slug: cyrene-libya

label: Cyrene, Libya

description: ancient Greek and Roman city near present-day Shahhat, Libya

year_label: 631 BCE

text: Cyrene, a Greek colony in present-day Libya, North Africa, is founded by emigrants from the island of Thera (approximate date).

title: 631 BC

section: Events

text: Battus II of Cyrene, Greek king of Cyrene and Cyrenaica

title: 560 BC

year_label: 515 BCE

text: Pheretima (Cyrenaean Queen), wife of the Greek Cyrenaean King Battus III and the last recorded queen of the Battiad dynasty in Cyrenaica

title: 515 BC

text: The King of Sparta, Agesilaus II, dies at Cyrene, Cyrenaica, on his way home to Greece from Egypt. He is succeeded by his son Archidamus III as Eurypontid king of Sparta.

title: 360 BC

year_label: 313 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: A revolt in Cyrene is also crushed.

title: 313 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 312 BCE

text: The people of Cyrene in the Cyrenaica rise up in a revolt against Ptolemy, putting the Ptolemaic garrison, which occupies their citadel, under siege. After they execute Ptolemy's envoys, who came to bade them to cease their sedition, he sends Agis (one of his generals) with an army and Epaunetus (another general) with a fleet to put down the rebellion. Agis storms the city, captures the rebels, and sends the ringleaders to Alexandria.

title: 312 BC

text: Agathocles sends Orthon the Syracusan to Cyrene to request aid in subduing Carthage from Ophellas (Ptolemy's governor of Cyrenaica).

title: 308 BC

year_label: 260 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Callimachus of Cyrene, learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria.

title: 260 BC

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

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Egypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks.

title: 246 BC

title: 245 BC

year_label: 193 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Carneades of Cyrene moves to Athens to found the third or new Academy.

title: 193 BC

year_label: 74 BCE

text: Cyrene becomes a Roman province.

title: 74 BC

year_label: 30 BCE

text: Summer – Cornelius Gallus lands in Cyrene and occupies Paraetonium. Mark Antony storms the city walls and blockades the harbour, then retreats with his army (7 legions) to Egypt and receives the news that Pelusium has opened its gates to Octavian without resistance.

title: 30 BC

section: Climate & Environment

text: An earthquake strikes Ephesus and Pergamon and another strikes Cyrene.

title: 262

text: Byzantine–Sassanian War: A Persian expeditionary force under Shahrbaraz invades Egypt, and occupies the province. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons in the Nile Valley, the Persians march across the Libyan Desert as far as Cyrene.

title: 618

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: A Muslim Arab army led by Uqba ibn Nafi reaches Morocco, before being forced back into Cyrene by the Berbers.

title: 681

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


slug: cyrus-the-great

label: Cyrus the Great

description: founder of the Achaemenid Empire (559–529 BC)

year_label: 640 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Teispes, son of Achaemenes and ancestor of Cyrus the Great

title: 640 BC

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Births

text: Cyrus the Great, king of Persia (or 576 BC)

title: 600 BC

year_label: 576 BCE

text: Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire (or 600 BC)

title: 576 BC

year_label: 559 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Cyrus the Great succeeds his father Cambyses I of Anshan.

title: 559 BC

text: Cambyses I, father of Cyrus the Great and king of Anshan

title: 559 BC

year_label: 553 BCE

text: Cyrus II of Persia revolts against Astyages of the Medes.

title: 553 BC

year_label: 552 BCE

text: The Battle of Hyrba is fought between the Medians and the Persians led by Cyrus the Great.

title: 552 BC

year_label: 549 BCE

text: King Cyrus II (the Great) captures the Median capital of Ecbatana, conquering the nation of Media.

title: 549 BC

section: Events › By place › Persia

year_label: 547 BCE

text: The Battles of Thymbra and Pteria are fought between Croesus of Lydia and Cyrus the Great.

title: 547 BC

year_label: 546 BCE

text: Cyrus makes Pasargadae the capital of Persia.

title: 546 BC

year_label: 539 BCE

date: September 25

text: September 25–28? – Battle of Opis: Troops of the Persian Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great decisively defeat those of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

title: 539 BC

section: Events › By place › Near East

year_label: 538 BCE

text: The Babylonian captivity of the Jews in Babylon ends when Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, allows them to return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest; possible start of construction of the Second Temple.

title: 538 BC

year_label: 530 BCE

text: Cyrus II is killed in battle against unknown tribes and succeeded by Cambyses II.

title: 530 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: December

text: December — Cyrus the Great, ruler of Persia (b. 576 or 600 BC)

title: 530 BC


slug: cyzicus

label: Cyzicus

description: ancient city of Mysia in modern-day Turkey

year_label: 410 BCE

text: Commanding 20 ships, the Athenian generals Theramenes and Thrasybulus collaborate with Alcibiades and the main Athenian fleet in inflicting a major defeat on the Spartan navy commanded by Mindarus and its supporting Persian land army near Cyzicus on the shore of the Propontis (Sea of Marmara). As a result of its victory in the Battle of Cyzicus, Athens regains control over the vital grain route from the Black Sea.

title: 410 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 201 BCE

text: Rhodes and its allies Pergamum, Cyzicus, and Byzantium combine their fleets and defeat Philip V in the Battle of Chios. His flagship is trapped and rammed by two enemy ships.

title: 201 BC

text: The Heruli invade the Black Sea coast; they unsuccessfully attack Byzantium and Cyzicus. The Roman fleet defeats the Herulian fleet (500 ships) but allows them to escape into the Aegean Sea, where they raid the islands of Lemnos and Skyros.

title: 267

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Crime & Justice

text: John the Cappadocian, praetorian prefect of the East, is dismissed by the Byzantine empress Theodora for treason. He is banished to Cyzicus, and his estates are confiscated.

title: 541

text: Spring – Arab forces that have taken Chalcedon, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, threaten the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Muslim-Arabs are decimated by famine and disease. Yazid, the Arab commander, retreats to the island of Cyzicus (modern Turkey).

title: 669

text: Arab-Byzantine War: The Arab fleet dominates the Aegean Sea and conquers the strategic islands, Rhodes, Cos and Chios. The shore on the southern part of Sea of Marmara is taken, providing an excellent base at Cyzicus to begin the blockade of Constantinople by sea.

title: 670

text: Winter – Arab forces under Yazid (son of caliph Muawiyah I) retire to Cyzicus (Turkey). For the next 4 years the Arab fleet installs a loose blockade around Constantinople.

title: 674

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

title: AD 679


slug: czech-republic

label: Czech Republic

description: country in Central Europe

text: c. 2300 BC: The Unetice culture emerges in the modern-day Czech Republic.

title: 23rd century BC

section: Events

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The town Slaný in the Central Bohemian Region (Czech Republic) is founded at the site of a salt spring, according to one chronicle written in the sixteenth century (approximate date).

title: 750

section: Events › Europe

text: Bořivoj I, duke of Bohemia, makes Levý Hradec (modern Czech Republic) his residence. Around this time Prague Castle is founded (approximate date).

title: 870

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Ludmila, Bohemian duchess and widow of Bořivoj I, is murdered by her daughter-in-law Drahomíra at Tetín (modern Czech Republic). Ludmila will be canonised and become the patron saint of Bohemia and is venerated in the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches.

title: 921

text: The bishopric of Olomouc (located on the River Morava) is founded (modern Czech Republic).

title: 1063

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Klenová Castle is constructed in southern Bohemia near the town of Klatovy (modern Czech Republic) as part of a frontier defense system.

title: 1291

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Elizabeth Richeza, 14-year-old daughter of the late King Przemysl II of Poland, marries her father's former rival and the new King of Poland, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. The marriage takes place at the Prague Cathedral in Bohemia

title: 1303

section: Events › April–June

section: Science & Discovery

text: The Prague Astronomical Clock (also known as Prague Orloj) is built by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

title: 1410

section: Events › Date unknown

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Hussite Wars After their offer of a surrender is refused, the outnumbered Hussites of Bohemia, led by Jan Zizka, defeat the invading Holy Roman Imperial forces at the Battle of Sudoměř fought near modern-day Čejetice in the Czech Republic.

title: 1420

section: Events › January–March

date: August 5

text: August 5 – At the Battle of Brüx, Hussite troops led by Jan Želivský, are defeated by the German Saxon baron Frederick of Meissen at what is now the city of Most in what is now the Czech Republic.

title: 1421

section: Events › July–September

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Hussite Wars: In what is now the Czech Republic, General Sigismund Korybut, commander of the Hussite Army, withdraws his troops from Prague on the orders of Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland.

title: 1423

section: Events › October–December

date: September 13

text: September 13 – After the signing of a treaty between the different factions in the Hussite Wars, the Bohemian campaign is completed in the modern-day Czech Republic.

title: 1424

section: Events › July –September

date: November 11

text: November 11 – The Battle of Kratzau takes place in Bohemia in what is now the city of Chrastava in the Czech Republic, as the Silesian troops of the Bohemian Crown Lands under of the Holy Roman Empire

title: 1428

date: April 25

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

title: 1459

date: March 19

text: March 19 – John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký) of Bohemia is canonized by Pope Benedict XIII more than 300 years after being tortured and drowned in 1393 by order of King Wenceslaus IV; John becomes patron saint of Roman Catholics in the Czech Republic.

title: 1729

date: December 18

text: December 18 – The Laurin & Klement automobile brand, predecessor of Škoda Auto, is founded as a bicycle manufacturer in central Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic).

title: 1895

section: Events › December

date: February 15

text: February 15 – Abortion in Poland: Lech Walesa signs into law one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in Eastern Europe, banning abortion for any reason other than rape, incest, genetic deformity, or if the mother's life is in danger. Polish women seeking elective abortions must hereafter travel to the Czech Republic.

title: 1993

section: Events › February

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Czechoslovakia ceases to exist, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia separate in the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

title: 1993

section: Events › January

date: July 8

text: July 8 – NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.

title: 1997

section: Events › July

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Former Warsaw Pact members Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic join NATO.

title: 1999

section: Events › March

date: April 16

text: April 16 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens between the European Union and ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia), concerning these countries' accession into the EU, leading to the 2004 enlargement of the European Union.

title: 2003

section: Events › April

date: November 3

text: November 3 – The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law.

title: 2009

section: Events › November

date: July 1

text: July 1 – the Czech Republic takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the French presidency.

title: 2022

date: December 21

text: December 21 – The deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic's history occurs at a Prague university, with 15 killed, including the perpetrator, and 25 others wounded.

title: 2023


slug: czechoslovakia

label: Czechoslovakia

description: country in Central Europe (1918–1992)

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: January 1 – The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.

title: 1919

section: Crime & Justice

date: August 30

text: August 30 – German-Jewish philosopher Theodor Lessing is shot in Marienbad (Mariánské Lázně), Czechoslovakia, dying the following day.

title: 1933

section: Events › August

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 23

text: May 23 – No evidence of German troop movements against Czechoslovakia is found, and the May Crisis subsides. Germany is, nevertheless, perceived to have backed down in the face of Czechoslovak mobilization and international diplomatic unity, but the issue of the future of the Sudetenland is far from resolved.

title: 1938

section: Events › May

date: October 21

text: October 21 – In direct contravention of the recently signed Munich Agreement, Adolf Hitler circulates among his high command a secret memorandum stating that they should prepare for the "liquidation of the rest of Czechoslovakia" and the occupation of Memel.

title: 1938

section: Events › October

date: October 5

text: October 5 – Edvard Beneš, president of Czechoslovakia, resigns.

title: 1938

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Winston Churchill warns of grave consequences to European security, if Czechoslovakia is partitioned. The same day, Soviet Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov makes a similar statement in the League of Nations.

title: 1938

section: Events › September

date: September 29

text: September 29 – Munich Agreement: German, Italian, British and French leaders agree to German demands regarding annexation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak government is largely excluded from the negotiations, and is not a signatory to the agreement.

title: 1938

date: September 5

text: September 5 – Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš invites mid-level representatives of the Sudeten Germans Hradčany Palace, to tell them he will accept whatever demands they care to make, provided the Sudetenland remains part of the Republic of Czechoslovakia.

title: 1938

date: March 15

text: March 15 – German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist. The Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia declares independence as Carpatho-Ukraine.

title: 1939

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Czechoslovakia cedes Carpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union.

title: 1945

section: Events › June

date: September 8

text: September 8 – Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, 48 representatives out of 51 attending sign a peace treaty with Japan, formally ending the Pacific War; the delegations of the Soviet Union, Poland and Czechoslovakia do not sign the treaty, instead favoring separate treaties.

title: 1951

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Uprising in Plzeň: Currency reform causes riots in Czechoslovakia.

title: 1953

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 14

text: November 14 – Stéblová train disaster: A head-on collision between two trains in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, kills 118 people.

title: 1960

date: July 7

text: July 7 – A coal mine in Czechoslovakia has one of its sections closed off in order to extinguish a fire and prevent an explosion, causing the suffocation of 108 miners still present.

title: 1961

section: Health & Medicine

date: October 28

text: October 28 – A cholera outbreak in eastern Slovakia causes Hungary to close its border with Czechoslovakia.

title: 1970

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Yugoslavian air stewardess Vesna Vulović is the only survivor when her plane crashes in Czechoslovakia. She survives after falling 10160 m ft in the tail section of the aircraft.

title: 1972

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Seven men and three women hijack a plane from Czechoslovakia to West Germany.

title: 1972

section: Culture & Society

text: March 25 – The Candle demonstration in Bratislava, Slovakia, is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the socialist government in Czechoslovakia.

title: 1988

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: November 1

text: November 1 – The border between East Germany and Czechoslovakia is reopened.

title: 1989

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – A peaceful student demonstration in Prague, Czechoslovakia, is severely beaten back by riot police. This sparks a revolution aimed at overthrowing the Communist government (it succeeds on December 29).

title: 1989

date: November 20

text: November 20 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – The number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia, swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million.

title: 1989

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces they will give up their monopoly on political power (elections held in December bring the first non-Communist government to Czechoslovakia in more than forty years).

title: 1989

date: October 3

text: October 3 – The government of East Germany closes the country's border with Czechoslovakia to prevent further emigration to the West.

title: 1989

text: February 15 – The Visegrád Group, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is established by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland.

title: 1991

date: May 10

text: May 10 – Sweden wins the Ice Hockey World Championships in Czechoslovakia defeating Finland, 5–2, in the final game in Prague.

title: 1992

title: 1993


slug: dacia

label: Dacia

description: Balkan kingdom of the Dacians (168 BC-106 AD)

year_label: 713 BCE

section: Births

text: 713 BC—Birth of semi-legendary Zalmoxis in Dacia.

title: 710s BC

section: Births and death

year_label: 82 BCE

text: Burebista unifies the Dacian population forming the first (and biggest) unified Dacian Kingdom, on the territory of modern Romania and surroundings. 82 BC is also the starting year of his reign.

title: 82 BC

section: Events › By place › Dacia

year_label: 44 BCE

text: Comosicus succeeds Burebista as king of Dacia.

title: 44 BC

section: Events › By place › Europe

year_label: 34 CE

text: The original inhabitants of Dacia revolt against the Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges, who had enslaved them.

title: 30s

section: Events › 34 AD › Europe

year_label: 85 CE

text: Dacians under Decebalus engage in two wars against the Romans from this year to AD 88 or 89.

title: AD 85

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 86 CE

section: Deaths

text: First Battle of Tapae: Roman legions face disaster in Dacia, when Roman general Cornelius Fuscus launches a powerful offensive that becomes a failure. Encircled in the valley of Timi, he dies along with his entire army. Rome must pay tribute to the Dacians in exchange for a vague recognition of Rome's importance.

title: AD 86

year_label: 87 CE

text: Decebalus becomes king of Dacia.

title: AD 87

year_label: 89 CE

text: Legio XIII Gemina is transferred to Dacia, to help in the war against King Decebalus.

title: AD 89

text: Emperor Trajan starts an expedition against Dacia, exceeding the limits of the Roman Empire set by Augustus.

title: AD 101

text: Emperor Trajan returns to Rome after a successful campaign against Dacia, through which he reestablishes clear Roman sovereignty over King Decebalus.

title: AD 102

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Apollodorus of Damascus builds a stone bridge over the Danube more than 1,000 m ft long, almost 20 m ft high and 15 m ft wide. The bridge connects what is now Serbia with Romania (at the time known as Dacia).

title: AD 104

text: Emperor Trajan starts the second expedition against Dacia; he leaves with the Imperial Roman fleet from Brundusium.

title: AD 105

text: Decebalus, king of Dacia (suicide, being pursued by the Romans) (b. AD 87)

title: AD 106

date: August 11

text: August 11 – The south-eastern part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia. The veterans of the legions are given land in the new province for their service in the Roman army.

title: AD 106

text: A revolt against Roman rule begins in Dacia.

title: AD 157

section: Events › Roman Empire

text: A revolt against Roman rule in Dacia is crushed.

title: AD 158

text: Dacia is invaded by barbarians.

title: AD 166

text: The Costoboci cross the Danube (Dacia) and ravage Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula. They reach Eleusina, near Athens, and destroy the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

title: AD 170

text: The Costoboci cross the Danube (Dacia) and ravage Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula. They reach Eleusis, near Athens, and destroy the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

title: AD 171

text: The Goths invade Asia Minor. Dacia is lost for the Roman Empire, and the Goths appear at the walls of Thessalonica.

title: 256

text: Aurelian withdraws Rome's administrative and military presence from Dacia (modern Romania), thereby rationalizing the Danube frontier and freeing resources for the forthcoming campaign against Zenobia.

title: 271

text: Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius battle the Sarmates, the Goths and the Carpians along the Danube. Constantine leads a punitive expedition into Dacia and reestablishes the Roman fortifications of the frontier.

title: 315

text: Emperor Theodosius I cedes Dacia and Macedonia to Valentinian II. They recognize Magnus Maximus as Augustus.

title: AD 383

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 7

text: February 7 – Leo I, a Thraco-Roman (or Dacian) high-ranking officer, becomes the new emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reigning for nearly 20 years. He is first to accept the Byzantine crown from the hands of the patriarch of Constantinople.

title: 457

text: Emperor Leo I repels the Hun invasion of Dacia (modern Romania). They ravage the Balkans but are unable to take Constantinople thanks to the city walls, which are rebuilt and reinforced.

title: 466

text: Kubrat, ruler of the Dulo clan, takes power from the Pannonian Avars and establishes Old Great Bulgaria in the area of Black Cumania. Kubrat's rule stretches from Dacia to Poltava.

title: 632


slug: dagobert-i

label: Dagobert I

description: Frankish king

text: Dagobert I, king of the Franks (d. 639)

title: 603

text: King Clothar II gives Austrasia to his son Dagobert I, age 20, effectively granting the kingdom semi-autonomy in repayment for the support of its nobles, most notably Pepin of Landen (Mayor of the Palace), and in recognition of calls from the Austrasians for a king of their own. Arnulf, bishop of Metz, becomes advisor to Dagobert.

title: 623

text: King Chlothar II dies after a 16-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Dagobert I. Counseled by Bishop Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen (Mayor of the Palace), he moves the capital to Paris.

title: 629

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Wogastisburg: The Slavs under King Samo defeat the Austrasian Franks, in a three-day battle. King Dagobert I is forced to retreat; the Franks with their allies are slaughtered. Samo invades Thuringia and undertakes looting raids.

title: 631

date: April 8

text: April 8 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), (possibly on orders of his half-brother Dagobert I), along with his infant son. Dagobert I claims Aquitaine and Gascony, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in the West.

title: 632

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Dagobert I is forced by the Austrasian nobles to put his 3-year-old son Sigebert III on the throne, ceding royal power in Austrasia. He frees himself from dependence on Pepin of Landen, and extends his rule over the Bretons (approximate date).

title: 634

text: Judicaël, high king of Domnonée (Brittany), visits King Dagobert I at his palace in Clichy (northwest of Paris), to promise he will remain under Frankish lordship. The Breton king arrives with gifts, but insults Dagobert by refusing to eat at the royal table.

title: 635

date: January 19

text: January 19 – Dagobert I, king of the Franks (b. c. 603)

title: 639

text: January 19 – Dagobert I dies after a 10-year reign as king of all the Franks, in which his realm has prospered. He is succeeded by Sigebert III (age 9), independent ruler of Austrasia, and his half-brother Clovis II (age 2), who becomes king of Neustria and Burgundy. Under the supervision of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace, the royal treasury is distributed between the two brothers and widowed queen Nanthild (regent on Clovis' behalf).

title: 639

text: Aega, Mayor of the Palace and regent (alongside of queen mother Nanthild) of Neustria and Burgundy, dies during the reign of King Clovis II. He is replaced by Erchinoald, a relative of Dagobert I's mother.

title: 641


slug: dal-riata

label: Dál Riata

description: Gaelic overkingdom that included parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ulster in Ireland

text: Domangart Réti succeeds his father Fergus Mór, after he dies during a campaign against the Picts. He becomes the new king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland) (according to the Annals of Tigernach).

title: 501

section: Events › By place › Britannia

text: Fergus Mór, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 501

text: Domangart Réti, king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland)

title: 507

text: Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata (Scotland) (approximate date)

title: 532

text: Gabrán mac Domangairt becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland).

title: 538

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Comgall mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata (approximate date)

title: 538

text: Conall mac Comgaill becomes king of Dál Riata, a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland.

title: 558

text: Gabrán mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata

title: 558

text: Conall mac Comgaill, king of Dál Riata

title: 574

text: The Convention of Druim Cett: Irish kings discuss the relationship between them and King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata. The Irish colony (now western Scotland) is confirmed, and rights to tax and levy are agreed to between the rulers.

title: 575

text: Battle of Raith: An invading force of Angles lands on the Fife coast near Raith (Kirkcaldy) and defeats an alliance of Scots, Britons and Picts, under King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata (Scotland).

title: 596

text: Eochaid Buide succeeds his father Áedán mac Gabráin as king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland).

title: 608

text: Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata

title: 608

text: Battle of Fid Eoin: King Connad Cerr of Dál Riata is killed by the Dál nAraidi of the over-kingdom of Ulaid in north-eastern Ireland (approximate date).

title: 629

text: Connad Cerr, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 629

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Battle of Mag Rath: King Oswald of Northumbria sends troops to Ireland, to assist Domnall Brecc King of Dál Riata in his alliance with King Congal Cáech of Ulaid against Domnall mac Áedo High King of Ireland, during the Irish dynastic wars. Domnall Brecc, Congal and their forces are defeated near Moira. At the Mull of Kintyre (southwest Scotland), Domnall mac Áedo's fleet destroys Domnall Brecc's naval force of Dál Riata.

title: 637

text: Domnall Brecc, king of Dál Riata

title: 642

text: Ferchar mac Connaid, king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland)

title: 650

text: Dúnchad mac Conaing, king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland)

title: 654

text: King Conall Crandomna of Dál Riata (modern Scotland) dies, and is succeeded by his nephew Domangart mac Domnaill.

title: 660

text: Conall Crandomna, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 660

text: Adomnan of Iona, a contemporary Irish abbot and saint, writes that the epidemic affects all of Ireland and Great Britain, except for Dál Riata and Pictland.

title: 664

section: Events › By place › Great Britain & Ireland

text: Domangart mac Domnaill, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 673

text: King Domangart mac Domnaill of Dál Riata (Scotland) dies, and is succeeded by his nephew Máel Dúin mac Conaill. He probably submits to King Ecgfrith of Northumbria as his overlord.

title: 673

text: Máel Dúin mac Conaill, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 688

text: Domnall Donn, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 696

text: Eochaid mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata

title: 697

text: Fiannamail ua Dúnchado becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland), until his death around 700 (approximate date).

title: 698

text: Ainbcellach mac Ferchair, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 698

text: Fiannamail ua Dúnchado, king of Dál Riata

title: 700

text: Dúngal mac Selbaig is deposed as king of Dál Riata (Scotland). He is succeeded by Eochaid mac Echdach (a son of former king Eochaid mac Domangairt).

title: 726

text: Selbach mac Ferchair, king of Dál Riata

title: 730

text: Eochaid mac Echdach, king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland)

title: 733

text: King Óengus I of the Picts invades the neighbouring kingdom of Dál Riata, which is subjugated. He takes the fortress of Dunadd, and establishes his rule in Scotland for over two decades.

title: 736

text: Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig, king of Dál Riata

title: 736

text: Áed Find, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 778

text: King Fergus mac Echdach of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 781

text: Áed mac Boanta, king of Dál Riata

title: 839

date: February 13

text: February 13 – King Kenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín), king of the Scots, dies after a 15-year reign in which he has been crowned at Scone, and united the various parts of Scotland with his native Dál Riata. His 46-year-old brother succeeds as Donald I, king of Alba.

title: 858


slug: dalmatia-roman-province

label: Dalmatia (Roman province)

description: Roman province

year_label: 35 BCE

text: Illyria becomes a Roman province. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian conducts a rendezvous with the Roman fleet under Agrippa, which is engaged in clearing the Dalmatian coast of piracy.

title: 35 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 34 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian pacifies Dalmatia and Pannonia forming the province of Illyricum, while Antony regains Armenia from Parthia. Octavian reduces the outposts defending the Liburnian town of Promona, sets up siege works and forces its surrender.

title: 34 BC

year_label: 31 BCE

text: Octavian crosses the Strait of Otranto and lands with an army (15 legions) at Panormus in Dalmatia. He marches to Toryne in the south, and establishes a bridgehead at the Gulf of Ambracia.

title: 31 BC

year_label: 6 CE

text: AD 6 – The Illyrian tribes in Dalmatia and Pannonia revolt and begin the Bellum Batonianum or Great Illyrian Revolt.

title: 0s

year_label: 7 CE

text: AD 7 – Illyrian tribes in Pannonia and Dalmatia continue the Great Illyrian Revolt against Roman rule.

title: 0s

year_label: 9 CE

text: AD 9 – First record of the subdivision of the province of Illyricum into lower (Pannonia) and upper (Dalmatia) regions.

title: 0s

year_label: 42 CE

text: Dalmatian legate Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus revolts, but his troops defect, and his rebellion quickly withers.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 42

text: The fossils of large prehistoric animals are discovered in Dalmatia.

title: AD 128

section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences

text: Roman civil war: Roman forces under command of Flavius Aetius are defeated near Rimini (Italy) in battle. His rival comes Bonifacius is mortally wounded and dies several days later. Aetius flees to Dalmatia and seeks refuge with the Huns.

title: 432

text: The Ostrogoths conquer Pannonia and Dalmatia.

title: 455

text: Julius Nepos, former emperor of the Western Roman Empire, plans military campaigns in Dalmatia against Odoacer, hoping to regain control of Italy himself.

title: 479


slug: dalmatia

label: Dalmatia

description: historical and cultural Croatian region

year_label: 155 BCE

text: As part of the Roman efforts to fully conquer and occupy the whole of Illyria, a Roman army under consul Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum attacks the Dalmatians for the first time and conquers the Dalmatian capital of Delminium. As a result, the Dalmatians are compelled to pay tribute to Rome, which puts an end to the first Dalmatian war. In recognition of his victory, Corculum is granted a triumph in Rome.

title: 155 BC

date: April

text: April – Octavian returns from Apollonia in Dalmatia to Rome to take up Caesar's inheritance, against advice from Atia (his mother and Caesar's niece) and consul Antony.

title: 44 BC

date: December 28

text: December 28 – Majorian is crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by Pope Leo I. His rule is accepted in Italy, Dalmatia and some territories in Northern Gaul.

title: 457

text: Glycerius is exiled to Dalmatia (Balkans) and becomes bishop of Salona. Neither the Senate nor the Gallo-Roman aristocracy decide to resist, and Nepos accepts the imperial purple.

title: 474

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Magister Militum Orestes takes control of the government in Ravenna, and forces Julius Nepos to flee to Dalmatia.

title: 475

text: Julius Nepos, de jure ruler, becomes legally the last "Western Roman Emperor". He governs Dalmatia (Balkans), Morocco, and Northwest Gaul until his death in 480, but has no effective power on the Italian Peninsula.

title: 476

text: Julius Nepos, former emperor of the Western Roman Empire, dies in exile in Dalmatia (he is murdered by his own soldiers, in his villa, near Salona).

title: 480

section: Events › By place › Balkans

text: Amalasuintha rules the Ostrogothic Kingdom that extends throughout the Italian Peninsula, Dalmatia, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.

title: 526

text: Summer – Belisarius lands in Sicily and meets little opposition, save for the Gothic garrison of Palermo. Laying siege to the citadel, he blockades the harbour with his ships. Mundus invades Dalmatia and captures its capital, Salona.

title: 535

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: March

text: March – Ostrogothic King Theodahad cedes Provence and upper Alamannia to the Franks, gaining their support in the war. He sends a large Gothic army into Dalmatia. They defeat the Byzantines, Mundus is killed during the fighting at Salona, and the Byzantine army withdraws.

title: 536

text: Balkan Campaign: A Byzantine relief force under Priscus marches up the Danube River along the southern bank to Novae (modern Bulgaria). The fortress city of Singidunum (Belgrade) is plundered by the Avars, and abandoned after the approach of the Byzantines. The Avars retreat and launch a raid against Dalmatia.

title: 595

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

title: 615

text: Spring – The Venetian dukes change sides again, submitting to King Pepin, under the authority of his father Charlemagne, who then proceeds to take Venice. Emperor Nikephoros I sends a Byzantine fleet to Dalmatia, prompting Pepin to withdraw to the mainland. A legate is dispatched to Venice, where he deposes the turncoat dukes, before continuing on to Aachen, to negotiate a peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne recognises Byzantine dominance over Venice and Dalmatia in the Adriatic Sea.

title: 810

date: February

text: February – Duke Borna of Croatia dies after an 11-year reign, as vassal of the Frankish Empire. He is succeeded by his nephew, Vladislav. Emperor Louis I recognizes him as prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia, at the Council of Aachen.

title: 821

text: Tomislav, duke of the Croatian duchies of Pannonia and Dalmatia, is crowned as king of Croatia. He forges an alliance with the Byzantines during the struggle with the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date).

title: 925

text: Doge Pietro II Orseolo dies after an 18-year reign in which he has started the expansion of Venetia by conquering the islands of Lastovo and Korčula along the Dalmatian coast. Pietro is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Otto Orseolo as sole ruler of Venice.

title: 1009

section: Culture & Society

text: Peter Krešimir IV is crowned king of Croatia and Dalmatia. His coronation is recognised by the Byzantine Empire who confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Dalmatian cities, i.e. over the Theme of Dalmatia – excluding the theme of Ragusa and the Duchy of Durazzo.

title: 1059

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: May

text: May – A Norman fleet of 150 ships (including 60 horse transports), led by Duke Robert Guiscard, sets off towards the Dalmatian coast. An army of 15,000 men (including about 1,300 Norman knights) sails to the city of Avalona (modern Albania); they are joined by several ships from Ragusa, a republic in the Balkans who are enemies of the Byzantines.

title: 1081

date: April 20

text: April 20 (possible date) – Demetrius Zvonimir, king of Croatia and Dalmatia

title: 1089

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Ordelafo Faliero, doge of Venice, defeats Hungarian troops under King Stephen II, who have arrived to relieve Zadar; the remaining towns of Dalmatia surrender to Venice.

title: 1116

text: King Stephen II of Hungary regains Dalmatia from the Republic of Venice while the Venetians are on a naval expedition. Doge Ordelafo Faliero dies in battle (near Zadar) against the Hungarians. Faliero is succeeded by Domenico Michiel, who reconquers more territory and agrees to a 5-year truce with Hungary.

title: 1117

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

title: 1181

section: Events › Europe

date: April 23

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

title: 1196

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

title: 1197

date: November 10

text: November 10–24 – Siege of Zara: The Crusaders under Boniface of Montferrat besiege and conquer Zara (modern-day Zadar) in Dalmatia. Despite letters from Innocent III forbidding such an action, and threatening excommunication. The leading citizens of Zara hang banners of crosses along the outer walls, professing their Catholic faith. Nevertheless, the Crusaders breach and sack the city, killing many.

title: 1202

section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade

text: Summer – Various groups of French knights reach the Italian ports. King Andrew II of Hungary arrives with his army in Split, in Dalmatia. He is joined by German forces, led by Duke Leopold VI (the Glorious). At the end of July, Pope Honorius III orders the crusaders assembled in Italy and Sicily to proceed to Cyprus, but there is no transport provided by the Italian city-states, Venice, Genoa and Pisa.

title: 1217

section: Events › Fifth Crusade

text: Pope Innocent IV grants the Croatians of southern Dalmatia permission to use their own language and script in the Roman Rite liturgy (see Glagolitic alphabet).

title: 1248

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: July 30

text: 30 July – The Venetian Marsilio Zorzi recaptures Curzola in Dalmatia, and re-establishes himself as Count of Curzola and Mèleda.

title: 1256

date: July 9

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

title: 1409

section: Events › July–September

text: Dalmatia: Aliota Capenna, lord of Lesina (modern-day Hvar), offers his realm to the Republic of Venice (also said to have occurred in 1409 and 1421).

title: 1424

section: Events › Date unknown

date: March 7

text: March 7 – The Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) is ended by a peace treaty, confirming the transfer of control of Cyprus from the Republic of Venice to the Ottoman Empire, and also confirming Turkish occupation of the more fertile region of Dalmatia.

title: 1573

section: Events › January–March

date: November 16

text: November 16 – Marco Antonio de Dominis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of the See of Spalato and Primate of Dalmatia, having run afoul of Pope Paul V over secular matters relating to Venice, submits to King James I of England and later becomes Dean of Windsor.

title: 1616

section: Events › November-December

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Morean War: The navy of the Republic of Venice raids the Dalmatian coast, and attacks Ottoman Turkish strongholds in Greece.

title: 1687

date: August 16

text: August 16 – WWI: The Allies promise the Kingdom of Serbia, should victory be achieved over Austria-Hungary and its allied Central Powers, the territories of Baranja, Srem and Slavonia from the Cisleithanian part of the Dual Monarchy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and eastern Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to Bar).

title: 1915

section: Events › August

date: June 10

text: June 10 – WWI: The Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship SMS Szent István is sunk by two Italian MAS motor torpedo boats off the Dalmatian coast.

title: 1918

section: Events › June


slug: damascus

label: Damascus

description: capital and largest city of Syria

year_label: 333 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: From Issus, Alexander marches south into Syria and Phoenicia, his object being to isolate the Persian fleet from its bases and so to destroy it as an effective fighting force. The Phoenician cities of Marathus and Aradus do not resist Alexander's armies. Parmenion is sent ahead to try to secure Damascus and its rich booty, including Darius' war chest.

title: 333 BC

section: Events

year_label: 332 BCE

text: Alexander the Great occupies Damascus and, after a siege lasting seven months, destroys Tyre during which there is great carnage and the sale of the women and children into slavery.

title: 332 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 161 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Jewish High Priest Menelaus, who is supported by the Hellenist party, is removed from office and is executed. His successor is a moderate member of the Hellenic party, Alcimus. However, when Alcimus executes sixty Jews who are opposed to him, he finds himself in open conflict with the Maccabees. Alcimus flees from Jerusalem and goes to Damascus to ask the Seleucid king, Demetrius I, for help.

title: 161 BC

section: Events › by side › Seleucid Empire

text: Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, is converted to Christianity, and becomes Paul the Apostle (possible date).

title: 30s

section: Events › 34 AD › Syria

text: Romans construct a road between Eilat and Damascus.

title: AD 106

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

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: Battle of Marj Rahit: A Muslim Arab army under Khalid defeats the Byzantine forces (15,000 men) and their Ghassanid allies. After the battle he sends a mounted column to the outskirts of Damascus, to plunder the region.

title: 634

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Heraclius assembles a large army consisting of contingents of Byzantines, Slavs, Franks, Georgians, Armenians, and Christian Arabs. He establishes a base at Yaqusah (near Gadara), close to the edge of the Golan Heights, protecting the vital main road from Egypt to Damascus. The base is protected by deep valleys and precipitous cliffs, well supplied with water and grazing.

title: 636

section: Deaths

date: November 14

text: November 14 – Caliph Yazid I dies at Damascus, after a 3-year reign marked by civil war. He is succeeded by his son Muawiya II as ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: 683

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Caliph Mu'awiya II dies at Damascus, after a brief reign that ends Sufyanid rule. A new caliph is proclaimed in Syria amidst tribal wars, but Marwan I will reign until next year.

title: 684

date: May 7

text: May 7 – Caliph Marwan I dies at Damascus, and is succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.

title: 685

date: October 8

text: October 8 – Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan dies in his winter resort at Al-Sinnabra (Palestine), after a 20-year reign. During his rule, the financial administration of the Umayyad Caliphate has been reorganized. Arab coins have replaced former Byzantine and Sassanian coins, and regular postal service has been established between Damascus and the provincial capitals. Abd al-Malik is succeeded by his son Al-Walid I.

title: 705

section: Health & Medicine

text: The first Islamic hospital (bimaristan) is founded in Damascus (approximate date).

title: AD 707

text: Musa ibn Nusayr and Tariq ibn Ziyad are summoned back to Damascus by caliph Al-Walid I. They are ordered to deliver all the spoils of war. Musa complains and is stripped of his rank. Abd al-Aziz, son of Musa, becomes governor of Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 714

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Caliph Al-Walid I dies at Damascus after a 10-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. During his rule the Umayyad Caliphate reaches its greatest height, with successful campaigns undertaken in Transoxiana (Central Asia), Sindh (Pakistan), Hispania and against the Byzantine Empire.

title: 715

date: April 17

text: April 17 – Caliph Al-Walid II is besieged in his castle outside the city of Damascus. He is defeated and killed by Arab forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham. Al-Walid is succeeded by his cousin Yazid III, who dies shortly after of a brain tumor.

title: 744

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

section: Events › By place › Middle East

text: First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt: The Qarmatians under al-Hasan al-A'sam invade Syria, recently conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate, capturing Damascus and Ramla, defeating a major Fatimid army and blockading another in Jaffa. A subsequent invasion of Egypt leads to widespread anti-Fatimid revolts in the Nile Delta, but the delay allows the Fatimid general Jawhar to prepare his defences, leading to the decisive Qarmatian at Ayn Shams on 24 December and the collapse of the invasion.

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: Jawhar as-Siqilli is dismissed as vizier of Egypt after an unsuccessful campaign in Syria (near Damascus). He is replaced by Ya'qub ibn Killis.

title: 979

section: Events › By place › Africa

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor of Damascus), besiege Apamea (modern Syria). Emperor Basil II sends a Byzantine expeditionary army, led by Dux Michael Bourtzes, to relieve the city in alliance with the Hamdanid Dynasty. Manjutakin defeats the Hamdanids with his forces and attacks the Byzantine force in the rear. The Byzantine army panics and flees, losing some 5,000 men in the process.

title: 994

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Battle of Apamea: Byzantine forces under governor (doux) Damian Dalassenos besiege the fortress city of Apamea for control over northern Syria. The Fatimids send a relief army from Damascus – and defeat the Byzantines, Dalassenos is killed by a Kurdish officer in battle.

title: 998

date: March 26

text: March 26 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of al-Hakim, kept secret for six weeks, is announced, along with the succession of his son, al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah. On the same day, al-Hakim's designated heir, Abd al-Rahim ibn Ilyas, is arrested in Damascus and brought to Egypt.

title: 1021

date: October

text: October – Atsiz ibn Uwaq, Turkish emir of Damascus

title: 1079

text: Tutush I, Seljuk emir of Damascus and Aleppo

title: 1095

text: Siege of Tripoli: The Crusaders under Raymond IV begin the siege of Tripoli (modern Lebanon). The garrison calls for assistance, but a Seljuk relief army from Damascus and Homs is defeated by Raymond.

title: 1102

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Toghtekin, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Damascus, founds a short-lived principality in Syria (the first example of a series of Seljuk-ruled dynasties).

title: 1104

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Duqaq, Seljuk ruler of Damascus

title: 1104

text: Emir Fadl ibn Rabi'ah is expelled by Toghtekin, ruler (atabeg) of Damascus in Syria (approximate date).

title: 1107

date: September 13

text: September 13–29 – Battle of Shaizar: Sultan Muhammad I Tapar appoints Mawdud ibn Altuntash, Turkic governor (atabeg) of Mosul, to lead a Seljuk expedition against the Crusaders. The composite force includes Muslim contingents from Damascus, Diyarbakır, Ahlat and some Persian troops, headed by Bursuq ibn Bursuq from Hamadan. The Crusaders (16,000 men), led by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, are cut off from their supplies, and within two weeks (due to constant Seljuk skirmishes) forced to fall back on Afamiya in northern Syria.

title: 1111

text: Spring – Seljuk forces under Toghtekin, Turkic governor of Damascus, intervene at Tyre, and force King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to raise the siege.

title: 1112

section: Births

text: Nur ad-Din, Seljuk ruler of Damascus and Aleppo (d. 1174)

title: 1118

date: February 12

text: February 12 – Toghtekin, Turkish ruler of Damascus

title: 1128

text: Spring – Shams al-Mulk Isma'il, Seljuk ruler of Damascus, sends envoys to Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk ruler of Mosul, to seek his protection in exchange of Damascus. Zengi crosses the Euphrates, receiving the surrender of the city of Hama. He besieges Damascus but, due to a shortage of supplies, is forced to abandon the siege. Zengi extricates himself from Damascus, his Seljuk forces capture the fortresses at Ma'arrat and Atharib.

title: 1135

date: March 25

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

title: 1137

text: Autumn – Siege of Edessa: The Crusaders under Joscelin II recapture Edessa (Northern Syria) from Nur ad-Din, Seljuk ruler of Damascus. After not receiving support from the other Crusader states, Nur ad-Din counter-raids the territory of Antioch but withdraws his forces to retake Edessa in November.

title: 1146

text: Battle of Bosra: A Crusader force under King Baldwin III fights an inconclusive battle against Seljuk forces from Damascus led by Mu'in al-Din aided by Nur al-Din's contingents from Aleppo and Mosul. Baldwin retreats to Jerusalem, while the Seljuk Turks attack his rearguard and stragglers underway back to Palestine.

title: 1147

date: June

text: June – Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Damascus, prepares for war and strengthens the fortifications of the city. He sends an urgent request for military assistance to the Zangid ruler Sayf al-Din. Unur orders his troops to destroy the water sources in areas that the Crusaders must cross. Seljuk governors of frontier provinces station scouting parties along the road to Damascus.

title: 1148

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

text: August 28 – Mu'in al-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler of Damascus

title: 1149

text: April 18 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, encamps before Damascus and overthrows Mujir al-Din by force with support of the Jewish citizens, who open the eastern gate to the bulk of his army. Mujir flees to the citadel, but capitulates after only a few hours. He is offered his life and the Emirate of Homs. A few weeks later Mujir is suspected of plotting with old friends in Damascus and is exiled to Baghdad. Damascus is annexed to Zangid territory and all of Syria is unified under the authority of Nur al-Din, from Edessa in the north to the Hauran to the south.

title: 1154

text: Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus (d. 1225)

title: 1169

text: May 15 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Syria, dies at Damascus after a 28-year reign. He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son As-Salih Ismail al-Malik. Meanwhile, Saladin declares himself his regent and vassal.

title: 1174

text: Spring – Saladin defeats the Zangid forces before Damascus and marries Nur al-Din's widow Asimat. On June 24 he accepts a truce and is recognized as the sovereign over Syria.

title: 1176

text: Al-Mu'azzam Isa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus (d. 1227)

title: 1176

text: June 27 – Turan-Shah, Ayyubid emir (prince) of Damascus

title: 1180

text: Summer – Raynald of Châtillon, lord of Oultrejordain, raids Saladin's territory, reaching as far as Tabuk (modern Saudi Arabia) on the route between Damascus and Mecca. In November, Saladin sends an expedition under his nephew, Farrukh Shah, who invades Oultrejordain. Raynald of Châtillon is forced to withdraw home. Saladin complains to King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (the Leper) for breaking the treaty (see 1180) and demands compensation.

title: 1181

text: May 11 – Saladin leads an Egyptian expeditionary force from Cairo to Syria. In June, he arrives in Damascus and learns that his nephew Farrukh Shah has raided Galilee, and sacked the villages near Mount Tabor. On his way back, Farrukh Shah attacks the fortress of Habis Jaldak, carved out of the rock above the River Yarmuk. The garrison, Christian Syrians with no great wish to die for the Crusaders, promptly surrenders.

title: 1182

text: Saladin sends his nephew Izz al-Din Usama, governor (emir) of the iron-rich mountains near Beirut, to build Ajloun Castle, which controls the trade along the road between Damascus and Egypt.

title: 1184

text: March 13 – Saladin leaves Damascus with his Muslim forces, and sends letters to neighboring countries, asking for volunteers for a forthcoming jihad ("Holy War"). A week later his younger brother Al-Adil, governor of Egypt, leads his forces out of Cairo towards Syria. Meanwhile, Saladin leaves an army under his 18-year-old son Al-Afdal at Busra, to keep watch on the 'Pilgrim road'.

title: 1187

text: April – After a long siege Muslim forces under Saladin capture Beaufort Castle from Reginald of Sidon who has offered to hand over the castle to Saladin on the condition that he has three months to remove his family to a place of safety. At the end of the three months, Saladin expects the castle to be handed over but finds that Reginald has used the time to strengthen the castle against a siege. He is imprisoned at Damascus – the castle's garrison finally surrenders in return for Reginald's release.

title: 1190

text: February 17 – Al-Adil I, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, Jerusalem, and parts of the Jazira takes control of Egypt, and is recognized as sultan of the Ayyubid Empire. During his reign, he promotes trade and good relations with the Crusader States. His son Al-Kamil becomes the effective ruler (viceroy) of Egypt.

title: 1200

text: November – The Crusader army (some 15,000 men) under Andrew II sets out from Acre, and marches up the Plain of Esdraelon. Sultan Al-Adil I, on hearing that the crusaders are assembling, sends some Muslim troops to Palestine, to halt their advance. The crusaders move towards Beisan, while Al-Adil waits at Ajloun Castle, ready to intercept any attack on Damascus. He sends his son, Al-Mu'azzam, to cover Jerusalem. On November 10, Andrew's well-mounted army defeats Al-Adil at Bethsaida, on the Jordan River. Beisan is occupied and sacked; the Muslims retreat to their fortresses and towns.

title: 1217

text: August 31 – Al-Adil I falls ill and dies at Damascus after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded in Syria by his eldest son Al-Mu'azzam and in Egypt by his younger son, Al-Kamil.

title: 1218

text: November 12 – Al-Mu'azzam Isa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, dies after a 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his 21-year-old son, An-Nasir Dawud, who faces opposition from his uncle, Sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt.

title: 1227

text: Autumn – Frederick II receives an embassy of Egypt's Sultan Al-Kamil, including Fakhr al-Din ibn as-Shaikh, at the Hospitaller camp at Recordane, near Acre. Meanwhile, Al-Kamil is engaged in suppressing a rebellion in Syria and has concentrated his forces on a siege at Damascus. Frederick is pressed for time, because his army is not large enough for a major campaign. Al-Kamil, who has full control of Jerusalem, starts diplomatic negotiations.

title: 1228

text: June – Emir Al-Ashraf Musa captures Damascus and acknowledges the supremacy of his elder brother Al-Kamil. His other brother, An-Nasir Dawud, is compensated with the lordship of Al-Karak in the Transjordan region.

title: 1229

text: Spring – Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, assembles his allies and secures his active support of Kayqubad I, Sejuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum. A civil war seems inevitable when Kayqubad is poisoned during a feast at Kayseri, on May 31. Meanwhile, the Seljuks strengthen the fortresses in the eastern provinces against the Mongols.

title: 1237

text: August 27 – Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus

title: 1237

text: March 6 – Al-Kamil, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt, dies at Damascus and is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Al-Adil II. After Al-Kamil's death, a civil war breaks out, and his elder son As-Salih Ayyub, sets out from Damascus to invade Egypt. But a sudden coup d'état dethrones him in favour of his uncle, As-Salih Ismail.

title: 1238

text: Spring – The Templar Knights raid the city of Hebron. Meanwhile, An-Nasir Dawud, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, sends forces to cut off the road to Jerusalem, and to levy tolls on the pilgrims and merchants that pass by.

title: 1242

text: June – Khwarazmian forces (some 10,000 men) invade Syrian territory, ravaging the land and burning the villages. As Damascus is too strong for a siege, they attack Galilee, past the town of Tiberias – which they capture. The Khwarazmians attack further southward through Nablus towards Jerusalem.

title: 1244

text: October 4 – The Crusaders assemble a force of some 1,000 cavalry and 6,000 men outside Acre, after hearing that Jerusalem is sacked by the Khwarazmians. They are joined by the Ayyubid forces (some 4,000 men) of Damascus and Homs – while Emir An-Nasir Dawud brings his army from Kerak.

title: 1244

text: April – Egyptian forces under As-Salih Ayyub besiege the city of Damascus. After six months, As-Salih Ismail, ruler of Damascus, surrenders to Ayyub in return for a vassal-principality, consisting of Baalbek and the Hauran. Ayyub is awarded the title of sultan by Caliph Al-Musta'sim in Baghdad.

title: 1245

text: 2 October – Damascus falls to the Ayyubid vizier Mu'in al-Din Hasan ibn al-Shaykh after a siege of some four months.

title: 1246

text: February 9 – Al-Adil II, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt and Damascus

title: 1248

text: July 9 – The Qaymariyya tribe engineers a coup d'état to hand over Damascus to An-Nasir Yusuf. The garrison in the citadel surrenders later to him.

title: 1250

text: April – An-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, cedes Palestine, together with Jerusalem, Nablus and the coastline of Al-Sham to Aybak, Mamluk sultan of Egypt.

title: 1253

text: February 21 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") signs a multi-year truce with An-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, who is well aware of a Mongol threat and has no wish for war with the Crusader States.

title: 1254

text: Spring – Mamluk forces led by the 19-year-old Sultan Al-Said Barakah and Qalawun ("the Thousander") invade Cilician Armenia; a revolt in Egypt while they are away force Barakah to abdicate. In August, Qalawun takes over the government in Cairo and proclaims himself sultan. He sends Solamish, youngest son of former Sultan Baibars, into exile. Meanwhile, Sunqur al-Ashqar, Mamluk viceroy of Damascus, refuses to accept Qalawun's authority and begins a rebellion in Syria.

title: 1279

text: September – Two Mongol armies (some 50,000 men) advance into Syria. One is commanded by Abaqa Khan, who attacks the Mamluk fortresses along the Euphrates frontier. The second, led by his brother Möngke Temür makes contact with Leo III, king of Cilician Armenia, and then marches down through Aintab and Aleppo into the Orontes valley, where he is joined by Knights Hospitallerr and some French mercenaries. Meanwhile, Sultan Qalawun assembles his Mamluk forces at Damascus.

title: 1281

text: February 9 – Sultan Qalawun (the Victorious) marches the Mamluk army out of Cairo, leaving his son Al-Ashraf Khalil commanding Cairo's Citadel, supported by Viceroy Baydara al-Mansuri. The army moves via Salihiya, across Sinai and through Jordan to Damascus. He orders the regional governors of Syria to mobilize in Damascus, where many infantry volunteers have assembled.

title: 1289

text: June – Al-Ashraf Khalil enters Damascus in triumph with Crusaders chained at their feet and the captured Crusader standards, which are carried upside-down as a sign of their defeat. Following the capture of Acre, Khalil and his Mamluk generals proceed to wrest control of the remaining Crusader-held fortresses along the Syrian coast. Within weeks, the Mamluks conquer Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, Haifa and Tartus.

title: 1291

text: Mamluk forces under Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil accompanied by his vizier Ibn al-Sal'us arrive in Damascus. Khalil travels via Aleppo to besiege the castle of Rumkale (Qal'at ar-Rum, "Castle of the Romans"), the official seat of Stephen IV, patriarch of Armenia. The Mamluks besiege the castle with more than 30 catapults and capture it after 30 days.

title: 1292

text: December 22–23 – Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar: Mongol forces under Ghazan Khan defeat a Mamluk army (some 30,000 men) north of Homs. Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad flees with the remnants of his army to Damascus. Ghazan splits his forces, one part sacks Damascus and besieges the citadel. Another part pursues the retreating Mamluks as far as Gaza, pushing them back to Egypt.

title: 1299

text: April 22 – Battle of Marj al-Saffar: Egyptian Mamluk forces (some 20,000 men) under Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad defeat a Mongol army and their Armenian allies led by Qutlugh-Shah, on the plain of Marj al-Saffar. After the battle, Egyptian forces enters Damascus and chases the Mongols as far as Al-Qaryatayn in Syria. Al-Nasir returns to Cairo in triumph through the Bab al-Nasr ("Victory Gate") with chained prisoners of war.

title: 1303

text: The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch is transferred to Damascus, under Ignatius II.

title: 1342

text: Timur defeats both the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, to capture the city of Damascus in present-day Syria. Much of the city's inhabitants are subsequently massacred by Timur's troops.

title: 1400

text: May 23 – An-Nasir Faraj, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria, is stabbed to death in Damascus after surrendering to the Emirs of Syria. Nawruz al-Hafizi becomes ruler of the Syrian provinces and Faraj's son Al-Musta'in is confirmed as ruler of the Egyptian territory.

title: 1412

text: November 24 – An earthquake is recorded in Syria, northeast of Damascus.

title: 1705

text: October 24 (10 Safar 1171 A.H.) – 1757 Hajj caravan raid: Bedouin warriors of the Bani Sakher confederacy conduct a massive assault against a caravan of thousands of Muslim travelers who are on their way back to Damascus after the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The attack, made at Hallat Ammar after the group has been resupplied at Tabuk, leads to the annihilation of 20,000 of the pilgrims. Those who are not killed outright die later in the desert from thirst and starvation. According to one Arabic source, the largest attack takes place on October 24.

title: 1757

text: October 31 – News of the massacre of Muslim pilgrims first reaches Damascus; the Ottoman officials who had been in charge of protecting the pilgrimage are executed by beheading.

title: 1757

text: February 5 – Damascus Affair: The murder of a Capuchin friar and his Greek servant leads to a highly publicized case of blood libel, against the Jews of Damascus.

title: 1840

text: Christians and Druzes clash in Damascus, Syria.

title: 1860

text: July 24 – Battle of Maysalun: The French defeat the Syrian army, whose leader Yusuf al-'Azma is killed. French troops occupy Damascus and depose Faisal I of Syria as king.

title: 1920

text: May 9 – The French navy bombards Damascus, because of Druze riots.

title: 1926

text: July 3–10 – The First Eastern Women's Congress takes place in Damascus in Syria.

title: 1930

text: April 7 – The Arab Ba'ath Party is established by merger in Damascus.

title: 1947

text: September 28 – 1961 Syrian coup d'état: A military coup in Damascus, Syria effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

title: 1961

text: May 6 – John Paul II visits Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, becoming the first pope ever to enter a mosque.

title: 2003

text: December 8 – Syrian civil war: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flees from Damascus to Moscow after being overthrown, ending his presidency and the Ba'athist Syria regime after a total of 61 years. The Syrian opposition forms the Syrian transitional government as a provisional government.

title: 2024


slug: danegeld

label: Danegeld

description: a tax imposed on land to buy off the Danes from the shores of England, and subsequently for other objects

text: Emperor Lothair I and his (half) brother Charles the Bald join forces to remove the Vikings from the island of Oscelles, in the River Seine. After this fails, Charles again pays them tribute (Danegeld).

title: 852

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Viking raiders, led by Björn Ironside, set fire to the earliest church on the site of Chartres Cathedral. Charles the Bald pays him tribute (Danegeld) to save Verberie (Northern France).

title: 858

text: Robert the Strong, margrave of Neustria, captures 12 Viking ships and kills their crews. He pays tribute (Danegeld) for keeping the Vikings out of Neustria.

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Central Europe

text: The Danes, led by Viking chieftain Ivar the Boneless, 'make peace' with the Mercians (by accepting Danegeld). Ivar leaves Nottingham on horseback, and returns to York.

title: 869

section: Events › By place › Britain

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Alfred succeeds as king of Wessex after Æthelred's death. He makes peace with the Danes, and pays them Danegeld, each ruling parts of England.

title: 871

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Danes, led by Halfdan and Guthrum, establish a winter quarter at Torksey in the Kingdom of Lindsey (now part of Lincolnshire). King Burgred pays tribute (Danegeld) in return for 'peace'.

title: 872

text: Summer – King Carloman II reverts to the former fall-back of 'pay and pray', buying (with Danegeld) a truce at Amiens, while he raises 12,000 lbs of silver for the Vikings to depart.

title: 884

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Siege of Paris: Viking forces, under the Norse chieftains Sigfred and Sinric, sail up the River Seine for eastern France, with a fleet of 300 longships (10,000 men). They appear before Paris, and offer to spare the city if they are allowed free passage, by paying them tribute (Danegeld). Their request is denied.

title: 885

text: October – Siege of Paris: Count Odo slips through Viking-controlled territory, to ask the king of West Francia Charles the Fat for support. He returns with a relief force, and reaches safety within the walls. Charles arrives later with a large army, and establishes a camp at Montmartre. After negotiations he promises the Vikings tribute (Danegeld) worth 700 Livres (equivalent to 257kg of silver), and allows them to sail up the River Seine, to over-winter in Burgundy.

title: 886

text: Skagul Toste leads a Viking expedition to England and demands Danegeld.

title: 970

date: August 11

text: August 11: Following a raid by Olaf Tryggvason at the mouth of the River Thames, ealdorman Byrhtnoth is killed in the Battle of Maldon in Essex, which is commemorated in the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon. Æthelred the Unready is forced to pay a tribute of 22,000 pounds of silver for Tryggvason to withdraw his troops; this is the first in a series of Danegelds.

title: 991

text: A Danish Viking fleet, under Olaf Tryggvason, sails up the Thames Estuary, and besieges London. King Æthelred II (the Unready) pays Olaf 16,000 lbs of silver (Danegeld).

title: 994

section: Events › By place › England

text: Winter – Æthelred pays tribute (or Danegeld) to Sweyn Forkbeard, buying him off with a massive payment of 24,000 lbs of silver to hold off further Viking raids against England.

title: 1002

section: Events › By place › British Isles

text: King Æthelred the Unready pays the Danish Vikings a sum of 36,000 pounds of silver (Danegeld) to stop further invasions.

title: 1007

date: April

text: April – King Æthelred the Unready resumes the payment of Danegeld (48,000 pounds of silver) in an attempt to buy off Viking raiders.

title: 1012

text: Heregeld, commonly known as Danegeld, is abolished by Edward the Confessor. It has been collected for many years to provide funds for defending the country from Viking raiders.

title: 1051


slug: danelaw

label: Danelaw

description: historical name given to part of England ruled by the Danes

text: Alfred makes Winchester his residence. The Danish armies colonize areas of north, central and eastern England, which become known as the Danelaw.

title: 871

text: Treaty of Wedmore: Guthrum agrees to a peace treaty and is baptised, taking the name of Aethelstan. England is divided between Wessex in the south, and the Vikings in the Danelaw up north. Guthrum returns to East Anglia.

title: 878

text: King Alfred receives the formal submission of all of the citizens of England not under Viking rule, and adopts the title King of the Anglo-Saxons.

title: 886

text: Lady Æthelflæd expands her policy by building defensive burghs at Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. The fortifications are needed to protect Mercia against plundering Vikings from the Danelaw (Danish territory in England).

title: 912

text: King Edward the Elder begins with the 'reconquest' of the Danelaw and occupies Essex. Death of High-Reeve Eadwulf II. He is succeeded by his son Ealdred I, who is almost immediately driven out by King Ragnall ua Ímair of Norse York. Ealdred flees to the court of King Constantine II of Scotland.

title: 913

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons, is killed in battle at Farndon-Upon-Dee while leading an army against a revolt by some of the Cambrians and Mercians. During his 25-year reign, he gained direct control over Mercia, including some of the Danelaw, the Danish-occupied areas. Edward's oldest son, Æthelstan, is proclaimed the new King of England, while some supporters among the West Saxons support Ælfweard, to be Edward's successor as King of Wessex.

title: 924

section: Events › July—September

section: Culture & Society

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England in London. Some of the English provinces refuse to pay homage to Sweyn, who has no dynastic right to claim the throne.

title: 1013

date: February 3

text: February 3 – King Sweyn Forkbeard dies at Gainsborough after a reign of five weeks. He is succeeded by Harald II who becomes king of Denmark, while Cnut is elected by the Vikings of the Danelaw as king of England.

title: 1014


slug: danes

label: Danes

description: citizens or residents of Denmark

section: Conflict & Security

text: Pagan Danes invade Obodrite-ruled Schleswig, to take over territory almost emptied by the forcible deportations of the Saxons by emperor Charlemagne.

title: 802

text: King Godfred of the Danes forms an alliance with the Wiltzi and other Wendic tribes, against the pagan but pro-Frankish Abodrites. Godfred builds earthworks (Danevirke) across the isthmus of Schleswig-Holstein, separating Jutland from the northern extent of the Frankish Empire.

title: AD 808

text: King Godfred of the Danes leads 200 Viking ships to plunder the Frisian coast, and forces the merchants to pay 100 pounds of silver. He claims Northern Frisia as Danish territory.

title: 810

text: Danish Vikings land in the Breton March (western part of Gaul). Duke Nominoe of Brittany fails to withstand them in battle, but succeeds in buying them off with gifts and persuading them to leave (approximate date).

title: 847

text: Vikings or "Danes" (the two terms were often used interchangeably at the time), comprising the Great Heathen Army, advance northward from bases in the Kingdom of East Anglia, into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria.

title: 867

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Battle of Biskupice: The Hungarians (Kurucs) win a costly victory over the Danes.

title: 1704

section: Events › April–June

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Battle of Zsibó: The Austrian-Danish forces defeat the Kurucs (Hungarians).

title: 1705

section: Events › October–December

date: April 16

text: April 16 or 17 – A group of 24 West Indian Moravians from Jamaica and Antigua, recruited by the Danish minister and Basel missionary, Andreas Riis, arrive in Christiansborg (Osu), Gold Coast, now Ghana, to set up schools and Presbyterian churches in the country.

title: 1843

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France for the second consecutive time.

title: 2023

section: Events › July


slug: dante-alighieri

label: Dante Alighieri

description: Florentine poet, writer, and philosopher (c. 1265–1321)

text: approximate date – Beatrice Portinari, Dante Alighieri's beloved and guide through Heaven in The Divine Comedy (d. 1290)

title: 1265

text: approximate date – Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (d. 1321)

title: 1265

section: Religion & Belief

text: Bonvesin da la Riva, Italian poet, writes the didactic-allegoric poem Liber di Tre Scricciur ("Book of the Three Scriptures"). The text is in the Western Lombard language (similar to other Gallo-Italic languages). The poem is one of the first great literary works in Italy. It tells about Hell, the Passion of Jesus and Paradise; the plot later prefigures Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia).

title: 1274

section: Events › By topic › Literature

section: Deaths

text: June 8 – Beatrice Portinari, muse of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, dies in Florence. In his Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia), he transforms his memory of Beatrice into an allegory of divine love.

title: 1290

section: Events › By topic › Art and Culture

text: Dante Alighieri completes the book of verse La Vita Nuova.

title: 1293

section: Events › By topic › Arts and culture

text: Guido Cavalcanti, Italian poet and friend of Dante Alighieri (b. 1250)

title: 1300

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Charles of Valois, son of the late King Philip III ("Philip the Bold"), is summoned to Italy by Pope Boniface VIII to restore peace between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. He enters Florence, and allows the Neri ("Black Guelphs") to return to the city. Charles installs a new government under Cante dei Gabrielli as Chief Magistrate (podestà), leading to the permanent exile of Dante Alighieri, Italian poet and philosopher, from the city.

title: 1301

section: Events › October– December

text: Dante Alighieri begins work on his Divine Comedy, comprising Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is one of the most influential works of the European Middle Ages (approximate date).

title: 1308

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Italian author Dante Alighieri, known for The Inferno, dies of malaria at Ravenna after having undertaken a diplomatic mission in the Republic of Venice.

title: 1321

section: Events › July – September

date: April 11

text: April 11 – The first printed edition of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy is published in Foligno.

title: 1472