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Byzantine Empire
The eastern half of the Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople, survived as the Byzantine Empire for nearly 1,000 years after the fall of Rome.
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Jerusalem
ancient city of the Middle East that since 1967 has been wholly under the rule of the State of Israel.
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Crusades
The Crusades were a series of holy wars waged by Western Christians against Muslims in the Near East from 1095 to 1291.
The Dark Ages were an early medieval period of western European history. Specifically, the term refers to the time (476–800) when there was no Roman (or Holy Roman) emperor in the West; or, more generally, to the period between about 500 and 1000, which was marked by frequent warfare and a virtual disappearance of urban life. It is now rarely used by historians because of the value judgment it implies. Though sometimes taken to derive its meaning from the fact that little was then known about the period, the term's more usual and pejorative sense is of a period of intellectual darkness and barbarity.
Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.
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This Day in History
May 21
Lead Story
American Red Cross founded, 1881
In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide…
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The Crusades DVD
The definitive DVD exploration of the centuries-long conflict between Muslims and Christians for control of Jerusalem.
$13.99
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Swamp People Troy Bobblehead
If the "King of the Swamp" is your favorite of all the swamp people, say so with the Swamp People Troy Bobblehead!
$26.95
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