The Eight Italian Wars (1494—1559) (History of Wars 26)
Осемте италиански войни (1494—1559)
Category: Early Modern History
Language: Bulgarian

   The lands of Italy in the late fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth centuries were the scene of violent clashes involving powerful kingdoms. French, Spanish, Austrians, English, Swiss and even Ottoman Turks claimed the riches of the region and were prepared to use considerable military resources to subdue them. The small republics of Apennines and the Papal States, however, responded with skillful diplomacy that repeatedly shifted the balance of power in favor of one of the participants in the conflict. The eight wars between the mighty Habsburg dynasty and the French royal house of Valois differed in the purpose and outcome of the battles, as well as in strategy, location, intensity, and arsenal used. Of key importance were the technological inventions that changed the methodology of warfare and resulted in material and demographic damage atypical for the period. After the end of these wars, Europe was no longer the same politically, religiously or economically, and their outcome dictated the nature of international relations for the next three centuries or so.

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