Museum History
Interactive timeline - Conflict
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450 BC
Battle of Plataea
Final major battle of the Greco-Persian Wars; ending the expansion of the Persian Empire into Greece.
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1260 AD
Battle of 'Ain Jalut
'Ayn Jalut was a major world event. The first time a Mongol army was defeated in open battle.
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1346 AD
Battle of Crécy
First land victory of the '100 Years War' for English infantry over French mounted knights.
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1453 AD
Siege of Constantinople
The fall of Constantinople was the first great siege won with gunpowder artillery.
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1525 AD
Battle of Pavia
First significant victory by infantry with firearms over fully armoured knights on the battlefield.
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1526 AD
Battle of Panipat
A traditional Indian army with war elephants is beaten by artillery and infantry musketeers.
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1588 AD
Defeat of Spanish Armada
Spain's attempt to invade England ended when English ships with superior guns defeated its Armada.
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1600 AD
Battle of Sekigahara
100 years of civil war ends. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu's dynasty rules Japan for the next 250 years.
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1645 AD
Battle of Naseby
Charles I defeated. He is arrested, tried and executed. Parliament rules England as a republic.
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1815 AD
Battle of Waterloo
Wellington described Napoleon's defeat as a 'close run thing'. The battle's outcome shaped Europe.
Britain’s oldest museum has grown from its origins as the main royal and national arsenal at the Tower of London into a family of museums located throughout the United Kingdom and in North America.
There are three museums in the United Kingdom, Leeds, Tower of London which house national collection of arms and armour, and Fort Nelson which which is home to the national collection of artillery. Louisville, Kentucky, USA is our latest addition, and here in partnership with the Frazier International History Museum we tell the story of America’s history, starting in Europe.
A more detailed history of the the Royal Armouries can be found in the History of the Collection section.
