slug: crown-of-aragon

label: Crown of Aragon

description: composite monarchy which existed between 1162–1716

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, whose followers are called the Mercedarians, is legally constituted in Barcelona by King James I of Aragon. It will receive papal approval 12 years later.

title: 1223

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: September 5

text: September 5 – A Catalan-Aragonese expeditionary army under King James I (the Conqueror) embarks with 155 ships, 1,500 knights and 15,000 men from Tarragona, Salou, and Cambrils, in southern Catalonia. He sets sail to conquer Majorca. On December 31, James finally conquers the island from the Almohad ruler, Abu Yahya.

title: 1229

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Aragon (b. 1200)

title: 1244

section: Births

text: Constance II of Sicily, queen consort of Aragon (d. 1302)

title: 1249

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Mudéjar Revolt: Muslim rebel forces, aided by allies from Algeciras and Tarifa, take the town of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the outnumbered Castilian garrison led by Nuño González de Lara ("the Good"). The rebels are supported by Muhammad I, ruler of the Emirate of Granada, while King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") is allied with Aragon. The rebels manage to capture Murcia, as well as several smaller towns.

title: 1264

date: September

text: September – An Aragonese contingent under King James I ("the Conqueror") sails from Barcelona to the Holy Land but is caught in a storm and badly damaged. One squadron reaches Acre, but later returns to Catalonia.

title: 1269

section: Health & Medicine

text: Aragonese Crusade: French forces led by King Philip III (the Bold) entrench before Girona, in an attempt to besiege the city. Despite strong resistance, the city is eventually taken on September 7. Philip's son, the 15-year-old Charles of Valois, is crowned as king of Aragon (under the vassalage of the Holy See) but without an actual crown. Shortly after, the French camp is racked by an epidemic of dysentery and Philip is forced to retreat.

title: 1285

date: November 2

text: November 2 – Peter III (the Great) dies after a 9-year reign at Vilafranca del Penedès. He is succeeded by his 20-year-old son Alfonso III (the Liberal), who becomes king of Aragon. Peter's other son James II (the Just), is crowned ruler of Sicily. His third son, the 13-year-old Frederick, becomes co-ruler and regent of Sicily.

title: 1285

text: Alfonso III (the Liberal) is forced to make concessions to the nobility after an aristocratic uprising (called the Union of Aragon). In particular, he grants his barons a "Bill of Rights", known as the Privilegium Generale. This leaves a heritage of disunity and further dissent among the nobility, who increasingly see little reason to respect the throne, and brings the Crown of Aragon to the point of anarchy. Alfonso, who is not pleased with the anti-royalist movement, is forced to accept the Magna Carta (Great Charter).

title: 1287

text: Elisenda of Montcada, queen consort and regent of Aragon (d. 1364)

title: 1292

text: November 2 – Alfonso IV ("the Gentle"), king of Aragon (d. 1336)

title: 1299

date: September 16

text: September 16 – In Spain, the Emirate of Granada, ruled by Muhammad al-Faqih, and the Crown of Aragon, ruled by Jaime II the Just sign a military agreement to fight against the Kingdom of Castile and to capture the port of Tarifa. "Finalment, el tractat fou signat per Jaume II ale 16 de setembre de 1301, amb contingut practicament igual que la proposta que ja hem comentat del rei de Granada." ("Finally, the treaty was signed by James II on September 16, 1301, with practically the same content as the proposal we have already commented on from the King of Granada.")

title: 1301

section: Events › July– September

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Constance II of Sicily, queen and regent of Aragon (b. 1249)

title: 1302

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Treaty of Alcalá de Henares: King Ferdinand IV of Castile and King James II of Aragon sign an alliance in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta. Ferdinand agrees to join James in making war by sea and by land against Granada. He also promises to give up one-sixth of Granada to Aragon, and grants him the Province of Almería.

title: 1308

section: Events › October – December

date: February 24

text: February 24 – In Spain, King Ferdinand IV of Castile agrees to assist the neighboring Crown of Aragon

title: 1309

section: Events › January – March

text: King Peter IV of Aragon defeats and deposes his cousin, James III of Majorca, thereby absorbing the Balearic Kingdom of Majorca into the Crown of Aragon.

title: 1344

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Eleanor of Arborea, regent for her son Marianus V of the independent Judicate of Arborea, on the island of Sardinia, signs a peace agreement with the Crown of Aragon in Spain, ending a war between the two nations.

title: 1388

date: May 19

text: May 19 – Martin I succeeds his brother, John I, as King of Aragon (modern-day northeastern Spain).

title: 1396

date: March 12

text: March 12 – As King Martin I of Aragon helps to end the siege by the French of the papal palace in Avignon, Antipope Benedict XIII flees to the Crown of Aragon.

title: 1403

text: February 24 – Traveling in Valencia in Aragon, Father Joan Gilabert Jofré, known as "Padre Jofré", witnesses a mentally ill man being beaten by two young attackers. After rescuing the victim, Jofré resolves to create the Hospital dels Ignoscents, the world's first psychiatric hospital.

title: 1409

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Martin I, King of Aragon, becomes King Martin II of Sicily upon the death of his son, Martin I of Sicily.

title: 1409

date: March 29

text: March 29 – The Aragonese capture Oristano, capital of the Giudicato di Arborea in Sardinia.

title: 1410

date: April 2

text: April 2 – Alfonso V becomes the new King of Aragon and the new King of Sicily upon the death of his father, King Ferdinand I of Aragon.

title: 1416

text: The Maltese people rise up against Don Gonsalvo Monroy, count of Malta. The insurgents repel an attempt by the Viceroy of Sicily to bring the island to order. The Maltese do not submit to Catalan-Aragonese rule, until the Magna Charta Libertatis, granting them their new rights, is delivered to them.

title: 1425

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

date: August 13

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

title: 1447

section: Events › July – September

section: Culture & Society

date: September 14

text: September 14 – King Ferrante of Napoli marries Princess Juana, daughter of the Spanish King John II of Aragon and Navarre after being brought to Naples by King Ferrante's son Prince Alfonso, Duke of Calabria.

title: 1477

text: September 11 – The Conspiracy of the Barons, a revolt by the Neapolitan nobility, begins in the Kingdom of Naples with the rebels taking an oath at the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate in Campania against the rule of King Ferrante, the Spanish prince made King of Naples after the kingdom's conquest by the Crown of Aragon.

title: 1486

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor acting in his capacity as the King of Spain, issues an edict ordering the expulsion or conversion of the remaining Muslims in the Crown of Aragon, similar to that issued for the Crown of Castile by Queen Isabella in 1502. The order applies to the Kingdom of Valencia and the Principality of Catalonia.

title: 1525

section: Events › October–December

date: January 26

text: January 26 – The deadline for Spanish Muslims to convert to Christianity or leave is reached in the Crown of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia as decreed by the edict of November 25 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor acting in his capacity as King of Spain. The deadline for the Kingdom of Valencia had passed on December 31, 1525.

title: 1526

date: June 9

text: June 9 – King Philip, ruler of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon unifies the two monarchies into a single state, centralizing rule of a unified Kingdom of Spain.

title: 1715

date: November 28

text: November 28 – The application of the Nueva Planta decrees, in Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands (formerly under the Crown of Aragon), bring them under the laws of the Crown of Castile.

title: 1715


slug: crown-of-castile

label: Crown of Castile

description: former country (1230-1715)

text: Berengaria (the Great), queen of Castile and León (d. 1246)

title: 1180

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 26

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

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 6

text: August 6 – King Henry III leads an expedition to Gascony, to repel a rumoured invasion from Castile. Meanwhile, Simon de Montfort returns from Gascony where he allies himself with the barons who oppose Henry.

title: 1253

section: Events › By place › England

text: Alfonso X creates and grants privileges to the Mesta to promote the wool industry, protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile.

title: 1273

section: Events › By topic › Economy

date: June 22

text: June 22 – An alliance is formed between England and Castile.

title: 1362

section: Events › January–December

date: March 13

text: March 13 – Henry II deposes his half-brother, Pedro of Castile, to become King of Castile.

title: 1366

section: Events

date: April 3

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

title: 1367

section: Events › April–June

section: Crime & Justice

date: January 29

text: January 29 – John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the third son of England's King Edward III, begins a claim to the throne of Spain's Crown of Castile after his September 21 marriage to Princess Constance of Castile. King Pedro of Castile, who was killed by his brother, who took control as King Enrique II, in 1369.

title: 1372

section: Events › January–March

text: June 22 – The Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile defeat the Kingdom of England in the Battle of La Rochelle, and France gains control of the English Channel for the first time since 1340.

title: 1372

text: A city wall is built around Lisbon, Portugal to resist invasion by Castile.

title: 1373

section: Events › Date unknown

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Second Ferdinand War: The Battle of Lisbon is fought off the coast of the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal. The attack by the Crown of Castile, by 12 galleys led by Ambrosio Boccanegra, disperses the 21 ships of the defending Portuguese navy

title: 1373

text: Lope de Barrientos, powerful bishop in Castile

title: 1382

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Treaty of Elvas is signed between King Fernando of Portugal and King Juan of Castile to end the Third Fernandine War. Under the agreement, Portugal ends its alliance with England and joins Castile and France in the Hundred Years' War, and recognizes the jurisdiction of the antipope Clement VII over the Portuguese church. Castile returns all Portuguese prisoners of war and ships, and gives Almeida and Miranda back to Portugal. Finally, King Fernando's daughter Beatriz marries King Juan's son Ferdinand.

title: 1382

section: Events › July–September

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Use of the Spanish era dating system in the Crown of Castile is suppressed.

title: 1384

date: May 29

text: May 29 – The army of the Crown of Castile army begins the siege of Lisbon, capital of the Kingdom of Portugal.

title: 1384

text: May 29 – The Battle of Trancoso is fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile after a Castilian army pillages and burns the city of Viseu. As the Castilians are marching back with their plundered loot and prisoners, they are met by the Portuguese Army, which kills more than 400 soldiers along with six of the seven Castilian officers, then recovers the stolen treasure and releases all of the Portuguese citizens taken prisoner.

title: 1385

date: October 15

text: October 15 – Battle of Valverde: The armies of Portugal defeat Castile.

title: 1385

date: March 25

text: March 25– The Battle of Margate, a naval battle off the coast of England at Margate, ends with the England navy, commanded by the Earl of Arundel, victorious over a combined fleet of shipsf rom the Kingdom of France, the Crown of Castile and the County of Flanders.

title: 1387

date: July 8

text: July 8 –John of Gaunt, the uncle of Richard II of England, makes peace with Castile and gives up his claim to the Castilian throne, by allowing his daughter Catherine of Lancaster to marry Prince Henry, the eldest son of John I of Castile.

title: 1388

section: Religion & Belief

date: October 9

text: October 9 – King Juan, ruler of the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of León, is fatally injured when he is thrown from his horse while he is participating in an exhibition of horsemanship before a crowd at Alcalá de Henares. The Archbishop of Toledo, Pedro Tenorio, conceals the news of King Juan's death from the public until a regency council can be created for the King's 11-year-old son, Prince Enrique of Trastámara, who is proclaimed as King Enrique III.

title: 1390

date: May 27

text: May 27 – Dominique de Flourence, Bishop of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, helps conclude a peace agreement between the Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile, based on his influence as France's legate to King Juan I of Castile.

title: 1391

section: Deaths

date: March 24

text: March 24 – Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile

title: 1394

date: May 21

text: May 21 – Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, an ambassador from the king of Castile to Timur, leaves Cadiz; he arrives in Samarkand over a year later.

title: 1403

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Reconquista: In Spain, the army of the Crown of Castile, led by Álvaro de Luna, defeats the Moors of the Emirate of Granada, led by the Sultan Muhammad IX, in the Battle of La Higueruela, fought at Vega de Granada.

title: 1431

date: October 30

text: October 30 – The Treaty of Medina del Campo is signed, consolidating peace between Portugal and Castille.

title: 1431

date: March 19

text: March 19 – The Battle of Río Verde is fought as the 600-member cavalry of the Crown of Castile, is retreating from an attack led by Juan de Saavedra, against invaders from the Emirate of Granada, led by the Sultan Yusuf V. The 1,500 Granadan cavalry overwhelm the Castilians and massacre all but five of the 600 soldiers, while taking Saavedra as a prisoner of war. [https://www.google.ae/books/edition/The_Last_Crusade_in_the_West/V6IAAwAAQBAJ?hl=ar&gbpv=1&dq=r%C3%ADo+verde+1448&pg=PA88&printsec=frontcover]

title: 1448

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Lope de Barrientos, powerful Castilian bishop and statesman (b. 1382)

title: 1469

text: April 3 – While in Valladolid, capital of the Kingdom of Castile and León, to celebrate a tournament in their honor, the joint rulers of Castile, Queen Isabella and King Fernando II are interrupted by a messenger sent by King Afonso V of Portugal. King Afonso announces a declaration of war against the crown of Castile and León.

title: 1475

date: December 2

text: December 2 – In the Spanish kingdom of Castile, the siege by Portugal of the Castle of Burgos ends with the commander of the garrison agreeing to surrender within 70 days, "the waiting period decreed by chivalric courtesy" and Queen Isabella enters the city to a welcoming crowd.

title: 1475

date: March 1

text: March 1 – The Battle of Toro is fought between Castilian and Portuguese forces during the War of the Castilian Succession). Although militarily inconclusive, the victory over Portugal ensures the Catholic Monarchs the Crown of Castile, forming the basis for modern-day Spain.

title: 1476

date: January 20

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

date: March 20

text: March 20 – In what is now the Kingdom of Spain, the Islamic Emirate of Granada defeats the Christian Crown of Castile in the Battle of Axarquía, despite the Castilians having four times as many troops as the Granadans.

title: 1483

date: May 22

text: May 22 – In Spain, the Christian Crown of Castile seizes the city of Ronda from the Islamic Emirate of Granada.

title: 1485

date: April 17

text: April 17 – The Capitulations of Santa Fe are signed between Christopher Columbus and the Crown of Castile, agreeing on arrangements for his forthcoming voyage.

title: 1492

section: Events › April—June

text: August 3 – The Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus sails with three ships (Niña, Pinta and Santa María) from Palos de la Frontera, in the service of the Crown of Castile, on his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, intending to reach Asia.

title: 1492

text: October 20 – Joanna of Castile, second daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, heiress to Castile, marries the archduke Philip, heir through his mother to the Burgundian Netherlands, and through his father to the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1496

text: November 24 – In the Kingdom of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Diego de Deza, Bishop of Jaén, is commissioned as the Grand Inquisitor for the Crown of Castile, the Kingdom of León, and for Granada. His power is expanded in September to include the rest of Spain.

title: 1498

text: February 12 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.

title: 1502

text: February 14 – King Ferdinand V of Castile contracts with Juan de la Cosa to finance an independent expedition to the Pearl Islands and the Gulf of Urabá.

title: 1504

text: Cardinal Cisneros is appointed inquisitor general of Castile.

title: 1507

text: June 21 – in Spain, Queen Queen Joanna of Castile creates the Consulate of the Sea for the port of Bilbao.

title: 1511

text: April 23 – Revolt of the Comuneros – Battle of Villalar: Castilian royalists defeat the rebels. Juan López de Padilla, Francisco Maldonado, and Juan Bravo are executed the following day as the leaders of the rebels.

title: 1521

text: October 25 – The Revolt of the Comuneros, an uprising by citizens of the Kingdom of Castile against the rule of Spain's King Carlos I, ends as the comuneros surrender Toledo.

title: 1521

title: 1525

text: April 4 – The Cortes of Castile approves a new subsidy, the millones.

title: 1590

title: 1715

title: 1715

text: January 16 – The application of the Nueva Planta decrees to Catalonia make it subject to the laws of the Crown of Castile, and abolishes the Principality of Catalonia as a political entity, concluding the unification of Spain under Philip V.

title: 1716


slug: crown-prince

label: Crown prince

description: male heir apparent to a throne

text: May 30 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)

title: 531

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

title: 1776

section: Events › September–October

date: August 21

text: August 21 – Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden, by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.

title: 1810

date: May 17

text: May 17 – The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway, by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.

title: 1814

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Mutsuhito (the future Emperor Meiji) becomes Crown Prince of Japan.

title: 1860

section: Events › July

date: November 19

text: November 19 – Abdülmecid II, Crown Prince of the Ottoman Empire, is elected Caliph.

title: 1922

section: Events › November

date: December 13

text: December 13 – 1960 Ethiopian coup attempt: While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Kebur Zabagna (Imperial Bodyguard) leads a military coup against his rule, proclaiming that the emperor's son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen Taffari, is the new emperor.

title: 1960

section: Events › December

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands marries Claus von Amsberg. Some spectators demonstrate against the groom because he is German.

title: 1966

section: Events › March


slug: crusader-states

label: Crusader states

description: feudal Catholic states in the Levant, 1098–1291

section: Conflict & Security

text: March 10 – Baldwin of Boulogne enters Edessa, and is welcomed as liberator by the Armenian clergy. The local population massacres the Seljuk garrison and officials – or forces them to flee. Baldwin is acknowledged as their ruler (or doux). He assumes the title of count and establishes the first crusader state. Baldwin marries Arda of Armenia, daughter of Lord Thoros of Marash, and consolidates his conquered territory.

title: 1098

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Genoa, Venice and Pisa gain trading privileges from the Crusader states, in return for their service during the conquest of the coastal cities.

title: 1100

section: Events › By place › Levant

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Siege of Tripoli: After a 7-year siege (supported by the Genoese fleet), Tripoli falls to the Crusaders. Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Ammar, qadi of Tripoli, submits to Bertrand of Toulouse (the eldest son of Raymond IV). He establishes the County of Tripoli, the fourth Crusader state in the Middle East. Raymond's nephew William II Jordan dies of an arrow wound sustained during the siege, leaving Bertrand as its sole ruler.

title: 1109

text: Summer – Baldwin II leads an expedition to Antioch to defend the northern Crusader states. He signs a 1-year truce with Ilghazi, Artuqid ruler of Mardin, securing the possession of Kafartab and other fortresses in Syria.

title: 1120

text: Robert of Ketton and Herman of Carinthia travel throughout France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States.

title: 1134

section: Events › By topic › Culture

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Siege of Edessa: Seljuk forces led by Imad al-Din Zengi conquer the fortress city of Edessa after a four-week siege. Thousands of inhabitants are massacred – only the Muslims are spared. The women and children are sold into slavery. This eliminates the Crusader principality of Outremer. Lacking the forces to take on Zengi, Joscelin II retires to his fortress at Turbessel. There, he requests reinforcements from the Byzantines and Queen-Regent Melisende of Jerusalem. This will lead to the Pope preaching a Second Crusade.

title: 1144

text: Autumn – Siege of Edessa: The Crusaders under Joscelin II recapture Edessa (Northern Syria) from Nur ad-Din, Seljuk ruler of Damascus. After not receiving support from the other Crusader states, Nur ad-Din counter-raids the territory of Antioch but withdraws his forces to retake Edessa in November.

title: 1146

section: Climate & Environment

text: Saladin agrees to a 4-year truce due to severe drought and famine which has struck Palestine. The treaty is signed by Count Raymond of Tripoli and important nobles from Jerusalem. Commerce is renewed between the Crusader States and their Muslim neighbors. A flow of corn from the east saves the Crusaders and the population from starvation.

title: 1185

date: July 4

text: July 4 – Battle of Hattin: Egyptian army under Saladin defeats the Crusader army (some 20,000 men) under Guy of Lusignan at the Horns of Hattin. Guy is captured along with many nobles and knights, among them, Raynald of Châtillon. The latter is executed by Saladin himself. The Crusader States have no reserves to defend the castles and fortified settlements against Saladin's forces.

title: 1187

section: Events › By place › Egypt

section: Culture & Society

date: November 24

text: November 24 – The 18-year-old Isabella I, half-sister of Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem, marries Conrad of Montferrat at Acre making him de facto king of Jerusalem (as Conrad I). He has the support of her mother Maria Comnena and stepfather Balian of Ibelin, as well as Reginald of Sidon and other major nobles in the Crusader States.

title: 1190

section: Events › By place › Third Crusade

date: February 17

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

title: 1200

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, founds the Duchy of Athens (one of the Crusader states set up in Greece) and takes the title of "Grand Lord" (Megaskyr) in Athens.

title: 1205

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Frederick II marries the 14-year-old Queen Yolande, heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and adds the Crusader States to his dominions.

title: 1225

section: Events › October – December

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Siege of Damietta: Louis IX lands with a Crusader force and captures Damietta, after a fierce battle at the edge of the sea. The onslaught of the knights of France and those of Outremer under John of Ibelin, force the Ayyubids back with heavy losses. At nightfall, Fakhr ad-Din withdraws his army over a bridge of boats to Damietta. Finding the population there in panic and the garrison wavering, Fakhr ad-Din decides to evacuate the city. On June 6, Louis marches triumphantly over the bridge into Damietta and builds a camp to attack Cairo.

title: 1249

section: Events › By place › Seventh Crusade

date: February 21

text: February 21 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") signs a multi-year truce with An-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, who is well aware of a Mongol threat and has no wish for war with the Crusader States.

title: 1254

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

title: 1265

section: Events › By place › North Africa and Asia

date: August 24

text: August 24 – Battle of Mari: Mamluk forces (some 30,000 men) led by Baibars defeat the Armenian army in Cilicia, in retaliation for the support of the Mongol invasion in Syria. He expands his domain, capturing the city of Byblos (modern Lebanon) and the important castle of Toron from the Crusader States.

title: 1266

text: The ancient city of Ascalon is captured from the Crusader States, and utterly destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who goes so far as to fill in its important harbor, leaving the site desolate, and the city never to be rebuilt.

title: 1270

section: Events › Asia

date: June

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

title: 1283

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Survivors and relatives of the massacre at Acre take bloodstained clothing to Sultan Qalawun ("the Victorious") in Cairo, who demands that the leaders of the riot be handed over for trial, but the nobles refuse to send them and Qalawun now obtains legal clearance from the religious authorities in Cairo to break the truce with Crusader states.

title: 1290

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Mamluk forces conquer the last Crusader outpost in Syria, the Templar fortress of Atlit south of Acre. All that now is left to the Knights Templar is the island fortress of Ruad. Al-Ashraf Khalil returns to Cairo in triumph as the "victor in the long struggle against the Crusader states".

title: 1291


slug: crusades

label: Crusades

description: mass military expeditions and wars initiated by the Catholic Church in the High Middle Ages

text: European warriors go to Spain, to participate in the siege of Barbastro. This expedition is sanctioned by Pope Alexander II – and is now regarded as an early form of Crusade.

title: 1064

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Ranulf Flambard, bishop of Durham, escapes from the Tower of London and flees to Normandy. There he joins Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, who has just returned from the Crusades.

title: 1101

section: Events › By place › England

date: March

text: March – Olegarius Bonestruga, archbishop of Tarragona, preaches successfully a Crusade against the Moors in Catalonia.

title: 1119

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Bazwāj, a mamluk (slave) commander of Damascus, launches a military campaign against Tripoli, reaching Pilgrims' Mount. He defeats a Crusader army under Count Pons (protector of Tripoli). Pons is forced to flee into the mountains where native Christians capture him. Later, he is handed over and instantly put to death by Bazwāj.

title: 1137

date: May 11

text: May 11 – Saladin leads an Egyptian expeditionary force from Cairo to Syria. In June, he arrives in Damascus and learns that his nephew Farrukh Shah has raided Galilee, and sacked the villages near Mount Tabor. On his way back, Farrukh Shah attacks the fortress of Habis Jaldak, carved out of the rock above the River Yarmuk. The garrison, Christian Syrians with no great wish to die for the Crusaders, promptly surrenders.

title: 1182

text: The Siege of Kerak is waged between the Ayyubids and the Crusaders, in which regent Guy of Lusignan refuses to fight.

title: 1183

section: Events › By area › Asia › Near East

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Sack of Constantinople: Crusaders enter Constantinople by storm and start pillaging the city as part of the Fourth Crusade. Forces of the Republic of Venice seize the antique statues that will become the horses of Saint Mark.

title: 1204

section: Events

text: Twenty-four Lithuanian dukes and nobles purportedly sign a peace treaty with Halych-Volhynia, stating a common cause against invading Christian Crusaders.

title: 1219

date: November

text: November – Pope Gregory IX grants the status of Crusade to King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint"), who leads a successful campaign against the Almohads in Murcia.

title: 1239

text: Pope Gregory IX authorizes a Crusade against Novgorod, hoping that the Kievan Rus' will be too preoccupied dealing with the raiding Mongols to the east to defend.

title: 1240

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos is excommunicated by Pope Martin IV without any warning or provocation. Martin authorizes Charles I, king of Sicily, to make a Crusade against Michael, who has re-established his rule in Constantinople. Charles prepares an expedition in Sicily and assembles a fleet of 100 ships, and 300 more in Naples, Provence, and the Greek territories, which carry some 8,000 cavalrymen.

title: 1281

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Pope Pius II himself shoulders the cross of the Crusades, and departs for Ancona to participate in person. He names Skanderbeg general captain of the Holy See, under the title Athleta Christi. This plan forces Skanderbeg to break his ten-year peace treaty with the Ottomans signed in 1463, by attacking their forces near Ohrid.

title: 1464

section: Events › April–June

date: December 26

text: December 26 – Andrew Michael Ramsay gives an oration, in which he relates the heritage and internationalism of Freemasonry to that of the Crusades.

title: 1736

section: Events › October–December


slug: ctesiphon

label: Ctesiphon

description: capital of the Iranian empire in the Parthian and Sasanian eras in present Iraq

section: Conflict & Security

text: Trajan captures the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.

title: AD 115

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Emperor Trajan completes his invasion of Parthia by capturing the cities of Seleucia, Babylon, Ctesiphon and Susa, marking the high-water mark of the Roman Empire's eastern expansion.

title: AD 116

text: Ctesiphon is captured by the Romans, but returns to the Parthians after the end of the war.

title: AD 164

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: A Roman military expedition under Avidius Cassius is successful against Parthia, capturing Artaxata, Seleucia on the Tigris, and Ctesiphon. The Parthians sue for peace.

title: AD 165

text: The Roman army marches east to repel a Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia; they loot the royal palace at Ctesiphon and capture an enormous number of its inhabitants as slaves.

title: AD 197

text: Ctesiphon, until now capital of the Parthian Empire, falls into the hands of the Sasanian Empire, who also make it their capital, after putting an end to the Parthian Dynasty in Iran.

title: 226

section: Events › By place › Parthian Empire

text: Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Alexander Severus launches a three-pronged counterattack against the Persian forces of King Ardashir I, who have invaded Mesopotamia. However, the Roman army advancing through Armenia is halted. Alexander gives the order to march to the capital at Ctesiphon, but the Romans are defeated, and withdraw to Syria. The result is an acceptance of the status quo, and after heavy losses on both sides, a truce is signed.

title: 232

text: Mani, a young mystic of Ctesiphon, proclaims himself a prophet at the court of Ardashir I. He preaches his doctrine, Manichaeism, throughout the Sassanid Empire.

title: 240

text: King Odaenathus of Palmyra invades Persia to conquer the capital, Ctesiphon, and twice comes as far as the walls of the Persian capital, but fails to take it. After his victories in the East, he pronounces himself with the title "king of kings".

title: 266

section: Deaths

text: King Bahram I of Persia dies after a 3-year reign, in which the Zoroastrian priests at Ctesiphon (Iran) put pressure on him to persecute Buddhists, Christians, and Manichaeans. He is succeeded by his son Bahram II.

title: 276

section: Events › By place › Sassanid Empire

text: Exploiting the Persian civil war, Carus leaves Carinus in charge of much of the Roman Empire and, accompanied by his younger son Numerian, invades the Sassanid Empire. They sack Seleucia and Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian kingdom, and they press on beyond the Tigris. For his victories, Carus receives the title of Persicus Maximus.

title: 283

text: King Bahram II of the Persian Empire dies after a 17-year reign; his son Bahram III ascends to the throne. After four months, Bahram III's great-uncle Narseh, the king of Persarmenia, marches on the Persian capital Ctesiphon with the support of a faction of the nobility and the eastern Satraps. Bahram is overthrown and Narseh is declared the new King of Kings.

title: 293

section: Events › By place › Persia

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Battle of Ctesiphon: Julian reaches the vicinity of the strongly fortified capital Ctesiphon. King Shapur II in charge of a large Persian army adopts a scorched earth policy, leaving the Romans desperately short of supplies.

title: 363

text: Theodosius I sends Flavius Stilicho as an envoy to the Persian court of King Shapur III at Ctesiphon, to negotiate a peace settlement relating to the partition of Armenia.

title: AD 383

text: Anthemius, praetorian prefect of the East, is sent on an embassy to the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, to congratulate King Yazdegerd I on his accession the year before.

title: 400

text: King Yazdegerd II summons the leading Armenian nobles to the Persian capital Ctesiphon, pressuring them to cut their ties with the Western Church.

title: 450

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

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: The Jewish community revolts at Ctesiphon against Mazdakism, and establishes an independent Jewish kingdom that lasts for seven years.

title: 513

text: Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 570

text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: A Byzantine army commanded by Maurice, and supported by Ghassanid forces under King Al-Mundhir III, fails to capture the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, along the Euphrates.

title: 581

text: Spring – King Hormizd IV dismisses Bahrām Chobin as commander (Eran spahbed). He revolts and marches with the support of the Persian army towards Ctesiphon.

title: 590

text: Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem: A Persian–Judaean army (26,000 men) commanded by Shahrbaraz captures and sacks Jerusalem, after a 20-day siege against the Byzantine Empire. Somewhere between 57,000 and 66,500 citizens are slain; another 35,000 are enslaved, including the Patriarch Zacharias. Many churches in the city (including the "Church of the Resurrection" or Holy Sepulchre) are burned, and numerous relics, including the True Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Holy Sponge, are carried off to the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

title: 614

text: Winter – Heraclius plunders the city palace of Dastgerd (Iran) and gains tremendous riches (also recovering 300 captured Byzantine flags). He turns northeastward to Caucasian Albania to rest his army. Khosrau II flees to the mountains of Susiana, to rally support for the defense of the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

title: 627

text: March – Siege of Ctesiphon: The Rashidun army (15,000 men) under Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas occupies the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, after a two-month siege. King Yazdegerd III flees with the imperial treasure eastward into Media. Muslim forces conquer the Persian provinces as far as Khuzestan (modern Iran).

title: 637


slug: cuba

label: Cuba

description: sovereign state situated on an island in the Caribbean Sea

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Christopher Columbus lands in what is now the Holguín Province of the island of Cuba.

title: 1492

section: Events › October—December

date: April 30

text: April 30 – On his second voyage to the New World, Columbus and his crew become the first Europeans to sail into what is now Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

title: 1494

text: Diego Velázquez and Hernán Cortés conquer Cuba; Velázquez is appointed Governor.

title: 1511

section: Events › Date unknown

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founds Havana, Cuba.

title: 1515

section: Events › July–September

date: April 8

text: April 8 – Spanish conquistador Juan de Grijalva embarks from Cuba on a mission to explore and conquer Mexico, departing from Matanzas with four ships and 170 people.

title: 1518

date: November 13

text: November 13 – Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, the Spanish Colonial Governor of Cuba, is granted the office of Captain General of Yucatán, which comprises southern Mexico. Velázquez is also granted the exclusive right to conquer and colonize the new Yucatan Province, but turns the rights over to Francisco de Montejo in 1526.

title: 1518

text: Havana moves from the southern to the northern part of Cuba.

title: 1519

date: March 11

text: March 11 – The Battle of Pinos is fought between the English Navy (with 14 warships) and the Spanish Navy (with 13 galleons) off of the coast Cuba's Isla de Pinos, with 325 English Navy men killed or captured, while Spain drives Baskerville's ships to retreat and sustains 80 dead or wounded.

title: 1596

section: Events › January–March

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Notable Privateer Henry Morgan lands in Cuba to raid and plunder the inland town of Puerto del Príncipe during the latter stages of the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660).

title: 1668

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: July 24

text: July 24 – 1715 Treasure Fleet: A Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships, under General Don Juan Ubilla, leaves Havana, Cuba for Spain. Seven days later, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida (some centuries later, treasure salvage is found from these wrecks).

title: 1715

section: Culture & Society

date: January 5

text: January 5 – The Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana, the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana.

title: 1728

date: April 9

text: April 9 – British trader Robert Jenkins has his ear cut off after his ship, Rebecca is boarded by Spanish coast guards at Havana in Cuba. The incident becomes the casus belli for the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739.

title: 1731

date: August 4

text: August 4–5 – War of Jenkins' Ear: Invasion of Cuba – British Admiral Edward Vernon captures Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, which he renames Cumberland Bay, but which his forces are forced to abandon on December 9.

title: 1741

date: July 6

text: July 6 – The last British troops depart Havana, Cuba, two years after having captured it from Spain during the Seven Years' War. The removal of troops follows the treaty between the two Kingdoms, with Spain ceding West Florida to Great Britain in return for the Havana withdrawal.

title: 1764

date: November 14

text: November 14 – The Timucua Indian tribe, native to central Florida, becomes extinct with the death of the last speaker of the Timucuan language, Juan Alonso Cabale. Eight years earlier, the last 95 surviving Timucuan people had been forcibly relocated by the Spanish colonial government to Guanabacoa, a township in western Cuba.

title: 1767

section: Events › October –December

section: Climate & Environment

date: October 15

text: October 15 – A powerful hurricane sweeps across Cuba during the Festival of Santa Teresa, killing hundreds of people. Spain's King Carlos III begins a precedent of ordering the colonial government to fund disaster relief, a task previously left to the Catholic Church.

title: 1768

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The importation of slaves into the United States is formally banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect. However Americans still continue the slave trade by transporting Africans to Cuba and Brazil.

title: 1808

date: June 22

text: June 22 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by royal decree, makes the production and sale of tobacco a legal endeavor in Cuba, thus sparking the birth of the Cuban cigar industry.

title: 1817

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The city of Fernandina de Jagua (later Cienfuegos) is founded in Cuba.

title: 1819

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Action of 9 November 1822: engages three pirate schooners off Cuba, as part of the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States.

title: 1822

text: June 5 – captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.

title: 1829

section: Economy & Finance

text: 1853–1873 – More than 130,000 Chinese laborers come to Cuba.

title: 1853

date: October 9

text: October 9–11 – United States diplomats in Europe meet and draft the Ostend Manifesto, setting out a rationale for the U.S. to acquire Cuba from Spain.

title: 1854

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declares a revolt against Spanish rule in Cuba, in an event known as El Grito de Yara or the Ten Years' War, initiating a war that lasts ten years (Cuba ultimately loses the war at a cost of 400,000 lives and widespread destruction).

title: 1868

section: Events › October

date: October 20

text: October 20 – Pedro Figueredo creates the Cuban national anthem, El Himno de Bayamo.

title: 1868

text: By 1893 – 8,000 Chinese have arrived in Cuba.

title: 1893

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the captures a Spanish merchant ship.

title: 1898

section: Events › April

date: February 15

text: February 15 – Spanish–American War: The explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba, for reasons never fully established, killing 266 men. The event precipitates the United States' declaration of war on Spain, two months later.

title: 1898

section: Events › February

date: April 11

text: April 11 – U.S. President William McKinley declares the Spanish–American War to be at an end as the Treaty of Paris between the U.S. and Spain goes into effect. Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam are ceded to the U.S. and Cuba becomes an American protectorate.

title: 1899

date: June 12

text: June 12 – Cuba becomes a United States protectorate.

title: 1901

section: Events › June

date: March 2

text: March 2 – The United States Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.

title: 1901

section: Events › March

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Cuba gains independence from the United States.

title: 1902

section: Events › May

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".

title: 1903

date: August 23

text: August 23 – Unable to control a rebellion, Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma requests United States intervention. This leads to the Second Occupation of Cuba, which lasts until 1909.

title: 1906

section: Events › July–August

text: January 28 – The last United States troops leave Cuba, after being there since the Spanish–American War of 1898.

title: 1909

text: October 20 – A hurricane kills 650 in Cuba.

title: 1926

text: November 9 – A hurricane and huge waves kill about 2,500 in Santa Cruz del Sur in the worst natural disaster in Cuban history.

title: 1932

text: June 4 – The St. Louis, a ship carrying 907 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida; only a few passengers have been allowed to enter Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later die in Nazi death camps during The Holocaust.

title: 1939

text: November 18 – The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.

title: 1944

text: December 22 – The Havana Conference begins between U.S. organized crime bosses in Havana, Cuba.

title: 1946

text: March 10 – General Fulgencio Batista re-takes power in Cuba in a coup.

title: 1952

text: February 23 – Cuban rebels kidnap five-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio, releasing him 28 hours later.

title: 1958

text: February 24 – In Cuba, Fidel Castro's Radio Rebelde begins broadcasting from Sierra Maestra.

title: 1958

text: May 20 – The Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista launches a counteroffensive against Castro's rebels.

title: 1958

text: February 16 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba.

title: 1959

text: February 18 – Jesús Sosa Blanco, a colonel in the Cuban army of Fulgencio Batista, is executed in Cuba after being convicted of committing 108 murders for Batista.

title: 1959

text: January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.

title: 1959

text: January 4 – In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter the city of Havana.

title: 1959

text: January 7 – The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

title: 1959

text: April 17 – The U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins; it fails by April 19.

title: 1961

text: December 2 – Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announces he is a Marxist–Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt socialism.

title: 1961

text: January 3 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).

title: 1961

text: December 24 – Cuba releases the last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million.

title: 1962

text: October 4 – Hurricane Flora, one of the worst Atlantic storms in history, hits Hispaniola and Cuba, killing nearly 7,000 people.

title: 1963

text: January 6 – A British firm, the Leyland Motor Corp., announces the sale of 450 buses to the Cuban government, challenging the United States blockade of Cuba.

title: 1964

text: October 10 – The first group of Cuban refugees travels to the U.S.

title: 1965

text: April 29 – Fidel Castro announces that all intellectual property belongs to the people and that Cuba intends to translate and publish technical literature without compensation.

title: 1967

text: November 24 – 4 men hijack Pan Am Flight 281 from JFK International Airport, New York to Havana, Cuba.

title: 1968

text: December 3 – October Crisis: In Montreal, kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Government of Canada grants 5 terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.

title: 1970

text: May 27 – The 1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 airplane crash in Cuba kills 69 people.

title: 1977

text: March 3 – Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers, against Somalian troops in the Ogaden.

title: 1978

text: April 27 – The Dominican embassy siege in Colombia ends with all remaining hostages released after the guerrillas are allowed to escape to Cuba.

title: 1980

text: Cuba suffers a major outbreak of dengue fever, with 344,203 cases.

title: 1981

text: December 14 – Chile holds its first free election in sixteen years, electing Patricio Aylwin as president. This marks the first time that all Ibero-American nations, except Cuba, have elected constitutional governments simultaneously.

title: 1989

text: March 27 – The United States begins broadcasting Radio y Televisión Martí to Cuba.

title: 1990

text: March 13–15 – The 1993 Storm of the Century strikes the eastern U.S., bringing record snowfall and other severe weather all the way from Cuba to Quebec; it reportedly kills 184 people.

title: 1993

text: August 5 – Maleconazo: Groups of protesters spread from Havana, Cuba's Castillo de la Punta ("Point Castle"), creating the first protests against Fidel Castro's government since 1959.

title: 1994

text: November 8 – Hurricane Gordon hits Central America, Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti and the Southeastern United States, causing $594 million in damages and 1,152 fatalities.

title: 1994

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

title: 1995

text: February 24 – Cuban fighter jets shoot down two American aircraft belonging to the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Cuban officials assert that they invaded Cuban airspace.

title: 1996

text: July 13 – The remains of Che Guevara are returned to Cuba for burial, alongside some of his comrades. Guevara and his comrades were executed on October 9 1967 in Bolivia.

title: 1997

text: October 17 – The remains of Che Guevara are laid to rest with full military honours in a specially built mausoleum in the city of Santa Clara, Cuba, where he had won the decisive battle of the Cuban Revolution 39 years before.

title: 1997

text: January 21 - Pope John Paul II begins a 5-day visit to Cuba; Fidel Castro releases 300 political prisoners in a gesture of goodwill.

title: 1998

text: November 4 – Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes in central Cuba, killing all 68 people on board.

title: 2010

text: July 20 – Cuba and the United States end 54 years of hostility between the nations, reestablish full diplomatic relations.

title: 2015

text: June 30 – Cuba becomes the first country in the world to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

title: 2015

text: March 21 – Barack Obama visits Cuba, marking the first time a sitting US president has visited the island nation since President Calvin Coolidge visited in 1928.

title: 2016

text: September 27–September 30 – Hurricane Ian impacts Cuba and the United States, causing catastrophic damage to both nations, killing at least 157 people, 16 missing, and leaving millions without power, including the entire nation of Cuba.

title: 2022


slug: cumae

label: Cumae

description: ancient Roman city near Naples, Italy

year_label: 550 BCE

section: Births

text: Aristodemus of Cumae, tyrant of Cumae

title: 550 BC

year_label: 524 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 524 BC

section: Events › By place › Southern Italy

year_label: 495 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Tarquinius Superbus, former king of Rome died in exile in Cumae

title: 495 BC

year_label: 428 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

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

title: 428 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 421 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 421 BC

year_label: 342 BCE

text: The Battle of Mount Gaurus is fought between the Romans and the Samnites. The battle is a success for the Romans, who, it is said, are led by Marcus Valerius Corvus. Fought at the foot of Mount Gaurus, near Cumae, it is the most notable engagement of the First Samnite War.

title: 342 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 340 BCE

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

title: 340 BC

text: Battle of Mons Lactarius: King Teia secretly marches to join forces with his brother Aligern in Campania, to relieve the siege of Cumae. Meanwhile at Mons Lactarius (modern Monti Lattari), Narses lays an ambush. The combined Gothic force is crushed in a hopeless last stand for two days (south of Naples), and Teia is killed in the fighting. Aligern escapes, but surrenders a few months later.

title: 553

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


slug: cumans

label: Cumans

description: Turkic nomadic people

text: Battle of the Alta River: The Cumans defeat the Kievan Rus' forces of Grand Prince Iziaslav I, and his brothers Sviatoslav II and Vsevolod I.

title: 1068

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Battle of Levounion: Emperor Alexios I, supported by his allies, defeats 80,000 of Pechenegs (including women and children) at the Evros River, near Enos (modern Turkey). The Cumans and Byzantine forces fall upon the enemy camp, slaughtering all in their path. The Pechenegs are butchered so savagely, that this people is almost wiped out.

title: 1091

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Battle of the Stugna River: The nomadic Cumans defeat a Kievan joint force led by the princes of Kievan Rus' at the Stuhna River in the valley near Trepol. Rostislav Vsevolodovich, prince of Pereyaslavl, drowns while fleeing the battle.

title: 1093

text: Summer – The nomadic Cumans cross the River Danube and invade Thrace, to support the pretender Constantine Diogenes (son of the late Emperor Romanos IV). The Cumans occupy the province of Paristrion (located in the Lower Danube). Emperor Alexios I places Byzantine detachments to guard the passes over the Balkan Mountains, but they are bypassed.

title: 1095

date: March 27

text: March 27 – Battle of the Salnitsa river: Prince Vladimir of Kievan Rus' inflicts a crushing defeat on the Cumans (Polovtsy).

title: 1111

date: April 16

text: April 16 – Sviatopolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev, dies after a 20-year reign and is succeeded by his 60-year-old cousin Vladimir II Monomakh. He begins a campaign against the Cumans on the steppe in an effort to reunite the land of Kievan Rus'.

title: 1113

text: Igor Svyatoslavich's failed campaign against the Cumans, later immortalized in The Tale of Igor's Campaign, takes place this year.

title: 1185

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

title: 1190

date: April 14

text: April 14 – Battle of Adrianople: Latin forces under Baldwin I are defeated and eliminated in a successful ambush by Bulgarians, Vlachs and Cumans. Baldwin is captured and taken as prisoner to Veliko Tarnovo – where he is locked up at the top of a tower in the Tsarevets fortress. Later, Baldwin is possibly executed by orders of Kaloyan (this according to the Byzantine historian George Akropolites).

title: 1205

text: Prince Mstislav Mstislavich ("the Daring") clashes with his uncle Rurik Rostislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, and is forced to surrender the town of Torchesk (a major centre of resistance against Polovtsian raids).

title: 1207

text: Spring – The Polovtsian army assembles on the Terek River lowlands and are joined by Alan, Circassian, and Don Kipchak/Cuman forces. The Mongol army crosses the Caucasus Mountains, but is trapped in the narrow mountain passes. The Mongol generals Subutai and Jebe (the Arrow) send an embassy to the Polovtsians and convince them to break their alliance with the Caucasian peoples. The Mongol cavalry invades the Caucasus region and devastates the local villages, seizing slaves, cattle and horses.

title: 1223

section: Events › Other events, by place › Mongol Empire

text: Autumn – King Béla IV of Hungary allows some 40,000 Cumans, pagan nomads fleeing the Mongols, to settle in Hungary between the rivers Danube and Theiss, after their leader, Köten, has promised to convert to Christianity.

title: 1239

section: Health & Medicine

date: August 5

text: August 5 – The Diet of Hungary adopts the so-called Cuman laws to regulate the social status and lifestyle of the nomadic and pagan Cumans living in the Kingdom of Hungary.

title: 1279


slug: cumberland

label: Cumberland

description: historic county of England

text: King Edmund I regains (with the help of Danish settlers) the territory he ceded to Olaf Guthfrithson. He conquers Northumbria and cedes Cumberland to Malcolm I, king of the 'Picts and Scots'.

title: 944

section: Events › By place › England

text: King Edmund I conquers Strathclyde, forms an alliance with Malcolm I (king of the 'Picts and Scots') and cedes Cumberland and Westmorland to him.

title: 945

date: February 5

text: February 5 – Treaty of Durham: A peace treaty is signed by Stephen and David I. The Scots are allowed to keep Carlisle and a part of Cumberland in return for stopping their advance. David refuses an oath of allegiance, as his loyalties rest with Matilda (daughter of the late King Henry I).

title: 1136

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Summer – King William the Lion of Scotland supports John's claim to the English throne, in exchange for ownership of the northern territories (including Northumberland and Cumberland).

title: 1199

section: Culture & Society

date: November 22

text: November 22 – During a tour of the Midlands, John receives homage from William the Lion, king of Scotland, at Lincoln. William is looking to move into the areas of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. John on the other hand ensures that these areas are controlled by English nobles he can trust.

title: 1200

date: September 25

text: September 25 – Treaty of York: King Henry III signs an agreement with Alexander II of Scotland at York. Alexander subjects to Henry's sovereignty and renounces the Scottish claims to Northumberland, Westmorland and Cumberland. This establishes the Anglo-Scottish border in a form with the future status of several feudal properties and marks the end of Scotland's attempts to extend its frontier southward.

title: 1237

date: October

text: October–November – Scottish forces led by William Wallace begin raids in Northumberland and Cumberland. During a ceremony at Selkirk, Wallace is knighted and appointed Guardian of Scotland. (Contradicts First Scottish War of Independence that cites William Wallace as having been made a knight and Guardian of Scotland in March, 1298)

title: 1297

section: Events › By place › British Isles

date: June 18

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

title: 1303

section: Events › April–June

date: August 15

text: August 15 – English invasion of Scotland (1385): With England's Army having left its borders undefended, Scottish and French troops invade England and plunder Cumberland in retaliation for the burning of Edinburgh.

title: 1385

section: Events › July–September

date: January 19

text: January 19 – Most of Bigod's forces are captured by the English Army at a dawn raid of their camp at Beverley, Yorkshire, but Bigod escapes to Mulgrave and then to what is then the County of Cumberland.

title: 1537

section: Events › January–March


slug: cunard-line

label: Cunard Line

description: British cruise line

section: Births

date: November 21

text: November 21 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian businessman, prominent Nova Scotian, founder of the Cunard Line (d. 1865)

title: 1787

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 4

text: July 4 – The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddlewheel steamer departs from Liverpool, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service.

title: 1840

text: April 29 – The iron-hulled paddle steamer concludes a 9-day 16 hour westbound transatlantic crossing, at an average 13.11 knots (24.28 km/h), regaining the Blue Riband for the Cunard Line.

title: 1856

date: April 28

text: April 28 – Sir Samuel Cunard, Canadian businessman, founder of the Cunard Line (b. 1787)

title: 1865

section: Deaths › January–June

date: March 1

text: March 1 – The Cunard Line's , the first large steel transatlantic liner, is launched at Clydebank in Scotland.

title: 1881

section: Events › March

date: June 15

text: June 15 – is the first Cunard Line ship to receive a wireless radio set.

title: 1901

section: Events › June

section: Science & Discovery

date: June 7

text: June 7 – Cunard liner is launched in Glasgow, as the world's largest ship.

title: 1906

section: Events › May–June

date: September 7

text: September 7 – British Cunard Line passenger liner sets out on her maiden voyage, from Liverpool (England) to New York City.

title: 1907

section: Events › September

section: Conflict & Security

date: April 18

text: April 18 – Cunard Line vessel arrives in New York with the 705 survivors.

title: 1912

section: Events › April

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Cunard ocean liner , built by John Brown & Company, is launched on the River Clyde.

title: 1913


slug: cuthbert

label: Cuthbert

description: 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop, monk, hermit and saint (635–687)

text: Cuthbert, Anglo-Saxon bishop (approximate date)

title: 634

section: Religion & Belief

text: Cuthbert is elected Bishop of Hexham, and receives a visit from a large group under Ecgfrith. He agrees to return to Lindisfarne (Northumbria) to take up duties.

title: 684

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: May 20

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

title: 685

section: Deaths

text: Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, resigns his office and retires to his hermitage on Inner Farne (Northumberland) where he dies, after a painful illness.

title: 687

date: March 20

text: March 20 – Cuthbert, Anglo-Saxon bishop

title: 687

text: Eadberht is appointed bishop of Lindisfarne (Northumbria). He founds the holy shrine to his predecessor Cuthbert, a place that becomes a centre of great pilgrimage in later years.

title: 688

text: Probable date of Cuthbert's burial behind the altar at Lindisfarne (approximate date).

title: 698

text: Bishop Aldhun consecrates a cathedral (later Durham Cathedral) at a site in England where the remains of St. Cuthbert had been moved to in AD 995 from Lindisfarne because of the danger of Viking raids.

title: AD 999

date: September 3

text: September 3 – St. Cuthbert is reburied in Durham Cathedral.

title: 1104

section: Events › By place › England


slug: cyclades

label: Cyclades

description: Greek island group in the Aegean Sea

section: Culture & Society

text: c. 2800 BC – 2700 BC: Seated Harp Player, from Keros, Cyclades, is made. It is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

title: 28th century BC

section: Events

year_label: 272 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

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

title: 272 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 246 BCE

text: Ptolemy III wins major victories over Seleucus II in Syria and Anatolia and briefly occupies Antioch. These victories are marred by the loss of the Cyclades to Antigonus II Gonatas in the Battle of Andros.

title: 246 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 204 BCE

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

title: 204 BC

text: October – Battle of Thasos: Saracens from the newly founded Emirate of Crete almost annihilate the Byzantine fleet at Thasos, close to the coast of Thrace. The Cyclades and other islands in the Aegean Sea are pillaged.

title: 829

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Summer – Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (some 3,500 men) led by his half-brother, Constantine Palaiologos, to the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The army is transported to Monemvasia on Genoese ships, while a small Byzantine fleet is sent to harass the Latin island holdings in Euboea and the Cyclades. After arriving at Monemvasia, Constantine lays siege to Sparta, while the Byzantine fleet seizes the southern coast of Laconia.

title: 1263

date: June 20

text: June 20 – The Senate of the Republic of Venice votes to approve the transfer of ownership of the island of Santorini (now the Greek island of Thera) to Domenico Pisani. The island was the dowry given to Pisani for the marriage of Fiorenza Crispo, by Firenzo's father, Giacomo III Crispo, Duke of the Archipelago, a set of 18 of the 20 inhabited Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.

title: 1480

section: Events › April–June

date: November 11

text: November 11 – Greek War of Independence: the London Protocol entails the creation of an autonomous Greek state under Ottoman suzerainty encompassing the Morea and the Cyclades.

title: 1828

section: Events › October–December

section: Climate & Environment

date: July 9

text: July 9 – The 7.7 Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the subsequent tsunami leave 53 people dead.

title: 1956

section: Events › July


slug: cynegils-of-wessex

label: Cynegils of Wessex

text: Ceolwulf succeeds his brother Ceol as king of Wessex. He becomes regent of Ceol's son Cynegils who is too young to inherit the throne.

title: 597

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Cynegils becomes king of the West Saxons, or Wessex, after the death of his uncle Ceolwulf (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). He rules from 611 to 643 and shares power to some extent with his eldest son, Cwichelm, who may have been given Upper Wessex (approximate date).

title: 611

text: Battle of Bampton: King Cynegils of Wessex defeats the invading Britons in Dumnonia (modern Devon). They use the Roman road eastward from Exeter to Dorchester, and are intercepted by the West Saxons marching south.

title: 614

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

title: 626

text: Birinus, Frankish missionary, converts King Cynegils of Wessex and becomes the first Bishop of Dorchester.

title: 635

text: Birinus, Bishop of Dorchester, converts Cwichelm (son of king Cynegils of Wessex) to Christianity. He dies soon afterward, and is supposedly buried at Scutchamer Knob, in East Hendred (South East England).

title: 636

text: Cynegils, king of Wessex (approximate date)

title: 643

text: King Cynegils of Wessex dies after a 32-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Cenwalh (who is still pagan); he marries the sister of King Penda of Mercia (approximate date).

title: 643

text: King Æscwine of Wessex dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by Centwine, son of the late king Cynegils. He reasserts the power of his Anglo-Saxon kingdom over the Welsh.

title: 676


slug: cyprus

label: Cyprus

description: country in the Mediterranean Sea

section: Conflict & Security

text: 1182 BC—A desperate letter of Ammurapi, the last king of Ugarit, reporting the approaching fleet of the Peoples of the Sea. Shortly thereafter they destroyed both Ugarit and Alasiya (Cyprus).

title: 1180s BC

section: Events and trends

year_label: 498 BCE

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

title: 498 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 497 BCE

text: Artybius ends the rebellion in Cyprus.

title: 497 BC

year_label: 493 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: A Phoenician-manned Persian fleet restores Persian control of Cyprus.

title: 493 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 478 BCE

text: With the help of the Athenian statesman and general, Cimon, Aristides commands an Athenian fleet of 30 ships that the Spartan commander Pausanias leads to capture the Greek cities on Cyprus and Byzantium, taking them from the Persians and their Phoenician allies.

title: 478 BC

year_label: 451 BCE

text: The Persian fleet moves against a rebellious Cyprus to restore order. Kimon, who returns to favour, though not to power, in Athens, plans an expedition to help Cyprus. He gains Pericles' support.

title: 451 BC

year_label: 450 BCE

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

title: 450 BC

year_label: 405 BCE

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

title: 405 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

text: The Persians assemble a joint Phoenician, Cilician, and Cypriot fleet, under the command of the experienced Athenian admiral, Conon, and seize Rhodes.

title: 396 BC

year_label: 392 BCE

text: During the Corinthian War, the Spartans dispatch an ambassador, Antalcidas, to the Persian satrap Tiribazus, hoping to turn the Persians against the allies by informing them of Conon's use of the Persian fleet to begin rebuilding the Athenian empire. Learning of this, the Athenians send an embassy led by Conon to present their case to the Persians at Sardis. Alarmed by Conon's actions, Tiribazus arrests him, and secretly provides the Spartans with money to equip a fleet. Although Conon quickly escapes, he dies in Cyprus without returning to Athens.

title: 392 BC

year_label: 391 BCE

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

title: 391 BC

year_label: 390 BCE

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

title: 390 BC

year_label: 386 BCE

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

title: 386 BC

year_label: 381 BCE

text: The Persian generals Tiribazus and Orontes I invade Cyprus, with an army far larger than any King Evagoras I of Cyprus could raise. However, Evagoras manages to cut off this force from being resupplied, and the starving troops rebel. However, the war then turns in the Persians' favour when Evagoras' fleet is destroyed at the Battle of Citium (Larnaca, Cyprus). Evagoras flees to Salamis, where he manages to conclude a peace which allows him to remain nominally king of Salamis, though in reality he is a vassal of the Persian king.

title: 381 BC

year_label: 374 BCE

text: The King of Salamis, Evagoras, is assassinated. He is succeeded by his son, Nicocles, who continues his father's liberal Hellenising policy in Cyprus, encouraged by Isocrates, who writes his Exhortation to Nicocles.

title: 374 BC

section: Events › By place › Cyprus

text: Evagoras, king of Salamis in Cyprus (assassinated)

title: 374 BC

year_label: 351 BCE

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

title: 351 BC

year_label: 350 BCE

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

title: 350 BC

year_label: 315 BCE

text: Ptolemy's armies fight supporters of Antigonus in Cyprus. Ptolemy is able to re-conquer the island.

title: 315 BC

year_label: 313 BCE

text: Ptolemy, whose Egyptian kingdom includes Cyprus, puts down a revolt there.

title: 313 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: After putting down the revolt in Cyrene, Ptolemy sails to Cyprus with a great force. He arrests the rulers of Kition, Lapethus, Kyrenia, and Marion for being too friendly towards Antigonus and/or too hostile towards himself, he then establishes his friend Nicocreon of Salamis as strategos (governor-general) of Cyprus .

title: 312 BC

year_label: 306 BCE

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes lands on Cyprus and besieges Menelaus, brother of Egypt's ruler, Ptolemy I Soter, at Salamis. Ptolemy Soter, coming to his brother's aid, is decisively defeated in the Battle of Salamis. The battle completely destroys the naval power of Egypt and results in the capture of Cyprus by Demetrius. This gives Demetrius' father, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, control of the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.

title: 306 BC

year_label: 294 BCE

text: Ptolemy gains control over Cyprus and the Phoenician coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon.

title: 294 BC

year_label: 262 BCE

text: Zeno of Citium, Hellenistic Stoic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus (b. 333 BC)

title: 262 BC

text: Egypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks.

title: 246 BC

title: 204 BC

year_label: 181 BCE

section: Health & Medicine

text: Ptolemy V is poisoned after a reign of 24 years in which the Egyptian kingdom has declined in power and influence and has lost most of its empire outside Egypt other than Cyprus and Cyrenaica. The elder of his two sons, Ptolemy VI Philometor succeeds him, but since he is an infant, he rules under the regency of his mother Cleopatra the Syrian.

title: 181 BC

year_label: 168 BCE

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

title: 168 BC

year_label: 163 BCE

text: The Ptolemaic king Ptolemy VI Philometor is restored to his throne through the intervention of the citizens of Alexandria. However, the Romans intervene and partition the kingdom, giving Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Cyrenaica and Ptolemy VI Cyprus and Egypt. The two brothers accept the Roman partition.

title: 163 BC

year_label: 161 BCE

text: Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, now king of Cyrenaica, convinces the Roman Senate to back his claim for control of Cyprus, but the Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor ignores this threat, and after Ptolemy VIII Euergetes' attempt to conquer the island fails, the Roman Senate disengages from the dispute.

title: 161 BC

section: Events › by side › Egypt

year_label: 154 BCE

text: The Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor defeats his brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, after he attempts to seize Cyprus by force. Nevertheless Philometor restores his brother to Cyrenaica, marries one of his daughters to him, and grants him a grain subsidy.

title: 154 BC

year_label: 116 BCE

date: June 26

text: June 26 – At the death of Ptolemy VIII Physcon, Cleopatra III has chosen her younger son Ptolemy X Alexander as co-regent, but the Alexandrians force her to bring Ptolemy IX from Cyprus, of which he is governor.

title: 116 BC

year_label: 92 BCE

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

title: 92 BC

text: Cyprus becomes a Roman province.

title: 58 BC

text: Autumn – The Donations of Alexandria: Antony distributes the eastern kingdoms as a gift to the children of Cleopatra; he declares Caesarion, Caesar's illegitimate son, as co-ruler of Egypt and Cyprus. Alexander Helios receives Armenia and Media; to Cleopatra Selene II he gives the kingdoms of Cyrenaica and Libya. His youngest son Ptolemy Philadelphus receives the Egyptian possessions in Phoenicia, Syria and Cilicia. Antony establishes Cleopatra as a Hellenistic monarch at Alexandria and gives her the title of "Queen of Kings".

title: 34 BC

text: Trajan sends two expeditionary forces. One, consisting of elements of Legio III Cyrenaica, to suppress the revolt in Judea and the other Legio VII Claudia to restore order on Cyprus.

title: AD 116

text: Approximate traditional date – Helena, mother of Constantine, returning from her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, founds Stavrovouni Monastery on Cyprus.

title: 327

text: Calocaerus revolts against Constantine I and proclaims himself emperor. Flavius Dalmatius, responsible for the security of the eastern frontier, is sent to Cyprus to suppress the rebellion.

title: 333

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine army under command of Maurice (magister militum per Orientem) invades Upper Mesopotamia, and raids on both sides of the Tigris. He deports 70,000 captives from Hyrcania to Cyprus, and installs military colonists to guard the strategic locations.

title: 578

text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: The besieged city of Alexandria is captured by the Persians. Nicetas, cousin of Emperor Heraclius, and Chalcedonian patriarch, John V, flee to Cyprus. King Khosrow II extends his rule southwards along the Nile.

title: 619

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Arab naval forces under Abdullah ibn Saad conquer Cyprus, sacking the capital Constantia after a short siege, and looting the rest of the island. The Cypriots agree to pay the same revenue as they have done to Emperor Constans II.

title: 649

text: Muawiyah, governor of Syria, stations a large garrison on Cyprus. He conquers the Greek island of Kos in the Dodecanese.

title: 654

text: Emperor Justinian II negotiates a peace treaty with the Umayyad Caliphate (resulting in caliph Abd al-Malik paying tribute). He removes 12,000 Christian Maronites, who continually resist the Arabs, from Lebanon. Justinian reinforces the Byzantine navy on Cyprus, and transfers cavalry troops from the Thracesian Theme in Anatolia to the Theme of Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula.

title: 687

text: Justinian II reestablishes Byzantine settlement on Cyprus, signing a treaty with Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (and paying an annual tribute) for joint occupation of the island.

title: 688

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Muslims conquer Armenia, Iberia and Colchis, the last remaining Byzantine holdings east of the Taurus Mountains. Emperor Justinian II is forced to agree to joint Byzantine-Arab control of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (approximate date).

title: 692

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Constantine V destroys the Arab fleet off Cyprus, with the aid of ships from the Italian city-states, breaking the naval power of the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: AD 747

text: Arab–Byzantine wars: An Abbasid fleet under Humayd ibn Ma'yuf al-Hajuri raids Cyprus, carrying off 16,000 inhabitants as slaves.

title: 806

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey). He recaptured Cyprus through Niketas Chalkoutzes, and reorganizes the conquered lands into new themes. In the summer, they take the fortress cities of Anazarbus and Adana. Byzantine troops under General John Tzimiskes besiege Mopsuestia, but with the coming of winter he is forced to retreat to Caesarea.

title: 964

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim residents abandon the defense and flee into Syria. Nikephoros completes the conquest of Cilicia; Muslim raids into Anatolia (modern Turkey) permanently cease. Byzantine troops under General Niketas Chalkoutzes occupy Cyprus, liberating the Greek population from Muslim domination.

title: 965

text: February–May – Crusaders under Baldwin I besiege Beirut. Genoese and Pisan ships blockade the harbour; Fatimid ships from Tyre and Sidon try in vain to break the blockade. The Fatimid governor flees by night through the Italian fleet to Cyprus. On May 13, Baldwin captures the city by assault and the Italians carry out a massacre among the inhabitants.

title: 1110

text: Autumn – Emperor Manuel I Komnenos sets out from Constantinople at the head of an expeditionary army. He marches to Cilicia; and while the main army follows the coast road eastwards Manuel hurries ahead with a force of only 500 cavalry. He manages to surprise Thoros II "the Great", lord of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, who participated in the attack on Cyprus in 1156. Thoros flees into the mountains and Cilicia is occupied by the Byzantines.

title: 1158

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

title: 1169

text: March 10 – King Amalric I of Jerusalem departs with a large staff for Constantinople. At Callipolis he is met by his father-in-law, John Doukas Komnenos, military governor (doux) of Cyprus. Amalric enters the Byzantine capital and is welcomed by Manuel I. In June, a treaty is signed, Amalric recognizes Manuel's suzerainty over Jerusalem.

title: 1171

text: May – William of Rubruck from Constantinople returns to Cyprus from his missionary journey to convert the Mongols of central and eastern Asia; his efforts have been unsuccessful.

title: 1255

text: April 13 – Saint Bridget and her fellow pilgrims arrive at Famagusta in Cyprus, after their ship has survived a five-day storm that they had encountered after departing from Asia Minor.

title: 1372

text: February 3 –After invading Cyprus, the Republic of Genoa bombards the city of Kyrenia, but the Cypriots repel the invasion and force the Genoese to retreat to Nicosia.

title: 1374

text: September 24 – The Spanish Aragonese knight Juan Fernández de Heredia becomes the new Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, who control the island of Rhodes, one of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and the island of Cyprus. Fernandez is elected by his fellow Knights to replace the late Grand Master Robert de Juilly, who had died on July 29.

title: 1377

text: September 20 – Unhappy with Pope Urban's critical attitude towards them, the majority of the cardinals meet at Fondi, elect Clement VII as antipope, and establish a rival papal court at Avignon. This split within the Catholic Church becomes known as the Western Schism, also known as the Great Schism. France, Aragon, Castile and León, Cyprus, Burgundy, Savoy, Naples and Scotland choose to recognise Antipope Clement VII. Denmark, England, Flanders, the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, northern Italy, Ireland, Norway, Poland and Sweden continue to recognise Pope Urban VI.

title: 1378

text: November 11 – Janus succeeds his father, James I, as King of Cyprus and claimant to the throne of Armenian Cilicia.

title: 1398

text: April 3 – Jean II Le Maingre of France, also known as Boucicaut, the French Governor of Genoa, leads a fleet of 18 ships, 600 horses and 700 infantry to stop an attack by Muslims on the island of Cyprus and the city of Famagusta. Boucicaut besieges the Muslim city of Candelore on June 24.

title: 1403

text: July 6 – James III of Cyprus, son of James II of Cyprus and Catherine Cornaro, king of Cyprus (d. 1474)

title: 1473

text: March 14 – The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to the Republic of Venice.

title: 1489

text: July 22 – The siege of Nicosia by the Ottoman Empire begins in Cyprus and lasts for seven weeks.

title: 1570

text: March 28 – The ambassador of the Ottoman Sultan Selim II goes before the governing Council of the Venetian Republic and requests that Venice surrender the island of Cyprus. The Council rejects the demand and prepares to go to war with the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1570

text: March 7 – The Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) is ended by a peace treaty, confirming the transfer of control of Cyprus from the Republic of Venice to the Ottoman Empire, and also confirming Turkish occupation of the more fertile region of Dalmatia.

title: 1573

text: Chatsworth Head is found near Tamassos, Cyprus.

title: 1836

text: July 13 – The Treaty of Berlin makes Serbia, Montenegro and Romania completely independent, confirms the autonomy of Bulgaria, makes Cyprus a British possession, and allows Austria-Hungary to garrison the Bosnia Vilayet.

title: 1878

text: June 4 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom, but retains the nominal title.

title: 1878

text: April 1 – EOKA starts a resistance campaign against British rule in the Crown colony of Cyprus.

title: 1955

text: November 26 – The British Governor of Cyprus declares a state of emergency on the island.

title: 1955

text: March 9 – The British deport Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus to the Seychelles.

title: 1956

text: February 19 – First of the London and Zürich Agreements under which the United Kingdom agrees to grant independence to Cyprus.

title: 1959

text: March 1 – Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus from exile.

title: 1959

text: April 20 – A Globe Air Bristol Britannia turboprop crashes at Nicosia, Cyprus, killing 126 people.

title: 1967

text: July 15 – The Greek military junta sponsors a coup d'état in Cyprus, replacing President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson. On that same day, reporter Christine Chubbuck commits suicide for the first-time-ever on live television.

title: 1974

text: November 15 – The Turkish part of Cyprus declares independence.

title: 1983

text: January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.

title: 1997

text: April 16 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens between the European Union and ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia), concerning these countries' accession into the EU, leading to the 2004 enlargement of the European Union.

title: 2003

text: January 1 – Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro currency.

title: 2008

text: March 25 – 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis: The European Union agrees to a €10 billion economic bailout for Cyprus. The bailout loan will be equally split between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the International Monetary Fund. The deal precipitates a banking crisis in the island nation.

title: 2013


slug: cyrenaica

label: Cyrenaica

description: eastern coastal region of Libya

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Battus I of Cyrene, founder and first king of the Greek colony of Cyrenaica

title: 600 BC

year_label: 560 BCE

text: Battus II of Cyrene, Greek king of Cyrene and Cyrenaica

title: 560 BC

year_label: 360 BCE

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

title: 360 BC

year_label: 322 BCE

text: Ptolemy, taking advantage of internal disturbances, acquires the African Hellenic towns of Cyrenaica without the authority of Perdiccas.

title: 322 BC

text: The people of Cyrene in the Cyrenaica rise up in a revolt against Ptolemy, putting the Ptolemaic garrison, which occupies their citadel, under siege. After they execute Ptolemy's envoys, who came to bade them to cease their sedition, he sends Agis (one of his generals) with an army and Epaunetus (another general) with a fleet to put down the rebellion. Agis storms the city, captures the rebels, and sends the ringleaders to Alexandria.

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Cyrenaica

year_label: 309 BCE

text: Leaving his brother Antander to continue the defence of Syracuse, Agathocles lands in North Africa with the aim of distracting the Carthaginians from their siege of Syracuse. Agathocles concludes a treaty with Ophellas, ruler of Cyrenaica. He then takes advantage of the civil unrest in Carthage and nearly succeeds in conquering the city.

title: 309 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 308 BCE

text: Agathocles sends Orthon the Syracusan to Cyrene to request aid in subduing Carthage from Ophellas (Ptolemy's governor of Cyrenaica).

title: 308 BC

section: Events › By place › North Africa

text: Ophellas, ruler of Cyrenaica (governor for Ptolemy).

title: 308 BC

year_label: 274 BCE

text: Magas of Cyrene marries Apama, the daughter of Antiochus and uses his marital alliance to foment a pact to invade Egypt. He opens hostilities against his half brother Ptolemy II, by declaring his province of Cyrenaica to be independent and then attacks Egypt from the west as Antiochus I takes the Egyptian controlled areas in coastal Syria and southern Anatolia, after which he attacks Palestine.

title: 274 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: Ptolemy II loses control of the territory of Cyrenaica.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: Magas of Cyrene, king of Cyrenaica (modern Libya) (b. c. 320 BC)

title: 250 BC

year_label: 245 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Following a long engagement, Ptolemy III marries Berenice II, the daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene; thereby reuniting Egypt and Cyrenaica.

title: 245 BC

year_label: 221 BCE

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

title: 221 BC

text: Berenice II, queen of Egypt, daughter of Magas, king of Cyrenaica (in modern Libya), whose marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes has reunited her country with Egypt (b. c. 267 BC)

title: 221 BC

text: Ptolemy V is poisoned after a reign of 24 years in which the Egyptian kingdom has declined in power and influence and has lost most of its empire outside Egypt other than Cyprus and Cyrenaica. The elder of his two sons, Ptolemy VI Philometor succeeds him, but since he is an infant, he rules under the regency of his mother Cleopatra the Syrian.

title: 181 BC

text: The Ptolemaic king Ptolemy VI Philometor is restored to his throne through the intervention of the citizens of Alexandria. However, the Romans intervene and partition the kingdom, giving Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Cyrenaica and Ptolemy VI Cyprus and Egypt. The two brothers accept the Roman partition.

title: 163 BC

text: Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, now king of Cyrenaica, convinces the Roman Senate to back his claim for control of Cyprus, but the Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor ignores this threat, and after Ptolemy VIII Euergetes' attempt to conquer the island fails, the Roman Senate disengages from the dispute.

title: 161 BC

text: The Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor defeats his brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, after he attempts to seize Cyprus by force. Nevertheless Philometor restores his brother to Cyrenaica, marries one of his daughters to him, and grants him a grain subsidy.

title: 154 BC

year_label: 101 BCE

text: Ptolemy Apion inherits the kingdom of Cyrenaica.

title: 101 BC

section: Events › By place › Libya

year_label: 96 BCE

text: Cyrene is left to the people of the Roman Republic by its ruler Ptolemy Apion.

title: 96 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

text: Ptolemy Apion, king of Cyrenaica (modern Libya)

title: 96 BC

year_label: 34 BCE

text: Autumn – The Donations of Alexandria: Antony distributes the eastern kingdoms as a gift to the children of Cleopatra; he declares Caesarion, Caesar's illegitimate son, as co-ruler of Egypt and Cyprus. Alexander Helios receives Armenia and Media; to Cleopatra Selene II he gives the kingdoms of Cyrenaica and Libya. His youngest son Ptolemy Philadelphus receives the Egyptian possessions in Phoenicia, Syria and Cilicia. Antony establishes Cleopatra as a Hellenistic monarch at Alexandria and gives her the title of "Queen of Kings".

title: 34 BC

year_label: 6 CE

text: AD 6 – Cleopatra Selene II, Egyptian ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya (b. 40 BC)

title: 0s

text: The Jewish Diaspora Revolt is quelled, likely by autumn 117, though unrest may have persisted in Egypt until early 118. Its suppression results in the near-complete expulsion of Jews from Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and several regions of Egypt.

title: AD 117

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Spring – Vandalic War: Anti-Vandal revolt in Tripolitania and Sardinia; Gelimer, king of the Vandals, dispatches the bulk of the Vandal fleet (120 ships and 5,000 men) under his brother Tzazo to Sardinia. Byzantine forces from Cyrenaica occupy Leptis Magna and Tripolis.

title: 533

date: February 6

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

title: 914

section: Events › By place › Africa

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

title: 936