Expansion

Showing 73–84 of 134 results

The Akkadian Empire c. 2350–2230 BCE
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The Akkadian Empire c. 2350–2230 BCE

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In c. 2350 BCE the Semite Sargon, reputed to be the adopted son of a Kish gardener, conquered Lugalzagesi’s kingdom and became ruler of his coalition of Sumerian cities. Taking Akkad as his capital, he turned the region into the heart of an empire which would encapsulate ‘the four quarters... More
The Angevin Empire 1150–1214
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The Angevin Empire 1150–1214

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For the Angevin Empire inheritance and marriage were the primary means of acquiring territory. Before becoming king of England, Henry II (r. 1154–89) acquired Normandy through his mother and Brittany through his father. Marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine (1152) brought the duchy of Aquitaine, as well as Poitou, Gascony and... More
The Assyrian Empire c. 671 BCE
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The Assyrian Empire c. 671 BCE

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In c. 671 BCE the Iron Age Mesopotamian empire of Assyria was controlled by Ershaddon (r. 681–669) and dominated Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylonia, Elam and, after 671 BCE, Egypt. During his reign, Ershaddon suppressed a rebellion in Babylonia and countered attacks from the Cimmerians (horse-riding peoples from the southern shores of... More
The Assyrian Empire c. 824 BCE
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The Assyrian Empire c. 824 BCE

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In 824 BCE, the long reigning emperor, Shalmaneser III, died. His reign of 35 years consisted of constant military campaigns, with Shalmeneser III determined to expand his kingdom’s frontiers. Although he successfully conquered Babylonia and expanded his empire to the borders of the Taurus Mountains and received tribute from the... More
The Babylonian Empire 1760 BCE
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The Babylonian Empire 1760 BCE

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The Babylonian emperor, Hammurabi, is famous for his legal code, which addressed issues as wide-ranging as cowboy builders and medical malpractice. However, when it came to boundary disputes, he wrote his own laws. He first allied with the Persian Gulf state of Larsa to repulse an invasion from Elam, then... More
The British Empire 1850
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The British Empire 1850

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In 1852, British chancellor of the exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli, described the colonies as a ‘millstone around our necks’. The abolition of slavery in the West Indies and costly anti-slavery naval patrols off West Africa were draining the Empire’s economic resources. By 1848, Britain had gained direct and indirect control over... More
The British Empire in 1800
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The British Empire in 1800

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By 1800, the British had yet to achieve an empire on which ‘the sun never sets’, but British possessions were scattered across the globe. During the Napoleonic Wars, British naval supremacy enabled it to annex overseas territories from France, and by extension, its confederate, the Dutch. The strategic Cape of... More
The Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria c. 1015
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The Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria c. 1015

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The Byzantine Empire, based on the territory of the former Eastern Roman Empire, adopted Christianity under its first Emperor Constantine I and reached its greatest territorial extent under Justinian I in the mid 6th century. In 681 CE Bulgar tribes moving into the northeastern Balkans, defeated the Byzantine army, led... More
The Campaigns of Ramesses II c. 1276–1270 BCE
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The Campaigns of Ramesses II c. 1276–1270 BCE

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Although the Ancient Egyptian propaganda machine declared Ramesses II’s Kadesh campaigns a victory, neither the Hittites or Egyptians were victors. In year 4 of his kingship, Ramesses reclaimed the Hittite vassal kingdom of Kadesh, installing the elite Ne’arim mercenaries to hold the port at Sumur. During year 5, the Hittites... More
The Campaigns of Xerxes 480 BCE
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The Campaigns of Xerxes 480 BCE

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The most well-known campaigns of the Persian emperor, Xerxes, were fought during his invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. These were the battles of Thermopylae, Artemisium and Salamis. In 485 BCE, Xerxes acceded to the throne upon the death of his father, Darius the Great. Xerxes inherited a Persian empire... More
The Conquests of Tamerlane (Timur) c. 1400
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The Conquests of Tamerlane (Timur) c. 1400

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Tamerlane (Timur) was a Turko-Mongol conqueror who exploited the vacuum created by the disintegration of the Mongol Empire. A vizier in the Chagatai Khanate, he later claimed to be a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, enabling him to become the ‘legitimate’ ruler of a new Mongol dynasty. By 1400, his... More
The Dominions of Timur c. 1400
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The Dominions of Timur c. 1400

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Timur ‘the lame’, sought to emulate Genghis Khan, and resembled him in both the breadth of his conquests and appetite for destruction. Born in Transoxiana to minor nobility, he became first general to the proxy ruler of the western Chagatai Khanate. After conquering Persia in the 1380s, he turned on... More