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The 430s

128 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 5th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

430 CE23 entries

  • April - Aetius defeats the Juthungi during his campaign in the Alps.
  • May - Flavius Felix, his wife and a deacon are accused of plotting against Aetius. They are arrested in Ravenna and executed. Aetius is granted the title of patricius (Roman nobility).
  • August 28 – Augustine dies during the siege of Hippo Regius at age 75, leaving behind his monumental work The City of God and other works that will have influence on Christianity.

431 CE14 entries

  • March 10 – Kʼukʼ Bahlam I, the first known ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque (the modern-day state of Chiapas in southern Mexico) comes to power and reigns until his death four years later.
  • June – First Council of Ephesus: Nestorianism is rejected; the Nicene Creed is declared to be complete. Nestorius is deposed from his see.
  • Greek Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus begins studying at the Academy in Athens.

432 CE14 entries

  • July 27 – Pope Celestine I dies after a 10-year reign in which he led a vigorous policy against Nestorianism. He is succeeded by Sixtus III as the 44th pope.
  • Saint Patrick, Roman Britain-born missionary, is consecrated a bishop and converts the Irish to Christianity until his death around 460.
  • The Basilica of Saint Sabina at the Aventine (Rome) is finished by Priest Petrus of Illyria.

433 CE7 entries

  • Flavius Aetius returns to Italy with the support of the Huns. He gains control over the young emperor Valentinian III, and becomes his "protector".
  • Pope Sixtus III helps to settle a Christological dispute between the patriarchs Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch, that has continued since the First Council of Ephesus, two years ago. They sign the "Formula of Reunion", thus ending their conflict over Nestorianism.
  • Petronius Maximus is appointed consul of the Western Roman Empire.

434 CE11 entries

  • April 12 – Maximianus dies on Great and Holy Thursday. He is succeeded by Proclus, who becomes archbishop of Constantinople.
  • Summer – The Huns under Rugila devastate Thrace and move steadily towards Constantinople. The citizens prepare themselves for a long siege, depending on the strength of the Theodosian Walls.
  • Justa Grata Honoria, older sister of Valentinian, becomes pregnant from an officer in her household. Circles in the court at Ravenna assume inevitably that Honoria is planning to raise her paramour to imperial rank and challenge her brother. Valentinian then has him executed.

435 CE13 entries

  • August 3 – Theodosius II exiles Nestorius, archbishop of Constantinople, to a monastery in the Libyan desert at the behest of his sister Pulcheria.
  • August 10 – A figure known to Mayanist scholars as "Casper" begins a 52-year reign in the Mayan city-state of Palenque what is now the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, and reigns until his death in 487.
  • November 14 – Emperor Theodosius II orders a new edict for the death penalty of all heretics and pagans in the Empire. Judaism is considered a legal non-Christian religion.

436 CE7 entries

  • End of the Burgundian Revolt of Gunther: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), attempts to put an end to Burgundian raids in Gaul. He calls in Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda, which plunder Augusta Vangionum, killing some 20,000 Burgundians. The Kingdom of the Burgundians is destroyed; King Gunther and his family are killed (this epic disaster will later provide the source for the Nibelungenlied).
  • The Buddhist Srimala Sutra is translated into Chinese by Gunabhadra.
  • In the Gothic War (436-439) besieges king Theodoric I the city of Narbonne; the Visigoths obtain access to the Mediterranean Sea and the roads to the Pyrenees.

437 CE9 entries

  • July 2 – Valentinian III, age 18, rules as emperor over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence until her death in 450.
  • October 29 – Valentinian III cements an alliance with the eastern emperor, Theodosius II, by marrying his daughter Licinia Eudoxia in Constantinople. This marks the reunion of the two branches of the House of Theodosius.
  • Battle of Wallop: Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of the Romano-British, defeats the Anglo Saxons under King Vortigern. He is given all the kingdoms of the western side of Britain (according to Historia Brittonum).

438 CE12 entries

  • February 15 – The Codex Theodosianus, a collection of edicts of Roman law, is published.
  • Relics of John Chrysostom are transported to Constantinople.
  • Aelia Eudocia, wife of Theodosius II, goes on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, bringing back with her holy relics to prove her faith.

439 CE18 entries

  • October 19 – Carthage falls to the Vandals. Genseric makes it his capital and establishes the Vandal Kingdom.
  • The Vandals establish a North African granary that enables them to enforce their will on other nations, who are dependent on North Africa for grain and other food staples.
  • Isaac the Great, Armenian apostolic patriarch, dies at Ashtishat. He helped to develop a Greek-inspired alphabet, and translate the Bible, along with various Christian writings, into Armenian.