slug: seleucus-i-nicator

label: Seleucus I Nicator

description: general of Alexander and founder of the Seleucid dynasty

year_label: 358 BCE

text: Seleucus I Nicator, Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and founder of the Seleucid dynasty (d. 281 BC)

title: 358 BC

year_label: 321 BCE

text: Leaving Eumenes to hold Asia Minor against Craterus and Antigonus, Perdiccas marches against Ptolemy, but when he fails to cross the Nile he is murdered by mutinous officers. Prominent among the mutineers is Seleucus. A truce is arranged, leaving Ptolemy in power in Egypt and Seleucus in power in Babylon.

title: 321 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 320 BCE

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

title: 320 BC

year_label: 317 BCE

text: Seleucus joins Antigonus against Eumenes and recaptures Babylon.

title: 317 BC

year_label: 315 BCE

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

title: 315 BC

year_label: 314 BCE

text: The Aetolians enter into an alliance with Antigonus, and the League of the Islanders is established under Antigonus' hegemony. Cassander marches against them with his allies Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus and destroys the city of Agrinio.

title: 314 BC

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

title: 314 BC

year_label: 313 BCE

text: Cassander orders Dionysius (the commander of his garrison in Athens) and Demetrius of Phalerum (the tyrant of Athens) to send a fleet of 20 warships to try and recapture Lemnos. An Athenian strategos named Aristoteles is sent, ravaging the island in conjunction with Seleucus (who was sent into the Aegean by Ptolemy). After Seleucus sails away, Aristoteles is attacked by the Antigonid fleet, most of his ships being captured.

title: 313 BC

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Asander sends emissaries to Ptolemy and Seleucus asking for help

title: 313 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: Seleucus ceases his service to Ptolemy and returns to his former province, Babylonia. This event takes place on October 1 and becomes the starting point of the Seleucid era.

title: 312 BC

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

year_label: 311 BCE

text: Upon entering Mesopotamia Seleucus manages to persuade some of the Macedonian veterans settled at Carrhae to join his cause. He then marches on to his old satrapy (province) of Babylonia gathering additional force along the way.

title: 311 BC

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

year_label: 310 BCE

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

title: 310 BC

section: Events › By place › Babylonia

year_label: 308 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Seleucus marches east and continues his conquest of the eastern provinces of the Macedonian Empire; the so-called Upper Satrapies.

title: 308 BC

section: Events › By place › Mesopotamia/Babylonia

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

title: 308 BC

year_label: 307 BCE

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

title: 307 BC

year_label: 305 BCE

text: Seleucus, former officer of Alexander the Great, considers himself emperor of Persia. He attempts to recover lands taken by Chandragupta that had been a part of Alexander's Empire. Seleucus establishes Seleucia on the Tigris River as his capital.

title: 305 BC

year_label: 304 BCE

text: The Mauryan emperor Chandragupta defeats Seleucus I Nicator as he tries to invade India.

title: 304 BC

section: Events › By place › India

year_label: 303 BCE

text: Seleucus I Nicator expands his kingdom throughout Persia as far east as India, but his advance is eventually halted by Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya dynasty of India. In a pact concluded by the two leaders, Seleucus agrees to territorial concessions in exchange for 500 war-trained elephants.

title: 303 BC

year_label: 302 BCE

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

title: 302 BC

year_label: 301 BCE

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

title: 301 BC

year_label: 300 BCE

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

title: 300 BC

year_label: 294 BCE

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

title: 294 BC

year_label: 293 BCE

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

title: 293 BC

year_label: 288 BCE

text: The Macedonian King, Demetrius Poliorcetes, faces a combined attack from Lysimachus and Phyrrhus, king of Epirus, after Seleucus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus form a coalition to block plans by Demetrius to invade Asia Minor.

title: 288 BC

year_label: 286 BCE

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

title: 286 BC

year_label: 285 BCE

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes is deserted by his troops and surrenders to Seleucus at Cilicia, where Seleucus keeps him a prisoner.

title: 285 BC

year_label: 284 BCE

text: Lysimachus' wife, Arsinoe, being keen to gain the succession to the kingdom of Thrace for her sons in preference to Agathocles (the eldest son of Lysimachus), intrigues against him with the help of her brother Ptolemy Keraunos. They accuse him of conspiring with Seleucus to seize the throne, and Agathocles is put to death. This atrocious deed by Lysimachus and his family arouses great indignation. Many of the cities in Asia Minor revolt and some of his most trusted friends desert him.

title: 284 BC

year_label: 283 BCE

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

title: 283 BC

year_label: 282 BCE

text: The city of Pergamum in Asia Minor ends its allegiance to Lysimachus. Its ruler, Philetaerus, transfers his allegiance, as well as the important fortress of Pergamon and his treasury, to Seleucus, who allows him a far larger measure of independence than he had hitherto enjoyed.

title: 282 BC

year_label: 281 BCE

text: The Battle of Corupedium in Lydia is the last battle of the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Great. It is fought between the armies of Lysimachus, King of Thrace, Macedonia, Western Anatolia and Seleucus, ruler of Eastern Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Babylonia and Iran. Seleucus kills Lysimachus during the battle.

title: 281 BC

section: Deaths

text: Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire (b. c. 354 BC)

title: 281 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: Erasistratus, Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. He has founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria (b. 310 BC)

title: 250 BC


slug: seleucus-ii-callinicus

label: Seleucus II Callinicus

description: ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 246 BC to 225 BC

year_label: 246 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 246 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 244 BCE

text: The war in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea intensifies as the Achaean League allies itself to Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt, while Seleucus II secures two allies in the Black Sea region. Ptolemy III's armies reach as far as Bactria and the borders of India in their attacks on the Seleucid Empire.

title: 244 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 243 BCE

text: Ptolemy III returns from Syria due to a revolt in Egypt. As a result, Seleucus II is able to regain control of his kingdom with the Egyptians being pushed out of Mesopotamia and part of Northern Syria.

title: 243 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 241 BCE

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

title: 241 BC

section: Births

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

title: 241 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: Seleucus II's brother Antiochus Hierax, who is governor of Seleucid Anatolia, sends an army into Syria ostensibly to assist Seleucus but actually to seize the rest of the empire. After achieving peace with Egypt, Seleucus II promptly invades Anatolia and begins the "War of the Brothers".

title: 239 BC

year_label: 236 BCE

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

title: 236 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 235 BCE

text: Antiochus Hierax defeats his brother King Seleucus II Callinicus at the Battle of Ancyra.

title: 235 BC

year_label: 232 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus undertakes an expedition into the interior of Iran to try to regain Parthia, but his efforts come to nothing. According to some sources, he is even taken prisoner for several years by the Parthian king, Arsaces I. Other sources mention that he establishes a peace with Arsaces I by recognising his sovereignty over Parthia.

title: 232 BC

year_label: 228 BCE

text: King Attalus I Soter of Pergamum defeats Antiochus Hierax (brother of the Seleucid king Seleucus II) in three battles and thereby gains control over all the Seleucid domains in Anatolia except Cilicia in the southeast.

title: 228 BC

year_label: 227 BCE

text: Antiochus Hierax tries to raise revolts against his brother Seleucus II in Syria and the east of the Seleucid kingdom. However, he is captured and exiled to Thrace, where he lives as a virtual prisoner.

title: 227 BC

year_label: 226 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Antiochus Hierax, brother of the Seleucid King Seleucus II manages to escape from captivity in Thrace and flees to the mountains to raise an army, but he is killed by a band of Galatians.

title: 226 BC

text: Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the Seleucid kingdom from 246 BC

title: 226 BC

text: Antiochus Hierax, younger brother of Seleucus II, who has fought with him over the control of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East (b. c. 263 BC)

title: 226 BC

year_label: 225 BCE

text: Seleucus III Ceraunus succeeds his father Seleucus II Callinicus as ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, and takes up the task of reconquering Pergamum in Anatolia from Attalus. However, Andromachus, the first general whom he sends, is decisively defeated and captured by Attalus.

title: 225 BC

text: Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the Seleucid Empire (246-225 BC)

title: 225 BC


slug: seljuk-empire

label: Seljuk Empire

description: Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim empire (1037–1194)

text: Chaghri Beg, co-ruler of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1060)

title: 989

text: Tughril, sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1063)

title: 990

text: Al-Kunduri, vizier of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1064)

title: 1024

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Alp Arslan (Heroic Lion), sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1072)

title: 1029

text: The Great Seljuk Empire is established by Tugrul Bey.

title: 1037

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: September 18

text: September 18 – Battle of Kapetron: A combined Byzantine-Georgian army, under Byzantine generals Aaronios and Katakalon Kekaumenos (supported by the Georgian duke Liparit IV), confronts the invading Seljuk Turks, led by Ibrahim Inal (a half-brother of Sultan Tughril), at Kapetron (near modern-day Pasinler). The Byzantines defeat their opposing Turkish forces in the flanks, but in the centre Ibrahim Inal captures Liparit, and can safely withdraw from Byzantine territory, laden with spoils and captives, including Liparit.

title: 1048

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Sultan Tughril leads a large Seljuk army out of Azerbaijan into Armenia, possibly to consolidate his frontier, while providing an incentive to his Turkoman allies in the form of plunder. Tughril divides his army into four columns, ordering three to veer off to the north to raid into central and northern Armenia, while he takes the fourth column towards Lake Van. The Seljuk Turks capture and sack the fortress city of Artchesh, after an 8-day siege.

title: 1054

date: August 16

text: August 16 – Malik-Shah I, sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1092)

title: 1055

text: Chaghri Beg, co-ruler of the Seljuk Empire (b. 989)

title: 1060

text: Battle of Damghan: Seljuk forces under Alp Arslan defeat his brother Qutalmish who claims the throne of late Tughril, founder of the Seljuk Empire. Qutalmish flees from the battle, but his son Suleiman is taken prisoner.

title: 1063

section: Events › By place › Seljuk Empire

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Tughril, sultan of the Seljuk Empire (b. 990)

title: 1063

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Alp Arslan succeeds to the throne, as sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He becomes sole ruler of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

title: 1064

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Al-Kunduri, vizier of the Seljuk Empire (b. 1024)

title: 1064

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Abu Hanifa Mosque is established in Baghdad, when the Grand Vizier of the Seljuk Empire, Abu Saad al-Khwarizmi or al-Mustawfi, builds a shrine for Abu Hanifa near his tomb.

title: 1066

section: Events › Asia

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Sultan Alp Arslan ("Heroic Lion") dies after a 9-year reign, during his campaign in Transoxiana. He is succeeded by his 17-year-old son Malik-Shah I, who is declared new ruler of the Seljuk Empire. Qavurt, a brother of Alp Arslan, claims the Seljuk throne for himself and occupies the capital of Isfahan.

title: 1072

text: Anushtegin Gharchai becomes governor (shihna) of Khwarezm and a vassal of the Seljuk Empire (until 1097).

title: 1077

text: Muhammad I Tapar, sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1118)

title: 1082

text: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Malik-Shah I conquer Byzantine Antioch, held by Philaretos Brachamios, an Armenian general, who seizes power as a usurper.

title: 1084

date: November 19

text: November 19 – Sultan Malik-Shah I dies after a 20-year reign while hunting. The Seljuk Empire falls into chaos: his brother Tutush I and rival successors carve up their own independent sultanates in the Middle East. Malik-Shah is succeeded by his son Mahmud I, but he does not gain control of the empire.

title: 1092

date: October

text: October – Seljuk sultan Mahmud I dies after a 2-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Barkiyaruq (one of the Seljuk princes who claim the throne) as ruler of the Seljuk Empire.

title: 1094

section: Events › By place › Eastern Islamic world

text: October – Mahmud I, sultan of the Seljuk Empire

title: 1094

date: March

text: March – Emperor Alexios I Komnenos send envoys to Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza and appeals to the Christian states of Western Europe for military aid against the Seljuk Turks. Urban responds favourably, hoping to heal the Great Schism of 40 years earlier, and to reunite the Catholic Church under papal primacy by helping the Eastern churches.

title: 1095

date: September

text: September – French forces (7,000 infantry and 300 knights) led by Geoffrey Burel raid around Nicaea (the capital of the Rum Seljuk Turks), plundering livestock and villages in the suburbs. They commit atrocities against local Christian peasants. Children are tortured and dismembered by the crusaders.

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: May 14

text: May 14 – Siege of Nicaea: The Crusaders begin their campaign with the siege of Nicaea (the capital of the Sultanate of Rum), assigning their forces to different sections of the walls, which are well-defended with 200 towers. Towards the end, an advance party of the Seljuk Turks is defeated by troops of Raymond IV of Toulouse ("Saint-Gilles") and Robert II.

title: 1097

text: Mahmud II, sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1131)

title: 1105

text: Sultan Barkiyaruq dies in Borujerd (modern Iran) after a 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Malik-Shah II, but is deposed and killed by his uncle Muhammad I. Muhammad becomes ruler of the Seljuk Empire, but his brother Ahmad Sanjar (Seljuk ruler of Khorasan) holds more power as co-ruler.

title: 1105

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Battle of Sarmin: The Crusaders, under Prince Roger of Salerno, surprise and rout the Seljuk Turkish army (some 8,000 men), led by Emir Bursuq ibn Bursuq, at Sarmin (modern Syria). Bursuq barely avoids capture, and escapes with a few hundred horsemen. Roger reoccupies the fortress of Kafartab, and consolidates his territory around Antioch.

title: 1115

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Summer – Sultan Mahmud II of the Seljuk Empire declares a Holy War on the Kingdom of Georgia. He sends an expedition under Ilghazi, the Artukid ruler of Mardin, to invade the country.

title: 1121

section: Events › By place › Eurasia

date: June

text: June – King David IV of Georgia, nicknamed "Davit IV Aghmashenebeli" ("David the Builder") by his subjects, defeats Sultan Mahmud II of the Seljuk Empire (encompassing much of what is now Iraq and Iran).

title: 1123

section: Events › By date › April–June

text: Mahmud II, sultan of the Seljuk Empire

title: 1131

section: Climate & Environment

date: September 30

text: September 30 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes the Caucasus mountains in the Seljuk Empire, causing great devastation and killing 300,000 people.

title: 1139

section: Events › By region › Asia

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Battle of Qatwan: Yelü Dashi, founder of the Qara Khitai, defeats the Seljuk Empire and Kara-Khanid forces.

title: 1141

section: Events

text: Estimation: Merv (in the Seljuk Empire) becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Constantinople.

title: 1145

text: Eldiguz, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Azerbaijan, founds the Eldiguzid Dynasty and establishes an independent state within the Seljuk Empire.

title: 1146

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Battle of Mount Cadmus: The French crusaders under Louis VII are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. The vanguard led by Geoffrey de Rancon ignores orders to pause and moves too far ahead, losing touch with the main army. The French are attacked by the Turks with the baggage train (almost 10 km long) unprotected. Louis is able to escape the fray under cover of the darkness.

title: 1148

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

date: July

text: July – King Baldwin III receives an urgent request for help from Antioch to break the incomplete Zangid blockade of the city. Meanwhile, the Crusaders fail to retake Harim. Nur al-Din strengthens his siege of Antioch, but it is too large to surround. A truce is agreed under which Harim and farther east territory remains under Seljuk dominance.

title: 1149

text: Estimation: Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Merv in the Seljuk Empire.

title: 1153

section: Events › By topic › Demography

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The 1157 Hama earthquake takes place after a year of foreshocks. Its name is taken from the city of Hama, in west-central Syria (then under Seljuk rule), where the most casualties are sustained.

title: 1157

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Toghrul III, sultan of the Seljuk Empire

title: 1194


slug: seljuq-dynasty

label: Seljuq dynasty

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Battle of Dandanaqan: The Turkmen Seljuqs defeat the Ghaznavid forces (50,000 men) led by Sultan Masʽud I at Dandanaqan, a fortress city in the desert near Merv. Ghaznavid commanders Ali Daya and Begtoghdi are blamed for the defeat and executed.

title: 1040

section: Events › By place › Islamic world

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Seljuqs under Tughril Beg expel the Oghuz Turks from Khorasan and conquer Qazvin (modern Iran). They become the new masters of the Ziyarid dynasty (approximate date).

title: 1043

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Sultan Tughril leads a large Seljuk army out of Azerbaijan into Armenia, possibly to consolidate his frontier, while providing an incentive to his Turkoman allies in the form of plunder. Tughril divides his army into four columns, ordering three to veer off to the north to raid into central and northern Armenia, while he takes the fourth column towards Lake Van. The Seljuk Turks capture and sack the fortress city of Artchesh, after an 8-day siege.

title: 1054

text: Alp Arslan, leader of the Seljuk Turks, campaigns against the Kipchaks and the Türkmen in Central Asia. He captures the city of Kars and plunders the western provinces of Georgia.

title: 1065

text: Spring – Norman mercenaries, led by Roussel de Bailleul, proclaim John Doukas emperor of the Byzantine Empire. His nephew, Emperor Michael VII Doukas, forms an alliance with Seljuk chieftain Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, who is raiding in the eastern regions of Anatolia. The Seljuk Turks ambush the Norman forces; Roussel and John are defeated and captured; but a ransom, raised by Roussel's wife, allows him to return to Amaseia.

title: 1074

text: Spring – Nikephoros Botaneiates, a Byzantine general (strategos) of the Theme of the Anatolics, revolts against Emperor Michael VII Doukas. With the support of the Seljuk Turks who provide him with troops, Nikephoros marches upon Nicaea (modern Turkey). He defeats the imperial army and proclaims himself emperor.

title: 1078

text: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Suleiman ibn Qutulmish reach and occupy the western coast of Asia Minor, an area known since the Archaic Period (c. 800–c. 500 BC) as Ionia (modern Turkey).

title: 1079

text: Crusade of 1101 – A second wave of European crusaders attempts to cross Anatolia, to reach the Kingdom of Jerusalem. They are defeated by the Seljuk troops under Sultan Kilij Arslan I, at Heraclea. A handful of crusaders under Raymond IV of Toulouse manage to reach the Byzantine port of Bafra, at the mouth of the River Halys.

title: 1101

date: May 7

text: May 7 – Battle of Harran: The Crusaders under Baldwin II are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtenay are taken prisoner. Tancred (nephew of Bohemond I) becomes regent of Edessa. The defeat at Harran marks a key turning point of Crusader expansion.

title: 1104

text: Siege of Sozopolis: Byzantine forces under Emperor John II Komnenos conquer Sozopolis in Pisidia, from the Sultanate of Rum. The Seljuk garrison is defeated while they are trapped between the Byzantine cavalry and the army (which is besieging the fortress).

title: 1120

text: Emperor John II Komnenos recovers southwestern Anatolia (modern Turkey) from the Seljuk Turks and then hastens to the Balkans, where the Pechenegs are continuing their incursions. He transfers Byzantine troops to the Danube frontier at Paristrion.

title: 1121

text: Battle of Beroia: Emperor John II Komnenos transfers the Byzantine field army from Asia Minor (where it has been engaged against the Seljuk Turks) to the Balkans. The Pechenegs who have set up their camp (defended by a circular formation of wagons) near Beroia (modern Bulgaria) are defeated. John orders the Varangian Guard (some 480 men), the elite Palace Guard to hack their way through the Pecheneg circle of wagons, causing a general rout in their camp. Pecheneg survivors are taken captive and enlisted into the Byzantine army.

title: 1122

text: Summer – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) assembles a Byzantine expeditionary force, and marches towards Iconium, the Seljuk capital. Meanwhile, hordes of Seljuk Turks destroy crops and poison water supplies, to make Manuel's march more difficult, and harass the Byzantine army, in order to force it into the Meander Valley. Kilij Arslan II, ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, hears of the expedition, and sends envoys to ask for peace.

title: 1176

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Sultan Toghrul III is defeated and killed in battle with Ala ad-Din Tekish, near Rey in Persia – ending the Seljuq dynasty of Hamedan. The Seljuk Empire passes to the Khwarazmian dynasty.

title: 1194


slug: seneca-the-younger

label: Seneca the Younger

description: Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (c. 4 BCE–65 CE)

year_label: 4 BCE

section: Births

text: Approximate date – Seneca the Younger, Córdoban-born Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (d. AD 65)

title: 0s BC

section: Births › 4 BC

year_label: 1 CE

text: AD 1 – Seneca the Younger, Roman stoic philosopher born in Cordoba (d. AD 65)

title: 0s

year_label: 41 CE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Messalina, wife of Claudius, persuades Claudius to have Seneca the Younger banished to Corsica on a charge of adultery with Julia Livilla.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 41

year_label: 51 CE

text: Burrus, praetorian prefect (51–62 AD), charges Seneca with the education of Nero.

title: 50s

section: Events › 51 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 53 CE

section: Health & Medicine

text: Seneca writes the tragedy Agamemnon, which he intends to be read as the last chapter of a trilogy including two of his other tragedies, Medea and Edipus.

title: 50s

section: Events › 53 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 54 CE

text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo arrives in the East and takes up an assignment as governor of Asia, with a secret brief from Nero and his chief ministers, Seneca and Burrus, to return Armenia to the Roman Empire.

title: 50s

section: Events › 54 AD › Anatolia

year_label: 60 CE

section: Deaths

text: Prasutagus, king of the Iceni (modern East Anglia), dies leaving a will which passes his kingdom to his two daughters and the Roman Empire. The Roman army, however, annexes the kingdom as if conquered, depriving the nobles of their hereditary lands and plundering the land. The king's widow, Boudica, is flogged and forced to watch their daughters publicly raped. Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, call in their loans.

title: AD 60

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 61 CE

text: Prasutagus, king of the Iceni (modern East Anglia), dies leaving a will which passes his kingdom to his two daughters and the Roman Empire. The Roman army however annexes the kingdom as if conquered, depriving the nobles of their hereditary lands and plundering the land. The king's widow, Boudica, is flogged and forced to watch their daughters publicly raped. Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, call in their loans.

title: AD 61

year_label: 62 CE

text: Sextus Afranius Burrus, Roman prefect and friend of Seneca (b. AD 1)

title: AD 62

text: After the death of Burrus and the disgrace of Seneca, Nero is free from their influence and becomes a megalomaniacal artist fascinated by Hellenism and the Orient. Tigellinus becomes Nero's counselor. His rule is highly abusive.

title: AD 62

year_label: 64 CE

text: Seneca proclaims the equality of all men, including slaves.

title: AD 64

section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences

year_label: 65 CE

text: After a stage performance in which he appears and shocks the senatorial class considerably, Nero engages in a series of reprisals against Seneca the Younger and Tigellinus, pro-republican senators, and anyone else he distrusts.

title: AD 65

text: Seneca, Roman statesman and tutor of Nero (b. AD 1)

title: AD 65


slug: senegal

label: Senegal

description: country on the coast of West Africa

text: The Almoravids overrun modern-day Morocco, and establish an intercontinental kingdom, stretching from Spain to Senegal.

title: 1062

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Musa II succeeds his father, Mari Djata II, as Mansa of the Mali Empire (modern-day Mali and Senegal).

title: 1374

section: Events › Date unknown

text: N'Diklam Sare succeeds Sare N'Dyaye, as ruler of the Jolof Empire (now part of Senegal).

title: 1390

text: Portuguese navigator Álvaro Fernandes reaches the mouth of the Casamance River in Senegal.

title: 1446

section: Crime & Justice

text: Nuno Tristão is killed by natives on the coast of Senegal.

title: 1446

text: The first French settlers arrive on the Petite Côte of modern-day Senegal.

title: 1670

date: March 29

text: March 29 – The first large shipment of slaves is brought to New Orleans as the slave ship L'Aurore arrives with 290 black Africans captured in Gambia. During the 90-day voyage from Gorée in Senegal, 60 of the slaves have died.

title: 1726

section: Events › January–March

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: July 2

text: July 2 – The French frigate Medusa runs aground off the coast of Senegal, with 140 lives lost in the botched rescue that takes weeks, leading to a scandal in the French government.

title: 1816

section: Events › July–September

section: Culture & Society

text: L'Action sénégalaise weekly newspaper is founded in Senegal.

title: 1922

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Senegal breaks away from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.

title: 1960

section: Events › August

date: June 20

text: June 20 – The short-lived Mali Federation, consisting of the Sudanese Republic (modern-day Republic of Mali) and Senegal, gains independence from France.

title: 1960

section: Events › June

date: May 4

text: May 4 – The Le Monde Theater fire in Dioirbel, Senegal, kills 64 people.

title: 1963

section: Events › May

date: February 1

text: February 1 – Senegal and The Gambia form a loose Senegambia Confederation.

title: 1982

section: Events › February

date: April 27

text: April 27 – 1993 Zambia national football team plane crash: All members of the Zambia national football team die in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon en route to Dakar, Senegal.

title: 1993

section: Events › April

date: October 29

text: October 29 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the death of at least 140 migrants who drowned off the coast of Senegal on a vessel bound for the Spanish Canary Islands, making it the deadliest shipwreck of 2020.

title: 2020

section: Events › October


slug: seoul

label: Seoul

description: capital and largest city of South Korea

section: Religion & Belief

text: Bongwon Temple, located in Seoul (modern South Korea), is founded by the Korean Buddhist master Doseon.

title: 889

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Jongmyo royal ancestral shrine are built in Hanseong (now Seoul).

title: 1394

section: Conflict & Security

date: November 29

text: November 29 – The capital city of the Joseon dynasty (in present-day Korea) is moved from Gaegyeong (now Gaeseong) to Hanseong (now Seoul).

title: 1394

section: Events › October–December

text: The Munmyo Confucian shrine and Sungkyunkwan University are founded in modern-day Seoul.

title: 1398

date: October 12

text: October 12 – Chen Yanxiang and his surviving crew are hosted by King Taejong of Korea at Seoul. The State Council (Uijongbu) verifies in a letter to the rulers of Java confirming that the Korean ship had been attacked.

title: 1406

date: February 15

text: February 15 – In Korea, Grand Prince Yangnyeong of the Joseon Kingdom and heir to the throne, causes a scandal that ends any possibility of becoming the next King. Yangnyeong courts the wife of another official and attempts to bring here into the royal palace in Seoul, ending in his banishment from the royal household and being replaced on June 3, 1418.

title: 1417

section: Science & Discovery

date: March 11

text: March 11– The nova Scorpii AD 1437 is first observed, and is seen by Korean astronomers at Seoul. It remains visible until March 25.

title: 1437

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Prince Sejo, son of the late King Sejong, becomes the new monarch of Korea in Hanseong following the forced abdication of King Danjong.

title: 1455

text: September 9 – At Hanseong, Prince Yi Hwang of the Joseon dynasty becomes the new King of Korea, taking the regnal name Yejong, upon the death of his father, King Sejo.

title: 1468

date: July 20

text: July 20 – The Japanese capture the Korean capital Hanyang, causing Seonjo to request the assistance of Ming dynasty Chinese forces, who recapture the city a year later.

title: 1592

date: February 26

text: February 26 – The Japanese force the Korean government to sign the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 (having brought a fleet to Incheon, the port of modern-day Seoul), opening three ports to Japanese trade and forcing Korea's Joseon dynasty to cease considering itself a tributary of China. On China's urging, Korea also signs treaties with the European powers, in an effort to counterbalance Japan.

title: 1876

date: July 23

text: July 23 – The Imo Incident occurs in Seoul, Korea, as a result of bad rations and late payment for soldiers of the Joseon Army.

title: 1882

section: Events › July

section: Economy & Finance

text: Chosun Tire and Rubber Manufacture, predecessor of South Korean tire brand Hankook, is founded in Seoul (at this time part of the Empire of Japan).

title: 1941

text: September 9 – Japanese troops in Keijō (modern-day Seoul) formally relinquish control over Southern Korea to the United States Army Military Government in Korea, while Soviet forces control Northern Korea from Heijō (modern-day Pyongyang), effectively ending 35 years of Korea under Japanese rule and beginning the Division of Korea at the 38th parallel.

title: 1945

section: Events › September

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).

title: 1951

section: Events › January

date: October 4

text: October 4 – The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, South Korea.

title: 1955

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Daeyeonggak Hotel fire: A fire at a 22-story hotel in Seoul, South Korea, kills 158 people.

title: 1971

section: Events › December

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: In Seoul, South Korea, construction begins on Seoul Subway Line 2.

title: 1978

date: April 1

text: April 1 – A bus carrying 54 passengers falls into the Han River in Seoul, South Korea killing 19 and injuring 35.

title: 1988

date: September 17

text: September 17–October 2 – The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea.

title: 1988

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Lotte World, a major recreation complex in Seoul, South Korea, is opened to the public, containing the world's largest indoor amusement park.

title: 1989

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Sampoong Department Store collapse in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea, kills 502 and injures 937.

title: 1995

date: November 11

text: November 11–12 – The G-20 summit is held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea becomes the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.

title: 2010

section: Events › November


slug: september

label: September

description: ninth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

year_label: 43 CE

date: September

text: September – Emperor Claudius, who arrives with reinforcements including war elephants, leads the march on Camulodunum (modern Colchester). Eleven British kings, probably including those of the Iceni and Brigantes, submit without a fight. Plautius becomes the first Governor of Roman Britain.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 43

text: September – Gaius Valerius Severus and Gaius Julius Gallus replace consuls Larcius and Ducenius and serve until the end of the year.

title: AD 124

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: September-November - Battle of Guandu: Chinese warlord Cao Cao defeats his rival Yuan Shao.

title: AD 200

section: Events › By place › China

date: March

text: March – September: Battle of Tong Pass: Cao Cao defeats Ma Chao.

title: 211

section: Crime & Justice

text: September – In the Eastern Wu Kingdom, the Emperor Sun Quan orders the demotion of General Zhang Wen and his removal from command, commenting in the decree, "Oh, Zhang Wen, you are so fortunate to be spared from death." Two other officers, General Ji Yan and General Xu Biao are arrested and permitted to commit suicide rather than to be executed.

title: 224

section: Events › China

text: September – Battle of Naissus: Emperor Gallienus, aided by Aurelian, defeats a Gothic coalition (50,000 warriors) near Naissus (Niš, modern Serbia).

title: 268

text: September: Emperor Diocletian issues a reform that revalues the Roman currency.

title: 301

text: September – Rex Alaric I of the Visigoths crosses the Julian Alps with an army of 30,000 men, and marches into the Roman heartland. He lays siege to Rome, and Gothic auxiliaries desert to join Alaric's forces. After much bargaining, the Senate agrees to pay him a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, and 3,000 hides dyed scarlet.

title: 408

section: Climate & Environment

text: September – The 499 Nicopolis earthquake takes place in the borders between the regions of Mesopotamia, Pontus, and Roman Armenia. It affects the cities of Nicopolis, Neocaesarea (modern Niksar), Arsamosata, and Abarne, as well as the cultural areas of Anatolia (Asia Minor) and Mesopotamia.

title: 499

section: Events › By place › Middle East

text: September – Belisarius arrives at Sicily, which he uses as a staging area, with the permission of the Ostrogoth queen Amalasuntha, daughter of Theodoric the Great and regent of Italy. The Ostrogoths help him with supplies and the fleet is prepared for the final attack.

title: 533

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: September – The Lombards conquer Forum Iulii (Cividale del Friuli) in northeastern Italy. Later in the year, the Lombards conquer Milan.

title: 569

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: September – King Chilperic I is stabbed to death while returning from a hunt near Chelles, after a 23-year reign over a territory extending from Aquitaine, to the northern seacoast of what later will be France. His wife Fredegund, who has paid for his assassination, seizes his wealth, flees to Paris with her son Chlothar II, and persuades the nobles to accept him as legitimate heir while she serves as regent, continuing her power struggles with Guntram, king of Burgundy, and her sister Brunhilda, queen mother of Austrasia.

title: 584

text: September – Jerusalem is reconquered by the Byzantines (after 15 years of occupation), from the Persian Empire.

title: 629

text: September – Battle of Buzakha: An Islamic column (6,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeats the Apostate rebels under Tulayha, near Ha'il (Saudi Arabia).

title: 632

section: Events › By place › Arabia

section: Health & Medicine

text: September – The Byzantine Senate turns against Martina and her son Heraklonas, who are both mutilated, and exiled to Rhodes. Supported by general Valentinus, Constantine's son Constans II, age 10, succeeds to the throne.

title: 641

text: September – Charles Martel leads his Frankish army (30,000 men) to Orléans and crosses the Loire River, probably accompanied by Eudes of Aquitaine, with his remaining troops. He makes camp near Tours, probably at Ballan-Miré south-west of the fortress city, in order to protect the abbey of Saint Martin. Charles defeats or forces back Umayyad scouts or an advance guard, between the rivers Indre and Creuse. Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi pulls back to establish a position at the Vienne River.

title: 732

date: August

text: August or September – Battle of Kafartuta: Caliph Marwan II defeats and kills Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani, leader of the Kharijites, in Upper Mesopotamia. The rebels withdraw across the River Tigris, escaping destruction.

title: 746

section: Events › By place › Umayyad Caliphate

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 755

text: September – Battle of Kopidnadon: An Abbasid expeditionary force crosses the Cilician Gates into the Anatolic Theme (modern Turkey). It is confronted by two Byzantine armies at Podandos in Cappadocia, who are defeated.

title: 788

text: September – Battle of Kopidnadon: An Abbasid expeditionary force against the Byzantine Empire crosses the Cilician Gates into the Anatolic Theme. The Abbasid army launches an invasion of Byzantine Asia Minor, and is confronted by a Byzantine force at Kopidnadon. The battle results in an Abbasid victory.

title: 788

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

text: September – The Armeniac Theme, located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey), revolts against Empress Irene, and declares the 19-year-old Constantine VI sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Other themes follow its example, and imprison their strategoi. Constantine sends his iconoclast general Michael Lachanodrakon, to ensure that the Armeniacs (his closest supporters) take an oath. Irene is confined and imprisoned in her palace at Constantinople; all her eunuchs are exiled.

title: 790

text: September – Rebellious Arab troops in North Africa, led by Mansur ibn Nasr al-Tunbudhi in a battle against the Aghlabids, led by the Emir Ziyadat Allah, invade and occupy the city of Tunis.

title: 824

section: Events › By date

text: September – Photius I ("the Great"), patriarch of Constantinople, is removed from office and banished. Ignatius is reinstated as patriarch by Basil I.

title: 867

text: September – Battle of Basra: Zanj rebels in Mesopotamia sack and capture Basra (see Zanj Rebellion).

title: 871

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: September – Ibrahim II crosses the Strait of Messina into Calabria. He begins his march to conquer the rest of Italy, and lays siege at Cosenza.

title: 902

text: September — The Chamberlain Ja'far ibn Ubayd of the Fatimid Caliphate returns to the Fatimid capital of Mahdiya (now in Tunisia) after a successful 17-month campaign to pillage the Byzantine-ruled island of Sicily.

title: 925

section: Events › By date › July – December

text: September - October – A Byzantine fleet under Basil Hexamilites deals a crushing defeat to the Hamdanid fleet at Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey).

title: 956

section: Culture & Society

text: September – King Otto III, now 14 years old, receives the regalia to rule the Kingdom of Germany at an assembly of the Imperial Diet in Solingen. Otto appoints Heribert of Cologne as chancellor of Italy.

title: 994

text: September – Emperor Sanjō of Japan visits the home of influential statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga.

title: 1013

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: September – At the urging of Queen Constance of Arles, the three sons of King Robert II of France ("the Pious") revolt against their father – Hugh Magnus (heir and co-king), Henry I and Robert I, Duke of Burgundy start a civil war over power.

title: 1025

section: Events

section: Deaths

text: September – Budo, Hungarian courtier

title: 1041

text: September – Roger II of Sicily gains recognition as duke at Melfi from the Norman nobles of Naples, Bari, Capua, Salerno and other cities that have resisted him.

title: 1129

text: September – King García IV ("the Restorer") breaks with Alfonso VII, and makes common cause with the County of Portugal against Castile and León.

title: 1135

text: September – Fatimah Khatun, wife of caliph al-Muqtafi.

title: 1147

text: September – Doge Vitale II Michiel leads a Venetian fleet (120 ships) against the Byzantines, conquering the cities of Trogir and Dubrovnik. But the plague takes a heavy toll among the fleet's crewmen; half the ships have to be burned to keep them from falling into enemy hands. A plague also breaks out in Venice, when the remaining ships return.

title: 1171

text: September – Richard I arrives in Sicily at the head of a Crusader army and demands the release of his sister Joan of England, queen of Sicily, who is held hostage by the usurper Tancred of Lecce. He also demands that Tancred fulfill the financial commitments made by the late King William II (the Good) to the Crusade. Tancred refuses the financial demand but he agrees to release Joan, on September 28.

title: 1190

text: September: Leopold VI finds some ships in Split, that bring him and a small force to Acre. Andrew follows him about a fortnight later; in Split, he receives only two ships. The rest of Andrew's army is left behind. Meanwhile, King Hugh I of Cyprus lands at Acre, with troops to support the Crusade.

title: 1217

text: September – Cardinal Pelagius arrives with reinforcements at the Crusader camp, and proceeds to challenge the command of John I, claiming that the Church holds greater authority than a secular leader. Meanwhile, the Crusaders spend time clearing out an old canal, so that their ships can surround Damietta. Pelagius also brings news that King Frederick II has promised to follow soon, with a German expeditionary force.

title: 1218

text: September – Francis of Assisi, an Italian preacher, arrives in the Crusader camp and introduces Catholicism in Egypt. He seeks permission from Pelagius to visit Al-Kamil. After an initial refusal, he sends Francis under a flag of truce to Faraskur. Al-Kamil receives him courteously and offers him many gifts. He accepts a death-bed baptism, and is escorted back to the Crusader camp.

title: 1219

text: September – Abdallah al-Adil (the Just), governor in Al-Andalus, challenges the Almohad throne and captures Seville. He marches to Marrakesh to confront Abu Muhammad al-Wahid. Abdallah seizes the royal palace and deposes Muhammad al-Wahid, who is strangled to death.

title: 1224

text: September – 1240 Izborsk and Pskov campaign: An alliance of the Livonian Order, the Bishopric of Dorpat and the pretender-prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Pskov besiege and conquer the border fortress of Izborsk in the Pskov Land. After Pskovian defenders fail to retake the town, the allied forces advance to the capital Pskov itself, compelling it to surrender, resulting in the brief overthrow of the pro-Suzdalian faction that supports prince Alexander Nevsky.

title: 1240

text: September – Epirote–Nicaean conflict, Battle of Pelagonia: The Empire of Nicaea defeats the Principality of Achaea, ensuring the eventual reconquest of Constantinople in 1261.

title: 1259

text: September – Rabban Bar Sauma arrives in Paris, and is received in an audience by King Philip IV (the Fair). He spends one month at the royal court, during his stay, Philip himself escorts him around the Sainte-Chapelle (or Holy Chapel) to see the collection of Passion relics by late King Louis IX (the Saint). Philip gives Bar Sauma many presents and sends one of his noblemen, Gobert de Helleville, to return with him to Mongol lands. In response, he attempts to form a military alliance with France and England.

title: 1287

text: Late September – Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr crosses the Strait of Gibraltar from Alcácer Seguir to Tarifa. During the next three months, Marinid forces besiege Vejer de la Frontera, and carry out daily raids around Ferez. In the meantime, other Marinid raiding parties devastate the countryside as far north as Alcalá del Río, near Seville.

title: 1291

text: September – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer and knight (condottiere), founds the Catalan Company group of mercenaries, with soldiers (Almogavars) jobless after the Treaty of Caltabellotta.

title: 1302

text: September – Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, facing a possible siege of Constantinople by Ottoman-Turkish forces, seeks support from the European kingdoms. He makes Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer and nobleman, an offer of service. Roger with his fleet and army (some 7,000 men), now known as the Catalan Company, departs from Messina with 36 ships (including 18 galleys), and arrives in Constantinople. He is adopted into the imperial family, Andronikos appoints him as grand duke (megas doux) and commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army and fleet.

title: 1303

text: September – Siege of Siwana: Delhi forces under Alauddin Khalji capture the Siwana fortress after a two-month siege. During the siege, Alauddin defiles the main water tank of Siwana (by a traitor) with cows' blood.

title: 1308

text: September – Edward Balliol crowns himself King of Scotland.

title: 1332

text: September–October – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 (between John VI Kantakouzenos and the regency for the infant John V Palaiologos) breaks out.

title: 1341

text: September – Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland are inherited by Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and remain part of the imperial crown domain until 1347.

title: 1345

text: September–October – Anglo-Gascon offensives overrun large parts of southwest France.

title: 1346

text: September – Hundred Years' War: The English win the city of Calais.

title: 1347

text: September – Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, and her second husband, Louis V, Duke of Bavaria, are absolved from excommunication.

title: 1359

text: September – Hundred Years' War: The French burn Portsmouth, England; the English raid Picardy and Normandy.

title: 1369

text: September – Joanna of Flanders, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1295)

title: 1374

text: September – John of Gaunt summons religious reformer John Wyclif to appear before the Royal Council.

title: 1376

text: late September – Battle of the North Inch ("Battle of the Thirty"): In a mass trial by combat on the North Inch of Perth, Scotland, the Clan Cameron defeat the Clan Mackintosh. Records refer to "warpipes" being carried into battle, perhaps predecessors of the Great Highland bagpipe.

title: 1396

text: September – Battle of Inverlochy: Donald Balloch defeats the Royalists in Scotland.

title: 1431

text: September – Abu 'Amr 'Uthman, Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya (b. 1419)

title: 1488

text: September – Lasse Huittinen, Finnish thief

title: 1488

text: September – At the battle of Vrpile Gulch in southern Croatia, the armies of the Ottoman Empire are defeated by those of the Kingdom of Croatia.

title: 1491

text: September – Vlad Călugărul, Wallachian half-brother of Vlad the Impaler

title: 1495

text: September – The dispute between Johann Reuchlin and Johannes Pfefferkorn concerning the Talmud and other Jewish books, is referred to Pope Leo X.

title: 1513

text: September – Vlad VI Înecatul, Prince of Wallachia

title: 1532

text: September – George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny (b. 1469)

title: 1535

text: September – Beatriz de la Cueva, Governor of Guatemala (b. 1510)

title: 1541

text: September–October – Landrecies in Picardy is besieged by forces under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but the siege is withdrawn on the approach of the French army.

title: 1543

text: c. September – Mobye Narapati succeeds as ruler of the Ava Kingdom and offers peace to the Taungoo dynasty, ending the Taungoo–Ava War (1538–45), and leaving the Taungoo as the dominant rulers in Burma.

title: 1545

text: September – Anglican bishops in England are arrested, and Roman Catholic bishops are restored.

title: 1553

text: September – Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell, Scottish traitor (b. 1512)

title: 1556

text: August 24 or September 1556 – Sophia Brahe, Danish astronomer, horticulturalist (d. 1643)

title: 1559

text: September – Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley, English landowner (d. 1643)

title: 1567

text: September – Anna Pehrsönernas moder, influential Swedish courtier (b. year unknown)

title: 1568

text: September – Arthur Lake, English bishop, a translator of the King James Bible (d. 1626)

title: 1569

text: September – A plot to assassinate John III of Sweden is discovered, headed by Charles de Mornay and implicating Charles Dancay, Hogenskild Bielke, Gustaf Banér, Pontus De la Gardie, Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, Princess Cecilia of Sweden, and Duke Charles.

title: 1574

text: September – Pierre Lescot, French architect (b. 1510)

title: 1578

text: September – Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly, French royal mistress and cultural patron (b. 1508)

title: 1580

text: September – Giovanni de Macque, Dutch composer (b. c. 1550)

title: 1614

text: September – Hans Lippershey, Dutch lensmaker (b. 1570)

title: 1619

text: September – John Spofford arrives in Boston Harbor, on the ship John of London, and is one of the first people to establish Rowely, Essex County, Massachusetts.

title: 1638

text: September – Christoph Besold, German jurist (b. 1577)

title: 1638

text: September – Shah Jahan becomes ill, allowing his son to take control of the Mughal Empire.

title: 1657

text: September – Robert Hooke's Micrographia is published in London, first applying the term 'cell' to plant tissue, which he discovered first in cork, then in living organisms, using a microscope.

title: 1665

text: September – A Russian army invades Swedish Estonia, and besieges the town of Narva.

title: 1700

text: September – In Tibet, forces of the Tibetan Dzungar Khanate destroys an advancing expedition of the Chinese Imperial Army, under the command of General Erentei, in the Battle of the Salween River.

title: 1718

text: September – Massive droughts in Bengal lead to the Bengal famine of 1770, in which ten million people, a third of the population, will die, the worst natural disaster in human history (in terms of lives lost).

title: 1769

text: September – The Massachusetts Banishment Act, providing punishment for Loyalists, is passed.

title: 1778

text: September – Macartney Embassy: George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, sails from Portsmouth in HMS Lion as the first official envoy from Great Britain to China.

title: 1792

text: September – Charles Brockden Brown publishes the first significant American novel, the Gothic fiction Wieland: or, The Transformation; an American Tale.

title: 1798

text: September – Nathan of Breslov leads the first annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz (pilgrimage) of Breslov Hasidim, to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine.

title: 1811

text: September – Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, German explorer (b. 1767)

title: 1811

text: September – Robert Southey becomes Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.

title: 1813

text: September – Sir Stamford Raffles sets out to visit Lord Hastings, Governor-General of India, to gain his approval to establish a trading station at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula (modern-day Singapore).

title: 1818

text: September – The Lady Margaret Boat Club is founded by 12 members of St John's College, Cambridge.

title: 1825

text: September – Wesleyan University is established in Ohio.

title: 1842

text: September – Ada Lovelace translates and expands Menabrea's notes on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, including an algorithm for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers, regarded as the world's first computer program.

title: 1843

text: September – The Second Carlist War (or the War of the Matiners or Madrugadores) begins in Spain.

title: 1846

text: September – The Panic of 1857 begins: Speculation in U.S. railroad shares, and the collapse on August 24 of the New York City branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, following widespread embezzlement, trigger a financial crisis which will extend to Europe.

title: 1857

text: September – Cochinchina Campaign: French warships, under Charles Rigault de Genouilly, attack and occupy Da Nang, Vietnam.

title: 1858

text: September – British merchant Thomas Blake Glover begins business in Nagasaki, Japan.

title: 1859

text: September – The Western Railroad from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the coal fields of Egypt, North Carolina, is completed.

title: 1863

text: September – The Great Tea Race of 1866 ends in London, narrowly won by the clipper ship Taeping.

title: 1866

text: September – Glorious Revolution: Queen Isabella II of Spain is effectively deposed and sent into exile; she formally abdicates on June 25, 1870.

title: 1868

text: September – English Association football team Birmingham City F.C. is founded as Small Heath Alliance in Birmingham by a group of cricketers from Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, playing its first match in November.

title: 1875

text: September – Henry George self-publishes his major work Progress and Poverty.

title: 1879

text: September – Women are first admitted to Yale University's graduate school.

title: 1892

text: September – Shelbourne F.C. is founded in Dublin, Ireland.

title: 1895

text: September – Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas opens as Southwest Texas Normal School.

title: 1903

text: September (unknown date) – Ioan Culcer, Romanian general and politician (b. 1853)

title: 1928

text: September – The European crisis over German demands for annexation of the Sudeten borderland of Czechoslovakia becomes increasingly severe.

title: 1938

text: September – The Dutch famine ("Hongerwinter") begins, in the occupied northern part of the Netherlands.

title: 1944


slug: septimania

label: Septimania

description: historical region in France

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Visigoths under king Theodoric II recapture Septimania (Southern Gaul) after the assassination of Majorian, and invade Hispania again.

title: 461

text: Battle of Vouillé: A Frankish army under command of Clovis I invades the Visigothic Kingdom, and defeats King Alaric II near Poitiers. The Visigoths refuse to be enslaved, and retreat to Septimania (Southern Gaul). Clovis annexes Aquitania, and captures Toulouse.

title: 507

text: King Theodoric the Great sends an Ostrogoth army, led by his sword-bearer Theudis, drives the Franks out of Provence, and recovers Septimania (Languedoc) from the Visigoths.

title: 508

text: King Childebert I receives pleas from his sister Clotilde, wife of King Amalaric, claiming that she is abused by her husband. Childebert invades Septimania (Gaul).

title: 531

text: King Reccared I renounces Arianism and adopts Catholicism. Many Visigothic nobles follow his example, but in Septimania (Southern Gaul) there are Arian uprisings.

title: 587

text: King Guntram sends an expedition into Septimania (Southern Gaul), in support of a rebellion by the Arian bishop Athaloc.

title: 589

text: King Chintila dies of natural causes after a 3-year reign, in which he permitted the bishops wide authority in Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He is succeeded by his son Tulga, who becomes ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 640

section: Religion & Belief

text: Wamba succeeds Recceswinth as king of the Visigoths. After ascending to the throne he faces a revolt from Hilderic, governor of Nîmes, who has himself aspired to the kingship. He is supported by Gumild, bishop of Maguelone. Wamba sends dux Paulus to Septimania (Southern France) to end the hostilities, but on his arrival at Narbonne, Paulus proclaims himself king.

title: 672

text: Roderick becomes king of the Visigoths, but the Visigothic nobles in Septimania rebel, and proclaim the previous ruler's son Akhila king. The Visigothic Kingdom is divided into two sub-kingdoms, suffering the first Muslim raid expedition against the southern Iberian Peninsula.

title: 710

text: Tariq ibn Ziyad conquers the cities of Barcelona and Narbonne, where Visigothic nobles accept Umayyad overlordship, in return for autonomy in Septimania (Southern France). Muslims also raid Avignon and Lyon (approximate date).

title: 714

text: In Septimania, local Visigothic nobles of the anti-Roderick party are offered peace terms similar to those of Prince Theodemir (see 713), and accept Muslim overlordship. Other Visigoths revolt and proclaim Ardo as king. Visigothic refugees gather in the Picos de Europa in the mountains of Asturias.

title: 714

text: A Muslim expedition under Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi cross the Pyrenees into Aquitanian territory, leading a small raiding party into Septimania (Southern France).

title: 717

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul (first major Muslim attack upon Visigothic Septimania, in southern France): Governor Al-Samh takes or re-takes Narbonne (Arbouna for the Arabs), before raiding the Toulouse area. Many town defenders and inhabitants are killed in the aftermath by the Umayyad forces.

title: 719

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Governor Al-Samh continues his campaign; he makes Narbonne the capital city of Muslim Septimania (Southern France), and uses it as a base for razzias. King Ardo is killed, and becomes the last ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania. Some Visigoths refuse to adopt the Muslim faith, and flee north to Aquitaine. This marks the end of the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 720

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Muslim forces under Anbasa ibn Suhaym al-Kalbi (governor of Al-Andalus) capture the fortified town of Carcassonne, which has been under siege (see 720), as well as Nîmes in Septimania (the latter without resistance).

title: 725

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Muslim raiders under Abdul Rahman al-Ghafiqi, current governor of Septimania, devastate Avignon, Viviers, Valence, Vienne and Lyon (approximate date).

title: 726

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Munuza, Moorish governor of Cerdagne (eastern Pyrenees), rebels against Umayyad authority. He is defeated and executed by Muslim forces under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi at Urgell (Catalonia). Muslim garrisons in Septimania raid the cities Millau and Arles.

title: 731

text: Muslim forces withdraw southwards to Septimania; a separate part probably pulls back along the road it originally came through, across the Pyrenees Mountains. Eudes of Aquitaine pursues the main Muslim army via La Marche, before returning to Bordeaux; Charles Martel withdraws to Frankish territory through Orléans and Auxerre, demoting those bishops whom he thought unreliable. Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri becomes the new governor (wali) of Al-Andalus; a separate Muslim force raids the Rhône region.

title: 732

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim forces under Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, governor (wali) of Al-Andalus, cross the Pyrenees and ravage both sides of the mountains. He establishes colonies along the Ebro Valley, and within Basque territory. The Moorish main military efforts are in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and Septimania (Southern France), strengthening the towns already in their hands.

title: 733

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, forms local alliances with the Burgundians, and imposes Frankish domination on Provence. He defeats Muslim forces at Sernhac and Beaucaire in Septimania (Southern France).

title: 736

text: Battle of Narbonne: Frankish forces under Charles Martel besiege Narbonne, occupied by a Umayyad garrison, but are unable to retake the fortress city. A Lombard army under King Liutprand crosses the Alps, to aid Charles in expelling the Muslims from Septimania. Meanwhile Maurontus, duke or count of Provence, raises a revolt from his unconquered city of Marseille, and threatens the rear of the Franks.

title: AD 737

text: King Pepin III ("the Short") begins a Frankish military expedition down the Rhône Valley, and receives the submission of eastern Septimania (i.e. Nîmes, Melguelh, Agde and Béziers), after securing Count Ansemund's allegiance.

title: 752

text: Frankish King Pepin III ("the Short") begins his expedition to Septimania and Aquitaine. He conquers the cities of Carcassonne, Toulouse, Rodez and Albi. Duke Waifer of Aquitaine confiscates the Church lands, and plunders Burgundy. Pepin invades Aquitanian-held Berry and the Auvergne, capturing the fortresses of Bourbon and Clermont. Waifer's Basque troops are defeated by the Franks, and deported into northern France with their children and wives.

title: 760

date: September 24

text: September 24 – King Pepin III (the Short) dies at Saint-Denis, Neustria. The Frankish Kingdom is divided between his two sons: Charlemagne and Carloman I. According to Salic law Charlemagne receives the outer parts of the kingdom bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia; while Carloman is awarded his uncle's former share, the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, Swabia, and the lands bordering Italy.

title: 768

section: Events › By place › Frankish Kingdom

text: Charlemagne creates the Hispanic Marches, a buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania. A group of Iberian lordships form a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 795

text: Viking raiders ascend the River Garonne as far as the city of Toulouse, and pillage the lands of Septimania. Part of the marauding Vikings invades Galicia (Northern Spain), where some perish in a storm at sea. After being defeated in Corunna, the Scandinavian raiders sack the Umayyad cities of Seville (see below), Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon.

title: 844

date: March 24

text: March 24 – Hungarian Magyar forces led by General Szalárd, capture Pavia, capital of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, at the request of the Holy Roman Emperor Berengar. Later, after crossing the Alps via the St. Bernard Pass, the Magyars pillage Provence, Septimania and Nismes in southern France).

title: 924

section: Events › January—March

text: Summer – The Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the fortress city of Lerida. They devastate Cerdanya and Huesca, and capture Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn al Tawil, Umayyad governor (wali) of the town of Barbastro. Lacking food stores and sufficient forage, the Hungarians retreat to the Gothic March.

title: 942


slug: septimius-severus

label: Septimius Severus

description: Roman emperor from 193 to 211

section: Births

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (d. 211)

title: AD 145

text: Septimius Severus marries Julia Domna (age 17), a Syrian princess, at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon). She is the youngest daughter of high-priest Julius Bassianus – a descendant of the Royal House of Emesa. Her elder sister is Julia Maesa.

title: AD 187

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: At the climax of his power, the freedman Marcus Aurelius Cleander appoints 25 men as Roman consuls. Amongst these is Lucius Septimius Severus, who later becomes emperor during the Year of the Five Emperors).

title: AD 190

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 14

text: April 14 – Lucius Septimius Severus is proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Carnuntum, in Pannonia Superior (Balkans). He marches with his army to Rome.

title: AD 193

text: Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 195

text: Emperor Septimius Severus attempts to assassinate Clodius Albinus but fails, causing Albinus to retaliate militarily.

title: AD 196

text: Emperor Septimius Severus captures and sacks Byzantium; the city is rebuilt and regains its previous prosperity.

title: AD 196

date: February 19

text: February 19 – Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town.

title: AD 197

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar.

title: AD 198

text: January 28 – Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus.

title: AD 198

text: Emperor Septimius Severus lays siege to the city-state Hatra in Central-Mesopotamia, but fails to capture the city despite breaching the walls.

title: AD 199

text: Emperor Septimius Severus visits the provinces of Syria, Palestine, and Arabia.

title: AD 200

section: Crime & Justice

text: The Severan Tondo, depicting Septimius Severus, Julia Domna and their children Geta and Caracalla, from Fayum, Egypt, is made. It is now kept at Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Antikensammlung.

title: AD 200

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Emperor Septimius Severus returns to Rome after a five-year absence. Festivals are held to celebrate his six-year reign. Severus undertakes changes in the imperial government, giving the Roman army a dominant role, raising pay in the legions and permitting legionaries to marry in order to secure their loyalty.

title: 202

text: Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilds Byzantium, and expands the southern frontier of Africa, with the metropolis Carthage re-fortified.

title: 203

section: Economy & Finance

text: A trade recession in the Leptis Magna region (Africa) is alleviated by Emperor Septimius Severus, who buys up the country's olive oil for free distribution in Rome.

title: 204

section: Events › By topic › Commerce

text: Emperor Septimius Severus goes to Britain, with his sons Caracalla and Geta.

title: 206

text: Emperor Septimius Severus leads an expedition (20,000 men) into Britannia, crosses Hadrian's Wall and moves through eastern Scotland. The Roman army pushes the Caledonians back to the River Tay and Severus signs a peace treaty. He repairs the Antonine Wall (his repairs are sometimes called the Severan Wall).

title: 208

text: Publius Septimius Geta receives the titles of Imperator and Augustus from his father, Emperor Septimius Severus.

title: 209

text: Having suffered heavy losses since invading Scotland in 208, Emperor Septimius Severus sends his son - Caracalla - to systematically wipe out and torture the Scots into submission.

title: 210

date: February 4

text: February 4 – Emperor Septimius Severus, having fallen ill, dies in Eboracum (modern-day York) while on campaign in Britain after an 18-year reign. He is later deified by the Senate. His sons Caracalla and Geta succeed him as joint Roman emperors.

title: 211

text: February 4 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)

title: 211

text: Roman jurist Papinian, one of the famous jurists who flourished during the reign of the late emperor Septimius Severus, refuses to write a legal defence for the murder of Caracalla's brother, Emperor Geta. He is beheaded in Rome, in Caracalla's presence.

title: 212

text: The basilica of Leptis Magna, ordered by Septimius Severus, is completed.

title: 216

text: Empress Julia, wife of Septimius Severus and mother of Caracalla and Geta, commits suicide.

title: 217

text: The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 43 percent under the reign of Elagabalus, down from 50 percent under Septimius Severus, as he empties the treasury.

title: 218


slug: serbia

label: Serbia

description: country in Southeast Europe

year_label: 279 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Scordisci Celts found a city called Singidon (Roman Singidunum) which is today the Serbian city of Belgrade.

title: 279 BC

section: Events › By place › The Balkans

section: Technology & Infrastructure

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

title: AD 104

text: September – Battle of Naissus: Emperor Gallienus, aided by Aurelian, defeats a Gothic coalition (50,000 warriors) near Naissus (Niš, modern Serbia).

title: 268

text: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (or Aurelian), the cavalry commander who distinguished himself in the previous year at the Battle of Naissus (Serbia), usurps power in Sirmium and marches against Quintillus in Aquileia. Quintillus commits suicide.

title: 270

text: Emperor Probus travels towards Sirmium (Serbia). He tries to employ his troops in peaceful projects, such as draining the swamps in Pannonia.

title: 282

text: Summer – Battle of the Margus: Emperor Diocletian defeats the forces of Carinus in the valley of the Margus (Serbia). Numerous soldiers desert Carinus during the battle. Carinus then flees to the Pannonian fort of Cornacum, but he is soon slain by his officers.

title: 285

text: December 25 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and joins forces with him. Vetranio is forced to abdicate his title, and Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.

title: 350

text: Gratian sets out from Lauriacum (Austria) with a body of light armed troops. His force is small enough to travel by boat down the Danube. He halts for four days at Sirmium (Serbia) suffering from fever.

title: 378

text: The Huns, on a military campaign along the Danube and the Great Morava, destroy the city of Naissus (modern Serbia). They have mastered siege technology and are able to capture fortified cities. The Roman Senate agrees to pay Attila a tribute of 700 pounds of gold per year.

title: AD 442

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Attila demands in the treaty the evacuation of the territory running from Singidunum (Belgrade, in Serbia) 300 mi km east along the Danube to Novae (Svishtov, in Bulgaria). This depopulated buffer zone deprives the Romans of their natural defensive advantages.

title: 448

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

text: The Ostrogoths sack Belgrade, on the Danube and Sava rivers (modern Serbia).

title: 504

text: A Byzantine army, under command of Baduarius, assists the Gepids in their war against the Lombards. The Byzantines win the first battle in the lower Danube (Moesia), but Gepid King Cunimund refuses to hand back the fortress city of Sirmium (modern Serbia), as he had promised.

title: 566

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Summer – Balkan Campaign: The Byzantine generals Priscus and Comentiolus join their forces at Singidunum (modern Belgrade), and move downstream to the fortress city of Viminacium (Serbia). The Byzantines cross the Danube River and invade Upper Moesia, where they defeat the Avars in open battle.

title: 599

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

title: 615

text: Presian I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 23-year reign in which the Bulgarians have expanded into Upper Macedonia and Serbia. He is succeeded by his son Boris I, as monarch of Bulgaria.

title: 852

text: Pribislav, prince (knyaz) of Serbia (approximate date)

title: 867

text: Byzantine–Hungarian War: Emperor John II Komnenos defeats the Hungarians and their Serbian allies at the fortress of Haram (or Chramon), which is modern-day Nova Palanka.

title: 1128

text: King Stefan Nemanja founds the Studenica Monastery in Serbia.

title: 1190

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Stefan Radoslav of Serbia (d. 1234)

title: 1192

date: July 28

text: July 28 – Battle of Velbazhd: The Bulgarians under Tsar Michael Shishman (who is mortally wounded) are beaten by the Serbs. Bulgaria does not lose any territory to Serbia, but is powerless to stop the Serbian advance towards the predominantly Bulgarian-populated Macedonia.

title: 1330

section: Events › January–December

text: Ljubostinja Monastery is built in Serbia.

title: 1388

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 10

text: February 10 – Helena Dragaš, a descendant of King Stefan III Dečanski of Serbia, marries the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, and is crowned the next day as the Empress Consort of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 1392

section: Events › January–March

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Battle of Ankara: An invading Timurid Empire force defeats the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, who is captured. A period of interregnum begins in the Ottoman Empire, with the future Mehmed I as one of the leading claimants to the throne. After Serbia is freed from Ottoman rule, Stefan Lazarević is crowned Despot of Serbia.

title: 1402

section: Events › July–September

date: June 27

text: June 27 – The siege of Novo Brdo in Serbia ends after eight months as Ottoman Empire troops, led by the Sultan Murad II and General Hadım Şehabeddin guarantee the safe evacuation of the surviving Ragusan defenders, accept the Serbian surrender.

title: 1441

section: Events › April–June

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Battle of Niš: John Hunyadi and the army of the Crusade of Varna defeat three armies of the Ottoman Empire, and capture the city of Niš in modern-day Serbia; Skanderbeg deserts the Ottoman camp and goes to Albania.

title: 1443

section: Events › October–December

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Đurađ Branković reclaims Serbia from Ottoman control after the signing of the peace of Szeged, and Wladyslaw of Hungary offers the throne of Bulgaria to John Hunyadi.

title: 1444

date: January 2

text: January 2 – The Battle of Kunovica is fought between the Christian crusaders, led by John Hunyadi, and the Muslim armies of the Ottoman Empire in what is now Serbia. After having retreated 10 days earlier following their loss in the Battle of Zlatitsa, Hunyadi and King Wladyslaw III of Hungary defeat the Ottoman forces and take several of their commanders as prisoners of war, including Mahmud Bey, son-in-law of the Sultan Murad II.

title: 1444

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Novo Brdo, the last defense of Serbia, falls to the Ottoman Turks after a siege of 40 days. All high ranking Serbian officials are executed and younger men and boys are taken captive to serve in the Ottoman Army, while 700 women and girls are taken as wives by Ottoman commanders.

title: 1455

date: February 20

text: February 20 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia

title: 1458

date: February 11

text: February 11 – George of Kratovo, a silversmith in Serbia, becomes a martyr to the Christian faith as he is burned to death on a pyre for refusing to convert to Islam.

title: 1515

text: September 24 – The Holy Roman Empire wins the Battle of Niš, fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Great Turkish War in modern-day Serbia.

title: 1689

date: August 19

text: August 19 – The Battle of Slankamen takes place between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire and allies at Syrmia (now the Serbian province of Vojvodina), and 25,000 Ottomans are killed, including Köprülüzade Fazıl Mustafa Pasha, the Grand Vizier.

title: 1691

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Russian Emperor Peter the Great authorizes an incentive for men of Serbia to join a new Russian Imperial Army unit, the Serbian Hussar Regiment. The Emperor sends Jovan Albanez to recruit new officers and troops with a grant of farmable land in Russia, and 1,070 take advantage of the offer over the next two years.

title: 1723

date: November 3

text: November 3 – Karađorđe Petrović, leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, founder of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty (d. 1817)

title: 1768

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Karađorđe Petrović, Serb leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, founder of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty (b. 1768)

title: 1817

section: Deaths › July–December

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – Battle of Komárom: Hungarian forces relieve the city and castle with the same name from a long Austrian siege. The Austrian imperial forces and their Croatian, Romanian and Serbian allies are chased out from Hungary, or near the borders of the country.

title: 1849

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Serbia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1876

section: Events › July

date: December 13

text: December 13 – Serbia restates its previous declaration of war against Turkey.

title: 1877

section: Events › December

text: July 13 – The Treaty of Berlin makes Serbia, Montenegro and Romania completely independent, confirms the autonomy of Bulgaria, makes Cyprus a British possession, and allows Austria-Hungary to garrison the Bosnia Vilayet.

title: 1878

text: November 14–28 – Serbo-Bulgarian War: Serbia declares war against Bulgaria, but is defeated in the Battle of Slivnitsa on November 17–19.

title: 1885

text: March 31 – Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

title: 1909

text: July 17 – The Republic of Mirdita is proclaimed near the Albanian-Serbian border, with Yugoslav support.

title: 1921

text: June 5 – Smederevo Fortress explosion: A Serbian ammunition depot explodes at Smederevo on the outskirts of Belgrade, Serbia, killing 2,500 and injuring over 4,500.

title: 1941

text: October 4 – The JSD Partizan sports club is founded in Belgrade, Serbia.

title: 1945

text: February 28 – Four United States F-16s shoot down four Serbian J-21s over Bosnia and Herzegovina for violation of the Operation Deny Flight and its no-fly zone.

title: 1994

text: February 26 – The International Court of Justice finds Serbia guilty of failing to prevent genocide in the Srebrenica massacre, but clears it of direct responsibility and complicity in the case.

title: 2007

text: February 17 – Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, to a mixed response from the international community.

title: 2008

text: July 21 – Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year-long manhunt.

title: 2008

text: May 20–24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".

title: 2008

text: December 22 – Serbia applied for membership to the European Union.

title: 2009

text: May 26 – Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladić, wanted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, is arrested in Serbia.

title: 2011

text: May 3 – A school shooting occurs in Belgrade, Serbia. A second mass murder occurs the next day near Mladenovac and Smederevo. These events leave 19 people dead, causing the government to increase regulations on gun ownership and mass anti-government protests to begin.

title: 2023


slug: serbian-despotate

label: Serbian Despotate

description: former country (1402-1459/1537)

section: Births

text: Stefan Lazarević, Despot of Serbia (d. 1427)

title: 1377

text: Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia (d. 1456)

title: 1377

section: Conflict & Security

text: July 20 – Battle of Ankara: An invading Timurid Empire force defeats the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, who is captured. A period of interregnum begins in the Ottoman Empire, with the future Mehmed I as one of the leading claimants to the throne. After Serbia is freed from Ottoman rule, Stefan Lazarević is crowned Despot of Serbia.

title: 1402

date: November 21

text: November 21 – Stefan Lazarević leads the Serbian Despotate to victory over the Ottoman Governor Durad Brankovic at the Battle of Tripolje.

title: 1402

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Stefan Lazarević establishes Belgrade, as the capital of the Serbian Despotate.

title: 1403

section: Science & Discovery

date: January 29

text: January 29 – The "Mining Code" (Zakon o Rudnishma) is enacted in Serbia by the Despot Stefan Lazarević to regulate the extraction of minerals.

title: 1412

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The Treaty of Sveti Srdj ends the Second Scutari War, waged between the Serbian Despotate and the Venetian Republic, over Scutari, and other former possessions of Zeta, captured by the Venetians.

title: 1423

date: April 22

text: April 22 – The Second Scutari War between the Republic of Venice and the Serbian Despotate is formally ended by the signing of a treaty at the then Serbian city of Vushtrri in what is now Albania.

title: 1426

section: Deaths

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Stefan Lazarević, ruler of the Serbian Despotate, dies at Belgrade and is succeeded by his nephew, Đurađ Branković.

title: 1427

text: July 19 – Stefan Lazarević, Despot of Serbia (b. 1377)

title: 1427

section: Religion & Belief

text: Jelena Balšić completes writing the Gorički zbornik manuscripts at her church of St. Mary, on the island of Beška in the Serbian Despotate.

title: 1442

date: September 16

text: September 16 – General Thomas Kantakouzenos of the Serbian Despotate recaptures Srebrenica and Višegrad from the Kingdom of Bosnia. led by King Stephen Thomas of Bosnia.

title: 1448

date: June 21

text: June 21 – In what is now the nation of Kosovo, the city of Prizren is captured from the Serbian Despotate by the Ottoman Turkish invaders.

title: 1455

text: Lazar Branković becomes despot of Serbia.

title: 1456

date: September 20

text: September 20 – Pavle Bakić, last Serb Despot and medieval Serb monarch

title: 1537


slug: serbs

label: Serbs

description: South-Slavic ethnic group and nation

text: Heraclius invites the Croats, a Slavic tribe living in Galicia, Silesia, and Bohemia, to settle in Illyricum. They are given the land between the Drava River and the Adriatic Sea for ridding of Avars. The Serbs are allowed to move from their homeland north of the Carpathians to a territory east of the Croats. Heraclius asks Pope Honorius I to send missionaries to both groups.

title: 626

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: The earliest known mention of the Serbs, in Einhard's Royal Frankish Annals.

title: 822

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: June 15

text: June 15 – At the Battle of Kosovo, The Ottoman Empire and the Serbs fight an inconclusive clash, with both sides suffering heavy losses. Both Sultan Murad I and Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic are killed in the battle.

title: 1389

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Battle of Trnava: The Hussites defeat the Hungarian-Moravian-Serbian army.

title: 1430

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Rákóczi's War of Independence: Battle of Zvolen (in modern-day Slovakia) – The Kurucs defeat the Austrians and their allies (Denmark, Hungary and the Serbs).

title: 1703

section: Culture & Society

text: Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich, regarded as the first Serbian and Bulgarian secular printed book, is printed in Vienna.

title: 1741

date: April 28

text: April 28 – World War II persecution of Serbs: Gudovac massacre – Members of the Croatian nationalist Ustashe movement kill around 190 Bjelovar Serbs in the village of Gudovac, in the Independent State of Croatia.

title: 1941

section: Events › April

date: August 29

text: August 29 – WWII: The Government of National Salvation, a Serb puppet state of the Axis powers, is established by General Milan Nedić in Nazi-occupied Serbia in Belgrade, under military commander Heinrich Danckelmann; the regime includes 15 Ministers.

title: 1941

section: Events › August

date: July 30

text: July 30 – WWII: Glina massacre of July–August 1941 – The Ustaše brutally kill 200 Serbs inside a Serbian Orthodox church in Glina, Croatia, with a total of 700–1,200 being killed in the area of the next few days.

title: 1941

date: April 5

text: April 5 – The Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (without the presence of Serb political delegates) proclaims independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

title: 1992

section: Crime & Justice

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Fourteen Kosovar Serb villagers are killed by ethnic Albanian gunmen in the village of Staro Gračko.

title: 1999


slug: sessho-and-kampaku

label: Sesshō and Kampaku

description: Wikimedia list article

text: Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Japanese regent (d. 872)

title: 804

text: Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (d. 891)

title: 836

text: Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes regent (sesshō) to assist the child emperor Seiwa, starting the Fujiwara regency.

title: 866

section: Events › Italy › Japan

text: Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Japanese regent (sesshō), dies at his native Kyoto, having ruled since 858. He is succeeded as head of the Fujiwara clan by his son Fujiwara no Mototsune.

title: 872

section: Events › By place › Japan

text: Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Japanese regent (b. 804)

title: 872

text: Emperor Seiwa abdicates the throne, in favor of his 7-year-old son Yōzei. Seiwa becomes a Buddhist priest; he appoints Fujiwara no Mototsune as regent (sesshō), who assists the child emperor.

title: 876

text: Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese statesman, creates the position of regent (kampaku) for himself. The Fujiwara clan will be able to dominate the government for more than 3 centuries.

title: 880

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Emperor Yōzei is forced to abdicate the throne by Fujiwara no Mototsune, chancellor (kampaku) of the Japanese royal court. He is succeeded by his great-uncle Kōkō.

title: 884

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Fujiwara no Tadahira, a politician and chancellor (kampaku), dies at his native Kyoto. Having governed Japan as regent under Emperor Suzaku since 930. The Fujiwara clan will continue to hold the regency until 1180, controlling the imperial government.

title: 949

text: Japanese Kampaku (Regent) Fujiwara no Yorimichi holds horse racing at his mansion; the emperor attends. [Unclear significance]

title: 1025

date: January 21

text: January 21 – Chifuru, daughter of powerful Japanese court official Fujiwara no Sanesuke (rival of Fujiwara no Michinaga) has her mogi ceremony. Sanesuke wants to make his daughter an imperial consort which causes the dislike of Empress Ishi (daughter of Michinaga) – eventually Kampaku (Regent) Fujiwara no Yorimichi prevents it. [Unclear significance]

title: 1025

section: Events


slug: seven-wonders-of-the-ancient-world

label: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

description: list of remarkable constructions of classical antiquity

year_label: 457 BCE

text: The Zeus Temple at Olympia is completed. The forty-foot statue of Zeus inside it becomes one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

title: 457 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 435 BCE

text: A gold and ivory statue of Zeus, king of the gods, is completed at Elis by the Athenian sculptor Phidias for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The statue becomes one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Olympian Zeus is about seven times life size (or 13 metres) and occupies the full height of the temple.

title: 435 BC

section: Events › By topic › Art

year_label: 356 BCE

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: July 21

text: July 21 (traditional date) – The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is burned down by a madman named Herostratus, destroying one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The great temple was built by Croesus, king of Lydia, in about 550 BC and was famous not only for its great size (110 metres by 55 metres), but also for the magnificent works of art that adorned it.

title: 356 BC

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

year_label: 354 BCE

text: The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Caria, the tomb of King Mausolus and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is built.

title: 354 BC

year_label: 350 BCE

text: The building of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum in Turkey) is completed (approximate date). It is the grave of the Persian satrap and Carian ruler Mausolos and is built under the direction of his wife Artemisia. The mausoleum, which is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is today partly preserved at the British Museum in London.

title: 350 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: The Colossus of Rhodes is completed by the sculptor Chares of Lindos after twelve years' work. A giant statue of the Greek god Helios, it is the last completed of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It stands 70 cubits tall (over 30 metres or 100 feet), making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.

title: 280 BC

text: Muawiyah leads a raid against Rhodes, taking the scattered pieces of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and shipping it back to Syria, where he destroys the bronze scrap to make coins.

title: 653

section: Climate & Environment

text: An earthquake badly damages the Lighthouse of Alexandria: one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

title: 956

section: Events › By place › Egypt

text: The majority of the Great Pyramid of Giza's limestone casing stones are removed by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Hasan, to build fortresses and mosques in the nearby city of Cairo, leaving the first of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in the step-stone condition in which it remains into modern times.

title: 1356

section: Events › Date unknown