Europe

Europe (/ˈjʊərəp/ YOOR-əp or /ˈjɜrəp/ YUR-əp) is one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders for Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the term continent can refer to a cultural and political distinction or a physiographic one.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population (although the country covers both Europe and Asia), while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 731 million or about 11% of the world's population.

Europe, in particular Ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. Both World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 13,000,000 square miles (33,670,000 km2): approximately a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe and in the process, established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires bestowed, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (Britain, following the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. However, the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence was a blow to Britain, depriving it of its most populous colonies. Despite this setback, British attention soon turned towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of effectively unchallenged dominance, and expanded its imperial holdings across the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, some of which were reclassified as dominions.

The growth of Germany and the United States eroded Britain's economic lead by the end of the 19th century. Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its Empire. The conflict placed enormous financial strain on Britain, and although the Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after the war, it was no longer a peerless industrial or military power. The Second World War saw Britain's colonies in South-East Asia occupied by Japan, which damaged British prestige and accelerated the decline of the Empire, in spite of British victory. India, Britain's most valuable and populous colony, won independence within two years of the end of the war.

During the remainder of the 20th century, as part of a larger decolonisation movement by European powers, most of the territories of the British Empire became independent, ending with the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Fourteen territories remain under British sovereignty, the British overseas territories. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. Sixteen Commonwealth nations share their head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, as Commonwealth realms.

15th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was the century which lasted from 1401 to 1500.

Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, falls to emerging Ottoman Turks, forcing Western Europeans to find a new trade route.

Spanish and Portuguese explorations led to discovery of the Americas and the sea passage along Cape of Good Hope to India for the European civilization. After this discovery, transportation increased between all continents of the earth.

The Papacy was split in two parts in Europe for decades, until the Council of Constance.

Tamerlane established a major empire in the Middle East and Central Asia, in order to revive the Mongolian Empire. The Inca Empire rose to prominence in South America.

The 15th century was a bridge between the Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the Early modern period.


Events
Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl, directly influenced the result of the Hundred Years' War.

* 1401: Dilawar Khan establishes the Malwa Sultanate in present-day central India
* 1402: Ottoman and Timurid Empires fight at the Battle of Ankara resulting in Timur's capture of Bayezid I.
* 1402: Sultanate of Malacca founded by Parameshwara.
* 1403: The Yongle Emperor moves the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing.
* 1403: The settlement of the Canary Islands signals the beginning of the Spanish Empire.
* 1405–1433: Zheng He of China sails through the Indian Ocean to India, Arabia, and East Africa.
* 1410: The Battle of Grunwald was the decisive battle of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War leading to the downfall of the Teutonic Knights.
* 1410–1413: Foundation of St Andrews University in Scotland
* 1414: Khizr Khan, deputised by Timur to be the governor of Multan takes over Delhi founding the Sayyid dynasty
* 1415: Henry the Navigator leads the conquest of Ceuta from the Moors marking the beginning of the Portuguese Empire.
* 1415: Battle of Agincourt fought between the Kingdom of England and France
* 1415: Jan Hus is burned at the stake as a heretic at the Council of Constance.
* 1420: Construction of the Chinese Forbidden City is completed in Beijing.
* 1420–1434: Hussite Wars in Bohemia363
* 1424: James I returns to Scotland after being held hostage under three Kings of England since 1406
* 1424: Deva Raya II succeeds his father Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya as monarch of the Vijayanagara Empire
* 1425: Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) founded by Pope Martin V.
* 1429: Joan of Arc ends the Siege of Orléans and turns the tide of the Hundred Years' War.
* 1438: Pachacuti founds the Inca Empire.
* 1440: Eton College founded by Henry VI.
* 1440s: The Golden Horde breaks up into the Siberia Khanate, the Khanate of Kazan, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Crimean Khanate, and the Great Horde.
* 1440–1469: Under Moctezuma I, the Aztecs become the dominant power in Mesoamerica.
* 1441: Jan van Eyck, Flemish painter dies
* 1441: Portuguese navigators cruise West Africa and reestablish the European slave trade with a shipment of African slaves sent directly from Africa to Portugal.
* 1443: Abdur Razzaq visits India
* 1444: The Albanian league is established in Lezha, Skanderbeg is elected leader. A war begins against Ottoman empire. An Albanian state is set up and lasts until 1479.
* 1444: Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeats the Polish and Hungarian armies under Władysław III of Poland and János Hunyadi at the Battle of Varna.
* 1445: Kazan Khanate defeats Grand Duchy of Moscow at the Battle of Suzdal
* 1446: King Sejong the Great published a hangul, the native phonetic alphabet system for the Korean language.
* 1446: Mallikarjuna Raya succeeds his father Deva Raya II as monarch of the Vijayanagara Empire
* 1449: Esen Tayisi leads an Oirat Mongol invasion of China which culminate in the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor at Battle of Tumu Fortress.
* 1451: Bahlul Khan Lodhi ascends the throne of the Delhi sultanate starting the Lodhi dynasty
* 1453: The Fall of Constantinople marks the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of the Growth of the Ottoman Empire.
* 1453: The Battle of Castillon is the last engagement of the Hundred Years' War and the first battle in European history where cannons were a major factor in deciding the battle.
* 1454–1466: After defeating the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War, Poland annexes Royal Prussia.
* 1455–1485: Wars of the Roses – English civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.
* 1456: The Siege of Belgrade halts the Ottoman's advance into Europe.
* 1462: Sonni Ali Ber, the ruler of the Songhai (or Songhay) Empire, along the Niger River, conquered Mali in the central Sudan by defeating the Tuareg contingent at Tombouctou (or Timbuktu) and capturing the city. He developed both his own capital, Gao, and the main centres of Mali, Timbuktu and Djenné, into major cities. Ali Ber controlled trade along the Niger River with a navy of war vessels.
* 1462: Mehmed the Conqueror is driven back by Wallachian prince Vlad III Dracula at The Night Attack.
* 1467: Uzun Hasan defeats the Black Sheep Turkoman leader Jahān Shāh.
* 1467–1615: The Sengoku period is one of civil war in Japan.
* 1469: The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile leads to the unification of Spain.
* 1469: Matthias Corvinus of Hungary conquered some parts of Bohemia.
* 1469: Birth of Guru Nanak Dev. Beside followers of Sikhism, Guru Nanak is revered by Hindus and Muslim Sufis across the Indian subcontinent.
* 1470: The Moldavian forces under Stephen the Great defeat the Tatars of the Golden Horde at the Battle of Lipnic.
* 1471: The kingdom of Champa suffers a massive defeat by the Vietnamese king Lê Thánh Tông.
* 1474–1477: Burgundy Wars of France, Switzerland, Lorraine and Sigismund II of Habsburg against the Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.
* 1478: Muscovy conquers Novgorod.
* 1479: Battle of Breadfield, Matthias Corvinus of Hungary defeated the Turks.
* 1480: After the Great standing on the Ugra river, Muscovy gained independence from the Great Horde.
* 1481: Spanish Inquisition begins in practice with the first auto de fé.
* 1485: Matthias Corvinus of Hungary captured Vienna, Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor ran away
* 1485: Henry VII defeats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and becomes King of England
* 1485: Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya drives out Praudha Raya ending the Sangama Dynasty
* 1486: Sher Shah Suri, is born in Sasaram, Bihar
* 1492: The death of Sunni Ali Ber left a leadership void in the Songhai Empire, and his son was soon dethroned by Mamadou Toure who ascended the throne in 1492 under the name Askia (meaning "general") Muhammad. Askia Muhammad made Songhai the largest empire in the history of West Africa. The empire went into decline, however, after 1528, when the now-blind Askia Muhammad was dethroned by his son, Askia Musa.
* 1492: Boabdil's surrender of Granada marks the end of the Spanish Reconquista and Al-Andalus.
* 1492: Jews expelled from Spain.
* 1492: Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas from Spain.
* 1494: Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves.
* 1494–1559: The Italian Wars lead to the downfall of the Italian city-states.
* 1497–1499: Vasco da Gama's first voyage from Europe to India and back.
* 1499: Ottoman fleet defeats Venetians at the Battle of Zonchio.

World War I

World War I was a military conflict centered on Europe that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in late 1918. This conflict involved all of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred around the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, due largely to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding ones in mobility. It was the second deadliest conflict in history. The war is also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War To End All Wars or the World War (prior to the outbreak of World War II).

The assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is seen as the immediate trigger of the war. Long-term causes, such as imperialistic foreign policies of the great powers of Europe, such as the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France, and Italy, played a major role. Ferdinand's assassination by a Yugoslav nationalist resulted in a Habsburg ultimatum against the Kingdom of Serbia. Several alliances formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; as all had colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world.

The conflict opened with the German invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg and France; the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia; and a Russian attack against Germany. After the German march on Paris was brought to a halt, the Western Front settled into a static battle of attrition with a trench line that changed little until 1917. In the East, the Russian army successfully fought against the Austro-Hungarian forces but was forced back by the German army. Additional fronts opened after the Ottoman Empire joined the war in 1914, Italy and Bulgaria in 1915 and Romania in 1916. The Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, and Russia left the war after the October Revolution later that year. After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, United States forces entered the trenches and the allies drove back the German armies in a series of successful offensives. Germany agreed to a cease fire on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.

By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires—had been militarily and politically defeated. The last two ceased to exist. The revolutionized Soviet Union emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of central Europe was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states. The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war and the break-up of empires, and the repercussions of Germany's defeat and the Treaty of Versailles led to the beginning of World War II in 1939.

Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)

The Siege of Sevastopol (sometimes rendered "Sebastopol") was a major siege during the Crimean War, lasting from September 1854 until September 1855. Leo Tolstoy's early book The Sebastopol Sketches (1855–56) detailed the siege in a mixture of reportage and short fiction.



Description
In September 1854, Allied troops (British, French and Turkish) landed in the Crimea and besieged the city of Sevastopol, home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet which threatened the Mediterranean. Before it could be encircled, the Russian field army withdrew.

At the start of October, French and British engineers, moving from their base at Balaclava, began to direct the building of siege lines along the Chersonese uplands to the south of Sevastopol. The troops dug redoubts, gun batteries and trenches.

With the Russian army and its commander Prince Menshikov gone, the defence of Sevastopol was led by Vice Admirals Vladimir Kornilov and Pavel Nakhimov, assisted by Menshikov's chief engineer, Lieutenant Colonel Eduard Totleben. The military forces available to defend the city were 4,500 militia, 2,700 gunners, 4,400 marines, 18,500 naval seamen and 5,000 workmen, totalling just over 35,000 men.

The Russians first began scuttling their ships to protect the harbour, then used their naval cannon as additional artillery and the ships' crews as marines. Those ships deliberately sunk by the end of 1855 included Grand Duke Constantine, City of Paris (both with 120 guns), Brave, Empress Maria, Chesme, Yagondeid (84 guns), Kavarna (60 guns), Konlephy (54 guns), steam frigate Vladimir, steamboats Thunderer, Bessarabia, Danube, Odessa, Elbrose and Krein.

By mid-October 1854, the Allies had some 120 guns ready to fire on Sevastopol; the Russians had about three times as many to return fire and defend against attacking infantry.

On October 17, 1854 (old style date, October 29 new style) the artillery battle began. The Russian artillery first destroyed a French magazine, silencing their guns. British fire then set off the magazine in the Malakoff redoubt, killing Admiral Kornilov, silencing most of the Russian guns there and leaving a gap in the city's defences. However, the British and French withheld their planned infantry attack and a possible early end to the siege was missed.

At the same time, the Allies' ships pounded the Russian defences, taking damage but inflicting little in return before their retirement. The bombardment resumed the following day; but, working overnight, the Russians had repaired the damage caused. This would become the pattern repeated throughout the siege.

During October and November 1854, the battles of Balaclava and Inkerman took place beyond the siege lines. After Inkerman, the Russians saw that the Sevastapol siege would not be lifted by a battle in the field, so moved their troops piece by piece into the city to aid the defenders. Toward the end of November, the weather broke and winter brought a storm which ruined the Allies' camps and supply lines. Men and horses became sick and starved in the poor conditions.

While Totleben extended the fortifications around the Redan, the Flagstaff Bastion and the Malakoff, the British chief engineer John Burgoyne sought to take the Malakoff, which he saw as the key to Sevastopol. Siege works were begun to bring the Allied troops nearer to the Malakoff; in response, Totleben dug rifle pits from where the Russians could snipe at the besiegers. In a foretaste of the trench warfare that became the hallmark of the First World War, these pits became the focus of Allied assaults.

Once winter subsided, the Allies were able to restore many supply routes. A new railway, the "Grand Crimean Central Railway" built by the contractors Thomas Brassey and Samuel Peto, was used to bring supplies from Balaclava to the siegelines, delivering more than five hundred guns and plentiful ammunition. Starting on April 8, 1855 (Easter Sunday), the Allies resumed their bombardment of the Russian defences. On 28 June (10 July), Admiral Nakhimov died from a head wound inflicted by an Allied sniper.
Attack on the Malakoff by William Simpson.

On 24 August (5 September) Allies started their sixth and the most severe bombardment of the fortress. 307 cannons fired 150,000 rounds, with Russians suffering 2,000 to 3,000 casualties daily. On 27 August (8 September) 13 Allied divisions and one Allied brigade (total strength 60,000) began the last assault. The British assault on the Redan failed but the French under General de Mac-Mahon managed to seize the Malakoff redoubt making the Russian defensive position untenable. By morning 28 August (9 September) Russian forces abandoned the Southern Side of Sevastopol.

Although defended heroically and at the cost of heavy Allied casualties, the fall of Sevastopol would lead to the Russian defeat in the Crimean War.

Most of the Russian defenders of the city killed during the siege were buried in Brotherhood cemetery in over 400 collective graves. The three main commanders (Nakhimov, Kornilov, Istomin) were interred in the purpose-built Admirals' Burial Vault.

Hugh of Cluny

Hugh of Cluny (May 13, 1024 – April 28, 1109) was an Abbot of Cluny. He is sometimes referred to as "Hugh the Great" or "Hugh of Semur" and was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Hugh (the Great). He was one of the most influential leaders of one of the most influential monastic orders of the Middle Ages.

Abbot Hugh built the third abbey church at Cluny, the largest structure in Europe for many centuries, with funds provided by Ferdinand I of Leon. He was the driving force behind the Cluniac monastic movement during the last quarter of the 11th century, which had priories throughout Southern France and northern Spain. Hugh's relationship to Ferdinand I and Alphonso VI of Leon and Castile, as well as his influence upon Pope Urban II, who had been prior at Cluny under Hugh, made Hugh one of the most powerful and influential figures of the late 11th century. As the godfather of Henry IV, he also played a role as a mediator during the conflict between Gregory VII and Henry IV, though he was not successful.

His feast day is April 29.

He appears in one chapter of the Japanese manga Cesare from Fuyumi Soryo where he is at Canossa as a mediator.

Pope Alexander II

Alexander II (died April 21, 1073), born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073.

He was born in Milan. As bishop of Lucca he had been an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand in endeavouring to suppress simony, and to enforce the celibacy of the clergy. His election, which Hildebrand had arranged in conformity with the decree of 1059 (see Pope Nicholas II), was not sanctioned by the imperial court of Germany. This court, true to the practice observed by it in the preceding elections, nominated another candidate, Cadalus, bishop of Parma, who was proclaimed at the council of Basel under the name of Antipope Honorius II (1061–72), marched to Rome, and for a long time threatened his rival's position. At length, however, he was forsaken by the Germanic court and deposed by a council held at Mantua; and Alexander II's position remained unchallenged.

In 1065, he admonished Landulf VI of Benevento "that the conversion of Jews is not to be obtained by force."

In 1066, he entertained the embassy from William the Conqueror which had been sent to obtain his blessing for the Norman conquest of England. This he gave to them, gifting to them a papal ring, the Standard of St. Peter, and a papal edict to present to the English clergy saying that William was given the papal blessing for the bid for the throne. These favours were instrumental in the submission of the English church and people following the Battle of Hastings.

Alexander II oversaw the suppression of the 'Alleluia' during the Latin Church's celebration of Lent. This is followed to this day, and in the Tridentine rite 'Alleluia' is also omitted during the pre-Lenten season.

Alexander II was followed by his associate Hildebrand, who took the title of Gregory VII (1073–85).