slug: county-of-edessa

label: County of Edessa

description: crusader state in the 12th century

text: After a success over the Armenians of Cilicia and the Emirate of Aleppo, Baldwin of Bourcq becomes Count of Edessa, with the support of Daimbert.

title: 1100

date: May 7

text: May 7 – Battle of Harran: The Crusaders under Baldwin II are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtenay are taken prisoner. Tancred (nephew of Bohemond I) becomes regent of Edessa. The defeat at Harran marks a key turning point of Crusader expansion.

title: 1104

text: Summer – Jawali Saqawa, Turkish ruler of Mosul, accepts a ransom of 30,000 dinar by Count Joscelin I and releases his cousin Baldwin II, count of Edessa, who is held as prisoner (see 1104).

title: 1108

text: Spring – Mawdud ibn Altuntash, Turkic ruler (atabeg) of Mosul, leads an expedition to capture the territories of the Crusaders (belonging to the County of Edessa) east of the river Euphrates. He besieges the fortress city of Edessa, but is forced to retreat when King Baldwin I of Jerusalem (with the support of Armenian forces sent by Kogh Vasil) intervenes with a Crusader relief force.

title: 1110

text: Joscelin I succeeds Baldwin of Le Bourg, as Count of Edessa.

title: 1118

section: Events › By place › Western Asia

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Count Joscelin I and Waleran of Le Puiset are taken prisoner by Turkish forces led by Belek Ghazi near Saruj in northern Syria. Belek offers Joscelin liberty in return for the cession of Edessa. He refuses to accept these terms; Joscelin and Waleran and 60 other Crusaders are taken to the castle at Kharput.

title: 1122

date: August 29

text: August 29 – John II appears before the walls of Antioch, and encamps with the Byzantine army on the north bank of the Orontes River. For several days he besieges the city, Raymond of Poitiers (prince of Antioch) is forced to surrender. He recognizes John as his suzerain and becomes with Joscelin II (count of Edessa) a vassal of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 1137

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: November 13

text: November 13 – King Fulk of Jerusalem dies after a hunting accident in Acre. He is succeeded by his 13-year-old son Baldwin III – who is crowned as co-ruler alongside his mother, Queen Melisende on Christmas Day. Due to the political situation the Crusader States of Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa assert their independence. Raymond of Antioch demands the return of Cilicia to his principality and invades the province.

title: 1143

text: Autumn – Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk governor (atabeg) of Mosul, attacks the Artuqid forces led by Kara Arslan – who has made an alliance with Joscelin II, count of Edessa. In support of the alliance Joscelin marches out of Edessa with a Crusader army down to the Euphrates River, to cut off Zengi's communications with Aleppo. Zengi is informed by Muslim observers at Harran of Joscelin's movements. He sends a detachment of Muslims to ambush the Crusaders and reaches Edessa with his main army in late November.

title: 1144

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Hugh II (or Hugo), archbishop of Edessa

title: 1144

text: Spring – Seljuk forces led by Imad al-Din Zengi capture Saruj, the second great Crusader fortress east of the Euphrates. They advance to Birejik and besiege the city, but the garrison puts up a stiff resistance. Meanwhile, Queen-Regent Melisende of Jerusalem joins forces with Joscelin II, count of Edessa and approaches the city. Zengi raises the siege after hearing rumours of trouble in Mosul. He rushes back with his army to take control. There, Zengi is praised throughout Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, the "victorious king".

title: 1145

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Council of Acre: Conrad III, Louis VII, Melisende and many other nobles join in a war council near Acre. They decide that Damascus rather than Edessa will be the primary target of the Second Crusade.

title: 1148

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

text: Battle of Aintab: A Crusader army led by King Baldwin III repels the attacks of Nur al-Din near Aintab. Baldwin safely evacuates the Christian residents of the County of Edessa, which is captured by the Zangids.

title: 1150

text: Spring – Joscelin II, count of Edessa, on his way to Antioch is separated from his escort and falls into the hands of some Turcoman free-booters. Nur al-Din, ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, heard of Joscelin's capture and sends a squadron of cavalry to take him from his captors. Joscelin is led before a hostile crowd and publicly blinded. Nur al-Din puts him in prison in the Citadel of Aleppo.

title: 1150

text: Raynald of Châtillon is released and ransomed from prison in Aleppo, together with Joscelin III, the titular count of Edessa.

title: 1176


slug: county-of-flanders

label: County of Flanders

description: county and historic territory in the Low Countries

section: Births

text: Ælfthryth, English princess and countess of Flanders (d. 929)

title: 877

section: Deaths

text: Baldwin I, margrave of Flanders

title: 879

text: Baldwin I ("Iron Arm") dies, after 15 years as margrave of Flanders. He is buried in the Abbey of Saint Bertin (near Saint-Omer), and is succeeded by his son Baldwin II.

title: 879

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Arnulf I, count of Flanders (approximate date)

title: 890

date: June 7

text: June 7 – Ælthryth, English princess and countess of Flanders (b. 877)

title: 929

section: Conflict & Security

text: Hugh the Great, count of Paris, rebels against King Louis IV ("d'Outremer") and gains support from William I, duke of Normandy. Hugh, along with Herbert II, count of Vermandois, Arnulf I, count of Flanders and William pay homage to King Otto I (ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom), and support him in his struggle against Louis.

title: 939

date: December 17

text: December 17 – William I ("Longsword"), duke of Normandy, is ambushed and assassinated by supporters of Arnulf I ("the Great"), count of Flanders, while the two are at a peace conference at Picquigny (on an island on the Somme) to settle their differences. William is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Richard.

title: 942

section: Religion & Belief

text: Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, is sent into exile by King Eadwig. He takes refuge in Flanders (modern Belgium), where Count Arnulf I gives him shelter in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.

title: 956

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Mercia and Northumbria rebel against King Eadwig and switch their allegiance to his brother Edgar. The English nobles (in support of the church) agree to divide the kingdom along the Thames River, with Eadwig keeping Wessex and Kent in the south and Edgar ruling in the north. Edgar's advisers recall Dunstan from Flanders (see 956).

title: 957

section: Events › By place › England

text: Spring – King Lothair III exploits the succession crisis in Flanders and captures many cities, but is eventually repulsed by the supporters of Arnulf II – the son of Baldwin III and former co-ruler of Flanders. Lothair attempts to increase his influence in Lotharingia, once held by the Carolingian dynasty. Emperor Otto I (the Great) encourages resistance to Lothair's overtures.

title: 965

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Arnulf I, count of Flanders

title: 965

section: Culture & Society

date: April 1

text: April 1 – 16-year old Robert II of France ("Robert the Pious") is married to the much older Rozala (the widow of Arnulf II). The marriage is arranged by Robert's father, King Hugh Capet, to secure the loyalty of the County of Flanders.

title: 988

date: May 25

text: May 25 – Matilda of Saxony, countess of Flanders

title: 1008

text: Adèle of France, countess of Flanders (d. 1079)

title: 1009

text: Eleanor of Normandy, countess of Flanders (d. 1077)

title: 1010

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Baldwin V, count of Flanders (d. 1067)

title: 1012

text: Richilde, countess and regent of Flanders (d. 1086)

title: 1018

text: Baldwin VI (the Good), count of Flanders (approximate date)

title: 1030

text: Robert I, the Frisian, count of Flanders (approximate date)

title: 1035

text: King Harold I seizes the throne of England from his half-brother Harthacnut. His mother, Emma of Normandy, flees to Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1037

text: 1048 or 1066 – End of the Viking Age: Vikings make an unsuccessful raid on the Kingdom of England; The raiders flee to Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1048

text: Robert II, count of Flanders (approximate date)

title: 1065

date: October 3

text: October 3 – Northumbria revolts against Tostig Godwinson, who is exiled. He takes refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V in Flanders (modern Belgium). The Northumbrian nobles choose Morcar (or Morkere) as earl at York.

title: 1065

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Baldwin V, count of Flanders

title: 1067

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Baldwin VI (the Good), count of Flanders

title: 1070

text: Arnulf III, count of Flanders (House of Flanders)

title: 1071

date: February 22

text: February 22 – Battle of Cassel: Robert I ("the Frisian") defeats his sister-in-law Richilde (widow of Baldwin VI) and her nephew Arnulf III, in a succession struggle for the County of Flanders. Robert is appointed count by King Philip I of France.

title: 1071

text: Eleanor of Normandy, countess of Flanders (b. 1010)

title: 1077

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Adela of France, countess of Flanders (b. 1009)

title: 1079

text: Charles I (the Good), count of Flanders (d. 1127)

title: 1084

date: March 15

text: March 15 – Richilde, countess and regent of Flanders

title: 1086

text: Baldwin VII, count of Flanders (d. 1119)

title: 1093

text: Thierry of Alsace, count of Flanders (d. 1168)

title: 1099

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: February

text: February – The Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon set out from Antioch to Latakia. They are joined by forces of Bohemond I and Robert II, count of Flanders. On their arrival, Bohemond decides to turn back to consolidate his power in Antioch. Godfrey and Robert move on to besiege the small sea-port of Jabala. After two weeks, the Emir of Jabala makes a truce, and accepts the suzerainty of the Crusaders.

title: 1099

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: October 25

text: October 25 – William Clito, count of Flanders (d. 1128)

title: 1102

date: August 7

text: August 7 – Emperor Henry IV escapes his captors at Ingelheim. He enters into negotiations at Cologne with English, French and Danish noblemen, and begins to collect an army to oppose his son Henry V but dies at Liège after a 49-year reign. Henry leads a successful expedition against Count Robert II of Flanders and is forced to swear his allegiance to him.

title: 1106

date: October 5

text: October 5 – 18-year-old Baldwin VII succeeds his father, Robert II, as Count of Flanders until 1119.

title: 1111

text: October 5 – Robert II, Count of Flanders, died in battle (b. 1065)

title: 1111

text: Sibylla of Anjou, countess of Flanders (d. 1165)

title: 1112

text: Peace between England and Flanders is agreed upon.

title: 1118

text: July 17 – Baldwin VII, count of Flanders (b. 1093)

title: 1119

text: March 2 – Charles the Good, count of Flanders, is murdered by a band of knights while praying in church; he leaves no children. King Louis VI of France appoints William Clito (son of Robert Curthose) as new ruler. But the Flemish towns of Bruges, Ghent, Saint-Omer and Ypres recognize (with English financial support) Thierry of Alsace as rival count.

title: 1127

text: March 2 – Charles the Good, count of Flanders (b. 1084)

title: 1127

text: February – Saint-Omer and Ghent declare for Thierry (Theoderic) in his challenge to his cousin William Clito for the County of Flanders.

title: 1128

text: July 28 – William Clito, count of Flanders (b. 1102)

title: 1128

text: July 28 – William Clito dies as a result of a wound received at the siege of Aalst a fortnight earlier, leaving Thierry as sole claimant to the County of Flanders. He sets up his seat of government at Bruges and King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France agrees to his accession.

title: 1128

text: Philip I (of Alsace), count of Flanders (d. 1191)

title: 1143

text: March 31 – Bernard of Clairvaux, commissioned by Pope Eugene III, preaches the Second Crusade at Vézelay, in Burgundy. King Louis VII of France and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, take up the cross. In a repeat of the events of 1096, Crusaders attack and massacre Jewish communities along the Rhine. Encouraged by his success, Bernard undertakes a tour in Burgundy, Lorraine and Flanders – preaching the Crusade as he goes.

title: 1146

text: Late spring – An expedition of Crusaders and Englishmen, together with forces from Flanders, Frisia, Scotland and some German polities, leaves from Dartmouth in England for the Holy Land. Leadership is provided by Hervey de Glanvill, a Norman nobleman and constable of Suffolk, who leads a fleet of some 200 ships. Bad weather forces them to take refuge at the mouth of the Douro River, on the Portuguese coast, on June 16.

title: 1147

text: Baldwin V, count of Hainaut and Flanders (d. 1195)

title: 1150

text: April 6 – King Stephen has his nobles swear fealty to his son Eustace, as the rightful heir of the English throne. Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and other bishops refuse to crown Eustace favouring Henry of Anjou to claim the throne instead. Stephen confiscates their property and Theobald is forced into exile in Flanders.

title: 1152

text: Sibylla of Anjou, countess consort of Flanders (b. 1112)

title: 1165

text: January 17 – Thierry of Alsace, count of Flanders (b. 1099)

title: 1168

text: Philip II begins a war against Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders, over the Vermandois. He claims the territory for his wife Isabella of Hainault as her dowry. Philip is unwilling to give it up.

title: 1181

text: March 24 – Ferdinand (or Ferrand), count of Flanders (d. 1233)

title: 1188

text: September – Guy of Lusignan receives reinforcements of some 12,000 men from Denmark, Germany, England, France, and Flanders. He encircles Acre with a double line of fortified positions. On September 15, Saladin launches a failed attack on Guy's camp.

title: 1189

text: The counties of Flanders and Hainaut (modern Belgium) are united under Count Baldwin VIII. Flanders, a feudal fiefdom of France, becomes an important, wealthy independent state of Western Europe.

title: 1191

text: November 15 – Margaret I, countess of Flanders

title: 1194

text: Spring – Boniface I, Marquis of Montferrat, sends envoys to Venice, Genoa and other city-states to negotiate a contract for transport to the Levant. Meanwhile, Boniface and various nobles are mustering an expeditionary army (mainly forces from France and the Holy Roman Empire) at Paris. On February 23, Baldwin IX, count of Flanders and his brother Henry of Flanders take the cross at Bruges (modern Belgium), and agree to take part in the Fourth Crusade called by Pope Innocent III (see 1199).

title: 1200

text: Margaret of Constantinople, countess of Flanders (d. 1280)

title: 1202

text: April–May – The bulk of the Crusader army gathers at Venice, although with far smaller numbers than expected: about 12,000 men (4–5,000 knights and 8,000 soldiers) instead of 33,500 men. Several contingents decide to make their own way to the Holy Land by different routes. A Crusader fleet, sailing from Flanders, carrying supplies for the Counts Baldwin IX and his brother Henry of Flanders, winters in Marseille, but is slowed by adverse weather. Later it sails on to the Middle East, along with other contingents from southern France.

title: 1202

text: June – Otto IV arrives in Flanders with a small army; four German nobles have joined him, but he is soon reinforced by troops of Renaud I, duke of Boulogne, Ferdinand, (jure uxoris) count of Flanders and the mercenaries under William Longespée. On July 26, Philip II arrives at the Flemish town of Tournai with his army (some 7,000 men), while the allied forces encamp 12 kilometers south at the Castle of Mortagne (France).

title: 1214

text: May 6 – Theresa of Portugal, countess of Flanders

title: 1218

text: Beatrice of Brabant, countess of Flanders (d. 1288)

title: 1225

text: April 5 – The Treaty of Melun is concluded between France (ruled by King Louis VIII) and Flanders, ruled jointly of by Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, with France agreeing to release her husband Count Ferrand

title: 1226

text: At the urging of King Louis IX of France, Thomas II marries Joanna, widow of Ferdinand of Flanders, and daughter of the late Latin Emperor Baldwin I. Thomas becomes count of Flanders (or Jure uxoris).

title: 1237

text: December 5 – Joan, countess of Flanders and Hainaut

title: 1244

text: Isabelle of Luxembourg, countess of Flanders (d. 1298)

title: 1247

text: July 4 – William II, count of Holland, defeats the Flemish forces under Guy of Dampierre at Westkapelle. He forced him and his mother, Margaret II, to respect the division of Flanders and Hainaut.

title: 1253

text: Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders, licenses the first Lombard merchants to open a changing business in his realm.

title: 1281

text: November 11 – Beatrice of Brabant, countess of Flanders (b. 1225)

title: 1288

text: April 4 – Battle of Arques: Flemish forces (some 10,000 men) led by William of Jülich ("the Younger") defeats a French army at Arques in Flanders. During the battle, the French cavalry (1,600 men) tries to break the Flemish infantry militia formations, but to no avail. Finally, the French withdraw to Saint-Omer, leaving 300 dead behind. Later, William receives a warm reception in Bruges as a liberator in May.

title: 1303

text: July 22 – The Great Exile of 1306: King Philip IV of France turns his attentions to Italian bankers and orders the Jews to be exiled in France. The Jewish quarter in Paris is cleared and goods are confiscated – to regain money spent on expanding the domains of Flanders and Gascony. Meanwhile, rumors of a secret initiation ceremony of the Knights Templar create distrust, and Philip – while being deeply in debt to the Order for loans from his war against England, uses this distrust for political and religious motivations against the Templars.

title: 1306

text: July 31 – King Louis X of France mobilizes an army along the Flemish border. He prohibits the export of grain and other goods to Flanders – which proves challenging to enforce. Louis pressures officers of the Church at the borderlands, as well as King Edward II, to support his effort to prevent Spanish merchant vessels from trading with the embargoed Flemish cities.

title: 1315

text: November – Flemish Revolt: A uprising in Flanders is caused by both excessive taxation levied by Louis I, and by his pro-French policies. The revolt is led by landowning farmers under Nicolaas Zannekin. Members of the local gentry join and William Deken, mayor of Bruges, becomes the leader of the revolt.

title: 1323

text: April 19 – The Peace of Arques, brokered by King Charles IV of France, ends the Flemish Revolt, but the treaty is not supported by rebel districts in Flanders.

title: 1326

text: November – Battle of Cadzand: English troops raid the Flemish island of Cadzand.

title: 1337

text: March 25– The Battle of Margate, a naval battle off the coast of England at Margate, ends with the England navy, commanded by the Earl of Arundel, victorious over a combined fleet of shipsf rom the Kingdom of France, the Crown of Castile and the County of Flanders.

title: 1387

text: January 6 – The first assembly ever of the States General of the Netherlands is held as representatives from at least 17 provinces of the Burgundian Netherlands gather at Bruges. At least 81 delegates come from the clergy, nobility and general public from the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, Lille, Douai and Orchies, the County of Artois, the County of Hainaut, the County of Holland, the County of Zeeland, the County of Namur, the Lordship of Mechelen, and the Boulonnais, all with the reluctant assent of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

title: 1464

text: April 16 – Revolt of the Comuneros: Citizens of Toledo, Castile opposed to the rule of the Flemish-born Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, rise up when the royal government attempts to unseat radical city councilors.

title: 1520


slug: county-of-hainaut

label: County of Hainaut

description: medieval region in current Belgium and France

text: Baldwin II of Mons, count of Hainaut (approximate date)

title: 1056

text: Baldwin II, count of Hainaut (House of Flanders) (b. 1056)

title: 1098

text: Baldwin IV, count of Hainaut (d. 1171)

title: 1108

text: Baldwin V, count of Hainaut and Flanders (d. 1195)

title: 1150

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Baldwin IV, count of Hainaut (b. 1108)

title: 1171

text: King Henry VI, eldest son of Frederick I, grants Henry I (the Brave) the title of Duke of Brabant. Henry tries to expand his power and soon quarrels with Count Baldwin V, duke of Hainaut.

title: 1190

text: The counties of Flanders and Hainaut (modern Belgium) are united under Count Baldwin VIII. Flanders, a feudal fiefdom of France, becomes an important, wealthy independent state of Western Europe.

title: 1191

date: May 1

text: May 1 – John I, count of Hainaut (d. 1257)

title: 1218

date: December 5

title: 1244

text: John II Avesnes, count of Hainaut and Holland (d. 1304)

title: 1247

date: July 4

title: 1253

date: December 24

text: December 24 – John of Avesnes, count of Hainaut (b. 1218)

title: 1257

date: November 10

text: November 10 – John I, count of Holland, dies and is succeeded by his uncle John II. He establishes a personal union with the County of Hainaut.

title: 1299

text: Jean Froissart, historian and courtier from Hainaut (d. 1405)

title: 1337

date: September

text: September – Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland are inherited by Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and remain part of the imperial crown domain until 1347.

title: 1345

section: Events

date: January 6

title: 1464

section: Events › January–March

date: September 8

text: September 8 – The States General of the Netherlands is convened by the leaders of the States of Brabant and the County of Hainaut in order to respond to mutineering Spanish troops.

title: 1576

section: Events › July–September

date: May 17

text: May 17 – The Treaty of Arras is concluded between Spain (represented by the Duke of Parma), and members of the Union of Arras that had been formed in January. The Union of Utrecht continues its resistance against Spain while the County of Hainaut, the County of Artois, and the cities of Douai, Lille, Orchies and Arras agree to a separate peace under Spanish rule.

title: 1579

section: Events › April–June


slug: county-of-holland

label: County of Holland

description: state of the Holy Roman Empire and part of the Habsburg Netherlands: in 1579 became partly the Dutch Republic

text: Lutgardis of Luxemburg, countess of Holland (Netherlands)

title: 955

text: Dirk III (or Theodoric), count of Holland (d. 1039)

title: 982

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Dirk II, count of Frisia and Holland

title: 988

text: Arnulf (or Aernout), count of Friesland

title: 993

text: Floris I, count of Friesland west of the Vlie (approximate date)

title: 1017

text: Gertrude of Saxony, countess of Holland (approximate date)

title: 1030

date: May 27

text: May 27 – Dirk III (or Theodoric), count of Holland

title: 1039

date: January 13

text: January 13 – Dirk IV, count of Friesland west of the Vlie

title: 1049

text: Dirk V, count of Friesland (west of the Vlie) (d. 1091)

title: 1052

section: Crime & Justice

date: June 28

text: June 28 – Count Floris I is ambushed on a retreat from Zaltbommel and killed by German troops at Nederhemert. Most of West Frisia (later part of the County of Holland) is conquered and annexed by the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1061

text: June 28 – Floris I, count of Friesland (west of the Vlie)

title: 1061

text: Summer – Dirk V, count of Holland, re-conquers West Frisia (modern Netherlands) from the Archdiocese of Utrecht. He besieges Bishop Conrad at the castle of IJsselmonde, taking him prisoner.

title: 1076

text: Petronilla of Lorraine, countess and regent of Holland (d. 1144)

title: 1082

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Dirk V, count of Friesland (west of the Vlie) (b. 1052)

title: 1091

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Gertrude of Saxony, countess of Holland

title: 1113

text: Dirk VI (or Theodoric), count of Holland (d. 1157)

title: 1114

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Floris II ("the Fat"), count of Holland (b. 1085)

title: 1121

text: March 2 – Petronilla of Lorraine becomes regent of Holland (Low Countries) after her husband, Floris II ("the Fat") dies. He is succeeded by his 6-year-old son Dirk VI (Theodoric).

title: 1121

date: October 26

text: October 26 – Floris the Black, Dutch count of Holland

title: 1132

text: Rijnsburg Abbey is founded by Petronilla of Lorraine, countess and regent of Holland.

title: 1133

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Petronilla of Lorraine, countess of Holland (b. 1082)

title: 1144

text: William I, count of Holland (Low Countries) (d. 1222)

title: 1167

title: 1247

text: July 4 – William II, count of Holland, defeats the Flemish forces under Guy of Dampierre at Westkapelle. He forced him and his mother, Margaret II, to respect the division of Flanders and Hainaut.

title: 1253

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Floris V, count of Holland and Zeeland (d. 1296)

title: 1254

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Battle of Heiloo: Floris V, count of Holland, makes an unsuccessful attack on Frisia in an attempt to recover the body of his father, William II, who was killed (16 years ago) by the Frisians near Hoogwoud (modern Netherlands).

title: 1272

date: October 27

text: October 27 – Floris V, count of Holland, grants the city of Amsterdam freedom from taxes (called a road toll).

title: 1275

text: Dutch forces led by Floris V, count of Holland, attack and defeat the West Frisians at the battle of Vronen. He succeeds in retrieving the body of his father, William II, some 26 years dead.

title: 1282

text: John I, Dutch nobleman (House of Holland) (d. 1299)

title: 1284

text: Four towns of the County of Holland (Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden and Alkmaar) and two of the County of Zeeland (Middelburg and Zierikzee) agree collectively to secure a loan by their sovereign, Count Floris V. This gives important securities to the lenders, and allows Floris to access the same low interest rates as the cities’ governments.

title: 1291

section: Events › By topic › Economy

title: 1299

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Treaty of Paris: Count Louis I relinquishes Flemish claims over the County of Zeeland. He acknowledges William II the Good as count of Avesnes, Holland, and Zeeland as a state within the Holy Roman Empire. William occupies most of the Bishopric of Utrecht and tries to conquer Friesland (or Frisia) but is repelled by Governor Hessel Martena.

title: 1323

section: Events › January – March

text: May 23 (possible date) – Hook and Cod wars in the County of Holland: A number of nobles and progressive cities supporting William V, Count of Holland, in his power struggle with his mother Margaret I, Countess of Holland, found the Cod League and perhaps sign the Cod Alliance Treaty.

title: 1350

section: Events › January–December

date: September 5

text: September 5 – Hook and Cod wars in the County of Holland: Conservative noblemen found the Hook League and sign the Hook Alliance Treaty.

title: 1350

date: August 29

text: August 29 – The Battle of Schoterzijl is fought in the third of the Friso-Hollandic Wars between Holland, led by Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, and Friesland, a semi-independent kingdom, led by Juw Juwinga. Although Juwinga is killed in battle, the Frisians are able to hold onto independence.

title: 1396

date: April 14

text: April 14 – The County of Holland declares war on several cities of the Hanseatic League, triggering the Dutch–Hanseatic War.

title: 1438

title: 1464

date: November 18

text: November 18 – In the "Squire Francis War" (Jonker Fransenoorlog), a new phase of the Dutch civil war in the Burgundian Netherlands county of Holland, the rebel army of the Hook faction, led by Frans van Brederode, captures the city of Rotterdam, capital of Holland.

title: 1488


slug: county-of-portugal

label: County of Portugal

description: county in Southwestern Europe between 868–1139, predecessor of the Kingdom of Portugal

text: The County of Portugal is established around the town of Portus Cale (present-day Porto) by Vímara Peres, an Asturian nobleman, after the reconquest from the Moors of the region north of the Douro River.

title: 868

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: In Portugal, for the third time in less than 30 years, the Christians take control of Coimbra, this time for almost a century.

title: 904

section: Deaths

text: Lucídio Vimaranes, count of Portugal

title: 922

text: Diogo Fernandes, count of Portugal

title: 928

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The town of Póvoa de Varzim is first mentioned during the rule of Mumadona Dias, countess of Portugal, under the name Villa Euracini.

title: 953

text: Mumadona Dias, countess of Portugal

title: 968

text: In Al-Andalus, benefiting from the weakening of the Muslim central authority, the count of Portugal, Gonçalo Maia, conquers Montemor-o-Velho (approximate date).

title: 1034

date: December 24

text: December 24 – King Ferdinand I of León ("the Great") dies in León, Spain, after an 11-year reign as Emperor of All Spain. His kingdom is divided among his three sons: the eldest Sancho II, the second Alfonso VI and the youngest García II. The kingdoms of Galicia and Portugal become independent under the rule of García.

title: 1065

section: Births

text: Henry, count of Portugal (House of Burgundy) (d. 1112)

title: 1066

text: The Second County of Portugal is established by Count Henry of Burgundy. The Almoravids start pushing back the forces of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") to the positions they occupied a decade earlier. This offensive begins with the re-conquest of Lisbon, which had been given away to Castile in 1091.

title: 1095

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile arranges to marry his daughter Theresa to Henry of Burgundy (House of Burgundy). Theresa's dowry includes the County of Portugal, given to Henry with Porto as the capital.

title: 1096

text: Portuguese forces under Countess Theresa take two Galician cities, Tui and Ourense. In reply, the sister of Theresa, Queen Urraca ("the Reckless"), attacks Portugal.

title: 1116

text: The first fair in Portugal is created in Ponte de Lima; it is an early sign of commercialization and economic development.

title: 1125

text: June 24 – Battle of São Mamede: Count Alfonso I (Henriques) defeats the forces led by his mother, Queen Theresa of Portugal, near Guimarães, and gains control of the county. Alfonso styles himself "Prince of Portugal".

title: 1128

date: September

text: September – King García IV ("the Restorer") breaks with Alfonso VII, and makes common cause with the County of Portugal against Castile and León.

title: 1135


slug: county-of-savoy

label: County of Savoy

description: countship

text: Otto I (or Odon), count of Savoy (approximate date)

title: 1023

text: Amadeus II, count of Savoy (approximate date)

title: 1050

text: Humbert II (the Fat), count of Savoy (d. 1103)

title: 1065

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Amadeus II, count of Savoy (b. 1050)

title: 1080

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Humbert II, count of Savoy (b. 1065)

title: 1103

text: Mahaut of Albon, countess of Savoy (d. 1148)

title: 1112

text: Peter II ("the Little Charlemagne"), count of Savoy (d. 1268)

title: 1203

section: Conflict & Security

text: War breaks out in the Valais (in modern-day Switzerland), as the Bishopry of Sion defends against an invasion by the County of Savoy.

title: 1260


slug: county-of-sicily

label: County of Sicily

description: Norman state comprising the islands of Sicily and Malta and part of Calabria from 1071 until 1130

text: Adelaide del Vasto, countess and regent of Sicily (d. 1118)

title: 1075

text: Siege of Syracuse (1086) – Norman forces under Count Roger I ("Bosso") conquer Syracuse, the last Muslim stronghold in Sicily.

title: 1086

text: Simon of Hauteville, count of Sicily (d. 1105)

title: 1093

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Roger I, count of Sicily, dies at Mileto in Calabria after a 30-year reign. He is succeeded by his 8-year-old son Simon of Hauteville, while his mother, Adelaide del Vasto, acts as his regent.

title: 1101

section: Religion & Belief

text: Bohemond I, Norman prince of Antioch, arrives in Apulia (Southern Italy) after an absence of 9 years. He travels to Rome and meets Pope Paschal II. His cousin, Roger II becomes count of Sicily.

title: 1105

text: Autumn – King Sigurd I sails for the Holy Land with 60 ships (with some 5,000 men) on the first stage of the Norwegian Crusade to Palestine. Now 17, he is the first European king to support the Crusaders in the Levant. Sigurd leaves his older brother Eystein I to rule the kingdom in his absence – and visits England, France, Galicia and Sicily en route.

title: 1107

text: Conflict between the de facto independent Muslim republics of Gabès and Mahdia (modern Tunisia) in Ifriqiya. Madhia is supported by the Zirid Dynasty while Gabes receives the aid of Roger II, count of Sicily.

title: 1117

section: Events › By place › Africa

date: April 16

text: April 16 – Adelaide del Vasto, countess of Sicily

title: 1118


slug: county-of-toulouse

label: County of Toulouse

description: countship

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Beggo, count of Toulouse and Paris

title: 816

text: Berengar the Wise, count (or duke) of Toulouse, attacks the Frankish domains of Bernard of Septimania, taking Roussillon (along with Vallespir, Razès, and Conflent).

title: 832

text: Frankish forces under King Charles the Bald invade southern France, and conquer the territory of Toulouse. He appoints Fredelo as count (comté) of Toulouse, who founds the Rouergue dynasty. Aquitaine is submitted to the West Frankish Kingdom.

title: 849

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Raymond III (or Pons I), count of Toulouse, travels to Nevers (southeast of Paris) to declare his fidelity to king Louis IV ("d'Outremer"). He is granted the title 'prince of the Aquitanians' by the king.

title: 944

text: Pons II (or Pons William), count of Toulouse (d. 1060)

title: 991

date: July 28

text: July 28 – William Bertrand dies, and his margravial title of Provence is inherited by Raymond IV ("Saint-Gilles"), who becomes count of Toulouse (until 1105).

title: 1094

date: October

text: October – Raymond IV ("Saint-Gilles"), count of Toulouse, sets off to join the First Crusade. He travels with his army, accompanied by his wife Elvira and Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy, via Provence through the Balkan route (along the coast of Croatia). He arrives at Dyrrachium to march to Thessaloniki.

title: 1096

date: January 16

text: January 16 – The Crusaders, under Raymond IV, count of Toulouse (Raymond of Saint-Gilles), leave Antioch, and head south towards Jerusalem. They are joined by forces of Tancred (a nephew of Bohemond I) and Robert II, duke of Normandy. Raymond is given free passage and supplies, and accepts guides from the Emir of Shaizar (modern Syria), who conducts the army (6,000 men) across the Orontes River (between Shaizar and Hama).

title: 1099

text: Alfonso I, count of Tripoli and Toulouse (d. 1148)

title: 1103

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Raymond IV dies at his castle of Mons Peregrinus ("Pilgrim's Mountain") near Tripoli. Raymond leaves his 2-year-old son Alfonso I by his third wife, Elvira of Castile, to rule the County of Tripoli. Raymond's nephew William-Jordan, count of Cerdagne, becomes regent over Alfonso. Bertrand, the eldest son of Raymond, inherits the title 'Count of Toulouse'.

title: 1105

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Raymond V, count of Toulouse (approximate date)

title: 1134

text: The city of Montauban in southern France is founded by Count Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse.

title: 1144

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Pierre de Castelnau is murdered by heretics supported by Raymond VI, count of Toulouse. He is held responsible and excommunicated by Pope Innocent III, leading to the Albigensian Crusade.

title: 1208

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Albigensian Crusade: French forces under Raymond VII, count of Toulouse, besiege Castle Beaucaire in May. After three months, the occupants are running low on supplies and surrender to Raymond.

title: 1216

section: Events › By continent › Europe

date: June 25

text: June 25 – Siege of Toulouse: During a counter-assault, Simon de Montfort is killed by a stone from one of the defender's siege engines. The leadership of the Albigensian Crusade falls to Simon's son Amaury de Montfort, who lifts the siege a month later. Raymond VI is restored as count of Toulouse after a popular rebellion.

title: 1218

date: June 7

text: June 7 – King Louis VIII of France begins the Crusade against the Cathars (Albigensians) in southern France and against Raymond VII, count of Count of Toulouse. Over the next three months, the Crusaders capture the cities of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire and Marseille and by Avignon's surrender on September 9, Louis forces the region of Languedoc into submission, and reasserts his authority upon the autonomous municipalities of his estates. Most cities have to accept the authority of Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence, but Marseille and Nice rebel.

title: 1226

section: Events › April – June

date: August 21

text: August 21 – The counties of Poitou and Toulouse are absorbed into the French domains following the death of Alphonse, Count of Poitiers, son of the late King Louis VIII of France.

title: 1271


slug: county-of-tripoli

label: County of Tripoli

description: last of the Crusader states

text: Cecile of France, French princess and countess of Tripoli (d. 1145)

title: 1097

title: 1103

title: 1105

text: William II, count of Cerdagne and Tripoli

title: 1109

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Siege of Tripoli: After a 7-year siege (supported by the Genoese fleet), Tripoli falls to the Crusaders. Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Ammar, qadi of Tripoli, submits to Bertrand of Toulouse (the eldest son of Raymond IV). He establishes the County of Tripoli, the fourth Crusader state in the Middle East. Raymond's nephew William II Jordan dies of an arrow wound sustained during the siege, leaving Bertrand as its sole ruler.

title: 1109

text: Hodierna of Jerusalem, countess of Tripoli (approximate date)

title: 1110

text: Spring – The Crusaders under Pons, count of Tripoli, attack the fortress of Rafaniya (once held by Pons' grandfather Raymond IV), which dominates the entry of the Buqaia from the Orontes Valley. They besiege the fortress for 18 days and capture it on March 31.

title: 1126

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Bazwāj, a mamluk (slave) commander of Damascus, launches a military campaign against Tripoli, reaching Pilgrims' Mount. He defeats a Crusader army under Count Pons (protector of Tripoli). Pons is forced to flee into the mountains where native Christians capture him. Later, he is handed over and instantly put to death by Bazwāj.

title: 1137

text: March 25 – Pons, count of Tripoli (b. 1098)

title: 1137

text: Raymond II, count of Tripoli, grants property in the county (such as the massive castle Krak des Chevaliers) to the Knights Hospitaller. After acquiring the site, they begin building new fortifications.

title: 1142

date: November 13

text: November 13 – King Fulk of Jerusalem dies after a hunting accident in Acre. He is succeeded by his 13-year-old son Baldwin III – who is crowned as co-ruler alongside his mother, Queen Melisende on Christmas Day. Due to the political situation the Crusader States of Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa assert their independence. Raymond of Antioch demands the return of Cilicia to his principality and invades the province.

title: 1143

text: Spring – King Baldwin III and his mother, Queen Melisende, are called to intervene in a dispute between Baldwin's aunt Hodierna and her husband Raymond II, count of Tripoli. Hodierna decides to take a long holiday, and travels to Jerusalem, while Raymond escorts her out on the road southwards. On the way back to Tripoli, a group of Assassins stabs him to death at the southern gate of the city. The garrison rushes to arms and pours into the streets, slaying every Muslim in their way, but the Assassins manage to escape; the motive of their act is never known.

title: 1152

text: Summer – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, re-captures most of Crusader territory in the Orontes Valley – reducing the Principality of Antioch to little more than a narrow coastal strip along the Mediterranean. The County of Tripoli remains unchanged and Jerusalem remains a potential threat with ambitions to expand eastward, while also striving to dominate the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.

title: 1152

text: Raymond II (or Raimundus), count of Tripoli

title: 1152

text: Hodierna of Jerusalem, countess of Tripoli (b. 1110)

title: 1164

date: September 20

text: September 20–October 2 – Siege of Jerusalem: Egyptian army under Saladin captures Jerusalem, after the Crusaders led by Balian of Ibelin surrender the 'Holy City'. The take-over of the city is relatively peaceful; Saladin agrees to let the Muslims and Christians leave the city, taking with them their goods. Balian joins his wife Maria Komnene and family, in the County of Tripoli.

title: 1187

section: Events › By place › Egypt

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Egyptian forces led by Sultan Baibars (or Abu al-Futuh) attack Acre; there is severe fighting outside the walls, in which the seneschal, Geoffrey of Sergines, is badly wounded. Baibars is not yet ready to besiege the city and begins a major campaign to eliminate the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem, the county of Tripoli and the principality of Antioch.

title: 1263

date: May 22

text: May 22 – King Hugh III of Cyprus ("the Great") signs a peace with Sultan Baibars, Mamluk ruler of Egypt, at Caesarea. The Kingdom of Jerusalem is guaranteed for 10 years the possession of its present lands, which consists mainly of the narrow coastal plain from Acre to Sidon, together with the right to use without hindrance the pilgrim-road to Nazareth. The County of Tripoli is safeguarded by the peace treaty.

title: 1272

date: January

text: January – Charles I is crowned King of Jerusalem, and is recognized by the kingdom's barons at Acre. He surrenders the vicariate of Tuscany to Nicholas III. His bailiff, Roger of San Severino, appoints various Frenchmen from Charles' court as his chief officers. Bohemond VII, count of Tripoli (and nominal Prince of Antioch), acknowledges Roger as lawful bailiff.

title: 1278

text: October 19 – Bohemond VII, ruler of Tripoli, dies childless. He is succeeded by his sister Lucia, who is married to Charles I of Naples' former Grand Admiral, Narjot de Toucy. But the nobles, not pleased with this decision, offer the county to Bohemond's mother, Dowager-Princess Sibylla of Armenia.

title: 1287

section: Events › By place › Middle East

text: Spring – Genoa orders Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria to send five galleys to support Genoese suzerainty of Tripoli. Princess Lucia, sister of the late Count Bohemond VII, arrives in Acre, where the Knights Hospitaller escort her to the frontier with Tripoli. The commune refuses to accept her as new ruler and places the city under Genoese protection. After negotiations, Lucia offers to confirm Genoa's existing commercial privileges in Tripoli.

title: 1288

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Siege of Tripoli: Mamluk forces under Qalawun (the Victorious) capture Tripoli after a month-long siege, thus extinguishing the County of Tripoli. Qalawun orders the city to be razed to the ground, a widespread massacre kills every man found by the Mamluks, while the women and children are taken as slaves.

title: 1289


slug: county-of-urgell

label: County of Urgell

description: Medieval Catalonian county (785–1413)

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Munuza, Moorish governor of Cerdagne (eastern Pyrenees), rebels against Umayyad authority. He is defeated and executed by Muslim forces under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi at Urgell (Catalonia). Muslim garrisons in Septimania raid the cities Millau and Arles.

title: 731

text: The Frankish Kingdom conquers Girona and Urgell (modern Spain) from the Moors. The Franks divide Catalonia into 14 countships. Charlemagne suppresses a rebellion by count Hardrad of Thuringia.

title: 785

text: Sunifred II, count of Urgell (approximate date)

title: 870

text: Sunifred II, count of Urgell (Spain) (b. c. 870)

title: 948

text: Ermengol I, count of Urgell (d. 1010)

title: 974

text: Borrell II, count of Barcelona and Urgell

title: 993

text: Ermengol I (or Armengol), count of Urgell (b. 974)

title: 1010

text: Ermengol III (or Armengol), count of Urgell (d. 1065)

title: 1032

text: Ermengol III (or Armengol), count of Urgell (b. 1032)

title: 1065

text: Ermengol V, count of Urgell (Catalonia) (d. 1102)

title: 1078

text: Ermengol IV (or Armengol), count of Urgell (b. 1056)

title: 1092

text: Ermengol VI ("el de Castilla"), count of Urgell (d. 1154)

title: 1096

text: The city of Balaguer (located in Catalonia) is conquered from the Moors by Ermengol VI, count of Urgell.

title: 1106

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Ermengol VI ("el de Castilla"), count of Urgell (b. 1096)

title: 1154

text: Ermengol VIII (or Armengol), count of Urgell (d. 1208)

title: 1158

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Peter I (Pedro), count of Urgell (d. 1258)

title: 1187

text: Aurembiaix, Spanish countess (House of Urgell) (d. 1231)

title: 1196


slug: covenanter

label: Covenanter

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Scottish Covenanters meet at Muchalls Castle to compose a response to the 14 demands of the Bishops of Aberdeen.

title: 1638

section: Events › July–September

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Second Bishops' War: A Scottish Covenanter army invades Northumberland in England.

title: 1640

date: September 1

text: September 1 – English Civil War: Battle of Tippermuir – Montrose defeats Lord Elcho's Covenanters, reviving the Royalist cause in Scotland.

title: 1644

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Battle of Inverlochy: The Scottish Covenanters are defeated by Montrose.

title: 1645

section: Events › January–March

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Battle of Auldearn: Scottish Covenanters are defeated by Montrose.

title: 1645

section: Events › April–June

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: December 23

text: December 23 – The Covenanters hand over King Charles I of England to the Parliamentarians.

title: 1646

section: Events › October–December

date: July 30

text: July 30 – Commissioners of the Parliament of England and Scottish Covenanters meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne set out the Heads of Proposals ("Newcastle Propositions") demanding that King Charles I gives up control of the army and place restrictions on Catholics, as the basis for a constitutional settlement.

title: 1646

date: April 27

text: April 27 – The Battle of Carbisdale begins when a Royalist army invades mainland Scotland from the Orkney Islands. The Royalists are defeated by a Covenanter army.

title: 1650

text: July 20 – At the Battle of Inverkeithing in Scotland, the English Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Major-General John Lambert, defeats a Scottish Covenanter army acting on behalf of Charles II, led by Sir John Brown of Fordell.

title: 1651

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Battle of Drumclog: A group of 200 Scottish Covenanters overwhelm a small Scottish Army unit, that had been pursuing them for the murder of Archbishop Sharp. The Covenanters, led by 19-year-old William Cleland, kill 36 of the Scottish soldiers.

title: 1679

date: May 11

text: May 11 – The Killing Time: Five Covenanters in Wigtown, Scotland, notably Margaret Wilson, are executed for refusing to swear an oath declaring King James of England, Scotland and Ireland as head of the church, becoming the Wigtown martyrs.

title: 1685

date: July 27

text: July 27 – First Jacobite rising: Battle of Killiecrankie near Pitlochry in Perthshire – Scottish Covenanter supporters of William III and Mary II (under Hugh Mackay) are defeated by Jacobite supporters of James II, but the latter's leader, John Graham, Viscount Dundee, is killed. Hand grenades are used in action.

title: 1689

text: August 21 – A group of Scottish Presbyterians who had fled to America from Scotland held the first Covenanter communion in the 13 American colonies, meeting in New Kingstown, Pennsylvania.

title: 1752


slug: covenanters

label: Covenanters

description: Scottish religious movement

date: May 28

text: May 28 – King Charles I of England arrives with his army at Berwick-upon-Tweed as the first of the Bishops' Wars breaks out between the English Army and the Scottish Covenanters.

title: 1639

text: July 30 – English Civil War: Scottish Covenanters under Lord Leven begin the Siege of Hereford, a Royalist stronghold.

title: 1645

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Philiphaugh – The Covenanters under Sir David Leslie defeat the Royalists under Montrose near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates. After the battle, prisoners and 300 camp followers (many of them women and children) are slaughtered by Covenanters in cold blood.

title: 1645

date: November 28

text: November 28 – The Battle of Rullion Green takes place in the Pentland Hills near Midlothian in Scotland as the culmination of the brief 'Pentland Rising' which began on November 15 as a rebellion by the Covenanters who oppose changes in the Church of Scotland. At least 2,000 men of the Scottish Royal Army, led by General Thomas Dalyell, defeat more than 750 Covenanter rebels who have been under the command of James Wallace of Auchens.

title: 1666

date: December 10

text: December 10 – More than 200 captives on the ship The Crown of London, all Scottish Covenanters arrested after the battle of Bothwell Bridge, are killed when the ship is wrecked on the Orkney Islands while transporting the group to exile in North America.

title: 1679

date: May 3

text: May 3 – James Sharp, the Church of Scotland's Archbishop of St Andrews, is assassinated at Magus Muir in Fife, when his coach is ambushed by a group of nine of the Scottish Covenanters. Only two of the assassins, David Hackston and Andrew Guillan, are captured.

title: 1679

date: June 22

text: June 22 – The Sanquhar Declaration, written by Richard Cameron, leader of the Covenanters who oppose the control of religion in Scotland by King Charles, is read aloud by Richard's brother Michael Cameron at the public square in the village of Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire.

title: 1680

date: January 12

text: January 12 – Scottish minister James Renwick, one of the Covenanters resisting the Scottish government's suppression of alternate religious views, publishes the Declaration of Lanark.

title: 1682

date: November 8

text: November 8 – James Renwick, a Scottish minister and one of the "Covenanters" challenging the attempt by Kings James VI and Charles I to take over churches in Scotland, posts his "Apologetical Declaration" on church doors and market crosses in and around Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire.

title: 1684

date: February 17

text: February 17 – James Renwick, the last of the Covenanters in Scotland to be martyred for opposing the authority of King Charles II, is publicly hanged at Grassmarket square in Edinburgh.

title: 1688

section: Culture & Society

date: April 8

text: April 8 – The first recorded college basketball game occurs in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, between the Geneva College Covenanters and the New Brighton YMCA.

title: 1893

section: Events › April


slug: coventry

label: Coventry

description: city in the West Midlands in England, UK

text: Bablake School is founded in Coventry, England by the dowager Queen Isabella.

title: 1344

section: Events › Date unknown

date: October 1

text: October 1 – The House of Commons of England is opened at Coventry by King Henry IV, whose Lord Chancellor asks the members to pass a tax to support an offensive war against Scotland, enemies of Wales, Ireland and for defending the Marches of Guienne and Calais. Henry Redford is elected Speaker of the House.

title: 1402

date: October 16

text: October 16 – The 5th Parliament of King Henry IV of England (summoned August 25), nicknamed "The Unlearned Parliament" because Henry refuses to allow lawyers to sit, opens for a four week session in Coventry, closing on November 13.

title: 1404

date: November 20

text: November 20 – In England, the "Parliament of Devils" (so called because it consists of Lancastrian supporters and Yorkist nobles are not invited) opens its session at Coventry in St Mary's Priory and Cathedral.

title: 1459

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, one of the English conspirators in Wyatt's rebellion, leads troops from Leicester to Coventry, but the group finds that the gates of the city are closed because the rebellion has been exposed.

title: 1554

date: February 4

text: February 4 – John Rogers is burned at the stake at Smithfield, London, becoming the first of the 284 Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation to be killed during the five and one-half year reign of Queen Mary I of England. His death is followed within the week by that of Laurence Saunders on February 8 in Coventry, and Rowland Taylor, Rector of Hadleigh, Suffolk, and John Hooper, deposed Bishop of Gloucester on February 9.

title: 1555

section: Crime & Justice

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Almost 200 people are arrested in Coventry by English authorities for gathering to hear readings of the sermons of the non-conformist Protestant minister Obadiah Grew .

title: 1685

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: John Kemp Starley demonstrates the Rover safety bicycle in Coventry (England), regarded as the first practical modern bicycle.

title: 1885

date: August 25

text: August 25 – 1939 Coventry bombing: An Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in the centre of Coventry, England, killing 5 people.

title: 1939

section: Events › August

date: November 14

text: November 14 – WWII: Coventry Blitz – The city centre of Coventry, England is destroyed by 500 Luftwaffe bombers; 150,000 fire bombs, 503 tons of high explosives and 130 parachute mines level 60,000 of the city's 75,000 buildings; 568 people are killed. The city's cathedral is gutted.

title: 1940

section: Events › November


slug: crete

label: Crete

description: island of Greece

text: c. 2160 BC: Beginning of Middle Minoan period in Crete.

title: 22nd century BC

section: Events

text: c. 1900 BC: Minoan Old Palace (Protopalatial) period starts in Crete.

title: 19th century BC

text: c. 1700 BC: Minoan Old Palace period ends and Minoan Second Palace period starts in Crete.

title: 17th century BC

text: c. 1700 BC: beginning of the Late Minoan period on Crete.

title: 17th century BC

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: c. 1500 BC: Settlers from Crete, Greece move to Miletus, Turkey.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

section: Conflict & Security

text: c. 1450 BCE—Mycenaeans attack and capture Crete, destroying many royal palaces including Knossos.

title: 1450s BC

text: c. 1400 BC – The center of political and cultural power in the Aegean has shifted from Crete to mainland Greece, which at that time is home to wealthy warrior-kings.

title: 1400s BC (decade)

year_label: 429 BCE

text: The Athenians, in alliance with Polichne, destroy the Cretan city of Kydonia.

title: 429 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 343 BCE

text: Phalaikos unsuccessfully lays siege to Kydonia on the island of Crete.

title: 343 BC

year_label: 331 BCE

text: While Alexander is fighting in Asia, Agis III of Sparta, profiting from the Macedonian king's absence from Greece, leads some of the Greek cities in a revolt. With Persian money and 8,000 Greek mercenaries, he holds Crete against Macedonian forces. In the Peloponnesus he routs a force under the Macedonian general Coragus and, although Athens stays neutral, he is joined by Elis, Achaea (except Pellene) and Arcadia, with the exception of Megalopolis, the staunchly anti-Spartan capital of Arcadia, which Agis III's forces besiege.

title: 331 BC

year_label: 326 BCE

text: Following the mutiny of his army at the Hyphasis River, Alexander is persuaded by his army leaders to abandon his plans for invading the Ganges Valley. Alexander appoints Nearchus, a Cretan with naval experience, as admiral and places under his command all in the ranks of his army with any knowledge of seafaring. Nearchus has Indian shipwrights build 800 vessels, some as large as 300 tons, to take the army through Persian Gulf waters to Babylon. Alexander the Great begins the return march down the Indus to the sea.

title: 326 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 324 BCE

text: Dinarchus, a professional speech writer in Athens, comes to prominence in the scandal that follows the flight to Athens of Alexander the Great's treasurer, Harpalus. When Harpalus escapes and flees to Crete, Dinarchus writes the prosecution speeches against Demosthenes, Demades, Aristogiton, Philocles and other well-known politicians accused of misappropriating some of this money.

title: 324 BC

year_label: 220 BCE

text: The Gortynians occupy Matala, on the island of Crete.

title: 220 BC

year_label: 188 BCE

text: Hannibal flees via Crete to the court of King Prusias I of Bithynia who is engaged in warfare with Rome's ally, King Eumenes II of Pergamum.

title: 188 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 150 BCE

text: The pretender to the Seleucid throne, Alexander Balas, who claims to be the son of the late Antiochus IV, defeats the Seleucid king, Demetrius I Soter, in battle and kills him. The Roman Senate, along with Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum and Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt, support Alexander Balas and he becomes the ruler of the Seleucid Empire. Demetrius I Soter's son, Demetrius, goes into exile in Crete.

title: 150 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 71 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Marcus Antonius is defeated by the Cretans, who have made an alliance with the pirates. He is compelled to concede a humiliating peace. Antonius dies in office the same year and is awarded, posthumously, with the cognomen Creticus.

title: 71 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 69 BCE

text: Kydonia, an ancient city on the island of Crete falls to Roman military forces.

title: 69 BC

year_label: 32 BCE

text: Sparta under Caius Iulius Eurycles, whose father Antony had been ordered to be executed for piracy, declares his support for Octavian. Lappa (modern Argyroupoli) in Attica and Kydonia in Crete revolt against Cleopatra.

title: 32 BC

text: The Heruli capture Athens and raid the Aegean Islands as far as Crete and Rhodes.

title: 269

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Climate & Environment

date: July 21

text: July 21 – An earthquake and tsunami devastate Crete and Alexandria and affects Italy, Greece, and Palestine.

title: AD 365

section: Religion & Belief

text: Emperor Constantine IV signs a peace treaty, of a nominal 30-year duration, with Caliph Mu'awiya I of the Umayyad Caliphate. Constantine pays an annual tribute of 3,000 (nomismata) pounds of gold, 50 horses and 50 slaves. The Arab garrisons are withdrawn from their bases on the Byzantine coastlands, including Crete & Cyzicus.

title: AD 679

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Kydonia, on the northwest coast of Crete, is destroyed by Saracen pirates (approximate date).

title: 828

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Constantine Kontomytes, Byzantine general (strategos) of the Thracesian Theme, inflicts a severe defeat on the Cretan Saracens. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary force, to raid the monastic community near Mount Latros (modern Turkey).

title: 841

text: Spring – After the fall of Argos the Crusaders complete their conquest of the Morea in southern Greece. The city, along with Nauplia, is given to Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, as a fief, along with an income of 400 hyperpyron from Corinth. Meanwhile, the Venetians conquer Crete and evict Henry, Count of Malta ("Enrico Pescatore"), a Genoese adventurer and pirate, active in the Mediterranean.

title: 1212

text: Before July – Battle of Settepozzi: A Byzantine-Genoese fleet (some 50 galleys) is routed by the Venetians near Spetses in the Argolic Gulf, who capture four ships and inflict considerable casualties. Later, the Genoese that survive the battle managed to capture Chania on Crete. They receive orders to avoid direct confrontations with the Venetian fleet, but instead are engaged in raiding against the Venetian merchant convoys in the Euripus Strait.

title: 1263

date: August

text: August – The Revolt of Saint Titus, against the rule of the Republic of Venice in the Kingdom of Candia (island of Crete), begins.

title: 1363

section: Events › January–December

date: May 10

text: May 10 – Forces of the Republic of Venice suppress the Revolt of Saint Titus against Venetian rule in the Kingdom of Candia on the island of Crete).

title: 1368

section: Births

text: El Greco, or Domênikos Theotokópoulos (Greek: Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος), Cretian painter, sculptor and architect (d. 1614)

title: 1541

date: April 7

text: April 7 – El Greco, or Domênikos Theotokópoulos (Greek: Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος), Cretian painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1541)

title: 1614

section: Deaths › April–June

date: July 24

text: July 24 – During an attempt by a fleet of French Navy ships to stop the siege of Candia by bombardment of Ottoman positions on the island of Crete, the arsenal of gunpowder on the French flagship, the 56-gun warship Thérèse, catches fire and explodes. Out of 350 crew on the Thérèse, only seven survive. Demoralized, the remaining French commanders halt the bombardment and the fleet withdraws.

title: 1669

date: June 25

text: June 25 – François de Vendôme, Duke of Beaufort, disappears in battle, during the siege of Candia in Crete.

title: 1669

date: October 30

text: October 30 – The Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire sign a treaty delineating the borders between their territories in modern-day Greece, with Venice acknowledging the loss of the island of Crete in the Cretan War.

title: 1671

date: December 6

text: December 6 – During the Morean War, Captain Luca Dalla Rocca of Naples betrays Venice by surrendering the fortress of Gramvousa, on the island of Crete to the Ottoman Turks, in return for a large amount of money and sanctuary in Istanbul.

title: 1691

text: Egyptian and Albanian troops of the Ottoman Empire overturn the Greek revolt on Crete.

title: 1824

date: December 21

text: December 21 – Prince George of Greece arrives in Crete as its High Commissioner, and is escorted by the flagships of four nations.

title: 1898

section: Events › December

date: January 9

text: January 9 – After a successful revolt against the Ottoman Empire by the inhabitants of the island of Crete, the area, which joins Greece, gets its first constitution.

title: 1899

section: Events › January

date: March 16

text: March 16 – British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans purchases the land on Crete on which the ruins of the Palace of Knossos stand. He begins to unearth some of the palace three days later.

title: 1900

section: Events › March

date: March 23

text: March 23 – The Theriso revolt begins in Crete as about 1,500 people led by Eleftherios Venizelos demand unification with Greece.

title: 1905

text: December 1 – Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War, is annexed by Greece.

title: 1913

text: May 20 – WWII: The Battle of Crete begins, as Germany launches an airborne invasion of Crete, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history.

title: 1941

text: German General Kreipe is kidnapped on Crete, Greece.

title: 1944

text: December 8 – The Typaldos Line's ferry sinks in rough seas in the Aegean Sea near Crete, leaving 217 dead.

title: 1966


slug: crimea

label: Crimea

description: Eastern European peninsula, in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, disputed between Ukraine (de jure) and Russia (de facto)

section: Conflict & Security

text: Gordian III evacuates the Cimmerian cities in the Bosphorus (Crimea), as the territory is now controlled by the Goths.

title: 242

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Pope Martin I is banished to Chersonesos Taurica (Ukraine). He dies later in the Crimean Peninsula after a 6-year reign, leaving Eugene I as the uncontested pope (see 654).

title: 655

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The population of Byzantium revolts under Leontios, the strategos (military governor) of the Anatolic Theme, and proclaims him emperor. Justinian II is deposed and his nose is cut off (leading to his subsequent nickname of "the Slit-nosed"). He is exiled to Cherson (Crimea), and begins to plot an attempt to retake the throne.

title: 695

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: After spending nearly a decade with the Khazars (a Turkic tribe which controls a Steppe empire), the deposed emperor Justinian II flees from his exile at Cherson (Crimea). He escapes with help from Busir, ruler (khagan) of the Khazars, who marries him to his sister Theodora.

title: 704

text: The Byzantine outpost of Cherson (Crimea) rebels (with Khazar assistance) against Emperor Justinian II. He sends a fleet under the patrikios Stephen, which retakes the city and restores Byzantine control. The fleet, however, is struck by a storm on its way back and loses many ships, while the Chersonites, again with the aid of the Khazars, rebel anew.

title: 710

text: Philippicus incites the inhabitants of Cherson to revolt, with the help of the Khazars. Emperor Justinian II sallies forth from Constantinople to oppose the rebels in the Crimea. Philippicus defeats the Byzantine forces in northern Anatolia, and seizes the capital. He is proclaimed emperor and Justinian is executed, ending the house of Heraclius, that has ruled since 610.

title: AD 711

date: April 24

text: April 24 – Emperor Leo IV ("the Khazar") appoints his 5-year-old son Constantine VI co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire. This leads to an uprising, led by one of Leo's half-brothers, Caesar Nikephoros, the second son of former emperor Constantine V. The revolt is quickly suppressed. Fortunately for Nikephoros, his only punishment is to be stripped of his titles, while the rest of the conspirators are blinded, tonsured, and exiled to Cherson (southern Crimea) under guard.

title: 776

section: Culture & Society

text: Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, ruler of Kievan Rus', marries Anna Porphyrogenita (sister of Basil II) and converts to Christianity. He is baptized at Cherson in the Crimea, taking the Christian name of Basil (in honor of his brother-in-law). Vladimir returns in triumph to Kiev, and begins the Christianization of Kievan Rus' to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

title: 988

text: The Mongol army invades Polovtsian territory and defeats the Polovtsians in a great battle near the Don River. Several Polovtsian leaders are killed – while the remainder flees westwards, across the Dnieper River, to seek support by various Russian princes. Steppe lands east of the Dnieper fall under Mongol control, Subutai and Jebe raise the wealthy city of Astrakhan on the Volga River. Subutai now parts his forces, he moves south to the Crimea (or Tauric Peninsula), while Jebe travels towards the Dnieper.

title: 1223

section: Events › Other events, by place › Mongol Empire

text: The Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': The Mongols under Batu Khan continue their campaign across the Pontic Steppe. After devastating the Crimea and campaigning against the Circassians in the Caucasus, they turn towards the Kievan Rus'. In March, Pereyaslavl, capital of the Principality of Pereyaslavl, is sacked by the Mongols.

title: 1239

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: The Ozbek Han Mosque is built in the realm of Özbeg Khan in the Crimea.

title: 1314

date: January 1

text: January 1 – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) affects Crimea (disputed event).

title: 1341

section: Events

section: Health & Medicine

text: Spring – A severe Bubonic Plague epidemic begins in the Crimea, marking the first major epidemic of the Black Death.

title: 1346

section: Crime & Justice

date: October

text: October–November – Several Mongol towns in the Crimea are cleared of inhabitants by the Black Death.

title: 1346

date: July 13

text: July 13 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russian forces occupy the Crimea, under Prince Vasily Dolgorukov.

title: 1771

section: Events › July–September

text: January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.

title: 1792

section: Events › January–March

date: November 7

text: November 7 – WWII: The Soviet hospital ship Armenia is sunk by German aircraft while evacuating refugees, wounded military and the staff of several Crimean hospitals. It is estimated that more than 5,000 die in the sinking.

title: 1941

section: Events › November

text: March 16 – 2014 Crimean status referendum: A disputed referendum on the status of the Crimean Peninsula is held.

title: 2014

date: March 24

text: March 24 – During an emergency meeting, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada temporarily suspend Russia from the G8, recognizing Crimea within Ukraine's international borders and rejecting the validity of the 2014 Crimean referendum.

title: 2014

date: October 17

text: October 17 – A school shooting and bomb attack in Kerch, Crimea, kills 20 people and injures 70 others.

title: 2018

section: Events › October


slug: crimean-khanate

label: Crimean Khanate

description: former state at the Crimean Peninsula until April 1783

text: With the help of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, governor Hacı I Giray declares his province independent of the Golden Horde and establishes the Crimean Khanate.

title: 1441

section: Events › Date unknown

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Battle of Kletsk: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate.

title: 1506

section: Deaths

date: April 17

text: April 17 – Mehmed I Giray becomes the new ruler of the Tatar Crimean Khanate (in what is now Russian-occupied Ukraine) upon the death of his father, Meñli I Giray.

title: 1515

section: Events › April–June

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: May 24

text: May 24 – Moscow is burnt by the Crimean army, under Devlet I Giray.

title: 1571

date: July 29

text: July 29–August 2 – Battle of Molodi: A large Crimean–Ottoman army which invaded Russia is routed.

title: 1572

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Mehmed II Giray becomes the new Khan of Crimea for the Ottoman Empire, after the death of his father, Devlet I Giray, from a plague.

title: 1577

date: September 28

text: September 28 – The Battle of Orynin takes place. Polish and Lithuanian Army forces fail to stop an invasion by the forces of the Crimean Khanate, who then proceed in burning villages in Lithuania and enslaving residents.

title: 1618

date: May 31

text: May 31 – Mehmed III Giray, the Khan of Crimea, is forced to leave after an invasion of 4,000 Cossacks and a four week siege of the capital Bakhchysarai. The attack is led by Mykhailo Doroshenko, who is killed in the battle.

title: 1628

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Battle of Ochmatów: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski secure a substantial victory over the army of the Crimean Khanate under Tugay Bey.

title: 1644

date: August 17

text: August 17 – The Treaty of Zboriv is signed by representatives of King John II Casimir of Poland and the representatives of the Cossacks and Crimean Khanate to partially settle the Khmelnytsky Uprising.

title: 1649

date: January 3

text: January 3 – The Treaty of Bakhchisarai is signed, between the Ottoman vassal Crimean Khanate and the Russian Empire.

title: 1681

date: March 10

text: March 10 – The Treaty of Aynalıkavak is signed between Ottoman Turkey and the Russian Empire, regarding the Crimean Khanate.

title: 1779

date: April 8

text: April 8 – The Crimean Khanate, which has existed since 1441 and is a late remnant of the Mongol Golden Horde, is annexed by the Russian Empire of Catherine the Great.

title: 1783


slug: croatia-in-personal-union-with-hungary

label: Croatia in personal union with Hungary

description: personal union of the Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Hungary from 1102 to 1526

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Béla III of Hungary dies after a 23-year reign in which he has supported the former Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos against the invading Bulgarians. Having made the Hungarian court one of the most brilliant in Europe and made his hereditary monarchy. Béla is succeeded by his 22-year-old son Emeric as ruler of Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia (until 1204).

title: 1196

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: April 23 – Béla III, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1148)

title: 1196

section: Conflict & Security

text: Autumn – A brothers' quarrel breaks out between Emeric, King of Hungary and his younger brother Duke Andrew. After a brief skirmish, Emeric is forced to cede Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew, who begins to administer the provinces as a de facto sovereign monarch.

title: 1197

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 8

text: September 8 – Enrico Dandolo takes the cross and agrees to lead a Venetian force, which, in an outburst of Crusading enthusiasm, reaches some 21,000 men – the largest contingent of the Fourth Crusade. He proclaims the debts will be wiped if the Crusaders take the 'rebel' Dalmatian city of Zara (modern-day Zadar) which has pledged its loyalty to Emeric, king of Hungary and Croatia. The Zara proposal causes disquiet in the Crusader ranks and also upsets Pope Innocent III who threatens to excommunicate those who attack Zara.

title: 1202

section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Andrew II, brother of the late King Emeric, is crowned ruler of Hungary and Croatia at Székesfehérvár, after his 5-year-old nephew, Ladislaus III, suddenly dies in Vienna. Andrew introduces a new policy for royal grants, which he calls "new institutions". He distributes large portions of his domain–such as royal castles and all estates attached to them–to supporters and Hungarian nobles.

title: 1205

date: May 7

text: May 7 – Ladislaus III, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1200)

title: 1205

section: Births

text: Béla IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1270)

title: 1206

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Otto III, Duke of Bavaria, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1312)

title: 1261

text: August 6 – King Stephen V of Hungary falls ill and is taken to Csepel Island. He dies and is succeeded by his 10-year-old son Ladislaus IV ("the Cuman"), who is being held captive in the fortress of Koprivnica in northern Croatia. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, becomes regent during the minority of her son (until 1277).

title: 1272

date: October 6

text: October 6 – Wenceslaus III, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1306)

title: 1289

date: July 10

text: July 10 – King Ladislaus IV of Hungary ("the Cuman") is assassinated at the castle of Körösszeg (modern Romania). He is succeeded by Andrew III ("the Venetian"), after an election by Hungarian nobles, who is crowned by Archbishop Lodomer as new ruler of Hungary and Croatia in Székesfehérvár on July 23.

title: 1290

date: January 14

text: January 14 – With the death of King Andrew III ("the Venetian") after a short illness, possibly from poisoning, the Árpád Dynasty in Hungary ends. This results in a power struggle between Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Otto III of Bavaria, and Charles Robert of Naples. Eventually, Wenceslaus is elected and crowned as king of Hungary and Croatia. His rule is only nominal, because a dozen powerful Hungarian nobles hold sway over large territories in the kingdom.

title: 1301

section: Events › January– March

text: Elizabeth of Poland, queen consort of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1380)

title: 1305

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Wenceslaus III, king of Hungary, Croatia and Poland (b. 1289)

title: 1306

date: November 27

text: November 27 – On the same day, Hungarian nobles formally elect the 20-year-old Charles Robert of Salerno as King of Hungary and Croatia in the Hungarian city of Pest (now part of Budapest). He becomes Charles I, but his rule remains nominal in most parts of the realm after he is crowned.

title: 1308

section: Events › October – December

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Maria of Bytom, queen consort of Hungary and Croatia

title: 1317

date: August 16

text: August 16 – Battle of Dubica (part of the Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War): Croatian troops under Petar Berislavić, Ban (Viceroy) of Croatia, defeat an Ottoman army under Sanjak-bey Junuz-aga.

title: 1513

date: May 28

text: May 28 – The Ottoman Empire's siege of Knin in the Kingdom of Croatia is successful as Mihajlo Vojković surrenders to Gazi Husrev Bey and most of the Croatian inhabitants are allowed to leave. Inhabitants of Bosnia then move in.

title: 1522


slug: croatia-in-union-with-hungary

label: Croatia in union with Hungary

text: Béla II, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1141)

title: 1109

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Prince Álmos (or Almus), duke of Hungary and Croatia

title: 1127

text: Ladislaus II, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1163)

title: 1131

text: Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1165)

title: 1133

text: Stephen III, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1172)

title: 1147

text: Béla III, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1196)

title: 1148

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Ladislaus II, duke of Bosnia, is declared king of Hungary and Croatia. He is crowned by Archbishop Mikó and grants one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen IV.

title: 1162

date: May 31

text: May 31 – Géza II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1130)

title: 1162

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1133)

title: 1165

text: Emeric, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1204)

title: 1174

text: King Béla III of Hungary and Croatia goes to war with Venice in an effort to recover Dalmatia. The city of Zadar (located on the Adriatic Sea) accepts Béla's suzerainty.

title: 1181

section: Events › Europe

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Battle of Samobor: The army of Ulrich II, Count of Celje, defeats the army of Stjepan Banić at Samobor, Croatia in union with Hungary.

title: 1441


slug: croatia

label: Croatia

description: country in Central Europe

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Diocletian's Palace, Split, Croatia, is built. Its model is nowadays kept at the Museo della Civilta Romana, Rome.

title: 300

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

date: October 8

text: October 8 – Battle of Cibalae: Constantine the Great defeats his rival Licinius near the town of Colonia Aurelia Cibalae (modern-day Vinkovci, Croatia). Licinius is forced to flee to Sirmium and loses all of the Balkans except for Thrace. Peace negotiations are initiated between the two Augusti, but they are unsuccessful.

title: 316

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Crime & Justice

text: Emperor Constantius II recalls his Caesar (and cousin) Constantius Gallus to Constantinople after hearing unfavorable reports about him. Gallus, Caesar of the East, has suppressed revolts in Syria Palaestina and central Anatolia. Constantius strips him of his powers and later has him executed in Pola (Croatia).

title: 354

text: Callinicus, governor (exarch) of Ravenna, repulses attacks of the South Slavs in Istria (Croatia). The region is pillaged, but the Byzantines drive them all out.

title: 599

section: Health & Medicine

text: The Palace of Diocletian in Split (Croatia) is damaged by the Avars, who sack the nearby city of Salona. The population flees to the walled palace, which is able to hold out.

title: 614

text: The Balkans are freely overrun by the Slavs, who settle in large numbers in what is now Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and parts of Greece. The western territories of modern-day Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia and Dalmatia) suffer raids from the Avars, who settle in this region.

title: 615

text: At the request of Porga of Croatia, one of the first dukes or princes (Croatian: knez) of Dalmatian Croatia, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sends Christian missionaries to the Croatian Provinces (approximate date).

title: 640

text: Giustiniano Participazio deposes his younger brother Giovanni I, and is appointed doge of Venice. Giovanni, who is part of a pro-Frankish faction, is exiled to Zara (modern Croatia).

title: 827

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Franco-Lombard forces, aided by a Croatian fleet (of Sclaveni), led by Emperor Louis II, capture Bari, capital of the Emirate of Bari in Southern Italy.

title: 871

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Svatopluk I, ruler (knyaz) of Great Moravia, conquers Lower Pannonia (today's Southwestern Hungary and Northern Croatia), during the succession strife in the East Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 883

text: A plot of land at Miholjanec is donated to the Knights Templar, who build a monastery in nearby Zdelia. This is the earliest historical mention of the Templars in Croatia and Hungary.

title: 1160

date: January 11

text: January 11 – The city of Požga in Croatia is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary.

title: 1227

section: Events › By topic › Cities and Towns

text: Battle of Grobnik Field: Croatian forces under Béla IV stop the Mongol invasion in Hungary and Croatia. Béla rebuilds the country and orders the building of fortifications through his kingdom.

title: 1242

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

date: November 16

text: November 16 – King Béla IV issues the Golden Bull to the inhabitants of Gradec (modern-day Zagreb) and Samobor in Croatia. By this golden bull, Béla proclaimes Gradec a royal free city.

title: 1242

date: December 25

text: December 25 – The first cases of the plague are recorded in the city of Split, in Croatia.

title: 1347

section: Events › January–December

section: Culture & Society

text: The University of Zadar is founded, the first university in Croatia.

title: 1396

date: June 14

text: June 14 – The University of Zadar is founded with the establishment of a theological seminary in the Croatian city.

title: 1396

date: July 9

text: July 9 – The Republic of Venice, led by the Doge Michele Steno, gains control of both sides of the Adriatic Sea by purchasing the Dalmatian coast (bordered in modern times by Slovenia and Croatia) from King Ladislaus the Magnanimous, ruler of the Kingdom of Naples for 100,000 ducats, or 350 kilograms of gold.

title: 1409

date: April 2

text: April 2 – A bubonic plague epidemic strikes the independent city of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik in Croatia), capital of the Republic of Ragusa, and a group of 10 patricians reject the chance to flee, staying to govern the city. Within 15 days, nine of the ten are dead, and only Marin Simunov Rastic survives. The progress of the plague, which lasts for more than two months, is chronicled by an Italian-born resident, Opis Diversis.

title: 1437

date: September 17

text: September 17 – Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia, and his sons Grgur, Stefan and Lazar sign a charter confirming the sovereignty and privileges of the Republic of Ragusa, located in what is now Croatia.

title: 1445

date: September

text: September – At the battle of Vrpile Gulch in southern Croatia, the armies of the Ottoman Empire are defeated by those of the Kingdom of Croatia.

title: 1491

text: The first arboretum to be designed and planted is the Arboretum Trsteno, near Dubrovnik in current-day Croatia.

title: 1492

section: Events › Unknown dates

date: September 9

text: September 9 – At the Battle of Krbava Field in southern Croatia, forces of the Ottoman Empire defeat those of the Kingdom of Croatia.

title: 1493

section: Climate & Environment

date: March 26

text: March 26 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Slovenia and Italy and kills more than 10,000 people, striking with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The epicenter is around the town of Idrija in present-day Slovenia, although some place it some 15-20 kilometers to the west, between Gemona and Pulfero in Friulian Slovenia. The earthquake affects a large territory between Carinthia, Friuli, present-day Slovenia and Croatia.

title: 1511

date: January 31

text: January 31 – General Johann Katzianer of the Holy Roman Empire, on trial in Vienna for the disastrous Imperial campaign against the Ottoman Empire and for desertion during the Battle of Gorjani, escapes and flees to Kostajnica Fortress in Ottoman-controlled Croatia. After 14 months, Nikola IV Zrinski has Katzianer murdered.

title: 1538

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Kostajnica Fortress in what is now Croatia falls to the Ottoman Empire and remains under Turkish control for the next 132 years.

title: 1556

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Battle of Sisak in Croatia: The Habsburgs defeat the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1593

text: Croatian mathematician Faustus Verantius publishes his book Machinae novae, a book of mechanical and technological inventions, some of which are applicable to the solutions of hydrological problems, and others concern the construction of clepsydras, sundials, mills, presses bridges and boats for widely different uses.

title: 1616

date: October 16

text: October 16 – With 2,000 men under his command, Petar Zrinski, the Viceroy of Croatia within the Holy Roman Empire, defeats a much larger force of 8,000 Ottoman soldiers in the Battle at Jurjeve Stijene, near the modern town of Otočac. The Croatians lose 10 soldiers killed; the Ottoman invasion force suffers over 1,500 deaths.

title: 1663

section: Events › October–December

date: June 5

text: June 5 – The siege of the Croatian fortress at Novi Zrin (located near the village of Donja Dubrava in Croatia near its border with Hungary). After a 32-day defense, the Croatian defenders surrender to troops of the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1664

date: April 6

text: April 6 – The 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake in the Republic of Ragusa (part of modern-day Croatia) kills as many as 5,000 people, roughly one sixth of the population, and levels most of the buildings in Dubrovnik.

title: 1667

date: June 13

text: June 13 – Battle of Koroncó: Austrians and their allies from Denmark, Prussia, Croatia, Germany and Vojvodina defeat the Kurucs.

title: 1704

date: September 11

text: September 11 – The Croatian army of Josip Jelačić, encouraged in secret by the Habsburg government, crosses the Drava River and attacks Hungary, with the goal of ending the revolution in that country.

title: 1848

date: September 29

text: September 29 – Battle of Pákozd: The Hungarian revolutionary army, led by János Móga, defeats the Croatian army of Josip Jelačić, forcing him to retreat towards Vienna.

title: 1848

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – Battle of Komárom: Hungarian forces relieve the city and castle with the same name from a long Austrian siege. The Austrian imperial forces and their Croatian, Romanian and Serbian allies are chased out from Hungary, or near the borders of the country.

title: 1849

text: June 22 – WWII: The First Sisak Partisan Brigade, the first anti-fascist armed unit in occupied Europe, is founded by Yugoslav partisans near Sisak, Croatia.

title: 1941

section: Events › June

date: August 18

text: August 18 – The Vergarola explosion of ordnance in Croatia kills 70.

title: 1946

section: Events › August

text: April 29 – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of Croatia (2015–2020)

title: 1968

text: August 30 – An express train bound for Germany from Belgrade derails in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing more than 150 passengers.

title: 1974

text: March 28 – A fire in the maternity wing at Kučić Hospital in Rijeka, Yugoslavia (Croatia), kills 25 people.

title: 1975

text: May 13 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot takes place at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of GNK Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).

title: 1990

text: August 25 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Serbian forces begin an attack on the Croatian town of Vukovar.

title: 1991

text: November 18 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The forces of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries take the Croatian town of Vukovar after the 87-day Battle of Vukovar. They kill more than 260 Croatian prisoners of war.

title: 1991

text: April 7 – The United States recognizes the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Communities also recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina.

title: 1992

text: August 4 – Croatian forces, with the cooperation of the ARBiH, launch Operation Storm against rebel forces of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, which subsequently ceases to exist as a political entity.

title: 1995

text: January 15 – U.N. peacekeepers return Eastern Slavonia to Croatian control; 80,000 displaced Croatians begin returning home, while 60,000 Serbs begin vacating the region. The area will remain under UNPSG supervision until October.

title: 1998

text: The Croatian cargo ship Borak, sailing from Koromačno to Solin and transporting cement, sank near Sestrica Vela after its cargo shifted because of bad weather. Two crew members (Valter Cimera and Stjepan Španić) lost their lives, while the other three (Ante Jureško, owner and captain of the ship, his son Slavko, as well as Muhamed Čeliković) were rescued by Damir Badžim (from Šibenik) and Slaviša Malešević (refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina).

title: 1999

text: October 3 – Croatia and Turkey's accession negotiations to the European Union officially starts.

title: 2005

text: May 12 – The mummified body of Hedviga Golik is found in her apartment in Zagreb, Croatia 42 years after her death.

title: 2008

text: April 1 – Albania and Croatia join NATO.

title: 2009

text: July 1 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

title: 2013

text: June 12 – The 2014 FIFA World Cup started with hosts Brazil defeating Croatia 3–1.

title: 2014

text: January 1 – Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area, becoming the 20th member state of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen Area. This is the first enlargement of the Eurozone since Lithuania's entry in 2015, and the first enlargement of the Schengen Area since Liechtenstein's entry in 2011.

title: 2023

text: January 14 – February 2 – The 2025 World Men's Handball Championship is held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway, and is won by Denmark.

title: 2025


slug: crotone

label: Crotone

description: Italian comune

year_label: 548 BCE

text: Diognetus of Croton wins the stadion race at the Olympic Games.

title: 548 BC

section: Events

year_label: 532 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Pythagoras arrives in the Greek colony of Croton (modern-day Crotone) in Magna Graecia and founds the philosophical school of Pythagoreanism (approximate date).

title: 532 BC

section: Events › By place › Europe

year_label: 496 BCE

text: Tisicrates of Kroton wins the stadion race at the 71st Olympic Games.

title: 496 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 389 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of the Elleporus and the capture of Kroton by Dionysius I of Syracuse

title: 389 BC

section: Events › By place › Magna Grecia

year_label: 387 BCE

text: With the aid of the Lucanians, Dionysius I of Syracuse devastates the territories of Thurii, Crotone, and Locri in mainland Italy. When Rhegium falls, Dionysius becomes the chief power in Greek Southern Italy. He then turns his attention to the Adriatic and founds the colonies of Ancona (Ankon) and Adria (Adrìa).

title: 387 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily and Adriatic

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Responding to an appeal from Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the Romans. In the Battle of Heraclea he defeats a Roman army led by consul Publius Valerius Laevinus. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii and the Messapians as well as the Greek cities of Crotone and Locri join Pyrrhus.

title: 280 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 277 BCE

text: Consul Publius Cornelius Rufinus campaigns against the Lucanians and the Bruttians and captures Crotone.

title: 277 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 205 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Hannibal erects a bilingual Punic/Greek inscription describing his accomplishments in the temple of Juno Lacinia near Crotone.

title: 205 BC

date: July 13

text: July 13 (or 14) – Battle of Stilo: Abu'l-Qasim is cornered by the imperial German forces led by Otto II at Cape Colonna (south of Crotone). After a violent clash, the German heavy cavalry destroys the Muslim centre, killing al-Qasim in the initial fighting. The Saracens hold together and draw Otto into a trap, encircling and defeating his forces (killing around 4,000 men).

title: 982


slug: crown-colony

label: Crown colony

description: colonies controlled by the British Empire

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: January 1

text: January 1 – As the Province of Georgia undergoes the transition from a trustee-operated territory to a Crown colony, the prohibition against slavery is lifted by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America. At the time, the Black population of Georgia is approximately 400 people, who had been kept in slavery in violation of the law. By 1790, the enslaved population of Georgia increases to over 29,000 and to 462,000 by 1860.

title: 1751

section: Events › January–March

text: The Pitcairn Islands become a Crown colony of the United Kingdom, and women there are the first in the world to be granted and maintain women's suffrage.

title: 1838

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Natal becomes a British Crown colony.

title: 1856

section: Events › July–September

date: June 6

text: June 6 – The British Crown colony of Queensland in Australia is created, by devolving part of the territory of New South Wales (Queensland Day). Brisbane is declared the capital.

title: 1859

section: Events › April–June

date: April 1

text: April 1 – The Strait Settlement of Singapore, formerly ruled from Calcutta, becomes a Crown colony, under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Office in London.

title: 1867

section: Events › April

section: Deaths

date: December 1

text: December 1 – William Swainson, second, and last, Attorney-General of the Crown Colony of New Zealand (b. 1809)

title: 1884

section: Deaths › July–December

text: January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minister of Australia.

title: 1901

section: Events › January

text: April 1 – The Malayan Union is formed on dissolution of the British Military Administration and Singapore becomes a Crown colony.

title: 1946

text: April 1 – EOKA starts a resistance campaign against British rule in the Crown colony of Cyprus.

title: 1955