European History

If you've ever wondered how Byzantium became Constantinople or why Stalin banished Trotsky, this collection is for you. Explore Europe's fascinating history with articles, biographies, and timelines covering the middle ages to the European Union.

  • Gaelic and English road sign
    What Is Gaelic? Definition, History, and Modern Usage
  • The Signing of the Treaty of Versailles by Orpen
    The Treaty of Versailles: An Overview
  • Arc de Triomphe
    The 12 Best Books on the French Revolution
  • Welfare State Arrives
    The Creation of Britain’s Welfare State
  • Ivan the Terrible and his son, illustration on
    The 10 Most Important Russian Czars and Empresses
  • Creation Myth: Romulus and Remus suckled by the Capitoline Wolf bronze statue
    A Brief History of Rome
  • Vintage theater poster of Victorian people at a party
    Belle Époque or the "Beautiful Age" in France
  • Low Angle View Of European Union Flags
    The History of the European Union
  • San Marco Basin, Venice, 1697, Gaspar van Wittel
    The History of Venice
  • Birth of Venus
    Humanity Bloomed During the Renaissance
  • Triumphus Mortis, or the Allegory of Death, a scythe-wielding skeleton embodying Death rides atop a chariot driven by two oxen and tramples over humankind, scene inspired by The triumphs of Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), engraving by Georg Pencz (ca 1500-1550), from Inventaire des gravures des ecoles du Nord, Tome II, 1440-1550.
    A Guide to Renaissance Humanism
  • Etruscan Painted Sarcophagus, Caere, Italy: Procession on the Base
    Key Events in Italian History
  • Painting of Cesare Borgia Leaving the Vatican, by Gatteri Giuseppe Lorenzo.
    The Rise and Fall of the Borgia Family
  • King Louis XIV with his son the Grand Dauphin from a painting by Nicolas de Largilliere.
    What Is Absolutism?
  • Napoleon
    Napoleon's Empire
  • The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel
    8 Major Events in European History
  • old map of France
    Historical Profile of France
  • The Napoleonic Code book
    A History of the Napoleonic Code (Code Napoléon)
  • Map showing the Czech Republic and Slovakia
    The Velvet Divorce: The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
  • German Thanksgiving spread
    Erntedankfest: Thanksgiving in Germany
  • "The East offering its riches to Britannia" by Roma Spiridone
    The European Overseas Empires
  • U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union George F. Kennan
    The Long Telegram of George Kennan
  • The Elgin Marbles
    The Elgin Marbles/Parthenon Sculptures
  • Ada Lovelace
    Female European Historical Figures: 1500 - 1945
  • Execution By Guillotine Taking Place
    A History of the Guillotine in Europe
  • Tito At Parade
    Yugoslavia
  • Monument
    A List of Celtic Gods and Goddesses
  • The European Dynastic States by Richard Bonney
    The Best Books on Early Modern European History (1500 to 1700)
  • Tourist Boats Traffic on the Grand Canal at Sunset, Venice, Italy
    A Brief Look at Italy's History of Division
  • Queen Elizabeth II Attends the State Opening of Parliament
    What Is a Monarchy?
  • Poster showing the 7 primary weapons systems of the Warsaw Pact nations
    Warsaw Pact: Definition, History, and Significance
  • Lenin addressing crowd in Moscow, 1917
    The Red Terror
  • Illustration of Daniel O'Connell being arrested
    Ireland's Repeal Movement
  • Russian Duma
    The Duma in Russian History
  • Hitler receives an ovation after announcing the Anschluss, black and white photograph with people saluting.
    Anschluss Was the Union of Germany and Austria
  • The Storming of the Bastille
    Books on French History
  • The Donation of Constantine, The emperor makes donation from the city of Rome to Pope Sylvester I, Fresco, 13th century, Chapel of St, Sylvester, Basilica of Four Crowned Saints, Rome, Italy.
    The Donation of Constantine
  • East German Military Parade
    Resistance and Opposition in the GDR
  • Absalon Monument
    Do Statues of Riders or Knights Conceal Codes?
  • Christopher Columbus' return
    Key Events in Spanish History
  • Oath of the Tennis Court etching
    What Was the 'Third Estate'?
  • Stalin
    Containment: America's Plan for Communism
  • Soviet Tanks in Prague
    The Brezhnev Doctrine
  • Denis Diderot, Editor of the Encyclopédie
    A Beginner's Guide to the Enlightenment
  • Drawing of Meeting of Nepoleon and Francis I After Austerlitz
    The 19 Best Books on the Napoleonic Wars
  • Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev
    Destalinization in Soviet Russia
  • Heracles (Hercules) Papyrus
    Glossary of Historical Terms
  • "Satan Distributing Indulgences"
    Indulgences and their Role in the Reformation
  • Lenin by Isaak Brodsky
    Who Were the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks?
  • Images of British India
  • Color portrait of Martin Luther.
    What Is the Origin of the Word 'Protestant?'
  • Painting on ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
    A Beginner's Guide to the Renaissance
  • Huguenot Families Fleeing, 1661
    Who Were the Huguenots?
  • The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, by Jacques-Louis David, 1812
    The Concordat of 1801: Napoleon and the Church
  • Battle of Thermopylae, Painted by Jacques Louis David in 1814. At the Louvre.
    Top 13 Historical Myths Debunked
  • Charlemagne Crowned by Pope Leo III
    Top 12 Books About the Holy Roman Empire
  • The Eiffel Tower
    A History of the Eiffel Tower
  • Logo of Nato
    What Is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
  • Irish Emigrants Leaving Home
    Irish History: The 1800s
  • Iron Kingdom by Christopher Clark
    Top 11 Books: Prussia
  • The Oprichniks by Nikolai Nevrev
    The Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible: Part 1, Creation
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