Country

Conquest, faith and loss mark the pages of Ireland's history. This island of the Celtic and Irish seas was born out of Celtic warrior tribes and red-haired, freckled Vikings who settled and ruled over the land until 1169, when the English and Normans launched a period of foreign invasion that would spam over 800 years. The Anglo-Normans gradually assimilated into Irish society, and it wasn't until centuries later that British forces once again invaded, this time sent by Henry VIII in order to eliminate the power of the Irish Church and declare himself King of Ireland. In response, the Irish fought a War of Independence that would last until 1921. On that year, the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty marked the birth of an Irish Free State. The Republic of Ireland, however, did not officially emerge until 1948.

Poland became a nation over 1000 years ago. Slavic tribes (including the Polanie, from which the country would borrow its name) began settling the area between the 5th and 8th centuries. When the Duke Mieszko I converted to Christianity, Poland entered a period of conquest, eventually bringing Silesia and Little Poland into what would become the Polish state. Poland saw a revival of the arts and sciences during the16th century Renaissance, experiencing a true golden age. By this time, a majority group composed of Poles and Lithuanians had been joined by a growing Jewish population.

Polish unification under a government seat at Warsaw, the newly established capital, would suffer as Russia, Prussia and Austria partitioned Poland and distributed it among themselves in the 18th century. Poland would not regain its independence until 1918, only to be further weakened by the death of one million Poles in World War I and a second partition between Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. During this last conflict, almost the entire Jewish population of Poland died in concentration camps.

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, has never quite fit its European identity. Geographic proximity to Lebanon, Turkey and Syria long pulled Cyprus toward the East, and both Greece and Turkey have coveted control over "the island of Aphrodite." Cyprus' contested autonomy dates back to the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople's authority over Cyprus suffered upon the expansion of Islam, which brought Cyprus into the center of Arab raids. The island's tumultuous history would continue with King Richard the Lionheart's Crusades. Indeed, Cyprus became a British possession until King Richard sold it to the Knights Templar, who in turn sold it to Jerusalem. After a long period of prosperity, Cyprus once again fell to foreign control, first by Venice and later by the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and Britain.

By the time it became a nation-state in 1861, Italy had already bequeathed its legacy to western civilization. Along the Mediterranean Sea, Ancient Rome developed from an agricultural community into an empire that would extend through Europe, reaching Africa and the Middle East. Later, the Renaissance would flourish in the Italian city of Florence, provoking a historical breakthrough in the arts and sciences. To this day, remnants of Italy's glorious times can be found in modern architecture, philosophy, law, and government.

In the Iberian Peninsula, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Spain's beautiful landscapes, rich multicultural heritage and enthralling history of conquest explain the country's continuous place among the top five international tourist destinations. Romans inhabited Hispania for several centuries, bequeathing quintessentially Roman institutions such as the family, Catholicism and the legal system.

The arrival of various other cultures and countries challenged Roman rule, although the centuries-long Arab occupation would arguably leave a more endurable mark on Spanish soil. To this day, the southern Andalusian region retains a distinctly Muslim flavor, and its mosques are some of the most visited in the world.