slug: estonia

label: Estonia

description: country in Northern Europe

section: Conflict & Security

text: According to the Ynglinga saga, king Ingvar Harra of Sweden invades Adalsysla (present day Lääne County in Estonia), but is killed by the locals (approximate date).

title: 600

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Olaf Haraldsson, future king of Norway, makes raids in the Baltic Sea. He lands on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, wins a battle there, and forces the inhabitants to pay tribute.

title: 1008

text: The first mention is made of Tartu, Estonia, as Grand Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) of Novgorod and Kiev defeats the Estonians and finds a fort named Yuryev (modern-day Tartu). The Rus' will hold the fortress for 30 or 31 years.

title: 1030

text: Sosols (a tribe in Estonia) destroy the Kievan Rus' fortification of Yuryev in Tartu, and carry out a raid on Pskov.

title: 1061

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is first marked on the world map by Muhammad al-Idrisi.

title: 1154

text: Eskil, Danish archbishop of Lund, appoints Fulco as the first Bishop of Estonia, marking the early beginning of the introduction of Christianity to the country. He will visit Estonia for the first time in 1169 or 1170.

title: 1165

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Novgorod burns down Tartu and Otepää Castles, in Estonia.

title: 1192

text: Northern Crusades: Danish forces led by King Canute VI raid the area of present-day Estonia.

title: 1197

text: King Valdemar II ("the Conqueror") and Archbishop Andreas Sunonis raid Saaremaa Island (modern Estonia), forcing the islanders to submit. The Danes build a fortress, but finding no volunteers to man it, they burn it down themselves and leave the island.

title: 1206

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Terra Mariana (or Medieval Livonia), comprising modern-day Estonia and Latvia, is established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. During its existence there is a constant struggle over supremacy between the lands ruled by the Teutonic Order, the secular German nobility, and the citizens of the Hanseatic towns of Riga and Reval.

title: 1207

text: Livonian Crusade: The Crusader Livonian Brothers of the Sword, supported by tribes of Livs and Letts, initiate raids into Ugandi County in southern Estonia, resulting in the Estonian fight for independence.

title: 1208

text: Livonian Crusade: Battles of Viljandi and Turaida – The Crusaders fail to conquer the Viljandi stronghold, but manage to baptize Sakala and Ugandi counties (Southern Estonia).

title: 1211

text: Spring – Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and their Crusader allies (some 20,000 men) cross the sea ice from mainland Estonia, and defeat the last Estonian strongholds in the Battle of Muhu and the siege of the Valjala Stronghold in the Saaremaa islands. This marks the end of the Estonian campaign in the Livonian Crusade. The Sword Brothers conquer Danish Estonia, and Tallinn is given town rights under Riga law.

title: 1227

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: April

text: April – A Russian force led by Alexander Nevsky crosses the frontier between Novgorod and Livonian Crusader territory, to raid into Catholic Estonia. After that, Alexander breaks his army off into contingents to ravage the countryside. He is forced to turn back, when a local Crusader force under Bishop Hermann von Buxhövden defeats Alexander's advance guard at Mooste bridge south of Tartu.

title: 1242

text: Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow raids Estonia.

title: 1379

date: November 20

text: November 20 – The Hanseatic warship Hanneke Vrome capsizes and sinks off of the coast of Finland, killing its estimated 180 passengers and crew, along with a valuable cargo including 10,000 Rheingulden coins, equivalent to at least 34000 kg lb of gold. The ship had been sailing between the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck (in Germany) and Reval (now Tallinn, capital of Estonia) when it ran into a gale.

title: 1468

section: Events › October–December

text: St. Olaf's Church, Tallinn is completed in Estonia.

title: 1519

text: The spire of Lincoln Cathedral in England is blown down, leaving St. Olaf's Church, Tallinn, in Estonia as the World's tallest structure.

title: 1549

date: July 18

text: July 18 – The city of Tartu, capital of the Bishopric of Dorpat (in modern-day Estonia) surrenders to Russia.

title: 1558

section: Events › July–September

date: August 7

text: August 7 – The Treaty of Mozhaysk is signed between Denmark and Russia to avoid going to war against each other over the Kingdom of Livonia, now divided into Estonia and Latvia.

title: 1562

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Swedish troops attack Wesenberg Castle in Estonia and lose at least 1,000 men in attempting to capture it from the Russian Army.

title: 1574

text: Russians occupy Pernau in western Estonia, and the fortress of Weissenstein.

title: 1575

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Russia cedes its conquered areas in Livonia (Northern Latvia and Southern Estonia), to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

title: 1582

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Walk (modern-day Valka and Valga, towns in Latvia and Estonia respectively), receives city rights from Polish king Stefan Bathory.

title: 1584

section: Events › April–June

date: September 30

text: September 30 – The siege of Weissenstein, a Swedish town that is now Paide in Estonia, ends after four months with a victory of 2,000 Polish and Lithuanian troops commanded by Jan Zamoyski, the Great Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

title: 1602

date: February 16

text: February 16 – The Reval Gymnasium is founded in Tallinn, Estonia, by Swedish king Gustavus II Adolphus.

title: 1631

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Representatives of the Russian Empire and the Swedish Empire sign the Treaty of Valiesar at the Valiesar Estate near Narva, part of modern-day Estonia. In return for ceasing hostilities between the two empires in the Second Northern War, Russia is allowed to keep captured territories in Livonia (part of modern-day Latvia) for a term of three years.

title: 1658

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The war between the empires of Russia and Sweden is ended with the signing of the Treaty of Cardis in what is now the Estonian city of Kärde. Russia returns those portions of Livonia and Ingria that it had taken earlier from Sweden.

title: 1661

text: The Great Famine of 1695–1697 wipes out almost a third of the population of Finland, while the Great Famine of Estonia (1695–97) takes out a fifth of the population of Estonia; and the "seven ill years" of famine in Scotland are ongoing.

title: 1696

date: February 22

text: February 22 (Gregorian), February 12 (Julian) – The Great Northern War begins with a joint invasion of Swedish territory in Germany and Latvia, by Denmark and Poland/Saxony. Sweden has control of the Baltic Sea and holds territory that includes Finland, Estonia, Latvia and parts of northern Germany. To challenge its power, an alliance is formed between Tsar Peter I of Russia, King Frederick IV of Denmark and Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. Sweden's ruler is the militaristic Charles XII, known as the "Swedish Meteor".

title: 1700

date: December 29

text: December 29 (O.S., January 9, 1702 N.S.) – The Battle of Erastfer takes place near what becomes Erastvere in Estonia, as a large Russian force commanded by Boris Sheremetev invades Swedish Livonia and overwhelms a smaller force led by Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach in the first significant Russian victory in the Great Northern War.

title: 1701

date: October 28

text: October 28 – The Treaty of Greifswald is signed between Russia and the Electorate of Hanover, with George I of Great Britain and Hanover agreeing to Russia's annexation of Swedish Ingria and Estonia, and Hanover claiming the Bremen-Verden Swedish duchies of Bremen and Verden.

title: 1715

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Battle of Reval: Gustav III of Sweden sends the battlefleet to eliminate the Russian squadron wintering at Reval (Estonia), but is defeated; 8 Russians, 130 Swedes are killed, up to 520 captured, 1 ship is burnt, another captured.

title: 1790

text: January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, Postimees, is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen.

title: 1857

date: July 27

text: July 27 – A causeway is opened between the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu in Estonia.

title: 1896

date: November 15

text: November 15 – (N.S.) (November 2, O.S.) – The Provincial Assembly of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia declares itself the highest legal body in Estonia, in opposition to Bolsheviks.

title: 1917

section: Events › November

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Estonian War of Independence: The Red Army invades Estonia, starting the war. The Commune of the Working People of Estonia is established as a Soviet puppet state in Narva on the next day.

title: 1918

date: February 1

text: February 1 – Estonian War of Independence: Estonian forces liberate Valga and Võru, expelling the Red Army from the entire territory of Estonia.

title: 1919

text: February 16–21 – Estonian War of Independence: Uniformed peasants in Saaremaa rebel against the government of Estonia; the rebellion is crushed by government forces, leaving more than 200 dead.

title: 1919

text: January 14 – Estonian War of Independence: Estonian forces liberate Tartu from the Red Army.

title: 1919

text: January 18 – Estonian War of Independence: Estonian forces liberate Narva, expelling the Red Army from Northern Estonia.

title: 1919

text: January 7 – Estonian War of Independence: With Soviet Russian forces just 40 km outside of the capital Tallinn, Estonian forces start a general and successful counter-offensive against the Red Army.

title: 1919

text: January 9 – Estonian War of Independence: Battle of Tapa – Estonian forces liberate Tapa, Estonia, from the Red Army.

title: 1919

text: July 3 – Estonian and Latvian Wars of Independence: The pro-German Baltische Landeswehr signs a peace treaty with Estonia and Latvia. The pro-German Prime Minister of Latvia Andrievs Niedra resigns, and Latvian forces take over Riga on July 8.

title: 1919

text: June 5 – Estonian and Latvian Wars of Independence: The advancing pro-German Baltische Landeswehr initiates war against Estonia in Northern Latvia.

title: 1919

text: May 25 – Estonian War of Independence: Estonian forces capture Pskov from the Red Army, and soon hand it over to the White forces.

title: 1919

text: November 11 – Russian Civil War: The Northwestern Army of General Nikolai Yudenich retreats to Estonia and is disarmed.

title: 1919

text: October 10 – Estonia adopts a radical land reform, nationalizing 97% of agrarian lands, mostly still belonging to the Baltic German nobility.

title: 1919

text: June 15 – The Estonian Constituent Assembly adopts the first constitution of Estonia, which will come into effect on December 21 this year.

title: 1920

text: December 1 – A Soviet-backed communist 1924 Estonian coup d'état attempt fails in Estonia.

title: 1924

text: November 10 – The Trial of the 149 begins in Estonia, eventually resulting in the conviction of 129 communists, including several members of the Riigikogu.

title: 1924

text: February 9 – "Litvinov's Pact" is signed in Moscow by the Soviet Union, Poland, Estonia, Romania and Latvia, who agree not to use force to settle disputes between themselves.

title: 1929

text: October 14–16 – The new constitution of Estonia is approved only on the third consecutive referendum.

title: 1933

text: March 12 – Prime Minister Konstantin Päts stages a self-coup by declaring a state of emergency in Estonia, with the approval of the parliament, beginning the country's Era of Silence.

title: 1934

text: April 20 – A fire in an elementary school in Kilingi-Nõmme, Estonia, kills 17 students and injures 50.

title: 1937

text: August 23 – The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, a neutrality treaty that also agrees to division of spheres of influence (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, eastern Poland and Bessarabia (modern-day Moldova), north-east province of Romania to the Soviet Union; Lithuania and western Poland to Germany). Its annex reassigns Lithuania to the Soviet Union.

title: 1939

text: Occupation of the Baltic states: The Soviet Union occupies Estonia and Latvia.

title: 1940

text: November 17 – The Tartu Art Museum is established in Tartu, Estonia.

title: 1940

text: June 14 – June deportation: Soviet officials deport about 65,000 people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Siberia.

title: 1941

text: March 9 – WWII: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia, killing 757 and leaving 25,000 homeless.

title: 1944

text: After German forces declare the evacuation of Estonia the day before, the Estonian national government briefly resumes control of Tallinn before the Soviet advance.

title: 1944

text: September 22 – WWII: The Red Army captures Tallinn, Estonia. Prime Minister in Duties of the President of Estonia Jüri Uluots and 80,000 Estonian civilians manage to escape to Sweden and Germany. The evacuees include almost the entire population of Estonian Swedes. Soviet bombing raids on the evacuating ships sink several, with thousands on board.

title: 1944

text: April 1 – The Battle of Määritsa takes place between Estonian partisans and Soviet forces in southeastern Estonia.

title: 1946

text: March 25 – Operation Priboi: An extensive deportation campaign begins in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Soviet authorities deport more than 92,000 people from the Baltic states to remote areas of the Soviet Union.

title: 1949

text: January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.

title: 1953

text: September 27 – The last Forest Brother guerrilla movement fighter is discovered and killed in Estonia.

title: 1978

text: August 23 – Singing Revolution: Two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join hands to demand freedom and independence from Soviet occupation, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the Baltic Way.

title: 1989

text: October 15 – The leaders of the Baltic States—Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia, and the Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania—sign the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.

title: 1991

text: June 20 – Estonia adopts the kroon as currency, becoming the first former Soviet Republic to replace the Soviet rouble.

title: 1992

text: August 31 – The Russian Army leaves Estonia and Latvia, ending the last traces of Eastern Europe's Soviet occupation.

title: 1994

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: March 29 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are admitted to NATO, the largest expansion of the organization.

title: 2004

text: April 26–27 – "Bronze Night": Ethnic Russian riot in Tallinn and other cities in Estonia against the moving of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, a Soviet World War II memorial statue. 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia begin.

title: 2007

text: December 21 – The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the Schengen border-free zone.

title: 2007

text: December 9 – Estonia becomes the 34th member of the OECD.

title: 2010

text: January 1 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.

title: 2011

text: September 19 – Estonian airspace near Vaindloo island is violated by three Russian MiG-31 jets. In response, Estonia invokes Article 4 of NATO.

title: 2025


slug: estonians

label: Estonians

description: Finnic people inhabiting primarily the country of Estonia

text: The first mention is made of Tartu, Estonia, as Grand Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) of Novgorod and Kiev defeats the Estonians and finds a fort named Yuryev (modern-day Tartu). The Rus' will hold the fortress for 30 or 31 years.

title: 1030

text: During the winter, the Estonians attack Pskov.

title: 1177

section: Events › Date unknown

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and allied Livs and Letts defeat the Estonian army in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day, and kill their leader Lembitu.

title: 1217

section: Events › Other events by place › Europe

text: Livonian Crusade – The Danish fail in their attempt to conquer Saaremaa Island from the Estonians.

title: 1222

text: Livonian Crusade: The Estonian rebellion of 1237 is suppressed on Saaremaa Island, by the Livonian Order.

title: 1241

section: Events

date: July 13

text: July 13 – Livonian Crusade: The Baltic Samogitians and Curonians of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania decisively defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Durbe. This leads the Estonians of Saaremaa Island to once again rebel against the Livonian Order.

title: 1260

date: April 23

text: April 23 – The St. George's Night Uprising: The Livonian Order hangs Vesse, the rebel Estonian Elder of Saaremaa Island.

title: 1344

section: Events › January–December

date: April 8

text: April 8 (N.S.) (March 26, O.S.) – In Petrograd, 40,000 ethnic Estonians demand national autonomy within Russia.

title: 1917

section: Events › April


slug: ethiopia

label: Ethiopia

description: country in the Horn of Africa

year_label: 668 BCE

text: King Ashurbanipal puts down an Egyptian rebellion. He drives out Egypt's Ethiopian king Taharqa, and restores Necho I as governor of Sais in the Nile Delta.

title: 668 BC

section: Events › By Place › Middle East

section: Health & Medicine

text: An epidemic begins in Ethiopia, moves into Egypt and the Roman colonies in North Africa, and spreads through the Roman Empire (named the Plague of Cyprian, after St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage).

title: 250

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Economy & Finance

text: The Kingdom of Aksum (modern Ethiopia) begins minting its own gold coins to facilitate international trade, following the model of Roman coinage.

title: 270

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Religion & Belief

text: Frumentius is the first bishop of Ethiopia (approximate date).

title: 330

text: Coptic Christianity is introduced into Ethiopia by the Syrian apostle Frumentius. He and his colleague Aedesius ware captured by Ethiopians a year or two ago, and have become civil servants at the Aksumite court of King Ezana. Ezana is impressed with Frumentius' teachings and converts to Christianity. Frumentius becomes the first Bishop of Axum and encourages the Christian merchants present in the country to practise their faith openly.

title: 341

text: Traders from southern Arabia settle in northern Ethiopia.

title: AD 500

text: Several of Muhammad's followers begin to emigrate to the Aksumite Empire. They found a small colony there, under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Așhama ibn Abjar.

title: 615

text: Ethiopian (Axumite) raiders occupy the port of Jeddah (modern Saudi Arabia).

title: 702

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

section: Science & Discovery

text: Coffee is discovered (according to legend) by the Ethiopian goatherder Kaldi in East Africa, who notices that his goats become energetic after chewing the red berries from certain wild bushes (approximate date).

title: 850

section: Events › By topic › Food and Drink

text: Following his death, Mara Takla Haymanot is succeeded by his eldest son Tatadim as ruler (negus) of the Zagwe Dynasty in Ethiopia.

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Africa

section: Deaths

text: Mara Takla Haymanot, ruler of Ethiopia

title: 919

date: August 10

text: August 10 (10 Nehasé 1262) – Yekuno Amlak overthrows the Ethiopian Zagwe dynasty, claims the imperial throne and establishes the Solomonic Dynasty, which will last until 1974.

title: 1270

section: Events › Africa › Other events

text: The Kingdom of Kaffa is established in present day Ethiopia (approximate date).

title: 1390

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Emperor Baeda Maryam I of Ethiopia (b. 1448)

title: 1478

text: Pêro da Covilhã arrives in Ethiopia.

title: 1490

date: April 4

text: April 4 – The Battle of Jarte begins in Ethiopia as the Army of the Portuguese Empire, commanded by Cristóvão da Gama encounters the army of the Ethiopian ruler, the Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, achieving a victory on April 16.

title: 1542

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Battle of Wofla in Ethiopia: Reinforced with at least 2900 arquebusiers and cavalry, the Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi attacks the Portuguese camp. The Portuguese are scattered; Cristóvão da Gama is captured and executed.

title: 1542

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Battle of Baçente: The Portuguese under Cristóvão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hillfort in northern Ethiopia.

title: 1542

section: Events › January–March

text: Sarsa Dengel, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats the Oromo in a battle near Lake Zway.

title: 1573

text: Yaqob succeeds his father Sarsa Dengel, as Emperor of Ethiopia at the age of 7.

title: 1597

date: January 17

text: January 17 – Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia defeats an Oromo army at Ebenat; 12,000 Oromo are reportedly killed at a cost of 400 Amhara.

title: 1608

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Spanish-born Jesuit missionary Pedro Páez becomes (probably) the first European to see and describe the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.

title: 1618

date: October 6

text: October 6 – Battle of Amedamit in Gojjam, Ethiopia: The Roman Catholic Ras Sela Kristos, half-brother of Emperor Susenyos, crushes a group of rebels, who are opposed to Susenyos' pro-Catholic beliefs.

title: 1620

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.

title: 1624

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.

title: 1626

text: Suspecting that Patriarch Afonso Mendes played a part in the Portuguese assault on Mombasa, Emperor Fasilides expels him and several Jesuit missionaries from Ethiopia.

title: 1634

text: Emperor Fasilides founds the city of Gondar, which becomes the capital of Ethiopia for the next two centuries.

title: 1636

text: Emperor Yohannes I of Ethiopia convenes a church council in Gondar, which decides to expel all Roman Catholics from the country.

title: 1668

text: Emperor Yohannes I of Ethiopia decrees that Muslims must live separately from Christians throughout his realm.

title: 1676

date: April

text: April – A fire destroys the Gra Bet (Left Quarter) of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia. The fire starts "in the house of a prostitute" and destroys many buildings, including the churches of St. George, Takla Haymanot and Iyasu.

title: 1696

section: Climate & Environment

text: An earthquake strikes Gondar, Ethiopia.

title: 1704

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Iyasu II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. c. 1723)

title: 1755

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Scottish explorer James Bruce arrives at Gondar, capital of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) and is received by the Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Ras Mikael Sehul.

title: 1770

section: Events › January– March

date: May

text: May – Three battles of Sarbakusa: An alliance of three of the most powerful aristocrats of Ethiopia (Goshu of Amhara, Wand Bewossen and Fasil of Damot) defeats Ras Mikael Sehul and Emperor Tekle Haymanot II, taking control of Ethiopia.

title: 1771

date: June 27

text: June 27 – Mentewab, dowager Empress of Ethiopia (b. c. 1706)

title: 1773

date: June 23

text: June 23 – Ras Mikael Sehul, Enderase of Ethiopia (b. 1692)

title: 1779

date: December 12

text: December 12 – Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia, (b. c. 1751)

title: 1817

section: Deaths › July–December

text: February 14 – Sabagadis, Ethiopian warlord (b. c. 1770)

title: 1831

section: Deaths › January–June

date: April 13

text: April 13 – Emperor Theodore or Tewodros II of Ethiopia by suicide (b. 1818)

title: 1868

text: November 16 – Battle of Gundat: Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV defeats another Egyptian army.

title: 1875

text: September 7 – Battle of Agurdat: An Egyptian invasion of Ethiopia fails, when Emperor Yohannes IV defeats an army led by Werner Munzinger.

title: 1875

text: January 24 – Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat the Italians.

title: 1887

text: October 14 – Battle of Guté Dili: Seeking to extend Mahdist control over what is becomes southwestern Ethiopia, governor Khalil al-Khuzani is routed by an alliance of Shewan forces, under Ras Gobana Dacche and Moroda Bekere, ruler of Leqa Naqamte. Only a handful, including Khalil, barely manage to flee the battlefield.

title: 1888

text: March 9 – Battle of Metemma: Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia, is killed; Sudanese forces, who have been almost defeated, rally and destroy the Ethiopian army. Yohannes is probably the world's last ruler ever to die in battle; on March 25 Menelik II proclaims himself as his successor.

title: 1889

text: May 2 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, giving Italy control over what will become Eritrea.

title: 1889

text: March 1 – Battle of Adwa: Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.

title: 1896

text: October 6 – Ethiopia adopts the tricolor flag: green is for the land, yellow for gold, and red is symbolic of strength and the blood shed.

title: 1897

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

title: 1906

text: October 27 – Battle of Segale: Negus Mikael of Wollo, marching on the Ethiopian capital in support of his son Emperor Iyasu V, is defeated by Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, securing the throne for Empress Zewditu.

title: 1916

text: August 2 – Italy and Ethiopia sign the Italo-Ethiopian Treaty.

title: 1928

text: April 17 – Haile Selassie announces an anti-slavery law in Abyssinia.

title: 1932

text: November 23 – An Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission in the Ogaden discovers an Italian garrison at Walwal, which lies well within Ethiopian territory. This encounter leads to the Abyssinia Crisis.

title: 1934

text: May 9 – Speaking in Rome, Benito Mussolini announces the foundation of the empire, as Italian East Africa is formed from the Italian territories of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.

title: 1936

text: February 19 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades. Italian security guards fire into the crowd of Ethiopian onlookers. Authorities exact further reprisals, which include indiscriminately slaughtering native Ethiopians over the next 3 days, detaining thousands of Ethiopians at Danan and slaughtering almost 300 monks at the Debre Libanos Monastery.

title: 1937

text: December 17 – Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia overcome the coup that began on December 13, returning the reins to the Emperor upon his return from a trip to Brazil. The Emperor absolves his own son of any guilt.

title: 1960

text: June 1 – Ethiopia experiences its most devastating earthquake of the 20th century, with a magnitude of 6.7. The town of Majete is destroyed, 45% of the houses in Karakore collapse, 17 km mi of the main road north of Karakore are damaged by landslides and fissures, and 5,000 inhabitants in the area are left homeless.

title: 1961

text: May 25 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

title: 1963

text: November 21 – In Ethiopia, the Eritrean Liberation Front kills an Ethiopian general.

title: 1970

text: September 12 – Ethiopian Revolution: Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed by the Derg, bringing an end to the Solomonic dynasty's rule since 1270. The Ethiopian Civil War begins.

title: 1974

text: March 29 – A hybrid solar eclipse is the second hybrid solar eclipse in less than one year, the first being on October 3, 1986. It is annular visible in southern Argentina, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan (part of the path of annularity crossed today's South Sudan), Ethiopia, Djibouti and northern Somalia and totally visible in Atlantic Ocean, lasting just 7.57 seconds.

title: 1987

text: March 17 – Eritrean War of Independence – Battle of Afabet: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on 3 sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).

title: 1988

text: August 7 – U.S. Representative Mickey Leland (D-TX) and fifteen others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.

title: 1989

text: May 21 – Ethiopian Civil War: Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.

title: 1991

text: December 13 – The trial of former president Mengistu begins in Ethiopia.

title: 1994

text: March 31 – The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.

title: 1994

text: September 11 – Ethiopia celebrates the third millennium in Ethiopian calendar.

title: 2007

text: July 9 – Eritrea and Ethiopia officially declare an end to their twenty-year conflict.

title: 2018

text: December 19 – A locust plague devastates 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares) of crop and grazing land in Ethiopia and Somalia.

title: 2019

text: Beginning of the Tigray War: Ethiopia launches an offensive in Tigray following an attack on Ethiopian military bases by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

title: 2020

text: January 21 – Tigray War: Eritrean forces withdraw from Shire and other major towns in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

title: 2023

text: January 1 – Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use the port of Berbera. Ethiopia also says that it will eventually recognize Somaliland's independence, becoming the first country to do so.

title: 2024

text: January 1 – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates become BRICS members.

title: 2024

text: July 22 – Landslides kill 257 people and bury two villages in Geze Gofa, Gofa Zuria, Ethiopia.

title: 2024


slug: ethiopian-empire

label: Ethiopian Empire

description: 1270–1974 state in the Horn of Africa

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Ethiopian Empire is established by Emperor Mara Takla Haymanot of the Zagwe Dynasty.

title: 1137

section: Births

text: Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, ruler of the Ethiopian Empire (d. 1221)

title: 1162

text: The Welayta state is founded in modern-day Ethiopia.

title: 1250

text: Newaya Maryam succeeds his father, Newaya Krestos, as ruler of Ethiopia.

title: 1372

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Conflict & Security

text: Dawit I succeeds his brother Newaya Maryam, as Emperor of Ethiopia.

title: 1382

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Zara Yaqob becomes Emperor of Ethiopia.

title: 1434

section: Events › April–June

date: August 26

text: August 26 – Bishop Alberto da Sarteano, who had been sent by the Vatican on a mission to seek the Ethiopian Coptic Christian Church to join with the Roman Catholic Church, returns to Rome with four Ethiopians who had been allowed to leave by the Emperor Zara Yaqob. Two of the visitors the attend the Council of Florence to discuss the possible union of Coptic Orthodoxy and the Latin Church, marking the earliest recorded contact of the Ethiopian Coptic Church with Europe.

title: 1441

section: Events › July–September

date: December 25

text: December 25 – In northeastern Africa, the Battle of Gomit is fought between the Ethiopian Empire (whose troops are led by the Emperor Zara Yaqob ) and the Adal Sultanate, whose invading army is led by the Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The Sultan charges toward the Emperor, who kills him with his spear. The Adal troops flee and many are killed by the pursuing Ethiopian troops. Badlay's son, Muhammad ibn Badlay, survives and becomes the new Sultan.

title: 1445

section: Events › October–December

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia founds the city of Debre Berhan.

title: 1456

text: August 26 – Baeda Maryam succeeds his father Zara Yaqob, as Emperor of Ethiopia.

title: 1468

date: February

text: February or March – Battle of Antukyah: Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate defeats the Ethiopian army.

title: 1531

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Dawit II, Emperor of Ethiopia. The southern part of Ethiopia thus falls under Imam Ahmad's control.

title: 1531

date: October 4

text: October 4 – Za Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia, is killed in battle with the forces of Za Sellase, who restores his cousin Yaqob to the throne.

title: 1604

text: Ethiopia deports Portuguese diplomats and missionaries.

title: 1650

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: April – Fire destroys many buildings in Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia, including two in the palace complex.

title: 1700

text: February 14 – Scottish explorer James Bruce arrives at Gondar, capital of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) and is received by the Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Ras Mikael Sehul.

title: 1770

date: January 12

text: January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years.

title: 1872

section: Events › January

text: Addis Ababa is founded in the Ethiopian Empire.

title: 1886

date: December 13

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

title: 1906

section: Events › November–December

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Haile Selassie is crowned king (not yet emperor) of Abyssinia.

title: 1928

section: Events › October

date: February 10

text: February 10–19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire.

title: 1936

section: Events › January–February

date: September 15

text: September 15 – The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.

title: 1952

section: Events › September–October

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


slug: etruscan-civilization

label: Etruscan civilization

description: ancient civilization on the Appenine Peninsula

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

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

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

year_label: 535 BCE

text: Phocaean Greek colonists clash with Carthaginian and Etruscan ships in the Battle of Alalia (near Corsica).

title: 535 BC

section: Events › By place › Europe

year_label: 534 BCE

text: The Etruscan founded the city of Felsina, that later will become the modern city of Bologna.

title: 534 BC

year_label: 524 BCE

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

title: 524 BC

section: Events › By place › Southern Italy

year_label: 496 BCE

text: The former Etruscan King of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, who had been exiled by the Romans in 509 BC, and his ally Octavius Mamilius, of Tusculum, together with the Latins are defeated by the Roman Republic army in the Battle of Lake Regillus, near Frascati. The outcome of this battle establishes Roman supremacy over the Latins.

title: 496 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 477 BCE

text: Roman forces in a stronghold on the Cremera River are defeated by an army of Veientes from the Etruscan city of Veii in the Battle of the Cremera.

title: 477 BC

year_label: 474 BCE

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

title: 474 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 396 BCE

text: Marcus Furius Camillus is made dictator by the Romans. Camillus finally destroys the Etruscan city of Veii in southern Etruria as the town falls to Roman forces after what is said to be a 10 year siege. The capture of Veii and its surrounding territories marks the first major expansion of Rome which doubles its territory after this victory.

title: 396 BC

year_label: 310 BCE

text: Rome deals with renewed trouble from the Etruscans, who are persuaded by the Samnites to cease their alliance with the Romans. In the Battle of Lake Vadimo, the Romans under Fabius Maximus Rullianus defeat the Etruscans.

title: 310 BC


slug: etruscans

label: Etruscans

year_label: 567 BCE

section: Culture & Society

date: May 25

text: May 25—Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.

title: 567 BC

section: Events

year_label: 354 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Rome defeats the Etruscans of the city of Caere.

title: 354 BC

year_label: 351 BCE

text: The Etruscans are badly defeated by the Romans and abandon their attacks on the city and sue for peace.

title: 351 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: The Second Samnite War continues: there are rumours of a mobilisation of the Etruscans; since the consul Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvus is campaigning in Samnium and his consular colleague Publius Decius Mus is to ill to lead an army, the people appoint Gaius Sulpicius Longus as dictator. Sulpicius appoints Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus as his Magister Equitum (Second-in-command). Sulpicius ' mission is to defend against the Etruscan invasion which never materialize; Sulpicius and Brutus remain in camp at Rome until the end of the campaigning season.

title: 312 BC

year_label: 308 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Etruscans sue for peace with Rome, which is granted by the Romans on severe terms.

title: 308 BC

year_label: 304 BCE

text: The second Samnite war formally ends with a peace agreement in which the Samnites obtain peace on terms that are severe but not as crushing as those agreed by the Romans with the Etruscans four years earlier. Under the peace, Rome gains no territory, but the Samnites renounce their hegemony over Campania. Rome is also successful in ending the revolts amongst the tribes surrounding Roman territory.

title: 304 BC

year_label: 283 BCE

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

title: 283 BC

year_label: 282 BCE

text: The Battle of Populonia is fought between Rome and the Etruscans. The Romans are victorious and, as a result, the Etruscan threat to Rome is sharply diminished.

title: 282 BC

year_label: 90 BCE

text: The Etruscans are granted Roman citizenship.

title: 90 BC


slug: euboea

label: Euboea

description: Greek island

year_label: 556 BCE

section: Science & Discovery

text: Pisistratus is expelled to Euboea from Athens, and makes his fortune from Thrace's mines.

title: 556 BC

year_label: 480 BCE

text: Phocis and the coasts of Euboea are devastated by the Persians. Thebes and most of Boeotia join Xerxes.

title: 480 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

date: August

text: August – The Persians achieve a naval victory over the Greeks in an engagement fought near Artemisium, a promontory on the north coast of Euboea. The Greek fleet holds its own against the Persians in three days of fighting but withdraws southward when news comes of the defeat at Thermopylae.

title: 480 BC

year_label: 472 BCE

text: Carystus in Euboea is forced to join the Delian League after the Athenians attack the city (approximate date).

title: 472 BC

year_label: 446 BCE

text: Achaea achieves its independence from Athens, while Euboea, crucial to Athenian control of the sea and food supplies, revolts against Athens. Pericles crosses over to Euboea with his troops.

title: 446 BC

year_label: 358 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Cersobleptes, in conjunction with his brothers, Amadocus II and Berisades, inherits the dominions of the Thracian king, Cotys I, following his murder. However, the overall management of Thracian affairs is assumed by the Euboean adventurer, Charidemus, who is connected by marriage with the royal family, and who plays the prominent part in the ensuing negotiations with Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese.

title: 358 BC

year_label: 357 BCE

text: Euboean mercenary Charidemus recaptures the Thracian Chersonese for Athens. He receives, from Athens, a golden crown for his part in the victory.

title: 357 BC

section: Events › By place › Thrace

year_label: 348 BCE

text: The city of Eretria on the island of Euboea successfully rebels against the rule of Athens and Euboea is declared independent. The Athenian statesman and general, Phocion's tactical skills save an Athenian force sent to fight the supporters of Philip II on Euboea.

title: 348 BC

text: The Athenian help to its cities in Macedonia is diverted by a revolt in Euboea which Philip II of Macedon has fomented. He conquers the city of Olynthus in the Chalcidice and he annexes Chalcidice to Macedonia.

title: 348 BC

year_label: 338 BCE

text: Athens arranges an alliance with Euboea, Megara, Achaea, Corinth, Acarnania and some other states in the Peloponnesus. However, the most desirable ally for Athens is Thebes. Therefore, the Athenian leader, Demosthenes, goes to the Boeotian city and secures an alliance with Thebes despite the efforts of a Macedonian deputation to persuade Thebes to join with Macedonia. In return, Athens agrees to Thebes controlling Boeotia, Thebes being in command solely on land and jointly at sea, and Athens paying two thirds of the campaign's cost.

title: 338 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 323 BCE

section: Deaths

text: The Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, faces a strong anti-Macedonian reaction in Athens following the death of Alexander the Great. Aristotle is accused of impiety by the Athenians. However, he escapes to Chalcis in Euboea.

title: 323 BC

text: Cassander sails against the city of Oreus on Euboea with a fleet of 30 ships. He blockades its port trying to force the city's surrender.

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece/Macedon/Thrace

year_label: 271 BCE

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

title: 271 BC

year_label: 192 BCE

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

title: 192 BC

year_label: 191 BCE

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

title: 191 BC

text: War of the Euboeote Succession: Achaean forces under William II of Villehardouin attempt to gain control of the island of Euboea, which is resisted by the local Lombard barons (or "triarchs") with the aid of the Republic of Venice. William launches devastating raids in Euboea. Guy I de la Roche, the "Great Lord" of Athens and Thebes, enters the war against William, along with other barons of Central Greece.

title: 1256

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

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Boniface of Verona expels the Byzantines from their last remaining strongholds on Euboea.

title: 1296

section: Events › Date unknown

date: April 22

text: April 22 – After an attack by the Ottoman Empire on Venetian outposts on the Greek island of Euboea, the Republic of Venice, presided over by the Doge Francesco Foscari, authorizes Admiral Andrea Mocenigo to organize 15 warships to hunt and destroy the Ottoman raiders.

title: 1428

section: Events › April–June

date: July 12

text: July 12 – During the Ottoman–Venetian War, the Ottomans capture the Greek island of Euboea, territory of the Republic of Venice, after a four week siege of the fortified city of Negroponte by the Sultan Mehmed II.

title: 1470

section: Events › July–September


slug: eumenes-ii

label: Eumenes II

description: King of Pergamon from 197 to 159 BC

year_label: 197 BCE

text: Eumenes II becomes King of Pergamum following the death of his father Attalus I Soter.

title: 197 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 196 BCE

text: According to the Roman scholar and writer Marcus Terentius Varro, the foundation of a library at Pergamum around this time by Eumenes II of Pergamum, combined with an embargo on papyrus by Ptolemy V, leads to the invention of parchment.

title: 196 BC

section: Events › By place › Anatolia

year_label: 193 BCE

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

title: 193 BC

year_label: 189 BCE

text: The Romans under consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso, along with a Pergamene army under Eumenes II, defeat the Galatians in Anatolia and make them subjects of Pergamum.

title: 189 BC

year_label: 188 BCE

text: Hannibal flees via Crete to the court of King Prusias I of Bithynia who is engaged in warfare with Rome's ally, King Eumenes II of Pergamum.

title: 188 BC

year_label: 186 BCE

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum defeats Prusias I of Bithynia.

title: 186 BC

year_label: 181 BCE

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

title: 181 BC

year_label: 172 BCE

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum travels to Rome to warn the Roman Senate of the danger from Perseus of Macedon. On his return from Rome, Eumenes II is nearly killed at Delphi and Perseus is suspected of being the instigator.

title: 172 BC

year_label: 159 BCE

text: Attalus II Philadelphus succeeds his brother Eumenes II as king of Pergamon.

title: 159 BC

section: Events › Greece


slug: euphrates

label: Euphrates

description: river in Asia

year_label: 693 BCE

text: 693 BC—Babylon is destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib, but the city will be rebuilt in even greater splendor and luxury. He fights his way back north and captures various cities along the River Euphrates (or 691 BC or 689 BC).

title: 690s BC

section: Events and trends

year_label: 609 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Persian Gulf recedes by a large portion, extending the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by 187 mi (300 km).

title: 609 BC

section: Events

year_label: 332 BCE

text: The Persian King Darius III twice sends on horseback to Alexander letters of friendship. The second time he offers a large ransom for his family, the ceding of all of the Persian Empire west of the Euphrates River, and the hand of his daughter in return for an alliance. Alexander rejects both letters and marches into Mesopotamia.

title: 332 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 311 BCE

text: In view of the threat by Seleucus to his control of the East, Antigonus decides to make peace with all of his adversaries, except Seleucus, who now holds Babylon. All of the diadochi confirm the existing boundaries and the freedom of the Greek cities. Ptolemy and Lysimachus are confirmed as satraps of Egypt and Thrace, respectively, and Antigonus and Cassander are confirmed as commanders of the army in Asia and Europe. Antigonus, no longer regent but now titled the strategos (officer in charge) of the whole of Asia, rules in Syria from the Hellespont to the Euphrates, including Asia Minor.

title: 311 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor/Syria/Palestina

year_label: 293 BCE

text: When an invasion of nomads threatens the eastern possessions of his realm (i.e. between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea and the Indian Ocean), Seleucus hands over the government of these lands west of the Euphrates to his son Antiochus. Antiochus is appointed co-regent and commander-in-chief of these territories.

title: 293 BC

section: Events › By place › Persia

year_label: 92 BCE

text: In the first diplomatic contact between Rome and Parthia, Sulla meets with a Parthian envoy, resulting in the parties recognizing the Euphrates as a common frontier.

title: 92 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 69 BCE

text: Parthians and Romans re-establish Euphrates as a frontier.

title: 69 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Pacorus crosses, with the help of Quintus Labienus, the Euphrates and invades Syria. The capital Antioch surrenders, and the Parthians take Phoenicia and Judea. However, they cannot besiege the fortified city of Tyre, because they have no fleet.

title: 40 BC

section: Events › Asia minor › Parthia

year_label: 1 CE

text: AD 1 – Gaius Caesar meets with Phraates V, the king of Parthia, on the Euphrates. Rather than invading the Parthians, Gaius Caesar concludes peace with them; Parthia recognizes Roman claims to Armenia.

title: 0s

section: Events › Roman Empire

year_label: 62 CE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo strengthens the fortifications on the Euphrates frontier. He builds a strong flotilla of ships equipped with catapults and a wooden bridge across the river, which allows him to establish a foothold on the Parthian shore.

title: AD 62

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Avidius Cassius, one of Lucius Verus' generals, crosses the Euphrates and invades Parthia.

title: AD 164

text: The Romans establish a garrison at Doura Europos on the Euphrates, a control point for the commercial route to the Persian Gulf.

title: AD 165

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

title: AD 197

text: Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene.

title: AD 199

text: Battle of Resaena: A Roman army under Timesitheus defeats the Sassanids at Resaena (modern Syria); King Shapur I is forced to flee to the Euphrates.

title: 243

text: King Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire invades Mesopotamia and Syria. He conquers and plunders Antioch, destroys Dura-Europos, and sacks the Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates. A devastating fire and an earthquake soon follow, causing Zeugma to be abandoned.

title: 256

text: King Odenathus of Palmyra declares himself ruler of the area west of the River Euphrates and is declared Dux Orientalis by the Roman emperor Gallienus.

title: 263

text: Aurelian besieges Palmyra. Zenobia attempts to escape to Persia but is captured on the Euphrates. Palmyra surrenders soon after.

title: 272

text: Emperor Constantius II builds new forts to secure upper Mesopotamia. Persia's king Shapur II sends an emissary to Constantinople with gifts and a letter wrapped in white silk. He requests that Constantius return the lands of his ancestors from the Euphrates to the frontier of Macedonia. Constantius tactfully refuses to cede any territories.

title: 358

text: King Shapur II the Great of the Persian Empire invades southern Armenia. The Romans implement a scorched earth policy and place strong guards at the Euphrates crossings.

title: 359

date: March 5

text: March 5 – Emperor Julian departs from Antioch with his army (90,000 men) and heads north towards the Euphrates. En route he creates a diversion and sends a force of 30,000 soldiers under his cousin Procopius to Armenia.

title: 363

text: A group of Christians storms the synagogue of the city Callinicum (Syria), at the Euphrates.

title: 388

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Climate & Environment

text: The Daisan river, tributary of the Euphrates, floods Edessa, and within a couple of hours fills the entire city except for the highest parts. Eventually the pent-up waters break through the city walls. The Shroud of Turin is allegedly discovered during the rebuilding of the city (see Image of Edessa).

title: 525

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: King Khosrow I breaks the "Eternal Peace" treaty with the Byzantine Empire after eight years. Responding to an embassy from the Ostrogoths urging action against Emperor Justinian I's expanding power, he leads the Persian army up the River Euphrates. Extracting tributes from towns along the way, Khosrau I besieges and captures Antioch. He plunders the city extensively, transporting valuable artworks, including marble statues and mosaics, back to Persia.

title: 540

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Persian forces under the command of King Khosrau I capture the Byzantine stronghold of Dara, after a six-month siege. Meanwhile, a smaller Persian army under Adarmahan advances from Babylon through the desert, crosses the Euphrates River and ravages Syria. The cities of Apamea and Antiochia are plundered.

title: 573

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: A Persian army under Tamkhosrau crosses the Euphrates River and attacks the city of Constantina (modern Turkey), but he is defeated by the Byzantines and killed.

title: 582

text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II launches an offensive against Constantinople, to avenge Maurice's death, his "friend and father", and tries to reconquer Byzantine territory. Narses, governor of Upper Mesopotamia, rebels against Phocas at the city of Edessa and requests aid from the Persians. Khosrau sends an expeditionary force to Armenia and crosses the Euphrates.

title: 602

text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II captures the Byzantine positions east of the Euphrates; the Persians destroy many cities in the Levant region, after prolonged sieges such as the Byzantine fortress of Dara (modern Turkey).

title: 604

text: Battle of Ullais: Forces of the Rashidun Caliphate under Khalid defeat an entire Persian army (70,000 men) near the river Euphrates. Khalid besieges the city of Hira.

title: 633

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: Battle of the Bridge: Persian forces (10,000 men) under Bahman Jadhuyih defeat the Muslim Arabs at the Euphrates (near Kufa). The sight of elephants panics the Muslims, and many are killed. Bahman does not pursue the fleeing Arab army.

title: 634

date: July 26

text: July 26 - July 28 – Battle of Siffin: Muslim forces under Ali ibn Abi-Talib fight an inconclusive battle against Mu'awiya I, on the banks of the Euphrates, near Raqqa (Syria).

title: 657

section: Events › By place › Arab Empire

text: According to Bar Hebraeus, a great comet appeared for eleven days, and there was a severe winter, and the Euphrates froze over, and olive groves and vineyards withered, and beasts, and cattle, and birds came to an end.

title: 683

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Arab conquest of Armenia: Umayyad prince Muhammad ibn Marwan invades the Byzantine Armenian provinces east of the Euphrates; local commander Baanes surrenders before a large Arab army, and the population accepts a Muslim governor.

title: 701

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

title: 831

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

text: Battle of Marash: Emir Sayf al-Dawla marches north into the Byzantine Empire and ravages the countryside of Malatya (modern Turkey). On his way back, he crosses the Euphrates and intercepts a Byzantine army led by Bardas Phokas (the Elder), near Marash. The Byzantines are defeated; Bardas himself barely escapes through the intervention of his attendants. His son Constantine Phokas, governor of Seleucia, is captured and held prisoner in Aleppo, until his death from an illness some time later.

title: 953

text: Spring – Emperor Romanos IV begins a campaign against the Seljuk Turks, and marches towards the Euphrates via Melitene. He crosses the river at Romanopolis (modern Turkey), and captures the strategic fortress city of Chliat on the north-western shore of Lake Van. Romanos leaves a Byzantine rear guard on the upper Euphrates under General Philaretos Brachamios with orders to defend the Mesopotamian frontier.

title: 1069

text: A successful Byzantine counter-attack drives the Seljuq Turks across the Euphrates.

title: 1070

text: Spring – The Crusaders, led by Bohemond I, re-invade the territory of Aleppo, and try to capture the town of Kafar Latha. The attack fails, owing to the resistance of the local Banu tribe. Meanwhile, Joscelin of Courtenay cuts the communications between Aleppo and the Euphrates.

title: 1104

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Spring – Mawdud ibn Altuntash, Turkic ruler (atabeg) of Mosul, leads an expedition to capture the territories of the Crusaders (belonging to the County of Edessa) east of the river Euphrates. He besieges the fortress city of Edessa, but is forced to retreat when King Baldwin I of Jerusalem (with the support of Armenian forces sent by Kogh Vasil) intervenes with a Crusader relief force.

title: 1110

date: April 18

text: April 18 – King Baldwin II of Jerusalem is captured by Turkish forces under Belek Ghazi – while preparing to practice falconry near Gargar on the Euphrates. Most of the Crusader army is massacred, and Baldwin is taken to the castle at Kharput. To save the situation the Venetians are asked to help. Doge Domenico Michiel lifts the siege of Corfu (see 1122) and takes his fleet to Acre, arriving at the port in the end of May.

title: 1123

section: Events › By date › April–June

text: Spring – Shams al-Mulk Isma'il, Seljuk ruler of Damascus, sends envoys to Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk ruler of Mosul, to seek his protection in exchange of Damascus. Zengi crosses the Euphrates, receiving the surrender of the city of Hama. He besieges Damascus but, due to a shortage of supplies, is forced to abandon the siege. Zengi extricates himself from Damascus, his Seljuk forces capture the fortresses at Ma'arrat and Atharib.

title: 1135

text: Autumn – Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk governor (atabeg) of Mosul, attacks the Artuqid forces led by Kara Arslan – who has made an alliance with Joscelin II, count of Edessa. In support of the alliance Joscelin marches out of Edessa with a Crusader army down to the Euphrates River, to cut off Zengi's communications with Aleppo. Zengi is informed by Muslim observers at Harran of Joscelin's movements. He sends a detachment of Muslims to ambush the Crusaders and reaches Edessa with his main army in late November.

title: 1144

text: Spring – Seljuk forces led by Imad al-Din Zengi capture Saruj, the second great Crusader fortress east of the Euphrates. They advance to Birejik and besiege the city, but the garrison puts up a stiff resistance. Meanwhile, Queen-Regent Melisende of Jerusalem joins forces with Joscelin II, count of Edessa and approaches the city. Zengi raises the siege after hearing rumours of trouble in Mosul. He rushes back with his army to take control. There, Zengi is praised throughout Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, the "victorious king".

title: 1145

text: Autumn – Raynald of Châtillon, prince of Antioch, makes a plundering raid in the valley of the Euphrates at Marash to seize cattle, horses and camels from the local peasants. On his way back to Antioch, he and his retinue are attacked by Zangid warriors. Raynald is unhorsed, captured and sent to Aleppo where he is put in jail.

title: 1160

text: September – Saladin invades the Jazira Region, ending the truce between him and the Zangids. After a feint attack on Aleppo, he crosses the Euphrates. The towns of the Jazira fall before him; the cities of Edessa, Saruj and Nisibin are captured in October. Saladin presses on to Mosul, and begins the siege of the city on November 10.

title: 1182

text: Battle of Yassıçemen: A Seljuk-Ayyubid coalition (some 40,000 men) defeats the Khwarazmians under Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni at Erzincan on the Upper Euphrates.

title: 1230

text: September – Two Mongol armies (some 50,000 men) advance into Syria. One is commanded by Abaqa Khan, who attacks the Mamluk fortresses along the Euphrates frontier. The second, led by his brother Möngke Temür makes contact with Leo III, king of Cilician Armenia, and then marches down through Aintab and Aleppo into the Orontes valley, where he is joined by Knights Hospitallerr and some French mercenaries. Meanwhile, Sultan Qalawun assembles his Mamluk forces at Damascus.

title: 1281

text: December – Mongol forces (some 10,000 men) led by Ghazan Khan cross the Euphrates River and invade Syria. They continue south, and successfully take Aleppo. There, Ghazan is joined by forces from his vassal state of Cilician Armenia. King Hethum II leads the Armenian army (which includes Templar and Hospitaller knights). He participates during the Mongol offensive and regains all the Armenian territories which have previously been lost to the Mamluks.

title: 1299

text: May 23 – Turkish troops cross the Euphrates River and invade Syria, but are defeated in battle in June.

title: 1839


slug: euric

label: Euric

description: Visigothic king

section: Births

text: Euric, king of the Visigoths (d. 484)

title: AD 420

text: Euric, Visigothic king and son of Theodoric I (d. 484)

title: 440

section: Crime & Justice

text: King Theodoric II is killed by his younger brother Euric, who succeeds him on the throne. He conquers Hispania and the harbor city of Marseille (Southern Gaul), adding them to the existing Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 466

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Euric defeated the Romano-Breton army of Riothamus at Déols (modern Châteauroux).

title: 469

text: Revolt of Euric: The Aquitanian Goths under Euric defeat a Roman army that was sent by Emperor Anthemius near Arles and conquer a large part of the Provence (Southern Gaul). The city of Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne is besieged.

title: 471

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

title: 473

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Summer – Emperor Julius Nepos grants the Visigoth King Euric legal tenure of his conquests, which include Provence (region of Gaul), in exchange for full independence.

title: 475

text: Spring - Spanish War of Euric: The comes Hispaniarum Vincentius capitulates against the Aquitanian Goths; Euric completes his conquest of Spain.

title: 475

text: The Visigoths under King Euric march into Italy, and suffer defeat against the forces of Odoacer. Emperor Zeno concludes a peace treaty between the Goths and Odoacer surrenders the newly conquered territory in Gaul. Euric pledges himself to undertake no further hostilities.

title: 476

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Visigoths under King Euric extend their rule from the Loire to Gibraltar (approximate date).

title: 480

section: Deaths

date: December 28

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

title: 484


slug: euripides

label: Euripides

description: Classical Athenian playwright

year_label: 485 BCE

text: Some sources place the birth of Euripides in this year, though the more traditional date is 480.

title: 485 BC

year_label: 480 BCE

date: September 22

text: September 22 (traditional date) – Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)

title: 480 BC

year_label: 455 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Euripides presents his earliest known tragedy, Peliades, in the Athenian festival of Dionysia.

title: 455 BC

section: Events › By topic › Literature

year_label: 441 BCE

text: The Greek playwright, Euripides, wins his first victory in a dramatic festival.

title: 441 BC

year_label: 438 BCE

section: Health & Medicine

text: Telephus, a play by the renowned playwright Euripides, is produced in Athens. This tragedy did not survive to modern times.

title: 438 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

text: The Greek playwright Euripides' play Alcestis is performed in the Dionysia, an Athenian dramatic festival.

title: 438 BC

year_label: 431 BCE

text: Euripides' play Medea wins third prize at the Dionysia, the famous Athenian dramatic festival.

title: 431 BC

year_label: 428 BCE

text: Euripides' play Hippolytus is performed in the Dionysia competition, the famous Athenian dramatic festival. The play is awarded first prize.

title: 428 BC

year_label: 425 BCE

text: Euripides' play Hecuba is performed.

title: 425 BC

year_label: 420 BCE

text: Euripides' play The Suppliant Women is performed.

title: 420 BC

section: Events › By topic › Drama

year_label: 419 BCE

text: Euripides' play Andromache is performed.

title: 419 BC

year_label: 415 BCE

text: Euripides' play The Trojan Women is performed shortly after the massacre by Athenians of the male population of Melos.

title: 415 BC

year_label: 413 BCE

text: Euripides' play Electra is performed.

title: 413 BC

year_label: 411 BCE

text: Euripides' play Iphigenia in Tauris is performed.

title: 411 BC

year_label: 408 BCE

text: Euripides' plays Orestes and The Phoenician Women are performed. Euripides then leaves Athens in dissatisfaction and travels to the court of Archelaus I of Macedon at the King's invitation.

title: 408 BC

year_label: 406 BCE

text: Euripides, Athenian playwright (b. c. 480 BC)

title: 406 BC

year_label: 405 BCE

date: March

text: March/April – Euripides' The Bacchae and Iphigeneia at Aulis are performed posthumously as part of a tetralogy at the City Dionysia festival and win first prize.

title: 405 BC

section: Science & Discovery

text: Flames destroy the great Library of Alexandria, established in the Mouseion in the fourth century BC. Among the items lost in the fire are works of science, including parchments by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, and dozens of dramatic works by Euripides and Sophocles.

title: 391


slug: europe

label: Europe

description: terrestrial continent located in north-western Eurasia

year_label: 650 BCE

section: Climate & Environment

text: A climate change occurs in Europe, affecting all the Bronze Age cultures with colder and wetter climate, and tribes from Scandinavia migrate south into the European continent.

title: 650 BC

section: Events

year_label: 49 CE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Christianity spreads into Europe, especially at Rome and at Philippi (probable date according to chronology derived from the Acts of the Apostles).

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 49

text: Roman legionaries of Legio II Adiutrix engrave on the rock of the Trenčín Castle (Slovakia) the name of the town Laugaritio, marking the northernmost point of Roman presence in that part of Europe.

title: AD 179

section: Events › By place › Roman empire

text: Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, forming ash clouds as far as China and Europe.

title: AD 180

section: Events › By place › Oceania

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

title: 370

text: The annexation of western provinces by Chandragupta II gives him commerce with Europe and Egypt.

title: 380

section: Events › By place › India

text: Cultivation of rye, oats, hops, and spelt (a wheat used for livestock feed) is introduced in Europe by the native Vandals, Alans, and Sciri, who also introduce a heavy wheeled plow to be used for farming.

title: 406

section: Events › By topic › Agriculture

text: Metal horseshoes come into more common use in the Near East and in Europe, increasing the efficiency of horsepower in agriculture and transportation.

title: 450

text: Mount Vesuvius erupts. During the volcanic eruption the whole of southern Europe is blanketed by ash.

title: 472

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Romulus Augustulus, Roman usurper of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Odoacer at Ravenna. Odoacer spares the boy's life and gives him a pension of 6,000 solidi, but exiles him to the "Castellum Lucullanum" (Castel dell'Ovo), on the island of Megaride in the Gulf of Naples. This event will later be romanticized in Western literature and history as the Fall of Western Rome, and is traditionally used by historians to mark the beginning of the European Middle Ages.

title: 476

text: Plague of Justinian: Bubonic plague appears suddenly in the Egyptian port of Pelusium, spreading to Alexandria and, the following year, to Constantinople. This is the beginning of a 200-year-long pandemic that will devastate Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

title: 541

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: The Sassanid Empire, under the reign of King Khosrow I, controls the trade of silk destined for Europe and the Byzantine Empire.

title: 550

section: Events › By place › Persia

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

title: 601

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Justinian II defeats the Bulgars of Macedonia and recaptures Thessalonica, the second most important Byzantine city in Europe. He resettles the subdued Slavs in Anatolia (modern Turkey), where they are required to provide 30,000 men to the Byzantine army.

title: 689

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Bede, Anglo-Saxon monk-historian, dies at Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey. He will be remembered as "the Venerable", and is the author of books that are copied and studied later all over Europe. His greatest book is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, a major source for the history of Britain, in the immediate post-Roman period.

title: 735

section: Events › By topic › Religion

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

title: 740

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: European writings make the first known mention of a three-field system in use in medieval Europe. The crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons. Under this system, the land of an estate or village is divided into three large fields, and makes a given section of land productive 2 years out of 3, instead of every other year (approximate date).

title: 765

text: Arab traders make Baghdad a financial center of the Silk Road between China and Europe. Caravans carry little or no money on their long journeys; Chinese traders use what they call fei qian (zh) ("flying money") to avoid robbery. The Arabs have adopted a similar banking system known as hawala to transmit funds (approximate date).

title: 793

section: Events › By topic › Commerce

text: A paper mill begins production at Baghdad during the Abbasid era, as the Arabs spread the techniques developed by Chinese papermakers. Baghdad becomes a great seat of learning, with Christian and Jewish scholars as well as Muslims, while Europe remains largely unlettered. The Arabs will become the world's most proficient papermakers.

title: 794

section: Events › By topic › Communication

text: Danish Vikings land in Kent and besiege Rochester. Town defences having been improved, the city holds out long enough for Alfred the Great to organize an army. He forces the Vikings to flee back across the Channel, to the Continent.

title: 885

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Summer – Battle of Boulgarophygon: Simeon I invades the Theme of Thrace (in the southeastern Balkans). The Byzantines transfer a new army to Europe, to deal with the Bulgarian threat. The armies clash at Boulgarophygon (modern Turkey); the Byzantines are completely destroyed in battle.

title: 896

date: April 30

text: April 30 – The brightest supernova ever recorded, SN 1006, occurs in the constellation of Lupus. It is observed and described in China, Japan, Iraq, Egypt, and Europe and possibly depicted in North American rock art. Modern astronomers now consider its distance at about 7,200 light-years. The supernova provides enough light to read by on a night with a dark moon.

title: 1006

section: Events › By topic › Astronomy

text: Panic spreads throughout Europe that the end of the universe may be near, on the 1,000th anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ, due to some unusually harsh spring weather. The Book of Revelation (Chapter 20) predicts the end of the earth after a 1,000 year period after the second return of Jesus Christ.

title: 1033

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Henry I is crowned King of England, at Westminster Abbey. The power of the new monarch is ill-assured, and to mollify the barons he has to grant them the Charter of Liberties, one of the first examples of a written constitution in Europe.

title: 1100

text: A rainy year causes the harvest to fail in Europe; one of the worst famines of the century ensues.

title: 1146

section: Events › By topic › Climate

text: The Italian 'naval republics' of Genoa, Pisa and Venice finance their expanding trade within and outside Europe – trade which includes an arms industry for manufactures and merchants alike (approximate date).

title: 1149

text: Pope Alexander III addresses a series of letters to the backward Swedish church. He wants to impose the strict canonical requirements on the Swedes, that is, the ecclesiastical legal system. Due to being Christianized in 1050, Sweden is having trouble to fully adapt to the Catholicism that is preached and acted on in Europe.

title: 1170

date: January 22

text: January 22 – King Ferdinand II dies after returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Alfonso IX, who becomes ruler of León and Galicia. He convenes representatives of the nobility, clergy and towns at the Basilica of San Isidoro the Cortes of León. These Corteses are considered to be the first parliament in Europe.

title: 1188

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Béla III of Hungary dies after a 23-year reign in which he has supported the former Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos against the invading Bulgarians. Having made the Hungarian court one of the most brilliant in Europe and made his hereditary monarchy. Béla is succeeded by his 22-year-old son Emeric as ruler of Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia (until 1204).

title: 1196

text: The first documentary evidence of forced loans in Venice. This technique becomes the staple of public finance in Europe, until the 16th century.

title: 1207

section: Events › By topic › Economy

text: Gothic architecture becomes increasingly popular in Europe:

title: 1220

date: March 26

text: March 26 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Golden Bull of Rimini, in which he grants Teutonic Knights the right to all of the lands they will get during the mission in Prussia; he also declares himself a senior of the Teutonic Order and Poland, as well as the universal ruler of Christian Europe.

title: 1226

section: Events › January – March

text: The first evidence is uncovered of the use of the Knights Templar as cashiers by King Henry III of England, to safely transfer important sums to the continent, using letters of exchange. This shows that large transfers could take place across Europe, even before the emergence of important networks of Italian merchant-bankers.

title: 1228

section: Events › By topic › Markets

text: Autumn – Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': The Mongol army commanded by Batu Khan and Subutai, invades the Principality of Ryazan (with representatives of all four khanates leading some 100,000 Mongol, Turks and Persian forces into Europe). In December, Batu Khan sends envoys to the Rus' court of Grand Prince Yuri Igorevich and demands the submission of the capital Ryazan.

title: 1237

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. Torture quickly gains widespread usage across Catholic Europe.

title: 1252

text: As part of an offensive against usury in north-western Europe, Innocent IV relieves the city of Beauvais from its obligations to its creditors.

title: 1254

text: Orlando Bonsignori, an Italian minor merchant, forms a consortium called the Gran Tavola ("Great Table"), which becomes the most powerful bank in western Europe. He becomes the exclusive banker for the deposits of the income of the Papal States.

title: 1255

section: Events › By topic › Market

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

title: 1258

section: Events › By topic › Global

section: Economy & Finance

text: In Ghent, the first instance is recorded of emission of life annuities by a town in the Low Countries; this event confirms a trend of consolidation of local public debt in northwestern Europe, initiated in 1218 by Reims.

title: 1275

text: Henry of Ghent (or Henricus) becomes the last major theologian openly to consider annuities as a usurious contract. The end of the debate allows for the expansion of the budding practice of renten emission, to become a staple of public finance in northwestern Europe.

title: 1276

date: June 26

text: June 26 – King Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") marries the 11-year-old Elizabeth of Aragon, daughter of Peter III, in Trancoso. Elizabeth receives the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes and Porto de Mós as part of her dowry. Denis, known for his poetry, writes several poems and books, with topics of administration and hunting. During his reign, Lisbon becomes one of Europe's centers of art and culture.

title: 1282

text: The Libro de los juegos, an early European treatise on board games (including chess, dice, and a version of backgammon), is commissioned by King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") (approximate date).

title: 1283

section: Events › By topic › The arts, culture and literature

text: The first record is made of an emission of life annuities, by the city of Lübeck. It is the first instance of issue of public debt in Germany, and it confirms a trend of consolidation of local public debt over north-western Europe (see 1228).

title: 1285

date: January 6

text: January 6 – The 17-year-old Philip IV (the Fair) is crowned king of France at Reims. He settles the Aragonese conflict, and intensifies his predecessors' efforts to reform and rationalize the administration of the realm. Philip persists in reforms, which strengthen the monarchy's position in Europe. The gabelle – a tax on salt in the form of a state monopoly – will become immensely unpopular and grossly unequal, but persist until 1790.

title: 1286

text: September 27 – The Charter of Kortenberg is signed, and is possibly the first constitution which allows democratic decisions in feudal mainland Europe.

title: 1312

text: Europe has about 74 million inhabitants.

title: 1340

text: August 21 – Conquest of Ceuta: Portugal conquers the city of Ceuta from the Moors, initiating the Portuguese Empire, and European expansion and colonialism.

title: 1415

text: January 27 – The Republic of Ragusa is the first state in Europe to outlaw slavery.

title: 1416

text: The first enslaved black Africans are brought to Europe at Lagos in the Kingdom of Portugal.

title: 1441

text: August 4 – Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão and his crew arrive at Loango Bay in West Africa on Saint Dominic's Day, and Cão names the body of water Praia Formosa de São Domingos; from there he and the crew become the first Europeans to enter the Congo River.

title: 1482

text: Sigismund, Archduke of Tyrol, issues Europe's first large silver coin, the guldengroschen, which will later become the thaler.

title: 1486

text: Amerigo Vespucci maps the two stars Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, as well as the stars of the constellation Crux, which are below the horizon in Europe.

title: 1501

text: May 20 – "Ulysses", the first known rhinoceros in Europe, arrives at Lisbon in Portugal after being brought by ship from India.

title: 1515

text: approximate date – The musket is introduced into Japan from Europe.

title: 1540

text: La Alameda, Seville, is laid out in Spain, as Europe's first public garden.

title: 1574

text: July 21 – A Spanish expedition of four ships, led by navigator and explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, makes the first European landing in Polynesia, on the Marquesas Islands. Despite an initially good reception with the natives, fighting begins and the Mendaña ships leave after two weeks. One of the ships, the Santa Ysabel, disappears during the voyage toward the Solomon Islands.

title: 1595

text: The Black Death hits parts of Europe.

title: 1596

text: October – Luís Vaz de Torres is the first European to sail through the Torres Strait.

title: 1606

text: November 6 (O.S.) – The ship Arms of Amsterdam arrives in Europe from New Netherland (left September 23) with the news: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes [Manhattan] from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders."

title: 1626

text: February 17 – England lands the first European settlers on Barbados.

title: 1627

text: September 27 – The Nine Years' War begins in Europe and America after Louis XIV attacks Philippsburg in the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1688

text: The use of "litters" (wheelless transports that carried by four servants) increases in Europe.

title: 1697

text: November 4 – The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated in Naples, Italy.

title: 1737

text: April 9 – The Verendrye brothers make the first contact since 1722 between Europeans and the Sioux Indians, whom they refer to as Les Gens de la Fleche Collee ("the people of the sheathed arrow").

title: 1743

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

title: 1851

text: Delhaize, as predecessor for Ahold Delhaize, a major retail group in Europe, is founded in Belgium.

title: 1867

text: The 1899–1923 cholera pandemic begins, spreading to Europe, Asia and Africa.

title: 1899

text: August 1 – The Jungfrau Railway is inaugurated with the opening of the subterranean Jungfraujoch railway station in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, Europe's highest at 3450 m ft above sea level.

title: 1912

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

title: 1970

text: February 5 – Eurosport, a multiple-language sports broadcasting station in Europe, begins broadcasting, from Issy-les-Moulineaux, Île-de-France, France.

title: 1989

text: February 26 – The Nintendo 3DS has its first release in Japan, following later releases in Europe on March 25, North America on March 27, and Australia on March 31.

title: 2011

text: May 11 – The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology publishes the result of radiocarbon and DNA analysis from the fossils that has been found in the Bacho Kiro cave, Bulgaria. The result, showing that the fossils belong to Homo sapiens instead of Neanderthal, indicates that modern humans may have arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

title: 2020


slug: european-economic-community

label: European Economic Community

description: 1958–2009 organisation for economic integration, under the EU from 1993

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 25

text: March 25 – The Treaty of Rome (Patto di Roma) establishes the European Economic Community (EEC; predecessor of the European Union) between Italy, France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

title: 1957

section: Events › March

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Ireland submits the first application from a non-founding country to join the European Economic Community.

title: 1961

section: Events › July

date: October 4

text: October 4 – Israel applies for membership in the European Economic Community, which is never granted.

title: 1966

section: Events › October

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The EEC joins with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Community, to form the European Communities (from the 1980s usually known as European Community [EC]).

title: 1967

date: October 27

text: October 27 – French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes British entry into the European Economic Community for the second time in the decade.

title: 1967

date: November 19

text: November 19 – The six European Economic Community nation prime ministers meet in Munich to begin the new programme of European Political Cooperation (EPC), a unified foreign policy for a future European Union.

title: 1970

section: Events › November

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.

title: 1973

section: Events › January

date: February 28

text: February 28 – In Lomé, Togo, the European Economic Community and 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries sign a financial and economic treaty, known as the first Lomé Convention.

title: 1975

section: Events › February

text: January 1 – Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.

title: 1981

date: January 23

text: January 23 – The European Economic Community's Common Fisheries Policy comes into effect.

title: 1983

section: Climate & Environment

date: October 25

text: October 25 – The European Economic Community makes £1.8 million available to help combat the famine in Ethiopia.

title: 1984

text: January 1 – Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights.

title: 1985

date: June 14

text: June 14 – The Schengen Agreement is signed between certain member states of the European Economic Community, creating the Schengen Area, a bloc of (at the time) 5 states with no internal border controls.

title: 1985

section: Events › June

date: April 15

text: April 15 – End of Apartheid: The European Economic Community lifts economic sanctions on South Africa.

title: 1991

section: Events › April

text: January 1 – The European Economic Community eliminates trade barriers and creates a European single market.

title: 1993


slug: european-space-agency

label: European Space Agency

description: European organisation dedicated to space exploration

section: Science & Discovery

date: March 20

text: March 20 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.

title: 1964

date: October 17

text: October 17 – The European Space Agency launches the INTEGRAL observatory.

title: 2002

date: September 27

text: September 27 – SMART-1, an ESA spaceprobe and ESA's first mission to the moon, is launched from Kourou, French Guiana.

title: 2003

section: Events › September

date: November 13

text: November 13 – The European Space Agency probe SMART-1 arrives at the Moon, becoming the first European satellite to fly to the Moon and orbit it.

title: 2004

date: April 11

text: April 11 – The European Space Agency's Venus Express space probe enters Venus' orbit.

title: 2006

date: March 9

text: March 9 – The first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station, launches from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.

title: 2008

date: March 14

text: March 14 – The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.

title: 2016

date: April 10

text: April 10 – The ESA/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth and begins to depart for Venus, where it will make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025.

title: 2020

date: December 25

text: December 25 – NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope.

title: 2021

section: Events › December

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: April 14

text: April 14 – Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) to search for life in the Jovian system, with an expected arrival year of 2031.

title: 2023