contribution to Paris is Les
courtly concerns through their
use of formal verse, classical
of water thundering over it every
minute, provoked wonder in the
influential work in the 17th century. EXAMINATION.
Invalides, or more properly themes, and emphasis on honor, Old World. There is doubt as to One of literature’s most English writ of Habeas Corpus, 1679
L’Hôtel National des Invalides. Part virtue, and renunciation, while which European can claim to have significant religious works was
hospital, part retirement home for Molière’s racy dramas mocked seen the falls first. However, the published in February 1678. The
French soldiers, it was completed the social pretensions of the French Franciscan missionary Pilgrim’s Progress was written by chief minister, the Earl of
in 1676. Designed by Libéral bourgeoisie. As a result of this Louis Hennepin (1626–1701), English writer and Christian Clarendon, had begun to do. The
Bruant (1635–97), Les Invalides rich and growing theatrical exploring at the request of King preacher John Bunyan (1628–88), underlying principle of the Act,
was conceived on an grand scale, tradition, the Comédie-Française Louis XIV, is generally credited who completed much of the work which is incorporated into the
with vast formal gardens was established in Paris under with their discovery, in 1677. while imprisoned in Bedford Gaol American Constitution, remains
(jail). It was published in two parts fundamental to most Anglo-Saxon
(the second part appeared in legal systems as an ultimate
1684) and is an allegorical tale of guarantee of individual liberty.
an everyman’s journey from this However, in reality the law is
world to heaven. The Pilgrim’s hardly ever invoked.
Progress has become one of the In August 1680, the Pueblo
most translated books in history. people of the colony of New
Mexico rose against the Spanish
occupiers and drove them from
Les Invalides, Paris
These sumptuous buildings now
the area for 12 years. Spanish
contain museums and monuments claims to New Mexico, though
relating to France’s military history, dating back to Francisco
and a hospital for war veterans. Coronado’s expeditions of the

g
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226
1682
,,HE THAT DOES GOOD FOR GOOD’S

,,
SAKE SEEKS NEITHER PARADISE
NOR REWARD, BUT HE IS SURE OF
BOTH IN THE END.
William Penn, English Quaker, establishing Philadelphia, 1682

mid-16th century, had never conquered in 1701 at the Battle Penn in America
amounted to much more than of Feyiase (in modern Ghana). This detail from a painting shows
statements of priority and Few projects revealed the English Quaker William Penn’s
Christian preeminence over the determination of Louis XIV’s meeting with American Indians in
what is now the state of Delaware.
region. New Mexico was seen as a France to extend itself than the
land of marginal value as it was construction of the Canal du
remote and arid. The Pueblo Midi, a navigable inland waterway THE 1682 CORONATION OF
revolt was provoked partly by that stretched between the nine-year-old Peter the Great
drought and by the suffering Mediterranean Sea and the (1672–1725) as czar of Russia
such natural events inevitably Atlantic Ocean. Its construction brought to a close this vast
brought in their wake, but was necessary because it would nation’s vague, imperial influence
more particularly by Spain’s replace a perilous and indirect as a semipower on the margins of
determination to crush local sea passage with a simple canal Europe. Peter’s childhood was
religious practices—Pueblo route. The technical problems, no scarred by revolt, and it left him
shamen were consistently less than the cost, were daunting. determined to punish his internal
accused of witchcraft and The main problem was how to enemies and reshape Russia as
executed. When the Spanish ensure a sufficient supply of water a western European power. In a follow-up expedition by sea in belonging to James, Duke
returned in 1692, they did so in to the highest parts of the canal. life of compulsive energy, he built 1684 failed to find the river and of York, founded the settlement
overwhelming numbers. It was easily the most complex a new capital, St. Petersburg, saw three of its four ships that would grow into the city of
The Asante kingdom, founded engineering problem undertaken and ruthlessly imposed himself wrecked. La Salle was murdered Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
in about 1680, was formed from by any 17th-century European on his boyars (nobles). His version by the remainder of his party. Penn promised religious freedom
the Akan, who dominated West state, calling for labor on a of Versailles, recreated on the In 1682, William Penn (1644– and material wealth to all those
Africa. The most prominent group massive scale, and used entirely edge of the Baltic, did not amount 1718), an English Quaker and Europeans who settled there.
of the Akan was the Oyoko. Using untried engineering solutions. to much more than a statement of philosopher who had been
diplomacy and warfare, the Oyoko When completed in 1681, the intent, but by the end of his reign granted land in North America
consolidated the Akan tribes in Canal du Midi stretched a distance Russia was a massive power-in-
French claims to
the 1670s, uniting them against of 149 miles (240 km). waiting, looming over Europe.
Hudson North America
the threat of the neighboring In 1682, nine years after Jolliet Bay
Newfoundland
This map depicts the
Denkyira, who they eventually and Marquette had ventured down York Factory
vast areas of North
RUPERT’S LAND
NORTH

CE
the Mississippi, confirming that America claimed by

AN
PUEBLO POTTERY these territories contained neither AMERICA Lake France, as well as the

FR
Superior ACADIA

W
easily exploited wealthy natives Montreal areas under Spanish

NE
PAYS D’EN
The Pueblo of southwest North nor obvious sources of gold, HAUT and British control in
Lake
Michigan New York the late 17th century.
America, so called by the Robert de La Salle (1643–87), Philadelphia
A
AN

Spanish for their pueblos, a veteran of North American


ITOR
TERR IAN

AT L A N T I C
ISI

or villages, were famed exploration, determined to follow OCEAN


IND
LOU

Charleston KEY
for their sophisticated the river to its mouth. With his
British control
and elaborate pottery. party of 19 American Indians, he New Orleans ah
B

am SAINT- and settlement


It is characterized by reached it on April 9, 1682, and Gulf of as DOMINGUE
Mexico Spanish control
a light background on proclaimed the river and its CUBA Santo Domingo
and settlement
which are painted stylized hinterlands a French possession, French control
Mexico City V I C E R O Y A LT Y O F N E W S P A I N
animals and repeated Louisiana, named after the and settlement
Caribbean French influence
abstract patterns in ocher, French king. This formed the Sea
PACIFIC approximate
black, and gray coloring. basis of a French claim to a vast
OCEAN Panama western limit
swathe of North America. Yet a of French claim

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227
1683–84 1685–86

The Battle of Kahlenberg saw a Polish–Imperial army lift the Ottoman This 19th-century illustration shows Friedrich Wilhelm I, elector of
Empire’s two-month siege of Vienna. Brandenburg, welcoming French Protestant Huguenots to Berlin in 1685.

ON JULY 14, 1683, AN OTTOMAN League of the Holy Roman 70 5,000 THE EDICT OF NANTES, AGREED by brutality—that it aroused not just
army besieged Vienna. As with Empire, Poland, and Venice, casualties Henry IV in 1598, was essential the indignation of Protestant
the previous Ottoman attempt on formed in 1684 under papal 60 to ending the French Wars of Europe but reinforced its alarmed

FORCES (IN THOUSANDS)


the city in 1529, this was a direct authority, driving them south Religion. Of necessity, it was a perception that Louis XIV’s France
50
assault on the Christian West. In across the Balkans. compromise, and it saw France’s had to be opposed at all costs.
the event, the siege failed just as it Taiwan’s Tunging kingdom, a substantial Protestant Huguenot The consequence of Louis XIV’s
40
had in 1529. But whereas 1529 supporter of China’s ousted Ming, minority granted religious obvious designs on Europe was
had been the climax of a series of had supported military assaults 12,000 toleration in return for accepting the establishment in 1686 of the
30
conquests that had seen the against the Qing since 1661. By casualties Henry as king. In October 1685, anti-French League of Augsburg,
Ottomans sweep across Hungary, 1683, negotiations toward a 20
with the Edict of Fontainebleau, subsequently known as the Grand
the 1683 Ottoman assault was a settlement had led nowhere and Louis XIV revoked it. His decision Alliance. The League was created
frantic final attempt to regain so the Kangxi Emperor (1654– 10 was entirely logical. There was initially by the newly confident
former glories in the face of 1722) launched the Qing’s military practically no European state that Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I
internal weakness. Confronted might, securing a huge naval and 0 permitted religious toleration. (1640–1705)—vanquisher of the
with renewed resistance, the land victory over the Tunging at Qing Tunging Louis’s absolutism clearly Ottomans—and urged on by
siege was broken in September the Battle of Penghu, resulting in demanded nothing less than an William III of Orange (1650–1792),
Battle of Penghu
at Kahlenberg by a combined their kingdom becoming part of officially sanctioned state ruler of the Dutch Republic. In
So seriously did the Qing take the

900,000
Imperial–Polish force led by the the Qing empire. Tunging threat that it sent a huge
Polish king, Jan III Sobieski. The The climatic changes of the land and naval force, including more
collapse of Ottoman rule in Maunder Minimum, which had than 200 ships, to guarantee victory.
Hungary followed, with a Holy begun in 1645 as a result of
reduced sunspot activity, had by bitter winters, that of 1683–84
Thames Frost Fair, 1683–84
the 1680s initiated a particularly was considered by many to be the THE NUMBER OF HUGUENOTS
cold period of the Little Ice Age worst. The Little Ice Age did not
Frost fairs were a regular feature on
the Thames River, in London, during across the world, and global end until the 19th century. IT WAS CLAIMED FLED FRANCE
the winters of the Little Ice Age, with
tents and coaches on the ice.
temperatures had fallen by
several degrees. Amid its many
Dissatisfied with the Treaty of
Nijmegen in 1679, Louis XIV strove AFTER LOUIS XIV ISSUED THE
to extend France’s frontiers at
the expense of the German states
EDICT OF FONTAINEBLEAU
and the Spanish Netherlands
with bids to occupy territory in religion, and that religion was time, every western European
Flanders and the Rhineland—the Roman Catholicism. In every state bar Switzerland was ranged
latter crucial in controlling trade other respect, however, it was a against France.
on the Rhine. Using bluster, disaster for France. The huge In 1685, the aging James II
threat, and bogus legal claims, he numbers of Huguenots who fled (1633–1701), younger son of
gained Alsace, Luxembourg, and the country were among the Charles I and younger brother of
key forts in Flanders, consolidated most industrious in France, and Charles II, brought a curious
by the Treaty of Ratisbon in 1684 they were eagerly embraced by incompetence to a brief
at the end of the brief War of the those countries to which they occupation of the English and
Reunions of 1683–84. Now at the emigrated, chiefly England, the Scottish thrones. Determined to
peak of his power, Louis was Dutch Republic, and Prussia. reimpose Catholicism on a now
determined to impose himself Simultaneously, so naked an act Protestant, parliamentary nation,
on Europe, but succeeded only in of aggression was this against in less than three years he would
uniting Protestant and Catholic France’s Protestants—the policy overturn the delicately cynical
Europe alike against him. was imposed with consistent political settlement of Charles II.

on t of
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228
1687–88 1689
,,I HAVE CONQUERED

,,
AN EMPIRE BUT I HAVE
NOT BEEN ABLE TO
CONQUER MYSELF.
Peter I (the Great), czar of Russia, reflecting on his rule, 1672–1725

This Dutch painting shows William III’s fleet departing the Netherlands
for England at the start of the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

IN OCTOBER 1688, DESPITE A LACK WHEN CONFRONTED WITH THE echo when German Calvinist
ISAAC NEWTON (1642–1727)
of finances, Louis XIV’s forces INVASION OF WILLIAM III IN 1688, Jacob Leisler overthrew the
devastated the Rhineland James II of England abandoned royal governor in May 1689 in the
Palatinate, in Germany, provoking In 1687, the English physicist an army he sent to confront name of William III. An English
the Nine Years’ War. His goal was Isaac Newton published the William and fled to Louis XIV’s force arrived to compel Leisler to
to force Leopold I to recognize universal law of gravitation, France. Charles II had been surrender in January 1691, and
French rule over the frontier one of the most remarkable happy to be financed by Louis XIV, he was executed for treason.
territories previously annexed, as of all scientific discoveries. but he had disguised the fact. Since 1682, a young Peter I
well as create a devastated strip It explained what holds the James II now actively reveled in (1672–1725) had ruled Russia
of land that would be difficult for universe together: that all French backing. In March 1689, he jointly with his disabled half-
armies to cross to attack France. heavenly bodies exert a force landed with a French-financed brother Ivan V, but the real power
The next month, William III of called gravitas, or weight. army in Ireland, and attracting had been his sister and regent,
Orange landed in England with Newton’s work would dominate substantial Catholic support Sophia. The power struggle came
an army of 15,000. These two science’s views on the physical briefly threatened the new Dutch to a climax in 1689 when, gaining
events provoked a kind of volcanic universe for almost 300 years. Protestant settlement. However, the support of the Streltsy royal
eruption in European political William’s victory in 1690 at the guardsmen, he overthrew Sophia,
history. Whereas Louis’s invasion, Battle of the Boyne saw James forcing her into a convent and
almost immediately bogged down If Louis XIV’s apparently absolute of England in what was, legal back in France three days later. leaving him and Ivan as co-czars.
in winter mud, eventually led to monarchy seemed the pattern by inventions aside, a direct Henceforward, the Stuart Jacobite
an eclipse of French power in which modern princes could most deposition of a reigning monarch. claim to its thrones in Britain (see
the face of a Europe united in effectively exercise power, the 1715 and 1745) would complicate Leisler’s Rebellion
The consequence, known as the
Jacob Leisler is shown swearing in
opposition to him (see 1685–86), accession of William III to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, was French diplomacy, and seem volunteers to support his overthrow
within three months William III English and Scottish thrones a triumph of Parliamentary unlikely to change political reality. of the governor of New York. He
had become not just the joint made plain a radical alternative: authority, and England would be In New York, the Glorious captured Fort James, Manhattan,
monarch of England (with his that Parliament was the ultimate immeasurably strengthened. Revolution produced a short-lived briefly renaming it Fort William.
wife, Mary) but the leader of the arbiter of who should rule. No one However, for Louis XIV the
pan-European, anti-French had disputed the right of William’s result of the Nine Years’ War,
Protestant alliance. At stake ousted predecessor, James II, to which would be mainly fought
was a fundamental clash over the English throne. His clumsily around France’s borders, but also
the nature of legitimate rule. active promotion of Catholicism, in Ireland, North America, and
however, was wholly at odds with India, would not be the one he had
the strongly Protestant intended. Although France had
sympathies of the ruling elite, fought well, it was crippled by
whose power was exercised economic woes, and eventually
through Parliament. It was a welcomed a settlement with the
consortium of English magnates Grand Alliance, which too was
of all parties who invited financially exhausted. By 1697,
William to take over the throne although Louis would retain
Alsace, he would have to return
the province of Lorraine and all
Nine Years’ War coin his gains on the east bank of the
This German commemorative
coin—a form of propaganda—shows Rhine, as well as accept William
the destruction of the Rhineland as king of England and a string of
Palatinate by French troops during Dutch fortresses along his border
the Nine Years’ War. with the Spanish Netherlands.

h cs ar d 7)
nc r s há ’W III ds lan r 65
Fre elie n n of igiou f Mo a rs In m d lan Ire e cto (b. 1 t)
7 v o i o l o 7 e 88 i a
ill lare I I n o t ea
168 rt Ca red rat s re t tle t 168 ots e
n i n eY r 16 ious W c es my i Pr dies e Gr rol
9, be de on a g a
B fea r p m h
ig re,
cl in be ue Ca N be or es r y II de s by t Ja ar h
I (t con
t
h 1 o ur iti De y br 87 de m ug h 88 m Gl ua n ed ed , H pi
a rc rer R le m ped 87 riefl and , 16 ue ary e ce h H utc a 16 7) e ce nd, n se sed br ary rch me os ack h aji Em ter mes
o
M pl Sa i e l x 6 l 2 g g D c
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D r
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g
En volu II d an nt m h Pa
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Sa ara as Rus
il enc to E us oly in H em (to ch nc
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d ssi s r
A p ulg tion
g e
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No gins R mes
e joi glis ar Fre ay e M f
Au es H ans M th M th
o
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In lera se tom Co be Ja En wi of
to Ot

s n; 88
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7 n et s in , Ja ater r e ho ce) aptu ns
a be York n st rch ders be lish
8 n n e i r )
16 ’s Ve an ce ra the be ra nd ffe ra on e c om R ew ga ed Ne or Wa En 97
g
ly on 87 om ree u E ki em f O la co su nd gu Ott ’s
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Ju ewt ins 16 Ott d G rok abu ov III o Eng y ds ds in s, Lo ea om isl n c f a t y s i
ia m a ( t
N l a ty r
be tack a an
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Ll loy en ly
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ac exp avi Ge of iam ves Ho de yL Al an t T –R
Isa ipia gr em at ati 88 ng ill 88 f L op Ma nd Fr us Sino g W n Fr olon
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c e a w 16 e Gr Au tles K n
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n B t ica
se er
m
A
229
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE


OTTOMAN EMPIRE
AN ENDURING POWER THAT DOMINATED IN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST FOR NEARLY 500 YEARS
AT L A N T I C
OCEAN

The long decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century disguised the
fact that for 450 years after its emergence in about 1300, it was not just one

GAL
of the most dynamic and sophisticated polities in the world, but also one of SPAIN

RTU
the largest. It dwarfed its European and Middle Eastern rivals. Madrid

PO
Lisbon

At its height, toward the end of the 17th century, Caldiran and much of the Middle East and North
the Ottoman Empire stretched from the gates of Africa was conquered. Suleiman the Magnificent
Vienna to the Indian Ocean, and from the Crimea (r. 1520–66) expanded Ottoman territories deep
to Algiers. Though the Mongol leader Timur had into Hungary and almost as far as the Atlantic.
checked Ottoman ambitions in the early 15th Faced with such potency, the Christian West could
Oran
century, once Murad I took the throne in 1413, the do little. Enormously rich, technologically advanced,
Fez
expansion program was vigorously renewed. His and buoyed by its leadership of the Muslim world,
son, Mehmed II (r. 1451–81), extended Ottoman Ottoman power seemed irresistible. The empire’s MOROCCO
rule across the Balkans and seized Constantinople decline after the failure of the siege of Vienna in
(Istanbul) in a blaze of conquest. Under Selim I 1683 was the result less of internal weakness than
(r. 1512–20), the Safavids were contained at of the growing strength of its European opponents.

FORMIDABLE OPPONENTS Size of the


The Ottoman state began as a small frontier principality Ottoman Empire
preying on Christian Byzantium. Under a succession of 2
MILLION
By the turn of the
20th century, the
16th-century Empire
At its peak, the Ottoman Empire
14th-century warrior-sultans, a series of rapid conquests Ottoman Empire had was not just a land power—its
SQ MILES
were launched, notably at Kosovo in 1389, when a combined shrunk to a third of navy dominated the eastern
Christian–Balkan force was defeated. Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402) the size it been three Mediterranean and the maritime
0.7 centuries earlier. routes with the Indian Ocean. It
exploited this victory by annexing Bulgaria and invading MILLION
Modern Turkey is a challenged not merely European
Hungary. Ottoman success was based on a highly trained SQ MILES fraction of that. but its Middle Eastern rivals, too:
army. The most feared troops, the janissaries, were recruited Mamluk Egypt, conquered in
1517, and Safavid Persia, an
from the conquered peoples of the Balkans, converted to 301,384 sq miles
equally dynamic and
Islam. In addition, Ottoman artillery in the 15th and 16th KEY sophisticated state.
1683 1914 Modern Turkey
centuries was among the most destructive in the world.

HOLY Population of the


ROMAN 1520 Ottoman Empire
EMPIRE HUNGARY Ca Although the
sp
i
population did not
an

Black Sea 1566


reach its peak until
Se
a

the first half of the


1683
19th century, by then
the empire was
Med 1831 clearly in decline as
it err a
n e an S ea a political and
1856 military force.

1881
Arabian
Re

AFRICA Peninsula
d

1905
Se
a

1919
1481 From a small nucleus c. 1300, the
Ottomans went on to conquer a vast area, KEY
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
covering much of Anatolia and the area Empire at 1300
POPULATION (MILLIONS)
around the Black Sea by 1481. Empire at 1481

230
RUSSIAN
POLAND- EMPIRE
KHANATE OF
LITHUANIA Kiev THE CRIMEA
H O LY R O M A N E M P I R E Astrakhan
JEDISAN
Esztergom Khotin
C
Vienna (Gran)
MOLDAVIA Bender
Azov as
Buda TR Sea of
Koszeg (Güns) AN

pi
SY Jassy Azov

an
HUNGARY LVA
FRANCE VENETIAN REPUBLIC NIA
Mohács Kaffa Caucasus Derbent
Venice Szigetvár (Kefe)

Se
WALLACHIA Tiflis
Belgrade Black Sea GEORGIAN Baku

a
STATES Ganja
Adrianople Trebizond Kars
Sofia
(Edirne) Nakhichevan
REPUBLIC Amasya
Corsica OF RAGUSA Erzurum Tabriz
NAPLES Constantinople Çaldiran Tehran

ns
Sardinia i
ta
AN ATOLIA un Hamadan
Reggio Mo Marj Dabiq
rus
Ta u Aleppo Isfahan
Sicily Preveza SYRIA M
ES Baghdad
M

Algiers Tunis Rhodes OP


e Malta Monemvasia Cyprus OT
ALGIERS d Damascus AM
IA Basra
i t Crete Tripoli
e r Pe
r a n e a S e a rs
n ian
TUNIS Jerusalem
Tripoli Gu
Alexandria lf
Al Raydaniyya Bahrain
Cairo Suez

TRIPOLI HE
JA
Z Arabian
Medina
Peninsula
,,
,,
EGYPT
THE PRESENT
TERROR OF THE
KEY
Ottoman Empire and vassals 1512
Jedda Mecca
WORLD.
Conquests of Selim I 1512–20
Conquests of Suleiman I 1520–66
Ottoman conquests 1566–1639 R
Major Ottoman campaigns Attributed to a European ambassador c. 1600 e
Suakin d
S
ea

EUROPE AUSTRO- EUROPE


Ca Ca Massawa
HUNGARIAN sp sp
i i
EMPIRE
an

an

Black Sea Black Sea


Se

Se
a

TURKEY
PERSIA PERSIA
GREECE GREECE SYRIA
Aden
TUNISIA
Med Med IRAQ
iter ra it err a
ne an S ea n e an S ea
NEJD NEJD
LIBYA EGYPT PALESTINE TRANSJORDAN

KEY EGYPT
Arabian Arabian
Turkey 1923
Re

Re

AFRICA Peninsula Peninsula


d

French mandate
Se

Se
a

British mandate

1913 Ottoman power had dwindled. Greece, Serbia, Romania, 1923 The Ottomans’ remaining Arab territories were divided
and Montenegro were now independent, and other European between Britain and France. Turkey was reduced to its Anatolian
powers had taken over North Africa and the Black Sea. heartlands, sparking nationalist conflict with Greece and Armenia.

231
1690 1691–92

Fort William, shown here in the 1700s, was built after the English East India This woodcut, taken from the title page of a pamphlet, shows the devastation
Company moved its main Bengal trading station to Calcutta in 1690. of Port Royal, Jamaica, by both an earthquake and a tsunami in June 1692.

THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA


COMPANY had been a presence
,,THE EUROPEANS ARE VERY

,,
QUIET; THEY DO NOT EXCITE ANY
in Bengal since the early 17th
century. Seeking greater
security for their trade, a new
base, Fort William, named after DISTURBANCES… THEY DO NO HARM TO
William III, was established in
1690 in what is now Calcutta. The ANYONE, THEY COMMIT NO CRIMES…
fort, continually enlarged and
improved, would be critical to the Kangxi, Chinese Qing emperor, announces the Edict of Toleration, 1692
later British dominance in India.
In 1690, English philosopher ALTHOUGH THE NINE YEARS’ WAR hysteria. On June 10, an elderly Jesuit missionaries had been in
John Locke (1632–1704) wrote had quickly settled in 1688 into a widow, Bridget Bishop, was East Asia since the 16th century.
An Essay Concerning Human stalemate on land that would last hanged as a witch, and by In contrast to Japan (see 1597–
Philosopher John Locke
Understanding. It marked Locke John Locke contended that there is to 1697, at sea the Grand Alliance September a further 18 people 99), in China they were valued by
as a key thinker in the Western a contract between monarch and enjoyed a clear superiority over had been executed on the same a succession of emperors, not
philosophical tradition, above all people under which the monarch France. The six-day Battle of La charge, and one man crushed to least for their knowledge of
for his assertion that knowledge can be overthrown if he abuses it. Hogue from May to June 1692 death. Trials for witchcraft were western science. They made many
of the world came through saw much of the French fleet no longer common in England by converts, and in 1692 the Kangxi
experience of it, and that the basis toleration, and monarchy, it also either beached or destroyed by this time, and the mass hysteria Emperor issued an edict of
of this understanding was ensured his influence in debates fireships. It ended hopes of a of Salem remains hard to explain. toleration of Christianity.
reasoned, empirical (based on about liberty and reason in French invasion of England.
observation) thought. Reinforcing 18th-century France and America. At 11:43am on June 7, 1692, a
many of his established ideas The turnip, a basic root crop of catastrophic earthquake struck
about property rights, religious the agricultural revolution of the Port Royal, capital of the English
17th century, was first cultivated colony of Jamaica, and one of
Orange Jacobite in England in about 1690. The the most important ports in the
forces of forces of Dutch, to make best use of their Caribbean, as well as a legendary
William III James I limited lands, had already base for pirates. Most of the city
discovered that crop rotation sank beneath the sea. With
35,000 21,000 (arable crops alternated with root the subsequent tsunami and
TROOPS TROOPS crops rather than leaving fields outbreaks of disease, the death
fallow) not only improved fertility toll was about 5,000.
but provided food for sheep whose In Salem, Massachusetts, in late
BATTLE
OF THE manure furthered productivity. 1691, young girls started having
BOYNE On July 12, 1690, William III’s fits and hallucinations, citing
victory over the deposed Catholic demonic possession. This led to
James II at the Battle of the claims of witchcraft, which by
Orange Jacobite
1,500 Boyne, in Ireland, was decisive 1692 had reached the point of
500 casualties casualties in maintaining the Protestant
supremacy that had been
Battle of the Boyne, Ireland Salem Witch Trial
The Orange army of William III established there by the Glorious The trial of George Jacobs was one
inflicted a decisive defeat on the Revolution of 1688. In Ireland, of many in a Puritan community
Jacobites of James II, giving the lie brutal sectarian violence would riven by petty jealousies, where none
to William’s “bloodless revolution.” continue for centuries. disputed the existence of Satan.

,
ah
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Lim hts ot e rt rth Ro Ne
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232 P
1693 1694–96

The summit vent of Mount Etna, an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, The forces of the Grand Alliance, led by William III of England, gather outside Namur,
in Italy, has witnessed many destructive eruptions, not least in 1693. where a French garrison is besieged. The siege lasted two months.

IF SOUTHERN EUROPE IN JULY 1694, ENGLAND FOUND A (“Black Gold”) and Diamantia, and
had been spared the NOVEL SOLUTION to the problem the region’s population exploded,
worst of the Little Ice of a lack of funds that had plagued from scattered handfuls to
Age (see 1683–84), the the combatants of the Nine Years’ 320,000 (half of them slaves). A
eruption on January 11, War. The Bank of England served result was the near collapse of
1693 of Mount Etna, in both Crown and government, and the sugarcane industry, stripped
Sicily, proved a cruel was closely modeled on the Bank of most of its workforce.
reminder of the power of Amsterdam, founded in 1609. One of the few moments of
of nature. The eruption A private venture (until 1931), significance in the Nine Years’ War
set off an earthquake it immediately loaned the took place in September 1695,
that devastated Sicily government £1.2 million—raised when the Grand Alliance retook
and large areas of by its investors in 12 days—at an the city of Namur after three
southern Italy and annual interest rate of 8 percent years in French hands. The loss of
Malta. About 60,000 and for an annual service charge the most important fortress in the
were killed in Sicily of £4,000, in return for the right to Netherlands further weakened an
Dodo already defensive French position.
alone, and thousands of square print bank notes. It also created a
The dodo stood about 3 ft 3 in (1 m) in Battle of Azov
miles became uninhabitable due height and weighed about 44 lb National Debt, but at the same In 1696, China began an In this painting by Robert Kerr
to lava flows and tsunamis. (20 kg). It had a long, hooked bill, time allowed England not merely eastward expansion that by the Porter, Peter the Great is seen
For several years after the grayish or brownish plumage on a to finance its own part in the war end of the 18th century would see personally leading his galley fleet
summer of 1693, a series of fat body, and very small wings. but to finance its allies. The bank it almost double in size. It was during the capture of Azov in 1696.
famines swept western Europe. was possibly the most significant provoked by the invasion of
In France alone, about two million little more than suffer and accept factor in Britain’s subsequent Khalkha (Outer Mongolia) by blocked access to the Black Sea, a
died. These were among the most its unavoidable fate. emergence on the world stage. the nomadic Zunghar people of factor that had contributed to the
calamitous consequences of the In 1598, on the isolated island European colonialism in the Central Asia in 1690, who were failure of its Crimean campaigns
Little Ice Age, with bitter winters of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, 17th and 18th centuries had the anxious to forestall a possible against the Ottomans in 1687–89.
giving way to dismal, rain-soaked the Dutch admiral Wybrand van simple goal of money. In the New Chinese takeover of the region. Finally, Peter I (the Great), the sole
summers, and stunted crops Warwijck described a bird he World, the Spanish had conquered The invasion failed, sparking only czar of Russia since the death of
rotting in sodden fields. Even in called a “walghvogel.” Later two rich civilizations and found a a confused series of campaigns his disabled half-brother, Ivan,
years of relative plenty, the vast Dutch settlers there called it a vast silver mine. The Portuguese under the Zunghar ruler, Galdan, attacked Azov with a combined
majority of Europe’s peasants, “dodaars,” which was a reference in Brazil had found only native as well as a civil war. In 1696, the land and naval force, capturing
themselves the overwhelming to what they saw as the knot of peoples and tropical jungles; Kangxi Emperor led a Khalkha– the city in July 1696. A lesson
majority of the continent’s tails at its rear. Portuguese sailors sugarcane plantations worked by Chinese army across the Gobi learned was that Russia needed
population, had a subsistence that visited the island called it a slave labor were the source of its Desert into Mongolia and crushed a navy, and it embarked on a
existence at best, with root “doudo,” meaning “fool” or marginal profits. Then, in Minas the Zunghar. Outer Mongolia was massive shipbuilding program.
vegetables, bread, and oatmeal “crazy.” By perhaps 1693, the Gerais, in the southeast, gold incorporated within the Chinese
as their staple diet. When the dodo, a flightless bird that was was found in 1695. It transformed empire the following year.
Russia fought two campaigns in Caucasian pistol
crops failed, they starved. In related to the pigeon, had become colonial Brazil, as did the later
This ornately fashioned pistol with
the face of these near Biblical extinct. The dodo is the first discovery of diamonds in the 1695–96 to capture the Ottoman- a long barrel and a short, gently
visitations of mass misery, there animal whose extinction can be same region. Vast, lawless towns held fortress port of Azov. The curved handle was typical of
seemed to be no answer. Almost specifically ascribed to man; it appeared, chiefly Ouro Preto port was key to Russia because it the weaponry employed
entirely dependent on the food was a victim of its trusting nature, in the Azov campaigns.
surpluses generated by its heavily the destruction of its woodland
taxed peasant population, even habitats, and the introduction of
as obviously powerful a state as cats, rats, pigs, and dogs that
late-17th-century France could do hunted it to its extinction.

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233
1697–99 1700
,,THE GREATEST COMFORTS AND

,,
LASTING PEACE ARE OBTAINED,
WHEN ONE ERADICATES SELFISHNESS
FROM WITHIN.
Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Master, 1697

An engraving depicting 16-year-old Philip, duke of Anjou, being recognized


as Philip V, king of Spain, on October 2, 1700.

THE NINE YEARS’ WAR THAT HAD Treaty of Ryswick THE DEATH IN 1700 OF CHARLES II, annihilated a Russian army four
SEEN FRANCE TAKE ON the Grand The treaty was the childless king of Spain, caused times the size of his own. The
Alliance of England, the Holy signed at the a major crisis when he nominated following July, he inflicted a
Roman Empire, Spain, and the palace of Huis ter Philip of Anjou (1683–1746), the similarly crushing defeat on a
Nieuwburg, the
Dutch Republic was ended by the grandson of Louis XIV of France, combined Polish–Saxon force at
country house of
Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. It William of Orange, as his successor. Charles hoped Klissow in Poland. With Sweden
established that all territory taken in Ryswick, in the that French power would preserve never more dominant, Charles’s
since 1679 was to be returned. Dutch Republic. the Spanish Empire if ruled by a bold campaigning, whatever the
The Ottoman defeat at the Siege Bourbon. Louis accepted the vast odds against him, had apparently
of Vienna in 1683 marked not increase in family prestige and been wholly vindicated.
just the beginning of a protracted French influence, but opposition From about 1700, a major
Ottoman decline, but the to the succession and its increase development in European
emergence of Habsburg Austria in French power grew hugely. culture began to take shape: a
as a European power to challenge was rapidly emerging as one gains, including the gradual The accession in 1697 of the musical tradition, part courtly,
France, England, and the Dutch of the foremost commanders absorption of Hungary by the 15-year-old Charles XII part church-based, known
Republic. After 1683, Austrian in Europe, an Imperial army Austrian crown. (1682–1718) to the throne as the High Baroque.
Imperial armies pursued the surprised the Ottomans as they In July 1698, English military of Sweden was the signal It evolved from later
retreating Ottomans south across attempted to cross the Tisa River. engineer Thomas Savery for Sweden’s Baltic Renaissance music, above
the Balkans, a process that The Ottomans were massacred: (1650–1715) registered a patent rivals, Denmark, Saxony, all in Italy, but developed to
climaxed at the Battle of Zenta, about 10,000 drowned, and a for “a new invention for raiseing Poland, and, increasingly, reach a new level of polyphonic
in Serbia in September 1697. further 20,000 were killed in of water... of great use and Russia, to attempt to end tonal and instrumental
Under the Italo-French general battle. The Treaty of Karlowitz advantage for drayning mines.” Swedish pre-eminence. In fact, complexity. It was
Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), who in 1699 confirmed the Austrian Basic forms of steam power had in the conflict that followed, characterized by both new
existed since the 1st century CE, the Great Northern War and more elaborated musical
MUGHAL EMPIRE but none of these had ever been of 1700–21, Charles, forms: the concerto, fugue,
translated into working machines. “the Swedish Meteor,” oratorio, prelude,
The crushing of a Sikh revolt Savery’s steam engine was would prove himself cantata, and opera. It
in the Punjab in 1699 saw the Kabul basic, prone to violent explosions, a general of genius. was made possible
Mughal Empire at its zenith. Punjab A S I A and unable to pump water more In the four months by new forms
Qandhar
From its Afghan heartlands, Lahore
H
im
than 33 ft (10 m) below it, meaning from August 1700, of existing
Qalat
it had grown under Akbar, Delhi al
aya that in mines it had to be installed, he successively instruments: the
Jaipur s
taking all but the tip of India’s Ajmer Agra dangerously, underground. It defeated the Danes organ, harpsichord,
Fatehpur Sikri
subcontinent by the end of Rajputana was only in 1721 when Thomas and then, over on and, above all, violin.
the 17th century. The harsh Gujarat Calcutta Newcomen (1664–1729), working the other side of the It depended also on
rule of Aurangzeb saw many with Savery, produced his Baltic, at Narva, composers of genius,
revolts, and the later rise of ts atmospheric engine, that a viable such as Johann
an

Bombay a
h
the Marathas (see 1720) left commercial use was found. Yet, Sebastian Bach
Wes

cc

Ar
rn

the Mughals as puppets. ab the real potential of steam as an (1685–1750) and


De

i Bay of Stradivarius violin


ter

te

Bengal The Stradivarius


an

engine of industrialization would George Handel


Eas
n G
Se

KEY violin, made by


Madras not be realized until the invention (1685–1759),
a

ha

Akbar’s domains, 1556 Italian Antonio


by the Scot, James Watt (1736– and on a more
ts

Additional areas held by Cochin Stradivari, entered


Mughals at Akbar’s death, 1605 1819), in 1769, of a separate extensive world
a golden age in
Additional areas acquired up to INDIAN condenser, and then only with the 1700. These violins of courtly and
the death of Aurangzeb, 1707 OCEAN backing of English businessman were larger than private patronage
Matthew Boulton (see pp.274–75). earlier models. of them.

1, ct
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N
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234
1701–03

Jethro Tull’s seed drill is shown here being operated manually. It sowed seeds
in rows, performing work that previously required several laborers.

A REVOLUTION IN AGRICULTURE
BEGAN IN 1701 when English
agriculturalist Jethro Tull 25
(1674–1741) created the horse- SHIPS 18
SHIPS
drawn seed drill (see pp.250–51).
A major time- and labor-saving
device, it sowed great numbers of
ANGLO–DUTCH FRANCO–SPANISH
seeds in neat rows. Although not FORCES FORCES
taken up at once, it later proved
Battle of Vigo Bay, October 1702
popular with large landowners In an early encounter in the War of
and would lay the basis of modern the Spanish Succession, 25 ships
productive agriculture. of an Anglo–Dutch fleet defeated a
No sooner had the Nine Years’ Franco–Spanish fleet at Vigo Bay.
War ended than Europe’s powers
found themselves in another Freelance Samurai warriors
lengthy and costly war. The known as ronin emerged from
surprise choice of Philip, duke of the Japanese civil wars of the
Anjou, as King Philip V of Spain 14th and 15th centuries. In 1651,
(see 1700), greatly disturbed the they engaged in rebellion and
European balance of power, continued to instigate dissent
and Louis XIV did nothing to into the 18th century. In 1701, a
discourage fears of a Franco– respected lord, Asano Nugatory,
Spanish military alliance. He took was forced to commit suicide after
over military duties in Philip’s assaulting an official who had
lands, moving troops into the insulted him. In revenge, 47 of
Spanish Netherlands to defend his samurai became ronin and
them from the English and the murdered the official, an act
Dutch. With renewed confidence normally punished by execution.
in France’s European status, Louis But because Confucianism taught
then recognized James III, son of that it is honorable to avenge a
the exiled James II (1633–1701), lord’s death, they were allowed to
as king of England. With England commit suicide in turn.
and the Dutch Republic backing The kingdom of Prussia—later
Austria’s claims to the Spanish the forerunner of the German
throne—in the form of their state—was proclaimed in 1701
candidate, Archduke Charles of when Frederick I, duke of Prussia
Austria—armed opposition to and elector of Brandenburg, was
France was now guaranteed. The crowned the first “king in
War of the Spanish Succession Prussia,” in Konigsberg Castle.
that began in 1701 saw a Grand
Alliance oppose the unification of
Revenge of the 47 ronin
the French and Spanish thrones. This color woodcut is one of a series
It would last until 1713–14 and on the 47 ronin uprising, the most
redraw the map of the continent famous incident of the samurai code
and the world. of honor, bushido.

y
wa th
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235
1704–06 1707–08

This modern photograph shows Halley’s Comet, named after the British astronomer Edmond This picture depicts the Mughal
Halley, who was the first to determine that the comet returned periodically, every 76 years. emperor Aurangzeb hunting nilgai.

300
THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM, Also in 1706, Spanish THE DEATH IN 1707 OF
fought in 1704 near the village conquistador Juan de Uribarri AURANGZEB, sixth Mughal
of Blindheim on the Danube claimed southeastern Colorado, emperor of India (b. 1618),
in Bavaria, Germany, ended an area populated by warring marked the start of the decline of
in victory for the Duke of American Indian tribes, and joined the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb’s
Marlborough and the Grand THE NUMBER it to Spanish New Mexico. successors squandered the
Alliance (see 1701), and turned
the War of the Spanish
OF POCUMTUCKS In England, the first steam
engine using moving parts was
dynasty’s fortunes while losing
control of regional governors,
Succession in favor of the Grand AMONG THE built in 1704 by Thomas who went on to built their own
Alliance. The battle halted a RAIDERS AT Newcomen (1663–1729) and empires. Aurangzeb, disturbed by
Franco–Bavarian march on Thomas Savery (see 1698). The the growing power of the Sikh
Vienna, and Bavaria played no DEERFIELD first working Newcomen engine Guru Gobind Singh, had
further part in the war. was installed to pump water from
Meanwhile, the Gibraltar In Tunisia to the southeast, the a mine in Staffordshire in 1712.
peninsula on the Spanish Husaynid dynasty was established Edmond Halley (1656–1742),
mainland was seized by a in 1705 when Al-Husayn ibn ’Ali English mathematician and
combined Dutch–English force (1669–1740) was recognized by astronomer, published A Synopsis
in 1704; Gibraltar was ceded the Ottoman sultan as governor of the Astronomy of Comets in
perpetually to Britain in 1713. of the province. The Husaynid 1705, in which he described the
dynasty lasted until Tunisia gained parabolic orbits of 24 comets. He
independence in 1957. proved that three sightings, many
Victor of Blenheim News from home
The Duke of Marlborough (in red) In North America, Deerfield, Published weekly, The Boston decades apart, were of a single
sits astride his horse in this tapestry, Massachusetts, was the scene News-Letter provided English comet—the comet that is now
now hanging in his eventual home, in 1704 of a massacre of English colonists in America with news of known as Halley’s Comet—and
Blenheim Palace, England. colonists by a combined force England’s political events and wars. determined that this comet returns
to the solar system every 76 years.
of French-Canadians and GURU GOBIND SINGH
American Indians. Also in 1704, 70 (1666–1708)
The Boston News-Letter, North 20,000 12,000
casualties casualties
America’s first continuously The tenth and last guru
TROOPS (IN THOUSANDS)

56
published newspaper, appeared, of Sikhism, Gobind Singh
largely funded by the British was a powerful figure in
42
government. Indian history. In 1699 he
In 1706, the most decisive transformed Sikhism by
event in the War of the Spanish 28 creating the Khalsa (Pure),
Succession occurred in North Italy, a community of the faith that
where the Duke of Savoy, allied 14 trained as warriors; now the
with Austria and Britain, was Khalsa embraces all Sikhs.
defending his territory against 0 Aurangzeb considered
French invasion and siege of the France Allies coming to terms with Gobind
capital, Turin. The French were Singh, but the rajas of the
Battle of Blenheim losses
crushed when the Duke of Savoy About 112,000 troops took part in Sivalik Hills remained
and Prince Eugene broke through the Battle of Blenheim, with 20,000 hostile, and Gobind Singh
French lines and routed the army, French casualties but almost half was assassinated in 1708.
driving them out of North Italy. as many from Britain and its allies.

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an co ht e 0 5 d H Sy n o f Ja Fou in F d. 17 17 orad Ne
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236
1709–10

In a detail of a painting by Ignace Jacques Parrocel, Prince Eugene of Savoy’s


troops are shown confronting the French at the Battle of Malplaquet.

THE BATTLE OF MALPLAQUET in July 1709. The Swedes were faced provinces of Scania, Halland, and
48 1709 was the bloodiest of the War by Peter the Great’s army of Blekinge to Sweden in 1700 but
YEARS REIGN
of the Spanish Succession (see 80,000, which eventually ran them still had hopes of seizing them
1701) and, indeed, the entire 18th from the battlefield. Charles, back. Assuming Sweden to be
century. Grand Alliance forces exiled in Moldavia, persuaded the weakened by the Battle of Poltava,
under the Duke of Marlborough Ottoman Empire to go to war Denmark found pretexts to
27
YEARS OF WAR
attacked the French at with Russia in 1710, but Peter the declare war on October 18, 1709.
Malplaquet, France, southwest of Great (1672–1725) accepted terms In November, a large Danish
the French-held fortress of Mons, in 1711. invasion force landed in Sweden
which lay over the present-day In 1709, the Persian Safavid virtually unopposed. However,
Belgian border. In gaining rulers of southwestern by February 1710, Sweden had
possession of the battlefield, the Afghanistan were overwhelmed managed to amass 16,000
Aurangzeb’s reign
Emperor Aurangzeb reigned for 48 Allies suffered more than 21,000 by an uprising organized by men, and this force
years, from 1658 until his death in casualties, twice as many as the Mirwais Khan Hotak (1673– defeated the Danes
1707, but for 27 of those years he French, but the French retreated 1715), a tribal chief of the Ghilzai in the Battle of
was at war with the Marathas. in good order and remained a Pashtuns and founder of the Helsingborg.
future threat. Hotaki dynasty (which lasted from Denmark lost 7,500
summoned him, but died before Meanwhile, in the Great 1709 to 1738). Furious at Safavid men in the battle
they could meet. Gobind Singh Northern War (1700–21) between cruelty and attempts to force and thereafter
became friends with the new Russia and its western neighbors them to convert from Sunni abandoned hope of
emperor, Bahadur Shah (r. 1707– (see 1700), Charles XII of Sweden to Shia Islam, the Afghans regaining its former
12), but was assassinated in 1708 had been leading forces in a assassinated their Safavid possessions.
on the orders of a rival leader, march on Russia. The Swedish governor, Gurgin Khan, and In 1710, French
Nawab Wazir Khan. army of 17,000 men attacked the massacred many Persians. settlers of the
Far from India, the kingdom fort of Poltava in the Ukraine in In Britain, revolution of an Canadian east coast
of England and the kingdom of industrial kind was in the making. region of Arcadia
Scotland were formally unified as In 1709, Abraham Darby (now Nova Scotia)
Great Britain by the Acts of Union 17,000 80,000 (1678–1717), a Quaker ironmaster endured a third, and
of 1707. Henceforth, both were SWEDISH RUSSIAN who was smelting iron using this time successful,
FORCES FORCES
ruled by a single monarch and by charcoal, was the first to produce British attempt to seize
a parliament based in London. high-quality pig iron using coke. Port Royal. The victory
Britain, still embroiled in the His new process freed iron secured Britain their
BATTLE OF
War of the Spanish Succession, POLTAVA smelting from its dependence first French colonial
joined Dutch forces to seize on wood supplies, and coke— possession and helped to
Minorca and Sicily from France in processed from coal—was much obstruct French colonization
1708; both were used as military more plentiful. In 1710, it was of Canada for years to come.
bases. Also in 1708, British 10,000 Germany’s turn to transform
1,300
settlers lost control of the an industry. In that year, the
Canadian east coast after a defeat Swedish forces Russian Meissen factory, near Dresden,
by the French at St. John’s, killed/captured forces killed produced the first successful
European porcelain. German chinoiserie
Newfoundland.
Forces in the Battle of Poltava This 18th-century Meissen porcelain
In the Battle of Poltava, 60 percent of
North of Germany, Denmark vase has moldings picked out in
the Swedish troops were killed or was taking an interest in the Great gold leaf. Its form and decorative
captured, while less than 2 percent Northern War between Sweden motifs were inspired by imported
of the Russian troops were killed. and Russia. Denmark had lost the Chinese porcelain.

1, an ry
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237
14 5 0 –1749 R E FO R M AT I O N A N D E X P LO R AT I O N

THE STORY OF
NAVIGATION
THE QUEST TO EXPLORE AND MAP THE WORLD’S OCEANS AND CONTINENTS

Perhaps the most surprising fact in the history of navigation is that, until the
18th century, it was impossible for explorers and mariners to determine
their position accurately. Today, thanks to developments in navigational H1 chronometer
technology, it is possible to pinpoint locations to within a few meters.

The earliest sailors had no means of accurate enabled direction and latitude to be gauged
navigation other than by sight, relying on reasonably accurately (by measuring the angle LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
landmarks along coastlines, judging distances and of the Sun or a star above the horizon) but the
directions from the positions of the Sun, Moon, problem remained of how to determine longitude. LATITUDE
and stars, and using simple sounding devices, such Latitude lines (parallels) run
horizontally on a map and are
as weighted lines, to ACCURATE NAVIGATION
measured in degrees north
keep ships from running Calculating longitude depends on comparing local or south of the equator.
aground. The invention time with “universal” time (the time at an agreed Each degree is about
of instruments such as location, which is now Greenwich, England). Each 69 miles (111 km) apart. latitude line
the magnetic compass, hour’s difference equates to 15 degrees’ difference in
astrolabe, and sextant longitude. Calculating longitude therefore relies on LONGITUDE
Longitude lines (meridians)
accurate timepieces, which did not exist until John
run vertically on a map and are
John Harrison Harrison developed his chronometer in the 18th measured in degrees east or
English clockmaker John century. The next major advances in navigation did west of Greenwich, England.
Harrison was the first to not come until the 20th century, with the advent of They meet at the poles and are
make accurate timepieces
the gyroscopic compass, radar, and, from the 1990s, farthest apart at the equator. longitude line

,,
that enabled longitude to be
calculated with precision. of the global positioning system (GPS).

,,ONE OF THE MOST EXQUISITE


MOVEMENTS EVER MADE. winding handle

William Hogarth, English artist, on Harrison’s H1 chronometer, from Analysis of Beauty, 1753

11th century 1300–1500


Dead reckoning Navigational charts
3000–1500 BCE Sand clocks are Portolan charts of the
Early sounding used for dead Mediterranean and
Ancient Egyptians reckoning: European coastlines
use sounding reeds to measuring the allow sailors to
measure water depth time traveled and navigate from port
and gauge their position speed to estimate Sand to port using compass Portolan
from coastal landmarks. 12th-dynasty sailing boat a vessel’s position. clock bearings. chart

c. 150 c. 1100 c. 1480


Ptolemy’s maps The compass The astrolabe
A Roman based in Egypt, Chinese sailors are the Sailors start to
Ptolemy creates maps first to use a magnetic use astrolabes
using a grid system that compass (which uses a to estimate latitude
influenced navigational magnetized needle to by measuring the
maps until the 17th century. show the direction of angle of the Sun
north and south) Mariner’s or a particular star Mariner’s
Ptolemy’s map for navigation. compass above the horizon. astrolabe

238
seconds hand

Harrison’s H1 chronometer
John Harrison’s first “sea clock” was the
H1, which he made to solve the longitude
problem—how to measure time accurately
enough at sea to calculate longitude.
However, the H1 was impractically
large, a problem Harrison solved in
1759 with his H4 chronometer.

minute hand

1735–59 calendar hand,


The chronometer indicating date
hour hand
John Harrison makes the first marine of the month
chronometer (the H1) in 1735. He
then makes improved versions,
culminating in the H4 in 1759.

1907 1930s–40s Late 20th century


Gyroscopic compass Radar Global positioning
American Elmer Sperry The invention of radar systems
invents the gyroscopic makes it possible to The introduction of
compass, a major advance determine an object’s satellite-based GPS
for accurate navigation position even when it makes it possible
because it always points cannot be seen. to pinpoint locations
to true north and is not and navigate to within
subject to deviation. Ship’s compass Radarscope a few yards. GPS chart plotter

239
1711 1712–14
,,
,,
RIGHT IS RIGHT, EVEN IF EVERYONE
IS AGAINST IT; AND WRONG IS WRONG,
EVEN IF EVERYONE IS FOR IT.
William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, 1681

On completion, St. Paul’s Cathedral dominated the north bank of the Thames
River. It remained the tallest building in London until 1962.

IN AN EXTENSION OF THE WAR


OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
1
(see 1701–03) in South America, a SHIP
BURNED
squadron of French ships attacked
Portuguese-held Rio de Janeiro,
incapacitated Portuguese ships in 3 3
the harbor, and only spared the
SHIPS SHIPS
city’s defenses from destruction REMAINED GROUNDED
on payment of a ransom. French
morale, which had been at a low
since their withdrawal from the
Battle of Malplaquet (see 1709),
Losses at Rio de Janeiro Smallpox epidemic
was raised by this proof that
French long-range naval power
had not been extinguished.
Caught unawares by a French naval
attack in Rio de Janeiro harbor,
Portuguese ships tried to escape.
1:9 In the South African
Cape, smallpox
ravaged the native Khoisan
In North America, the Three drifted aground, and one was population, killing nine people
Tuscarora War began in North destroyed by its crew. for every one survivor.
Carolina between Tuscarora
American Indians and settlers moved to counter the uprising ON 7 JUNE 1712, PENNSYLVANIA,
from Britain, Germany, and the organized by Mirwais Khan Hotak under moral pressure from its
Netherlands. The settlers and (see 1709–10), but the Safavid Quaker population, freed all the
northern Tuscarora American army and its leader, Khosru Khan, slaves in the state, an early step in
Indians began to kidnap the were annihilated, and Afghan the abolition of slavery. However,
Tuscarora in the south, sell them independence was secured. Queen Anne reversed the decision
into slavery, and appropriate their In December 1711, St. Paul’s in the following year. Quaker
lands. The southern Tuscarora Cathedral, London’s most iconic state-founder and slaver trader
retaliated in September with building, was completed. William Penn (1644–1718) was not
widespread attacks on Designed by Christopher Wren, it himself an opponent of slavery.
settlements in which hundreds was the fourth church to occupy In South Africa’s Cape region,
of settlers were killed. its site; its predecessor was badly Dutch sailors infected with
In Asia, the Persian Safavid damaged in the Great Fire of smallpox inadvertently caused
rulers of western Afghanistan London in 1666. The building had a catastrophic decimation of the
the first triple dome in the world: native Khoisan people in 1713.
a light, timber-framed outer The disease rapidly spread from
dome, supported by a hidden laundrywomen infected by the
brick cone, and inside it, the sailors’ dirty linen to the wider
inner dome that is visible from population because no one had
the interior. immunity or medicine. The
epidemic killed 90 percent

Attack on Rio de Janeiro An end to war


French corsair René Duguay- This painting from the French royal
Trouin’s ships enter Rio de Janeiro almanac for 1714 shows signatories
harbor to salvage French honor— of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended
and profit at the same time. the War of the Spanish Succession.

f
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1 lav e p cu U y 2 fe Ba
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S do J ul de
a

240
1715–17
,,…SUCH A FIGURE, THAT

,,
IMAGINATION CANNOT FORM
AN IDEA OF A FURY FROM HELL,
TO LOOK MORE FRIGHTFUL.
Captain Charles Johnson describing Edward Teach, from A General
History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, 1724

William Penn, English Quaker leader The flag of English pirate Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, became
and colonialist. notorious in the Caribbean between 1717 and his death in 1718.

of the southwest Cape’s Khoisan. THE STATE OF WAR BETWEEN THE ,,NO CHINESE CATHOLICS men (mainly Scottish) marched

,,
Survivors fleeing inland were MAJOR EUROPEAN POWERS in the toward London but were defeated
killed by neighboring tribes to
limit the disease’s spread.
late 17th and early 18th centuries
created a profound sense of
ARE ALLOWED TO WORSHIP in November by Hanoverian
forces at the Battle of Preston.
In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht
was signed; together with the
lawlessness. This was most
marked in regions where
ANCESTORS IN THEIR While his lieutenants countered
the threat to his reign in the north,
Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, it was
to end the War of the Spanish
desperate efforts were being
made to seize colonial power. With
FAMILIAL TEMPLES. life for Hanoverian king George I
in London was seemingly
Succession. Underlying the the standing navies at war, some Pope Clement XI, Papal bull, 1715
unaffected: there were several
Utrecht Treaty (actually a series of the work of policing the new performances for the king and
of treaties) was the principle of colonies fell to privateers. For members of the court of Water
maintaining the balance of power many it was only a short step to several missions and, in 1718, the had ensured their protection with Music by the German Baroque
between France, Spain, and their becoming outright pirates. One town of San Antonio. While the an Edict of Toleration (see 1692). composer George Frideric
neighbors, so that no state could of the most notorious, Edward latter became the target of raids However, in 1715 Pope Clement XI Handel (1685–1759), who had
dominate Europe. The lines of Teach, known as Blackbeard by Apache American Indians, the issued a Papal bull condemning made his home in London in 1712.
succession of the two countries (c. 1680–1718), became a target Spanish successfully encouraged Chinese ancestor worship. In
were separated, so no Spaniard for the authorities after he took the Yamasee and other tribes retaliation, the Kangxi emperor BAROQUE MUSIC
could claim the French throne, charge of his own ship in in their attacks on hundreds of would repeal his edict in 1721,
and vice versa. Savoy gained Sicily, November 1717. He was finally British settlers in South Carolina, officially forbidding Christian A style of European music
Austria received the Spanish murdered in November 1718. a conflict known as the Yamasee missions in China. that began around 1600
Netherlands, and Britain was In North America, the signing of War (1715–17). In Europe, King Louis XIV of and lasted until about 1750,
ceded Newfoundland, Nova the Treaty of Utrecht (see 1713) In Asia, Zunghar Mongols France died in 1715, leaving the baroque developed from the
Scotia, and Gibraltar. In addition, had failed to bring an invaded Outer Mongolia infant Louis XV as his heir. Ignoring masses and madrigals of
the Asiento Agreement gave end to the hostilities and Tibet in 1717, and the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Renaissance. It had
Britain a 30-year contract to between the European sacked the Tibetan King Philip V of Spain claimed the a stronger emphasis on
supply slaves and goods to colonizing powers, and, capital of Lhasa, throne of France if the infant were counterpoint and rhythm,
Spanish colonies. in turn, these were struggling looting the tomb of the fifth to die. In 1717, a Triple Alliance greater expression of
In Britain, after the death of to dominate competing Dalai Lama. Tibet appealed was signed by the Dutch Republic, emotion, and gave greater
Queen Anne in 1714, George I American Indian tribes. to the Qing Kangxi emperor France, and Great Britain in an importance to the solo voice
(1660–1727) became the first In 1716, in an attempt to (1654–1722) for assistance. effort to compel Philip to abandon and instrumental solos. It
monarch of the German House block French expansion The Zunghars defeated an his expansionist ambitions. also established opera, with
of Hanover to rule Great Britain westward from Louisiana, invading Qing army in 1718, Austria’s joining of the alliance Monteverdi and Cavalli being
and Ireland. The Hanoverian the Spanish entered east and the Qing Empire was in the following year turned this early practitioners. Notable
succession in 1714 ended the Texas; they established not to liberate Lhasa for into a Quadruple Alliance against baroque composers include
reign of the House of Stuart, three years (see 1720). Spain (see 1718–19). Peri and Allegri (early
which had ruled Scotland from Meanwhile, in the Chinese In Britain, the Hanoverian baroque); Lully,
1371, and Great Britain and Qing cloisonné homeland, Jesuit succession (see 1714) had Pachelbel, and Purcell
Ireland since 1603. This ornamental missionaries provoked anger among (middle); and Bach,
In 1714, the Ottomans declared elephant with two found Jacobites—supporters of the Handel, Telemann,
war on the Venetian Republic. miniature vases themselves deposed Stuart king James VII of and Vivaldi (late
exemplifies the under threat.
The final conflict between the two Scotland and II of England—and in baroque).
sophistication
powers, the war ended in 1718 that cloisonné Impressed 1715 this erupted into the First
with an Ottoman victory and enamel-work by their Jacobite Rebellion. Over- BAROQUE
Venice’s loss of the Peloponnese, reached during the services, the estimating the support they could LUTE
its major possession in Greece. Qing dynasty period. Kangxi emperor count on in England, about 4,000

e
op r
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or er
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Ot er Al
Am
241
1718–19 1720

Admiral Sir George Byng’s British fleet sail into the Straits of Messina prior This detail of a map by Willem Blau (c. 1650) shows the position of British-
to the Battle of Cape Passaro, in a painting by Richard Vale. controlled Honduras, lying on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula

THE TREATY OF UTRECHT (see withdrawal of Philip’s invasion THE BRITISH COLONY IN Maratha expansion
The Maratha expanded Plateau
1713) had ceded Sardinia and force. The British fleet, led by Sir HONDURAS (now Belize), the only

H
i of Tibet
their empire to the north, m
Sicily to Savoy, but the treaty was George Byng, clashed with the British possession in Central a
south, and east. Such l a
ignored by King Philip V of Spain Spanish invasion fleet—which America before it gained full y a

T
was their reputation that S ER s
(1683–1746), who sailed to capture had not been informed of the independence in 1981, was DE
they were able to raise THAR
the islands in 1717. Set against ultimatum—in the Battle of Cape established on the eastern coast taxes even beyond areas HIA
Philip was the Triple Alliance (see Passaro on August 11, 1718. The of the Yucatán peninsula by ND
of their direct SI
1717) of Britain, France, and the larger Spanish warships were British buccaneers. By the turn administration. GA
IK
Ujjain

HO
W
Dutch Republic, which Austria captured, while the smaller ships of the 18th century the colony had Baroda AR

LKAR
Maheshwar
joined on August 2, 1718, escaped. Later that year, an begun to exploit the region’s KEY Nagpur
expanding it into the Quadruple Austrian army landed at Messina, logwood (Haematoxylum Maratha Empire BHONSLE

PESHW
Arabian
Alliance. On July 21, Austria— Sicily, to oust the Spanish garrison, campechianum), which yielded an Maratha campaigns

an
Sea Pune
Bay of

cc
under Holy Roman Emperor but was defeated on October 15 in important dye used for textiles Satara

De
ts Bengal

A
Charles VI (1685–1740)—had the first Battle of Milazzo. and paper. In 1720, slaves—many Kolhapur ha
GOOTY

t
SAVANUR

Eastern

Coas
signed the Treaty of Passarowitz, In 1719 there were further from Jamaica and others directly reestablished in 1674. The

IND
ending the Austro–Turkish War attempts by the Quadruple from Africa—were first imported catalyst for the expansion, which

ndel
We
IAN

Coroma
(1716–18). This freed Charles’s Alliance, now joined by Savoy, to to this area of the so-called began in 1720, was the death in

ste ar Coast
Ma

rn
lab
forces to turn their attention to curb Spain. France invaded the Mosquito Coast to expand logging 1719 of Balaji Vishwanath (b.1680)

G ha
OC
Spain, and the War of the Spanish Basque Country and operations on the Belize River. and the succession of his son TANJORE

ts
E
Quadruple Alliance was declared then Catalonia, but disease The year 1720 saw the end of Bajirao (1700–40), who was only

AN
on December 17, 1718. forced both forces to withdraw. the War of the Quadruple 20 years old at the time but
Previously, the Triple Alliance The Austrians attacked in Sicily Alliance (see 1718) with already a charismatic Ceylon
had set an ultimatum for the and eventually the Spanish the signing of the and dynamic leader.
occupiers capitulated, their Treaty of the Hague. Recognizing the expansions in 1728, when he
supplies having been blocked by Philip agreed to weakness of the grip also moved his capital from
War casualties
In the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the British navy. In another abandon his claims that the Mughal Satara to Pune.
28,350 men were killed or wounded, example of Spain’s vulnerability to Sicily and Sardinia, Empire, based in Far to the northeast, the
including more than 2,000 from from the sea, the British captured which came under the Delhi, had on the Zunghar Mongols had taken
Sardinia, which was invaded by Spain. the port of Vigo in October. control of Austria and states around him, possession of Tibet (see 1717). In
the Duchy of Savoy Bajirao’s army struck out into 1720, a force of Qing and Tibetan
12,000 respectively, with the duke Hindustan. The campaign was warriors drove the Zunghars from
being titled king of Sardinia. In successful and gained Bajirao Tibet. The Zunghars had killed the
10,000 North America, the French great credit at home. This sixth Dalai Lama, claiming he
returned Pensacola in Florida helped him negotiate peace was an impostor. The Qing force
to King Philip V, along with treaties with Mughal authorities brought with it a replacement,
8,000
CASUALTIES

places they had occupied in the Deccan. With the security Kelzang Gyatso, who was made the
in the north of Spain, receiving of the Maratha homeland seventh Dalai Lama. Tibet became
6,000
trade advantages in exchange. assured, Bajirao began further a tribute-paying protectorate of
The treaty also confirmed Texas Qing China, and the Tibetan region
4,000 was a Spanish possession. of Kham was annexed to China’s
Meanwhile, the Maratha, a Maratha mace Sichuan province. However,
The head of 118 spikes and
2,000 sub-ethnic group inhabiting the disputes over who should govern
a quadrangular top spike on
Maharashtra region of western this Maratha mace testify to under the Qing emperor resulted
0 India, began a major expansion its fearsome effectiveness in harsh suppressions by the
Austria Britain Spain France Sardinia Dutch Rep. of the empire that it had as a weapon. Chinese in the years that followed.

a ng les
18 ew tri mi ar y1
1
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17 nd N iana A us for Ch ar d e di g
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, 8 e , g ch , r u a an hiev aty te gin So lis ng
7 u
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s 71 nc
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Fr lean st le lia , 1 68 9 F ue 1
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XII

18 h le f ds n
17 f itis f up foe ro ee ica
1, ty o d Br le o a dr pain De t, Wa nce cc hwa f er orth
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11 in in Pa 71 r o 19 tish n Cr Br por ua uple rea ague te re ro
i tz s t e 7, 1 s wa 7 i 9 o b r r T 7 Ba er a inis mpi sca ians Eur nize
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242 ( p
1721–22 1723–24
,,SLAVES WHO ARE

,,
DISABLED FROM WORKING
…SHALL BE…PROVIDED
FOR BY THEIR MASTERS.
From the Louisiana Code Noir, 1724

Brilliant polychromatic decoration characterizes this detail of a rectangular


Persian dish made in the 18th century during the Safavid dynasty.

THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR Russia. Sweden was irrevocably the three ships chanced upon EUROPEAN SUCCESS in procuring French territory of Louisiana,
(1700–21) between Sweden and diminished by the terms of the Easter Island (now Rapa Nui), slaves in West Africa for North America. The code was
Russia was brought to an end by treaty, while Russia, with its new so-named because it was transporting to the new colonies partly intended to give slaves
the conclusion of the Treaty of Baltic ports, now dominated discovered on Easter Sunday. depended on the enthusiastic basic protection from their
Nystad. In 1719, Russia had Eastern Europe. Roggeveen also discovered the cooperation of certain tribes. masters—all were to be given
successfully challenged Sweden’s In one of the landmark Society Islands and Samoa In Dahomey, in what is now the food and clothes, for example—
supremacy in the Baltic by moments of Dutch exploration, before returning home. Republic of Benin, King Agadja but it also legitimized cruel
attacking cities on the Swedish Jakob Roggeveen (1659–1729) In 1722, the declining Safavid (r. 1708–40) presided over a punishments: runaway slaves
east coast. An alliance of the set out in 1721 to find Terra dynasty of Persia was deposed by culture of enslavement and were to be branded, their ears cut
British and Swedes in 1719 then Australis, the mysterious independent Afghans to the east. human sacrifice. His conquest off, and, after a second offence,
gave Sweden British navy southern continent earlier Mahmud Hotaki (c. 1697–1725), of neighboring Allada in crippled by having their
protection that discouraged mapped in part by Spaniard Juan son of Mirwais Khan Hotak (see 1723 provided a ready source hamstrings cut.
further raids. The Nystad Treaty Fernández and Dutchman Abel 1709), brought an army to the of captives for sale, and by Also in 1724, the disintegrating
restored Finland to Sweden, but Tasman, among others. A former Safavid capital of Isfahan, sacked 1724 Dahomey had become Mughal Empire saw the Indian
former Swedish Baltic territories employee of the Dutch East Indies the city, and proclaimed himself the Europeans’ principal source state of Oudh gain independence
in Estonia and elsewhere went to Company but now sponsored by shah of Persia. It was not until of slave labor. under Saadat Ali Khan (c. 1680–
its West Indies counterpart, 1729, and the defeat of the Hotaki In 1724, the Code Noir, King 1739). He founded the Moghul
Roggeveen and his three ships dynasty by Afsharid Persians who Louis XIV of France’s extensive Awadh dynasty, which ruled until
Deified ancestors
Moai were erected by clans on sailed to the Falkland Islands, were descended from the definition of the conditions of its power was seized by the
Easter Island to watch over their Chile, and the Juan Fernández Mongols at the Battle of slavery, was introduced in the British in the early 19th century.
fields. This group, at Ahu Akivi, is Islands. While crossing the South Damghan, that the Afghans were
the farthest inland. Pacific Ocean the following year, finally forced back to Kandahar.

an ann 21 he s l
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be i em s af gn em f or , 1 r Im (d. 1
b be ’s fi ter 8 rs a tr re u
J eve ht e ere pt rg rrit sia 2 e n n le 1
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Br e m sta rt Ro u n er de R
et ce to A p ilos ant b t
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Ba P r
Pe
243
1725–27 1728–31
,,
,,
YOU ARE NOW TRAVELING
INTO THE PARADISE OF
THE SCHOLARS.
Caspar Wolff, German scientist, praising the Academy of Sciences
in a letter to mathematician Leonhard Euler, c. 1779

Peter the Great’s Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, founded in 1725, The Shinto gate (torii) at the entrance
was rehoused in this building of 1783–85 on the Neva River. to the Itsukushima Shrine, Japan.

THE TREATY OF THE HAGUE Panama, but withdrew without THE RUSSIAN EMPEROR PETER
(see 1720) did not end rivalries success in 1727 after severe THE GREAT was determined to
between the major European losses from disease. discover the full extent of his
powers. In 1725, Austria signed Emboldened by its promise lands to the east. A Danish
the Treaty of Vienna with Spain, of Austrian support, which was seaman, Vitus Bering (1681–
gaining trading advantages in the negated by a secret pact made 1741), was commissioned to
colonies for its Imperial Ostend between Britain and Austria, follow the Siberian coast
Company; in exchange, Austria Spain besieged Gibraltar in northward from the Kamchatka
abandoned all claims to the 1727, an act that precipitated the Peninsula, and in 1728 Bering
Spanish throne and also promised Anglo–Spanish War. The sailed into the narrow strait, now
to help Spain recapture Gibraltar. four-month siege failed, costing named after him, that separates
In 1726, Britain embarked on an Spain 1,400 men to British Siberia and Alaska. By sailing
attempt to blockade Spanish casualties of 300. The war ended farther north, Bering established
treasure ships at Porto Bello, with the Treaty of Seville in 1729. that Siberia reaches its eastward
In Russia, the St. Petersburg limit at the strait. Bering
Academy of Sciences was suspected that there must be land
founded in 1725 by Peter the farther east, but it was only during
Great (1672–1725). The most a second voyage, in 1741, that he
eminent scholars of all disciplines Coffee in Brazil first saw the coast of Alaska
were invited to work there—for To the southeast, the Afghan This 19th-century woodcut shows a across the strait.
example, German embryologist shah of Persia, Mahmud Hotaki Brazilian coffee plantation. From small On the Indian subcontinent, the
Caspar Wolff (1733–94) offered (see 1721–22), died in 1725. He beginnings in 1727, Brazil grew into Maratha people, after nearly a
the world’s largest coffee producer.
Swiss mathematician Leonhard was succeeded by his cousin, decade of consolidating their
Euler a 200-rouble salary as an Ashraf Khan (d. 1730), who may power under Bajirao (see 1720),
enticement, which he accepted. have murdered him. By then, Also in 1727, the Treaty of struck out into the Deccan region
Persian lands were being Kyakhta was signed by Imperial surrounding their homeland. In
encroached upon by Russia and the Chinese Qing 1728, in the Battle of Palkhed,
Ottoman forces, who were Empire; it remained the basis of they confronted rival prince
linked to the previous relations between the two until Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad (also
CATHERINE I (1684–1727) regime by an Ottoman– the mid-19th century. Mongolia’s known as Nizam-ul-Mulk) who
Safavid alliance. However, northern border was mapped and had been laying claim to Maratha
The orphaned daughter of Ashraf Khan defeated the agreed on, and routes established leadership and who was refusing
Lithuanian peasants, the Ottomans in a battle near for trade in furs and tea. to pay them chauth (a tribute tax).
future wife of Peter the Great Isfahan at Kermanshah, The late 1720s saw the start of In a strategic masterstroke, the
was born Marta Skowrońska. and peace was eventually coffee-growing in the Caribbean Marathas cornered the nizam’s
She was secretly married declared at Hamadan, and South America. Seedlings army in a waterless zone, where it
to Peter in 1707, and she Persia, in 1727. were first brought to Martinique refused to fight. In consequence,
reigned as Russia’s first around 1720, and in 1727 the king the nizam abandoned his
female monarch from his of Portugal sent to French Guinea leadership claim and payment
death until her own. In her Satirical novel for seeds. His envoy, Francisco of chauth was resumed.
Clergyman and writer de Mello Palheta, persuaded the
reign, she was supported by The year 1729 was a pivotal
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
the Supreme Privy Council, first published Gulliver’s
French governor’s wife to provide point in trading relations
which wanted to deny power Travels in 1726. This edition seeds and seedlings, and these between China and the West
to the aristocracy. of the satire on humanity enabled the Portuguese to start because the Qing Yongzheng
was published in the 1860s. a coffee industry in Brazil. emperor banned almost all

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244
obsessed. Ottoman architecture 180 the Fulbe Revolution. The first
and art were invigorated, but such state was Bondu, in Guinea,
high prices for tulips and tulip 150 formed in the late 17th century.
bulbs distorted the economy. The Then came Futa Jallon (centered

CASUALTIES
120
instatement of Mahmud I in 1730 in Guinea but sprawling over
brought an end to the Tulip 90
neighboring territories), where
Period, but Halil was strangled the Islamic Fulbe took power from
in front of the sultan in 1731 for 60 the existing leaders and non-
overreaching himself. Islamic Fulbe people.
30
In Japan, whose population A confederation of provinces
had been ruled by the Tokugawa 0 was formally created in 1735 with
shogunate since 1603, there was a Men Women Children its capital at Timbo, Guinea. Other
resurgence of the Shinto religion. areas that were profoundly
Beginning around 1730, it was Massacre at Fort Rosalie
affected by the Fulbe Jihad—as the
On November 28, 1729, Natchez
fueled by the writings of scholars American Indians killed 242 settlers seizure of power was termed—
Bering Strait such as Kada no Azunamaro at Fort Rosalie, Mississippi, in included the formerly declining
importation of opium. Chinese This satellite image shows the (1669–1736) and Kamo no retaliation for years of mistreatment. Bornu Empire (in present-day
goods were in high demand in Bering Strait, a 56-mile (96-km) Mabuchi (1697–1769). The Shinto Nigeria), the fortunes of which
Europe, but the Chinese were stretch of water that separates scholars rejected Chinese and of Mombasa and the island of underwent a significant revival.
Asia and North America.
unimpressed by European goods Buddhist influences and sought to Pemba had been captured by the In 1731, formerly independent
and accepted payment only identify a purely Japanese Omanis in 1698, and by 1730 they Dahomey in West Africa finally
in silver—which Britain, in number of Natchez for work spiritual identity. Shintoism was had driven the Portuguese from accepted the suzerainty of the
particular, had to obtain at on Caribbean plantations. reinstated as the national religion the Kenyan and Tanzanian coasts Yoruba Oyo Empire (present-day
exorbitant cost. In the early 18th The short-lived Ottoman Tulip of Japan more than a century and gained control of the island of Nigeria). The Yoruba had invaded
century, British traders had begun Period (1718–30) was ended by later in 1868. Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania). and defeated them after a
to trade Indian opium for Chinese a rebellion against unpopular Meanwhile, the Arabian state In West Africa, Islamic Fulbe, or protracted and bitterly fought
goods, and there was soon a measures led by a janissary of Oman was expanding its Fulani, people began to unify into campaign in 1728,
growing number of addicted (soldier), Patrona Halil, that dominions in Africa. The larger communities in but resistance
Chinese that greatly reduced caused Sultan Ahmed III to be Portuguese-held Kenyan city what is now known as in Dahomey
Europe’s silver requirement. supplanted by Mahmud I. The did not end
European opium smugglers
remained a major problem for
Tulip Period was one of stability
in the Ottoman Empire and was ,, ...IN LESS THAN
until 1748.

,,
China into the 19th century. marked by increased interest
Also in 1729, after more than a
decade of mistreatment, Natchez
in Western ways. Just as Western
Europe had been fascinated by
TWO HOURS THEY
American Indians killed more
than 200 French settlers at Fort
tulips in the 17th
century, the
MASSACRED MORE THAN Opium pipe and poppy
This traditional Chinese
Rosalie, Mississippi. However,
by 1731 the French, assisted by
Ottoman
court
200 OF THE FRENCH. opium pipe has a knob-
shaped bowl in which the
drug (dried latex from the
the Choctaw people, were to became Father le Petit, missionary, in a letter to Father D’Avaugour, Procurator opium poppy) is vaporized
retaliate by enslaving a large equally of the Missions in North America, 1730 when the bowl is heated.

ish
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Au plor ers imit ge o ri l in o o
N ita tch ev 29 ale n C Se tron ion t mpe r
ex cov rd l Ni ah A p ther sia b Br d Du of S 17 ns s m i Pa bell an e
a a
Ma stri lic, y of
28 s D Ca Rus ba opi u Au pub eat
dis stwa 17 ade an eaty re tom e r
f of T
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28 er 30
17 f nd t 9 17 s 0, ey
3, ter o , s u efea n 72 29 9, me II r2 I om of
–2 r ark ia n d i , 1 ore, 17 n y 2 co r be ud II ah nty e
20 ua e rs ah ns n 3 0 d 8, rica s ar be ete ox em ahm d I D i pir
er n a q enm y fir Pe Sh fgha gha ly tim de 2 r nu ia P lp pt 31 ra
to
b a ,D b 2 9 er A m Ju Bal oun r e
be m tle , Ja uss h of mal
e
Se 30 M Ahm pero
r 17 uze o Em
Oc re th gen oyed 17 Nad ing Da o f ,f m z A et lie R t s y
y f ty d ve che ill s osa ippi of dea m s 7
1 ds em s
pt n O
a
Mo enh estr up tle o Ci ylan o
N at s k rt R iss na n fro ee n ce ia
c
oc Bat r N an o ss An na o 15) cc ma ac iger
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p d Ma di at F Mi i 17 su tto N
In ar O
cz (b. as
245
1732–34

“Tavern Scene” is one of the eight paintings of British artist William Hogarth’s A Rake’s
Progress (1732–33), which depicts the downfall of a rich merchant’s feckless heir.

OBSESSED WITH CREATING a


strong, independent state,
Frederick William I (r. 1713–40),
,, WHERE
SOME
on the Alaskan mainland. In the

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