slug: eighty-years-war

label: Eighty Years' War

description: 16th- and 17th-century Dutch revolt against the Habsburgs

section: Births

date: August 2

text: August 2 – Herman van den Bergh, Dutch soldier in the Eighty Years' War (d. 1611)

title: 1558

date: August 18

text: August 18 – Frederik van den Bergh, Dutch soldier in the Eighty Years' War (d. 1618)

title: 1559

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: April 5 – The Compromise of Nobles is presented to Margaret of Parma, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, but it succeeds only in delaying the beginning of the Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands.

title: 1566

section: Religion & Belief

date: July 31

text: July 31 – King Philip II of Spain sends a final letter to the administrators and Catholic bishops of the Spanish Netherlands, rejecting a request to abolish ordinances treating Protestants as heretics. The decision leads to an uprising against Spain by Calvinists and ultimately to the Eighty Years War.

title: 1566

section: Events › July–September

date: March 13

text: March 13 – Battle of Oosterweel: A Spanish mercenary army surprises and kills a band of rebels near Antwerp in the Habsburg Netherlands, beginning the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1567

section: Events › January–March

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Eighty Years' War: The Battle of Dahlen takes place in the Duchy of Jülich near the modern-day Rheindahlen borough in the German city of Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Spanish troops, commanded by Sancho d'Avila, overwhelm a larger force of Dutch rebels led by Jean de Montigny, Lord of Villers.

title: 1568

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, governor of the Spanish Netherlands issues an edict condemning to death those who rebel against Spanish authority to combat religious unrest.

title: 1568

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Battle of Heiligerlee: Troops under Louis of Nassau, brother of William the Silent, defeat a smaller loyalist force under Jean de Ligne, in an attempt to invade the Northern Netherlands. This effectively begins the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1568

date: October 20

text: October 20 – Eighty Years' War – Relief of Goes: Soldiers of the Spanish Tercios wade across the estuary of the Scheldt, to relieve the siege of Goes in the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1572

section: Events › October–December

date: April 22

text: April 22 – Eighty Years' War: The Battle of Borsele is fought as a fleet of Spanish ships is intercepted by Dutch Calvinist rebels (the Geuzen). While some of the ships are able to complete their mission of supplying the Spanish-governed Netherlands cities of Middelburg and Arnemuiden, most are forced to retreat to Amberes in the Spanish Netherlands, now Antwerp in Belgium.

title: 1573

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Eighty Years' War – Sack of Antwerp: In the Low Countries, mutinous Spanish soldiers sack Antwerp; after three days the city is nearly destroyed.

title: 1576

date: August 20

text: August 20 – The Treaty of Nonsuch is signed, committing England to support the Dutch Revolt, thus entering the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1585

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, the German-born commander of the Spanish Imperial Army captures the German fortress of Rheinberg after a four-year long siege during the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1590

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Battle of the Lippe (Eighty Years' War): Spanish cavalry, led by Cristóbal de Mondragón (aged over 80), defeat combined forces of the Dutch Republic and England led by Philip of Nassau (who dies of wounds received), on the banks of the river Lippe in Germany.

title: 1595

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Eighty Years' War (Dutch War of Independence) – Battle of Nieuwpoort: The Dutch Republic gains a tactical victory over the Spanish Empire.

title: 1600

text: August 18 – England concludes the Treaty of London with Spain, ending the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), an intermittent conflict within the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1604

text: August 19 – Eighty Years' War: The siege of the Dutch city of Lingen, by 13,000 Spanish troops and 3,000 cavalry, ends with the surrender of Captain Maerten Cobben after nine days of defense. Although the Dutch Republic's stadtholder, Maurice, Prince of Orange, had proclaimed that Lingen must be held at all costs, Dutch troops failed to come to Cobben's aid and Don Ambrogio Spinola of Spain peacefully takes control of the city.

title: 1605

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish troops under Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases, Captain-General of the Army of Flanders (newly appointed a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece), occupy Wachtendonk after a 20-day siege.

title: 1605

date: April 9

text: April 9 – The Netherlands and Spain agree to the Twelve Years' Truce (which lasts until 1621) in the Eighty Years' War, with the signing of the Treaty of Antwerp, allowing the Dutch East India Company to trade within the Spanish Empire.

title: 1609

date: August 12

text: August 12 – Herman van den Bergh, Dutch soldier in the Eighty Years' War (b. 1558)

title: 1611

section: Deaths › July–September

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Frederik van den Bergh, Dutch soldier in the Eighty Years' War (b. 1559)

title: 1618

text: April 9 – The Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire expires, and both sides prepare to resume the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1621

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Eighty Years' War: Bergen op Zoom is besieged by a Spanish army, under the command of Ambrogio Spinola.

title: 1622

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Eighty Years' War: After a siege of 86 days, Bergen op Zoom is relieved by a Dutch army led by Maurice of Nassau and Ernst von Mansfeld.

title: 1622

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish troops under Ambrogio Spinola conquer Breda, after a nine-month siege.

title: 1625

date: August 1

text: August 1 – Eighty Years' War: Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz retakes Oldenzaal, forcing the Army of Flanders to withdraw from Overijssel.

title: 1626

text: August 19 – Eighty Years' War: Grol, in the Spanish Netherlands, is captured after the siege started on July 20 by Prince Frederick Henry.

title: 1627

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the Siege of Grol, the last Spanish stronghold in the eastern Netherlands, and captures it after 30 days.

title: 1627

date: September 7

text: September 7–8 – Eighty Years' War – Battle in the Bay of Matanzas: Dutch admiral Piet Hein captures 16 ships of the Spanish treasure fleet. The immense booty taken brings in over 11 million guilders, part of which is used to fund the entire army of the Dutch Republic for eight months.

title: 1628

date: April 30

text: April 30 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange lays siege to 's-Hertogenbosch, one of Spain's most important fortresses along the Spanish–Dutch border.

title: 1629

text: August 19 – Eighty Years' War: The Spanish garrison of Wesel is surprised by a small Dutch army, and the city is taken by the Dutch Republic. As Wesel functioned as the principal supply base of Hendrik van den Bergh's army, the loss of supply forces him to retreat to the Spanish Netherlands, leaving him unable to intervene in the ongoing siege of 's-Hertogenbosch.

title: 1629

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Eighty Years' War: After a five-month-long siege, 's-Hertogenbosch surrenders to Frederick Henry. As a result of the capture of this key fortress, Spain's situation along the Spanish–Dutch border worsens greatly.

title: 1629

date: September 12

text: September 12 – Eighty Years' War – Battle of Albrolhos: A Spanish fleet, under the command of Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, defeats a Dutch fleet off the coast of Brazil.

title: 1631

text: September 13– Eighty Years' War – Battle of the Slaak: A Spanish fleet of 95 ships, carrying 5,500 soldiers tasked with taking over the Dutch Republic, is almost completely destroyed (with 83 ships sunk) the day after being intercepted by a Dutch fleet off of the coast of the Netherlands.

title: 1631

text: August 22 – Eighty Years' War: A Dutch army, led by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, captures the city of Maastricht after a two-month siege.

title: 1632

text: June – Eighty Years' War: Leading a Dutch army, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange captures in short succession the cities of Venlo, Roermond and Sittard, before besieging the city of Maastricht.

title: 1632

text: April 30 – Eighty Years' War: The nine-month Siege of Schenkenschans ends, when forces of the Dutch Republic recapture the strategically important fort from the Spanish.

title: 1636

text: August 25 – Eighty Years' War: A force of 17,000 Spanish troops, led by the Spanish Netherlands Governor-General, Don Fernando de Austria, recaptures the city of Venlo from the Dutch Republic after a five-day siege.

title: 1637

text: February 18 – Eighty Years' War: Battle off Lizard Point – Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.

title: 1637

text: June 20 – Eighty Years' War: Battle of Kallo – Spanish troops under Ferdinand of Austria defeat a much larger Dutch force, near Antwerp.

title: 1638

text: February 18 – In the course of the Eighty Years' War, a sea battle is fought in the English Channel off of the coast of Dunkirk between the navies of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, with 12 warships, and Spain, with 12 galleons and eight other ships. The Spanish are forced to flee after three of their ships are lost and 1,600 Spaniards killed or injured, while the Dutch sustain 1,700 casualties without the loss of a ship.

title: 1639

text: May 30 – Eighty Years' War: Habsburg Spain and the Dutch Republic sign a temporary cease-fire.

title: 1646

text: January 30 – The Dutch and the Spanish sign the Peace of Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish Empire recognizes the Dutch Republic of United Netherlands as a sovereign state (governed by the House of Orange-Nassau and the States General), which was previously a province of the Spanish Empire. The treaty is ratified by the Netherlands on May 15.

title: 1648


slug: el-cid

label: El Cid

description: 11th century Castilian nobleman and military leader

text: El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar), Spanish nobleman (d. 1099)

title: 1043

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Battle of Graus: Allied Muslim and Christian troops, under King Sancho II (the Strong) and Emir Ahmad al-Muqtadir (maybe led by El Cid), defeat the Aragonese army. King Ramiro I is killed and succeeded by his son Sancho V, as ruler of Aragon.

title: 1063

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Alfonso VI becomes king of León and Castile, following the assassination of Sancho II. He is bestowed with the title of "Emperor of Spain", and is forced by El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar), the standard-bearer of Sancho, to take an oath denying any involvement in his brother's death.

title: 1072

text: Battle of Cabra: Moorish forces, aided by Castilian knights under El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz), defeat and rout the invading army of Emir Abdallah ibn Buluggin of Granada, near the town of Cabra (modern Spain).

title: 1079

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile exiles his most famous commander, El Cid, who goes into exile and offers his services to the twins – Counts Ramon Berenguer II and Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona, but is turned down. He ends up in the service of Emir Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud of Zaragoza.

title: 1081

text: Summer – The Taifa of Valencia falls under the domination of El Cid. He stabilizes the region around Valencia, which has revolted against the Moorish puppet ruler Al-Qadir.

title: 1087

date: May

text: May – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar) completes his conquest of Valencia in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and begins his rule (in the name of King Alfonso VI) there. The Almoravid campaign to regain the city fails.

title: 1094

section: Deaths

date: July 10

text: July 10 – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar), Castilian knight

title: 1099

text: Summer – Almoravid forces under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin besiege Valencia, which is defended by Jimena Díaz, widow of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar. The city holds out until May 1102.

title: 1101

date: May 5

text: May 5 – The short-lived principality created by Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar ends: Valencia is captured by Almoravid forces under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin. It is later recaptured, evacuated and burned by King Alfonso VI.

title: 1102


slug: el-salvador

label: El Salvador

description: sovereign state in Central America

section: Climate & Environment

text: Loma Caldera (El Salvador) erupts, burying the Maya village of Joya de Cerén (approximate date).

title: 600

section: Events › By place › Meso- and South America

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Battle of Acajutla: Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado defeats a battalion of Pipiles, in the neighborhoods of present day Acajutla, El Salvador.

title: 1524

section: Events › April–June

date: September 27

text: September 27 – San Salvador, now the capital of the Central American nation of El Salvador, is re-established in a new location at the Valle de Las Hamacas. Until 1545, the colonial capital had been at the Ciudad Vieja, 10 mi further northewest, near Suchitoto.

title: 1546

date: September 24

text: September 24 – Gerardo Barrios, President of El Salvador (d. 1865)

title: 1813

section: Births › July–December

date: January 30

text: January 30 – El Salvador proclaims itself an independent republic, bringing an end to the Federal Republic of Central America.

title: 1841

date: June 20

text: June 20 – The Treaty of Amapala establishes the union of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador (which ends in 1898).

title: 1895

section: Events › June

date: November 10

text: November 10 – The new United Central American States, a merger of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, places its capital in the Nicaraguan city of Chinandega.

title: 1898

section: Events › November

date: November 30

text: November 30 – The United Central American States, a merger of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, is formally dissolved after the government was unable to suppress a revolution in San Salvador.

title: 1898

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran Roman Catholic Archbishop (d. 1980)

title: 1917

section: Births › August

date: December 13

text: December 13 – The countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua announce the formation of the Central American Common Market.

title: 1960

section: Events › December

date: January 25

text: January 25 – Acting to halt 'leftist excesses', a junta composed of two army officers and four civilians takes over El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months.

title: 1961

section: Events › January

date: July 14

text: July 14 – Football War: After Honduras loses an association football match against El Salvador, rioting breaks out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers. Of the 300,000 Salvadoran workers in Honduras, tens of thousands are expelled, prompting a brief Salvadoran invasion of Honduras. The OAS works out a cease-fire on July 18, which takes effect on July 20.

title: 1969

section: Events › July

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Óscar Romero, an outspoken opponent of violence, becomes Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador.

title: 1977

section: Events › February

section: Crime & Justice

date: December 2

text: December 2 – A missionary (Jean Donovan) and three Roman Catholic nuns (Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel), all Americans, are murdered by a military death squad in El Salvador while doing charity work during that country's civil war.

title: 1980

date: October 30

text: October 30 – El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.

title: 1980

section: Events › October

date: December 11

text: December 11 – El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.

title: 1981

date: January 16

text: January 16 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.

title: 1992

date: May 27

text: May 27 – The United States requests that El Salvador reopen its probe into the 1980 murders of U.S. missionaries.

title: 1998

section: Events › May

section: Culture & Society

date: December 21

text: December 21 – 2012 phenomenon: End of 13th b'ak'tun in the Mayan calendar, supposed end of the world according to new age beliefs. Festivities took place to commemorate the event in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.

title: 2012

section: Economy & Finance

text: September 7 – El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency.

title: 2021

section: Events › September

date: February 4

text: February 4 – 2024 Salvadoran presidential election: Incumbent President Nayib Bukele wins the election with over 80% of the vote, becoming the first president to be reelected in El Salvador since 1944.

title: 2024


slug: elam

label: Elam

description: ancient civilization of the Near East, centered in the Susiana plain and the Elamite highlands

section: Conflict & Security

text: 2540 BC: Mesannepada, who has already dominated the city of Nippur, takes advantage of an eclipse of power in Kish (caused by an incursion by the Elamites of Awan) to seize the city. He becomes the ruler of all of Lower Mesopotamia as he becomes the king of Kish, and his name appears on a pearl in Mari.

title: 26th century BC

section: Events › Mesopotamia

text: c. 2450 BC: Kish is lost to Hamazi tribesmen of the Kurdistan mountains; Elam under the Awan dynasty occupies parts of Sumer. (Roux 1980)

title: 25th century BC

section: Events

year_label: 691 BCE

text: 691 BC—King Sennacherib of Assyria defeats king Humban-nimena of Elam in the Battle of Halule.

title: 690s BC

section: Events and trends

year_label: 675 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Elamite king Urtaku comes to power; during his reign, relations between Elam and Babylonia worsen.

title: 675 BC

section: Events › By place › Middle East

year_label: 665 BCE

section: Science & Discovery

text: Elamite king Urtak launches a surprise attack against Babylonia but is successfully driven back

title: 665 BC

year_label: 656 BCE

text: King Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon forms a secret alliance with Arabs, Aramaeans, Elamites, Persians, and Egyptians against his half brother Ashurbanipal.

title: 656 BC

section: Events › By place › Assyria

year_label: 655 BCE

text: The Assyrian army invade Elam and overtake its twin capital cities Madaktu and Susa and install a king that is pro-Assyrian on the throne.

title: 655 BC

section: Events › By place › Mesopotamia

year_label: 653 BCE

text: Elamite forces attack southern Babylon. A large Assyrian army sent by king Ashurbanipal defeat the Elamites, in the Battle of Ulai, and kill their king, Teumman. He is succeeded by his nephew Ummanigash.

title: 653 BC

section: Deaths

text: Temti-Humban-Inshushinak I, king of Elam

title: 653 BC

year_label: 652 BCE

text: Elam withdraws from her alliance with king Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon, who launches a premature attack on his half brother Ashurbanipal at year's end without waiting for reinforcements that have been promised by the Egyptian king Psamtik I.

title: 652 BC

section: Events › Middle East

year_label: 647 BCE

text: Elam refuses to extradite an Aramaean prince, giving the king Ashurbanipal of Assyria an excuse to invade the country. He sacks the city of Susa.

title: 647 BC

year_label: 640 BCE

text: King Ashurbanipal of Assyria achieves a great victory over Elam. He captures its last king, Khumma-Khaldash III, and lays waste to the country.

title: 640 BC

year_label: 311 BCE

text: Seleucus reestablishes himself as satrap of Babylonia and asserts control over Media and Susiana (Elam).

title: 311 BC

section: Events › By place › Babylonia/Media/Susiana

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Seleucus marches to eastern Susiana and negotiates a treaty with the Cossaei (a warlike tribe) in the mountains between Susiana and Media.

title: 311 BC

text: King Kavadh I of Persia is deposed and exiled to Susiana by his younger brother Djamasp. He is installed by the nobles to the Sassanid throne.

title: 496

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Winter – Heraclius plunders the city palace of Dastgerd (Iran) and gains tremendous riches (also recovering 300 captured Byzantine flags). He turns northeastward to Caucasian Albania to rest his army. Khosrau II flees to the mountains of Susiana, to rally support for the defense of the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

title: 627

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Hormuzan, Persian satrap of Susiana (vassal of the Rashidun Caliphate), revolts against the Muslims and raids Mesopotamia. Arab forces under Abu Musa al-Asha'ari destroy Susa in the lower Zagros Mountains.

title: 639

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


slug: elbe

label: Elbe

description: major river in Central Europe

year_label: 7 CE

text: AD 7 – Publius Quinctilius Varus is appointed governor of Germania, charged with organizing Germania between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. He carries out a census, devises tributes and recruits soldiers, all of which creates dissension among the Germanic tribes.

title: 0s

section: Events › Roman Empire

year_label: 11 CE

text: Emperor Augustus abandons his plan to create a defensive border at the Elbe, in order to reinforce the Roman defenses along the Rhine and the Danube.

title: 10s

section: Events › 11 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 17 CE

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other Germanic tribes west of the Elbe.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Roman Empire

text: Samo, reputedly a Frankish merchant, is elected king of the Slavs in Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria. A string of victories over the Avars proves his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects, and he secures the throne to establish his own kingdom, which stretches from the upper Elbe to the Danube.

title: 623

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne begins a campaign in northern Saxony. He ravages Eastphalian territory as far as the Elbe River, while his son, Charles the Younger, defeats a Saxon force in the Lippe Valley. Bad weather hinders Charlemagne's winter campaign in southern Saxony.

title: 784

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne summons a major assembly of Saxon and Frankish lords at Paderborn, then leads his army across Saxony as far as the Lower Elbe, without significant resistance. Duke Widukind retreats with his 'rebel' forces beyond the Elbe, but then negotiates and exchanges hostages. Charlemagne returns to his palace at Attigny (Ardennes), followed by Widukind; here the Saxon leaders are baptized as Christians on Christmas Day. Widukind and the Saxon nobility swear fealty to Charlemagne.

title: 785

text: King Charlemagne crosses the Elbe River with a Frankish-Saxon army into Obotrite territory. He subdues the Wiltzes, and reaches the Baltic.

title: 789

section: Crime & Justice

text: Frisian–Frankish War: Count Theoderic is sent to Frisia, to muster troops for another offensive against the Avar Khaganate. He is attacked and probably killed by Saxon rebels, near the mouth of the Weser River. The Frisians revolt, and Charlemagne deports Saxon families from north of the river Elbe.

title: 793

text: Emperor Charlemagne gives orders to construct two new forts on the Elbe River, garrisoning them against future Slav incursions.

title: AD 808

text: Winter – King Henry I (the Fowler) subdues the Polabian Slavs who live on the eastern borders. He then marches against the Slavic Hevelli tribes and seizes their capital, Brandenburg. Henry invades the Glomacze lands in the middle Elbe valley, where he besieges and destroys the main castle called Gana (the later Albrechtsburg) at Meissen (Saxony).

title: 928

text: A Hungarian army invades Franconia and occupies Fulda. They are attacked by East Frankish forces and forced to go westwards. Otto I moves against the rebellious Elbe Slavs.

title: 936

text: Great Slav Rising: The Polabian Slavs (Wends), mainly Lutici and Obotrite tribes living east of the Elbe River revolt against Christianity and their subjugation to the German (former East Frankish) realm of the Holy Roman Empire. They invade northern Germany, sacking the cities of Havelberg, Brandenburg and Hamburg.

title: 983

text: Empress Theophanu, accompanied by the 6-year-old King Otto III and Henry II of Bavaria, leads a campaign against Bohemia and the Slavs on the Elbe frontier.

title: 986

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 22

text: July 22 – The first ships to complete passage on the 60 mi long Stecknitz Canal in Germany arrive at Lübeck, with 30 barges carrying salt from Lüneburg. The canal, completed after seven years between the rivers Elbe and Trave, is one of the earliest navigable summit level canals in the world.

title: 1398

section: Events › July–September

date: April 25

text: April 25 – The Treaty of Eger is signed by representatives of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Electorate of Saxony, setting a border that remains more than 500 years later as the border between the Czech Republic and Germany as running along the main ridge of the Ore Mountains from Eger to the River Elbe.

title: 1459

section: Events › April–June

section: Religion & Belief

date: May 16

text: May 16 – A British Order in Council of 16 May 1806 declares all ports from Brest (France) to the Elbe to be under a state of blockade by the British Royal Navy.

title: 1806


slug: eleanor-of-aquitaine

label: Eleanor of Aquitaine

description: Queen consort of France; Queen consort of England; suo jure Duchess of Aquitaine; patroness

section: Births

text: Possible date – Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine, queen consort successively of France and England, and patron of the arts (d. 1204)

title: 1124

date: April 9

text: April 9 – William X (the Saint), duke of Aquitaine, dies while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (modern Spain). On his deathbed, he expresses his wish to see King Louis VI (the Fat) of France as protector of his 15-year-old daughter Eleanor, and to find her a suitable husband.

title: 1137

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Louis VII the Younger of France becomes involved in a civil war with Theobald II ("the Great"), count of Champagne, by permitting his cousin Ralph I of Vermandois (seneschal of France) to repudiate his wife, Theobald's sister Eleanor of Champagne, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine, who was the sister of King Louis VII’s wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.

title: 1142

date: March 31

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

date: June

text: June – A French expeditionary force (some 18,000 men) led by King Louis VII departs from Metz and travels through Bavaria. Louis is accompanied by the French nobility and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, heiress of France. At Regensburg, where the force arrives on June 29, the Crusaders journey peaceably for fifteen days through Hungary and reach the Byzantine frontier at the end of August.

title: 1147

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Louis VII and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, are welcomed at St. Symeon by Eleanor's uncle Raymond of Poitiers and all his household. Raymond escorts the French crusaders to Antioch, where for the next days festivities are held. He urges Louis to accompany him on an expedition against Aleppo but Louis refuses and prefers instead to finish his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

title: 1148

date: April

text: April – King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine sail homeward in separate Sicilian ships. While the fleet rounds the Peloponnese (southern Greece) it is attacked by ships of the Byzantine navy. Louis gives orders to raise the French flag and is allowed to sail on. But the ships containing many of his followers and his possessions are captured and taken as a war-prize to Constantinople.

title: 1149

section: Events › By place › Levant

date: March 21

text: March 21 – King Louis VII repudiates his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine and has it annulled on grounds of misconduct and consanguinity – returning her lands and titles. Within 6 weeks, Eleanor re-marries Henry of Anjou, who had claimed the counties of Anjou and Maine, and the province of Touraine upon the death of his father Geoffrey Plantagenet (the Fair), the previous year. With the addition of Eleanor's lands, he now controls territory stretching unbroken, from Cherbourg to Bayonne.

title: 1152

section: Culture & Society

date: December 19

text: December 19 – The 21-year-old Henry II is crowned as sole ruler of England along with his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

title: 1154

section: Events › By place › England

text: Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen consort of England, spends most of the year in Anjou. Her husband, Henry II, begins an affair with "the Fair" Rosamund Clifford.

title: 1165

section: Events › By place › British Isles

date: March 27

text: March 27 – Patrick of Salisbury, Angevin governor of Poitou, is killed in an ambush at Poitiers by French forces under Guy of Lusignan. He is escorting Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine on a journey near the border of Aquitaine. Patrick's nephew, William Marshal, is part of the royal escort and is taken prisoner. Later he is ransomed and becomes a member of Eleanor's household.

title: 1168

text: Henry II makes an effort to end the strife between him and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, in order that he may dally in western Herefordshire with his mistress, Rosamund Clifford, the daughter of Walter de Clifford. He divides the succession to his kingdom among his four sons, Henry the Young King, Richard I, Geoffrey of Brittany, and John.

title: 1169

date: March

text: March – Henry the Young King withdraws to the French court, marking the beginning of the Revolt of 1173–1174, a dispute between King Henry II, his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and three of their sons over the territories they control. Eleanor is placed under de facto house arrest. William the Lion, King of Scotland, invades the North of England in support of the rebellion.

title: 1173

text: King Henry II begins living openly with his mistress Rosamund Clifford, raising suspicions about their relationship and alienating Henry's wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.

title: 1175

section: Events › By place › Britain

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Philip II, accompanied by Conrad of Montferrat, departs to Tyre and returns to France. He leaves behind a French army (some 10,000 men) under the command of Hugh III, duke of Burgundy. Richard I is left in sole command of the Crusader forces in the Levant. Back in France, Philip schemes with Richard's brother, Prince John, to dispossess Richard of his French lands while he is still away, but the intervention of John's mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, foils the plan. Meanwhile, Richard rebuilds and strengthens the walls of Acre.

title: 1191

section: Events › By place › Third Crusade

text: February 4 – King Richard I of England ("the Lionheart") is ransomed for an amount of 150,000 marks (demanded by Emperor Henry VI), raised by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine – who travels to Austria to gain his release. Henry will never receive the full amount he demanded.

title: 1194

date: August 1

text: August 1 – Battle of Mirebeau: Arthur of Brittany, supported by the Lusignans, lays siege to Mirebeau Castle trapping Eleanor of Aquitaine inside. John launches a rescue mission to free his mother, and with a mercenary army defeats the Breton-Lusignan forces. Arthur is captured by William de Braose and is handed over to John who imprisons him in the Château de Falaise in Normandy. Many other important knights are captured and shipped to England (where John treats them badly and keeps them as prisoners in dungeons).

title: 1202

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sovereign Duchess Regnant of Aquitaine, queen of France and England

title: 1204

text: June – John, King of England ("Lackland") lands an expeditionary army at La Rochelle to defend his interests in Aquitaine, which is his from the inheritance from his mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Meanwhile, French forces led by King Philip II ("Augustus") move south to meet John. The year's campaign ends in a stalemate and a two-year truce is made between the two rulers.

title: 1206


slug: eleanor-of-provence

label: Eleanor of Provence

description: Queen of England (1223-1291)

text: Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (d. 1291)

title: 1223

date: January 14

text: January 14 – King Henry III marries the 14-year-old Eleanor of Provence, one of the four daughters of Raimond Berenguer, count of Provence. The ceremony takes place at Canterbury Cathedral, with Simon de Montfort, as Lord High Steward, takes care of the banquet and kitchen arrangements. Eleanor is crowned queen at Westminster Abbey shortly afterward.

title: 1236

date: June 17

text: June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), first son of King Henry III of England and Queen Eleanor of Provence, is born at the Palace of Westminster. Henry names him after Edward the Confessor and chooses Simon de Montfort as his godfather.

title: 1239

text: Beaulieu Abbey in England, founded earlier by King John, is dedicated in the presence of King Henry III, Queen Eleanor and 7-year-old Prince Edward.

title: 1246

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Summer – The Lord Edward travels from Portsmouth with his mother, Queen Eleanor of Provence, and Boniface of Savoy, archbishop of Canterbury, to marry the 13-year-old Eleanor of Castile, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile. Henry III has demanded the marriage in exchange for ending the war with Alfonso. In August, the party arrives in Burgos, capital of Castile, where the marriage is due to take place.

title: 1254

date: January 13

text: January 13 – At the first recorded meeting of the college of the seven Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the 48-year-old Richard of Cornwall (the brother of King Henry III of England) is elected King of the Romans. He is crowned at Aachen, on May 17. His candidacy is opposed by King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise"), Pope Alexander IV and King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") who favour Alfonso, but both are ultimately convinced by Richard's sister-in-law, Queen Eleanor of Provence, to support Richard.

title: 1257

text: June – Simon de Montfort summons Parliament in London to confirm new constitutional arrangements. Two knights are summoned for each county, and are allowed to comment on general matters of state – the first time this has occurred. In France, Queen Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III, makes plans for an invasion of England with the support of Louis IX OF France.

title: 1264

section: Deaths

date: June 25

text: June 25 – Eleanor of Provence, queen consort of England (b. 1223)

title: 1291


slug: elector-of-mainz

label: Elector of Mainz

text: Hersfeld Abbey (modern-day Hesse-Nassau), Germany, is founded by Lullus, archbishop of Mainz (approximate date).

title: 769

text: Rabanus Maurus, archbishop of Mainz (approximate date)

title: 780

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Rabanus Maurus, a Frankish Benedictine monk, becomes archbishop of Mainz after the death of Odgar.

title: 847

date: February 4

text: February 4 – Rabanus Maurus, archbishop of Mainz

title: 856

text: June 25 – Sunderolt, archbishop of Mainz

title: 891

date: December 8

text: December 8 – Arnulf of Carinthia dies from paralysis following a stroke and is entombed in St. Emmeram's Abbey at Regensburg (Bavaria). He is succeeded by his 6-year-old son Louis III (the Child) as ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. Arnulf's counselor Hatto I, archbishop of Mainz, becomes regent and guardian of the young king. Louis (possibly at the instigation of Hatto) claims Lotharingia from his half-brother Zwentibold and with the support of the East Frankish nobles he provokes a civil war. The Lombard throne is left temporarily vacant.

title: 899

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: March 2

text: March 2 – William, archbishop of Mainz (b. 929)

title: 968

date: January 18

text: January 18 – Hatto II, archbishop of Mainz

title: 970

text: March – Otto II appoints his archchancellor Willigis as archbishop of Mainz. He receives the pallium from Pope Benedict VII.

title: 975

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Rudolf of Zähringen, archbishop of Mainz

title: 1191

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Siegfried III, archbishop of Mainz (b. 1194)

title: 1249

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: October 1

text: October 1 – A different set of electors— Friedrich III. von Saarwerden, Elector of Cologne; Johann II von Nassau, Elector of Mainz and Rudolf III, Elector of Saxony elects Jobst of Moravia as their choice for the King of the Romans. The conflict will remain unresolved for another four years.

title: 1410

section: Events › October–December

date: August 14

text: August 14 – The Mainz Psalter, the second major book printed with movable type in the West, the first to be wholly finished mechanically (including colour), and the first to carry a printed date, is printed for the Elector of Mainz.

title: 1457


slug: electorate-of-saxony

label: Electorate of Saxony

description: state of the Holy Roman Empire, established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate 1356

date: January 6

text: January 6 – The Electorate of Saxony merges with the Margravate of Meissen and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg.

title: 1423

section: Events › January–March

text: August 1 – In Germany, Frederick of Wettin is enfoeffed by Sigismund, King of the Germans at Ofen as the new Elector of Saxony

title: 1425

section: Events › July –September

date: April 25

text: April 25 – The Treaty of Eger is signed by representatives of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Electorate of Saxony, setting a border that remains more than 500 years later as the border between the Czech Republic and Germany as running along the main ridge of the Ore Mountains from Eger to the River Elbe.

title: 1459

date: November 1

text: November 1 – At the age of 16, Prince Wolfgang of the House of Ascania becomes the new ruler of the German principality of Anhalt-Köthen, succeeding his father Waldemar VI. In 1521, he will meet Martin Luther and, in 1525, will introduce the Reformation to his principality, making Anhalt-Köthen only the second nation (after the Electorate of Saxony) to officially adopt Protestantism.

title: 1508

date: August

text: August – Thirty Years' War: Running out of supplies, Tilly is forced to send his army into the Electorate of Saxony in order to secure supplies, as well as to force a reaction from John George, Elector of Saxony and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

title: 1631

section: Events › July–September

date: January 27

text: January 27 – The 2,000 seat Opernhaus am Taschenberg, a theater in Dresden (capital of the Electorate of Saxony) opens with its first production, Pietro Ziani's opera Il teseo.

title: 1667

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Great Turkish War: Battle of Buda – Imperial forces of the Holy League of 1684 (Russia, Saxony, Brandenburg and Bavaria under Austrian leadership) liberate Buda (now part of Budapest) from Ottoman Turkish rule (leading to the end of Ottoman rule in Hungary during subsequent years).

title: 1686

date: February 22

text: February 22 (Gregorian), February 12 (Julian) – The Great Northern War begins with a joint invasion of Swedish territory in Germany and Latvia, by Denmark and Poland/Saxony. Sweden has control of the Baltic Sea and holds territory that includes Finland, Estonia, Latvia and parts of northern Germany. To challenge its power, an alliance is formed between Tsar Peter I of Russia, King Frederick IV of Denmark and Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. Sweden's ruler is the militaristic Charles XII, known as the "Swedish Meteor".

title: 1700

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Crossing of the Düna: Following his victories over Denmark-Norway and Russia in 1700, Charles XII of Sweden escalates the conflict in the Great Northern War by an invasion of Poland. The Swedish defeat the army of Saxony (then in personal union with Poland) at the River Dvina.

title: 1701

text: February 4 – Great Northern War: Eighteen months after losing the Battle of Warsaw, while leading a cavalry charge for Saxony against the army of Sweden, General Otto von Paykull of Swedish Livonia is beheaded outside of Stockholm, following his conviction for treason.

title: 1707

date: October 8

text: October 8 – The Empress Elizabeth of Russia agrees to provide the Electorate of Saxony with aid in its war against Prussia, but the agreement comes too late.

title: 1745

section: Events › October –December

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Prussia and Russia break off diplomatic relations after the Russians refuse to stop assisting the Electorate of Saxony. Five years later, the two Empires fight the Seven Years' War.

title: 1750

date: August 29

text: August 29 – King Frederick the Great of Prussia invades Saxony, beginning the Third Silesian War within the Seven Years' War on the European continent.

title: 1756


slug: elizabeth-i

label: Elizabeth I

description: Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603  (1533-1603)

section: Births

date: November 18

text: November 18 – Roberto di Ridolfi, Italian conspirator against Elizabeth I of England (d. 1612)

title: 1531

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England gives birth to a daughter, at Greenwich, a little more than three months after she and Henry were married. The King's second daughter, Elizabeth, will become the reigning monarch of England 25 years later and rule for more than 44 years.

title: 1533

date: July 12

text: July 12 – King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Parr. It is Henry's sixth and last marriage and Catherine's third. Princess Elizabeth attends the wedding. This month, the Parliament of England passes the Third Succession Act, restoring the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, Henry's daughters, to the line of succession to the English throne.

title: 1543

date: December 30

text: December 30 – Less than a month before his death, King Henry VIII of England revises his last will and testament and designates his preference for the line of succession to the throne. The first four people on the list serve as monarchs at different times, starting with Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The fourth in the line of succession, Lady Jane Grey, reigns for nine days after the death of Edward before Mary assumes the throne.

title: 1546

section: Events › October—December

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of working with the organizers of Wyatt's rebellion for the overthrow of Queen Mary of England.

title: 1554

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Elizabeth is released from the Tower of London, although she continues to be confined at home after she is cleared of suspicion of conspiracy to overthrow the government.

title: 1554

section: Events › April–June

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Queen Mary, a devout Roman Catholic dies of uterine cancer at the age of 42, and is succeeded by her younger half-sister Elizabeth, an adherent to the Protestant Church of England, beginning the Elizabethan era in British history.

title: 1558

section: Religion & Belief

date: November 6

text: November 6 – On her deathbed, Queen Mary of England designates her half-sister, Elizabeth, as her successor. Both Mary and Elizabeth are daughters of the late King Henry VIII.

title: 1558

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Queen Elizabeth I establishes the Church of England, with the Act of Uniformity 1558 and the Act of Supremacy 1558. The Oath of Supremacy is reinstated.

title: 1559

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Queen Elizabeth I of England gives royal assent to the Act of Supremacy 1558 (requiring any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the English monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England) and to the Act of Uniformity 1558 (requiring all persons in England to attend Anglican services on penalty of a fine for noncompliance).

title: 1559

date: February 13

text: February 13 – Queen Elizabeth of England summons the Ambassador from Spain, Álvaro de la Quadra, for a private audience to ask how the Spanish government would react if she were to marry Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, who had recently lost his wife Amy Robsart in a questionable accident.

title: 1561

text: January 18 – Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's play Gorboduc is performed for the first time, before Queen Elizabeth I of England. It is the first known English tragedy, and the first English language play to employ blank verse.

title: 1562

text: January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palace of Whitehall in London, before Queen Elizabeth I of England, who recognises his status. He returns to Ireland on May 26, and resumes his rebellious activities by November.

title: 1562

date: June 14

text: June 14 – At dinner at Dunfermline Castle, Mary, Queen of Scots, displays a gold ring set with a heart shaped diamond from her collection and declares that she will send it to Queen Elizabeth of England as a gift and a possible summit conference in the future.

title: 1562

date: September 20

text: September 20 – The Treaty of Hampton Court, between Queen Elizabeth I of England and Huguenot leader Louis I, Prince of Condé, is signed.

title: 1562

date: May 25

text: May 25 – Elizabeth College, Guernsey is founded, by order of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1563

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Sark, in the Channel Islands, is granted as a fief by Elizabeth I of England to Hellier de Carteret, Seigneur of Saint Ouen.

title: 1565

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Kat Ashley, governess of Elizabeth I of England

title: 1565

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Roger Ascham, tutor of Elizabeth I of England (b. 1515)

title: 1568

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees across the Solway Firth from Scotland to England but on May 19 is placed in custody in Carlisle Castle on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I, her cousin.

title: 1568

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Catherine Carey, English lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I (b. 1524)

title: 1569

date: November 9

text: November 9 – The Rising of the North begins in England as the Earl of Westmorland and the Earl of Northumberland, both Catholic nobles, set off from Brancepeth Castle in County Durham with 700 men, in hopes of overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I and placing the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne.

title: 1569

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England, and all persons who show allegiance to her, with the bull Regnans in Excelsis.

title: 1570

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England with the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis.

title: 1570

date: June 27

text: June 27 – Jesus College is established "within the City and University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's foundation" in England, by Welsh cleric and lawyer Hugh Price.

title: 1571

section: Health & Medicine

text: February 13 – Elizabeth I of England issues a proclamation which revokes all commissions, on account of the frauds which they had fostered.

title: 1572

date: February 19

text: February 19 – Harrow School is founded, with a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1572

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: January 21

text: January 21 – Queen Elizabeth I of England grants a monopoly on producing printed sheet music, to Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.

title: 1575

date: July 17

text: July 17 – James FitzMaurice FitzGerald lands with a small force of Irish, Spanish, and Italian troops at Smerwick, on the Dingle Peninsula in south-western Ireland, and commences the Second Desmond Rebellion against the rule in Ireland of Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1579

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in modern-day California, which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I. With an English claim here and in Newfoundland, it becomes the basis for English colonial charters which will claim all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from "sea to sea." Drake's claim is called Nova Albion (New England), and subsequent maps will show all lands north of New Spain and New Mexico under this name.

title: 1579

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Following his circumnavigation of the world, Francis Drake is knighted by Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1581

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Francis Throckmorton, instigator of the Throckmorton Plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England, is arrested. Convicted of treason, he is executed on July 10, 1584.

title: 1583

text: August 14 – Queen Elizabeth I of England agrees to establish a protectorate over the Netherlands.

title: 1585

text: February 8 – Mary, Queen of Scots, the monarch of Scotland from 1542 to 1567, is beheaded in front of 300 witnesses at Fotheringhay Castle, seven days after the signing of a death warrant by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England. Mary has been convicted of treason for her role in the Babington Plot, a conspiracy to overthrow the English government and to assassinate Elizabeth.

title: 1587

text: March 15 – English sailor Sir Francis Drake accepts a privateering commission from Queen Elizabeth to disrupt shipping routes in order to slow supplies from Italy and Andalucia to Lisbon, to trouble enemy fleets in their home ports, to capture Spanish treasure ships and to attack the Spanish Armada if it were to sail for England. On 12 April, his fleet sails from Plymouth.

title: 1587

text: The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I of England is created, to celebrate the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, and to assert the strength of Elizabeth herself.

title: 1588

text: February 12 – Blanche Parry, personal attendant to Elizabeth I of England (b. c. 1508)

title: 1590

text: February 25 – Poet Edmund Spenser is granted an annual pension of 50 pounds sterling by Queen Elizabeth I of England in recognition of his publication of The Faerie Queen. The pension is paid in quarterly installments of 12s. 10d. on March 25, June 24, September 29 and December 25.

title: 1591

text: May 24 – Sir John Norreys, with an expeditionary force sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, takes the town of Guingamp in Brittany after a brief siege, on behalf of Henry of Navarre.

title: 1591

text: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I of England, is taken seriously ill.

title: 1592

text: Irish pirate queen Grace O'Malley meets with Queen Elizabeth I of England at Greenwich.

title: 1593

text: March 12 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, by Queen Elizabeth I of England.

title: 1599

text: February 8 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, longtime favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, begins a rebellion against the Queen. The revolt is crushed the next day. The Earl of Essex and Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton are arrested and charged with treason. Essex confesses to the plot and then implicates his co-conspirators.

title: 1601

text: October 27 – The 10th Parliament of Elizabeth I is opened by Queen Elizabeth I of England. It serves until December 19.

title: 1601

text: April 28 – The funeral of Elizabeth I of England is held in Westminster Abbey.

title: 1603

text: March 24 – Queen Elizabeth I of England dies at Richmond Palace (having ruled since 1558). She is succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, King James VI of Scotland (where he has ruled since 1567), uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.

title: 1603

text: December 21 – William Davison, secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England (b. c. 1541)

title: 1608

text: November 6 – Captain William Murray is granted a royal patent, giving him the sole privilege of importing tobacco to Scotland for a period of 21 years. Continuing from the reign of Elizabeth I, the creation of grants and patents reaches a new highwater mark from 1614 to 1621, during the reign of James I of England.

title: 1616


slug: elizabeth-ii

label: Elizabeth II

description: Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022 (1926–2022)

section: Deaths

text: K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of the Maya state of Palenque (Mexico), dies after a 68-year reign. He is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions. He is the longest-reigning monarch in the world until Louis XIV breaks that record in 1711, almost 1028 years later and remains the longest-reigning monarch in the Americas until Elizabeth II breaks that record in 2020, almost 1337 years later

title: 683

section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica

section: Culture & Society

date: June 22

text: June 22 – The British Empire celebrates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, marking the 60th year of her reign. No other British monarch will celebrate such a jubilee until Victoria's great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II in 2012.

title: 1897

section: Events › June

date: March 4

text: March 4 – In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as a truck driver/mechanic in London.

title: 1945

section: Events › March

date: July 9

text: July 9 – King George VI of the United Kingdom announces the engagement of his daughter Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten.

title: 1947

section: Events › July

date: November 20

text: November 20 – Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh: Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II), the daughter of George VI of the United Kingdom, marries The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey in London.

title: 1947

section: Events › November

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. The princess, who is on a visit to Kenya when she hears of the death of her father, King George VI, aged 56, takes the regnal name Elizabeth II.

title: 1952

section: Events › January–February

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom announces that she is giving her son Prince Charles the customary title for the heir apparent of Prince of Wales. The announcement is made at the end of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held in Cardiff.

title: 1958

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Elizabeth II (as monarch of Canada) and United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower open the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

title: 1959

date: October 5

text: October 5 – Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh begin an 8-day visit to Canada.

title: 1964

section: Events › October

text: February 6 – Alexei Kosygin arrives in the UK for an 8-day visit. He meets The Queen on February 9.

title: 1967

section: Events › February

date: October 20

text: October 20 – The Sydney Opera House in Australia is opened by Queen Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction work.

title: 1973

date: March 8

text: March 8 – The Australian parliament is opened by Elizabeth II in her capacity as Queen of Australia.

title: 1977

date: July 5

text: July 5 – Queen Elizabeth II attends the millennium celebrations of the Isle of Man's Parliament, Tynwald.

title: 1979

date: June 13

text: June 13 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, teenager Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots close to Queen Elizabeth II, startling her horse.

title: 1981

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Docklands Light Railway in London, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, is formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

title: 1987

text: May 16 – Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress during a 13-day royal visit in Washington, D.C.

title: 1991

section: Events › May

text: February 6 – The Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II commemorates 40 years since the accession of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.

title: 1992

date: August 21

text: August 21 – In the UK, Queen Elizabeth II issues letters patent on divorced former wives of British princes, taking away from the ex-wives the attribute and style of Royal Highness. With that Sarah, Duchess of York as well as Diana, Princess of Wales legally cease to be Royals, but they remain as non-royal Duchess and Princess.

title: 1996

section: Events › August

date: January 8

text: January 8 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, at the time the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by its namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

title: 2004

section: Events › January

text: February 6 – The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II commemorates 60 years since the accession of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.

title: 2012

date: June 3

text: June 3–5 – U.S. President Donald Trump makes a state visit to the U.K., meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. It is the first official state visit to the U.K. by a sitting U.S. president since 2011. Trump also attends D-Day commemorative ceremonies.

title: 2019

date: September 19

text: September 19 – The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in Westminster Abbey, London. Her coffin is then taken by procession to Windsor Castle for burial with her husband, parents and sister in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. The funeral is speculated to be the most watched television event in world history.

title: 2022

section: Events › September

date: September 8

text: September 8 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. Her son Charles III succeeds her as King.

title: 2022


slug: emir-of-mecca

label: Emir of Mecca

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 4

text: March 4 (4 Dhu al-Hijjah 714 AH) – The Emir of Mecca, Abu al-Ghayth, is defeated in a battle near Mecca by his brother Humaydah ibn Abi Numayy. Wounded in battle, then captured by the enemy, Abu al-Ghayth is executed by order of his brother at Khayf Bani Shadid.

title: 1315

section: Events › January – March

date: February 4

text: February 4 – (24 Rabi II 798 AH) Hasan ibn Ajlan becomes the Emir of Mecca as his brother Muhammad ibn Ajlan steps aside.

title: 1396

section: Events › January–December

date: December 16

text: December 16 (26 Shawwal 819 AH) – Hasan ibn Ajlan, the Vice Sultan of the Hejaz, becomes the Emir of Mecca again upon the surrender of Rumaythah ibn Muhammad, who usurped the Emirate in February.

title: 1416

section: Events › October–December

date: October 17

text: October 17 – (4 Dhu al-Hijjah 828 AH) Hasan ibn Ajlan becomes the Emir of Mecca for the third and last time, after having been replaced for 18 months by Ali ibn Inan.

title: 1425

section: Events › October –December

date: April 25

text: April 25 (17 Jumada II 829 AH) – Hasan ibn Ajlan, who has been allowed to leave Cairo after being appointed by the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan as the Emir of Mecca and paying the first installment of a fee of 30,000 dinars, dies on the way back to Mecca. The Sultan, Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Barsbāy, summons Hasan's sons Barakat ibn Hasan and Ibrahim ibn Hasan to Cairo to complete payment of the remaining 25,000 dinars owed.

title: 1426

section: Events › April–June

section: Religion & Belief

date: August 16

text: August 16 (11 Shawwal 829 AH) – Barakat ibn Hasan, son of the late Hasan ibn Ajlan, is confirmed by the Egyptian Sultan Barsbay as the new Emir of Mecca, conditioned on paying the remaining 25,000 dinars owed by Hasan.

title: 1426

section: Events › July–September

date: September 17

text: September 17 (15 Dhu al-Qidah 829 AH) – Barakat ibn Hasan arrives in Mecca to officially assume the powers of the Emir of Mecca, after taking back over from his brother Abu al-Qasim.

title: 1426

text: December 16 – (2 Sha'ban 845 AH) Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan takes office as the new Emir of Mecca.

title: 1441

date: November 29

text: November 29 – (14 Rajab 845 AH) Barakat ibn Hasan learns that he is deposed as Emir of Mecca and leaves that evening.

title: 1441

date: October 2

text: October 2 – (16 Jumada I, 845 AH) In what is now Saudi Arabia, Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan is appointed as the new Emir of Mecca by the Mamluk Sultanate and his brother Barakat ibn Hasan is deposed, but the news does not reach Barakat for nearly two months.

title: 1441

date: September 22

text: September 22 – (5 Safar 1039 AH) Ahmad ibn Abd al-Muttalib, who had become Emir of Mecca and King of the Hejaz by force 16 months earlier, is assassinated by order of Kansuh Pasha, Governor of Yemen.

title: 1629

date: December 3

text: December 3 – (28 Rabi II 1040 AH) Abd Allah ibn Hasan is selected as the new Emir of Mecca after the death from tuberculosis of Mas'ud ibn Idris.

title: 1630

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: August 29

text: August 29 – (1 Safar 1041 A.H.) Abd Allah ibn Hasan, Emir of Mecca, abdicates in favor of two successors, his son Muhammad ibn Abd Allah and his great-nephew Zayd ibn Muhsin.

title: 1631


slug: emirate-of-cordoba

label: Emirate of Córdoba

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: September

text: September – Abd al-Rahman I, a member of the Umayyad Dynasty, lands at Almuñécar in al-Andalus (modern Spain), where over the next years he will establish the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 755

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Births

text: Hisham I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (d. 796)

title: 756

date: May

text: May – Prince Abd al-Rahman I and his followers capture the city of Seville without violence. He defeats Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in a battle for control of the Muslim-ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus). Abd al-Rahman establishes the Emirate of Córdoba. During his reign trade and culture flourish, along with the construction of Islamic architecture (including the Great Mosque of Córdoba).

title: 756

text: In al-Andalus, the Berber tribal chieftain Saqiya ibn Abd al Wahid al-Miknasi leads a rebellion against the Emirate of Córdoba, in the present-day Spanish province of Extremadura.

title: 768

section: Events › By place › Iberian Peninsula

text: Al-Hakam I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (d. 822)

title: 771

text: Abbasid–Carolingian alliance: Charlemagne receives a request for support from pro-Abbasid rulers in the eastern thughur, or military frontier zone of the Emirate of Córdoba. Several powerful officials and noblemen in northeastern Iberia, such as the governors of Barcelona and Zaragoza, seek to rise up against the Umayyad emir Abd al-Rahman I.

title: AD 777

text: A Frankish army (supported by Burgundians, Bavarians, Bretons, Lombards, and Visigoths) under King Charlemagne invades Al-Andalus (modern Spain), and conquers the cities of Pamplona and Barcelona. However, the Franks are halted at Zaragoza, in the thughur or frontier zone of the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 778

section: Deaths

text: Abd al-Rahman I, emir of Córdoba, dies after a 32-year reign and is succeeded by his son Hisham I.

title: 788

text: Abd al-Rahman I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (b. 731)

title: 788

text: Abd al-Rahman II, Muslim emir of Córdoba (d. 852)

title: 792

text: Al-Andalus: Saragossa rises against the Emirate of Córdoba. Emir Al-Hakam I sends a Muslim army under General Amrus ibn Yusuf, and retakes the city.

title: 802

date: November

text: November – Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, reasserts his control over the city of Toledo, autonomous since 797. To this effect Al-Hakam has over 72 nobles (accounts talk of 5,000) massacred at a banquet, crucified and displayed along the banks of the Guadalquivir River (modern Spain), in what comes to be known as the "Day of the Trench".

title: 806

text: Al-Andalus (modern Spain): An uprising occurs in the city of Mérida against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 807

text: In Gharb al-Andalus (modern Portugal), Hazim ibn Wahb leads a rebellion against the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: AD 808

text: A rebellion in Gharb al-Andalus (modern Portugal) is crushed by the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 809

text: Al-Andalus (modern Spain): The city of Mérida rises up against the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 810

text: Charlemagne conquers Catalonia, as far south as the River Ebro and the Balearic Islands. The counties come under the rule of Bera, count of Barcelona. He signs a three-year peace treaty with the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 812

text: Battle of Pancorbo: A Moorish army from the Emirate of Córdoba is sent by Emir Al-Hakam I, to take control of the pass at Pancorbo. They defeat the army of Asturian-Basque Frankish vassals.

title: 816

text: Al-Andalus: A grave rebellion breaks out in the suburbs of Cordoba, against the Emirate of Córdoba. Andalucian Arab refugees arrive in Fez (modern Morocco).

title: 818

text: Al-Hakam I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (b. 771)

title: 822

text: Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, dies after a 26-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Abd al-Rahman II, who begins a military campaign against King Alfonso II of Asturias in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 822

section: Events › By place › Al-Andalus

text: Egyptian military commander Abdel Wahid bin Yazid el-Iskandarani is appointed vizier of the Emirate of Córdoba in the Iberian Peninsula, rules until 851.

title: 836

section: Events › By place › Egypt

date: March 20

text: March 20 – King Alfonso II of Asturias (Northern Spain) dies after a 50-year reign, in which he undertook numerous campaigns against the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, and allied himself with the late Charlemagne. The childless Alfonso chooses Ramiro I, son of former king Bermudo I, as his successor.

title: 842

text: Al-Andalus: The city of Zaragossa rises against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in modern-day Spain.

title: 843

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

date: September 25

text: September 25–November 11 or 17 – Viking raid on Seville (844): Vikings arrive in Seville by the Guadalquivir, taking the city on October 1 or 3 and pillaging it; but are expelled by forces of the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 844

text: Abd al-Rahman II, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, dies after a 30-year reign in which he has made additions to the Mosque–Cathedral at Córdoba. He is succeeded by his son Muhammad I, who will put down several revolts of the Muwalladun and Mozarabs in Muslim controlled areas in al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 852

text: Abd al-Rahman II, Muslim emir of Córdoba (b. 792)

title: 852

text: Muhammad I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, invades Pamplona (Pyrenees), and captures Crown Prince Fortún Garcés in Milagro, along with his daughter Onneca Fortúnez, and takes them as hostages to Córdoba.

title: 860

text: King Alfonso III conquers Porto from the Emirate of Cordoba. This is the end of the direct Muslim domination of the Douro region.

title: 864

text: Al-Mundhir, Muslim emir of Córdoba

title: AD 888

text: Al-Mundhir, Moorish emir of Córdoba, dies after a two-year reign (possibly murdered by his brother Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, who succeeds him as ruler of the Emirate of Córdoba).

title: AD 888

text: Muslim forces led by Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, defeat the rebel leader Umar ibn Hafsun at Poley, in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 891

section: Events › By place › Emirate of Córdoba

text: Winter – The Balearic Islands are conquered by the Emirate of Córdoba. The Moors improve agriculture with irrigation on the islands.

title: 902

date: July 26

text: July 26 — At the Battle of Valdejunquera, the Muslim forces of the Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III of Córdoba, defeat the Christian armies of King Ordoño II of León and King Sancho I of Pamplona. The decisive battle at the Val de Junquera takes place following the Emir's pre-emptive strike and his invasion of the upper Douro valley and the capture of Osma. The Arab army proceeds on to the upper Ebro, restoring and replenishing Umayyad garrisons in the region.

title: 920


slug: emirate-of-granada

label: Emirate of Granada

description: historic Iberian state (1238–1492)

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Almohad army conquers the last independent Muslim stronghold at Granada (modern Spain), after a six year siege.

title: 1154

text: Autumn – Muhammad I, Almohad ruler of the Emirate of Granada, begins the construction of the Alhambra Complex on the site of a pre-Islamic fortress.

title: 1238

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Siege of Jaén: Castilian forces, led by King Ferdinand III (the Saint), manage to take the city of Jaén from the Andalucians. In a combined assault with the knights of the Order of Santiago, the city is handed over by Sultan Muhammad I, who accepts Ferdinand's overlordship in exchange for a 20-year truce. The Emirate of Granada becomes a vassal state of the Kingdom of Castile.

title: 1246

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Muhammad III, ruler of Granada (d. 1314)

title: 1257

text: May – King Alfonso X ("the Wise") of Castile and León, at a meeting in Jaén, demands military support from Muhammad I, ruler of Granada, and relinquishes the ports of Tarifa and Algeciras to prepare an invasion of North Africa.

title: 1262

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Mudéjar Revolt: Muslim rebel forces, aided by allies from Algeciras and Tarifa, take the town of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the outnumbered Castilian garrison led by Nuño González de Lara ("the Good"). The rebels are supported by Muhammad I, ruler of the Emirate of Granada, while King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") is allied with Aragon. The rebels manage to capture Murcia, as well as several smaller towns.

title: 1264

date: June

text: June – Marinid forces land in Spain and ravage the countryside. They kill and capture many and plunder livestock. They also attack the castle of Vejer de la Frontera in Andalusia. On hearing the news, King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") abandons his meeting with Sultan Muhammad I of Granada and orders an all-out war against Granada.

title: 1272

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Sultan Muhammad I (or Ibn al-Ahmar) suffers fatal injuries after falling from his horse near the city of Granada during a minor military expedition. He is succeeded by his son Muhammad II, who becomes ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Muhammad enters negotiations with King Alfonso X ("the Wise") to make peace with Castile, but he refuses to grant a truce to the Banu governors (arraeces) of Málaga and Guadix in Andalusia.

title: 1273

text: January 22 – Muhammad I, Nasrid ruler of Granada (b. 1195)

title: 1273

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Marinid forces led by Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq land in Spain upon a call from Muhammad II, ruler of Granada. With a fleet of 20 ships organized at Ceuta, some 5,000 men are transported from Alcázar Seguir to Tarifa without meeting any significant Christian opposition. The Maranids raid as far as the towns of Vejer de la Frontera and Jerez.

title: 1275

text: Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq and Muhammad II, ruler of Granada, agree to a truce with King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") for two years. Before Abu Yusuf leaves, Muhammad's secretary addresses a poem to Abu Yusuf, expressing fear of Castile's power and appealing for Marinid's continued support. Later, Abu Yusuf lands at Alcázar Seguir on January 19. This ending the first Marinid invasion in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 1276

date: March 3

text: March 3 – Ismail I, Nasrid ruler of Granada (d. 1325)

title: 1279

date: June 23

text: June 23 – Reconquista: Battle of Moclín – Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeat those of the Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of León.

title: 1280

section: Events

section: Culture & Society

text: Peter III of Aragon obtains the support of Nasrid Granada preparing for the incoming Aragonese Crusade, led by Philip "the Fair" of France.

title: 1282

text: November–December – The kings Sancho IV of Castile ("the Brave") and James II of Aragon ("the Just") agree to join the war against the Marinids and conclude a treaty of friendship. Muhammad II, Nasrid ruler of Granada, gives his support to Sancho to take Tarifa from the Marinids. In the agreement, Castile and Aragon will respect their own boundaries.

title: 1291

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Castilian forces led by King Sancho IV ("the Brave") begin the siege of Tarifa: eleven newly built engines bombard the city constantly by land and sea. Meanwhile, Muhammad II, Nasrid ruler of Granada, provides the army of Sancho with men, arms and also aids the blockade in the Strait of Gibraltar. Muhammad attacks Marinid outposts and his forces seize Estepona on the coast to the west of Málaga. Sancho conquers Tarifa after a siege of four months, on October 13.

title: 1292

date: September 16

text: September 16 – In Spain, the Emirate of Granada, ruled by Muhammad al-Faqih, and the Crown of Aragon, ruled by Jaime II the Just sign a military agreement to fight against the Kingdom of Castile and to capture the port of Tarifa. "Finalment, el tractat fou signat per Jaume II ale 16 de setembre de 1301, amb contingut practicament igual que la proposta que ja hem comentat del rei de Granada." ("Finally, the treaty was signed by James II on September 16, 1301, with practically the same content as the proposal we have already commented on from the King of Granada.")

title: 1301

section: Events › July– September

date: April 8

text: April 8 (8 Shaban 701 AH) – Sultan Muhammad II dies after a 29-year reign and is succeeded by his son Muhammad III as ruler of Granada. Within two weeks of his accession, he sends a Nasrid army under Hammu ibn Abd al-Haqq to seize Bedmar and other neighboring strongholds from Castile. Nasrid forces also attack Jódar, northeast of Bedmar, and recapture Quesada. Meanwhile, Muhammad contains friendly relations with King James II ("James the Just").

title: 1302

date: August

text: August – The 17-year-old King Ferdinand the Summoned, supervised by his mother, Queen-Regent María de Molina, signs a peace treaty at Córdoba with Granada for three years. In return, Muhammad III renews his vassalage with Castile and pays the same tribute given as to his father, the late King Sancho the Brave. The strategic port city of Tarifa remains in Castilian hands.

title: 1303

text: May 13 – (29 Shawwal 705 AH) A Moorish Nasrid fleet sent by Sultan Sultan Muhammad III of the Emirate of Granada (now part of Spain) makes a surprise attack on Africa and captures Ceuta. Nasrid forces land in Ksar es-Seghir, Larache, and Asilah, occupying these Atlantic ports (→ Battle of the Strait). At the same time, Prince Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula of the Marinid Sultanate, leads a rebellion against Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr. He conquers a mountainous area in northern Morocco and allies himself with Granada.

title: 1306

section: Events › April – June

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Treaty of Alcalá de Henares: King Ferdinand IV of Castile and King James II of Aragon sign an alliance in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta. Ferdinand agrees to join James in making war by sea and by land against Granada. He also promises to give up one-sixth of Granada to Aragon, and grants him the Province of Almería.

title: 1308

section: Events › October – December

date: February 24

text: February 24 – In Spain, King Ferdinand IV of Castile agrees to assist the neighboring Crown of Aragon

title: 1309

section: Events › January – March

date: March 14

text: March 14 – (1 Shawwal 708 AH) Sultan Muhammad III is deposed during a palace coup after a 7-year reign, and is replaced by his half-brother Abu al-Juyush Nasr, as ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Muhammad III is spared and allowed to live in Almuñécar, but his vizier, Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim, is killed.

title: 1309

text: Spring – Castilian forces abandon the siege of Algeciras after six months and begin negotiations with Granada. Ferdinand and Sultan sign a peace treaty for seven years on May 26.

title: 1310

date: May 28

text: May 28 – After the Emir Abu al-Juyush Nasr of Granada asks for help from King Ferdinand IV of Castile, the Kingdom of Castile's forces, commanded by Peter of Castile, Lord of Cameros, Ferdinand's son of King Sancho IV, defeats the rebel Granadan Governor of Malaga, Abu Said Faraj in battle. Abu Said is allowed to retain his post as Governor of Málaga and resumes paying tributes to the Emir.

title: 1312

date: February 8

text: February 8 (21 Shawwal 713 AH) – Sultan Nasr of Granada is forced to abdicate after 18 days as the ruler of the Emirate of Granada (in modern-day Spain) by his nephew, Abu'l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj, who is proclaimed at the Alhambra as the new Sultan.

title: 1314

date: April 14

text: April 14 – Emir Muhammad IV of Granada, Nasrid ruler (sultan) of the Emirate of Granada, now part of Spain. (d. 1333)

title: 1315

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Yusuf I al-Muyyad billah, Nasrid ruler of Granada (d. 1354)

title: 1318

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Treaty of Baena: Sultan Ismail I of Granada signs an 8-year truce with Castile at Baena. King James II of Aragon, who receives papal authorization and funds for a crusade against the Emirate of Granada refuses to accept the treaty. Both parties promise to aid one another against their respective enemies. Meanwhile, Ismail consolidates the territories formally under his control with the emirate.

title: 1320

date: June 9

text: June 9 – Guillaume Agasse, the head of a leper house in Pamiers, claims in a statement to Bishop Jacques Founier (later Pope Benedict XII) that he had learned that more than fifty officials of leper houses had conspired with the Emirate of Granada to spread leprosy throughout France.

title: 1321

section: Crime & Justice

date: July 8

text: July 8 – (26 Rajab 725 AH) Sultan Ismail I is murdered in his palace, the Alhambra, after an 9-year reign. The attackers are captured and beheaded. Ismail is succeeded by his 10-year-old son Muhammad IV, who becomes the new ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Vizier Muhammad ibn al-Mahruq, serving as wakil (or regent), quarrels for control of the young sultan's government.

title: 1325

section: Events › July – September

text: July 8 – Ismail I, Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada (b. 1279)

title: 1325

date: January 13

text: January 13 – In Spain, Marinid Prince Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, who started an uprising the year before against the Emirate of Granada and its ruler Muhammad IV, arrives at Almería and proceeds to enlist Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Sa'id, Muhammad IV's uncle, to be installed as the new Emir, with the name al-Qa'im bi-amr Allah.

title: 1327

date: October 30

text: October 30 – Battle of Río Salado in Spain: The kings of Castile and Portugal defeat the Nasrid ruler of Granada and his Moroccan allies.

title: 1340

text: Muhammed VI overthrows his brother-in-law, Ismail II, as King of Granada (in modern-day Spain).

title: 1360

text: October 5 – (16 Dhu al-Qadah 794 AH) Muhammed VII succeeds his father, Yusuf II, as Sultan of the Emirate of Granada (modern-day southern Spain).

title: 1392

text: April 26 – Martín Yáñez de la Barbudo of the Kingdom of Castile, master of the Order of Alcántara military group and leader of a crusade against the Muslim Emirate of Granada, leads an army across the border into the Emirate and marches toward the capital. Granadan Emir Muhammad VII sends emissaries to King Enrique III of Castile to complain about the violation of the truce between them, and then mobilizes the Granadan Army to repel the invasion by Barbuda, who is killed in the battle along with hundreds of other Castilians.

title: 1394

text: November 9 – In what is now the Mediterranean coast of Spain, six-year-old Muhammad VIII becomes the new Sultan of the Emirate of Granada upon the death of his father, the Sultan Yusuf III.

title: 1417

text: January 1 – Yusuf IV is placed on the throne as the new Sultan of Granada, after Muhammad IX is deposed with the support of King Juan II of Castile and Leon. Yusuf dies later in the year and Muhammad IX is restored to the throne a third time

title: 1432

text: March 19 – The Battle of Río Verde is fought as the 600-member cavalry of the Crown of Castile, is retreating from an attack led by Juan de Saavedra, against invaders from the Emirate of Granada, led by the Sultan Yusuf V. The 1,500 Granadan cavalry overwhelm the Castilians and massacre all but five of the 600 soldiers, while taking Saavedra as a prisoner of war. [https://www.google.ae/books/edition/The_Last_Crusade_in_the_West/V6IAAwAAQBAJ?hl=ar&gbpv=1&dq=r%C3%ADo+verde+1448&pg=PA88&printsec=frontcover]

title: 1448

text: March 17 – Reconquista – Battle of Los Alporchones (around the city of Lorca in Murcia): The combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile, and its subsidiary kingdom of Murcia, defeat the Emirate of Granada.

title: 1452

text: November 17 – The Emirate of Granada, led by the Emir Abu'l-Hasan Ali and now part of Spain's Mediterranean coast, signs a peace treaty with the Spanish Kingdom of Castile and León, led by the joint monarchs Isabella and Fernando. In the agreement, Granada offers to assist the Castilians against any attempt by Portugal to invade the Castilian region, Córdoba, that borders Granada.

title: 1475

text: March 20 – In what is now the Kingdom of Spain, the Islamic Emirate of Granada defeats the Christian Crown of Castile in the Battle of Axarquía, despite the Castilians having four times as many troops as the Granadans.

title: 1483

text: May 22 – In Spain, the Christian Crown of Castile seizes the city of Ronda from the Islamic Emirate of Granada.

title: 1485

text: April 23 – The city of Granada, capital of the Muslim Emirate of Granada in Spain, is besieged by the armies of Castile and Aragon, ruled by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella.

title: 1491

text: November 25 – Completing the Reconquista (the "reconquest"), The Granada War is effectively brought to an end (and the Siege of Granada extended for two months) with the signing of the Treaty of Granada between the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and the Moorish Emir of Granada.

title: 1491

text: January 2 – Fall of Granada: Muhammad XI, the last Emir of Granada, surrenders his city to the army of the Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile) after a lengthy siege, ending the ten-year Granada War and the centuries-long Reconquista, and bringing an end to 780 years of Muslim control in Al-Andalus.

title: 1492


slug: emirate-of-sicily

label: Emirate of Sicily

description: Islamic principality that ruled the island of Sicily from 948 to 1091

date: March

text: March – Abu Abbas Abdallah resumes his Aghlabid campaign against the Byzantine enclaves of Sicily. He dispatches his fleet towards Messina, while bombarding the town walls of Damona.

title: 901

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: February

text: February – March – Abu Abbas Abdallah, conqueror of Reggio Calabria, returns from Sicily and succeeds his father Ibrahim II as Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya.

title: 902

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Fatimids begin the conquest of Sicily, over their Aghlabid archrivals. Fatimid Sicilian governor Ibn al-Khinzir raids the south Italian coast (approximate date).

title: AD 911

section: Religion & Belief

text: Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid Caliphate replaces the unpopular governor Ibn Abi Khinzir with Ali ibn Umar al-Balawi. But the Sicilian lords find this unacceptable and decide to declare independence of Sicily. They acknowledge allegiance to the Abbasid caliph Al-Muqtadir and acclaim an Aghlabid prince, Ahmed ibn Khorob, as emir of Sicily. The Sicilians re-launch their conquest of Byzantine Calabria, while Ahmed ibn Khorob in Sicily leads a successful assault against the North African cities of Sfax and Tripoli.

title: 913

text: Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays siege to Garigliano (a fortified Arab camp in the area of Minturno), which is blockaded from the sea by the Byzantine navy. After three months of siege, plagued by hunger, the Saracens decide to break out of Garigliano and find their way back to Sicily by any means possible. Christian hunting parties fall on the fleeing Arabs, and all are captured and executed.

title: 915

text: Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khorob. They offer Sicily to the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah welcomes this turn of events, but refuses to grant the Berber rulers their autonomy. He sends a Fatimid expeditionary force under Abu Said Musa which lands in Sicily and, with some difficulty, takes control of the island. Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah appoints Salam ibn Rashid as the emir of Sicily. Ahmed ibn Khorob is dispatched to Raqqada and executed.

title: 916

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Led by the Slavic Sabir, the Fatimids from Sicily, capture and destroy Taranto. They enslave much of the population.

title: 927

text: Spring – Fatimid forces under al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi suppress the rebellion in Palermo and swiftly seize the island. Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah appoints Ali al-Kalbi as emir of Sicily, beginning the rule of the Kalbid dynasty.

title: 948

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Summer – Kalbid forces under Al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi (an aristocratic member of the ruling Fatimid Caliphate) sail from Sicily and invade Byzantine Calabria. He attacks several towns, including Gerace and Cassono.

title: 952

date: October 24

text: October 24–25 – Siege of Rometta: Nikephoros II sends an expedition to Sicily. The Byzantine army (40,000 men) is sent to break the Muslim siege at Rometta, and to regain Sicily for the Byzantine Empire. For two days a battle takes place in the area between the beach and the besieged citadel of Rometta. The Saracens (under Al-Hasan ibn Ammar) manage to defeat the Byzantine relief force.

title: 964

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

text: Battle of the Straits: The Byzantine attempt to recover Sicily fails, when the Byzantine fleet is annihilated by the Fatimids. The last Byzantine stronghold on the island, Rometta, surrenders. The population is massacred, and the survivors are sold into slavery. Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah completes the conquest of Sicily, and establishes naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean.

title: 965

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: December 21

text: December 21 – Caliph Al-Mu'izz dies in Egypt after a 22-year reign in which he has extended his realm from Sicily to the Atlantic. He is succeeded by his son Al-Aziz Billah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.

title: 975

date: June

text: June – Emir Abu'l-Qasim launches a raiding expedition into Byzantine Italy from Sicily. He imposes a tribute on the cities of Cosenza and Cellere. Meanwhile, a Fatimid fleet assaults the Apulian coast and raids the surrounding countryside. Abu'l-Qasim sends an army to Otranto and besieges Gravina, before returning to Sicily – bringing home hundreds of captives and slaves.

title: 976

text: Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coast towards Calabria. In the meantime, Emir Abu'l-Qasim (Kalbid) of the Emirate of Sicily declares a Holy War (jihad) against the Germans, but his forces retreat when he notices the unexpected strength of Otto's troops (not far from Rossano).

title: 982

text: Abu'l-Qasim, Kalbid emir of Sicily

title: 982

text: Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily. He assembles a large expeditionary force for a renewal of an invasion in Calabria (Southern Italy). Otto gifts the Rheingau ("Rhine District") to the Archbishopric of Mainz during the 'Veronese donation'. Otto III is elected king of Germany and Italy.

title: 983

text: Byzantine expedition to invade Sicily: Governor Ahmed al-Akhal appeals to the Zirids of Ifriqiya for help. They dispatch a fleet, but these are caught up in a storm and destroyed near Pantelleria.

title: 1024

text: Emir Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis of the Zirid dynasty in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) attempts to retake Sicily but is unsuccessful.

title: 1025

text: A Zirid expeditionary force invades Sicily and takes Palermo from the Normans, but fails to fully reconquer the island.

title: 1036

text: Summer – A Byzantine expeditionary force under George Maniakes lands at Sicily, and defeats the Zirids. Maniakes begins his campaign to reconquer the island.

title: 1037

text: The Emirate of Sicily is divided and fragmented into small fiefdoms. The Arab nobles of Palermo restore the regime of the Kalbids (approximate date).

title: 1040

text: Summer – Norman forces led by Duke Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger I invade Sicily. They land unseen during the night and surprise the Saracen army. Guiscard conquers Messina and marches into central Sicily.

title: 1061

text: Battle of Cerami: Duke Roger I leads a small Norman force (supported by 136 mounted knights), and defeats a much larger Saracen army (35,000 men) at Cerami (near Troina) in Sicily.

title: 1063

date: January 10

text: January 10 – The Normans under Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger I ("Boso") conquer Palermo (after a one year siege). Roger receives the keys of the city, and Robert invests him with the title of Count of Sicily. The Emirate of Sicily rules only the southern part of the island, with Syracuse as the capital (until 1091).

title: 1072

text: August – Fatimid forces under Caliph Al-Musta'li recapture Jerusalem and occupy Palestine. The Crusaders threaten the borders of the Fatimid Caliphate which already has lost the Emirate of Sicily (see 1091).

title: 1098

section: Events › By place › First Crusade


slug: emperor-gaozong-of-tang

label: Emperor Gaozong of Tang

description: Emperor of the Tang Dynasty (628-683) (r. 649-683)

section: Births

text: Gao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 683)

title: 628

section: Deaths

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Emperor Taizong dies after a 23-year reign, in which he has restored the civil administration in China. He is succeeded by his son Gaozong, age 20, who becomes ruler of the Tang dynasty.

title: 649

section: Events › By place › China

text: An embassy led by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas arrives in the capital Chang'an via an oversea route. They are greeted by Emperor Gao Zong, who orders the establishment of the first Chinese mosque.

title: 651

section: Events › By place › Arabian Caliphate

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is constructed in Chang'an (modern Xi'an), during the Tang dynasty (China). It is completed in the same year, during the reign of Emperor Gao Zong.

title: 652

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Li Xiăn, seventh son of the Chinese emperor Gao Zong, is made crown prince. His lavish palatial mansion in Chang'an is converted into a Daoist abbey during the Tang dynasty (approximate date).

title: 656

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Tang campaigns against the Western Turks: Emperor Gao Zong dispatches a military campaign led by Su Dingfang. He annexes the Western Turkic Khaganate.

title: 657

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: A Japanese embassy is sent to the Chinese Empire, and received in an audience by Emperor Gao Zong. The Tang dynasty is determined in the next year to take administrative measures in regard to Japan. The envoys are detained.

title: 659

section: Health & Medicine

text: Emperor Gao Zong suffers from an illness (possibly slow-poisoning). His wife Wu Zetian starts to rule the Chinese Empire.

title: 660

section: Events › By place › Korea

date: June 5

text: June 5 – In China, the Daming Palace becomes the government seat and royal residence of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang dynasty.

title: 663

text: Chinese troops sent by the Tang dynasty emperor Gao Zong complete their expedition in the Korean Peninsula. Leaders of the expedition have been selected by the emperor's powerful concubine Wu Zetian. The kingdom of Goguryeo is overthrown; the Unified Silla period starts.

title: 668

section: Climate & Environment

text: Due to a culmination of major droughts, floods, locust plagues and epidemics, a widespread famine breaks out in the dual Chinese capital cities of Chang'an (primary capital) and Luoyang (secondary capital). The scarcity of food drives the price of grain to unprecedented heights, ending a once prosperous era under emperors Taizong and Gaozong on a sad note.

title: 682

date: December 27

text: December 27 – Gao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (b. 628)

title: 683

text: December 27 – Emperor Gaozong dies at Luoyang, age 55, after a 34-year reign in which he expanded the Chinese Empire by acquiring Korea as a vassal state.

title: 683

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Zhong Zong succeeds his father Gao Zong, and becomes emperor of the Tang dynasty. His mother Wu Zetian remains the power behind the throne in China.

title: 684

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Emperor Zhong Zong has the remains of his mother and recently deceased ruling empress Wu Zetian, her son Li Xian, her grandson Li Chongrun, and granddaughter Li Xianhui, all interred in the same tomb complex as his father and Wu Zetian's husband Gao Zong, outside Chang'an, known as the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang, which will then remain unopened until 1960.

title: 706


slug: emperor-gaozu-of-han

label: Emperor Gaozu of Han

description: founding emperor of the Han dynasty (256–195 BC)

year_label: 256 BCE

text: Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty of China (d. 195 BC)

title: 256 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

text: Liu Ruyi, Chinese prince and only son of the first Han emperor Liu Bang (d. 194 BC)

title: 208 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Xiang Yu defeats Liu Bang in the Battle of Pengcheng.

title: 205 BC

year_label: 203 BCE

text: Han Xin completes the conquest of Qi, and Liu Bang appoints him as its king.

title: 203 BC

year_label: 201 BCE

text: King Xin of Han, in alliance with Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu, launches a rebellion against the Han dynasty in the Taiyuan Commandery. He is defeated by Emperor Gaozu of Han and his generals, who chase Xin of Han into Xiongnu territory.

title: 201 BC

year_label: 200 BCE

text: The Han emperor Gaozu is defeated by the Xiongnu, led by Modu Chanyu, in the Battle of Baideng.

title: 200 BC

year_label: 198 BCE

text: Following the defeat of the Han at the hands of Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu at Baideng in 200 BC, the soldier and advisor Lou Jing is dispatched by the emperor Gaozu for negotiations. The peace settlement eventually reached between the parties includes a Han princess given in marriage to the chanyu, initiating a policy of or marriage alliances; periodic tribute of silk, liquor and rice to the Xiongnu; equal status between the states; and the Great Wall as the mutual border. This treaty sets the pattern for relations between the Han and the Xiongnu for some sixty years.

title: 198 BC

year_label: 196 BCE

text: Emperor Gaozu of Han and his generals, including Cao Shen and Zhou Bo, defeat the rebellion of Chen Xi.

title: 196 BC

year_label: 195 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Facing the suspicion of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Lu Wan, the king of the State of Yan, flees north of the Great Wall of China.

title: 195 BC

year_label: 182 BCE

text: Jin Xi a Han Chinese general under Emperor Liu Bang.

title: 182 BC

year_label: 180 BCE

date: August 18

text: August 18 – Empress Dowager Lü, de facto ruler of the Chinese Han dynasty and wife of Emperor Gao (b. 241 BC)

title: 180 BC

year_label: 178 BCE

text: Liu Jiao, Chinese prince and younger brother of Emperor Gaozu of Han

title: 178 BC