Rulers

Alfred the Great, Saxon House

Actually just the King of Wessex in southwestern England, he expelled the rival Danes from the Mercian town of London in 886, eventually conquering most of the Danelaw territory. He also kept England from the worst of the Dark Ages by encouraging his bishops to foster literacy; in addition, he translated Boethius, Augustine, and the Venerable Bede's works into Anglo-Saxon.

James I, House of Stuart

At age one he succeeded his mother Mary as King ________ VI of Scotland. As the great-great-grandson of Henry VII, he claimed the English throne upon the death of Elizabeth I. He was the intended target of Catholic fanatic Guy Fawkes' failed Gunpowder Plot in 1605. A believer in absolutism, he dissolved Parliament from 1611 to 1621, favoring ministers Robert Cecil and the Duke of Buckingham instead. His rule saw English expansion into North America, through royal charter in Virginia and Puritan protest in Massachusetts.

Boris Godunov (ca. 1551-1605; ruled 1598-1605)

Began his career as a boyar in Ivan the Terrible's oprichnina, and eventually became tsar himself. He first cemented his influence by marrying a daughter of one of Ivan's court favorites and arranging his sister Irina's marriage to Ivan's son Fyodor; then he became regent under Fyodor, and was elected tsar when Fyodor died in 1598. But He was rumored to have arranged the murder of Fyodor's brother Dmitrii, and the first of several "False Dmitris" launched a revolt against him. He died in the midst of growing unrest and is now best known as the subject of a Pushkin play and a Mussorgsky opera.

William I (the Conqueror), House of Normandy

Duke of Normandy from 1035, he was promised succession to the throne by Edward the Confessor, but when Edward gave the throne to Harold II in 1066, he invaded England, killing Harold and defeating the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. An able administrator, he authorized a survey of his kingdom in the 1086 Domesday Book. By that time he had replaced Anglo-Saxon nobles and clergy with Normans and other continentals.

Alexander II (1818-1881; ruled 1855-1881)

Embarked on a program of Great Reforms soon after taking the throne near the end of the Crimean War. The most famous part of his program was the serf emancipation of 1861 — a reform which occurred almost simultaneously with the end of American slavery (and whose gradual nature disappointed liberals), But he also introduced a system of local governing bodies called zemstvos, tried to increase the rule of law in the court system, eased censorship, and reorganized the army. He became more reactionary after an attempted assassination in 1866, and was successfully assassinated in 1881.

Romanov (Russia, 1613-1917)

Following the Time of Troubles, the sixteen-year-old ______________ was appointed tsar and co-ruled with his father, Patriarch Filaret. Its rulers included Peter the Great (who westernized Russia and defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War), Catherine the Great (an "enlightened despot" who greatly expanded the borders of Russia), and Alexander II (who freed the serfs). The Romanovs ruled Russia as tsars and emperors until the Russian Revolution and Nicholas II's execution.

Richard III, House of York

He was made Duke of Gloucester in 1461 when his brother Edward IV deposed the Lancastrian king Henry VI, as part of the Wars of the Roses. Upon Edward's death in 1483, he served as regent to his nephew Edward V, but likely had the boy murdered in the Tower of London that year. Two years later, he died at the hands of Henry Tudor's Lancastrian forces at Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses and beginning the reign of Henry VII.

Michael Romanov (1597-1645; ruled 1613-1645)

In 1613, near the end of the Time of Troubles, a zemskii sobor elected the 16-year-old him as the new tsar. He was a grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible's "good" wife Anastasia and the son of a powerful churchman named Filaret (who soon became patriarch); as tsar, he has usually been seen as a nonentity dominated by Filaret and other relatives. Nevertheless, his election marked the return of relative stability and the succession of the Romanov dynasty.

Peter I (1672-1725; ruled 1682-1725) // Peter the Great

Is famous both for his push for Westernization and for his boisterous personality. His Grand Embassy to Europe enabled him to learn about Western life (and even to work in a Dutch shipyard); he later invited Western artisans to come to Russia, required the boyars (aristocrats) to shave their beards and wear Western clothing, and even founded a new capital, St. Petersburg — his "window on the West." He also led his country in the Great Northern War (in which Charles XII of Sweden was defeated at Poltava), created a Table of Ranks for the nobility, and reformed the bureaucracy and army. But he could also be violent and cruel: he personally participated in the torture of the streltsy, or musketeers, who rebelled against him, and had his own son executed.

Ivan IV (1530-1584; ruled 1533-1584)

Is known in the West as "Ivan the Terrible," but his Russian nickname, Groznyi, would be more accurately translated as "awe-inspiring" or "menacing" (the original meaning of the English word "terrible"). Was proclaimed Grand Prince of Muscovy in 1533 and tsar in 1547. Scholars differ on whether he was literate and on how auspiciously his reign began. Early in his reign, he pushed through a series of well-received reforms and called a zemskii sobor (assembly of the land), but he had an amazingly cruel streak and eventually became unstable: he temporarily abdicated in 1564, killed his favorite son, created a state-within-the-state called the oprichnina to wage war on the boyars, and participated in the torture of his enemies. He combined the absolutist tendencies of his predecessors with his own violent personality, helping to plunge the country into the subsequent period of civil strife known as the "Time of Troubles."

Elizabeth I, House of Tudor

Known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married, as Henry VIII's daughter by Anne Boleyn, the Catholic Church considered her illegitimate. After the death of her Catholic sister Mary I, she tried to restore religious order by declaring England a Protestant state but naming herself only "Governor" of the Church. She foiled attempts at her throne by Spanish king Philip II and Mary, Queen of Scots; the latter she reluctantly executed in 1587. Her reign saw great expansion of the English navy and the emergence of William Shakespeare, but when she died, the Crown went to Scottish king James VI, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Elizabeth II, House of Windsor

Representative of the modern ceremonial monarchy, she and her husband "Prince" Philip Mountbatten have traveled the globe representing British interests. Marital failures by her sons Charles, Prince of Wales and Andrew have plagued her reign.

Umayyad

Ruled as caliphs from Damascus from 661-750. They came to power in the civil war following the death of Uthman when Mu'awiyah Ibn Abu Sufyan defeated the forces of Ali Ibn Abi Talib after the latter's assassination. Denounced in traditional Islamic historiography for their secular rule, they introduced hereditary transmission of office into Islam and favored Arabs at the expense of other Muslims. Under 'Abd al-Malik, the _________ Mosque was constructed in Damascus. In the 10th century, an __________ scion re-established the dynasty in Cordoba, Spain.

Mughal

Ruled most of India from the early 16th until the mid-18th century, and claimed descent from both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Their empire was founded by Babur and expanded under his grandson Akbar. The Taj Mahal was built under Shah Jahan, who brought the empire to the brink of bankruptcy. Aurangzeb excluded Hindus from public office, and the empire began to break up soon after his death in 1707.

Louis XIII (1601-1643, reigned 1610-1643; house of Bourbon)

Sometimes working with his chief minister Cardinal Richelieu and sometimes against, ______________ turned France into the pre-eminent European power during his reign. This was largely achieved via French victories in the Thirty Years' War. The Three Musketeers is set in the early years of his reign.

James II, House of Stuart

The 1678 Popish Plot against Charles II would have elevated the Roman Catholic _________ to the throne, had it been real and not fabricated by Titus Oates. His three years, however, did feature heavy favoritism toward Catholics, so much so that Protestants invited his son-in-law William of Orange to rule England, deposing him in the bloodless Glorious Revolution. Exiled to Louis XIV's court, he made an attempt to regain his crown in 1690 but was routed at the Battle of the Boyne.

Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 1544-present)

The House of Orange was founded by William the Silent, who led the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish in the Eighty Years' War, resulting in the recognition of the Netherlands' independence in 1648. In 1688, William III of Orange, at the invitation of Parliament, invaded England with his wife Mary in what is called the Glorious Revolution. The House of Orange is currently led by Willem-Alexander, the King of the Netherlands.

Hohenzollern (Brandenburg 1415-1618, Prussia 1525-1918, Germany 1871-1918, and Romania 1866-1947)

The House of ____________ began as Burgraves of Nuremburg, but eventually gained such titles as Margrave of Brandenburg, Duke and later King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, and King of Romania. Some of its notable rulers included Frederick the Great (an enlightened ruler who established the military might of Prussia) and Wilhelm II (the Emperor of Germany during World War I).

Tudor (England, 1485-1603)

The _______ rose to power when Henry ________ aligned with the Lancasters in the War of the Roses. He became King Henry VII following his victory at Bosworth Field. Their notable rulers included Henry VIII (who broke with the Catholic Church in England and had six wives) and Elizabeth I (whose lack of a husband and heir led to the extinction of the house).

Hapsburg, also known as Habsburg (Holy Roman Empire 1440-1806, Austria-Hungary 1867-1918, and Spain 1516-1700)

The ____________ ruled much of Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the end of World War I. Their first important ruler was Rudolf I, the King of Germany and Duke of Austria in the late thirteenth century. Other notable rulers included Charles V, Maria Theresa and Franz Joseph.

Capetians (France, 987-1328)

The ____________' first monarch was Hugh Capet, who was elected king following the death of Louis V. Their notable rulers included Philip II, who went on the Third Crusade; Louis IX, a canonized saint; and Philip IV, who expelled the Jews of France in 1306 and arrested the Knights Templar in 1307. The rule of the _____________ ended when Philip IV's sons failed to produce male heirs.

Plantagenet (England, 1154-1399)

The _____________ rose to power when Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda, and their rule ended when Richard II was deposed in 1399. Some of their notable rulers included Richard I, John, and Edward I. The signing of the Magna Carta, the English conquest of Wales, and the beginning of the Hundred Years' War all occurred during their reign. The houses of Lancaster and York were cadet branches (new royal houses formed by non-inheriting members) of the ________________.

Stuart (England, 1603-1714 and Scotland, 1371-1714)

The first ______ king of England was James I (James VI of Scotland), who commissioned the King James Bible and survived the Gunpowder Plot. Other notable rulers included Charles I (who was beheaded following the English Civil War) and Charles II (who was restored to power after Oliver Cromwell died). It was under the last Stuart ruler, Queen Anne, that the Acts of Union were passed and Great Britain was founded.

Valois (France, 1328-1589)

The first _______ king of France was Philip VI, during whose reign the Hundred Years' War began and the Black Death struck France. Notable Valois rulers included Louis XI, who acquired Burgundy; Francis I, who began the French Renaissance; and Henry III, whose assassination in the French Wars of Religion ended the _______ dynasty.

Bourbon (France, 1589-1792):

The first __________ king was Henry IV, who was victorious in the War of the Three Henrys and issued the Edict of Nantes guaranteeing religious freedom. Notable __________ rulers included Louis XIV and Louis XVI (who was beheaded during the French Revolution). Following Napoleon's fall, the ____________ briefly ruled France again until the July Revolution of 1830. Spain has also been ruled mostly by the _____________ since 1700.

Henry IV (1553-1610, reigned 1589-1610; founder of the house of Bourbon)

The king of Navarre, became the heir to the throne when Henry III's brother died in 1584. After fighting Catholic opposition in the War of the Three Henries, he renounced Protestantism and accepted Catholicism (supposedly saying "Paris is well worth a mass") to become king. With the help of Maximilien Sully he erased the national debt and removed much of the religious strife with the Edict of Nantes (1598).

Charles I, House of Stuart

The last absolute English monarch, he ran into trouble almost immediately. His minister, the Duke of Buckingham, asked Parliament for money to fight costly foreign wars, and when Parliament balked, he had to sign the Petition of Right. From 1630 to 1641 he tried to rule solo, but financial troubles forced him to call the Short and Long Parliaments. His attempt to reform the Scottish Church was the last straw, as Parliament entered into the English Civil War. They defeated him, convicting him of treason and executing him. England became a Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.

Nicholas II (1868-1918; ruled 1894-1917)

The last of the Romanovs, ruled until his overthrow in the February Revolution of 1917. He is usually seen as both a kind man who loved his family and an incapable monarch who helped bring about the end of the tsarist state; he led his country through two disastrous wars, the Russo-Japanese War (which helped spark the Revolution of 1905), and World War I (which helped cause the 1917 revolutions), He is best known for his loving marriage to Alexandra and for allowing the crazed monk Grigorii Rasputin to influence court politics while treating the hemophilia of Alexei, the heir to the throne. He abdicated in 1917 and was shot in 1918.

Victoria, House of Hanover

The longest-reigning monarch in British history, she relinquished much of the remaining royal power, both to her husband Albert and to her favored prime ministers, Lord Melbourne, Robert Peel, and Benjamin Disraeli. After Albert's death in 1861, she largely went into seclusion, though she influenced the passage of the Reform Act of 1867, which doubled the number of Britons who could vote.

Henry II, House of Plantagenet

The son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, and invaded England the following year, forcing Stephen of Blois to acknowledge Henry as his heir. While king he developed the common law and due process, but fought with Thomas à Becket over submission to the Pope; he had Becket executed in 1170 but performed penance at Canterbury. Eleanor and his four sons conspired with French king Philip II against him on several occasions.

Henry VIII, House of Tudor

The son of Tudor founder Henry VII, he brought England into both the Renaissance and the Reformation. He patronized the philosopher Erasmus the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, and the writer Thomas More. Originally a supporter of the Catholic Church — the Pope had named him "Defender of the Faith" — he named himself head of the Church of England in 1533 so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. He executed top ministers who crossed him, including Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More. He married six times, but only his third wife, Jane Seymour, bore him a son, the sickly Edward VI.

Richard I (the Lion-Hearted), House of Plantagenet

The third son of Henry II, he spent only five months of his reign in England. He went on the Third Crusade to Jerusalem, winning many victories in the Holy Land, but on his way back was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria. He also fought Philip II in Normandy, and died while defending his possessions in Aquitaine.

Abbasid

They reigned as caliphs from Baghdad from 750-1258, and later from Cairo from 1261-1517. They rode to power on widespread disaffection with the Umayyads and the sense that a member of the Prophet's family was best qualified to lead the community. Their greatest rulers were al-Mansur, Harun ar-Rashid, and al-Mamun the Great. During the 9th century, however, power began to devolve onto increasingly autonomous local dynasties, and they fell under the control of outside forces such as the Buyids and Seljuqs. When the Mongols destroyed Baghdad in 1258, the caliph as-Mustazim was wrapped in a carpet and trampled to death by horses.

Fatimid

They were Isma'ili Shi'ite Imams who founded their state in North Africa in 909 under the caliph al-Mahdi. They conquered Egypt in 969 under al-Muizz and built Cairo, becoming the Abbasids' rivals. At its height their regime reached into Yemen and Syria, and they had a network of missionaries spreading Isma'ili doctrines into Abbasid territory and beyond. In the eleventh century, the caliph al-Hakim — considered insane — disappeared, giving rise to the Druze religion. A later succession dispute gave rise to the sect of the Assassins. The last caliph, al-Adil, died in 1171.

George III, House of Hanover

Though he lost the American colonies in the Revolutionary War, Britain's economic empire expanded during his reign. While his ministers kept their lives, they fell from power frequently, including William Pitts, Lord Bute, and Lord North. Popular at home, he suffered from porphyria, causing the "madness" that ultimately led to the Regency period (1811-1820) of his son George IV.

Louis VIII (1187-1226, reigned 1223-1226; house of Capet)

Though he reigned for only three years, ____________'s contributions to the rise of French power were enormous. He annexed Languedoc and captured Poitou from England. Perhaps more importantly, he established the systems of appanages (land grants) which replaced the older, local nobles with barons who owed their fiefs to the crown. This allowed for the subsequent rise in French royal (and national) power.

John Lackland, House of Plantagenet

Though he tried to seize the crown from his brother Richard while the latter was in Germany, Richard forgave him and made him his successor. Excommunicated by the Pope for four years for refusing to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was also weak as a fighter, as French King Philip II routed him at Bouvines in 1214. A year later, England's barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede, an event that marked the beginning of the development of the British constitution.

Alexander I (1777-1825; ruled 1801-1825)

Took the throne in 1801 when his repressive father Paul was assassinated and immediately set out on a more liberal course, but he left his strongest supporters disappointed. He is best known for his wars with Napoleon (first as an ally and then as an enemy), and for seeking to establish a Holy Alliance in the years that followed. He was an eccentric and a religious mystic. Some even say that he didn't really die in 1825: instead, they argue, he faked his own death, became a hermit, and died in a monastery in 1864.

Alexander III (1845-1894; ruled 1881-1894)

Under him, the state enacted a series of Temporary Regulations (giving it the power to crack down on terrorism), increased censorship, tightened controls on Russia's universities, created a position of "land captain" to exert state control in the countryside, and either encouraged or ignored the first anti-Jewish pogroms.

Catherine II (1729-1796; ruled 1762-1796) // Catherine the Great

Wasn't really a Russian at all: she was born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst (a minor German principality) and was chosen as the bride of the future Peter III. She had thoroughly Russianized herself by the time Peter became tsar, and soon had him deposed; she then dispatched several claimants to the throne and crushed a peasant uprising led by Emilian Pugachev. She also corresponded with Enlightenment philosophes, granted charters of rights and obligations to the nobility and the towns, oversaw the partition of Poland, and expanded the empire. She is well known for her extravagant love life: her 21 acknowledged lovers included Grigorii Potemkin (who constructed the famous Potemkin village on an imperial inspection tour).

Ayyubid

Were Kurds who took control of Egypt under the Zengids. In 1171 Salah ad-Din (Saladin) abolished the Fatimid caliphate, and later took Damascus as well. He retook Jerusalem from the Crusader kingdoms; however, subsequent Crusades undid some of these gains. It was in ____________ times that the Sunni revival came to Egypt. The sultan al-Kamil gave Jerusalem to Frederick II in a peace treaty and was visited by St. Francis of Assisi. They followed the practice of collective sovereignty, and were often politically divided. Shajar ad-Durr, a woman, was the last to rule Egypt.

Ottoman

Were Turks of uncertain origin who conquered the Balkans and the Middle East and brought the central Islamic lands into the European state system. Their key military victories were the defeat of the Serbs in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the capture of Constantinople in 1453, and the defeat of the Mamluks in 1517. During the 15th century their lands replaced Palestine as the major target of the Crusades. They reached their height under Suleiman the Magnificient, who beseiged Vienna in 1529. The empire's remnants became Turkey after World War I.

Seljuq

Were a family of Ghuzz Turks who invaded the Middle East in the eleventh century and came to control the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Following their defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, they settled in Anatolia as well, where they founded the Sultanate of Rum. Following the Central Asian model of "collective sovereignty," they divided territory among the ruling family, which prevented strong political unity. Their rule saw the beginning of the Sunni revival and the spread of religious schools called madrasas in the Islamic world, giving uniformity to elite beliefs and practices. By 1200 their power was all but extinct.

Safavid

Were founded by a Sunni Sufi (mystic) order under Shah Ismail, and ruled Iran from 1502 until 1736. They forcibly converted Iran to Shi'ism, and later converted themselves (this sounds strange, and is — it's one of history's mysteries). They, the Ottomans, and the Mughals comprise the three "Gunpowder Empires" in what Islamicists consider the late medieval period. Under Abbas I, a European expert was hired to reform the military following defeats by both their Ottoman and Uzbek rivals. Abbas later captured Baghdad and expelled the Portugese from the Persian Gulf. Esfahan was their capital during their height.

Mamluk

Were slave soldiers of foreign origin who deposed the Ayyubids in 1250. Baybars, who turned back the Mongols at the Battle of Ayn Jalut, is a popular figure in Arabic heroic literature. In 1291 they drove the last Crusaders from Palestine. Their reign is divided into a "Bahri" period from 1250-1382 and a "Circassian" period from 1382-1517. They were defeated by the Ottomans, who conquered Egypt in 1517.

Charles II, House of Stuart

While Oliver Cromwell ruled the Commonwealth, he was crowned King of Scotland in 1651. After Cromwell died, he used the Declaration of Breda to restore himself to the English throne. He fought two lackluster wars against the Dutch, and needed protection from Louis XIV through the Treaty of Dover. His wife Catherine of Braganza produced no legitimate heirs, but this "Merry Monarch" has as many as 14 illegitimate children. Tolerant of Catholics, he dissolved Parliament over the issue in 1681 and refused to prevent his brother James from succeeding him.

Francis I (1494-1547, reigned 1515-1547; house of Valois)

___________'s early military victories (like the Battle of Marignano), his lavish court, and his support of luminaries like Leonardo da Vinci augured a splendid reign. His rivalry with Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, however, spelled his doom. He was captured in battle in 1525 and held for a humiliating ransom. Wars continued after his release, but bankruptcy and religious strife laid France low.

Louis XIV (1638-1715, reigned 1643-1715; house of Bourbon):

___________'s reign is often cited as the best historical example of an absolute monarchy. ____________ led France against most of the rest of Europe to win the throne of Spain for his grandson (the War of the Spanish Succession). He championed classical art, religious orthodoxy, and instituted a great program of building throughout France. Known as the "Sun King," his 72-year reign is among the longest in recorded history.

Charles V (1338-1380, reigned 1364-1380; house of Valois)

____________ had an inauspicious start (before his reign even began) with having to ransom his father, John II, from England for three million crowns and most of southwestern France. Later, with military advisor Bertrand du Guesclin, he recaptured almost all of that territory. He also concluded alliances with Portugal, Spain, and Flanders, reorganized the army, and restructured the collection of taxes while leading France's recovery from the devastation of the early period of the Hundred Years' War.

St. Louis IX (1214-1270, reigned 1226-1270; house of Capet):

____________ led the Seventh Crusade, which ended in military disaster, but after his ransoming he remained in the Holy Land to successfully negotiate for what he couldn't win. He returned to Europe with his reputation intact and negotiated a peace with England under which Henry III become his vassal. He stabilized the French currency and is generally held to have reduced corruption in the kingdom. He died leading a crusade against Tunisia. __________ is the only canonized king of France.

Philip II (1165-1223, reigned 1179-1223; house of Capet)

____________ was the first of the great Capetian kings of France. Fighting and negotiating against Henry II, Richard I, and John of England, __________ won back Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, and other territories. He also took part in the famous Third Crusade (with Richard I and Frederick Barbarossa) and made use of the Albigensian crusade to pave the way for the annexation of Languedoc by his successor.

Henry III (1551-1589, reigned 1574-1589; house of Valois):

____________'s reign was suffused with blood, at first because of the continuous Wars of Religion that pitted Catholics against Huguenots, but later because of the struggles that arose when it became clear that he was going to be the last of the Valois line. The War of the Three Henries broke out after his brother died and the then-Protestant Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV) became heir, leading the Catholic Holy League to strike out of fear for its interests. ___________ was assassinated by a crazed friar in 1589.

Charles VIII (1470-1498, reigned 1483-1498; house of Valois):

_____________'s short reign is remarkable for the enormous cost in men and money of his Italian campaign, but more so for the number of his successors that followed his catastrophic lead. ____________ was motivated by a desire to govern Naples, which he had theoretically inherited. He died before he could surpass or absolve his disastrous first campaign with another.

Nicholas I (1796-1855; ruled 1825-1855)

________________, who ruled from the failure of the Decembrist Uprising to the middle of the Crimean War, has traditionally been portrayed as the embodiment of the Russian autocracy. His government pursued a policy of Official Nationality, defending a holy trinity of "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and Nationality," and established a repressive secret police force known as the Third Section. Contemporaries referred to him as the "Gendarme of Europe" after he helped the Habsburgs squelch the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

Jomo Kenyatta

a leader of the Kikuyu people, fought against British control of Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s. ____________ studied anthropology at the London School of Economics with Bronisław Malinowski; his book, Facing Mount Kenya, is an account of traditional Kikuyu society under pressure from colonialism. When Britain allowed elections to take place, ____________ 's KANU (Kenya African National Union) party was successful; in 1964 Kenyatta became the country's first president. He used the slogan "harambee," which is Swahili for "all pull together," to encourage national unity and economic growth. Jomo's son, Uhuru ____________ , became Kenya's fourth president in 2013.

Robert Mugabe

became the first president of post-colonial Zimbabwe in 1980. Zimbabwe was the successor state to Rhodesia, the white-supremacist state in south-central Africa led by Ian Smith. ____________, the leader of the Zimbabwe National African Union, was a key figure in the civil and military struggle for African rights in Rhodesia. ____________'s regime came under increasing criticism for his failure to prevent hyperinflation and his suppression of political dissent. He resigned the presidency after a November 2017 coup and was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Kwame Nkrumah

became the prime minister of the Gold Coast in 1952 and declared independence from Britain in 1957, renaming the country Ghana. He was the first African leader to declare independence from a colonial power. _____________ supported pan-Africanism, an ideology that proposed continent-wide cooperation and union of African peoples. His regime racked up large debts through military reform and the building of the Akosombo Dam to create Lake Volta. A 1966 coup ended Nkrumah's rule over Ghana.

Mobutu Sese Seko (born Joseph Mobutu)

came to power during the "Congo Crisis," which resulted in the assassination of elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and the death in a plane crash of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. ___________ changed the name of his country from "Congo" to "Zaire" (it reverted to "Democratic Republic of the Congo" after his fall). Despite its atrocious human rights record, ___________ 's regime was supported by the United States because ___________ took an anti-Communist position during the Cold War. Rebels led by Laurent Kabila overthrew ___________ in 1997.

The Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

despite its short duration, is usually considered the origin of many of the institutions of imperial China. The founding emperor, _____ Shi Huangdi (usually shorted as _____ Shi Huang), has gained an ill-deserved reputation in traditional Chinese historiography because he destroyed many Confucian texts in his infamous book burning. _____ Shi Huang also standardized weight measurements, unified the Chinese script, and used conscripts to build the Great Wall. After his death, the suicide of the crown prince led to a period of incompetent rule and revolts that caused the collapse of the _____ dynasty.

period of the Three Kingdoms (AD 184-280)

has had an enormous cultural impact thanks to the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. After a period of disunion, the lands of the former Han dynasty coalesced into three kingdoms: Cao Wei north of the Yangtze, Eastern Wu in the lower Yangtze, and Shu Han in the Sichuan region. The Battle of Red Cliffs (AD 208) was fought during this period. Under the leadership of the Sima family, Cao Wei managed to defeat the other two kingdoms. The reunification was, however, short-lived. For the next four centuries, China went through a period known as the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

The Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220)

is considered a golden age of Chinese civilization; its influence was so great that the majority ethnic group in China is still called the ______. Its founder, Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu), was born a peasant. Through resourceful recruitment of talented followers and strategic violation of ceasefire agreement with his rival Xiang Yu, Liu Bang managed to reunite China and established his capital at Chang'an (modern Xi'an). Instability in the early years of the ______dynasty was caused by the depredations of the nomadic Xiongnu, a problem that was solved by its seventh emperor, Wudi. Emperor Wu, considered one of the greatest rulers of China, began a war of conquest against the Xiongnu and greatly expanded China's frontiers. He also formalized China's bureaucracy, sent envoys like Zhang Qian to Central Asia, and established Confucianism as the official state doctrine. Despite his success, his campaigns drained the treasury and his successors were unable to maintain the land he conquered. After a series of poor rulers, the Wang family — who claimed legitimacy through wives of various emperors — and their leader Wang Mang toppled the ______dynasty. Wang Mang established the Xin (meaning "new") dynasty and attempted to restore the ways of the Zhou dynasty, but he was unable to maintain power because of a catastrophic changing of the course of the Yellow River, which spawned peasant protest movements like the Red Eyebrows. Eventually, a scion of the Liu family — Liu Xiu — restored the ______dynasty, moving the capital to Luoyang and establishing the Eastern Han. Subsequent rebellions called the Yellow Turbans and the Five Pecks of Rice hastened the end of the Han dynasty.

Tang dynasty (618-907)

is considered another golden age of Chinese culture: during the _______ period, important poets such as Li Bai (or Li Po) and Du Fu lived, and the printing press was invented. The _______ dynasty reunited China after the collapse of the short-lived Sui dynasty, was ruled by the Li family, and had its capital at Chang'an (modern day Xi'an). Its first ruler, like the founder of the Han Dynasty, used the title of Emperor Gaozu. Gaozu was forced by his second son, Li Shimin (later Emperor Taizong), to abdicate after Li Shimin killed two of his brothers in an ambush. Despite his bloody path to power, Taizong is considered to be one of the greatest rulers in Chinese history, subjugating much of what is now western China and parts of central Asia. After his death, power came to be concentrated in the hands of Empress Wu. Empress Wu (or Wu Zetian) was the only woman to become emperor of China, and called her rule the "Second Zhou dynasty." Wu was a notable supporter of Buddhism and promoted the imperial examination, but succession troubles resulted in the premature end of her dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the An Lushan rebellion (also called the An Shi rebellion) wrecked the foundations of the Tang dynasty. Although it was suppressed, the An Lushan rebellion concentrated power in the hands of regional military overlords. The dynasty had a tumultuous end in 907 that marked the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Song dynasty (960-1279)

is known for its devotion to cultural activities instead of warfare and for the establishment of Neo-Confucianism as state doctrine, with the imperial examination as the primary way of recruiting talent. It was also during the ________ dynasty that gunpowder and the compass were discovered. The ________ dynasty, even in its early years, could not rule all of China proper and was forced to relinquish parts of northern China to the "barbarian" Liao dynasty, paying tribute for peace. Although like most dynasties, it began as the ventures of a military leader, its first ruler, Taizu, realized that his rival generals could take power from him. He then induced all his major commanders to retire, setting up the dominance of the scholarly elite over the military elite throughout the ________ dynasty. This policy was continued by his successors. In the north, however, the Liao dynasty was eventually replaced by the militaristic Jin dynasty, who captured the ________ capital, Kaifeng along with two Emperors. The remnants of the court fled across the Yangtze and established the Southern Song with a new capital at Hangzhou, maintaining peace with the Jin through annual tribute. This state of affairs was brought to an end after the Song dynasty aided the Mongols in crushing the Jin, only to discover that they themselves were the next target. Despite the might of the Mongol war machine, the Song dynasty managed to repel major Mongol offensives for nearly 40 years, before it was finally defeated.

The Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC)

is the first Chinese dynasty attested from written records. Archaeological excavations at the ruins of Yin, near the modern city of Anyang, uncovered the remains of a Chinese civilization from the Bronze Age. Shang dynasty writings are found on "oracle bones," pieces of ox bone or turtle shell that were heated to produce a pattern of cracks that supposedly foretold the future.

Francisco Madero (1873-1913)

led the 1910 revolution against Porfirio Díaz, and served as president of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As the idealistic son of a wealthy Coahuilan family, __________ was in some ways an unlikely revolutionary. However, ___________'s idealism allowed him to challenge Díaz with a boldness that more powerful politicians and generals had lacked. After the Creelman interview was released, Madero wrote a book titled The Presidential Succession in 1910, which argued that it was time for Díaz to be replaced, and which revived Díaz's former slogan, "Effective Suffrage and No Re-Election." ___________ then ran for president, but was arrested before the election. After escaping from prison, ___________ issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí, which called for a general revolt in November 1910. Dissatisfaction with the Díaz regime coalesced around ___________, who unseated the dictator and took power after democratic elections were held in the fall of 1911. However, Madero was unable to satisfy the far-reaching demands of the diverse coalition that had brought him to power. Madero was also disliked by the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson and by former supporters of the Díaz regime, many of whom retained their positions in the government and army. In February 1913, Wilson encouraged General Victoriano Huerta to participate in a coup against Madero. After a period of fighting within Mexico City that is known as the Decena Trágica, or Tragic Ten Days, Madero was forced to resign. Huerta became president, and Madero was murdered a few days later.

Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

the last dynasty to rule imperial China. An important institution of the _______ dynasty was the banner system, which acted as a guaranteed welfare system for Manchus and gave them benefits in the imperial examination (positions were often duplicated, with one Han Chinese and one Manchu from the banners). The foundations of the _______ dynasty were established under its second ruler, the Kangxi Emperor, who put down the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. He is also famous for the Kangxi dictionary, which is known for popularizing the system of Chinese radicals. During the last century of _______ rule, China was weakened both by foreign attacks (the Opium Wars against Britain) and internal dissent (the devastating Taiping Rebellion of 1850-1864). Attempts to modernize Qing rule (the Self-Strengthening Movement and the Hundred Days' Reform of 1898) proved inconclusive. Qing Dowager Express Cixi, who opposed the reformers, was implicated in the Boxer Rebellion, an anti-foreign uprising of 1900 that caused eight Western nations to send military forces to Beijing. China's last emperor was Puyi, who came to the throne at the age of two in 1906. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution ended the _______ Dynasty and created the Republic of China.

Porfirio Díaz (1830-1915)

was a Liberal general who established a long-lasting dictatorship that eventually led to the Mexican Revolution. In 1876 _______ issued the Plan of Tuxtepec and seized power from the Liberal president Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. ______ then dominated Mexican politics for the next 35 years, and served as president continuously between 1884 and 1911 despite his earlier use of the slogan "Effective Suffrage and No Re-Election." While in office, ______ skillfully manipulated federal, state, and local politics, suppressed dissent, tamed the fractious Mexican army, opened Mexico to foreign investment, and oversaw the beginnings of the country's industrial development. His supporters praised him as a brilliant statesman who had ended the upheavals of the mid-nineteenth century; his detractors stressed the inequality, corruption, and systematic brutality of the political and economic systems fostered by Díaz and his positivist advisors, who were known as Científicos. In 1908 Díaz discussed the possibility of his resignation during an interview with the American journalist James Creelman, which helped open the door to electoral mobilization, and eventually to armed rebellion. The Anti-Reelectionist forces of Francisco Madero revolted in 1910 and won their first victories in 1911, sparking uprisings elsewhere in the country. Díaz promptly resigned under terms stipulated in the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, and spent the last years of his life in comfortable European exile.

Benito Juárez (1806-1872)

was a Liberal lawyer who became the first indigenous president of Mexico, and who led the opposition to the French-backed empire of Maximilian von Habsburg. Born to a Zapotec family in the state of Oaxaca, _________ became a key figure in the Liberal movement that deposed Santa Anna, and which initiated legal and social changes known as La Reforma ("the Reform"). An 1855 law named after _________ sought to eliminate special privileges given to members of the church and military, and was incorporated into a new constitution ratified in 1857. Conservative backlash soon led to the War of the Reform, which lasted from 1857 to 1861, and left the victorious Liberals with little money in the national treasury. France's emperor Napoleon III then used Mexico's foreign debts to as a pretense for an invasion known as the "French Intervention," which briefly imposed the Austrian archduke Maximilian as Mexico's second emperor. As the elected president of Mexico, Juárez evaded capture by French and imperial troops while rallying Republican forces. After the departure of the French, Liberal troops captured and executed Maximilian on the Hill of the Bells in the city Querétaro. Juárez returned to Mexico City, and remained president until his death.

Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794-1876)

was a general who served as president of Mexico eleven different times between 1833 and 1855. After gaining independence, many Latin American nations fell under the rule of caudillos, or charismatic leaders who exercised both military and political power. As one of these figures, ________ _______ cultivated an image of himself as a savior of the Mexican nation, and even held an elaborate funeral for the leg that he lost during a conflict with France known as the "Pastry War." However, _______ _______ proved unable to prevent the loss of Mexico's northern territories. Despite routing the defenders of the Alamo, ________ _______ was defeated by the forces of Sam Houston at the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, and was forced to recognize Texan independence. A little more than a decade later, Santa Anna seized control of the government during the Mexican-American War, only to lose major battles at Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec, and be forced into exile. He returned to Mexico in 1853 and tried to establish a permanent dictatorship, but was challenged by the Liberal Plan of Ayutla, and was driven from power in 1855.

Nelson Mandela

was a leader of the African National Congress and the first democratically-elected president of South Africa. In the 1960s _____________ was a young radical; along with Oliver Tambo and others, he founded a militant group called Umkhonto we Sizwe (the "spear of the nation") to carry out acts of sabotage against the apartheid government. In 1964 _____________ was charged with criminal activity in the Rivonia Trial; he was imprisoned for 27 years, most of them on Robben Island, a prison colony located off the coast of Cape Town. _____________ was the leading figure in South Africa's transition away from apartheid; he and his predecessor, F. W. de Klerk, shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

Miguel Hidalgo (1753-1811)

was a parish priest who became the leader of Mexico's first independence movement. After Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 1808 and ousted the Spanish king Ferdinand VII, political movements advocating Enlightenment ideas of representative government and local self-determination sprung up in many of Spain's American colonies. ___________ belonged to one such group, which officials in the viceroyalty of New Spain attempted to suppress. In response, ___________ called his congregation together and issued a call for revolt known as the "Grito de Dolores," or "Cry of Dolores" on September 16, 1810. The rebels captured the cities Guanajuato and Guadalajara, but were unable to take Mexico City. In 1811, Hidalgo was captured and executed by the colonial regime. The leadership of the independence movement then fell to another priest named José María Morelos, who was himself executed in 1815. Although Hidalgo's movement was unsuccessful, September 16 is still celebrated as Mexico's official Day of Independence.

Lázaro Cárdenas (1895-1970)

was a revolutionary general who served as president from 1934 to 1940, and who worked to fulfill the Constitution of 1917's promises of land reform and nationalization of key resources. After Carranza's death, Mexico was ruled by the "Sonoran dynasty" of Álvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles, who stabilized the country and implemented limited reforms. Calles also founded a forerunner of the PRI, or Institutional Party of the Revolution, which dominated Mexican politics throughout the 20th century. After stepping down as president, Calles continued to control Mexican politics from 1928 to 1934 during a period known as the "Maximato." However, _____________ surprised Calles by turning against him, and forcing him into exile. As president, _____________also broke up large estates into communal ejidos, promoted organized labor, and expropriated foreign-owned oil fields in 1938 to form the national oil company Pemex, or Petróleos Mexicanos. These actions made _____________very popular, but once he left office the Mexican government's commitment to economic redistribution soon waned. In 1988 Lázaro's son Cuauhtémoc Cardenas challenged PRI control of politics by running for president as the candidate of the PRD, or Party of the Democratic Revolution. Although electoral fraud prevented Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas from winning, his challenge helped to bring about political changes that eventually led Vicente Fox of the PAN, or National Action Party, to be elected president in 2000.

Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824)

was a royalist general who changed his allegiances to become the first ruler of independent Mexico. Like many Creoles, or people of European descent born in the Americas, ___________ feared that the insurgency would upset colonial hierarchies of race and class. In 1820, however, a liberal revolution in Spain caused conservative Mexican elites to reconsider the benefits of independence. ___________ reached out to the insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero, and agreed to endorse legal racial equality in exchange for Guerrero's military support. Early in 1821 ___________ released the Plan of Iguala, which is also known as the "Plan of the Three Guarantees" or "Plan Trigarante" because it called for Mexican independence, a wholly Catholic state, and the equality of all races. Iturbide's Army of the Three Guarantees soon forced Juan O'Donoju, the last viceroy of New Spain, to acknowledge Mexican independence in the Treaty of Córdoba. In 1822 Iturbide became the first emperor of Mexico, but a revolt led by Antonio López de Santa Anna forced Iturbide into exile in 1823. When Iturbide returned to Mexico in 1824, he was quickly executed.

Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

was a short-lived dynasty established by the invading Mongols, who destroyed the Jin and Song states. Its most notable ruler was Kublai Khan, whose invasions of Japan were thwarted by typhoons that the Japanese called the kamikaze, or "divine wind." Yuan rulers were hostile to many Chinese institutions, and thus received minimal support from the Chinese elites. The Red Turban rebellion of the 1350s marked the beginning of the end for the Yuan.

Montezuma II (c. 1466-1520)

was one of the last rulers of the Aztec empire. In 1519 _________________ allowed armed forces led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to enter the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. Several months later, the Spanish imprisoned ________________ within his own palace. After the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado took advantage of ________________'s captivity to massacre peaceful celebrants at a religious festival, the Aztecs selected a new ruler named Cuitláhuac, and the city erupted into conflicts that led to _________________'s death. The Spanish then fled during an escape that is called the "Noche Triste," or "Sad Night" because many conquistadors died while crossing the causeways that connected the island city Tenochtitlán to the shores of Lake Texcoco. By 1521, the ravages of smallpox and the help of indigenous Tlaxcalan allies allowed Cortés to conquer Tenochtitlán and to capture Cuauhtémoc, the final Aztec emperor.

Venustiano Carranza (1859-1920)

was the "First Chief" of the Constitutionalist army during the Mexican Revolution, and president of Mexico from 1917 to 1920. After the death of Francisco Madero, ____________ issued the Plan of Guadalupe, and became the nucleus of opposition to Victoriano Huerta's regime. _____________'s movement was supported by the generals Pablo González, álvaro Obregón, and Pancho Villa, who assembled armies in northern Mexico and pushed south to the capital. The southern general Emiliano Zapata also allied with ____________ to remove Huerta from power. After Huerta was forced to resign in 1914, members of ____________'s movement held a convention in the city Aguascalientes. The convention formed a new government that was supported by Villa and Zapata, but opposed by González and Obregón. Constitutionalist and Convention forces battled until 1915, when Carranza's adherents gained the upper hand and the Convention split into separate factions, some of which continued to fight the Constitutionalists for years. Carranza went on to call for a new constitution, to be based on the Liberal Constitution of 1857. The ensuing Constitution of 1917 went far beyond the minor reforms that Carranza had envisioned, and promoted land redistribution, workers' rights, anticlericalism, and national ownership of Mexico's natural resources. Over the next several years, Carranza proved reluctant to enact the 1917 constitution's more radical provisions, or to give up control of the government. Obregón forced Carranza to flee the capital in 1920, and likely had a role in Carranza's subsequent assassination.

Haile Selassie (birth name Tafari Makonnen)

was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. A 1936 invasion by fascist Italy forced ___________ to live in exile in England until 1941, when he was restored to the throne with the assistance of the British military. Many members of the Rastafarian movement consider Haile ___________ to be a sacred and messianic figure. Ethiopia suffered a severe famine in the early 1970s, and ___________ was overthrown in 1974. The military government that replaced him was known as the Derg.

Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

was the last native dynasty of China; its rulers came from the Zhu family. The use of the word "china" to describe fine porcelain originated from this period, as the _______ were well-known for producing high-quality porcelain. Its founding ruler, Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Hongwu), was a peasant leader of the Red Turbans who helped expel the Mongol Yuan rulers from China. He was succeeded by his grandson, who quickly lost power to Zhu Di (Emperor Yongle). During the reign of the Yongle emperor, the eunuch Zheng He led treasure fleets on seven voyages to display Chinese greatness. Zhu Di moved China's capital to Beijing. After his death, the Ming dynasty banned maritime commerce, which left the dynasty vulnerable to pirates. The _______ dynasty came to an end after the rebellion of Li Zicheng, which was caused by inadequate government response to inflation, famine, and floods. Simultaneously, the Manchu people — tributaries of the Ming from northeast China in what is now Manchuria — marched on the Great Wall. The Manchus suppressed Li Zicheng's revolt and took power in Beijing themselves.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

was the leader of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. He supported the Free Officers Movement, which was led by Muhammad Naguib and which overthrew King Farouk in 1952, but he then took power while accusing of Naguib of allying with the Muslim Brotherhood. __________ nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, leading to a confrontation with Britain, France, and Israel. From 1958 to 1961 __________ served as president of the United Arab Republic, a short-lived federation of Egypt and Syria. __________ was succeeded in 1970 by his ally Anwar Sadat.

Muammar al-Gaddafi

was the leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011. ___________'s Free Officers Movement, modeled after the Egyptian organization of the same name, overthrew King Idris I in 1969. The Little Green Book collects ideas and sayings associated with ___________'s pan-Arabist ideology. The U.S. and Britain criticized his terrorist associations and blamed him for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland (the Lockerbie bombing) which killed 270 people. After a discotheque in Berlin was bombed in 1986, the U.S. attacked several sites in Libya. Gaddafi was overthrown and killed by supporters of the National Transitional Council during the Libyan Civil War in 2011.

Julius Nyerere

was the leader of Tanganyika and then Tanzania from 1961 to 1985. (Tanzania was formed by the 1964 merger of Tanganyika with Zanzibar.) Tanganyika gained independence before ___________ came to power due to negotiations between ___________ and British Governor Richard Turnbull. ___________ put forward his socialist plans in the Arusha Declaration of 1967. His policies were known by the term ujamaa, signifying family unity in Swahili. Under his leadership, literacy improved significantly, but poverty remained high, especially among rural laborers uprooted by ___________ 's centralized economic planning. His Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or Party of the Revolution, remains as the dominant power in Tanzania politics.

Idi Amin (Dada)

was the president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He was a military leader who came to power in a coup when Prime Minister Milton Obote was out of the country. While in power, _______encouraged death squads such as the Public Safety Unit and the State Research Bureau, and he has been blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths. In 1972 _______ expelled tens of thousands of Asians from Uganda. _______ allowed Palestinian hijackers to land a captured Air France plane at Entebbe Airport in 1976; Jewish hostages on board were freed by Operation Thunderbolt, an Israeli commando operation during which Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of the future Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed. A 1979 invasion by Tanzania forced _______ from power; he fled to exile in Saudi Arabia.

Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) and Pancho Villa (born Doroteo Arango) (1878-1923)

were both early supporters of Francisco Madero, opponents of Victoriano Huerta, and leaders of the Convention forces during the Mexican Revolution. ______ chiefly operated in northern Mexico, while _________ was based in his home state, Morelos, south of Mexico City. In 1911 ______ and Pascual Orozco led Maderista forces at the Battle of Ciudad Juárez, while _________ issued the Plan of Ayala, which called for the breakup of large haciendas and the restoration of communal lands known as ejidos. During Madero's presidency _____ was imprisoned by Victoriano Huerta, who also conducted a brutal military campaign against the peasant supporters of __________. After Madero's death, ______ joined Carranza's army as the leader of the División del Norte, or Division of the North, and _________ established himself as the central leader of the various southern guerrilla movements. At the Convention of Aguascalientes, Villa's supporters sought to promote the rights of peasants and workers; Zapatistas took a less active role at the meeting, but were willing to support the Convention government in opposition to Carranza. In the subsequent fighting, Zapatista soldiers took the capital several times but were unable to hold it after 1915, the same year that Villa suffered defeats at the battles of Celaya and Agua Prieta. Zapata retreated to Morelos and carried out local land reforms as the Constitutionalists focused on defeating Villa, who sought to obtain supplies by carrying out a 1916 raid on the American town of Columbus, New Mexico. In response to this incursion, the U.S. sent a "punitive expedition" led by General John J. Pershing to (unsuccessfully) pursue Villa across northern Mexico. The influence of Villa and Zapata declined, and both were eventually assassinated. However, the two men remain symbols of the Revolution's popular aspirations. Zapata in particular has served as an inspiration to later movements such as the Chiapas-based EZLN, or Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

The Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC)

were chariot warriors who overthrew the Shang dynasty. Although the ________ ruled for nearly 800 years, during much of the time period real power lay in the hands of feudal lords. The sacking of the ________ capital by barbarians in 771 BC marks the beginning of the Eastern ________ and the Spring and Autumn Period (771 BC - 476 BC). During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Hundred Schools of Thought (including Confucianism) flourished, and Sun Tzu wrote his Art of War. The end of the ________ era devolved into the Warring States period (476 BC - 221 BC), during which power coalesced into seven independent feudal states. The state of Qin eventually grew powerful and efficient enough that it was able to defeat the other six states and complete the unification of China.