European history has had numerous great turns and changes over the centuries with its mighty empires forming, expanding, exploring and warring, and revolutions of all kinds through the centuries, which can split into four major eras. Have a look at the key dates of events that shaped Europe.Key dates in Ancient Europe The ancient world is full of dramatic events and fascinating characters.

Nostradamus was a sixteenth century physician, astrologer, and prophet whose predictions are still being read, studied, and written about today. Although Nostradamus (who wrote in four-line stanzas called quatrains) believed in his predictions, he was a man of his time who was influenced by the people, events, and ideas of the day.

Louis XIV was a mere 5 years old when he became King of France in 1643. And because he lived to the ripe old age of 77, he had plenty of time to establish his place in French history. When he was 18, Louis XIV took part in a court entertainment known as a masque, a mixture of dance, drama, and music, which often carried an allegorical message.

A 19th-century Swiss historian named Jacob Burckhardt coined the term Renaissance (rebirth) for the big changes in thinking and the arts that took place in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. The rebirth in question was of the world of the ancients, the Romans, and especially the Greeks. The writings and ideas of these civilizations seemed to offer meanings that were applied to every aspect of life — education, music, politics, painting, religion, even falling in love.

Historians often date modern history from the 18th century, not just because this period saw the American and French Revolutions, but because at this time a fundamental change took place in the way people thought. Writers of the moment felt that they were emerging from a period of darkness and ignorance into the light of knowledge and reason.

Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534 and immediately came face-to-face with the Protestant Reformation. At first sight, Paul looked pretty much like his predecessors: born into a rich Roman family, bishop at 20, cardinal at 25. But then Paul had a midlife crisis and decided that if he was going to be a bishop and a cardinal, he ought to do it properly.

Although Nostradamus (and many of his adherents) believed he could see the future, Nostradamus was a man of his times who was influenced by the popular concepts and culture of the day. He was a student right before the time when astrology and astronomy were considered core subjects; he studied medicine; and was an apothecary during the plague.

A great number of decisive political wars and revolutions took place in the last two centuries; struggles for independence and liberation, industrialisation, nationalism and European integration. Take look at some of the landmark events that changed Europe in Modern history. Year Event 1789 Fall of the Bastil

The Middle Ages in European history have a bad press, as if everyone was barbaric and always burning witches and torturing people. But it was a time when Europeans achieved their most breathtaking achievements in art and architecture, and set in place much of the thinking and ideas we rely on today. Year Even