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The Persian Empire is any of a series of imperial dynasties centered in Persia (now Iran). The first of these was established by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, with the Persian conquest of Media, Lydia and Babylonia. Persian dynastic history was interrupted by the Islamic conquest (651 AD) and later by the Mongol invasion. The main religion of ancient Persia was Zoroastrianism, but after the 7th century this was replaced by Islam. In the modern era, a series of Islamic dynasties ruled Persia independently of the universal caliphate. Since 1979 Persia (Iran) has been an Islamic republic. Credits: Wikipedia
The Hittites (/ˈhɪtaɪts/) were an Ancient Anatolian people
who established an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around
1600 BC. This empire reached its height during the mid-14th century BC under
Suppiluliuma I, when it encompassed an area that included most of Asia Minor as
well as parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. After c. 1180 BC,
the empire came to an end during the Bronze Age collapse, splintering into
several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some of which survived
until the 8th century BC.
The Hittite language was a distinct member of the Anatolian
branch of the Indo-European language family. They referred to their native land
as Hatti. The conventional name "Hittites" is due to their initial
identification with the Biblical Hittites in 19th century archaeology.
Despite the use of Hatti for their core territory, the
Hittites should be distinguished from the Hattians, an earlier people who
inhabited the same region (until the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) and
spoke a language possibly in the Northwest Caucasian languages group known as
Hattic.
The Hittite military made successful use of chariots.
Although belonging to the Bronze Age, they were the forerunners of the Iron
Age, developing the manufacture of iron artifacts from as early as the 18th
century BC, when the "man of Burushanda"'s gift of an iron throne and
iron sceptre to the Kaneshite king Anitta was recorded in the Anitta text
inscription.
After 1180 BC, amid general turmoil in the Levant
conjectured to have been associated with the sudden arrival of the Sea
Peoples, the kingdom disintegrated into several independent
"Neo-Hittite" city-states, some of which survived until as late as
the 8th century BC. The history of the Hittite civilization is known mostly
from cuneiform texts found in the area of their kingdom, and from diplomatic
and commercial correspondence found in various archives in Egypt and the Middle
East.
Europeans destroyed Avaria in AD 807, but Hungarians in Pressburg total
destroyed the paneuropeans in AD 907, and gave back the hunnic dominance
to the basin...
Warrior with captive, from a golden ewer of the Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós. There is no agreement as to whether he represents an Avar, a Bulgar or a Khazar warrior.
The Pannonian Avars /ˈævɑrz/ were a group of Eurasian nomads
of the early Middle Ages of uncertain origins, who
established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and
considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe from the late 6th to the early
9th century. They were ruled by a khagan, who led a tight-knit entourage of
professional warriors.
Although the name Avar first appeared in the mid-5th
century, the Pannonian Avars entered the historical scene in the mid-6th
century, having formed as a mixed band of warriors in the Pontic-Caspian
steppe who wished to escape the rule of the Göktürks who called them
"Pseudo-Avars" and Varchonites.
Avar linguistic affiliation is uncertain and may
be tentatively deduced from a variety of sources, betraying a variety of
languages spoken by ruling and subject clans. Proposals by scholars include
Oghur Turkic, Tungusic, Caucasian, Mongolic and
Iranian.However, over time, Proto-Slavic became the lingua franca of the
Avar Khaganate.
Kievan Rus: Old Russia, Rus History. The Varangians and Rus' princes, Rurik (Old Norse: Hrörekr). History Documentary: The Varangian and the Rus.
Map showing the major Varangian trade routes: the Volga trade route (in red) and the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks (in purple). Other trade routes of the 8th–11th centuries shown in orange.
Generally
speaking, the Norwegians expanded to the north and west to places such
as Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Greenland; the Danes to England and
France, settling in the Danelaw (northern/eastern England) and Normandy;
and the Swedes to the east, founding the Kievan Rus, the original
Russia. However, among the Swedish runestones which mention expeditions
over seas, almost half tell of raids and travels to western Europe. And
in todays Sweden it has been found more Arabic coins from the Viking age
then the Arabs has found themself from this era plus there has been
found tonnes of viking treasures in todays Sweden which made the areas
in todays Sweden to among the most riches places on earth during the
viking age. So its easy due archeology to track the Varangian Rus til
todays Sweden. But also, according to the Icelandic sagas, many
Norwegian Vikings went to eastern Europe. The names of Scandinavian
kings are known only for the later part of the Viking Age. Only after
the end of the Viking Age did the separate kingdoms acquire distinct
identities as nations, which went hand in hand with their
Christianization. Thus the end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians
also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages.
According
to the Primary Chronicle, compiled in Kiev about 1100-1200 Ad, one
group of Varangians was Rus' people. Their name became that of the land
of Rus' this happened because one of Rus' princes, Rurik (Old Norse:
Hrörekr) had been recognized by several East Slavic and Finno-Ugric
peoples as their ruler, founding the Rurikid Dynasty, which later would
rule over Rus' and after its fall over Russia for many centuries. Rurik
first came to Staraya Ladoga in 862 and then moved his capital to
Novgorod in 864, while his relative Oleg (Old Norse: Helgi) conquered
Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus', later inherited by
Rurik's son Igor (Old Norse: Ingvarr). Sviatoslav was the first
ruler of Rus' who is recorded in the Primary Chronicle with a name of
Slavic origin (as opposed to his predecessors, whose names are
ultimately derived from Old Norse). This name is however not recorded in
other medieval Slavic countries. Even in Rus', it was attested only
among the members of the house of Rurik, as were the names of
Sviatoslav's immediate successors: Vladimir, Yaroslav, Mstislav). Some
scholars speculate that the name of Sviatoslav, composed of the
Slavic roots for "holy" and "glory", was an artificial derivation
combining those of his predecessors Oleg and Rurik (they mean "holy" and "glorious" in Old Norse, respectively).
Engaging
in trade, piracy and mercenary activities, Varangians roamed the river
systems and portages of Gardariki, as Rus' lands were known in Norse
sagas. They controlled the Volga trade route (Route from the Varangians
to the Arabs), connecting Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper
trade route (Route from the Varangians to the Greeks) leading to the
Black Sea and Constantinople. Those were the critically important trade
links at that time, connecting Europe with wealthy and developed Arab
Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire;via those routes most of the silver
coinage came from the East to the West. Attracted by the riches of
Constantinople, Rus' Varangians initiated a number of Rus'-Byzantine
Wars, some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. At least
from the early 10th century many Varangians served as mercenaries in the
Byzantine Army, comprising the so-called Varangian Guard (the
personal bodyguards of Byzantine Emperors). Eventually most of them,
both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism
into Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the 988 Christianization of
Kievan Rus'. Coinciding with the general decline of the Viking Age, the
influx of Norsemen to Rus' stopped, and Varangians were eventually
assimilated by East Slavs by the late 11th century.
History Documentary: Byzantine Empire, Byzantium, Full documentary by John Romer, The Lost Empire, History Documentary, Eastern Roman Empire, Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
Tremissis with the image of Justinian the Great
(r. 527–565)
The Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire,
was the predominantly Greek-
speaking continuation of the eastern part of the Roman
Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was
Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It
survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th
century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it
fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 under the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror.
During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic,
cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and
"Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the
end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman
Empire (Ancient Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων,
tr. Basileia Rhōmaiōn; Latin: Imperium Romanum), or Romania (Ῥωμανία),
and to themselves as "Romans".
Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the
transitional period during which the Roman Empire's Greek East and Latin West
divided. In 285, the Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305) partitioned the Roman
Empire's administration into eastern and western halves. Between 324 and
330, Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) transferred the main capital from Rome
to Byzantium, later known as Constantinople ("City of Constantine")
and Nova Roma ("New Rome").[n 1] Under Theodosius I (r. 379–395),
Christianity became the Empire's official state religion and others such as
Roman polytheism were proscribed. And finally, under the reign of Heraclius (r.
610–641), the Empire's military and administration were restructured and
adopted Greek for official use instead of Latin. Thus, although it continued
the Roman state and maintained Roman state traditions, modern historians
distinguish Byzantium from ancient Rome insofar as it was oriented towards
Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Orthodox Christianity
rather than Roman polytheism.
The borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its
existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During
the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), the Empire reached its greatest extent
after reconquering much of the historically Roman western Mediterranean coast,
including North Africa, Italy, and Rome itself, which it held for two more
centuries. During the reign of Maurice (r. 582–602), the Empire's eastern
frontier was expanded and the north stabilised. However, his assassination
caused the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, which exhausted the Empire's
resources and contributed to major territorial losses during the Muslim
conquests of the seventh century. In a matter of years the Empire lost its
richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs.
During the Macedonian dynasty (10th–11th centuries), the
Empire again expanded and experienced the two-century long Macedonian
Renaissance, which came to an end with the loss of much of Asia Minor to the
Seljuk Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. This battle opened the way
for the Turks to settle in Anatolia as a homeland.
The final centuries of the Empire exhibited a general trend
of decline. It struggled to recover during the 12th century, but was delivered
a mortal blow during the Fourth Crusade, when Constantinople was sacked and the
Empire dissolved and divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms.
Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and re-establishment of the
Empire in 1261, Byzantium remained only one of several small rival states in
the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining
territories were progressively annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century.
The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the
Byzantine Empire.
History of Britain, The Anglo Saxon Invasion, History Documentary, BBC Documentary, Anglo-Saxon England, History Documentary
Anglo-Saxon and British kingdoms c. 800
In the history of Great Britain, Anglo-Saxon England refers
to the historical land roughly corresponding to present-day England, as it
existed from the 5th to the 11th century, but not including parts of Devon and
Cornwall until at least the 10th century.
The Anglo-Saxons were the members of Germanic-speaking
groups who migrated to the southern half of the island from continental Europe,
and their cultural descendants. Anglo-Saxon history thus begins during the
period of Sub-Roman Britain following the end of Roman control, and traces the
establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th and 6th centuries
(conventionally identified as seven main kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East
Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex), their Christianization during the 7th
century, the threat of Viking invasions and Danish settlers, the gradual
unification of England under Wessex hegemony during the 9th and 10th centuries,
and ending with the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066.
Anglo-Saxon identity survived beyond the Norman Conquest, and came to be
known as Englishry under Norman rule and ultimately developed into the modern
English people.
The Longobards - History Documentary - The Lombards and King Alboin´s History
King Alboin from the Nuremberg Chronicle, Woodcut vignette of Alboin in the 1493
During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by
settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and
572. He had a lasting effect on Italy and the Pannonian Basin; in the former
his invasion marked the beginning of centuries of Lombard rule, and in the
latter his defeat of the Gepids and his departure from Pannonia ended the
dominance there of the Germanic peoples.
The period of Alboin's reign as king in Pannonia following
the death of his father, Audoin, was one of confrontation and conflict between
the Lombards and their main neighbors, the Gepids. The Gepids initially gained
the upper hand, but in 567, thanks to his alliance with the Avars, Alboin
inflicted a decisive defeat on his enemies, whose lands the Avars subsequently
occupied. The increasing power of his new neighbours caused Alboin some unease
however, and he therefore decided to leave Pannonia for Italy, hoping to take
advantage of the Byzantine Empire's reduced ability to defend its territory in
the wake of the Gothic War.
After gathering a large coalition of peoples, Alboin crossed
the Julian Alps in 568, entering an almost undefended Italy. He rapidly took
control of most of Venetia and Liguria. In 569, unopposed, he took northern
Italy's main city, Milan. Pavia offered stiff resistance however, and was only
taken after a siege lasting three years. During that time Alboin turned his
attention to Tuscany, but signs of factionalism among his supporters and
Alboin's diminishing control over his army increasingly began to manifest
themselves.
Alboin was assassinated on June 28, 572, in a coup d'état
instigated by the Byzantines. It was organized by the king's foster brother,
Helmichis, with the support of Alboin's wife, Rosamund, daughter of the Gepid
king whom Alboin had killed some years earlier. The coup failed in the face of
opposition from a majority of the Lombards, who elected Cleph as Alboin's
successor, forcing Helmichis and Rosamund to flee to Ravenna under imperial
protection. Alboin's death deprived the Lombards of the only leader who could
have kept the newborn Germanic entity together, the last in the line of
hero-kings who had led the Lombards through their migrations from the vale of
the Elbe to Italy. For many centuries following his death Alboin's heroism and
his success in battle were celebrated in Saxon and Bavarian epic poetry.
