Other Articles:

• Constantinople - Bulwark of Empire 641-718: Constantinople provided the Eastern Roman—Byzantine—Empire with an almost invincible core. Two great sieges by Islam during the first century of its expansion demonstrated that power.
• Imperial Eclipse - The Thirty Years' War: The Thirty Years' War is a term of convenience for a long period of religious and political strife that would shape the future of Europe.
• The Judean War of Independence: Judea fell under the control of the Seleucids after the breakup of Alexander's Hellenic empire. An attempt to suppress Jewish rites in 175 BC sparked a rebellion that would evolve into a war of independence.