slug: italy

label: Italy

description: country in southern Europe

year_label: 550 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Temple of Hera I is built in what is now Paestum, Italy (approximate date).

title: 550 BC

section: Events

year_label: 524 BCE

text: Battle of Cumae - An army of Umbrians, Daunians, Etruscans, and others is defeated by the Greeks of Cumae, present-day Italy.

title: 524 BC

section: Events › By place › Southern Italy

year_label: 474 BCE

text: Hiero I, tyrant of Syracuse, allied with naval forces from the maritime Greek cities of southern Italy defeats the Etruscan navy in the Battle of Cumae as the Etruscans try to capture the Greek city of Cumae. This victory marks the end of the Etruscan aggression against the Greeks in southern Italy and saves the Greeks of Campania from Etruscan domination.

title: 474 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 460 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The construction of a sculpture of a Young Warrior (subsequently found in the sea off Riace, Italy) is begun and completed approximately ten years later. It is now preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Reggio Calabria, Italy.

title: 460 BC

section: Events › By topic › Arts

year_label: 450 BCE

text: Polykleitos starts making the bronze statue Achilles (also known as The Spear Bearer or Doryphoros), which he finishes about ten years later. A Roman copy of the original bronze is now kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy (approximate date).

title: 450 BC

year_label: 433 BCE

text: Pericles renews alliances with the Rhegium on the southwest corner of Italy and Leontini in southeast Sicily, threatening Sparta's food supply route from Sicily.

title: 433 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 431 BCE

text: A Theban raid on Plataea, the only pro-Athenian city in Boeotia, is a failure and the Plataeans take 180 prisoners and put them to death. Athens supports Plataea while Sparta aligns itself with Thebes. Sparta enlists the help of the Greek cities in Italy and Sicily. Both Sparta and Athens appeal to Persia, but without result.

title: 431 BC

year_label: 428 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Greek colony of Cumae in Italy falls to the Samnites, who begin to take control of the Campanian plain.

title: 428 BC

year_label: 421 BCE

text: The city of Cumae, the most northerly of the Greek colonies in Italy, falls to the Samnites.

title: 421 BC

year_label: 405 BCE

text: Dionysius the Elder ruthlessly consolidates and expands his power. He builds a wall around Syracuse and fortifies Epipolae. The Greek citizens of Naxos, Catana, and Leontini are removed from their cities; many of them are enslaved and their homes are given to Sicilian and Italian mercenaries. Dionysius prepares his army to fight against Carthage, which now occupies western and southern Sicily.

title: 405 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily

year_label: 391 BCE

text: Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse, begins an attempt to extend his rule to the Greek cities of southern Italy. He unsuccessfully besieges Rhegium.

title: 391 BC

year_label: 390 BCE

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Battle of the Allia: Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones of the Adriatic coast of Italy, leads an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their attack on Rome. They capture the entire city of Rome except for the Capitoline Hill, which is successfully held against them. However, seeing their city devastated, the Romans attempt to buy their salvation from Brennus. The Romans agree to pay one thousand pounds weight of gold.

title: 390 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 387 BCE

text: With the aid of the Lucanians, Dionysius I of Syracuse devastates the territories of Thurii, Crotone, and Locri in mainland Italy. When Rhegium falls, Dionysius becomes the chief power in Greek Southern Italy. He then turns his attention to the Adriatic and founds the colonies of Ancona (Ankon) and Adria (Adrìa).

title: 387 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily and Adriatic

year_label: 354 BCE

text: Reflecting the growing level of discontent with his tyrannical conduct, Dion is assassinated by Callippus, an Athenian who has accompanied him on his expedition to take over as tyrant of Syracuse. Dionysius II remains in exile in Italy.

title: 354 BC

year_label: 343 BCE

text: The native Italian tribes, the Lucanians and Bruttians, press down upon the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, including Tarentum. Responding to calls for help from these former Greek colonies, King Archidamus III of Sparta sets sail with a band of mercenaries for Italy.

title: 343 BC

year_label: 338 BCE

text: King Archidamus III of Sparta, after five years of campaigning in southern Italy, fails to achieve any decisive results and while leading a mercenary army to help Tarentum against the Lucanians, is killed with most of his troops at Manduria in Calabria.

title: 338 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 334 BCE

text: Alexander of Epirus, at the request of the colony of Taras (Tarentum) crosses over into Italy, to aid them against the Lucanians and Bruttii. He wins victories over the Italian Samnite tribes.

title: 334 BC

year_label: 331 BCE

text: Tarentum turns against Alexander of Epirus when they realize that he intends to create a kingdom of his own in southern Italy. Alexander is defeated and killed in the Battle of Pandosia on the banks of the Acheron.

title: 331 BC

year_label: 326 BCE

text: Following their defeat by the Roman forces in Naples, the Samnites declare war on Rome starting the Second Samnite War. To help defeat the Samnites, the Romans make alliances with the peoples of Central Italy to the north of Samnium and with the Apulians to the southeast.

title: 326 BC

year_label: 304 BCE

text: The tyrant Agathocles of Syracuse takes on the title of King of Sicily. He extends his influence into southern Italy and the Adriatic.

title: 304 BC

year_label: 283 BCE

text: At the Battle of Lake Vadimo, Roman forces finally quell the allied Etruscans and Gauls. The Roman army is led by consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella. Rome is at last undisputed master of northern and central Italy.

title: 283 BC

year_label: 282 BCE

text: Rome declares war on Tarentum. King Pyrrhus of Epirus declares his willingness to come to the aid of Tarentum. Tarentum also looks for support from the Samnites and other Italian tribes in southern Italy.

title: 282 BC

year_label: 281 BCE

text: Cineas, a Thessalian serving as chief adviser to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, after visiting Rome attempts, without success, to dissuade Pyrrhus from invading southern Italy.

title: 281 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Pyrrhus makes an alliance with Ptolemy Keraunos, King of Macedon. This allows him to go to southern Italy with his army.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 279 BCE

text: Pyrrhus realizes that he cannot capture Rome and suggests peace terms to the Romans. Pyrrhus sends his chief advisor, Cineas, to Rome to negotiate a peace. Cineas demands that the Romans halt their aggression against the Greeks of southern Italy and restore the lands the Romans have taken from the Bruttii, the Apulians, and the Samnites. The Romans reject his demands, largely at the instigation of the former Roman censor, Appius Claudius Caecus.

title: 279 BC

year_label: 278 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Pyrrhus is proclaimed king of Sicily. He plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to inherit Italy.

title: 278 BC

year_label: 274 BCE

text: Pyrrhus returns from Italy and Sicily and invades Macedonia defeating Antigonus II Gonatas at the Battle of the Aous and conquering Upper Macedonia and Thessaly while Antigonus holds onto the coastal Macedonian towns. Antigonus' troops desert him and Pyrrhus is declared King of Macedonia.

title: 274 BC

year_label: 272 BCE

text: Pyrrhus' departure from southern Italy three years earlier leads to the Samnites finally being conquered by the Romans. With the surrender of Tarentum, the cities of Magna Graecia in southern Italy come under Roman influence and become Roman allies. Rome now effectively dominates all of the Italian peninsula.

title: 272 BC

year_label: 270 BCE

text: Rome's subjugation of Italy is completed by the recapture of Rhegium (southern Italy) from the Mamertines and the defeat of the Brutians, the Lucanians, the Calabrians and the Samnites. The town of Rhegium is then restored by the Romans to its Greek inhabitants.

title: 270 BC

year_label: 225 BCE

text: A coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes (Taurini, Taurisces, Insubres, Lingones, Salasses, Agones, and Boii), reinforced by large numbers of Transalpine adventurers called Gaesatae (Gaesati), invade Italy. Avoiding the Romans at Ariminum, the Gauls cross the Apennines into Etruria and plunder the country.

title: 225 BC

year_label: 224 BCE

text: The Romans, led by Consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, decisively defeat the coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes at the Battle of Telamon thus extending Roman influence over northern Italy. On the Roman side Gaius Atilius Regulus, commander of the Roman cavalry, is killed in the battle. On the Gallic side, one of the leaders, Concolitanus, is captured in battle, while the leader of the Gaesatae, Aneroëstes, kills himself when the battle is lost.

title: 224 BC

text: The Romans extend their area of domination around the head of the Adriatic Sea as far as the peninsula of Histria by the conquest of peoples who dwell to the east of the Veneti. Thus, with the exception of Liguria and the upper valley of the Po River, all Italy south of the Alps is brought within the Roman sphere.

title: 219 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

text: The Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio defeat the Carthaginians under their commander Hasdrubal Barca at Baecula (Bailen) in Baetica. As a result, Hasdrubal Barca decides to cross the Pyrenees with his remaining troops into Transalpine Gaul, with the intention of joining his brother Hannibal in Italy.

title: 208 BC

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio boldly determines to disregard Hannibal in Italy and political opposition in the Roman Senate and rather decides to strike at the Carthaginian holdings in North Africa. Scipio crosses to Sicily with an army consisting partly of volunteers as the Roman Senate would not provide him with an army.

title: 205 BC

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

text: With the Roman legions under Flaminius returning to Italy, the Greek states are once again on their own. The Romans leave the dominant powers in the region; the kingdom of Macedonia, the Aetolians, the strengthened Achaean League and the weakened Sparta. The Aetolians, who have opposed the Roman intervention in Greek affairs, incite the Spartan leader, Nabis, to retake his former territories and regain his influence in Greek affairs.

title: 194 BC

text: Roman colonies are established at Mutina (later Modena), Pisa and Parma in northern and central Italy.

title: 183 BC

text: Luni in northern Italy is founded by the Romans with the name Luna at the mouth of the Magra River.

title: 177 BC

text: The first Roman colony outside Italy is founded at Carteia in southern Hispania after Iberian-born descendants of Roman soldiers appear before the Roman Senate to request a town to live in and are given Carteia, which is named Colonia Libertinorum Carteia.

title: 171 BC

text: Lucius Aemilius Paulus returns to Italy with the King of Macedonia, Perseus, as his prisoner for his triumphal procession in Rome, where the Macedonians captured are sold into slavery. The huge amount of booty brought home after the battle enriches Rome allowing the Government to relieve her citizens of direct taxation. As a gesture of acknowledgment for his achievements in Macedonia, the senate awards Lucius Aemilius Paulus the surname Macedonicus.

title: 167 BC

text: Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi, as consul, is sent against the slaves in Italy. Gaius Marius serves under Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus at Numantia.

title: 133 BC

text: Rome enacts a state of emergency, as the way to Italy lays open to the Germanic invaders. Gaius Marius, the conqueror of Jugurtha, is elected consul for the second time. He celebrates his triumph over Jugurtha, who is led in the procession and thrown into the Tullianum where he dies of starvation.

title: 104 BC

text: The building of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, Palestrina, Italy, is begun. The model of it is now kept at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Italy (approximate date).

title: 100 BC

text: Corfinium in south-central Italy is the center of a rebellion against Rome.

title: 90 BC

text: Spring – Lucius Cornelius Sulla returns to Italy from his campaigns in Greece and lands with his legions unopposed at Brundisium. He defeats the popular forces of Gaius Norbanus in the Battle of Mount Tifata.

title: 83 BC

text: Winter – Spartacus decides to camp near Thurii. Marcus Licinius Crassus with ten Roman legions tries to trap the rebels in the toe of Italy. He builds a trench and a low earth rampart (with a fortified palisade).

title: 72 BC

text: June 7 – Cicero slips out of Italy and goes to Thessaloniki.

title: 49 BC

section: Events › By place and Date › Roman Republic

text: June – Antony is granted a five-year governorship of northern and central Transalpine Gaul (France) and Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy).

title: 44 BC

text: Octavian returns to Rome and arranges for ± 40,000 veterans' settlements in Campania, Etruria, Picenum, Samnium, Umbria, and in northern Italy.

title: 42 BC

text: Perusine War: An armed resistance breaks out across Italy; the Umbrian city of Sentinum is captured and destroyed by Quintus Salvidienus Rufus.

title: 41 BC

text: Mark Antony leaves Alexandria. After receiving news of the outcome at Perusia while en route to Phoenicia, he sets sail for Italy meeting the ambassadors of Sextus Pompey in Athens.

title: 40 BC

text: Drusus decides to improve the passage through the Alps for military control of Noricum and Raetia and builds the Via Claudia Augusta through Italy.

title: 15 BC

text: Dio Chrysostom is banished from Rome, Italy, and Bithynia, after advising one of the Emperor's conspiring relatives.

title: AD 82

text: Emperor Trajan falls seriously ill and dies of a stroke at Selinus in Cilicia, age 63, while en route from Mesopotamia to Italy, leaving the Roman Empire at its maximal territorial extent.

title: AD 117

text: Plague sweeps North Africa in the wake of a locust invasion that destroys large areas of cropland. The plague kills as many as 500,000 in Numidia and possibly 150,000 on the coast before moving to Italy, where it takes so many lives that villages and towns are abandoned. (or was it around 125 BC)

title: AD 125

text: Italy is divided into legal districts managed by consuls, a direct blow to the power and prestige of the Senate.

title: AD 131

text: Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on an artificial canal between the Tigris and Euphrates.

title: AD 197

text: Maximinus advances to the town Aquileia in northern Italy; his army suffers from famine and disease, while the city is besieged. Soldiers of Legio II Parthica kill him in his tent, along with his son Maximinus (who is appointed co-emperor). Their corpses are decapitated and their heads carried to Rome.

title: 238

text: Trajan Decius puts down a revolt in Moesia and Pannonia. Loyal legionaries proclaim him emperor, and he leads them into Italy.

title: 249

text: Aureolus, charged with defending Italy, defeats Victorinus (co-emperor of Gaul), is proclaimed emperor by his troops, and begins his march on Rome.

title: 267

text: The Alamanni invade Italy north of the Po River.

title: 268

text: Battle of Placentia: The Iuthungi invade Italy and sack the city of Piacenza. A Roman army under Emperor Aurelian is ambushed and defeated.

title: 271

text: Florianus becomes Roman Emperor with the support of the Senate, but a general in the east, Marcus Aurelius Probus, usurps power against him. Florianus breaks off his campaign against the Goths and marches east from the Bosporus with support from the Roman legions in Britain, Gaul, Spain and Italy.

title: 276

text: Constantine II, emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire (Britain, Gaul, the Rhine provinces and Iberia), crosses the Alps and attacks the army of his brother Constans I, emperor of the central part of the Roman Empire (Upper Danube, Italy and middle Africa). They clash at Aquileia in northern Italy. Constantine is killed in a skirmish by an ambush of Constans' troops.

title: 340

text: Winter – Magnentius flees to Aquileia in northern Italy and fortifies the mountain passes in the Alps.

title: 351

text: Emperor Constantius II invades northern Italy in pursuit of the usurper Magnus Magnentius, who withdraws with his army to Gaul. He declares an amnesty for Magnentius' soldiers, many of whom desert to him.

title: 352

text: November 6 – In Mediolanum (Italy), Emperor Constantius II raises his cousin Julian the Apostate to the rank of Caesar. He takes command of the western provinces and marries Constantius' sister, Helena.

title: 355

text: Gratian, age 16, takes over the government at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), but ministers wishing to retain the loyalty of the Illyrian army fear a usurper. They proclaim Valentinian's 4-year-old son Valentinian II co-emperor with his mother, Justina, as regent. Gratian reserves for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, and hands over Italy, Illyrium, Hispania and Africa to his stepmother, who makes Mediolanum (Milan) her residence.

title: 375

text: Magnus Maximus invades Italy; he destroys Novara for supporting his rival Valentinian II.

title: 386

text: Magnus Maximus, usurping emperor of the West, invades Italy. Emperor Valentinian II, age 16, is forced out of Rome. He flees with his mother Justina and sisters to Thessaloniki (Thrace).

title: 387

text: Winter – The Huns cross the frozen Danube and destroy the villages built by the Goths. Theodosius I, six hundred miles away in Italy, sends no reinforcements to defend the northern frontier.

title: 394

text: An estimated 330,000 acres of farmland lie abandoned in Campania (southern Italy), partly as a consequence of malaria from mosquitoes bred in swampy areas, but mostly because imprudent agriculture has ruined the land.

title: 395

text: Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.

title: 398

text: November 18 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.

title: 401

text: April 6 – Battle of Pollentia: Stilicho recalls troops from Britain and the Rhine frontier to defend Italy. He decides to attack the Goths on Easter Sunday, and manages to capture Alaric's wife and children.

title: 402

text: June – Battle of Verona: The Visigoths, under command of King Alaric I, invade Italy again, and advance through the Brenner Pass. Stilicho, with an army of 30,000 men, defeats the Goths north of Verona. Alaric makes a truce, and withdraws eastward to Illyricum.

title: 403

text: March 25 – Venice is founded at twelve o'clock noon (according to legend) with the dedication of the first church, San Giacomo, at the islet of Rialto (Italy).

title: 421

text: Spring – The Vandals, led by Genseric ("Caesar King"), invade North Africa. They land with a force of 80,000 men including Alans, and Germanic tribesmen with their families from the Iberian Peninsula, across the narrow Strait of Gibraltar. The Vandal fleet raids the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and blockades the grain and oil supply to Italy.

title: 429

text: Roman civil war: Roman forces under command of Flavius Aetius are defeated near Rimini (Italy) in battle. His rival comes Bonifacius is mortally wounded and dies several days later. Aetius flees to Dalmatia and seeks refuge with the Huns.

title: 432

text: Flavius Aetius returns to Italy with the support of the Huns. He gains control over the young emperor Valentinian III, and becomes his "protector".

title: 433

text: The Vandals use Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) as a port for their expeditions. Genseric establishes a merchant fleet to transport goods between Africa and the Italian mainland.

title: 435

text: A Vandal fleet and their allies (Alans, Goths and Moors) set out from Carthage for Sicily, the principal supplier of oil and grain to Italy after the loss of North Africa. They loot all the coastal towns and besiege Palermo. Heavily laden ships return to the court of King Genseric.

title: 440

text: Eudocia, eldest daughter of Emperor Valentinian III, is betrothed to Huneric, son of Vandal King Genseric (hostage in Italy).

title: 444

text: Remodelling of the Dome of Baptistry of Neon, Ravenna (Italy) begins (approximate date).

title: 450

text: June – Attila approaches Aurelianum (modern Orléans) and the city's inhabitants close the gates, forcing him to lay siege. After learning of the Hun invasion, Flavius Aetius (magister militum) moves quickly from Italy into Gaul, and joins forces with Visigoth king Theodoric I.

title: 451

text: The remodeling of the dome of Baptistry of Neon at Ravenna (Italy) is finished.

title: 460

text: Vandal War (461-468): King Genseric continues the Vandal raids on the coast of Sicily and Italy. Ricimer sends an embassy to Carthage.

title: 461

text: King Euric orders the invasion of Italy, but is defeated by Glycerius. The Visigoths withdraw to Gaul, and conquer the cities of Arles and Marseille.

title: 473

text: Summer – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic/Scirian foederati), visits the imperial palace at Ravenna. He petitions Orestes (magister militum) to reward his mercenaries for their services and their support of his rebellion a year earlier, by making good on his promise to grant them lands to settle permanently in Italy. Orestes refuses this proposal and Odoacer leads his tribesmen in a revolt.

title: 476

text: Julius Nepos, former emperor of the Western Roman Empire, plans military campaigns in Dalmatia against Odoacer, hoping to regain control of Italy himself.

title: 479

text: King Alaric II supports Theodoric in his conquest of Italy, by dispatching a Visigoth army to raise Odoacer's siege of Pavia.

title: 490

text: February 25 – Odoacer surrenders Ravenna after a 3-year siege, and agrees to a mediated peace with Theodoric the Great, who steadily consolidates his rule and provides security for the local population. His achievement is to manage the transformation of Italy from being the center of a fractured Roman Empire to a successful and independent Ostrogothic Kingdom.

title: 493

text: March 15 – Odoacer, first "barbarian" king of Italy (b. 433)

title: 493

text: Emperor Anastasius I gives formal recognition to the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great, as his representative (viceroy) in Italy. He sends the imperial standard to Ravenna. Theodoric respects the agreement and allows Roman citizens within the Ostrogothic Kingdom to be subject to Roman law.

title: 497

text: Emperor Anastasius I formally recognizes Clovis I of the Salian Franks as ruler of Gaul. He sends a Byzantine fleet of 100 warships to raid the coasts of Italy.

title: 508

text: King Theodoric the Great grants citizens on Mount Vesuvius exemption from taxes, after a severe eruption in southeastern Italy.

title: 512

text: Ostrogothic ruler Theodoric the Great builds the Mausoleum of Theodoric as his future tomb in Ravenna (Italy).

title: 520

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

title: 533

text: The death of Amalasuintha gives Byzantine Emperor Justinian I a pretext to invade Italy and begin the Gothic War.

title: 535

text: December – Belisarius sends John "the Sanguinary" with a force of 2,000 men towards Picenum, to plunder the east coast of Italy. He arrives at Ariminum (Rimini), where he is welcomed by the local population.

title: 537

text: Belisarius consolidates Italy and begins mopping-up operations, capturing the Gothic fortifications. The cities Ticinum and Verona north of River Po remain in Gothic hands.

title: 540

text: Emperor Justinian I recalls Belisarius from Italy to handle the situation in Armenia. He arrives in Upper Mesopotamia and attacks the fortress city of Nisbis. After an unsuccessful siege he ravages the countryside.

title: 541

text: Emperor Justinian I sends Narses, Byzantine general, to the rulers of the Heruli, to recruit troops for the campaigns in Italy and Syria.

title: 545

text: After the death of his cousin Germanus, Justinian I appoints Narses new supreme commander, and returns to Italy. In Salona on the Adriatic coast, he assembles a Byzantine expeditionary force totaling 20,000 or possibly 30,000 men and a contingent of foreign allies, notably Lombards, Heruls and Bulgars.

title: 551

text: Teia becomes the last king of the Ostrogoths in Italy.

title: 552

text: The Ostrogothic Kingdom ends after 60 years of rule in Italy. The Goths are allowed to return to their homes in peace and (re)settle in modern-day Austria. Some 7,000 people retreat to Campsas (Southern Gaul), and resist with minimal help from the Franks against the Byzantines until 554.

title: 553

text: The Avars and the Slavs occupy the Hungarian Plain on the Balkans. The threat of Avar domination prompts the Lombards to migrate to Italy.

title: 558

text: Baduarius, son-in-law of the Byzantine emperor Justin II, is sent to Italy to resist the Lombard conquest. He leads an aborted counter-assault against the Lombards and dies soon after.

title: 576

text: The Page with the Crucifixion, from the "Rabbula Gospels", at the Monastery of St. John in Beth Zagba (Syria), is completed. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy.

title: 586

text: The Lombard Kingdom (Italy) is converted to Roman Catholicism under the rule of King Authari (approximate date).

title: 588

text: The Franks and Burgundians under King Guntram invade Italy. They capture the cities Milan and Verona, but are forced to leave by a plague outbreak in the Po Valley.

title: 590

text: Gisulf I, duke of Friuli (Italy)

title: 590

text: A locust swarm destroys the harvest in Northern Italy (approximate date).

title: 591

text: Faroald I, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 592

text: Euin, Lombard duke of Trent (Italy)

title: 595

text: Maurice makes peace with King Agilulf, conceding northern Italy. Pope Gregory I the Great negotiates a truce, ending 30 years of Lombard terror. Agilulf expands the Lombard Kingdom by occupying Sutri and Perugia.

title: 598

text: Paterius, bishop of Brescia (Italy)

title: 606

text: Grasulf II becomes the Lombard Duke of Friuli (Italy), after the assassination of his nephews, Tasso and Kakko, in Oderzo.

title: 617

text: Arechis I, duke of Benevento (Italy)

title: 641

text: Perctarit returns to Lombardy from exile and reclaims his realm, which is being ruled on behalf of Garibald, since his father King Grimoald I died. He deposes the young king, and becomes the new ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy. During his reign Perctarit makes Catholicism the official religion, but does not recognize papal authority. Grimoald is buried in the St. Ambrogio Church (Milan).

title: 671

text: Summer – Siege of Constantinople: Caliph Muawiyah I sends his son Yazid with Muslim reinforcements to Constantinople. At the same time, the Byzantines have to face a Slavic attack on Thessaloniki and Lombard attacks in Italy.

title: 676

text: King Perctarit of the Lombards is assassinated by a conspiracy, after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Cunipert, who is crowned ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy.

title: 688

text: Grimoald II, duke of Benevento (Italy)

title: 689

text: Rodoald, duke of Friuli (Italy)

title: 694

text: Raginpert dies, and King Liutpert (succeeded and deposed in 700) returns to the throne of the Lombards. Raginpert's son Aripert captures Liutpert at his capital in Pavia, and will have him strangled in his bath. Aripert becomes new ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy.

title: 701

text: Faroald II, duke of Spoleto, attacks the Exarchate of Ravenna in Italy, after the death of his father Thrasimund I. King Aripert II of the Lombards, desiring good relations with the Byzantine Empire and papacy, refuses to assist him.

title: 703

text: Duke Gisulf I of Benevento captures the cities of Sora, Arpino, and Arce (Central Italy). He marches as far as Horrea, plundering and burning, before he is confronted with gifts by the ambassadors of Pope John VI, who ransom many of his captives.

title: 705

text: June – Emperor Justinian II sends a punitive expedition to Italy under the patrikios Theodore, to intervene in the dispute between Pope Constantine I and Archbishop Felix of Ravenna, who claims to be independent of the pope's authority. Theodore captures Ravenna, and arrests Felix and other Italian leaders. He deports them to Constantinople, from whence they are exiled to Cherson (Crimea).

title: 709

text: Ansprand, duke of Asti, returns from exile to Italy with a large Bavarian army. Many Austrians (with troops of Venetia) join him in support. King Aripert II, who usurped the throne in 701, is defeated and tries to escape from Pavia to Gaul with his treasury, but drowns in the Ticino River. He is the last Bavarian to wear the Iron Crown (approximate date).

title: AD 711

text: Emperor Leo III issues a series of edicts banning the veneration of images (726–729), and launching the iconoclastic controversies. Most of the clergy – particularly in Italy and Greece – are opposed to these edicts with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Byzantine Empire the people refuse to obey his religious reforms.

title: 726

text: A revolt breaks out in Italy against Leo's Iconoclasm; this results in the independence of the Exarchate of Ravenna, after part of a Byzantine invasion force is lost in a storm in the Adriatic Sea, and the remainder of Byzantine troops are repulsed.

title: AD 727

text: King Liutprand of the Lombards occupies all of the Exarchate of Ravenna. He advances towards Rome along the Via Cassia, and is met at the city of Sutri by Pope Gregory II, near the borders of the Duchy of Rome. Liutprand signs the Donation of Sutri, by which parts of Latium are given to the papacy (the first extension of papal territory in Italy). This marks the historical foundation of the Papal States.

title: 728

text: Romuald II, duke of Benevento (Italy)

title: 732

text: Emperor Leo III confiscates the papal territories in Sicily and Calabria (Southern Italy), from which Pope Gregory III derives most of his income tax. He transfers ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the former Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum to Anastasius, patriarch of Constantinople. Gregory begins his support of a revolt in Italy against iconoclasm. By now the break between the papacy and the Byzantine Empire is almost complete.

title: 733

text: December – King Liutprand of the Lombards attempts to counter the growing independence of the Lombard duchies in southern Italy.

title: 740

text: King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom.

title: 742

text: Lupus, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 752

text: Grifo, Frankish duke and illegitimate son of Charles Martel, rebels against King Pepin III ("the Short") (his half-brother), in alliance with the Bretons. He flees to Italy to join King Aistulf of the Lombards, but is caught and killed while passing the Alps.

title: 753

text: Summer – The Franks under Pepin III invade Italy, and defeat the Lombards under King Aistulf, in the Susa Valley (Piedmont). He enforces the terms, including cession of the Exarchate of Ravenna to Rome.

title: 754

text: Pepin III receives a Byzantine delegation at his court in Gentilly (southern suburbs of Paris). They discuss foreign policy regarding Italy, and Byzantine Iconoclasm.

title: AD 767

text: Summer – King Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard, son of Charles Martel, cross the Alps with a Frankish expeditionary force at the request of Pope Adrian I. At the foot of the mountains in the Susa Valley (Northern Italy), the Franks are hindered by Lombard fortifications. After scouting, Charlemagne attacks the defenders from the flank, and forces the Lombards to flee to the fortified capital Pavia.

title: 773

text: June – King Desiderius surrenders the independence of the Lombards to the Franks, and is exiled to Corbie Abbey (Picardy). Charlemagne annexes northern Italy as a sub-kingdom, and takes the title of Rex Langobardorum. Some Lombards flee south to Benevento, which remains independent; Duke Arechis II retitles himself "Prince of Benevento".

title: 774

text: Saxon Wars: The Saxons again revolt against Christianity and Frankish rule. Eresburg falls, but a Saxon assault upon the castle of Syburg fails. Charlemagne hurriedly returns from Italy, launching a counter-offensive which defeats the Saxons. Most of their leaders are summoned to the Lippe at the town of Bad Lippspringe (North Rhine-Westphalia), to submit formally to Charlemagne.

title: 776

text: King Charlemagne spends Easter in Treviso (northern Italy), after putting down a rebellion in Friuli and Spoleto. He removes Hrodgaud of Friuli from power, and reforms the duchy as the March of Friuli (military frontier district). Co-conspirators who support the revolt are Arechis II, duke of Benevento, and Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius. Frankish counts are placed in the cities of Friuli.

title: 776

text: Hrodgaud, duke of Friuli (Italy)

title: 776

text: King Charlemagne has his son Carloman (renamed Pepin) anointed "King of Italy", and he is crowned by Pope Adrian I with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. His younger brother Charles I is anointed king of Aquitaine, and Louis the Pious (only 3-years old) is appointed sub-king of Italy and Aquitaine, following the conversion of Aquitaine from a Duchy to a sub-kingdom.

title: 781

text: Autumn – Charlemagne returns from his campaign in Italy, and musters a Frankish army of available troops in Bavaria. He then marches to Saxony, probably to Eresburg. Charlemagne marches north, down the Weser to the Aller River, making camp near Verden.

title: 782

text: Empress Irene sends a Byzantine expeditionary army to invade southern Italy, but it is defeated and driven out (at Pope Adrian I's urging) by the Frankish army, allied with the forces of Benevento. She breaks off the engagement (see 782) between her son Constantine VI and the Frankish princess Rotrude, daughter of King Charlemagne.

title: AD 787

text: Maurizio Galbaio, doge of Venice, dies after a 22-year reign and is succeeded by his son Giovanni. He begins a vendetta against the patriarch of Grado (Italy).

title: AD 787

text: Byzantine troops led by Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius, invade southern Italy. His attempts are thwarted by the Franks, who attack territories in Benevento, obtaining notably the annexion of Chieti (Spoleto).

title: 788

text: Council of Frankfurt: King Charlemagne calls for a church meeting of the Frankish realm. Bishops and priests from Francia, Aquitaine, Italy, and Provence are gathered in Franconofurd (modern-day Frankfurt am Main).

title: 794

text: Emperor Charlemagne divides the Frankish Empire under his three sons, called Divisio Regnorum. For Charles the Younger he designates the imperial title, Austrasia and Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy, and Thuringia. To Pepin he gives Italy, Bavaria, and Swabia. His youngest son Louis the Pious receives Aquitaine, the Spanish March, and Provence.

title: 806

text: Jewish merchants in Lombardy open the first bank (or money repository) in Italy (approximate date).

title: AD 808

text: April 17 – King Bernard of Italy, illegitimate son of Pepin of Italy, is tried and condemned to death by Emperor Louis I. The Kingdom of Italy is reabsorbed into the Frankish Empire.

title: 818

text: Cadolah, duke of Friuli (Italy)

title: 819

text: Winiges, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 822

text: Adelard, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 824

text: Louis II, king of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor (d. 875)

title: 825

text: Emperor Louis the Pious is reinstated as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. He promises his sons Pepin I and Louis the German a greater share of the inheritance. His eldest son Lothair I is pardoned, but disgraced and banished to Italy.

title: 831

text: Adelchis I, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 834

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

title: 837

text: Landulf I, gastald (or count) of Capua (Italy)

title: 843

text: June 15 – Louis II, eldest son of Emperor Lothair I, is crowned king at Rome by Pope Sergius II, and becomes co-ruler of Middle Francia, and over Lombardy, Friuli, and Tuscany in Italy.

title: 844

text: Sico II, prince of Salerno (Italy)

title: 855

text: September 29 – Emperor Lothair I dies after a 15-year reign (co-ruling with his father Louis the Pious until 840). He divides the Middle Frankish Kingdom between his three sons in an agreement called the Treaty of Prüm—the eldest, Louis II, receives the northern half of Italy and the title of Holy Roman Emperor. The second, Lothair II, receives Lotharingia (the Low Countries and Upper Burgundy). The youngest, Charles, receives Lower Burgundy and Provence.

title: 855

text: Winter – The weather is so severe that the Adriatic Sea freezes, and Italy is covered in snow for 100 days.

title: 859

text: Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats the Saracen invaders who are ravaging southern Italy.

title: 866

text: August 12 – Louis II, king of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor (b. 825)

title: 875

text: December 29 – King Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, travels to Italy. He receives the Imperial Regalia at Pavia, and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor as Charles II at Rome.

title: 875

text: At the invitation of Benevento, the newly-restored Byzantine fleet appears in the waters off Otranto. On the orders of Emperor Basil I, the Byzantines sail up the Adriatic Sea and reconquer part of southern Italy. The city of Bari is occupied in the name of the Byzantine Empire. Instead of holding it for his 'ally' Adelchis of Benevento, Basil makes it the capital of the new Byzantine Theme of Longobardia.

title: 876

text: King Charles the Fat travels to Nonantola (Northern Italy), where he meets Pope Marinus I. He receives complaints of Guy II of Spoleto, who is the official "protector" of Rome, and invades the Papal States. King Charles orders Guy to appear before a tribunal.

title: 883

text: December 26 – In an assembly at Pavia (Northern Italy), the lords of Lombardia elect Berengar I, a grandson of former emperor Louis the Pious (through his daughter Gisela), as king of Italy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. After the deposition of Charles the Fat, the nobility chooses Ranulf II as duke (or 'king') of Aquitaine.

title: 887

text: Winter – King Arnulf of Carinthia leads an East Frankish expedition into Italy, after he is recognized as overlord of France and Burgundy. Arnulf descends with an army over the Brenner Pass, and meets King Berengar I at a peace conference at Trento. Berengar grants him two counties in the Val d'Adige (Northern Italy), and does homage to Arnulf as overlord. In turn, Arnulf confirms Berengar as king of Lombardia, and returns to Germany.

title: AD 888

text: Spring – Adalbert II, margrave of Tuscany, revolts against Emperor Louis III ("the Blind"). He helps the deposed King Berengar I to recover the Kingdom of Italy. Louis III is forced to abdicate the Lombard throne and flees to Provence, compelled to promise never to return to Italy.

title: 902

text: Anscar I, margrave of Ivrea (Italy)

title: 902

text: Winter – The Hungarians invade Saxony and force King Henry I (the Fowler) to retreat into the Castle of Werla. He makes a pact and agrees to pay them tribute for 9 years. They return to the Po Valley and sack the cities of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua (Northern Italy).

title: 924

text: Summer – The Hungarians fight in Rome, helping Margrave Peter against Pope John X. They then go to southern Italy, and conquer the cities of Taranto and Oria.

title: 927

text: February 3 – Guy ("the Philosopher"), margrave of Tuscany (Italy)

title: 929

text: Spring – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, cedes Lower Burgundy to Rudolph II, in return for Rudolf's renunciation of all claims to the Italian crown. He receives the imperial crown, and induces the Italian nobility to recognize his son Lothair II as the co-ruler of Lombardia (Regnum Italiae).

title: 931

text: Atenulf II, prince of Benevento and Capua (Italy)

title: 940

text: Pietro Participazio, doge of Venice (Italy)

title: 942

text: April 10 – Landulf I, prince of Benevento and Capua (Italy)

title: 943

text: Spring – Berengar of Ivrea invades Italy with hired Lombard troops and takes up residence in Milan. Berengar proceeds to Verona, where he is joined by forces of Count Milo and other partisans.

title: 945

text: Mastalus I, penultimate patricius of Amalfi (Italy)

title: 953

text: Mastalus II, duke and patrician of Amalfi (Italy)

title: 958

text: Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily. He assembles a large expeditionary force for a renewal of an invasion in Calabria (Southern Italy). Otto gifts the Rheingau ("Rhine District") to the Archbishopric of Mainz during the 'Veronese donation'. Otto III is elected king of Germany and Italy.

title: 983

text: The Bell foundry was founded in Italy by Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli.

title: AD 1000

text: February 14 – King Henry II arrives at Rome and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor together with his wife Cunigunde by Pope Benedict VIII in St. Peter's Basilica. Henry establishes the Diocese of Bobbio (Northern Italy) and returns to Germany.

title: 1014

text: August 1 – A Genoese fleet leaves Italy to support the Crusaders' efforts to conquer the coastal cities; the ships reach Latakia on September 25.

title: 1100

text: Autumn – Countess Mathilda of Tuscany leads a successful expedition in northern Italy and takes Ferrara.

title: 1101

text: Bohemond I, Norman prince of Antioch, arrives in Apulia (Southern Italy) after an absence of 9 years. He travels to Rome and meets Pope Paschal II. His cousin, Roger II becomes count of Sicily.

title: 1105

text: Autumn – Bohemond I returns to Apulia (Southern Italy) with an expeditionary force to prepare an offensive against the Byzantines. He is accompanied by his newlywed wife Constance (who is pregnant by him) and followers.

title: 1106

text: The consuls of Bergamo are first mentioned, indicating that the city has become an independent commune in Lombardy (Northern Italy).

title: 1108

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

title: 1125

text: The newly born Commune of Rome conquers and destroys the rival neighboring city of Albano (modern Italy).

title: 1168

text: The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy is founded.

title: 1175

text: Traditional date – The University of Padua is founded in Italy, by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.

title: 1222

text: The Rialto Bridge in Venice (in modern-day Italy) is converted from a pontoon bridge to a permanent, raised wooden structure.

title: 1250

text: King Conrad IV of Germany invades Italy, but fails to subdue the supporters of Pope Innocent IV.

title: 1251

text: The consequences of the volcanic 1257 Samalas eruption in Indonesia include the following anecdotal accounts: very dry fog in France; lunar eclipses in England; severe winter in Europe; a harsh spring in Iceland; famine in England, Germany, France and Italy; and pestilence in London, parts of France, Austria, Iraq, Syria, and southeast Turkey.

title: 1258

text: September 3 – Bartolomeo I della Scala becomes the new Lord of Verona, at the time a city-state in Italy that included most of the Veneto region (with the exception of Venice), upon the death of his father Alberto.

title: 1301

text: May 1 – The 1314–1316 papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Clement V begins at Carpentras Cathedral in Provence with 23 cardinals in attendance, of whom the votes of 16 are necessary to elect a new Pontiff. The cardinals are divided into three factions, none of which have more than eight people, with a group from Italy (led by Guillaume de Mandagot), who want to move the papacy back to Rome; nine from Gascony, most of whom are relatives of Pope Clement (led by Arnaud de Pellegrue); and five from Provence (led by Berengar Fredol).

title: 1314

text: April 11 – In Italy's Republic of Massa, coinage is resumed by arrangement of the Republic and of the Benzi family.

title: 1317

text: April 6 – The city of Lucca in Italy pays the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for the right for self-government, and Cardinal Guy de Montfort is appointed the imperial vicar to secure the debt.

title: 1369

text: July 19 – Petrarch, Italian poet (b. 1304)

title: 1374

text: November 25 – James of Baux succeeds his uncle, Philip II, as Prince of Taranto (modern-day eastern Italy) and titular ruler of the Latin Empire (northern Greece and western Turkey).

title: 1374

text: June 18 – Saint Catherine of Siena, now the Roman Catholic patron saint of Italy, visits Pope Gregory XI in Avignon in France, to attempt to persuade him to make peace with Florence, and move the Papacy back to Rome.

title: 1376

text: November 30 – The Battle of Fornarina is fought in Italy when the independent village of San Ginesio (now in Italy's Macerata province) is invaded by mercenaries from the larger city of Fermo from a neighboring province. As the mercenaires cross through an unguarded and open gate, a baker in the middle of baking bread hears the troops approach, throws hot ashes into the first line of soldiers, and alerts the Ginosan troops who drive the invaders up a hill and over the side of a steep cliff.

title: 1377

text: Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (d. 1446)

title: 1378

text: October 31 – The coronation of Count Onorato Caetani as the antipope Clement VII takes place in Italy at Fondi at the cathedral of San Pietro adjacent to the Caetani palace. Clement operates as a rival leader of the Roman Catholic Church for about a year before he and his cardinals relocate to Avignon.

title: 1378

text: July 12 – The Battle of Sant'Egidio is fought in Italy: soldier of fortune Braccio da Montone, Prince of Capua, conquers Umbria and its capital, Perugia.

title: 1416

text: Castello Orsini-Odescalchi is built in Bracciano, Italy by the Orsini family.

title: 1426

text: October 6 – The University of Turin, originally created in 1404 is re-established in Turin in Italy after having been absent since 1427. Prince Ludovico of Savoy grants ducal licenses to set up colleges of Law, of Arts and Medicine, and of Theology.

title: 1436

text: April 12 – In a battle on Lake Garda in Italy, a passage to the Adriatic Sea, ships from the Duchy of Milan defeat those of the Republic of Venice in battle and take control of the lake.

title: 1439

text: In Italy, the siege of Cremona, by the condottieri troops of Francesco Piccinino and Luigi dal Verme, is raised after the arrival of Scaramuccia da Forlì.

title: 1446

text: August 13 – The Milanese War of Succession begins in Italy when Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan since 1412, dies from natural causes. In that Visconti had no male heir, he had bequeathed the Duchy to King Afonso V, ruler of the Kingdom of Naples (in Italy) and the Crown of Aragon (in Spain), as well as his son-in-law Francesco I Sforza and Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.

title: 1447

text: February 18 – Fra Angelico, Italian painter (b. 1395)

title: 1455

text: July 18 – In the Republic of Genoa in Italy, Spinetta Fregoso is elected by the republic's council as the new chief executive, the Doge. He remains in office for only six days before being forced to surrender to Lodovico di Campofregoso.

title: 1461

text: May 19 – Baccio D'Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)

title: 1462

text: December 9 – Lorenzo de' Medici becomes the Lord of Florence, the de facto executive of the Florentine Republic in Italy, upon the death of his father, Piero di Cosimo de' Medici.

title: 1469

text: June 16 – Volterra, a town in the Republic of Florence in Italy, surrenders after a siege of 25 days by Florentine soldiers under the command of Federico da Montefeltro. Because the town had rebelled against the power of Lorenzo de' Medici, da Montefeltro allows his soldiers on June 18 to pillage Volterra and to commit rape and murder of its citizens.

title: 1472

text: April 3 – Alessandro Sforza, Italian condottiero (b. 1409)

title: 1473

text: May 14 – The Siege of Shkodra in Albania begins. Federico Gonzaga becomes the new ruler of the independent Duchy of Mantua in Italy, three days after the death of his father, Ludovico III.

title: 1478

text: October 13 – Maximilian of Austria and Louis XII of France sign the Treaty of Trente with Austria recognizing all French conquests in the northern territories of Italy.

title: 1501

text: In Italy, Asher Lämmlein declares that the Jewish Messiah will arrive in the next 6 months, resulting in the year of penance.

title: 1502

text: April 27 – The democratic government of the Republic of Florence in Italy, in existence for more than 400 years since its founding in 1115, is abolished by order of Pope Clement VII in order for a hereditary, and absolute, monarchy to be established. Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, the illegitimate son of Pope Clement, is given full power and the Republic's parliament (the Signoria) and the rule of the executive officer, the Gonfaloniere, come to an end.

title: 1532

text: September 16 – The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza is created in Italy by order of Pope Paul III, formerly Alessandro Farnese, to be ruled by his son, Pier Luigi Farnese.

title: 1545

text: In Italy, Bartolomeo Eustachi completes his Tabulae anatomicae, presenting his discoveries on the structure of the inner ear and heart, although, for fear of the Inquisition, it will not be published until 1714.

title: 1552

text: July 3 – The small Stato dei Presidi, a 300 km2 section of Spanish territory on the Tuscan coast of Italy, is created by a treaty between Cosimo I de' Medici (Duke of the Florentine Republic and the future Grand Duke of Tuscany) and King Felipe II of Spain. In return, Cosimo receives the rest of the former Republic of Siena.

title: 1557

text: The oldest surviving violin (dated inside), known as the Charles IX, is made in Cremona, in northern Italy.

title: 1560

text: January 25 – In Italy, Instituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, a constituent of the major financial group Sanpaolo IMI, is founded.

title: 1563

text: August 27 – Bartolomeo Eustachi, Italian anatomist

title: 1574

text: March 15 – Annibale Padovano, Italian composer and organist (b. 1527)

title: 1575

text: The Ottoman fleet crosses into the Western Mediterranean and raids the Italian coastline. In Corsica, the towns of Sartene and Arbellara are sacked (summer).

title: 1583

text: September 17 – Agostinho Barbosa, Portuguese bishop in Italy and writer on canon law (d. 1649)

title: 1589

text: November 27 – In Italy, Giovanni Giustiniani Campi is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa after a 12-day search for a successor to Battista Negrone.

title: 1591

text: February 3 – Francesca Caccini's opera La liberazione di Ruggiero has its premiere, stated in Florence in Italy. The opera will continue to be staged almost 400 years later, as late as the year 2018.

title: 1625

text: July 27 – An earthquake destroys the cities of San Severo and Torremaggiore in southern Italy.

title: 1627

text: March 22 – Agostinho Barbosa, Portuguese bishop in Italy and writer on canon law (b. 1589)

title: 1649

text: September 2 – The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro.

title: 1649

text: February 14 – A peace treaty is signed in Turin in Italy to end the War of the Banished between the Duchy of Savoy and the Waldensians.

title: 1664

text: June 3 – In the city of Mantua in Italy, the world's oldest continuously published private newspaper, Gazzetta di Mantova, publishes its first-known issue. The newspaper would celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2014.

title: 1664

text: December 29 – An earthquake hits Ancona, in the Papal States of Italy and causes 10 deaths.

title: 1690

text: February 3 – Battle of Faenza: A French corps (9,000 men) under General Claude-Victor Perrin defeats the forces from the Papal States, at Castel Bolognese near Faenza, Italy.

title: 1797

text: January 14 – War of the First Coalition – Battle of Rivoli: French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte defeat an Austrian army of 28,000 men, under Feldzeugmeister József Alvinczi, near Rivoli (modern-day Italy), ending Austria's fourth and final attempt to relieve the fortress city of Mantua.

title: 1797

text: May 15 – Napoleon and his French army (40,000 men)—not including the field artillery and baggage trains—(35,000 light artillery and infantry, 5,000 cavalry) begin crossing the Alps. He selects the shortest route through the Great St Bernard Pass, and invades after five days traversing the northern region of Italy.

title: 1800

text: March 7 – The Battle of Rieti is fought in Italy between intervening Austrian forces and Neapolitan rebels.

title: 1821

text: November 25 – Mount Etna erupts in Italy, and kills 69 people in the village of Bronte.

title: 1843

text: March 4 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia.

title: 1848

text: De'Longhi home appliance brand is founded in Treviso, Italy.

title: 1902

text: December 13 – The United Kingdom, France and Italy sign an agreement to preserve, in Ethiopia, the integrity of the ancient empire of Abyssinia.

title: 1906

text: March 9 – Football Club Internazionale is founded in Milan, Italy.

title: 1908

text: October 29 – Olivetti, the well-known typewriter and business equipment company, is founded in Italy.

title: 1908

text: April 10 – Genoa Conference: The representatives of 34 countries convene to speak in Genoa, Italy about monetary economics, in the wake of World War I.

title: 1922

text: October 28 – In Italy, the March on Rome brings the National Fascist Party and Benito Mussolini to power. Italy begins a period of dictatorship that lasts until the end of the Second World War.

title: 1922

text: September 3 – The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, the world's third purpose-built motorsport race track, is officially opened at Monza in the Lombardy Region of Italy.

title: 1922

text: September 19 – Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) Stadium, well known among sports venues in Italy, officially opens in Milan.

title: 1926

text: October 6 – Serie A, the top-class professional football league of Italy, replaces the Divisione Nazionale.

title: 1929

text: December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre, France after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer.

title: 1938

text: September 1 – 1946 Turin Grand Prix, the first official Formula One Grand Prix, is held in Italy.

title: 1946

text: January 26 – The 1956 Winter Olympics open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

title: 1956

text: September 27 – Richard Nixon begins a tour of Europe, visiting Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

title: 1970

text: November 10 – The Treaty of Osimo is signed between Italy and Yugoslavia, resolving their dispute over Trieste. Under the agreement, a majority of the land area and residents go to Italy.

title: 1975

text: Ciabatta bread is invented by a baker in Verona, Italy.

title: 1982

text: June 11 – The Italian cargo ship Michelle ran aground just northwest of Dugi Otok.

title: 1983

text: June 22 – Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican girl, mysteriously disappears in Rome while returning home from a music lesson. The disappearance of the girl led to many speculations involving international terrorism, Italian organized crime, and even a plot inside the Vatican to cover a sexual scandal inside the Holy See. Because of all these theories, the Orlandi case would later become Italy's most famous mystery.

title: 1983

text: October 24 – Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti reveals the existence of Operation Gladio, a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy during the Cold War.

title: 1990

text: April 10 – The Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, resulting in 140 deaths with one survivor.

title: 1991

text: June 2 – Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer Erich Priebke is extradited from Argentina to Italy.

title: 1995

text: February 5 – 2000 Six Nations Championship in rugby union opens, the first year in which Italy takes part.

title: 2000

text: June 29 – Viareggio train derailment occurred when a freight train carrying liquified petroleum gas derailed at Viareggio railway station in Lucca, Italy. The accident killed 32 people and injured 26 people.

title: 2009

text: December 4 – A constitutional referendum is held in Italy, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

title: 2016

text: February 6 – Livraga derailment: A Frecciarossa high-speed train traveling from Milan to Salerno derailed in Livraga, Lombardy, Italy. Two people were killed, and 31 were injured.

title: 2020

text: March 9 – COVID-19 pandemic: Italy becomes the first country to implement a nationwide quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

title: 2020

text: May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".

title: 2021

text: May 10–May 14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is held in Turin, Italy. The contest is won by Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra with their song "Stefania".

title: 2022


slug: ivan-iii-of-russia

label: Ivan III of Russia

description: Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 to 1505

section: Births

date: January 22

text: January 22: Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)

title: 1440

section: Deaths

date: March 27

text: March 27 – Ivan III of Russia becomes the ruler of Russia, following the death of his father, Vasili.

title: 1462

section: Events › January–March

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Sophia Palaiologina is married by proxy to the ruler of Russia, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, with his trusted emissary Ivan Fryazin serving as the proxy.

title: 1472

section: Events › April–June

text: Ivan III of Russia marches against the Novgorod Republic, marking the beginning of Russian Colonialism.

title: 1477

section: Events › Undated

section: Conflict & Security

date: January 15

text: January 15 – After a three month rebellion that began on October 9, Novgorod surrenders to Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, bringing an end to the separate existence (under Ivan) of the Novgorod Republic. The annexation of Novgorod becomes the beginning of the transition of the principality of Moscow to the Russian Empire.

title: 1478

date: October 8

text: October 8 – The Great Stand on the Ugra River begins as troops of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, led by the Grand Duke Ivan III and General Ivan Molodoy battle against the invading Mongol armies of the Golden Horde, led by their ruling monarch, Akhmat Khan. The invasion began after Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde. The Theotokos of Vladimir icon is credited with saving Moscow. The standoff between the troops lasts five weeks before Akhmat and the Mongol troops retreat.

title: 1480

section: Events › October–December

text: The Prince of Moscow builds the fortress of Ivangorod, facing Narva.

title: 1483

section: Events › Date unknown

date: June 9

text: June 9 – The Grand Duke Ivan IV of Ryazan signs a treaty with his uncle, Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow, placing Ryazan under Moscow's control and ending Ryazan's independence.

title: 1483

date: February 5

text: February 5 – The war between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ends after almost seven years, with the Tsar Ivan III signing a "treaty of Eternal Peace" with Lithuania's Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon. Lithuania is guaranteed its independence in return for ceding its territories captured by Moscow.

title: 1494

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War: At the Battle of Mstislavl, Grand Prince Ivan's Southern Muscovite army defeats the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

title: 1501

section: Crime & Justice

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk, who had been the teenage co-ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow since 1498 with his grandfather Ivan III, is arrested along with his mother, Elena of Moldavia on suspicion of conspiracy. Ivan designates his son (and Dmitry's uncle) Vasili Ivanovich as the new heir to the throne of Moscow.

title: 1502

date: April 14

text: April 14 – The formal coronation of Ivan the Great as Grand Prince of Moscow (encompassing most of the Russian people's territory) to reflect that he is the nation's sole ruler. Ivan had been co-ruler of Moscow from 1449 to 1462, ruler from 1462 to 1471 and 1490 to 1498, and co-ruler with his eldest son (Ivan the Young, 1471-1490) and his grandson, Dmitry Ivanovich from 1498 onward.

title: 1502

date: November 6

text: November 6 (October 27 O.S.) – Vasili III succeeds Ivan III, as Grand Prince of Muscovy, comprising much of modern-day Russia.

title: 1505

date: October 27

text: October 27 – Emperor Ivan III of Russia (b. 1440)

title: 1505


slug: ivan-the-terrible

label: Ivan the Terrible

description: Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584

date: December 3

text: December 3 – Ivan IV succeeds his father Vasili III as Grand Prince of Muscovy at the age of three; he will rule in Russia until his death in 1584.

title: 1533

date: June 16

text: June 16 – Yuri of Uglich, the only brother of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, is placed in charge of Russia's domestic affairs as Ivan departs Moscow to lead 150,000 troops in the Russo-Kazan War.

title: 1552

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: August 24

text: August 24 – English explorer Richard Chancellor enters the White Sea and reaches Arkhangelsk. He goes on afterwards to the court of Ivan the Terrible of Russia, opening up trade between England and Russia.

title: 1553

section: Events › July–September

text: Ivan the Terrible conquers Astrakhan, opening the Volga River to Russian traffic and trade.

title: 1556

date: August 7

text: August 7 – Anastasia Romanovna, Tsarina of Russia, married to Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible (b. 1530)

title: 1560

date: March 15

text: March 15 – English merchant Anthony Jenkinson has an audience with Ivan the Terrible in Moscow, before departing the city on April 27 and continuing his second expedition through the Grand Duchy of Moscow to Qazvin, capital of the Safavid dynasty in Persia.

title: 1562

text: December 3 – Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of all the Russias, sends his government a letter of abdication, ostensibly because of embezzlement and treason by the aristocracy and the clergy. Ivan leaves Moscow and moves to the city of Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, taking with him the relics of the palace and most of his royal court, until being persuaded to return in February on the promise that he will have absolute power.

title: 1564

date: January 3

text: January 3 – In the Tsardom of Russia, Ivan the Terrible originates the oprichnina (repression of the boyars (aristocrats)).

title: 1565

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Ivan the Terrible begins the Massacre of Novgorod.

title: 1570

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Simeon Bekbulatovich, who has served since the previous October as the Grand Prince of All Russia after the Tsar Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible") had taken leave of absence from the throne, steps down as Ivan returns to Moscow. Ivan rewards Bekbulatovich with the title of Grand Prince of Tver.

title: 1576

date: March 28

text: March 28 (O.S. March 18) – Ivan the Terrible, ruler of Russia since 1533, dies; he is succeeded as Tsar by his son, Feodor.

title: 1584

date: May 15

text: May 15 – In Russia, Tsarevich Dimitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, is found dead in mysterious circumstances, at the palace in Uglich. The official explanation is that he has cut his own throat during an epileptic seizure. Many believe he has been murdered by his rival, Boris Godunov, who becomes tsar.

title: 1591

date: July 20

text: July 20 – The second "False Dmitry", one of three people claiming to be Dmitry Ivanovich, son of the late Tsar Ivan the Terrible, appears at the Russian town of Starodub and persuades residents that he is the rightful heir to the Russian throne.

title: 1607

date: April 7

text: April 7 (March 28 O.S.) – False Dmitry III, the third pretender to the Russian throne to claim to be Prince Dmitry of Uglich, son of Ivan the Terrible, arrives at Ivangorod and proclaims himself as the Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich I.

title: 1611

date: March 2

text: March 2 – The False Dmitry III, one of three pretenders to the Russian throne who all claim to be sons of Ivan the Terrible, is recognized as Tsar of Russia by the Cossacks.

title: 1612


slug: ivory-coast

label: Ivory Coast

description: sovereign state in West Africa

date: January

text: January – Portuguese navigators João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar reach the gold-trading centre of Elmina on the Gold Coast of west Africa, and explore Cape St. Catherine, two degrees south of the equator, so that they begin to be guided by the Southern Cross constellation. They also visit Sassandra on the Ivory Coast.

title: 1471

text: France places a few missionaries in the Ivory Coast, a country it will rule more than 200 years later.

title: 1637

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Ivory Coast becomes a French colony.

title: 1893

section: Events › March

text: France establishes an administrative post in Abengourou, Ivory Coast.

title: 1896

text: Abidjan becomes the capital of the French colony of Ivory Coast.

title: 1934

date: April 10

text: April 10 – The modern form of value-added tax is first implemented by Maurice Lauré, joint director of the French tax authority, in France's Ivory Coast colony.

title: 1954

section: Events › April

date: April

text: April – The government of Ivory Coast requests international diplomatic use of the French form of its name, Côte d'Ivoire.

title: 1986

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 1

text: September 1–10 – Pope John Paul II visits Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Ivory Coast.

title: 1990

section: Events › September

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes off the Ivory Coast into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 169 people.

title: 2000

section: Events › January

date: September 19

text: September 19 – General Robert Guéï leads an army mutiny in an attempt to overthrow Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, resulting in civil war.

title: 2002


slug: jacobitism

label: Jacobitism

description: 17/18th-century British political ideology supporting the restoration of the House of Stuart

date: August 21

text: August 21 – First Jacobite rising: Battle of Dunkeld – Covenanters defeat the Jacobites in Scotland.

title: 1689

date: July 27

text: July 27 – First Jacobite rising: Battle of Killiecrankie near Pitlochry in Perthshire – Scottish Covenanter supporters of William III and Mary II (under Hugh Mackay) are defeated by Jacobite supporters of James II, but the latter's leader, John Graham, Viscount Dundee, is killed. Hand grenades are used in action.

title: 1689

date: July 10

text: July 10 (June 30 O.S.) – Battle of Beachy Head: the Anglo-Dutch navy is defeated by the French, giving rise to fears of a Jacobite invasion of England.

title: 1690

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Williamite War in Ireland – Battle of Aughrim: Protestant Williamite forces, led by Godert de Ginkell, decisively defeat Jacobites under the Marquis de St Ruth (who is killed).

title: 1691

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Nine Years' War – Battle of Landen: William III of England is defeated by the French (with Irish Jacobite mercenaries).

title: 1693

section: Deaths

date: September 16

text: September 16 – Deposed King James II of England (James VII of Scotland) dies in exile, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France. His supporters, the Jacobites, turn to his son James Francis Edward Stuart (later called "The Old Pretender"), whom they recognise as James VIII and III. Louis XIV of France, the Papal States, and Spain also recognise him as the rightful heir.

title: 1701

date: January 28

text: January 28 – The town of Crieff, Scotland, is burned to the ground by Jacobites returning from the Battle of Sheriffmuir.

title: 1716

date: November 1

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

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Battle of Glen Shiel: British forces defeat the Jacobites and their Spanish allies in Scotland.

title: 1719

date: August 24

text: August 24 – Francis Atterbury, Anglican Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster, is arrested in his deanery and confined in the Tower of London for treason, accused of leading the Jacobite "Atterbury Plot" in support of the pretender James Francis Edward Stuart with the aim of overthrowing the House of Hanover and King George I of Great Britain and restoring the House of Stuart by installing Prince James as "King James III".

title: 1722

date: April 9

text: April 9 – The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat is beheaded at Tower Hill, London, for high treason. He was the last person in Britain to be beheaded, although beheading would not be formally abolished until more than 200 years later.

title: 1747

section: Culture & Society

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism.

title: 1766

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Henry Benedict Stuart becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Henry IX and the figurehead of Jacobitism.

title: 1788

date: July 13

text: July 13 – With the death of Henry Benedict Stuart, the last Stuart claimant to the throne of the United Kingdom, Jacobitism comes to an effective end.

title: 1807


slug: jadwiga-of-poland

label: Jadwiga of Poland

description: Queen of Poland (1384–1399)

date: August 18

text: August 18 – King Lajos of Hungary pledges his infant daughter, Princess Hedwig, to marriage to Wilhelm of Habsburg, the four-year-old son of Leopold III, Duke of Austria, as part of an alliance between Austria and Hungary.

title: 1374

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Under an agreement between King Lajos of Hungary and Leopold III, Duke of Austria, Ludvik's one-year-old daughter, Princess Jadwiga, is betrothed to Leopold's four-year-old son Wilhelm of Habsburg.

title: 1375

section: Events › January–March

date: November 25

text: November 25 – The nobles of Greater Poland assemble at Radomsko and, not wishing to be ruled by Mary' of Hungarys fiancee, the future Sigismund of Luxembourg, choose Mary's younger sister, Jadwiga, to become ruler of Poland.

title: 1382

date: March 28

text: March 28 – In a proclamation made by her envoys to Poland, Elizabeth, the former Queen consort of Hungary and regent for her 10-year-old daughter Mary, Queen of Hungary, formally releases the Kingdom of Poland from an oath of loyalty to Mary and announces that she will send her 9-year-old daughter Hedwig to be the queen of Poland.

title: 1383

date: October 16

text: October 16 – At the age of 10, Jadwiga is crowned "King" of Poland in Kraków following the 1382 death of her father, King Louis of Hungary.

title: 1384

date: August 14

text: August 14 – The Union of Krewo establishes the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland and Lithuania, through the proposed marriage of Queen regnant Jadwiga of Poland and Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania, and sees the acceptance of Roman Catholicism by the Lithuanian elite, and an end to the Greater Poland Civil War.

title: 1385

date: August 23

text: August 23 – In celebration of the marriage of Wilhelm the Courteous, Duke of Austria, to Jadwiga, Queen of Poland, the leaders of the city of Kraków grant amnesty to the prisoners in the city jail.

title: 1385

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania marries Queen Jadwiga of Poland, unifying the two nations.

title: 1386

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Union of Krewo: A delegation of Poland's nobles visits the Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania at Valkaviskas

title: 1386

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Elizabeth of Bosnia, mother of Queen Jadwiga of Poland is kidnapped by Croatian rebels at Gorjani, along with Jadwiga's sister, Queen consort Mary of Hungary Mary, when they are ambushed by John Horvat and his men while traviling to Dakovo. Nicholas I Garai, who had accompanied Elizabeth and Mary, is murdered and his severed head is sent by the rebels to Margaret of Durazzo, the former Queen consort of Hungary and Naples, as proof that the murderers of her husband King Charles III, have been captured.

title: 1386

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Władysław II Jagiełło becomes sole ruler of Poland, after the death of his co-ruling wife, Queen Jadwiga.

title: 1399

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Jagiellonian University is re-established in Kraków by order of King Władysław II, with the creation of the Faculty of Theology at what is then called the Kraków Academy. The restoration is partially financed by the sale of jewelry owned by the King's late wife, Queen Jadwiga, who had died in 1399.

title: 1400


slug: jaffa

label: Jaffa

description: southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv

year_label: 312 BCE

text: Demetrius rallies the remnants of his army at Tripolis and summons reinforcements from the garrisons of upper Syria and Cilicia; he also writes his father, Antigonus, and urges him to send help. Meanwhile Ptolemy captures Acre, Joppa, Samaria and Sidon, and starts to besiege Tyre.

title: 312 BC

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

year_label: 148 BCE

text: Demetrius II Nicator, claimant to the Seleucid throne had challenged Alexander Balas, in view of the threat of such an invasion Ptolemy VI Philometor entered Coele-Syria, passing through the cities of Ashdod and Jaffa, to Ptolemais.

title: 148 BC

section: Events › By place › Hellenistic Egypt

year_label: 66 CE

text: Gallus leads his main force down the coast from Caesarea via Antipatris to Lydda, detaching other units, by land and sea, to neutralize the rebel strongholds at Joppa, Narbata and the Tower of Aphek. With Galilee and the entire Judean coast in his hands, Gallus assumes his campaign before the winter rains render the roads impassable. He turns inland and marches on Jerusalem, taking the road via the plain at Emmaus. Gallus succeeds in conquering Beit She'arim (the "New City") on the Bezetha Hill.

title: AD 66

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt: The Qarmatians under al-Hasan al-A'sam invade Syria, recently conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate, capturing Damascus and Ramla, defeating a major Fatimid army and blockading another in Jaffa. A subsequent invasion of Egypt leads to widespread anti-Fatimid revolts in the Nile Delta, but the delay allows the Fatimid general Jawhar to prepare his defences, leading to the decisive Qarmatian at Ayn Shams on 24 December and the collapse of the invasion.

title: 971

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: June 17

text: June 17 – A naval squadron of six Genoese ships led by Guglielmo Embriaco (loaded with military materials) enters the port of Jaffa; all except one are trapped by a larger Fatimid fleet.

title: 1099

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: May 27

text: May 27 – The Crusaders under Baldwin I break their way out of Jaffa, which is encircled by the Fatimid Army. A charge of the French cavalry breaks the enemy's ranks, and forces them to retreat to Ascalon.

title: 1102

section: Events › By place › Levant

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

title: 1134

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Summer – Egyptian troops led by Saladin begins a campaign that paves the way for further Muslim inroads into Christian territory. Al-Adil invades Palestine with the Egyptian army, and captures the strategic castle of Mirabel (Majdal Yaba). By mid-September, Saladin has captured the cities of Acre, Jaffa, Gaza and Ascalon (blockaded by the Egyptian fleet), along with some 50 Crusader castles.

title: 1187

section: Events › By place › Egypt

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Richard I leads the Crusader army past Caesarea and is forced to turn inland, where he is separated from his supply ships. Saladin personally attacks the massed Crusader infantry, by bombarding them with arrows before charging their line with cavalry. During this brief but indecisive engagement, Richard is struck in the side by a crossbow bolt – though his armour absorbs much of the blow. By the end of the day, only 25 miles from Jaffa, Richard allows his men to rest (while recovering from his wounds) and re-assembles his forces.

title: 1191

section: Events › By place › Third Crusade

section: Climate & Environment

date: May 20

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

title: 1202

date: September

text: September – A second contingent joined by Frederick II, departs from Brindisi to the Levant. On September 11, during the second day of the voyage, one of Fredericks' companions, Louis IV of Thuringia, dies of an illness (possibly cholera) at Otranto. Frederick also becomes sick and decides to return home, while sending the rest of the Crusader fleet (20 galleys) to Acre. There, they fortify the coastal towns of Caesarea and Jaffa.

title: 1227

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: November

text: November – Frederick II puts pressure on the negotiations by a military display. He assembles his Crusader army and marches down the coast to Jaffa – which he proceeds to refortify. At the same moment, Ayyubid forces under An-Nasir Dawud, who are not participating in the revolt at Damascus, move to Nablus, to intercept Al-Kamil's supply lines. Al-Kamil breaks off the negotiations, saying that the Crusaders have pillaged several Muslim villages, and only resumes them again when Frederick pays out compensation to the victims.

title: 1228

section: Events › By place › Sixth Crusade

date: November 2

text: November 2 – An expeditionary force (some 4,000 knights) under Theobald I sets out from Acre for the Egyptian frontier, detachments from the military orders and several local barons accompany the Crusaders. While marching to Jaffa, a Crusader column led by Peter of Brittany and his lieutenant Raoul de Soissons with two hundred knights, lay an ambush and attacks a rich Muslim caravan.

title: 1239

text: August 23 – The Tower of David surrenders to the Khwarazmian forces. Some 6,000 Christian men, women and children march out of Jerusalem. As they move along the road toward Jaffa, they see crusader flags waving on the Walls of Jerusalem. Returning, some 2,000 of them are massacred.

title: 1244

date: January 18

text: January 18 – King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat") dies and is succeeded by his son Hugh II, who is only a few months old. His mother, Queen Plaisance of Antioch, claims the regency of Cyprus and the titular regency of Jerusalem. The High Court of Cyprus confirms her position, but the barons of Outremer require her attendance in person before they will recognize her. John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa, remains as bailli, and Plaisance contemplates marrying John's youthful son Balian. Meanwhile, King Louis IX of France ("the Saint"), still staying at Acre, continues to administer the government.

title: 1253

date: March 7

text: March 7 – War of the Second Coalition: Siege of Jaffa – Napoleon captures Jaffa in Palestine from the Ottomans and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.

title: 1799

date: April 11

text: April 11 – The city of Tel Aviv (known in its first year as Ahuzat Bayit) is founded by the Jewish community, on the outskirts of Jaffa (at this time in the Ottoman Empire).

title: 1909

section: Events › March–April

date: November 16

text: November 16 – WWI: Battle of Ayun Kara: The ANZAC Mounted Division occupies Jaffa.

title: 1917

section: Events › November

date: May 1

text: May 1–7 – Jaffa riots: Riots at Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine result in 47 Jewish and 48 Arab deaths.

title: 1921

section: Events › May


slug: jahangir

label: Jahangir

description: the fourth Mughal Emperor from 1605 to 1627

section: Religion & Belief

text: Mughal Emperor Akbar founds Fatehpur Sikri, to honor the Muslim holy man Shaikh Salim Chisti, who has foretold the birth of Akbar's son and heir, Jahangir.

title: 1569

section: Events › Dates unknown

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, the prime minister for India's Mughal Emperor Akbar, is assassinated at Narwar as part of a plot by Emperor Akbar's son, Prince Salim, who will later succeed Akbar as Emperor Jahangir. Abu'l-Fazl's killer, Vir Singh Bundela, sends the victim's severed head to Prince Salim as proof of the plot's success.

title: 1602

section: Events › July–September

section: Births

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Shahryar, fifth and youngest son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (d. 1628)

title: 1605

section: Births › January–March

date: November 3

text: November 3 – Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor, begins his 22-year reign over the Mughal Empire in northern India.

title: 1605

section: Events › October–December

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Sir Thomas Roe sets out to become the first ambassador from the court of the King of England to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, departing from Tilbury Hope on the ship Lyon under the command of captain Christopher Newport.

title: 1615

text: November – The Mughals under Jahangir launch the first offensive against Kajali, a border post of the Ahom kingdom.

title: 1615

date: January 10

text: January 10 – English diplomat Sir Thomas Roe presents his credentials to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, in Ajmer Fort, opening the door to the British presence in India. Roe sailed in the Lyon under the command of captain Christopher Newport, best known for his role in the Virginia colonies.

title: 1616

section: Events › January–February

section: Culture & Society

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Mughal Emperor Jahangir confers the title of Nur Jahan ('Light of the World') on his 20th wife.

title: 1616

section: Events › March-April

date: September 1

text: September 1 – The weighing ceremony of Jahangir is described by the first English ambassador to the Mughal court, Sir Thomas Roe.

title: 1617

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire in northern India, gives an audience for the first time to a representative of the British East India Company, receiving Sir Thomas Roe at the capital at Ahmedabad.

title: 1618

text: Jahangir grants a British mission important commercial concessions at Surat, on the west coast of India.

title: 1619

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Shahryar Mirza, the 22-year-old son of Jahangir and son-in-law of Jahangir's widow Nur Jahan, is installed as the new Mughal Emperor at Lahore.

title: 1627

section: Deaths

date: October 28

text: October 28 – The Mughal Emperor Jahangir dies of a respiratory illness near Bhimber while attempting to return to his palace at Lahore.

title: 1627

date: June 12

text: June 12 – In India, in the modern-day Rajasthan state, the Mughal Grand Vizier Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan is killed in a battle in Bundi against the armies of Nurpur, commanded by the Raja Jagat Singh. The elaborate Tomb of Asif Khan is constructed at Lahore (modern Pakistan) on orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.

title: 1641

section: Events › April–June


slug: jainism

label: Jainism

description: Indian religion

year_label: 600 BCE

text: Lord Mahavir, the last and 24th Tirthankar, of the ancient Indian religion, Jainism was born.

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › India

year_label: 599 BCE

text: 599 BC—Birth of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism (died 527 BC)

title: 590s BC

year_label: 527 BCE

text: 527 BC—Jain Tirthankara Mahavira attains Moksha, according to the Swetambara Tradition.

title: 520s BC

section: Events

year_label: 297 BCE

text: Chandragupta Maurya goes to Sravana Belagola, near Mysore, to live in the way of Jains.

title: 297 BC

section: Climate & Environment

text: The Indian Rashtrakuta Dynasty ends as its last ruler Indra IV commits Sallekhana (the Jain religious practice of voluntarily starving oneself to death).

title: 982

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: November 7 – Hemachandra, Indian Jain poet and polymath (d. 1173)

title: 1088

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Shrimad Rajchandra, prominent Indian Jain philosopher, scholar, poet & spiritual mentor of Mahatma Gandhi (d. 1901)

title: 1867

section: Births › November–December

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Shrimad Rajchandra, Indian Jain philosopher, scholar and poet, spiritual mentor of Mahatma Gandhi (b. 1867)

title: 1901

section: Deaths › March–April


slug: jakarta

label: Jakarta

description: capital and largest city of Indonesia

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Jakarta, modern-day capital of Indonesia, is founded as Jayakarta.

title: 1527

section: Conflict & Security

date: January 18

text: January 18 – The Dutch East India Company formally names its fortress at Jayakarta in Indonesia, calling it Batavia. Upon the independence of the Dutch East Indies as Indonesia in 1945, Batavia will be renamed Jakarta.

title: 1621

section: Events › January–March

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: May 25

text: May 25 – The English ship Tryall, which left Plymouth, England for Batavia (now Jakarta), wrecks on the Tryal Rocks, nine months later (the wreck is discovered in 1969).

title: 1622

date: April 10

text: April 10 – The t Gulden Zeepaert reaches Batavia in the Dutch East Indies.

title: 1627

text: Japanese wives and children of Dutch and British people from Hirado are sent to Batavia (Asian headquarters of the VOC, renamed Jakarta by the Japanese around three centuries later) on Dutch ships.

title: 1639

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.

title: 1644

date: February 11

text: February 11 – A violent storm in the Indian Ocean strikes a fleet of seven ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as they are traveling back to the Dutch Republic from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). Three of the freighters— Wapen van Holland, Gekroonde Leeuw and Prins Willem — are lost with all hands. The ships Vogel Phoenix, Maarsseveen and Prinses Royal make their way back to the Netherlands. The other ship, the freighter Arnhem remains afloat and its roughly 80 survivors are able to evacuate in boats to search for land.

title: 1662

date: February 5

text: February 5 – The ship Ridderschap van Holland is lost at sea, having departed the Cape of Good Hope with a crew of 300, with a destination of Batavia (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia), normally a voyage of two months. It never arrives and is never seen again.

title: 1694

text: January 18 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship Fortuyn, on its maiden voyage, departs from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after a layover of 16 days following its arrival from the Netherlands. With a crew of 225 commanded by Pieter Westrik, the ship departs for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and is never seen again.

title: 1724

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: July 8

text: July 8 – Mattheus de Haan becomes the new Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), governing until his death on June 1, 1729 in Batavia (modern Jakarta).

title: 1725

section: Events › July–September

date: April 30

text: April 30 – The 82 survivors of the wreckage of the Dutch East India Company frigate Zeewijk arrive in the new ship that they had built, Sloepie, at their original destination of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta in Indonesia).

title: 1728

date: October 9

text: October 9–22 – Batavia Massacre: Troops of the Dutch East India Company massacre at least 10,000 Chinese Indonesians in Batavia.

title: 1740

date: November 29

text: November 29 – The Central All-Indonesian Workers Organization (SOBSI) is founded in Jakarta.

title: 1946

section: Events › November

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Indonesian president Sukarno survives a grenade attack at the Cikini School in Jakarta, but several children are killed.

title: 1957

date: September 18

text: September 18 – Rioters burn down the British Embassy in Jakarta, to protest the formation of Malaysia.

title: 1963

section: Events › September

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Indonesian politician, governor of Jakarta

title: 1966

section: Births › June

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: April 20

text: April 20 – Taman Mini Indonesia Indah opens to the public in Jakarta, Indonesia.

title: 1975

section: Events › April

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Two commuter trains collide head-on on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia; 102 are killed.

title: 1987

section: Events › October

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Two bombs exploded separately at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 9 people (including 2 suicide bombers) and injuring 53.

title: 2009

section: Events › July

date: August 18

text: August 18–September 2 – The 2018 Asian Games are held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.

title: 2018

section: Events › August

date: March 24

text: March 24 – The first phase of Jakarta's MRT system opened with its first line.

title: 2019

section: Events › March

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Flash floods struck Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 66 people in the worst flooding in over a decade.

title: 2020

section: Events › January

section: Health & Medicine

date: November 25

text: November 25 – A report published by the United Nations shows that Indonesian capital Jakarta has surpassed Japanese capital Tokyo as the world's largest city, with a population of 42 million people.

title: 2025