All posts by carlrylett

Siege of Kazan 1552, Part 1

Muscovy and her Asiatic neighbours 1400s-early 1500s
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

Battle of Mohacs 1526, Background

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

Battle of Diu 1509 Part 3

Portuguese Conquests in India
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

Battle of Diu 1509 Part 2

Portuguese Discovery of India
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