Finally, the wind had changed direction and William could finally set course for England. Harold, being all the way up in York, had to go all the way back down. He set up camp in London, hoping for William to come to him, but William burned down villages, forcing Harold’s hand.
Harold’s forces placed themselves a top a hill in Hastings, with the Norman troops at the base of the hill. After a long stand off, The Norman Infantry charged up the hill. Then William brought the infantry back down and sent the cavalry up instead, this repeated for a few hours until something changed.
Some suspect that soldiers believed William had been killed. Others say it was a tactical decision. Others say that the Normans were just tired. Whatever the case may be, the Norman soldiers fled down the hill. The Saxons followed, allowing the Normans to encircle them and decimate them. Harold Godwinson was killed during this, the leading theory being that he was shot in the eye.
A tapestry depicting Harold’s (alleged) fatal wound
William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066. When the crowd cheered outside Westminster Abbey, William believed it to be a riot and burned down the village. After a long campaign of suppressing rebellions and burning down more villages, William was accepted as the official King of England.
After a breakneck 4 day long trek from the south of England to the North, Harold Godwinson and his army encounter Harald Hadrada and his men at Stamford Bridge, who were unprepared for battle. Despite such a disorganised army, legend has it that one berserker Viking held off the Saxon troops on the bridge until the Saxons came from underneath the bridge and stabbed him in the crotch. This defence gave the Vikings enough time to get prepared and form a shield wall. However, a lot of these Vikings were so unprepared that they didn’t even wear helmets or armour. They were defeated quickly and Harald was killed in the battle, bringing the Viking Era of Britain to a swift conclusion.
Winds were coming down from the north, keeping William in France. Harold waited on the English coast. Eventually, he began running out of supplies for his troops and disbanded his army. But these winds took Harald, assisted by Tostig Godwinson (Brother of Harold Godwinson), down to the Shetlands, Orkneys and, finally, North England. The vikings set up camp and pillaged York for food, water and supplies.
Two earls, Morcar of Northumbria and Edwin of Mercia, went north to meet Harald, at Fulford. The battle was in a marshy stream. The armies stood on either side, staring the enemy down. The stream cleared and the armies charged. Sword and spears impaled the enemy. The Vikings and Saxons(English) reported that Morcar was a brave leader fending off every viking in his way, and soon did Harald. Harald was in the reserve. He ordered the reserve to come from behind and attack the Saxons. He killed everyone in his path. When Harold received the information, he traveled from London to York, gathering his army on the way.
In 1066, Edward the Confessor died. Either due to religious reasons or an unhappy marriage, the man never had any children. 4 people were up for the title of King of England.
Edgar the Aethling was the Great nephew of Edward. Despite being the closest related to Edward, he was 15 years old, and not deemed fit to run the country
Harald Hadrada was the Viking King of Norway. He was well known as a sword for hire, fighting anyone and everyone you can think of, becoming incredibly wealthy because of his wars, becoming King upon his return home. The Viking King of England and Norway struck up a deal, wherein when the King of England died, the King of Norway would take the throne. Once the news reached Harald, he believed that he could invade England and become King
Harold Godwinson was the Earl of Wessex. His father, Godwin, had captured Edward’s brother, Alfred, and given him to King Harold Harefoot, who blinded him by stabbing a red hot poker in his eyes before Edward escaped to Normandy. In order to reunite the country, Edward had attempted to make peace with Godwin by marrying his daughter, Harold’s sister. Harold was the king’s close advisor, a war hero and has been interpreted as somewhat of a co-king, due to the amount of power he had.
William of Normandy was Duke of Normandy. Edward’s mother was a Norman so grew up in Normandy for much of his life. William was born out of wedlock to Duke Robert and his extra-marital affair. When William was around 7 or 8, his father died, making him the Duke. Much of his childhood was riddled with attempted assassinations. Edward and William were on very friendly terms, with Edward saying that William would become king when he died. Even Harold had pledged an oath over holy relics that William would become the next king.
Harold was at Edward’s side upon his passing. He then made a public announcement that Edward said he would be the new King of England. Harold’s word was taken for granted and he was crowned king on the 5th January 1066, but that didn’t mean he would stay king. In 1066 there were 3 battles which would change England forever.
In 509BC, the son of the king of Rome raped a noblewoman who then committed suicide. In response, Lucius Junius Brutus staged a coup and overthrew the king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Brutus swore that no single man should hold absolute power, establishing the Roman Republic. Brutus became one of Rome’s First Consuls, a position in the Roman Republic where 2 people would share power to keep the other in check with advise from the Senate compromised of 900 Senators, before dying later that year.
A painting of Brutus swearing the oath that no one man should rule Rome, next to the body of the raped noblewoman
Nearly five centuries later, that principle would be tested. By 44 BC, Rome had been transformed by the rise of Julius Caesar. A highly successful general, Caesar had expanded Rome’s territories through his campaigns in Gaul before defeating his rival, Pompey, in a civil war. In the years that followed, he accumulated unprecedented political power. Caesar introduced a number of reforms, including land redistribution and debt relief, which earned him strong support among the Roman people.
At the same time, he received a growing number of honours from the Senate, with statues were erected in his likeness, and his authority continued to expand. In 44 BC, he was appointed Dictator Perpetuo, or dictator for life, a title that placed him above all other officials. To many senators, this development was deeply alarming. The Republic had been founded in opposition to monarchy, and Caesar’s position appeared to move Rome closer to one-man rule. Whether or not he intended to make himself king, the fear that he might do so was enough to provoke action.
A painting of Caesar
A group of senators, later known as the Liberators, formed a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Among their leaders were Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Marcus Junius Brutus. Cassius had previously fought against Caesar during the civil war before being pardoned. Decimus Brutus had been one of Caesar’s most trusted generals, making his involvement particularly significant. Marcus Brutus, meanwhile, faced a personal and political dilemma. Though he had also opposed Caesar in the past, he had been forgiven and promoted. Caesar treated him with respect, and the two were closely connected. However, Brutus was also influenced by the ideals of the Republic and by his family’s historical role in overthrowing Rome’s last king.
The conspirators were not united by a single motive. Some feared tyranny, others resented Caesar’s dominance, and some were concerned about the loss of the Senate’s authority. In total, around 60 senators joined the plot. The conspirators chose to act during a meeting of the Senate on March 15th, known as the Ides of March. The meeting was to be held at the Theatre of Pompey, due to maintenance on the main Senate building. In the days before the meeting, Caesar is said to have received several warnings. A soothsayer, Spurinna, reportedly advised him to beware the Ides of March. His wife, Calpurnia, experienced troubling dreams of his death and urged him not to attend the Senate.
On the morning of the 15th, Caesar initially decided to remain at home. However, Decimus Brutus persuaded him to attend, arguing that it would be inappropriate to dismiss the Senate and that his absence might damage his authority. Caesar eventually agreed and set out for the meeting. When Caesar arrived at the Senate chamber, he was surrounded by the conspirators. At a prearranged signal, one of them approached him with a petition, while others moved into position. The first blow was struck by a senator known as Casca. In the moments that followed, the other conspirators joined in, attacking Caesar from all sides. Overwhelmed by the number of attackers, he was unable to defend himself.
A painting of the assassination. Julius is depicted on one knee in the orange and red toga
Ancient writers such as Suetonius and Plutarch report that Caesar was stabbed 23 times, though only one of the wounds is believed to have been fatal. The exact sequence of the attack and the identity of those who delivered each blow remain uncertain. According to some accounts, Caesar stopped resisting when he saw Brutus among the attackers. His final words are not known for certain. The famous phrase “Et tu, Brute?” comes from William Shakespeare’s later play and is not confirmed by historical sources. Caesar fell at the base of a statue of Pompey, the former rival he had defeated years earlier.
The conspirators believed that killing Caesar would restore the Republic. Instead, it created instability. Rather than celebrating, many in Rome reacted with shock and anger. Caesar had been popular with the public, and his assassination led to unrest. At his funeral, Mark Antony delivered a speech that turned public opinion against the conspirators. Fearing retaliation, many of them fled Rome. In the years that followed, a series of civil wars broke out. Brutus and Cassius were eventually defeated in 42 BC, after which both men died by suicide. The Republic did not recover. In 27 BC, power was consolidated under Augustus, marking the transition from Republic to Empire.
A painting of the body of Brutus
The assassination of Julius Caesar remains one of the most debated events in history. Some view Marcus Junius Brutus as a defender of liberty, acting to prevent tyranny. Others see him as a traitor who betrayed a friend and helped bring about the end of the Republic. What is clear is that the conspirators failed in their ultimate aim. In attempting to preserve the Republic, they instead accelerated its collapse. The system they sought to protect proved unable to survive the removal of one man who had come to dominate it.
By 480BC, the Persian Empire was the largest on Earth. Persia, modern day Iran, was a shockingly progressive society for the time. Instead of being great conquerors, they were often seen as great liberators. The founder of the empire, Cyrus, famously freed the Jews from the city of Babylon, a city in modern day Iraq. There were no slaves and all labourers were paid a fair wage given their skill and contribution to a structure.
A map of the Persian Empire
19 years earlier, pro-democracy uprisings in Ionia were backed by Athens, another democratic state. In response, King Darius invaded Greece but was shockingly defeated at the famous Battle of Marathon by the much smaller Athenian Army.
A painting of the Battle of Marathon
Swearing revenge, the task of invading Greece was passed down from Darius to his son Xerxes, who soon began marching on Greece, with the largest army at the time of over 360,000 men
Leading the Greek defence was King Leonidas of the Greek City State of Sparta. Sparta is one of the most extreme societies in human history, being a eugenics based warrior state. When children were born, elders would inspect if the child was fit to fight. If not they were thrown off a mountain to die. Boys went off to school to be drilled into becoming soldiers. Men always became soldiers and lived in barracks 24/7; academics often lived in Athens rather than Sparta and all manual labour was done by the slaves called Helots. However, despite their brutal upbringing Sparta had one of if not the greatest infantry armies in the ancient world. Athenian leaders decided to stage a battle at Thermopylae to fend off the Persian Army whilst they prevented naval landings. 7,000 men opposed Xerxes massive army, lead by the famous 300 Spartans.
A map of the area
When the two sides met at the narrow strip of land, one side being a cliff and the other half being an ocean, the Persians immediately fired their arrows, making zero progress against the advanced armour of the Greeks. Eventually, Xerxes ordered his men to melee attack. Due to the hot weather, they were only able to fight in minute long bursts before tiring out. The weak Persian shields stood no chance against the longer Spartan Spears and the type of combat the Persians were used to in their conquest of the vast and open Middle East could not be applied in the narrow passage of Thermopylae.
However, their weak number soon dawned on the Greeks who turned and began to flee. Believing a victory, the Persians charged at the Spartans, breaking formation, before the Greeks turned around massacring the unorganised Persians. Some of Persia’s finest lie dead in the passage. However, a whisper came to Xerxes of another way to attack the Greeks.
An unorganised group of soldiers watched a narrow passage in the mountain. Without a Spartan officer, they had broken ranks after 2 days of nothing. Eventually, they are attacked by the elite Persian Royal Guard and run to the rest of the men. The Greeks are now trapped, the ocean to the north, the cliff face to the south, the large Persian Infantry to the West and the Persian Royal Guard to the East. Leonidas makes a very brave decision. He decides to let the rest of his men leave before the Eastern Guard can form up, whilst keeping behind the 300 Spartans to fend off the Persians, allowing them to escape.
In a last stand of gallantry, the 300 Spartans charge head on at the Persians. They fought until their spears broke and they fought with swords until they were blunt, fighting with bear hands and teeth. However, all of them were eventually wiped out including Leonidas, and Xerxes marched on. This last stand allowed the Athenians to deliver a strong naval victory and, fearing that the crossing into Greece may soon be attacked by Athenian Naval Forces, Xerxes returned home, whereupon his forces were defeated at Plataea by the Spartans.
Herodotus wrote about the battle as well as the rest of the war, in one of the first true history books that was not simply the art of myth making but actual fact. His rousing story birthed the Greek identity, portraying the Greeks as a civilised people and the Persians as evil enslaving monsters. The impact of Thermopylae impacted many wars and civilisation for centuries afterwards.
