⏱️ 6 min read
Throughout history, certain battles have captured the public imagination and secured their place in textbooks and popular culture. Yet many pivotal conflicts that fundamentally altered the course of civilization remain overshadowed by their more famous counterparts. These forgotten engagements shifted borders, toppled empires, and set in motion chains of events that continue to influence our world today. Understanding these overlooked military confrontations provides crucial context for comprehending how our modern geopolitical landscape came to be.
Ten Battles History Forgot But Shouldn’t Have
1. The Battle of Talas (751 CE)
The collision between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Tang Dynasty at Talas River in present-day Kazakhstan determined the cultural trajectory of Central Asia for centuries. This engagement halted Chinese expansion westward and established Islam as the dominant religion throughout the region. More significantly, captured Chinese prisoners introduced papermaking technology to the Islamic world, which eventually transmitted this revolutionary knowledge to Europe. Without this battle, the preservation and dissemination of knowledge throughout the medieval period would have followed an entirely different path, potentially delaying the Renaissance and scientific advancement in the West.
2. The Battle of Tours-Poitiers (732 CE)
While sometimes mentioned in historical texts, this confrontation between Frankish forces under Charles Martel and the Umayyad Caliphate rarely receives the attention it deserves. The Frankish victory near Tours halted Muslim expansion into Western Europe and preserved Christianity as the continent’s dominant religion. This battle set the stage for Charlemagne’s empire and the eventual formation of European nation-states. Had the outcome differed, the cultural, religious, and linguistic character of modern Europe would be unrecognizable, affecting everything from art and architecture to legal systems and governance.
3. The Battle of Ain Jalut (1260)
The Mongol Empire seemed unstoppable until Egyptian Mamluks confronted them at Ain Jalut in present-day Israel. This decisive victory marked the first significant defeat of the Mongol military machine and prevented their conquest of Africa and the Middle Eastern heartlands. The battle preserved Islamic civilization during a period when Mongol forces had already devastated Baghdad and destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate. This engagement demonstrated that the Mongols were not invincible and inspired resistance movements throughout their empire, ultimately contributing to its fragmentation.
4. The Battle of Yarmouk (636 CE)
This six-day battle between Byzantine forces and the Rashidun Caliphate fundamentally transformed the Middle East. The Arab victory opened Syria, Palestine, and eventually Egypt to Muslim conquest, permanently removing these regions from Christian Byzantine control. The battle’s outcome established Islam as a major world religion with territorial power and created the religious geography of the Middle East that persists today. The strategic and theological implications of this engagement continue to reverberate through modern geopolitics.
5. The Battle of Plassey (1757)
Though more recognized in South Asian historiography, this confrontation remains largely forgotten in Western historical consciousness despite its massive global implications. The British East India Company’s victory over the Nawab of Bengal with merely 3,000 troops against 50,000 established British dominance over the Indian subcontinent. This battle initiated nearly two centuries of colonial rule that drained enormous wealth from India, financed Britain’s Industrial Revolution, and created economic disparities whose effects persist today. The engagement essentially marked the beginning of European colonialism’s most extensive phase.
6. The Battle of Adrianople (378 CE)
The catastrophic Roman defeat against Gothic forces at Adrianople signaled the beginning of the Western Roman Empire’s decline. Emperor Valens perished along with two-thirds of the Eastern Roman army, demonstrating that Rome’s legendary legions could be decisively beaten by “barbarian” forces. This battle encouraged further migrations and invasions into Roman territory, accelerated the empire’s fragmentation, and contributed to the eventual fall of Rome. The power vacuum created by Roman collapse shaped European development throughout the medieval period.
7. The Battle of Cajamarca (1532)
Francisco Pizarro’s capture of Inca Emperor Atahualpa with fewer than 200 Spanish conquistadors against thousands of Inca warriors represents one of history’s most consequential military encounters. This audacious action led to the swift collapse of the Inca Empire, the largest pre-Columbian civilization in the Americas. The battle opened South America to Spanish colonization, leading to the extraction of vast precious metal wealth that financed European expansion and the transfer of diseases that devastated indigenous populations. The cultural genocide and demographic catastrophe that followed this engagement reshaped an entire continent.
8. The Battle of Kalka River (1223)
This initial encounter between Mongol reconnaissance forces and a coalition of Russian princes served as Europe’s first warning of the Mongol threat. The devastating defeat of the Russian forces demonstrated Mongol tactical superiority and foreshadowed the conquest that would subjugate Russia for over two centuries. The Mongol yoke profoundly influenced Russian political development, contributing to the centralized autocratic traditions that characterized Tsarist and later Soviet governance. This battle set Russia on a distinct political trajectory separate from Western European development.
9. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)
This decisive Christian victory over the Almohad Caliphate in Spain marked the turning point of the Reconquista. The combined forces of several Christian kingdoms shattered Muslim military power in Iberia, leading to the gradual Christian reconquest of the peninsula over the following centuries. This battle ensured that Spain and Portugal would develop as Christian nations, which directly influenced their colonial policies in the Americas and their role in spreading Christianity globally. Without this victory, the religious and cultural landscape of both Europe and Latin America would differ dramatically.
10. The Battle of Diu (1509)
The Portuguese naval victory over a combined Mamluk-Gujarat fleet off the Indian coast established European maritime dominance in the Indian Ocean. This battle effectively ended Arab and Asian control over lucrative spice trade routes and initiated the age of European colonial empires built on naval supremacy. The engagement demonstrated that European naval technology and tactics could overcome larger Asian fleets, encouraging further expansion. This shift in maritime power fundamentally altered global trade patterns and began the economic exploitation that enriched Europe while impoverishing colonized regions.
The Lasting Impact of Forgotten Conflicts
These ten battles demonstrate that historical significance cannot be measured solely by contemporary fame or dramatic narrative appeal. Each engagement served as a crucial inflection point, redirecting the flow of civilizations and establishing conditions that shaped subsequent centuries. From determining religious boundaries to establishing colonial empires, from preserving knowledge transmission to altering trade routes, these forgotten battles created the foundational framework of our modern world. Recognizing their importance provides essential perspective on how seemingly isolated military confrontations can produce cascading effects that transform human civilization across continents and millennia.