Today in history, on September 8, 1380, Russia began its long march to liberation from the Tatar yoke, by way of a battle that is as important to Russian history as the battles of Tours and Vienna are to the West. Although pagan when they conquered Russia around 1240, by 1300 the Mongols were thoroughly Islamized. Arabic was adopted, “the entire Muslim religious … [Read more...]
Battle of Manzikert: The “Subjugation of Christianity by Islam”
Today in history, on August 26, 1071, one of the most decisive battles in all world history took place—that of Manzikert, which initiated the creation of the modern state of Turkey atop formerly Christian Asia Minor. What happened on that day and the days leading to it is worth recounting. In 1019, “the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts … the savage … [Read more...]
Yarmuk: ISIS’s Inspiration and “Most Consequential” Battle between Islam and the West
Today in history, on August 20, 636, arguably the single most consequential battle between Islam and the West took place—that of Yarmuk. Occurring just four years after Muslim prophet Muhammad had died, not only did the military engagement decide whether the Arabian creed thrives or dies; it became a chief source of inspiration and instruction for jihadis throughout the … [Read more...]
Today in History: Hagia Sophia Defies Islam (and Saves Western Civilization)
Turkey has repeatedly made clear that few things in Islamic history are more glorious than the jihadi conquest of Constantinople in 1453, as underscored by the recent transformation of the heart of Constantinople—the Hagia Sophia, formerly one of Christendom’s greatest cathedrals—into a mosque. Why Constantinople? Because of all the “infidel” cities of the world, … [Read more...]
When Turkey’s ‘Hero’ Beheaded 800 Christians for Refusing Islam
The ritual decapitation of 800 Christians who refused Islam on August 14, 1480 -- 540 years ago today -- sheds much light on contemporary questions concerning the ongoing conflict between Islam and the West. Background: When he sacked Constantinople in 1453, Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II was only 21-years-old—meaning he still had many good decades of jihading before … [Read more...]