The Viking Mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire – The Varangian Guard
The Byzantines Hired Viking Mercenaries as Guards The relationship between the Byzantine Emperors and their Varangian Guard was a complex affair. The Byzantines were first…
Al-Andalus, a Melting Pot of Faiths in the Iberian Peninsula
Jewish people have often faced persecution throughout history, and across many states. At the start of the 8th century, the technologically and numerically superior Muslims…
Single Combat At The Siege of Bayonne, 1131AD
Pedro de Lara was bored. His had lived a full life, a life of personal pride and skill at arms, of politics, wine and of…
Krak des Chevaliers – The Impenetrable Castle, Captured With A Single Sheet of Paper
A hulking edifice of sun-bleached stone, Krak des Chevaliers loomed against a clear blue sky. How many men had died to hold those walls, and…
The Battle Of Morgarten – Against All The Odds, One Small Army Changes The Course Of Military History
The supremacy of heavy cavalry and mounted knights on the battlefield came to an end one cold November morning in 1315, and it began with…
The Battle of Arsuf – To Win the Day, One Man Must Defy His Own King
Beneath the relentless beating of the midday sun, under a seemingly endless rain of arrows, The Grand Master’s patience had all but run out. Garnier…
AD 732, Battle of Tours: Charles Martel the ‘Hammer’ Holds The Line Of Battle
Few Empires emerged as quickly as that of the Muslim Caliphates. Bursting out from what is now Saudi Arabia in the mid-7th century, the Islamic…
The Battle of Pliska – A Byzantine Military Disaster
Though they clung to the name of the Roman Empire, the Byzantines never achieved the glory of their predecessors. Theirs was an empire in slow…
Sappers And Siege Engines – Ivan The Terrible Conquers The city Of Kazan
The army had been in place under the city walls for weeks. Ivan the Fourth, Tsar of all the Russians, accompanied his force in the…
War Wagons: One of the Strangest Military Formations Ever Seen in Europe
One of the strangest military formations ever seen in Europe, Hussite war wagons struck fear into their opponents during the early 15th century. Fighting under…
The Rules Of Chivalry Were So Important In Medieval Society, But Breaking The Rules Was Almost As Important
In the Middle Ages, chivalry was more than just a name for polite behavior. It was a set of rules meant to limit the actions…
Steel, Gunpowder, And Careful Planning – The Conquistadors’ Defeat Of The Incas
Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Incan empire is one of the most extraordinary achievements in military history. In the space of a single day in…