The Enlightenment was a philosophical concept that dominated Europe's intellectual landscape in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this ideology, concepts like as independence and development were advocated, as well as the distinction of religion and government, based on the belief that rationality is the power source and authority. However, the actual beginning of this Enlightenment period is a hotly discussed topic, with some arguing that it began as early as the mid-seventeenth century. According to French historians, the period is commonly dated around 1715 until 1789.. In most cases, historians choose either the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1805 or the French Revolution around 1791 as the turning point in history that marked an end to the Age of Enlightenment.