Medieval | War History

Battle of Mohács – The Ottoman Victory That Divided Hungary

The Battle of Mohács was part of the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars. It was a key victory for the Ottomans. The defeat of the Hungarians and their…

6 Military Campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa

Andrew Knighton

Frederick Hohenstaufen, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, became Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire in 1152, succeeding his uncle Conrad III. With a…

The Crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa – The Spark of Hope For The Spanish Reconquista

The Crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa was a major turning point in the history if the Iberian Peninsula. The Crusaders won a decisive victory…

Making Magna Carta: King John’s Civil War

Andrew Knighton

The very foundation of the English constitution is based in conflict. Magna Carta, the basis of much English law, was written in a failed attempt…

The Battle For Spices and Control Over The Most Important Naval Trade Route

In 1509, a major conflict during the Portuguese naval expansion in the Indian Ocean would pit the Portuguese Empire against a powerful alliance. Portugal’s hunger…

Three Medieval Crusades in North Africa

Andrew Knighton

The word “crusade” normally evokes images of war in the Middle East, with European crusaders fighting Muslim Arabs. But crusades took place all over Europe…

Charles the Bold, Burgundy’s Flawed Reforming Warlord

Andrew Knighton

Charles the Bold was a man who could have changed the face of Europe. Inheriting the Valois duchy of Burgundy in 1467, he was one…

Circling the 15th Century Wagons: The Hussite Wars

Andrew Knighton

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 Crusade of Varna

In the beginning of the 15th century, the Crusader army went deep into the realms conquered by the Ottomans and fought them in several bloody…

The Brutal Reality of Naval Warfare in the Hundred Years War

Andrew Knighton

War at sea in the Middle Ages could be a terrible business. Rather than a firefight between ships, it consisted of fierce boarding actions with…

The Children’s Crusade – Peacefully converting the Muslim population of the Middle East into Christianity?

Nikola Budanovic

In 1212 a crusade was allegedly led by children in the hope of peacefully converting the Muslim population of the Middle East into Christianity, thus…

The Fall Of This City Paved The Way For Arab Conquests, All The Way Into Spain

On the 19th of September, 634, the city of Damascus fell into the hands of the growing Caliphate. Its conquest was a turning point in…