The Battle of Tours

The Battle of Tours, also known as the Battle of Poitiers, took place on October 10, 732 as part of the Muslim Conquests. The battle was fought near the city of Tours, which was close to the border between the Frankish realm and Aquitane. Frankish and Burgundian forces under Austrasian Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel were lead against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Umayyad Caliphate army was led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governeor-General of al-Andalus.

The battle was won by the Franks and Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was killed. Martel was able to extend his authority in the south as a result of the battle. Many details of the battle, such as the exact location and number of combatants, are indeterminable from the surviving accounts.

Later chroniclers labeled Charles Martel as the champion of Christianity. Historians before the 20th century described the battle as being decisive in the struggle against Islam. Modern historians are not as sure to whether the victory was as important in saving Christianity and stopping the conquest by Islam of Europe. But the battle did help lay the foundations of the Carolingian Empire and Frankish domination of Europe over the next century.

Many historians still agree that the battle was important for future European history. They are of the opinion that if Martel had been defeated during the battle, the entire Western world could be Muslim today. Some historians, however, consider it to have been a fairly minor raid in the overall scheme of things.

The Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople marked the end of the end of the old Byzantine Empire. It was a battle that ended in the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453. By this time the empire had already started to break up into several Greek monarchies. It also led to the Ottoman Empire expanding into the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. The Fall of Constantinople is also noted by many historians as marking the end of the Middle Ages.

The Byzantine Empire lasted over 1,000 years and Constantinople, its capital, had been besieged many times. One time, in 1204, it was taken. This led to the empire being split into a number of states, who fought over the Byzantine crown. The empire was weakened from that point until it was finally conquered for good by the Ottomans.

Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire planned the attack. His army camped outside the city on April 2, 1453. He sat there while his large pieces of artillery were transported. Once his cannons were in place they were able to break down parts of the wall, but the Byzantines were able to repair it before it could be breached.

In the Golden Horn, his fleet was unable to enter because of the boom that was laid across it by the Byzantines. The fleet stood by to keep any outside ships from entering the area. The attack that took the city began on May 29, and they were eventually able to storm the city. As the first enemy flags showed up on the walls, Constantine XI led the last defense of the city, and died in the streets with his soldiers.

Greek Fire

Greek fire was one of the most feared weapons in ancient times. It was a burning liquid used by the Byzantine Greeks and was used in naval battles. It was especially effective because it would keep burning even on water. Also known as Byzantine fire, it was responsible for many Byzantine military victories and helped the empire survive as long as it did. The formula is a secret to this day, although there are some theories.

According to Theophanes, Greek fire was invented in 670 in Constantinople by Kallikinos, an architech from Heliopolis in the Byzantine Iudaea Province. Historians believe that it was probably invented by the chemists in Constantinople. Greek fire was so effective because it couldn’t be put out by pouring water on it. The water actually caused the fire to intensify and spread.

When it was first invented, Greek fire was used by firing a burning cloth-wrapped ball with a catapult onto enemy forces. With technological advances later on, there was a pump mechanism developed to discharge a stream of the fluid at close ranges which devastated wooden ships in naval battles.

Even though the composition of Greek fire is unknown, its effectiveness was obvious. It wasn’t effective under all circumstances, however. It was less effective in open seas as opposed to narrow sea passages. It’s not known for sure whether the operator ignited the mixture with a flame as it came out of a syringe, or if it ignited spontaneously when it contacted water or air. Knowing this could help determine which ingredients were more likely to have been used in its manufacture.

The Battle of Bosworth Field

The Battle of Bosworth Field was one of the more important battles during the Wars of the Roses in England. It was fought between King Richard III of York and Henry Tudor of the Lancastrian contender for the crown on August 22, 1485. The battle ended in Richard’s death and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. It is considered to have served as the conclusion to the Wars of the Roses.

The battle, which lasted only about two hours, began well for King Richard, but Sir William Stanley entered the battle on Henry’s side with Lord Stanley staying out of the conflict. Richard reached Ambion Hill in good position, and when Henry arrived his forces used cannon and arrows to force Richard’s forces down from the hilltop. Richard called for the Earl of Northumberland to join the fray with fresh forces, but he refused. Speculation is that it was a calculated move, and he was confirmed in all his titles and lands after the battle by the new King Henry.

Richard’s commander, John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was killed, and with the Northumberland and Stanley armies staying out, it lead to his defeat. At that point Henry lead his forces to Lord Stanley, and seeing that Richard charged Henry’s troops. Once Richard was in sight of Henry, Sir William Stanley’s army came to the Tudor’s rescue, and Richard’s forces were overwhelmed. Richard was the last of the Plantagenet kings. Henry Tudor was crowned as King Henry VII to begin the 118 year reign of the Tudor dynasty in England.

The Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses, which lasted from 1455-1487, were a series of civil wars fought over the thrown of England. The two sides vying for the throne were the Houses of Lancaster and York. Both were branches of the Plantagenet royal house which traced their descent to King Edward III.

The term Wars of the Roses was given to the conflicts after the fact. It started to be used in the nineteenth century after Anne of Geierstein was published by Sir Walter Scott. The name came from the badges associated with both royal houses, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York.

The roses weren’t used that often as symbols during the wars, as most participants wore badges of their immediate feudal lords. The unofficial system of livery and maintenance actually helped cause the wars. The followers would be protected by powerful nobles if they would sport their colors and badges. This led to a breakdown of royal authority.

The Wars of the Roses were mainly fought by the landed aristocracy and armies of feudal retainers. Each house was supported by dynastic marriages with the nobility, feudal titles, and tenures. It could be hard to follow the shifts of power and allegiance with this process. The Wars of the Roses ended with Henry Tudor being crowned king after the defeat of King Richard III’s forces at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The crowning of King Henry VII began the 118 year reign of the Tudor dynasty.

The Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the deciding battle of the Norman Conquest of England. The Normans won the battle at a hill about six miles north of Hastings on October 14, 1066. The battle was fought between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy and the Saxon army of King Harold II. The Normans defeated the Saxons and King Harold was killed, giving William the crown and control of England.

During the battle it appeared at one point that the Saxons would be victorious, but eventually the Norman forces prevailed. Once the battle was over, only a small amount of Saxon defenders got to the surrounding forest. Some Norman forces went in pursuit and were ambushed and destroyed at darkness approached. William rested for a night after the victory and began the Norman Conquest.

He recruited his army for two weeks in the area of Hastings and waited for the Saxon lords to submit to him. That did not happen, so he led his forces to London. His army was shrunk by dysentery and even William was ill. He was still able to lead his forces on the city. They made their way to Wallingford on the Thames in three columns to lead a siege on London.
Eventually the Saxon nobility gave up the fight, with the northern earls Morcar and Edwin, Esegar the sheriff of London, and Edgar the Atheling coming out to submit. William was then crowned as the King of England on Christmas Day at Westminster.

The First Battle of St. Albans

The First Battle of St. Albans was the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. The battle took place on May 22, 1455 in the town of St. Albans north of London. In the battle, the Lancastrian force under Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was defeated by Richard, Duke of York and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.. Beaufort was killed, Henry VI was captured, and Richard of York declared himself Constable of England.

At the battle the York army had 3,000 soldiers, while the Lancaster army had 2,000. To avoid being outflanked by the larger force, the 2,000 troops under the Lancasters pulled back into the town and built barricades to defend against an attack from the east. Most of Henry’s forces were surprised by how quickly Richard attacked. Most of the Lancaster army was expecting a peaceful resolution such as the one at Blackheath in 1452. The leaders from both sides had actually been negotiating before the attack. There were two frontal assaults down the narrow streets against the barricades, and there were heavy casualties from the York army with no progress made.

Warwick then took reserve troops through an unguarded part of town to emerge in the Market Square where most of Henry’s troops were resting. Warwick easily routed the force and killed the Duke of Somerset. The York archers shot at the men surrounding the King, injuring him and the Duke of Buckingham. The barricades were then left unguarded. The result of the battle was a total victory for York, who captured the King and gave himself complete power.

The Battle of Carrhae

The Battle of Carrhae was fought in 53 B.C. near the town of Carrhae in present-day Turkey. The battle was fought between the Roman Republic under General Crassus and the Parthian Empire under Spahbod Surena. The battle ended in victory for the Parthian Empire.

The Parthian army was outnumbered but was able to use 1,000 heavily armed horsemen with 9,000 horse archers to defeat the Romans. The Roman legion ended up breaking formation and was routed. The main reason that the Romans were defeated was due to their heavy armor. The Parthian horse archers fired volleys into the Roman’s densely packed formation to cause major casualties. Crassus was eventually captured and killed.

The result of the battle was one of the worst losses suffered by the Roman Republic in its history. Crassus was killed and his head was put on a pike for his legionaries to see. He was tortured by having molten gold poured down his throat, then decapitated. His head was sent to the Parthian king, Orodes II. The rest of the Parthian army went on to defeat the Armenians and captured the country.

The victories by Surena made the Parthian king suspicious and jealous of him and Surena was executed. After the execution Orodes II took command of the army. He lead the army into Syria and was defeated. Gaius Cassius Longinus, a legatus under Crassus, led 10,000 surviving soldiers from the Carrhae battlefield to Syria, where he defended it from Orodes II’s attacks. The Parthians were defeated by Cassius.

The Battle of Pharsalus

The Battle of Pharsalus was a battle between Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus on August 9, 48 B.C. Caesar decisively defeated Pompey and result was an end to the wars of the First Triumvirate, leaving Caesar supreme commander of the Roman world.

Both Caesar and Pompey knew that if one army was able to flank the other, they would win. Because of this both commanders worked hard to ensure that the other side wouldn’t be able to flank them. The battle was held with the River Enipeus to the left of Caesar to make sure neither side would be able to move around the other army on his left. This mean the most important part of the battle would happen on Caesar’s right. Pompey’s goal was to win the battle with his superior cavalry. He wanted the cavalry to mount a two-front attack on Caesar’s forces.

When the troops had been deployed on both sides, the infantry closed in. Pompey had ordered his soldiers not to charge and wanted to tire them out. Caesar’s veteran centurions, however, could see through the trap and stopped halfway through their charge. Their lines rested, causing problems for Pompey because his multi-lingual forces couldn’t get their orders quickly enough. This led to confused troops.

In the end Pompey saw that defeat was imminent and fled the battle. Caesar took control of the remaining army of Pompey. Pompey fled to Egypt and was assassinated on the order of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Caesar spent the next few years defeating the rest of the senatorial faction, and once he was done, he was assassinated.

The Battle of Salamis

The Battle of Salamis was a pivotal naval battle between the Greek city states and Persia in 480 B.C. The battle took place in the strait between Paraeus and Salamis Island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. The Greek were victorious, which marked the turning point in the war versus Persia.

When the battle began the Greek fleet began rowing towards the Persians at daybreak. They retreated when they realized that they’d meet them at a wide point in the strait that would allow the Persians to take advantage of their greater numbers. The Greeks did this to gain better position and gain time until the early morning wind. Once the wind started blowing, the tall Phoenecian ships on the Persian side shook more than the Greek triremes.

At this point the Greeks attacked and both sides rammed each other. In the end the larger Persian fleet could not maneuver as well in the small area and were defeated. At least 200 Persian ships were sunk during the battle. Xerxes I, King of Persia, sat on Mount Aegaleo witnessing the battle.

The Greek victory was the turning point in the Wars. The battle has been labeled by many historians as the single most significant battle in human history because Greece’s independence laid the foundations for Western civilization. If the Persians had won the battle at Salamis, Xerxes may have ended up conquering all of Europe. The Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who fought in the battle, wrote three or four plays about the Persian wars. The only that survives today, “The Persians,” is believed to be the earliest surviving play in history.

The Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War, which took place from 431-404 BC, was an Ancient Greek conflict fought between Athens and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. The war has usually been separated into three phases, the first being the Archidamian War ending in 421 BC.

In the Archimadian War, Sparta launched invasions of Attica, with Athens taking advantage of its naval dominance to raid the coast of the Peloponnese and attempting to get rid of signs of unrest within its empire. The Archimadian War ended in 421 BC after the signing of the Peace of Nicias. The treaty ended up being undermined when new fighting broke out in the Peloponnesus.

In 415 BC Athens send a large expeditionary force to attack Syracuse in Sicily. The attack ended up in the destruction of their entire force in 413 BC. This marked the start of the last part of the war, the Ionian War. Sparta at this point was receiving support from Persia and supported rebellions in Athens’ subject states in the Aegean Sea and Ionia. This deprived Athens of its naval supremacy leading to the destruction of the Athens fleet at Aegospotami that ended the war after Athens surrendered.

The Peloponnesian War was important because it reshaped Ancient Greece. Athens went from being the strongest city state in Greece to being in near complete subjection. Sparta, on the other hand, became the top power in Greece. The war also made civil war common in Greece, leading to atrocities against each other on a large scale in many instances.