slug: sassanid-empire

label: Sassanid Empire

text: Emperor Alexander Severus decides that Thessaly should be a separate province from Macedonia. He increases taxes, in order to maintain the war against the Sassanids, and strengthen the defenses of the Roman Empire.

title: 230

text: Prince Shapur I succeeds his father Ardashir I as ruler of the Sassanid Empire. He begins his expansion in India.

title: 241

text: Ardashir I, king of the Sassanid Empire (b. 180)

title: 242

text: King Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid Empire, dies after a 30-year reign. He is succeeded by his son and co-ruler Shapur I.

title: 242

text: Timesitheus becomes ill and dies under suspicious circumstances. Shapur I retreats to the Sassanid Empire, giving up all the territories he has conquered.

title: 243

section: Conflict & Security

text: Georgia submits peacefully to Shapur I, and becomes a vassal of the Sassanid Empire.

title: 252

text: Aemilianus rules the Roman Empire for three months; he promises to fight in Thrace and goes to war against Persia. The Senate gives him the rank of Pontifex Maximus.

title: 253

text: Valerianus I splits the Roman Empire in two; Gallienus taking control of the West and his father ruling the East, where he faces the Persian threat.

title: 253

text: Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia.

title: 257

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

title: 266

text: King Shapur I builds the Academy of Gundishapur (Iran), which becomes the intellectual center of the Sassanid Empire.

title: 271

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

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

title: 272

text: King Hormizd I of Persia dies after a brief reign in which he has shown tolerance toward the ascetic, anti-materialist Manichean faith. He is succeeded by his brother Bahram I, who has been governing the province of Atropatene. Bahram proceeds to crush a rebellion by various vassal kings.

title: 273

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

title: 276

section: Events › By place › Sassanid Empire

text: King Bahram II of the Sassanid Empire (Persia) sends envoys to seek peaceful relations with Rome.

title: 280

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

title: 283

text: Diocletian signs a peace treaty with King Bahram II of Persia, and installs the pro-Roman Arsacid Tiridates III as king over the western portion of Armenia.

title: 287

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

title: 293

text: Caesar Galerius restores Tiridates III to the throne of Armenia and invades the Sassanid Empire. His army marches through Adiabene, Atropatene, Susiana and Lower Mesopotamia. He then retakes the strategically important city of Nisibis in Upper Mesopotamia.

title: 298

text: Shapur II, king of the Persian Empire, begins a widespread persecution of Christians. He orders forcible conversions to the state religion, Zoroastrianism, lest the Christians disrupt his realm while he is away fighting the Romans in Armenia and Mesopotamia.

title: 338

text: Emperor Constantius II hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years, the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing, with no real victor.

title: 339

text: The Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius II campaigns in Adiabene, a vassal kingdom of Armenia (Persian Empire).

title: 343

text: In Persia, women are enrolled in the army to perform auxiliary services.

title: 348

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

title: 350

text: Winter – Constantius II receives ambassadors from the Persian Empire. They demand that Rome restore the lands surrendered by King Narseh.

title: 357

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: July 18

text: July 18 – Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with an expeditionary force (60,000 men), and stays there for nine months, to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire. He secures the co-operation of King Arsaces of Armenia, who fights a bloody guerrilla war against the Persians.

title: 362

text: King Shapur II declares war as a result of Valens' support of Armenia. Emperor Valens makes Antioch his military base for the campaign against Persia.

title: 373

text: Valens concludes a peace with the Persian Empire and leaves enough troops to defend the eastern frontier. The Saracens under Queen Mavia revolt and devastate a swath of territory stretching from Phoenicia and Palestine as far as the Sinai (Egypt). Valens successfully brings the uprising under control.

title: 377

text: King Shapur II, ruler of the Persian Empire, age 70, dies after a 69-year reign in which he conquered Armenia and transferred multitudes of people from the western lands to Susiana (Khuzistan). The great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) is also founded by him. His brother Ardashir II, governor-king of Adiabene, is placed by the nobles on the throne.

title: 379

text: Emperor Theodosius I signs a peace treaty with King Shapur III; they divide Armenia into two kingdoms (vassal states). The treaty establishes friendly relations between the Roman Empire and Persia for the next 36 years.

title: 386

text: Peace of Acilisene: King Shapur III signs a treaty with Theodosius I. Armenia is divided in two kingdoms, and becomes a vassal state of the Roman Empire and Persia.

title: 387

text: King Shapur III dies after a reign in which he has partitioned Armenia with the Roman Empire. He is succeeded by his son Bahram IV, who becomes the twelfth Sassanid king of Persia.

title: 388

text: Shapur III, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)

title: 388

text: Bahram IV, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)

title: 399

text: King Bahram IV dies after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Yazdegerd I, who becomes the thirteenth Sassanid Emperor of Persia.

title: 399

section: Events › By place › Middle East

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

title: 400

text: King Yazdegerd I of Persia maintains cordial relations with the Roman Empire. He becomes an executor of Arcadius' will and is entrusted with the care of the young Theodosius II until he comes of age.

title: 408

text: Abdas, bishop of Susa, burns down a Zoroastrian temple; in retaliation, King Yazdegerd I of Persia orders the destruction of churches.

title: 414

text: Yazdegerd I dies after a 21-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Bahram V, who becomes head of the Persian Empire.

title: AD 420

date: January 21

text: January 21 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: AD 420

text: End of the Roman–Sassanid War: Emperor Theodosius II signs a 100-year peace treaty with Persia after 2 years of war. He agrees to a status quo ante bellum ("the state in which things were before the war"), and both parties guarantee liberty of religion in their territories.

title: 422

text: Artaxias IV, last king of Greater Armenia, is deposed by Bahram V. The Arshakuni Dynasty ends and the kingdom becomes a province of the Persian Empire.

title: 428

text: Bahram V dies after an 18-year reign as Sassanid king of the Persian Empire. He is succeeded by his son Yazdegerd II.

title: 438

text: Bahram V, king of the Persian Empire

title: 438

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Hephthalites (White Huns) move south from the Altai Mountains region into Transoxiana, Bactria, Khorasan and eastern Persia.

title: 440

text: King Yazdegerd II of Persia signs a peace treaty after a short war with the Eastern Roman Empire. Theodosius II sends his commander, Anatolius, to conclude his terms and promise not to build any new fortifications along the border territories.

title: 441

text: Kavadh I, king of the Persian Empire (d. 531)

title: 449

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

title: 450

text: A famine that will last for several years begins in the Persian Empire (approximate date).

title: 460

text: The Armenians revolt against Persian rule, in an uprising that continues until 484. Led by Vahan Mamikonian, nephew of the late Vartan, they obtain religious and political freedom in return for military aid. Vahan is installed as governor (marzban).

title: 481

text: Kavadh I is crowned by the nobles, and succeeds his blind uncle Balash as the 19th king of Persia.

title: 488

text: Balash, king of the Persian Empire

title: 488

text: King Kavadh I of Persia is deposed and exiled to Susiana by his younger brother Djamasp. He is installed by the nobles to the Sassanid throne.

title: 496

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

title: 498

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

title: 505

text: Kavadh I, king of the Persian Empire (b. 449)

title: 531

text: September – Justinian I signs a peace treaty, the "Eternal Peace", with the Persian king Khosrau I, ending the Iberian War (527-531). Both sides agree to return all occupied territories, and Justinian makes a one-off payment of 110 centenaria (11,000 pounds of gold), as a contribution to the defense of the Caucasus passes.

title: 532

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: Lazic War: King Khosrau I intervenes in Lazica (modern Georgia), and supports the weakened king Gubazes II against a full-scale uprising. He sends an expeditionary force under Mermeroes and captures the Byzantine stronghold of Petra, located on the coast of the Black Sea, which provides the Persians a strategic port.

title: 541

text: Lazic War – Justinian I sends a Byzantine army (30,000 men) to Armenia. The Persians, severely outnumbered, are forced to retreat, but at Dvin the Byzantines are defeated by a force of 4,000 men in an ambush, and are completely routed.

title: 542

text: Spring – Lazic War: The Byzantine army under Bessas combines forces with King Gubazes II, and defeats the Persians in Lazica (modern Georgia) in a surprise attack. The survivors retreat into Caucasian Iberia.

title: 549

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

text: King Gubazes II is invited to observe the siege of a Persian-held fortress, and is murdered by the Byzantine military staff after accusing them of incompetence.

title: 555

text: Lazic War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Justin retakes Archaeopolis (modern Georgia), and routs the Persian army.

title: 556

text: The Turks and Sassanids succeed in destroying the Hepthalites on the eastern frontier (approximate date).

title: 568

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

title: 570

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591: Emperor Justin II refuses to pay the annual tribute to Khosrau I, putting an end to the 50-year peace treaty established ten years earlier. The Armenians are considered allies to the Byzantine Empire, and Justin sends a Byzantine army into Persian territory, besieging the fortress city of Nisibis (modern Turkey).

title: 572

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: The Persian Empire overthrows the Axumite- and Byzantine-affiliated regimes in Yemen (Arabian Peninsula).

title: 574

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine army under command of Maurice drives the Persians from Cappodocia (modern Turkey), and strengthens the Byzantine position in Caucasian Albania.

title: 575

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under King Khosrau I breaks through the Caucasus into Anatolia (modern Turkey). They attack the cities of Theodosiopolis and Caesarea, but are thwarted. Khosrau is forced to retreat and sacks Sebasteia. On the way home, he is intercepted by a Byzantine force under Justinian (magister militum of the East), and severely defeated near Melitene. The royal baggage is captured, and many Persians drown, while escaping across the Euphrates.

title: 576

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under command of Justinian (magister militum) invades Caucasian Albania, launching raids across the Caspian Sea against the Persians.

title: 577

text: Khosrau I, king of the Persian Empire

title: 579

text: Khosrau I dies after a 48-year reign, during which he has extended his realm from the River Oxus to the Red Sea. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd IV, who becomes king of the Persian Empire.

title: 579

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: August 14 – Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, age 47, dies (possibly from deliberately poisoned food) at Constantinople, after a 4-year reign during which Thrace and Greece have been inundated by the Slavs. He is succeeded by his son-in-law Maurice, former notary who has commanded the Byzantine army in the war against the Persian Empire.

title: 582

text: The Persian commander, Kardarigan ("black hawk"), begins an unsuccessful siege of Monokarton (modern Turkey).

title: 585

text: Battle of Solachon: A Byzantine army under command of Philippicus defeats the Sassanid Persians, near Dara.

title: 586

text: Byzantine-Sassanid War: Unpaid Byzantine troops mutiny against Priscus (magister militum per Orientem). King Hormizd IV begins a Persian offensive, but is defeated at Martyropolis (modern Turkey).

title: 588

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under Bahrām Chobin captures the fortress city of Martyropolis (modern Turkey).

title: 589

text: Hormizd IV, king of the Persian Empire

title: 590

text: February 15 – Hormizd IV is deposed and assassinated by Persian nobles. Having ruled since 579, he is succeeded by his son Khosrau II as king of the Persian Empire.

title: 590

text: Khosrau II is reinstalled as king of the Persian Empire. Peace with Constantinople is concluded after a war of almost 20 years. Maurice receives the Persian provinces of Armenia and Georgia. The recognition of the traditional frontiers, and the cessation of subsidies for the Caucasus forts, leaves the Byzantines in a dominant position in their relations with Persia.

title: 591

text: King Khosrau II sends a Persian expedition to South Arabia and conquers Yemen. He establishes a military base to control the sea trade with the East (approximate date).

title: 599

text: Possibly the first reference to chess is made in the Persian work Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan.

title: 600

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: As a result of a quarrel between the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq) and King Khosrau II, the Persian frontier with Arabia is no longer guarded (approximate date).

title: 605

text: Battle of Dhi Qar: Arab tribesmen of Bakr ibn Wa'il defeat a Persian force (5,000 men), at a watering place near Kufa (Southern Iraq).

title: 609

text: Byzantine–Persian War: The Persian army under Shahrbaraz captures Antioch, and most of the remaining Byzantine fortresses in Syria and Mesopotamia. King Khosrau II is re-establishing a neo-Persian Empire, and intensifies his war effort. The Byzantine army, ruined by defeat and corruption, offers only half-hearted opposition.

title: 611

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628: The Jews of Jerusalem gain complete control over the city; much of Judea and Galilee becomes an autonomous Jewish province of the Persian Empire. The Jewish Temple is rebuilt by Nehemiah ben Hushiel (exilarch of Jerusalem), who establishes a High Priesthood.

title: 616

text: Byzantine-Sassanid War: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan conquers Chalcedon in Anatolia, and reaches the Bosporus, threatening Constantinople. Emperor Heraclius begins peace negotiations, promising an annual tribute of 1,000 talents of gold and silver. Shahin withdraws with his army to Syria, to focus on the invasion of Egypt.

title: 617

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: King Khosrau II captures Ancyra, an important Byzantine military base in central Anatolia. After the conquest of Egypt and Palestine, he restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 490 BC under Darius I.

title: 620

text: Emperor Heraclius concludes a peace agreement (in exchange for an annual tribute) with the Avars on the Balkan Peninsula, giving him a free hand to assemble Byzantine forces in Asia Minor, for non-military expenditure against the Persian Empire.

title: 621

text: Ardashir III, king of the Persian Empire (d. 629)

title: 621

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius invades Armenia, leaving his son Constantine (age 11) and co-regent Bonus to defend Constantinople against the Persians still at Chalcedon (modern Turkey). He sails with 5,000 reinforcements to join the Byzantine army at Trapezus. Raising additional forces in Pontus, Heraclius strikes through the mountains of Armenia and the northern sub-Caucasian principalities. He plunders Media (Azerbaijan), and avoids the Persian armies who attempt to trap him.

title: 623

text: February 28 – Khosrau II, king of the Persian Empire

title: 628

text: September 6 – Kavadh II, king of the Persian Empire

title: 628

text: September – Jerusalem is reconquered by the Byzantines (after 15 years of occupation), from the Persian Empire.

title: 629

text: Azarmidokht (daughter of king Khosrau II) succeeds her sister Borandukht, as monarch of the Persian Empire.

title: 631

text: Borandukht, queen of the Persian Empire

title: 631

text: June 16 – Yazdegerd III, age 8, ascends to the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sassanid Dynasty (modern Iran).

title: 632

text: March 18 – The Arabian Peninsula is united under the central authority of Abu Bakr. This sets the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia and the fall of the Sassanid dynasty.

title: 633

text: May – Battle of Walaja: The Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid defeats the Persians and their Arab Christian allies. The Persian army is at least three times the size.

title: 633

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

title: 637

text: Peroz III, son of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid king of Persia, flees to territory under the control of the Tang dynasty in China (approximate date).

title: 643

text: King Yazdegerd III of Persia is murdered in a miller's hut near Merv by his followers, ending both Persian resistance to Arab conquest, and the Sassanid Empire.

title: 651

text: Yazdegard III, king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 651

text: Muslim Conquest: Arab forces of the Umayyad Caliphate resume the push to capture Persian lands, and begin to move towards the lands east and north of the plateau, towards Greater Khorasan (Iran) and the Silk Road along Transoxiana.

title: 662

text: Muslim Conquest: Arab forces under Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra begin launching raids from Persia, striking at Multan in the southern Punjab (modern Pakistan). Muslims conquer the city of Kabul, invading from eastern Afghanistan.

title: 664


slug: saturn

label: Saturn

description: sixth planet in the Solar System, with a ring system mainly composed of ice particles

year_label: 7 BCE

section: Science & Discovery

text: Appearance of a very bright triple conjunction of the royal star Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of Pisces (land in the west) in May until December of that year since 854years, with a retrogradation and stationing on November 12. Robert A. Powell (1996) proposes that this is the birth date of Jesus.

title: 0s BC

section: Events › 7 BC › Astronomy

text: A second series of gravitational interactions with Saturn, the second since 1664 BC, once again force the Centaur (minor planet) Chiron into a new orbit, shifting it from orbiting in the edges of the Solar System to orbiting near the inner regions.

title: 720

section: Events › By topic › Astronomy

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Just before dawn, a great conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter is observed from Earth. The conjunction is more significant than other occurrences because the separation of the two planets as visible in the sky of Earth (2.1 arcminutes or 1/30th of one degree of arc) will not be closer again until March 8, 4523 CE, and the close conjunction is the most easily visible from Earth until the conjunction of December 21, 2020.

title: 1226

section: Events › January – March

date: July 16

text: July 16 – A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, with the planets only 5 arc minutes apart, the closest between 1226 and 2874. This conjunction likely goes unobserved, as it occurs near the Sun and the telescope has been invented only recently.

title: 1623

section: Events › July–September

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.

title: 1655

section: Events › January–March

date: October 25

text: October 25 – Italian-born French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovers Iapetus, the second known moon of the planet Saturn. Christiaan Huygens had discovered the Saturnian moon Titan on March 25, 1655.

title: 1671

section: Events › October–December

date: December 23

text: December 23 – French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovers Rhea, a previously-unknown satellite of the planet Saturn. Rhea is the second-largest overall, and the third moon of Saturn to be discovered by Earth astronomers, Titan having been found by Christiaan Huygens on March 25, 1655 and Iapetus by Cassini on October 25, 1671.

title: 1672

date: August 28

text: August 28 – William Herschel discovers Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons.

title: 1789

date: December 9

text: December 9 – At 20:34 UTC, Mercury occults Saturn (there are no observation records).

title: 1808

date: September 16

text: September 16 – William Cranch Bond and William Lassell discover Hyperion, Saturn's moon.

title: 1848

date: December 2

text: December 2 – During the new moon, a near-grand conjunction of the classical planets and several binocular Solar System bodies occur. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are all within 15° of each other, with Venus 5° ahead of this conjunction and Jupiter 15° behind.

title: 1899

section: Events › December

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Phoebe, the ninth-known moon of the planet Saturn is discovered by U.S. astronomer William Pickering from analysis of photographic plates made by a Peruvian observatory, the first discovery of a satellite photographically.

title: 1899

section: Events › March

date: September 1

text: September 1 – The U.S. Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21000 km mi.

title: 1979

section: Events › September

date: March 1

text: March 1 – The Voyager 1 probe confirms the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn.

title: 1980

date: November 10

text: November 10–12 – Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn, when it flies within 77,000 mi km of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high-resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth.

title: 1980

section: Events › November

date: May 5

text: May 5 – A rare conjunction of seven celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets Mercury–Saturn) occurs during the new moon.

title: 2000

section: Events › May

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The Cassini–Huygens orbiter reaches the orbit of Saturn.

title: 2004

section: Events › July

date: January 14

text: January 14 – The Huygens spacecraft lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

title: 2005

section: Events › January

date: March 9

text: March 9 – NASA's Cassini–Huygens spacecraft announces a geyser-like emission of vapor, dust, and small ice crystals on Saturn's moon Enceladus, possibly indicating the presence of water.

title: 2006

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Cassini–Huygens ends its 13-year mission by plunging into Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to enter the planet's atmosphere.

title: 2017

date: December 21

text: December 21 – A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.

title: 2020


slug: saudi-arabia

label: Saudi Arabia

description: country in West Asia

section: Deaths

text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, is born in Mecca (today's Saudi Arabia). His father Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib dies a few months before his birth, so he and his mother Aminah bint Wahb are protected by Muhammad's paternal grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who is recognized as the leading figure in his tribe, the Quraysh.

title: 570

section: Events › By place › Arabia

section: Religion & Belief

text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, begins at 40 years old to preach a religion which will be called Islam. According to Islamic teachings, the angel Gabriel appears to him in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and calls him: "The Prophet of Allah". Muhammad gathers followers, reciting to them the first verses of Qur'an(Iqra), thus beginning the revelation of the Qur'an.

title: 610

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: The Jewish community in Medina (Saudi Arabia) rejects the idea of Muhammad being a leader of Judaism. He and his followers stop bowing toward Jerusalem and start bowing toward Makkah.

title: 623

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 13

text: March 13 – (17 Ramadah 2 AH) The Battle of Badr takes place in what is now Saudi Arabia as Muhammad and some 300 of his followers from Medina surprise a reinforced Meccan caravan at Badr (modern-day Saudi Arabia) returning from Syria, and defeat about 1,000 Quraysh from Mecca. After having heard that clan leader Abu Sufyan is escorting a rich trade caravan, Muhammad has the wells along its route (southwest of Medina) filled with sand in order to lure him into battle.

title: 624

section: Events › By date › January–June

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Battle of Uhud: Muhammad retreats against the inhabitants of Mecca (Saudi Arabia), which they consider a victory.

title: 625

date: January

text: January – Battle of Hunayn: Muhammad defeats the Bedouin tribe of Hawazin (12,000 men) in a valley, on one of the roads leading to Ta'if (Western Arabia).

title: 630

date: September

text: September – Battle of Buzakha: An Islamic column (6,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeats the Apostate rebels under Tulayha, near Ha'il (Saudi Arabia).

title: 632

date: August

text: August – Battle of Dumat Al-Jandal: A Muslim army (10,000 men) under Khalid defeats the rebel Arab Christians at Dumat Al-Jandal (Saudi Arabia).

title: 633

text: Caliph Uthman ibn Affan founds the city of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on the coast of the Red Sea. He establishes a port for Muslim pilgrims making the required Hajj to Mecca.

title: 646

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

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

title: 702

text: Summer – Raynald of Châtillon, lord of Oultrejordain, raids Saladin's territory, reaching as far as Tabuk (modern Saudi Arabia) on the route between Damascus and Mecca. In November, Saladin sends an expedition under his nephew, Farrukh Shah, who invades Oultrejordain. Raynald of Châtillon is forced to withdraw home. Saladin complains to King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (the Leper) for breaking the treaty (see 1180) and demands compensation.

title: 1181

section: Events › Europe › Levant

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Upon the death of his father, Mani' ibn Rabi'a al-Muraydi, Rabi'a ibn Mani' al-Muraydi becomes the new ruler of the Emirate of Diriyah at its capital, Diriyah, near Riyadh in what is now Saudi Arabia.Munir al-Ajlani, History of Saudi Arabia, Part One: The First Saudi State (in Arabic) (2nd ed.).(Riyadh, 1933) pp. 53–54. Mani's descendants in the House of Saud, most notably Mani's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Ibn Saud, become the founders of Saudi Arabia.

title: 1463

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Lopo Soares de Albergaria of Portugal begins the siege of Jeddah (now part of Saudi Arabia), attempting to invade, but is unable to land because of artillery fire from the Ottoman and Mamluk defenders. Bad weather prevents the Portuguese fleet of 15 ships from navigating for the next two weeks.

title: 1517

section: Events › April–June

date: July 6

text: July 6 – On 3 Muharram 1077 AH on the Muslim calendar, Sa'd ibn Zayd, a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali and of Muhammad (founder of Islam) becomes the new Sharif of Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. His ascension to the post follows the death of his father, Zayd ibn Muhsin, who had been the Sharif since 1631.

title: 1666

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Abdul Aziz, founder of Saudi Arabia, declares himself protector of holy places in Mecca.

title: 1924

section: Events › October

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: May 20

text: May 20 – By the Treaty of Jeddah, the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, the future Saudi Arabia.

title: 1927

date: September 23

text: September 23 – The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, concluding the country's unification under the rule of King Abdulaziz.

title: 1932

date: June 27

text: June 27 – Imam Yahya of Yemen and Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia conclude a peace treaty.

title: 1934

section: Events › May–June

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: September 14

text: September 14 – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

title: 1960

date: May 14

text: May 14 – Colonel Muammar Gaddafi visits Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

title: 1969

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: August 19

text: August 19 – In one of aviation's worst disasters, 301 people are killed when Saudia Flight 163 catches fire in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

title: 1980

section: Events › August

date: January 9

text: January 9 – In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979.

title: 1980

date: May 25

text: May 25 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created among Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

title: 1981

date: October 12

text: October 12 – The Saudi Arabian cargo ship Elhawi Star, transporting 3,631 tonnes of ceramic tiles and 781 tonnes of lumber to Chioggia, sank while being towed away from the Port of Rijeka by the tugboats Beli Kamik and Aries because of the unevenly distributed cargo.

title: 1982

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Somali President Siad Barre is injured in a car accident in Mogadishu and taken to Saudi Arabia for treatment. Somali opposition groups see this as an opportunity to try to remove Barre, beginning the Somali Civil War.

title: 1986

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Four hundred pilgrims are killed in clashes between demonstrating Iranian pilgrims and Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca.

title: 1987

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, a Douglas DC-8 operated by Canadian airline Nolisair, catches fire and crashes soon after takeoff from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 people on board.

title: 1991

date: August 7

text: August 7 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings: the bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist Osama bin Laden, an exile of Saudi Arabia.

title: 1998

text: January 14 – The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.

title: 2011

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Saudi Arabia rejects a seat on the United Nations Security Council, making it the first country to reject a seat on the Security Council. Jordan takes the seat on December 6.

title: 2013

date: March 25

text: March 25 – A Saudi Arabia-led coalition of Arab countries starts a military intervention in Yemen in order to uphold the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthis' southern offensive.

title: 2015

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia and several other countries end their diplomatic relations with Iran.

title: 2016

date: June 5

text: June 5 – The Qatar diplomatic crisis of 2017–18 starts, as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries block Qatari access to their seas and air.

title: 2017

section: Events › June

date: April 18

text: April 18 – Cinemas open in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983 with the American film Black Panther chosen as the first to be screened.

title: 2018

section: Events › April

section: Health & Medicine

date: December 10

text: December 10 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Saudi Arabia approve the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, while Argentina approves Sputnik V.

title: 2020

text: February 4 – US President Joe Biden announces that the United States will cease providing weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in the Yemeni Civil War.

title: 2021

text: January 4 – The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.

title: 2021

text: August 21 – Saudi Arabia is accused of mass killing hundreds of African migrants attempting to cross its border with Yemen.

title: 2023

text: May 24 – Canada and Saudi Arabia agree to restore full diplomatic relations after a breakdown in relations in 2018 over the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

title: 2023


slug: sava

label: Sava

description: river in Southeast Europe

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

title: 434

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 439

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

text: The Ostrogoths sack Belgrade, on the Danube and Sava rivers (modern Serbia).

title: 504

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Avar Khaganate attempts to expel Kutrigurs who had fled the Göktürks, ordering them to go south of the Sava River; those who leave generally fall under rule of the Turks.

title: 568

text: Siege of Sirmium: The Avars march to the right bank of the River Sava, and besiege the Byzantine stronghold of Sirmium (Pannonia).

title: 580

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: May 8

text: May 8 – French members of the People's Crusade led by Walter Sans Avoir enter Hungary, without incident they arrive at Semlin, and cross the Sava into Byzantine territory at Belgrade. Meanwhile, Walter demands food but he is refused entry, and the crusaders are forced to pillage the countryside. Eventually Walter is allowed to carry on to Niš, where he is provided with food.

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

section: Deaths

text: Stephen II becomes ruler (ban) of Bosnia following the death of his father Stephen I Kotromanić. He rules the lands from the river Sava to the Adriatic Sea, but does not effectively come into full power until 1322.

title: 1314

section: Events › Undated

date: April 30

text: April 30 – Brčko bridge massacre: around 100 Croat and Bosniak civilians are blown up while crossing the bridge across the Sava in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

title: 1992


slug: savannah-georgia

label: Savannah, Georgia

description: city in and county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, United States

date: February 12

text: February 12 – British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia.

title: 1733

section: Events › January–March

date: October 14

text: October 14 – John Wesley and his brother Charles set sail from England for Savannah in the Province of Georgia in British America; on the voyage they first encounter members of the Moravian Church.

title: 1735

section: Events › October –December

date: December

text: December – John Wesley leaves Savannah, Georgia, and returns to England.

title: 1737

section: Events › October–December

text: March 25 – Construction begins on Bethesda Orphanage for boys near Savannah, Georgia, founded by George Whitefield.

title: 1740

section: Culture & Society

text: August 7 – Mary Musgrove Bosomworth, a woman of mixed British and Creek Indian ancestry, presents herself as Coosaponakeesa, Queen of the Creek Indians and marches with 200 Creek Indians into the town of Savannah, Georgia. During her confrontation with British colonial authorities, she and her husband Thomas Bosomworth demand payment of "nearly twenty-five thousand dollars" in compensation for property taken from the Creek Indians, before the British authorities determine that she doesn't have the authority to speak for the tribe.

title: 1749

section: Events › July–September

section: Conflict & Security

date: January 13

text: January 13 – For the first time, the American colony in Georgia has an elected legislature after having been administered by a corporate Board of Trustees since its founding in 1732. The original Georgia Assembly meets in Savannah with 16 representatives as the colony prepares to become a British colonial province. After electing Francis Harris as the Speaker of the unicameral Assembly, the delegates successfully ask the Trustees not to surrender control of Georgia to the neighboring Province of South Carolina.

title: 1751

date: April 9

text: April 9 – African slaves are imported directly into the American colony of Georgia for the first time, as the sloop Mary Brow arrives in Savannah with 78 captives imported from Saint-Louis, Senegal.

title: 1766

section: Events › April–June

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Gwinnett–McIntosh duel: Lachlan McIntosh and Button Gwinnett shoot each other during a duel near Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, dies three days later.

title: 1777

date: December 29

text: December 29 – American Revolutionary War: Capture of Savannah – British forces under Archibald Campbell take the city of Savannah, Georgia.

title: 1778

date: January 27

text: January 27 – The University of Georgia in the United States is chartered by the Georgia General Assembly meeting in Savannah. The first students are admitted in Athens, Georgia in 1801.

title: 1785

date: May 22

text: May 22 – The leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrives at Liverpool, England, nearly a month later, on June 20, although only a fraction of the trip is made under steam.

title: 1819

date: March 3

text: March 3 – The largest slave auction in U.S. history is held, dubbed The Weeping Time. Over a 2-day period (starting March 2), Pierce M. Butler sells 436 men, women, children, and infants, all of whom are kept in stalls meant for horses at a racetrack in Savannah, Georgia, for weeks beforehand.

title: 1857

date: March 21

text: March 21 – Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy, gives the infamous Cornerstone Speech in Savannah, Georgia, in which he declares that slavery is the natural condition of blacks, and the foundation of the Confederacy.

title: 1861

section: Events › March

section: Climate & Environment

date: August 27

text: August 27 – The Sea Islands hurricane hits Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and the Sea Islands, killing 1,000–2,000.

title: 1893

date: March 12

text: March 12 – The Girl Scouts of the USA is founded by Juliette Gordon Low, in Savannah, Georgia.

title: 1912


slug: savoy

label: Savoy

description: historical region of Europe

section: Births

text: Amadeus I, count of Savoy (approximate date)

title: 975

text: Agnes of Aquitaine, countess of Savoy (approximate date)

title: 1052

title: 1052

text: Agnes of Aquitaine, French-born countess consort of Savoy

title: 1089

text: Amadeus III, count of Savoy and Maurienne (d. 1148)

title: 1095

text: Faidiva of Toulouse, countess of Savoy (d. 1154)

title: 1133

text: Humbert III (the Blessed), count of Savoy (d. 1189)

title: 1136

title: 1148

text: Thomas I (or Tommaso), count of Savoy (d. 1233)

title: 1178

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Humbert III ("the Blessed"), count of Savoy (b. 1136)

title: 1189

text: Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (House of Savoy) (d. 1253)

title: 1197

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Thomas I (or Tommaso), count of Savoy (b. 1178)

title: 1233

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Amadeus V, count of Savoy (d. 1323)

title: 1249

text: Sybille of Bâgé, countess consort of Savoy (d. 1294)

title: 1255

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 20

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

title: 1378

section: Crime & Justice

date: August 7

text: August 7 – The Valais witch trials begin in Swiss Savoy.

title: 1428

text: The Italian War of 1536–1538 resumes between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Francis seizes control of Savoy, and captures Turin. Charles triumphally enters Rome, following the Via Triumphalis, and delivers a speech before the Pope and College of Cardinals, publicly challenging the king of France to a duel.

title: 1536

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 3

text: April 3 – Peace of Cateau Cambrésis: After two days of negotiations, France makes peace with England and Spain, ending the Italian War of 1551–59. France gives up most of its gains in Italy (including Savoy), retaining only Saluzzo, but keeps the three Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and the formerly English town of Calais.

title: 1559

date: October 30

text: October 30 – The Duchy of Savoy signs the Treaty of Lausanne with the Swiss canton of Bern and relinquishes all claims to the canton of Vaud.

title: 1564

date: January 17

text: January 17 – Treaty of Lyon: France gains Bresse, Bugey and Gex from Savoy, ceding Saluzzo in exchange.

title: 1601

date: October 9

text: October 9 – The Treaty of Pavia is signed between Spain and Savoy, under which Savoy returns Monferrato to Mantua.

title: 1617

date: February 7

text: February 7 – France, Savoy and Venice sign the Treaty of Paris, agreeing to cooperate in removing Spanish forces from the strategic Alpine pass of Valtelline.

title: 1623

date: September 7

text: September 7 – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Turin: Forces of Austria and Savoy defeat the French near what is now the Italian city of Torino.

title: 1706


slug: saxon-eastern-march

label: Saxon Eastern March

description: march

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

title: 861

section: Events › By place › Europe

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

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Central Europe

text: Otto I establishes the missionary dioceses of Brandenburg and Havelberg in the territory of the Marca Geronis (Saxon Eastern March).

title: 948

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Harald Bluetooth rebels against the overlordship of Otto II. A Danish Viking army under his son Sweyn Forkbeard invades the March of Schleswig – along the northern border of modern Denmark. The Sorb Slavs in northern Germany overrun and conquer the March of Zeitz (Marca Geronis) from Saxon control.

title: 983

text: Dedi I (or Dedo), margrave of Saxon Ostmark (d. 1075)

title: 1004

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Gero II, margrave of the Saxon Ostmark

title: 1015

date: January 10

text: January 10 – Thietmar, margrave of the Saxon Ostmark

title: 1030

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Dedi II (the Younger), margrave of Lower Lusatia (b. c.997)

title: 1069

text: Henry II, margrave of the Saxon Ostmark (d. 1123)

title: 1103


slug: saxon-wars

label: Saxon Wars

description: campaigns and insurrections (772–804) between the Carolingian Empire and Saxons in what is now northwestern Germany; resulted in the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their forcible conversion from Germanic paganism to Catholicism

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne leads a Frankish expedition from the Middle Rhine into disputed territory lost by the Franks in 695. He starts a campaign against the Saxons and seizes Eresburg, destroying the Irminsul (Saxon sacred tree) near Paderborn. Charlemagne devastates several major Saxon strongholds, and forces them to retreat beyond the Weser River. After negotiating with some Saxon nobles and obtaining hostages, he installs a number of garrisons.

title: 772

text: Saxon Wars: Saxon forces seize upon Charlemagne's preoccupation with Italy to retake Eresburg and Syburg (near Dortmund). They unsuccessfully attack the episcopal centre of Büraburg, which had been established by St. Boniface (see 723).

title: 773

text: Saxon Wars: Saxon raiders ravage much of northern Hesse (modern Germany), and burn the abbey at Fritzlar, putting the abbot and monks to the sword. Charlemagne hurriedly returns to Austrasia, assembles local troops, and recaptures Eresburg, before the approach of winter halts further operations.

title: 774

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne holds a major assembly at Quierzy (Northern France). He leads a Frankish army into Saxony to retake the castrum of Syburg (near Dortmund), then rebuilds and garrisons fortified Eresburg. He reaches the Weser at a place called Braunsberg, where the Saxons stand for battle, but are defeated when Frankish troops cross the river.

title: 775

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

title: 776

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

title: AD 777

text: Saxon Wars: Widukind and his close followers return to Saxony from Denmark. He probably makes alliances with the Danes and the northwestern Slav tribes. Saxon rebels destroy the fortress of Karlsburg and sack Deutz (near Cologne), but are unable to cross the Rhine. They are driven back by the garrison of Koblenz, but then ambush and defeat the Frankish pursuers. Counter-attacking Frankish forces pursue the Saxons up the Lahn Valley, and defeat them near Leisa.

title: 778

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne assembles a Frankish army at Düren, crosses the Rhine at the modern town of Wesel, and defeats the Saxons in battle near Bocholt (North Rhine-Westphalia). All the main Westphalian leaders are captured, except Widukind. Charlemagne crosses the Weser, Oker and Ohre rivers into Eastphalian territory, where local leaders submit to Frankish rule and hand over hostages. Widukind remains in northern Saxony, and relies on guerrilla warfare.

title: 779

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

title: 780

text: Summer – Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne sends a punitive expedition (an elite force of Eastern Frankish troops) under the command of Adalgis the Chamberlain, Gallo, and Worad, supported by Saxon forces, to deal with the Saxons and Sorb raiders in Thuringia.

title: 782

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

title: 783

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne begins a campaign in northern Saxony. He ravages Eastphalian territory as far as the Elbe River, while his son, Charles the Younger, defeats a Saxon force in the Lippe Valley. Bad weather hinders Charlemagne's winter campaign in southern Saxony.

title: 784

text: Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne summons a major assembly of Saxon and Frankish lords at Paderborn, then leads his army across Saxony as far as the Lower Elbe, without significant resistance. Duke Widukind retreats with his 'rebel' forces beyond the Elbe, but then negotiates and exchanges hostages. Charlemagne returns to his palace at Attigny (Ardennes), followed by Widukind; here the Saxon leaders are baptized as Christians on Christmas Day. Widukind and the Saxon nobility swear fealty to Charlemagne.

title: 785

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

title: 795


slug: saxons

label: Saxons

description: confederation of Germanic tribes on the North German Plain

text: The prosperity of Roman Britain declines during this period, as the Germanic tribes of the Franks and Saxons, whose homelands are in Friesland and the Low Countries, make raids around the southeast coast.

title: 251

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Great Conspiracy: The Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall revolts and allows Picts from Caledonia to devastate Britain. Simultaneously Attacotti, the Scotti from Hibernia (Ireland), and the Saxons from Germania invade the island's mid-western and south-eastern borders. They sack the cities and murder, rape or enslave Romano-British civilians.

title: 367

text: Great Conspiracy: Picts, Scotti and Saxons reach Roman London and plunder the city. Theodosius, a general (Comes Britanniarum), is sent with a relief force to Britannia. He marches from Richborough, Kent, to deal with the invaders.

title: 368

text: Late Roman army: The Notitia Dignitatum shows the development of forces in the Roman Empire. By now 200,000 soldiers guard the borders, and a reserve force of 50,000 is available for deployment. Many non-Roman soldiers are from Germanic tribes: Alamanni, Franks, Goths, Saxons and Vandals.

title: 394

text: Battle of Wippedesfleot: The Saxons under command of Hengist and Aesc are defeated by the Britons near Ebbsfleet (Kent). During the battle 12 Welsh leaders are killed (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 465

section: Events › By place › Britannia

text: The Kingdom of Essex is founded by the Saxons, who land north of the Thames. They take control of the land between what is now London and St Albans, ceding from the Kingdom of Kent

title: 527

text: King Chlothar I suppresses a revolt of the Saxons and Thuringi in Saxony (Germany). For some time he exacts a tribute of 500 cows every year.

title: 556

text: The Byzantines abandon present-day Lombardy and Tuscany, to establish a frontier march in the hills south of Ravenna (still known as Le Marche). Bavarians, Sarmatians, Saxons and Taifali, join the invasion en route. As they advance, the vacuum left behind them on the Balkan Peninsula is filled by Avars, Bulgars and Slavs.

title: 568

text: The Saxons (Northern Germany) appeal to Dagobert I, against the yearly tribute (500 cows) which they still pay (approximate date).

title: 631

text: Jaruman, bishop of Mercia, is dispatched with Christian missionaries to reconvert Saxon tribes, which have returned to paganism.

title: 665

text: The Saxons defeat the Bructeri between the Lippe and the Ruhr, and occupy Westphalia in Germany (approximate date).

title: 695

text: Charles Martel consolidates his power, proclaims Clotaire IV king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic, and deposes Rigobert, bishop of Reims, replacing him with Milo. He marches against Radbod, king (or duke) of the Frisians, and pushes him back into his territory (later part of the Netherlands). Charles sends the Saxons back over the Weser River, and secures the Rhine border—in the name of Clotaire.

title: 717

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

text: The Wessex-born missionary Boniface sets out for Frisia a second time. He travels to Rome, where Pope Gregory II sends him on a mission to convert the Saxons in Lower Saxony (modern-day Germany).

title: 718

text: Charles Martel defeats the last independent dukedom of Alamannia, and incorporates it into the Frankish Empire. He also launches raids on the Saxons beyond the Rhine.

title: 730

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, begins a campaign against the Saxons (in modern-day Westphalia) on the northeast frontier. They are subdued and must pay him tribute.

title: 738

title: 772

title: 773

title: 775

title: 776

title: AD 777

title: 779

title: 780

title: 782

date: October

text: October – Charlemagne marries Fastrada, the 18-year-old daughter of a Frankish count named Rudolph, and makes her his queen at Worms. The probable reason behind the marriage is to solidify a Frankish alliance east of the Rhine, against the Saxons in Lower Saxony (modern Germany).

title: 783

title: 784

title: 785

text: King Charlemagne crosses the Elbe River with a Frankish-Saxon army into Obotrite territory. He subdues the Wiltzes, and reaches the Baltic.

title: 789

section: Health & Medicine

text: Summer – Charlemagne loses most of his riding and baggage horses during an equine epidemic; many Saxons take advantage of Charlemagne's Avar setback and rebel once more.

title: 791

text: The Westphalians rise up against the Saxons, in response to a forcible recruitment for wars against the Avars. However, Pepin, sub-king of Northern Italy and son of King Charlemagne, continues the war, and wins considerable booty from the Avars.

title: 792

text: Frisian–Frankish War: Count Theoderic is sent to Frisia, to muster troops for another offensive against the Avar Khaganate. He is attacked and probably killed by Saxon rebels, near the mouth of the Weser River. The Frisians revolt, and Charlemagne deports Saxon families from north of the river Elbe.

title: 793

text: King Charlemagne abandons his channel project (see 793), and attacks the Saxon rebels from the north, supported by a second Frankish army under his son Charles the Younger, which crosses the Rhine at Cologne from the west; threatened from two directions, the Saxons surrender near Paderborn (Westphalia).

title: 794

title: 795

text: Battle of Bornhöved: King Charlemagne forms an alliance with the Obodrites. Together with Prince Drożko (Thrasco), he defeats the Nordalbian Saxons near the village of Bornhöved (modern-day Neumünster), obliging these 'northerners' to submit and give hostages against their future good behavior. In the coming years they are granted areas of present-day Hamburg.

title: 798

text: Pagan Danes invade Obodrite-ruled Schleswig, to take over territory almost emptied by the forcible deportations of the Saxons by emperor Charlemagne.

title: 802

section: Deaths

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Battle of Jengland: Duke Erispoe takes command of the Breton forces after his father Nominoe, king of Brittany, dies. He continues an offensive against the Franks in alliance with Lambert II of Nantes. In Ille-et-Vilaine near Grand-Fougeray (Brittany), Erispoe defeats a Frankish-Saxon army (4,000 men) led by King Charles the Bald.

title: 851

text: Danish Vikings loot along the Rhine. They settle on an island near Cologne, but are driven off by the combined forces of Lothair II and the Saxons.

title: 863

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath. The Saxons are routed in a snowstorm; many drown in the river or are captured during the retreat.

title: 880

date: June

text: June – The Wendish Crusade: An expedition of Crusaders – composed of Germans, Saxons and Danes – expels the Obotrites from Wagria (Schleswig-Holstein). Two Danish fleets led by King Canute V in alliance with co-ruler Sweyn III, ravage the northern coast. The countryside of Mecklenburg and Pommerania is plundered and depopulated with much bloodshed, especially by German forces under Henry the Lion.

title: 1147


slug: saxony-anhalt

label: Saxony-Anhalt

description: state of Germany

text: The first known mention of Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt), founded by Charlemagne, is made.

title: 805

section: Conflict & Security

text: Spring – Henry I, duke of Bavaria, plots to assassinate his brother, King Otto I, at the royal palace in Quedlinburg (modern Saxony-Anhalt), but the conspiracy is discovered and Henry is put in captivity in Ingelheim. He is released after doing penance at Christmas.

title: 941

text: Fall – Mieszko I, duke and prince (de facto ruler) of Poland, abducts Oda of Haldensleben from the monastery of Kalbe (Saxony-Anhalt) and marries her. She becomes Mieszko's second wife and Duchess of the Polans.

title: 978

text: The seat of the Bishopric of Zeitz is moved to Naumburg (Saxony-Anhalt) in Central Germany.

title: 1029

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Battle of Welfesholz: Duke Lothair of Supplinburg joins the rebellious Saxon forces, and defeats the German Imperial Army of Emperor Henry V at Welfesholz, in Saxony-Anhalt (modern Germany).

title: 1115

date: January 19

text: January 19 – Upon the death of Prince Sigismund of Anhalt-Dessau (now within the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt in southeastern Germany), his four sons Waldemar IV, George, Albert V and Sigismund II become the joint rulers of the principality. Upon the death of Waldemar in 1417, Sigismund in 1452, and Albert in 1469, George I will reign alone for five more years until his death in 1474.

title: 1405

section: Events › January–March

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, dies after a reign of more than 63 years. The area is now part of the northeastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

title: 1650

date: February 14

text: February 14 – The reign of Victor Amadeus over the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg (within the modern-day state of Saxony-Anhalt in northeastern Germany) ends after 61 years and 7 months. He had ascended the throne on September 22, 1656. He is succeeded by his son Karl Frederick.

title: 1718

section: Events › January – March


slug: saxony

label: Saxony

description: state in Germany

text: King Chlothar I suppresses a revolt of the Saxons and Thuringi in Saxony (Germany). For some time he exacts a tribute of 500 cows every year.

title: 556

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

title: 865

date: August 28

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

title: 876

text: February 2 – Bruno, duke of Saxony

title: 880

text: Spring – Viking raiders ravage Flanders, and sack the abbey at Saint-Quentin. King Carloman II blocks their passage at Laviers, which had been on the banks of the Somme. Meanwhile, Vikings enter the Rhine, but are turned back by Henry of Franconia (possibly a margrave of Saxony). They over-winter at Duisburg.

title: 883

date: August 3

text: August 3 – Battle of Eisenach: An invading Hungarian force defeats the East Frankish army under Duke Burchard, killing him, together with Duke Egino and Rudolf I, bishop of Würzburg. The Hungarians devastate Thuringia and Saxony as far north as Bremen, returning home with many spoils.

title: 908

date: July

text: July – The Magyars (Hungarians), led by Zoltán, only son of the late Grand Prince Árpád, attack Swabia, Franconia and Saxony. Small units penetrate as far as Bremen, burning the city.

title: 915

text: Winter – King Henry I (the Fowler) subdues the Polabian Slavs who live on the eastern borders. He then marches against the Slavic Hevelli tribes and seizes their capital, Brandenburg. Henry invades the Glomacze lands in the middle Elbe valley, where he besieges and destroys the main castle called Gana (the later Albrechtsburg) at Meissen (Saxony).

title: 928

text: Mieszko I, a duke of the Piast Dynasty, becomes prince (de facto ruler) of Poland on the death of his father Siemomysł. Mieszko continues to subdue the neighbouring tribes under his control. Two obstacles to this plan are the Western Slav tribal group, the Veleti (also known as the Wilzi or "Wolf people") who are raiding Mieszko's lands for plunder; and the Saxon border dukes, who are pushing eastwards in search of new lands to conquer.

title: 960

text: Otto I completes and dedicates a new cathedral at Magdeburg in Saxony. Like other imperial churches of the period, it includes a westwork – a structure attached to the entrance wall and outfitted with galleries. Otto makes Magdeburg a base for missionary efforts to convert the Slavs to the east. The patron saint of the city is Mauritius, who, as a military leader fighting for Christianity against pagan armies, shares affinities with Otto himself.

title: 967

date: June 9

text: June 9 – First Battle of Langensalza: Emperor Henry IV defeats the Saxon nobles on the River Unstrut near Langensalza in Thuringia (modern Germany). He subjugates Saxony, and immediately tries to reassert his rights as the sovereign of northern Italy.

title: 1075

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Members of the People's Crusade led by the priest Folkmar from Saxony persecute Jews in Prague, despite the opposition of the local Catholic hierarchy. Local citizens try to hide them in their own houses. Later the Jews manage to escape to safety in neighboring villages, but are slaughtered by the hundreds.

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: January 13

text: January 13 – Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, is stripped of his duchies and all his imperial fiefs at an Imperial Diet in Würzburg for violating the king's peace. On April 13, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa issues the Gelnhausen Charter, formally dissolving Henry's former domains. A portion of Saxony is reorganized as the Duchy of Westphalia, while other territories are granted to his ally, Otto I the Redhead, Duke of Bavaria.

title: 1180

text: Saxony's mint at Annaberg begins producing guldengroschens, also known as guldiners.

title: 1500

section: Events › Date unknown

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Thirty Years' War: A Saxon army takes over Prague.

title: 1631

section: Events › October–December

date: October 4

text: October 4 (September 24 Old Style) – Thirty Years' War – Battle of Wittstock: A Swedish-allied army defeats a combined Imperial-Saxon army.

title: 1636

date: July 9

text: July 9 – The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) is founded, in response to claims made by Louis XIV of France on the Electorate of the Palatinate in western Germany. It comprises the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, the electors of Bavaria, Saxony and the Electorate of the Palatinate.

title: 1686

section: Events › July–September

date: July 19

text: July 19 (July 8 O.S.; July 9 Swedish calendar) – Great Northern War: Battle of Klissow – Charles XII of Sweden decisively defeats the Polish–Lithuanian-Saxon army.

title: 1702

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Calcareous hard-paste porcelain is produced for the first time in Europe, at Dresden, Saxony, by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, and developed after his death (October) by Johann Friedrich Böttger.

title: 1708

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Great Northern War: the Battle of Gadebusch is Sweden's final great victory in the war, preventing the loss of the city of Stralsund to Danish and Saxon forces.

title: 1712

text: A small group of Bohemian Brethren (the "Hidden Seed") from northern Moravia are allowed to settle in a new village, Herrnhut, on the Berthelsdorf estate of the pietist Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf in Upper Lusatia (Saxony), forming the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, seed of the Moravian Church's renewal.

title: 1722

text: October 10 – France declares war on Austria and Saxony.

title: 1733

date: November 5

text: November 5 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Rossbach – Frederick defeats the French-Imperial army under the Duc de Soubise and Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen, forcing the French to withdraw from Saxony.

title: 1757


slug: sayf-al-dawla

label: Sayf al-Dawla

description: Muslim general

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Byzantine forces are defeated by Sayf al-Dawla. He captures the city of Aleppo, and extends his control over the Al-Jazira–Upper Mesopotamia region. Al-Dawla's rule is recognized by the Ikhshidids. With the recovery of Edessa, the Greeks also obtain the fabled Image of Edessa.

title: 944

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Summer – Sayf al-Dawla is defeated by Muslim forces under Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid near Qinnasrin. He is forced to abandon his Syrian domains and flees to Raqqa. In October the two men come to an agreement, which recognizes Hamdanid rule over northern Syria, founding the Emirate of Aleppo.

title: 945

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into Asia Minor. The Byzantines respond with reprisals led by Leo Phokas the Younger, taking captives and razing the walls of Hadath (modern Turkey).

title: 948

text: Arab-Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into the theme of Lykandos, but are defeated. The Byzantines counter-attack and seize Germanikeia, defeating an army from Tarsus, and raiding as far south as Antioch. General (strategos) Theophilos Kourkouas captures Theodosiopolis (modern-day Erzurum) after a 7-month siege.

title: 949

text: Arab–Byzantine War: A Hamdanid army (30,000 men) led by Sayf al-Dawla raids into Byzantine theme Anatolia. He defeats Bardas Phokas, but is then ambushed on his return and heavily defeated by Leo Phokas.

title: 950

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

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (Domestic of the Schools) in the East. He gives him order to prepare a campaign against the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla. Constantine makes treaties with neighbouring rulers, to seek military aid.

title: 956

date: October

text: October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes defeat the Hamdanid forces in northern Syria. Emir Sayf al-Dawla is forced to retreat – many of his court companions and ghilman fall in pursuit, while over 1,700 of his Turk cavalry are captured and paraded in the streets of Constantinople.

title: 958

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Battle of Andrassos: The Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger defeat the Hamdanid army (30,000 men) in an ambush in the passages of the Cilician mountains, in south Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Emir Sayf al-Dawla barely manages to escape, and returns to Aleppo with only 300 horsemen. The Hamdanids can no longer afford to raid in Anatolia, which is a turning point in the Arab-Byzantine wars in the East.

title: 960

date: December

text: December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine expeditionary force under General Nikephoros Phokas invades northern Syria, and sacks Aleppo, capital of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla. In late December Aleppo is taken by storm, with the population killed or enslaved; the city is razed. The Byzantine army takes possession of 390,000 silver dinars, 2,000 camels and 1,400 mules.

title: 962

date: June 23

text: June 23 - Arab–Byzantine wars: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border between the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Aleppo at Samosata, headed by Emperor Nikephoros II and Sayf al-Dawla, the Emir of Aleppo. The Emirate receives 3,000 captured prisoners from the region of Cilicia, after its conquest by the Byzantine Emperor, as well as the poet Abu Firas al-Hamdani, who has previously been held prisoner by the Byzantines.

title: 966

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

date: February 9

text: February 9 – Sayf al-Dawla, Hamdanid emir (b. 916)

title: 967


slug: scandinavia

label: Scandinavia

description: region in Northern Europe

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

text: First Gothic invasion: The Goths, originally from Scandinavia, with the Sarmatians (from modern Iran), invade the Balkans and Greece. They ravage Moesia and Thrace.

title: 267

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The town of Staraja Ladoga (Northern Russia) is founded by Scandinavians. The settlement becomes a prosperous trading outpost for jewelry, casual items, craft tools and dress adornments (approximate date).

title: 753

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the first appearance of Vikings in England. The Viking raid on Portland in Dorset is the first of its kind recorded in the British Isles, including Ireland. The reeve of Dorchester (a local high-ranking official) goes to greet them after they land, perhaps accustomed to welcoming Scandinavian merchants. He is killed. Viking attacks increase in intensity over the coming decades.

title: 789

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Viking raiders ascend the River Garonne as far as the city of Toulouse, and pillage the lands of Septimania. Part of the marauding Vikings invades Galicia (Northern Spain), where some perish in a storm at sea. After being defeated in Corunna, the Scandinavian raiders sack the Umayyad cities of Seville (see below), Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon.

title: 844

text: King Harald Fairhair of Norway dies after a 59-year reign as the Scandinavian nation's first ruler. He divides the kingdom among his many sons (about 25 years ago) to bring peace. Unable to travel through the country - and perform his royal duties, Harald hands over power to his favorite son Eric Bloodaxe, who allegedly kills at least two of his brothers to gain the Norwegian throne that he will hold (approximate date).

title: 931

section: Culture & Society

text: Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark, consolidates his rule over Jutland and Zealand. He adopts Christianity, erecting a carved stone at Jelling to honour his parents. It features a runic inscription (best-known in Denmark) and an image of Christ surrounded by interlace. The other Scandinavian kingdoms slowly convert to Christianity (approximate date).

title: 960

text: Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who has invaded Nordalbingia (modern-day Holstein), to shake off imperial overlordship. Otto's armies swiftly subdue the Danes, consolidating the frontier between Scandinavia and Northern Germany. Meanwhile, Henry II begins a rebellion against his cousin Otto. He forges alliances with Bavarian and Saxon nobles.

title: 974

text: Viking raids from Scandinavia threaten the southern English coast after a pause of 25 years. Hampshire and the Isle of Thanet are ravaged.

title: 980

section: Events › By place › England

text: Katedralskolan in Lund (modern Sweden), the oldest school in Scandinavia, is founded by King Canute IV of Denmark.

title: 1085

text: Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen of the Teutonic Knights guarantees peace with the Kalmar Union of Scandinavia by selling the Baltic Sea island of Gotland to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

title: 1409

date: July 29

text: July 29 – The War in Gotland begins in Scandinavia as an army from Sweden, commanded by Generals Magnus Gren and Birger Trolle, invades the island of Gotland, at the time ruled by Denmark. The invasion is repelled by Erik of Pomerania, ruler of the island and the former King of Sweden and Denmark.

title: 1448

date: May 27

text: May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.

title: 1660

section: Events › April–June

date: February 22

text: February 22 – The Lejonkulan ("lion's den") opens at Stockholm in Sweden as the first permanent theater in Scandinavia, with the performance of Jean Magnon's Orontes en Satira.

title: 1667

date: December 2

text: December 2 – Norsk Hydro, predecessor of Equinor, a state-run energy product and grid brand in Scandinavia, is founded in Norway.

title: 1905

section: Events › December


slug: scandinavian-york

label: Scandinavian York

description: state

text: Viking leader Halfdan Ragnarsson formally establishes the Danish kingdom of York, after the removal of the puppet king Ricsige of Northumbria, and becomes the first monarch.

title: 876

section: Conflict & Security

text: Kings Hyfaidd of Dyfed, Elisedd of Brycheiniog and Hywel of Glywysing, being harassed by the armies of King Anarawd in Wales, seek the protection of Alfred the Great, and submit to his overlordship. Anarawd seeks an alliance with King Guthred of York.

title: 885

text: Edward the Elder despatches an Anglo-Saxon army to attack the Northumbrian Vikings, and ravages Scandinavian York.

title: 909

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Battle of Tettenhall: King Edward the Elder attacks the joint-Kings Eowils and Halfdan of Norse York. All three Viking monarchs are killed in battle (one chronicle mentions a third brother) and the Viking army is decisively defeated by allied forces of Mercia and Wessex. The co-Kings are succeeded by Ragnall ua Ímair.

title: 910

section: Deaths

text: King Edward the Elder begins with the 'reconquest' of the Danelaw and occupies Essex. Death of High-Reeve Eadwulf II. He is succeeded by his son Ealdred I, who is almost immediately driven out by King Ragnall ua Ímair of Norse York. Ealdred flees to the court of King Constantine II of Scotland.

title: 913

text: Summer – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia cements an alliance with King Constantine II of Scotland against Norse York. She captures the fortress at Derby (belonging to the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw), while her brother, King Edward the Elder, takes Towcester. Æthelflæd's armies also ravage Brycheiniog (Wales) in revenge for killing the Mercian abbot Ecbryht (see 916).

title: 917

text: Summer – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia begins to intrigue with disaffected factions within the Norse Kingdom of York (also referred to as Jórvik). Mercian troops ravage the local countryside and peacefully overrun the fortress of Leicester (belonging to the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw), while her brother, King Edward the Elder, takes Stamford.

title: 918

text: Ragnall ua Ímair, a Viking chief from Ireland, takes control of the Norse Kingdom of York (also referred to as Jórvik) and the English-ruled Earldom of Northumbria. He establishes himself as king at York.

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Britain

section: Births

text: Amlaíb Cuarán, Viking king of Scandinavian York (d. 981)

title: 927

date: October 27

text: October 27 – King Æthelstan dies at Gloucester after a 15-year reign. He is buried at Malmesbury Abbey and succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I ("the Magnificent"). After Æthelstan's death Olaf Guthfrithson (or his cousin, Anlaf Cuaran) a Viking leader who rules Dublin, is proclaimed king of York (south of Northumbria).

title: 939

section: Crime & Justice

text: Olaf Guthfrithson, a Norse-Irish chieftain, is killed while raiding an ancient Anglian church at Tyninghame (Northern Northumbria). He is succeeded by his cousin Olaf Sigtryggsson as ruler of Jórvik (modern Yorkshire).

title: 941

text: King Eric I (Bloodaxe) is killed at Stainmore allowing King Eadred to recover York, reuniting Northumbria with that of All England. High-Reeve Osulf I of Bamburgh is appointed ealdorman ("earl") of Northumbria.

title: 954

section: Events › By place › British Isles

title: 981


slug: schleswig-holstein

label: Schleswig-Holstein

description: state in Northern Germany

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Ongendus of the Danes reinforces the Danevirke fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein. He orders a palisade rampart built on the frontier of Saxony.

title: AD 737

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

title: 801

text: Pagan Danes invade Obodrite-ruled Schleswig, to take over territory almost emptied by the forcible deportations of the Saxons by emperor Charlemagne.

title: 802

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

title: AD 808

date: June

text: June – The Wendish Crusade: An expedition of Crusaders – composed of Germans, Saxons and Danes – expels the Obotrites from Wagria (Schleswig-Holstein). Two Danish fleets led by King Canute V in alliance with co-ruler Sweyn III, ravage the northern coast. The countryside of Mecklenburg and Pommerania is plundered and depopulated with much bloodshed, especially by German forces under Henry the Lion.

title: 1147

section: Religion & Belief

date: April 8

text: April 8 – The Flensburg Disputation is held, a debate attended by Stadtholder Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (later King Christian III of Denmark), between Lutherans (led by Hermann Fast) and the more radical Anabaptists (led by Melchior Hoffman). Johannes Bugenhagen, a close associate of Martin Luther, presides. The Disputation marks the rejection of radical ideas by the Danish Reformation.

title: 1529

section: Health & Medicine

date: July 30

text: July 30 – The only continental outbreak of English sweating sickness reaches Lübeck, spreading from there into Schleswig-Holstein in the next few months.

title: 1529

section: Events › July–September

date: February 7

text: February 7 – The Siege of Tönning (a fortress of the Swedish Empire and now located in Germany in the state of Schleswig-Holstein) ends after almost a year, as Danish forces force the surrender of the remaining 1,600 defenders. The fortress is then leveled by the Danes.

title: 1714

section: Events › January–March

date: November 15

text: November 15 – King Christian IX of Denmark succeeds his distant cousin Frederick VII, giving rise to the beginning of the Second Schleswig-Holstein crisis.

title: 1863

section: Events › November

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Denmark rejects an Austrian-Prussian ultimatum to repeal the Danish Constitution, which says that Schleswig-Holstein is part of Denmark.

title: 1864

section: Events › January


slug: scholarly-method

label: Scholarly method

description: body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the subject as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public

text: Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Muslim scholar (approximate date)

title: 603

text: Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Muslim scholar (or 689)

title: 688

text: Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i, Muslim scholar (d. 774)

title: AD 707

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Adrian of Canterbury, abbot and scholar

title: 710

text: Isma'il ibn Jafar, Shī‘ah Imām and scholar (or 722)

title: 719

text: Ali al-Ridha, Shī‘ah Imām and Muslim scholar (d. 818)

title: 765

text: Abdullah al-Aftah, Shī‘ah Imam and Muslim scholar

title: 766

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Alan of Farfa, Aquitanian scholar and hermit

title: 769

text: Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i, Muslim scholar (b. 707)

title: 774

date: February

text: February – Al-Jahiz, Afro-Muslim scholar and writer (d. 868)

title: 776

text: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim scholar and theologian (d. 855)

title: 780

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

title: 782

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Emperor Constantine VI is betrothed to the 6-year-old Rotrude, daughter of Charlemagne; Irene sends a scholar monk called Elisaeus to educate her in Greek language and manners.

title: 782

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Ibn Qutaybah, Muslim scholar (d. 889)

title: 828

text: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim scholar and theologian (b. 780)

title: 855

text: Al-Jahiz, Afro-Muslim scholar and writer (b. 776)

title: 868

text: Ibn Qutaybah, Muslim scholar (b. 828)

title: 889

date: October 26

text: October 26 – King Alfred the Great dies after a 28-year reign in which he has forced invading Danish Vikings to withdraw, consolidated England around Wessex, divided parts of Mercia into shires, compiled the best laws of earlier kings, encouraged learning by bringing famous scholars to Wessex and made his own translations of Latin works. He is succeeded by his eldest son, Edward the Elder as king of Wessex.

title: 899

section: Events › By place › Britain


slug: scipio-africanus

label: Scipio Africanus

description: Roman general and politician (236/235–183 BC)

year_label: 236 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus, Roman general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic (approximate date) (d. 183 BC)

title: 236 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: Manius Pomponius Matho, Roman general, consul and maternal grandfather of Scipio Africanus

title: 211 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: Following the death of his father, Publius Cornelius Scipio, and his uncle, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, at the hands of the Carthaginians, the young Publius Cornelius Scipio takes over command of the Roman troops in Spain. His appointment reflects the Roman Senate's dissatisfaction with the cautious strategy of the propraetor, Gaius Claudius Nero, then commander in Spain north of the Ebro.

title: 210 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 209 BCE

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

title: 209 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

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

title: 208 BC

year_label: 206 BCE

text: The Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio secures Gades, thus making Roman control of Spain complete. With the effective withdrawal of the Carthaginians from Spain, Hispania becomes a Roman province.

title: 206 BC

text: In the Battle of Ilipa (Alcalá del Río, near Seville) in Spain, the Carthaginian generals, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, are defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio. Mago retreats to Gades (modern Cádiz) and then sails for the Balearic Islands.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

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

title: 205 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Roman forces under Publius Cornelius Scipio besiege Utica in Carthaginia. Scipio is unable to stop the combined forces of the Carthaginians under Hasdrubal Gisco and the Numidians under their chief, Syphax, and he is forced to lift his siege of Utica.

title: 204 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

text: Hanno the Elder, Carthaginian general executed by Scipio Africanus

title: 204 BC

year_label: 203 BCE

text: The Roman general, Publius Cornelius Scipio, while undertaking peace negotiations with the Carthaginians at Utica, makes a surprise attack on the Carthaginian camp and destroys it. Then, sweeping down on the forces that the Carthaginians and their allies, the Numidians, are trying to muster on the Great Plains near the upper Bagradas River (in modern Tunisia), he smashes that army in the Battle of the Great Plains. The Numidian king, Syphax, and the Carthaginian leader, Hasdrubal Gisco, manage to escape separately.

title: 203 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

text: Following the Battle of Zama, the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio gains the cognomen "Africanus" in honour of his feats in North Africa against Carthage.

title: 202 BC

date: October 19

text: October 19 – The Battle of Zama (130 kilometers south-west of Carthage) ends the Second Punic War and largely destroys the power of Carthage. Roman and Numidian forces under the leadership of the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio and his Numidian ally, Masinissa, defeat a combined army of Carthaginians and their Numidian allies under the command of Hannibal and force Carthage to capitulate. Hannibal loses 20,000 men in the defeat, but he is able to escape Masinissa's pursuit.

title: 202 BC

year_label: 199 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus becomes censor and princeps Senatus (the titular head of the Roman Senate).

title: 199 BC

year_label: 191 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus persuades the Roman Senate to continue the war against Antiochus III by making him the chief commander and allowing him and his brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, to follow Antiochus into Anatolia.

title: 191 BC

year_label: 190 BCE

text: Meeting no further resistance from the Seleucids and their allies, the Roman army under general Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius, along with King Eumenes II of Pergamum and other allies, cross the Hellespont into Anatolia.

title: 190 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

text: Cornelia, second daughter of Scipio Africanus. She will be considered by Roman society to be the perfect example of a virtuous Roman woman (d. 100 BC)

title: 190 BC

year_label: 187 BCE

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus is elected tribune of the plebs, in which capacity he is recorded as having saved Scipio Africanus from prosecution by interposing his veto. Tiberius is no friend nor political ally of Scipio's, but feels that the general's services to Rome merit his release from the threat of trial like any common criminal. Supposedly, in gratitude for this action, Scipio betrothes his youngest daughter, Cornelia, to him.

title: 187 BC

year_label: 185 BCE

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius are accused by Cato the Elder and his supporters of having received bribes from the late Seleucid king Antiochus III. Scipio defies his accusers, reminds the Romans of their debt to him, and retires to his country house at Liternum in Campania. However, Cato is successful in breaking the political influence of Lucius Scipio and Scipio Africanus.

title: 185 BC

year_label: 183 BCE

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus dies at Liternum in Campania.

title: 183 BC

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, Roman statesman and general, famous for his victory over the Carthaginian leader Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which ended the Second Punic War and gave him the surname Africanus (b. 236 BC)

title: 183 BC

year_label: 150 BCE

text: Scipio Aemilianus is sent by the Roman general, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, to Numidia to obtain some elephants from the Numidian king Masinissa, the friend of his grandfather Scipio Africanus. While there, he witnesses a great but indecisive battle between the Numidians and the Carthaginians. The latter then ask Scipio Aemilianus to arrange a settlement, but the negotiations break down.

title: 150 BC