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106-636: In Hellenistic and Roman times, the musculature of the male torso was idealized in the form of the muscle cuirass or "heroic cuirass" (in French the cuirasse esthétique ) sometimes further embellished with symbolic representation in relief, familiar in the Augustus of Prima Porta and other heroic representations in official Roman sculpture . As parts of the actual military equipment of classical antiquity , cuirasses and corsets of bronze, iron, or some other rigid substance were used. Secondary protection for

212-560: A Roman Catholic French princess, Henrietta Maria . Parliament refused to assign him the traditional right to collect customs duties for his entire reign, deciding instead to grant it only on a provisional basis and negotiate with him. Charles, meanwhile, decided to send an expeditionary force to relieve the French Huguenots , whom French royal troops held besieged in La Rochelle . Such military support for Protestants on

318-478: A charge of treason. The members had learned that he was coming and escaped. Charles not only failed to arrest them but turned more people against him. In the summer of 1642, these national troubles helped to polarise opinion, ending indecision about which side to support or what action to take. Opposition to Charles also arose from many local grievances. For example, imposed drainage schemes in The Fens disrupted

424-451: A court case, attainder did not require a legal burden of proof to be met, but it did require the king's approval. Charles, however, guaranteed Strafford that he would not sign the attainder, without which the bill could not be passed. Furthermore, the Lords opposed the severity of a death sentence on Strafford. Yet increased tensions and a plot in the army to support Strafford began to sway

530-466: A cuirass constructed of solid iron plates. The use of the samurai cuirass lasted until the 1860s, when the national army using conventional uniforms and weapons was established. Samurai armour was last worn into battle during the Satsuma Rebellion (1877). Hellenistic Greece Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of Ancient Greece following Classical Greece and between

636-515: A dominant position throughout Greece. During the following years Rome was drawn deeper into Greek politics, since the defeated party in any dispute appealed to Rome for help. Macedon was still independent, though nominally a Roman ally. When Philip V died in 179 BC, he was succeeded by his son Perseus , who like all the Macedonian kings dreamed of uniting the Greeks under Macedonian rule. Macedon

742-413: A guard of the legionaries, who were encamped in many different quarters of the city. He did however put on a linen cuirass, though he openly declared that it would afford little protection against so many swords." The latter portion of the 14th century saw the cuirass gradually come into general use in connection with plate armour for the limbs until, at the close of the century, mail was phased out among

848-543: A new League which Rome ultimately controlled, and democracies were replaced by aristocratic regimes allied to Rome. In 192 BC, war broke out between Rome and the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III . Antiochus invaded Greece with a 10,000 man army, and was elected the commander in chief of the Aetolians. Some Greek cities now thought of Antiochus as their saviour from Roman rule, but Macedon threw its lot in with Rome. In 191 BC,

954-480: A practical means of compelling them. From the thirteenth century, monarchs ordered the election of representatives to sit in the House of Commons , with most voters being the owners of property, although in some potwalloper boroughs every male householder could vote. When assembled along with the House of Lords , these elected representatives formed a Parliament. So the concept of Parliaments allowed representatives of

1060-682: A result it was directly annexed the following year and became a Roman province , the first of the Greek states to suffer this fate. Rome now demanded that the Achaean League, the last stronghold of Greek independence, be dissolved. The Achaeans refused and, feeling that they might as well die fighting, declared war on Rome. Most of the Greek cities rallied to the Achaeans' side, even slaves were freed to fight for Greek independence. The Roman consul Lucius Mummius advanced from Macedonia and defeated

1166-614: A resurgence of Protestant power, struck first , and all Ireland soon descended into chaos. Rumours circulated that the King supported the Irish, and Puritan members of the Commons soon started murmuring that this exemplified the fate that Charles had in store for them all. On 4 January 1642, Charles, followed by 400 soldiers, entered the House of Commons and attempted to arrest five members on

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1272-627: A single kingdom. Many English Parliamentarians were suspicious of such a move, fearing that such a new kingdom might destroy old English traditions that had bound the English monarchy. Because James had described kings as "little gods on Earth", chosen by God to rule in accordance with the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings , and Charles shared his father's position, the suspicions of the Parliamentarians had some justification. At

1378-403: A soothsayer warned him again and again to look out for danger, since assassins were not far off. Not long after this he learned that Otho held possession of the camp, and when several advised him to proceed thither as soon as possible – for they said that he could win the day by his presence and prestige – he decided to do no more than hold his present position and strengthen it by getting together

1484-482: A tactic learned while fighting in the Dutch army, where cavalry would charge at full speed into the opponent's infantry, firing their pistols just before impact. However, with Oliver Cromwell and the introduction of the more disciplined New Model Army , a group of disciplined pike men would stand its ground, which could have a devastating effect. The Royalist cavalry had a tendency to chase down individual targets after

1590-651: The Earl of Lindsey , was to die fighting for the King at the Battle of Edgehill . In early January 1642, a few days after failing to capture five members of the House of Commons, Charles feared for the safety of his family and retinue and left the London area for the north country. Further frequent negotiations by letter between the King and the Long Parliament, through to early summer, proved fruitless. On 1 June 1642

1696-705: The English Lords and Commons approved a list of proposals known as the Nineteen Propositions . In these demands, the Parliament sought a larger share of power in the governance of the kingdom. Before the end of the month the King rejected the Propositions. As the summer progressed, cities and towns declared their sympathies for one faction or the other: for example, the garrison of Portsmouth commanded by Sir George Goring declared for

1802-682: The First and Second Macedonian War with ancient Rome . The perceived weakness of Macedonia in the aftermath of these conflicts encouraged Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire to invade mainland Greece , yet his defeat by the Romans at Thermopylae in 191 BC and Magnesia in 190 BC secured Rome's position as the leading military power in the region. Within roughly two decades after conquering Macedonia in 168 BC and Epirus in 167 BC,

1908-576: The Heian period (794–1185), Japanese armourers started to use leather as a material and lacquer for weatherproofing. By the end of the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as part of iconic samurai armour. Scales of iron and leather, bound together by silk lace, were used to construct samurai armour. The introduction of firearms to Japan in 1543 resulted in the development of

2014-586: The Magnum Concilium (the House of Lords , but without the Commons , so not a Parliament), Charles finally bowed to pressure and summoned another English Parliament in November 1640. The new Parliament proved even more hostile to Charles than its predecessor. It immediately began to discuss grievances against him and his government, with Pym and Hampden (of ship money fame) in the lead. They took

2120-703: The Peloponnese except Sparta , while the Aetolian League expanded into Phocis . During the third century BCE these leagues were able to defend themselves against Macedon and the Aetolian league defeated a Celtic invasion of Greece at Delphi. After Alexander's death, Athens had been defeated by Antipater in the Lamian War and its port in the Piraeus housed a Macedonian garrison. To counter

2226-556: The Prussian Gardes du Corps and other corps wore cuirasses of richly decorated leather. The Pontifical Swiss Guard still wear cuirasses for swearing-in ceremonies, Christmas and Easter. Cuirasses were manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century. Tankō , worn by foot soldiers, and keikō , worn by horsemen, were both pre-samurai types of early Japanese cuirass constructed from iron plates connected by leather thongs. During

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2332-576: The Thirty Years' War which began in 1618 and concluded in 1648. The war was of unprecedented scale for the English. During the campaign seasons, 120,000 to 150,000 soldiers would be in the field, a higher proportion of the population than were fighting in Germany in the Thirty Years' War . The main battle tactic came to be known as pike and shot infantry. The two sides would line up opposite one another, with infantry brigades of musketeers in

2438-471: The Tonnage and Poundage Act 1640 . On 3 May, Parliament decreed The Protestation , attacking the 'wicked counsels' of Charles's government, whereby those who signed the petition undertook to defend 'the true reformed religion', Parliament, and the king's person, honour and estate. Throughout May, the House of Commons launched several bills attacking bishops and Episcopalianism in general, each time defeated in

2544-528: The "Eleven Years' Tyranny". During this period, Charles's policies were determined by his lack of money. First and foremost, to avoid Parliament, the King needed to avoid war. Charles made peace with France and Spain, effectively ending England's involvement in the Thirty Years' War . However, that in itself was far from enough to balance the Crown's finances. Unable to raise revenue without Parliament and unwilling to convene it, Charles resorted to other means. One

2650-429: The "Great Rebellion". Some historians, notably Marxists such as Christopher Hill (1912–2003), favoured the term " English Revolution ". Each side had a geographical stronghold, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The Royalist areas included the countryside, the shires, the cathedral city of Oxford, and the less economically developed areas of northern and western England. Parliament's strengths spanned

2756-483: The "cloud rising in the west": the ever-increasing power of Rome. He was known as "the darling of Hellas". Under his auspices the Peace of Naupactus (217 BC) brought conflict between Macedon and the Greek leagues to an end, and at this time he controlled all of Greece except Athens, Rhodes and Pergamum. In 215 BC, however, Philip formed an alliance with Rome's enemy Carthage , which drew Rome directly into Greek affairs for

2862-553: The 1648 Second English Civil War resulted in the execution of Charles I in January 1649, and establishment of the Commonwealth of England . In 1650, Charles II was crowned King of Scotland, in return for agreeing to create a Presbyterian church in both England and Scotland. The subsequent Anglo-Scottish War ended with Parliamentarian victory at Worcester on 3 September 1651. Both Ireland and Scotland were incorporated into

2968-732: The Balkans. The battle against the Gauls united the Antigonids of Macedon and the Seleucids of Antioch, an alliance which was also directed against the wealthiest Hellenistic power, the Ptolemies of Egypt. Antigonus II ruled until his death in 239 BC, and his family retained the Macedonian throne until it was abolished by the Romans in 146 BC. Their control over the Greek city states was intermittent, however, since other rulers, particularly

3074-490: The Church more ceremonial, replacing the wooden communion tables with stone altars. Puritans accused Laud of reintroducing Catholicism, and when they complained he had them arrested. In 1637, John Bastwick , Henry Burton , and William Prynne had their ears cut off for writing pamphlets attacking Laud's views – a rare penalty for gentlemen , and one that aroused anger. Moreover, the Church authorities revived statutes from

3180-726: The Church. In the spring of 1639, King Charles I accompanied his forces to the Scottish border to end the rebellion known as the Bishops' War , but after an inconclusive campaign, he accepted the offered Scottish truce: the Pacification of Berwick . This truce proved temporary, and a second war followed in mid-1640. A Scots army defeated Charles's forces in the north, then captured Newcastle . Charles eventually agreed not to interfere in Scotland's religion. Charles needed to suppress

3286-698: The Commonwealth, and Britain became a unitary state until the Stuart Restoration in 1660. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular, but historians often divide the conflict into two or three separate wars. These were not restricted to England alone, as Wales (having been annexed into the Kingdom of England ) was affected by the same political instabilities. The conflicts also involved wars with Scotland and Ireland and civil wars within them. Some historians have favoured

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3392-665: The Continent potentially alleviated concerns about the King's marriage to a Catholic. However, Charles's insistence on giving command of the English force to his unpopular royal favourite George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham , undermined that support. Unfortunately for Charles and Buckingham, the relief expedition proved a fiasco (1627), and Parliament, already hostile to Buckingham for his monopoly on royal patronage , opened impeachment proceedings against him. Charles responded by dissolving Parliament. This saved Buckingham but confirmed

3498-483: The Eastern Mediterranean was characteristic of the time. The quests of Alexander had a number of consequences for the Greek city-states. It greatly widened the horizons of the Greeks, making the endless conflicts between the cities which had marked the 5th and 4th centuries BC seem petty and unimportant. It led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, to the new Greek empires in

3604-599: The Elder , a member of the King's Privy Council, who refused to confirm it in Parliament out of loyalty to Charles. On 10 April 1641, Pym's case collapsed, but Pym made a direct appeal to the Younger Vane to produce a copy of the notes from the King's Privy Council, discovered by the Younger Vane and secretly turned over to Pym, to the great anguish of the Elder Vane. These notes contained evidence that Strafford had told

3710-757: The English Book of Common Prayer to Scotland in the middle of 1637. This was violently resisted. A riot broke out in Edinburgh, which may have been started in St Giles' Cathedral , according to legend, by Jenny Geddes . In February 1638, the Scots formulated their objections to royal policy in the National Covenant . This document took the form of a "loyal protest", rejecting all innovations not first tested by free Parliaments and General Assemblies of

3816-868: The Greek cities never recovered. Mithridates was finally defeated by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) in 65 BC. Further ruin was brought to Greece by the Roman civil wars, which were partly fought in Greece. Finally, in 27 BC, Augustus directly annexed Greece to the new Roman Empire as the province of Achaea . The struggles with Rome had left certain areas of Greece depopulated and demoralised. Nevertheless, Roman rule at least brought an end to warfare, and cities such as Athens, Corinth, Thessaloniki and Patras soon recovered their prosperity. English Civil War Parliamentarian victory 1643 1644 1645 1646 England The English Civil War

3922-474: The Greek cities that he would restore their freedom if they supported him. This led to successful revolts against Cassander's local rulers. In 307 BC, Antigonus's son Demetrius captured Athens and restored its democratic system, which had been suppressed by Alexander. But in 301 BC a coalition of Cassander and the other Hellenistic kings defeated Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus , ending his challenge. After Cassander's death in 298 BC, however, Demetrius seized

4028-553: The Greek cities to revolt against Antigonus, in what became the Chremonidean War , after the Athenian leader Chremonides . The cities were defeated and Athens lost her independence and her democratic institutions. The Aetolian League was restricted to the Peloponnese , but on being allowed to gain control of Thebes in 245 BC became a Macedonian ally. This marked the end of Athens as a political actor, although it remained

4134-514: The Greeks at Corinth , which was razed to the ground. In 146 BC, the Greek peninsula, though not the islands, became a Roman protectorate. Roman taxes were imposed, except in Athens and Sparta, and all the cities had to accept rule by Rome's local allies. In 133 BC, the last king of Pergamum died and left his kingdom to Rome: this brought most of the Aegean peninsula under direct Roman rule as part of

4240-463: The Greeks, Flamininus was a moderate man and an admirer of Greek culture. Philip had to surrender his fleet and become a Roman ally, but was otherwise spared. At the Isthmian Games in 196 BC, Flamininus declared all the Greek cities free, although Roman garrisons were placed at Corinth and Chalcis . But the freedom promised by Rome was an illusion. All the cities except Rhodes were enrolled in

4346-469: The Irish Catholic gentry to pay new taxes in return for promised religious concessions. In 1639, Charles had recalled Wentworth to England and in 1640 made him Earl of Strafford, attempting to have him achieve similar results in Scotland. This time he proved less successful and the English forces fled the field at their second encounter with the Scots in 1640. Almost the whole of Northern England

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4452-640: The King in 1638. The fines imposed on people who refused to pay ship money and standing out against its illegality aroused widespread indignation. During his "Personal Rule", Charles aroused most antagonism through his religious measures. He believed in High Anglicanism , a sacramental version of the Church of England , theologically based upon Arminianism , a creed shared with his main political adviser, Archbishop William Laud . In 1633, Charles appointed Laud Archbishop of Canterbury and started making

4558-562: The King's ministers. Finally, the Parliament passed a law forbidding the King to dissolve it without its consent, even if the three years were up. These laws equated to a tremendous increase in Parliamentary power. Ever since, this Parliament has been known as the Long Parliament . However, Parliament did attempt to avert conflict by requiring all adults to sign The Protestation , an oath of allegiance to Charles. Early in

4664-433: The King, but when Charles tried to acquire arms from Kingston upon Hull , the weaponry depository used in the previous Scottish campaigns, Sir John Hotham , the military governor appointed by Parliament in January, refused to let Charles enter the town, and when Charles returned with more men later, Hotham drove them off . Charles issued a warrant for Hotham's arrest as a traitor but was powerless to enforce it. Throughout

4770-458: The King, "Sir, you have done your duty, and your subjects have failed in theirs; and therefore you are absolved from the rules of government, and may supply yourself by extraordinary ways; you have an army in Ireland, with which you may reduce the kingdom." Pym immediately launched a Bill of Attainder stating Strafford's guilt and demanding that he be put to death. Unlike a guilty verdict in

4876-510: The League. Aratus preferred distant Macedon to nearby Sparta, and allied himself with Doson, who in 222 BC defeated the Spartans and annexed their city – the first time Sparta had ever been occupied by a foreign power. Philip V, who came to power when Doson died in 221 BC, was the last Macedonian ruler with both the talent and the opportunity to unite Greece and preserve its independence against

4982-471: The Long Parliament, the house overwhelmingly accused Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford , of high treason and other crimes and misdemeanors. Henry Vane the Younger supplied evidence of Strafford's claimed improper use of the army in Ireland, alleging that he had encouraged the King to use his Ireland-raised forces to threaten England into compliance. This evidence was obtained from Vane's father, Henry Vane

5088-539: The Lords. Charles and his Parliament hoped that the execution of Strafford and the Protestation would end the drift towards war, but in fact, they encouraged it. Charles and his supporters continued to resent Parliament's demands, and Parliamentarians continued to suspect Charles of wanting to impose episcopalianism and unfettered royal rule by military force. Within months, the Irish Catholics, fearing

5194-464: The Macedonian throne and gained control of most of Greece. He was defeated by a second coalition of Greek rulers in 285 BC, and mastery of Greece passed to the king Lysimachus of Thrace . Lysimachus was in turn defeated and killed in 280 BC. The Macedonian throne then passed to Demetrius's son Antigonus II , who also defeated an invasion of the Greek lands by the Gauls , who at this time were living in

5300-568: The Parliament after only a few weeks; hence its name, "the Short Parliament ". Without Parliament's support, Charles attacked Scotland again, breaking the truce at Berwick, and suffered comprehensive defeat. The Scots went on to invade England, occupying Northumberland and Durham . Meanwhile, another of Charles's chief advisers, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Viscount Wentworth , had risen to the role of Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1632, and brought in much-needed revenue for Charles by persuading

5406-433: The Piraeus remained garrisoned. Athens fought more unsuccessful wars against Macedon with Ptolemaic aid such as the Chremonidean War . The Ptolemaic kingdom was now the city's main ally, supporting it with troops, monies and material in multiple conflicts. Athens rewarded the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 224/223 BC by naming the 13th phyle Ptolemais and establishing a religious cult called the Ptolemaia. Hellenistic Athens also saw

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5512-435: The Prince. Historical cuirass, contrary to many modern reproductions, did not rest on the hips. Historical cuirass usually stopped somewhere around the midriff or navel in order to allow a sufficient range of movement to the wearer. A cuirass ending at the waist would severely limit the ability of the wearer to lean forward, backward, or sideways. Thus, to protect the rest of the torso, mail, or fauld were used, depending on

5618-435: The Ptolemies, subsidised anti-Macedonian parties in Greece to undermine the Antigonids' power. Antigonus placed a garrison at Corinth , the strategic centre of Greece, but Athens, Rhodes , Pergamum and other Greek states retained substantial independence, and formed the Aetolian League as a means of defending it. Sparta also remained independent, but generally refused to join any league. In 267 BC, Ptolemy II persuaded

5724-472: The Romans sent Lucius Aemilius Paullus to Greece, and at Pydna the Macedonians were crushingly defeated. Perseus was captured and taken to Rome, the Macedonian kingdom was broken up into four smaller states, and all the Greek cities who aided her, even rhetorically, were punished. Even Rome's allies Rhodes and Pergamum effectively lost their independence. Under the leadership of an adventurer called Andriscus , Macedon rebelled against Roman rule in 149 BC: as

5830-414: The Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio routed him at Thermopylae and obliged him to withdraw to Asia. During the course of this war Roman troops moved into Asia for the first time, where they defeated Antiochus again at Magnesia on the Sipylum (190 BC). Greece now lay across Rome's line of communications with the east, and Roman soldiers became a permanent presence. The Peace of Apamaea (188 BC) left Rome in

5936-425: The Romans would eventually control the whole of Greece. During the Hellenistic period the importance of Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and Antioch , capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively. Cities such as Pergamon , Ephesus , Rhodes and Seleucia were also important, and increasing urbanisation of

6042-412: The ability and authority to collect and remit the most meaningful forms of taxation then available at the local level. So, if the king wanted to ensure smooth revenue collection, he needed the gentry's cooperation. For all of the Crown's legal authority, its resources were limited by any modern standard to the extent that if the gentry refused to collect the king's taxes on a national scale, the Crown lacked

6148-416: The advantages plate armour had over mail. In the second half of the 15th century, the cuirass was occasionally superseded by the brigandine jacket , the medieval forerunner of the flak jacket . In essence, the brigandine jacket was constructed of metal plates sewn into a fabric jacket. The fabric was generally a rich material, and was lined throughout with overlapping scales of metal which were attached to

6254-417: The break-up of his empire and the establishment of a number of new kingdoms. Macedon fell to Cassander , son of Alexander's leading general Antipater , who after several years of warfare made himself master of most of the rest of Greece. He founded a new Macedonian capital at Thessaloniki and was generally a constructive ruler. Cassander's power was challenged by Antigonus , ruler of Anatolia, who promised

6360-405: The breast was worn in earlier times by men-at-arms in addition to mail hauberks and reinforced coats. It was not until the 14th century that the plate armour became an established part of medieval armour. The Roman emperor Galba donned a cuirass just before he went to his death. Suetonius records in 12 Caesars that, "As [Galba] was offering sacrifice on the morning before he was killed,

6466-446: The centre. These carried matchlock muskets, an inaccurate weapon which nevertheless could be lethal at a range of up to 300 yards. Musketeers would assemble three rows deep, the first kneeling, second crouching, and third standing. At times, troops divided into two groups, allowing one to reload while the other fired. Among the musketeers were pike men, carrying pikes of 12 feet (4 m) to 18 feet (5.5 m) long, whose main purpose

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6572-418: The centuries de facto powers of enough significance that monarchs could not simply ignore them indefinitely. For a monarch, Parliament's most indispensable power was its ability to raise tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crown's disposal. By the 17th century, Parliament's tax-raising powers had come to be derived from the fact that the gentry was the only stratum of society with

6678-598: The cities responded to the threat of the post Alexandrian Hellenistic states by banding together into alliances or becoming allies of a strong Hellenistic state which could come to its defense therefore making it asylos or inviolate to attack by other cities. The Aetolians and the Achaeans developed strong federal states or leagues ( koinon ), which were governed by councils of city representatives and assemblies of league citizens. Initially ethnic leagues, these leagues later began to include cities outside of their traditional regions. The Achaean League eventually included all of

6784-402: The conflicts in the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland had similarities, each had their own specific issues and objectives. The First English Civil War was fought primarily over the correct balance of power between Parliament and Charles I . It ended in June 1646 with Royalist defeat and the king in custody. However, victory exposed Parliamentarian divisions over the nature of

6890-408: The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic . This culminated at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC, a crushing Roman victory in the Peloponnese that led to the destruction of Corinth and ushered in the period of Roman Greece . Hellenistic Greece's definitive end was with the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, when

6996-426: The earlier days, have, to some degree, emulated the martial splendour of the body armour of the era of medieval chivalry. British, French, German, and Russian heavy cavalry wore cuirasses as part of their parade uniforms leading up to World War I . Although in the early part of the conflict, the French still wore their cuirasses into battle, for the most part they were covered with a cloth canvas for protection against

7102-456: The east. Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as what are now Afghanistan and Pakistan , where the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom survived until the end of the 1st century BC. The defeat of the Greek cities by Philip and Alexander also taught the Greeks that their city-states could never again be powers in their own right, and that

7208-521: The fall of both the Argead and Antipatrid dynasties of Macedonia in favor of the Antigonid dynasty . The era was also marked by successive wars between the Kingdom of Macedonia and its allies against the Aetolian League , Achaean League , and the city-state of Sparta . During the reign of Philip V of Macedon (r. 221–179 BC), the Macedonians not only lost the Cretan War (205–200 BC) to an alliance led by Rhodes , but their erstwhile alliance with Hannibal of Carthage also entangled them in

7314-648: The first personal union of the Scottish and English kingdoms . As King of Scots, James had become accustomed to Scotland's weak parliamentary tradition since assuming control of the Scottish government in 1583, so that upon assuming power south of the border, the new King of England was affronted by the constraints the English Parliament attempted to place on him in exchange for money. Consequently, James's personal extravagance, which resulted in him being perennially short of money, meant that he had to resort to extra-parliamentary sources of income. Moreover, increasing inflation during this period meant that even though Parliament

7420-415: The first time. Rome promptly lured the Achaean cities away from their nominal loyalty to Philip, and formed alliances with Rhodes and Pergamum, now the strongest power in Asia Minor . The First Macedonian War broke out in 212 BC, and ended inconclusively in 205 BC, but Macedon was now marked as an enemy of Rome. Rome's ally Rhodes gained control of the Aegean islands. In 202 BC, Rome defeated Carthage, and

7526-414: The future emperor Augustus defeated Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony , the next year taking over Alexandria , the last great center of Hellenistic Greece. The Hellenistic period began with the wars of the Diadochi , armed contests among the former generals of Alexander the Great to carve up his empire in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The wars lasted until 275 BC, witnessing

7632-424: The hegemony of Macedon and its successor states could not be challenged unless the city states united, or at least federated. The Greeks valued their local independence too much to consider actual unification, but they made several attempts to form federations through which they could hope to reassert their independence. Following Alexander's death a struggle for power broke out among his generals, which resulted in

7738-459: The impression that Charles wanted to avoid Parliamentary scrutiny of his ministers. Having dissolved Parliament and unable to raise money without it, the king assembled a new one in 1628. (The elected members included Oliver Cromwell , John Hampden , and Edward Coke .) The new Parliament drew up a Petition of Right , which Charles accepted as a concession to obtain his subsidy. The Petition made reference to Magna Carta , but did not grant him

7844-679: The industrial centres, ports, and economically advanced regions of southern and eastern England, including the remaining cathedral cities (except York, Chester, Worcester). Lacey Baldwin Smith says, "the words populous, rich, and rebellious seemed to go hand in hand". Many officers and veteran soldiers had fought in European wars, notably the Eighty Years' War between the Spanish and the Dutch, which began in 1568, as well as earlier phases of

7950-436: The initial charge, leaving their forces scattered and tired, whereas Cromwell's cavalry was slower but better disciplined. Trained to operate as a single unit, it went on to win many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, less than 40 years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I . Elizabeth had been succeeded by her first cousin twice-removed , King James VI of Scotland , as James I of England, creating

8056-452: The issue. On 21 April, the Commons passed the Bill (204 in favour, 59 opposed, and 250 abstained), and the Lords acquiesced. Charles, still incensed over the Commons' handling of Buckingham, refused his assent. Strafford himself, hoping to head off the war he saw looming, wrote to the king and asked him to reconsider. Charles, fearing for the safety of his family, signed on 10 May. Strafford

8162-402: The jacket by rivets, having their heads, like studs, visible on the outside. Around 1550, the breastplate piece of the cuirass was characterized by a vertical central ridge, called the tapul , having near its center a projecting point. Somewhat later, the tapul was moved lower on the breastplate. Eventually, the profile of the plate began to resemble a pea pod and, as such, was referred to as

8268-623: The king failed to issue a proper summons, the members could assemble on their own. This act also forbade ship money without Parliament's consent, fines in distraint of knighthood, and forced loans. Monopolies were cut back sharply, the courts of the Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by the Habeas Corpus Act 1640 , and the Triennial Act respectively. All remaining forms of taxation were legalised and regulated by

8374-606: The largest, wealthiest and most cultivated city in Greece. In 255 BC, Antigonus defeated the Egyptian fleet at Cos and brought the Aegean islands, except Rhodes, under his rule as well. In spite of their decreased political power and autonomy, the Greek city state or polis continued to be the basic form of political and social organization in Greece. Classical city states such as Athens and Ephesus grew and even thrived in this period. While warfare between Greek cities continued,

8480-483: The livelihood of thousands after the King awarded a number of drainage contracts. Many saw the King as indifferent to public welfare, and this played a role in bringing much of eastern England into the Parliamentarian camp. This sentiment brought with it such people as the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell , each a notable wartime adversary of the King. Conversely, one of the leading drainage contractors,

8586-563: The nobles (e.g., knights ) except in the camail of the bascinet and at the edge of the hauberk . The cuirass was almost universally worn throughout its lifespan as a form of armour. The globule form of the breast-armour of the Black Prince , in his effigy in Canterbury Cathedral , 1376, intimates that a cuirass (as well as a hauberk) is to be considered to have been covered by the royalty-emblazoned jupon (surcoat) of

8692-425: The opportunity presented by the King's troubles to force various reforming measures – including many with strong "anti- Papist " themes – upon him. The members passed a law stating that a new Parliament would convene at least once every three years – without the King's summons if need be. Other laws passed making it illegal for the king to impose taxes without Parliamentary consent and later gave Parliament control over

8798-599: The peascod cuirass. During the English Civil War (1642–1651), only the wealthiest and physically strongest men could afford this type of armour. Corslets , provided with both the breast and back pieces, were worn by foot-soldiers in the 17th century, while their mounted comrades were equipped with heavier and stronger cuirasses. These defenses continued in use longer than any other single piece of armour. Their use never altogether ceased and in modern armies mounted cuirassiers , armed with breast and back plates as in

8904-489: The policy of coastal counties and inland ports such as London paying ship money in times of need, but it had not been applied to inland counties before. Authorities had ignored it for centuries, and many saw it as yet another extra-Parliamentary, illegal tax, which prompted some prominent men to refuse to pay it. Charles issued a writ against John Hampden for his failure to pay, and although five judges including Sir George Croke supported Hampden, seven judges found in favour of

9010-570: The political settlement. The vast majority went to war in 1642 to assert Parliament's right to participate in government, not abolish the monarchy, which meant Charles' refusal to make concessions led to a stalemate. Concern over the political influence of radicals within the New Model Army like Oliver Cromwell led to an alliance between moderate Parliamentarians and Royalists, supported by the Covenanter Scots . Royalist defeat in

9116-408: The power of Macedon under Cassander, Athens courted alliances with other Hellenistic rulers such as Antigonus I Monophthalmus , and in 307 Antigonus sent his son Demetrius to capture the city. After Demetrius captured Macedon, Athens became allied with Ptolemaic Egypt in an effort to gain its independence from Demetrius, and with Ptolemaic troops they managed to rebel and defeat Macedon in 287, though

9222-471: The property-owning class to meet, primarily, at least from the point of view of the monarch, to sanction whatever taxes the monarch wished to collect. In the process, the representatives could debate and enact statutes , or acts . However, Parliament lacked the power to force its will upon the monarch; its only leverage was the threat of withholding the financial means required to implement his plans. Many concerns were raised over Charles's marriage in 1625 to

9328-446: The province of Asia. The final downfall of Greece came in 88 BC, when King Mithridates of Pontus rebelled against Rome, and massacred up to 100,000 Romans and Roman allies across Asia Minor. Although Mithridates was not Greek, many Greek cities, including Athens, overthrew their Roman puppet rulers and joined him. When he was driven out of Greece by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla , Roman vengeance fell upon Greece again, and

9434-438: The rebellion in Scotland but had insufficient funds to do so. He needed to seek money from a newly elected English Parliament in 1640. Its majority faction, led by John Pym , used this appeal for money as a chance to discuss grievances against the Crown and oppose the idea of an English invasion of Scotland. Charles took exception to this lèse-majesté (offense against the ruler) and, after negotiations went nowhere, dissolved

9540-450: The right of tonnage and poundage , which Charles had been collecting without Parliamentary authorisation since 1625. Several more active members of the opposition were imprisoned, which caused outrage; one, John Eliot , subsequently died in prison and came to be seen as a martyr for the rights of Parliament. Charles avoided calling a Parliament for the next decade, a period known as the " personal rule of Charles I ", or by its critics as

9646-786: The rise of New Comedy and the Hellenistic schools of philosophy such as Stoicism and Epicureanism . By the turn of the century, the Attalids in Pergamon became patrons and protectors of Athens as the Ptolemaic empire weakened. Athens would later also establish a cult for the Pergamene king Attalos I . Antigonus II died in 239 BC. His death saw another revolt of the city-states of the Achaean League , whose dominant figure

9752-422: The sword-arm often being smaller and lighter than the one for the off-hand) were attached to the armour in front of the shoulders, to defend the otherwise vulnerable points where the plate defenses left a gap. About the middle of the 15th century, the breastplate of the cuirass was made in two parts; the lower adjusted to overlap the upper, held together with a strap or sliding rivet in order to add flexibility to

9858-576: The term The British Civil Wars . From the Restoration to the 19th century, the common phrase for the civil wars was "the rebellion" or "the great rebellion". The wars spanning all four countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . In the early 19th century, Sir Walter Scott referred to it as "The Great Civil War". The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica called the series of conflicts

9964-417: The time of Elizabeth I about church attendance and fined Puritans for not attending Anglican services. The end of Charles's independent governance came when he attempted to apply the same religious policies in Scotland. The Church of Scotland , reluctantly episcopal in structure, had independent traditions. Charles wanted one uniform Church throughout Britain and introduced a new, High Anglican version of

10070-402: The time period. Early in the 15th century, plate armour, including the cuirass, began to be worn without any surcoat ; but in the concluding quarter of the century the short surcoat, with full short sleeves, known as a " tabard ", was in general use over the armour. While the surcoat was being phased out, small plates of various forms and sizes (and not always made in pairs, i.e., the plate for

10176-419: The time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, it functioned as a temporary advisory committee and was summoned only if and when the monarch saw fit. Once summoned, a Parliament's continued existence was at the King's pleasure since it was subject to dissolution by him at any time. Yet in spite of this limited role, Parliament had acquired over

10282-669: The weather and to reduce enemy visibility, as well as their ornate neo-Roman style helmets. All other militaries had taken them out of combat use by World War II. Some years after the Battle of Waterloo (1815), certain historical cuirasses were taken from their repose in the Tower of London and adapted for ceremonial service by the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals of the British Army's Household Cavalry . For parade purposes,

10388-454: Was Aratus of Sicyon . Antigonus's son Demetrius II died in 229 BC, leaving a child (Philip V) as king, with the general Antigonus Doson as regent. The Achaeans, while nominally subject to Ptolemy, were in effect independent, and controlled most of southern Greece. Athens remained aloof from this conflict by common consent. Sparta remained hostile to the Achaeans, and in 227 BC Sparta's king Cleomenes III invaded Achaea and seized control of

10494-633: Was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms , the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War and the Second English Civil War . The Anglo-Scottish War of 1650 to 1652 is sometimes referred to as the Third English Civil War. While

10600-639: Was beheaded two days later. In the meantime, both Parliament and the King agreed to an independent investigation into the king's involvement in Strafford's plot. The Long Parliament then passed the Triennial Act 1640 , also known as the Dissolution Act, in May 1641, to which royal assent was readily granted. The Triennial Act required Parliament to be summoned at least once in three years. When

10706-634: Was free to turn her attention eastwards, urged on by her Greek allies, Rhodes and Pergamum. In 198 BC, the Second Macedonian War broke out for obscure reasons, but very likely because Rome saw Macedon as a potential ally of the Seleucids, the greatest power in the east. Philip's allies in Greece deserted him and in 197 BC he was decisively defeated at the Cynoscephalae by the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus . Luckily for

10812-425: Was granting the King the same nominal value of subsidy, the income was actually worth less. This extravagance was tempered by James's peaceful disposition, so that by the succession of his son Charles I in 1625 the two kingdoms had both experienced relative peace, internally and in their relations with each other. Charles followed his father's dream in hoping to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into

10918-460: Was now too weak to achieve this objective, but Rome's ally Eumenes II of Pergamum persuaded Rome that Perseus was a potential threat to Rome's position. As a result of Eumenes's intrigues Rome declared war on Macedon in 171 BC, bringing 100,000 troops into Greece. Macedon was no match for this army, and Perseus was unable to rally the other Greek states to his aid. Poor generalship by the Romans enabled him to hold out for three years, but in 168 BC

11024-622: Was occupied and Charles forced to pay £850 per day to keep the Scots from advancing. Had he not done so they would have pillaged and burnt the cities and towns of Northern England. All this put Charles in a desperate financial state. As King of Scots, he had to find money to pay the Scottish army in England; as King of England, he had to find money to pay and equip an English army to defend England. His means of raising English revenue without an English Parliament fell critically short of achieving this. Against this backdrop, and according to advice from

11130-423: Was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. Positioned on each side of the infantry were cavalry, with a right wing led by the lieutenant-general and left by the commissary general . Its main aim was to rout the opponents' cavalry, then turn and overpower their infantry. The Royalist cavaliers' skill and speed on horseback led to many early victories. Prince Rupert , commanding the king's cavalry, used

11236-550: Was to revive conventions, often outdated. For example, a failure to attend and receive knighthood at Charles's coronation became a finable offence with the fine paid to the Crown. The King also tried to raise revenue through ship money , demanding in 1634–1636 that the inland English counties pay a tax for the Royal Navy to counter the threat of privateers and pirates in the English Channel. Established law supported

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