slug: sparta

label: Sparta

description: city and city-state in ancient Greece

text: 1204 BC: Theseus, legendary King of Athens, is deposed after a reign of 30 years and succeeded by Menestheus, great-grandson of Erichthonius II of Athens and second cousin of Theseus' father Aegeus. Menestheus is reportedly assisted by Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who want to reclaim their sister Helen from her first husband Theseus. Theseus seeks refuge in Skyros, whose King Lycomedes is an old friend and ally. Lycomedes, however, considers his visitor a threat to the throne and proceeds to assassinate him. (Other accounts place these events a decade earlier. See 1210s BC.)

title: 1200s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

year_label: 715 BCE

text: c. 715 BC—Conquest of Messenia by Sparta ends.

title: 710s BC

year_label: 648 BCE

text: Messenians in the Peloponnese revolt against Sparta under the leadership of king Aristomenes, beginning a struggle that will continue until 631 BC.

title: 648 BC

section: Events › Greece

year_label: 590 BCE

section: Deaths

text: 590 BC—Eurycratides, Agiad king of Sparta

title: 590s BC

year_label: 545 BCE

section: Births

text: Approximate date – Leotychides, king of Sparta (d. c.469 BC)

title: 545 BC

year_label: 516 BCE

text: Cleomenes I of Sparta receives an embassy from Maeandrius of Samos asking for help to expel the tyrant Syloson, a puppet of the Persian Empire, which is at the time subjugating the city-states of the eastern Aegean Sea.

title: 516 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 499 BCE

text: Aristagoras seeks help with the revolt against the Persians from Cleomenes I, king of Sparta, but the Spartans are unwilling to respond.

title: 499 BC

year_label: 494 BCE

text: The Spartan king, Cleomenes I inflicts a severe defeat on Argos at Sepeia near Tiryns (approximate date).

title: 494 BC

year_label: 491 BCE

text: The Greek city of Aegina, fearing the loss of trade, submits to Persia. The Spartan king, Cleomenes I tries to punish Aegina for its submission to the Persians, but the other Spartan king, Demaratus, thwarts him.

title: 491 BC

text: Darius I sends envoys to all Greek cities, demanding "earth and water for vassalage" which Athens and Sparta refuse.

title: 491 BC

year_label: 490 BCE

text: Before the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians send a runner, Pheidippides, to seek help from Sparta. However, the Spartans delay sending troops to Marathon because religious requirements (the Carneia) mean they must wait for the full moon.

title: 490 BC

text: The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentions Pheidippides as the messenger who runs from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then runs back, a distance of over 240 kilometres each way. After the battle, he runs back to Athens to spread the news and raise the spirits. It is claimed that his last words before collapsing and dying in Athens are "Chairete, nikomen" ("Rejoice, we are victorious").

title: 490 BC

text: Cleomenes I is forced to flee Sparta when his plot against Demaratus is discovered, but the Spartans allow him to return when he begins gathering an army in the surrounding territories. However, by this time he has become insane, and the Spartans put him in prison. Shortly after, he commits suicide. He is succeeded as King of Sparta by a member of the Agiad house, his half-brother, Leonidas.

title: 490 BC

year_label: 489 BCE

text: Cleomenes I, king of Sparta (approximate date)

title: 489 BC

year_label: 480 BCE

date: August 20

text: August 20 or September 8-10 – The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes. His army engulfs a force of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespiae under the Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Greeks under Leonidas resist the advance through Thermopylae of Xerxes' vast army. For two days Leonidas and his troops withstand the Persian attacks; he then orders most of his troops to retreat, and he and his 300-member royal guard fight to the last man.

title: 480 BC

year_label: 478 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Despite Spartan opposition, Athens works on refortifying and rebuilding after the Persian destruction of the city in 479.

title: 478 BC

text: While Pausanias is occupying Byzantium, his arrogance and his adoption of Persian clothing and manners offends the allies and raises suspicions of disloyalty. Pausanias is recalled to Sparta, where he is tried and acquitted of the charge of treason, but he is not restored to his command.

title: 478 BC

year_label: 477 BCE

text: The Spartan co-ruler Leotychides and the Athenian leader Themistocles lead a fleet and army to reoccupy northern Greece and to punish the aristocratic family of the Aleuads for having aided the Persians. Leotychides is caught accepting a bribe during the operations in Thessaly.

title: 477 BC

year_label: 476 BCE

text: Convicted in Sparta on the charge of accepting a bribe from the Aleudae family whilst leading an expedition to Thessaly against the family for their collaboration with the Persians, the Spartan King Leotychidas flees to the temple of Athena Alea in Tegea, Arcadia. A sentence of exile is passed upon him; his house is razed, and his grandson, Archidamus II, ascends the Spartan throne in his place.

title: 476 BC

year_label: 470 BCE

text: Suspected of plotting to seize power in Sparta by instigating a helot uprising, Pausanias takes refuge in the Temple of Athena of the Brazen House to escape arrest. The sanctuary is respected, but the Spartans wall in the sanctuary and starve Pausanias to death.

title: 470 BC

year_label: 469 BCE

text: Leotychides, king of Sparta (b. c.545 BC)

title: 469 BC

year_label: 468 BCE

text: Sparta faces trouble near home, mainly from Arcadia with the support of Argos. Argos regains control of Tiryns.

title: 468 BC

year_label: 464 BCE

section: Climate & Environment

text: Sparta suffers the effects of a severe earthquake leading to a large loss of life.

title: 464 BC

year_label: 462 BCE

text: Kimon seeks the support of Athens' citizens providing help to Sparta. Although Ephialtes maintains that Sparta is Athens' rival for power and should be left to fend for itself, Kimon's view prevails. Kimon then leads 4,000 hoplites to Mount Ithome.

title: 462 BC

text: The Spartans try to conquer the mountain stronghold of Mt Ithome in Messenia, where a large force of rebellious helots have taken refuge. They ask their allies from the Persian Wars, including the Athenians, to help.

title: 462 BC

year_label: 461 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: In Athens, Ephialtes and Pericles finally get agreement to the ostracism of Kimon, who had become unpopular for his unsuccessful pro-Spartan policy.

title: 461 BC

year_label: 460 BCE

text: Argos rises against Sparta. Athens supports Argos and Thessaly. The small force that is sent by Sparta to quell the uprising in Argos is defeated by a joint Athenian and Argos force at Oenoe. (Battle of Oenoe)

title: 460 BC

text: The First Peloponnesian War breaks out between the Delian League (led by Athens) and a Peloponnesian alliance (led by Sparta), caused in part by Athens' alliance with Megara and Argos and the subsequent reaction of Sparta. The Athenians have built long walls for the Megarans to their port at Nisaea, thereby earning the enmity of Megara's old rival Corinth.

title: 460 BC

year_label: 458 BCE

text: Pleistoanax succeeds Pleistarchus as king of Sparta.

title: 458 BC

text: Pleistarchus, King of Sparta since 480 BC

title: 458 BC

year_label: 457 BCE

text: Athens, the leader of the Delian League, comes into conflict with Corinth and its ally Sparta (leader of the Peloponnesian League) over Megara. Nicomedes of Sparta, regent for King Pleistoanax, leads an army of 11,500 hoplites into Boeotia to help Thebes put down a rebellion by Phocis.

title: 457 BC

year_label: 455 BCE

text: Athens, under Athenian general Tolmides, sends 100 ships around the Peloponnesus and they set fire to the Spartan naval base at Gythion. As a result, Athens gains the agreement of the Achaean cities to join the Delian League. Athenian forces then go on to attack the Spartan allies on the Corinthian Gulf. Athens is now able to confine Sparta to the southern Peloponnesus.

title: 455 BC

year_label: 451 BCE

text: Hostilities among the Greek states come to a formal end with the agreement to the Five Years' Truce. Kimon negotiates a five year truce with Sparta, in which Athens agrees to abandon its alliance with Argos, while Sparta promises to give up its alliance with Thebes. During the same year Argos signs the first "Thirty-Years Peace" with Sparta.

title: 451 BC

text: Pericles proposes the "Papyrus Decree" allowing the use of 5,000 talents to finance the massive rebuilding program of Athenian temples. This leads to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states in order to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. The Congress fails because of Sparta's opposition.

title: 449 BC

text: Megara joins the revolt against Athens. The strategic importance of Megara is immediately demonstrated by the appearance, for the first time in 12 years, of a Spartan army under King Pleistoanax in Attica. The threat from the Spartan army leads Pericles to arrange, by bribery and by negotiation, that Athens will give up its mainland possessions and confine itself to a largely maritime empire.

title: 446 BC

text: Samos, an autonomous member of the Delian League and one of Athens' principal allies with a substantial fleet of its own, quarrels with Miletus. Miletus, also a member of the Delian League, appeals to Athens for assistance. Pericles decides in favour of Miletus, so Samos revolts. Pericles then sails to Samos with a fleet to overthrow its oligarchic government and install a democratic one. Sparta threatens to interfere. However, at a congress of the Peloponnesian League, its members vote not to intervene on behalf of Samos against Athens.

title: 440 BC

text: Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens introduces a series of measures (the "Megarian decree") imposing an economic embargo on Megara for violations of land sacred to Demeter. According to the provisions of the decree, Megarian merchants are to be excluded from the market of Athens and the ports in its empire. This ban strangles the Megarian economy and strains the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which is allied with Megara.

title: 434 BC

text: The Corinthians, upset by Athens' actions, lobby Sparta to take action against Athens. This appeal is backed by Megara (which is being severely affected by Pericles' economic sanctions) and by Aegina (which is being heavily taxed by Pericles and which has been refused home rule).

title: 433 BC

text: The army of Sparta loots Attica for a second time, but Pericles is not daunted and refuses to revise his initial strategy. Unwilling to engage the Spartan army in battle, he again leads a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnesus, this time taking 100 Athenian ships with him.

title: 430 BC

text: The Athenian admiral Phormio has two naval victories, the Naupactus and the Battle of Rhium at the mouth of the Corinthian Gulf. In the first battle, his 20 ships defeat 47 Corinthian ships commanded by Machaon, Isocrates, and Agatharchidas that were advancing to reinforce the Spartan general, Cnemus's campaign in Acarnania. In the second battle, Phormio routs Cnemus's 77-vessel fleet.

title: 429 BC

text: The chief city of Lesbos, Mytilene, revolts against Athenian rule. The Spartan admiral, Alcidas, leads 40 Peloponnesian alliance ships with the aim of assisting the inhabitants of Mytilene. However, the rebellion by Mytilene is crushed before his forces can arrive.

title: 428 BC

text: Sparta's King Archidamus II is succeeded by his son Agis II.

title: 427 BC

text: Demosthenes captures and fortifies the port of Pylos in the Peloponnesus, giving Athens a strong base close to Sparta. Meanwhile, a Spartan army, commanded by Brasidas, lands on the nearby island of Sphacteria, but is repulsed by the Athenians. An Athenian fleet summoned by Demosthenes bottles up the Spartan navy in Navarino Bay.

title: 425 BC

text: Brasidas' capture of the city of Amphipolis is a major reverse for Athens, for which the Athenian general (and future historian) Thucydides is held responsible and banished. This gives Thucydides the opportunity for undistracted study for his History and travel and wider contacts, especially on the Peloponnesian side (Sparta and its allies).

title: 424 BC

text: Demosthenes and Hippocrates attempt to capture Megara, but they are defeated by the Spartans under their general Brasidas. Demosthenes then marches to Naupactus to assist in a democratic revolution, and to gather troops for an invasion of Boeotia. However, Demosthenes and Hippocrates are unable to coordinate their attacks and Hippocrates is defeated at the Battle of Delium by Pagondas of Thebes. During the battle, Socrates is said to have saved the life of Alcibiades. Demosthenes attacks Sicyon and is defeated as well.

title: 424 BC

text: The Athenian general, Laches, successfully moves in the Athenian Assembly for an armistice with Sparta to check the progress of Sparta's most effective general, Brasidas. However, the "Truce of Laches" has little impact on Brasidas and collapses within a year.

title: 423 BC

text: Athenian leader, Cleon, ends the truce between Athens and Sparta after he resolves to rescue the town of Amphipolis in Macedonia. However, through skillful generalship by Brasidas, the Spartans rout the Athenians in the Battle of Amphipolis. Both Brasidas and Cleon are killed in the battle, thereby removing the key members of the pro-war factions on both sides.

title: 422 BC

text: The young and popular Alcibiades is elected "Strategos" (one of a board of ten generals) and begins to dominate Athenian life and politics. A Quadruple Alliance of Athens, Argos, Mantineia and Elis, which has been organised by Alcibiades (in opposition to Nicias) confronts a Spartan-Boeotian alliance.

title: 420 BC

text: Despite the Peace of Nicias still being in effect, Sparta's King Agis II gathers a strong army at Philus and descends upon Argos by marching at night from the north. His allied Boeotian forces fail him, but he is able to conclude a treaty with Argos. In 419 BC, the Argives, at the instigation of Alcibiades, attacked Epidaurus; and Agis with a large force from Lacedaemon set out and marched to the frontier city of Leuctra. No one, Thucydides tells us, knew the purpose of this expedition. It was probably to make a diversion in favour of Epidaurus.

title: 419 BC

text: King Agis II of Sparta escapes being fined 10,000 drachmae and having his house razed for his failure to press his advantage by promising more successful outcomes in the future.

title: 418 BC

text: The second battle of Hysiae is fought between the armies of Sparta and Argos during the Peloponnesian War. The Spartan King Agis II was seeking to restore the pro-Spartan faction evicted from Argos by Alcibiades. While he failed to take the city of Argos, he did capture and subsequently destroy the town of Hysiae, killing all its male inhabitants.

title: 417 BC

text: In Sicily, the Ionian city of Segesta asks for Athenian help from the Dorian city of Selinus (which is supported by the powerful Sicilian city of Syracuse). The people of Syracuse are ethnically Dorian (as are the Spartans), while the Athenians, and their allies in Sicily, are Ionian. The Athenians feel obliged to assist their ally and therefore prepare an armada to attack Sicily.

title: 416 BC

text: After learning that he has been condemned to death in absentia, Alcibiades defects to Sparta and Nicias is placed in charge of the Sicilian expedition. The Athenian forces land at Dascon near Syracuse but with little result. Hermocrates heads the Syracusan defence.

title: 415 BC

text: The Athenian army moves to capture Syracuse while the larger fleet of Athenian ships blocks the approach to the city from the sea. After some initial success, the Athenian troops become disorganised in the chaotic night operation and are thoroughly routed by Gylippus, the Spartan commander. The Athenian commander Lamachus is killed. Nicias, although ill, is left in sole charge of the siege of Syracuse.

title: 414 BC

text: The Spartans sign a treaty of mutual help with the Persian satrap of Lower Asia, Tissaphernes. By the treaty of Miletus, Persia is given complete freedom in western Asia Minor in return for agreeing to pay for seamen to man the Peloponnesian fleet.

title: 412 BC

text: Alcibiades helps stir up revolts amongst Athens' allies in Ionia, on the west coast of Asia Minor. However, Alcibiades loses the confidence of the Spartans and antagonises their king Agis II. As a result, he flees to the court of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Alcibiades advises Tissaphernes to withdraw his support from Sparta while conspiring with the oligarchic party in Athens, as Sparta's allied cities break away in a series of revolts.

title: 412 BC

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

text: Pausanias succeeds his father Pleistoanax as Agiad king of Sparta.

title: 409 BC

text: Pleistoanax, king of Sparta since 458 BC

title: 409 BC

text: King Darius II of Persia decides to continue the war against Athens and give support to the Spartans. His wife, Parysatis, persuades him to appoint his younger son, Cyrus, as satrap (governor) of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia and commander in chief of the Achaemenian forces in Asia Minor in place of Tissaphernes.

title: 408 BC

text: The Spartan admiral Lysander refuses to be lured out of Ephesus to do battle with Alcibiades. However, while Alcibiades is away seeking supplies, the Athenian squadron is placed under the command of Antiochus, his helmsman, who is routed by the Spartan fleet (with the help of the Persians under Cyrus) in the Battle of Notium (or Ephesus).

title: 407 BC

text: Callicratidas is appointed as the navarch of the Spartan fleet, replacing Lysander. Callicratidas assembles a fleet and sails to Methymna, on Lesbos, to which he lays siege. This move threatens the Athenian grain supply.

title: 406 BC

text: After their victory in the Battle of Arginusae over the Spartans, the Athenian fleet follows the reappointed Spartan admiral, Lysander, to the Hellespont. The Athenian fleet under Admiral Conon is destroyed by the Spartans under Lysander in the Battle of Aegospotami in the Sea of Marmara and Conon flees to Cyprus.

title: 405 BC

text: Thrasybulus leads the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, that the victorious Spartans have imposed on Athens. He commands a small force of exiles that invades Attica and, in successive battles, defeats first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchic government (which includes the Spartan general, Lysander) in the Battle of Munychia. The leader of the Thirty Tyrants, Critias, is killed in the battle.

title: 403 BC

text: Agis II, Eurypontid king of Sparta

title: 401 BC

text: Clearchus, Spartan general and mercenary

title: 401 BC

text: Agesilaus II becomes king of Sparta on the death of his stepbrother Agis II.

title: 401 BC

text: War breaks out between Sparta and Elis.

title: 400 BC

text: Xenophon's "Ten Thousand" make their way back to Greece, with most of the men enlisting with the Spartans. Xenophon's successful march through the Persian Empire encourages Sparta to turn on the Persians and begin wars against the Persians in Asia Minor.

title: 400 BC

text: When the Greek cities of Ionia heard about Cyrus' defeat they knew Artaxerxes would want to exact his revenge on them for supporting Cyrus. They sent several embassies to Sparta to request the Lacedaemonians assistance. The Spartans sent Thibron who recruits 5,000 soldiers to aid the Ionian Greeks.

title: 400 BC

text: Sparta forces Elis to surrender in the spring.

title: 399 BC

text: Called on by the Ionians to assist them against the Persian King Artaxerxes II, King Agesilaus II of Sparta launches an ambitious campaign in Asia Minor.

title: 397 BC

text: Agesilaus II, the King of Sparta, campaigns successfully in Asia Minor against the Persian satraps Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes and inflicts a major defeat on Tissaphernes at Sardis. Agesilaus agrees to a three months' truce with the Persians under Tissaphernes, the satrap of Lydia and Caria. Negotiations conducted during that time prove fruitless, and on its termination, Agesilaus raids Phrygia, where he easily captures an immense amount of booty, since Tissaphernes has concentrated his troops in Caria.

title: 396 BC

text: After spending the winter in organizing a cavalry force, Agesilaus II, the King of Sparta, makes a successful incursion into Lydia in the spring.

title: 395 BC

text: The "Corinthian War" begins, with Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos (with the backing of Persia) against Sparta. The Spartans prepare to send out an army against this new alliance, and order Agesilaus to return to Greece. Agesilaus sets out for Sparta with his troops, crossing the Hellespont and marching west through Thrace.

title: 395 BC

text: Lysander, Spartan general and admiral

title: 395 BC

text: The allies, Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos, gather a large army at Corinth. A sizable army is sent out from Sparta to challenge this force. The two sides meet on the dry bed of the Nemea River, in Corinthian territory. In the resultant Battle of Nemea, the Spartans win a major victory over the allies.

title: 394 BC

text: Fighting breaks out in Corinth between the democratic and oligarchic parties. The democrats, supported by Argos, launch an attack on their opponents, and the oligarchs are driven from the city. These exiles go to the Spartans, based at this time at Sicyon, for support, while the Athenians and Boeotians support the democrats.

title: 393 BC

text: During the Corinthian War, the Spartans dispatch an ambassador, Antalcidas, to the Persian satrap Tiribazus, hoping to turn the Persians against the allies by informing them of Conon's use of the Persian fleet to begin rebuilding the Athenian empire. Learning of this, the Athenians send an embassy led by Conon to present their case to the Persians at Sardis. Alarmed by Conon's actions, Tiribazus arrests him, and secretly provides the Spartans with money to equip a fleet. Although Conon quickly escapes, he dies in Cyprus without returning to Athens.

title: 392 BC

text: The Athenian general, Iphicrates, with a force composed almost entirely of light troops and peltasts (javelin throwers), wins a decisive victory against the Spartan regiment that has been stationed at Lechaeum in the Battle of Lechaeum. This is the first time that a force of light infantry defeats a unit of Greek hoplites.

title: 391 BC

text: A Spartan expeditionary force under King Agesilaus II crosses the Gulf of Corinth to attack Acarnania, an ally of the anti-Spartan coalition. Agesilaus is eventually able to draw them into a pitched battle, in which the Acarnanians are routed.

title: 389 BC

text: Concerned about the revival of Athenian imperialist ambitions, the Persian King Artaxerxes II and King Agesilaus II of Sparta enter into an alliance. Sparta also seeks and gains the support of Dionysius I of Syracuse.

title: 388 BC

text: King Agesipolis I leads a Spartan army against Argos. Since no Argive army challenges him, he plunders the countryside for a time, and then, after receiving several unfavorable omens, returns to Sparta.

title: 388 BC

text: Freed from Spartan attacks by the Peace of Antalcidas ("King's Peace") of the previous year, Persia turns to quieting Cyprus and Egypt. Owing to the skill of King Evagoras of Cyprus and of Egypt's Greek mercenary general Chabrias, these wars drag on for the rest of the decade.

title: 386 BC

text: Mantinea gets destroyed by Sparta and their subdued thebans allies.

title: 385 BC

text: King Amyntas III of Macedon, forms a temporary alliance with the Chalcidian League, a confederation of cities of the Chalcidice peninsula, east of Macedonia. Sparta, whose policy is to keep Greeks disunited, sends an expedition northwards to disrupt the Chalcidian League.

title: 383 BC

text: The Spartan commander Phoebidas, who is passing through Boeotia on campaign, takes advantage of civil strife within Thebes to gain entrance to the city for his troops. Once inside, he seizes the Cadmeia (the citadel of Thebes), and forces the anti-Spartan party to flee the city. The government of Thebes is placed in the hands of the pro-Spartan party, backed by a Spartan garrison based in the Cadmeia. Many of the previous leaders of Thebes are driven into exile. Epaminondas, although associated with the anti-Spartan faction, is allowed to remain.

title: 382 BC

text: Pelopidas, a Theban general and statesman, flees to Athens and takes the lead in attempts to liberate Thebes from Spartan control.

title: 382 BC

text: Sparta increases its hold on central Greece by reestablishing the city of Plataea, which Sparta formerly destroyed in 427 BC.

title: 381 BC

text: Cleombrotus I succeeds his brother Agesipolis I as king of Sparta.

title: 380 BC

text: Sparta suppresses the Chalcidian League and imposes terms favourable to King Amyntas III of Macedonia.

title: 379 BC

text: Athens, in preparing for participation in the Spartan-Theban struggle, reorganises its finances and its taxation, inaugurating a system whereby the richer citizens are responsible for the collection of taxes from the less rich.

title: 377 BC

text: The Athenian admiral Chabrias wins a naval victory for Athens over the Spartan fleet, off the island of Naxos (the Battle of Naxos). The battle is brought on by the Athenians to break the Spartans' blockade of Athens' corn-ships from the Black Sea.

title: 376 BC

text: Athens tries to retire from the Theban-Spartan war and makes peace with Sparta. However, the peace is quickly broken.

title: 374 BC

text: Iphicrates leads an Athenian expedition which successfully relieves Corcyra of a Spartan siege.

title: 373 BC

text: Agesipolis II succeeds his father Cleombrotus I as king of Sparta.

title: 371 BC

text: A fresh peace congress is summoned at Sparta. At the peace conference, the Spartan King Agesilaus II (with the support of Athens) refuses to allow the Thebans to sign the treaty on behalf of all Boeotia. The Theban statesman Epaminondas, who is boeotarch (one of the five magistrates of the Boeotian federation), maintains Thebes' position, even when it leads to the exclusion of Thebes from the peace treaty.

title: 371 BC

text: Cleombrotus I, king of Sparta (killed in the Battle of Leuctra)

title: 371 BC

text: The Spartans under King Agesilaus II invade Arcadia. After appealing in vain to the Athenians for help, Arcadia turns to the Thebans. Epaminondas of Thebes arrives with an army, finds that the Spartans have retired and follows them.

title: 370 BC

text: Cleomenes II succeeds his brother Agesipolis II as Agiad king of Sparta.

title: 369 BC

text: In a search for a balance of power against the now powerful Thebes, Athens responds to an appeal for help from Sparta and allies itself with its traditional enemy.

title: 369 BC

text: After driving off the Spartan army that has threatened Mantinea, Epaminondas of Thebes moves south and crosses the Evrotas River (the frontier of Sparta), which no hostile army has breached in historical memory. The Spartans, unwilling to engage the massive Theban army in battle, remain inside their city while the Thebans and their allies ravage Laconia.

title: 369 BC

text: Archidamus III, son of Agesilaus II of Sparta, commands a Spartan army which scores a victory over the Arcadians.

title: 367 BC

text: Theban leader, Epaminondas, returns to the Peloponnesus for a third time, seeking to secure the allegiance of the states of Achaea. Although no army dares to challenge him in the field, the democratic governments he establishes there are short-lived, as pro-Spartan aristocrats soon return to the cities, reestablish the oligarchies, and bind their cities ever more closely to Sparta.

title: 366 BC

text: The Spartans under Archidamus III are defeated by the Arcadians at Cromnus.

title: 364 BC

text: The Egyptian pharaoh Teos (or Tachos) succeeds his father Nectanebo I to the throne. Planning a great attack on Persia, he invites Sparta to help him.

title: 363 BC

text: King Agesilaus II of Sparta arrives with 1,000 men to assist Egypt in its fight with Persia.

title: 362 BC

text: The Egyptians under their King Teos and the Spartans under King Agesilaus II, with some Athenian mercenaries under their general Chabrias, set out to attack the Persian King's Phoenician cities. However, they have to return almost at once due to revolts back in Egypt. Subsequently, Agesilaus II quarrels with the Egyptian king and joins a revolt against him.

title: 361 BC

text: With the help of King Agesilaus II of Sparta, Nectanebo II deposes Teos and becomes king of Egypt. Teos flees to Susa and makes peace with the Persians. Nectanebo II pays the Spartans 230 talents for their help.

title: 360 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

text: Agesilaus II, Eurypontid king of Sparta (b. c.444 BC)

title: 360 BC

text: King Archidamus III of Sparta supports Phocis against Thebes in the "Sacred War".

title: 355 BC

text: The native Italian tribes, the Lucanians and Bruttians, press down upon the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, including Tarentum. Responding to calls for help from these former Greek colonies, King Archidamus III of Sparta sets sail with a band of mercenaries for Italy.

title: 343 BC

text: Philip II advances into Peloponnesus. He defeats Thessaly, subdues Sparta and summons a Pan-Hellenic Congress at Corinth. This results in the establishment of Macedonian hegemony over central Greece (including Athens).

title: 338 BC

text: King Archidamus III of Sparta, after five years of campaigning in southern Italy, fails to achieve any decisive results and while leading a mercenary army to help Tarentum against the Lucanians, is killed with most of his troops at Manduria in Calabria.

title: 338 BC

text: King Archidamus III is succeeded as the Eurypontid King of Sparta by his son, Agis III.

title: 338 BC

text: Archidamus III, king of Sparta (killed in battle)

title: 338 BC

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

title: 331 BC

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

text: Agis III, Eurypontid king of Sparta (killed in battle)

title: 330 BC

text: Areus I succeeds his grandfather Cleomenes II as king of Sparta.

title: 309 BC

text: Cleomenes II, Agiad King of Sparta

title: 309 BC

text: The citizens of Tarentum seek the help of the Spartan general, Cleonymus. He is able to pacify the Lucanians with the agreement of the Romans.

title: 303 BC

text: Antigonus' son Demetrius Poliorcetes attacks Cassander's forces in Thessaly. Cassander loses his possessions south of Thessaly to Demetrius. Antigonus and Demetrius crown their success by renewing the pan-Hellenic league. Ambassadors from all the Hellenic states (with the exception of Sparta, Messenia and Thessaly) meet at Corinth to elect Antigonus and Demetrius protectors of the new league.

title: 302 BC

text: Archidamus IV, king of Sparta, son of Eudamidas I and grandson of Archidamus III, is defeated by Demetrius Poliorcetes of Macedonia in a battle at Mantinea. Sparta is saved only because Demetrius is called away by the threatening activities of his rivals Lysimachus and Ptolemy.

title: 294 BC

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

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

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

text: Acrotatus II succeeds his father Areus I as king of Sparta.

title: 265 BC

text: Agis IV, king of Sparta (approximate date)

title: 265 BC

text: The Athenians and Spartans, worn down by several years of war and the devastation of their lands, make peace with Antigonus II of Macedonia who thus retains his hold on southern Greece.

title: 263 BC

text: Acrotatus II, Agiad king of Sparta

title: 262 BC

text: The Carthaginians, angered by Regulus' demands, hire Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, to reorganize the army. The revitalised Carthaginian army, led by Xanthippus, decisively defeat the Romans in the Battle of Tunis and capture their commander Marcus Atilius Regulus. A Roman fleet, sent to rescue Regulus and his troops, is wrecked in a storm off Sicily.

title: 255 BC

text: Areus II, Agiad king of Sparta (son of Acrotatus II)

title: 254 BC

text: Agis IV succeeds his father, Eudamidas II, as Eurypontid king of Sparta.

title: 244 BC

text: Agis IV, Eurypontid King of Sparta who has failed in his attempt to reform Sparta's economic and political structure (b. c. 265 BC)

title: 241 BC

text: The ephor, Lysander, claims to have seen a sign from the gods against King Leonidas II of Sparta so Leonidas flees to avoid his trial. In his absence Leonidas is deposed from the throne and replaced by his son-in-law Cleomenes III.

title: 235 BC

text: Aratus of Sicyon brings Argos into the Achaean League and then helps liberate Athens. This brings Aratus into conflict with Sparta.

title: 229 BC

text: Archidamus V, brother of the murdered Spartan King Agis IV, is called back to Sparta by the Agiad King Cleomenes III, who has no counterpart on the throne by then. However, Archidamus V is assassinated shortly after returning.

title: 228 BC

text: Archidamus V, king of Sparta of the Eurypontid line

title: 228 BC

text: The Spartan King Cleomenes III captures Mantinea and defeats the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon at Hecatombaeum, near Dyme in north-eastern Elis.

title: 226 BC

text: After the Spartan King Cleomenes III takes on Pellene, Phlius and Argos, Aratus of Sicyon is forced to call upon King Antigonus III of Macedonia for assistance. Antigonus III's forces fail to pierce Cleomenes' lines near Corinth, but a revolt against Cleomenes at Argos put the Spartans on the defensive.

title: 224 BC

text: The Spartan king Cleomenes III destroys and burns the city of Megalopolis but the inhabitants are saved by Philopoemen who leads the defence of the city until the inhabitants can escape.

title: 223 BC

text: Battle of Sellasia: Cleomenes III of Sparta is defeated by Antigonus III of Macedon and his allies (the Achaean League, the Boeotian League, the Acarnanians, Epirus and the Illyrians under the command of Demetrius of Pharos) near Sellasia (north of Sparta) and flees to Egypt under the protection of King Ptolemy III. Antigonus III's forces occupy Sparta, which is the first time this city has ever been occupied.

title: 222 BC

text: Eucleidas, king of Sparta (killed in the Battle of Sellasia)

title: 222 BC

text: King Cleomenes III of Sparta, who is in exile in Egypt, is imprisoned by Ptolemy IV on a charge of conspiracy.

title: 221 BC

text: Aratus of Sicyon counters Aetolian aggression by obtaining the assistance of the Hellenic League now under the leadership of Philip V of Macedon. In the resulting Social War, the Hellenic League of Greek states is assembled in Corinth at Philip V's instigation. He then leads the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia, Sparta and Elis.

title: 220 BC

text: The former King of Sparta, Cleomenes III, escapes from his Egyptian prison and, after failing to raise a revolt in Alexandria, takes his own life.

title: 219 BC

text: Cleomenes III, Spartan king from 235 BC to 222 BC, who reorganized Sparta's political structure and struggled unsuccessfully to destroy the Achaean League.

title: 219 BC

text: After allying with Hannibal, Philip V of Macedon attacks the Roman positions in Illyria, but fails to take Corcyra or Apollonia, which are protected by the Roman fleet. Rome's command of the sea prevents his lending any effective aid to his Carthaginian ally in Italy. The Aetolians, Sparta and King Attalus of Pergamum join the Romans in the war against Philip V. This coalition is so strong that Philip V has to stop attacking Roman territory.

title: 210 BC

text: The general leading the Achaean League, Philopoemen, introduces heavier Macedonian armour and phalanx tactics. His army then crushes the Spartans under the Spartan regent and general, Machanidas, in the battle of Mantinea. Machanidas is killed by Philopoemen during the battle.

title: 207 BC

text: Machanidas, Spartan general and regent (killed in the battle of Mantinea)

title: 207 BC

text: After the peace, the Spartan king, Nabis, goes to war with the Achaean League. The Achaean general Philopoemen expels Nabis of Sparta from Messene.

title: 205 BC

text: The Spartan king, Nabis, once more invades and captures Messene. However, the Spartans are forced to retreat when the Achaean League army of Philopoemen intervenes. Nabis' forces are decisively defeated at Tegea by Philopoemen and Nabis is forced to check his expansionist ambitions for the time being.

title: 201 BC

text: The Spartan ruler, Nabis, acquires the important city of Argos from Philip V of Macedon, as the price of his alliance with the Macedonians. Nabis then defects to the Romans in the expectation of being able to hold on to his conquest.

title: 197 BC

text: Flamininus accuses the Spartan ruler, Nabis, of tyranny, takes Gythium in Laconia and forces Nabis to surrender Argos.

title: 196 BC

text: After checking the ambitions of Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, the Roman forces under proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus finally withdraw from Greece.

title: 194 BC

text: Flamininus attempts to rally the Greeks against Antiochus III and to counter the pro-Seleucid policy of the Aetolians. When the Aetolians call on Antiochus III for aid, Flamininus persuades the Achaean League to declare war on both parties. He also prevents Philopoemen from taking Sparta.

title: 193 BC

text: The Achaeans respond to Sparta's renewed interest in recovering lost territory by sending an envoy to Rome with a request for help. In response, the Roman Senate sends the praetor Atilius with a navy, as well as an embassy headed by Titus Quinctius Flamininus.

title: 192 BC

text: Nabis, tyrant and last independent ruler (from 207 BC) of Sparta

title: 192 BC

text: The leader of the Achaean League, Philopoemen, enters northern Laconia with his army and a group of Spartan exiles. His army demolishes the wall that the former tyrant of Sparta, Nabis, has built around Sparta. Philopoemen then restores Spartan citizenship to the exiles and abolishes Spartan law, introducing Achaean law in its place. Sparta's role as a major power in Greece ends, while the Achaean League becomes the dominant power throughout the Peloponnese.

title: 188 BC

text: Philopoemen, Greek general and statesman, strategos of the Achaean League on eight occasions and a major figure in the demise of Sparta as a Greek power (b. 253 BC)

title: 183 BC

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

title: 32 BC

text: Emperor Tiberius settles a dispute between Messenia and Sparta over the Ager Dentheliales on Mount Taygetus, awarding the land to Messenia.

title: 20s

text: The Goths sack several cities of southern Greece including Athens, Corinth, Argos and Sparta. After the Sack of Athens, an Athenian militia force (2,000 men), under the historian Dexippus, pushes the invaders to the north where they are intercepted by the Roman army under emperor Gallienus. He wins an important victory near the Nestos River, on the boundary between Macedonia and Thrace.

title: 267

text: Revolt of Alaric I: The Visigoths, led by Alaric I, rampage through Greece and plunder Corinth, Argos and Sparta. They destroy the Temple of Eleusis, and harry the Peloponnese. Stilicho makes peace with the Goths, and allows them to settle in Epirus (Balkans).

title: 396

text: Winter – William of Villehardouin tours the Peloponnese and selects sites for new fortifications such as Grand Magne and Leuktron. At Mystras (ancient Sparta), he builds a fortress and a palace.

title: 1249

text: Summer – Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (some 3,500 men) led by his half-brother, Constantine Palaiologos, to the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The army is transported to Monemvasia on Genoese ships, while a small Byzantine fleet is sent to harass the Latin island holdings in Euboea and the Cyclades. After arriving at Monemvasia, Constantine lays siege to Sparta, while the Byzantine fleet seizes the southern coast of Laconia.

title: 1263

text: April 25 – The Morean War begins as the Republic of Venice declares war on the Ottoman Empire for control of the Peloponnese area of Greece, a peninsula which includes Corinth and Sparta and has been referred to by the Ottomans as Morea.

title: 1684


description: presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives

date: April 1

text: April 1 – At Federal Hall, the United States House of Representatives attains its first quorum, and elects congressman Frederick Muhlenberg as the first Speaker of the House.

title: 1789

section: Events › April–June

date: December 7

text: December 7 – Future U.S. President James K. Polk becomes Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

title: 1835

section: Events › October–December

date: December 22

text: December 22 – After 17 days of deadlock and 63 votes, Democrat Howell Cobb of Georgia is elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, by a plurality of 102 votes to 99 for the former Speaker, the Whig Party's Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts. Neither the Democrats nor the Whigs have a majority of the 230 seats in the House, and after neither candidate can obtain the required 116 votes, the Representatives agree that the plurality will decide the leadership.

title: 1849

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)

title: 1882

section: Births › January

date: January 27

text: January 27 – James G. Blaine, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1830)

title: 1893

section: Deaths › January–June

date: July 18

text: July 18 – President Harry S. Truman signs the Presidential Succession Act into law, which places the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate next in the line of succession, after the vice president.

title: 1947

section: Events › July

date: November 16

text: November 16 – Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1882)

title: 1961

section: Deaths › November

date: October 3

text: October 3 – Elected on January 8, Kevin McCarthy is removed as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, with Mike Johnson being elected new Speaker on October 25.

title: 2023

section: Events › October


slug: spoleto

label: Spoleto

description: comune in Umbria, Italy

section: Conflict & Security

text: Aemilianus is murdered at Spoletium and Publius Valerianus, age 60, is recognised as the new emperor by the Rhine legions. He gives his son Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus the title Augustus. Valerianus I dispatches him to the Danube where the Goths have violated the treaty signed with Rome and invaded Moesia.

title: 253

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Spoleto becomes the capital of an independent duchy, under the Lombard chieftain Faroald (approximate date).

title: 570

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Spring – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East Frankish expeditionary army, joining up with the deposed king Berengar I at Verona. He conquers Brescia after little resistance, and sacks Bergamo after a one-month siege. The cities of Milan and Pavia open their doors to Arnulf. Emperor Guy III escapes from Pavia, to hide in the mountains of Spoleto (Umbria).

title: 894

date: February

text: February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East Frankish expeditionary army. He storms Rome (the Leonine City), and has himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Formosus at St. Peter's. Arnulf sets out to establish his authority in Spoleto, but suffers a stroke; he is forced to call off the campaign, and returns to Bavaria.

title: 896

section: Religion & Belief

date: January

text: January – Pope John IX is consecrated, and succeeds Theodore II, as the 116th pope of the Catholic Church. His rival Serguis III (a Spoletan ally of Lambert II) is excommunicated, and takes refuge at the court of Adalbert II.

title: 898

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Berengar II invades the March of Verona, which is under control of the dukes of Bavaria, and lay siege to Count Adalbert Atto at Canossa Castle (northern Italy). Berengar sends a Lombard expeditionary force under his son Guy of Ivrea against Theobald II, duke of Spoleto. He captures Spoleto and Camerino.

title: 958

text: Spring – King Adalbert II returns to the mainland of Italy, and occupies the environs of Spoleto. Emperor Otto I ('the Great') leaves Rome with his army, and lays siege to the fortress city of Spoleto.

title: 964

section: Events › Europe

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Anthony of Padua is canonized by Pope Gregory IX at Spoleto, less than a year after his death. He becomes the patron saint of lost items.

title: 1232


slug: sri-lanka

label: Sri Lanka

description: island country in South Asia

year_label: 474 BCE

section: Births

text: Pandukabhaya of Anuradhapura, ruler of Sri Lanka

title: 474 BC

year_label: 288 BCE

text: The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Sacred Fig tree is planted at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This is the earliest known planting date for any planted tree still surviving.

title: 288 BC

section: Events › By place › Sri Lanka

year_label: 267 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Devanampiya Tissa, ruler of Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

title: 267 BC

year_label: 236 BCE

text: Buddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, a monk acting on behalf of the late Ashoka.

title: 236 BC

year_label: 77 BCE

text: Vattagamani Abhaya, king of Sri Lanka

title: 77 BC

text: "Pattini dheivam" worship is inaugurated in Kannagi Temple in the Chera Kingdom in India, by Emperor Cenkuttuvan; the function is attended by GajaBahu, king of Central Sri Lanka (Mahavamso).

title: AD 113

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Gajabahu I, king of Raja Rata (modern Sri Lanka)

title: AD 136

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu (modern Nepal).

title: 399

text: King Dhatusena of Anuradhapura of the Moriyan dynasty rules over Sri Lanka. During his reign the Avukana Buddha statue is built.

title: 459

text: Cosmas Indicopleustes, Alexandrian explorer-geographer, travels up the Nile. He will venture as far to the east as Ceylon, become a monk, and write "Topographia Christiana" to vindicate the biblical account of the world (see 550).

title: 525

section: Events › By topic › Exploration and colonization

text: Cosmas Indicopleustes, Alexandrian merchant, writes his work Christian Topography. He describes the importance of the spice trade (especially in cloves and sweet aloes) in Ceylon, and the harvesting of pepper in India (approximate date).

title: 548

section: Events › By topic › Commerce

text: Summer – The Pallava Empire (modern India) invades the kingdom of Ceylon. A Pallavan naval expedition employing Tamil mercenaries ends the Moriya dynasty.

title: 684

text: Dappula II becomes king of Sri Lanka, and makes Anuradhapura the capital city.

title: 807

text: The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Jaffna District (modern Sri Lanka), is built.

title: 948

text: Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola dynasty (in modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.

title: 1017

section: Events › Asia

text: Vikramabahu (Kassapa VI), king of Sri Lanka (d. 1041)

title: 1017

text: Vikramabahu, Prince of Ruhuna (or Kassapa), ruler of Sri Lanka (b. 1017)

title: 1041

text: King Kalinga Magha, from Kalinga Province in India, lands in Sri Lanka with a force of 24,000 men, to capture the city of Polonnaruwa and depose its king, Parakrama Pandya.

title: 1215

section: Events › By continent › Asia

section: Culture & Society

date: April 14

text: April 14 – On the island of Sri Lanka, King Chodaganga Deva lands at Trincomalee on the Tamil New Year's Day (the 1st of Chittirai of Shaka era year 1145) and makes a large donation to fund the Hindu Koneswaram Temple. The event is commemorated in an inscription in the Sanskrit language in the temple.

title: 1223

text: King Kalinga Magha ("the Tyrant") is expelled from Polonnaruwa to Jaffna, capital of the Jaffna Kingdom (located in modern Sri Lanka).

title: 1236

text: Cheng Ho (or Zheng He), admiral of the Ming empire fleet, deposes the king of Sri Lanka.

title: 1409

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 15

text: February 15 – The Galle Trilingual Inscription, with inscriptions in three languages (Chinese, Tamil and Persian) is installed by the Chinese admiral Zheng He at Galle in Sri Lanka, where he has stopped while on his way home during the second of his treasure voyages.

title: 1409

section: Events › January–March

date: November 28

text: November 28 – The Ming Chinese expedition lands at the island of Sri Lanka, coming ashore at Beruwala at the Kingdom of Kotte, ruled by Parakramabahu VI, but departs for India four days later.

title: 1432

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Portuguese explorer Lourenço de Almeida and his fleet encounter a storm and are driven to the island of Sri Lanka and travels to Colombo. The King of Kotte, Dharma Parakramabahu IX, allows Almeida to build a trade station and a Roman Catholic chapel.

title: 1505

date: December 29

text: December 29 – Bhuvanaikabahu VII, King of Kotte on most of the island of Sri Lanka, is assassinated by a gunman hired by the government of Portuguese India.

title: 1550

date: February 18

text: February 18 – In modern-day Sri Lanka, the siege of Colombo by King Rajasinha I of Sitawaka ends when Portuguese Admiral Pedro Teixeira arrives with a fleet of 80 ships and frees the capital of Portuguese Ceylon. King Rajasinha and his troops flee back to his capital at Seethawakapura.

title: 1588

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Ralph Fitch becomes the first known person from England to set foot on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and stays five days.

title: 1589

date: October 26

text: October 26 – The Portuguese invasion of the Jaffna Kingdom begins on the north side of the island of Sri Lanka.

title: 1591

date: October 9

text: October 9 – Sinhalese–Portuguese War – Campaign of Danture: Forces of the Kingdom of Kandy gain a decisive victory over the Portuguese Empire, reversing near-total control of Sri Lanka by Portugal. Pedro Lopes de Sousa, the Governor of Portuguese Ceylon, is killed in the battle, and replaced on December 24 by Jerónimo de Azevedo.

title: 1594

date: May 27

text: May 27 – The Kingdom of Kotte, on most of the western side of the island of Sri Lanka, upon the death of King Dharmapala. With no heirs, Dharmapala had made a will bequeathing the entire kingdom to the European nation of Portugal, creating the territory of Portuguese Ceylon (Puruthugisi Lankawa or Porthueka Ilankai).

title: 1597

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen, leading three ships of the Compagnie van De Moucheron, departs on his first expedition to Asia, departing from Veere with the ships Ram, Schaap, and Lam (Ram, Sheep and Lamb). After establishing trade in Sri Lanka, Spilbergen and his crew return to the Dutch Republic in 1604.

title: 1601

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen lands on the eastern side of the island of Sri Lanka, at Santhamuruthu, and begins the process of attempting to establish a relationship with the rulers of the Kingdom of Kandy.

title: 1602

text: An expedition in Sri Lanka, led by Filipe de Oliveira, deposes and executes the last Jaffna king (Cankili II), putting an end to the Jaffna Kingdom.

title: 1619

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Sinhalese–Portuguese War: In the Battle of Randeniwela on the island of Sri Lanka, King Senarat of Kandy leads more than 35,000 troops in killing most of an attack force led by Portuguese Ceylon governor Constantino de Sá de Noronha.

title: 1630

section: Events › July–September

date: May 2

text: May 2 – After a 40-day siege, the Dutch East India Company Army captures the Trincomalee Fort on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from the Portuguese Empire.

title: 1639

date: March 8

text: March 8–13 – Siege of Galle: Dutch troops take the strategic fortress at Galle, Sri Lanka from the Portuguese.

title: 1640

section: Health & Medicine

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Jacob van Kittensteyn succeeds Joan Maetsuycker as the Dutch Governor of Zeylan (now the nation of Sri Lanka).

title: 1650

date: May 12

text: May 12 – The Dutch capture the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, marking the start of Netherlands colonial rule of Dutch Ceylon.

title: 1656

text: June 4 – On the island later known as Sri Lanka, Narendra Sinha becomes the monarch of most of the area as the new Kandyan king, succeeding to the throne upon the death of his father, King Vimaladharmasuriya II. Narendra Sinha reigns for almost 32 years until his death on May 13, 1739.

title: 1707

text: March 13 – Daniel Overbeek becomes the new Dutch Governor of Ceylon (the modern-day nation of Sri Lanka), arriving after a 10-month sea voyage from the Netherlands.

title: 1718

text: August 25 – British forces capture Trincomalee, Ceylon.

title: 1795

text: September 23 – Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, the Governor of British Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), issues a proclamation declaring that the laws of the Netherlands for the conquered Dutch Ceylon shall be enforced until superseded by new laws.

title: 1799

text: September 11 – The Great Rebellion of 1817-18 begins in Sri Lanka.

title: 1817

text: July 26 – The Matale Rebellion breaks out against British rule in Sri Lanka.

title: 1848

text: December 18 – The socialist party of Sri Lanka, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, is founded.

title: 1935

text: April 5 – WWII: Easter Sunday Raid – Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attack Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy cruisers and are sunk southwest of the island.

title: 1942

text: February 4 – Ceylon (later known as Sri Lanka) becomes an independent country, within the British Commonwealth adopting King George VI as the King of Ceylon.

title: 1948

text: The World Buddhist Sangha Council is convened by Theravadins in Sri Lanka, with the hope of bridging differences and working together.

title: 1966

text: May 22 – The Dominion of Ceylon becomes the republic of Sri Lanka under prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, when its new constitution is ratified.

title: 1972

text: July 24 – The Black July anti-Tamil riots begin in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000 Sri Lankan Tamils and Hill-country Tamils.

title: 1983

text: November 30 – Sri Lankan Civil War, Kent and Dollar Farm massacres: the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam begin their first massacres of the Sinhalese people, in North and East Sri Lanka. 127 are killed.

title: 1984

text: April 15 – An insurrection in Sri Lanka by the Marxist–Leninist group, JVP, begins.

title: 1987

text: April 21 – In Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Central Bus Station Bombing kills 113 civilians.

title: 1987

text: May 1 – Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa: During a May Day rally, President of Sri Lanka Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bomber. Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga succeeds Premadasa as the 3rd executive president of Sri Lanka.

title: 1993

text: January 31 – Colombo Central Bank bombing: an explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400.

title: 1996

text: March 17 – Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by beating Australia in the final.

title: 1996

text: March 7 – In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers overrun a military base and kill over 100 Sri Lankan troops.

title: 1997

text: December 26 – The 9.1–9.3 Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting coastal areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, killing 227,000 people.

title: 2004

text: April 21 – A series of Islamist bomb attacks occur at eight locations in Sri Lanka, including three churches, four hotels and one housing complex in Colombo, on Easter Sunday, leaving 259 people dead and over 500 injured. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in the country since the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in 2009.

title: 2019

text: November 28 – Flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah leave at least 647 dead and 183 missing across Sri Lanka and South India.

title: 2025


slug: sri-lankan-civil-war

label: Sri Lankan civil war

description: armed conflict in Sri Lanka (1983–2009) between the government and the separatist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 23

text: July 23 – 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed during a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, thus beginning the Sri Lankan Civil War, which would continue until 2009.

title: 1983

section: Events › July

date: December 4

text: December 4 – Sri Lankan Civil War, 1984 Mannar massacre: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill over 200 civilians in the town of Mannar.

title: 1984

section: Events › December

date: November 30

title: 1984

section: Events › November

date: June 12

text: June 12 – Sri Lankan civil war: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 152 civilians in Kokkadichcholai.

title: 1991

section: Events › June

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Sri Lankan Civil War: 125 civilians are killed in Navaly as result of bombing by the Sri Lanka Air Force.

title: 1995

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Bandaranaike Airport attack: The Tamil Tigers bomb the Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

title: 2001

section: Crime & Justice

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Sri Lankan civil war, Chencholai bombing: 61 female students in Mullaitivu are killed by the Sri Lankan Air Force in an air strike.

title: 2006

section: Events › August

date: May 18

text: May 18 – Following more than 25 years of fighting, the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the total military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

title: 2009

section: Events › May

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: April 21

title: 2019

section: Events › April


slug: st-albans

label: St Albans

description: city and unparished area in southern Hertfordshire, England

year_label: 49 CE

text: In Britain, governor Publius Ostorius Scapula founds a colonia for Roman veterans at Camulodunum (Colchester). Verulamium (St Albans) is probably established as a municipium the same year. A legion is stationed on the borders of the Silures of South Wales in preparation for invasion.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 49

year_label: 60 CE

text: Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants by the thousands.

title: AD 60

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 61 CE

text: Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants in their thousands.

title: AD 61

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Kingdom of Essex is founded by the Saxons, who land north of the Thames. They take control of the land between what is now London and St Albans, ceding from the Kingdom of Kent

title: 527

section: Events › By place › Britannia

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Offa of Mercia founds an abbey at St Albans.

title: 793

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Autumn – Stephen arrests Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, during a meeting of the Royal Court at St. Albans. He is charged with treason against Stephen, but given his freedom back in return for surrendering his title and castles. Geoffrey becomes an outlaw and fortifies Ramsey Abbey, where he sets up his headquarters to plunder the countryside of Ely.

title: 1143

section: Events › By place › England

text: May 12 – St Albans, in England, receives its first royal charter as a borough.

title: 1553

section: Events › April–June

date: January 31

text: January 31 – The Rump Parliament confirms the promotion of Colonel George Monck to the rank of General and he receives the commission of rank while at St Albans.

title: 1660


slug: st-augustine-florida

label: St. Augustine, Florida

description: city in St. Johns County, Florida, United States

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano, a Spanish missionary colony of 1,500 men, on 13 ships, arrives from Vera Cruz at Pensacola Bay, founding the oldest European settlement in the mainland U.S. (St. Augustine is founded in 1565.)

title: 1559

section: Events › July–September

date: September 8

text: September 8 – St. Augustine, Florida (named after Augustine of Hippo), is established by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, becoming the oldest surviving European settlement in the modern-day United States, and a mass of Thanksgiving is said.

title: 1565

date: July 4

text: July 4 – Alonso de Solís, who was appointed by Spain as Governor of the colony of La Florida, is killed in the colonial capital at San Augustin, the modern U.S. city of St. Augustine, Florida.

title: 1576

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Manuel de Cendoya, Spain's Governor of Florida, breaks ground for the construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, a masonry fortress designed to protect St. Augustine. Governor Cendoya follows on November 9 with the ceremonial laying for the first stone for the foundation.

title: 1672

section: Events › October–December

section: Conflict & Security

text: After 23 years of construction, Spain completes Castillo de San Marcos to protect St. Augustine, Florida, from foreign threats.

title: 1695

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Queen Anne's War in North America: The Siege of St. Augustine opens as English forces besiege St. Augustine, Spanish Florida.

title: 1702

date: October 27

text: October 27 – Queen Anne's War in North America: English troops plunder St. Augustine, Spanish Florida.

title: 1702

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Spain begins construction on Fort Matanzas in the Matanzas Inlet, approximately 15 mi km south of St. Augustine, Florida.

title: 1740

text: Spain completes the construction of Fort Matanzas in the Matanzas Inlet, approximately 15 mi km south of St. Augustine, Florida.

title: 1742

date: April 9

text: April 9 – The first permanent settlers arrive to construct the new city of Tallahassee, Florida, selected to be the capital of the Florida Territory newly acquired from the Kingdom of Spain; the area has been selected because it is roughly equidistant from the territory's main cities, Pensacola and St. Augustine.

title: 1824

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 7

text: March 7 – In the Florida Territory, the announcement is made from St. Augustine that the capital will be moved to Tallahassee.

title: 1824

section: Events › January–March

text: November 30 – "St. Augustine Monster": A large carcass, later postulated to be the remains of a gigantic octopus, is found washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida.

title: 1896

date: April 23

text: April 23 – The steamship General Whitney sinks off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida. While everyone on board escapes in lifeboats, one of the boats capsizes, drowning the captain and 16 other crew.

title: 1899


slug: st-paul-s-cathedral

label: St Paul's Cathedral

description: cathedral in the City of London, England, UK

text: Æthelberht of Kent founds St. Paul's Cathedral. Mellitus is appointed the first Saxon bishop of London (and Essex).

title: 604

text: St. Paul's Cathedral in London is destroyed by fire, but rebuilt in the same year.

title: 962

date: July 21

text: July 21 – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, delivers his most important sermon, speaking at St Paul's Cathedral to defend the Church of England's reasons for uniformly requiring the use of The Book of Common Prayer.

title: 1549

date: January 11

text: January 11 (January 2, 1563 O.S., January 11, 1563 N.S.) – The convocation of bishops and clerics of the Church of England is opened at St Paul's Cathedral in London by the Dean of the Arches, Robert Weston to agree upon the wording of what will become the Thirty-nine Articles, with the assembly adopting all but three of the Forty-two Articles promulgated during the reign of King Edward VI in 1553. The conference lasts for three months before agreeing upon the Articles to be submitted for further modification.

title: 1563

date: June 21

text: June 21 – Reconstruction of St Paul's Cathedral begins in London under the direction of Christopher Wren, to replace the portion destroyed by the Great Fire of London nine years earlier.

title: 1675

date: December 2

text: December 2 – The first service is held in St Paul's Cathedral since rebuilding work after the Great Fire of London began.

title: 1697

date: October 26

text: October 26 – Topping out of new St Paul's Cathedral in London.

title: 1708

section: Events › July–December

date: December 25

text: December 25 – The rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral in London to a design by Sir Christopher Wren is declared complete by Parliament; Old St Paul's had been destroyed by the 1666 Great Fire of London.

title: 1711

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Lord Nelson is given a state funeral and interment at St Paul's Cathedral in London, attended by the Prince of Wales.

title: 1806

date: July 29

text: July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 750 million people watch the Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London, UK.

title: 1981

section: Events › July


slug: st-peter-s-basilica

label: St. Peter's Basilica

description: church in Vatican City

section: Deaths

text: Cædwalla of Wessex arrives in Rome and is baptised by pope Sergius I, taking the name Peter. He dies 10 days later and is buried at St. Peter's Basilica.

title: 689

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Pope Paschal I, leader of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, dies after a reign of seven years. The Roman Curia refuses to bury him in St. Peter's Basilica because of his harsh treatment of the people of Rome, and inters him instead in the Basilica of Santa Prassede. The office remains vacant for four months before a new conclave is assembled.

title: 824

section: Events › By date

date: November 6

text: November 6 – Synod of Rome: Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica. John XII is deposed on charges that he has conducted himself dishonorably and instigated an armed rebellion against Otto.

title: 963

text: Fall – Boniface VII is expelled by order of Otto II and flees to Constantinople, taking the Church treasury of the Vatican Basilica along with him. He is succeeded by Benedict VII as the 135th pope of the Catholic Church.

title: 974

date: May 21

text: May 21 – Otto III, 16, is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at St. Peter's Basilica, and claims also the title of King of Italy. His grandmother, Adelaide, retires to a convent she has founded at Seltz (Alsace). Otto puts down a Roman rebellion; a number of nobles (including Crescentius II) are banished for their crimes.

title: 996

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: June 18

text: June 18 – King Frederick Barbarossa is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

title: 1155

date: June

text: June – Rabban Bar Sauma, Chinese Nestorian monk and diplomat, travels from Constantinople to Italy. There he arrives in Naples and witnesses a sea battle in the harbour between the Aragonese and the Angevin fleets. Bar Sauma goes to Rome, but arrives too late to meet Pope Honorius IV, who recently died. He instead is engaged in negotiations with the cardinals, who are in a conclave to elect a successor, and visits the St. Peter's Basilica. Bar Sauma goes to Genoa, where he receives a warm welcome.

title: 1287

section: Culture & Society

text: The oldest surviving bell, in the clocks atop the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is built.

title: 1288

section: Events › By topic › Art and culture

date: January 17

text: January 17 – Louis IV, "the Bavarian", is crowned Holy Roman Emperor at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Because of conflict with the Avignon Papacy, the ceremony is carried out by a senator and three Italian bishops.

title: 1328

section: Events

text: September 8 – Pope Calixtus III decides to send Christians on a crusade against the Ottoman Empire in an attempt to recapture Constantinople. At a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Pope provides Cardinal Alain de Coëtivy with the crusader's cross and sends him on a mission to meet with King Charles VII of France in hopes of getting French support for the proposed crusade.

title: 1455

date: September 3

text: September 3 – The coronation of Pope Pius II by Cardinal Prospero Colonna takes place on the front steps of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

title: 1458

text: Old St. Peter's Basilica is demolished under the orders of Pope Julius II. Construction of the new basilica begins the following year.

title: 1505

date: April 18

text: April 18 – Pope Julius II lays the foundation stone of the new (current) St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica.

title: 1506

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Pope Leo X issues a papal bull, at the suggestion of the German cardinal Albert of Brandenburg, providing for a special indulgence on worshipers in four Roman Catholic dioceses in order to pay for construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, with half to be paid to Albert for services.

title: 1515

date: August 31

text: August 31 – Pope Adrian VI is crowned at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

title: 1522

text: Michelangelo is made chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

title: 1546

date: November 18

text: November 18 – The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, on the 1,300th anniversary of the previous church in 326.

title: 1626

text: January 17 – The Chair of Saint Peter (Cathedra Petri, designed by Bernini) is set above the altar in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

title: 1666

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Canonization of Joan of Arc: Over 30,000 people attend the ceremony in Rome, including 140 descendants of Joan of Arc's family. Pope Benedict XV presides over the rite, for which the interior of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is richly decorated.

title: 1920

section: Events › May

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: May 21 – In St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican City), Laszlo Toth attacks Michelangelo's Pietà statue with a geologist's hammer, shouting that he is Jesus Christ.

title: 1972


slug: stadtholder

label: Stadtholder

description: governor of one or more provinces in the Netherlands from the late Middle Ages to the 18th century

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Willem van Oranje, the leader of the Dutch Republic as Stadtholder of Holland, is assassinated in Delft. Balthasar Gérard, who bought two wheel-lock pistols and then made an appointment with at the Prinsenhof, shoots William in the chest at close range and fatally wounds him, making William the first head of state to be assassinated with a handgun.

title: 1584

section: Events › July–September

date: August 5

text: August 5 – The province of Holland in the Dutch Republic passes the "Perpetual Edict" declaring that it will no longer acknowledge the authority of the republic's Stadtholder, and other provinces soon follow suit.

title: 1667

date: July 4

text: July 4 – William III of Orange is appointed Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland.

title: 1672

date: April 26

text: April 26 – In the Netherlands, the jurisdiction of Willem, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland (on the west coast, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam) and Zeeland (southwest coast, including Middelburg, Zeeland), increases in the Dutch Republic as his followers in the inland States of Utrecht (Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel) designate him as the hereditary stadtholder. In 1689, he becomes the King of England in addition to his role as the Stadtholder of the Netherlands.

title: 1674

section: Events › April–June

section: Religion & Belief

date: July 17

text: July 17 – King James II of England appoints four Roman Catholics to the Privy Council of England, in defiance of the Test Acts, which bar Catholics from public office. Suspicions about James's intentions lead to a group of conspirators meeting at Charborough House in Dorset, to plan his overthrow and replacement with the Protestant Dutch Stadtholder, William III of Orange-Nassau (James's son-in-law).

title: 1686

date: January 7

text: January 7 (December 28, 1694 O.S.) – The United Kingdom's last joint monarchy, the reign of husband-and-wife King William III and Queen Mary II comes to an end with the death of Queen Mary, at the age of 32. Princess Mary had been installed as the monarch along with her husband and cousin, Willem Hendrik von Oranje, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1689 after King James II was deposed by Willem during the "Glorious Revolution".

title: 1695

date: August 13

text: August 13 – The Dutch state of Drenthe makes William III of Orange its Stadtholder.

title: 1696

date: October 22

text: October 22 – William V, Prince of Orange, the three-year-old son of the late William IV, becomes the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. During his minority, his mother, Princess Anne, acts as regent until her death in 1759. Upon becoming of age in 1766, he will have a corrupt reign as the Republic's head of state until the office is abolished on February 23, 1785.

title: 1751

date: January 18

text: January 18 – Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam: William V, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (Republic of the Seven United Netherlands), flees the country.

title: 1795

section: Events › January–June


slug: stanley-cup

label: Stanley Cup

description: championship trophy awarded annually in the National Hockey League

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Sir Frederick Stanley, Governor General of Canada, announces his intention to donate the Stanley Cup for ice hockey.

title: 1892

section: Events › March

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: April 20

text: April 20 – The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey, after defeating the Boston Bruins in 6 games.

title: 1958

section: Events › April

date: May 5

text: May 5 – The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey.

title: 1966

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 2

text: May 2 – The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup. It is their last Stanley Cup and last finals appearance to date. It will turn out to be the last game in the Original Six era. Six more teams will be added in the fall.

title: 1967

date: May 18

text: May 18 – The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Black Hawks. The Canadiens became only the second team in NHL history to win the Cup in Game 7 on the road, and did so after the home team had won each of the previous six games in the series. This also marked Jean Béliveau's last NHL game.

title: 1971

text: May 16 – The Montreal Canadiens sweep the Philadelphia Flyers in four games to win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey.

title: 1976

date: May 25

text: May 25 – In a rematch of the previous season, the Montreal Canadiens again defeat the Boston Bruins, this time four games to two, to win the Stanley Cup.

title: 1978

date: May 21

text: May 21 – The Montreal Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers four games to one to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.

title: 1979

text: May 25 – The Calgary Flames defeat the Montreal Canadiens four games to two to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup in ice hockey.

title: 1989

date: June 9

text: June 9 – The Chicago Blackhawks win their first Stanley Cup since 1961.

title: 2010

section: Events › June

date: June 13

text: June 13 – The Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers 3–2 in game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final to win the series 4–1 and win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

title: 2014


slug: state-of-chu

label: State of Chu

year_label: 591 BCE

section: Deaths

text: 591 BC—King Zhuang of Chu, king of Chu

title: 590s BC

year_label: 545 BCE

text: King Kang of Chu, King of the State of Chu

title: 545 BC

year_label: 506 BCE

text: Shen Yin Shu, general of the State of Chu

title: 506 BC

year_label: 389 BCE

text: Wu Qi, the prime minister of the State of Chu, enacts his first series of political, municipal, and martial reforms. Wu Qi gains the ire and distrust of Chu officials and aristocratic elite who are against his crusades to sweep up corruption in the state and limit their power. He is eventually assassinated in 381 BC at the funeral of King Diao of Chu, although his assassins are executed shortly after by the newly enthroned King Su of Chu.

title: 389 BC

section: Events › By place › China

year_label: 280 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the State of Chu, conquering the western region of Qianzhong by marching through the region of Bashu. This conquest makes it easier for future Qin armies to invade Chu.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 279 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Chu and captures the cities of Yan and Deng.

title: 279 BC

year_label: 278 BCE

text: The heartland of the State of Chu in the modern Hubei province is overrun by the powerful state of Qin from the west under Bai Qi's leadership. Sailing down the Han river from Bashu, Bai Qi captures Ying - the capital of Chu - as well as Yiling, and his army reaches as far as Jingling. Bai Qi is honoured as Lord Wu'an (武安君; literally: Lord of Martial Peace). The Chu government moves to the east, occupying various temporary capitals until settling in Shouchun in 241 BC.

title: 278 BC

year_label: 275 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin brings order to the rebellious provinces of Wu and Qianzhong, which had been formed from the territories conquered from the State of Chu between 280 and 278 BC.

title: 275 BC

year_label: 222 BCE

text: The Qin general Wang Jian conquers Wuyue, forcing the capitulation of its ruler. The conquered region becomes the province of Kuaiji. This campaign completes the subjugation of the lands formerly held by the State of Chu, and it also serves as a precursor for the Qin campaign against the Yue tribes.

title: 222 BC


slug: state-of-han

label: State of Han

year_label: 403 BCE

text: The states of Han, Zhao and Wei receive official recognition as Marquesses from the Eastern Zhou dynasty, confirming the Partition of Jin. This is one of the traditional starting points of the Warring States period.

title: 403 BC

year_label: 363 BCE

text: Marquess Gong of Han, ruler of the State of Han

title: 363 BC

year_label: 294 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin launches a surprise attack on the State of Han and captures the city of Xincheng.

title: 294 BC

year_label: 264 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Han and captures the city of Jing, defeating its large garrison. He then captures various other towns and cities.

title: 264 BC

year_label: 263 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin captures the Han province of Nan, thereby cutting off Shangdang Commandery from the rest of the Han state. This commandery subsequently surrenders itself to the State of Zhao rather than transfer to Qin control, which will set up the climactic Battle of Changping in 260 BC.

title: 263 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Following the surrender of the Shangdang Commandery, formerly of Han, to the State of Zhao, fighting between Zhao and the State of Qin begins in the area of Changping.

title: 262 BC

year_label: 259 BCE

text: The State of Zhou cedes to the State of Qin the Han region of Yuanyong and six cities of Zhao in exchange for peace.

title: 259 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao captures the Han cities of Chenggao and Xingyang, thereby establishing the Sanchuan Commandery.

title: 250 BC

year_label: 244 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao annexes 13 cities from the State of Han.

title: 244 BC


slug: state-of-qi

label: State of Qi

year_label: 673 BCE

text: Wen Jiang, princess of the State of Qi and duchess of the State of Lu

title: 673 BC

section: Deaths › Autumn

year_label: 554 BCE

text: Duke Ling of Qi, ruler of the State of Qi

title: 554 BC

year_label: 548 BCE

text: Duke Zhuang II, ruler of the Chinese state of Qi

title: 548 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

text: The rulers of Wei and Qi agree to recognize each other as kings, formalizing the independence of the Warring States and the powerlessness of the Zhou dynasty.

title: 334 BC

year_label: 283 BCE

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou defeats an army of the State of Qi and captures the city of Yangqin.

title: 283 BC

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou defeats an army of the State of Qi.

title: 279 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: Rough date: The Zhao general Pang Nuan captures the Qi city of Rao'an and the Yan cities of Li and Yangcheng.

title: 239 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Han Xin invades the State of Qi, defeats Qi's armies, captures their capital Linzi and crushes a coalition army of Chu and Qi forces under Long Ju in the Battle of the Wei River.

title: 204 BC


slug: state-of-qin

label: State of Qin

year_label: 558 BCE

text: The Chinese state of Jin defeats its rival state of Qin in battle.

title: 558 BC

year_label: 299 BCE

text: The State of Qin annexes eight cities of the state of Chu. Chu then sends an envoy to ask the King of Huai to go to Qin to negotiate peace. Qu Yuan risks his life to go up to the court to persuade the King of Huai not to go to the negotiation.

title: 299 BC

year_label: 298 BCE

text: King Huai of Chu visits the State of Qin to negotiate peace but is detained.

title: 298 BC

title: 294 BC

year_label: 292 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin defeats the State of Wei in a major battle and captures cities in Wei. Wei cedes control of 61 towns and cities.

title: 292 BC

year_label: 291 BCE

text: Generals Sima Cuo and Bai Qi of the State of Qin attack the State of Wei and capture the city of Yuan. Next, Sima Cuo captures the cities of Zhi and Deng.

title: 291 BC

year_label: 290 BCE

text: The city of Yuan is returned by the State of Qin to the State of Wei in exchange for the cities of Puban and Pishi.

title: 290 BC

year_label: 289 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei, recaptures the city of Yuan and captures the cities of Heyong and Jueqiao.

title: 289 BC

year_label: 286 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the Henei area of the State of Wei. Wei responds by handing over the major city of Anyi.

title: 286 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the State of Chu, conquering the western region of Qianzhong by marching through the region of Bashu. This conquest makes it easier for future Qin armies to invade Chu.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 279 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Chu and captures the cities of Yan and Deng.

title: 279 BC

year_label: 276 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei and captures two cities.

title: 276 BC

year_label: 275 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin brings order to the rebellious provinces of Wu and Qianzhong, which had been formed from the territories conquered from the State of Chu between 280 and 278 BC.

title: 275 BC

year_label: 273 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei and State of Zhou. He captures the city of Huyang and wins three battles, defeating the army of the Zhao general Jia Yan.

title: 273 BC

title: 264 BC

title: 263 BC

title: 262 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: The armies of the State of Qin and State of Zhao contest control of the area around Changping. After suffering defeats to general Wang He of Qin and the superior Qin army, general Lian Po of Zhao refuses to give battle, resulting in a stalemate.

title: 261 BC

title: 259 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: The State of Qin besieges Handan, the capital of the State of Zhou, but the Qin army under Wang Ling sustains heavy casualties. Wang Ling is then replaced by Wang He.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 257 BCE

text: The Qin siege of Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao:

title: 257 BC

text: Zichu becomes the king of Qin, with Lü Buwei his Prime Minister.

title: 250 BC

year_label: 249 BCE

text: The last remnants of the Zhou dynasty, having rebelled against the State of Qin, are defeated by Prime Minister Lü Buwei.

title: 249 BC

year_label: 248 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao captures the Wei cities of Gaodu and Ji.

title: 248 BC

year_label: 247 BCE

text: General Wang He of the State of Qin takes the city of Shangdang from the State of Zhao and establishes Taiyuan Commandery.

title: 247 BC

year_label: 245 BCE

text: The Qin general Pao Gong captures the Wei city of Juan.

title: 245 BC

title: 244 BC

year_label: 243 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao sacks the Wei cities of Shizhang and Yougui.

title: 243 BC

year_label: 242 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao annexes 20 towns and cities from the State of Wei, conquering the cities of Suanzao, Yan, Xu, Changping, Yongqiu and Shanyang. He then establishes the Dongjun Commandery.

title: 242 BC

year_label: 240 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao takes the Zhao cities of Long, Hu and Qingdu but then dies en route to the Wei city of Ji. This is then captured by Meng Ao's son Meng Wu.

title: 240 BC

year_label: 236 BCE

text: King Ying Zheng of the State of Qin begins a series of campaigns against the State of Zhao that will end with Zhao's conquest in 228 BC. The Qin generals Huan Yi Yang Duan He and Wang Jian seize nine cities in the Yecheng region.

title: 236 BC

year_label: 228 BCE

text: The State of Qin, its armies led by Wang Jian, completes the conquest of the State of Zhao.

title: 228 BC


slug: state-of-wei

label: State of Wei

year_label: 403 BCE

text: The states of Han, Zhao and Wei receive official recognition as Marquesses from the Eastern Zhou dynasty, confirming the Partition of Jin. This is one of the traditional starting points of the Warring States period.

title: 403 BC

year_label: 387 BCE

text: Wen, marquis of the State of Wei, China

title: 387 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

text: The rulers of Wei and Qi agree to recognize each other as kings, formalizing the independence of the Warring States and the powerlessness of the Zhou dynasty.

title: 334 BC

year_label: 292 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin defeats the State of Wei in a major battle and captures cities in Wei. Wei cedes control of 61 towns and cities.

title: 292 BC

year_label: 291 BCE

text: Generals Sima Cuo and Bai Qi of the State of Qin attack the State of Wei and capture the city of Yuan. Next, Sima Cuo captures the cities of Zhi and Deng.

title: 291 BC

year_label: 290 BCE

text: The city of Yuan is returned by the State of Qin to the State of Wei in exchange for the cities of Puban and Pishi.

title: 290 BC

year_label: 289 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei, recaptures the city of Yuan and captures the cities of Heyong and Jueqiao.

title: 289 BC

year_label: 286 BCE

text: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the Henei area of the State of Wei. Wei responds by handing over the major city of Anyi.

title: 286 BC

title: 276 BC

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou invades the State of Wei and captures the cities of Fangling and Anyang.

title: 275 BC

title: 273 BC

title: 248 BC

text: After suffering an initial defeat to Wei general Wuji in the Battle of Hewai, the armies of Qin, led by Meng Ao and Wang He, defeat a combined attempt by the other kingdoms of China to break through the strategic Hangu Pass and invade the Qin heartland of Guanzhong.

title: 247 BC

title: 245 BC

title: 243 BC

title: 242 BC

title: 240 BC


slug: state-of-zhao

label: State of Zhao

title: 403 BC

year_label: 299 BCE

text: The State of Zhao annexes the State of Zhongshan.

title: 299 BC

year_label: 288 BCE

text: King Zhao of Qin and King Min of Qi take the title "Di", (帝 literally emperor), of the west and east respectively. They swear a covenant and begin planning an attack on the State of Zhao.

title: 288 BC

year_label: 275 BCE

text: Shen Dao, Chinese philosopher from Zhao who also served at the Jixia academy in Qi. He is known for his blend of Legalism and Taoism (approximate date)

title: 275 BC

year_label: 265 BCE

text: The State of Zhao stations general Li Mu in Yanmen Commandery, where he proceeds to win multiple victories over the Xiongnu.

title: 265 BC

year_label: 263 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin captures the Han province of Nan, thereby cutting off Shangdang Commandery from the rest of the Han state. This commandery subsequently surrenders itself to the State of Zhao rather than transfer to Qin control, which will set up the climactic Battle of Changping in 260 BC.

title: 263 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Following the surrender of the Shangdang Commandery, formerly of Han, to the State of Zhao, fighting between Zhao and the State of Qin begins in the area of Changping.

title: 262 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: The armies of the State of Qin and State of Zhao contest control of the area around Changping. After suffering defeats to general Wang He of Qin and the superior Qin army, general Lian Po of Zhao refuses to give battle, resulting in a stalemate.

title: 261 BC

year_label: 257 BCE

text: The Qin siege of Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao:

title: 257 BC

year_label: 251 BCE

text: The Zhao general Lian Po wins a decisive victory in battle over the State of Yan at Hao. He is promoted to Prime Minister following the death of Lord Pingyuan.

title: 251 BC

year_label: 249 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao seizes the Taiyuan region from the State of Zhao.

title: 249 BC

text: Meng Ao then annexes 37 towns and cities from the State of Zhao, conquering the cities of Yuci, Xincheng and Langmeng.

title: 248 BC

title: 247 BC

text: The Zhao general Lian Po captures the Wei city of Fanyang.

title: 245 BC

year_label: 244 BCE

text: The State of Zhao annexes dozens of cities from the State of Yan.

title: 244 BC

text: The Zhao general Li Mu takes the cities of Wusui and Fancheng from the State of Yan.

title: 243 BC

text: The Zhao general Pang Nuan defeats the army of the State of Yan and kills its general Chu Xin.

title: 242 BC

title: 240 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: Cheng Jiao, the half-brother of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, is sent to attack the State of Zhao, but he attempts to usurp power and is defeated and executed.

title: 239 BC

text: Rough date: The Zhao general Pang Nuan captures the Qi city of Rao'an and the Yan cities of Li and Yangcheng.

title: 239 BC

title: 236 BC

title: 228 BC


slug: state-of-zhou

label: State of Zhou

year_label: 283 BCE

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou defeats an army of the State of Qi and captures the city of Yangqin.

title: 283 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of Qin attacks the State of Zhou and captures the city of Guanglang.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 279 BCE

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou defeats an army of the State of Qi.

title: 279 BC

year_label: 276 BCE

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou captures the Wei city of Qi.

title: 276 BC

text: General Lian Po of the State of Zhou invades the State of Wei and captures the cities of Fangling and Anyang.

title: 275 BC

year_label: 273 BCE

text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei and State of Zhou. He captures the city of Huyang and wins three battles, defeating the army of the Zhao general Jia Yan.

title: 273 BC

year_label: 259 BCE

text: The State of Zhou cedes to the State of Qin the Han region of Yuanyong and six cities of Zhao in exchange for peace.

title: 259 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: The State of Qin besieges Handan, the capital of the State of Zhou, but the Qin army under Wang Ling sustains heavy casualties. Wang Ling is then replaced by Wang He.

title: 258 BC