slug: angola

label: Angola

description: country on the west coast of Southern Africa

date: July 6

text: July 6 – King João I of Kongo, who had recently converted to Christianity, completes the construction of the first Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Congo (Kulumbimbi), in what is now the city of M'banza-Kongo in Angola.

title: 1491

date: April 10

text: April 10 – Henrique I Nerika a Mpudi becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo in what becomes the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the northern portion of Angola. Henrique succeeds his nephew, Bernardo I of Kongo.

title: 1567

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: January 25

text: January 25 – Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founds the settlement of São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda on the southwestern coast of Africa, modern Luanda, capital of Angola.

title: 1576

text: Physician Aleixo de Abreu is granted a pension of 16,000 reis, for services to the crown in Angola and Brazil, by Philip III of Spain, who also appoints him physician of his chamber.

title: 1616

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Deaths

date: April 13

text: April 13 – Garcia Mvemba a Nkanga is enthroned as King Garcia I of the southern African nation of Kongo (now in Angola), upon the death of his father, King Pedro II.

title: 1624

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga becomes the new monarch of Kongo (in what is now Angola) after the overthrow of Garcia I Mvemba a Nkanga, restoring the Kwilu dynasty to power.

title: 1626

text: March 7 – Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo (in what is now Angola) dies after a reign of five years.

title: 1631

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Nimi a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba is installed as King Alvaro VI of Kongo, in the area now occupied by the African nation of Angola, and rules until his death on February 22, 1641.

title: 1636

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Portugal and the Dutch Republic sign a Treaty of Offensive and Defensive Alliance at The Hague. The treaty is not respected by both parties, and as a consequence has no effect in the Portuguese colonies (Brazil and Angola) that are under Dutch rule.

title: 1641

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Manuel II (Mpanzu a Nimi) becomes the new monarch of the Kingdom of Kongo (located in western Africa in modern-day Angola) when King Pedro IV (Nusamu a Mvemba) dies after a reign of 22 years. Manuel reigns until 1743.

title: 1718

section: Events › January – March

section: Crime & Justice

text: 18,957 black slaves leave Luanda, Angola.

title: 1820

date: May 27

text: May 27 – The first group of Dorsland Trekkers, a series of expeditions by Trekboere in search of political independence and better farming conditions, departs South Africa to settle in Angola, led by Gert Alberts.

title: 1874

section: Events › May

date: February 4

text: February 4 – The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola.

title: 1961

section: Events › February

text: March 15 – The Union of Peoples of Angola, led by Holden Roberto, attacks strategic locations in the north of Angola. These events result in the beginning of the colonial war with Portugal.

title: 1961

section: Events › March

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Alvor Agreement: Portugal announces that it will grant independence to Angola on November 11.

title: 1975

section: Events › January

section: Climate & Environment

date: November 11

text: November 11 – Angola becomes independent from Portugal and civil war erupts.

title: 1975

section: Events › November

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Four mercenaries, three British and one American, are shot by firing squad in Angola, following the Luanda Trial.

title: 1976

section: Events › July

date: March 27

text: March 27 – The South African Defence Force withdraws from Angola and concludes Operation Savannah.

title: 1976

date: May 4

text: May 4 – South African Border War: The Battle of Cassinga occurs in southern Angola.

title: 1978

date: August 23

text: August 23 – South African troops attack SWAPO bases in Xangongo and Ongiva, Angola, during Operation Protea.

title: 1981

section: Events › August

date: August 24

text: August 24 – South Africa announces "all outstanding issues" preventing independence for South West Africa (present-day Namibia) have been resolved, except for the continuing presence of 23,000 Cuban troops in neighboring Angola.

title: 1983

date: November 25

text: November 25 – 1985 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 shoot-down: A Soviet Aeroflot Antonov An-12 cargo airplane, en route from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda, is shot down by South African Special Forces and crashes approximately 43 km mi east of Menongue, the provincial center of the Cuando Cubango Province, Angola, killing 8 crew members and 13 passengers on board.

title: 1985

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Angolan Civil War: The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale begins in Angola and further intensifies the South African Border War.

title: 1987

section: Science & Discovery

text: April 10 – A South Atlantic tropical cyclone develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola, the first of its kind to be documented by weather satellites.

title: 1991

section: Events › April

date: November 20

text: November 20 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol.

title: 1994

date: March 1

text: March 1 – One of four bombs detonated in Lusaka, Zambia, which destroys the Angolan Embassy.

title: 1999

date: February 22

text: February 22 – UNITA guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in clashes against government troops led by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos in Moxico Province, Angola.

title: 2002

date: January 8

text: January 8 – The Togo national football team is attacked in Cabinda Province, Angola, and as a result withdraws from the Africa Cup of Nations. The attack was perpetrated by the FLEC, their first since the Angolan Civil War.

title: 2010

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Kivu conflict: Angola announces the deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the failure of a ceasefire between government forces and M23 rebels in North Kivu.

title: 2023


slug: ankara

label: Ankara

description: capital of Turkey

year_label: 236 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Antiochus Hierax, supported by his mother Laodice I, allies himself with the Galatians (Celts) and two other states that are traditional foes of the Seleucid kingdom. With the aid of these forces, he inflicts a crushing defeat on his older brother Seleucus II's army at Ancyra in Anatolia. Seleucus leaves the country beyond the Taurus Mountains to his brother and the other powers of the peninsula.

title: 236 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: King Khosrau II captures Ancyra, an important Byzantine military base in central Anatolia. After the conquest of Egypt and Palestine, he restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 490 BC under Darius I.

title: 620

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: May 27 – Cem Sultan, who briefly reigned as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for several weeks in 1481 before being deposed by his half-brother, Bayezid II, invades the Turkish mainland and besieges the city of Konya, but is defeated and forced to withdraw to Ankara. Upon trying to retreat to Cairo in Egypt, he finds that all the roads are under Bayezid's control.

title: 1482

section: Events › April–June

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: October 13

text: October 13 – Ankara replaces Istanbul (Constantinople), as the capital of Turkey.

title: 1923

section: Events › September–October

date: March 28

text: March 28 – The government of Turkey requests the international community to adopt Istanbul and Ankara, as the official names for Constantinople and Angora. The U.S. State Department adopts the "Istanbul" form in May.

title: 1930

date: June 23

text: June 23 – Talks are completed in Ankara between French Ambassador René Massigli and Turkish Foreign Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu, resolving the Hatay dispute in Turkey's favor. Turkey annexes Hatay.

title: 1939

section: Events › June

date: June 18

text: June 18 – The German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship is signed between Nazi Germany and Turkey, in Ankara.

title: 1941

section: Culture & Society

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Middle East Technical University is founded in Ankara, Turkey.

title: 1956

date: April 26

text: April 26 – The government of Turkey declares a state of siege in 11 provinces, including Ankara, in response to violent demonstrations.

title: 1971

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.

title: 1999

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated by an off-duty Turkish police officer at an art exhibition in Ankara.

title: 2016

section: Events › December

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Harmony Jets Flight 185, a Dassault Falcon 50, crashes near Ankara, Turkey, killing all eight people on board, including Libyan Army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad.

title: 2025


slug: anne-of-denmark

label: Anne of Denmark

description: Queen consort of James VI of Scots, I of England (1574-1619)

section: Religion & Belief

date: August 20

text: August 20 – King James VI of Scotland, the future James I of England, contracts a proxy marriage with the 14-year-old Anne of Denmark at Kronborg. The formal ceremony takes place on November 23 at the Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo.

title: 1589

section: Events › July–September

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: October 22

text: October 22 – King James VI of Scotland sails to Norway to meet his bride, Anne of Denmark as part of a fleet of six Scottish Navy ships, and is accompanied by Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, the Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

title: 1589

section: Events › October–December

date: May 17

text: May 17 – Anne of Denmark is crowned queen consort of Scotland, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

title: 1590

date: December 27

text: December 27 – Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell leads the attack on the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Having been alerted by a premature attack on the palace's prison, King James VI of Scotland and Queen Anne are able to take refuge within the castle, and the raid fails. Seven of Bothwell's men are subsequently captured and hanged.

title: 1591

section: Births

date: February 19

text: February 19 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark (d. 1612)

title: 1594

section: Births › January–June

section: Health & Medicine

date: March 15

text: March 15 – More than seven months after their July 25, 1603 coronation, King James I and Anne, Queen consort make the traditional Royal Entry to London. The ceremonies have been postponed from 1603 because of the ongoing plague.

title: 1604

section: Events › January–March

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost, copyrighted 1598, is given its second recorded performance, probably presented at the home of the Earl of Southampton for Queen Anne, wife of King James I of England.

title: 1605

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Prince Charles (15-year-old surviving son of James I of England and Anne of Denmark) is invested as Prince of Wales at Whitehall in London, the last such formal investiture until 1911.

title: 1616

section: Events › November-December

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Anne of Denmark, queen consort of England, is buried at Westminster Abbey.

title: 1619


slug: anne-queen-of-great-britain

label: Anne, Queen of Great Britain

description: Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714 (1665–1714)

date: April 2

text: April 2 – Prince George of Denmark, consort of Anne, Queen of Great Britain (d. 1708)

title: 1653

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (d. 1714)

title: 1665

section: Deaths

date: January 23

text: January 23 – George Louis becomes Elector of Hanover upon the death of his father, Ernest Augustus. Because the widow of Ernest Augustus, George's mother Sophia, was heiress presumptive as the cousin of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and Anne's closest eligible heir, George will become King of Great Britain.

title: 1698

date: June 24

text: June 24 – The Act of Settlement 1701 is passed by the Parliament of England, to exclude the Catholic Stuarts from the British monarchy. Under its terms, King William III, childless, will be succeeded by Queen Mary II's sister Princess Anne and her descendants. If Anne should have no descendants, she will be succeeded by Sophia of Hanover and her descendants (hence the Hanoverian Succession in 1714).

title: 1701

date: April 5

text: April 5 – Anne, Queen of England dissolves the English House of Commons that had been elected in 1702, and orders new elections.

title: 1705

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Queen Anne gives royal assent to the Parliament of England's Alien Act 1705, setting a deadline of December 25, 1705, for Scotland's parliament to authorize negotiations for a Treaty of Union with England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain and threatening that unless Scotland agrees to negotiate terms for union and accepts the Hanoverian succession by December 25, there would be a ban on the import of all Scottish staple products into England and Scots would also lose the privileges of Englishmen under English law – thus endangering rights to any property they held in England.

title: 1705

date: December 24

text: December 24 – The first British Governor of Gibraltar, directly appointed by Queen Anne, Roger Elliott, takes up his residence in the Convent of the Franciscan Friars.

title: 1707

section: Events › October– December

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

title: 1708

section: Events › January–June

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Prince George of Denmark, consort of Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1653)

title: 1708

date: April 19

text: April 19 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, meets the Four Mohawk Kings.

title: 1710

date: March 30

text: March 30 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain administers the Royal touch (a ritual with the intent to cure illness) for the last time; 300 scrofulous people are touched, the last of whom is Samuel Johnson.

title: 1712

date: May 1

text: May 1 – As part of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Spanish Crown agrees the Asiento de Negros with Anne, Queen of Great Britain, granting a subsidiary of the British South Sea Company, the Real Asiento de Inglaterra, a 30-year monopoly in the supply of African slaves to colonial Spanish America.

title: 1713

date: May 6

text: May 6 – The Parliament of Ireland is dissolved by Queen Anne and new elections are set.

title: 1713

date: May 19

text: May 19 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, refuses to allow members of the House of Hanover to settle in Britain during her lifetime.

title: 1714

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, English friend of Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1660)

title: 1744


slug: anselm-of-canterbury

label: Anselm of Canterbury

description: 11th‑century Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, philosopher and theologian

text: Anselm, English archbishop and philosopher (d. 1109)

title: 1033

text: Anselm enters the Benedictine Bec Abbey in Normandy, as a novice (approximate date).

title: 1060

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Anselm, later to become archbishop of Canterbury, becomes prior at the Abbey of Bec (approximate date).

title: 1063

text: Anselm of Aosta, an Italian Benedictine abbot, completes his Monologion at the request of his fellow monks.

title: 1076

section: Events › By topic › Literature

text: Anselm is elected abbot of Bec Abbey, in Normandy.

title: 1078

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Anselm, Italian Benedictine abbot and theologian, becomes archbishop of Canterbury in England, succeeding Lanfranc. The post of archbishop has been left vacant since 1089 by King William II of England – so he can collect the church's income for himself.

title: 1093

section: Events › By place › Britain

date: October

text: October – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, goes into exile. Conflicts between him and William II result in Anselm leaving England and heading for Rome. William confiscates Anselm's land.

title: 1097

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Edgar of Scotland signs a treaty with Magnus III in which he agrees that the northern territories including the Hebrides belong to Norway. At Dunfermline Abbey, Edgar seeks support from Anselm of Canterbury.

title: 1098

date: September 23

text: September 23 – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury returns to England from exile, at the invitation of Henry I.

title: 1100

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Council of London: A church council convened by Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, bans sodomy and the sale of Christian slaves to non-Christian countries, and reforms the clergy.

title: 1102

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, again goes into exile after a dispute with King Henry I over the appointment of bishops and abbots to important Church positions.

title: 1103

text: Henry I meets Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, under threat of excommunication at L'Aigle in Normandy to settle their disputes that has led to Anselm's exile from England (see 1103).

title: 1105

section: Events › By place › England

date: August 11

text: August 11 – The Investiture Controversy is resolved, by the reconciliation of Henry I and Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury and the mass consecration of bishops by Anselm at the royal Palace of Westminster: William Giffard to Winchester, Roger to Salisbury, Reynelm to Hereford, William Warelwast to Exeter and Urban to Llandaff. Roger of Salisbury is also appointed Justiciar in this year.

title: 1107

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1033)

title: 1109


slug: antarctica

label: Antarctica

description: terrestrial continent in the Southern Hemisphere

section: Climate & Environment

text: 2807 BC: Suggested date for an asteroid or comet impact occurring between Africa and Antarctica, around the time of a lunar eclipse on May 10, based on an analysis of flood stories. Possibly causing the Burckle crater and Fenambosy Chevron.

title: 29th century BC

section: Events

section: Science & Discovery

date: January 7

text: January 7 – A partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in Antarctica.

title: 1704

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Annular solar eclipse is visible from a region of the Southern Ocean between South Africa and Antarctica.

title: 1704

section: Events › April–June

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: January 30

text: January 30 – British Royal Navy captain Edward Bransfield, an Irishman, becomes the first person to positively identify Antarctica as a land mass.

title: 1820

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.

title: 1821

date: March 15

text: March 15 – Sailor Benjamin Morrell erroneously reports the existence of the island of New South Greenland near Antarctica.

title: 1823

date: March 19

text: March 19 – American explorer Benjamin Morrell departs Antarctica after a voyage later plagued by claims of fraud.

title: 1824

date: February 17

text: February 17 – The research vessel SS Southern Cross, on an Antarctic expedition led by Carsten Borchgrevink, arrives at Cape Adare and begins unloading 90 sledge dogs – the first ever on the continent – and two Norwegian Sámi crewmen, who become the first humans to spend the night in Antarctica. Over the next 12 days, the rest of the 31-man crew builds a temporary settlement.

title: 1899

section: Events › February

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Duke of York Island, off Antarctica, is discovered by the Southern Cross Expedition.

title: 1899

section: Events › July

text: March 6 – Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce, the Antarctic region of Coats Land is discovered from the Scotia.

title: 1904

section: Events › March

date: December 5

text: December 5 – The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition begins its attempt to make the first land crossing of Antarctica.

title: 1914

section: Events › December

date: January 14

text: January 14 – Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.

title: 1939

section: Events › January

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Soviet polar pilot V. M. Perov on Li-2 rescues four Belgian polar explorers, led by Gaston de Gerlache, who have survived a plane crash in Antarctica 250 km from their base five days earlier.

title: 1958

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Cold War: Antarctic Treaty – 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty that sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent (the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War).

title: 1959

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: December 9

text: December 9 – 2019 Chilean Air Force C-130 crash: A Chilean military transport aircraft crashes while en route to Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva in Antarctica, killing all 38 people on board. The crash site is located on December 12.

title: 2019


slug: antigonus-i-monophthalmus

label: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

description: Macedonian general, founder of Antigonid dynasty (382–301 BC)

year_label: 382 BCE

section: Births

text: Antigonus I Monophthalmus (d. 301 BC), Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and king of Macedon 306-301

title: 382 BC

year_label: 333 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Alexander makes one of his officers, Nearchus, satrap of the newly conquered Lycia and Pamphylia in Anatolia and he appoints his general, Antigonus, satrap of Phrygia.

title: 333 BC

year_label: 323 BCE

text: Antigonus gaining the governorship of Pamphylia and Lycia;

title: 323 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 321 BCE

text: Antipater appoints Antigonus commander in chief of his army in Asia Minor and sends him with Craterus to fight against Eumenes, the satrap of Cappadocia and a supporter of Perdiccas.

title: 321 BC

year_label: 320 BCE

text: Alexander the Great's various generals control different parts of Alexander's empire. Ptolemy controls Egypt, Seleucus controls Babylon and Syria, Antipater and his son Cassander control Macedon and Greece, Antigonus controls Phrygia and other parts of Asia Minor, Lysimachus controls Thrace and Pergamum and Eumenes controls the Cappadocia and Pontus areas.

title: 320 BC

year_label: 319 BCE

text: Polyperchon's authority is challenged by Antipater's son Cassander, who refuses to acknowledge the new regent. With the aid of Antigonus, ruler of Phrygia, and with the support of Ptolemy and Lysimachus, Cassander seizes most of Greece including Macedonia.

title: 319 BC

text: Battle of Orkynia: Antigonus marches his army against Eumenes in Cappadocia and defeats him in battle at Orkynia.

title: 319 BC

year_label: 318 BCE

text: Antigonus resolves to become lord of all Asia, and in conjunction with Cassander and Ptolemy. He enters into negotiations with Eumenes; but Eumenes remains faithful to the royal house. He raises an army and forms a coalition with the satraps of the eastern provinces. He then captures Babylon from Antigonus.

title: 318 BC

year_label: 315 BCE

text: Antigonus claims authority over most of Asia, seizes the treasury at Susa and enters Babylon, where Seleucus is governor. Seleucus flees to Ptolemy in Egypt and enters into a league with him, Lysimachus (the ruler of Thrace) and Cassander, against Antigonus. This leads to the First Coalition War.

title: 315 BC

text: Antigonus drives out Cassander's Macedonian forces of occupation from the Greek islands and forms the island cities in the Aegean into the "League of the Islanders", preparatory to his invasion of Greece. His ally, the city of Rhodes, furnishes him with the necessary fleet.

title: 315 BC

text: Alexander (son of Polyperchon) sails to Antigonus in Asia. They make a pact of friendship and, by order of Antigonus, Alexander sails back to the Peloponnesus

title: 315 BC

text: Aristodemus of Miletus, by order of Antigonus, sails to Laconia, where he receives permission from the Spartans to recruit 8000 mercenaries. He also meets Alexander and Polyperchon, thus establishing friendship between them and Antigonus

title: 315 BC

year_label: 314 BCE

text: Aristodemus of Miletus convinces the common assembly of the Aetolians to support Antigonus

title: 314 BC

text: Antigonus, the ruler of the Asian parts of the late Alexander the Great's empire, faces a coalition consisting of Cassander, the Macedonian regent; Lysimachus, the satrap of Thrace; and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt, who have taken the side of the ousted satrap of Babylon, Seleucus.

title: 314 BC

text: As Cassander fights to retain control over central Greece, Antigonus promises freedom to the Greek cities in a bid to gain support from them against Cassander.

title: 314 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 313 BCE

text: At the autumn meeting of the Aetolian League, Aristodemus of Miletus, Antigonus' top diplomat, is able to persuade the Aetolians to support Antigonus.

title: 313 BC

text: Prepelaus arrives in Caria and starts making plans with Asander. They decide on a surprise attack on Ptolemy, the commander of Antigonus' forces in western Asia Minor. Eupolemus, one of Prepelaus' lieutenants, is sent with 8,000 infantry and 200 cavalry. However, some deserters from Eupolemus' strike force betray their plans to Ptolemy who quickly gathers 8,300 infantry and 600 cavalry from their winter quarters and marches against Eupolemus. In the middle of the night Ptolemy launches a surprise attack on Eupolemus' camp capturing the entire force with ease.

title: 313 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

text: Asander agrees to send all his soldiers to Antigonus to help keep Greek cities autonomous

title: 313 BC

text: Antigonus sends Telesphorus to the Peloponnesus to free the cities.

title: 313 BC

section: Events › By place › Syria

text: Antigonus, after finding a pass across the Taurus Mountains that was still open, marches his main army into Asia Minor and goes into winter quarters in Celaenae in Phrygia. Meanwhile, Antigonus' admiral Medius is ordered to sail the new Antigonid fleet from Phoenicia into the Aegean. On route he captures one of Cassander's fleets (the one that had escorted Prepelaus to Asia Minor).

title: 313 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: Antigonus arrives at the Propontis and tries to negotiate an alliance with Byzantium, but the city, at the urging of Lysimachus, remains neutral; without it Antigonus gives up on the idea of crossing over into Europe.

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece/Macedon/Thrace

text: At the end of the year, Ptolemy invades Antigonus' territories in Palestine with an army of 18,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. The resulting Battle of Gaza leads to a triumph for Ptolemy over Antigonus' son, Demetrius.

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Syria/Mesopotamia/Babylonia

text: At the start of the year, Asander (Antigonus' governor of Caria) rebels, forcing Antigonus (wintering with his main army in Phrygia) to invade Caria. Calling all his forces from their winter quarters, he divides them into four columns: the first is sent to take Miletus; the second, under his nephew Ptolemy, campaigns through central Caria from east to west; a third marches to and takes Theangela; Antigonus himself with the main army campaigns from north to south capturing Tralles, Iasus and Kaunos. Caria is taken in the space of weeks.

title: 312 BC

text: Telesphorus comes to the aid of Oreus from the Peloponnese with 20 ships and 1,000 infantry, while Antigonid admiral Medius sails to relieve Oreus with a 100 ships from Asia Minor; they break Cassander's blockade.

title: 312 BC

text: Antigonus sends his nephew Ptolemy, whom he has made Strategos of Greece, with 5,000 infantry, 500 cavalry and 150 warships (he had recalled and reinforced Medius' fleet) to take command of all Antigonid forces and affairs in Greece.

title: 312 BC

text: Telesphorus, who had been subordinated to Antigonus' other nephew Ptolemy considered this an insult and ends his friendship with Antigonus through betrayal.

title: 312 BC

text: Demetrius rallies the remnants of his army at Tripolis and summons reinforcements from the garrisons of upper Syria and Cilicia; he also writes his father, Antigonus, and urges him to send help. Meanwhile Ptolemy captures Acre, Joppa, Samaria and Sidon, and starts to besiege Tyre.

title: 312 BC

text: After putting down the revolt in Cyrene, Ptolemy sails to Cyprus with a great force. He arrests the rulers of Kition, Lapethus, Kyrenia, and Marion for being too friendly towards Antigonus and/or too hostile towards himself, he then establishes his friend Nicocreon of Salamis as strategos (governor-general) of Cyprus .

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Cyprus

text: Ptolemy raids Antigonus' territories in Cilicia and Syria, and then sails back to Egypt.

title: 312 BC

year_label: 311 BCE

text: During the winter of 312/11 Antigonus' nephew Telesphorus, who had been subordinated to Antigonus' other nephew Ptolemy in 312, decides to rebel, considering his subordination to be insulting. Ptolemy is able to keep the situation under control and persuades Telesphorus to return to the fold.

title: 311 BC

text: Through clever diplomacy Antigonus is able to lull the Nabateans into a false sense of security. Demetrius, with a force of 4,000 light infantry and 4,000 cavalry, is sent to make another raid on Petra. The Nabateans, reacting quickly, are able to foil the attack. Demetrius negotiates terms with the Nabateans and returns to his father with hostages and gifts (including 700 camels)

title: 311 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor/Syria/Palestina

text: Antigonus sends one of his generals, Athenaeus, with 4,000 light infantry and 600 cavalry to make a raid on Petra, the capital city of the Nabateans, to carry off hostages and possessions. The raid is initially successful, but a surprise attack by the Nabateans destroys Athenaeus' raiding force, only 50 horsemen escaping.

title: 311 BC

text: Ptolemy tries to occupy Syria; he himself campaigns in Coele Syria (southern Syria) while he sends Killes, one of his generals, into northern Syria to finish off the remnants of Demetrius Poliorcetes' army. Demetrius defeats Killes at Myus and Antigonus enters Syria in force. So, after only a few months, Ptolemy evacuates his forces from Syria.

title: 311 BC

year_label: 310 BCE

text: The cities of Antigonia Troas (later known as Alexandria Troas) and Antigoneia (later known as Nicaea) are founded by Antigonus I Monophthalmus.

title: 310 BC

text: Antigonus orders Nicanor, one of his generals, to invade Babylonia from the east and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes to attack it from the west. Nicanor assembles a large force but is surprised and defeated by Seleucus at the river Tigris, and his troops are either cut to pieces or defect to the enemy. Similarly, Demetrius Poliorcetes fails to oust Seleucus.

title: 310 BC

section: Events › By place › Babylonia

text: Antigonid general Ptolemy forms an alliance with Cassander revolting against his uncle Antigonus

title: 310 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece/Macedonia

text: Antigonus attempts to renew his alliance with the Macedonian general and former regent Polyperchon, who still controls part of the Peloponnesus. He sends Heracles, the illegitimate son of Alexander the Great, to Polyperchon to be treated as a pretender to the throne of Macedonia.

title: 309 BC

text: Ptolemy arrives at Kos and sends for Ptolemaeus (the nephew of Antigonus – who has revolted against Antigonus) to join him to discuss strategy. After finding out Ptolemaeus plans to take over his army and fleet, Ptolemy forces him to commit suicide.

title: 309 BC

text: Ptolemy I Soter personally commands a fleet that takes the coastal regions of Lycia and Caria from Antigonus I Monophthalmus, capturing the cities of Phaselis, Xanthos, Kaunos, Iasos and Myndus.

title: 309 BC

text: Antigonus marches his main army east to confront Seleucus. The Antigonid and Seleucid armies meet somewhere in southern Mesopotamia or northern Babylonia and a battle is fought to a draw. The next morning Seleucus launches a surprise attack on Antigonus' camp and wins a simple victory. After his defeat Antigonus gives up on his ambitions to reconquer the eastern provinces.

title: 308 BC

section: Events › By place › Mesopotamia/Babylonia

text: Cleopatra of Macedon is assassinated by the order of Antigonus

title: 308 BC

text: Antigonus makes peace with Seleucus, who is left free to consolidate his empire in the east.

title: 307 BC

text: Upon becoming ruler of Epirus, Pyrrhus allies himself with his brother-in-law, Demetrius and through him with Antigonus.

title: 307 BC

text: Antigonus gives Athens control of the island of Lemnos and Imbros.

title: 307 BC

text: At the beginning of June (the 26th day of the Attic month of Thargelion: Plut. Dem. 8,3) Demetrius, son of Antigonus, launches a surprise attack on Pireaus, Athens' harbour; his forces are able to secure control of the entire port city, except the fortress on the Munychia which remains in the hands of Dionysius, the commander of Cassander's garrison in Athens.

title: 307 BC

text: Antigonus prepares an expedition to Greece under his son Demetrius. They gather a fleet of 250 ships and a large army in western Asia Minor. Antigonus gives his son 5.000 talents and some of his top officers, chief among them Medius of Larissa and Aristodemus of Miletus.

title: 307 BC

text: Antigonus founds the city of Antigoneia on the Orontes intended to become his eastern capital.

title: 307 BC

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes lands on Cyprus and besieges Menelaus, brother of Egypt's ruler, Ptolemy I Soter, at Salamis. Ptolemy Soter, coming to his brother's aid, is decisively defeated in the Battle of Salamis. The battle completely destroys the naval power of Egypt and results in the capture of Cyprus by Demetrius. This gives Demetrius' father, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, control of the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.

title: 306 BC

text: Philip, youngest son of Antigonus Monophthalmus.

title: 306 BC

text: Antigonus I Monophthalmus sends his son Demetrius to initiate the Siege of Rhodes, as the city has refused him armed support against Ptolemy.

title: 305 BC

text: Antigonus then concludes a peace treaty and an alliance with the island state, guaranteeing it autonomy and neutrality in his conflicts with Ptolemy.

title: 304 BC

text: Cassander and Lysimachus persuade Seleucus and Ptolemy to join them in trying to destroy Antigonus.

title: 303 BC

text: Following their agreement to work together to defeat Antigonus, Seleucus invades Asia Minor from Babylonia, while Ptolemy attacks Syria and Lysimachus moves into the western part of Asia Minor.

title: 302 BC

text: In the Battle of Ipsus in Phrygia, the armies of Antigonus, the ruler of Syria, Asia Minor, Phoenicia and Judea, and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes are defeated by the forces of Lysimachus and Seleucus. Antigonus is killed in the battle.

title: 301 BC

text: Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who founded and became the first king of the Macedonian dynasty of the Antigonids (b. 382 BC)

title: 301 BC


slug: antigonus-ii-gonatas

label: Antigonus II Gonatas

description: king of Macedonia

text: Antigonus II Gonatas, Macedonian king (approximate date) (d. 239 BC)

title: 319 BC

year_label: 292 BCE

text: While Demetrius Poliorcetes is campaigning in Boeotia, he receives news that Lysimachus, the ruler of Thrace, has been taken prisoner by Dromichaetes. Hoping to seize Lysimachus's territories in Thrace, Demetrius delegates command of his forces in Boeotia to his son, Antigonus and immediately marches north. However, while he is away, the Boeotians rise in rebellion, but are defeated by Antigonus, who bottles them up in the city of Thebes and puts them under siege.

title: 292 BC

year_label: 291 BCE

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes joins his son, Antigonus, in the siege of Thebes. As the Thebans defend their city stubbornly, Demetrius forces his men to attack the city at great cost. Demetrius finally takes the city after using siege engines to demolish its walls.

title: 291 BC

year_label: 287 BCE

text: The Macedonians resent the extravagance and arrogance of Demetrius Poliorcetes and are not prepared to fight a difficult campaign for him. When Pyrrhus of Epirus takes the Macedonian city of Verroia, Demetrius' army promptly deserts and goes over to Pyrrhus' side as he is much admired by the Macedonians for his bravery. At this change of fortune, Phila, the mother of Antigonus, kills herself with poison.

title: 287 BC

year_label: 286 BCE

text: As Demetrius Poliorcetes and his army are chased across Asia Minor to the Taurus Mountains by the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus, in Greece his son Antigonus meets with success. Ptolemy's fleet is driven off and Athens surrenders to Antigonus.

title: 286 BC

year_label: 283 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Following Demetrius Poliorcetes' death in captivity as a prisoner of Seleucus, his son Antigonus assumes the title of King of Macedonia, though in name only, as King Lysimachus of Thrace is in control of Macedonia. Demetrius' remains are given to Antigonus and he is honoured with a grand funeral in Corinth. After this, Demetrius is interred in the town of Demetrias which he had founded.

title: 283 BC

year_label: 281 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Although he has only a few bases in Greece, Antigonus II Gonatas lays claim to Macedonia. His claim is disputed by Antiochus I.

title: 281 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 278 BCE

text: Antigonus concludes a peace with Antiochus who surrenders his claim to Macedonia. Thereafter Antigonus II's foreign policy is marked by friendship with the Seleucids.

title: 278 BC

year_label: 277 BCE

text: Antigonus crosses the Hellespont and defeats the Celts under the command of Cerethrius at the Battle of Lysimachia near Lysimachia at the neck of the Thracian Chersonese. After this success, he is acknowledged by the Macedonians as their king.

title: 277 BC

year_label: 276 BCE

text: Antigonus II Gonatas consolidated his control over Macedon and Thessaly.

title: 276 BC

year_label: 275 BCE

text: Antiochus's alliance with Antigonus II, now fully in possession of Macedonia, is cemented by Antigonus's marriage to Phila, Antiochus's half sister.

title: 275 BC

year_label: 274 BCE

text: Pyrrhus returns from Italy and Sicily and invades Macedonia defeating Antigonus II Gonatas at the Battle of the Aous and conquering Upper Macedonia and Thessaly while Antigonus holds onto the coastal Macedonian towns. Antigonus' troops desert him and Pyrrhus is declared King of Macedonia.

title: 274 BC

year_label: 272 BCE

text: Following his death in Argos, Pyrrhus is succeeded as king of Epirus by his son Alexander II while Antigonus II Gonatas regains his Macedonian throne which he has lost to Pyrrhus two years earlier.

title: 272 BC

year_label: 271 BCE

text: With the restoration of the territories captured by Pyrrhus, and with grateful allies in Sparta and Argos, and garrisons in Corinth and other Greek key cities, Antigonus II securely controls Macedonia and the other states of Greece. Antigonus becomes the chief of the Thessalian League and is on good terms with neighbouring Illyria and Thrace. He secures his position in central and south Greece by keeping Macedonian occupation forces in the cities of Corinth, Chalcis on the island of Euboea, and Demetrias in Thessaly, the three "shackles" of Hellas.

title: 271 BC

year_label: 267 BCE

text: Macedonia's King Antigonus II Gonatas has to deal with a rebellion by an Athenian-led coalition of Spartans (led by King Areus I of Sparta), Athenians (led by Chremonides), Arcadians and Achaeans that tries to expel the Macedonian forces located in southern Greece. The rebellion has the support of Ptolemy II of Egypt.

title: 267 BC

year_label: 265 BCE

text: Although the Egyptian fleet blockades the Saronic Gulf, the Macedonian King Antigonus II defeats the Spartans and kills the king of Sparta, Areus I near Corinth, after which he besieges Athens.

title: 265 BC

year_label: 263 BCE

text: Alexander II of Epirus attacks and conquers the greater part of Macedonia. However, he is then driven out of both Macedonia and Epirus by Demetrius II, the son of King Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia.

title: 263 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: After Athens surrenders in the Chremonidean War following a long siege by Macedonian forces, Antigonus II Gonatas re-garrisons Athens and forbids the city from making war. Otherwise, he leaves Athens alone as the seat of philosophy and learning in Greece.

title: 262 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: The new Seleucid king Antiochus II reaches an agreement with the king of Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonatas, to work together in trying to push Ptolemy II's fleet and armies out of the Aegean Sea. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia Minor.

title: 261 BC

year_label: 259 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus II starts the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphus to avenge his father's losses. Antiochus II finds a willing ally in Antigonus II Gonatas, the king of Macedonia, who has been dealing with Ptolemy II's attempts to destabilize Macedonia.

title: 259 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: The forces of the Macedonian King Antigonus II and the Seleucid King Antiochus II win a naval victory at Cos against their common enemy, Ptolemy II. This victory secures Antigonus control over the Aegean Sea and the League of the Islanders. It also diminishes Ptolemaic naval power.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 253 BCE

text: Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.

title: 253 BC

year_label: 251 BCE

text: Paseas, the tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon, is assassinated by Nicocles, with the acquiescence of the Macedonian king Antigonus II. Nicocles reigns as tyrant of Sicyon for only four months, during which period he drives into exile eighty of the city's citizens. Then the citadel of Sicyon is surprised in the night by a party of Sicyonian exiles, headed by a young nobleman, Aratus. The palace of the tyrant is set on fire, but Nicocles escapes from the city through a subterranean passage.

title: 251 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Following the death of the King of Cyrene, Magas, Queen Apama II, Magas' widow, and Antigonus II arrange the marriage of Antigonus' half-brother Demetrius the Fair to Berenice of Cyrene, daughter of Magas and Apama. However, when Demetrius the Fair arrives, Apama becomes his lover. In response, Berenice leads an uprising in which Demetrius is killed in Apama's bedroom.

title: 250 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Ptolemy III wins major victories over Seleucus II in Syria and Anatolia and briefly occupies Antioch. These victories are marred by the loss of the Cyclades to Antigonus II Gonatas in the Battle of Andros.

title: 246 BC

year_label: 245 BCE

text: After the death of his nephew, Alexander of Corinth, Antigonus II gives Nicaea, Alexander's widow, to his son Demetrius in marriage. Through this action, Antigonus II regains Corinth which has been independent while under the rule of Alexander of Corinth.

title: 245 BC

year_label: 244 BCE

text: By defeating the Egyptian fleet at Andros, Antigonus II is able to maintain his control over the Aegean Sea.

title: 244 BC

year_label: 243 BCE

text: Without a declaration of hostilities, Greek statesman, Aratus of Sicyon, who has gradually built up the Achaean League into a major power in Greece, makes a surprise attack on Corinth and forces the withdrawal of the Macedonian occupation troops. Megara, Troezen, and Epidaurus also desert the Macedonian King Antigonus II.

title: 243 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: Antigonus II Gonatas, king of Macedon from 277 BC who has rebuilt his kingdom's power and established its hegemony over Greece (b. c. 319 BC)

title: 239 BC

text: Antigonus II, King of Macedonia, dies and is succeeded by his son, Demetrius II.

title: 239 BC


slug: antioch

label: Antioch

description: ancient Greek city in southern Turkey

year_label: 300 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Seleucus founds the city of Antioch, some 20 miles up the Orontes River, naming it after his father.

title: 300 BC

section: Conflict & Security

text: Antiochus II leaves Berenice in order to live again with his former wife Laodice and his son Seleucus. However, Laodice poisons him and proclaims her son as King Seleucus II Callinicus, while her supporters in Antioch kill Berenice and her children who have taken refuge at Daphne, near Antioch, in Syria.

title: 246 BC

year_label: 241 BCE

text: Peace is finally reached between Ptolemy III and Seleucus II. Ptolemy manages to keep the Orontes River region in Syria and Antioch as well as Ephesus in Asia Minor and Thrace and Cilicia.

title: 241 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Pacorus crosses, with the help of Quintus Labienus, the Euphrates and invades Syria. The capital Antioch surrenders, and the Parthians take Phoenicia and Judea. However, they cannot besiege the fortified city of Tyre, because they have no fleet.

title: 40 BC

section: Events › Asia minor › Parthia

year_label: 4 BCE

text: Herod the Great dies, which causes unrest in his client kingdom of Judea. His son, Herod Archelaus, becomes the new ruler. Herod Antipas becomes tetrarch of Galilee and Perea,and the governor of Syria, Publius Quinctilius Varus, marches down to Jerusalem from Antioch to restore order; around 3000 Jews are crucified.

title: 0s BC

section: Events › 4 BC › Roman Empire

year_label: 19 CE

text: Agrippina the Elder accuses Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso of having assassinated her husband Germanicus Julius Caesar in Antioch. However, there is no credible evidence and the charge is never proven. (In ancient times, when medical science was not advanced, poison was usually suspected whenever a young, healthy person died suddenly. There was no way to pinpoint and trace the substance after death; therefore, it was considered a quick, easy and non-traceable form of homicide.)

title: 10s

section: Events › 19 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 34 CE

text: According to one dating scheme, Paul and Barnabas announce in Antioch that they will begin to evangelize the Gentiles.

title: 30s

section: Events › 34 AD › Europe

year_label: 37 CE

section: Climate & Environment

date: April 9

text: April 9 – An earthquake destroys Antioch.

title: 30s

section: Events › 37 AD › Anatolia

year_label: 68 CE

text: Ignatius of Antioch becomes the third bishop of Antioch.

title: AD 68

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: An earthquake destroys Apamea and Antioch in Syria. The local bishop is held responsible (he will be martyred and remembered as St. Ignatius).

title: AD 115

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Battle of Issus: Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia, and defeats Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch, and is executed by Severus' troops.

title: AD 194

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establishes his headquarters and the colonies there.

title: AD 195

text: Serapion of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch

title: 211

text: Alexander Severus assembles the Roman army, and establishes his headquarters at Antioch. He attempts a diplomatic solution, but the Persians decline and choose war.

title: 230

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

text: Winter – Emperor Gordian III reaches Antioch and, with his army, prepares an offensive against the Sassanids.

title: 241

text: Emperor Gordian III begins a campaign against King Shapur I, and leads victories at Antioch, Carrhae, Nisibis, and Resaina.

title: 242

text: Shapur I makes a pre-emptive attack on Antioch to drive out the Romans. Gordian's father-in-law, Timesitheus, leads a Roman army to defeat the Sassanids at Carrhae and Nisibis.

title: 242

section: Events › By place › Persia

section: Crime & Justice

text: Plotinus, Greek philosopher, escapes the bloodshed that accompanies the murder of Gordianus III and makes his way to Antioch. Back in Rome he founds his Neoplatonist school and attracts disciples like Porphyry, Castricius Firmus and Eustochius of Alexandria.

title: 244

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

text: Sassanid King Shapur I orders an invasion of Syria, with the intent of finally capturing the city of Antioch during the campaign of 251–254.

title: 251

text: King Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire invades Mesopotamia and Syria. He conquers and plunders Antioch, destroys Dura-Europos, and sacks the Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates. A devastating fire and an earthquake soon follow, causing Zeugma to be abandoned.

title: 256

text: Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia.

title: 257

text: Battle of Immae: Aurelian defeats the Palmyrene heavy cavalry (clibanarii) near Antioch. Queen Zenobia flees under cover of darkness to Emesa (Syria).

title: 272

text: Philogonius (or Filogonius), bishop of Antioch

title: 322

section: Culture & Society

text: Construction begins on the Great Church of Antioch, which will be completed in 341.

title: 327

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Eustathius the Great, patriarch of Antioch (approximate date)

title: 337

text: The Council of Encaenia is held in Antioch.

title: 341

date: May 7

text: May 7 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out. After his arrival at Antioch, the Jews begin a rebellion in Palestine. The Roman garrison in the town of Diocesarea is wiped out.

title: 351

text: Libanius becomes a teacher of rhetoric in Antioch; his students include John Chrysostom and Theodore of Mopsuestia.

title: 354

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with an expeditionary force (60,000 men), and stays there for nine months, to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire. He secures the co-operation of King Arsaces of Armenia, who fights a bloody guerrilla war against the Persians.

title: 362

date: March 5

text: March 5 – Emperor Julian departs from Antioch with his army (90,000 men) and heads north towards the Euphrates. En route he creates a diversion and sends a force of 30,000 soldiers under his cousin Procopius to Armenia.

title: 363

text: King Shapur II declares war as a result of Valens' support of Armenia. Emperor Valens makes Antioch his military base for the campaign against Persia.

title: 373

text: Spring – Emperor Theodosius I increases the taxes in Antioch. A peasant uprising leads to a riot, and public buildings are set afire. Theodosius sends imperial troops to quell the disturbance, and closes the public baths and theatres.

title: 387

text: The Huns begin their large-scale attack on the Eastern Roman Empire. They invade Armenia, Cappadocia, and enter parts of Syria, threatening Antioch.

title: 395

text: Flavian I is acknowledged as legitimate bishop of Antioch by the Church of Rome.

title: 399

text: The Eustathian schism in Antioch is healed (approximate date).

title: 415

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Innocent I dies after a 16-year reign in which he has restored relations between the sees of Rome and Antioch, enforced celibacy of the clergy, and maintained the right of the bishop of Rome to judge appeals from other churches. Innocent is succeeded by Zosimus as the 41st pope.

title: 417

text: Maximus II becomes patriarch of Antioch.

title: 449

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). Empress dowager Verina sends a letter to the governors of the Diocese of the East and the Diocese of Egypt for support. He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.

title: 484

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Riots erupt in the streets of Antioch, between supporters of Patriarch Flavian II and Emperor Anastasius I, in sympathy with Non-Chalcedonianism.

title: 511

text: Probably between May 20 and May 29 – 526 Antioch earthquake: A great earthquake kills approximately 250,000 people in Syria and Antioch.

title: 526

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Natural disaster: A second earthquake strikes Antioch, killing thousands.

title: 528

text: November 29 – Antioch is struck by an earthquake.

title: 539

text: King Khosrow I breaks the "Eternal Peace" treaty with the Byzantine Empire after eight years. Responding to an embassy from the Ostrogoths urging action against Emperor Justinian I's expanding power, he leads the Persian army up the River Euphrates. Extracting tributes from towns along the way, Khosrau I besieges and captures Antioch. He plunders the city extensively, transporting valuable artworks, including marble statues and mosaics, back to Persia.

title: 540

text: Byzantine–Persian War: The Persian army under Shahrbaraz captures Antioch, and most of the remaining Byzantine fortresses in Syria and Mesopotamia. King Khosrau II is re-establishing a neo-Persian Empire, and intensifies his war effort. The Byzantine army, ruined by defeat and corruption, offers only half-hearted opposition.

title: 611

text: Battle of Antioch: Heraclius mobilises a Byzantine expeditionary force to Antioch (Syria), but is completely defeated outside the city by the Persians. Shahin Vahmanzadegan makes further inroads into Central and Western Anatolia. In Syria, Shahrbaraz captures the cities of Damascus, Apamea and Emesa.

title: 613

text: July 30 – Battle of Ajnadayn: Byzantine forces (90,000 men according to Muslim sources) under Theodore are defeated by the Rashidun Caliphate near Beit Shemesh (modern-day Israel). Heraclius, who is in Emesa, flees to Antioch upon hearing news of the battle's outcome.

title: 634

text: Summer – Heraclius summons a church assembly at Antioch, and scrutinises the situation. He accepts the argument that Byzantine disobedience to God is to blame for the Christian disaster in Syria. Heraclius leaves for Constantinople with the words, Peace be with you Syria — what a beautiful land you will be for your enemy.

title: 636

text: Battle of the Iron Bridge: Rashidun forces under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeat the Byzantine army and Christian Arabs near Antioch, at the Orontes River. It marks the complete annexation of Syria into the Rashidun Caliphate.

title: 637

text: Autumn–winter – The Byzantine general Heraclius, brother of Tiberios III, crosses the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains into Cilicia with an army. He launches a campaign in Syria, defeats an Arab force from Antioch, and raids as far as Samosata (modern Turkey).

title: 698

text: Stephen IV, patriarch of Antioch

title: 744

text: 859 Syrian coast earthquake. It affected the Mediterranean coast of Syria It caused almost the complete destruction of Latakia and Jableh, major damage at Antioch and led to many deaths.

title: 859

text: John III, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch

title: 873

text: Ignatius II, patriarch of Antioch

title: 883

text: June 1 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch

title: 896

text: April 18 – Dionysius II, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch

title: 909

text: Arab-Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into the theme of Lykandos, but are defeated. The Byzantines counter-attack and seize Germanikeia, defeating an army from Tarsus, and raiding as far south as Antioch. General (strategos) Theophilos Kourkouas captures Theodosiopolis (modern-day Erzurum) after a 7-month siege.

title: 949

text: October 28 – Siege of Antioch: Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes (during a night attack) seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Hamdanids is completed three days later, when reinforcements under the stratopedarches Peter Phokas arrive. The Byzantine army then moves deeper into Syrian territory — besieging and taking the city of Aleppo.

title: 969

text: Battle of Alexandretta: The Byzantines defeat a Fatimid force (4,000 men) near Alexandretta (modern Turkey), while the main Fatimid army is besieging the fortress city of Antioch. Coupled with news of an advance against Damascus of the Qarmatians, the Fatimids are forced to lift the siege and withdraw to Egypt.

title: 971

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using the Byzantine base at Antioch to press southwards to Tripoli. He conquers the cities of Baalbek, Damascus, Sidon, Tiberias and Caesarea, but fails to take Jerusalem.

title: 975

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Basil II launches a counter-campaign against the Fatimid Caliphate. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary army (13,000 men) to aid the Hamdanid emir Sa'id al-Dawla, and crosses Asia Minor in only sixteen days. Basil lifts the siege of Aleppo, and takes over the Orontes Valley. He incorporates Syria into the Byzantine Empire (including the larger city of Antioch) which is the seat of its eponymous Patriarch.

title: 995

text: Athanasius IV, Syrian patriarch of Antioch

title: 1002

text: Emperor Romanos III Argyros decides to retaliate upon the incursions of the Muslims on the eastern frontier. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (20,000 men) to secure Antioch. The Mirdasid emir Shibl al-Dawla Nasr of Aleppo sues for peace, but Romanos refuses to negotiate and leads his army against Aleppo, against the advice of his generals. The Byzantine army encamped near Azaz, where they were encircled by the Mirdasids' Bedouin troops, who cut off the Byzantines from food and water.

title: 1030

text: Spring – The Seljuk Turks make incursions into Mesopotamia, Cilicia and Cappadocia. They sack the Byzantine city of Caesarea, move south through the Cilician Gates and raid the region around Antioch in Syria.

title: 1067

text: Philaretos Brachamios abandons his claim to the Byzantine throne, on being appointed governor of Antioch, a foundation of the later Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

title: 1078

text: Constance of France, princess of Antioch (d. 1125)

title: 1078

text: December – Athanasius VI bar Khamoro becomes (against his will) patriarch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Antioch (until 1129).

title: 1091

text: Yaghi Siyan, Seljuk governor of Antioch (b. 1011)

title: 1098

text: June 3 – Siege of Antioch: The Crusaders under Bohemond I capture Antioch after a 8-month siege. He established secret contact with Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the "Tower of the Two Sisters". He opened the gates and Bohemond entered the city. Thousands of Christians are massacred along with Muslims. Bohemond is named Prince of Antioch (under protest) and creates the Principality of Antioch.

title: 1098

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

title: 1099

text: November 29 – A large earthquake damages the areas of the Crusaders in the Middle East. From Antioch and Mamistra to Marash and Edessa are hit by the shocks.

title: 1114

text: Summer – Baldwin II leads an expedition to Antioch to defend the northern Crusader states. He signs a 1-year truce with Ilghazi, Artuqid ruler of Mardin, securing the possession of Kafartab and other fortresses in Syria.

title: 1120

text: Autumn – Bohemond II takes over his inheritance of the Principality of Antioch. He sails from Otranto with a Norman fleet of 24 ships, carrying a number of troops and horses. Bohemond lands at the port of St. Symeon early in October and is welcomed at Antioch.

title: 1126

text: Athanasius VI bar Khamoro, patriarch of Antioch

title: 1129

text: June 29 – Battle of Inab: The Zangid army under Nur al-Din defeats the combined army of Raymond of Poitiers and the Assassins of Ali ibn Wafa at Inab. After the battle, Nur al-Din invades Antiochene territory and captures the fortresses of Artah and Harim. He then turns west to appear before the walls of Antioch itself and raids as far as St. Symeon.

title: 1149

text: date unknown – Constance of Antioch, ruler of Antioch (b. 1127) - or possibly early 1164

title: 1163

text: Athanasius VII bar Qatra, Syrian patriarch of Antioch

title: 1166

text: May – Saladin has reconquered the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem except for Tyre. The castles of Montréal and Kerak are captured by Muslim forces. In the north, Saladin has regained the Principality of Antioch except for Antioch and the castle of Al-Qusayr in Syria.

title: 1189

text: June 10 – Frederick I drowns while crossing (or bathing in) the Göksu River near Selucia (modern-day Silifke) in Armenian Cilicia. The German Crusaders are demoralized and exhausted by the summer heat, Frederick VI takes over the command of his father, carrying with him the emperor's body preserved in a barrel of vinegar. Some of the German nobles decide to return home with their followers; Frederick continues with his army (some 5,000 men) and eventually reaches Antioch, on June 21.

title: 1190

text: Spring – Amalric I, ruler of Cyprus, marries Princess Isabella I, daughter of the late King Amalric I. A few days later they are crowned as King and Queen of Jerusalem at Acre. On July 1, Amalric signs a truce with Al-Adil I, sultan of Egypt and Syria, securing the Crusader possessions from Acre to as far as Antioch.

title: 1198

text: February 14 – Leo I, King of Armenia ("the Magnificent"), with support of the Knights Hospitaller, reconquers the Principality of Antioch. Armenian troops enter Antioch while Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch ("the One-Eyed") is absent. The Knights Templar, supporting Bohemond, abandon the citadel, and Raymond-Roupen is installed as Prince of Antioch by the Latin Patriarch, Peter II.

title: 1216

text: February 16 – Louis IX sends Andrew of Longjumeau on a diplomatic mission to meet the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire. He carries letters from Louis and the Papal States, and rich presents, including a chapel-tent lined with scarlet cloth and embroidered with sacred pictures. From Cyprus he goes to the port of Antioch in Syria and travels for a year to the khan's court at Karakorum.

title: 1249

text: May 18 – Battle of Antioch: The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars; his destruction of the city of Antioch is so great, as to permanently negate the city's importance.

title: 1268

text: November – Michael II becomes Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch (until 1312).

title: 1292

text: December 7 – Michael II, Syrian Orthodox patriarch of Antioch

title: 1312


slug: antiochus-i-soter

label: Antiochus I Soter

description: Ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 281 to 261 BC

year_label: 324 BCE

section: Births

text: Antiochus I Soter, King of the Seleucid dynasty (d. 261 BC)

title: 324 BC

year_label: 294 BCE

text: Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes and wife of Seleucus marries her stepson Antiochus. Seleucus has reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son by his late wife Apama was in danger of dying of lovesickness as he has fallen in love with his beautiful stepmother.

title: 294 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 293 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: When an invasion of nomads threatens the eastern possessions of his realm (i.e. between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea and the Indian Ocean), Seleucus hands over the government of these lands west of the Euphrates to his son Antiochus. Antiochus is appointed co-regent and commander-in-chief of these territories.

title: 293 BC

year_label: 292 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Antiochus I Soter anointed as king of the Seleucid Syria

title: 292 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 281 BCE

text: Seleucus is succeeded as ruler of the Seleucid Empire by Antiochus, who was already king of the Syrian part of the empire. He is immediately beset by revolts in Syria (probably instigated by Ptolemy II of Egypt) and by independence movements in northern Anatolia.

title: 281 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Antiochus makes his eldest son, Seleucus, king in the east, but he proves to be incompetent.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 279 BCE

text: The aggression of Ptolemy II of Egypt continues to cause friction with Antiochus as he takes Miletus in south-western Asia Minor from him.

title: 279 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 278 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: After their defeats in Greece, the Gauls move into Asia Minor. The Seleucid king Antiochus wins a major battle over the Gauls leading to his being given the title of Soter (Greek for "saviour"). The Gauls settle down to become the "Galatians" and are paid 2,000 talents annually by the Seleucid kings to keep the peace.

title: 278 BC

year_label: 276 BCE

text: The first of the Syrian Wars starts between Egypt's Ptolemy II and Seleucid emperor Antiochus I Soter. The Egyptians invade northern Syria, but Antiochus defeats and repels his opponent's army.

title: 276 BC

year_label: 275 BCE

text: Antiochus's alliance with Antigonus II, now fully in possession of Macedonia, is cemented by Antigonus's marriage to Phila, Antiochus's half sister.

title: 275 BC

year_label: 274 BCE

text: Magas of Cyrene marries Apama, the daughter of Antiochus and uses his marital alliance to foment a pact to invade Egypt. He opens hostilities against his half brother Ptolemy II, by declaring his province of Cyrenaica to be independent and then attacks Egypt from the west as Antiochus I takes the Egyptian controlled areas in coastal Syria and southern Anatolia, after which he attacks Palestine.

title: 274 BC

year_label: 272 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter is defeated by Egypt's Ptolemy II during the First Syrian War. Ptolemy II annexes Miletus, Phoenicia and western Cilicia from Antiochus. As a result, Ptolemy II extends Egyptian rule as far as Caria and into most of Cilicia.

title: 272 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Seleucid king Antiochus I's eldest son Seleucus, who has ruled in the east of the kingdom as viceroy for a number of years, is put to death by his father on the charge of rebellion.

title: 262 BC

section: Deaths

text: Antiochus I Soter, king of the Seleucid Kingdom from 281 BC (b. c. 323 BC)

title: 262 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: Antiochus I Soter, Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (or 262 BC)

title: 261 BC


slug: antiochus-ii-theos

label: Antiochus II Theos

description: king of Seleucid Empire from 261 BC to 246 BC

year_label: 286 BCE

text: Antiochus II Theos, king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom from 261 BC (d. 246 BC)

title: 286 BC

text: Antiochus I dies and is succeeded by his second son Antiochus II Theos.

title: 262 BC

text: The new Seleucid king Antiochus II reaches an agreement with the king of Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonatas, to work together in trying to push Ptolemy II's fleet and armies out of the Aegean Sea. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia Minor.

title: 261 BC

year_label: 259 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus II starts the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphus to avenge his father's losses. Antiochus II finds a willing ally in Antigonus II Gonatas, the king of Macedonia, who has been dealing with Ptolemy II's attempts to destabilize Macedonia.

title: 259 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: The forces of the Macedonian King Antigonus II and the Seleucid King Antiochus II win a naval victory at Cos against their common enemy, Ptolemy II. This victory secures Antigonus control over the Aegean Sea and the League of the Islanders. It also diminishes Ptolemaic naval power.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 255 BCE

text: In the Second Syrian War, Ptolemy II loses ground in Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Ionia, while Antiochus II regains Miletus and Ephesus. A peace is then concluded between Antiochus and Ptolemy under which Antiochus is to marry Ptolemy's daughter Berenice Syra.

title: 255 BC

year_label: 253 BCE

text: The second Syrian War between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies ends. Antiochus II regains much of Anatolia from Ptolemy II, including the cities of Miletus and Ephesus, and also the Phoenician coast.

title: 253 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: Andragoras, a Seleucid satrap of the province of Partahia (Parthia), tries to gain independence from the Seleucid Kingdom under Antiochus II.

title: 250 BC

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Antiochus II leaves Berenice in order to live again with his former wife Laodice and his son Seleucus. However, Laodice poisons him and proclaims her son as King Seleucus II Callinicus, while her supporters in Antioch kill Berenice and her children who have taken refuge at Daphne, near Antioch, in Syria.

title: 246 BC

text: Antiochus II Theos, king of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East from 261 BC. He has spent much of his reign at war with Egypt, recovering much of the territory in Anatolia lost in earlier wars between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties (b. c. 287 BC)

title: 246 BC

text: Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe, wife of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she has persuaded him to bar from the succession to the throne in favour of her own.

title: 246 BC


slug: antiochus-iii-the-great

label: Antiochus III the Great

description: sixth Seleucid emperor (223–187 BC)

year_label: 242 BCE

text: Antiochus III the Great, Seleucid king of Hellenistic Syria (d. 187 BC)

title: 242 BC

year_label: 241 BCE

text: Antiochus III the Great, younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire (d. 187 BC)

title: 241 BC

year_label: 223 BCE

text: Seleucus III is succeeded by his younger brother, Antiochus III.

title: 223 BC

year_label: 222 BCE

text: Mithridates II of Pontus gives his daughter Laodice in marriage to the Seleucid king Antiochus III. Another of his daughters, also named Laodice, is married about the same time to general Achaeus.

title: 222 BC

year_label: 221 BCE

text: Xenoetas, Seleucid general (killed during a revolt against Antiochus III)

title: 221 BC

year_label: 220 BCE

text: Antiochus III the Great defeats Molon at the Tigris River, defeating and killing. Antiochus goes on to conquer Atropatene.

title: 220 BC

text: Molon, general of the Seleucid king Antiochus III who has rebelled against his rule

title: 220 BC

year_label: 219 BCE

text: Following the defection of one of Ptolemy IV's leading commanders, Egypt's Syrian territories are seriously threatened by Antiochus III, thus initiating the Fourth Syrian War. When the Seleucid ruler captures the important eastern Mediterranean sea ports of Seleucia-in-Pieria, Tyre, and Ptolemais, Ptolemy IV's advisor, Sosibius, and the Ptolemaic court enter into delaying negotiations with the enemy, while the Ptolemaic army is reorganized and intensively drilled.

title: 219 BC

year_label: 217 BCE

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Egyptian native hoplites under Ptolemy IV crush the Seleucid army under Antiochus III in the Battle of Raphia near Gaza. The realization of their military importance leads to demands by native Egyptians for greater privileges and so to the development of racial difficulties which will weaken the Ptolemy dynasty in the future.

title: 217 BC

year_label: 215 BCE

text: The Seleucid king, Antiochus III, crosses the Taurus Mountains, uniting his forces with Attalus of Pergamum and, in one campaign, deprives his rebel general, Achaeus, of all his dominions and takes Sardis (with the exception of the citadel).

title: 215 BC

year_label: 213 BCE

text: In alliance with Attalus I of Pergamum, Antiochus III finally captures the rebel king of Anatolia, Achaeus, in his capital, Sardis, after a siege of two years. Antiochus III then has Achaeus executed.

title: 213 BC

text: Achaeus, Seleucid general and later separatist ruler of most of Anatolia until his defeat and execution by the Seleucid king Antiochus III

title: 213 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: Having recovered the central part of Anatolia from the usurper Achaeus, Antiochus III turns his forces to recover the outlying provinces to the north and east of the Seleucid kingdom.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: Antiochus III's sister arranges for the removal of Armenia's king Xerxes, whom she has recently married. Antiochus III then divides the country into two satrapies.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 209 BCE

text: The King of the Parthians, Arsaces II, is attacked by the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who takes Hecatompylos (southeast of the Caspian Sea), the Arsacid capital and Syrinx in Hyrcania. Antiochus III defeats Arsaces II at the Battle of Mount Labus and then forces Arsaces II to enter into an alliance with the Seleucids.

title: 209 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

text: Antiochus III advances into Bactria, which is ruled by the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I, and defeats Euthydemus at the Battle of the Arius. After resisting a siege of his capital Bactra (Balkh) by the Seleucids, Euthydemus obtains an honourable peace by which Antiochus promises Euthydemus' son Demetrius the hand of one of his daughters.

title: 208 BC

year_label: 206 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Antiochus III marches across the Hindu Kush into the Kabul valley and renews his friendship with the Indian king Sophagasenus.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

text: Returning via the Persian provinces of Arachosia, Drangiana, and Carmania, Antiochus III arrives in Persis. He then leads a short expedition down the Persian Gulf and receives tribute of 500 talents of silver from the citizens of Gerrha, a mercantile state on the west coast of the Persian Gulf.

title: 205 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus III of the Syrian-based Seleucid kingdom realize Egypt's weakness and agree to partition Egypt's Anatolian and Aegean possessions. Antiochus' share is to be southern Syria, Lycia, Cilicia and Cyprus, while Philip is to gain western Anatolia and the Cyclades.

title: 204 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

text: During this period of confusion and change amongst Egypt’s leadership, armies under the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, make serious inroads into the Egyptian territories in Coele-Syria.

title: 202 BC

year_label: 200 BCE

text: Antiochus III's forces continue their invasion of Coele Syria and Palestine.

title: 200 BC

year_label: 198 BCE

text: The Battle of Panium is fought between Seleucid forces led by Antiochus III and Ptolemaic forces led by Scopas of Aetolia. The Seleucids win the battle which allows Antiochus III to obtain entire possession of Palestine and Coele-Syria from King Ptolemy V of Egypt. Though the Romans send ambassadors to Ptolemy V, they are unable to lend him any serious assistance against Antiochus III.

title: 198 BC

year_label: 197 BCE

text: Antiochus III occupies parts of the kingdom of Pergamum and a number of Greek cities in Anatolia.

title: 197 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 196 BCE

text: Antiochus III's army crosses the Hellespont into Thrace, where he claims sovereignty over territory that has been won by Seleucus I in 281 BC. A war of harassment and diplomacy with Rome ensues. The Romans send ambassadors demanding that Antiochus stay out of Greece and set free all the autonomous communities in Anatolia. To meet these demands would mean Antiochus III giving up the western part of his Seleucid Empire. Thus Antiochus refuses the Romans' demands.

title: 196 BC

year_label: 195 BCE

text: Because of his administrative and constitutional reforms in Carthage, Hannibal becomes unpopular with an important faction of the Carthaginian nobility and he is denounced to the Romans for inciting the Seleucid king Antiochus III to take up arms against the Romans. Rome demands that Carthage surrender Hannibal. However, Hannibal voluntarily goes into exile.

title: 195 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 194 BCE

text: With his peace agreement with the Egyptians in place, Antiochus III now turns his attention to the West. He is encouraged to challenge Rome's protection of the Greeks by his advisor, the former Carthaginian general Hannibal.

title: 194 BC

year_label: 193 BCE

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum appeals to Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus III who is threatening to conquer Greece. The Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus supports the Roman championship of Greek autonomy in Anatolia.

title: 193 BC

year_label: 192 BCE

text: Seleucid forces under their king, Antiochus III, invade Greece at the invitation of the Aetolian League, who are revolting against the Romans. The Aetolians appoint him commander in chief of their league. Antiochus lands in Demetrias, Thessaly with only 10,500 men and occupies Euboea. However, he finds little support for his cause in central Greece.

title: 192 BC

year_label: 191 BCE

text: The Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio and Cato the Elder cut the Seleucid king Antiochus III off from his reinforcements in Thrace and outflank his position at the pass of Thermopylae in the Battle of Thermopylae. With the remainder of his troops, Antiochus flees to Chalcis on Euboea and from there he retreats by sea to Ephesus.

title: 191 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 189 BCE

text: The defeat of Antiochus III by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia robs the Aetolian League of its principal foreign ally and makes it impossible for them to stand alone in continued opposition to Rome. The League is forced to sign a peace treaty with Rome that makes it a subject ally of the Republic. Although the League continues to exist in name, the power of the League is broken by the treaty and it never again constitutes a significant political or military force.

title: 189 BC

year_label: 188 BCE

text: Through the peace treaty of Apamea (in Phrygia), the Romans force the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, to surrender all his Greek and Anatolian possessions as far east as the Taurus Mountains, to pay 15,000 talents over a period of 12 years and to surrender to Rome the former Carthaginian general Hannibal, his elephants and his fleet, and furnish hostages, including the king's eldest son, Demetrius. Rome is now the master of the eastern Mediterranean while Antiochus III's empire is reduced to Syria, Mesopotamia, and western Iran.

title: 188 BC

year_label: 187 BCE

text: The Seleucid king, Antiochus III, attempts to collect tribute from a temple near Susa, Persia, where he was killed. He is succeeded by his son, Seleucus IV, who inherits an empire consisting of Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, western Iran.

title: 187 BC

text: Antiochus III the Great, Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian Empire from 223 BC (b. c. 241 BC)

title: 187 BC

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius are accused by Cato the Elder and his supporters of having received bribes from the late Seleucid king Antiochus III. Scipio defies his accusers, reminds the Romans of their debt to him, and retires to his country house at Liternum in Campania. However, Cato is successful in breaking the political influence of Lucius Scipio and Scipio Africanus.

title: 185 BC

text: During this period of uncertainty in Syria, the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy VI, lays claim to Coele Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia, which the Seleucid king Antiochus III has previously conquered. Both the Syrian and Egyptian parties appeal to Rome for help, but the Roman Senate refuses to take sides.

title: 175 BC

text: Antiochus IV pays the remainder of the war indemnity that has been imposed by the Romans on Antiochus III in the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC).

title: 173 BC


slug: antiochus-iv-epiphanes

label: Antiochus IV Epiphanes

description: king of the Seleucid Empire (175–164 BC)

year_label: 215 BCE

text: Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Empire (d. 164 BC) (approximate date)

title: 215 BC

year_label: 175 BCE

text: Antiochus manages to oust Heliodorus and takes advantage of Demetrius' captivity in Rome to seize the throne for himself under the name Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

title: 175 BC

text: King Seleucus IV of Syria arranges for the exchange of his brother Antiochus for Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV, who has been a hostage in Rome following the Treaty of Apamea in 188 BC. However, Seleucus IV is assassinated by his chief minister Heliodorus, who then seizes the Syrian throne.

title: 175 BC

year_label: 173 BCE

title: 173 BC

year_label: 170 BCE

text: With the guardians of the young king Ptolemy VI Philometor demanding the return of Coele-Syria to Egyptian control, the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, decides on a preemptive strike against Egypt and invades the country, conquering all but the city of Alexandria. He is also able to capture Ptolemy VI.

title: 170 BC

year_label: 169 BCE

text: King Perseus asks the Seleucid King Antiochus IV to join forces with him against the danger that Rome presents to all of the Hellenic monarchs. Antiochus IV does not respond.

title: 169 BC

year_label: 168 BCE

text: The fleet of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV wins a victory off Cyprus, whose governor then surrenders the island to him.

title: 168 BC

year_label: 167 BCE

text: King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, believing Judea to be in revolt, returns there after the failure of his Egyptian campaign.

title: 167 BC

year_label: 166 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus IV mounts a campaign against the Parthians who are threatening his empire in the east. He leaves his chancellor, Lysias, with responsibility for the government of southern Syria and the guardianship of his son.

title: 166 BC

year_label: 165 BCE

text: Artaxias I, king of Armenia, is taken captive by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he attacks Armenia. Artaxias is forced to recognize Antiochus IV's suzerainty over Armenia before he is released.

title: 165 BC

year_label: 164 BCE

text: Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("God Manifest"), Seleucid king of the Syrian kingdom who has reigned since 175 BC, and has encouraged Greek culture and institutions but also attempted to suppress Judaism, which has led to the uprisings in Judea towards the end of his reign (b. c. 215 BC)

title: 164 BC

year_label: 162 BCE

text: Lysias then lays siege to the city. Just when capitulation by the Maccabees seems imminent, Lysias has to withdraw when the commander-in-chief under the late Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Philip, rebels against him. As a result, Lysias decides to propose a peaceful settlement which is accepted by the Maccabees. The terms of peace involve the restoration of religious freedom, permission for the Jews to live in accordance with their own laws, and the official return of the Temple in Jerusalem to the Jews.

title: 162 BC

year_label: 160 BCE

text: Timarchus, Seleucid nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Anatolia, appointed governor of Media in western Iran by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes and who has rebelled against his successor, Demetrius I Soter, until he is killed in a battle with Demetrius' forces

title: 160 BC

year_label: 153 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter's relations with Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum and Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt deteriorate to the point where they support a rival claimant to the Syrian throne, Alexander Balas, who claims to be the son of the former Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes and, therefore, a first cousin of Demetrius. He has been "discovered" by Heracleides, a former minister of Antiochus IV and brother of Timarchus, who has been executed by Demetrius I Soter in 160 BC after leading a revolt against him in Media.

title: 153 BC

year_label: 150 BCE

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

title: 150 BC


slug: antipater

label: Antipater

description: Macedonian general and regent

year_label: 400 BCE

text: Antipater, a Macedonian general (d. 319 BC).

title: 400 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

text: King Alexander III of Macedonia crosses the Dardanelles, leaving Antipater, who has already faithfully served his father, Philip II, as his deputy in Greece with over 13,000 men. Alexander himself commands about 30,000 foot soldiers and over 5,000 cavalry, of whom nearly 14,000 are Macedonians and about 7,000 are allies sent by the Greek League.

title: 334 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 331 BCE

text: Alexander's regent Antipater leads the Macedonians to victory over King Agis III in the Battle of Megalopolis.

title: 331 BC

year_label: 330 BCE

text: Alexander's regent in Macedonia, Antipater, makes peace with the Thracians (with whom he has been warring) and then marches south with a large force of over 40,000 men. He wins a hard-fought Battle of Megalopolis in Arcadia against Agis III of Sparta and his Greek mercenaries. Agis III is killed, and Spartan resistance is broken.

title: 330 BC

year_label: 323 BCE

text: Some Greek cities, including Athens, revolt against the Macedonian regent, Antipater, following the news of Alexander's death. Athens' actions are incited by the speeches of the Athenian general Leosthenes and the Athenian orator Hypereides. Joined by cities in central and south Greece, the Athenians defeat Antipater in battle. They force him to take refuge in Lamia, where he is besieged for several months by the Greek allies.

title: 323 BC

year_label: 322 BCE

text: The Athenians and their allies' siege of the Macedonian ruler, Antipater, in Lamia is relieved by Leonnatus with an army of 20,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. Leonnatus is killed in the action.

title: 322 BC

year_label: 321 BCE

text: Antipater appoints Antigonus commander in chief of his army in Asia Minor and sends him with Craterus to fight against Eumenes, the satrap of Cappadocia and a supporter of Perdiccas.

title: 321 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 320 BCE

text: Alexander the Great's various generals control different parts of Alexander's empire. Ptolemy controls Egypt, Seleucus controls Babylon and Syria, Antipater and his son Cassander control Macedon and Greece, Antigonus controls Phrygia and other parts of Asia Minor, Lysimachus controls Thrace and Pergamum and Eumenes controls the Cappadocia and Pontus areas.

title: 320 BC

year_label: 319 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: The Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, is sent to the Macedonian court, but either the Macedonian regent Antipater or his son Cassander, learning that Demades has intrigued with the former regent Perdiccas, puts him to death.

title: 319 BC

text: Antipater, Macedonian general, regent of Alexander the Great's empire (b. 397 BC)

title: 319 BC

year_label: 318 BCE

text: In a power struggle in Athens after the death of Antipater, Phocion is deposed as the ruler of Athens, convicted of treason, and executed by those Athenians hoping to restore democracy to the city. Shortly afterward, the Athenians decree a public burial and a statue in his honor.

title: 318 BC

year_label: 287 BCE

text: Phila, daughter of Antipater, the regent of Macedonia

title: 287 BC

year_label: 284 BCE

text: Ptolemy I's eldest (legitimate) son, Ptolemy Keraunos, whose mother, Eurydice, the daughter of Antipater, had been repudiated by the new King Ptolemy II, flees Egypt to the court of Lysimachus, the king of Thrace, Macedon and Asia Minor.

title: 284 BC


slug: antipope-benedict-xiii

label: Antipope Benedict XIII

description: cardinal, antipope from 1394 to 1423 (1328-1423)

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Antipope Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna (d. 1423)

title: 1328

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Pope Gregory XI designates nine new cardinals at Avignon, having appointed 21 new cardinals to supplement the 20 who had been living when he became Pope. Among those selected are Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor, who becomes the second antipope at Avignon during the Western Schism between Avignon and Rome.

title: 1375

section: Events › October–December

date: July 8

text: July 8 – At a gathering of French cardinals at the Palais des Papes in Avignon, the assembled clerics demand the resignation of the antipope Benedict XIII (Pedro Martinez de Luna), who nine months earlier had been elected as the alternative to the Roman Pope Boniface IX. The only dissenting voice is Cardinal Martín de Zalba, but Benedict refuses to step down.

title: 1395

section: Events › July–September

date: July 27

text: July 27 – Following the consensus of the Assembly of Paris of that had begun meeting on May 11, King Charles V of France signs an ordinance withdrawing obedience to both the French Avignon pope Benedict XIII and to Rome's Pope Boniface IX to issue benefices to persons who offer services to the Catholic Church. An army led by Geoffrey Boucicaut occupies Avignon, and starts a five-year siege of the papal palace.

title: 1398

text: March 12 – As King Martin I of Aragon helps to end the siege by the French of the papal palace in Avignon, Antipope Benedict XIII flees to the Crown of Aragon.

title: 1403

section: Events › January–March

date: January 12

text: January 12 – Western Schism: King Charles VI of France sends a letter to the Antipope Benedict XIII at Avignon, giving an ultimatum to Benedict and the other Avignon Papacy proponents to end the schism in the Roman Catholic Church against the Roman Obedience, headed by Pope Gregory XII. King Charles VI threatens that unless the schism ends by Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter (in 1408, April 24, with Ascension Day on June 3), France will end its support of the Avignon Obedience.

title: 1408

date: March 25

text: March 25 – On the day of the Feast of the Annunciation, the Council of Pisa opens at the Cathedral of Pisa with 22 cardinals, four patriarchs and 80 bishops to seek an end to the Western Schism and resolve the conflict between Pope Gregory XII of the Rome and Antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon.

title: 1409

section: Health & Medicine

date: February 26

text: February 26 – A papal bull is issued from Avignon by the Antipope Benedict XIII for Joan Gilabert Jofré to create the Hospital dels Ignoscents, the world's first hospital for the treatment of mental illness.

title: 1410

date: August 28

text: August 28 – The University of St Andrews in Scotland is chartered by papal bull issued by Antipope Benedict XIII.

title: 1413

text: Antipope Benedict XIII orders all Talmuds to be delivered to the diocese, and held until further notice.

title: 1415

section: Events › Date unknown

date: May 11

text: May 11 – From Valencia in Spain, the Antipope Benedict XIII issues a papal bull with eleven prohibitions against Jews, including a ban on teaching, reading or possessing the Talmud; prohibition of Jewish possession of Christian artifacts or Christian books; limiting each town to only one synagogue; barring Jews from serving specific jobs or making contracts; segregating Jews from Christians in all public places; and requiring all Jews to wear "a red and yellow sign" on their clothes. Jews who convert to the Roman Catholic faith become exempt from the restrictions

title: 1415

section: Events › April–June

text: July 27 – After being the last claimant to the papacy, the Antipope Benedict XIII is excommunicated and deposed by the Council of Constance, bringing to an end the Great Western Schism.

title: 1417

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Gil Sánchez Muñoz y Carbón, a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop, is elected by bishops in Avignon as the third "antipope", succeeding the late Antipope Benedict XIII, who had died on May 23 after a reign of more than 20 years. Sánchez Muñoz takes the name of Antipope Clement VIII as the Avignon clergy disagree with Pope Martin V of Rome.

title: 1423

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Antipope Benedict XIII (b. 1328)

title: 1423


slug: antoninus-pius

label: Antoninus Pius

description: 15th Roman Emperor (138–161)

year_label: 86 CE

section: Births

date: September 19

text: September 19 – Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor (d. 161)

title: AD 86

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Emperor Hadrian makes Antoninus Pius his successor, on condition that he adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

title: AD 138

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Tomb of Hadrian in Rome is completed; Emperor Antoninus Pius cremates the body of Hadrian, and places his ashes, together with that of his wife Vibia Sabina and his adopted son, Lucius Aelius, in the mausoleum.

title: AD 139

text: Emperor Antoninus Augustus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar become Roman Consuls.

title: AD 140

text: Emperor Antoninus Pius orders the construction of the Antonine Wall. The wall stretches 39 miles (63 km), from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde, to Carriden near Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth (Scotland). The Romans build 19 forts and smaller fortlets (milecastles), to protect the border against the Caledonians.

title: AD 142

text: Antoninus Pius serves as Roman Consul.

title: AD 143

title: AD 145

text: Marcus Aurelius receives imperial powers, from Emperor Antoninus Pius.

title: AD 147

section: Culture & Society

text: Emperor Antoninus Pius hosts a series of grand games, to celebrate Rome's 900th anniversary.

title: AD 148

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Emperor Antoninus Pius dies, and is succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, who shares imperial power with Lucius Verus, although Marcus retains the title Pontifex Maximus.

title: AD 161

text: March 7 – Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor (b. AD 86)

title: AD 161