Early Portugal–Lusitania
The Iberian peninsula in the time of Hadrian (ruled 117–138 AD), showing, in western Iberia, the imperial province of Lusitania (Portugal and Extremadura) Lusitanian warrior Origins The earth of Portugal is rich in prehistoric remains. Relics of its remote past are frequently brought to the surface when core samples of the soil are taken or when foundations for buildings are…
Portrait of the artist under the Reich
Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War Roger Moorhouse delights in a Second World War family memoir that stands out from the crowd. Author: Giles Milton Publisher: Sceptre Reviewed by: Roger Moorhouse Price (RRP): £20 It would be easy to make the assumption that Giles Milton’s new book is little more than a vanity project. It is, after all, the…
The Centurion in Combat
Photographed in the Valley of Tears in the Northern Golan Heights, this 105mm L7-equipped Sho’t Kal Centurion of the Israeli…
Bogatyr-class cruiser
Bogatyr Russian light cruiser class. Five protected, or 2nd Class, cruisers were ordered for the Imperial Russian Navy between 1889…
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Nanchang Q 5
The Q 5 is built and marketed as a relatively simple and low-cost alternative to high-priced Western strike aircraft. Although based on outdated technology, it is capable and available in large numbers. The history of the Nanchang Q 5 dates back to 1958, when the People’s Republic of China began…
Imperial Tudor
Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham and Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I in Universal Pictures’ Elizabeth: The Golden Age – 2007 ‘‘Elizabethan England’’ remained a minor power, distinctly disadvantaged vis-á-vis the true Great Powers by its small population and the weakness of its army. Elizabeth compensated for weak territorial…
Battle of Chaldiran, (August 23, 1514)
The Battle of Chaldiran. An Ottoman army of ca 60-212,000 janissary, under the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, defeated a Persian Safavid army of ca 12-40,000 men under Ismail Abul-Mozaffar bin Sheikh Haydar bin Sheikh Junayd Safawi, the Shah of Iran. The Ottomans won and temporarily occupied the Safavid capital of…
Ottoman warfare 1000-1650
The medieval and early modern Western image of the Ottoman soldier as motivated principally by fanatic Muslim (ghazi) belief, and the Ottoman Empire as driven by a core mission of ‘‘holy war’’ (jihad), is a gross caricature that has nonetheless been purveyed by generations of historians. For one thing, jihad…
Aerial Battle of Taiwan–Okinawa
The Aerial Battle of the Taiwan Seas took place between October 12 and 16, 1944, off the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, and was fought by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the approaching Task Force 38 of the United States Third Fleet and was one of…
Onin War
Civil war erupted in the area around Kyoto during the tenure of the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–90; r. 1449–76). The Onin War (1467–77), bearing the name of the reign era when the conflict began, was brought about by economic decline, famine, and disputes over succession practices for both regional…
The Viking Menace
A squadron of Viking warships passes by a rugged coastline on its way to raid European settlements. A factor in the growing strength and versatility of Scandinavian civilization was the emergence of more martial, or aggressive and warlike, elements of society. In this the Scandinavians got their cue, in a…
Politics, Foreign Policy, and World War I
German Infantry advancing 1914. Before 1890, elections in Imperial Germany could still appeal to a shared purpose of national community building. After 1890, elections turned primarily on concrete issues concerning, above all, reform of the Prussian electoral system and the achievement of social justice. The emergence of interest-based politics fragmented…
Aerial Dogfights
Definition: Aerial battles between two or more aircraft. Significance: Since World War I, air-to-air combat and the establishment of air superiority has been one of the most crucial components of success in modern warfare. History World War I. By the beginning of World War I in August, 1914, many military…
Siege of Kiev
The siege of Kiev, which ended on December 6, 1240, with the sack of the city, was the final great blow in the Mongol conquest of Russia. On the eve of the Mongol invasion, Kiev was, despite political turmoil, still the mother-city of Russia (including Ukraine and Belarussia); whichever prince…