Charles VI (lived 1368-1422) reigned as King of France from 1380 to 1422, during an important phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) against England. Known as the 'Mad King' due to his frequent...| World History Encyclopedia
The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived...| World History Encyclopedia
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) was the founder of fascism and dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He led the country into a highly authoritarian regime and then dragged it into the Second World War (1939-45...| World History Encyclopedia
The history of Italian colonialism unfolded in a relatively short period, between the late 19th century and the Second World War (1939-45). After the unification of Italy, the young kingdom sought to...| World History Encyclopedia
The Bolshevik Revolution occurred on 7 November 1917 (old calendar 25 October) and established a new republic: Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks were radical socialists led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924...| World History Encyclopedia
A mandala (Sanskrit for “circle”) is an artistic representation of higher thought and deeper meaning given as a geometric symbol used in spiritual, emotional, or psychological work to focus one's attention...| World History Encyclopedia
The Yuan Dynasty was established by the Mongols and ruled China from 1271 to 1368. Their first emperor was Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294) who finally defeated the Song Dynasty which had reigned in China...| World History Encyclopedia
The Thesmophoriazusae (also called The Poet & the Women or Women at the Thesmophoria) is a two-act comedy play written in 411 BCE by the great Greek comic playwright, Aristophanes. The play's principal...| World History Encyclopedia
The brutal murder of the entire Romanov family was the culmination of deep discontent across the Russian Empire with the persistently autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Following...| World History Encyclopedia
The War of 1812 (1812-1815), referred to by some contemporaries as the Second American Revolution, was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom. Often remembered only as a sideshow to...| World History Encyclopedia
The Sioux are a native North American nation who inhabited the Great Plains region of, roughly, modern Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They are one of the many...| World History Encyclopedia
The Hussite Wars (1419 to c. 1434) were a series of conflicts fought in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) between followers of the reformer Jan Hus and Catholic loyalists toward the end of the Bohemian...| World History Encyclopedia
Josef Mengele (1911-1979) was a Nazi doctor who performed horrific pseudo-scientific experiments on detainees in the Auschwitz concentration camp where he was a medical officer from 1943 to 1945. Thousands...| World History Encyclopedia
Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) was the head of the Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel) organisation. One of the most powerful individuals in Nazi Germany, Himmler built up the SS from a small paramilitary unit to...| World History Encyclopedia
Tamahay (Tahama, Tamaha,| World History Encyclopedia
The Gestapo was the secret political police organisation of Nazi Germany. Created in 1933, the Gestapo became one of the most feared instruments of state terror, its members having few or no legal restrictions...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Lundy's Lane (25 July 1814) was one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812. Fought near the location of present-day Niagara Falls, it saw a US army under Jacob Brown clash with a...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Chippawa (5 July 1814) was a major battle in the War of 1812, in which a US army proved its newfound discipline by defeating British regulars during the Americans' third attempted invasion...| World History Encyclopedia
Einsatzgruppen ('deployment groups') were secret Nazi killing units, who systematically sought out and murdered civilians identified as enemies of the Third Reich. Operating without any legal restrictions...| World History Encyclopedia
Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962), a lieutenant-colonel in the Nazi SS, was responsible for organising the transportation of Jewish people and other victims of Nazism to concentration, labour, and death camps...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Crysler's Farm (11 November 1813) was a major battle in the War of 1812. Fought along the banks of the St. Lawrence River, it saw a British and Canadian force defeat a much larger American...| World History Encyclopedia
The Saxons were a Germanic people of the region north of the Elbe River stretching from Holstein (in modern-day Germany) to the North Sea. The Saxons who migrated to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries...| World History Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Wessex (c. 519-927 CE or c. 519-1066 CE) was a political entity founded by the West Saxon Chieftain Cerdic (r. 519-540 CE) in 519 CE in the Upper Thames Valley of modern-day Britain which...| World History Encyclopedia
Egbert of Wessex (l. c. 770-839 CE, r. 802-839 CE; also given as Ecgberht, Ecbert) was the most powerful and influential king of Wessex prior to the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE). Egbert...| World History Encyclopedia
Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings of East...| World History Encyclopedia
Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) was the king of Wessex in Britain but came to be known as King of the Anglo-Saxons after his military victories over Viking adversaries and later successful negotiations...| World History Encyclopedia
Operation Torch (aka the North Africa landings) landed Allied troops in French Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942 with the aim of removing German and Italian forces from North Africa. The first...| World History Encyclopedia
The Desert Rats was the nickname of the 7th Armoured Division of the British Eighth Army, which first fought in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). Fighting in the Western Desert Campaigns...| World History Encyclopedia
India is a country in South Asia whose name comes from the Indus River. The name 'Bharata' is used as a designation for the country in their constitution referencing the ancient mythological emperor...| World History Encyclopedia
A December 1941 photograph of a disabled British Matilda tank near Tobruk during the Western Desert Campaigns in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)| World History Encyclopedia
A February 1942 photograph of a column of US-made Grant tanks of the British 5th Royal Tank Regiment during the Western Desert Campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)| World History Encyclopedia
The London Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain's capital by the German and Italian air forces from September 1940 to May 1941 during the Second World War (1939-45). The objective was to bomb...| World History Encyclopedia
The Dunkirk Evacuation of 26 May to 4 June 1940, known as Operation Dynamo, was the attempt to save the British Expeditionary Force in France from total defeat by an advancing German army. Nearly 1,000...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Gazala in Libya in May-June 1942 was a decisive victory for German and Italian forces led by General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) against British, Commonwealth, and Free French forces during...| World History Encyclopedia
The defence by Free French forces of the remote desert watering hole of Bir Hakeim (Hacheim) in Libya, North Africa in May-June 1942 during the Second World War (1939-45) is one of the most heroic episodes...| World History Encyclopedia
The Supermarine Spitfire was a single-seater fighter plane, one of the most important aircraft of the Second World War (1939-45). Employed by the Royal Air Force in such crucial encounters as the Battle...| World History Encyclopedia
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, also known as the Me 109, was Germany's most important single-seater fighter plane throughout the Second World War (1939-45). Produced in greater numbers than any other German...| World History Encyclopedia
The Junkers Ju 88 was a two-engined medium bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) throughout the Second World War (1939-45). Ju 88s were involved in the Battle of Britain and London Blitz...| World History Encyclopedia
The Hawker Hurricane was a single-seat fighter plane, Britain's first monoplane, which fought in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. Slower but more numerous than the Supermarine Spitfire...| World History Encyclopedia
The Battle of Britain, dated 10 July to 31 October, 1940 by the UK Air Ministry, was an air battle between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force and allies during the Second World War (1939-45...| World History Encyclopedia
The First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) was a series of encounters during the Second World War (1939-1945) in Egypt between Allied and Axis forces. The battle, focussed around the El Alamein...| World History Encyclopedia
Operation Compass (9 Dec 1940 to 7 Feb 1941) was an Allied offensive in North Africa, which pushed Italian forces out of Egypt and then Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). The Allied Western Desert Force, led...| World History Encyclopedia
The siege of the port of Tobruk in Libya (April to Dec 1941) by Axis forces during the Second World War (1939-45) lasted 242 days and became a symbol of Allied resistance. Besieged by land but still...| World History Encyclopedia
The Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' was a two-seater dive-bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) in various theatres of the Second World War (1939-45). The Stuka, with its distinctive angled wings...| World History Encyclopedia
An army of 250,000 volunteers, both men and women, working in many different services, ensured life went on during the London Blitz, a period of sustained bombing by the German Air Force on the British...| World History Encyclopedia
Gold Beach was the central of the five Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Primarily British units, with massive naval and air support, were set the task of taking the beach, a feat achieved...| World History Encyclopedia
Juno Beach was attacked primarily by forces of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as part of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The Canadian troops initially suffered heavy casualties...| World History Encyclopedia
Sword Beach was the easternmost beach of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The 3rd British Infantry Division was given the task of taking the beach while paratroopers and Royal Marine...| World History Encyclopedia
D-Day was the first day of Operation Overlord, the Allied attack on German-occupied Western Europe, which began on the beaches of Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944. Primarily US, British, and Canadian...| World History Encyclopedia
Norse mythology refers to the Scandinavian mythological framework that was upheld during and around the time of the Viking Age (c. 790- c. 1100 CE). Complete with a creation myth that has the first...| World History Encyclopedia