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All Articles: Rulers, Empires & Turning Points

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  1. 51 BCCleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt
  2. AD 955Otto The Great
  3. AD 800Charlemagne: Why a Pope Crowned the Frankish King Emperor
  4. 305 BCPtolemy I Soter: The General Who Became Pharaoh

Series

Stories that belong together, in the order they happened.

Theme series

The Crusades

6 stories · 1147–1191

  1. 1147Afonso I takes Lisbon
  2. 1177Battle of Montgisard
  3. 1177Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
  4. 1187Saladin
  5. 1190Frederick Barbarossa
  6. 1191Richard the Lionheart

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  1. Charles-Philippe Larivière’s 19th-century oil painting of the Battle of Montgisard: the young King Baldwin IV, crowned and robed in gold, rides in a red-draped litter carried by his men and points toward the fight, while a bishop on a rearing white horse lifts a golden reliquary beside armored crusader knights with tall spears, a white banner with gold crosses and a hilltop castle behind them.

    Turning Points1177

    Battle of Montgisard: How Baldwin IV Beat Saladin in 1177

    Montgisard, near Ramla

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 2 of 6

  2. Empress Theodora in purple imperial robes standing at Justinian’s council table as Constantinople burns beyond the palace arches

    HeroesAD 532

    Empress Theodora: The Woman Who Saved Justinian’s Throne

    Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey

  3. Khalid ibn al-Walid, seen from behind on horseback, overlooking a 7th-century battlefield in the Levant at dusk

    HeroesAD 636

    Khalid ibn al-Walid: The General Who Never Lost a Battle

    Yarmouk River, Jordan/Syria

  4. Samurai silhouette with an Oda crest banner watching Mount Hiei burn as arquebusiers fire from behind a palisade under a red sun.

    Heroes1571

    How Oda Nobunaga Used Fear to Unify a Divided Japan

    Mount Hiei, near Kyoto, Japan

  5. Napoleon on horseback at sunrise over Austerlitz on one side and leading a frozen retreat from burning Moscow on the other

    Heroes1812

    Napoleon’s Overconfidence: Genius or Fatal Flaw?

    Borodino, Russia

    Napoleon seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  6. Spanish Armada fleet on a dark stormy sea

    Turning Points1588

    Why the Spanish Armada Failed (It Wasn’t Just the Weather)

    Off Gravelines, English Channel

  7. 480 BCc. 550 BC1206

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  8. Illustration of the Sarajevo assassination with Kaiser Wilhelm and title text

    Turning Points1914

    The July Crisis of 1914: How Gavrilo Princip’s Bullet and Kaiser Wilhelm’s Blank Cheque Started World War I

    Latin Bridge, Sarajevo, Bosnia

  9. Soldiers fighting in Stalingrad’s ruined buildings

    Turning Points1942

    Stalingrad: Why Six Months of Urban Combat Changed the Second World War Forever

    Stalingrad (Volgograd), Russia

  10. Robespierre at a desk before the Convention with a guillotine behind

    Heroes1793

    Robespierre and the Reign of Terror: Why Revolutions Devour Their Own Architects

    Paris, France

  11. Peter the Great cutting a boyar’s beard with scissors

    Heroes1698

    Peter the Great’s Brutal Modernization: How Russia Was Dragged Into the 18th Century

    Preobrazhenskoye, Moscow, Russia

    Peter the Great seriesSeries · 1 of 3

  12. Ottoman soldiers storming the burning walls of Constantinople at night

    Civilizations1453

    Constantinople 1453: How Mehmed II’s Siege Ended a 1,000-Year Empire in a Single Night

    Theodosian Walls, Constantinople (Istanbul)

    Mehmed the Conqueror seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  13. Genghis Khan with scouts, maps and messengers

    Civilizations1219

    Genghis Khan’s Intelligence Empire: The Spy Network That Conquered Half the World

    Otrar, Kazakhstan

    Genghis Khan seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  14. Overgrown ruins of a Roman temple portico at dusk, with a broken aqueduct on the horizon and three cloaked travellers walking away down a cracked Roman road.

    CivilizationsAD 476

    The Fall of Rome: Why There Was No Single Moment — And Why That Makes It More Terrifying

    Ravenna, Italy

  15. A candlelit stone cell in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where a sealed decree and quill lie beside a prayer book and prayer beads, and an empty chair is pushed back from the table. Through the barred window, a sailing warship waits on the misty Neva.

    Heroes1718

    Peter the Great and Alexei: When Empire Demands the Destruction of Family

    Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg

    Peter the Great seriesSeries · 3 of 3

  16. Napoleon standing on a rocky shore at sunset looking at the sea

    Heroes1815

    Napoleon’s Hundred Days: What His Return from Exile Reveals About Power and Delusion

    Waterloo, Belgium

    Napoleon seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  17. An empty carved throne in a candlelit Kremlin chamber, an iron-tipped staff leaning against it and a black fur cloak on the floor, with snow-covered onion domes visible through the window.

    Heroes1565

    Ivan the Terrible and the Politics of Fear

    Aleksandrova Sloboda, Russia

    Ivan the Terrible seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  18. Painted fresco-style illustration of Julius Caesar at night beside the Rubicon, one hand raised, with torch-lit Roman legionaries waiting behind him.

    Turning Points49 BC

    The Rubicon: What Caesar Knew, What He Risked, and Why He Did It Anyway

    Rubicon River, Italy

    Julius Caesar seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  19. Illustration of the Battle of Cannae with Roman legions encircled

    Turning Points216 BC

    The Battle of Cannae: Why Rome’s Greatest Defeat Is Still Studied Today

    Cannae, Italy

    Hannibal seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  20. Illustration of Alexander leading cavalry across a plain

    Heroes334 BC

    Alexander the Great: The 3 Strategic Decisions That Built an Empire

    Granicus River, Turkey

    Alexander the Great seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  21. Litovchenko’s 1875 painting of Ivan the Terrible in gold robes, showing his treasures to the English envoy Jerome Horsey

    Heroes1547

    Ivan the Terrible: The Making of Russia’s First Tzar

    Moscow Kremlin, Russia

    Ivan the Terrible seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  22. Illustration of Baldwin IV in crown and Crusader surcoat with red cross

    Heroes1177

    Baldwin IV of Jerusalem: The Leper King

    Montgisard, near Ramla, Israel

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 3 of 6

  23. Medieval manuscript illustration of Richard I enthroned with sword

    Heroes1191

    Richard the Lionheart

    Acre, Israel

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 6 of 6

  24. Portrait of Saladin in a yellow turban

    Heroes1187

    Saladin: Why the Sultan Took Jerusalem Without a Massacre

    Jerusalem

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 4 of 6

  25. Medieval manuscript illustration of Frederick Barbarossa as a crusader with cross and orb

    Heroes1190

    Frederick Barbarossa

    Saleph River, near Silifke, Turkey

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 5 of 6

  26. Painted portrait of Afonso I of Portugal crowned, holding a sword

    Heroes1139

    Afonso I of Portugal

    Coimbra, Portugal

    Crusades seriesCrusades · 1 of 6

  27. Portrait of Peter the Great in armour with a blue sash

    Heroes1703

    Peter the Great

    Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Peter the Great seriesSeries · 2 of 3

  28. Portrait of Vlad III the Impaler in a jewelled cap

    Heroes1462

    Vlad The Impaler: the Myth of Dracula

    Târgoviște, Romania

  29. Bronze equestrian statue of El Cid raising a sword (Burgos)

    Heroes1094

    El Cid of Spain

    Valencia, Spain

  30. Engraved oval portrait of Edward the Black Prince wearing a crown and chain-mail armour.

    Heroes1356

    Edward The Black Prince

    Poitiers, France

  31. Marble bust of Ptolemy I Soter, the Macedonian general who became pharaoh, wearing a diadem, against a black background

    Heroes305 BC

    Ptolemy I Soter: The General Who Became Pharaoh

    Alexandria, Egypt

  32. Hermann Stilke’s 1843 painting of Joan of Arc in silver armour on a white horse, holding her white banner high in battle

    Heroes1429

    Joan of Arc

    Orléans, France

  33. Akimov’s 1792 painting of Olga of Kyiv’s baptism: a bearded patriarch blesses her as a crowned ruler in a red cloak looks on

    HeroesAD 945

    Olga of Kyiv

    Kyiv, Ukraine

  34. Carved stone funerary bust of a veiled woman with an ornate headband beside an inscription, in the style of ancient Palmyra

    HeroesAD 270

    Zenobia of Palmyra

    Palmyra, Syria

  35. Egyptian-style painting of Cleopatra in profile, wearing a vulture headdress and a broad jewelled collar

    Heroes51 BC

    Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt

    Alexandria, Egypt

  36. Medieval manuscript drawing of Otto I enthroned with crown and sceptre, flanked by courtiers and armed men

    HeroesAD 955

    Otto The Great

    Lechfeld, near Augsburg, Germany

  37. Stone statue of Robert the Bruce, crowned and bearded, in chain mail with both hands resting on his sword

    Heroes1314

    Robert the Bruce

    Bannockburn, Scotland

  38. White stone statue of Saint Patrick in a bishop's mitre, holding a crozier and raising a small cross against a blue sky

    Heroesc. AD 432

    Saint Patrick: Shepherd, Saint, and Symbol of a Nation

    Saul, County Down, Northern Ireland

  39. Marble Tusculum portrait bust of Julius Caesar, Museo di Antichità, Turin

    Heroes44 BC

    Julius Caesar: Why the Senate Killed the Dictator for Life

    Theatre of Pompey, Rome, Italy

    Julius Caesar seriesSeries · 2 of 2

  40. Hermann Vogel’s 1882 engraving of Spartacus falling in his last battle, ringed by Roman legionaries with spears and shields

    Heroes73 BC

    Spartacus: The Gladiator Who Defied an Empire

    Capua, Italy

  41. Bronze statue of Leonidas of Sparta in a crested helmet, holding a round shield, under a clear blue sky

    Heroes480 BC

    Leonidas of Sparta

    Thermopylae, Greece

  42. Marble bust of Hannibal wearing a decorated helmet

    Heroes218 BC

    Hannibal: Why the Victor of Cannae Never Took Rome

    Crossing of the Alps (France/Italy)

    Hannibal seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  43. Icon-style painting of Saint Valentine, white-bearded with a halo and red robe, holding a scroll against a gold background

    Heroesc. AD 269

    Saint Valentine

    Via Flaminia, Rome, Italy

  44. Detail of Delacroix’s painting of Attila the Hun on a rearing pale horse, arm raised, riding over fallen figures

    HeroesAD 451

    Attila The Hun

    Catalaunian Plains, France

  45. Painted portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror in a green turban with a white plume and jewelled crest, wearing a fur-trimmed robe

    Heroes1451

    Mehmed The Conqueror

    Edirne, Turkey

    Mehmed the Conqueror seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  46. Hand-coloured oval portrait of William the Conqueror wearing a jewelled crown and armour.

    Heroes1066

    William The Conqueror

    Battle, East Sussex, England

  47. Illustration of Cyrus the Great in profile, bearded and wearing a ridged helmet, set over swirling smoke above his name

    Heroesc. 550 BC

    Cyrus The Great

    Pasargadae, Iran

  48. Sepia ink portrait of Genghis Khan with a stern expression, wearing a fur-trimmed cap and armour.

    Heroes1206

    Genghis Khan: The Conqueror of Empires

    Onon River, Khentii, Mongolia

    Genghis Khan seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  49. Drawing of Charlemagne wearing a jeweled crown and cloak

    HeroesAD 800

    Charlemagne: Why a Pope Crowned the Frankish King Emperor

    Old St Peter's, Rome, Italy

  50. Mosaic of Alexander the Great in battle armor

    Heroes336 BC

    Alexander the Great: Did He Believe He Was a God?

    Aigai (Vergina), Greece

    Alexander the Great seriesSeries · 1 of 2

  51. Bronze statue of the she-wolf nursing the infant twins Romulus and Remus, standing on a stone plinth.

    Heroesc. 753 BC

    Romulus: The Founder of Rome

    Palatine Hill, Rome, Italy

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