A History of Europe, Key Battles: Recent Episodes
Carl Rylett
A podcast on European conflicts from the perspective of each side to provide an alternative to the traditional national narratives. Going chronologically from the Ancient Greeks onwards I will describe to some extent how each battle was won or lost by particular decisions, tactics, technology or fortune. But the aim of each main narrative will be to place each battle in the context of the overall history of Europe.
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A special episode where I interview Stuart E Eizenstat - an American diplomat and attorney.
Mr Einzenstat worked on Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign. After winning said campaign he became President Jimmy Carter’s Chief Domestic Policy Adviser.
Later he went on to become President Bill Clinton's Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. And he served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 1993 to 1996
Mr Eizenstat has also devoted much effort to various aspects of Holocaust Restitution, successfully negotiating major agreements with the Swiss, Germans, Austrian and French, and other European countries.
He has recently written a book called the Art of Diplomacy in which he recounts how American negotiators reached historic agreements that changed the world.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-International-Diplomacy-Stuart-Eizenstat/dp/1538167999
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The Paris Peace consisted of a group of distinct treaties, but the main concern of the delegates was the settlement with Germany, embodied in the Treaty of Versailles signed in June 1919.
Germany’s eastern frontiers presented far greater problems.
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Music composed by Edward Elgar, Enigma variations, Variation IX (Adagio) Nimrod
Picture - Treaty of Versailles, Big Four
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
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In Spring 1918 a massive German offensive made significant territorial gains, but ultimately not the intended breakthrough, and the Allied forces stood firm. Exhausted and demoralised at the scale of casualties, the Germans were pushed back in a major counter-attack in the late Summer and Autumn. And on 26 September, the Allies launched a general offensive along the entire Western Front.
Meanwhile, the Habsburg empire was fast falling apart as various nationalities declared independence.
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Music composed by Alexander Scriabin, Etude in C sharp minor. Courtesy of musopen.org
Picture - US 64th regiment celebrate the Armistice
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
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After the Russian withdrawal from the frontlines following the October revolution, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk is negotiated between Germany and Russia.
The Germans sought to conclude war on the Eastern Front as quickly as possible, while at the same time trying to establish an informal empire in east-central Europe, one composed of newly independent nation states on Russia’s western periphery. However, back on the German home front, after four harsh winters and widespread hunger, political unity was fraying, and riots and strikes occurred across the country.
Everything now depended on the success or failure of a German Spring Offensive on the western front.
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Picture - German Spring Offensive - British Lewis gun team at the Battle of Hazebrouck 1918
While the nations of Europe fought each other to a bitter stalemate, the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, urged both sides to make peace. However, no agreement is made and the United States joined the war on the side of the Entente allies.
In the meantime, the Germans ordered a general withdrawal at the western front, abandoning the battlefields of the Somme in order to establish a shorter, straighter and more well-fortified line, the so-called ‘Hindenburg Line’. The eastern front is more volatile, seeing the collapse of the Russian army, a major defeat for the Italians at Caporetto and the fall of Jerusalem to the British
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Music composed by Vaughan Williams (Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis), courtesy of musopen.org
Picture - Allenby enters Jerusalem 1917
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
As the year 1917 dawned, Europe had been at war for two and a half years, and pressures on the home fronts were becoming intolerable. Every participant nation came under huge strain.
In Russia the Tsarist regime falls in March, but the interim government is unstable and itself falls in the famous October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, who promises to withdraw Russia from the war.
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Music composed by Frederich Chopin (The Polish Dancer)
Picture - Vladimir Lenin, 1 May 1920 by Isaak_Brodsky
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
Europe entered the year 1916 exhausted by one and a half years of conflict of a scale hitherto unimaginable, with profound effects on citizens at home, as well as those on the front line.
The most intensive battles on the western front in 1916 are at Verdun and the Somme, with extraordinary numbers of casualties.
Meanwhile, on the eastern front the Russians launch a major attack, the Brusilov offensive.
Romania declared war on Austro-Hungary on 27 August 1916 and promptly invaded Transylvannia.
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Music composed by Erik Satie (Gymnopédie no. 1), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36)
Picture - Verdun - Gervais-Courtellemont_french_anti-aircraft_guns
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
For the Germans, 1915 was a year that should not have been. Their whole strategy had been based on a quick war, but they now found themselves embroiled in a two-front war – on the eastern front against Russia, and on the western front against France fully mobilised and also Britain.
Throughout 1915, in a succession of attacks of increasing intensity, the various armies learned the techniques of the new kind of war at very heavy cost.
In February 1915, Germany launched the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes with an attack on the Russians in East Prussia. Meanwhile, the Austrians attempted to push deep back into Galicia, with huge numbers of casualties on all sides.
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Music composed by Frederich Chopin, Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 6 no. 2
Picture - Skoda_305_mm_Model_1911_LOC_War_of_the_Nations
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
The first months of fighting in the First World War had seen no major breakthrough from any side. The Germans had captured about ten percent of France, and reached within sixty miles of Paris, but then reached a stalemate as both sides fortified their positions with great long lines of trenches running from Belgium to the Swiss border.
Both sides attempt to bring other countries into the war to help break the stalemate and to tip the balance in their favour. The Italians, though deeply divided, decide in the end to join the side of Britain, France and Russia. And an allied attack against the Ottomans fails at Gallipoli.
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Music composed by Freredich Chopin, Mazurka in C Sharp Minor
Picture - Sinking of the Lusitania
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
The Russians strike hard against their most powerful enemy, Germany. Austro-Hungary help their German ally although their military forces are under-resourced, in large part because through the years the Hungarian parliament had restricted military finding by using it as a bargaining chip for political concessions.
While the Austrians attack Serbia, the Germans achieve a significant victory against Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg.
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Music composed by Alexander Scriabin - Etude in C Sharp Minor
Picture - Tannenberg Bundesarchiv, East Prussian German Infantry
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
The first main clash of the First World War was on the borders of France and Germany and in Belgium. The Belgians put up more resistance than the Germans expect. However, the Battle of the Frontiers, on the Franco-German border, from 7 August to 6 September 1914 was a disaster for the French army, who suffered very heavy casualties. Meanwhile, the British Expeditionary Force were making their way to the front.
The war was set on a grim path of attritional fighting, and with both sides able to draw on millions more men it became virtually impossible to secure an easy victory. As stalemate was reached, the dreadful realisation set in that the combatants would be in this for the long haul.
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Music composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Preludes, Op. 32, Lento, in B minor)
Picture - French Bayonet Charge
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. A month later Austria retaliates by declaring war on Serbia, which in turn brings Russia and the other great powers of Europe into conflict. As Edward Grey memorably expressed it: “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again on our lifetime”.
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Music composed by Frederic Chopin (Mazurkas in C sharp minor)
Picture - Franz Ferdinand, Sarajevo
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
Why did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand trigger the First World War?
I also describe how the long struggle for mastery in central Africa reaches its climax.
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Picture - The Nine Sovereigns at Windsor for the funeral of King Edward VII
Music composed by Frederic Chopin (The Polish Dancer)
Theme tune for the podcast by Nico Vettese, www.wetalkofdreams.com
An analogy often given to the Balkans leading up to the First World War is a tinderbox, awaiting a flame to ignite it and set off a major conflagration across Europe. In fact, the region suffered a large-scale conflict already two years before the First World War began.
Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro had all acquired their independence from the Ottoman Empire over the course of the 19th century. None of them, however, were happy with the territory under their control. Each aspired to lands still under Ottoman rule in Albania, Macedonia and Thrace.
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Music composed by Frederic Chopin (The Polish Dancer)
Picture - King George I of Greece and Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria at Thessaloniki
The Italian invasion of Libya 1911.
After initial successes, the Italians face strong resistance against the Ottomans and Libyans
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Music composed by Edward Elgar (The Crown of India, March of the Mogul Emperors)
Picture - Italian landing at Tripoli
Following their countries independence in the mid 19th century, the Italians hoped to establish their status among the Great European Powers by acquiring colonial possessions. Their first main attempt was an unsuccessful invasion of Ethiopia, with a defeat at the Battle of Adowa in 1896
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Music composed by Frederic Chopin
Picture - Battle of Adwa
In the first years of the 20th century the Austrian Empire faced numerous problems, most of all the rising sense of nationalism among its various peoples. Attempting a more assertive foreign policy, the Austrians set about a plan to formally annex Bosnia and Herzegovina, which since 1878 had been administered by Vienna but still remained under nominal Ottoman suzerainty. However, this decision backfired terribly, triggering a six month diplomatic crisis which almost led to general war
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Music: Gustav Mahler's Fourth Symphony
Picture - Le Petit Journal, Balkan Crisis 1908
The Ottoman Empire is in disarray and its treasury bankrupt. Under Sultan Abdul Hamid, the Red Sultan, there are violent suppression of uprisings of the Armenians in Anatolia. And in the Balkans the Macedonians and Albanians appeal for independence. A rebellion in Macedonia leads to the The Young Turk revolution and the overthrow of the sultan.
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Music: Mazurkas by Chopin
Picture - Sultan Abdul Hamid
Tsar Alexander II of Russia is assassinated in March 1881. He was probably the most liberal of all tsars of Russia, but succeeded by reactionary leaders Alexander III and then Nicholas II. Nicholas unwisely provokes Japan into a war, and is defeated, which is a catalyst for an attempted revolution in Russia in 1905
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Music composed by Petr Tchaikovsky (Symphony nr 6 in B Minor)
Picture - Russian battleship Oslyabya, the first warship sunk in the battle of Tsushima /Bombardment during the siege of Port Arthur
A summary of the main events from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 to the beginning of the First World War in 1914
At the end of the nineteenth century the Balkans had multiple crises. The Treaty of Berlin 1878 was an attempt by the Great Powers of Europe to find a framework for stability in a region with various competing interests, many of them incompatible with each other. In effect, it created two spheres of influence in the Balkans: the Austrians’ in the west and the Russians’, together with the Serb allies, in the east.
No side, however, was satisfied with Treaty. The Bulgarians were furious at having been denied the larger territory which they had won in battle. And the Serbians harboured ambitions for their borders to be expand southwards to areas inhabited by fellow Slavs, but under control partly of the Ottoman and partly the Austrians.
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Music composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Picture - Congress of Berlin
In April 1877, two Russian armies invaded the Ottoman empire. The focus of the war became the siege of Plevna in Bulgaria. The strong resistance there gave the Turks real hope for a final victory, or at least holding off the enemy and forcing a more favourable diplomatic solution.
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Music composed by Rimsky-Korsakov: Polonaise, and Russian Easter Festival Overture
Picture - The defeat of Shipka_Peak, Bulgarian War of Independence
In April 1876 news spread across Europe of appalling atrocities being committed in Bulgaria, by Turks against local uprisings. These occurred soon after similar events elsewhere in the Balkans region – in Bosnia and Serbia. The strongest reaction came from Russia where widespread sympathy for their fellow Slavs led to a nationwide surge in patriotism
A new sultan in Constantinople, Abdul Hamid II, rejects any concessions, leading to war
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Music composed by Frederic Chopin - Mazurkas in C sharp minor
Picture - The Batak massacre carried out by Ottoman irregular troops in Bulgaria in 1876
In 1875, the Balkans entered a period of turmoil as various nationalities (Serbians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Albanians and Romanians) struggled for independence from the Ottoman Turks. Uprisings quickly spread across the region and resulted in a major war between the Ottomans and Russians from 1877 to 1878.
Meanwhile, Constantinople was suffering a renewed period of political instability which led to the overthrow of Sultan Abdülaziz in May 1876
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Music composed by Bedrich Smetana - Ma Vlast (My Fatherland), and Frederic Chopin- Nocturne in C sharp minor
Philippa has written novels set in several different historical periods, especially the Tudor period. We discussed the period around the Glorious Revolution 1688 when the Prince of Orange invaded England from Holland and replaced James II as king, and the Battle of Sedgemoor 1685 three years before.
Some of Philippa's novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been The Other Boleyn Girl, published in 2001. Philippa has also published a series of books about the Plantagenets, the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the Wars of the Roses.
Her new book is called Dawnlands, the third in a series named Fairmile.
For centuries, Europe’s German centre had been politically fragmented and weak. The continent had been dominated by states on the periphery, whose interest was to maintain the power vacuum at the centre. Now, however, for the first time, the Germans were united under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck and launched a major invasion into France, which ended up destroying the balance of power on the continent.
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Music composed by Frederic Chopin - Mazurkas in C sharp minor, Poloniase nr 7 and Predule nr 10
Picture - Bismarck and Napoleon III
Following Prussia's victory at Königgrätz in 1866, the North German Confederation became an instrument for Prussian dominance. All northern German states not directly annexed by Prussia were put in the new Confederation in which Berlin assumed control of their foreign and military affairs, and most of their internal ones as well. A solid block of Prussian territory stretched now between France and Belgium in the west to Russian Lithuania in the east.
Tensions rise between Paris and Berlin, and Napoleon III of France blunders into a war against Germany for which he is not prepared
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Music composed by Brahms Symphony nr 3, parts of the 2nd and 3rd movements
Picture - German troops at Torcy, in September 1870
The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was brief, yet its consequences were profound. It was the culminating event in a rivalry that began with the rise of the house of Brandenburg-Prussia, most notably Frederick the Great’s unprovoked attack upon the Habsburg province of Silesia in 1740. From that time Austria and Prussia were involved in a long struggle for supremacy in Germany.
In 1866 Prussian armies invades Saxony and then the Austrian Empire with the main battle occurring on 3rd July 1866 at Königgrätz with immense armies on both sides.
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Music composed by Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, movements 3 and 4. Also Waltz nr. 15 in A flat major. Courtesy of musopen.org
Any list of decisive battles of European history would be incomplete without a battle which occurred on 3 July 1866 near the town of Königgrätz, in the north of the today’s Czech Republic.
The victorious allies of the Schleswig War of 1864, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, soon after fall out with each other and go to war.
Austria faces great challenges - in the centre of Europe and facing in two directions – north and west to Germany, and south and east to a number of various ethnicities in eastern Europe and the Balkans
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Music composed by Camille Saint-saens: The Carnival of the Animals - Aquarium and Swan
Picture - Map of Central Europe
When in November 1863 King Frederick VII of Denmark died, a dispute arose over who had a legitimate claim to rule over the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Otto von Bismarck saw this as a great opportunity to increase Prussian power in the region and decided, together with the Austrians, to invade Denmark.
The key battle in the war was the siege of Dybbøl in April 1864
This month, August 2022, I'm doing a cycling challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. More info at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-rylett-cycle274
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Music composed by Anton Bruckner (Erinnerung) and Sergei Rachmaninoff (Preludes, number 10, Lento in B minor)
Picture - Siege of Dybbol
A border dispute between the German Confederation and the Kingdom of Denmark in the regions of Schleswig and Holstein breaks out into an inconclusive war in 1848-1850, and tensions remain into the 1860's.
Meanwhile, a common culture was developing across the German population of Europe, with the literary works of Goethe and Schiller, and philosophers Kant and Hegel. On the political scene, Otto von Bismarck rises to power as the Prussian chief minister. He urges the need for the king’s military reforms, famously stating that the great questions of the time would not be resolved by speeches or parliamentary votes but by ‘iron and blood’.
This month, August 2022, I'm doing a cycling challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. More info at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-rylett-cycle274
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Music composed by Edvard Grieg (Peer Gynt Suite - Aase's Death, Anitra's Dance)
Picture - Otto von Bismarck
Napoleon III of France and Cavour, chief minister of Piedmont come to an agreement to try to remove Austrian influence from the Italian peninsula, and provoke Vienna into war. One of the largest battles was at Solferino where there were three monarchs - Franz Joseph of Austria, Victor Emanuel of Piedmont and Napoleon III. The ensuing conflict lasted until 1861 when finally emerged the brand new nation of Italy
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Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi - Overture, Iphigenia In Aulis; La Traviata - Conclusion - Ah, fors' e lui. Courtesy of musopen.org.
Picture - Entry of Garibaldi to Napoli, by Franz Wenzel Schwarz
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The Napoleonic Wars had a dramatic impact on Italy, completing redrawing boundaries. Even though the French were defeated, many of their political reforms were to be both profound and long-lasting. And the temporary unification of parts of the peninsula encouraged Italians to be aware of a common nationality. Yet only decades afterwards would there be real change. Some of the protagonists were Giuseppe Garibaldi, Giuseppe Mazzini and Camillo Cavour, the Prime Minister of Piedmont
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Music composed by Franz Liszt - Die Loreley, S. 532 (Piano Solo)
and Mikhail Glinka - Trio Pathétique
An allied army of British, French and Italians besiege the Crimean port of Sevastopol in late 1854. Fighting also took place in the Baltic Sea and in the Far East, and in the Caucasus mountains at the siege of the fortress of Kars. The main event at Sevastopol was particularly protracted and bloody as the allies attempted to break through into the city
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Music composed by Frederich Chopin: Preludes No. 7 'The Polish dancer'; Nocturne in F sharp major
Picture - Battle of Malakoff
The Russians invade Moldavia and Wallachia (in modern day Romania) and destroy the Ottoman Black Sea fleet at Sinop. Under public pressure, the French and British governments, concerned about growing Russian power, decide to send in troops to force the invaders to retreat. Seeking to neutralise the Russian threat in the Black Sea and Mediterranean, the Allies decide to invade Crimea. One of several early skirmishes was the famous 'charge of the light brigade'
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Music composed by Frederich Chopin
Picture - British cavalry charging against Russian forces at Balaclava
The Ottoman Sultans attempt to reform their army and state, under pressure from outside powers, most notably Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who lays claim to protecting Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire. The Crimean War begins when Russia invades the Orthodox territories of Moldavia and Wallachia in modern day Romania.
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Music from Frederich Chopin: Nocturne in B flat minor, no. 1, and Polonaise no. 1
Picture - The First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) against the Ottoman Empire
The powers of Europe, especially Britain and France are concerned by the decline of the Ottoman Empire and growing power and ambition of Russia. This episode focuses on the problems of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, who descendants once ruled a mighty empire that threatened Christendom, but in the 1800's was struggling under the pressures of modernity and the threat of regions breaking away e.g. in Egypt, Arabia and the Balkans.
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Music: Chopin's Mazurka in C sharp minor, and Etude no. 3 in E major - 'Tristesse'; Mikhail Glinka - Trio Pathétique
Picture - Portrait of Sultan Mahmud II
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Revolutionary breaks out across Europe continent from France to Romania, Denmark to Italy. Slowly the authorities regained control but were unable to reverse all of the changes. Most governments, for example, kept some form of constitution, and liberals worked hard to defend what was left of their achievements. The events of 1848 gave millions of Europeans their first taste of politics, and remained an inspiration for later generations.
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Music: Robert Schumann - Kinderszenen, courtesy of musopen.org
Picture: The revolutionary barricades in Vienna in May 1848
In the first months of 1848, a tidal wave of revolution shook the political establishment of Europe to its foundations Events began with an uprising in Sicily in January, and by the end of the year the entire continent had been affected to some degree, including the overthrow of leaders in France, Austria, Italy and Germany
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Music: William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini, courtesy of musopen.org
Picture: Revolutionaries in Berlin in March 1848, waving the revolutionary flags
King Charles X of France is overthrown and replaced by his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans.
Meanwhile a 10 month long insurrection in Poland is crushed by the Russians. In the retribution which followed, eighty-thousand Poles are dragged off in chains to Siberia.
The year 1830 also witnessed the formal independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire after a war which had begun nine years before.
And the Industrial Revolution gathers steam across western Europe
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Music from Feliox Mendelssohn, Italian Symphony, courtesy of musopen.org
Picture - Eugène_Delacroix (Liberty Leading the People)
The Congress of Vienna 1814 at the end of the long Napoleonic Wars led to a period of relative peace on the continent of Europe. A network of institutions was established known as the ‘Concert of Europe’ where differences could be thrashed out before leading to war.
After the French Revolution, the basis of sovereignty shifted from individuals and families as leaders to nations and states. Throughout Europe a generation of individuals from the educated elite took the lead in developing movements of national liberation and liberal reform. But for more than thirty years the leaders of the Great Powers of the continent successfully managed to suppress these movements and clamped down on any signs of internal unrest or revolution
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Music: Frederich Chopin - Polonaise in A Flat Major; Franz Schubert's Symphony no.5
Picture: Congress of Vienna watercolour etching by August Friedrich Andreas
The French army invades Russia. The Russians retreat deep into their own territory then confront the French at the inconclusive Battle of Borodino of September 1812. Napoleon leads his men into Moscow but is forced to abandon the city and return westwards in the middle of winter, resulting in devastating losses. The anti-French coalition regain the initiative at the huge Battle of the Nations and finally at the Battle of Waterloo.
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Music composed by Beethoven; Moonlight Sonata and Symphony No.6 in F major. Courtesy of musopen.org
The French invade Prussia and capture its capital Berlin, and then move into Poland and take Warsaw. Napoleon and Tsar Alexander then agreed the Treaties of Tilsit. The greatest resistance to French dominance comes from the Spanish, aided by the British under the command of the Duke of Wellington.www.patreon.com/historyeuropewww.historyeurope.netMusic from Beethoven - Symphony Nr 5, courtesy of www.musopen.orgPicture: Charles Meynier - Entrée de Napoléon à Berlin, 27 Octobre 1806
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Peace could potentially have lasted after the treaties of Lunéville and Amiens of 1801 and 1802 had the great powers accepted each others’ spheres of influence. However, the agreements turned out to be just a short truce. Napoleon’s continued annexations in Europe and apparent ambitions in the Mediterranean and Near East alarmed the British and Russians. The French suffer defeat at Trafalgar but manage to occupy Vienna. The Russians then withdrew back eastwards, while the Austrians hastened to make peacewww.patreon.com/historyeuropewww.historyeurope.netMusic from Beethoven - Symphony Nr 3 'Eroica', played by Czech National Symphony Orchestra, courtesy of www.musopen.orgPicture: Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor_Napoleon in His Study at the Tuilerie
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Napoleon leads the French into Egypt but is defeated at the Battle of the Nile by the British. Afterwards the Russians and Austrians push back against the French in Italy, but then suffer a reverse at the Battle of Marengo. Marengo turned out arguably to be the most important victory of Napoleon’s career. Had he lost the battle, he would have lost the war and probably the consulship. Instead his narrow win secured his job and won him Italy.
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Music from Mozart - March in D major; Violin Concerto no. 3 in G major, II. Adagio, courtesy of www.musopen.org
Picture - Jacques-Louis David - Napoleon Crossing the Alps
The French invade Belgium in 1794 and the Netherlands in 1795. The coalition against them starts to fall apart as individual members came to terms. Russia, Prussia and Austria are distracted by their partitioning of Poland, which is wiped off the map.
Next the French invade Austria and Italy, the Italian campaign led by a promising young commander Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Music from Mozart (Symphony no. 40 'Prague'), courtesy of www.musopen.org
Picture - Louis-François, Baron Lejeune - The Battle of Lodi 1796
A French military victory at Valmy in 1792 and the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 focused the growing concern across Europe about the radical new regime in Paris. The true revolutionary nature of events in France was dawning on everyone, including the possibility of the export of the revolutionary principles. In France, there was further political turmoil in 1793 with the coming to power of Maximilien Robespierre, who embarked on a fully fledged reign of Terror
Music - Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, I. Allegro
Picture - Battle of Jemmapes, by Raymond Desvarraux
The French king from 1774, Louis XVI, was poorly equipped for the role of national leader at a difficult time. His tragedy was that he had good intentions and a strong sense of responsibility. But he was shy and awkward and lacked the required political skills and charisma. Decades of failure for the French in foreign and domestic affairs, resulted in a profound crisis of legitimacy for the monarchy, resulting in the famous revolution of 1789
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Music from Hector Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique), courtesy of www.musopen.org
Picture - Jean-Pierre Houël - The storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789
The Origins of the French Revolutionary Wars can be dated to 17th August 1787, when in Constantinople the Ottomans arrested the Russian ambassador Count Bulgakov in the Topkapi palace, and declared war on St Petersburg. Catherine the Great had deliberately provoked the Turks and now dragged in the reluctant Austrians into the war. The Austrian Emperor was Joseph II, the archetypal enlightened despot, who worked hard to reform his empire but from the top down. His reforms provoked the so-called Brabantine Revolution 1789-90 in the Netherlands which was similar in some ways to the contemporary French Revolution.
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Music from Joseph Haydn (Symphony 94, 'Surpise'), Christoph Gluck (the opera 'Iphigenie En Tauride') and Mozart (the Turkish March), courtesy of www.musopen.org
Picture - January Suchodolski - the Siege of Ochakov 1788
In the last years of the 19th century the continent of Europe was turned on its head. France erupted into revolution in the middle of what was already a volatile situation, with various tensions between the Great Powers (Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Ottomans as well as France). The storming of the Bastille is an iconic moment, not just for French, but world history. It came at a time when French prestige was in decline and her foreign policy seemed adrift. The French support of the British colonies in America helped them gain independence but did little for France herself. Meanwhile the Austrian Empire faced its own challenges, led by Joseph I after the death of Maria Theresa, and the Dutch Republic also appeared on the verge of revolt
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Music from Hector Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Serenade in G Major or Eine Kleine Nachtmusik), courtesy of www.musopen.org
Picture - Jacques Bertaux_-_Prise du palais desTuileries
Russo-Turkish War 1768-74, Catherine the Great
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Seven Years War 1756-1763, Part 2
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Music composed by Joseph Haydn, courtesy of musopen.org
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Seven Years War 1756-63, Part 1
Pictured - Frederick the Great
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Music - Joseph Haydn, Symphony 49 'The Passion', courtesy of www.musopen.org
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War of Austrian Succession Concludes
Pictured - Battle of Fontenoy
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Music - Winter by Antonio Vivaldi, courtesy of musopen.org
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Prussian Invasion of Habsburg Silesia by Frederick the Great
Pictured - Maria Theresa - ruler of the Habsburg dominions
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Music composed by Domenico Scarlatti, courtesy of musopen.org
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Background to the War of Austrian Succession 1740-48
War of Polish Succession 1733–35, Russo-Turkish War 1735–1739, War of Jenkins Ear 1739-1748
Pictured - Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania until his death in 1733, which triggered the War of Polish Succession
Music composed by Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for Bassoon in A minor, Concerto 11 in c minor, courtesy of musopen.org
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Introduction to the War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748; the rise of Prussia and beginning of the European Enlightenment. Pictured - Frederick William I, the king in Prussia and elector of Brandenburg (reigned 1713-40), known as the "Soldier King" for building up the military of his state.
Music composed by Georg Philipp Telemann, courtesy of musopen.org
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The armies of Peter the Great and Charles of Sweden fight the Battle of Poltava 1709. The Great Northern War 1700-1721 afterwards continues for a number of years, notably the Battle of the River Prut 1711, where the Russians confront the Ottomans.
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Charles XII of Sweden launches an audacious campaign towards Moscow through Poland, linking up with the Cossack leader Ivan Mazepa (pictured)
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The Great Northern War - Charles XII, the young new king of Sweden, defends himself from attacks from his neighbours Russia, Denmark and Poland
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The conquest of Siberia, split in the Russian Orthodox Church between new and old believers, uprising of Stenka Razin, conquest of Azov near the Black Sea, and early years of Peter the Great (pictured)
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The French army of Louis XIV was on the ropes, but fought hard against the British, Dutch, Austrians and Prussians at the Battle of Malplaquet 1709. Peace was finally agreed in with the Treaties of Utrecht 1713 and Rastadt 1714, establishing a new balance of power on the continent.
Composer - George Friedrich Handel, Water Music
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War of Spanish Succession - Heavy fighting across Western Europe, including in Italy and the Iberian peninsula between troops loyal to Philip V and the French on the one side and Austrians, Dutch and British on the other. Meanwhile the Duke of Marlborough leads the British and their allies against the French at the battles of Ramillies and Oudenaarde
Music: composer Giuseppe Torelli, Tumpet Concerto in D 'Estienne Roger - 1. Allegro moderato
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The Battle of Blenheim was a major turning point in the War of the Spanish Succession. A British and Allied army, led by the Earl of Marlborough, marched rapidly southwards from the Netherlands to confront a Franco-Bavarian army
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Music composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Intro music by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
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Carlos II, the King of Spain, was dying. He had become king at the age of four in 1665 and throughout his life had suffered appalling physical ill-health. As the only surviving son of Philip IV of Spain and with expectations low that he would produce a heir, the question of succession was for a long time prominent in European politics. War indeed erupted in 1701 on his death
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The Nine Years' War (1688–1697) was a conflict between France and a European coalition which included the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, Savoy and Portugal. It was fought in Europe and the surrounding seas, in North America, and in India. The war encompassed the Williamite war in Ireland and Jacobite risings in Scotland, where William III and James II struggled for control of England and Ireland
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Music composed by Louis de Caix d'Hervelois
Intro music by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
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Louis XIV has become the historical embodiment of the style of absolutist government where the monarch personally directs all matters of state as he or she sees fit, with authority given as a divine right. When he ascended to the throne, France was the most populous country in western Europe, and he intended to use its resources to pursue glory for his dynasty and kingdom at the expense of his neighbours.
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Music composed by Francois Couperin
Intro music by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
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At the battles of the Boyne and of Aughrim 1690, a force of Irish Catholics, supported by Louis XIV of France, fought against a multi-national army commanded by William of Orange, head of the Dutch Republic, who was also the newly crowned King of England following a successful coup known as the Glorious Revolution 1688. The battles paved the way for English domination of the British Isles through the military suppression of the Irish, and in time Britain became more politically united.
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Intro music by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
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Soon after William of Orange took control of England in the Glorious Revolution 1688 and became King William III of England, he found it necessary to confront a rebellion in Ireland. With the support of King Louis XIV of France, the deposed King James arrives in Ireland to support Catholic resistance to William and to reclaim his crown
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Intro music by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
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In 1688 a large invasion arrived in England from the Dutch Republic, led by William of Orange. It was a risky move, driven partly out of fear of the English allying with Louis XIV of France, who was threatening to attack his country. King James II of England was fast losing popular support for his Catholic sympathies, a fact exploited in William's propaganda to the English.
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Music: Henry Purcell (Overture in G minor, Gordion Knot Untied)
Intro by Nico Vettese (wetalkofdreams.com)
Picture: William III Landing at Brixham, Torbay
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Siege of Vienna 1683
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Music: Palestrina (Adoramus te Christe); Elgar (March of the Mogul Emperors)
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Build-up to Siege of Vienna 1683
Picture: Jan Sobieksi
Music by composer Johann Jospeh Fux - Symphony in F Major, Partita in G Minor
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The Habsburg Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705) faces the twin challenge of the France of Louis XIV in the west and the Ottoman Empire in the East
Music: Christmas Concert by composer Arcangelo Corelli
Picture: Leopoldine Wing of the Hofburg Palace, Vienna
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In the 1660's and 1670's the British (after the Restoration of the Monarchy led by King Charles II) and the Dutch fight a second and third naval war for control of the seas. It includes the audacious Dutch Attack on the Medway of June 1667
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Music: Henry Purcell - Chacony in G minor, The Gordion Knot Untied . Courtesy of musopen.org
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The death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658 left the republican government in disarray. The mood of the country favoured the return of monarchy, and so King Charles II was invited to the restored English throne in May 1660. Soon after conflict with the Dutch Republic renewed with the Second Anglo Dutch War
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Music: Alessandro Scarlatti - Sinfonie di concerto grosso No 12 in c minor, La Geniale; Concerti Grossi No 5 in d minor, courtesy of musopen.org
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The Anglo Dutch wars were not only important events in their own right, but also the earliest in a sequence of naval wars which continued into the nineteenth century. At first sight the British Commonwealth government under Oliver Cromwell and the Dutch Republic had much in common and should have been allies, but trade and shipping disputes between them led to a conflict for control of the seas.
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Music: Henry Purcell - The Fairy Queen; Abdelazer (or The Moor's Revenge) courtesy of musopen.org
Art: Reinier Nooms - The Battle of Leghorn
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After the execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and his Commonwealth government asserted their authority over Ireland and Scotland. They fought off an invasion from Charles's son, which was defeated at the Battle of Worcester 1651 and then attacked the remaining Royalist forces in the Scilly Isles, Channel Islands and the Americas. Meanwhile, tensions grew with the neighbouring Dutch Republic
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Music: Jean-Baptiste Lully - Le bourgeois gentilhomme, courtesy of musopen.org
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Turmoil in northern and eastern Europe continues with war involving Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland-Lithuania and the Ottoman Empire. The Cossacks of Ukraine lose their last hopes for autonomy. The Russians take a big step forwards to establishing themselves permanently upon the Black Sea and also in a position where they can take a closer interest in Central Europe
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Music courtesy of musopen.org. Frederic Chopin, Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9 no. 2; Etude Op. 10, no. 3 in E major - 'Tristesse'
A Cossack uprising breaks out in 1648 partly a response to local grievances but also an attempt to retain a degree of autonomy. However, by appealing to Moscow for help, Bohadan Khmelnitsky triggers the invasion of Sweden as well as Russia, which ultimately caused devastation, and the beginning of the end of Poland as a major power. The events are known as the Swedish Deluge, or just the Deluge in Poland, and as ‘the Ruin’ in Ukrainian history
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Music Courtesy of musopen.org
Mazurka in C sharp minor
Polonaise in A flat major
First Part of a series 'The Ruin and the Deluge' on the turbulent late 17th century of eastern Europe. In 1648 the Cossacks start a major rebellion against their Polish overlords. In an attempt to retain autonomy for his people, the Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnitsky (pictured) appeals to Tsar Alexis of Moscow for help
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Music courtesy of musopen.org. Composer: Frederic Chopin
Nocturne in B flat minor, Op.9 no.1
Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op.6 no.2
Polonaise, Op. 71 no.1
Build-up to the English Civil War, with growing tensions between King Charles I and the Parliament
Music: John Dowland - Lachrimae, or Seven Tears; Lassus - Susanne un jour (piano); Thoinot Arbeau - Orchésographie - Pavane: Belle qui tiens ma vie
Picture: Attempted Arrest of the Five members, by Charles West Cope
Part 1 on the English Civil War. The reign of the first Stuart king of England, James I (James VI of Scotland) was relatively calm, but there were religious tensions, including the Gunpowder Plot 1605, and disagreements with parliament, which presaged the later troubles of his son Charles I
Music: Orlando Gibbons, Silver Swan
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Last decade of the Thirty Years War - French, Swedish, Spanish, German, and imperial armies fight to gain strategic advantage in a central Europe already devastated by many years of conflict and pillaging. Finally in 1648 the sides agree to the Peace of Westphalia.
Music: Claudio Monteverdi - Lamento della ninfa, 1638, dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand III
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The French, her foreign policy led by Cardinal Richelieu, enter the Thirty Years War after the Battle of Lutzen 1632
Music: Giovanni Paolo Cima - O Dulcedo Meliflua, 1610
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Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, launches a stunning attack into Germany and dramatically turns the tide of the Thirty Years War, concluding at the Battle of Lutzen 1632
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Before Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, got involved in the 30 Years War, he had already fought wars against Denmark, Poland and Russia
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Warfare engulfs central Europe as Spain and the Dutch renew their war and Christian IV of Denmark invades the Holy Roman empire. Ferdinand II declares the Edict of Restitution to reassert Catholicism and imperial authority
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The Thirty Years war is triggered by a revolt in Bohemia, and the famous Defenestration of Prague 1618. Frederick V of the Palatinate accepts the rebels' invitation to lead them, leading to the Battle of White Mountain for control of Prague.
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The 17th century was one of the most bloody of European history. The Thirty Years War in particular is notorious for the sustained carnage and destruction it caused, and still burns in German memory as the most bloody period in their history before the twentieth century. Today's episode describes the situation on the continent leading up to the conflict. Pictured: Emperor Ferdinand II and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Music: Giovanni Palestrina
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Sultan Osman II leads a massive invasion force to Poland, confident of victory after defeating a Christian army the year before. The Ottomans meet a combined Polish-Cossack army near the Romanian-Polish border by the fortress of Khotytn (pictured). And so commences a month long battle for control of the region.
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Cossacks raid the Black Sea coast as far as Kaffa and Istanbul. King Sigismund III of Poland vies for control of Moldavia, today a region in Romania with the Turks. In response Sultan Osman II declares war on Poland, gaining victory at Cecora in 1620 (pictured). The next year the Ottomans prepare a much bigger army for an invasion of Poland
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A succession of weak rulers begins the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire. Their fight with the Habsburgs for control of Hungary continues with the Long Turkish War 1593-1606
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Background to the Battle of Khotyn 1621. The Cossacks occupy a central place in the history of Ukraine and surrounding region. They were not so much a distinct race but a way of life, a military caste whose service, though not always loyalty, was brought for concessions of land and limited independence. They inhabited a no-mans land in south-eastern Europe between the Christian states of Poland-Lithuania and Muscovy to the north, and the Ottoman Turks and their vassals to the south east
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The famous Spanish Armada of 1588 was only one of several battles in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604. Elizabeth hoped to take advantage of her victory by striking another blow to the Spanish fleet but in truth her own forces were exhausted. The conflict continued for several more years, and became embroiled in continental affairs; the Dutch Revolt and rise of Henry IV of France. Finally, I look at the legacies of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth I of England
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The famous attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588
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The Duke of Parma (pictured), sent by Philip II of Spain, makes good progress putting down tough resistance in the Dutch Revolt. Spanish success prompts Elizabeth I to get more involved
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Origins of the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648). Philip II of Spain inherits the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Naples and the newly discovered Americas as well as the Iberian Peninsula. Unrest breaks out in the Netherlands, and resistance grows against Philip's rule. Meanwhile, Anglo-Spanish relations are further strained by the discovery of a Spanish plot to kill Queen Elizabeth, the Ridolfi plot
Pictured: Philip of Spain and William of Orange, leader of the revolt
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The kingdoms of England and Spain are allies during the reign of Mary I of England and her husband Philip Habsburg, son of Emperor Charles V. Mary, however, dies childless and is succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, a Protestant. Meanwhile Mary Queen of Scots is briefly Queen of France, but on the death of her husband returns to Scotland, causing a dilemma for Queen Elizabeth.
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Something different this week - an interview with historian and author Jacob F. Field, whose works include:
One Bloody Thing After Another: The World's Gruesome History
We Shall Fight on the Beaches: The Speeches That Inspired History
And more recently - A History of Europe in Bite Sized Chunks
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Conclusion of the French Wars of Religion. On the death of all four sons of Catherine de Medici, the Valois dynasty dies out, leaving a committed Protestant, Henry of Navarre, as heir to the throne. He would go on to become Henry IV, founder of the Bourbon dynasty and one of France's greatest kings.
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Fighting breaks out in France between Protestants and Catholics in a series of conflicts known as the French Wars of Religion. The most infamous event of all is the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre 1572
The Protestant Faith is spreading fast when Henry II (pictured) ascends to the throne of France in 1574. His early death destabilizes the French Crown
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Beginnings of the Reformation, triggered in 1517 by Martin Luther, whose ideas spread quickly thanks to the recent invention of the printing press. Also the economy of France flourishes during the reign of Francis I (1515-1547)
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The final years of Livonia Wars, the struggle for control of the southern Baltic coastline between Sweden, Denmark, Poland-Lithuania and Russia. King Stephan Bathory of Poland leads a campaign into Muscovite territory and besieges the city of Pskov (pictured). Also, the legacy of Ivan IV the Terrible
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Ivan the Terrible, convinced of treachery all around him, orders the execution of anyone he suspects of disloyalty. He then creates the Oprichnina, a state within a state in Muscovy, and subjects his people to successive waves of terror, including the massacre of Novogord 1569. Moscow comes under threat in 1571 from an immense army of Crimean Tatars leading to the Battle of Molodi. Meanwhile Denmark and Sweden fight the Seven Years War.
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The History of Medieval Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea, and rivalries between the Hanseatic League (a naval merchant alliance), Denmark, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania
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The Livonian Order, in decline for years, suffers defeat at the Battle of Ermes 1560 against an army of Ivan the Terrible, triggering a conflict to fill the power vacuum; the Northern Wars
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The Battle of Lepanto - the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity. A clash for supremacy of the Mediterranean between the Ottomans and a Christian Holy League
Sultan Selim II directs an Ottoman invasion against the Venetian controlled island of Cyprus, leading to the siege of Famagusta which lasted almost a year from September 1570 to August 1571
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Philip II of Spain suffers a major setback by the failure to capture the port of Tripoli. Then in 1565 the Ottomans, in the ascendancy in the Mediterranean, attempt to capture the island of Malta, leading to one of most epic sieges of all time. Also, the passing away of Suleiman the Magnificent
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The Ottoman Turks and their Barbary Pirate allies fight against Emperor Charles V and Italians for influence in the Mediterranean but form an alliance of convenience with France which shocks Christendom. Meanwhile there is court intrigue in Constantinople centred around the sultan's harem. And Charles V decides to abdicate after a long reign (pictured: a tapestry of the abdication ceremony)
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Barbary Pirates fill a political vacuum in North Africa in the 1400's. Then in the 1500's, after the capture of Cairo, the Ottomans expand into the Mediterranean. Emperor Charles V captures the strategic city of Tunis in 1535 but Christendom soon after faces numerous setbacks against the Turks, most notably defeat the naval Battle of Preveza 1538 (pictured)
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Unfortunately I must put the podcast on hiatus for 4 months. Having been elected to represent my local village of Eynsham, for a period I will not realistically be able to keep the podcast going at the same rate as before. But when I'm back, there will be lots of great stories to tell of key battles, from the Battle of Lepanto 1571, Spanish Armada, French Religious Wars of Religion, and many more. See you again in the autumn.
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The Siege of Kazan 1552. The conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan by Muscovy can be seen as the birth of a Russian Empire. It had profound consequences for the steppe region and beyond, allowing Russian expansion eastwards, eventually as far as the Pacific.
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Early years of Ivan IV, the Terrible. On his reaching maturity, Moscow resumes its bid for control of the neighbouring khanate of Kazan, already weakened by decades of instability
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The story of the complex relationship between the Russians and their southern and eastern neighbours in 1400s-early 1500's. Those neighbours were the successor states of the once mighty Mongol-Tatar empire known as the Golden Horde; the khanates of Kazan, Crimea, Siberia, the Great Horde and Nogay Horde. These relationships were at least as important to Muscovy as those with her western neighbours. Pictured: QolSharif Mosque in the city of Kazan, Russia
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Suleiman the Magnificent leads a huge army across the Balkans to confront the leadership of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Battle of Mohacs proved to be a key event in the history of eastern Europe
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Expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1500's. Conquest of the Balkans and Mamluk-controlled Egypt, and rivalry with Shia Persia. Also, the story of the kingdom of Hungary in the same period, leading up to the Battle of Mohacs 1526. Pictured - the coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary 1458-1490
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The fight for naval supremacy of the lucrative spice trade of the Indian Ocean between the Mamluk Sultanate based in Cairo and the Portuguese
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The Portuguese begin to seize control of the spice trade of the Indian Ocean, by a mixture of diplomacy and brute force. For King Manuel of Portugal, his new maritime empire becomes not just an end in itself but a possible opportunity to weaken the Mamluk Sultanate, and perhaps even a means to recover the Holy Land for Christianity. Pictured: the Zamorin of Calicut
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The epic voyage of Vasco Da Gama 1497-1499, who sailed from Portugal, around the southern tip of Africa, along the eastern coast of Africa and then onto India. The discovery of a sea route from Europe to India began the European age of exploration, with huge consequences for both Europe and the rest of the world
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Portugal, having established its position in Iberia, begins to make conquests in Morocco. At the same time the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator (pictured) sponsors the beginning of a series of discoveries along the west coast of Africa. In 1487-88 Europeans, led by Bartolomeu Dias , circumnavigate the southern tip of Africa for the first time, and reach the Indian Ocean
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Russo-Lithuanian Wars 1500-1503. Ivan III the Great (pictured) continues the expansion of Muscovy by the capture of Lithuanian territories
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Russia in the 1400's. The Conquest of Novgorod by Ivan III the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow
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King Charles VIII of France, following his conquest of Naples, heads back through Italy to France but is attacked on his way back by a combined Venetian-Milanese army. The two sides meet near the village of Fornovo, near Parma. Although ultimately a failure, Charles' expeditions had major repercussions for it triggered the decades long Italian Wars, when the Italian peninsula became the battleground between foreign powers
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Charles VII leads his army into Italy to invade the Kingdom of Naples. He is invited into the peninsula by Ludovico Il Moro of Milan, concerned about aggression from Naples. Ludovico had expected the French to to travel to Naples largely by sea, and with a smaller force, not the full deployment of the French crown
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Lorenzo il Magnifico, ruler of Florence 1469-1492. In the so-called Pazzi Conspiracy Pope Sixtus IV organises an assassination attempt on Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano. Lorenzo survives and goes on to help negotiate a peace treaty between the five great powers of Italy. For his influence and diplomatic skills he becomes known as 'the needle of the Italian compass'. Lorenzo also sponsored great artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo da Vinci. However, towards the end of his reign, the people of Florence grow increasingly resentful about economic disruptions and turn to the radical preacher Savonarola
Rise of the Medici dynasty in Florence. Renaissance Italy sees a remarkable flourishing of art and literature, with such writers as Dante, Bocaccio and Petrarch, the architects Brunelleschi and Michelozzo, and the artists Giotto and Pisano. Florence creates a republican system of government, although imperfect, democratic for its time. Cosimo de Medici, a skilled diplomat, rises to power in Florence and helps organise the Peace of Lodi, which brings a period of relative peace and stability to the Italian peninsula
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Overview of Italy in the 1400's in the lead-up to the Renaissance and Italian Wars. The 5 main powers were The Papacy, Milan, Florence, Naples and Venice, each with very different characteristics. The Maritime Republic of Venice, its overseas territories threatened by the Ottomans, attempts to expand on the mainland. Also, the turbulent history of Naples in 1300's and 1400's
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The Burgundian Wars 1474-1477. Charles the Bold of Burgundy captures the Duchy of Lorraine. But he faces fierce resistance from his neighbours who form an alliance called the League of Constance, which includes several Swiss towns. The culmination of the wars is the Siege of Nancy 1476-77Visit the Patreon page at: www.patreon.com/user?u=3521613
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Charles the Bold of Burgundy imposes his will on the citizens of Low Countries but, in so doing, creates resentment. Meanwhile, stoked by Louis XI of France, tensions rise between Charles and the Swiss
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Survey of Western European powers around 1460's, including England, France, Burgundy, Switzerland, Savoy, and the major antagonists; King Louis XI of France (pictured) and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy
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The Hussite Wars; a series of crusades in the Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech Republic) against religious dissidents, prepared to go to war to protect their religious freedoms against the Catholic Church
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Early History of Bohemia (approx modern day Czech Republic). The Golden Age of Prague (pictured) under Emperor Charles IV, and execution of Jan Hus for alleged heresy, which triggered the Hussite Wars
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Culmination of the Hundred Years War at the Battle of Castillon 1453. The French rapidly advance into English-held territory in Normandy and Aquitaine
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The English fail to capture Orleans, famously defended by Joan of Arc. Charles the Dauphin makes gains against the English and is crowned at the Cathedral of Reims. Philip the Good, meanwhile, concentrates on building up his Duchy of Burgundy. In 1435 the Treaty of Arras is signed between France and Burgundy - a major diplomatic defeat for the English
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After the death of Henry V, the English, under the leadership of John Duke of Burgundy, attempt to consolidate their hold on northern France and push into the south. Resistance forms in France around Charles the Dauphin. Also involved is Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (pictured) although his main focus of attention is in his own lands to the east.
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A History of Burgundy through the centuries. Civil war and the assassination of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy leaves France vulnerable to invasion by King Henry V of England and helps lead to defeat at Agincourt in 1415
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Agincourt 1415 - the most famous battle of The Hundred Years War. An army led by King Henry V of England achieves a resounding victory over the French
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Relations between England and France after the Battle of Poitiers 1356 and in the lead-up to the Battle of Agincourt 1415. I briefly cover the reigns of Kings Richard II and Henry IV of England, and Charles V and Charles VI of France
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The Battle of Grunwald/Tanneberg 1410 - an important battle in the history of Poland and the Baltic Region. Fought between the Teutonic Knights with guest crusaders on one side and on the other, a combined Polish/Lithuanian army. Also discussed is the battle's aftermath and its relevance today
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In the 14th century Lithuania became a major European power under the leadership of Algirdas, his brother Kęstutis, and their respective sons Jogaila and Vytautas (pictured), This episode describes Lithuania and her relations with the Teutonic Knights leading up to the Battle of Grunwald 1410
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Struggle for Pomerania and Danzig/Gdansk between the native population, Teutonic knights and Kingdom of Poland. Teutonic knights move base to Marienberg. King Casimir the Great of Poland. Dynastic union of Poland and Lithuania in 1390's. Includes quotes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Picture: Marienburg/Malbork fortress (visitmalbork.pl)
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Baltic Region in the 13th Century. Origins of the Teutonic Knights. Expansion of the Duchy of Lithuania as far south as the Black Sea at the expense of the declining Mongol Empire
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In September 1380 Grand Prince Dmitri of Moscow led an army which confronted an invasion force of Mongols on the banks of the River Don. After his victory he became known to history as Dmitri Donskoi, and a great Russian hero. But to what extent is it justified to portray Dmitri as a symbol of Russian resistance against Tatar repression?
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Build up to the Battle of Kulikovo, fought between Russian and Mongol armies in 1380. Covers the rise of Muscovy, and Russia under the 'Tatar Yoke'
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Edward the Black Prince, son of King Edward III of England, wins the Battle of Poitiers 1356. The French King, John II, is captured and ransomed, while civil war erupts in his kingdom
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The Battle of Crecy was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years War - an important victory for the English and a landmark moment in European military history
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One of the greatest naval battles of the European Middle Ages, the English victory at The Battle of Sluys, fought at the coast of Flanders, was crucial to starting The Hundred Years Warwww.historyeurope.net
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King Edward III of England declares war on France to begin The Hundred Years War
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Background to The Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Thirteenth century France thrives; King Philip IV the Fair of France; Avignon Papacy begins
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The Battle of Rio Salado 1340 and the subsequent Siege of Algeciras were the key moments in the struggle for the Straits of Gibraltar between Christian Spain, Muslim North Africa and the Sultanate of Granada, the last remaining Muslim state in Iberia
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The Gibraltar Crusades is the name given to the struggle for control of the Straits between Spain and Morocco in the 13th and 14th centuries. Castile and the Marinid dynasty of Morocco fought each other and Granada, the last Muslim state in Iberia.
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After the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa 1212 the Christians of Iberia, especially the Castillians, are able to conquer much territory from the Muslims. Plus an overview of thirteenth century Spain
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The princes of Kievan Rus gather an army to confront a Mongol force which has invaded the Pontic Steppe. The two sides meet at the Battle of The Kalka River 1223
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After conquering northern China the Mongols of Genghis Khan launch a campaign westwards through Persia and the Caucasus Mountains and into Europe
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For two centuries after Vladimir the Great's conversion to Christianity Kievan Rus enjoyed a golden age. A common culture and sense of identity formed in the lands of the Rus' despite political turmoil. The three main centres of power, each different in character, were Vladimir Suzdal, Novgorod and Volynia-Galicia
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Vladimir the Great is credited with transforming Kievan Rus into a true medieval state with Christianity at the heart of its sense of identity. The story is linked to the siege of the Crimean city of Cherson in 988 and the Byzantine Emperor Basil II The Bulgar Slayer
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The dynasty of Rurik builds the foundations of a new power in eastern Europe - Kievan Rus. Princess Olga takes vengeance on a rebel town by burning it down, but after converting to Christianity was later sainted. Her son, Syvatoslav defeats the Khazars and then tries to resettle his people in Bulgaria before his early death
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The origins of the Slavs are shrouded in uncertainty. We rely on scraps of contemporary writings and later writings such as The Primary Chronicle of Kievan Rus. They tell us of the unification by Vikings of scattered tribes in the region of the Baltic - Black Sea waterways
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Brief history of Crimea and North Black Sea region 500BC-800 AD, during which time many different peoples having left their mark, including Greeks, Scythians, Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Khazars
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Intro is the Russian Presidential Address of 2014. Then an outline of different perspectives on Ukrainian and Russian History, and next a description of the geography and early history of the Black Sea region from the time of the Ancient Greeks
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Simon de Montfort probably hoped to quickly finish off the last pockets of resistance after the Battle of Muret. Instead conflict continued for another one and a half decades. What would happen to Simon, to Count Raymond and the people of Languedoc at this critical period for the region?
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In September 1213 in southwestern France two Christian armies faced each other off. One was led by King Peter II of Aragon, who after his glorious victory against a Muslim army at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa the previous year, was not only one of the most respected monarchs of Christendom but a favoured son of the Church. The other army was composed of crusaders, mainly from northern France, fighting on behalf of the Pope to root out heresy from the French region of Languedoc
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Simon de Montfort becomes leader of the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of Languedoc. He meets resistance from Count Raymond VI of Toulouse and the general population of the region
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Background to the Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade in Languedoc, southern France
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A powerful league unites against Philip II Augustus of France, including King John of England, Emperor Otto IV, and numerous counts of France. Historians are pretty unanimous, that this was a decisive battle which helped shape western Europe
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King John prepares to invade France and recover his lost territories. In the meantime King Philip Augustus of France consolidates his gains on the continent, provoking resistance among local rulers, especially in Flanders.
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In the year 1204, Philip Augustus of France wrested control of the duchy of Normandy from King John of England. The long Capetian-Plantagenet struggle for power, however, was not yet over and would reach another decisive point a decade later at the Battle of Bouvines, 1214. This time the leaders of the other main power of the western Europe, Germany, would be brought into the conflict, and so also have important consequences for central Europe and Italy. And so for this episode I will get us up to date with the political situation in Germany.
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Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Caliph al-Nasir, also known as Miramamolin invades Spain with a huge Muslim army which is met in the Sierra Nevada mountains by a Christian army, including King Alfonso VIII of Castile, Pedro/Peter II of Aragon and Sancho VII of Navarre
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The Almohads invade Spain from North Africa while the Christian kings bicker among themselves. Alfonso VIII suffers a heavy defeat at the Battle of Alarcos in 1195
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The Almohads arrive in Spain from North Africa and threaten to overwhelm the peninsula. The greatest resistance comes not from the Christian kingdoms, but from a fellow Muslim known as 'El Rey Lobo' (The Wolf King), head of a kingdom based in Murcia, a city in its golden age
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The birth of the kingdom of Portugal, the Siege of Lisbon, and the Union of Aragon and Catalonia - the political map of the peninsula begins to form
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Before 1085 in Spain there was little question that it was the Muslims who had the upper hand in the balance of power. But after King Alfonso VI captured the city of Toledo in 1085, the Christians became much more confident and threatened to rapidly take over the whole peninsula. Why this didn’t happen can be explained for two reasons – firstly, the infighting between Christian rulers, and secondly, the influx of Muslim peoples from north Africa, firstly the Almoravids
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A recent guest episode for the History of England podcast on the End of the Hundred Years War, in brief the years after Agincourt 1415, but focusing on the last four years from 1449-1453 and the Battles of Formigny and Castillon. In England the victories at Agincourt, Crecy and Poitiers are well known, but less so, the events around the end of the war, and how the French eventually drove the English from all the continent, except for Calais. www.historyeurope.net
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King John of England in his first year or two of rule achieved some successes, but his lack of tact and diplomacy, plus poor decision-making lost him many allies in France. The focus of the escalating conflict between the Plantagenets and Capetians became Chateau Gaillard, a magnificent fortress in the key borderlands between Normandy and the French royal demesne around Paris.www.historyeurope.net
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The sons of King Henry II of England, impatient for power of their own and encouraged by Louis VII and then Philip II Augustus of France, rebel against their father and end up damaging the cause of their dynasty, the Plantagenets.www.historyeurope.net
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The story of France in the High Middle Ages, the reigns of Louis VI and Louis VII. As the twelfth century opened the kings of France barely controlled much land beyond Paris, but these two monarchs began to build the foundations for the French kings' great rise in power and prestige.www.historyeurope.net
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William the Conqueror's conquest of England in 1066 and the division of his lands between England and Normandy sowed the seeds for centuries of Anglo-French conflict. This episode covers the reigns of Henry I of England, the Anarchy (civil war over Henry's succession) and the formation of the Angevin Empire of France and England under Henry II www.historyeurope.net
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When crusaders arrived at Constantinople in 1203 they gazed in wonder, having never imagined that there could be so fine a place in the world. The 'Queen of Cities', founded by Constantine The Great in the early fourth century, had become imbued over the centuries with legends and Christian myths that gave the place a spiritual aura to match its physical grandeur. Yet in 1204 the city would be violently sacked and the once mighty Empire brought to its knees.www.historyeurope.net
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In the year 1204, Constantinople, the largest and most splendid city by far in Europe was sacked, not by Muslims but by fellow Christians - and not only sacked but gutted by fire and indiscriminate violence. Part 1 describes the build-up and first steps of the crusade, including a history of early Venice.www.historyeurope.net
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After the disaster at Hattin in 1187 Saladin appeared on the verge of completely wiping out the Crusader States from the Middle East. Instead he was met by stubborn resistance at Tyre, and the Acre. And when the kings of France and England arrived at Acre the tide began to turn in favour of the Christians, who now set the sights on recapturing Jerusalem.www.historyeurope.net
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The Battle of Hattin fought on 4th July between Saladin and a considerable Christian army was a major turning point in the history of the Crusader Stateswww.historyeurope.net
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The emergence of Saladin as preeminent Muslim ruler of the Levant, and the struggle for Egypt between Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.www.historyeurope.net
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The Second Crusade (1145-1449), triggered by the Fall of Edessa. Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France lead the military campaign to boost the Crusader States in the Levantwww.historyeurope.net
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The first years of the Crusaders States between the First and Second Crusades. The Fall of Edessa in 1144www.historyeurope.net
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The army of the First Crusade arrives at the Holy City of Jerusalemwww.historyeurope.net
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Christian warriors from around Europe converge on the Holy Land to fight the First Crusade. Despite many challenges the campaign starts well at the siege of Nicaea before reaching Antioch. One group, led by Baldwin of Flanders splits off from the main army and captures Edessawww.historyeurope.net
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Build-up to the First Crusade from the perspective of the Byzantine Empire, the Turks in Asia Minor and the Levant, the area about to be invaded. www.historyeurope.net
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Build-up to the First Crusade. The Investiture Controversy between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, plus the growing influence of the Normans under Robert Guiscard, and the reasons behind the call to crusade by Pope Urban IIwww.historyeurope.net
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The capture of Toledo, the capital of the old Visigothic kingdom, by Alfonso VI The Brave from the Muslims. Also the final days of El Cidwww.historyeurope.net
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The early Medieval Spain of El Cid. The story of King Ferdinand I of Leon and Castile and his sons Sancho and Alfonso, as depicted in the epic Hollywood film. Plus, the conflict between Aragon and Muslim Zaragoza, the arrival of crusaders from across the Pyrenees, and the Siege of Barbastrowww.historyeurope.net
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The golden age of Muslim Spain, the military dictatorship of Almanzor, the collapse of the caliphate into petty kingdoms (taifas), Sancho III El Mayor of Navarre, and the rise of Castile and Aragonwww.historyeurope.net
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The History of early medieval Spain from the Islamic conquest in 711 to the establishment of the magnificent Caliphate of Cordoba, and the first successful Christian resistance which will ultimately lead to the reconquest, or Reconquista, of the Iberian peninsula www.historyeurope.net
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In 1071 the Byzantine Empire, weakened by the mismanagement of a series of weak emperors, suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks, newly arrived in the region.www.historyeurope.net
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The newly crowned King of England, Harold Godwinson faced two invasions within days, firstly from the viking Harold Hardrada in the north, and then William Duke of Normandy on the south coast. This is the story of probably the most important battle ever fought on English soil.www.historyeurope.net
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The most famous battle on English soil in 1066, between the Normans and Anglo-Saxons. Part 1 gives a summary of English and Norman history leading up to that fateful yearwww.historyeurope.net
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In the first half of the eleventh century, the Normans gained much territory in Italy but in so doing had made many enemies. In 1054 Pope Leo IX brought together a force of Lombards, Germans and Byzantines to confront them. The Normans won an overwhelming victory and effectively conquered the southern half of the peninsulawww.historyeurope.net
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The Normans arrive in Italy first as pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, then as mercenaries. It is not long before they begin to acquire territories and titles on the peninsula in their own right.www.historyeurope.net
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The popes of the eleventh and early twelfth century were hardly living by the standards set by their religion. In spite of this this they still enjoyed considerable reverence among the leaders of Christendom. A papal alliance with the German Emperors, which proved highly valuable but sometimes very difficult, became a key element of medieval Italian history.www.historyeurope.net
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During the next four podcasts I will tell the history of Italy from between the fall of Rome up until 1053, the year of an important battle between Pope Leo IX and Norman invaders of Italy. These centuries witnessed a long struggle for power between various sides, with many shifts of fortune. The Battle of Civitate marks the point at which the Normans firmly established themselves in Italy and so reshaped the politics of the peninsula.www.historyeurope.net
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A focus on southeastern Europe. The history of early Bulgaria and its relationship with the Byzantine Empire, often one of peace and cultural exchange, but also involving military conflict including the Battle of Kleidion in 1014 ADwww.historyeurope.net
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Concluding part of the Battle of Lechfeld, 955 AD. Otto the Great assembles an army of fellow Germans and Bohemians to defeat a force of Hungarian raiders. His victory proved decisive in the shaping of central Europewww.historyeurope.net
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In the year 955 was fought a crucial battle for central Europe, which proved highly significant for the early histories of Germany and Hungary. Here I describe the build-up to the Battle of Lechfeldwww.historyeurope.net
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In AD 937 took place 'the Great Battle' of early medieval Britain, a time when the political and cultural map of the isles was forming, which lasts till today. The King of Wessex, Athelstan, grandson of King Alfred the Great, was forced to confront an alliance of Scots, Vikings and northern Britons in his attempt to become King of all Britainwww.historyeurope.net
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In the ninth century the Vikings repeatedly attacked Britain, overcoming all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms except for Wessex. King Alfred the Great of Wessex, not only managed to defend his kingdom but to turn the tide against the Vikings and build the foundations of the state of England
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On September 18th the people of Scotland will vote to decide whether to stay part of the United Kingdom or whether to form an independent nation. This is the story of the early formation of the kingdoms of Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire, leading to the different regional identities that exist on the isles today.
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The Franks of Charles Martel vs Islamic Umayyad Caliphate.From the mid seventh century the Muslim armies conquered lands from Spain to Persia forming a powerful new world empire. In 732 AD a large Muslim raiding party in southern France was confronted by the leader of the Franks, a Germanic people who over the previous couple of centuries had take control of the area of modern day France. This is the story of the great battle that ensued.More details at www.historyeurope.net
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The Rise of Islam in the 630’s threatened the existence of two ancient superpowers - the Persian and Roman Empires. In 636 AD the decisive battle took place between the Arabs led by Khalid ibn al-Walid and the Byzantine/Roman Empire of Heraklius- the Battle of Yarmouk.More details at www.historyeurope.net
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In the 620's the Eastern Roman Empire faced several threats, most notably the Persian Empire. Part 1 focuses on the conflict between Constantinople and Persia. This provides the context for the Rise of Islam in the 630's leading to the decisive Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD between the Roman Emperor Heraclius and the Arab invaders.
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Attila and the Huns vs Aetius and the Roman Empire, with their respective allies
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The rise of the Roman army commander Aetius who would face Attila and the Huns in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields in the twilight of Empire
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The western Roman Empire was about to fall. But in 451 AD her soldiers had one last great victory on the battlefield, At the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields the destructive armies of Attila and the Huns were kept at bay and prevented from overrunning Western Europe
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In the year AD 312, Constantine the Great defeated his main rival for the title of emperor in Western Europe. He is one of the most significant people in history, as the first Christian Emperor, who vigorously promoted the religion
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The Roman Empire of Augustus vs an alliance of Germanic tribes.Description of the battle, in which Arminius led his German followers on an ambush which destroyed three Roman legions, and contributed to halting Rome’s expansion into northern Europe.
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The Roman Empire of Augustus vs an alliance of Germanic tribes.In AD 9 Rome was steadily gaining control over the territory of Germania, north of the Rhine. However, they suffered a devastating defeat, and the loss of three legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Part 1 describes the build-up to this event.More information at www.historyeurope.net
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Hannibal of Carthage v Scipio Africanus of Rome.Rome fought back against Hannibal's campaign in Italy and the various revolts they faced. They then launched an invasion of Africa, which led to the decisive Battle of Zama, 202 BC
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Hannibal of Carthage v Scipio Africanus of Rome.In the third century BC the Roman faced its biggest challenge to date - The Punic Wars against the Phoenicians of Carthage. The two sides fought for decades. This podcast describes the build up to the Battle of Zama, the culmination of the Second Punic War.More information at www.historyeurope.net
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Part 2 of 2 on the Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC. In 334 BC Alexander the Great's Greek/Macedonian army of conquest marched into Asia. Here I tell the story of the campaign, and Alexander's plans to forge a new Greco-Persian culture
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Part 1 of 2 on the Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC. Describes the build up to the invasion of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great, with an army of Greeks and Macedonians
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Part 2 of 2 on the Battle of Marathon, between the Ancient Greeks and the Persian Empire
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In 490 BC the Ancient Greeks of Athens fought for their very survival and for their way of life against the Persian Empire. It is important because the Greeks were to help build the foundations of European civilisation
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The year 2014 marks a hundred years since the beginning of the First World War- a war which started in Europe and tore the continent apart. It is a time for reflection on its legacy. This podcast acts as an introduction to the series of podcasts telling the history of Europe from the Ancient Greeks to the First World War
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