slug: edward-the-black-prince

label: Edward the Black Prince

description: Prince of Wales (1330–1376)

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Philippa of Hainault marries King Edward III of England a year after his coronation. The marriage produces ten children, the eldest of whom is Edward the Black Prince.

title: 1328

section: Events

date: September 29

text: September 29 – Joan of Kent, princess of Wales, spouse of Edward the Black Prince (d. 1385)

title: 1328

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III of England (d. 1376)

title: 1330

date: March 16

text: March 16 – Edward the Black Prince establishes the Duchy of Cornwall, becoming the first English Duke.

title: 1337

date: October 5

text: October 5–December 2 – Hundred Years' War: Black Prince's chevauchée of 1355 – A large mounted Anglo-Gascon force under the command of Edward the Black Prince marches from Bordeaux in English-held Gascony 300 miles (480 km) south to Narbonne and back, devastating a wide swathe of French territory.

title: 1355

date: September 19

text: September 19 – Hundred Years' War – Battle of Poitiers: The English, commanded by Edward the Black Prince, defeat the French. The greatly outnumbered English forces not only rout the French, but capture the French king John II of France and his youngest son, the future Philip the Bold of Burgundy.

title: 1356

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Edward the Black Prince marries Joan of Kent at Windsor Castle.

title: 1361

date: April 3

text: April 3 – Battle of Nájera: Pedro of Castile is restored as King of Castile (in modern-day Spain) after defeating his half-brother, King Enrique the Fratricidal. Pedro is aided in the battle by the English under Edward the Black Prince, and Henry by the French.

title: 1367

date: February 28

text: February 28 – King Enrique II of Castile sends a letter of challenge to Edward, the Black Prince of England, who has already crossed the Pyrenees into Spain with 27,000 troops, daring him to help King Pedro to reclaim the Castilian throne, prompting Edward to organize an army and invade Spain.

title: 1367

date: May 2

text: May 2 – At Burgos in Spain, Edward the Black Prince of England attempts to get himself and his soldiers paid by King Pedro of Castile for their services at the battle of Najera, but receives instead a renewal of a bond to secure the debt owed.

title: 1367

date: October 17

text: October 17 – Lionel, Duke of Clarence, second only to Edward the Black Prince as heir to the throne of England, dies in Italy at the age of 29, less than five months after her May 28 marriage to Violante Visconti, daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti Lord of Milan. Lionel's death, suspected to have been from accidental food poisoning, ends any chance for an alliance between England and Milan.

title: 1368

date: January 25

text: January 25 – King Charles of France sends a summons to Edward the Black Prince, who is residing at Bordeaux, demanding that Edward appear before the King in Paris to answer for Edward's assessment of taxes on the people of Aquitaine. The Black Prince reportedly responds with the threat "We will willingly attend at Paris on the day appointed since the King of France sends for us, but it shall be with our helmet on our head and 60,000 men in our company".

title: 1369

text: September 19 – The Siege of Limoges takes place in the course of the Hundred Years' War as the English Army, led by Edward the Black Prince, retakes the of Limoges from the French by storm with wide destruction, effectively ending the Limoges enamel industry.

title: 1370

section: Health & Medicine

date: January

text: January – Edward the Black Prince, gives up the administration of Aquitaine and returns to England, because of his poor health and heavy debts.

title: 1371

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Edward the Black Prince, eldest son and heir apparent to England's King Edward III, presides over a council of bishops and nobles at Westminster on Whitsunday to review a demand by Pope Gregory XI for a subsidy from England to help the Papal States in the war against the Republic of Florence. In his letter, the Pope asserts his right as Lord Spiritual and refers to himself as "Lord of all". The English nobles conclude, and the bishops agree, that the Kingdom of England will not be subject to the Pope's authority.

title: 1374

date: June 7

text: June 7 – The day before his death, Prince Edward of Wales, heir to the English throne and known as "The Black Prince" summons his father, King Edward III, and brother, John of Gaunt, and makes them swear to uphold the claim to the throne of his son Richard. Edward is the first "English" Prince of Wales (as opposed to Welsh) not to become King of England.

title: 1376

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Edward the Black Prince, son of King Edward III of England (b. 1330)

title: 1376

date: April 23

text: April 23 – King Edward III of England formally confers knighthood upon two of his grandsons, both aged 10, Prince Richard of Woodstock (son of King Edward's deceased son Edward the Black Prince), and upon Henry Bolingbroke (son of John of Gaunt), as well as his 13-year-old illegitimate son John de Southeray, and 11-year-old John de Mowbray. Two months later, Prince Richard will become King Richard II upon Edward's death, and in 1399, Bolingbroke will overthrow Richard and becomes King Henry IV.

title: 1377

date: June 21

text: June 21 – After a reign of more than 50 years, King Edward III of England dies at Sheen Palace in Richmond at the age of 64. His 10-year-old grandson, Prince Richard of Woodstock, succeeds to the throne as King Richard II. Richard is the son of King Edward's oldest son, Edward the Black Prince, who had died a year earlier.

title: 1377

date: August 7

text: August 7 – Joan of Kent, Dowager Princess of Wales, widow of Edward the Black Prince (b. 1328)

title: 1385


slug: edward-the-confessor

label: Edward the Confessor

description: Anglo-Saxon King of England from 1042 to 1066

section: Births

text: Edward the Confessor, king of England (d. 1066)

title: 1003

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Summer – Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard (accompanied by his son Cnut) sail from Denmark to attack England. Again London defends itself and the Vikings move elsewhere, plundering Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. King Æthelred the Unready sends his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy. Æthelred retreats to the Isle of Wight and follows them later into exile.

title: 1013

section: Events › By place › England

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March

text: March – King Æthelred the Unready sends ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward to negotiate to reclaim of the throne at the invitation of the English nobles.

title: 1014

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 5

text: February 5 – Edward the Confessor's younger brother Alfred Aetheling is blinded and murdered, in an apparent attempt to seize the throne of England from Harold I.

title: 1036

text: King Harthacnut invites his half-brother Edward the Confessor to return to England from exile in Normandy as his heir as king of England, with the support of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.

title: 1041

section: Deaths

text: June 8 – King Harthacnut collapses and dies while attending a party. His half-brother Edward the Confessor becomes king of England.

title: 1042

section: Religion & Belief

text: April 3 – Edward the Confessor is crowned king of England at Winchester Cathedral. He learns that his mother, Queen Emma of Normandy is plotting with Magnus the Good to take control of the English throne. Edward strips her land and treasure, but she is allowed to stay in England.

title: 1043

date: January 23

text: January 23 – Edward the Confessor, King of England, marries Edith of Wessex (daughter of Earl Godwin) and she is crowned queen consort at Winchester. This year also in England, Edward begins construction of Westminster Abbey.

title: 1045

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Edward the Confessor goes to war against Flanders, blockading the English Channel with a fleet based at Sandwich, Kent.

title: 1048

text: King Edward the Confessor unites the English dioceses of Devon and Cornwall. He moves the see from Crediton to Exeter and gives the order to build a cathedral. Leofric becomes the first bishop of Exeter.

title: 1050

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Eustace II, count of Boulogne, visits England and is received with honour at the court by King Edward the Confessor. In Dover a fight breaks out between the Norman visitors and the locals, resulting in the deaths of several people. Edward blames the people of Dover and orders Godwin, earl of Wessex, to deal with them. Godwin refuses to obey Edward's order, and in response Edward raises an army and forces the Godwin family into exile.

title: 1051

text: Summer – Godwin, Earl of Wessex, sails with a large fleet up the Thames to London, forcing King Edward the Confessor to reinstate him into his previous position of power.

title: 1052

section: Culture & Society

date: April

text: April – Harold Godwinson succeeds his father Godwin as earl of Wessex. He invites the exiled Edward the Exile, son of Edmund II, to return in the hope that he can claim the English throne from King Edward the Confessor.

title: 1053

date: October 24

text: October 24 – Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia, is outlawed by the witan ("meeting of wise men"). In revenge he builds a force and allies himself with the Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. After defeating Ralph the Timid (a nephew of King Edward the Confessor), they attack Hereford and raid the church – taking everything of value, leaving the building on fire. The rebels also attack Leominster.

title: 1055

date: December 28

text: December 28 – Westminster Abbey is consecrated by King Edward the Confessor.

title: 1065

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Edward the Confessor dies after a 24-year reign at London. The Witenagemot (or Witan) proclaims Harold Godwinson king of England.

title: 1066

section: Events › Europe › England and Scotland

text: Henry I orders the tomb of Edward the Confessor be opened; the body of the former king is supposedly found undecayed. The Westminster monks start to claim Edward as a saint.

title: 1102

text: January 5 – Canonization of Edward the Confessor (d. 1066) in England.

title: 1161

date: June 17

text: June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), first son of King Henry III of England and Queen Eleanor of Provence, is born at the Palace of Westminster. Henry names him after Edward the Confessor and chooses Simon de Montfort as his godfather.

title: 1239

text: King Henry III starts the work of rebuilding Westminster Abbey, as a tribute to Edward the Confessor.

title: 1245


slug: edward-the-elder

label: Edward the Elder

description: king of the Anglo-Saxons (r. 899–924)

text: Edward the Elder, king of Wessex (approximate date)

title: 874

text: Spring – Prince Edward, the son of King Alfred the Great, defeats the Danish Viking raiders at Farnham, and forces them to take refuge on Thorney Island. At the same time, Danes from East Anglia sail around the Cornish coast, and besiege Exeter.

title: 893

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: King Alfred the Great makes his eldest son Edward the Elder co-ruler of Wessex in preparation for his accession to the English throne.

title: 898

date: October 26

text: October 26 – King Alfred the Great dies after a 28-year reign in which he has forced invading Danish Vikings to withdraw, consolidated England around Wessex, divided parts of Mercia into shires, compiled the best laws of earlier kings, encouraged learning by bringing famous scholars to Wessex and made his own translations of Latin works. He is succeeded by his eldest son, Edward the Elder as king of Wessex.

title: 899

text: June 8 – Edward the Elder (son of Alfred the Great) is crowned king of England at Kingston upon Thames.

title: 900

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Fall – Æthelwold (a son of Æthelred I) rebels against his cousin, King Edward the Elder. He comes with a fleet to Essex, and encourages the Danish Vikings of East Anglia to rise up.

title: 901

date: December 13

text: December 13 – Battle of the Holme: The Anglo-Saxon army is defeated by the Danish Vikings under Æthelwold (a son of Æthelred I) at Holme. Æthelwold is killed, ending his revolt against King Edward the Elder.

title: 902

section: Events › By place › Britain And Ireland

text: Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia refortifies Chester against Viking attacks. King Edward the Elder founds Romsey Abbey (Hampshire).

title: 907

text: King Edward the Elder and his sister, Princess Æthelflæd of Mercia, raid Danish East Anglia and bring back the relics of St. Oswald in triumph. Æthelflæd translates them to the new minster in Gloucester, which is renamed St. Oswald's Priory in his honour.

title: 909

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Battle of Tettenhall: King Edward the Elder attacks the joint-Kings Eowils and Halfdan of Norse York. All three Viking monarchs are killed in battle (one chronicle mentions a third brother) and the Viking army is decisively defeated by allied forces of Mercia and Wessex. The co-Kings are succeeded by Ragnall ua Ímair.

title: 910

text: Lord Æthelred of Mercia dies. He is buried in St. Oswald's Priory at Gloucester and is succeeded by his wife, Princess Æthelflæd, as Lady of the Mercians. Her brother, King Edward the Elder, insists on taking control of London and Oxford.

title: AD 911

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

title: 913

text: Vikings devastate the Welsh coast and move up the Severn River. They capture Bishop Cyfeilliog of Ergyng, and he is ransomed by King Edward the Elder. The Vikings are defeated by levies from Hereford and Gloucester.

title: 914

text: Summer – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia cements an alliance with King Constantine II of Scotland against Norse York. She captures the fortress at Derby (belonging to the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw), while her brother, King Edward the Elder, takes Towcester. Æthelflæd's armies also ravage Brycheiniog (Wales) in revenge for killing the Mercian abbot Ecbryht (see 916).

title: 917

text: Summer – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia begins to intrigue with disaffected factions within the Norse Kingdom of York (also referred to as Jórvik). Mercian troops ravage the local countryside and peacefully overrun the fortress of Leicester (belonging to the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw), while her brother, King Edward the Elder, takes Stamford.

title: 918

text: Lady Ælfwynn of the Mercians is brought to the court of her uncle, King Edward the Elder, and deprived of her authority in Mercia. Edward formally annexes the kingdom, ending independent Mercian rule.

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Britain

text: High-Reeve Ealdred I, ruler of the former kingdom of Bernicia (Northumbria), and his brother Uhtred, submit to the overlordship of King Edward the Elder (approximate date).

title: 920

date: July 17

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

title: 924

section: Events › July—September

text: July 17 – Edward the Elder, king of Wessex

title: 924

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Prince Edwin, the youngest son of the late King Edward the Elder, is drowned en route to the West Frankish Kingdom and buried at Saint-Bertin.

title: 933

date: July 2

text: July 2 – King Henry I ("the Fowler") dies at his royal palace in Memleben, Thuringia, after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his 23-year-old son Otto I, who is married to Eadgyth, a daughter of the late King Edward the Elder. Otto is the first German king to be crowned in Charlemagne's former capital of Aachen.

title: 936

text: Eadgifu, wife of Edward the Elder (approximate date)

title: 968


slug: edward-vii

label: Edward VII

description: King of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910

section: Births

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (d. 1925)

title: 1844

section: Births › October–December

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII of the United Kingdom) marries Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra).

title: 1863

section: Events › March

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: May 22

text: May 22 – The Blackwall Tunnel, at this time the longest underwater road tunnel in the world, is opened for traffic beneath the River Thames in the East End of London by the Prince of Wales.

title: 1897

section: Events › May

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Edward VII opens his first parliament of the United Kingdom.

title: 1901

section: Events › February

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom dies at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She is 81 years old and, having ruled for nearly 64 years, will be the second longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, "Bertie", the longest-serving Prince of Wales to this time, succeeds his mother at the age of 59, reigning as King Edward VII, of the United Kingdom and in innovation the British Dominions and also becoming Emperor of India.

title: 1901

section: Events › January

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Edward VII institutes the Order of Merit, an order bestowed personally by the British monarch on up to 24 distinguished Empire recipients.

title: 1902

section: Events › June

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.

title: 1903

date: March 20

text: March 20 – The title Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is officially recognised by King Edward VII by a royal warrant.

title: 1905

date: May 6

text: May 6 – George V becomes King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland upon the death of his father, Edward VII.

title: 1910

date: November 20

text: November 20 – Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, consort of King Edward VII (b. 1844)

title: 1925

section: Deaths › November

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Louise, Princess Royal, British royal, eldest daughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)

title: 1931

section: Deaths › January


slug: edwin-of-northumbria

label: Edwin of Northumbria

description: King of Deira and Bernicia

text: Edwin of Northumbria, king of Deira and Bernicia (d. 633)

title: 585

section: Conflict & Security

text: Æthelfrith of Northumbria invades Deira and kills its king, Æthelric. Prince Edwin, son of the late king Ælla of Deira (possibly a nephew of Æthelric), flees to the court of King Iago of Gwynedd (northwest Wales).

title: 604

text: Battle of Chester: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria invades Gwynedd (northwest Wales), in order to route out his old enemy, Edwin of Deira. A united Brythonic force (Gwynedd, Powys, Pengwern and Dumnonian warriors) is defeated near Chester.

title: 613

section: Culture & Society

text: Edwin of Northumbria takes refuge in East Anglia; he marries Cwenburga, daughter of king Cearl of Mercia (according to the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum).

title: 615

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Rædwald installs Edwin as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming him as bretwalda. He takes power in his native Deira and in Bernicia. His reign marks the domination of Northumbria as leading Anglo-Saxon state of the British Isles.

title: 616

text: King Edwin of Northumbria invades and annexes the minor British kingdom of Elmet (approximate date).

title: 617

text: The Angles under King Edwin of Northumbria invade Rheged ("Old North") in Northern England, and expel King Llywarch Hen. He flees to Powys, and becomes a famous bard. Edwin's armies fight against Gododdin and Strathclyde.

title: 620

text: King Edwin of Northumbria marries Æthelburga of Kent. As a Christian, she brings her personal chaplain, Paulinus, and encourages her husband to convert to Christianity.

title: 625

text: King Edwin of Northumbria defeats the West Saxons under Cynegils, who has tried to thwart the growing strength of Edwin by having him assassinated. Edwin obliges Cynegils to acknowledge Northumbria's supremacy.

title: 626

section: Religion & Belief

date: April 12

text: April 12 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York, who previously saved his life.

title: 627

text: King Edwin of Northumbria refortifies the city walls of York, probably including the building of the so-called Anglian Tower (approximate date).

title: 631

section: Deaths

date: October 12

text: October 12 or 633 – Edwin of Northumbria, king of Deira and Bernicia

title: 632

text: October 12 – Battle of Hatfield Chase: King Edwin of Northumbria is defeated and killed by Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon of Gwynedd, at Hatfield Chase (South Yorkshire).

title: 633

text: October 12 or 632 – Edwin, king of Northumbria

title: 633

text: Oswiu succeeds his half-brother Oswald as king of Bernicia. He strengthens his position by marrying Eanflæd, daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria, then in exile in the Kingdom of Kent. This marriage takes place between 642 and 644.

title: 642


slug: egypt-in-the-middle-ages

label: Egypt in the Middle Ages

description: Egyptian civilization in the Middle Ages

section: Climate & Environment

text: Winter – Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik is recalled from Armenia to serve as governor of Egypt. He requires that government business be done in Arabic instead of Coptic. His tenure is marred by famine and corruption.

title: 704

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Egyptian military commander Abd al-Malik ibn Rifa'a al-Fahmi is appointed governor of Egypt for the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: 715

section: Events › By place › Egypt

text: Egyptian military commander Abd al-Malik ibn Rifa'a al-Fahmi is appointed for a second term as the governor of Egypt for the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: AD 727

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turkish general, is sent to Egypt as governor, by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tazz. He becomes the founder of the Tulunid Dynasty (until 905), and Egypt becomes an autonomous state for the first time since the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

title: 868

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Health & Medicine

text: In Egypt, the first hospital (bimaristan) is built in Cairo by the Abbasid governor, Ahmad ibn Tulun. Physician licensure becomes mandatory in the Abbasid Caliphate.

title: 872

date: May 10

text: May 10 – Ahmad ibn Tulun, founder of the Tulunid Dynasty, dies after a 15-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Khumarawayh, as ruler of Egypt and Syria.

title: 884

text: Battle of Tawahin: Muslim forces (4,000 men) of the Abbasid Caliphate, under Al-Mu'tadid, are defeated near Ramlah (modern Israel) by Khumarawayh, ruler of the Tulunid dynasty. This ends the Abbasid attempt to recover Syria from the Tulunids. A large part of the Abbasid army is captured, and transported to Egypt. Khumarawayh aims for reconciliation with the caliphal government, and allows the soldiers who want to return to modern-day Iraq to depart without ransom, while offering the rest the opportunity to settle in Egypt.

title: 885

text: Winter – Shayban ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun succeeds his nephew Harun ibn Khumarawayh as emir of the Tulunid dynasty, who is killed in a mutiny during the invasion of Egypt by the Abbasid Caliphate.

title: 904

text: Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh, an Abbasid military officer, is appointed governor of the provinces of Damascus and Jordan. He is sent to confront a pro-Tulunid rebellion in Egypt under Egyptian general Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khalanji. The latter manages to capture Fustat and proclaims the restoration of the Tulunids, while the local Abbasid commander withdraws to Alexandria.

title: 905

text: Summer – Caliph Al-Muktafi sends an Abbasid army (10,000 men) led by Muhammad ibn Sulayman to re-establish control over Syria and Egypt. The campaign is supported from the sea by a fleet from the frontier districts of Cilicia under Damian of Tarsus. He leads his ships up the Nile River, raids the coast, and intercepts the supplies for the Tulunids.

title: 905

text: Gabriel I becomes Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria (Egypt).

title: 910

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Hubasa takes Barqah (modern-day Benghazi), the ancient capital of Cyrenaica. The Abbasid governor withdraws to Egypt, before the superior strength of the Fatimids. With this rich, fertile province fallen into his hands, it provides Hubāsa with 24,000 gold dinars in annual revenues from taxes, as well as 15,000 dinars paid by Christians.

title: 914

date: April 5

text: April 5 – The Fatimid Caliphate of Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia) launch the second Fatimid invasion of Egypt (919–921) in an attempt to seize Egypt from its Abbasid rulers. The expedition fails and the Fatimids will be forced to retreat.

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Africa

date: March 16

text: March 16 – Takin al-Khazari, Abbasid governor of Egypt

title: 933

text: Summer – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid is appointed governor and becomes the ruler of Egypt and parts of Syria (or the Levant). He launches a campaign against his rival Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh by land and sea: the naval forces take Tinnis and ibn Kayghalagh is forced to retreat. Ibn Tughj enters Fustat, making it his capital, and founds the Ikhshidid dynasty, marking Egypt's independence as an autonomous state.

title: 935

text: Spring – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, ruler of Egypt and Syria, defeats the Fatimid forces near Alexandria. He drives them out of the city, forcing the Fatimids to retreat from Egypt to their base at Cyrenaica.

title: 936

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, ruler of Egypt (b. 882)

title: 946

text: Abu al-Misk Kafur, Ikhshidid vizier of Egypt (b. 905)

title: 968

text: February 6–July 9 – Fatimid conquest of Egypt: Caliph Al-Mu'izz's army under General Jawhar invades Egypt. Jawhar occupies the lands around the Nile from the Ikhshidids after a siege at Giza and the capitulation of Fustat.

title: 969

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

title: 971

section: Events › By place › Middle East

text: Caliph Al-Mu'izz transfers the royal residence of the Fatimid Caliphate from El-Mansuriya (modern Tunisia) to the newly founded city of Cairo in Egypt. Egypt becomes the autonomous centre of the Fatimid Caliphate. He leaves general Buluggin ibn Ziri to govern the Western North African territories, which will become the province of Al-Maghreb (meaning the West).

title: 973

text: The Qarmatians are defeated north of Cairo by Fatimid forces under General Jawhar al-Siqilli. He consolidates Fatimid rule and sends a legation to the Christian land of Nubia to secure the southern border of Egypt. Arab traders introduce Islam to the population, which gradually supplants Christianity.

title: 974

date: December 21

text: December 21 – Caliph Al-Mu'izz dies in Egypt after a 22-year reign in which he has extended his realm from Sicily to the Atlantic. He is succeeded by his son Al-Aziz Billah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.

title: 975

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

title: 979

text: Fall – Fatimid troops under the defecting Hamdanid governor of Homs, Bakjur, attack Aleppo (modern Syria), but are repulsed through the intervention of the Byzantine army. Bardas Phokas (the Younger) sacks the city, while Bakjur flees to Fatimid territory in Egypt.

title: 983

text: Egyptian military commander Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 993

text: Egyptian politician Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 994

text: Summer – Revolt of Tyre: The city of Tyre (modern Lebanon) is stormed by forces of the Fatimid Caliphate. A Byzantine squadron attempts to reinforce but is repulsed by the Fatimid navy. The defenders are massacred or taken captive to Egypt. The Byzantine captives are executed.

title: 998

text: Egyptian military commander Abu'l-Ala Fahd ibn Ibrahim appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: AD 999

date: June 20

text: June 20 – al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah, Fatimid caliph of Egypt (d. 1036)

title: 1005

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Egyptian military commander Zar'ah ibn Isa ibn Nasturus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1010

text: Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), an Arab scientist working in Egypt, feigns madness for fear of angering Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and is kept under house arrest. During this time he begins writing his influential Book of Optics.

title: 1011

text: Egyptian military commander Sa'id ibn Isa ibn Nasturus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1018

text: Egyptian military commander Abu Sa'd Mansur ibn Zunbur known as al-sayyid, al-afḍal appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1066

section: Events › Africa

text: Egyptian official Abu'l-Ala Abd al-Ghani ibn Nasr ibn Sa'id al-Dayf appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1073

text: Spring – Badr al-Jamali becomes Chief Wazir (Grand Vizier) and effectively military dictator of the Fatimid Caliphate under Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah in Egypt.

title: 1074

text: Summer – Crusaders under King Baldwin I of Jerusalem undertake an expedition to Egypt and march as far as Akaba on the Red Sea. After the local inhabitants flee from the town, Baldwin constructs castles in Akaba and on a nearby island. He leaves a garrison in both fortresses. The three Crusader strongholds – Montréal, Eilat, and Graye – secure the control of the caravan routes between Syria and Egypt.

title: 1116

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: The Crusaders led by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem raid Pelusium in Egypt and burn the city to the ground. Baldwin marches back to Palestine and strengthens the fortifications of the southern frontier.

title: 1117

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Battle of Yibneh: A Crusader army led by Eustace Grenier defeats the Fatimid forces (16,000 men) near Ibelin. Despite the numerical superiority, Vizier Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi is forced to withdraw to Egypt while his camp is plundered by the Crusaders. Eustace returns to Jerusalem in triumph, but later dies on June 15.

title: 1123

section: Events › By date › April–June

text: Egyptian military commander Ridwan ibn Walakhshi appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1137

text: Saladin (the Lion), sultan of Egypt and Syria (d. 1193)

title: 1137

title: 1138

text: Summer – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, re-captures most of Crusader territory in the Orontes Valley – reducing the Principality of Antioch to little more than a narrow coastal strip along the Mediterranean. The County of Tripoli remains unchanged and Jerusalem remains a potential threat with ambitions to expand eastward, while also striving to dominate the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.

title: 1152

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Siege of Ascalon: King Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, the last Fatimid fortress in Palestine. The citizens are allowed to leave in peace and return to Egypt.

title: 1153

text: Egyptian military commander Shawar appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1162

text: Egyptian military commander Shawar appointed Vizier of Egypt for a second term.

title: 1163

text: March 18 – Battle of Al-Babein: A second Zangid army (some 12,000 men) under General Shirkuh and his nephew Saladin marches towards Egypt, but is met by the combined Crusader-Fatimid forces led by King Amalric of Jerusalem. After skirmishing down the Nile, the Crusaders are defeated near Giza and forced to retreat to Cairo.

title: 1167

text: Summer – King Amalric I of Jerusalem and Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos negotiate an alliance against Fatimid-Egypt. Archbishop William of Tyre is among the ambassadors sent to Constantinople to finalize the treaty.

title: 1168

text: Late Summer – Emperor Manuel I Komnenos sends an embassy to Egypt to demand tribute, and threatens the country with war when they refuse to pay it. The Byzantine fleet under Admiral Andronikos Kontostephanos sets out from the Hellespont; 60 war galleys are sent to Palestine with money for "the knights of Jerusalem". Andronikos with the rest of the fleet sails to Cyprus, at which he defeats a patrolling squadron of 6 Fatimid ships.

title: 1169

text: Winter – Egyptian forces, led by Saladin, invade the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and besiege Darum on the Mediterranean coast. Its defenses are weak, and though Saladin has no siege engines with him, the fall seems imminent. King Amalric I withdraws his Templar garrison from Gaza, to assist him in defending Darum. Saladin raises the siege and marches on Gaza, where he captures the lower town (despite the stiff resistance ordered by Lord Miles of Plancy), and massacres the inhabitants. However, the citadel is too strong for Saladin, and he is forced to retreat to Egypt.

title: 1170

text: September 13 – Caliph Al-Adid dies of natural causes (or poisoning) after a 11-year reign. Saladin overthrows the Fatimid Caliphate, and takes over as governor (atabeg) of Egypt – ruling in the name of Emir Nur al-Din.

title: 1171

text: Summer – Emir Nur al-Din begins a two year war against the Danishmendids. He creates a buffer zone between the Syrian realm and Egypt. Meanwhile, he releases Count Raymond of Tripoli for the sum of 80,000 dinars.

title: 1172

text: Summer – Saladin leads an expeditionary army against the Bedouin tribes in Oultrejordain to secure a route between Egypt and Syria. He raids the region at Kerak Castle.

title: 1173

text: Al-Adil I, Ayyubid governor of Egypt, suppresses a revolt by the Christian Copts in the city of Qift, hanging nearly 3,000 of them on the trees near the city.

title: 1176

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

title: 1184

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

title: 1187

text: March 4 – Saladin (the Lion), sultan of Egypt and Syria (b. 1137)

title: 1193

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

title: 1198

text: November 29 – Al-Aziz Uthman, sultan of Egypt (b. 1171)

title: 1198

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

title: 1200

text: May 20 – An earthquake shakes the Levant from Egypt to northern Iraq, causing severe damage in Palestine, Lebanon and western Syria, including the fortifications of the Crusader cities of Acre, Jaffa and Tyre.

title: 1202

text: May 24 – A Crusader expeditionary force, (some 30,000 men) under King John I of Jerusalem, embarks at Acre (supported by Frisian ships), and sails for Egypt. They arrive at the harbour of Damietta, on the right bank of the Nile, on May 27. Sultan Al-Adil, surprised by the invasion, recruits an army in Syria, while his son Al-Kamil marches an Egyptian force northwards from Cairo, and encamps at Al-Adiliya, a few miles south of Damietta.

title: 1218

text: April 7 – Al-Muzaffar II, Ayyubid ruler of Hama, arrives Egypt with Syrian reinforcements, leading multiple attacks on the Crusader camp at Al-Adiliya, with little impact. In the meantime, new Crusader forces bring badly needed supplies. Egyptian attacks continue through May, with Crusader counter-attacks utilizing a Lombard device known as a carroccio, confounding the defenders.

title: 1219

text: July – The Crusaders, led by the Knights Hospitaller, raid Burlus, located in the Nile Delta in Egypt. The town is pillaged, but the knights are ambushed on their return, and several Hospitallers, including Grand Master Guérin de Montaigu, are captured. Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Kamil sends an Egyptian squadron down the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It sails to Cyprus, where it finds a Crusader fleet lying off Limassol. During the attack, they sink and capture all the ships, taking many thousands of prisoners.

title: 1220

text: Baibars, Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria (d. 1277)

title: 1223

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

title: 1227

text: August 27 – Al-Ashraf becomes dangerously ill and dies after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother As-Salih Ismail – who defends Damascus against his elder brother Al-Kamil, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt. In October, Ismail has the suburbs burnt to prevent the Egyptian forces from shelter.

title: 1237

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

title: 1238

text: September 1 – Barons' Crusade: A Crusader force (some 1,500 knights) under King Theobald I of Navarre arrives at Acre. At a council of local barons – most prominently Walter IV of Brienne, Odo of Montbéliard, Balian of Beirut, John of Arsuf, and Balian of Sidon – plans are made to prepare an expedition against the Ayyubids in Egypt. Later, Theobald is joined by some Crusaders from Cyprus.

title: 1239

text: Summer – As-Salih Ayyub becomes ruler of Egypt, after deposing his half-brother Al-Adil II. Meanwhile, other members of the Ayyubid Dynasty are conspiring to depose him and replace him with his uncle, As-Salih Ismail. During his reign, As-Salih begins buying large numbers of Kipchak slaves, to form an elite core in the Egyptian army, known as Mamluks.

title: 1240

text: The Egyptian fleet (some 20 galleys) confronts the Crusader ships led by Baldwin of Ibelin at Ascalon. But before contact is made, it is caught in a sudden Mediterranean storm. Many of the Muslim ships are driven ashore and wrecked; the survivors sail back to Egypt.

title: 1247

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

title: 1248

text: September 17 – Louis IX arrives at Limassol on the island of Cyprus. He gathers his forces and is well received by King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat"). The Crusaders are supplemented by nobles from Acre, including Grand Masters Jean de Ronay and Guillaume de Sonnac. Louis prepares a plan of campaign, with Egypt as the prime objective.

title: 1248

text: May 13 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") assembles a Crusader fleet of 120 transports and embarks an army (some 15,000 men) at Limassol. Unfortunately, a storm scatters the ships a few days later. On May 30, Louis sets sail to Egypt – only a quarter of his forces sails with him, the others make their way independently to the Egyptian coast. Finally, the royal squadron arrives off Damietta on June 4 aboard Louis' flagship the Montjoie. The king's advisers urges a delay until the rest of his transports arrive before attempting to disembark, but Louis refuses.

title: 1249

text: November 22 – As-Salih Ayyub, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt (b. 1205)

title: 1249

text: July 22 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the first vizier in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.

title: 1250

text: March 11 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the last vizier in the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.

title: 1250

text: May 2 – Al-Muazzam Turanshah, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt

title: 1250

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

title: 1253

text: Egyptian judge Ibn bint al-A'azz appointed Vizier of Egypt for a second term.

title: 1257

text: April 10 – Izz al-Din Aybak, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is murdered on orders of his wife, Shajar al-Durr. He is succeeded by his 14-year-old son, Nur al-Din Ali, as ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate (until 1259).

title: 1257

text: February 8 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt for the third term that will last until April 1278.

title: 1261

text: June 13 – Al-Mustansir II becomes the first Abbasid ruler in Cairo (after his escape during the Siege of Baghdad). He is sent with an army by Sultan Baibars to recover Baghdad, but is killed in a Mongol ambush near Anbar (modern Iraq), on November 28. The Abbasid caliphs continue as religious figureheads for the Mamluks in Egypt until the 16th century.

title: 1261

text: Al-Hakim I, a member of the Abbasid dynasty, travels to Egypt and is proclaimed as caliph of Cairo in succession to his former rival Al-Mustansir II. After his arrival, he is imprisoned at the Citadel of Cairo by orders of Sultan Baibars but released in 1296 by Sultan Lajin.

title: 1262

text: Badr al-Din Solamish, Mamluk ruler of Egypt (d. 1291)

title: 1272

text: May 22 – King Hugh III of Cyprus ("the Great") signs a peace with Sultan Baibars, Mamluk ruler of Egypt, at Caesarea. The Kingdom of Jerusalem is guaranteed for 10 years the possession of its present lands, which consists mainly of the narrow coastal plain from Acre to Sidon, together with the right to use without hindrance the pilgrim-road to Nazareth. The County of Tripoli is safeguarded by the peace treaty.

title: 1272

text: Battle of Dongola: Mamluk forces led by Sultan Baibars gain a decisive victory against the Kingdom of Makuria. They capture the Makurian capital of Dongola and force King David of Makuria to flee upstream on the Nile. He seeks refuge in the Kingdom of Al-Abwab, but is handed over to Baibars, who has him executed. Later, Baibars conquers Al-Maris (Lower Nubia), previously a part of Makuria, and annexes it into Egypt.

title: 1276

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

title: 1279

text: June – Qalawun ("the Victorious"), Mamluk ruler of Egypt, signs a peace treaty for 10 years with the Crusader States at Caesarea. It guarantees the Crusaders the possession of the territory from the Ladder of Tyre, north of Acre, to Mount Carmel and Atlit. But Tyre and Beirut are excluded. The right of free pilgrimage to Nazareth is permitted for the Christians.

title: 1283

text: March 23 – Al-Mustakfi I, Mamluk ruler (caliph) of Egypt (d. 1340)

title: 1285

text: July–August – Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria, having escaped from Tripoli, starts a naval campaign against Mamluk shipping and raids Tinnis in Egypt. In response, Qalawun closes Alexandria to Genoese merchants.

title: 1289

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

title: 1299

text: August 8 – 1303 Crete earthquake: An earthquake destroys the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt, one of the Seven wonders of the World.

title: 1303

text: April 8 – Fakhr al-Din al-Qibti is appointed Emir of Egypt.

title: 1317

text: Al-Mansur Abu Bakr, Mamluk ruler of Egypt and Syria (d. 1341)

title: 1321

text: June 21 – Egyptian prince Saad al-Din bin Ghurab becomes the Amir al-umara of Egypt.

title: 1399

text: July 7 – Battle of Khirokitia: King Janus of Cyprus is defeated by Egyptian troops under Ibn bint al-Aqsarayi and captured by the Mamluks and brought to Egypt, where he is ransomed after ten months.

title: 1426


slug: egypt-roman-province

label: Egypt (Roman province)

year_label: 30 BCE

date: August 10

text: August 10 or 12 – With the death of Cleopatra, probably by suicide, in Alexandria and the probable murder soon afterwards of her son and nominal co-ruler Caesarion, the Ptolemaic dynasty, the last of Ancient Egypt, comes to an end. The first year of Octavian's reign in Egypt.

title: 30 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 23 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Nubians, led by queen Kandake Amanirenas, take the initiative against the Roman Empire, and attack the Roman province of Egypt moving towards Elephantine.

title: 23 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 70 CE

text: Panic strikes Rome as adverse winds delay grain shipments from Africa and Egypt, producing a bread shortage. Ships laden with wheat from North Africa sail 300 miles to Rome's port of Ostia in 3 days, and the 1,000 mile voyage from Alexandria averages 13 days. The vessels often carry 1,000 tons each to provide the city with the 8,000 tons per week it normally consumes.

title: AD 70

section: Economy & Finance

text: Roman agriculture declines, as imports from Egypt and North Africa depress wheat prices, making it unprofitable to farm, and forcing many farmers off the land.

title: AD 128

text: Bar Kokhba Revolt: Sextus Julius Severus, Roman governor of Britain, is sent to Judea (in 136 renamed Syria Palaestina) to quell the revolt. Jewish rebels, led by Simon bar Kokhba and Eleazar, cut off the vital supply lines and Roman garrisons in Palestine. Despite Roman reinforcements from Syria and Egypt, they establish an independent state in Judea.

title: AD 133

text: Queen Zenobia conquers Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, parts of Mesopotamia and Anatolia and Egypt, giving her control of Rome's grain supply. The library at Alexandria is partly burned during a raid by Zabdas, general of Zenobia.

title: 269

section: Events › By place › Near East

text: Emperor Aurelian launches a two-pronged invasion of the Palmyrene Empire, sending his commander Marcus Aurelius Probus to restore Roman rule in Egypt while he marches into Asia Minor.

title: 272

text: The Tetrarchs are probably made in Egypt. After 330 they are moved to Constantinople and in 1204 they are installed at the corner of the facade of the St Mark's Basilica, Venice (approximate date).

title: 300

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

text: The earliest extant books – a school textbook and an account book – with bound wooden leaves, are lost at the Dakhla Oasis in western Egypt. The desert sands preserve them for modern archaeologists.

title: 375

section: Events › By topic › Education

text: Nicetas, cousin of future emperor Heraclius, launches an overland invasion in Egypt. He defeats a Byzantine army under Bonus (comes Orientis) outside Alexandria, sent from Constantinople.

title: 609

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


slug: egypt

label: Egypt

description: country in Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia

section: Deaths

text: 1786 BC: Egypt: Queen Sobekneferu dies. End of Twelfth Dynasty, start of Thirteenth Dynasty, start of Fourteenth Dynasty.

title: 18th century BC

section: Events

text: 1545 BC—Ahmose I, Pharaoh and founder of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, dies, according to the High Chronology.

title: 1540s BC

section: Significant people

text: 1522 BC—Jacob migrates to Egypt, settling in the Land of Goshen, according to the Hebrew calendar.

title: 1520s BC

text: c. 1500 BC: Queen Hatsheput in Egypt (18th Dynasty).

title: 1500s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

section: Science & Discovery

text: c. 1500 BC: The element Mercury has been discovered in Egyptian tombs dating from this decade.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

section: Culture & Society

text: 1398 BC—Birth of Tiy to Egyptian nobleman Yuya and his wife Tjuyu. She later becomes the Chief Queen of Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt and the matriarch of the Amarna family (approximate date).

title: 1390s BC

section: Births

text: c. 1341 BC - Tutankhamun, Pharaoh of Egypt

title: 1340s BC

section: Religion & Belief

text: 1338 BC: Queen Tiy of Egypt, Chief Queen of Amenhotep III and matriarch of the Amarna family, vanishes from the historical record. Presumed death.

title: 1330s BC

text: 1337 BC: Queen Nefertiti of Egypt vanishes from the historical record. Presumed death.

title: 1330s BC

text: 1334 BC: Death of Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt. Alternative date is 1333 BC

title: 1330s BC

text: 1334 BC: Death of Smenkhkare, Pharaoh of Egypt and co-ruler with Akhenaten. Alternative date is 1333 BC

title: 1330s BC

text: 1323 BC – Death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun of Egypt. Ay succeeds him as pharaoh.

title: 1320s BC

text: 1263 BC—The approximate date traditionally offered for the biblical Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.

title: 1260s BC

text: 1153 BC—Death of pharaoh Ramesses III of Egypt

title: 1150s BC

year_label: 674 BCE

text: Esarhaddon puts down a revolt in Ascalon supported by Taharqa, king of Kush and Egypt. In response, the Assyrians invade Egypt, but Taharqa is able to hold them off.

title: 674 BC

year_label: 669 BCE

text: Esarhaddon dies in Harran while on his way to recover Egypt from the Kushites.

title: 669 BC

year_label: 656 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Psamtik I extends his control over all Egypt. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty, and subsequent Nubian period, end in Ancient Egypt.

title: 656 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 610 BCE

text: Naucratis, a city in Egypt, is founded, eventually becoming one of the more prominent cities of that nation.

title: 610 BC

year_label: 605 BCE

text: Battle of Carchemish: Crown Prince Nebuchadnezzar defeats the allied armies of Egypt and former Assyria, securing the Babylonian conquest of Assyria (approximate date).

title: 605 BC

year_label: 570 BCE

text: Amasis II drives Apries from the throne of Egypt.

title: 570 BC

year_label: 510 BCE

text: Aryandes, Persian satrap of Egypt (executed by the Persian king Darius I)

title: 510 BC

year_label: 502 BCE

date: December 4

text: December 4—A solar eclipse darkens Egypt (computed, no clear historical record of observation).

title: 502 BC

section: Events › By place › Mediterranean

year_label: 464 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Egypt seizes the opportunity created by the murder of Xerxes I to revolt against Persia. The revolt is led by Inaros, a Libyan, who gains control of the Delta region and is aided by the Athenians.

title: 464 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 455 BCE

text: The Athenians suffer a severe defeat in Egypt at the hands of the Persians. After being cut off in the Nile Delta, the Athenian fleet is defeated, and the Athenian army retreats across the Sinai Desert to Byblos before its remnants are rescued. The Egyptian rebel Inaros is crucified by the Persians. The Athenians decide against any further military activity in Egypt.

title: 455 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 454 BCE

text: Persian rule in Egypt is finally restored by Megabyzus, satrap of Syria, after a prolonged struggle which has included dealing with a military intervention by Athens. The leader of the revolt, Inaros II, is crucified by the Persians.

title: 454 BC

year_label: 450 BCE

text: Athenian general Cimon sails to Cyprus with two hundred triremes of the Delian League. From there, he sends sixty ships to Egypt to help the Egyptians under Amyrtaeus, who are fighting the Persians in the Nile Delta. Cimon uses the remaining ships to aid an uprising of the Cypriot Greek city-states against Persian control of the island. He lays siege to the Persian stronghold of Citium on the southern west coast of Cyprus. However, the siege fails and Cyprus remains under Phoenician (and Persian) control.

title: 450 BC

year_label: 449 BCE

text: The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after Callias II, the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptian rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.

title: 449 BC

year_label: 404 BCE

text: Amyrtaeus of Sais successfully leads a revolt against the Persian Empire's control of the Egyptian delta. He becomes the first (and only) pharaoh of the Twenty-eighth Dynasty.

title: 404 BC

year_label: 399 BCE

text: King Amyrtaeus of Egypt is defeated in battle by his successor, Nepherites I of Mendes, and executed at Memphis. King Nepherites I, or Nefaarud I, founds the Twenty-ninth dynasty of Egypt. He makes Mendes his capital.

title: 399 BC

year_label: 393 BCE

text: Nepherites I or Nefaarud I, Pharaoh of Egypt

title: 393 BC

text: Upon the death of King Nepherites I, two rival factions fight for the throne; one backing Muthis, son of Nepherites I, and the other supporting Psammuthes. Psammuthes is successful, but he only manages to reign as King of Egypt for part of the year.

title: 393 BC

year_label: 391 BCE

text: Evagoras of Salamis and the Persians battle each other for control of Cyprus. Aided by the Athenians and the Egyptians, Evagoras extends his rule over the greater part of Cyprus and to several cities of Anatolia.

title: 391 BC

year_label: 390 BCE

text: The Pharaoh of Egypt, Hakor (Akoris), concludes a tripartite alliance with Evagoras, king of Cyprus, and Athens.

title: 390 BC

year_label: 388 BCE

text: Plato, having left Athens on Socrates' death to visit Megara and possibly Egypt, travels to Syracuse at the invitation of Dionysius I's brother-in-law Dion.

title: 388 BC

section: Events › By topic › Art

year_label: 386 BCE

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

title: 386 BC

year_label: 380 BCE

text: Persia forces the Athenians to withdraw their general Chabrias from Egypt. Chabrias has been successfully supporting the Egyptian Pharaohs in maintaining their independence from the Persian Empire.

title: 380 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian empire

text: The Egyptian Pharaoh Hakor dies and is succeeded by his son Nepherites II, but the latter is overthrown by Nectanebo I within the year, ending the Twenty-ninth dynasty of Egypt. Nectanabo (or more properly Nekhtnebef) becomes the first Pharaoh of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt.

title: 380 BC

text: The Persian King Artaxerxes II launches an invasion of Egypt to bring that country back under Persian rule. The invasion is led by Pharnabazus. After initial successes, the Greek mercenaries fighting for the Persians push on towards Memphis. However, King Nectanebo I is able to gather his forces and repulse the Persian invasion.

title: 373 BC

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

title: 363 BC

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

title: 362 BC

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

title: 361 BC

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

title: 360 BC

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

title: 360 BC

text: Encouraged by a failed effort at invasion of Egypt by King Artaxerxes III, Phoenicia and Cyprus revolt against Persia.

title: 351 BC

text: The King of Persia, Artaxerxes III, personally leads the Persian forces invading Egypt. The Persians are keen to access Egypt's gold and corn supplies. The town of Pelusium in the Nile Delta puts up resistance, but Pharaoh Nectanebo II is forced to retreat to Memphis. As the situation deteriorates, Nectanebo II leaves for exile in Nubia. His departure marks the end of the 30th Dynasty, the last native house to rule Egypt.

title: 343 BC

text: Berenice II, queen and co-regent of Egypt (or 266 BC)

title: 267 BC

text: Berenice II, queen and co-regent of Egypt (or 267 BC)

title: 266 BC

text: Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ankhwennefer succeeds Horwennefer in Upper Egypt, Egypt.

title: 199 BC

text: Berenice III, reigning Queen of Egypt (d. 80 BC)

title: 120 BC

text: 92 BC Levant earthquake, earthquake mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. An earthquake and a tsunami reportedly affected areas of the Levant, including the modern states of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Syria.

title: 92 BC

text: October – Antony abandons the siege of Phraaspa (near Maragheh, Iran). He retreats, loses many men to disease and starvation in the subsequent retreat to Egypt, and marries Cleopatra VII while still married to Octavia.

title: 36 BC

text: Revolt of Thebes suppressed in Egypt.

title: 29 BC

text: Northern statue of the Colossi of Memnon is shattered by an earthquake in Egypt (according to Strabo).

title: 27 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic/Empire

text: Galatia becomes a Roman province after the death of its king. The Roman troops stationed there are relocated to Egypt.

title: 25 BC

text: Christianity comes to Egypt as a church is founded in Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist founds the Church of Alexandria as the first Patriarch (traditional date).

title: 40s

text: Two centurions are sent to the south of Egypt to find the source of the Nile, and possible new provinces. They report that while there are many cities in the desert, the area seems too poor to be worthy of conquest.

title: 50s

text: Expedition by the Roman Septimius Flaccus to southern Egypt. He probably reaches Sudan.

title: AD 70

text: Hadrian begins his inspection of the provinces of Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.

title: AD 128

text: Legio X Fretensis must evacuate Jerusalem, returning to Caesarea. The Jews enter the city, and re-establish their system of sacrifices. They strike coins to celebrate their independence, which will last for only 30 months. Legio XXII Deiotariana, which advanced from Egypt, is completely destroyed.

title: AD 132

text: Avidius Cassius, governor of Syria, suppresses an agrarian revolt in Egypt and is made supreme commander of the Roman army in the East.

title: AD 172

text: The Bucolic War broke out in Egypt. The Egyptians, led by Isidorus, fought against the Roman Empire under Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 172

text: Egypt (under Roman rule) is impoverished due to an inflation rate of 100% during the previous decade.

title: AD 190

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

text: An epidemic begins in Ethiopia, moves into Egypt and the Roman colonies in North Africa, and spreads through the Roman Empire (named the Plague of Cyprian, after St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage).

title: 250

text: Anthony the Great, a Christian saint from Egypt, regarded as "Father of All Monks", enters the wilderness to become ascetic.

title: 270

text: The Upper Egypt revolts of (292–293) outbreak in Egypt, centralized in the city of Thebes, primarily involving other Egyptian cities such as Busiris and Coptos. A precursor to the much larger national Egyptian rebellion that followed a few years later.

title: 292

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

title: 377

text: The annexation of western provinces by Chandragupta II gives him commerce with Europe and Egypt.

title: 380

text: An edict of Theodosius I closes pagan temples in the Nile Valley (Egypt).

title: 384

text: The Roman synod exiles the prophet Jerome, who has incorporated ideas first propounded by the Roman statesman Cicero. He departs for Egypt, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, accompanied by the Christian ascetic Paula, who will edit Jerome's translation of the Bible, which becomes the Latin Vulgate.

title: 385

text: Theodosius I brings an obelisk from Egypt to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

title: 390

text: The last known hieroglyphic inscription, known as the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, is written in Philae, Egypt.

title: 394

text: The Monastery of St. Shenouda the Archimandrite (White Monastery) near Sohag (Egypt) is built.

title: AD 442

text: Last known usage of Demotic script in Egypt.

title: 452

text: The Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt) splits from the Chalcedonian Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

title: 460

text: Emperor Zeno promulgates an Edict of Union (Henotikon), in an unsuccessful effort to soften the decision made at the Council of Chalcedon (451), and resolve differences between the Eastern and Western Churches. Zeno wishes to placate the Monophysite churches of Egypt, Palestine and Syria for political reasons.

title: 482

text: Justinian I outlaws pagan religious practices in Egypt, and dispatches Byzantine missionaries to southern territories (approximate date).

title: 527

text: February 23 – Emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. He chooses Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles as architects. The material for the construction is brought from all over the empire, such as large stones from quarries in Porphyry, Egypt. More than 10,000 people are employed.

title: 532

text: Plague of Justinian: Bubonic plague appears suddenly in the Egyptian port of Pelusium, spreading to Alexandria and, the following year, to Constantinople. This is the beginning of a 200-year-long pandemic that will devastate Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

title: 541

text: Plague of Justinian: Bubonic plague, spread from Egypt, kills at least 230,000 in Constantinople (modern Istanbul; before counting stops), and perhaps two million or more in the rest of the empire. Emperor Justinian I contracts the disease but recovers.

title: 542

text: c. 549–564 – Transfiguration of Christ, mosaic in the apse, Church of the Virgin, Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt, is made.

title: 549

text: The Temple of Dendur, dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis, Harpocrates (Horus) and Osiris, is converted for use as a Christian church (approximate date).

title: 577

text: The city of Fustat (later Cairo) is founded in Egypt. It becomes the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule.

title: 641

text: Battle of Dongola: 'Amr ibn al-'As sends an Arab expedition of 20,000 horsemen, under his cousin Uqba ibn Nafi, to Makuria (Southern Egypt). The Nubians strike hard against the Muslims near Dongola with hit-and-run attacks. The Arab incursions into Nubia are temporarily halted.

title: 642

text: Battle of Nikiou: The Rashidun army (15,000 men) under Amr ibn al-'As defeats a smaller Byzantine force, near the fortified town of Nikiou (Egypt).

title: 646

text: Uthman ibn Affan establishes a treaty (the Baqt) between the Christian Nubians and the Muslims in Egypt, that lasts for six centuries, including the tribute of 400 slaves annually.

title: 652

text: Arab-Byzantine Wars: Umayyad Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd Al-Malik begins the preparations for his campaign on Constantinople; he orders new ships be built in the port-cities in Palestine, Egypt & Ifriqiya. General Umar ibn Hubayra raids southern Anatolia by sea and conquers Lycia, where another Arab fleet joins him, and they spend winter. As the navy advances, Sulayman sends land armies into Anatolia, which settle at Caesarea.

title: 716

text: In Egypt, resentment of the Copts against Umayyad taxation (called jizya) leads to a revolt (approximate date).

title: 725

text: Egypt: Christians invade from the south, with the aim of protecting the patriarch of Alexandria (approximate date).

title: AD 737

text: The Great Berber Revolt: Muslim forces under Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, governor of Egypt, break out of besieged Kairouan (Tunisia). He scatters the Berbers, the western and central Maghreb remained under the control of the Berber Kharijites.

title: 742

text: Arab–Byzantine Wars – Battle of Keramaia: The Byzantine navy scores a crushing victory over the Umayyad Egyptian fleet.

title: 746

text: An earthquake strikes the Middle East from northern Egypt to northwestern Mesopotamia, destroying many remnants of Byzantine culture (approximate date).

title: 748

text: January 25 – Battle of the Zab: Abbasid forces under Abdallah ibn Ali defeat the Umayyads near the Great Zab River. Members of the Umayyad house are hunted down and killed. Defeated by his rivals, Caliph Marwan II flees westward to Egypt, perhaps attempting to reach Al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula), where there are still significant Umayyad armies.

title: 750

text: Caliph al-Mansur orders the closing of the Canal of the Pharaohs (Egypt). The only remaining land routes to transship camel caravans' goods are from Alexandria to ports on the Red Sea, or the northern Byzantine termini of the Silk Road.

title: 770

text: Arab–Byzantine wars: Caliph Harun al-Rashid leads a huge military expedition, assembling men from Syria, Palestine, Persia, and Egypt. The invasion army (reportedly 135,000 men) departs from Raqqa, residence of Harun, and enters Cappadocia through the Cilician Gates, sacking several Byzantine fortresses and cities. Heraclea is captured after a month-long siege (August/September). The city is plundered and razed; its inhabitants are enslaved and deported to the Abbasid Caliphate.

title: 806

text: A Coptic revolt breaks out in Egypt (approximate date).

title: 828

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

title: 837

text: May 22 – A Byzantine fleet (85 ships and 5,000 men) sacks and destroys the port city of Damietta, located on the Nile Delta in Egypt. A large quantity of weapons and supplies intended for the Emirate of Crete are captured.

title: 853

text: The Zanj Rebellion: Abbasid general Al-Muwaffaq brings in Egyptian forces, to help him in his two-year siege of the Zanj capital Mukhtara. He captures the city, and crushes the revolt that has devastated Chaldea (modern Iraq) since 869.

title: 883

text: Georgios I, ruler of Makuria (Egypt)

title: 920

text: Construction is completed on Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt (the world's oldest Islamic university).

title: 970

text: Construction of the Al-Hakim Mosque by orders of the Fatimid vizier Gawar Al-Siqilli begins in Cairo (modern Egypt).

title: 990

text: October 14 – Caliph Al-Aziz Billah dies at Bilbeis in Egypt after a 21-year reign in which he has expanded his Shiite caliphate at the expense of the Byzantines, using Turkish mercenaries (Mamelukes). He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate (until 1021).

title: 996

text: April 30 – The brightest supernova ever recorded, SN 1006, occurs in the constellation of Lupus. It is observed and described in China, Japan, Iraq, Egypt, and Europe and possibly depicted in North American rock art. Modern astronomers now consider its distance at about 7,200 light-years. The supernova provides enough light to read by on a night with a dark moon.

title: 1006

text: January 16 – (21 Shawwal 413 AH) The Grand Vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt is executed only nine months after succeeding Khatir-al-Mulk.

title: 1023

text: Pope Christodolos ends his reign as leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (modern Egypt).

title: 1077

text: August 12 – Battle of Ascalon: The Crusader army (some 10,000 men) decisively defeats the Fatimids who are sent to relieve Jerusalem. Vizier Al-Afdal is forced to retreat to Egypt.

title: 1099

text: Baldwin I marches out against Sidon, with the support of a squadron of sailor-adventurers from various Italian cities. A Fatimid fleet from Egypt defeats the Italians in a sea-battle outside the harbour.

title: 1108

text: Count Hugh II (du Puiset), in alliance with the Egyptian city of Ascalon, revolts against King Fulk V of Jerusalem, attempting to take Jaffa. Hugh submits to Fulk and is exiled for three years. While awaiting for a boat to Italy he is attacked by a Breton knight, but survives the attempted murder. Hugh retires to the Sicilian court of his cousin, King Roger II, who appoints him to the lordship of Gargano, where he dies soon afterwards.

title: 1134

text: Spring – Saladin accompanies his uncle, General Shirkuh, with an army sent to the Fatimid Caliphate (modern Egypt) by Nur al-Din, ruler (atabeg) of Syria.

title: 1164

text: The Abbasid Caliph, Al-Nasir, takes military action against the Ayyubid Sultan, Al-Aziz Uthman, who controls Egypt and Syria. The Caliph mobilizes his forces and marches into Mesopotamia, directly challenging Ayyubid authority in the region of Iraq.

title: 1195

text: April 8 – Battle of Fariskur: Louis IX (the Saint) is captured by Baibars' Egyptian Mamluk army while he is in Egypt conducting the Seventh Crusade; he later has to ransom himself.

title: 1250

text: July 21 – Aybak becomes ruler of Egypt, beginning the Bahri Dynasty of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. After 5 days he stands down and the six-year-old Al-Ashraf Musa is nominally proclaimed sultan.

title: 1250

text: April – The first Shepherds' Crusade, a domestic French uprising in response to events in Egypt during the Seventh Crusade, occurs.

title: 1251

text: October 24 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.

title: 1260

text: October 24 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt

title: 1260

text: The Mamluk Sultanate Bahri dynasty of Egypt captures several cities and towns from Crusader states in the Middle East, including the cities of Haifa, Arsuf, and Caesarea Maritima; these events eventually precipitate the Eighth Crusade in 1267.

title: 1265

section: Events › By place › North Africa and Asia

text: June 18 – Battle of al-Jassora: Syria attempts to secede from the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, but Al Mansur Qalawun defeats the rebels and keeps Syria within the Egyptian sultanate.

title: 1280

text: December – Mamluk sultan of Egypt Khalil is assassinated by his regent Baydara, who briefly claims the sultanate, before being assassinated himself by a rival political faction.

title: 1293

text: July 1 – Al-Nasir Muhammad, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, asks for aid from the Ikhanate Mongol ruler of Iran, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, for help in modern-day southern Turkey. Al-Nasir has started a campaign against the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, led by King Oshin, and Pope John XXII has recently dispatched troops to aid the Armenians. By the time the Ikhanate troops arrive, a ceasefire has been negotiated between the Muslims and the Christians.

title: 1322

text: The Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan is completed in Cairo, Egypt.

title: 1363

text: October – Alexandrian Crusade: The city of Alexandria in Egypt is sacked by an allied force of Peter I of Cyprus and the knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

title: 1365

text: July 9 – Lusignan of Cyprus leads the Cypriots in an unsuccessful attack on Alexandria in Egypt, then retreats, attacks Sidon again on July 19 and then is force by the weather to return to Cyprus, landing back at Famagusta on July 22.

title: 1369

text: April 14 – The Mamluks from Egypt complete their conquest of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. King Levon V is imprisoned for several years in Cairo, until a ransom is paid by King John I of Castile.

title: 1375

text: May 21 – Al-Salih Hajji succeeds his older brother, Al-Mansur Ali II as the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. The Egyptian government continues to be controlled by rebel leader Barquq.

title: 1381

text: Hadji II is restored as Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, after overthrowing Sultan Barquq.

title: 1389

text: Barquq is restored as Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, after overthrowing Sultan Hadji II.

title: 1390

text: January 22 – Abū al-Faḍl Al-Musta'in becomes the new Abbasid caliph of Cairo, spiritual leader of the Muslim faith in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, succeeding his father, Al-Mutawakkil I.

title: 1406

text: June 15 – In Egypt, the Sultan Sayf al-Din Inal confronts a revolt of 500 of his ethnic Circassian slave-troops (mamluks) after rejecting the soldiers' requests for camels to accompany them on an expedition against Bedouin invaders in the Nile Delta. After attempting to assassinate the Sultan's secretary, Yunus al-Aqba'i, the rebels join discontented Zahiri troops and besieged the Cairo Citadel. Facing a withdrawal of support from the Egyptian Caliph, the Sultan eventually meets the rebels' demands.

title: 1455

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

title: 1482

text: May – The Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491) between the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian Mamluks ends.

title: 1491

text: January 22 – Battle of Ridaniya: The Ottoman army of sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluk army in Egypt, commanded by king Tuman Bay II.

title: 1517

text: The remnants of The Abbasid Caliphate (stationed in Egypt under the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) hands over the title of caliph to the Ottoman Empire that had conquered Constantinople in 1453, 65 years earlier.

title: 1518

text: May 7 – The Malta plague epidemic begins when galleys from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany arrive on the island with 100 prisoners of war from Egypt, and 20 ill crewmembers; over the next 18 months, 3,000 people on Malta die of the bubonic plague.

title: 1592

text: January 12 – Abd el-Sayed of Egypt is enthroned, as Pope John XVII of Alexandria becomes the leader of the Coptic Christian Church, as the 105th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Holy See of St. Mark. He will serve until his death on April 20, 1745.

title: 1727

text: May 8 – In Egypt, Ottoman rebels revolt, killing Ali Bey, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.

title: 1773

text: March 1 – Citadel Massacre in Cairo: Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali kills the last Mamluk leaders.

title: 1811

text: November 22 – Frédéric Cailliaud discovers the old Mons Smaragdus emerald mines at Sikait, Egypt.

title: 1817

text: March 11 – The predecessor of Qasr El Eyni Hospital and Cairo University School of Medicine is established in Egypt under the direction of Antoine Clot as the first medical school in the region.

title: 1827

text: May 20 – Zarafa, the first giraffe to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, arrives in Marseille as a gift from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet Ali Pasha, to King Charles X of France. The giraffe then begins a 50-day journey to Paris, walking with its handlers toward Paris where it will arrive on July 9.

title: 1827

text: Scholar Rifa'a at-Tahtawi returns from study in Paris to Egypt, where he will participate in the Nahda.

title: 1831

text: December 21 – Battle of Konya: The Egyptians defeat the main Ottoman army in central Anatolia.

title: 1832

text: May 25 – The hippopotamus Obaysch arrives at London Zoo from Egypt, the first seen in Europe since Roman times.

title: 1850

text: July 13 – Mohamed Sa'id Pasha succeeds his nephew Abbas as the Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, then a province of the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1854

text: November 17 – In Egypt, the Suez Canal Company is formed.

title: 1854

text: July 7 – Following Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, the four conspirators condemned to death during the trial are hanged, including David Herold, George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell and Mary Surratt. Her son, John Surratt, escapes execution by fleeing to Canada, and ultimately to Egypt.

title: 1865

text: November 17 – In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony.

title: 1869

text: November 16 – Battle of Gundat: Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV defeats another Egyptian army.

title: 1875

text: November 26 – The Times newspaper in London reveals that Isma'il Pasha has sold Egypt's 44% share in the Suez Canal to Britain, in a deal secured by Benjamin Disraeli, without the prior sanction of the British Parliament.

title: 1875

text: September 7 – Battle of Agurdat: An Egyptian invasion of Ethiopia fails, when Emperor Yohannes IV defeats an army led by Werner Munzinger.

title: 1875

text: August 6 – The first issue of Arabic language newspaper Al-Ahram is published by Saleem and Beshara Takla in Alexandria, Muhammad Ali dynasty (modern-day Egypt).

title: 1876

text: July 11–13 – Anglo-Egyptian War: The British Mediterranean Fleet carries out the Bombardment of Alexandria, its forces capturing the city of Alexandria, Egypt, and securing the Suez Canal.

title: 1882

text: June 11 – The 'Urabi revolt breaks out in Egypt against Khedive Tewfik Pasha and European influence in that country.

title: 1882

text: September 13 – Anglo-Egyptian War: British troops occupy Cairo, and Egypt becomes a British protectorate.

title: 1882

text: August 3 – Mahdist War: Battle of Toski – Egyptian and British troops are victorious.

title: 1889

text: April 24 – Al Ahly SC is founded in Cairo by Omar Lotfi, as a gathering place for Egyptian students' unions in the struggle against colonization; it is the first association football club officially founded in Egypt or Africa.

title: 1907

text: June 28 – The Nakhla meteorite falls in the Abu Hummus region of Egypt, providing evidence of water on Mars.

title: 1911

text: Raid on Nekhl: Units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force completely reoccupy the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

title: 1917

text: June 26 – British Foreign Office official St John Philby and T. E. Lawrence arrive in Cairo for discussions about Arab unrest in Egypt, having been flown by Canadian pilot Harry Yates in a Handley Page bomber which set off from England on June 21.

title: 1919

text: March 8 – British authorities in Egypt arrest populist leader Saad Zaghloul, exiling him to Malta, triggering the Egyptian Revolution of 1919.

title: 1919

text: February 28 – The Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence by the United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt, and grants the country nominal independence, reserving control of military and diplomatic matters.

title: 1922

text: November 4 – Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun: in Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to the pharaonic tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings.

title: 1922

text: March 6 – The Egyptian Feminist Union (Arabic: الاتحاد النسائي المصري), the first nationwide feminist movement in Egypt, is founded at the home of activist Huda Sha'arawi.

title: 1923

text: December 9 – WWII: Operation Compass – British forces in North Africa begin their first major offensive, with an attack on Italian forces at Sidi Barrani, Egypt.

title: 1940

text: October 24 – The United Nations is founded by ratification of its Charter, by 29 nations including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Egypt, Brazil, Haiti, Luxembourg, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and others.

title: 1945

text: May 15 – 1948 Arab–Israeli War: The British Mandate of Palestine is officially terminated; expeditionary forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria and Iraq invade Israel and clash with Israeli forces after declaring war.

title: 1948

text: March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops from the Suez Canal zone.

title: 1950

text: December 6 – A state of emergency is declared in Egypt, due to increasing riots.

title: 1951

text: February 25 – Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes premier of Egypt.

title: 1954

text: November 14 – Egyptian president Muhammad Naguib is deposed, and Gamal Abdel Nasser replaces him.

title: 1954

text: January 16 – Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser vows to Liberate Palestine.

title: 1956

text: July 26 – Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.

title: 1956

text: June 23 – Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the 2nd president of Egypt, a post he holds until his death in 1970.

title: 1956

text: October 24 – The Protocol of Sèvres, a secret agreement between Israel, France and the United Kingdom, is signed, allowing the former to invade the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and occupy the Suez Canal with the support of the other two governments, giving rise to the Suez Crisis.

title: 1956

text: October 29 – Suez Crisis: Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and pushes Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.

title: 1956

text: October 31 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

title: 1956

text: April 9 – Egypt reopens the Suez Canal to all shipping.

title: 1957

text: January 20 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula (captured from Egypt on October 29, 1956).

title: 1957

text: March 8 – Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal.

title: 1957

text: February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite to form the United Arab Republic.

title: 1958

text: January 9 – Construction of the Aswan Dam begins in Egypt.

title: 1960

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

title: 1961

text: June 5 – Six-Day War begins: Israel launches Operation Focus, an attack on Egyptian Air Force airfields; the allied armies of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan invade Israel. Battle of Ammunition Hill, start of the Jordanian campaign

title: 1967

text: June 8 – Egypt severs diplomatic relations with the United States.

title: 1967

text: May 17 – President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt demands withdrawal of the peacekeeping UN Emergency Force in the Sinai. U.N. Secretary-General U Thant complies (May 18).

title: 1967

text: October 21 – An Egyptian surface-to-surface missile sinks the Israeli destroyer Eilat, killing 47 Israeli sailors. Israel retaliates by shelling Egyptian refineries along the Suez Canal.

title: 1967

text: July 21 – The Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.

title: 1970

text: October 6 – Yom Kippur War begins: The fourth and largest Arab–Israeli conflict begins, as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights on Yom Kippur.

title: 1973

text: November 19 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to make an official visit to Israel, when he meets with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, seeking a permanent peace settlement.

title: 1977

text: March 26 – In a ceremony at the White House, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel sign an Egypt–Israel peace treaty.

title: 1979

text: October 14 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat during a parade, by servicemen who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization led by Khalid Islambouli and oppose his negotiations with Israel.

title: 1981

text: December 1 – A peace agreement between Kenya and Somalia is signed in the Egyptian capital Cairo. With this agreement, in which Somalia officially renounces its historical territorial claims, relations between the two countries begin to improve.

title: 1984

text: November 23 – EgyptAir Flight 648 is hijacked by the Abu Nidal group and flown to Malta, where Egyptian commandos storm the plane; 60 are killed by gunfire and explosions.

title: 1985

text: August 10 – Egypt, Syria, and 10 other Arab states vote to send military forces to Saudi Arabia to discourage an invasion from Iraq.

title: 1990

text: March 1 – A fire at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, kills 16 people.

title: 1990

text: December 15 – The Egyptian ferry sinks in the Red Sea, killing more than 450 people.

title: 1991

text: January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.

title: 1992

text: November 20 – A car bomb explosion outside the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan destroys the façade of the building, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens more.

title: 1995

text: November 17 – In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people are killed by 6 Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut.

title: 1997

text: September 7 – Egypt holds its first ever multi-party presidential election, which is marred with allegations of fraud.

title: 2005

text: October 24 – The 2009 El Ayyat railway accident occurred in Giza, Egypt, when a passenger train derailed due to stoppage of animals on the train tracks. 50 people were killed and 30 people were injured.

title: 2009

text: June 30 – Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected 5th President of Egypt, the first elected democratically by the Egyptian people, sparking mixed reactions and protests throughout the country.

title: 2012

text: February 16 – The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group's beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians.

title: 2015

text: January 1 – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates become BRICS members.

title: 2024


slug: egyptians

label: Egyptians

description: Ethnic group native to Egypt

year_label: 656 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon forms a secret alliance with Arabs, Aramaeans, Elamites, Persians, and Egyptians against his half brother Ashurbanipal.

title: 656 BC

section: Events › By place › Assyria

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Sporadic riots in Egypt, continued rejection by Egyptians of foreign rule, and military conflicts with the Greeks.

title: 246 BC

year_label: 131 BCE

text: Capture of Thebes: Egyptian rebel Harsiesi seized Thebes in the summer of 131 BC, proclaimed pharaoh, for a short period of time.

title: 131 BC

year_label: 19 CE

text: Emperor Tiberius expels the Egyptians from Rome, and deports 4,000 Jews from Sicily.

title: 10s

section: Events › 19 AD › Roman Empire

text: The Bucolic War broke out in Egypt. The Egyptians, led by Isidorus, fought against the Roman Empire under Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 172

text: The edict of Emperor Caracalla (Constitutio Antoniniana) extends Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire, with the exception of a limited group that may include Egyptians. The Jewish people are among those who receive citizenship. All free women in the Empire are given the same rights as Roman women.

title: 212

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Upper Egypt revolts of (292–293) outbreak in Egypt, centralized in the city of Thebes, primarily involving other Egyptian cities such as Busiris and Coptos. A precursor to the much larger national Egyptian rebellion that followed a few years later.

title: 292

text: Egyptian rose in revolt against Roman occupation, armed clashes occur.

title: 363

text: The Egyptian people clash with Byzantine soldiers in Alexandria rejecting Proterius of Alexandria as the new Chalcedonian Patriarch. The Egyptian rebels besieged the imperial garrison in the ancient temple of Serapis, and burned them alive. The Byzantine military eventually suppressed the uprising with heavy reinforcements.

title: 451

text: Egyptian people rose in revolt and assassinate Proterius of Alexandria, and dragged his body through the streets of Alexandria and burned it. Timothy II Aelurus anti-Chalcedonian pope becomes elected by Egyptians.

title: 457

text: Egyptian military commander Abd al-Malik ibn Rifa'a al-Fahmi is appointed governor of Egypt for the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: 715

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Egyptians wage the Bashmurian revolts against the foreign Arab rulers. Egyptians establish a semi-independent region in the Nile Delta with Bashmur as the capital.

title: 720

text: Egyptian military commander Abd al-Malik ibn Rifa'a al-Fahmi is appointed for a second term as the governor of Egypt for the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: AD 727

text: The Bashmurian revolts continues in Egypt. A general revolt of the Delta takes place. The Egyptians joined with Arab settlers against the Abbasid government. Local officials were killed, and the governor Yazīd ibn Ḥātim sent a force against them, but it was defeated and forced to retreat to al-Fusṭāṭ.

title: AD 767

text: Egyptian military commander Abdel Wahid bin Yazid el-Iskandarani is appointed vizier of the Emirate of Córdoba in the Iberian Peninsula, rules until 851.

title: 836

text: Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh, an Abbasid military officer, is appointed governor of the provinces of Damascus and Jordan. He is sent to confront a pro-Tulunid rebellion in Egypt under Egyptian general Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khalanji. The latter manages to capture Fustat and proclaims the restoration of the Tulunids, while the local Abbasid commander withdraws to Alexandria.

title: 905

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Egyptian military commander Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 993

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Egyptian politician Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 994

text: Egyptian military commander Abu'l-Ala Fahd ibn Ibrahim appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: AD 999

text: Egyptian military commander Zar'ah ibn Isa ibn Nasturus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1010

text: Egyptian military commander Sa'id ibn Isa ibn Nasturus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1018

text: Egyptian military commander Abu Sa'd Mansur ibn Zunbur known as al-sayyid, al-afḍal appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1066

section: Events › Africa

text: Egyptian official Abu'l-Ala Abd al-Ghani ibn Nasr ibn Sa'id al-Dayf appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1073

text: Egyptian military commander Ridwan ibn Walakhshi appointed Vizier in Egypt.

title: 1137

text: Egyptian military commander Shawar appointed Vizier of Egypt.

title: 1162

text: Egyptian military commander Shawar appointed Vizier of Egypt for a second term.

title: 1163

section: Events

date: July 22

text: July 22 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the first vizier in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.

title: 1250

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the last vizier in the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.

title: 1250

text: Egyptian judge Ibn bint al-A'azz appointed Vizier of Egypt for a second term.

title: 1257

date: February 8

text: February 8 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt for the third term that will last until April 1278.

title: 1261

date: June

text: June – Egyptian Mamluk forces under Sultan Qalawun (the Victorious) captures Dongola after defeating the Kingdom of Makuria under the leadership of Egyptian general Izz al-Din al-Kawrani.

title: 1287

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: June 21

text: June 21 – Egyptian prince Saad al-Din bin Ghurab becomes the Amir al-umara of Egypt.

title: 1399

section: Events › April–June

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt under the leadership of Egyptian general Ibn bint al-Aqsarayi launch a series of military expeditions marking the start of the Mamluk campaigns against Cyprus (1424–1426).

title: 1424

text: May 10 – The Egyptians, aided by Maronites, seize Acre from the Ottoman Empire after a 7-month siege.

title: 1832


slug: eighteenth-dynasty-of-egypt

label: Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

text: c. 1550 BC—Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt starts (other date is 1552 BC).

title: 1550s BC

section: Events and trends

section: Deaths

text: 1545 BC—Ahmose I, Pharaoh and founder of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, dies, according to the High Chronology.

title: 1540s BC

section: Significant people

text: 1539 BC—End of Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt, start of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

title: 1530s BC

text: c. 1506 BC — Thutmose I (Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt) starts to rule. Alternatively, a date of c. 1504 BC is a possibility.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

text: c. 1500 BC: Queen Hatsheput in Egypt (18th Dynasty).

title: 1500s BC (decade)

section: Science & Discovery

text: c. 1448 BC: The Gnbtyw people (Genebtyw or Genebtyu) first appear in Ganibatum during the 32nd year of the reign of Thutmose III, the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

title: 1440s BC

section: Culture & Society

text: c. 1400 BC – 1350 BC – Garden of Nebamum (Pond in a Garden) wall painting from the tomb of Nebamum, Thebes. Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. It is now kept in The British Museum, London.

title: 1400s BC (decade)

text: c. 1352 BC – Amenhotep III (Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt) dies and is succeeded as Pharaoh by Amenhotep IV.

title: 1350s BC