slug: scotland

label: Scotland

description: country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

year_label: 77 CE

text: Gnaeus Julius Agricola is named governor of Britannia, a post he occupies until AD 84. He extends the Roman influence to the mouth of the River Clyde (Scotland), and builds fortifications.

title: AD 77

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 82 CE

text: Calgacus unites the Picts (30,000 men) in Scotland, and is made chieftain of the Caledonian Confederacy.

title: AD 82

year_label: 83 CE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Roman fort Inchtuthil is built in Scotland.

title: AD 83

section: Conflict & Security

text: Hadrian gives up the territories conquered in Scotland.

title: AD 122

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Antoninus Pius orders the construction of the Antonine Wall. The wall stretches 39 miles (63 km), from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde, to Carriden near Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth (Scotland). The Romans build 19 forts and smaller fortlets (milecastles), to protect the border against the Caledonians.

title: AD 142

text: The Antonine Wall in Scotland is abandoned by the Romans.

title: AD 164

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

title: 208

text: Septimius Severus makes plans to subdue the land to the north of Scotland, ravaging it severely. Road-building and forest-clearing, the Roman army reaches Aber; Scottish tribes begin guerrilla warfare.

title: 209

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

title: 210

text: Saint Ninian, missionary to Scotland (approximate date)

title: AD 360

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Emperor by officers of the Roman army at Nicaea in Bithynia. He addresses the soldiers (who threaten to riot) in a speech. He founds the Valentinianic dynasty and rules the Western portion of the Roman Empire, from Caledonia (Scotland) to the Rhine frontier, ensuring it a few years of relative security. He settles in Lutetia (Paris) and establishes a militia to defend the region.

title: 364

section: Deaths

text: Saint Ninian, missionary in Scotland (approximate date)

title: 432

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

title: 507

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

title: 532

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

title: 538

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

title: 558

text: Glappa succeeds his father Ida as king of Bernicia (North East England). During his rule, Anglian settlers expand their territory in what is now southeastern Scotland.

title: 559

text: Columba, Irish missionary monk, travels to Scotland with twelve companions. He lands on the Kintyre Peninsula, near Southend, and begins his evangelising mission to the Picts. On the island of Iona, he founds a monastery (Iona Abbey) on the west coast in the Inner Hebrides.

title: 563

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Columba, an Irish missionary, spots the Loch Ness Monster on the River Ness (in present day Scotland) and saves the life of a Pict (approximate date).

title: 565

text: Æthelric succeeds his brother Adda as king of Bernicia (modern Scotland). He rules from 568–572 (approximate date).

title: 568

text: Theodric succeeds his brother Æthelric as king of Bernicia (southeastern Scotland). He rules until 579.

title: 572

text: Áedán mac Gabráin becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland) (approximate Date).

title: 574

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

title: 575

text: Frithuwald succeeds his brother Theodoric as king of Bernicia (Scotland). He rules from 579–585 (approximate date).

title: 579

text: Theodric, king of Bernicia (Scotland)

title: 579

text: Columbanus, Irish missionary, gathers 12 companions for his journey to Britain, probably to the Scottish coast. After a short time, he crosses the English Channel and lands in Brittany (France).

title: 585

text: Æthelfrith of Northumbria succeeds Hussa as king of Bernicia (Scotland). His accession possibly involves dynastic rivalry and the exile of Hussa's relatives.

title: 593

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

title: 596

text: The Britons of Strathclyde (Scotland), Wales, and Cornwall are all separated by the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

title: 600

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

title: 608

text: King Rædwald of East Anglia conquers Northumbria (Northern England) at the Battle of the River Idle. King Æthelfrith is killed during the fighting and his children are forced to flee north. His heir, prince Eanfrith (age 26), seeks refuge with his mother's family, probably in Gododdin (modern Scotland), and moves further north into Pictland. Princes Oswald (age 12), Oswiu (age 4) and others escape to the court of King Eochaid Buide of Dál Riata, where they are converted to Christianity by the monks of Iona.

title: 616

text: King Oswald and his Northumbrian army besiege and conquer Edinburgh (Scotland). His half-brother, Oswiu of Bernicia, marries Princess Rhiainfelt, heiress of North Rheged ("Old North"). Northumbria embraces North Rheged in a peaceful takeover, and Oswiu becomes a sub-king (approximate date).

title: 638

text: Prince Oswiu of Bernicia conquers Gododdin (or "The Old North") as far north as Manau (modern Scotland), on behalf of his half-brother, King Oswald (approximate date).

title: 641

text: Æbbe establishes a monastery at Ebchester, known as Kirk Hill at St Abb's Head near Coldingham (Scotland).

title: 643

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

title: 654

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

title: 660

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

title: 660

text: King Oswiu of Northumbria invades Pictland (modern Scotland). He establishes overlordship of, at least, the Southern Pictish sub-kingdoms of Fortriu and Fib (and possibly Circinn).

title: 663

text: Synod of Whitby: King Oswiu of Northumbria calls for a meeting at Whitby Abbey to settle the church practices in his kingdom—those of the Celtic Church (of Wales, Scotland and the north of England – preached by Irish missionaries) or the Roman Church (of the south of England). The matters discussed include how to calculate the date of Easter. It is decided to follow the practice of Rome. As a result, many Irish clergy leave Northumbria and return to Ireland.

title: 664

text: Battle of Two Rivers: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria defeats the Picts under King Drest VI, in the vicinity of Moncreiffe Island, near Perth (Scotland). After the battle the Picts are reduced to slavery, and subject to the yoke of captivity for the next 14 years.

title: 671

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

title: 673

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

title: 673

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Battle of Dun Nechtain: The Picts under King Bridei III revolt against their Northumbrian overlords. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, advises King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (Bridei's cousin) not to invade Pictland (modern Scotland). Undeterred, Ecgfrith marches his army north to engage the enemy near Dunnichen. The Picts, possibly with Scottish and Strathclyde Briton help, defeat the Saxon guard, killing Ecgfrith, who has reigned for 15 years, routing his army and forcing the Anglo-Saxons to withdraw south of the River Forth.

title: 685

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

title: 688

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

title: 696

text: Council of Birr: The northern part of Ireland accepts the Roman calculations for celebrating Easter. At this synod Adomnán, abbot of Iona (Scotland), promulgates his Cáin Adomnáin ("Law of the Innocents").

title: 697

text: Ferchar Fota, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)

title: 697

text: Berhtred, Anglo-Saxon nobleman, is killed leading a Northumbrian army against the Picts. The kingdom of Cait (or Cat) in northern Scotland is absorbed (approximate date).

title: 698

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

title: 698

text: Beorhtfrith fights against the Picts between Haefe and Caere (assumed to be between the rivers Avon and Carron, which flow into the Firth of Forth in Scotland).

title: 710

text: Dux Berhtfrith leads a Northumbrian campaign against the Picts, and defeats them in Manaw Gododdin (modern Scotland) (approximate date).

title: AD 711

text: Winning, an Irish monk, lands at the mouth of the River Garnock in Scotland, and establishes a community or cell of monks (termed cella or "Kil" in Gaelic).

title: 715

text: King Osred I of Northumbria is killed in battle, possibly by the Picts in Manau Gododdin (Scotland). He is succeeded by his distant cousin, Coenred.

title: 716

text: Nechtan mac Der-Ilei, king of the Picts, expels the monks from the island of Iona (Scotland).

title: 717

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

title: 726

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

title: 733

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

title: 736

text: Teudebur, king of Alt Clut (Scotland)

title: 752

text: Battle of Newanbirig: Kings Óengus I of the Picts and Eadberht of Northumbria attack King Dumnagual III of Strathclyde, at Dumbarton Castle (modern Scotland). However, Eadberht's entire force is subsequently wiped out, probably by the Britons.

title: 756

text: Dumnagual III, king of Alt Clut (Scotland)

title: 760

text: Bridei V succeeds his brother Óengus I as king of the Picts (modern Scotland).

title: 761

text: Ciniod I succeeds Bridei V, as king of the Picts (modern Scotland).

title: 763

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

title: 778

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

title: 781

text: Constantine I is installed as king of the Picts. He becomes one of the greatest Scottish monarchs in the Viking period.

title: 789

text: The Vikings plunder the treasures of Iona Abbey, on the west coast of Scotland (approximate date).

title: 802

text: Vikings massacre Columba's monks, and all the inhabitants on the island of Iona (Scotland). Other monks flee to safety in the monastery of Kells (Ireland). They take with them the Book of Kells.

title: 806

text: Kenneth MacAlpin, king of Scotland (d. 858)

title: 810

text: Domnall mac Ailpín, king of Scotland (d. 862)

title: 812

text: Bridei VI, king of the Picts (Scotland)

title: 843

text: King Kenneth I (also called Kenneth MacAlpin) of Alba (modern Scotland) invades Northern Northumbria during the period of 850–858, burning Dunbar and Melrose.

title: 850

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

title: 858

text: The Danes, led by Ivar the Boneless and King Olaf of the Dublin Vikings, besiege Dumbarton in Scotland, the capital of King Artgal of Stratchlyde. After a siege of four months, the citadel is captured and destroyed.

title: 870

text: King Artgal of Strathclyde is slain, through the connivance of King Constantine I of Alba (modern Scotland) and his Viking allies. Artgal's son, Run, succeeds to the Strathclyde throne.

title: 872

text: Artgal, king of Strathclyde (Scotland)

title: 872

text: Kings Eochaid and Giric of Alba and Strathclyde (modern Scotland) are deposed by Viking invaders. They are succeeded by Donald II, the son of the late Constantine I, who becomes king of Scotland.

title: 889

text: Owain ap Dyfnwal, king of Strathclyde (Scotland)

title: 1015

text: January 11 – Messengers from King Edward of England arrive at Kinclaven Castle in Scotland to discuss peace with Scottish noble John Comyn.

title: 1304

text: September 13 – In Scotland, English forces under Edward of Caernarfon capture and sack Kildrummy Castle in Aberdeenshire. Edward takes Elizabeth de Burgh, Christina Bruce and Mary Bruce (sisters of Robert the Bruce), and Princess Marjorie Bruce (daughter of Bruce) as prisoners. He executes Nigel de Brus (younger brother of Bruce) for high treason, who is later hanged, drawn and quartered at Berwick.

title: 1306

text: December 25 – On Christmas Day, the 3-day Battle of Slioch begins in Scotland, with King Robert the Bruce and his men turning back the forces of John Comyn.

title: 1307

text: February 3 – William de Sancto Claro, the Bishop of Dunkeld and commonly known as William Sinclair, is issued a safe conduct pass by England's King Edward II in order to return to Scotland from Rome.

title: 1313

text: November 2 – Scotland's King Robert the Bruce ends his "Great Raid" campaign after six weeks, and withdraws his troops from northern England.

title: 1322

text: September 20 – Scotland's King Robert the Bruce begins the "Great Raid" on sites in northern England, leading troops across the River Tweed and starting with an attack on Norham Castle. England's King Edward II responds with an order directing the English Army to assemble at Newcastle upon Tyne to make a counterattack.

title: 1322

text: December 16 – Battle of Annan: The loyalists of David II defeat Edward Balliol in Scotland.

title: 1332

text: July 20 – Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland

title: 1332

text: July 30 – Battle of Boroughmuir: John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray defeats Guy, Count of Namur in Scotland.

title: 1335

text: July 20 – The kingdoms of England and Scotland sign a 14-year-truce.

title: 1369

text: June 10 – English invasion of Scotland (1385): Preparing to lead invade Scotland as soon as the truce between England and Scotland expires on July 15, King Richard II of England assembles an army at Nottingham.

title: 1385

text: April 19 – Robert III succeeds his father, Robert II, as King of Scotland.

title: 1390

text: According to fringe theorists, the Scottish explorer Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, reaches North America.

title: 1398

text: August 14 – King Henry IV leads the English Army into Scotland, after receiving no answer from Scotland's King Robert III to his August 6 demand. The troops reach Haddington, East Lothian the next day and at Leith, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, by August 18. As historian James Hamilton Wylie will note almost 500 years later, "the walls of Edinburgh did not fall before this ram's-horn blast, and August 23rd came and went without the required homage or recognition."

title: 1400

text: June 22 – Battle of Nesbit Moor: An English force decisively defeats a returning Scottish raiding party.

title: 1402

text: February 21– King James I of Scotland is assassinated in an attempted coup d'état led by his uncle and former ally, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. The night before, the King and his wife, Catherine Douglas had stopped at Blackfriars monastery in Perth. Queen Catherine is injured while barring the door with her arm in order to allow the King to escape, and King James is found in the early hours of the morning and stabbed to death while trying to escape.

title: 1437

text: July 9 – The Battle of Craignaught Hill takes place in Scotland between Clan Boyd and Clan Stewart as the Stewarts of Darnley carry out revenge against Sir Thomas Boyd for his murder of Alan Stewart.

title: 1439

text: June 18 – Mary of Guelders arrives in Scotland at Leith after being escorted from the Duchy of Burgundy to Scotland following her selection by Lord Crichton

title: 1449

text: May 18 – The Battle of Brechin is fought in Scotland between the royalist supporters of Clan Gordon (led by Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly) and the rebels of Clan Lindsay, led by Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford. Clan Gordon wins and the Lindsays submit to the authority of King James II.

title: 1452

text: September 8 – The Orkney Islands are pledged to Scotland by King Christian I of Kingdom of Norway in consideration of an agreement for the marriage of 16-year-old King James III of Scotland to Princess Margrete, King Christian's daughter, with the islands pledged as security against the payment of the dowry. As the money is never paid, the connection with the crown of Scotland becomes perpetual.

title: 1468

text: Orkney and Shetland were absorbed into Scotland.

title: 1471

text: February 20 – Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland, as a result of a defaulted dowry payment.

title: 1472

text: August 1 – In the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Richard, Duke of Gloucester invades Scotland, and captures Edinburgh.

title: 1482

text: July 11 – The Battle of Aldy Charrish takes place in Scotland as the Clan Mackay defeats the Clan Ross.

title: 1487

text: October 21 – The Massacre of Monzievaird takes place in Scotland at the county Perthshire, with 20 members of Clan Murray being killed when members of Clan Drummond and Clan Campbell set fire to the church where the Murrays have assembled.

title: 1490

text: February 10 – King's College, Aberdeen, predecessor of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, is founded with the issuance of the papal bull Primo Erectio Universitatis by Pope Alexander VI on the petition of William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen.

title: 1495

text: August 8 – King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland.

title: 1503

text: March 13 – The oldest annual foot race in Europe, the "Red Hose Race", is run for the first time, taking place in Scotland at Carnwath, Lanarkshire.

title: 1508

text: June 29 – A fleet of 21 French galleys, commanded by Leone Strozzi, arrives at Fife in Scotland and begins the siege of St Andrews Castle.

title: 1547

text: September 24 – The Debatable Lands on the border of England and Scotland are divided between the two kingdoms by a commission creating the Scots' Dike in an unsuccessful attempt to halt lawlessness here, but giving both countries their modern borders.

title: 1552

text: November 10 – The English ship Edward Bonadventure, commanded by Richard Chancellor is wrecked on the coast of Scotland at Pitsligo, killing most of its crew, including Chancellor. The few survivors include the first Russian ambassador to England, Osip Nepeya.

title: 1556

text: November 5 – Battle of Corrichie in Scotland: The rebellion of George Gordon, Earl of Huntly is crushed by James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray.

title: 1562

text: November 20 – Clan Gordon defeats Clan Forbes in the Battle of Craibstone, fought near Aberdeen in Scotland. Clan Forbes sustains 300 deaths and 200 men are taken prisoner out of its original contingent of 900, while Clan Gordon suffers 200 deaths of its 800 men.

title: 1571

text: Supposed massacre of the MacDonald inhabitants of the Scottish island of Eigg, by the Clan MacLeod.

title: 1577

text: August 23 – Raid of Ruthven in Scotland: Presbyterian nobles led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie kidnap King James VI of Scotland, the kingdom's 16-year-old ruler, while he is hunting in Perthshire. The Earl of Gowrie imprisons the King at Ruthven Castle as part of a coup d'etat to reform the Scottish government.

title: 1582

text: September 28 – Ruthven and his co-conspirators arrange for John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell, heir to former regent James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, to be installed as Scotland's regent. Douglas had been executed in 1581 for the 1567 murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of King James VI, who is imprisoned at Ruthven's castle.

title: 1582

text: October 14 – In Scotland, the University of Edinburgh holds its first classes, accepting more than 80 students as "Tounis College". In continuous operation for more than 440 years, the University will have more than 41,000 students.

title: 1583

text: December 6 – The Battle of Dryfe Sands takes place in Scotland at Annandale, between rival clans as John Maxwell leads Clan Maxwell, aided by Clan Grierson and Clan Pollock, in an invasion of the lands of Clan Johnstone, led by Sir James Johnstone. With their defense aided by Clan Scott and Clan Graham, the Johnstone clan wins the battle, but only 160 of the 600 defenders survive the fight.

title: 1593

text: October 3 – The Battle of Glenlivet in Scotland: The Protestant forces loyal to King James VI, assisted by the armies of 8 clans and led by the Earl of Argyll, oppose Roman Catholic rebels supported by Clan Gordon (led by the Earl of Huntley), Clan Hay (led by the Earl of Errol), Clan Comyn and Clan Cameron. Despite being outnumbered 5 to 1, the Catholic clans win the battle, killing 500 of the Protestant forces.

title: 1594

text: May 13 – King James I of England is escorted by the Earl of Home across the border to return to Scotland (where he reigns as King James VI) for the first time since the Union of the Crowns 14 years earlier in 1603. He is given lodging at Home's Dunglass Castle, East Lothian.

title: 1617

text: May 5 – King Charles I of England surrenders his forces to a Scottish army at Southwell, Nottinghamshire.

title: 1646

text: January 27 – King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is found guilty of high treason in a public session.

title: 1649

text: July 20 – At the Battle of Inverkeithing in Scotland, the English Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Major-General John Lambert, defeats a Scottish Covenanter army acting on behalf of Charles II, led by Sir John Brown of Fordell.

title: 1651

text: February 4 – At Edinburgh, the parliamentary commissioners of the Commonwealth of England proclaim the Tender of Union to be in force in Scotland, annexing the Scottish nation with the concession that Scotland would have 30 representatives in the parliament of the English Commonwealth.

title: 1652

text: December 16 – The Instrument of Government in England becomes Britain's first written constitution, under which Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland, being advised by a remodelled English Council of State. This is the start of The First Protectorate, bringing an end to the first period of republican government in the country, the Commonwealth of England.

title: 1653

text: February 10 – The Battle of Tullich takes place in Aberdeenshire in Scotland during Glencairn's rising, a revolt by Scottish royalists against the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland led by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. The battle is indecisive.

title: 1654

text: May 5 – Cromwell's Act of Grace, officially the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, is proclaimed at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh.

title: 1654

text: January 1 – At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish border at Northumberland, with a mission of advancing toward London to end military rule of England by General John Lambert and to accomplish the English Restoration, the return of the monarchy to England. By the end of the day, he and his soldiers have gone 15 mi through knee-deep snow to Wooler while the advance guard of cavalry had covered 50 mi to reach Morpeth.

title: 1660

text: December 20 – All but 3 members of the over 200-person crew of the Dutch ship Kennemerland are killed when the trade ship sinks in a storm near the Out Skerries islands off of the coast of Scotland.

title: 1664

text: November 28 – The Battle of Rullion Green takes place in the Pentland Hills near Midlothian in Scotland as the culmination of the brief 'Pentland Rising' which began on November 15 as a rebellion by the Covenanters who oppose changes in the Church of Scotland. At least 2,000 men of the Scottish Royal Army, led by General Thomas Dalyell, defeat more than 750 Covenanter rebels who have been under the command of James Wallace of Auchens.

title: 1666

text: June 22 – Battle of Bothwell Bridge in Scotland: Royal forces led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and John Graham of Claverhouse subdue the Scottish Covenanters.

title: 1679

text: June 11 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Netherlands, to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.

title: 1685

text: February 12 – The Declaration of Indulgence is issued in Scotland by King James VII as one of the first steps in establishing freedom of religion in the British Isles, eliminating enforcement of criminal penalties against persons who failed to conform with Anglicanism. As King James II of England, he issues a similar declaration on April 4.

title: 1687

text: February 13 – Massacre of Glencoe: The forces of Robert Campbell slaughter around 30 members of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe in Scotland (from whom they have previously accepted hospitality), for delaying to sign an oath of allegiance to King William III of England.

title: 1692

text: June 24 – The Commission of Enquiry into the Massacre of Glencoe in Scotland in 1692 reports to the Parliament of England, blaming Sir John Dalrymple, Secretary of State over Scotland, and declares that a soldier should refuse to obey a "command against the law of nature".

title: 1695

text: March 2 – The Edinburgh Gazette is first published in Scotland.

title: 1699

text: February 15 – As part of the process of the unification of Scotland and England as Great Britain, Scotland selects 16 members to sit in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster.

title: 1707

text: October 12 – William Mackintosh of Borlum, leader of the Jacobite rising against Great Britain, lands with 1,500 men in Scotland after crossing the Firth of Forth from France.

title: 1715

text: November 1 – Two new laws go into effect in the Highlands of Scotland to prevent a threat to Britain's ruling House of Hanover by the Jacobites who supported the restoration of the House of Stuart. The Disarming Act requires government authorisation to carry swords and firearms, and the amendments to the Treason Act 1714 permit trials for treason to take place in any court in England, regardless of where the crime was committed.

title: 1716

text: June 23 – The Malt tax riots begin in Scotland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, after the price of beer and scotch whisky increases. Earlier in the year, the British government extended the taxes in England on malted grain to brewers and distilleries in Scotland. The rioting then spreads throughout Scottish counties.

title: 1725

text: An old woman known as Janet (Jenny) Horne of Loth, Sutherland becomes the last alleged witch in the British Isles to be executed, when she is burned at the stake in Dornoch, Scotland. (Some sources give the date as June 1722.)

title: 1727

text: Probable date – The last wolf in Scotland is shot, in Killiecrankie.

title: 1743

text: August 1 – The wearing of the kilt is banned in Scotland by the Dress Act, which comes into force one year later, on August 1, 1747.

title: 1746

text: January 8 – The Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart occupies Stirling, Scotland.

title: 1746

text: December 13 – The ordeal of the Maryland freighter sloop Endeavour begins when the ship departs Annapolis for the West Indies and encounters a hurricane. With its masts and rigging torn away, the ship drifts for six months before finally ending up at the island of Tiree off the coast of Scotland

title: 1747

text: May 14 – The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is founded in Scotland.

title: 1754

text: Construction of St Ninian's Church, Tynet, Scotland, the country's oldest surviving post-Reformation Roman Catholic clandestine church, is completed.

title: 1755

text: October 5 – Vincenzo Lunardi of Italy becomes the first person to pilot a balloon over Scotland.

title: 1785

text: July 31 – The 'Kilmarnock volume' of Robert Burns' Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect is published in Scotland.

title: 1786

text: August 29 – Massacre of Tranent: British troops attack protestors against enforced recruitment into the militia at Tranent, Scotland, killing 11 and injuring 8.

title: 1797

text: The first electric locomotive built is a miniature battery locomotive constructed by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland, and powered by galvanic cells (batteries).

title: 1837

text: January 5 – A fight between railway strikers and police breaks out at Motherwell, Scotland.

title: 1891

text: February 21 – The British freighter SS Jumna is last seen passing Rathlin Island off Northern Ireland. Bound from Scotland to deliver a shipment of coal to Uruguay with minimal crew, it never arrives and is never seen again.

title: 1899

text: March 11 – WWI: British armed merchantman is sunk in the North Channel off the coast of Scotland by Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-27. Around 200 crew are lost, a number of bodies being washed up on the Isle of Man, with only 26 saved.

title: 1915

text: July 19 – Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (2014–present)

title: 1970

text: April 1 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax (the poll tax) is introduced in Scotland. It will be introduced in England and Wales the following year.

title: 1989

text: July 5 – Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland, UK.

title: 1996

text: September 11 – Scotland votes in favour of a devolved Parliament, forming the Scottish Parliament less than two years later.

title: 1997

text: May 15 – Researchers announce a 2.5 cm millipede fossil belonging to the Kampecaris genus, discovered on the island of Kerrera in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, is the world's oldest-known land animal, which lived 425 million years ago in the Silurian period.

title: 2020


slug: scottish-parliament

label: Scottish parliament

date: April 26

text: April 26 – The Scottish parliament is convened at Ayr, and proclaims Edward Bruce as the legal heir to the throne to succeed if his brother, King Robert the Bruce, dies.

title: 1315

section: Events › April – June

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 12

text: March 12 – King James I of Scotland opens a brief session of the Scottish Parliament, which opens at Perth and ends after only five days.

title: 1425

section: Events › January – March

date: April 2

text: April 2 – King James III of Scotland gives royal assent to the six Defence of the Realm Acts and to the Benefices Act 1481, passed by his parliament in anticipation of a war with England.

title: 1481

section: Events › April–June

date: February 24

text: February 24 – King James III of Scotland gives royal assent to numerous acts passed by the Scottish Parliament, including the Defence of the Realm Act 1483 (summoning the members of the nobility to come defend Scotland); the Duke of Albany Act, an arrest warrant for all person who made treasonable assistance to the King's rebellious brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany; and the two Barratry Acts, prohibiting "the having of mone furth of the Realme" (the exportation of money out of the realm) to the Court of Rome.

title: 1484

section: Events › January–March

section: Economy & Finance

date: March 1

text: March 1 – King James III of Scotland gives royal assent to acts passed by the Scottish Parliament, including the Tallow Act, the Hides Act and the Currency Act.

title: 1486

date: February 3

text: February 3 – The Scottish Parliament opens in Edinburgh to address matters of lands confiscated in the year before.

title: 1490

date: August 14

text: August 14 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Treaty of Ardres.

title: 1546

section: Events › July–September

date: September 11

title: 1997

section: Events › September

date: May 12

text: May 12 – David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.

title: 1999

section: Events › May


slug: scottish-people

label: Scottish people

description: Celtic-Germanic ethnic group native to Scotland

text: King Vortigern invites a number of Germanic warriors to aid him in consolidating his position in Britain, according to the Historia Brittonum. He hires Saxons who are probably settled in Kent as mercenaries to fight against the Picts and the Scots beyond Hadrian's Wall.

title: 428

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Battle of Degsastan: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeats the combined forces of the Strathclyde Britons and Scots under Áedán mac Gabráin, establishing the supremacy of the Angles in the northern part of what will become known as the British Isles.

title: 603

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Battle of Heavenfield: Oswald, possibly accompanied by a force of Scots (or Picts), defeats and kills Cadwallon with a Welsh army near Hexham (northern England). He reunites Deira with Bernicia, and becomes king of Northumbria.

title: 634

text: May 20 – Battle of Dun Nechtain: The Picts under King Bridei III revolt against their Northumbrian overlords. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, advises King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (Bridei's cousin) not to invade Pictland (modern Scotland). Undeterred, Ecgfrith marches his army north to engage the enemy near Dunnichen. The Picts, possibly with Scottish and Strathclyde Briton help, defeat the Saxon guard, killing Ecgfrith, who has reigned for 15 years, routing his army and forcing the Anglo-Saxons to withdraw south of the River Forth.

title: 685

text: King Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) of the Scots also becomes king of the Picts; he is crowned (on the Stone of Destiny) as first monarch of the new nation of Scotland. The Alpin Dynasty of Scottish kings begins to reign.

title: 843

section: Events › By place › British Isles

text: King Æthelred II of Northumbria sends military assistance to the Picts, in their fight against the invading Scots (approximate date).

title: 846

text: Battle of Dollar: Invading Danish Vikings defeat the Scots and the Picts, under King Constantine I, at Dollar. They occupy Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Moray, far to the north.

title: 875

text: Indulf, king of the Scots and Picts, dies after an 8-year reign. He is killed while fighting Vikings near Cullen, at the Battle of Bauds. Indulf is succeeded by his nephew Dub (Dub mac Maíl Coluim) as ruler of Scotland.

title: 962

section: Events › By place › Scotland

section: Culture & Society

text: The Anglo-Genevan metrical psalter is published, including the Old 100th, the version of the hymn All People That on Earth Do Dwell made from Psalm 100, attributed to the probably-Scottish clergyman and biblical translator William Kethe, exiled in Geneva.

title: 1561

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Scottish army officer Robert Monro publishes Monro, His Expedition With the Worthy Scots Regiment Called Mac-Keys in London, the first military history in English.

title: 1637

section: Births

date: November 23

text: November 23 – George Watson (accountant), a Scottish accountant and the founder of George Watson's College in Edinburgh (d. 1723)

title: 1654

section: Science & Discovery

text: Scottish judge James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, begins publication of Of the Origin and Progress of Language, a contribution to evolutionary ideas of the Enlightenment.

title: 1773

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Scottish economist Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations in London.

title: 1776

section: Events › March–April

text: The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China is incorporated in London by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

title: 1853

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls, in modern-day Zambia–Zimbabwe.

title: 1855

section: Events › October–December


slug: scythians

label: Scythians

description: ancient Iranian nomadic people

year_label: 612 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Nineveh: An allied army of Babylonians, Medes, Scythians, and Susianians besieges and conquers Nineveh, capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Sinsharishkun, King of Assyria, is killed in the sacking.

title: 612 BC

section: Events

year_label: 513 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Darius the Great subdues the Getae and east Thrace in his war against the Scythians. To accomplish this, he builds a massive pontoon bridge across the Bosphorus Strait.

title: 513 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia

year_label: 494 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Thracians and Scythians drive Miltiades the Younger from the Chersonesos. Miltiades loads five boats with his treasures and makes for Athens. One of the boats, captained by Miltiades' eldest son, Metiochos is captured. Metiochos is taken as a lifelong prisoner to Persia.

title: 494 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 340 BCE

text: Philip II fails in his siege of Byzantium and is forced to respond to attacks by the Scythians near the mouth of the Danube. His son, Alexander is regent while his father fights against Byzantium and the Scythians.

title: 340 BC

year_label: 339 BCE

text: Philip II of Macedon decides to attack the Scythians, using as an excuse their reluctance to allow Philip to dedicate a statue of Heracles at the Danube estuary. The two armies clash on the plains of modern-day Dobruja. The ninety-year-old King of the Scythians, Ateas, is killed during the battle and his army is routed.

title: 339 BC

section: Deaths

text: Ateas, king of the Scythians (b. c. 429 BC)

title: 339 BC

year_label: 328 BCE

text: Spitamenes raises all Sogdiana in revolt behind him, bringing in the Massagetae, a people of the Scythian confederacy. He besieges the Macedonian garrison in Maracanda. Alexander the Great sends an army under the command of Pharnuches of Lycia which is promptly annihilated with a loss of more than 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry.

title: 328 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 127 BCE

text: The Scythians defeat the Parthians in a battle around Media.

title: 127 BC

section: Events › By place › Parthia

year_label: 35 BCE

text: Azes I, Indo-Scythian ruler, completes the domination of the Scythians in northern India.

title: 35 BC

section: Events › By place › India

year_label: 12 BCE

text: King Azes II dies. The rule of the Indo-Scythians crumbles as the Kushans, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who live in Bactria expand into India to create a Kushan Empire.

title: 12 BC

text: Reign in Northern India by Nahapana, Scythian king. He attacks the kingdom of Andhra and annexes Southern Rajputana.

title: AD 119

text: The Scythians dominate western India: Punjab, Sind, the north of Gujarat and a portion of central India.

title: AD 120

text: In northern India, Nahapana, ruler of the Scythians, is defeated and dies in battle while fighting against King Gautamiputra Satakarni. This defeat destroys the Scythian dynasty of the Western Kshatrapas.

title: AD 124

text: Nahapana, ruler of the Scythians (approximate date)

title: AD 124

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Scythian king Rudradaman I reconquers the lands annexed by Gautamiputra from the Andhra.

title: AD 130

text: Emperor Majorian builds a Roman fleet at Miseno and Ravenna. He strengthens the army, by recruiting a large number of barbarian mercenaries (Bastarnae, Burgundians, Huns, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Scythians and Suebi).

title: 458

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


slug: sea-of-marmara

label: Sea of Marmara

description: inland sea, entirely within the borders of Turkey

year_label: 410 BCE

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

title: 410 BC

year_label: 405 BCE

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

title: 405 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

date: May

text: May – Alexander wins a major victory against the Persians commanded by the Greek mercenary Memnon of Rhodes, in the Battle of the Granicus near the Sea of Marmara. A large number of King Darius III's Greek mercenaries are massacred, but 2,000 survivors are sent back to Macedonia in chains.

title: 334 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 205 BCE

text: With the Rhodian fleet and economy suffering from the depredations of the pirates, Philip begins attacking the lands of Rhodes' allies in Thrace and around the Sea of Marmara.

title: 205 BC

text: Emperor Probus travels with his army west across the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), and through the provinces of Thrace, Moesia, and Pannonia to defeat the Goths along the lower Danube. He acquires from the troops the title of Gothicus.

title: 277

text: Emperor Anastasius I completes the strategic fortress at Dara (Northern Mesopotamia). He raises the city walls to 30 feet (10 m), disregarding Persian protests. Alarmed by the depredations of Slavs and Bulgars in Thrace, he builds the Anastasian Wall from the Black Sea to Propontis, across the narrow peninsula near Constantinople (modern Turkey).

title: 507

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Anastasius I constructs a wall from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, to protect Constantinople from raiding Bulgars and Slavs.

title: 512

section: Climate & Environment

text: The 542 Sea of Marmara earthquake takes place in the winter of 542, in the vicinity of the Sea of Marmara. It also affects the coasts of Thrace and the Edremit Gulf.

title: 542

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

title: 670

text: Siege of Constantinople: The Arab fleet enters the Sea of Marmara and appears before the southern walls of Constantinople, in an attempt to blockade the Byzantine capital.

title: 674

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: September 1

text: September 1 – A Muslim armada, consisting of 1,800 ships commanded by Admiral Suleiman, sails into the Sea of Marmara and drops anchor below the sea walls of Constantinople, to supply their forces ashore. Leo III orders the Byzantine fleet to sally forth from their protected harbors with Greek fire, setting alight the thickly-packed Muslim ships. Many vessels burst into flames, while others collide with each other before sinking.

title: 717

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about 200 Rus' vessels sails into the Bosphorus, and starts pillaging the suburbs of Constantinople. The raiders set homes on fire, and drown and kill the citizens. Unable to do anything to repel the invaders, Patriarch Photios I urges his flock to implore the Theotokos to save the Byzantine capital. Having devastated the suburbs, the Rus' Vikings pass into the Sea of Marmara and attack the Isles of the Princes, plundering the local monasteries.

title: 860

date: August

text: August – Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Simeon I (the Great), ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches a campaign at the head of a large Bulgarian army, and reaches Constantinople unopposed. The Bulgarians besiege the Byzantine capital and construct ditches from the Golden Horn to the Golden Gate at the Marmara Sea.

title: 913

section: Religion & Belief

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Romanos IV Diogenes, deposed ruler of the Byzantine Empire, is blinded and sent into exile to the island of Proti (in the Sea of Marmara) at the Monastery of Transfiguration. A few days before his death, he receives a letter from Michael Psellos (his political advisor), congratulating him on the loss of his eyes.

title: 1072

text: August–October – Alexios IV leads a Crusader expedition (some 6,000 men) to extend his central-government control, against the fugitive Alexios III in Thrace. Meanwhile, a Crusader fleet operates in the Sea of Marmara in support of the Thracian campaign. The Crusaders seize several towns, including Adrianople, while Alexios escapes and withdraws to Macedonia.

title: 1203

section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade

date: March

text: c. March 1 – British steamship Calvados disappears in the Sea of Marmara, with 200 on board.

title: 1913

section: Events › March


slug: seattle

label: Seattle

description: city in and county seat of King County, State of Washington, United States

text: Mount Rainier erupts over modern-day Seattle.

title: 1820

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 13

text: November 13 – The Denny Party lands at Alki Point, the first settlers of what later becomes Seattle.

title: 1851

section: Events › October–December

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: May 23

text: May 23 – The first plat for Seattle, Washington, is laid out.

title: 1853

section: Events › April–June

text: Asa Mercer travels from Seattle to the U.S. East Coast, and recruits 11 Mercer Girls, potential wives for men on the West Coast.

title: 1864

date: June 7

text: June 7 – Chief Sealth, Native American for whom Seattle is named (b. c. 1786)

title: 1866

section: Deaths › January–June

date: July 17

text: July 17 – The Klondike Gold Rush begins when the first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle

title: 1897

section: Events › July

date: November 18

text: November 18 – The steamboat Dix sinks en route from Seattle to Port Blakely claiming the lives of approximately 50 passengers and crew.

title: 1906

section: Events › November–December

section: Culture & Society

date: August 28

text: August 28 – UPS is founded by James E. (Jim) Casey in Seattle, Washington.

title: 1907

section: Events › August

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Max Heindel formally founds the Rosicrucian Fellowship in Seattle, Washington.

title: 1909

section: Events › July–August

date: July 15

text: July 15 – In Seattle, William Boeing incorporates Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).

title: 1916

date: September 28

text: September 28 – U.S. Army pilots John Harding and Erik Nelson complete the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe. It has taken them 175 days and 74 stops before their return to Seattle.

title: 1924

section: Events › September

section: Science & Discovery

date: April 21

text: April 21 – The Century 21 Exposition World's Fair opens in Seattle, United States. This is also the Opening Day of the Seattle Space Needle.

title: 1962

section: Events › April

date: December 2

text: December 2 – The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its first passenger flight. It carries 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.

title: 1969

section: Events › December

section: Conflict & Security

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Wah Mee massacre: 13 people are killed in an attempted robbery in the Chinatown area of Seattle, United States.

title: 1983

section: Events › February

text: November 17 – The first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit opens in Seattle.

title: 1993

section: Events › November

section: Crime & Justice

date: April 5

text: April 5 – Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana. commits suicide at the age of 27 at his home in Seattle. His body was found three days later.

title: 1994

text: May 23 – The Seattle Central Library opens in Seattle, Washington.

title: 2004

section: Events › May


slug: second-bulgarian-empire

label: Second Bulgarian Empire

description: Medieval Bulgarian state (1185–1396)

text: Uprising of Asen and Peter: Peter and Ivan Asen lead a revolt of the Vlachs and Bulgars against the Byzantine Empire, eventually establishing the Second Bulgarian Empire.

title: 1185

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Byzantine Empire recognizes the independence of Bulgaria and Serbia.

title: 1186

section: Events

text: Siege of Lovech: Byzantine forces under Isaac II besiege the fortress city of Lovech in north-central Bulgaria. After a three-month siege, Isaac is forced to accept a truce by recognizing the joint-rule of Peter II and Ivan Asen I as emperor's (or tsar) over the territory, leading to the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire (until 1396).

title: 1187

text: Isaac II starts a campaign against the Bulgarians, who claim their independence. After passing the Balkan Mountains, Isaac marches westward to besiege Tarnovo, the new Bulgarian capital. Meanwhile, the Byzantine fleet reaches the Danube River in order to block the way of Cuman reinforcements from the North. The defense of Tarnovo is led by Ivan Asen I, emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria. After spreading rumors of the arrival of a Cuman army to relieve the city, Isaac orders to retreat to Stara Zagora.

title: 1190

text: Ivan Asen I is stabbed to death by Ivanko, a Bulgarian boyar (aristocrat), who is accused of having an affair with Ivan's wife's sister. He is succeeded by his brother Kaloyan as co-ruler of the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 1196

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Deaths

text: Peter II (or Theodor-Peter), ruler (tsar) of the Bulgaria

title: 1197

section: Religion & Belief

text: Tsar Kaloyan is recognized as king of Bulgaria by Pope Innocent III, after the creation of the Bulgarian Uniate church.

title: 1204

text: March – Byzantine officials in Adrianople revolt and expel Latin administrators, requesting Bulgarian support from Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, against Baldwin I who assembles an army (some 40,000 men) and marches to aid the Byzantines. Meanwhile, Baldwin sets out from Constantinople in force, he arrives at Adrianople and promptly begins to siege the city by the end of March.

title: 1205

date: October

text: October – Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 1207

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Battle of Messinopolis: Latin forces under Boniface of Montferrat are ambushed and defeated at Messinopolis. Boniface is killed and his head is sent to Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire. Seeking to take advantage of the situation, Kaloyan besieges Thessalonica. In October, he dies under mysterious circumstances.

title: 1207

text: Ivan Asen II becomes ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, during his reign he will add Epirus, as well as parts of Albania and Macedonia to his realm.

title: 1218

section: Births

text: Kaliman I, emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria (d. 1246)

title: 1234

date: November

text: November – Michael II Asen, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, succeeds his brother Kaliman I (possibly poisoned). He confirms the reconquest of Bulgarian territories against John III (Doukas Vatatzes), Byzantine ruler of the Empire of Nicaea.

title: 1246

text: The famous frescoes of the Boyana Church in Bulgaria are completed (the church and its murals are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

title: 1259

text: King Stephen V of Hungary launches a war against Bulgaria.

title: 1268

section: Events › By topic › War and politics

text: Summer – Uprising of Ivaylo: An uprising under Ivaylo breaks out in northeastern Bulgaria against the failure of Emperor Konstantin Tih to cope with the constant Mongol invasions which have devastated the country for years. Ivaylo confronts and defeats the plundering Mongols, and by autumn all Mongols are driven out of Bulgarian territory. In return, Konstantin gathers a small army and tries unsuccessfully to suppress the revolt but is himself killed in battle.

title: 1277

date: July 28

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

title: 1330

section: Events › January–December

text: Date unknown – Battle of Ihtiman: The Ottoman Turks defeat the Bulgarian Empire but suffer heavy losses and do not return to Bulgarian territory for around 15 years.

title: 1355

text: The Ottomans take Sofia from the Bulgarians.

title: 1382

section: Events › Date unknown

text: The Ottomans capture the Bulgarian fortress of Vidin and Tsar Ivan Sratsimir, ending the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Bulgarian state is reestablished in 1878 as the Principality of Bulgaria.

title: 1396

text: Ottoman forces overrun the last domains of Constantine II of Bulgaria, who dies in exile at the Serbian court, ending the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 1422

section: Events › Undated


slug: second-punic-war

label: Second Punic War

description: second war between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought between 218 and 201 BCE

year_label: 254 BCE

text: Marcus Livius Salinator, Roman consul and commander during the Second Punic War

title: 254 BC

year_label: 236 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus, Roman general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic (approximate date) (d. 183 BC)

title: 236 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio, Roman general, consul and proconsul during the Second Punic War

title: 211 BC

year_label: 207 BCE

text: The Battle of the Metaurus, fought near the Metaurus River in Umbria, is a pivotal battle during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. The Carthaginians are led by Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal Barca, and the Roman armies are led by the consuls Marcus Livius Salinator and Gaius Claudius Nero. The Carthaginian army is defeated by the Romans and Hasdrubal is killed in the battle. This major loss by the Carthaginians ends Hannibal's hopes of success in Italy.

title: 207 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Hasdrubal Barca, Carthaginian general in the Second Punic War (b. 245 BC)

title: 207 BC

year_label: 203 BCE

text: Mago Barca, Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War against Rome who has accompanied his brother Hannibal on the invasion of Italy (b. 243 BC)

title: 203 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

text: Hasdrubal Gisco, Carthaginian general who has fought against Rome in Iberia and North Africa during the Second Punic War, customarily identified as the son of Gisco (suicide)

title: 202 BC

date: October 19

text: October 19 – The Battle of Zama (130 kilometers south-west of Carthage) ends the Second Punic War and largely destroys the power of Carthage. Roman and Numidian forces under the leadership of the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio and his Numidian ally, Masinissa, defeat a combined army of Carthaginians and their Numidian allies under the command of Hannibal and force Carthage to capitulate. Hannibal loses 20,000 men in the defeat, but he is able to escape Masinissa's pursuit.

title: 202 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 201 BCE

text: On Hannibal's advice, Carthage sues for peace with the Romans, ending the Second Punic War. Carthage is reduced to a client state of Rome. In the peace treaty between Carthage and Rome, Carthage surrenders all her Mediterranean possessions to Rome, including her Iberian territories. The Carthaginians agree to pay Rome 200 talents per year for 50 years, allow Masinissa to rule Numidia as an independent kingdom, make no war without Rome's permission, and destroy all but 10 of the Carthaginian warships.

title: 201 BC

text: In Rome, according to the Roman historian Livy, land is distributed to veterans of the Second Punic War. This is the first documented instance of a practice that later becomes commonplace.

title: 201 BC

text: Following the conclusion of the peace with Rome, Hannibal is elected as suffet, or chief magistrate, of Carthage. The office has over the years become insignificant in Carthaginian politics, but Hannibal restores its power and authority. He sets out to reform the administration and finances of Carthage and reduce the power of the oligarchy which has ruled Carthage before and during the Second Punic War.

title: 201 BC

year_label: 183 BCE

text: Hannibal, Carthaginian statesman, military commander and tactician, one of history's great military leaders, who has commanded the Carthaginian forces against Rome in the Second Punic War (b. 247 BC)

title: 183 BC

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, Roman statesman and general, famous for his victory over the Carthaginian leader Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which ended the Second Punic War and gave him the surname Africanus (b. 236 BC)

title: 183 BC

year_label: 172 BCE

text: The peace treaty at the end of the Second Punic War requires that all border disputes involving Carthage be arbitrated by the Roman Senate and requires Carthage to get explicit Roman approval before going to war. As a result, envoys from Carthage appear before the Roman Senate to request resolution of a boundary dispute with Numidia. The dispute is decided in Numidia's favour.

title: 172 BC

year_label: 160 BCE

text: Gaius Laelius, Roman general and politician who was involved in Rome's victory during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage (approximate date)

title: 160 BC

year_label: 151 BCE

text: The Carthaginian debt to Rome is fully repaid, meaning that, according to Carthage, the treaty with Rome, which was put in place at the end of the Second Punic War, is no longer in force. The Romans do not agree with this interpretation. Instead they view the treaty as a permanent declaration of Carthaginian subordination to Rome.

title: 151 BC

text: Silius Italicus, Roman politician and author of the Punica (annals of Hannibal during the Second Punic War) (b. c. AD 28)

title: AD 101


slug: seine

label: Seine

description: river in France

text: Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia conspires to have Berthoald, Mayor of the Palace, assassinated. She convinces King Theuderic II to send him to inspect the royal villae along the Seine. Brunhilda then has the noblemen who actually carried out the murder arrested and killed.

title: 604

text: Summer – Vikings sail up the River Seine and devastate the city of Rouen in Normandy. They burn the Benedictine monastery of Jumièges Abbey; 68 captives are taken, and returned on payment of a ransom, by the monks of St. Denis.

title: 841

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 852

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: King Charles the Bald gives the order to build fortified bridges across the Seine and Loire Rivers, to protect Paris and the Frankish heartland against Viking raids. He hires the services of Weland, a Viking chieftain based on the Somme, to attack the Seine Vikings at their base on the Isle of Oissel. Weland besieges the Vikings—they offer him a huge bribe (6,000 pounds of silver) to let them escape.

title: 860

date: March

text: March – Robert the Strong is appointed margrave of Neustria by King Charles the Bald. He re-establishes the Breton March, and extends his remit by campaigning against Salomon, duke 'king' of Brittany. Robert hires a combined Seine-Loire fleet for 6,000 pounds of silver, 'before Salomon can ally with them against him'. In return, Salomon enlists 12 Viking ships under the command of Hastein, to raid the county of Maine, which, with Anjou, becomes squeezed between Brittany and Neustria.

title: 861

date: November 25

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

title: 885

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

title: 886

text: Autumn – King Charles III (the Simple) and Rollo, leader of the Vikings, sign a peace agreement (Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte). In return for his homage and conversion to Christianity, Rollo becomes a vassal and is made Count of Rouen; this is the beginning of the duchy of Normandy. He divides the lands between the rivers Epte and Risle among his chieftains, and prevents any other Vikings sailing up the Seine to attack the West Frankish Kingdom.

title: AD 911

text: King Richard I of England (the Lionheart) has Château Gaillard (Normandy) built on the Seine River as he fights to restore Angevin power in northern France (approximate date).

title: 1197

date: January 13

text: January 13 – A short-lived truce is declared, between the Kings Richard I (the Lionheart) and Philip II (Augustus). Two of Europe's most powerful rulers meet on the banks of the Seine River, while shouting terms to one another. With a peace secured, Richard is able to refocus on bringing internal order to the south of the Angevin Empire.

title: 1199

date: May 22

text: May 22 – The Kings John of England and Philip II of France, sign a peace treaty at Le Goulet, an island in the middle of the Seine River, near Vernon in Normandy. The agreement recognizes John as overlord of most of the English owned lands in France, but John has to give Philip the lands of Norman Vexin and Évreux and a large sum of money (some 20,000 marks) – a "relief" payment for recognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany.

title: 1200

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar and Geoffroi de Charney, are, by orders of King Philip IV of France ("Philip the Fair"), burned at the stake in front of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on the Île de la Cité in the Seine. Jacques declares his innocence and that the Templar Order is also innocent of all the charges of heresy. It is said that Jacques correctly predicts the deaths of both Philip and Pope Clement V within the year.

title: 1314

section: Events › January – March

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Harfleur relieved, following a naval battle in the estuary of the Seine.

title: 1416

section: Events › July–September

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: October 25

text: October 25 – The Pont Notre-Dame in Paris, constructed under Charles VI of France, collapses into the Seine.

title: 1499

section: Events › October–December

section: Climate & Environment

text: Europe is hit by a heat wave and drought lasting for about seven months. Rivers such as the Rhine and Seine dry up, and many people die from dysentery and other illnesses, caused by lack of safe drinking water.

title: 1540

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Western Europe's Great Frost of 1709, the coldest period in 500 years, begins during the night, lasting three months, with its effects felt for the entire year. In France, the Atlantic coast and Seine River freeze, crops fail, and 24,000 Parisians die. Floating ice enters the North Sea.

title: 1709

section: Events › January–March

date: January 21

text: January 21 – The Great Flood of Paris begins when the Seine overflows its banks.

title: 1910

section: Events › January


slug: seisyllwg

label: Seisyllwg

description: kingdom in west Britain

text: Cadell ap Rhodri, king of Seisyllwg (d. 909)

title: 854

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Rhodri Mawr ("the Great") of Gwynedd annexes Seisyllwg, uniting most of Wales under his rule (approximate date).

title: 871

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Vikings invade Wales once more, and King Rhodri ap Merfyn ("the Great") of Gwynedd, Powys and Seisyllwg is forced to flee to Ireland (approximate date).

title: 877

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: King Rhodri the Great of Gwynedd, Powys and Seisyllwg, returns to his kingdoms, but is killed fighting the Mercians of King Ceolwulf II. His kingdoms are divided amongst his three sons: Anarawd, Merfyn and Cadell.

title: 878

text: Anarawd, and his brothers Cadell and Merfyn, begin extensive military campaigns to quell resistance in Powys and Seisyllwg (approximate date).

title: 881

text: King Anarawd of Gwynedd is supplied with English troops, to assist in his reconquest of Seisyllwg (Wales). He is successful, and his brother Cadell is finally able to take his rightful place on the Seisyllwg throne.

title: 895

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Winter – The Norsemen are expelled from Dublin. After a brief foray into Seisyllwg (Wales), a group, under the Viking lord Ingimundr, settle in the Wirral with the agreement of Lady Æthelflæd of the Mercians.

title: 902

section: Events › By place › Britain And Ireland

section: Deaths

text: Prince Hywel ap Cadell of Seisyllwg (Wales) marries Princess Elen of Dyfed. The latter's father, King Llywarch ap Hyfaidd, dies. The throne of Dyfed is claimed by Llywarch's brother, Rhodri ap Hyfaidd, but he is probably forced to flee from Hywel's armies.

title: 904

text: Cadell ap Rhodri, king of Seisyllwg (Wales), makes his 25-year-old son Hywel ap Cadell ruler of Dyfed, having conquered that territory. Rhodri ap Hyfaidd, nominally king of Dyfed, is caught and executed, at Arwystli.

title: 905

title: 909

text: The Welsh ruler Hywel Dda ("the Good") merges Dyfed and Seisyllwg, establishing a new kingdom known as Deheubarth.

title: 920


slug: seleucid-empire

label: Seleucid Empire

description: Hellenistic-era Greek state in Western Asia (312–63 BC)

year_label: 292 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Antiochus I Soter anointed as king of the Seleucid Syria

title: 292 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 281 BCE

text: Seleucus is succeeded as ruler of the Seleucid Empire by Antiochus, who was already king of the Syrian part of the empire. He is immediately beset by revolts in Syria (probably instigated by Ptolemy II of Egypt) and by independence movements in northern Anatolia.

title: 281 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

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

title: 281 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: Antiochus I Soter, Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (or 262 BC)

title: 261 BC

year_label: 244 BCE

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

title: 244 BC

year_label: 241 BCE

section: Births

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

title: 241 BC

year_label: 238 BCE

text: A joint Seleucid-Galatian invasion of Pergamon is defeated at the Battle of Aphrodisium

title: 238 BC

section: Events › By place › Persia

year_label: 228 BCE

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

title: 228 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 225 BCE

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

title: 225 BC

year_label: 221 BCE

text: Ptolemy III, king of Egypt, who has reunited Egypt and Cyrenaica and successfully waged the Third Syrian War against the Seleucid Empire

title: 221 BC

year_label: 196 BCE

text: Antiochus III's army crosses the Hellespont into Thrace, where he claims sovereignty over territory that has been won by Seleucus I in 281 BC. A war of harassment and diplomacy with Rome ensues. The Romans send ambassadors demanding that Antiochus stay out of Greece and set free all the autonomous communities in Anatolia. To meet these demands would mean Antiochus III giving up the western part of his Seleucid Empire. Thus Antiochus refuses the Romans' demands.

title: 196 BC

year_label: 173 BCE

text: Antiochus V Eupator, ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 164 BC (d. 162 BC)

title: 173 BC

year_label: 162 BCE

text: Antiochus V Eupator, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, who has reigned since 164 BC (b. c. 173 BC)

title: 162 BC

year_label: 161 BCE

text: Demetrius II Nicator, king of the Seleucid Empire from 145 BC and 129 BC (d. 125 BC)

title: 161 BC

text: Judas Maccabeus, third son of the Jewish priest Mattathias, who led the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire until his death

title: 160 BC

year_label: 142 BCE

text: Diodotus Tryphon seizes the throne of the Seleucid Empire.

title: 142 BC

section: Events › By place › Syria

year_label: 141 BCE

text: The Seleucid garrison negotiates the surrender of Jerusalem. Simon Maccabaeus assumes control of the city. He becomes prince (ruler) of Judea until 135 BC.

title: 141 BC

section: Events › By place › Syria and Judea

text: Demetrius II of Syria made prisoner of Mithridates, king of the Parthians. Antiochus VII Sidetes becomes king of the Seleucid Empire in his absence.

title: 141 BC

year_label: 138 BCE

text: Diodotus Tryphon, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 138 BC

year_label: 129 BCE

text: Having been freed by the Parthians, Demetrius II of Syria recovers the throne of the Seleucid Empire.

title: 129 BC

year_label: 126 BCE

text: Seleucus V Philometor succeeds his father Demetrius II as king of the Seleucid Empire. Due to his youth, his stepmother Cleopatra Thea acts as regent.

title: 126 BC

text: Tyre successfully revolts from the Seleucid Empire.

title: 126 BC

year_label: 125 BCE

text: Cleopatra Thea succeeds to the rule of the Seleucid Empire on the death of Seleucus V. She appoints Antiochus VIII Grypus as co-ruler.

title: 125 BC

text: Demetrius II, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 125 BC

year_label: 123 BCE

text: Alexander II Zabinas, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 123 BC

year_label: 113 BCE

text: Antiochus IX Cyzicenus becomes king of the Seleucid Empire.

title: 113 BC

year_label: 111 BCE

text: Tryphaena, queen consort of the Seleucid Empire

title: 111 BC

year_label: 96 BCE

text: Antiochus VIII Grypus, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 96 BC

text: Seleucus VI Epiphanes becomes king of the Seleucid Empire following the death of his father Antiochus VIII Grypus, and defeating in battle Antiochus IX Cyzicenus.

title: 96 BC

year_label: 93 BCE

text: Antiochus XI, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 93 BC

year_label: 92 BCE

text: Antiochus XI Epiphanes, king of the Greek Seleucid Empire, drowned

title: 92 BC

year_label: 88 BCE

text: Demetrius III Eucaerus, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 88 BC

year_label: 84 BCE

text: Battle of Cana: The Arab Nabataean Kingdom decisively defeats the Greek Seleucid Empire, slaying King Antiochus XII Dionysus, at modern-day Umm Qais in Jordan.

title: 84 BC

text: Antiochus XII Dionysus, king of the Seleucid Empire (killed in battle)

title: 84 BC

text: Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia was invited by a faction in the Seleucid civil wars, entered Syria and effectively ended Seleucid rule. Though a weakened Seleucid monarchy was briefly restored after Roman victories, ongoing instability led Pompey to abolish the dynasty and annex Syria as a Roman province in 63 BC.

title: 83 BC

text: King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus is deposed and killed by the Syrian chieftain Sampsiceramus I – this is considered by some the end of the Seleucid dynasty.

title: 64 BC

text: Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, king of the Seleucid Empire

title: 64 BC

text: Roman annexation of the Seleucid Empire and of Judea as a client kingdom. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II is reappointed king (ethnarch) under Roman suzerainty and high priest, until 40 BC.

title: 63 BC

text: The Seleucid Empire comes to an end with the last two emperors being murdered on orders from Rome.

title: 60 BC

text: Philip II Philoromaeus, king of the Seleucid Empire (approximate date)

title: 56 BC


slug: seleucid

label: Seleucid

year_label: 272 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter is defeated by Egypt's Ptolemy II during the First Syrian War. Ptolemy II annexes Miletus, Phoenicia and western Cilicia from Antiochus. As a result, Ptolemy II extends Egyptian rule as far as Caria and into most of Cilicia.

title: 272 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Seleucid king Antiochus I's eldest son Seleucus, who has ruled in the east of the kingdom as viceroy for a number of years, is put to death by his father on the charge of rebellion.

title: 262 BC

text: Antiochus I Soter, king of the Seleucid Kingdom from 281 BC (b. c. 323 BC)

title: 262 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: The new Seleucid king Antiochus II reaches an agreement with the king of Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonatas, to work together in trying to push Ptolemy II's fleet and armies out of the Aegean Sea. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia Minor.

title: 261 BC

year_label: 255 BCE

text: Diodotus I, Seleucid satrap of Bactria, rebels against Antiochus II and becomes the founder of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

title: 255 BC

section: Events › By place › Bactria

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Antiochus II Theos, king of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East from 261 BC. He has spent much of his reign at war with Egypt, recovering much of the territory in Anatolia lost in earlier wars between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties (b. c. 287 BC)

title: 246 BC

text: Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe, wife of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she has persuaded him to bar from the succession to the throne in favour of her own.

title: 246 BC

year_label: 236 BCE

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

title: 236 BC

year_label: 227 BCE

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

title: 227 BC

year_label: 226 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

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

title: 226 BC

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

title: 226 BC

year_label: 223 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Seleucus III is assassinated by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of Pergamon in Phrygia.

title: 223 BC

year_label: 222 BCE

text: Seleucid forces under their general Achaeus succeed in winning back all the Seleucid domains in Asia Minor (lost six years earlier to Pergamum).

title: 222 BC

year_label: 220 BCE

text: Antiochus III's commander in Anatolia, Achaeus, having recovered all the districts which Attalus of Pergamum has gained, is accused by Hermeias, the chief minister of Antiochus, of intending to revolt. In self-defence, Achaeus assumes the title of king and rules over the Anatolian parts of the Seleucid kingdom.

title: 220 BC

section: Events › By place › Anatolia

year_label: 219 BCE

text: Following the defection of one of Ptolemy IV's leading commanders, Egypt's Syrian territories are seriously threatened by Antiochus III, thus initiating the Fourth Syrian War. When the Seleucid ruler captures the important eastern Mediterranean sea ports of Seleucia-in-Pieria, Tyre, and Ptolemais, Ptolemy IV's advisor, Sosibius, and the Ptolemaic court enter into delaying negotiations with the enemy, while the Ptolemaic army is reorganized and intensively drilled.

title: 219 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 217 BCE

text: June 22 – Egyptian native hoplites under Ptolemy IV crush the Seleucid army under Antiochus III in the Battle of Raphia near Gaza. The realization of their military importance leads to demands by native Egyptians for greater privileges and so to the development of racial difficulties which will weaken the Ptolemy dynasty in the future.

title: 217 BC

year_label: 215 BCE

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

title: 215 BC

year_label: 213 BCE

text: Achaeus, Seleucid general and later separatist ruler of most of Anatolia until his defeat and execution by the Seleucid king Antiochus III

title: 213 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: Having recovered the central part of Anatolia from the usurper Achaeus, Antiochus III turns his forces to recover the outlying provinces to the north and east of the Seleucid kingdom.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 209 BCE

text: The King of the Parthians, Arsaces II, is attacked by the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who takes Hecatompylos (southeast of the Caspian Sea), the Arsacid capital and Syrinx in Hyrcania. Antiochus III defeats Arsaces II at the Battle of Mount Labus and then forces Arsaces II to enter into an alliance with the Seleucids.

title: 209 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

text: Antiochus III advances into Bactria, which is ruled by the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I, and defeats Euthydemus at the Battle of the Arius. After resisting a siege of his capital Bactra (Balkh) by the Seleucids, Euthydemus obtains an honourable peace by which Antiochus promises Euthydemus' son Demetrius the hand of one of his daughters.

title: 208 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

text: Antiochus III returns from his eastern campaigns, after having defeated the Bactrians and subjugated the Parthians and thus being able to partly restore Seleucid power in these provinces by crushing the revolting governors of Media, Persia and Anatolia. Having established a system of vassal states in the East, Antiochus now adopts the ancient Achaemenid title of "great king", and the Greeks, comparing him to Alexander the Great, surname him "the Great", that is to say Antiochus III Megas.

title: 205 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus III of the Syrian-based Seleucid kingdom realize Egypt's weakness and agree to partition Egypt's Anatolian and Aegean possessions. Antiochus' share is to be southern Syria, Lycia, Cilicia and Cyprus, while Philip is to gain western Anatolia and the Cyclades.

title: 204 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

text: During this period of confusion and change amongst Egypt’s leadership, armies under the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, make serious inroads into the Egyptian territories in Coele-Syria.

title: 202 BC

year_label: 198 BCE

text: The Battle of Panium is fought between Seleucid forces led by Antiochus III and Ptolemaic forces led by Scopas of Aetolia. The Seleucids win the battle which allows Antiochus III to obtain entire possession of Palestine and Coele-Syria from King Ptolemy V of Egypt. Though the Romans send ambassadors to Ptolemy V, they are unable to lend him any serious assistance against Antiochus III.

title: 198 BC

year_label: 195 BCE

text: Because of his administrative and constitutional reforms in Carthage, Hannibal becomes unpopular with an important faction of the Carthaginian nobility and he is denounced to the Romans for inciting the Seleucid king Antiochus III to take up arms against the Romans. Rome demands that Carthage surrender Hannibal. However, Hannibal voluntarily goes into exile.

title: 195 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 193 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum appeals to Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus III who is threatening to conquer Greece. The Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus supports the Roman championship of Greek autonomy in Anatolia.

title: 193 BC

year_label: 192 BCE

text: Seleucid forces under their king, Antiochus III, invade Greece at the invitation of the Aetolian League, who are revolting against the Romans. The Aetolians appoint him commander in chief of their league. Antiochus lands in Demetrias, Thessaly with only 10,500 men and occupies Euboea. However, he finds little support for his cause in central Greece.

title: 192 BC

year_label: 191 BCE

text: The Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio and Cato the Elder cut the Seleucid king Antiochus III off from his reinforcements in Thrace and outflank his position at the pass of Thermopylae in the Battle of Thermopylae. With the remainder of his troops, Antiochus flees to Chalcis on Euboea and from there he retreats by sea to Ephesus.

title: 191 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 190 BCE

text: The Battle of the Eurymedon is fought between a Seleucid fleet and ships from Rhodes and Pergamum, who are allied with the Roman Republic. The Seleucids are led by the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal. The Rhodians and their allies are victorious and Hannibal's fleet is forced to flee.

title: 190 BC

year_label: 188 BCE

text: Through the peace treaty of Apamea (in Phrygia), the Romans force the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, to surrender all his Greek and Anatolian possessions as far east as the Taurus Mountains, to pay 15,000 talents over a period of 12 years and to surrender to Rome the former Carthaginian general Hannibal, his elephants and his fleet, and furnish hostages, including the king's eldest son, Demetrius. Rome is now the master of the eastern Mediterranean while Antiochus III's empire is reduced to Syria, Mesopotamia, and western Iran.

title: 188 BC

text: Following the peace of Apamea, Eumenes II receives the provinces of Phrygia, Lydia, Lycia, Pisidia, and Pamphylia from his Roman allies, as the Romans have no desire to actually administer territory in Hellenistic Anatolia but want to see a strong, friendly state in Anatolia as a buffer zone against any possible Seleucid expansion in the future.

title: 188 BC

year_label: 187 BCE

text: The Seleucid king, Antiochus III, attempts to collect tribute from a temple near Susa, Persia, where he was killed. He is succeeded by his son, Seleucus IV, who inherits an empire consisting of Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, western Iran.

title: 187 BC

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius are accused by Cato the Elder and his supporters of having received bribes from the late Seleucid king Antiochus III. Scipio defies his accusers, reminds the Romans of their debt to him, and retires to his country house at Liternum in Campania. However, Cato is successful in breaking the political influence of Lucius Scipio and Scipio Africanus.

title: 185 BC

text: Ptolemy VI Philometor, aged 6, rules as co-regent with his mother, Cleopatra I, who, although a daughter of a Seleucid king, does not take King Seleucus IV's side and remains on friendly terms with Rome.

title: 180 BC

text: Perseus of Macedonia marries Laodice, the daughter of the Seleucid king Seleucus IV.

title: 177 BC

text: With the guardians of the young king Ptolemy VI Philometor demanding the return of Coele-Syria to Egyptian control, the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, decides on a preemptive strike against Egypt and invades the country, conquering all but the city of Alexandria. He is also able to capture Ptolemy VI.

title: 170 BC

text: King Perseus asks the Seleucid King Antiochus IV to join forces with him against the danger that Rome presents to all of the Hellenic monarchs. Antiochus IV does not respond.

title: 169 BC

text: The fleet of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV wins a victory off Cyprus, whose governor then surrenders the island to him.

title: 168 BC

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus IV mounts a campaign against the Parthians who are threatening his empire in the east. He leaves his chancellor, Lysias, with responsibility for the government of southern Syria and the guardianship of his son.

title: 166 BC

text: Mattathias, father of Judas Maccabaeus, Jewish priest from Modi'in, near Jerusalem, who has started and briefly led a rebellion by the Jews in Judea against the Seleucid kingdom of Syria

title: 166 BC

text: Artaxias I, king of Armenia, is taken captive by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he attacks Armenia. Artaxias is forced to recognize Antiochus IV's suzerainty over Armenia before he is released.

title: 165 BC

text: Cleopatra Thea Euergetis ("Benefactress"), ruler of the Seleucid kingdom from 125 BC, a daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt and his sister/wife Cleopatra II (d. 121 BC) (approximate date)

title: 164 BC

text: Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("God Manifest"), Seleucid king of the Syrian kingdom who has reigned since 175 BC, and has encouraged Greek culture and institutions but also attempted to suppress Judaism, which has led to the uprisings in Judea towards the end of his reign (b. c. 215 BC)

title: 164 BC

text: The Maccabees, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, continue their struggle against the Seleucids and persecute the Hellenising faction in Judea.

title: 162 BC

text: Lysias or Lusias, Seleucid general and governor of Syria and regent for Antiochus V Eupator

title: 162 BC

text: The rebel Seleucid general and ruler of Media, Timarchus, who has distinguished himself by defending Media against the emergent Parthians, treats Demetrius I's violent accession to the Seleucid throne as the excuse to declare himself an independent king and extend his realm from Media into Babylonia.

title: 161 BC

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

title: 161 BC

text: The Seleucid king, Demetrius I Soter defeats a Jewish rebellion at Palestine.

title: 160 BC

text: Timarchus, Seleucid nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Anatolia, appointed governor of Media in western Iran by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes and who has rebelled against his successor, Demetrius I Soter, until he is killed in a battle with Demetrius' forces

title: 160 BC

text: The Parthian King, Mithradates I, seizes Media from the Seleucids following the death of Timarchus.

title: 160 BC

text: With the Seleucid victory in Judea over the Maccabees, Alcimus is re-established as the High Priest of Israel, and a strong force is left in Jerusalem to support him. However, he does not enjoy his triumph for long, as he dies soon after from a paralytic stroke.

title: 159 BC

text: At the request of the Romans, Ariarathes V, king of Cappadocia, rejects a proposal from the Seleucid king, Demetrius I, for him to marry the sister of Demetrius I. In response, Seleucid forces attack Cappadocia and remove Ariarathes V from the Cappadocian throne. Demetrius I then replaces him with Orophernes Nicephorus, a supposed son of the late king, Ariarathes IV. With Ariarathes V deprived of his kingdom, he flees to Rome.

title: 158 BC

text: Jonathan Maccabeus is recognised by the Seleucids as a minor king within their dominions.

title: 157 BC

text: After Ariarathes V has been deposed from the Cappadocian throne by the Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter and has fled to Rome, the new king of Cappadocia, Orophernes, sends two ambassadors to Rome to join the Seleucid emissaries of Demetrius in opposing Ariarathes V's return to power. Despite their efforts, Ariarathes V is restored to his throne by the Romans. However, Rome allows Orophernes to reign jointly with him. The joint government, however, does not last long, as Ariarathes V becomes sole king of Cappadocia shortly afterwards.

title: 157 BC

text: The Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter's relations with Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum and Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt deteriorate to the point where they support a rival claimant to the Syrian throne, Alexander Balas, who claims to be the son of the former Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes and, therefore, a first cousin of Demetrius. He has been "discovered" by Heracleides, a former minister of Antiochus IV and brother of Timarchus, who has been executed by Demetrius I Soter in 160 BC after leading a revolt against him in Media.

title: 153 BC

text: The pretender to the Seleucid throne, Alexander Balas, makes contact with Jonathan Maccabeus offering him terms even more favorable than those offered by the king Demetrius I Soter. In particular, Alexander offers him the official appointment as High Priest in Jerusalem. In response, Jonathan withdraws his support from Demetrius and declares his allegiance to Alexander. Thus Jonathan becomes the first member of his family to achieve appointment as High Priest.

title: 152 BC

text: The pretender to the Seleucid throne, Alexander Balas, who claims to be the son of the late Antiochus IV, defeats the Seleucid king, Demetrius I Soter, in battle and kills him. The Roman Senate, along with Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum and Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt, support Alexander Balas and he becomes the ruler of the Seleucid Empire. Demetrius I Soter's son, Demetrius, goes into exile in Crete.

title: 150 BC