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Empires, faith and exploration

Empires, faith and exploration: a chapter of the Turning Points of History Book, with the moments, people and dates that shaped the world.

10 cards · History

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the deck a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 26 Oct 2026

Sources: World history (Encyclopaedia Britannica), World History Encyclopedia

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  • Crowned emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day 800

    Show answer: Crowned emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day 800

    Charlemagne

    Learn more: He united much of western Europe and is often called the father of Europe.

  • Year of the Battle of Hastings

    Show answer: Year of the Battle of Hastings

    1066

    Learn more: William of Normandy beat Harold II and became king of England, changing its language and laws.

  • English charter of 1215 that limited the king

    Show answer: English charter of 1215 that limited the king

    Magna Carta

    Learn more: King John was forced to accept that even the king was under the law.

  • Founder of history's largest connected land empire

    Show answer: Founder of history's largest connected land empire

    Genghis Khan

    Learn more: His Mongol Empire, enlarged by his heirs, stretched from Korea to Hungary.

  • Plague that killed a third of Europe from 1347

    Show answer: Plague that killed a third of Europe from 1347

    Black Death

    Learn more: With so many workers dead, wages rose and the old feudal ties began to weaken.

About this topic

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.

This is a chapter of the Turning Points of History Book. Each card asks one question, with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Once you know most of this chapter, the next one starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 10 cards

  1. Crowned emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day 800

    Charlemagne

    Learn more: He united much of western Europe and is often called the father of Europe.

  2. Year of the Battle of Hastings

    1066

    Learn more: William of Normandy beat Harold II and became king of England, changing its language and laws.

  3. English charter of 1215 that limited the king

    Magna Carta

    Learn more: King John was forced to accept that even the king was under the law.

  4. Founder of history's largest connected land empire

    Genghis Khan

    Learn more: His Mongol Empire, enlarged by his heirs, stretched from Korea to Hungary.

  5. Plague that killed a third of Europe from 1347

    Black Death

    Learn more: With so many workers dead, wages rose and the old feudal ties began to weaken.

  6. Built Europe's first movable-type printing press

    Johannes Gutenberg

    Learn more: Books became cheap and fast to make, spreading the ideas of the Renaissance and the Reformation.

  7. Year Constantinople fell to the Ottomans

    1453

    Learn more: It ended the Byzantine Empire, and the city, later called Istanbul, became the Ottoman capital.

  8. Year Columbus first reached the Americas

    1492

    Learn more: Looking for Asia, he landed in the Bahamas, starting lasting contact between Europe and the Americas.

  9. Monk whose 95 Theses began the Reformation

    Martin Luther

    Learn more: His protest against the sale of indulgences split Western Christianity into Catholic and Protestant.

  10. Led the first voyage around the world, 1519 to 1522

    Ferdinand Magellan

    Learn more: Only one of five ships made it home, under Juan Sebastián Elcano, after three years at sea.

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