A Long Horizon: From The Normandy Beaches to the Byzantine Empire
Norman knights continued their pillaging of Italian and papal lands. Through victory, conquest, determination, and opportunity, the Normans traveled far to be leaders and kings…
The Sixth Crusade: An Excommunicated Emperor’s Journey to Jerusalem
When Charlemagne was made Emperor in 800CE by Pope Leo II, it began a complex relationship between church and state as both powers attempted to…
The Last Great Clash of the Galleys: The Battle of Lepanto 1571
Like Urban II and Innocent III, Pope Pius V sought to be a caller of crusades. The Ottoman Empire loomed over the fragile Catholic states…
How a Mathematician Stopped the Roman Army: The Siege of Syracuse
A Desperate Effort When a small group of Roman soldiers made their way quietly to the walls of Syracuse in 212 BCE, they were looking…
The Failure of the Spartan System at Pylos
“The arrow would be worth a great deal if it could tell men of honor from the rest,” said a Spartan hoplite as his integrity…
The Mystery of Medieval Weapons & Armor – Where Did It All Go?
The Fantastic Find The Battle of Visby in 1361 was not a particularly important battle in history. An army of Danes led by their king,…