Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the...

Tomoe Gozen was a late twelfth-century female samurai warrior (onna bugeisha), known for her bravery and strength. She is believed to have fought in and survived the Genpei War (1180–1185). She was also the concubine of Minamoto no Yoshinak...

Genghis Khan was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding...

Philip II, known as Philip Augustus, was King of France from 1180 to 1223, a member of the House of Capet. Philip's predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French monarch to style hi...

Hulagu Khan was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia. Son of Tolui and the Kerait princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan, and the brother of Arik Boke, Möngke Khan and Kublai Khan. Hulagu's army greatly...

In the two centuries of their known existence the Knights Templar served under twenty-three Grand Masters. It is Jacques DeMolay the twenty-third and last Grand Master however, whom is best know. In 1305, Philip the Fair, King of France,...

Osman I was the leader of the Ottoman Turks and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire. The state, while only a small principality (beylik) during Osman's lifetime, was named after him and would prevail as...

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297, and w...

Afonso IV, King of Portugal, known as the Brave, was the seventh king of Portugal and Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of Dinis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth. As king, Afonso IV is remembered as a soldie...

Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England. He was called Edward of Wood...

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent, then known as Gaunt...

Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy. He was the brother of Alessandro, with whom he often fought. Francesco Sforza is mentioned several times in Niccolò Machiavelli's book The Pri...

John Hunyadi was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was son of a noble family of Romanian ancestry. He mastered his milita...

Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc), nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans), is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War and was canonized as a Roman Catholic...

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick KG, known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander. The son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, Warwick was the wealthiest and most powerful Englis...