Siege of Drogheda, siege fought in northeastern Ireland from September 3 to September 11, 1649, pitting Irish Royalists against the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell. The Royalist rebellion that broke out in Ireland against the new English republic in 1649 was met by a prompt English response. On August 15 Cromwell and 15,000 troops landed in Dublin. His merciless...

　　Sack of Rome, an attack on the city of Rome on May 6, 1527, by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles V. Charles’s victory over the French at Pavia in 1525 had left his armies dominant in Italy. After ravaging the countryside, Charles’s forces stormed the city of Rome and embarked on an orgy...

　　Siege of Calais, siege during the Hundred Years’ War on the northern coast of France, lasting from September 4, 1346, to August 4, 1347. After his magnificent victory at the Battle of Crécy in August 1346, Edward III of England marched north and besieged Calais, the closest port to England and directly opposite Dover where the English Channel is narrowest....

　　Siege of Fort Ticonderoga, engagement in the American Revolution from July 2–6, 1777, resulting in a British victory that failed to end the rebellion, as its commander had believed it would. The summer after their success at Valcour Island, the British opened their renewed invasion plan with a three-pronged effort to split the northern American colonies. Accordingly, Major General John...

　　plague of Justinian, plague pandemic that spread throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond beginning about 541 CE. It is named for Justinian I, who was the Byzantine emperor at that time. 　　Although there is evidence that bubonic plague has been around for as long as humankind, the plague of Justinian is the first documented outbreak of a bubonic plague pandemic....

　　Siege of Rome, siege mounted on Rome, then an outpost of the Byzantine Empire, by the kingdom of the Ostrogoths in 537–538. The desire of Emperor Justinian to restore the full extent of the Roman Empire led to a struggle for control of Italy between his Byzantine army, led by Belisarius, and the Ostrogoths, led by a Romanised king named...

　　Siege of Antwerp, German capture of the Belgian city of Antwerp from 28 September 28 to October 10, 1914, in the early months of World War I. The Siege of Antwerp showed the weakness of fortifications in the face of the latest German heavy artillery, but it also revealed the Belgians’ refusal to bow to German demands and their determination...

　　Invasion of Poland, attack on Poland by Nazi Germany that marked the start of World War II. The invasion lasted from September 1 to October 5, 1939. 　　As dawn broke on September 1, 1939, German forces launched a surprise attack on Poland. The attack was sounded with the predawn shelling, by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, of Polish fortifications at the...

　　hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, economic disaster in the Weimar Republic in 1922–23 that impoverished millions of German citizens and paved the way for the rise of the Nazi Party. 　　During World War I, prices in Germany had doubled, but that was just the start of the country’s economic troubles. In 1914, Germany abandoned its gold-backed currency, certain that the...

　　Moscow theater hostage crisis of 2002, hostage taking by Chechen militants at the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow, Russia, that lasted from October 23 to October 26, 2002. It ended when Russian Spetsnaz (special forces) troops of the anti-terrorist Alfa command filled the theater with a gas. At least 150 people died, the vast majority of them as a result of...

　　Quit India Movement, mass protest movement during 1942–43 against the colonial British raj’s political and military control of India. The movement, which took place against the backdrop of World War II, was initially planned by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers in the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) as a nonviolent action. However, attempts by the British authorities to prevent the...

　　 　　New Parliament House, New Delhi, May 24, 2023India's New Parliament House, inaugurated in May 2023, houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.(more)More than 968 million voters have registered ahead of India’s 2024 general election, for which voting will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1. This election will decide the majority party in the...