Continental Favourites of History

[ErwinGodfrey]

Hello fellow fans of history, I thought of something fun. We'll each list some continents or sub-regions (Eastern Europe, Central America, etc.) and pick the nations and peoples, living or dead, that we find the most fascinating in the region.
An explanation or example as to why you made your choice, short or long, is also appreciated.
If you find only an era of that nation or people interesting, that's fine too.
Allow me to start,

Western Europe: The Carolingian Empire (800-900 AD)

During the rule of Charlemagne and his successors they controlled an area that included the modern day areas of France, the Lowlands, northern Italy, most of the modern German nations, and some of the western Slavic states. It is in this period where you'll not only find important and fascinating military and political history, but even more important cultural and intellectual advances that are the stepping stones to modern western civilization.

North America: The Iroquois(Between 1450 and 1600-1783 Ad)

During it's heyday, the Iroquois (or Haudenosaunee)were an aboriginal regional power with the capacity to not only conquer their indigenous neighbours but could also hold their own against European enemies as well. In the 1600's, fuelled with commerce and weapons from their Dutch and English trading partners, they embarked from their holdings on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario to go on what would be around a century of brutal conquest. During which, they reached as far north as Michigan and Ontario, as far south as Tennessee, and as far west as Illinois.

 

[SteveTR]

To be honest, this is kind of hard for me, because there are just so many regions and eras I'm interested in. Oh well, here goes:

Indian Subcontinent - Indo-Greeks (180 BC-10 AD)

This was a civilization of Greeks living in India, as the name suggests. After Alexander the Great's conquests, some Greeks stayed in India and founded their own kingdoms. At first, the most prominent one was the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. However, that kingdom eventually fell apart and the Indo-Greek kingdom became the dominant Hellenistic power in the region. The most important ruler of this kingdom was probably Menander I, who expanded the kingdom to the west and to the east. Probably the most fascinating thing about the Indo-Greeks was that they were Greeks who often followed local faiths and created religious art of those faiths. For example, there are many statues of Buddha made by the Indo-Greeks, and their style was what inspired the later Gondhara style. Also, they had some magnificient coins, which became the template for later coins in the area.

Central Europe - Great Moravia (c. 850-c. 900)

This was the first major state of the Western Slavs. The Moravians controlled the Czech lands, Slovakia, much of Hungary, and bits of Austria and Poland. They may have controlled even more territories, but that's uncertain. The most important ruler was Svatopluk, who expanded the state. In 863, the Moravians converted to Christianity upon the arrival of Constantine and Methodius from Thessalloniki. The Moravians left us a lot to admire. A lot of artwork has been preserved, and there are also archeological settlements from their era. In the end, the Moravians were invaded by the Magyars, which led to the dissolution of Great Moravia.

 

[ErwinGodfrey]

Indo-Greeks

I was actually thinking of using that one, yes I find them interesting as well, they're the accomplished but underrated member of the Diadochi siblings.
As for Great Moravia, I've actually not read much of that state beyond it's size and time period, quite interesting.

 

[Hades]

The Dutch Republic (1581-1795)

The tiny republic sandwiched between England and France actually did some pretty amazing things for a country its size. After kicking world power Spain out of the country it battled England for control of the seas four times and managed to win two of those wars. They also saw their leader becoming king of England who showed those Brits how to properly run a country. It also founded the worlds first multinational in the form of the VOC, An organisation similar to the English East India trading company. The generalship of prince Maurits revolutionized the armies of Europe and the Dutch would play a key role in keeping France in check.

A lot of famous painters from the baroque came from the Netherlands.

Eventually the republic declined because it was to small to cough up the resources needed to remain a world power and it was eventually overthrown by the ''patriots'' who turned it into a vassal state of revolutionary France.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

I'm Irish and I love modern American history, or at least the period from Roosevelt to Reagan. Can't say why, I just found the Cold War fascinating. One of the figures that interested me the most was probably LBJ, or Nixon.
I like our own history a hell of a lot too, but it's been so drilled into me, there's very little discovery involved anymore, and a lot of it hits a bit too close to home, particularly the Civil War stuff.
Another one is the Roman Empire. The entire thing really from foundation to decline. In school I did Latin for four years and a lot of that is centered on poetry, culture and history. I got to visit Pompeii and a few other preserved towns last year and it was really great, as Pompeii was kind of what the course was centered around.

Apologies if my ones are a bit generic.

 

[DJjaffacake]

Europe - The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

What began as a war between the newly created French Republic and the Austrian Empire became a titanic struggle with battles between hundreds of thousands of men that lasted 23 years and reshaped Europe forever. The French armies shattered the supposedly far superior armies of Prussia, Austria and Russia, and built a new French Empire stretching from Oporto on the Portuguese coast to Tilsit on Prussia's eastern border. But in just a few short years the entire empire collapsed due to Napoleon's ambition.

Central America and the Caribbean - The Golden Age of Piracy

The age of Blackbeard, pirate republics, cannons, sails, rum, treaure and cursed Aztec gold black flags. It was short lived, but while it lasted the great maritime powers like Britain and Spain were terrorised by what should have been a minor annoyance.

 

[ErwinGodfrey]

Here's another one
North Africa: The Rifian Berbers (1920's)
In the northern part of Morocco, there is an area of mountains known as the Rif. Here lives the Rifians, a fierce Berber tribe who launched a spectacular revolt against the Spanish colonizers. Spain at this time had long since faded as a European power after decades of losing their colonial possessions to revolt and conquest by their competitors, the latest at the time was losing the Philippines and their Caribbean possessions to America.
Wanting to regain some of their lost prestige, they asked France for formal control of the area of north Morocco where they had influence, and this was granted. However, the Spanish turned out to be incapable of actually assuming control of the region, thanks to both military incompetence and callus disregard for the native population, and in 1920 the Rifians fought a bloody war against the Spanish that lead to Spain losing tens of thousands of its soldiers in disastrous military campaigns. Spanish control was eventually resumed when the Rifians made the mistake of attacking the far more capable and powerful French, who intervened on Spanish behave and quickly put an end to the six year long war. However, the damage to Spanish prestige and national unity was great, and thus the seeds were sowed for their civil war a decade latter.

snip

Think nothing of it, the Romans are an infinite well of history, from their humble beginnings as a few houses on hills surrounded by bog, to their zenith as the rulers of much of the known world, and to the Eastern Empire's final bow at the fall of Constantinople.

 

[newfoundsky]

The French Revolution and the following wars after.

I really like the period, because the French get a bad rap when it comes to war fighting, at least here in the States. But whenever someone says that the French can't or aren't willing to fight I remind them of the following:

The United States fought for its freedom from tyranny, won it, and played dead for almost thirty years. The French fought against tyranny from within, won their liberty, and then decided that THEM being free was not enough and proceeded to declare war on every monarchy in Europe.

It doesn't matter that they lost, what matters is the strength and courage of their convictions.