slug: samos

label: Samos

description: Greek island in Aegean Sea

year_label: 601 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Approximate date of the foundation of Perinthus by settlers from Samos.

title: 601 BC

section: Events

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: 515 BCE

text: Polycrates, son of Aeaces, the tyrant of Samos from c. 538 BC to 522 BC

title: 515 BC

year_label: 494 BCE

text: Having successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states, the Persians under Artaphernes lay siege to Miletus. The decisive Battle of Lade is fought at the island of Lade, near Miletus' port. Although out-numbered, the Greek fleet appears to be winning the battle until the ships from Samos and Lesbos retreat. The sudden defection turns the tide of battle, and the remaining Greek fleet is completely destroyed. Miletus surrenders shortly thereafter, and the Ionian Revolt comes to an end.

title: 494 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian empire

year_label: 440 BCE

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

year_label: 439 BCE

text: As a result of Persian assistance to Samos, it takes the Athenian army nine months to successfully complete its siege of Samos and force the Samians to surrender. Samos becomes a tributary of Athens.

title: 439 BC

year_label: 408 BCE

text: Alcibiades enters Athens in triumph after an absence of 7 years. He leads the religious procession from Athens to Eleusis, thus atoning for his alleged impiety in 415 BC when he was held to have joined in profaning the Sacred Mysteries. Alcibiades is appointed commander-in-chief with autocratic powers and leaves for Samos to rejoin his fleet.

title: 408 BC

year_label: 406 BCE

text: Alcibiades is replaced by a board of generals. Athens sends a member of the board, Admiral Conon, to relieve the siege of Mytilene. To defend Lesbos, Conon is forced to move his numerically inferior fleet from Samos to the Hekatonnesi islands near Methymna. When Callicratidas attacks him, Conon is forced back to Mytilene, where he is blockaded by Callicratidas' Spartan fleet.

title: 406 BC

year_label: 404 BCE

text: Lysander sails to Samos and conquers it for Sparta.

title: 404 BC

year_label: 341 BCE

section: Births

text: Epicurus, Greek philosopher was born in Samos

title: 341 BC

year_label: 201 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon captures Samos and the Egyptian fleet stationed there. He then besieges Chios to the north.

title: 201 BC

year_label: 32 BCE

text: Spring – Final War of the Roman Republic: Mark Antony transfers his headquarters from Samos to Athens, where he assembles a fleet of 500 combat vessels and 300 transport ships, crewed by 150,000 men.

title: 32 BC

year_label: 31 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Winter – Octavian (32 years old) takes court at Samos. After his decisive victory at Actium he builds Nicopolis; the city is populated by Greeks from settlements further inland.

title: 31 BC

text: The Republic of Venice pillages the islands of Rhodes, ravages Samos and Lesbos, and occupies Chios (controlled by the Byzantine Empire). The Republic of Florence sacks and conquers the neighboring independent republic of Fiesole in Italy.

title: 1125

section: Events › By place › Europe


slug: samuel-de-champlain

label: Samuel de Champlain

description: 16/17th-century French explorer of North America

date: March 15

text: March 15 – French explorer Samuel de Champlain departs from the Channel port of Honfleur in the Calvados département in the Kingdom of France for his first voyage to the settlement of New France in what is now Canada.

title: 1603

section: Events › January–March

section: Culture & Society

date: May 29

text: May 29 – A tabagie feast is held in Tadoussac in the modern-day Canadian province of Quebec, as representatives of France

title: 1603

section: Events › April–June

date: September 20

text: September 20 – Samuel Champlain arrives back in France.

title: 1603

section: Events › July–September

date: July 3

text: July 3 – The settlement of Quebec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.

title: 1608

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 30

text: July 30 – At modern-day Crown Point, New York, Samuel de Champlain participates in a battle between the Huron and Iroquois, shooting and killing two Iroquois chiefs; this helps set the tone for French–Iroquois relations for the next 100 years.

title: 1609

date: July 4

text: July 4 – French explorer Samuel de Champlain and his entourage of 60 men in 24 canoes become the first Europeans to enter Lake Champlain, located between the modern-day U.S. states of Vermont and New York.

title: 1609

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Explorer Samuel de Champlain becomes the first unofficial Governor of New France in Canada.

title: 1613

date: May 27

text: May 27 – After getting an official proclamation that he is the French Governor of New France, explorer Samuel de Champlain begins exploration of the area westward from Quebec, traveling along the Ottawa River.

title: 1613

date: January 15

text: January 15 – After overwintering with the Huron Indians, Samuel de Champlain and Recollect Father Joseph Le Caron visit the Petun and Ottawa Indians of the Great Lakes. This is Champlain's last trip in North America before returning to France. Having secured Canada, he helps create French America, New France, or L'Acadie.

title: 1616

section: Events › January–February

section: Climate & Environment

text: Samuel de Champlain decides to build Cap tourmente (Kap toor-mont) Farm to raise livestock to provide food for settlers in Quebec, rather than depending on supplies sent from France.

title: 1626

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Anglo-French War (1627–1629): New France's Samuel de Champlain surrenders the city of Quebec to an English force led by David Kirke.

title: 1629

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France, on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.

title: 1633

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Samuel de Champlain, founder of the French colony of New France, returns to Quebec after being gone for four years, commissioned as Lieutenant General of the troops of New France, but not as governor.

title: 1633


slug: san-antonio

label: San Antonio

description: city in Bexar, Comal, and Medina counties in Texas, United States; seat of Bexar County

section: Religion & Belief

date: May 1

text: May 1 – San Antonio in what later becomes Texas is founded by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares with the construction of the initial Mission San Antonio de Valero.

title: 1718

section: Events › April – June

date: April 14

text: April 14 – The Viceroy of New Spain, Juan Francisco de Güemes, issues a notice to the missionaries in Nuevo Santander (which includes parts of what are now the U.S. state of Texas, including San Antonio, and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas) to work peacefully to convert the indigenous Karankawa people to Roman Catholicism.

title: 1750

date: January 22

text: January 22 – The Casas Revolt begins in San Antonio, Spanish Texas.

title: 1811

date: December 9

text: December 9 – The Army of the Republic of Texas captures San Antonio.

title: 1835

section: Events › October–December

date: March 5

text: March 5 – Mexican troops led by Ráfael Vásquez invade the Republic of Texas, briefly occupy San Antonio, and then head back to the Rio Grande. This is the first such invasion since the Texas Revolution.

title: 1842

text: TMI Episcopal is founded in San Antonio as "The West Texas School for Boys", quickly changed to "West Texas Military Academy", by Bishop James S. Johnston.

title: 1893

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Southwest Airlines, a low-cost carrier, begins its first flights between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

title: 1971

section: Events › June

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: June 27

text: June 27 – 53 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are found dead in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, United States.

title: 2022


slug: san-diego

label: San Diego

description: seat of San Diego County, California, United States; second-largest city in California

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo lands in what is now San Diego Bay, and names it "San Miguel", claiming it for the Spanish Empire. San Miguel will later become the city of San Diego. This marks the first time a European sees what is now the U.S. state of California.

title: 1542

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: December 7

text: December 7 – Father Junípero Serra begins his missionary work in the New World, 100 days after departing on a voyage from Spain and a day after his arrival at Veracruz in Mexico. During the period from 1769 to 1782, Serra will be the founder of nine missions in the Province of Las Californias, including the sites around which future California cities will be built, including Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá in 1769 and Mission San Francisco de Asís in 1776.

title: 1749

date: May 14

text: May 14 – Charles III of Spain sends Spanish missionaries, who found California missions in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Monterey, and begin the settlement of California.

title: 1769

date: July 21

text: July 21 – Sixty members of the crew of the USS Bennington are killed in an explosion of the U.S. Navy gunboat in the harbor at San Diego.

title: 1905

section: Events › July

date: March 28

text: March 28 – American adventurer Richard Halliburton delivers a last message from a Chinese junk, before he disappears on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean. In 1945, some wreckage identified as a rudder, and believed to belong to the junk, washes ashore in San Diego, California.

title: 1939

section: Events › March

date: September 25

text: September 25 – PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California; 144 are killed.

title: 1978

section: Events › September

section: Crime & Justice

date: July 18

text: July 18 – San Ysidro McDonald's massacre: 41-year-old James Huberty walks into a McDonald's in the San Ysidro district of San Diego, resulting in 21 deaths, with Huberty being killed by a sniper 77 minutes after the ordeal begins.

title: 1984

date: May 17

text: May 17 – 1995 San Diego tank rampage: In San Diego, Shawn Nelson steals an M60A3 tank from a local California Army National Guard armory and goes on a rampage for 25 minutes, damaging over $149,201 of property. The rampage ended when San Diego police forced the hatch open and fatally shot him.

title: 1995

section: Events › May

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Bob Dole is nominated for President of the United States, and Jack Kemp for vice president, at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California.

title: 1996

section: Events › August

date: March 24

text: March 24–26 – In San Diego, 39 Heaven's Gate cultists commit mass suicide at their compound.

title: 1997


slug: san-francisco

label: San Francisco

description: consolidated city and county in California, United States

title: 1749

title: 1769

section: Events › April–June

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Lt. José Joaquín Moraga leads a band of colonists from Monterey Presidio, landing on June 29 and, with Father Francisco Palóu, constructing the Mission San Francisco de Asís ("Mission Dolores") of the new Presidio of San Francisco, the oldest surviving building in the modern-day city.

title: 1776

section: Events › May–June

date: October 9

text: October 9 – Father Francisco Palóu founds the Mission San Francisco de Asís, in what becomes San Francisco.

title: 1776

section: Events › September–October

date: August 22

text: August 22 – The English ship Orion lands at Yerba Buena on the North American west coast of Mexico, under the command of William A. Richardson. The area is later acquired by the U.S. and becomes the site of San Francisco.

title: 1822

section: Events › July–September

section: Culture & Society

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Yerba Buena, California, is renamed San Francisco.

title: 1847

section: Events › January–March

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins, with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay. The California leaves New York Harbor on October 6, 1848, rounds Cape Horn at the tip of South America, and arrives at San Francisco after the 4-month, 21-day journey.

title: 1849

date: November

text: November – English-born merchant Joshua Norton, the future "Emperor Norton", arrives in San Francisco.

title: 1849

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 15

text: April 15 – San Francisco is incorporated as a city in California.

title: 1850

date: May 3

text: May 3 – American adventurer William Walker and a group of armed mercenaries (filibusters) sail from San Francisco in California south to Central America to attempt to conquer Nicaragua.

title: 1855

date: September 17

text: September 17 – In San Francisco, Joshua Norton proclaims himself to be His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.

title: 1859

section: Health & Medicine

date: March 13

text: March 13 – A smallpox epidemic in San Francisco spreads to British Columbia.

title: 1862

date: February 20

text: February 20 – The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco.

title: 1873

section: Events › February

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: June 4

text: June 4 – The Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco via the first transcontinental railroad, 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City.

title: 1876

date: August 24

text: August 24 – The SS Columbia completes her maiden voyage, arriving without incident in Portland, Oregon, after a stopover in San Francisco.

title: 1880

date: December 17

text: December 17 – English adventurer Thomas Stevens concludes the first circumnavigation by bicycle in Yokohama, having set out on his penny-farthing from San Francisco in 1884.

title: 1886

section: Events › December

date: November 23

text: November 23 – The first jukebox goes into operation, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

title: 1889

section: Events › November

date: January 12

text: January 12 – St. Mary's Cathedral is dedicated in San Francisco.

title: 1891

section: Events › January

date: April 13

text: April 13 – The British freighter City of York departs from San Francisco with a crew of 27 and a cargo of timber bound for Fremantle, but never reaches its destination, wrecking on the reefs at Rottnest Island.

title: 1899

section: Events › April

date: July 12

text: July 12 – The British freight ship City of York sinks after striking reefs at Rottnest Island, due to a misunderstanding of signal flare fired from the island's lighthouse. The ship, which was nearing the end of a voyage from San Francisco to Fremantle, Western Australia, evacuates its men in two lifeboats, but one of the boats overturns and 11 men, including the captain, drown.

title: 1899

date: March 23

text: March 23 – American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is assassinated in San Francisco by two Korean immigrants, unhappy with his recent support for the increasing Japanese presence in Korea.

title: 1908

date: January 18

text: January 18 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, the first time an aircraft has landed on a ship.

title: 1911

date: October 21

text: October 21 – The United Daughters of the Confederacy holds its first annual meeting outside the South, in San Francisco. Historian General Mildred Rutherford addresses the gathering on the "Historical Sins of Omission & Commission", of Yankee historians.

title: 1915

section: Events › October

date: September 6

text: September 6 – The U.S. Army expedition across North America, which started July 7, ends in San Francisco.

title: 1919

date: November 10

text: November 10 – In San Francisco, a necrophiliac serial killer named Earle Nelson (dubbed "Gorilla Man") kills and then rapes his 9th victim, a boarding house landlady named Mrs. William Edmonds.

title: 1926

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Philo Farnsworth demonstrates to the press in San Francisco the world's first working all-electronic television system, employing electronic scanning in both the pickup and display devices.

title: 1928

section: Births

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Dianne Feinstein, American politician, Senator and mayor of San Francisco (d. 2023)

title: 1933

section: Births › June

date: October 20

text: October 20–November 3 – Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first eastward crossing of the Pacific Ocean, from his native Brisbane, Australia, to San Francisco, in the Lockheed Altair Lady Southern Cross. The November 3 Hawaii–San Francisco leg is the first eastward flight from Hawaii to North America.

title: 1934

date: December 24

text: December 24 – The first complete U.S. production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker is presented in San Francisco, choreographed by Willam Christensen. It will become an annual tradition there, and for the next ten years, the San Francisco Ballet will be the only company in the United States performing the complete work.

title: 1944

date: September 8

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

title: 1951

date: August 29

text: August 29 – the Beatles end their U.S. tour with a concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. It is their last performance as a live touring band.

title: 1966

text: April 15 – Large demonstrations are held against US involvement in the Vietnam War in New York City and San Francisco. The march, organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, from Central Park to the United Nations drew hundreds of thousands of people, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harry Belafonte, James Bevel, and Dr. Benjamin Spock, who marched and spoke at the event. A simultaneous march in San Francisco is attended by Coretta Scott King.

title: 1967

text: December 9 – Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrates his pioneering hypertext system, NLS, in San Francisco, together with the computer mouse, at what becomes retrospectively known as "The Mother of All Demos".

title: 1968

text: October 11 – The Zodiac Killer shoots and kills taxi driver Paul Stine in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco; this is the serial killer's last known murder.

title: 1969

text: September 22 – In San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Ford, but is foiled by the Secret Service.

title: 1975

text: March 20 – Patty Hearst is found guilty of armed robbery of a San Francisco bank in 1974.

title: 1976

text: October 6 – In San Francisco, during his second televised debate with Jimmy Carter, U.S. President Gerald Ford incorrectly declares that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" (there is at the time).

title: 1976

text: September 24 – Patty Hearst is sentenced to seven years in prison for her role in the armed robbery of a San Francisco bank in 1974 (an executive clemency order from U.S. President Jimmy Carter will set her free after only 22 months).

title: 1976

text: November 8 – San Francisco elects City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the U.S.

title: 1977

text: September 4 – The Golden Dragon massacre, involving rival Chinatown gangs, takes place in San Francisco, United States. Five are killed.

title: 1977

text: December 4 – Dianne Feinstein succeeds the murdered George Moscone, to become the first woman mayor of San Francisco; she will remain in office until January 8, 1988.

title: 1978

text: March 28 – San Francisco's City Council signs the United States's most comprehensive gay rights bill.

title: 1978

text: May 21 – Dan White is convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, for the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, after using what would become known as the "Twinkie defense" and persuading a jury that the crime was not premeditated. The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment, with eligibility for early parole, prompting the "White Night riots" in the gay community.

title: 1979

text: July 1 – In the U.S., telephone services go down in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and San Francisco as a result of a software bug, affecting nearly 12 million customers.

title: 1991

text: January 9 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco, California; starting the new era of smartphones with this invention. The phone would be released in June.

title: 2007

text: July 16 – First (test) Instagram posts made by co-developers Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom in San Francisco; the service launches publicly on October 6.

title: 2010


slug: san-juan-puerto-rico

label: San Juan, Puerto Rico

description: capital of Puerto Rico

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: November 19

text: November 19 – Christopher Columbus lands on the coast of the island of Borinquen, which he renames San Juan (modern-day Puerto Rico).

title: 1493

section: Events › October–December

date: July 15

text: July 15 — San Juan Bautista is founded as the new capital of the archipelago of Puerto Rico.

title: 1521

date: June 30

text: June 30 – England's forces capture the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the Spanish fortress defending San Juan, after a 15-day battle. When an epidemic begins taking its toll on the English forces, the Earl of Cumberland decides to withdraw and departs in August.

title: 1598

section: Events › April–June

section: Conflict & Security

date: April 17

text: April 17 – Battle of San Juan: Sir Ralph Abercromby unsuccessfully invades San Juan, Puerto Rico in what will be one of the largest British attacks on Spanish territories in the western hemisphere, and one of the worst defeats of the British Royal Navy for years to come.

title: 1797

date: October 16

text: October 16 – The island of Puerto Rico is turned over by Spain to the United States. Ángel Rivero Méndez, the 149th and last Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, yields the office and turns over the keys to all military installations in the capital, San Juan to U.S. Army Captain Henry A. Reed, and General John R. Brooke becomes the new American military governor.

title: 1898

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Pan Am Flight 526A, Douglas DC-4 Clipper Endeavor, suffers failure of two engines and ditches in rough seas 11.3 miles (18 km) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean, sinking in minutes; 52 of the 69 people on board die. After this accident the implementation of pre-flight safety demonstrations is recommended. The aircraft's wreckage will be discovered in 2026.

title: 1952

section: Events › March–April

date: February 10

text: February 10 – Don Omar (stage name for William Omar Landrón Rivera), Puerto Rican American rapper known as the "King of Reggaeton"; in San Juan

title: 1978

section: Births › February

section: Deaths

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies, after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

title: 1978

section: Events › March

date: December 31

text: December 31 – Dupont Plaza Hotel arson: A hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97 and injures 140.

title: 1986

date: November 21

text: November 21 – A propane explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office building in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33 people.

title: 1996


slug: sancho-iii-of-pamplona

label: Sancho III of Pamplona

description: King of Pamplona and ruler of Aragon from 1004 to 1035

text: Sancho III (the Great), king of Pamplona (approximate date)

title: 994

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Sancho III of Pamplona became King of Aragon and Navarre. The Reconquista was gaining some ground, but the southern Iberian peninsula would still be dominated by Islam for centuries to come; Córdoba was the world's largest city at this time, with 450,000 inhabitants.

title: AD 1000

section: Events › Christendom

date: July

text: July – Battle of Calatañazor: Christian armies led by Alfonso V of León, Sancho III of Pamplona and Sancho García of Castile, defeat the invading Saracens under Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus.

title: 1002

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Sancho III becomes king of Pamplona, Aragon and Castille (until 1035).

title: 1004

section: Culture & Society

date: May 11

text: May 11 – In the Kingdom of León in Spain, the Abbot Oliba declines to authorize the wedding of King Alfonso V to Urraca Garcés, the sister of King Sancho of Pamplona, describing it as incesti connubii. The wedding takes place anyway.

title: 1023

text: King Sancho Garcés III (the Great) conquers Castile (modern Spain) (approximate date).

title: 1028

text: King Sancho III (the Great) of Pamplona captures León, after defeating a string of rivals. His rule now extends from the borders of Galicia in the west to the County of Barcelona in the east.

title: 1034

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Sancho III ("the Great"), king of Pamplona

title: 1035

text: October 18 – King Sancho III of Pamplona dies and divides his dominions among his four sons, García Sánchez III, Gonzalo I, Ferdinand I and Ramiro I.

title: 1035


slug: sancho-iv-of-castile

label: Sancho IV of Castile

description: King of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295

date: June

text: June – Reconquista: Castilian forces led by King Alfonso X ("the Wise") and accompanied by his sons, the Infantes Sancho, Peter and John, invade the lowlands of Granada. Sultan Muhammad II of Granada sends a Moorish army, supported by many archers and cavalry, to repel them. Alfonso defeats the Moors in a battle near Granada's walls on June 25, but after the failure of the negotiations that follow, he leaves Granada.

title: 1281

text: June – The 24-year-old Prince Sancho, heir to the throne of Castile, assembles a coalition of nobles and starts a massive rebellion against his father, King Alfonso X. He dispatches his brothers into the realm to claim strategically important cities and castles. Only the cities of Seville, Murcia and Badajoz remain loyal to Alfonso, who becomes isolated politically and abandoned by most of his family.

title: 1282

text: Isabella of Castile, queen consort of Aragon, daughter of Sancho IV ("the Brave") (d. 1328)

title: 1283

date: April 4

text: April 4 – King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") falls ill and dies after a 32-year reign at Seville. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Sancho IV ("the Brave") who becomes ruler of Castile and León. Meanwhile, his nephew, Alfonso de la Cerda, challenges his right to the Castilian throne. Pope Martin IV excommunicates Sancho, places an interdict on his kingdom and refuses to acknowledge the marriage to his cousin, Queen María de Molina.

title: 1284

date: May

text: May – King Sancho IV (the Brave) assembles his army at Seville and sends the Castilian fleet (some 100 ships) led by Admiral Benedetto I Zaccaria to blockade the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. Meanwhile, a Marinid detachment of 1,000 cavalry moves against Seville, routing the Castilians send out to oppose them. Turning eastward against Carmona and Alcalá de Guadaíra, the Marinids burn the suburbs, harvest and ruin orchards.

title: 1285

text: Summer – Sultan Muhammad II drives the rebellious Banu Ashqilula from one stronghold to the next, where they are finally expelled from Granadan territory in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). Meanwhile, Muhammad manages through diplomatic intrigue, to turn the Castilian aristocracy against King Sancho IV. In response, King Alfonso III proclaims the 18-year-old Alfonso de la Cerda as ruler of Castile and León.

title: 1288

date: November

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

title: 1291

date: June 24

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

title: 1292

date: May 20

text: May 20 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates a Studium General in Alcalá de Henares, forerunner to the modern Complutense University of Madrid.

title: 1293

section: Events › By topic › Education

date: April 25

text: April 25 – King Sancho IV of Castile ("the Brave") dies of a fatal illness (possibly tuberculosis), after a 11-year reign at Toledo. He is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Ferdinand IV ("the Summoned") as ruler of Castile and León. In the Cortes at Valladolid, Henry of Castile the Senator is appointed guardian of Ferdinand, while Queen María de Molina becomes his regent. During the summer, Ferdinand is betrothed to the 5-year-old Princess Constance of Portugal. Hostilities between Castile and King Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") are ended by a peace agreement.

title: 1295

date: August

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

title: 1303

section: Events › July–September

date: May 28

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

title: 1312

section: Events › April – June


slug: sanskrit

label: Sanskrit

description: ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia

year_label: 155 BCE

text: Menander I (known as Milinda in Sanskrit and Pali) begins his reign as king of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. His territories cover the eastern dominions of the divided Greek empire of Bactria (Panjshir and Kapisa) and extend to the modern Pakistani province of Punjab, most of the Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu region. His capital is considered to have been Sagala, a prosperous city in northern Punjab believed to be modern Sialkot.

title: 155 BC

section: Events › By place › Bactria

year_label: 78 CE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Indian Prince Aji Caka introduces the Sanskrit language and Pallawa script, used to inscribe Javanese words and phrases, to the Indonesian islands.

title: AD 78

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: The Panchatantra, a Sanskrit collection of fables and fairy tales, is written in India.

title: 300

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

section: Science & Discovery

text: Important works on mathematics and astronomy are written in Sanskrit.

title: 380

section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences

section: Births

text: Kālidāsa, Classical Sanskrit writer (approximate date)

title: 380

text: Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist monk, is an invited honored guest by emperor Wen of Liu Song (Liu Song dynasty). He translates the Lankavatara Sutra from Sanskrit into the Chinese language.

title: 443

section: Events › By topic › Religion

title: 450

text: Yijing, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels by boat from Guangzhou, and visits the capital of the partly Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya in Palembang (Indonesia). He stays for 6 months to study Sanskrit grammar and the Malay language.

title: 671

text: The Sanskrit fables known as the Panchatantra, dating from as early as 200 BCE, are translated into Latin, from a Hebrew version by John of Capua.

title: 1270

section: Events › Europe

date: February 2

text: February 2 – In a speech before The Asiatic Society in Calcutta, Sir William Jones notes the formal resemblances between Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, laying the foundation for comparative linguistics and Indo-European studies.

title: 1786

section: Events › January–March


slug: santo-domingo

label: Santo Domingo

description: capital of the Dominican Republic

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher Columbus, formally founds the city of Santo Domingo (first settled in March) on Hispaniola (in the modern-day Dominican Republic), making it the oldest permanent European settlement in the New World.

title: 1496

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: August 23

text: August 23 – Francisco de Bobadilla, appointed to replace Admiral Christopher Columbus as Spanish Governor-General of the New World, arrives at Santo Domingo on the island of Hispanola. Bobadilla issues an order directing Christopher and Bartolomeo Columbus to appear before him at Santo Domingo.

title: 1500

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Christopher Columbus and his brothers, arrested and in chains, are deported from Santo Domingo to Spain.

title: 1500

section: Events › October–December

date: September 3

text: September 3 – On complaints from Christopher Columbus, who had been replaced as Viceroy of the New World and arrested in 1500 by Francisco de Bobadilla, Queen Isabella of Spain orders that Bobadilla be recalled from Santo Domingo. Declining to allow Columbus to resume his brutal rule of the New World, the Queen appoints a friend, Nicolás de Ovando, as the new Viceroy. Although Bobadilla receives news of his firing several weeks later, he declines to step aside. Ovando will assemble a fleet of 30 ships and depart Spain on February 13 for Santo Domingo.

title: 1501

date: February 13

text: February 13 – The new Viceroy of the New World, Nicolás de Ovando, departs Spain with a fleet of 30 ships and orders to replace Viceroy Francisco de Bobadilla at Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola, and arrives in April.

title: 1502

section: Climate & Environment

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Columbus and his crew attempt to land at Santo Domingo in order to avoid being caught in a hurricane, despite being ordered not to return to Hispaniola. Nicolás de Ovando, the Spanish Viceroy, refuses to let Columbus sail into harbor and does not believe the warnings of the hurricane, which strikes two days later.

title: 1502

section: Events › April–June

date: December 21

text: December 21 – In an impassioned sermon on the fourth Sunday of Advent at Santo Domingo, Dominican friar Antonio de Montesinos openly denounces the Spanish conquistadors' cruelty and abuse of the Taino people practice of Encomienda (forcible enslavement of non-Christian peoples) on the island of Hispanola. and adds that neither he nor any of his missionaries will allow slaveholders to partake in confession.

title: 1511

date: October 28

text: October 28 – The first university of the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is founded on the island of Hispaniola in Santo Domingo.

title: 1538

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Toussaint Louverture triumphantly enters Santo Domingo, the capital of the former Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, which has become a colony of Napoleonic France.

title: 1801

date: July 7

text: July 7 – Toussaint Louverture promulgates a reforming constitution for Santo Domingo, declaring himself emperor for life of the entire island of Hispaniola, and nominally abolishing slavery.

title: 1801

section: Conflict & Security

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Battle of San Domingo: The British Royal Navy gains a victory over the French off Santo Domingo.

title: 1806

date: February 9

text: February 9 – The invading Haitian forces, led by Jean-Pierre Boyer, arrive in Santo Domingo, to overthrow the newly founded Dominican Republic.

title: 1822

date: August 30

text: August 30 – After taking over the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic, Santiago de los Caballeros, revolutionists proclaim Horacio Vásquez as the nation's President in rebel-controlled territory. At the same time in the capital at Santo Domingo, president Wenceslao Figuereo steps down after only five weeks in office.

title: 1899

section: Events › August

text: September 3 – The huge 1930 San Zenón hurricane in the Caribbean demolishes most of the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

title: 1930

section: Events › September

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: April 8

text: April 8 – During a concert performance by Rubby Pérez in Santo Domingo, a nightclub roof collapses, killing at least 231 people, including Pérez, and injures more than 200 others.

title: 2025

section: Events › April


slug: sao-paulo

label: São Paulo

description: largest city of Brazil, and capital of the State of São Paulo

section: Culture & Society

date: January 25

text: January 25 – São Paulo, Brazil, is founded.

title: 1554

date: July 11

text: July 11 – The town of São Paulo, Brazil, is elevated to city status.

title: 1711

section: Events › July–September

section: Economy & Finance

text: August 23 – The BOVESPA stock exchange is founded in São Paulo, Brazil.

title: 1890

date: February 10

text: February 10–17 – Modern Art Week in São Paulo marks the start of Modernism in Brazil.

title: 1922

section: Events › February

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Banco Bradesco is founded in Marília, São Paulo, Brazil.

title: 1943

section: Events › March

date: January 26

text: January 26 – The Ibirapuera Planetarium (the first in the Southern Hemisphere) is inaugurated in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

title: 1957

section: Events › January

date: August 1

text: August 1 – The Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul is established in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo.

title: 1968

section: Events › July–August

date: February 1

text: February 1 – Fire breaks out in the Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil; 177 die, 293 are injured, 11 die later of their injuries.

title: 1974

section: Events › January–February

date: April 16

text: April 16 – More than one million people, led by Tancredo Neves, occupy the streets of São Paulo to demand direct presidential elections during the Brazilian military government of João Figueiredo. It is the largest protest during the Diretas Já civil unrest, as well as the largest public demonstration in the history of Brazil. The elections are granted in 1989.

title: 1984

date: October 2

text: October 2 – A riot breaks out in the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, resulting in the Carandiru massacre.

title: 1992

section: Events › October

date: August 21

text: August 21 – 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires: Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reports fires burning in the Amazon rainforest at a record rate, with more than 36,000 in the year to date, while smoke reaches São Paulo more than 1700 mi km away.

title: 2019


slug: saracen

label: Saracen

description: Medieval European term for Muslims and/or people who lived in desert areas, specifically Arabia

text: Valens concludes a peace with the Persian Empire and leaves enough troops to defend the eastern frontier. The Saracens under Queen Mavia revolt and devastate a swath of territory stretching from Phoenicia and Palestine as far as the Sinai (Egypt). Valens successfully brings the uprising under control.

title: 377

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Goths, supported by the Huns, move on to Constantinople. Their progress is checked by the Saracens, recruited from Arab tribes who control the eastern fringes of the empire.

title: 378

text: Queen Mavia, with her Saracen forces, defeats the Roman army in southern Syria.

title: 380

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Saracens, who found spinach originally in Persia (modern Iran), introduce the plant to Sicily.

title: 827

section: Events › By topic › Agriculture

date: October

text: October – Battle of Thasos: Saracens from the newly founded Emirate of Crete almost annihilate the Byzantine fleet at Thasos, close to the coast of Thrace. The Cyclades and other islands in the Aegean Sea are pillaged.

title: 829

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: The city of Naples (modern Italy) is attacked by Saracens from Egypt demanding an annual payment (approximate date).

title: 837

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Crime & Justice

text: A Saracen Arab expeditionary force from Africa, consisting of 11,000 men and 500 horses, raid the outskirts of Rome, sacking the basilicas of Old St. Peter's and St. Paul's Outside the Walls.

title: 846

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Summer – Battle of Ostia: A Saracen Arab fleet from Sardinia sets sail towards Rome. In response, Pope Leo IV forms a coalition of maritime Italian cities, including Naples, Amalfi and Gaeta, led by Admiral Caesar — which is assembled off the re-fortified port of Ostia — and repels the Saracen marauders. Their navy is scattered, resulting in many sunken vessels. Rome is saved from plunder and the expansion of the Aghlabids.

title: 849

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Bardas, the regent of the Byzantine Empire, is murdered by Basil the Macedonian at Miletus, while conducting a large-scale expedition against the Saracen stronghold of Crete.

title: 866

text: Summer – Emperor Basil I allies with the Frankish emperor Louis II against the Saracens. He sends a Byzantine fleet of 400 ships (according to the Annales Bertiniani), under the command of Admiral Niketas Ooryphas, to support Louis (who is besieging the city port of Bari) and to clear the south of the Adriatic Sea of Muslim raiders.

title: 869

text: A ship carrying about twenty Arab freebooters, from Pechina in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), sets anchor in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in Provence. They establish a fortified base at Fraxinet (modern-day La Garde-Freinet). After raiding the surrounding area, the Muslim colony is bolstered by contingents of Saracen adventurers.

title: 889

text: Docibilis I of Gaeta and his Saracen mercenaries attack Capua, in vain.

title: 900

text: Pisa launches a naval assault against Saracen pirate strongholds in the Lipari Islands.

title: 1035

section: Religion & Belief

text: Saracen pirates raid the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat, on the Lérins Islands .

title: 1107

text: Saracen pirates raid the city of Antibes in Provence and the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat on the Lérins Islands (French Riviera).

title: 1125

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Saracen pirates, from the Balearic Islands, raid the Cistercian monastery of Saint Honorat on the Lérins Islands, and the city of Toulon, killing an estimated 300 and taking captives. The surviving captives are freed from the Balearic Islands in 1185.

title: 1178

text: Saracen pirates, from the Balearic Islands, raid the city of Toulon in Provence, and the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat, on the Lérins Islands.

title: 1197

text: King Edward I of England ("Longshanks") orders the people of Bayonne in Gascony (as part of the only English possessions in France) to provide Castile with warships "to resist the Saracens by sea", but excuses himself from personal participation against the Marinid invasion in Spain because of his wars in Wales and his plan to lead a Crusade to the Holy Land.

title: 1276


slug: saracens

label: Saracens

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Krasos: Emperor Nikephoros I refuses to pay the tribute imposed by Caliph Harun al-Rashid of the Abbasid Caliphate. A Muslim-Arab expeditionary force invades Asia Minor. During a surprise attack, Nikephoros suffers a major defeat against the Saracens at Krasos in Phrygia. According to Arabian sources, the Byzantines lose 40,700 men and 4,000 pack animals, while Nikephoros himself is almost killed, but saved by the bravery of his officers.

title: 804

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

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

title: 828

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

title: 841

text: Summer – A Byzantine expedition, led by Theoktistos, conquers Crete from the Saracens. After initial success, he is forced to abandon his army, due to political intrigues in Constantinople. The troops are left behind and slaughtered by the Arabs.

title: 843

text: The Saracens, under the Berber leader Kalfun, capture the Byzantine city of Bari (Southern Italy). He becomes the first ruler of the Emirate of Bari, and expands his influence on the Italian mainland with raids.

title: 847

text: The Saracens conquer Ragusa (Sicily), after its Byzantine garrison is forced by severe famine to surrender. The city and its castle are razed to the ground.

title: 848

date: May 18

text: May 18 – After his successful campaign against the Saracens, Louis II is crowned as Roman Emperor ("Emperor of the Franks") for the second time and converts the Muwalladun, and the Arab elite.

title: 872

text: Spring – Atenulf I, Lombard prince of Capua, conquers the Duchy of Benevento. He deposes Duke Radelchis II and unites the two southern Lombard duchies in Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy). The Byzantines offer a strategic alliance to Atenulf who directs a campaign against the Saracens. They establish themselves on the banks of the Garigliano River. From here, Arab warbands launch frequent raids in Campania.

title: 900

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica: A Muslim fleet, led by the Greek renegade Leo of Tripoli, appears outside Thessalonica and begins its attack after a short and silent inspection of the fortification of the city. After attacks from the sea for two days, the Saracens are able to storm the city walls, overcome the Thessalonians' resistance and capture the city. The sacking continues for a full week, before the raiders depart for their base in the Levant. Having freed 4,000 Muslim prisoners and captured 60 ships, gaining a large loot, they carry off 22,000 men and women as slaves.

title: 904

text: Duke Atenulf I (the Great) of Benevento attacks the Saracens at the Garigliano River, with the assistance of Naples and Amalfi. Crossing the river, Atenulf defeats an Arab army and reaches the walls of their fortified camp. However, the sudden withdrawal of the Neapolitans renders the siege useless.

title: 908

text: Summer – Saracens from Garigliano establish advanced strongholds in Lazio at Trevi (in the Sabine Hills, near Palestrina) and Sutri. From here, they encroach on the papal cities of Orte, Narni and Nepi with impunity.

title: 914

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

title: 915

text: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Constantine Gongyles attempts to re-conquer the Emirate of Crete from the Saracens. The expedition ends in a disastrous failure; the Byzantine camp is destroyed in a surprise attack. Gongyles himself barely escapes on his flagship.

title: 949

date: October 24

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

title: 964

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

text: Fall – Otto II departs with an expeditionary force from Rome, and invades Apulia (Southern Italy) to punish the Saracens. He demands a fleet from Pisa, and imposes a trade embargo against Venice.

title: 981

date: July 13

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

title: 982

date: July

text: July – Battle of Calatañazor: Christian armies led by Alfonso V of León, Sancho III of Pamplona and Sancho García of Castile, defeat the invading Saracens under Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus.

title: 1002

text: Fall – Venetian-Byzantine forces defeat the Saracens at Bari. The citadel is on the brink of capitulation after a 3 day siege. Giovanni, a son of Doge Pietro Orseolo II, is married to the Byzantine princess Maria Argyra.

title: 1004

text: Spring – The Republic of Pisa conducts a military offensive against the Saracen strongholds in Southern Italy. The Pisan fleet sacks the city of Reggio Calabria. Pisa becomes one of the four commercial Maritime Republics (the other three are Genoa, Venice and Amalfi), which fight each other for control of the Mediterranean Sea.

title: 1005

text: Summer – An Arab Saracen fleet appears before Pisa, but departs again. The Pisans take their fleet to sea and chase the Arabs down to Southern Italy where, in the Battle of Reggio Calabria, the Pisan fleet defeats the Arabs.

title: 1006

text: Roger I of Tosny, a Norman nobleman, leaves the battlefield of the Ebro Valley after terrorising the Saracens and capturing several towns and castles during the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain).

title: 1024

text: Summer – Norman forces under Duke Robert Guiscard invade Apulia, and capture the cities of Taranto and Brindisi (under control of the Byzantine Empire). Guiscard prepares a Sicilian expedition against the Saracens and returns to Calabria (Southern Italy), where his brother Roger Bosso waits with siege engines.

title: 1060

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

title: 1061

text: Summer – The Pisan fleet assaults and sacks Palermo (controlled by the Saracens) – this in support of the Norman forces of Roger I.

title: 1063

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Pope Eugene IV issues the papal bull Illius qui se pro divini granting full remission of sins to any Christian who had participated in the Crusades by Prince Henry the Navigator against the Saracens.

title: 1442

section: Events › October–December


slug: sardinia

label: Sardinia

description: island and autonomous region of Italy

year_label: 270 BCE

text: Carthage, already in control of Sardinia, southern Spain and Numidia, is ruled by an oligarchy of merchants under two Suffetes or chief magistrates. While Carthage's military commanders are strong, the state relies on mercenaries (including Spanish ones) for its soldiers.

title: 270 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 257 BCE

text: The Romans attack Sardinia and try to capture it from the Carthaginians.

title: 257 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 255 BCE

text: The Battle of Adis (or Adys) is fought near the city of that name, 40 mi km southeast of Carthage, between Carthaginian forces and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. The Romans inflict a crushing defeat upon the Carthaginians, and the latter then sue for peace. The ensuing negotiations between the parties lead to Regulus demanding Carthage agree to an unconditional surrender, cede Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, renounce the use of their navy, pay an indemnity, and sign a vassal-like treaty. These terms are so harsh that the people of Carthage resolve to keep fighting.

title: 255 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: Sardinia revolts against Carthage and Rome takes the opportunity to annex the island.

title: 239 BC

year_label: 238 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Rome captures Corsica and Sardinia

title: 238 BC

section: Events › By place › Rome

text: The Romans declare war on the Carthaginians over which state controls Sardinia. However, Carthage defers to Rome rather than enter yet another war and gives up any claim to Sardinia.

title: 238 BC

year_label: 234 BCE

text: Corsica, Sardinia and Liguria rebel unsuccessfully against Rome.

title: 234 BC

year_label: 227 BCE

text: Sardinia and Corsica are made a combined province. Rome appoints, and in the future annually elects, two praetors (with autocratic consular powers) for this province and for Sicily.

title: 227 BC

year_label: 215 BCE

text: A Carthaginian invasion fleet bound for Sardinia is delayed by bad weather giving the Romans the time to organize an intervention; the Roman general Titus Manlius Torquatus, one of it original conquerors, is sent to Sardinia with an army.

title: 215 BC

section: Events › By place › Sardinia

year_label: 176 BCE

text: The Roman general, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, subdues Sardinia, enslaving some of the population.

title: 176 BC

year_label: 77 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Lepidus, with some 21,000 troops, manages to escape to Sardinia. Soon afterwards he becomes ill and dies, his battered army, now under command by Marcus Perperna Vento, sails on to the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 77 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Sextus Pompey dispatches Menas with four legions and captures Sardinia, driving out Octavian's governor Marcus Lurius. He seizes the capital, Caralis and occupies Corsica. Sextus besieges Cosenza in Bruttium and Thurii in Lucania, ravaging the territory with his cavalry.

title: 40 BC

text: July – The Roman Senate declares war upon Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Octavian Caesar is proclaimed dux and the West - Gallic and Spanish provinces, Africa, Sicily and Sardinia - swear an oath (sacramentum) of loyalty to him. In order to assure this oath, Octavian forces the high priest of the Vestal Virgins in Rome to hand over Antony's will, which contains information about the Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms and plans to build a tomb in Alexandria for him and Cleopatra.

title: 32 BC

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Pope Pontian resigns, the first to abdicate, because he and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia. Emperor Maximinus persecutes the Christians.

title: 235

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Maxentius, son of former Western Emperor Maximian, leads a revolt by the Praetorian Guard and members of the Senate in Rome, and is proclaimed Emperor. Southern Italy supports Maxentius, as do Africa, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Maxentius recalls Maximian from retirement, who joins his son in Rome.

title: 306

text: Emperor Anthemius sends a Roman expedition under command of Marcellinus. He expels the Vandals from Sicily and retakes Sardinia. The Eastern general Heraclius of Edessa lands with a force on the Libyan coast, east of Carthage, and advances from Tripolitania.

title: 468

text: Winter – Zeno recognizes the full extent of the Vandal Kingdom, including all of western Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. King Gaiseric gives Sicily, with the exception of the city of Lilybaeum, to Odoacer in return for tribute.

title: 476

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

title: 526

text: Spring – Vandalic War: Anti-Vandal revolt in Tripolitania and Sardinia; Gelimer, king of the Vandals, dispatches the bulk of the Vandal fleet (120 ships and 5,000 men) under his brother Tzazo to Sardinia. Byzantine forces from Cyrenaica occupy Leptis Magna and Tripolis.

title: 533

text: Summer – Totila plunders Sicily, after he subdues Corsica and Sardinia. He sends a Gothic fleet to raid the coasts of Greece.

title: 550

text: A Muslim fleet raids the Byzantine-ruled Balearic Islands, as well as Byzantine Sardinia and Lombard Corsica.

title: 724

text: Sicily, Sardinia, Provence, and Greece are raided by a fleet of Arab Muslim ships sent by the governor of Ifriqya, the ones raiding South Western Europe are led by Habīb Ibn Abi ‘Ubayda Al-Fihrī, while the fleet raiding Greece is led by Mu’awiya ibn Hishām. All of them are successful, submitting the Islands and returning with much wealth from the spoils of war.

title: 740

text: King Charles the Younger, a son of Charlemagne, conquers Corsica and Sardinia (approximate date).

title: 798

text: Summer – Battle of Ostia: A Saracen Arab fleet from Sardinia sets sail towards Rome. In response, Pope Leo IV forms a coalition of maritime Italian cities, including Naples, Amalfi and Gaeta, led by Admiral Caesar — which is assembled off the re-fortified port of Ostia — and repels the Saracen marauders. Their navy is scattered, resulting in many sunken vessels. Rome is saved from plunder and the expansion of the Aghlabids.

title: 849

text: Summer – Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im dispatches a naval expedition under Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi to raid the coast of Provence and Liguria, sacking Genoa on 16 August and attacking Pisa. Ya'qub also raids Corsica and Sardinia before returning to Mahdia with some 8,000 prisoners.

title: 935

text: The Pisan and the Genoese republics launch a naval offensive against the Muslim strongholds of Sardinia, in particular Porto Torres, and defeat the fleet of the taifa king of Dénia, Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī.

title: 1016

text: The Republic of Pisa successfully completes the conquest of Sardinia, from the Andalusian occupiers. [Dubious claim; since Sardinia was already governed by the Giudici by this time]

title: 1049

section: Health & Medicine

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Hugh II, the self-styled King of Arborea

title: 1323

section: Events › April – June

date: February 29

text: February 29 – Battle of Lucocisterna: Aragonese forces led by Prince Alfonso defeat a Pisan army, which is disembarked near the area of Capoterra. During the battle, Alfonso loses some 150 knights. On the same day, a Pisan fleet (some 30 galleys) is defeated in the Gulf of Cagliari at Sardinia.

title: 1324

section: Events › January – March

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Eleanor of Arborea, regent for her son Marianus V of the independent Judicate of Arborea, on the island of Sardinia, signs a peace agreement with the Crown of Aragon in Spain, ending a war between the two nations.

title: 1388

section: Events › January–March

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Rebelling against the rule of King Martin of Sicily, the rebel Brancaleone Doria begins the takeover of the island of Sardinia by laying siege to the Castel di Cagliari.

title: 1391

section: Events › April–June

date: August 16

text: August 16 – Brancaleone Doria takes control of Sassari and Osilo as he gains further power in Sardinia.

title: 1391

section: Events › July–September

date: October 3

text: October 3 – Brancaleone Doria captures Villa di Chiesa in Sardinia.

title: 1391

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Brancaleone Doria, the conqueror of most of the island of Sardinia, announces that he has recovered most of the territories that had been captured by his challenger, Martin of Aragon.

title: 1392

date: March 16

text: March 16 – A fleet from Sicily, commanded by King Martin of Aragon, arrives at Capo San Marco on the island of Sardinia and makes, an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Sardinian leader Brancaleone Doria.

title: 1392

date: June 30

text: June 30 – The Battle of Sanluri is fought at Sardinia between the Kingdom of Sicily and the Judicate of Arborea.

title: 1409

text: September 10 – Gibraltar is sacked by the fleet of Barbary pirate Ali Hamet, a Sardinian renegade in the service of the Ottoman Empire, and many of its leading citizens are taken as captives to Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera in Morocco. This leads to construction of the defensive Charles V Wall, at this time known as the Muralla de San Benito.

title: 1540

text: In Sardinia, the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Sassari is founded.

title: 1616

text: October 3 – A combined squadron of fifteen Neapolitan (Spain), Tuscan, and Papal galleys defeat a squadron of six Algerian ships on the island of San Pietro, near Sardinia. (details)

title: 1624

text: September 23 – The French Navy ship Tigre sinks off of the coast of the island of Sardinia, with the loss of 64 men. Another 58 of the crew are rescued.

title: 1664

text: August 22 – Spanish troops arrive on the island of Sardinia, at this time a part of the Holy Roman Empire, beginning the conquest of the island, completed by October 30.

title: 1717

text: May 20 – The Treaty of The Hague, signed between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, the Netherlands and Austria) on February 17, goes into effect. Spain renounces its claims to the Italian possessions of the French throne, and Austria and the Duchy of Savoy trade Sicily for Sardinia.

title: 1720

text: September 13 – The Treaty of Worms is signed between Great Britain, Austria and Sardinia.

title: 1743

text: September 30 – Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo: France and Spain defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia.

title: 1744

text: February 11 – French expedition to Sardinia (Expédition de Sardaigne): A French fleet under admiral Laurent Truguet debarks troops near Cagliari in Sardinia.

title: 1793

text: April 28 – Sardinian Vespers: The people of Cagliari in Sardinia oust the viceroy and his Piedmontese functionaries.

title: 1794

text: Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour goads Austria into attacking Sardinia.

title: 1858


slug: sardis

label: Sardis

description: ancient city in Anatolia, today an archaeological site at Sart, Turkey

year_label: 644 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Cimmerian forces from Anatolia conquer Sardis and reach the peak of their power. King Gyges of Lydia has spent most of his 28-year reign fighting his southern and western neighbors in an effort to gain suzerainty over all of Western Asia Minor. He has helped the rebellion of Psamtik I, but he receives no support from his erstwhile Assyrian ally Ashurbanipal. Gyges falls in a battle against the Cimmerians under king Tugdamme (approximate date).

title: 644 BC

section: Events › Asia Minor

year_label: 498 BCE

text: Athens and Eretria respond to the Ionian plea for help against Persia and send troops. An Athenian and Eretrian fleet transports Athenian troops to Ephesus. There they are joined by a force of Ionians and march upon Sardis, the capital of Artaphernes (the satrap of Lydia and brother to Darius I of Persia). Artaphernes, who has sent most of his troops to besiege Miletus, is taken by surprise. However, Artaphernes is able to retreat to the citadel and hold it. Although the Greeks are unable to take the citadel, they pillage the town and set fires that burn Sardis to the ground.

title: 498 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 490 BCE

text: Hippias dies at Lemnos on the journey back to Sardis after the Persian defeat.

title: 490 BC

year_label: 481 BCE

text: The Persian King Xerxes I arrives at Sardis and begins to build up his great army and navy for the invasion of Greece. Egypt contributes 481 ships.

title: 481 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 411 BCE

text: The Athenian navy under Thrasybulus recalls Alcibiades from Sardis. Alcibiades' election is confirmed by the Athenians at the request of Theramenes. A Spartan fleet in the Hellespont at Cynossema is then defeated by an Athenian fleet commanded by Thrasybulus and Alcibiades.

title: 411 BC

year_label: 408 BCE

text: Tissaphernes' influence is limited to the satrapy of Caria. Darius II also gives Cyrus funds to re-create the Spartan fleet and sends him to Sardis with instructions to increase Persian support for Sparta. Cyrus begins to collect an army of mercenaries (including Greeks) for his own ends.

title: 408 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

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

year_label: 392 BCE

text: The Persian general, Struthas is dispatched by King Artaxerxes II to take command of the satrapy of Sardis, replacing Tiribazus, and to pursue an anti-Spartan policy.

title: 392 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

text: Alexander accepts the surrender of the Persian provincial capital of Sardis (and its treasury) and proceeds down the Ionian coast.

title: 334 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Antiochus I tries to break the growing power of Pergamum by force of arms. Eumenes I, the new ruler of Pergamum, liberates his city from the overlordship of the Seleucids by defeating the army of Antiochus I near Sardis (the capital of Lydia), and thereby establishing an independent city-state.

title: 262 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

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

title: 215 BC

year_label: 213 BCE

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

title: 213 BC

year_label: 17 CE

section: Climate & Environment

text: An earthquake in Anatolia destroys the city of Sardis and damages several other cities.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Asia Minor

text: Melito of Sardis, bishop of Sardis (approximate date)

title: AD 180

text: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan destroys the city of Sardis, including its synagogue. Its importance is due to a highway, leading from the interior to the Aegean coast. Shahin marches through Anatolia, defeating the Byzantines numerous times.

title: 616

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: The Byzantine general Philocales captures Sardis, from the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.

title: 1118

section: Events › By place › Western Asia


slug: sarmatians

label: Sarmatians

description: ethnic group

year_label: 34 CE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

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

title: 30s

section: Events › 34 AD › Europe

text: The Vandals (Astingi and Lacringi) and the Sarmatian Iazyges invade Dacia. To counter them, Legio V Macedonica, returning from the Parthian War, moves its headquarters from Troesmis in Moesia Inferior to Potaissa in Dacia Porolissensis.

title: AD 167

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Marcus Aurelius signs a peace treaty with the Quadi and the Sarmatian Iazyges. The Germanic tribes of the Hasdingi (Vandals) and the Lacringi become Roman allies.

title: AD 171

text: The Sarmatians attack the lower Danube frontier.

title: AD 172

text: Maximinus campaigns against Dacians and Sarmatians from his supply depot at Sirmium.

title: 236

text: First Gothic invasion: The Goths, originally from Scandinavia, with the Sarmatians (from modern Iran), invade the Balkans and Greece. They ravage Moesia and Thrace.

title: 267

section: Deaths

text: Claudius dies of plague in Sirmium while preparing to fight the Vandals and Sarmatians, who have invaded Pannonia. He is succeeded by his brother Quintillus, who briefly holds power over the Roman Empire.

title: 270

text: Carus defeats the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube; for his victories he is given the title Germanicus Maximus.

title: 282

text: In this or the following year, Emperor Diocletian campaigns with success against the Sarmatians. The future emperor Galerius may have distinguished himself during this campaign.

title: 289

text: In this or the following year, Galerius campaigns with success against Sarmatians and the Marcomanni, attacking through a swamp to defeat a Sarmatian army.

title: 299

text: Galerius begins a series of campaigns against the Sarmatians, winning his first victory before the end of the year.

title: 305

text: Winter: Emperor Galerius wins his second victory over the Sarmatians.

title: 307

text: Winter: Emperor Galerius wins his third and final victory over the Sarmatians.

title: 308

text: Emperor Constantine the Great defeats the invading Goths and Sarmatians north of the Danube in Dacia, and claims the title of Sarmaticus Maximus.

title: 323

text: German and Sarmatian campaigns of Constantine: Emperor Constantine I personally assures the security of the Danube frontier by defeating the Goths, the Vandals and the Sarmatians.

title: 325

text: Emperor Valentinian I is engaged in operations against the Alamanni, Quadi and Sarmatians, while his subordinates are dealing with the Roman usurper Firmus in Africa and the Picts in Britain.

title: 372

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Emperor Valentinian I concludes an enduring peace with the Alamanni in Germany, then marches into Illyricum to repel an invasion of the Quadi and the Sarmatians on the Danube frontier. While negotiating with the Quadi, Valentinian, age 54, becomes so enraged that he dies in a fit of apoplexy at Brigetio (Hungary). Extreme cruelty has marked his 11-year reign, but he has also founded schools and provided physicians to serve the poor of Constantinople.

title: 375

text: Rome's enemies (the Germans, Sarmatians and Huns) are taken into Imperial service; as a consequence, barbarian leaders begin to play an increasingly active role in the Roman Empire.

title: 380

text: The Byzantines abandon present-day Lombardy and Tuscany, to establish a frontier march in the hills south of Ravenna (still known as Le Marche). Bavarians, Sarmatians, Saxons and Taifali, join the invasion en route. As they advance, the vacuum left behind them on the Balkan Peninsula is filled by Avars, Bulgars and Slavs.

title: 568

section: Events › By place › Europe


slug: sasanian-empire

label: Sasanian Empire

description: last pre-Islamic Iranian empire (224–651 AD)

year_label: 243 BCE

text: Ptolemy III returns from his conquests of Seleucid territory with a large amount of treasure and works of art, including many statues of Egyptian gods carried off to Persia by Cambyses. He restores the statues to the Egyptian temples and earns the title of Euergetes ("Benefactor").

title: 243 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

section: Births

text: Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire (d. 242)

title: AD 180

text: King Ardashir I, four years after establishing the Sassanid Persian Empire, completes his conquest of Parthia.

title: 228

text: King Ardashir I of the Persian Empire invades the Roman province of Mesopotamia, and unsuccessfully besieges the fortress town of Nisibis (Turkey). His army threatens the border outposts of Syria and Cappadocia.

title: 230

text: Emperor Alexander Severus accompanies his mother Julia Mamaea to Syria, and campaigns against the Persians. Military command rests in the hands of his generals, but his presence gives additional weight to the empire's policy.

title: 231

text: Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Alexander Severus launches a three-pronged counterattack against the Persian forces of King Ardashir I, who have invaded Mesopotamia. However, the Roman army advancing through Armenia is halted. Alexander gives the order to march to the capital at Ctesiphon, but the Romans are defeated, and withdraw to Syria. The result is an acceptance of the status quo, and after heavy losses on both sides, a truce is signed.

title: 232

text: Emperor Alexander Severus celebrates a triumph in Rome to observe his "victory" the previous year over the Persians (in reality, Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I). He is soon summoned to the Rhine frontier, where the Alamanni invade what is now modern-day Swabia. German tribes destroy Roman forts, and plunder the countryside at the Limes Germanicus.

title: 233

section: Culture & Society

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Prince Shapur I becomes co-ruler of the Sasanian Empire with his father King Ardashir I.

title: 240

section: Events › By place › Persia

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

title: 256

text: Shapur I (the Great), ruler of the Sassanid Empire

title: 270

text: Hormizd I (or Ohrmazd), ruler of the Sassanid Empire

title: 271

text: Shapur I (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 272

text: Hormizd I, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 273

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Mani, a sage of Persia, dies at Gundeshapur after 30 years of preaching his "heresy" at the court of the late Sassanian King Shapur I and on long journeys to Khorasan, India and China. He is executed or allowed to die in prison, and claims to be a prophet of God. Mani combines Zoroastrian dualism with Christian theology, and his disciples gain wide support for Manichaeism, despite opposition from Roman Emperors.

title: 274

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: September

text: September – Bahram I, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 274

text: Bahram I, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 276

text: Bahram II, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 293

text: Narseh (or Narses), ruler of the Sassanid Empire

title: 302

text: Narseh, ruler (Shahanshah) of the Sassanid Empire, dies after a 9-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd II.

title: 302

text: Shapur II (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empire (d. 379)

title: 309

text: King Hormizd II, ruler of the Sassanid Empire, demands that the king of the Ghassanids pays tribute. After the king refuses, Hormizd invades Ghassanid territory. The Ghassanids seek aid from Maximinus Daza, but before a Roman army can arrive, Hormizd defeats the Ghassanid army and kills their king. A Ghassanid force then ambushes Hormizd's small retinue while the latter is on a hunting trip, and the Sasanian king is mortally wounded. He dies after a 7-year reign.

title: 309

text: King Shapur II of Persia begins a war against the Roman Empire. He sends his troops across the Tigris to recover Armenia and Mesopotamia.

title: 337

date: June 16

text: June 16 – The Roman army starts its retreat northward to Corduene (Armenia). Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal Julian's forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.

title: 363

text: King Shapur II occupies the pro-Roman kingdom of Armenia. He besieges Artogerassa in modern Georgia, where Papas (Pap), son of King Arsaces II (Arshak II), defends the fortress and the royal treasure against Persian forces.

title: 369

text: The Persian Empire attains the zenith of its power under King Shapur II as the Romans renew their war against Persia. Hostilities will continue for the next 5 years.

title: 371

text: Shapur II (the Great), ruler of the Sasanian Empire (b. 309)

title: 379

text: King Shapur III signs the Peace of Acilisene with Theodosius I. Armenia is divided in two kingdoms and becomes a vassal state of the Roman Empire and Persia. The friendly relations survive for 36 years.

title: 384

text: Bahram V, Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah)

title: 400

text: The Ephthalites (White Huns) invade Western Asia and reduce the Sasanian Empire threat to the Eastern Roman Empire. King Bahram V sends an expeditionary force into Khorasan.

title: 427

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Veh Mihr Shapur, Sasanian military officer and Marzban of Armenia

title: AD 442

text: Yazdegerd II dies after a 19-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd III who seizes the Persian throne. His elder brother Peroz I rebels against him in Sistan (Iran). After months of civil war he defeats Hormizd and becomes the seventeenth Sasanian king of the Persian Empire.

title: 457

text: Yazdegerd II, king of the Persian Empire

title: 457

text: Hormizd III, king of the Sasanian Empire (approximate date)

title: 459

text: Kavad I, king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 488 to 531, with an interruption of two years

title: 473

date: November

text: November – Emperor Anastasius I accepts a peace agreement with the Sasanian Empire (Persia), based on the status quo. He upgrades the fortifications at Batnae, Edessa and Amida (Northern Mesopotamia).

title: 506

text: The Sasanian Persians conquer the independent kingdom of Caucasian Albania, a state converted to Christianity in the 4th century by Armenian missionaries (approximate date).

title: 510

text: The Academy, originally founded at Athens by Plato around 387 BC, closes down by order of Justinian I, on charges of un-Christian activity. Many of the school's professors emigrate to Persia and Syria.

title: 529

section: Events › By topic › Education

text: Summer – Khosrow I, Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire, invades Syria again, and turns south towards Edessa to besiege the fortress city.

title: 543

text: King Khosrau I unsuccessfully attacks the Byzantine fortress city of Dara. The siege of Edessa is repulsed, and the Persians are forced into a stalemate.

title: 544

section: Events › By place › The Mediterranean World, Europe, and the Middle East

text: Lazic War: King Gubazes II revolts against the Persians, and requests aid from Justinian I. He sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (8,000 men) to Lazica (modern Georgia).

title: 548

text: The Sassanid commander Mihr-Mihroe force the Byzantines to retreat from Telephis and later Ollaria. (See Battle of Telephis–Ollaria).

title: 553

text: The Göktürks under Muqan Qaghan ally with the Persian Empire, and destroy the Hephthalites (White Huns) in Central Asia.

title: 557

text: Tamkhosrau, Sassanid Persian general (marzban)

title: 582

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Persians begin to use windmills for irrigation (approximate date).

title: 600

text: The Sudarium of Oviedo is taken from Palestine, after the invasion of the Sassanid Persians.

title: 614

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

title: 618

section: Religion & Belief

text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sails from Constantinople with an expeditionary force (probably 50,000 men), and starts a counter-offensive against the Persian Empire (his young son, Constantine III, is left behind as regent under the charge of Sergius I, patriarch of Constantinople, and patrician Bonus). He lands a few days later at the junction of Cilicia and Syria, near Alexandretta and ancient Issus.

title: 622

text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius advances with an expeditionary force (40,000 men) along the Araxes River, destroying the fortress city of Dvin, capital of Armenia, and Nakhchivan (modern Azerbaijan). At Ganzak, Heraclius defeats the Persian army and destroys the famous fire temple at Takht-e Soleymān, an important Zoroastrian shrine. He winters his army in Caucasian Albania to gather forces for the next year.

title: 624

text: Yazdegerd III, king of the Persian Empire (d. 651)

title: 624

text: Winter – Heraclius makes an alliance with Tong Yabghu Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Western Turkic Khaganate, for a joint invasion of the Persian Empire the following spring. He promises his daughter Eudoxia Epiphania, age 15, in marriage to Tong Yabghu and sends her under escort with wondrous gifts.

title: 626

text: Spring – Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sweeps through southern Armenia with a 50,000-man expeditionary force, recapturing most of the Byzantine fortresses lost to the Persians ten and fifteen years earlier. The army of Shahrbaraz, still in Anatolia, is now cut off completely. Hearing from Byzantine agents (showing him letters) that King Khosrau II, dissatisfied with his failure to capture Constantinople, is planning to have him executed, he surrenders to Heraclius, refusing to join the Byzantine army against his ungrateful sovereign.

title: 627

text: February 25 – Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.

title: 628

text: September 6 – Ardashir III, age 7, succeeds his father Kavadh II as the twenty-fourth king of the Sasanian Empire on the latter's death from plague.

title: 628

text: April 27 – Shahrbaraz usurps the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but is himself deposed forty days later by nobility in favour of Borandukht. Khosrow III briefly rules Khorasan in the confusion, until he is assassinated by the governor of the province.

title: 629

text: April 27 – King Ardashir III, age 9, is murdered after an 18 month reign. He is succeeded by Shahrbaraz who becomes ruler (shah) of the Sasanian Empire.

title: 630

text: April 27 – Ardashir III, king of the Persian Empire

title: 630

text: Battle of Firaz: The Rashidun Arabs (15,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeat the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire and Arab Christians (at least 10 times larger than Khalid's army) in Mesopotamia (Iraq).

title: 634

text: The city of Basra (modern Iraq) is founded on the Shatt al-Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The port will become a major trading center for commodities from Arabia, India, and Persia.

title: 636

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

title: 705