Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, served as empress of Russia for more than three decades in the late 18th century after overthrowing her husband, Peter III.
From 750 CE until the Mongol invasion in 1258 CE, Muslims experienced the Golden Age of Islam and controlled an empire that spanned from Spain to...
Mehmed II, Ottoman sultan (1444–46 and 1451–81) who expanded the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia and into the Balkans, capturing Constantinople along the way. He first took the throne at the age of 12 when his father, Murad II, abdicated. Murad was later re
Understanding the Ottoman Empire The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated byEncyclopaedia Britannica. The expansion of the Ottoman EmpireMap showing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire from about 1300 to 1700. The empire reached its greatest extent betwee...
Charles V, Holy Roman emperor (1519–56), king of Spain (as Charles I; 1516–56), and archduke of Austria (as Charles I; 1519–21), who inherited a Spanish and Habsburg empire extending across Europe from Spain and the Netherlands to Austria and the King
Hungary) was thesultanof theOttoman Empirefrom 1520 to 1566 who not only undertook boldmilitarycampaigns that enlarged his realm but also oversaw the development of what came to be regarded as the mostcharacteristicachievements of Ottoman civilization in the fields of law,literature, art, and archi...
Philip II, king of Spain (1556–98) and Portugal (1580–98) who was a champion of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. During his reign the Spanish empire attained its greatest power, extent, and influence, though he lost the ‘Invincible Armada’ in
Basil, ambitious and enterprising prince of Moldavia (1634–53) who introduced the first written laws and printing press to his principality. Deposed by his own boyars, he fled to the Khan of the Tatars, and then to Constantinople, where he died in priso
Amerigo Vespucci, merchant and explorer-navigator who took part in early voyages to the New World (1499–1500 and 1501–02) and occupied the influential post of piloto mayor (‘master navigator’) in Sevilla (1508–12). The name for the Americas is deriv
Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (1762–96) who led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. With her ministers she reorganized the administration and law of the Russian Empire and extended Russian territory