The title of this post is a bit misleading. The Council of Clermont actually ran from November 18 through November 28, 1095, so November 27 is the anniversary of neither its beginning nor its end. It is, however, the anniversary of the day on which Pope Urban II (d. 1099) got to the main point … Continue reading Today in European history: the Council of Clermont (1095)
Tag: european history
Today in European history: the Treaty of Granada (1491)
The end of the "Reconquista" came on January 2, 1492, when the last Muslim ruler of Granada, the Nasirid Sultan Abu Abdullah Muhammad XII ("Boabdil" to the Spaniards, for whom "Abu Abdullah" was apparently too hard to pronounce), went into exile in Morocco. But by that point his departure was a formality. Boabdil was obliged … Continue reading Today in European history: the Treaty of Granada (1491)
Today in European history: the Battle of Varna (1444)
The Battle of Varna in 1444 was arguably the most important Ottoman victory in Europe prior to their conquest of Constantinople, especially if you consider its effects alongside those of the (second) Battle of Kosovo in 1448. The Ottoman success at Varna shattered a Hungarian-Polish alliance that had been formed to counter the Turkish threat. That alliance … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Varna (1444)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the last Ottoman Sultan is deposed (1922)
The removal of the last Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI Vahideddin (d. 1926), is among history's greatest anti-climaxes. The Ottomans had (obviously) lost World War I, which resulted in the dismantling of their empire under the terms of their 1918 armistice and the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. Sèvres not only put the empire's Arab dominions under … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the last Ottoman Sultan is deposed (1922)
Today in European history: the Battle of Río Salado (1340)
Whoever came up with the term Reconquista to describe the Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims deserves an all-time gold star for public relations work. I mean, there were parts of modern Spain that were in Muslim hands for well over seven hundred years, and if there's a statute of limitations on when something stops … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Río Salado (1340)
Today in European history: the Second Battle of Kosovo ends (1448)
When you mention the names of some famous battles, everybody knows which engagement you're talking about. There's only one “Battle of Actium,” for example, and the 1815 “Battle of Waterloo” is unlikely to be confused with any other “Battle of Waterloo” that may have taken place. That’s not always the case, though. If you want … Continue reading Today in European history: the Second Battle of Kosovo ends (1448)
Today in European history: the Siege of Vienna ends (1529)
The city of Vienna has kind of an odd but prominent place in Ottoman history. It was never part of the empire, but two Ottoman attempts to conquer it bookend the period of the empire’s greatest territorial reach and military power. The second of those attempts, the 1683 Battle of Vienna, serves as the empire’s high water … Continue reading Today in European history: the Siege of Vienna ends (1529)
Today in European history: the Knights Templar order is purged (1307)
The Knights Templar are the more famous of the two major Christian military orders that were founded during the Crusades. We talked about the other, the Knights Hospitaller, when we looked at the failed Ottoman siege of Malta in 1565. Ironically, while the Templars get more press it’s the Hospitallers who have survived to the present … Continue reading Today in European history: the Knights Templar order is purged (1307)
Today in European history: the Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto is the mother lode of historical turning points. It broke the Ottoman Empire’s domination of the eastern Mediterranean and marked a turning of the tide in the long-simmering conflict between the European powers (particularly the Habsburgs) and the Ottomans. It gave European Christians the confidence that they could stand up to … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Lepanto (1571)
Today in Mediterranean history: the Battle of Preveza (1538)
There are a couple of anniversaries we could commemorate today. For example, if you’re a fan of lost causes, on this date in 1995 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo II accord, which was supposed to provide for Palestinian autonomy leading to future (HA!) talks on an independent Palestinian state. Five years later … Continue reading Today in Mediterranean history: the Battle of Preveza (1538)
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