slug: huns

label: Huns

description: extinct nomadic people in Eurasia (14th BC–16th centuries)

year_label: 43 CE

text: Warfare begins between the northern and southern Huns.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 43

text: The north-south feud between the Hun Dynasty ends.

title: AD 118

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: About this time the Huns begin to invade the Sassanid Empire.

title: 350

text: War begins between the Huns and the Alans.

title: 352

text: The Huns of Central Asia begin their great drive westwards with an advance into Scythia (modern Ukraine). They overcome and absorb the Alans, a nomadic and warlike horse breeding people from the steppes northeast of the Black Sea.

title: 355

text: The Huns invade the Pontic steppes by the thousands, spreading terror as they take over territories held for generations by Alans, Heruls, Ostrogoths and Visigoths.

title: AD 360

text: The Huns first appear in Europe and reach the Caspian Sea.

title: 363

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Valens builds a pontoon bridge across the Danube, and drives the Visigoths further north, where they will come under pressure from the advancing Huns.

title: 366

text: Germanic Invasions: Various Germanic tribes are forced against the northern borders of the Roman Empire as they flee the invading Huns.

title: 370

text: The Huns migrate westward from the Volga into Europe and subjugate the Alans and the Ostrogoths. With their arrival, a tradition of composite bows is introduced.

title: 370

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

title: 372

text: Battle of the Tanais River: The Huns defeat the Alans near the Don, sending the remnants fleeing westward.

title: 373

text: The Greuthungi, led by Alatheus and Saphrax, displaced by the predations of the Huns and Alans, request asylum within the Roman Empire. They are refused. The Roman frontier forces stretched to the breaking point, they slip across the Danube and unite with Fritigern. With their situation critical and desperately short of food, discontent is rising amongst the Goths.

title: 376

section: Climate & Environment

text: Gothic War: Famine in Lower Moesia (occupied by the Goths) takes a fearsome toll. Fritigern and his followers appeal for help, but the governors Lupicinus and Maximus regard them as second-class citizens. Little help is forthcoming, and thousands starve to death. The pressure on the Roman frontier is still severe, with the Taifali and other hostile bands of Goths on the Danube. In addition, groups of Huns and Alans have also moved up to the river.

title: 377

text: The Goths, supported by the Huns, move on to Constantinople. Their progress is checked by the Saracens, recruited from Arab tribes who control the eastern fringes of the empire.

title: 378

text: Rome's enemies (the Germans, Sarmatians and Huns) are taken into Imperial service; as a consequence, barbarian leaders begin to play an increasingly active role in the Roman Empire.

title: 380

text: The Sciri together with the Huns attack along Rome's lower Danubian frontier.

title: 381

text: Battle of the Save: Emperor Theodosius I defeats Magnus Maximus near Emona (modern Slovenia). Theodosius is in command of an army including Goths, Huns and Alans. Valentinian II, now 17, is restored as Roman Emperor.

title: 388

text: The Visigoths and Huns, led by Alaric, invade Thrace. Stilicho, high-ranking general (magister militum) of Vandal origin, raises an army and begins a campaign against the Goths.

title: 390

text: Bleda, king of the Huns (approximate date)

title: 390

text: Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), defeats the Visigoths and Huns in Thrace. Emperor Theodosius I permits Alaric to go free on condition he provides, as foederati, military services to the Roman Empire.

title: 392

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

title: 395

text: Eutropius, Roman general (magister militum), celebrates his victory over the Huns ("the wolves of the North") in a parade through Constantinople (see 395).

title: 398

text: Winter – Gainas leads the remaining Goths back to their homeland across the Danube. They meet the Huns and are defeated; the Hunnic chieftain Uldin sends the head of Gainas to Constantinople, where Arcadius receives it as a diplomatic gift.

title: 400

text: Emperor Arcadius sends many gifts to the Hunnic chieftain Uldin, in appreciation of his victory over the Goths and Gainas. Arcadius then allies himself with the Huns.

title: 401

text: Attila the Hun, ruler of the Hunnic Empire (approximate date) (d. 453)

title: 406

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Stilicho is accused of treason against Honorius and is decapitated at Ravenna. His Hun bodyguard is killed; mass murders of Vandal soldiers follow.

title: 408

text: Honorius agrees that sons of prominent families at court in Ravenna be sent beyond the Danube as hostages; in return, later he calls up ten thousand Hun mercenaries.

title: 409

text: The forts on the west bank of the Danube, which were destroyed by the Huns, are rebuilt, and a new Danubian fleet is launched.

title: 412

section: Events › By place › Balkans

text: Winter – Olympiodorus, historical writer, is sent on an embassy by Honorius, and sails in stormy weather around Greece up the Black Sea, to meet the Huns who are located on the middle Danube (modern Bulgaria).

title: 412

text: Rugila, chieftain of the Huns, attacks the dioceses of Dacia and Thrace (Balkans). Theodosius II allows Pannonian Ostrogoths to settle in Thrace, to defend the Danube frontier.

title: 421

date: March 3

text: March 3 – Theodosius II issues a law to form provisions in peacetime. He instructs landowners leasing towers in the Theodosian Walls to assist with the build-up of emergency goods. Theodosius pays an annual tribute of 350 pounds of gold to the Huns in order to buy peace.

title: 422

text: Roman usurper Joannes sends Flavius Aetius, governor of the Palace (cura palatii), to the Huns to ask for their assistance. After negotiating, he returns to Italy with a large force.

title: 424

text: Flavius Aetius leads a force of Huns (60,000 men) into Northern Italy. He reaches a compromise with Placidia, in return for obtaining the rank commander-in-chief (magister militum) in Gaul.

title: 425

text: The Roman province of Pannonia Prima is finally assimilated into the Hunnic Empire.

title: 427

text: Octar, Hunnic ruler (approximate date)

title: 430

text: The Huns led by Octar attack the Burgundians, who occupied territory on the Rhine near the city of Worms (Germany). During the fighting Octar dies, and his army is destroyed.

title: 430

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: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum) in the service of Emperor Valentinian III, begins to hold power in Rome (this will continue for 20 years). He allows the Huns to settle in Pannonia, along the Sava River.

title: 434

text: Rugila, king of the Huns (approximate date)

title: 434

text: End of the Burgundian Revolt of Gunther: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), attempts to put an end to Burgundian raids in Gaul. He calls in Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda, which plunder Augusta Vangionum, killing some 20,000 Burgundians. The Kingdom of the Burgundians is destroyed; King Gunther and his family are killed (this epic disaster will later provide the source for the Nibelungenlied).

title: 436

text: Winter – Hun and Roman envoys meet at Margum (modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), an important market town on the Sava River. After negotiations, Attila and his brother Bleda, who are present, accept a four-point peace plan. Trading rights between the two states are confirmed and emperor Theodosius II pays an annual tribute of 700 pounds of gold.

title: 439

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

text: The Huns under Attila reappear in force, along the frontier of the Western Roman Empire. They attack merchants on the north bank of the Danube and cities in Illyricum, including (according to Priscus) Viminacium, city of Moesia.

title: 440

text: The Huns, led by Attila, attack Constanţa (modern Romania), one of the few remaining Roman forts on the northern bank of the Danube, and designated as a secure trading post. On a crowded market day, the Huns take the town by surprise and slaughter the garrison.

title: 441

text: The second Revolt of Bagaudae in Armorica under leading of Eudoxius is knocked down by the Alans. Eudoxius fled to the Huns.

title: 441

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

title: AD 442

text: King Bleda of the Huns (approximate date)

title: 445

text: Bleda, co-ruler of the Huns, dies in a hunting accident. He is possibly murdered at the instigation of his younger brother Attila, with whom he has ruled since 434. Now about 39, Attila takes the throne for himself, and becomes king of the Hunnic Empire.

title: 445

text: The Huns, led by Attila, cross the Danube, and invade the Balkans as far as Thermopylae (Greece). During the invasion, Serdica (modern Sofia) is destroyed. For disobeying the terms of the treaty made in 442, Attila triples his demand for tribute to 2,100 pounds (ca. 700 kg) of gold per year; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner to 12 solidi.

title: 447

text: Emperor Theodosius II sends an embassy to Attila the Hun; Anatolius, an Eastern Roman general (magister militum) responsible for the security of the Eastern frontier, achieves a peace treaty with the Huns, in exchange for an annual tribute of 2100 lb kg of gold per year.

title: 448

text: The Huns under Attila invade Northern Italy. Emperor Valentinian III flees from Ravenna to Rome, and sends Pope Leo I to persuade Attila to return to the Hungarian Plain. The cities of Aquileia, Padua and Verona are destroyed by the Huns. Milan is saved because Attila is offered a huge amount of gold. Flavius Aetius (magister militum) is unable to raise a new army against him.

title: 452

text: c. March – Attila the Hun is found dead in bed, after a wedding feast with the Goth princess Ildico. He dies of a nosebleed at his Hungarian stronghold, drowning in his own blood, aged about 47. The Huns celebrate a strava (lamentation) over his burial place with great feasting. Attila's son Ellac is appointed successor, but his brothers Dengizich and Ernakh divide the Hunnic Empire by establishing their own kingdoms north of the Black Sea (Ukraine), supported by vassal states.

title: 453

text: c. March – Attila, ruler of the Huns (b. 406)

title: 453

text: Battle of Nedao: Allied forces of subjected peoples (Gepids, Heruli, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Sciri and Suebi), under the leadership of King Ardaric, defeat the Huns under Ellac, eldest son of Attila the Hun, in Pannonia. Ellac is killed during the battle and succeeded by his brother Dengizich.

title: 454

text: Skandagupta succeeds Kumaragupta I as ruler of the Gupta Empire (India). During his reign he crushes the Hun invasion; however, the expense of the wars drains the empire's resources and contributes to its decline.

title: 455

text: March 16 – Emperor Valentinian III, age 35, is assassinated by two Hunnic retainers of the late Flavius Aetius, while training with the bow on the Campus Martius (Rome), ending the Theodosian dynasty. His primicerius sacri cubiculi, Heraclius, is also murdered.

title: 455

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

title: 458

text: Emperor Leo I repels the Hun invasion of Dacia (modern Romania). They ravage the Balkans but are unable to take Constantinople thanks to the city walls, which are rebuilt and reinforced.

title: 466

text: Emperor Skandagupta dies after a 12-year reign, as the Huns consolidate their conquests in western India. He is succeeded by his half-brother Purugupta.

title: 467

text: Dengizich, son of Attila the Hun, sends an embassy to Constantinople to demand money. Leo I offers the Huns settlement in Thrace in exchange for recognition of his authority. Dengizich refuses and crosses the Danube.

title: 468

text: Dengizich, king of the Huns (approximate date)

title: 469

text: Budhagupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire, establishes diplomatic relations with the Kannauj Kingdom and drives the Huns out of the fertile plains of northern India.

title: 480

text: The Hephthalites (White Huns) invade Persia. King Peroz I gathers an army of 50,000-100,000 men, and places his brother Balash at the head of the government in Ctesiphon. At the Battle of Herat, the Persians are ambushed and defeated. Peroz I is killed, whose body is not found. Balash is crowned and becomes king of Persia.

title: 484

text: Kavadh I returns from exile with support of 30,000 Hephthalites (White Huns), and again assumes the Sassanid throne. He punishes his opponents and probably his brother Djamasp, who usurped the throne from him.

title: 498

text: The Bulgars ravage Thrace. A semi-nomadic people, they have absorbed the surviving Huns and meet no opposition from Byzantine forces.

title: AD 502

text: The white Huns (Hephthalites) from the Caucasus invade the Persian Empire.

title: 505

text: Yasodharman, Maharaja ("great king") of Malwa, defeats the Hun invaders under Mihirakula in central India.

title: 528

text: June 21 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails in 500 transports, escorted by 92 war vessels (dromons), manned by 20,000 seamen from Constantinople, to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. The fleet carries 10,000 infantry, about half Byzantine and half foederati, and 5,000 cavalry, consisting of 3,000 Byzantine horsemen, 1,000 foreign allies (Huns and Heruli) and 1,500 of Belisarius' retainers (bucellarii). On the flagship Belisarius is accompanied by his military secretary Procopius, and his wife Antonina.

title: 533

text: April 9 – Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements: 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. Despite shortages, he starts raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.

title: 537

text: The Avars arrive in the northern region of the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They send envoys to the Byzantines in Lazica (modern Georgia). Like the Huns, the Avars are the former elite of a central Asian federation, which has been forced to flee westwards.

title: 557

text: Winter – The Kutrigurs and Huns under Zabergan cross the frozen Danube River, and invade the Balkans. They raid Thracia and Macedonia, but are driven back near Constantinople by a Byzantine force under Belisarius.

title: 559

text: The Armenian bishop Kardutsat goes with 7 priests, on a missionary trip to the steppes north of the Caucasus. He succeeds in baptizing many Huns and in translating books into their language.

title: 585

text: Paolo Lucio Anafesto is elected the first Doge of Venice, which begins its rise as a major power in the Mediterranean Sea. Built up from fishing villages settled by fugitives from the Huns (see 452), the city of Venice occupies some 60 marshy islands (Venetian Lagoon).

title: 697


slug: hussite-wars

label: Hussite Wars

description: 15th-century wars fought between Protestant Hussites and Catholic forces

section: Conflict & Security

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Hussite Wars: King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia decides to stop fighting the war against the rebel Jan Žižka in Budějovice.

title: 1409

section: Events › April–June

section: Religion & Belief

date: December 2

text: December 2 – Through the Council of Constance and diplomatic treaties during late 1416, Sigismund, King of Germany unifies the fractured Catholic Church and isolates the Bohemian reformers, providing him with the necessary authority to later initiate the Hussite Wars against Jan Žižka.

title: 1416

section: Events › October–December

section: Deaths

date: August 16

text: August 16 – King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia dies of a heart attack at the age of 58, leading to the outbreak shortly thereafter of the Hussite Wars.

title: 1419

section: Events › July–September

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Hussite Wars After their offer of a surrender is refused, the outnumbered Hussites of Bohemia, led by Jan Zizka, defeat the invading Holy Roman Imperial forces at the Battle of Sudoměř fought near modern-day Čejetice in the Czech Republic.

title: 1420

section: Events › January–March

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Vyšehrad – Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, fails and is ejected from Bohemia.

title: 1420

date: December 21

text: December 21 – Hussite Wars: At the Battle of Kutná Hora, the Bohemian Hussites led by Jan Zizka, and using the best weapons available, force the exit of the crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire. Among the new wespons developed by Zizka's officers are the "war wagon", a vehicle with reinforced sides and small openings from which guns can be fired.

title: 1421

date: January 10

text: January 10 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Německý Brod: The Hussites defeat an army of Royalist Crusaders.

title: 1422

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Hořice: The Taborites decisively beat the Utraquists.

title: 1423

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Hussite Wars: In what is now the Czech Republic, General Sigismund Korybut, commander of the Hussite Army, withdraws his troops from Prague on the orders of Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland.

title: 1423

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: September 13

text: September 13 – After the signing of a treaty between the different factions in the Hussite Wars, the Bohemian campaign is completed in the modern-day Czech Republic.

title: 1424

section: Events › July –September

date: June 16

text: June 16 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Aussig: The Hussites decisively beat the crusading armies of Germany in the Fourth Anti-Hussite Crusade and then annihilate the town of Aussig (now Ústí nad Labem) the next day.

title: 1426

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Tachov – The Hussites decisively beat the crusader armies, ending the Fourth Anti-Hussite Crusade.

title: 1427

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Hussite Wars – Battle of Lipany: The Catholics and Utraquists defeat the Taborites, ending the Hussite Wars.

title: 1434

date: July 5

text: July 5 – The Hussite Wars effectively end in Bohemia. Sigismund is accepted as King.

title: 1436


slug: hussites

label: Hussites

description: Czech pre-Protestant Christian movement

section: Births

text: Jerome of Prague, Hussite (d. 1416)

title: 1379

date: June 12

text: June 12–July 14 – The Hussites of Jan Zizka defeat the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Germany, the Duchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Vítkov Hill on the outskirts of Prague.

title: 1420

date: April 24

text: April 24 – The Sedlec Abbey, a monastery for the Cistercians order in Bohemia, is looted and burned by Hussites led by Jan Žižka, and several of the monks inside are killed.

title: 1421

title: 1426

title: 1427

date: December 27

text: December 27 – In the Battle of Stary Wielisław (now in Poland), the Hussites are defeated in an attack by the Bohemian forces led by the Silesian Duke John I of Münsterberg (who is killed in the fighting) and Půta III of Častolovice, Governor of Klodzko Land.

title: 1428

date: October 12

text: October 12 – The Kamenz massacre of 1,200 Catholics by the Protestant Hussites takes place in the village of Kamenz in the Electorate of Saxony.

title: 1429

date: April 28

text: April 28 – The Hussites defeat Hungarian and Serbian troops in the Battle of Nagyszombat in an invasion of the Kingdom of Hungary near Nagyszombat (now Trnava in Slovakia).

title: 1430

date: July 11

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

title: 1430

date: April 4

text: April 4 – In Poland, Konrad V Kantner, Duke of Silesia, leads a raid against the Hussites at Gliwice.

title: 1431

date: November 9

text: November 9 – The Hungarians defeat the Hussite army at the Battle of Ilava.

title: 1431

date: October 15

text: October 15 – The Roman Catholic Council of Basel issues a formal invitation to the Hussites to take part in its deliberations.

title: 1431

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Prokop the Great, leader of the Hussites of Bohemia, appears at the Council of Basel with his envoys in order to negotiate and end to the anti-Hussite Crusade started by the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope.

title: 1433

date: January 15

text: January 15– The Compacts of Basel are ratified by the Council of Basel in Switzerland, as the Roman Catholic Church ends its campaign against the Hussites. Among other things, the Church authorizes Hussite priests to administer sacramental wine to their congregations as part of the Communion during the Eucharist before Easter without declaring the same to be heresy, but stops short of allowing the Communion wafer.

title: 1437

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Prince George of Poděbrady, leader of the Hussites in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) captures Prague after leading 9,000 of his troops from Kutná Hora.

title: 1448


slug: hywel-dda

label: Hywel Dda

description: 10th-century Welsh king

text: Hywel ap Cadell, king of Deheubarth (Wales) (approximate date)

title: 880

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

title: 904

section: Events › By place › Britain

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

title: 905

text: Kings Idwal Foel of Gwynedd and Hywel ap Cadell, and Prince Clydog of Deheubarth (Wales) submit to the overlordship of Edward the Elder. The Vikings raid Anglesey.

title: 918

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

title: 920

date: July 12

text: July 12 – King Æthelstan of Wessex receives the submission of High-Reeve Ealdred I of Bamburgh and probably also of Owain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde, at Eamont Bridge. He also secures a pledge from King Constantine II of Scotland, that he will not ally with the Viking kings. This summer also Kings Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and Owain of Glywysing and Gwent submit to the overlordship of Æthelstan at Hereford. The borders between England and Wales are set at the River Wye.

title: 927

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Economy & Finance

text: King Hywel Dda (the Good) of Deheubarth makes a pilgrimage to Rome, he becomes the first Welsh ruler to undertake such a trip. Hywel begins the codification of medieval Welsh law and mints his own coinage.

title: 928

text: King Morgan Hen of Glywysing and Gwent (Wales) submits to the overlordship of King Æthelstan, and attends his court with Kings Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and Idwal Foel of Gwynedd.

title: 931

section: Events › By place › England

text: King Tewdwr of Brycheiniog attends the court of King Æthelstan and signs the English Land Charters. Kings Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Idwal Foel of Gwynedd and Morgan Mwynfawr ("the Old") of Morgannwg are compelled to accompany Æthelstan on his campaign against King Constantine II of Scotland.

title: 934

text: Hywel Dda, king of Deheubarth, annexes Gwynedd and Powys, to become the sole ruler of most of Wales.

title: 942

section: Culture & Society

text: King Hywel Dda ("the Good") convenes a conference at Whitland, which draws up a standardized code of laws in Wales (approximate date).

title: 945

text: in Wales, King Hywel Dda ("the Good") dies after an 8-year reign in which he has established codified laws. His three sons Owain ap Hywel Dda, Rhodri ap Hywel, and Edwin ap Hywel divide Wales amongst themselves.

title: 950

text: Hywel Dda ("the Good"), king of Wales

title: 950


slug: iberian-peninsula

label: Iberian Peninsula

description: peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe

year_label: 324 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Greek colonists found the city of Akra Leuka (modern Alicante, Spain) on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 324 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 237 BCE

text: Hamilcar Barca's success in defeating the rebels results in a growth in his strength as leader of Carthage's popular party and support for his proposed invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. However, as spokesman for the landed nobility, Hanno opposes the policy of foreign conquest pursued by Hamilcar Barca.

title: 237 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

text: Istolatios, warlord of the Turdetani (Iberian Peninsula), crucified by Hamilcar Barca (father of Hannibal)

title: 237 BC

year_label: 228 BCE

text: The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca is killed in a battle in Hispania, ending his lengthy campaign to conquer the Iberian Peninsula for Carthage. In eight years, by force of arms and diplomacy, he has secured an extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula, but his death in battle prevents him from completing the conquest. Command of his army in the Iberian Peninsula passes to his son-in-law Hasdrubal.

title: 228 BC

text: Hamilcar Barca, Carthaginian general who has assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome, helped Carthage win the Mercenary War and brought extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula under Carthaginian control (b. c. 270 BC)

title: 228 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

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

title: 202 BC

year_label: 201 BCE

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

title: 201 BC

year_label: 171 BCE

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

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 113 BCE

text: Germanic tribes attack Gaul and northern Iberia.

title: 113 BC

year_label: 77 BCE

text: Lepidus, with some 21,000 troops, manages to escape to Sardinia. Soon afterwards he becomes ill and dies, his battered army, now under command by Marcus Perperna Vento, sails on to the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 77 BC

year_label: 76 BCE

text: On the Iberian Peninsula, in the Roman province of Hispania Citerior, the rebel forces of Quintus Sertorius defeat the republican army of Pompey the Great at the Battle of Lauron.

title: 76 BC

year_label: 75 BCE

text: At the Battle of Saguntum the republican forces on the Iberian Peninsula and the Sertorian rebels fight each other to a draw. Quintus Sertorius is forced to withdraw leaving the battlefield to Pompey and Metellus (the republican commanders).

title: 75 BC

date: October 13

text: October 13 – The Vandals, led by King Gunderic, cross the Pyrenees into the Iberian Peninsula. They receive land from the Romans, as foederati, in Baetica (Southern Spain). The Alans occupy lands in Lusitania and the Suebi control parts of Gallaecia.

title: 409

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Visigoths invade the Iberian Peninsula and begin to conquer territory taken previously by the Vandals. King Athaulf and his pregnant wife Galla Placidia leave Gallia Narbonensis; they relocate at Barcelona. Their infant son, Theodosius, dies in infancy, eliminating an opportunity for a Roman-Visigothic line. Athaulf is assassinated in the palace while taking a bath. Sigeric succeeds him, but after a reign of seven days he is also murdered.

title: 415

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: Rechila invades Baetica and conquers the capital Seville. The Romans are driven from the Iberian Peninsula with the exception of the Levante.

title: 441

text: Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic abbot and saint (approximate date)

title: 472

text: Toledo becomes the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom that controls the Iberian Peninsula. King Theudis expands Visigoth rule in the southern regions (Hispania Baetica).

title: 534

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)

title: 573

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

title: 710

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim troops (7,000 men) led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar, and begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (now Spain and Portugal). Tariq begins his Islamic conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, which during the decade he occupies and brings under Umayyad sovereignty.

title: AD 711

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: From North Africa, Musa ibn Nusayr lands in Iberia (Al-Andalus), with an army of 18,000 Arabs and Berbers. He joins the Islamic conquest and captures the city of Seville (Andalusia), where he meets stiff resistance after 3-months of siege.

title: 712

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Continuing campaigns of Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula. Arab forces raid the valley of the Ebro River, and capture the fortress city of Zaragoza. Musa ibn Nusayr is made protector (wali) of Al-Andalus, with his capital at Seville (approximate date).

title: 714

text: Summer – Battle of Covadonga: Pelagius (Don Pelayo) is proclaimed king (caudillo), and defeats the Umayyad forces under Munuza, provincial governor of Asturias, at Picos de Europa (near Covadonga). This marks the beginning of the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. He founds the Kingdom of Asturias, and establishes a military base at Cangas de Onís (northwest of Spain) (or 722).

title: 718

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

text: Summer – Battle of Covadonga: Visigothic nobleman Pelagius (Don Pelayo) defeats the Umayyad forces under Munuza, provincial governor of Asturias, at Picos de Europa (near Covadonga). This marks the beginning of the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. He founds the Kingdom of Asturias, and establishes a military base at Cangas de Onís (northwest of Spain) (or 718).

title: 722

text: King Alfonso I of Asturias establishes the Kingdom of Galicia, in roughly the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The exact time this happened is contested.

title: 750

section: Events › Europe

date: January 25

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

title: 750

section: Events › Arab Caliphate

date: May

text: May – Prince Abd al-Rahman I and his followers capture the city of Seville without violence. He defeats Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in a battle for control of the Muslim-ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus). Abd al-Rahman establishes the Emirate of Córdoba. During his reign trade and culture flourish, along with the construction of Islamic architecture (including the Great Mosque of Córdoba).

title: 756

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

title: 795

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

title: 836

section: Events › By place › Egypt

text: The Mozarabs, Iberian Christians who live under Moorish rule, try to repopulate León in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). The city is recaptured by the Muslim Arabs.

title: 846

text: King Alfonso III repopulates the city of Zamora with Mozarabs (Iberian Christians who have lived under Moorish rule) from Toledo in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 893

section: Climate & Environment

text: In Al-Andalus a drought leads to a terrible famine in the Iberian Peninsula, which continues in 915. In his centralization effort, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Rahman III, reconquers Seville from the Banu Hajjaj clan.

title: 914

text: Abd al-Rahman III the Caliph of Córdoba declares Jihad, preparing a large army & conquers the city of Lugo in the extreme North of Iberia. This raid shows to be one of the furthest raids Muslims in Spain ever conducted, done as a show of strength of the Muslim State in Al-Andalus.

title: 949

text: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers and razes the city of Zamora, as part of his effort to seize the Christian-dominated north of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 981

text: Summer: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, continues his effort in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and plunders the city of Coimbra (modern Portugal).

title: 986

text: Roger I of Tosny, a Norman nobleman, leaves the battlefield of the Ebro Valley after terrorising the Saracens and capturing several towns and castles during the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain).

title: 1024

text: Benjamin of Tudela, Spanish Jewish traveler, sets out on his journey from the northeast Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain), on a pilgrimage to the land of Israel and beyond.

title: 1165

text: The successors of Robert Bordet leave Catalonia for Mallorca, marking the end of the attempts to create a Norman principality in Iberia.

title: 1171

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Siege of Córdoba: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") capture Muslim Córdoba from Emir Ibn Hud as part of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1236

text: March 26 – Treaty of Almizra: King James I (the Conqueror) and King Ferdinand III (the Saint) agree on the distribution of Muslim lands yet to be conquered. All lands south of a line, from the cities of Biar to Villajoyosa through Busot, are reserved for the Crown of Castile. This ends further Aragonese expansion on the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1244

text: Reconquista – King Afonso III eliminates the last Moorish community in Portugal at Faro, completing the reconquest of the west of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1272

text: January 20 – Fernando II already co-ruler of Crown of Castile with his wife, Isabella I, becomes the King of Aragon upon the death of his father, King Juan II of Aragon and Navarre. He and Isabella rule together over Aragon and Castile, unifying the two kingdoms and controlling most of the Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, King Juan's daughter, Leonor de Trastámara, who had served as regent during times when her father was away fighting in war, becomes Queen of Navarre.

title: 1479

text: February 28 –The village of Alhama de Granada in Spain is taken by Christian forces, starting the Granada War to expel the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1482

text: April 13 – An English Armada, led by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys, and largely financed by private investors, sets sail to attack the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, but fails to achieve any naval advantage.

title: 1589

text: October 29 – The Iberian Peninsula is struck by a category 2 hurricane.

title: 1842

text: October 28 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Barcelona–Mataró railroad route (the first to be constructed in the Iberian Peninsula) is inaugurated.

title: 1848

text: April 30 - The founding of the Associação Naval de Lisboa by King Pedro V, the oldest nautical association in the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1856

text: March 17 – The nationalist governments of Spain and Portugal sign the Iberian Pact in Lisbon, pledging mutual defence of the Iberian Peninsula and neutrality in the event of a general European war.

title: 1939

text: November 13 – Prestige oil spill: Greek oil tanker begins spilling oil off the coast of Galicia. It will continue until November 19, spilling 60,000 tonnes of oil in the worst environmental disaster in the history of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 2002


slug: ibm

label: IBM

description: American multinational technology company

section: Health & Medicine

date: June 1

text: June 1 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine to tabulate census returns using punched card input, a landmark in the history of computing hardware. Hollerith's company eventually becomes IBM. The 1890 United States census determines the US population to be 62,979,766, an increase of 25.5 percent relative to the 1880 census.

title: 1890

section: Events › June

date: February 14

text: February 14 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), based in the U.S. state of New York, is renamed International Business Machines (IBM).

title: 1924

section: Events › February

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: August 7

text: August 7 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).

title: 1944

section: Events › August

text: IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.

title: 1950

section: Events › Date unknown

text: IBM (United Kingdom) is formed.

title: 1951

section: Events › Unknown dates

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head office of IBM.

title: 1954

section: Events › January

date: September 13

text: September 13 – The hard disk drive is invented by an IBM team, led by Reynold B. Johnson.

title: 1956

section: Events › September

section: Science & Discovery

date: April

text: April – IBM sells the first compiler for the Fortran scientific programming language.

title: 1957

section: Events › April

text: The first laser printer is introduced by IBM (the IBM 3800).

title: 1976

section: Conflict & Security

date: December 16

text: December 16 – The United Freedom Front bombs an office of South African Airways in Elmont, NY and an IBM office in Harrison, NY. Two police officers suffer hearing damage. In March 1984, the UFF claims responsibility for the IBM building bombing, stating that the company was targeted because of its business in South Africa under Apartheid.

title: 1982

section: Events › December

date: May 11

text: May 11 – IBM's Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, the first time a computer beats a chess World champion in a match.

title: 1997

section: Events › May

section: Religion & Belief

date: March 6

text: March 6 – SCO Group files a lawsuit against IBM as part of an ongoing dispute regarding the use of Unix in the development of Linux.

title: 2003

section: Events › March

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Google announces that its 53-qubit "Sycamore" processor has achieved quantum supremacy. IBM disputes the claim.

title: 2019

section: Events › October


slug: ibn-battuta

label: Ibn Battuta

description: 14th century Muslim Maghrebi scholar and explorer

section: Births

date: February 24

text: February 24 – Ibn Battuta, Moroccan scholar and explorer (d. 1369)

title: 1304

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Early Spring – Ibn Battuta, Moroccan scholar and explorer, arrives after a journey of over 3,500 km (2,200 miles) at the port of Alexandria, at this time part of the Bahri Mamluk Empire. On July 16 he departs from Cairo on a trip through Palestine on the way to Damascus, where he arrives on August 9.

title: 1326

section: Events › By place › Middle East

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The sultan of Delhi Muhammad bin Tughluq chooses Ibn Battuta to lead a diplomatic mission to Yuan Dynasty China.

title: 1341

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Ibn Battuta arrives in Fez, Morocco.

title: 1349

section: Events › January–December

text: Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reports the existence of the ngoni and balafon musical instruments, at the court of Mansa Musa.

title: 1352

text: The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta makes the first recorded visit to Timbuktu and Kabara, when returning from a stay in the capital of the Mali Empire.

title: 1353

text: Early in the year – Ibn Battuta returns from his travels at the command of Abu Inan Faris, sultan of Morocco, who appoints a scribe to write an account of the adventures.

title: 1354

section: Deaths

text: probable – Ibn Battuta, Arabian traveler

title: 1368

text: Ibn Battuta, Moroccan explorer (b. 1304)

title: 1377


slug: iceland

label: Iceland

description: Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean

text: Irish monks (known as the Papar), possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission, supposedly reach Iceland in hide-covered coracles, and begin settlements (approximate date). However, the evidence for this is scant.

title: 790

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson sets out from the Faroe Islands and discovers Iceland (documented later in the Landnámabók) (approximate date).

title: 815

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: July 18

text: 18 July (traditional date) – Battle of Hafrsfjord: Norse chieftain Harald Fairhair wins a great naval victory at Hafrsfjord, outside Stavanger. He becomes (at age 18) the first king of Norway. Harald's conquests and taxation system lead many Viking chiefs and their followers to emigrate to the British Isles, and (later) to Iceland.

title: 872

text: Ingólfr Arnarson arrives from Norway, as the first permanent Viking settler in Iceland. He builds his homestead and founds Reykjavík. The settlement of Iceland begins (approximate date).

title: 874

text: Greenland is discovered by the Norseman Gunnbjörn Ulfsson, sailing from Norway to Iceland: he is blown off course by a storm and comes in sight of some islands off the coast (approximate date).

title: 900

section: Events › By topic › Exploration

text: The Althing, the parliament of Iceland, is established at þingvellir ("Thing Fields"). Chieftains from various tribes gather for 2 weeks at a thing (assembly) to settle disputes, arrange marriages, etc.; it continues in existence into the 21st century, as the world's oldest parliament of the Icelandic Commonwealth.

title: 930

text: Erik the Red leaves Norway, to survey west of Iceland in Viking longships, that carry nearly 700 people with cattle, horses, and other necessities for starting a colony on the island. Erik finds land and calls it Greenland.

title: 981

text: Greenland is colonized by the Icelandic Viking Erik the Red (according to legend, but has been established as approximately correct – see History of Greenland).

title: 985

text: Bjarni Herjólfsson, a Norse-Icelandic merchant captain and explorer, becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to discover the mainland of the Americas.

title: 986

text: Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi ends being a lawspeaker in Iceland's Althing.

title: 1001

text: In Iceland, the Althing decides that the laws should be transferred to a written form (approximate date).

title: 1100

text: The first convent on Iceland, the Þingeyraklaustur, is inaugurated at a monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict (located in Þingeyrar).

title: 1133

text: Gissur Þorvaldsson, Icelandic chieftain (or goði), is made Earl of Iceland for his loyal service to King Haakon IV of Norway ("the Old").

title: 1258

section: Climate & Environment

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

section: Events › By topic › Global

date: December

text: December – Magnus VI ("the Law-mender") succeeds his father Haakon IV as King of Norway. The chieftains of the eastern part of Iceland become the last to pledge fealty to Magnus, bringing a more complete end to the Icelandic Commonwealth and the Age of the Sturlungs.

title: 1263

section: Culture & Society

date: July 29

text: July 29 – At the age of 10, King Olaf II of Denmark is proclaimed as King Olaf IV of Norway, with his mother Margete) as regent. Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as parts of Norway, pass under the Danish crown.

title: 1380

section: Events › July–September

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden publishes the Treaty of Kalmar, proposing the personal union of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney) and Sweden (including Finland and Åland).

title: 1396

section: Events › April–June

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Erik of Pomerania is crowned in Kalmar (Sweden) as ruler of the Kalmar Union, a personal union of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney) and Sweden (including Finland and Åland) engineered by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, his great-aunt and adoptive mother, who retains de facto power in the realm.

title: 1397

text: Lutheranism is forcibly introduced into Iceland, despite the opposition of Bishop Jón Arason.

title: 1539

section: Events › Undated

text: Iceland adopts the Lutheran faith.

title: 1541

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Jón Arason, last Catholic bishop of Iceland (b. 1484)

title: 1550

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Battle of Sauðafell in Iceland: Daði Guðmundsson of Snóksdalur defeats the forces of Catholic Bishop Jón Arason, resulting in Iceland becoming fully Protestant. Arason is captured; he is executed, along with his two sons, on November 7.

title: 1550

section: Events › October–December

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Turkish Abductions: Barbary corsairs from Salé raid the fishing village of Grindavík in Iceland and take captives into slavery, the first of several raids.

title: 1627

text: The word Geysir is first used in Iceland, by Bishop Sveinsson.

title: 1647

date: October 17

text: October 17 – The Mount Katla volcano erupts in Iceland and continues ejecting ash for the next 120 days, finally ceasing on February 13. An estimated 1.5 cubic kilometers (1.5 billion cubic meters or 53 billion cubic feet) of tephra is discharged by the volcano.

title: 1755

text: The trade monopoly with Iceland is transferred to the Danish crown.

title: 1771

date: June 8

text: June 8 – The volcano Laki in Iceland begins an 8-month eruption, starting the chain of natural disasters known as the Móðuharðindin, killing tens of thousands throughout Europe, including up to 33% of Iceland's population, and causing widespread famine. It has been described as one of "the greatest environmental catastrophes in European history".

title: 1783

section: Economy & Finance

date: August 18

text: August 18 – The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway charters six settlements in Iceland to trade with it, thus ending the Danish–Icelandic Trade Monopoly, and founding Reykjavík.

title: 1786

date: March 8

text: March 8 – The Danish government re-establishes the Althing in Iceland as an advisory body, by royal decree.

title: 1843

section: Events › January–March

date: June 3

text: June 3 – The last definitely recorded pair of great auks are killed on the Icelandic island of Eldey.

title: 1844

text: March 8 – The Althing, the parliament of Iceland, is reopened after 45 years of closure.

title: 1844

date: July 28

text: July 28 – Total solar eclipse visible in Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Northern Europe, the first solar eclipse to be photographed.

title: 1851

text: The Icelandic trade is opened to merchants other than Danes.

title: 1854

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Iceland is granted a constitution and limited home rule from Denmark.

title: 1874

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, the first Association football club in Iceland, is established in Reykjavík.

title: 1899

section: Events › February

date: June 19

text: June 19 – In Iceland, at this time a dependency of Denmark, women's suffrage is granted to those over 40.

title: 1915

section: Events › June

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: October 31

text: October 31 – WWII: Destroyer , on convoy escort, is accidentally torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.

title: 1941

date: June 27

text: June 27 – WWII: Allied Convoy PQ 17 sails from Iceland, with 35 merchant ships and 3 passenger ships that have been refitted for rescuing the crews of torpedoed ships. There are also one tanker, 6 destroyers and 13 smaller ships for close escort. The convoy is destined for the Soviet port of Archangelsk.

title: 1942

date: May 29

text: May 29 – An Air Iceland Douglas C-47 on a domestic flight in Iceland crashes into a mountainside killing all 25 people on board.

title: 1947

text: June 1 – Iceland extends its fishing limits to 12 miles (22.2 km).

title: 1958

text: September 1 – The first Cod War begins between the United Kingdom and Iceland.

title: 1958

text: November 14 – A volcanic eruption under the sea near Iceland creates a new island, Surtsey.

title: 1963

text: July 11 – The long anticipated chess match between world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, and United States champion Bobby Fischer, begins in Iceland at Reykjavík.

title: 1972

text: September 1 – The Second Cod War begins between the United Kingdom and Iceland.

title: 1972

text: May 18 – Second Cod War: Joseph Godber, British Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announces that Royal Navy frigates will protect British trawlers fishing in the disputed 80 km mi limit around Iceland.

title: 1973

text: June 1 – The United Kingdom and Iceland end the Third Cod War, with the UK accepting Iceland's extension of its territorial waters to 200 nautical miles in exchange for defined fishing rights.

title: 1976

text: June 1–10 – Pope John Paul II visits Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.

title: 1989

text: March 1 – After 74 years, Iceland ends its prohibition on beer; celebrated since as bjórdagur or beer day.

title: 1989

text: October 26 – An avalanche hits the village Flateyri in Iceland, killing 20 people, the second of two deadly avalanches to occur in Iceland during this calendar year.

title: 1995

text: September 9 – Keiko the orca, captured in 1979, is released back into the wild off the coast of Iceland.

title: 1998

text: June 17 – A centennial earthquake (6.5 on the Richter scale) hits Iceland on its national day.

title: 2000

text: January 26 – The Icelandic government and banking system collapse. Prime Minister Geir Haarde immediately resigns.

title: 2009

text: July 16 – Iceland's national parliament, the Althingi, votes to pursue joining the EU.

title: 2009

text: April 14 – Volcanic ash from one of several eruptions beneath Mount Eyjafjallajökull, an ice cap in Iceland, begins to disrupt air traffic across northern and western Europe.

title: 2010

text: August 18 – 100 activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after once covering 15.5 km2 sqmi.

title: 2019


slug: iconoclasm

label: Iconoclasm

description: avoidance or destruction of religious, political or cultural icons

section: Religion & Belief

text: Patriarch Theophilus destroys all pagan temples in Alexandria under orders from Theodosius I. Christians go on an iconoclastic rampage, smashing religious symbols or monuments through the city and destroying the Temple of Serapis. The "Order of Monks" known as the Parabalani take charge of patrolling the streets.

title: 391

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

title: 730

section: Deaths

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Pope Gregory II dies at Rome after a 16-year reign, in which he has fought Iconoclasm. He is succeeded by the Syrian-born cleric Gregory III, as the 90th pope of the Catholic Church.

title: 731

text: Summer – Emperor Constantine V defeats his brother-in-law Artabasdos, who has led a two-year insurrection in an attempt to usurp the Byzantine throne. He heads for Constantinople, and captures the capital three months later. Artabasdos and his son Niketas are publicly blinded, and relegated to the monastery of Chora. Constantine renews his policy of Iconoclasm.

title: 743

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Second Council of Nicaea: Empress Irene restores the veneration of icons (images of Christ and saints). This is a major victory of the monks, who will advance extensive claims to complete freedom for the Eastern Orthodox Church in religious matters. This ends the iconoclastic period in the Byzantine Empire.

title: AD 787

section: Conflict & Security

date: September

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

title: 790

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Feast of Orthodoxy – Official end of Iconoclasm: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire.

title: 843

text: The iconoclast and Confucian scholar Li Zhi commits suicide while in a Chinese prison, during the late Ming dynasty; he had taught that women were the intellectual equals of men and should be given equal opportunity in education; he was charged with spreading "dangerous ideas".

title: 1602


slug: idrisid-dynasty

label: Idrisid dynasty

description: Arab Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Morocco and parts of western Algeria

section: Births

text: Idris I, emir and founder of the Idrisid dynasty (d. 791)

title: 745

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Battle of Fakhkh: An Alid uprising in Medina is crushed by the Abbasids. One of the Alids, Idris ibn Abdallah, flees to the Maghreb in western North Africa, where he later founds the Idrisid dynasty in 788/789.

title: 786

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Idris ibn Abdallah, known as the "founder of Morocco", settles in Volubilis, beginning the reign of the Idrisid Dynasty (Morocco had effectively been independent from the Arab caliphates since the Great Berber Revolt).

title: 788

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Idris I reaches Volubilis and founds the Idrisid dynasty, ceding Morocco from the Abbasid caliphate and founding the first Moroccan state.

title: 789

section: Events › By place › Islamic Caliphate

text: Emir Idris I, founder of the Idrisid dynasty and kingdom of Morocco, is poisoned on orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He is succeeded by his son Idris II (only just two months old), who is raised by his mother Kenza among the Berbers of Volubilis.

title: 791

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Idris I, emir and founder of the Idrisid dynasty (b. 745)

title: 791

text: Idriss I, Muslim emir and founder of the Idrisid Dynasty (or 791)

title: 793

text: The Fatimid Caliphate crushes Idrisid forces in battle, capturing the cities of Tlemcen and Fez.

title: 921

text: An offensive, by the Spain-based Caliphate of Córdoba brings the Maghrebi Idrisid Dynasty to an end. Caliph Al-Hakam II maintains the supremacy of the caliphate over the kingdoms of Navarra, Castile and León.

title: 974


slug: ifriqiya

label: Ifriqiya

description: historical name for the eastern part of the Maghreb region

text: Musa ibn Nusayr, governor of Ifriqiya (western Libya), builds a Muslim fleet to harass the Byzantine navy and conquer the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca (approximate date).

title: 703

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

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

text: Sicily, Sardinia, Provence, and Greece are raided by a fleet of Arab Muslim ships sent by the governor of Ifriqya, the ones raiding South Western Europe are led by Habīb Ibn Abi ‘Ubayda Al-Fihrī, while the fleet raiding Greece is led by Mu’awiya ibn Hishām. All of them are successful, submitting the Islands and returning with much wealth from the spoils of war.

title: 740

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Great Berber Revolt: Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik appoints Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi as governor (wali) of Ifriqiya (North Africa). A fourth expedition is sent from Syria by the Umayyad Caliphate to crush the rebellion in the Atlas region, but is defeated at the Battle of Bagdoura, in the plain of the Ghrab (modern Morocco). The counter-attack of the Kharijite rebels to the East is successful, but fails to conquer Kairouan from the loyalists. A more radical branch of the Tunisian Kharijites, (the Sufrists) however, manages to take the city soon after.

title: 741

text: Tunisian Coup: Following the death of the Umayyad caliph, Hisham, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib assembles a small force in Tunis and declares himself emir of Ifriqiya. Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, wali of Ifriqiya decides against fighting and returns to Damascus. Abd al-Rahman installs himself in Kairouan, and crushes multiple revolts around the country.

title: 744

text: Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri, ruler of Ifriqiya (North Africa), dispatches a Muslim army and reconquers Tripolitania from the Ibadites (a puritanical Khaijite sect), driving their remnants south into the Nafusa Mountains (northwestern Libya).

title: 752

text: The Kharijite Berbers of Tlemcen and Tiaret try to conquer Ifriqiya from the Abbasid Caliphate, but fail to capture the capital of Kairouan (modern Tunisia).

title: AD 767

text: The Abbasid Caliphate is forced to cede Ifriqiya (present-day north-eastern Algeria, Tunisia and western Libya) to the Aghlabid Dynasty.

title: 800

section: Events › Africa

text: Ziyadat Allah I becomes the third Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). During his rule, the relationship between the Aghlabid Dynasty and the Arab troops remains strained.

title: 817

section: Events › By place › North Africa

section: Health & Medicine

text: Byzantine–Arab War: Muslim reinforcements from Ifriqiya and Al-Andalus (modern Spain) defeat Byzantine forces under Theodotus in Sicily, but a plague once again compels them to retreat to Mazara del Vallo, and evacuate to North Africa.

title: 830

section: Crime & Justice

text: A Saracen Arab expeditionary force from Africa, consisting of 11,000 men and 500 horses, raid the outskirts of Rome, sacking the basilicas of Old St. Peter's and St. Paul's Outside the Walls.

title: 846

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabids, dies and is succeeded by his brother Ibrahim II. Towards the end of his reign, a caravan of pilgrims from Mecca introduces the plague in Ifriqiya (Tunisia).

title: 875

date: May

text: May – Ibrahim II, Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya, sends a large army to Palermo, to impose Arab authority from Kairouan. After an uprising, the Sicilians make a bid for independence.

title: 892

text: Abu 'Abdullah al-Shi'i leads the rebellion of the Kutama Berbers (a movement of the Shiʿite Fatimids), against the Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia).

title: 901

date: February

text: February – March – Abu Abbas Abdallah, conqueror of Reggio Calabria, returns from Sicily and succeeds his father Ibrahim II as Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya.

title: 902

date: March 18

text: March 18 – The Fatimid Dynasty founded by Shiite Muslims in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) gains suzerainty over the Aghlabid Dynasty in North Africa. Emir Ziyadat Allah III escapes to the Near East, unable to secure any help from the Abbasid Caliphate to regain his emirate.

title: 909

text: Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khorob. They offer Sicily to the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah welcomes this turn of events, but refuses to grant the Berber rulers their autonomy. He sends a Fatimid expeditionary force under Abu Said Musa which lands in Sicily and, with some difficulty, takes control of the island. Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah appoints Salam ibn Rashid as the emir of Sicily. Ahmed ibn Khorob is dispatched to Raqqada and executed.

title: 916

date: April 5

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

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Africa

text: The Fatimid Caliphate creates a new capital in Ifriqiya, al-Mahdiya on the Tunisian coast.

title: 921

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Abu Yazid, a Kharijite Berber leader who has led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, is defeated in the Hodna Mountains (modern-day Algeria). Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah sets about restoring the Fatimid dominion over North Africa.

title: 947

text: The Kharijite Banu Ya'la tribe revolts against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya and destroys the city of Oran (modern Algeria). They construct a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara.

title: 955

text: Summer – Siege of Chandax: A Byzantine fleet with an expeditionary force (comprising about 50,000 men) under Nikephoros Phokas lands on Crete. Nikephoros defeats the Muslim resistance and begins a siege at the capital of Chandax. He decides to blockade the city for the winter, while his engineers begin to construct siege engines. Emir Abd al-Aziz ibn Shu'ayb sends for aid by the Fatimids in Ifriqiya and the Caliphate of Córdoba (modern Spain).

title: 960

text: Buluggin ibn Ziri is appointed viceroy in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) and becomes the first ruler (emir) of the Zirid Dynasty.

title: 972

text: Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin, Zirid ruler of Ifriqiyah

title: 995

text: Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya (d. 1062)

title: 1008

text: The 14-year-old Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, with support of the Zirid nobles, takes over the government and (as a minor) ascends to the throne in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia).

title: 1022

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis becomes the full ruler of Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia) upon the death of his aunt, Umm Mallal, who had served as regent since 1016.

title: 1023

text: Byzantine expedition to invade Sicily: Governor Ahmed al-Akhal appeals to the Zirids of Ifriqiya for help. They dispatch a fleet, but these are caught up in a storm and destroyed near Pantelleria.

title: 1024

text: Emir Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis of the Zirid dynasty in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) attempts to retake Sicily but is unsuccessful.

title: 1025

text: The Banu Khurasan, a vassal of the Hammdid Dynasty, begin to rule the north of Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia).

title: 1062

text: Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya (b. 1008)

title: 1062

text: The Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya, Ali ibn Yahya, conquers the island of Jerba, then acting as an independent piratical republic.

title: 1116

text: Conflict between the de facto independent Muslim republics of Gabès and Mahdia (modern Tunisia) in Ifriqiya. Madhia is supported by the Zirid Dynasty while Gabes receives the aid of Roger II, count of Sicily.

title: 1117

text: Summer – King Roger II launches a full scale invasion into North Africa, seizing lands from Emir Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali in what is now parts of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – thereby opening up more of the mercantile wealth of the Muslim world to Sicilian merchants. On June 18, George of Antioch conquers Tripoli and establishes more Sicilian authority.

title: 1146

text: Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir establishes Almohad domination over the eastern parts of Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). He appoints General Abu Mohammed ibn Abi Hafs as governor of Ifriqiya.

title: 1205

text: Abu Zakariya Yahya expands his influence by conquering the cities of Constantine and Béjaïa (modern Algeria). He becomes the founder and first ruler of the Hafsid Dynasty in Ifriqiya.

title: 1229

text: Hafsid forces under Abu Hafs Umar bin Yahya (half-brother of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim I) reconquer Tunis and reinstall the Hafsid dynasty as the dominating power in Ifriqiya. This ends the Bedouin rebellion started in 1283.

title: 1284

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The Barbary Crusade begins as the Kingdom of France and the Republic of Genoa attempt to stop the raids of the Barbary pirates by invading the North African region of Ifriqiya and laying siege to Mahdia in what is now Tunisia. Louis II, Duke of Bourbon and Giacomo Fregoso of Genoa bring 6,000 knights and soldiers on 60 ships against 40,000 Muslim defenders led by the Caliph Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II of the Hafsid Sultanate and the Sultan Abu Tashufin II of Tlemcen.

title: 1390

section: Events › July–September

text: June 3 – At Tunis, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz al-Mutawakkil becomes the new of Caliph of the Hafsid Sultanate of Ifriqiya in North Africa

title: 1394

section: Events › April–June

text: February – Abu 'Amr 'Uthman, Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya (d. 1488)

title: 1419

date: August 15

text: August 15 – With 132 ships, the navy of Spain's Crown of Aragon, dispatched by King Alfonso V, lands in North Africa at the island of Djerba off of the coast of Tunisia and begins a siege. The Caliph of Ifriqiya, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II, attempts to defend the island. but the Aragonese take control of Djerba by September 9.

title: 1432

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

title: 1488

date: June 5

text: June 5 – The Sultan Abu Abdallah V of Tlemcen (now part of Algeria) agrees to pay a demand for tribute to the Ferdinand II, King of Aragon (now part of Spain), prompting Ferdinand to plot an invasion of the neighboring kingdom Ifriqiya and its capital, Tripoli.

title: 1510

text: December 28 – Abu al-Abbas Ahmad III, the Sultan of Ifriqiya (now Tunisia), signs a six-year treaty with Spain.

title: 1550


slug: ilkhanate

label: Ilkhanate

description: breakaway khanate of the Mongol Empire ruler of Iran (1256–1335)

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Abaqa Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (d. 1282)

title: 1234

section: Conflict & Security

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan capture and dismantle Alamut Castle (near the Masoudabad region) after the surrender of the Nizari Ismaili leaders. Hulagu founds the Ilkhanate dynasty of Persia, which becomes one of the four main divisions of the Mongol Empire. The Nizari Ismaili government is disestablished; some of them migrate to Afghanistan, Badakhshan and Sindh (modern Pakistan).

title: 1256

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

date: March 8

text: March 8 – Arghun Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (d. 1291)

title: 1258

text: Berke–Hulagu war: Mongol forces under Berke Khan, ruler of the Golden Horde, raid territory in the Caucasus belonging to his cousin Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate. Berke supports the Georgian rebels and allies with the Mamluks. He defeats the Ilkhanate forces on the Terek River, together with the Mamluk army led by Baibars (or Abu al-Futuh), saving Palestine and Arabia from Ilkhanate occupation.

title: 1262

text: The city of Tabriz, in present-day Iran, is made capital of the Mongol Ilkhanate Empire (approximate date).

title: 1270

section: Events › Asia

date: October

text: October – Abaqa Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate, detaches some 10,000 horsemen from Anatolia to support the Lord Edward in his war against Baibars. They invade Syria and defeat Mamluk forces who protect the region around Aleppo. The Mongols plunder the cities of Maarat al-Numan and Apamea.

title: 1271

section: Events › By place › Levant

section: Deaths

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Abaqa Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1234)

title: 1282

date: August 10

text: August 10 – Tekuder, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1246)

title: 1284

text: Spring – Arghun Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate, sends an embassy under Rabban Bar Sauma with the mission of contracting a military alliance against the Mamluk Sultanate and take the city of Jerusalem. He travels with a large retinue (bearing gifts and letters) and 30 riding animals from Tabriz through Armenia to Trebizond. Bar Sauma arrives in Constantinople and receives an audience with Emperor Andronikos II (Palaiologos).

title: 1287

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Arghun Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1258)

title: 1291

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Kublai Khan dies; by this time the separation of the four khanates of the Mongol Empire (the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Golden Horde in Russia, the Ilkhanate in Persia, and the Yuan Dynasty in China) has deepened.

title: 1294

date: March 21

text: March 21 – Gaykhatu, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1259)

title: 1295

date: October 4

text: October 4 – Mongol leader Baydu Khan is executed after a 7-month reign at Tabriz. He is succeeded by Ghazan, who becomes ruler of the Ilkhanate. He converts to Islam, ending a line of Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhist) leaders.

title: 1295

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Religion & Belief

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Ghazan of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division sends a letter to Pope Boniface and announces preparations for a new campaign against the Mamluk Sultanate.

title: 1302

date: May 11

text: May 11 – Mahmud Ghazan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate in the Middle East, dies and is succeeded by his brother Öljaitü Qaghan.

title: 1304

section: Events › April – June

text: Sultan Mesud II, Seljuk vassal of the Mongol Ilkhanate, is murdered after a 5-year reign. During his rule, he exercises no real authority and becomes the last ruler. Ending the Sultanate of Rum after 230 years.

title: 1308

text: July 1 – The Citadel of Erbil, headquarters of a rebellion by 10,000 Eastern Christians and located in what is now Iraq, is captured after a siege by the Mongol Ilkhanate, and the defenders are massacred.

title: 1310

section: Events › July – September

date: July 5

text: July 5 – Mongol Prince Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan becomes the ruler of the Ilkhanate, the Mongol-controlled area of the Middle East.

title: 1317

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Demasq Kaja, Viceroy of Azerbaijan and of Iraq in the Ilkhanate, the Mongol Empire's area of control in the Middle East, is killed in Soltaniyeh after trying to escape arrest on orders of the Ilkhan, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan. Abu Sa'id had concluded that Demasq's father, Amir Chūpān, was attempting to take over the Ilkhanate.

title: 1327

date: December 22

text: December 22 – Ala ud-Din Timurtash, the Viceroy for Anatolia within the Ilkhanate of the Middle East, and the brother of Demasq Kaja, learns that the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id had arranged for the execution of Demasq. Fearing for his own safety, Timurtash decides to leave and eventually flees to Egypt, but will be executed there on August 12, 1328.

title: 1327

section: Events › October – December

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1305)

title: 1335

text: December 1 – Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan dies, a victim of the plague that ravages the Ilkhanate. This is an early outbreak of the Black Death. His death without a clear heir causes the Ilkhanate to disintegrate.

title: 1335

section: Events › January–December

date: May 19

text: May 19 – The governor of Baghdad, Oirat 'Ali Padsah, defeats Arpa Ke'un near Maraga, contributing to the disintegration of the Ilkhanate.

title: 1336

section: Events

text: Ghazan II replaces Anushirwan as ruler of the Ilkhanate in Persia.

title: 1356

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Mubariz al-Din Muhammad, leader of the Arab Muzaffarid tribe, expels the Blue Horde from Ilkhanate territory in Persia. The Muzaffarid then release control of the Il-Khanate, after being marched on by the Mongol Jalayirid tribe, ruled by Shaikh Uvais. Shaikh Uvais becomes the new Il-Khan. The Ilkhanate is effectively now disbanded, and replaced by the Jalayirid dynasty of Persia.

title: 1358

text: Sa'ad al-Din Masud ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Taftazani, Ilkhanate polymath (b. 1322)

title: 1390


slug: illinois

label: Illinois

description: state of the United States of America

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: December 3

text: December 3 – Illinois is admitted as the 21st U.S. state.

title: 1818

section: Events › October–December

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The settlement of Chicago is established by 350 settlers at the estuary of the Chicago River in the U.S. state of Illinois.

title: 1833

section: Culture & Society

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Northwestern University is founded in Illinois.

title: 1851

section: Events › January–March

text: Illinois State University, the first public university in Illinois, is established in Normal, Illinois.

title: 1857

date: August 21

text: August 21 – The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Illinois.

title: 1858

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: May

text: May – Henry Rose exhibits barbed wire at an Illinois county fair, which is taken up by Joseph Glidden and Jacob Haish, who invent a machine to mass-produce it.

title: 1873

section: Events › May

section: Health & Medicine

text: Abbott Laboratories as Abbott Alkaloidal by Dr. Wallace C. Abbott in Illinois.

title: 1888

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: May 11 – Pullman Strike: Three thousand Pullman Palace Car Company factory workers go on a "wildcat" (without union approval) strike in Illinois.

title: 1894

date: October 9

text: October 9 – Municipal Grant Park Stadium, in Chicago, Illinois (later known as Soldier Field) is officially dedicated.

title: 1924

section: Events › October

section: Climate & Environment

date: March 18

text: March 18 – The Tri-State Tornado, the deadliest in U.S. history, rampages through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 people and injuring 2,027. It hits the towns of Murphysboro, Illinois; West Frankfort, Illinois; Gorham, Illinois; Ellington, Missouri; and Griffin, Indiana.

title: 1925

section: Events › March

text: August 21–October 15 – Illinois observes the centennial of the Lincoln–Douglas debates.

title: 1958

section: Events › August

date: November 17

text: November 17 – A tornado outbreak occurs in Illinois, United States. An EF4 tornado in Washington causes $935 million ($ billion adjusted) of property damage, killing 3 people.

title: 2013

section: Events › November


slug: illyria

label: Illyria

description: classical region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula

year_label: 385 BCE

text: Bardyllis becomes king of Illyria and the Dardani and establishes the Bardyllian Dynasty.

title: 385 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 369 BCE

section: Deaths

text: On the death of the Macedonian King Amyntas III, his eldest son Alexander II becomes king. The young king is simultaneously faced with an Illyrian invasion from the north-west and an attack from the east by the pretender of the Macedonian throne, Pausanias (who quickly captures several cities and threatens the queen mother, Eurydice). Alexander defeats his enemies with the help of the Athenian general Iphicrates, who has been sailing along the Macedonian coast on the way to recapture Amphipolis.

title: 369 BC

year_label: 360 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: As the Illyrians attack the Molossians, the Molossian king Arymbas brings his non-combatant people to safety elsewhere. When the Illyrians have finished looting, they are burdened with booty and are thus easily defeated by the Molossians.

title: 360 BC

year_label: 359 BCE

text: The Macedonian King Perdiccas III is killed while defending his country against an Illyrian attack led by King Bardylis. He is succeeded by his infant son, Amyntas IV. The child's uncle, Philip II, assumes the regency.

title: 359 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 358 BCE

text: Bardyllis, Illyrian king (killed in battle by Phillip of Macedon) (b. c. 448 BC)

title: 358 BC

year_label: 336 BCE

text: Following Philip II of Macedon's marriage to Eurydice, Alexander and his mother, Olympias, flee to Epirus, with Alexander later moving to Illyria. However, shortly afterward, father and son are reconciled and Alexander returns; but his position as heir is tenuous.

title: 336 BC

year_label: 335 BCE

text: Returning to Macedonia by way of Delphi (where the Pythian priestess acclaims him "invincible"), King Alexander III of Macedonia advances into Thrace in order to secure the Danube as the northern boundary of the Macedonian kingdom. After forcing the Shipka Pass and crushing the Triballi, he crosses the Danube to disperse the Getae. Turning west, he then defeats and shatters a coalition of Illyrians who are invading Macedonia.

title: 335 BC

year_label: 271 BCE

text: With the restoration of the territories captured by Pyrrhus, and with grateful allies in Sparta and Argos, and garrisons in Corinth and other Greek key cities, Antigonus II securely controls Macedonia and the other states of Greece. Antigonus becomes the chief of the Thessalian League and is on good terms with neighbouring Illyria and Thrace. He secures his position in central and south Greece by keeping Macedonian occupation forces in the cities of Corinth, Chalcis on the island of Euboea, and Demetrias in Thessaly, the three "shackles" of Hellas.

title: 271 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

section: Births

text: Agron, king of the Ardiaean Kingdom (approximate date)

title: 250 BC

year_label: 231 BCE

text: Demetrius II, king of Macedonia, seeks military help from Agron, king of Illyria, a loosely organized state on the Adriatic coast north of Epirus, against the advancing Aetolians. The Illyrian army routs the Aetolians and returns home as the victor.

title: 231 BC

text: Agron, king of the Ardiaean Kingdom (Western Balkans)

title: 231 BC

year_label: 230 BCE

text: King Agron of Illyria dies. Pinnes, the son of Agron and Agron's first wife Triteuta, officially succeeds his father as king, but the kingdom is effectively ruled by Agron's second wife, Queen Teuta (Tefta), who expels the Greeks from the Illyrian coast and then launches Illyrian pirate ships into the Ionian Sea, preying on Roman shipping. She continues her husband's policy of attacking cities on the west coast of Greece and practising large-scale piracy in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

title: 230 BC

year_label: 229 BCE

text: The First Illyrian War started when the Roman Senate dispatched an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forced the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns.

title: 229 BC

section: Events › By place › Illyria

text: The Illyrian queen Teuta's governor, Demetrius of Pharos has little alternative but to surrender to the overwhelming Roman force. In return, the Romans award him a considerable part of Teuta's holdings to counter-balance the power of Teuta. Meanwhile, the Roman army lands further north at Apollonia. The combined Roman army and fleet proceed northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the Illyrian capital.

title: 228 BC

year_label: 227 BCE

text: Queen Teuta of Illyria finally surrenders to Roman forces and is forced by the Romans to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allow her to continue her reign but restrict her to a narrow region around the Illyrian capital, Shkodra, deprive her of all her other territory, and forbid her to sail an armed ship below Lissus just south of the capital. They also require her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.

title: 227 BC

year_label: 221 BCE

text: Antigonus III dies during a battle against the Illyrians and is succeeded by his young cousin Philip V as King of Macedonia.

title: 221 BC

year_label: 220 BCE

text: Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.

title: 220 BC

year_label: 219 BCE

text: The Roman Senate sends the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus to Illyria with an army. On discovering Rome's intent, the Illyrian leader Demetrius of Pharos puts to death those Illyrians who oppose his rule, fortifies Dimale and goes to Pharos. After a seven-day siege by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus, Dimale is taken by direct assault. From Dimale, the Roman navy heads to Pharos, where the Roman forces rout the Illyrians. Demetrius flees to Macedonia, where he becomes a trusted councilor at the court of King Philip V.

title: 219 BC

year_label: 217 BCE

text: Learning of Hannibal's victory over the Romans at Lake Trasimene and seeing a chance to recover his Illyrian kingdom from the Romans, Demetrius of Pharos immediately advises Philip V to make peace with the Aetolians, and turn his attentions toward Illyria and Italy. Philip, at once begins negotiations with the Aetolians. At a conference on the coast near Naupactus, Philip meets the Aetolian leaders and a peace treaty is concluded, ending the three-year-long "Social War".

title: 217 BC

text: Pinnes (also Pinneus or Pineus), son of Agron, king of Illyria, and Agron's first wife Triteuta

title: 217 BC

year_label: 216 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon, still resenting Rome's interference in Illyrian politics, seizes his opportunity to invade Illyria. Ambassadors from Philip V visit Hannibal at his headquarters in Italy. These actions mark the beginning of the First Macedonian War between Rome and Macedonia.

title: 216 BC

year_label: 214 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon attempts an invasion of Illyria by sea with a fleet of 120 craft. He captures Oricum and, sailing up the Aous (modern Vjosë) river, he besieges Apollonia.

title: 214 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: After being stopped twice by the Romans in his attempts to invade Illyria by sea, and constrained by the Roman commander Marcus Valerius Laevinus' fleet in the Adriatic, Philip V of Macedon keeps his activities in Illyria land based. Keeping clear of the coast, he takes Dassaretis, Atintani and Parthini, and the town of Dimale.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: After allying with Hannibal, Philip V of Macedon attacks the Roman positions in Illyria, but fails to take Corcyra or Apollonia, which are protected by the Roman fleet. Rome's command of the sea prevents his lending any effective aid to his Carthaginian ally in Italy. The Aetolians, Sparta and King Attalus of Pergamum join the Romans in the war against Philip V. This coalition is so strong that Philip V has to stop attacking Roman territory.

title: 210 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon makes a temporary peace (the Peace of Phoenice) with Rome on favourable terms for Macedonia ending the First Macedonian War. The treaty formally acknowledges the favourable position of Macedonia, including their capture of Illyria, but in return Philip effectively repudiates his alliance with Hannibal.

title: 205 BC

year_label: 181 BCE

text: Rome founds a colony at Aquileia, on the narrow strip of land between the mountains and the lagoons, as a frontier fortress to check the advance of the Illyrians.

title: 181 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 177 BCE

text: After two military campaigns, the Romans finally subdue the Illyrian tribe of the Histri.

title: 177 BC

year_label: 168 BCE

text: The king of Illyria, Gentius, is defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under Lucius Anicius Gallus and then brought to Rome as a captive to be interned in Iguvium. This loss removes Illyria as an important ally for Macedonia and effectively weakens Perseus of Macedon in his battle with Rome.

title: 168 BC

section: Events › By place › Albania

year_label: 155 BCE

text: As part of the Roman efforts to fully conquer and occupy the whole of Illyria, a Roman army under consul Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum attacks the Dalmatians for the first time and conquers the Dalmatian capital of Delminium. As a result, the Dalmatians are compelled to pay tribute to Rome, which puts an end to the first Dalmatian war. In recognition of his victory, Corculum is granted a triumph in Rome.

title: 155 BC

year_label: 146 BCE

text: Gentius, the last king of Illyria (approximate date)

title: 146 BC

year_label: 135 BCE

text: Servius Fulvius Flaccus defeats an uprising of the Ardiaei in Illyria.

title: 135 BC

year_label: 42 BCE

date: July

text: July – Mark Antony lands with an army (28 legions) in Illyria, leaving Octavian ill at Dyrrachium, and marches to Amphipolis. Admiral Ahenobarbus, with the Republican fleet (130 warships), blockades the Adriatic Sea.

title: 42 BC

year_label: 9 BCE

text: Pannonia is incorporated into the Roman Empire as a part of Illyria.

title: 0s BC

text: Valerian, under guardianship of Ingenuus, is established at Sirmium (Pannonia) to represent the Roman government in the troubled Illyrian provinces.

title: 257

text: Diocletian watches over the Syrian provinces while Caesar Galerius makes preparations for a campaign against the Persian king Narseh. He recruits veterans from Illyria and Moesia, recruits new soldiers, and strengthens his army with Gothic mercenaries and the Armenian units of Tiridates III.

title: 297

text: Petrus, bishop of Illyria, starts construction of the Church of Santa Sabina (approximate date).

title: 422

text: The Basilica of Saint Sabina at the Aventine (Rome) is finished by Priest Petrus of Illyria.

title: 432

text: August 25 – Pulcheria is forced to marry and co-rule the Eastern Roman Empire. She gives the imperial diadem to the Illyrian (or Thracian) officer and senator Marcian, age 58, and is crowned as empress in the Hippodrome at Constantinople, in the first religious coronation ceremony.

title: 450

text: The city of Epidaurus (Dalmatia) is destroyed by the Avars and Slavic invaders. The Illyrian refugees flee to the nearby island Laus, where they found Dubrovnik (Ragusa). The islands of Rab, Krk and Cres become major food suppliers for the surviving cities of the mainland.

title: 615

text: October 18 – Battle of Dyrrhachium: After taking the island of Corfu, Robert Guiscard advances to Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës), and lays siege to the city. Alexios I Komnenos attempts to defend Illyria from the Normans (the first recorded mention of Albania), but is defeated by Guiscard, outside Dyrrhachium, the Byzantine capital city of Illyria.

title: 1081

text: Spring – The Normans under Duke Robert Guiscard take Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës) in Illyria and advance inland, capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly. Robert is forced to leave Greece to deal with an uprising in Italy. He leaves his son Bohemond in charge of the army, who lays siege to the city of Larissa. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos mobilizes a new army, and with the support of 7,000 Seljuk Turks he clears Thessaly from the Normans.

title: 1082

text: Robert Guiscard returns with 150 warships in Illyria (modern Albania), and occupies Corfu and Kefalonia with the support of Ragusa and the Dalmatian city-states.

title: 1084

text: Spring – The Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon attack the Byzantine imperial palace at Blachernae. Norman forces led by Bohemond I join the Crusaders – he is not welcome in Constantinople because his father, Robert Guiscard, has invaded Illyria (territory belonging to the Byzantine Empire), and captured the cities of Dyrrhachium and Corfu (see 1084).

title: 1097


slug: illyricum-roman-province

label: Illyricum (Roman province)

description: Roman province from 27 BC to 69/79 AD

year_label: 55 BCE

text: Spring – Julius Caesar starts the season campaigning in Illyricum (in the Balkan region) against the Pirustae, who have been raiding Roman territory.

title: 55 BC

date: January

text: January – Publius Vatinius, governor of Illyricum, seizes Dyrrachium and is forced to surrender his army (three legions) to Marcus Junius Brutus.

title: 42 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Treaty of Brundisium: The Triumvirs agrees to divide the Roman Republic into spheres of influence. Gaius Octavian styles himself "Imperator Caesar" and takes control of the Western provinces. Mark Antony is given the Eastern provinces; the River Drin, the boundary between the provinces Illyricum and Macedonia, is to serve as their frontier. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus controls Hispania and Africa. The treaty is cemented by the marriage of Antony and Octavia the Younger.

title: 40 BC

year_label: 34 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian pacifies Dalmatia and Pannonia forming the province of Illyricum, while Antony regains Armenia from Parthia. Octavian reduces the outposts defending the Liburnian town of Promona, sets up siege works and forces its surrender.

title: 34 BC

year_label: 29 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Octavian celebrates, in Rome, three triumphs on consecutive days (August 13, August 14, and August 15) to commemorate his victories in Illyricum, Actium and Egypt.

title: 29 BC

year_label: 16 BCE

text: The Noricans having joined with the Pannonians in invading Histria, are defeated by Publius Silius Nerva, proconsul of Illyricum.

title: 16 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 6 CE

text: AD 6 – Troops are levied in Rome to send to Illyricum from freedmen and slaves freed specifically for the purpose.

title: 0s

section: Events › Roman Empire

year_label: 9 CE

section: Religion & Belief

text: AD 9 – First record of the subdivision of the province of Illyricum into lower (Pannonia) and upper (Dalmatia) regions.

title: 0s

date: April

text: April – Massacre of Thessalonica: Resentment among the citizens of Thessalonica (Macedonia) breaks out into violence after the arrest of a popular charioteer. Butheric, military commander of Illyricum, is murdered. Emperor Theodosius I orders vengeance, despite the pleas for mercy by Ambrose, bishop of Milan; more than 7,000 inhabitants are massacred by the Roman army.

title: 390

text: The Paeonians (Illyricum) lose their identity (approximate date).

title: 400

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: A synod at Constantinople attempts to impinge on the Pope's rights in Illyria. Proclus tries to implement the synod's decisions, and Pope Sixtus III reminds the Illyrian bishops of their obligations to his vicar at Thessaloniki.

title: 437

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: The Huns under Attila reappear in force, along the frontier of the Western Roman Empire. They attack merchants on the north bank of the Danube and cities in Illyricum, including (according to Priscus) Viminacium, city of Moesia.

title: 440

text: Battle of the Utus: Attila defeats the Roman army near the river Utus (Vit, Bulgaria). The Huns are forced to abandon the siege of Constantinople. They march north and plunder the defenseless Balkan provinces (including Thrace, Scythia, Moesia, Dacia and Illyricum).

title: 447

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

text: Summer – Vandal War (461-468): King Genseric extends his pirate raids in the Mediterranean Sea; the Vandals sack and enslave the people living in Illyricum, the Peloponnese and other parts of Greece. Leo I joins forces with the Western Empire.

title: 467

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

title: 626

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


slug: imamah-shia-doctrine

label: Imamah (Shia doctrine)

text: March 18 (approximate) – Muhammad makes his final sermon to the Muslims. It is believed by Shia to be the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. The Imamah (Shia doctrine) of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, for the religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah, begins.

title: 632

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: Ali ibn Husayn Zayn, great-grandson of Muhammad and Shia Imam

title: 659

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Assassination of Ali: Ali ibn Abi Talib, first Shia imam and fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, is struck on the head with a poisoned sword by the Khawarij Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, while at prayer at a shrine at Kufa (modern-day), dying two days later. His son, Hasan ibn Ali, is chosen by Muslims to succeed him as the next leader. According to the Umayyads, he is succeeded by Muawiyah I as Caliph, age 59, who moves his seat of government to Damascus, and founds the Umayyad Caliphate, ending the Rashidun Caliphate.

title: 661

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire (Islamic Caliphate)

text: Hasan ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad and second Shi'a Imam (b. 625)

title: 670

text: Abd-Allah ibn Ibadh, Muslim jurist and imam

title: 708

text: Ali ibn Husayn, fourth Shia Imam

title: 712

text: Muhammad al-Baqir, fifth Shia imam and descendant of Muhammad

title: 733

text: Ali al-Ridha, 8th Shia Imam (d. 818)

title: 766

text: Ali al-Ridha, 8th Shia Imam (b. 766)

title: 818

text: Hasan al-Askari, 11th Shia Imam (d. 874)

title: 846

text: Yahya ibn Umar, Muslim imam (or 864)

title: 865

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Hasan al-Askari, 11th Shia Imam (b. 846)

title: 874