slug: cape-town

label: Cape Town

description: city in the Western Cape, South Africa

title: 1652

date: April 2

text: April 2 – Sheikh Yusuf, exiled by the administrators of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), arrives at the Dutch Cape Colony on the ship De Voetboog, at what later becomes Cape Town, South Africa, along with two wives, two concubines and twelve children. Resettled by the colonial government at a farm in Zandvliet, the Sheikh introduces Islam to South Africa.

title: 1694

date: December 27

text: December 27 – The Dutch East India Company ends an almost 11-year effort of trying to maintain a colony around Delagoa Bay in southern Africa in modern-day Mozambique. The entire population of the settlement, Fort Lydzammheid (near modern-day Maputo) is evacuated by the ships Snuffelaar, Zeepost and Feyenoord and the group returns to Cape Town.

title: 1730

date: September 15

text: September 15 – French Revolutionary Wars – Invasion of the Cape Colony: British forces capture Cape Town in the Dutch Cape Colony, to use its strategic facilities against the French Navy.

title: 1795

section: Events › July–December

date: January 9

text: January 9 – The Dutch commandant of Cape Town surrenders to British forces. On January 10, formal capitulation is signed under the Treaty Tree in Papendorp (modern-day Woodstock).

title: 1806

date: October 1

text: October 1 – South African College is inaugurated in Cape Town.

title: 1829

date: February 25

text: February 25 – sinks near Cape Town, British Cape Colony. Only 193 of the 643 on board survive, after troops stand firm on the deck so as not to overwhelm the lifeboats containing women and children.

title: 1852

section: Religion & Belief

date: November 30

text: November 30 – The first women to serve, in uniform, in the armed forces of any nation begins service as part of the Canadian Militia Expeditionary Force to Cape Town to serve in the Boer War. Georgina Fane Pope and three other women are enlisted as army nurses.

title: 1899

section: Events › November

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Mahatma Gandhi leaves South Africa for the last time, sailing out of Cape Town for England, on board the S.S. Kinfauns Castle.

title: 1914

section: Events › July

date: May 14

text: May 14 – The Three Minute Pause, initiated by the daily firing of the Noon Gun on Signal Hill, is instituted by Cape Town Mayor Sir Harry Hands. It will inspire the introduction of the two-minute silence in November 1919.

title: 1918

section: Events › May

section: Culture & Society

date: July 8

text: July 8 – The first rugby union test match is played between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa, at Newlands in Cape Town.

title: 1933

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The South African Press Association is established, with offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein and Pretoria.

title: 1938

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a British Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.

title: 1959

section: Economy & Finance

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan makes the Wind of Change speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town (although he had first made the speech, to little publicity, in Accra, Gold Coast – modern-day Ghana – on January 10).

title: 1960

section: Events › February

section: Health & Medicine

date: December 3

text: December 3 – Christiaan Barnard carries out the world's first heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

title: 1967

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.

title: 1990

date: August 21

text: August 21 – Former State President of South Africa, F. W. de Klerk, makes an official apology for crimes committed under Apartheid to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town.

title: 1996

date: September 26

text: September 26 – The 2014 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, to be held in Cape Town from 13 to 15 October, is suspended after a boycott of Nobel Laureates to protest the third time refusal of a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama by a South African Government "kowtowing to China".

title: 2014


slug: capetian-house-of-anjou

label: Capetian House of Anjou

description: family

section: Births

text: Elizabeth of Sicily, queen consort of Hungary (House of Anjou) (d. 1303)

title: 1261

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 23

text: August 23 – Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Charles of Anjou defeats the Ghibellines supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen, marking the fall of the Hohenstaufen Family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy.

title: 1268

section: Events › By topic › War and politics

section: Deaths

date: January

text: January/March – Philip of Sicily, king of Sardinia (House of Anjou)

title: 1277

text: Eleanor of Anjou, queen consort of Sicily (House of Anjou) (d. 1341)

title: 1289

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Treaty of Anagni: Pope Boniface VIII arranges a peace treaty between King Philip IV of France ("the Fair"), Charles II of Naples ("the Lame"), and James II of Majorca. James returns Sicily to the Papal States, seeking to bring peace between the Capetian House of Anjou and the Kingdom of Sicily; the effort is in vain. Boniface is determined to put an end to the War of the Sicilian Vespers, because he wants to declare a new Crusade for the reconquest of the Holy Land.

title: 1295

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Louis I, king of Naples (Capetian House of Anjou) (d. 1362)

title: 1320

text: Johanna I, Italian queen-regnant (House of Anjou) (d. 1382)

title: 1325

date: April 22

text: April 22 – Battle of Gamenario: The Lombards defeat the Angevins in the northwest region of present-day Italy, just southeast of Turin.

title: 1345

section: Events

text: Durrës, the second-largest city in modern-day Albania (at this time known as Dyrrhachium), is captured from the Angevins by Karl Thopia, a powerful feudal prince and warlord.

title: 1368

section: Events › Date unknown

date: March 31

text: March 31 – The Treaty of Villeneuve, signed on August 20, 1372 to settle the dispute between the Capetian House of Anjou and the House of Barcelona over rule of the Kingdom of Sicily, is ratified by Queen Giovanna of Naples (for Anjou), acknowledging the loss of Sicily to King Frederick the Simple of Sicily of the House of Barcelona.

title: 1373

section: Events › January–March

date: August 24

text: August 24 – The Angevins, led by Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo, lift their siege of Barletta in the Kingdom of Naples when Ivan Strez Balšić arrives with cavalry and infantry to rescue King Ferrante. Orsini's erroneous belief that Skanderbeg has accompanied the Neapolitan Army is enough to cause him to order a withdrawal.

title: 1461

section: Events › July–September


slug: capital-punishment

label: Capital punishment

description: legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime

year_label: 250 BCE

text: Marcus Atilius Regulus, Roman general and consul (executed)

title: 250 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Siege of Perusia: trying a last attempt to break the siege, which fails; Lucius Antonius surrenders to Octavian. His life is spared, but the citizens are executed or sold into slavery. Fulvia flees with her children and is exiled to Sicyon, where she dies of a sudden illness.

title: 40 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Orestes is arrested by Odoacer near Piacenza, and swiftly executed.

title: 476

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Religion & Belief

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne decrees the death penalty for any subdued Saxon refusing Christian baptism. Meanwhile Widukind builds up rebel strength in northern Saxony.

title: 780

text: Caliph Harun al-Rashid has his friend and vizier (secretary) Ja'far ibn Yahya beheaded, The surviving members of the influential Barmakid family (Jafar's family) are imprisoned on the orders of Harun, and their property is confiscated.

title: 803

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

date: August 6

text: August 6 – At Auburn Prison in New York, William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed in the electric chair.

title: 1890

section: Events › August

date: October 29

text: October 29 – Leon Czolgosz is executed in the electric chair for the assassination of William McKinley in Buffalo, New York on September 6.

title: 1901

section: Events › October

date: January 30

text: January 30 – The Moscow Trial initiated on January 23 is concluded. Thirteen of the defendants are sentenced to death (including Georgy Pyatakov, Nikolay Muralov and Leonid Serebryakov), while the rest, including Karl Radek and Grigory Sokolnikov are sent to labor camps and later murdered. They were initially spared for implicating others, including Rykov, Bukharin and Tukhachevsky, setting the stage for further trials

title: 1937

section: Events › January

date: April 5

text: April 5 – In Laramie, Wyoming, Russell Henderson pleads guilty to kidnapping and felony murder, in order to avoid a possible death penalty conviction for the apparent hate crime killing of Matthew Shepard.

title: 1999

section: Events › April


slug: cappadocia

label: Cappadocia

description: historical region of Anatolia in Turkey

year_label: 408 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 408 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 323 BCE

text: Eumenes of Cardia as governor of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia; and

title: 323 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

year_label: 321 BCE

text: Antipater appoints Antigonus commander in chief of his army in Asia Minor and sends him with Craterus to fight against Eumenes, the satrap of Cappadocia and a supporter of Perdiccas.

title: 321 BC

text: Antigonus and Craterus defeat Eumenes in battle but Eumenes escapes. Antigonus and Craterus then besiege him unsuccessfully in the mountain fortress of Nora on the border between Cappadocia and Lycaonia. Craterus is killed during the fighting against Eumenes when his charging horse (Diodorus) falls over him.

title: 321 BC

year_label: 319 BCE

text: Battle of Orkynia: Antigonus marches his army against Eumenes in Cappadocia and defeats him in battle at Orkynia.

title: 319 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Antiochus is unable to bring under his control the Persian dynasties that rule in Cappadocia.

title: 280 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 181 BCE

text: Pharnaces I of Pontus decides to attack both Eumenes II of Pergamum and Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and therefore invades Galatia with a large force. Eumenes leads an army to oppose him, however, hostilities are soon suspended following the arrival of Roman deputies, who have been appointed by the Roman Senate to inquire into the matters in dispute. Negotiations take place at Pergamum but are inconclusive, with Pharnaces' demands being rejected by the Romans as unreasonable. As a consequence, the war between Pontus and Pergamum and Cappadocia is renewed.

title: 181 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 158 BCE

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

year_label: 157 BCE

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

year_label: 130 BCE

text: Ariarathes V, king of Cappadocia

title: 130 BC

year_label: 97 BCE

text: Ariarathes VIII is forced out of Cappadocia by Mithridates, and dies soon afterwards.

title: 97 BC

year_label: 95 BCE

text: Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios becomes king of Cappadocia with Roman backing.

title: 95 BC

year_label: 92 BCE

text: Sulla repulses Tigranes of Armenia from Cappadocia.

title: 92 BC

year_label: 89 BCE

text: Mithridates VI of Pontus invades Bithynia and Cappadocia, thus beginning the First Mithridatic War.

title: 89 BC

year_label: 88 BCE

date: May

text: May – King Mithridates VI of Pontus invades Greece. Defeating the Roman forces four times in succession, he conquers Bithynia, Phrygia, Mysia, Lycia, Pamphylia, Ionia and Cappadocia. The Roman province of Asia is dismantled. On the king's orders, the local authorities in every city of the province round up and put to death all resident Italians in a single day (App.Mith.§§85–91). Plutarch (Sulla 24.4) says that 150,000 are killed, other sources calculate a figure of 80,000 people.

title: 88 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 75 BCE

text: Nicomedes IV of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to Rome on his death (75/4 BC). Angered by the arrangement, Mithridates VI of Pontus declares war on Rome and invades Bithynia, Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, thus starting the Third Mithridatic War.

title: 75 BC

year_label: 55 BCE

text: Archelaus, high priest of Comana (Cappadocia)

title: 55 BC

year_label: 51 BCE

text: Ariobarzanes II (Philopator), king of Cappadocia

title: 51 BC

year_label: 37 BCE

text: Antony reorganizes Asia Minor under strongmen loyal to him. He raises troops from his allies: Amyntas and Archelaus, kings of Galatia and Cappadocia. The old kingdom of Pontus is restored, from Armenia to the River Halys under Polemon I.

title: 37 BC

year_label: 36 BCE

text: Ariarathes X (or Eusebes Philadelphos), king of Cappadocia

title: 36 BC

year_label: 17 CE

text: Cappadocia (Asia Minor) becomes a Roman province.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 54 CE

text: Winter – Domitius Corbulo marches his legions (Legio VI Ferrata and Legio X) into the mountains of Cappadocia and makes camp. He gives the men a harsh training, twenty-five-mile marches and weapons drills.

title: 50s

section: Events › 54 AD › Anatolia

year_label: 59 CE

text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Roman commander in the east, captures Tigranocerta in Mesopotamia. He installs Tigranes VI, a Cappadocian prince, as ruler of Armenia. For the next four years, a cohort from Legio VI Ferrata and Legio X Fretensis is stationed in the capital as bodyguard to the king, supported by fifteen hundred auxiliaries.

title: 50s

section: Events › 59 AD › Caucasus

year_label: 74 CE

text: Polemon II, prince of the Bosporan Kingdom, Pontus, Cilicia and Cappadocia

title: AD 74

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Hadrian continues his voyages, now inspecting Caria, Cappadocia and Syria.

title: AD 129

text: Arrianus, Roman governor of Cappadocia, repulses an attack of the Alani, a nomadic tribe from southeastern Russia.

title: AD 134

text: In order to avoid Septimus Severus' persecution of Christians, Clement of Alexandria seeks refuge with Alexander in Cappadocia.

title: 202

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Battle of Antioch: Elagabalus defeats, with the support of the Syrian legions, the forces of Macrinus. Macrinus flees, but is captured near Chalcedon and later executed in Cappadocia.

title: 218

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

title: 230

text: King Septimius Odaenathus of Palmyra makes plans for a campaign in Cappadocia against the Goths. He is assassinated, along with his eldest son, most probably by his nephew due to a previous altercation between him and Odaenathus. His wife Zenobia succeeds him, and rules Vaballathus (the Palmyrene Empire) with her young son.

title: 267

section: Events › By place › Near East

text: Tacitus dies in Tyana, Cappadocia. He either dies of illness, or is murdered by the faction responsible for having assassinated Aurelian and Maximinus.

title: 276

text: Basil the Great becomes bishop of Caesarea (Cappadocia).

title: 370

text: The Huns begin their large-scale attack on the Eastern Roman Empire. They invade Armenia, Cappadocia, and enter parts of Syria, threatening Antioch.

title: 395

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: August

text: August – Basiliscus, Roman usurper, is deposed and Zeno is restored as emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. With the support of his adviser Illus, he besieges Constantinople, but the Senate opens the gates, allowing him to resume the throne. Basiliscus flees to sanctuary in a church, but surrenders himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus is sent to a fortress in Cappadocia, where he later dies from starvation.

title: 476

text: Isaurian War: Claudiopolis, ancient city of Cappadocia, is besieged and captured by the Romans. The Isaurians blockade the mountain passes, but John the Hunchback (John Gibbo) wins an overwhelming victory against the rebels.

title: 493

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II invades Armenia, and raids deep into Anatolia through the Byzantine provinces of Cappadocia, Phrygia, Galatia, and Bithynia.

title: 608

text: Battle of Issus: Heraclius defeats the Persian forces under Shahrbaraz in Cappadocia. He recaptures Anatolia, but returns to Constantinople to deal with the threat posed to his Balkan domains by the Avars, and puts the Byzantine army into winter quarters in Pontus.

title: 622

text: Battle of Sarus: Heraclius is victorious in a Byzantine assault river crossing. The reinforced Persians under Shahrbaraz are defeated along the Sarus River, near Adana (modern Turkey). Heraclius recaptures Cappadocia and Pontus, and returns to Trapezus to spend the winter. Shahrbaraz retreats in good order, and is able to continue his advance through Asia Minor towards Constantinople.

title: 625

text: Arab–Byzantine War: An Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik invades Asia Minor, and lays siege to Tyana (Cappadocia). The fortress city resists, dragging the siege through the winter and into 708.

title: AD 707

text: Arab–Byzantine War: The Umayyads under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik capture and sack the Byzantine city of Tyana (Cappadocia) after a prolonged siege, and following a victory over a Byzantine relief army. Maslamah also leads another expedition in the summer, raiding and conquering Amorium (modern Turkey).

title: 708

text: Leo III of the Byzantine Empire orders the destruction of all icons, beginning the First Iconoclastic Period. Many monks flee to Greece and Italy (taking smaller icons with them, hidden in their clothing); others flee to the caves of the Cappadocian desert.

title: 730

text: Autumn – Siege of Kamacha: Abbasid forces under al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba are defeated at the fortress city of Kamacha, in eastern Cappadocia (modern Turkey). A Byzantine relief army (12,000 men) forces the Abbasids to retreat into Armenia.

title: 766

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

title: 788

text: 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: Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominions, and reaches the Euphrates River in north-eastern Syria. He captures and sacks the city of Tarsus, but is defeated in Cappadocia.

title: 831

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Empire and Byzantine Empire

text: January – Arethas of Caesarea speaks on the occasion of the Epiphany. He becomes the official rhetor at the Byzantine court of Emperor Leo VI (the Wise) at Constantinople, and is nominated as Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.

title: 901

text: Spring – The Seljuk Turks make incursions into Mesopotamia, Cilicia and Cappadocia. They sack the Byzantine city of Caesarea, move south through the Cilician Gates and raid the region around Antioch in Syria.

title: 1067

text: January 1 – Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, wife of the late Emperor Constantine X, marries General Romanos Diogenes (a member of a prominent Cappadocian family) – who is proclaimed co-emperor as Romanos IV of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 1068

text: Seljuk forces under Alp Arslan defeat the Byzantine rear guard and advance deep into Cappadocia and Lycaonia. They plunder at will, but fail to capture the city of Iconium. Romanos retreats and returns to Constantinople. Alp Arslan takes advantage of Romanos' retreat and captures Manzikert. He recaptures the strategical fortress cities of Chliat and Van, consolidating his control over the Lake Van region.

title: 1069


slug: capua

label: Capua

description: Italian comune

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Capua is founded by Etruscans. (approximate date)

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

year_label: 438 BCE

text: The city of Capua falls to the Samnites.

title: 438 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 340 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Romans succeed in detaching the Campanians from their alliance with the Latins (through their fear of the Samnites) and induce them to make a separate peace. Three Campanian cities, including Capua and Cumae, are granted Roman citizenship and thus become part of the Roman state. The Roman state now extends to the Bay of Naples.

title: 340 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 314 BCE

text: While the consuls are fighting the Samnites at Tarracina, the Romans elect Gaius Maenius as Dictator with Marcus Foslius Flaccinator as his Magister Equitum (Master-of-Horse, Second-in-Command) and send them into Campania at the head of a large army. When Maenius and Foslius arrive near Capua, the Campanians, hearing about the defeat of the Samnites at Tarracina, start negotiating terms with the Romans; they surrender those who are guilty of the uprising and in turn are reinstated in their alliance with Rome.

title: 314 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Roman censor, Appius Claudius Caecus, a patrician, enters office and begins construction of the Appian Way (the Via Appia) between Rome and Capua. He also embarks on a program of political reform, including the distribution of the landless citizens of Rome among the tribes, which at this time constitute basic political units. Appius also admits sons of freedmen into the Roman Senate. He also asserts the right of freed slaves to hold office.

title: 312 BC

year_label: 216 BCE

text: The city of Capua switches sides to join Hannibal and the Carthaginian army winters there.

title: 216 BC

year_label: 215 BCE

text: Hannibal's forces occupy the cities of Heraclea and Thurii. However, Hannibal is unable to prevent the Romans from besieging Capua.

title: 215 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: The Roman consuls, Appius Claudius Pulcher and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, besiege Capua with eight legions. Hanno moves to Beneventum to try to help the inhabitants of Capua, but he is defeated by the Romans.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: The Romans besiege the town of Capua (which is allied with Hannibal). The town eventually falls to the Romans and its citizens are punished by them. The town's nobility are put to the sword, its territory is confiscated and its municipal organisation is dissolved.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 105 BCE

text: At Rome, the first official gladiator match is demonstrated by gladiators from Capua, as part of a training program for the military.

title: 105 BC

year_label: 73 BCE

text: Third Servile War: Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator, escapes with around 70 slave-gladiators from a gladiator school at Capua. They defeat a small Roman force and equip themselves with captured military equipment as well with gladiatorial weapons. Spartacus and his band of gladiators plunder the region surrounding Capua and retire to a defensible position on Mount Vesuvius.

title: 73 BC

text: Summer – Capua is destroyed by the Vandals. Ricimer is unable to end piracy in the western Mediterranean. Backed by his popularity, he gains the consent of the Senate for an expedition against Avitus.

title: 456

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne and ruler of Aquitaine, visits Monte Cassino and Capua, both in Beneventan territory. Prince Arechis II, feeling threatened by the Franks, decides that he needs to stop quarrelling with the Byzantine Duchy of Naples so he can focus on the Frankish foe. Prince Arechis II therefore signs a peace agreement, or 'pactum', with the Duchy of Naples.

title: 786

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: John VIII travels throughout Campania, in an effort to form an alliance among the southern Italian states (the cities of Salerno, Capua, Naples, Gaeta and Amalfi) against Muslim raids.

title: 876

section: Deaths

text: Lambert I, duke of Spoleto, dies while besieging the city of Capua. He is succeeded by his son Guy II.

title: 880

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

title: 900

text: Otto I goes on a tour of the Lombard duchies of southern Italy. In Capua he grants Pandulf I (Ironhead) the vacant Duchy of Spoleto and Camerino and charges him with prosecuting the war against the Byzantine Empire. In Benevento, Otto receives the homage of Pandulf's brother and co-ruler Landulf III. In Salerno he receives also the support of Gisulf I.

title: 967

text: Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) travels to Capua to meet there with ambassadors of Nikephoros II, who again reiterate their friendship, but refuse to consent to his dowry demands (see 967). Otto invades the Byzantine Theme of Langobardia with a Lombard expeditionary force. With the assistance of Benevento-Capua and naval support from Pisa, Otto attempts to take Bari by assault, but Byzantine resistance is stiff, and Otto withdraws back to Ravenna.

title: 968

text: Pandulf Ironhead, duke of Benevento and Capua, leads the siege of Bovino. He is captured by the Byzantines and taken in chains to Bari, and jailed in Constantinople. Neapolitan forces under Marinus II, duke of Naples, invade Benevento-Capua, capture the city of Avellino and then lay siege to Capua.

title: 969

text: Summer – Melus of Bari, a Lombard nobleman, revolts and is supported by Norman mercenaries at Capua. He marches into Apulia to catch the Byzantine army off-guard. Melus defeats the Byzantines on the banks of the Fortore River and ravages the territory in Apulia.

title: 1017

section: Events › Europe

text: Spring – Emperor Henry II divides his army into three columns and descends through Rome onto Capua after the Lombard states of Southern Italy had switched their allegiance to the Byzantinians in the wake of the battle of Cannae four years earlier. The bulk of the expeditionary force (20,000 men) led by Henry, makes its way down the Adriatic coast.

title: 1022

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Byzantine Emperor Basil II ("Bulgar Slayer") dies in Constantinople after a 50-year reign. Never married, he is succeeded by his brother and co-emperor Constantine VIII, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Constantine calls the Sicilian invasion off. Catapan Basil Boioannes diverts the Byzantine expeditionary force already assembled on Calabria, to join the siege of Capua.

title: 1025

section: Events

text: Norman conquest of southern Italy: Norman forces under Richard Drengot besiege and capture Capua. He takes the princely title from Prince Landulf VIII.

title: 1058

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Cesare Borgia's French troops storm and overtake the fortress at Capua in the Kingdom of Naples, overcoming the defense of Fabrizio Colonna in the occupation of the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon in southern Italy.

title: 1501

section: Events › April–June


slug: caracalla

label: Caracalla

description: Roman emperor from 198 to 217

section: Births

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Caracalla (or Antoninus), Roman emperor (d. 217)

title: AD 188

text: Lucius Septimius Bassianus (or Caracalla), age 7, changes his name to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, to solidify connections with the family of Marcus Aurelius, and is given the title Caesar.

title: AD 195

date: January 28

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

title: AD 198

section: Crime & Justice

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

title: AD 200

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and his brother Publius Septimius Geta Caesar become Roman Consuls.

title: 205

section: Conflict & Security

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, a praetorian prefect and father-in-law of Caracalla, is assassinated.

title: 205

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 206

text: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and his brother Publius Septimius Geta Caesar become Roman consuls.

title: 208

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: Fulvia Plautilla, Roman empress and wife of Caracalla

title: 211

date: February 4

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

title: 211

text: 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

text: Caracalla's victories in Germany ensure his popularity within the Roman army.

title: 214

text: Caracalla's troops massacre the population of Alexandria, Egypt, beginning with the leading citizens after the Alexandrian Revolts. The emperor was angry about a satire, produced in Alexandria, mocking his claim that he killed Geta in self-defense.

title: 215

section: Events › By place › Egypt

section: Culture & Society

text: Emperor Caracalla tricks the Parthians by accepting a marriage proposal. He slaughters his bride and the wedding guests after the celebrations.

title: 216

section: Health & Medicine

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

title: 217

date: April 8

text: April 8 – Caracalla is assassinated by his soldiers near Edessa. Marcus Opellius Macrinus, head of the Praetorian Guard, declares himself Roman emperor.

title: 217

text: April 8 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)

title: 217

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Julia Maesa, an aunt of the assassinated Emperor Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus, and declares her grandson Elagabalus, age 14, emperor of Rome.

title: 218


slug: caracas

label: Caracas

description: capital and largest city of Venezuela

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: July 25

text: July 25 – The city of Santiago de León de Caracas is founded by Diego de Losada.

title: 1567

section: Events › July–September

date: December 22

text: December 22 – Philip V of Spain signs a Royal Decree in Lerma, transforming the Seminary of Saint Rose of Lima in Caracas into the Universidad Real y Pontificia de Caracas.

title: 1721

section: Events › October –December

date: April 19

text: April 19 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, is removed by the people of Caracas, and Supreme Junta is installed. Venezuela is the first South American state to proclaim independence from Spain.

title: 1810

section: Climate & Environment

date: March 26

text: March 26 – The 1812 Caracas earthquake destroys Caracas, capital of Venezuela.

title: 1812

section: Events › January–March

date: October 14

text: October 14 – After a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, the municipality gives Simón Bolívar the title of El Libertador.

title: 1813

section: Events › October–December

date: November 13

text: November 13 – The President of Venezuela, Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.

title: 1950

section: Events › November

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Santa Teresa Church tragedy: 50 people are trampled to death in the Basilica of St. Teresa, Caracas, Venezuela, after someone shouts "Fire!"; 40 people are arrested in connection with the crush.

title: 1952

section: Events › March–April

date: May 13

text: May 13 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.

title: 1958

section: Events › May

date: July 29

text: July 29 – An earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela leaves 240 dead.

title: 1967

section: Events › July

date: October 22

text: October 22 – A fire at La Planta prison in southwest Caracas, Venezuela, kills thirty prisoners.

title: 1996

section: Events › October

text: April 4 – The Faddoul Brothers, kidnapped on February 23, 2006, in Caracas, Venezuela, are found dead, causing outrage and mass protests against insecurity in the country.

title: 2006

section: Events › April

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack, profanation of the oldest synagogue in Caracas, Venezuela.

title: 2009

section: Events › January

date: June 16

text: June 16 – Seventeen people die in Caracas, Venezuela following the El Paraíso stampede after a tear gas canister is detonated in a crowded club.

title: 2018

section: Events › June

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Venezuelan councilman and opposition politician Edmundo Rada is reported missing. He is found dead the following day on the side of the road out of Petare, Caracas, burned and with two coup de grâce shots in the back of his neck.

title: 2019


slug: carcassonne

label: Carcassonne

description: French commune in Aude, Occitania

section: Deaths

date: December 28

text: December 28 – The Visigoth king Euric dies and is succeeded by his son Alaric II. Euric has built a rampart to protect the city of Carcassonne southeast of Toulouse, on a bend of the Aude River.

title: 484

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Clovis I fails in an effort to take the walled city of Carcassonne (Southern Gaul). He establishes Paris (Lutetia) as his capital and gets baptized, making Roman Catholicism the official religion of the Kingdom of the Franks.

title: 508

section: Conflict & Security

text: Claudius, duke (dux) of Lusitania, defeats the Franks and Burgundians at Carcassonne (Languedoc) on the Aude River.

title: 589

text: Muslim forces under Al-Samh begin the prolonged siege of Carcassonne, a fortified Visigothic town located in the Languedoc-Roussillon.

title: 720

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

title: 725

text: Summer – al-Samh's successor, Anbasa ibn Suhaym al-Kalbi, moves against Gothic nobles resisting surrender. The city of Carcassonne is besieged, and its Gothic ruler forced to cede half of his territory, pay tribute, and make an offensive and defensive alliance with Muslim forces. The Gothic rulers of Nîmes and the other resisting Septimanian cities also eventually fall under the sway of the Umayyads.

title: 725

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

title: 760

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Siege of Carcassonne: Simon de Montfort takes Carcassonne, after negotiating the city's surrender with Raymond Roger Trencavel (or Raimond), viscount of Béziers and Albi, who is imprisoned and dies in mysterious circumstances 3 months later in his own dungeon. The Cathars are allowed to leave and expelled with nothing more than their clothes.

title: 1209

date: June 7

text: June 7 – King Louis VIII of France begins the Crusade against the Cathars (Albigensians) in southern France and against Raymond VII, count of Count of Toulouse. Over the next three months, the Crusaders capture the cities of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire and Marseille and by Avignon's surrender on September 9, Louis forces the region of Languedoc into submission, and reasserts his authority upon the autonomous municipalities of his estates. Most cities have to accept the authority of Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence, but Marseille and Nice rebel.

title: 1226

section: Events › April – June


slug: cardinal-catholic-church

label: Cardinal (Catholic Church)

description: senior ecclesiastical official of the Catholic Church

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Pope Stephen V dies after a 6-year reign. He is succeeded by Formosus, former cardinal bishop of Portus, as the 111th pope of the Catholic Church.

title: 891

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Births

text: Leo of Ostia ("Marsicanus"), Italian cardinal (d. 1115)

title: 1046

date: August

text: August – Thomas of Capua, Italian prelate, cardinal and diplomat

title: 1239

date: August 7

text: August 7 – After an interregnum (sede vacante) of two years, due to disagreements between the cardinals, French cardinal Jacques Duèze, Bishop of Avignon, is elected as successor to Pope Clement V, who died in 1314.

title: 1316

section: Events › July – September

date: April 6

text: April 6 – Przecław of Pogorzela, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (b. 1310)

title: 1376

date: August 29

text: August 29 – Cardinal Angelo Acciaioli is appointed by Pope Innocent VII to be the Grand Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, filling a vacancy that has existed since the death of Francesco Moricotti Prignani in 1394.

title: 1405

section: Events › July–September

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Thomas Wolsey is invested as a Roman Catholic Cardinal.

title: 1515

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Reginald Pole, a Roman Catholic Cardinal, is appointed by Queen Mary of England as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canterbury.

title: 1556

date: September 5

text: September 5 – Armand Jean du Plessis becomes Cardinal Richelieu.

title: 1622

date: December 19

text: December 19 – At the age of 8 years old, Prince Luis of Spain becomes the youngest Roman Catholic Cardinal in history, after being named by Pope Clement XII.

title: 1735

section: Events › October –December


slug: cardinal-richelieu

label: Cardinal Richelieu

description: French clergyman, cardinal, noble and statesman (1585-1642)

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Cardinal Richelieu, Armand-Jean du Plessis, is named French Secretary of State by young king Louis XIII. Richelieu will change France into a unified centralised state, able to resist both England and the Habsburg Empire.

title: 1616

section: Events › November-December

title: 1622

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Louis XIII of France appoints Cardinal Richelieu to the Conseil du Roi (Royal Council).

title: 1624

section: Events › April–June

date: August 13

text: August 13 – Cardinal Richelieu is appointed by Louis XIII of France to be his chief minister, having intrigued against Charles de La Vieuville, Superintendent of Finances, arrested for corruption the previous day.

title: 1624

date: August 21

text: August 21 – Huguenot rebellions: Montauban, one of the last Huguenot strongholds, surrenders without a fight to Richelieu's troops.

title: 1629

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Day of the Dupes: Marie de' Medici attempts to oust Cardinal Richelieu from the French Court, but fails after two days.

title: 1630

section: Events › October–December

date: March 1

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

title: 1633

section: Events › January–March

section: Culture & Society

text: Cardinal Richelieu gathers members for the Académie Française which will be formally established in 1635).

title: 1634

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 30

text: July 30 – In France, Cardinal Richelieu persuades King Louis XIII to issue an ordonnance excusing the French nobility from military service if they pay a tax which allows the hiring of paid cavalry.

title: 1636

date: December 18

text: December 18 – Cardinal Mazarin becomes the first adviser to French potentate Richelieu, on the death of Leclerc du Tremblay.

title: 1638

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: April

text: April – Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, apostolic nuncio to Paris and adviser to Cardinal Richelieu, is naturalized French by letters patent; in December, he leaves the service of Rome to enter that of King Louis XIII of France.

title: 1639

text: November 30 – In Normandy, the revolt of the va-nu-pieds is crushed by the troops of French Army Colonel Jean de Gassion under orders of Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, with 300 of the rebels killed.

title: 1639


slug: caria

label: Caria

description: historical region of Asia Minor

year_label: 656 BCE

text: Thebes submits to the Egyptian ruler Psamtik I of Sais, who has allied himself with Gyges of Lydia and employs Libyan soldiers in a rebellion against Assyrian rule with help from Carian and Ionian mercenaries. Psamtik permits the city's mayor Mentuemhat to retain his position, who is not only the most powerful Theban but also the fourth prophet of Amon.

title: 656 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 498 BCE

text: Kaunos and Caria, followed by Byzantium and towns in the Hellespont also revolt against the Persians. Cyprus also joins the rebellion, as Onesilus removes his pro-Persian brother, Gorgos, from the throne of Salamis.

title: 498 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 497 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Persians launch an expedition on the Hellespont and later Caria.

title: 497 BC

year_label: 413 BCE

text: Tissaphernes, the Persian satrap of Lydia and Caria, forms an alliance with Sparta. The Spartans, with strategic advice from Alcibiades and limited assistance from the Persians under Pharnabazus, advance almost to the gates of Athens. King Agis II leads the Spartan force that occupies Decelea in Attica.

title: 413 BC

year_label: 408 BCE

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

title: 408 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 404 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Darius II's younger son, Cyrus, is accused by Tissaphernes, the satrap of Caria, of plotting his brother Artaxerxes II's murder. On the intercession of Artaxerxes II and Cyrus's mother, Parysatis, however, Cyrus is pardoned and sent back to his satrapy.

title: 404 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

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

title: 396 BC

year_label: 377 BCE

text: Mausolus is appointed as the Persian satrap of Caria.

title: 377 BC

year_label: 362 BCE

text: Mausolus of Caria joins the revolt of the satraps of Anatolia against the Persian king Artaxerxes II.

title: 362 BC

year_label: 356 BCE

text: The Social War begins between the Second Athenian League, led by Athens, and its revolting allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Kos as well as the independent state Byzantium. Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria, instigates the rebellion against the Athenian control of these states. The revolting allies ravage the islands of Lemnos and Imbros which are loyal to Athens.

title: 356 BC

year_label: 354 BCE

text: Athens recognises the independence of Chios, Kos and Rhodes and makes peace with Mausolus of Caria.

title: 354 BC

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

title: 354 BC

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

year_label: 353 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Mausolus, King and Persian satrap of Caria, dies and is succeeded in 352 BC by Artemisia, his sister and wife.

title: 353 BC

title: 353 BC

year_label: 350 BCE

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

title: 350 BC

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Artemisia II, queen of Caria and sister and wife of king Mausolus of Caria

title: 350 BC

text: Idrieus, the second son of Hecatomnus, succeeds to the throne of Caria on the death of Artemisia II, the widow of his elder brother Mausolus. Shortly after his accession, at the request of the Persian king, Artaxerxes III, Idrieus equips a fleet of 40 triremes and assembles an army of 8,000 mercenary troops and despatches them against Cyprus, under the command of the Athenian general Phocion.

title: 350 BC

year_label: 344 BCE

text: The king of Caria, Idrieus, dies, leaving the Persian satrapy, by his will, to his sister Ada, to whom he was married.

title: 344 BC

text: Pixodarus, the youngest of the three sons of King Hecatomnus of Caria, gains possession of the satrapy of Caria by expelling his sister Ada, the widow and successor of her brother Idrieus.

title: 340 BC

year_label: 334 BCE

text: At Halicarnassus, Alexander successfully undertakes the first of many sieges, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea. Alexander leaves Caria in the hands of Ada, who was the ruler of Caria before being deposed by her brother-in-law, Pixodarus.

title: 334 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

text: The king of Caria, Pixodarus, dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Orontobates.

title: 334 BC

year_label: 313 BCE

text: Prepelaus arrives in Caria and starts making plans with Asander. They decide on a surprise attack on Ptolemy, the commander of Antigonus' forces in western Asia Minor. Eupolemus, one of Prepelaus' lieutenants, is sent with 8,000 infantry and 200 cavalry. However, some deserters from Eupolemus' strike force betray their plans to Ptolemy who quickly gathers 8,300 infantry and 600 cavalry from their winter quarters and marches against Eupolemus. In the middle of the night Ptolemy launches a surprise attack on Eupolemus' camp capturing the entire force with ease.

title: 313 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

text: At the start of the year, Asander (Antigonus' governor of Caria) rebels, forcing Antigonus (wintering with his main army in Phrygia) to invade Caria. Calling all his forces from their winter quarters, he divides them into four columns: the first is sent to take Miletus; the second, under his nephew Ptolemy, campaigns through central Caria from east to west; a third marches to and takes Theangela; Antigonus himself with the main army campaigns from north to south capturing Tralles, Iasus and Kaunos. Caria is taken in the space of weeks.

title: 312 BC

year_label: 309 BCE

text: Ptolemy I Soter personally commands a fleet that takes the coastal regions of Lycia and Caria from Antigonus I Monophthalmus, capturing the cities of Phaselis, Xanthos, Kaunos, Iasos and Myndus.

title: 309 BC

year_label: 287 BCE

text: Demetrius besieges Athens without success. He leaves Antigonus in charge of the war in Greece, assembles all his ships and embarks with his troops to attack Caria and Lydia, provinces in Asia Minor controlled by Lysimachus.

title: 287 BC

year_label: 272 BCE

text: Egypt's victories solidify the kingdom's position as the undisputed naval power of the eastern Mediterranean; the Ptolemaic sphere of power now extends over the Cyclades to Samothrace, and the harbours and coastal towns of Cilicia Trachea, Pamphylia, Lycia and Caria.

title: 272 BC

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

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 200 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon's fleet defeat the Rhodians at Lade. His forces then advance into Pergamum, plundering Pergamese territory and attacking cities in Caria.

title: 200 BC

text: Emperor Hadrian continues his voyages, now inspecting Caria, Cappadocia and Syria.

title: AD 129

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Climate & Environment

text: The 141 Lycia earthquake affects most of the Roman provinces of Lycia and Caria and the islands of Rhodes, Kos, Simi and Serifos. It triggers a severe tsunami, which causes major inundation.

title: AD 141

section: Events › By place › Asia


slug: caribbean

label: Caribbean

description: region to the center-east of America composed of many islands / coastal regions surrounding the Caribbean Sea

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: November 11

text: November 11 – France and the Netherlands agree to divide the Caribbean island of Saint Martin between them.

title: 1648

section: Events › October–December

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: January 9

text: January 9 – The Jamaican town of Port Royal, a center of trade in the Western Hemisphere and at this time the largest city in the Caribbean, is destroyed by a fire. British ships in the harbor are able to rescue much of the merchandise that has been unloaded on the docks, but the inventory in market-places in town is destroyed.

title: 1703

section: Events › January–March

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Mariner Robert Jenkins presents a pickled ear, which he claims was cut off by a Spanish captain in the Caribbean in 1731, to the Parliament of Great Britain, which votes, 257 to 209, for war against Spain, leading to the War of Jenkins' Ear the following year.

title: 1738

date: October 12

text: October 12 – War of Jenkins' Ear – Battle of Havana: a British Caribbean squadron engages a Spanish squadron based near Havana.

title: 1748

date: January 16

text: January 16 – British forces under Robert Monckton land on the French island of Martinique in the Caribbean.

title: 1762

date: September 26

text: September 26 – The destructive "Racer's hurricane" sweeps across the Caribbean, northeastern Mexico, the Republic of Texas and the Gulf Coast of the United States and lasts until October 9, after killing at least 105 people.

title: 1837

section: Events › July–September

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Cuban Missile Crisis begins when U.S. President Kennedy is told of photographs (taken from U-2 flights) showing Soviet nuclear weapon installations being constructed on Cuba in the Caribbean. A stand-off ensues for 12 days between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war.

title: 1962

section: Events › October

date: September 17

text: September 17–22 – Hurricane Hugo devastates the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, causing at least 71 deaths and $8,000,000,000 in damages.

title: 1989

section: Events › September

date: July 11

text: July 11 – A Cubana de Aviación Antonov An-24 crashes into the Caribbean off southeast Cuba killing 44 people.

title: 1995

section: Events › July

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Birgenair Flight 301, on a charter flight from the Caribbean to Germany, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Dominican Republic, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

title: 1996

section: Events › February


slug: carlisle

label: Carlisle

description: city in Cumberland, Cumbria, England

text: Spring – King David I of Scotland invades northern England and captures many of the major towns including Carlisle and Newcastle. In response, King Stephen raises an army (with Flemish mercenaries), and marches to Durham. David agrees to negotiate a peace between the two countries.

title: 1136

section: Events › By place › Britain

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Battle of the Standard: King David I of Scotland gives his full support to Matilda (daughter of the late King Henry I), and invades the north of England – travelling as far south as Lincolnshire. The Scottish army (some 15,000 men) is defeated by English forces under Earl William le Gros in Yorkshire. David retreats to Carlisle and reassembles an army.

title: 1138

section: Culture & Society

date: March

text: March – The 16-year-old Henry of Anjou, eldest son of Queen Matilda, lands in England in a second attempt to take the English throne from Stephen. He travels up via Salisbury and Gloucester north to Carlisle (Scotland).

title: 1149

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Scottish nobles Edmund Comyn and Simon Fraser lead an invasion from Dumfriesshire in Scotland, crossing the border into England at Cumberland and laying waste to Carlisle and its surrounding area.

title: 1303

section: Events › April–June

section: Religion & Belief

date: November 3

text: November 3 – From Lanercost Prior, King Edward of England summons Parliament to meet in Carlisle, starting on January 20, "to "treat of the ordering and settling of the land of Scotland."

title: 1306

section: Events › October – December

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 17

text: February 17 – Eight days after their capture at Loch Ryan, Thomas de Brus, and Alexander de Brus, Reginald Crawford are all executed. Thomas and Alexander are taken to Carlisle, where hanged, drawn and quartered.

title: 1307

section: Events › January – March

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Scottish and French troops unsuccessfully try to besiege the walled city of Carlisle in England, but Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed "Hotspur" breaks the siege and the attackers withdraw to Scotland, ending the war between the two kingdoms.

title: 1385

date: June 28

text: June 28 – English Civil War: The Royalists lose Carlisle.

title: 1645


slug: carloman-of-bavaria

label: Carloman of Bavaria

description: King of Bavaria from 876 to 879

section: Births

text: Carloman of Bavaria, Frankish king (or 830)

title: 828

text: Carloman, eldest son of King Louis the German, revolts against his father. He is captured, but manages to escape to the Ostmark (or 862).

title: 861

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Carloman, eldest son of King Louis the German, revolts against his father. He is captured, but manages to escape to the Ostmark (or 861).

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Central Europe

text: King Louis the German suppresses the revolt of his son Carloman (for the second time), who wants a partition (mainly of Bavaria) of the East Frankish Kingdom.

title: 863

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Louis the German divides the East Frankish Kingdom among his three sons. Carloman receives Bavaria (with more lands along the Inn River). He gives Saxony to Louis the Younger (with Franconia, and Thuringia) and Swabia (with Raetia) to Charles the Fat. Louis arranges marriages into the local aristocracy, for his sons to hold important territories along the frontiers.

title: 865

section: Deaths

date: August 12

text: August 12 – Emperor Louis II dies in Brescia, after having named his cousin Carloman, son of King Louis the German, as his successor. Louis is buried in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.

title: 875

date: August 28

text: August 28 – King Louis the German dies at Frankfurt, while preparing for war against his brother Charles II ("the Bald"), ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The East Frankish Kingdom is divided among his three sons: Carloman receives Bavaria and styles himself "King of Bavaria". Louis the Younger receives Saxony (with Franconia and Thuringia), and Charles the Fat receives Swabia (with Raetia).

title: 876

text: King Charles the Fat becomes ruler of the Kingdom of Italy, after the abdication of his brother Carloman of Bavaria, who has been incapacitated by a stroke.

title: 879

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Carloman of Bavaria, Frankish king

title: 880

text: Summer – Charles the Fat designates his illegitimate son Bernard as his heir, ignoring the claims of his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia (illegitimate son of Carloman of Bavaria), and Charles the Simple (5-year-old son of King Louis the Stammerer). The Frankish bishops protest, so Charles summons Pope Adrian III to an assembly in Worms, to resolve the issue. Adrian leaves Rome in the hands of Bishop John of Pavia and heads to Germany, but dies on the way, just after crossing the River Po.

title: 885

date: November 17

text: November 17 – East Frankish magnates revolt against the inept emperor Charles III (the Fat) in an assembly at Frankfurt, and depose him. His nephew Arnulf of Carinthia, the illegitimate son of former king Carloman of Bavaria, is elected ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. Charles yields his throne without a struggle, and retires to Neidingen.

title: 887


slug: carolingian-dynasty

label: Carolingian dynasty

description: Frankish noble family founded by Charles Martel

text: The Franks, Merovingians and Carolingians successively control most of Europe, while strong feudal lords rise in power to gain the allegiance of the people.

title: 601

text: Charles Martel, Frankish statesman and founder of the Carolingian dynasty (d. 741)

title: 688

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Charles Martel, Frankish statesman and founder of the Carolingian dynasty

title: 741

date: November

text: November – Pepin the Short, youngest son of Charles Martel, forces the last Merovingian king Childeric III to retire to the monastery of Saint-Bertin. He proclaims himself as king of the Franks with the support of Pope Zachary, and is crowned at Soissons by Boniface, bishop of Mainz, becoming, as Pepin III, the first Carolingian monarch of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 751

date: June

text: June – Stephen II recognizes the Carolingian dynasty as legitimate rulers of the Frankish Kingdom. He travels to Paris and appeals for Frankish support against the Lombards.

title: 752

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: July

text: July – Stephen II anoints Pepin's sons, Charles (later known as Charlemagne) and Carloman, consecrating them as patricians. At Quierzy he proclaims the Carolingian dynasty holy, and appeals for help against the Lombards. Finally, the Frankish nobles give their consent to a campaign in Lombardy.

title: 754

section: Conflict & Security

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne spends Easter in Nijmegen, and leads a large Frankish army to Paderborn, where a general assembly of Carolingian and Saxon leaders had been summoned. Saxon lands are integrated into the Frankish Kingdom, and divided into missionary parishes. Duke Widukind and his followers flee to King Sigfred of Denmark, seeking refuge and support.

title: AD 777

text: Charlemagne summons Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, to Aachen, and appoints him as chief adviser on religious and educational matters. He becomes the leading scholar and teacher at the Carolingian court.

title: 782

text: Winter – Saxon Wars: Charlemagne defeats the Saxon rebels in a three-day battle next to the Hase River, and perhaps overruns fortifications on the Wittekindsberg, before ravaging southern Saxony. A Frisian uprising against Carolingian rule is supported by Duke Widukind.

title: 783

text: Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, returns (after an 8-year absence) to England. During his stay at the Carolingian court of King Charlemagne in Aachen, he has educated his sons Charles, Pepin and Louis. Alcuin revises the church liturgy and the Bible, and is responsible for an intellectual movement within the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 790

text: Saxon War: The Slav Obodrites, under their ruler Witzan, attack the northern Saxons in Liuni. He is killed in an ambush and succeeded by his son Drożko (Thrasco), who becomes a Carolingian dux. King Charlemagne leads a Frankish expeditionary force north from Mainz, and marches to the Elbe, where eastern Saxon rebels again surrender.

title: 795

text: Summer – Emperor Charlemagne finishes the conquest of Saxony. The Carolingian administration in the north is restored and the diocese of Bremen is re-established. Venice, torn by infighting, switches allegiance from Constantinople to King Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne.

title: 804

date: September 24

text: September 24 – King Louis IV (the Child), the last Carolingian ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom, dies at Frankfurt am Main after an 11-year reign. The East Frankish dukes elect Conrad I at Forchheim as the king of the East Frankish Kingdom. Charles III is elected as king of Lotharingia. Conrad is chosen through the influence of Louis' guardian and regent, Hatto I, archbishop of Mainz.

title: AD 911

text: German dukes Henry the Fowler of Saxony and Arnulf I (the Bad) of Bavaria claim themselves to be sovereign princes, not recognizing the authority of their overlord, King Conrad I of the East Frankish Kingdom, as he is not a Carolingian. Duke Erchanger II of Swabia and Conrad's brother, Duke Eberhard III of Franconia, support the Conradines.

title: 912

text: Spring – King Lothair III exploits the succession crisis in Flanders and captures many cities, but is eventually repulsed by the supporters of Arnulf II – the son of Baldwin III and former co-ruler of Flanders. Lothair attempts to increase his influence in Lotharingia, once held by the Carolingian dynasty. Emperor Otto I (the Great) encourages resistance to Lothair's overtures.

title: 965


slug: carolingian-empire

label: Carolingian Empire

description: 800–843 final stage in the history of the early medieval realm of the Franks, ruled by the Carolingian dynasty

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III as Charles I, with the title "Emperor of the Romans". The coronation takes place during Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, on Christmas Day. The Frankish Empire is formed in Western Europe, which is not recognized by Empress Irene at Constantinople. This triggers a series of disputes with the Byzantines around who is officially ruling the former Western Roman Empire.

title: 800

section: Events › Europe

text: Emperor Charlemagne formally cedes Nordalbian territory (modern-day Schleswig-Holstein) to the pagan Obotrites (allies of the Carolingian Empire).

title: 801

text: King Godfred of the Danes forms an alliance with the Wiltzi and other Wendic tribes, against the pagan but pro-Frankish Abodrites. Godfred builds earthworks (Danevirke) across the isthmus of Schleswig-Holstein, separating Jutland from the northern extent of the Frankish Empire.

title: AD 808

text: Emperor Michael I re-opens peace negotiations with the Franks, and recognizes Charlemagne as emperor (basileus) of the Frankish Empire. In exchange for this recognition, Venice is returned to the Byzantine Empire.

title: 812

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Charlemagne dies of pleurisy in Aachen, after an almost 14-year reign (since 800) as the first Roman Emperor of Frankish origin (the precursor of the Holy Roman Emperor). He is embalmed and buried in Aachen Cathedral. Charlemagne is succeeded by his son Louis the Pious, as king of the Frankish Empire.

title: 814

text: Synod of Aachen: Louis the Pious calls for a council about the regulations (Institutio canonicorum Aquisgranensis) for monastic life in the Frankish Empire.

title: 816

text: Summer – Emperor Louis I issues an Ordinatio Imperii, an imperial decree that lays out plans for an orderly succession. He divides the Frankish Empire among his three sons: Lothair, the eldest, is proclaimed co-emperor in Aachen, and becomes the overlord of his brothers. He receives the dominion of Burgundy (including German and Gallic parts). Pepin, the second son, is proclaimed king of Aquitaine, and receives Gascony (including the marche around Toulouse and parts of Septimania); Louis (the youngest son) is proclaimed king of Bavaria, and receives the dominions of East Francia.

title: 817

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Louis the Pious, ruler of the Carolingian Empire (b. 778)

title: 840


slug: carpathian-mountains

label: Carpathian Mountains

description: mountain range in Central and Eastern Europe

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Germans of the east move south, into the Carpathians and Black Sea area.

title: AD 150

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Huns attack the Tervingi on the Dniester, overwhelming them with light cavalry (horse archers), and devastating the settlements of the Goths. King Athanaric is defeated and seeks refuge in Caucaland in the Carpathian Mountains.

title: 372

text: Audoin receives subsidies from Justinian I, to encourage him to battle the Gepids in the Carpathian Mountains.

title: 546

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

title: 626

text: Kotrag, ruler (khagan) of Great Bulgaria, leads the Khazars in overthrowing his brother Batbayan of the Onogurs, and moves south into the Carpathian Mountains.

title: 668

date: May

text: May – Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, begins his territorial expansion and raids the Byzantine northern frontier. He leads his warriors — mostly Bulgars, Slavs, Thracians and Macedonians — across the Carpathian Mountains, over the Danube River, and throughout Transylvania, Thrace, and Macedonia.

title: 803

text: The Hungarians (also known as Magyars) who until this time have lived east of the Carpathians, raid the Lower Danube at the request of the Bulgarian Empire against the Byzantine insurgents.

title: 839

text: Winter – The Mongol Golden Horde led by Nogai Khan and Talabuga attacks Hungary for the second time. They successfully subdue Slovakia and sack territory north of the Carpathian Mountains.

title: 1285


slug: cartagena-spain

label: Cartagena, Spain

description: municipality in the Region of Murcia, Spain

year_label: 228 BCE

text: Hasdrubal makes immediate policy changes, emphasizing the use of diplomatic rather than military methods for expanding Carthaginian Hispania and dealing with Rome. He founds Carthago Nova or New Carthage (modern Cartagena) as his capital city.

title: 228 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 221 BCE

text: Hannibal immediately moves to consolidate Carthage's control of Spain. He marries a Spanish princess, Imilce, then begins to conquer various Spanish tribes. He fights against the Olcades and captures their capital, Althaea; quells the Vaccaei in the northwest; and, making the seaport of Cartagena (Carthago Nova, the capital of Carthaginian Spain) his base, wins a resounding victory over the Carpetani in the region of the Tagus River.

title: 221 BC

section: Events › By place › Iberian Peninsula

year_label: 211 BCE

text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barca returns to Spain after his victory over the rebellious Numidians. He then manages to turn the tide against the Romans in Spain, with the Roman generals Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus killed in separate battles—Publius on the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) and Gnaeus in the hinterland of Carthago Nova (Cartagena). The Carthaginians recover all their territory south of the Ebro.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 209 BCE

text: From his headquarters at Tarraco (Tarragona), Publius Cornelius Scipio, the Roman commander in Spain, launches a combined military and naval assault on the Carthaginian headquarters at Carthago Nova (modern-day Cartagena). He successfully besieges and captures the city. In capturing this city, Scipio gains access to copious stores and supplies, Spanish hostages, the local silver mines, a splendid harbour and a base for an advance further south.

title: 209 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

text: Majorian assembles a large fleet in Nova Carthago (Cartagena) in preparation for an invasion of the Vandal Kingdom in Africa. However, King Genseric organizes an attack on the fleet, using individuals sympathetic to the Vandals to conduct the raid. The fleet is destroyed and the expedition is abandoned.

title: 460

text: Emperor Justinian I dispatches a small Byzantine force (2,000 men) under Liberius to Hispania, according to the historian Jordanes. He conquers Cartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast.

title: 552

date: December 3

text: December 3 – The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V is finally able to return to Spain, arriving at Cartagena

title: 1541

section: Events › October–December

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: January 29

text: January 29 – A gas explosion kills 14 people in the Spanish city of Cartagena.

title: 1899

section: Events › January