Copyright: Helpfile Generated by VB HelpWriter!


Windows in Time  *** UNREGISTERED VERSION ***
  Windows in Time  / Bible Timeline

How old was Paul Revere when he rode into history?  When were the gospels written?  How old was Napoleon when the Declaration of  Independence was signed? How many years separated Cortez and Michelangelo?  In War & Peace, how old is Natasha when Napoleon captures Moscow?

   Files	open a file

   People	edit or browse individual people

   Events	edit or browse individual events

   Timeline	display the timelines

   Reports	create reports (screen or printer)

   Groupings	edit groupings(registered )

   Reference & Credit    sources for data and images

   Register

   ASP & Shareware

 Cascoly's "Windows in Time" historical timelines programs examine these questions and many more.  Unlike conventional paper chronologies, "Windows in Time" lets you decide which people and events to include, developing new insights and tracing patterns across different eras and cultures.  "Windows in Time" is used by history and art  students, Bible scholars, genealogists, teachers, writers and others interested in exploring historical relations or cultural events.  It's also helpful to lawyers and other professionals who need to establish or demonstrate chronological or complex events.

"Windows in Time" is also distributed under the title "BIBLE-TIMELINE for Windows".  The same program is used for each, but the datasets provided are different.  In the discussions that follow, the term "Windows in Time" applies to both programs.  Registered users receive the complete set of datasets for BOTH programs, so you need register only one or the other program.

Additional sets of maps are also available in the registered version.


Files

Most sessions start and end here.  Use this to select new datasets, and browse existing ones.

Files

      Open	-- Open a dataset

      Save	-- Save your changes

      About	-- Program information

      Exit	-- Leave the program


Timeline

 You can scroll thru the timelines, switching back & forth from People and Events.  The two timelines are independent, so you can resize each of them -- perhaps choosing a narrow people timeline and a wider events timeline.  You can also fill the screen with one of the timelines.

Click on any item and the details will appear.  You can use this as an additional way to edit or delete data.

Click on the menu item Print when you want a hardcopy.

The registered version also allows you to reduce the number of people or events presented by selecting according to various groupings.  This is helpful for larger datasets or when researching particular combinations.


Reports

      People and Events	produce lists of people and events

      Groupings	produce lists of groups

         Factions

         Occupations

         Groups

         Nations

      Age       	lists who was alive for an event

In my life	lists events during a lifetime

      Setup	setup your printer


Groupings

You can assign people to factions that you define using the Faction

option of the People entry form. This lets you group people into logical

categories of your choosing.  These might be national or political, such

as Union, Confederate, British or French.  You can also define

occupations, such as artist, musician, statesman and poet.

Events use groups and nations in a similar fashion to factions and occupations for people.  Two nations are allowed for each event.

(Note, in the shareware version, you need to change these groups outside the program.  Use Notepad or other text editor to edit the lists at the end of each CH1  file).


Print
Print Timeline Chart

 Setup lets you choose Portrait or Landscape for printouts.  On standard pages, Portrait gives you 80 characters across, while Landscape gives 102.  You can give less than these numbers, and the printout will still be accurate.  This can be useful if you'd like wider margins, for example.  However, if you enter a larger number (eg, 90 for a Portrait), then some of the characters will be missing from each line.

The Timeline is printed so that it can be reassembled into a rectangular wall chart.  In some cases, there will be blank pages, but these are provided to make it easier to reconstruct the chart.  The program prints the first X years (for example, 1-80 in standard Portrait mode), then the next X (eg, 81-160), until the entire span is covered.

In the registered version you can also select a date range to print.


Report Writer

 Several reports are possible.  Either the People or Events file can be listed.  You can choose which items to include on the report in the setup form.

   You may choose to include the following in the report:

Descriptions

Groupings

Dates

   End Date

   Start Date

      Select the range of dates to be included

   Print	click here to produce a printed version


How to Register This Program

If you have a Compuserve account, you can register  online -- GO SWREG and look in the catalog under Cascoly Software.

For mail or phone orders use the attached Order form

Registered users will receive:

 latest version of the program

 many additional datasets

 removal of the register reminder screens

 free technical support

 additional features:

  ability to select and split datasets

  additional report types and functions

  ability to edit groupings


Order Form
Order Form : WINDOWS IN TIME

 CHRONOS: "WINDOWS IN TIME" ORDER FORM             ( Rev: 9 Feb 1996 )

         Windows in Time or

         Bible Timeline                          $30     ___

           Map Set #1 (Historical)               $10     ___

              More than 2 Mb of images, over 60 maps.

               Bronze Age         Dark Ages

               Iron Age           Middle Ages

               Classical World    Renaissance

               Age of Rome

           Map Set #2 (Contemporary)             $10     ___

              Europe:

               Eastern Europe, Malta, Spain,

               Italy, Czech Republic & Slovakia, Greece

              Other:

               North America, Ethiopia, Congo

               West Bank, South Africa, SE Asia

                       *** OR ***

         Windows in Time / Bible Timeline BONUS PACK

            Includes all the above for only      $40     ___

                                   US & Canada  $5  shipping

                                   all other    $7  shipping

                                                        _____  total

      Where obtained: ____________________   Date obtained:  __/__/__

      Name:             _______________________________

      Address:          _______________________________

      City, St, ZIP     _______________________________

      Print this form and send to:

            Cascoly Software

            4528 36th NE

            Seattle  WA  98105

We accept checks in US$ only.  However, we will accept cash in any currency.

Compuserve users can register online: GO SWREG after logging on to CIS.

VISA & Mastercharge orders:

 Public (software) Library

 PO Box 35705

 Houston TX 77235

 1-800-242-4775

Please note, these numbers are for orders only, not for support.


Events Entry
Editing People or Events

People and Event items are added, edited and deleted in a similar fashion. From the Main menu choose either the People or Events.  The appropriate entry form appears. Use the combo box to select a particular person or event. (These are sorted by date.)  Use the Next and Prev buttons to move forward or backwards within the list.  Use the Delete and New keys to remove or add people.

To change information, enter new dates, or names, and use the list boxes to select groups, and factions.  You can enter up to 2 lines of descriptive material.  When you finish, the program will prompt you if there were changes.  These changes remain while you're running the program.  To make the changes permanent, you'll also need to do a Save of the file. (The program ask you later if you forget and try to exit without saving.)

Buttons:

 	OK     -- return to timeline, saving any changes

  Prev   -- move to the previous event

  Next   -- move to the next event

  Delete -- remove this from the file.

 	New    -- add a new one

Date1, Date2 -- start and end dates  (may be the same)

Qualifiers

   Known	  -- date is firm

   Approx  -- approximate date

Reign   -- not often used for events

Nation1, Nation2

Faction

Occupation

Group


People & Events

"Windows in Time" considers 2 main types of information -- People and Events.  As you might expect, People records store information about historical persons or fictional characters.  Of course, you can also use the People records to store information about companies, agencies or other entities with lifespans.  You can add or edit these records using the People entry window.  If you don't know the exact birth or death years, you can enter an approximate one.  (Note that, since the month and day are left out, age calculations can only be accurate to within a year.

For years before 1700, there are additional discrepancies, since the acceptance of the Gregorian calendar reform did not occur everywhere at the same time.  English speaking countries did not start using the new calendar until the mid 1700's and Russia accepted the reform only after the 1917 Revolution.)  Also, if you decide to create a current dataset, containing living persons, you could set the 'death' year to some arbitrarily high value, such as 2030 or 2050, so that future ages can be calculated.

You can assign people to factions that you define using the Faction option of the People entry form. This lets you group people into logical categories of your choosing.  These might be national or political, such as Union, Confederate, British or French.  You can also define occupations, such as artist, musician, statesman and poet. (Note, in the shareware version, you need to change these groups outside the program. Use Notepad or other text editor to edit the lists at the end of each CH2 file).

The second main data element is the event.  This is a specific historical happening.  It could be a battle, a political act, or the publication date of a famous novel.  You can append a 2 line description, along with time of the event (a starting and ending year).  Events use groups and nations in a similar fashion to factions and occupations for people.  Two nations are allowed for each event.

Events may be either specific years or of longer duration (eg, The French Revolution or the Han Dynastry).  For the former case, just enter the same date for both starting and ending years.

You can also attach BMP images to any person or event.

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


ASP and Shareware

This program is shareware, which is a means of distributing software.  Under the shareware concept, software may be freely copied and passed along to others, or distributed through bulletin board systems or national networks.

Shareware is a means of distributing software.  Under the shareware concept,  software may be freely copied and passed along to others, or distributed through bulletin board systems or national networks.

As a recipient of a shareware program, you may use the software for up to 30 days to determine if it meets your needs.  If you want to continue to use the program after that period, you must register it.  When you register "Windows in Time", you receive:

  A copy of the latest version

  Additional bonus datasets

  A free introductory account on CompuServe including a private User

  A Compuserve ID number and password, $15 introductory usage credit, and a complimentary subscription to CompuServe Magazine, - a $30 value!

  A minimum of 90 days online support via CompuServe or by telephone.  Support by mail is also available, if accompanied by a SASE.

Choose  Register item from the main menu.  You can then enter your ordering information and print out an order form.

Cascoly Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but  does not provide technical support for members' products. You can contact the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536 .

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Sample datasets

WIT is distributed in several forms, both as shareware and retail.  Each version has slightly different collections of data, images, and maps.  The shareware version comes with several datasets, and many more are included in the registered version. You can begin your explorations immediately using the Timeline and reports options and the sample datasets that come with WIT.  More are provided when you register.  In addition, add on map sets and other resources are available.  See the current order form for details.

 The following sections describe the various eras covered by the Cascoly mapset add-on.  The maps and introductory

essays are Copyright 1996, Tony Belmonte, and are licensed from the author.  They may be used for personal, non-commercial uses only.

See the introductory essays below for more details on datasets.

      Bronze Age

      Iron Age

      Classical Age

      Age of Rome

      Dark Ages

      Middle Ages

      Renaissance

      Modern History

Note that for any of the times before about 800 BCE, the dates for Bible  characters is traditional or speculative at best, since there is no  corroborating historical material.  Many of the dates given for subsequent

Bible events is also subject to debate.  But that's the beauty of an interactive program -- you can modify the datasets as you wish, based on your own research or beliefs.  Cascoly Software is always interested in

receiving updated or alternate datasets created by users, and we will make them available to other users.

Any of the Cascoly datasets can be used as the basis for a new dataset.  Open the dataset,  then use the Save option to save it under a different name.  You can then delete, edit or add other people and events to form a new dataset.

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Reference & Credits

For more information on the datasets provided with WIT or Bible Timeline, click here.

CREDITS

-------

Unless otherwise indicated, all images and maps are Copyright 1995, by Cascoly Software, and may not be used for other than personal, noncommercial use without permission.  Cascoly maintains a collection of thousands of photographs for stock and other uses.  Contact us for details on licensing images. The following images are used with permission of the copyright holders:

   Augustus, Claudius, Domitian, Nerva, Tiberius, Otho

             Copyright, 1995, Justin D. Paola

Churchill, Warwick, Oxford, JamesII, HenryVIII

Digital Stock, British Isles CDROM

  Maps beginning with A or B and a date are copyright, 1995 by Tony Belmonte and appear with his permission.  Additional maps are available in add on sets.

The example datasets illustrate the range of studies possible using "Windows in Time".  Users are encouraged to send interesting datasets to Cascoly, and we will include them in future updates.  The example datasets were compiled from a variety of sources.  Some good starting  points would include the 'Who Was Who' books that can be found in the reference section of libraries.  Another good source is an unabridged  dictionary.  They often have a section on famous people.  Some historical periods have special dictionaries that are useful.

GENERAL:

"Book of Chronologies", The NY Public Library, (Prentice Hall: 1990).

"Chronicle of the World", Jerome Burne, ed, (Ecam, 1989).

"The Timetables of History", Bernard Grun, (Touchstone: 1982).

"The Timetables of Science", Alexander Hellemans & Bryan Bunch, (1988).

"Illustrated Atlas of World History", Simon Adams, John Briquebec, Ann

   Kramer, (NY: Random House, 1992).

"Rand McNally Atlas of World History", (NY: 1987).

CLASSICAL ERA:

"Oxford History of the Classical World", Boardman et al.(Oxford Press,1986).

"Atlas of World History: Classical World", Colin & Sarah McEvedy (NY:

   MacMillan Publishing Co., 1973).

BIBLE ERA:

"Archaeology of the Bible", Gaalyeh Cornfeld, (1976).

"The Bible Timeline", Thomas Robinson, (1992).

"The Book of J", Harold Bloom, (1990).

"The Macmillan Bible Atlas", Yohanan Aharoni & Michael Avi-Yonah, 1977.

"The Unauthorized Edition", Robin Lane Fox (1992).

SPECIFIC TOPICS:

"Atlas of World History: Dark Ages", Colin & Sarah McEvedy (NY: MacMillan

   Publishing Co., 1972)

"History of Italian Renaissance Art", F. Hartt, (NY: Harry Adams, Inc, 1969)

"The Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars", David Chandler, (MacMillan:1979).

"A History of Narrative Film", David A. Cook (WW Norton, NY: 1981).

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Bitmap images

You can link BMP (bitmap) images to any person or event.  The images included range from old engravings, photography to custom maps created for WIT.

On the Person or Event form, enter the name of the bitmap to be used. (If the bitmap isnt present, you'll get a message, but the information will remain.)   When you select a person or event with an associated bitmap, a thumbnail view appears.  Click on the thumbnail and a magnified image appears.

You can view the images in 2 fashions.  For most, the full image view is all you need.  You can resize the image if you like (but proportions may be lost).  You can also choose to scroll an image.  This is handy if you're using a lower resolution screen (eg, 640x480), or if the image is a large map.

You can set the zoom factor for scrolling for any level from 1 to 5 (1 is normal).  This can be useful for seeing details in smaller images, or maps, but the resolution will depend on the initial quality of the image.

You can switch between full image and scroll.  In some cases, if you have been adjusting the size of the image view area, the full image will no longer fill the view.  You'll need to close the view and re open it.

Nothing that you do in this view mode ever affects the original images.

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


BRONZE AGE

These maps include pre-bronze age civilisations in these

maps. The first civilisations rose in the river valleys of the Nile, Mesopotamia, the Indus, and the Yangtse. Agriculture led to surplus food, which in turn led to trade centered in cities. These cities were founded on the use of tools and weapons made of wood, stone and clay. Copper, a soft but easily found and forged metal, soon replaced stone

and wood in many tools and weapons. But copper was so soft that it was  gradually replaced by a copper-tin alloy, bronze. Tin was rare and expensive, and the alloy was difficult to make, but it was so much harder than copper that the extra effort was worth it. It was with bronze that civilization moved out of the river valleys.

Another advance came the Near East's way more dramtically when the steppe tribes introduced the chariot drawn by onages and later small horses. Several ancient kingdoms, including the greatest, Egypt, were conquered by these chariot-borne barbarians. The Chariot would be the

king of battle for over a millenium, until better trained infantry and cavalry swept it from the battlefield. With bronze weapons and chariots, the Great Kingdoms of the Near East swept all before them, until their societies began to fall apart and the predatory Sea Peoples savaged the Medeterranean, bringing a Dark Age that only Egypt

and Assyria survived.

 This period is covered in the GENESIS and EXODUS datasets.

 Add on maps available:

 The First Near Eastern Civilisations, 2500 B.C.

 The Empire of Sargon I, 2300 B.C.

 The Empire of Ur, 2050 B.C.

 The Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi, 1780 B.C.

 The Old Assyrian Empire, 1700 B.C.

 The Great Kingdoms of the High Bronze Age, 1350 B.C.

 The Mycenaen Confederacy, 1300 B.C.

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


MODERN HISTORY

 Several datasets cover modern history:

REVOLT covers the historical period from the American Revolution thru the French Revolution and Napoleonic era to the Civil War (1750-1860).  It concentrates on the course of political and technical revolutions.

TWENTY covers the twentieth century.  An eclectic collection of people and events from our century.

CINEMA traces directors, actors, pictures and events from Intolerance,  Potemkin and Gold Rush to Goodfellas and Dances with Wolves.

WW2EUR contains a dataset of the European theatre of WWII.

WW2PAC contains a dataset of the Pacific theatre of WWII.

(Thanks to David Shideler for the WWII datasets.)

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


IRON AGE

This age is covered by the EXODUS and KINGS datasets

The Iron Age began during the dark ages following the collapse of the

Great Kingdoms of the ancient Near East and the Invasions of the Sea

Peoples. Bronze, the metal that the trade and warfare of these states

were founded on, was gradually replaced by Iron, a metal that was more

difficult to mine and fashion, but was much harder and more useful.

The use of Iron spread from the tribes of Europe south and east to the

kingdoms that rose in the chaos of the dark age. This age was

dominated by a militaristic state, Assyria, which by 650 BCE had

conquered all of the Near East. By this time Greece, which had fallen

into such chaos during the invasions of the Sea Peoples that literacy

itself was forgotten, rose again to spread it's influence across the

Medeterranean. With the rise of Greek Civilisation came the so called

Classical Age.

 The Dark Age of the Ancient Near East, 870 BCE

 The Rise of the New Assyrian Empire, 820 BCE

 The Height of the Assyrian Empire, 650 BCE

 The Greek Colonisation of the Medeterranean, 650 BCE

 The Aftermath of the Collapse of the Assyrian Empire, 612 BCE

 The Rise of the Etruscans in Italy, 600 BCE

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


CLASSICAL ROME

This period is covered by the GREECE, ROME and DARK AGES datasets.

The Age of Rome began when Rome broke the power of the Carthaginan

Empire at the battle of Zama in 202 BCE Other powers would slow

Rome's advance, but none threatened its existance as Carthage had.

Success overseas had a price, as the Republican system that worked

when Rome was confined to Italy broke down with conqests beyond. The

small holding farmers who made up the legions were kept on campaign

for years, and in their absence their holdings were foreclosed and

bought up by aristocratic landowners and worked by slaves. Attempts at

reform were stymied by conservatives, and finally the forces of

reform led by the ageing military genius Marius were defeated by Sulla

and his conservative allies.

After victory, Sulla would go on to implement the very reforms he had

opposed in war. The Legions became professional, their soldiers

serving for pay rather than as part of their duty to the state.

However, this created its own problems, as these professional soldiers

owed more allegiance to their commanders than the Senate. A series of

able commanders used their troops to muscle their way into politics,

until finally Julius Caesar did away with the Republic all together.

His successor, a distant nephew named Octavian (later known as

Augustus), institutionalized the Empire, and with it Rome brought two

hundred years of peace and prosperity to Europe.

But Augustus never found a proper method of succession, and luck alone

kept civil war more or less at bay until the mid third century, when

decades of uninturrupted civil war devastated the Empire. Strong

Emperors like Diocletian and Constantine brought brief periods of

peace, but nothing could stem the tide of decay and the predatory

advances of Germanic Barbarians. By 400 CE, the glory was gone, and by

476, the last pretenses of Empire in the West went with it. The

Eastern Empire went on for another millenium, but for most of Europe,

the following centuries were ones of chaos and violence known as the

Dark Ages.

 Marius vs. Sulla, the War for Reform, 86 BCE

 The Mithridatic Wars and the Revolt of Spartacus, 74 BCE

 The Conquest of Gual and the First Triumvirate, 52 BCE

 The Peace of the Second Triumvirate, 40 BCE

 Rome after the Victory of Octavian at Actium, 25 BCE

 Rome just before the Disaster at the Tueterburger Wald, 8 CE

 Rome during the reign of Claudius and the Invasion of Britannia, 47CE

 Rome after the Year of Four Emperors and the Victory of Vespasian, 70 CE

 Deployment of the Legions before the Conquest of Dacia, 100 CE

 Rome at its Greatest Extent, during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, 116 CE

 Rome during the reign of Septimius Severus, 200 CE

 Rome at the Height of the Crisis of the Thrid Century, 260 CE

 Rome just before the ebbing of the Crisis of the Third Century, 268 CE

 Rome after the ebbing of the Crisis of the Third Century, 275 CE

 Rome during the reign of Diocletian, 290 CE

 Rome during the reign of Constantine the Great, 330 CE

 Rome during the disaster at Adrianople, 378 CE

 The Sack of Rome, 410 CE

 The defeat of the Hunnic Empire, 451 CE

 The End of the Western Empire, 476 CE

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


DARK AGES

This era is covered by the DARK AGES and MILLENUM datasets

The term 'dark age' is not unique to Europe between the fall of the

Western Empire and the start of the Middle Ages. 'Dark age' refers to

a decline in literacy stemming from political chaos and social

disorder. History is a difficult business without contemporary written

records. The term 'pre-history' refers to a time without writing, not

a time before history. A dark age is a partial reversion to pre-

history, and the time after the fall of the Western Empire was such a

dark age. The literate Romans were followed by illiterate barbarians.

The Church (at this time still fighting heretical sects and pagans for

the soul of Europe) still had many literate clerics, but nonetheless

there are only fuzzy records from this period.

Europe was torn apart into warring barbarian kingdoms, which had no

more complex political organization than family and clan. The

peasants, once protected by the legions of Rome, were now powerless in

the face of the barbarians. However, many of the barbarian rulers

admired the glory that was Rome and the church that was its last

remnant. Many Roman institutions and social patterns survived during

the dark ages, and gradually the political order of Rome returned, in

a fashion, uder the Franks. The Franks were among the least powerful

of the Germanic tribes that invaded Rome, but by the 600s they came to

dominate much of Europe. They reached their height under Charlemagne

(or 'Charles the Great') in the early 800s. The Frankish Empire did

not last long, however. Several groups of barbarians, principally the

Vikings, staged massive raids that weakened the Empire.

The centralized Empire was unable to defend against these raids, and

in respone the peasants began to give land and power to a new class of

professional warriors. These men would eventually become the knights

and feudal lords who would dominate European life for the next

millenium.

 The Invasion of Italy by the Ostrogoths, 490

 Before the Reconquest by Justinian, 530

 The Reconquest by Belisarius and Justinian, 565

 The Invasion of Italy by the Lombards and the rise of the Avars, 600

 The defeat of the Arabs at Poitiers by the Franks, 732

 The Frankish Empire at the Death of Pepin III, 768

 The Height of the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne, 800

 The Frankish Empire at the Death of Chalemagne, 814

 The Final Breakup of the Frankish Empire, 880

 The Viking Invasions, 910

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


MIDDLE AGES

This era is covered by the MILLENUM and RENAISS datasets.

The term 'Middle Ages' was coined in the Renaissance, a revival of

Greek and Roman culture from the so-called 'Classical' age. The

leaders of the Renaissance deemed all that existed between the fall of

Rome and their own time to be barbaric, leading to such strange terms

as 'Gothic' (as in the Gothic tribes) for the Cathedrals built in

Europe in the Middle Ages. I have chosen to place the Middle Ages from

1000 until 1453, the year in which the Byzantine Empire was finally

destroyed with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, and

the year in which the Hundred Years War between England and France

ended in French victory.

The Hundred Years War in fact lasted much longer, almost from the

conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 until 1453.

During this time English possessions in France grew and shrunk with

the fortunes of battle, and the land of France itself writhed

(sporadically) in the agony of war. Spain, occupied for most of the

Dark Ages by the Caliphate of Cordova, fell more and more into

Christian hands as the Middle Ages wore on. Following the breakup of

Cordova into petty states, the Muslims were united first under the

Almoravids and then the Almohads, who fought off the endless attacks

of the militaristic Spanish Christian states. Germany and Northern

Italy, and at times what is now southeastern France and Bohemia were

held within the Holy Roman Empire. This Empire was too decentralized

to really hold that title, and was unable to bring order to Europe's

chaotic politics as its classical namesake had. Hungary expanded into

a mighty kingdom of its own, only to be devestated by the invasions of

the Mongols and the Ottoman Turks.

Russia, divided into many petty states, was also devestated by the

Mongol Invasions. England made military forays not only into France

but into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. These three Celtic areas

offered fierce, if incoherent, resistance. Wales would be completely

conquered, Ireland would too, but neither area lost its Celtic culture

completely and England paid a heavy price in blood to hold onto these

lands. Scotland would be conquered and lost by England several times

in the Middle Ages. But of all the political and military events of

the Middle Ages the most important were the Crusades. The Christian

rulers of Europe, militaristic and pious, set off time after time to

battle the Muslim Turks in the Holy Land to take and Jerusalem.

By the end of the Middle Ages all that remained of the Crusades were

the fighting orders of monk-kights, Templars, Hospitalers, and the

Knights of St. John and the Teutonic Order, who would bring their

military and political power to bear in the later Middle Ages. It was

in the Middle Ages that the primacy of Europe until this day was

assured. One reason was that unity eluded Europe: The Byzantines,

Hungarians, Germans, French and English were unable to conquer one

another, leaving Europe in a constant state of war and division.

China, India, and the Muslim world were generally more united, often

completely united under one empire, giving greater political and

military stability. Wars were by no means unknown in these areas, but

Euorpe was constantly soaked in blood, and warfare became completely

ingrained in European culture, in a way that it was not in the rest of

the world. Second, though Hungary and Russia would be devestated by

the Mongol Invasions, the rest of Europe was spared these hordes.

China, India, and the Muslim world were not so spared.

Up until the Mongol Invasions, by any standard European Civilisation

seemed an unlikely canidate to dominate the world. After, her military

and economic power would brush aside all resistance. In 1492, an

unknown and geographically incompetent sailor from Italy would lead a

small Spanish fleet to the Americas.

 Europe at the end of the First Millenium, 1000

 The Rise of Denmark, 1030

 The Rise of the Normans and the Decline of Byzantium, 1075

 The Fall of Toledo and the disintigration Cordova, 1092

 After the First Crusade and the later conquest of Edessa, 1120

 The Rise of the Angevin Empire and the resurgance of Byzantium, 1160

 The Rise of Saladin, 1180

 After the Fourth Crusade, 1205

 Eve of the Mongol Invasions, 1223

 The High Middle Ages, 1270

 The Revival of Turkish Power, 1328

 The Rise of the Ottomans and the union of Hungary and Poland, 1382

 The Hundred Years War and the growth of the Ottoman Empire, 1430

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


RENAISSANCE

This era is covered by the RENAISS and REVOLT datasets

The Renaissance specifically refers to the revival of humanistic

culture at the tail end of the Middle Ages, centering on the city

states of northern Italy and later spreading throught Europe. This

cultural event has given its name to this period of history. When

exactly that period begins and ends is a matter of debate. I have used

the term Renaissance for the years 1453 until 1648. This is a very

broad timeperiod for this label: 1453 is often used as the last year

of the Middle Ages (with the end of the Hundred Years War and the

Byzantine Empire), but most Historians place the end of the

Renaissance long before 1648. However, 1648 is the year in which the

appalling Thirty Years War ended.

The thirty years war was the last of the religious wars which tore

Europe to shreds. By the end of the Thirty Years War, the original

religious rational for the war had been replaced with a far more

pragmatic, even cynical, power politics motive. France, a nominally

Catholic country, jumped into the war to save the Protestent side from

defeat. This signaled a change in politics as well as culture. The

decline in the status of the Church and the resulting reformation had

lost their power to define the history of Europe after 1648. In

between the crucial years of 1453 and 1648, however, religion would be

the prime force behind politics. Before, Europe did not have much need

for religious war, except with Muslims in Spain and the Holy Land.

There was some fighting during the Investiture contest and other

conflicts between the various Popes and Anti-Popes (the latter title

decided on by who won the contest) of the several schisms in the

Church, but for the most part the states and statelets of Europe

fought mearly for power. With the reformation, however, and the

revolts of various Protestant and Puritan factions, Europe's constant

war took on a terrifing edge. Motivated by the certianties of

religion, Europeans decended into a nightmare of plunder, rape, murder

and sadism. It was at this time (not the Middle Ages as is commonly

thought) that torture and mass execution became a high art in Europe.

The states of Europe were emerging from feudalism towards absolute

monarchy, but though they had devolped the ability to raise huge new

gunpowder equipped armies, they were unable to feed or pay these

armies with any regularity. These troops were often paid in plunder,

sometimes from their own territory.

In addition to religious conflict and the rise of the state, one more

ingredient gave this age its incredibly violent nature:alcohol. For

the first time in Europe history, enough alcohol could be produced to

fulfill demand. The armies of Europe (which to modern commanders would

seem little better than an armed mob) were rarely paid or even fed by

their kings, but with the power to plunder and pillage that mattered

little. But without their grog ration, mutiny was immediate. The

armies that ravaged Europe during the Renaissance were not only

rapacious and sadistic but more often than not dead drunk. But the

Renaissance was also a time of culutural advancement and exploration.

Europeans sailed to the four corners of the Earth and claimed vast

territories (rarely with the consent of the locals). The paradox of

Europe, its violence and culture, its beauty and depravity, was to

spread across the world.

 The Union of Poland and Lithuania, 1470

 The Union of Castille and Aragon, 1493

 The Height of the Hapsburgs, 1530

 The Division of Hapsburg lands, 1570

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


CLASSICAL AGE

This era is covered by the KINGS and GREECE datasets

The Classical Age began as the Eastern Mediterranean recovered from

the dark ages after the invasions of the Sea Peoples. It was a time

dominated by the rising power of Greece. Greek migrants would colonize

all parts of the Mediterranean, as would their cousins the Phoenecians

and Philistines. Greece itself was divided into mutually hostile city

states torn by constant war, but her vibrant culture and wide trading

contacts set the tone for the age. Greece would be the only

civilisation that succeded in holding off conquest by the Persaian

Empire. Greece would finnaly find unity by by the sword under Philip

of Macedon and his more famous son, Alexander. Alexander the Great

carried Greek civilisation all the way to India by force, creating an

inseperable link between the Near East and Medeterranean. Greek

influence would wane only when a people who at once admired and

despised them, the Romans, rose to replace them as the paramount power

in Europe.

 The Furthest Extent of the Etruscan League, 530 BCE

 The Furthest Extent of the Persian Empire, 518 BCE

 The City Staes of Greece, 510 BCE

 The Defeat of the Second Persian Invasion of Greece, 480 BCE

 Europe during the Defeat of Persia by Greece, 480 BCE

 The Empire of Athens, 450 BCE

 The Decline of the Etruscan League and the Rise of Rome, 380 BCE

 The Rise of Macedon, 336 BCE

 The Conquests of Alexander the Great, 323 BCE

 The Breakup of Alexander's Empire, 310 BCE

 The Hellenistic Kingdoms, 300 BCE

 The Rise of Roman Power in the Mediterranean, 270 BCE

 The Mediterranean after the First Punic War, 220 BCE

 The Second Punic War, 219-202 BCE

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Bitmap (BMP) not found!

This event or person has an associated BMP file listed, but it could not be found.  There are several possibilities;

 The file isn't in the current directory. WIT expects that all BMPS are in the same directory as the program.

You're runnning the shareware version, so some BMPs may not be available to save space.

If you have the registered or retail version, you may not have all the addon modules with additional maps and graphics.  Check the order form for details.

You can delete the file name and this message will not appear again.

Order form

Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.