← Turning Points of History

Chapter 2

Empires, faith and exploration

After Rome fell in the West, new powers rose: Charlemagne's empire, the Normans, the Mongols and the Ottomans. Plague swept Europe, the printing press spread ideas faster than ever, and sailors crossed oceans to reach the Americas and sail around the world. Dates are easier to remember once you know the story behind them, so every card comes with the reason it mattered.

10 cards

StoryZap this chapter
See the 10 cards
  1. Crowned emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day 800Charlemagne
  2. Year of the Battle of Hastings1066
  3. English charter of 1215 that limited the kingMagna Carta
  4. Founder of history's largest connected land empireGenghis Khan
  5. Plague that killed a third of Europe from 1347Black Death
  6. Built Europe's first movable-type printing pressJohannes Gutenberg
  7. Year Constantinople fell to the Ottomans1453
  8. Year Columbus first reached the Americas1492
  9. Monk whose 95 Theses began the ReformationMartin Luther
  10. Led the first voyage around the world, 1519 to 1522Ferdinand Magellan