slug: november

label: November

description: eleventh month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

section: Conflict & Security

date: September

text: September-November - Battle of Guandu: Chinese warlord Cao Cao defeats his rival Yuan Shao.

title: AD 200

section: Events › By place › China

date: November

text: November – A flood in Edessa destroys a Christian church, killing over 2,000 people.

title: 201

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: November – Battle of Lake Benacus: A Roman army (35,000 men) under emperor Claudius II defeats the Germanic tribes of the Alamanni along the banks of Lake Garda.

title: 268

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: November: Diocletian issues his Edict on Maximum Prices, which, rather than halting rampant inflation, causes widespread panic and an increase in inflation. The measure is quickly abandoned.

title: 301

section: Deaths

text: November – Constantius II, Roman Emperor (b. 317)

title: 361

text: November – Lý Trường Nhân sends an envoy to make peace with the Liu Song, and requests the title of "Hành Châu sự", a position with less authority than that of the Governor of Jiaozhou. Emperor Ming approves Trường Nhân's request, granting him the authority to govern Jiaozhou until 479.

title: 468

section: Events › By place › Jiaozhou (Vietnam)

text: November – Emperor Anastasius I accepts a peace agreement with the Sasanian Empire (Persia), based on the status quo. He upgrades the fortifications at Batnae, Edessa and Amida (Northern Mesopotamia).

title: 506

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: November – Siege of Naples: Belisarius captures Naples after a month's siege, by sending troops into the city through an abandoned Roman aqueduct.

title: 536

section: Events › By place › Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire

text: November – Belisarius brings his long-awaited reinforcements, namely 3,000 Isaurians and 1,800 cavalry embarked in Ostia, along with a supply convoy, safely to Rome. The Goths are forced to abandon the Portus Claudii.

title: 537

text: November – Battle of Muzayyah, Battle of Saniyy, and Battle of Zumail: Khalid coordinates successful night attacks against the Arab Christians.

title: 633

section: Events › By place › Arabia

section: Religion & Belief

text: November – Pepin the Short, youngest son of Charles Martel, forces the last Merovingian king Childeric III to retire to the monastery of Saint-Bertin. He proclaims himself as king of the Franks with the support of Pope Zachary, and is crowned at Soissons by Boniface, bishop of Mainz, becoming, as Pepin III, the first Carolingian monarch of the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 751

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: November – Stephen II crosses the passes of the Alps to Gaul. He leaves Rome unprotected, under threat of a siege from the Lombards.

title: 753

text: November – Abdallah ibn Ali, governor of Syria and uncle of as-Saffah, launches a claim for the caliphate, but is defeated by forces loyal to al-Mansur, under Abu Muslim, at Nisibis (modern Turkey).

title: 754

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

text: November - December: Caliph Harun al-Rashid marries Umm Muhammad, the daughter of Abbasid prince Salih al-Miskin and Umm Abdullah, the daughter of Isa ibn Ali, in Al-raqqah. She had formerly been married to Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, who had repudiated her.

title: 803

text: November – Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, reasserts his control over the city of Toledo, autonomous since 797. To this effect Al-Hakam has over 72 nobles (accounts talk of 5,000) massacred at a banquet, crucified and displayed along the banks of the Guadalquivir River (modern Spain), in what comes to be known as the "Day of the Trench".

title: 806

text: November (approximate date) – An earthquake in Corinth, Greece kills an estimated 45,000 people.

title: 856

section: Events › By topic › Geology

text: November – Erispoe, ruler (duke) of Brittany, is assassinated by his cousin Salomon and followers, in the church at Talensac. King Charles the Bald acknowledges Salomon as the rightful 'king' of Brittany.

title: 857

text: November – Frost begins in Scotland, and lasts until April 875.

title: 874

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: November – Lambert II and Berengar I agree to sign a treaty at Pavia. Berengar receives the realm between the Adda and the Po, while the rest stays under the control of Lambert (including the March of Tuscany). They share Bergamo, and Lambert pledges to marry Gisela, Berengar's daughter.

title: 896

text: November – (Shaban 312 AH) Hamd bin Khazar, leader of the Zenata Berber nomads in the high plateau of central Algeria, sets an ambush that kills Massala ibn Habus, the Fatimid Governor of Tahert.

title: 924

section: Events › October—December

text: November — In Baghdad (now in Iraq), Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Khaqani is dismissed from his position as the Grand Vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate upon the insistence of the Abbasid commander Mu'nis al-Muzaffar.

title: 925

section: Events › By date › July – December

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

text: November – Otto arrives at Rome; Pope John XII and Adalbert II (co-ruler of Italy) flee to Campania, taking with them most of the Papal treasury. The Roman citizens warmly receive Otto as a 'liberator'.

title: 963

text: November – The imperial palace is destroyed by fire.

title: 1001

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: November – The newly constructed Japanese imperial residence burns down.

title: 1015

text: November – Emperor Henry II conducts his fourth Italian military campaign. He crosses the Brenner Pass with a 60,000-strong army, and reaches Verona, where he receives Lombard levies. Henry proceeds to Mantua and then into Ravenna, to spend Christmas there.

title: 1021

text: November – After a 20 day of siege, Mansur I, formerly the Emir of Derbent recaptures the capital from the Emir Yazid ibn Ahmad with help from the Christian state of Sarir.

title: 1024

text: November – Alberic of Ostia, papal legate to Outremer, convenes a legatine council in the cathedral of Antioch to examine the conduct of the Latin patriarch. The council is also attended by the Armenian Catholicos Gregory III and marks a symbolic beginning for Armenian-Latin ecclesiastic high-level contacts.

title: 1139

text: November – The Jin dynasty and Southern Song dynasty sign the Treaty of Shaoxing, and peace in the Jin–Song Wars lasts for the next twenty years. The Huai River is established as the boundary between them.

title: 1141

section: Events

text: November – The combined forces of Louis VII and Conrad III meet at Lopardium and march along the coastal road via Pergamon and Smyrna to Ephesus, where they celebrate Christmas. Conrad, still suffering from his wounds, sails back to Constantinople to be placed under the care of Manuel's own physicians. Meanwhile, the Crusader camp is attacked by Turkish raiders near Ephesus.

title: 1147

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

text: November – Becket controversy: Thomas Becket excommunicates three bishops.

title: 1170

section: Events › By place › England

text: November – Andronikos makes a treaty with Venice, in which he promises a yearly indemnity as compensation for Venetian losses, during the Massacre of the Latins.

title: 1183

section: Events › By area › Byzantine Empire

text: November – Richard of Poitou, son of Henry II, allies himself with Philip II and pays him homage. He promises to concede his rights to both Normandy and Anjou. Henry is overpowered by Richard's supporters, who chase him from Le Mans to Angers. They force him to accept peace by conceding to all demands, including the recognition of Richard as his successor.

title: 1188

text: November – Ban Kulin, ruler of Bosnia (b. 1163)

title: 1204

text: November – Against the backdrop of the continuing Papal Interdict of 1208, John, King of England, is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. Despite the excommunication, John will continue to make amends to the Church – including giving alms to the poor whenever he defiles a holy day by hunting during it. He feeds 100 paupers to make up for when he "went into the woods on the feast of St. Mary Magdalen", and three years from now, he will feast 450 paupers "because the king went to take cranes, and he took nine, for each of which he feasted fifty paupers."

title: 1209

text: November – The Crusader army (some 15,000 men) under Andrew II sets out from Acre, and marches up the Plain of Esdraelon. Sultan Al-Adil I, on hearing that the crusaders are assembling, sends some Muslim troops to Palestine, to halt their advance. The crusaders move towards Beisan, while Al-Adil waits at Ajloun Castle, ready to intercept any attack on Damascus. He sends his son, Al-Mu'azzam, to cover Jerusalem. On November 10, Andrew's well-mounted army defeats Al-Adil at Bethsaida, on the Jordan River. Beisan is occupied and sacked; the Muslims retreat to their fortresses and towns.

title: 1217

text: November – Henry III's army camped at Grosmont Castle is attacked in the night, by a force of Welsh and English rebels. Several of Henry's supporters are captured, and the castle is returned to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, one of the rebels.

title: 1233

text: November – Pope Gregory IX proclaims war on the city of Rome after a local revolt forces him into exile. He issues the papal bull Rachel suum videns, calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land.

title: 1234

text: November – Michael II Asen, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, succeeds his brother Kaliman I (possibly poisoned). He confirms the reconquest of Bulgarian territories against John III (Doukas Vatatzes), Byzantine ruler of the Empire of Nicaea.

title: 1246

text: November – Charles I orders his officials to take all Genoese prisoner within his territories, except for the Guelphs and to seize their property. The Sicilian fleet occupies Ajaccio on Corsica. Pope Gregory X condemns the aggressive policy of Charles and proposes that the Genoese elect Guelph officials.

title: 1272

text: November–December – The kings Sancho IV of Castile ("the Brave") and James II of Aragon ("the Just") agree to join the war against the Marinids and conclude a treaty of friendship. Muhammad II, Nasrid ruler of Granada, gives his support to Sancho to take Tarifa from the Marinids. In the agreement, Castile and Aragon will respect their own boundaries.

title: 1291

text: November – Michael II becomes Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch (until 1312).

title: 1292

text: November – Flemish Revolt: A uprising in Flanders is caused by both excessive taxation levied by Louis I, and by his pro-French policies. The revolt is led by landowning farmers under Nicolaas Zannekin. Members of the local gentry join and William Deken, mayor of Bruges, becomes the leader of the revolt.

title: 1323

text: November – Battle of Cadzand: English troops raid the Flemish island of Cadzand.

title: 1337

text: October–November – Several Mongol towns in the Crimea are cleared of inhabitants by the Black Death.

title: 1346

text: November – Richard de Pilmuir, bishop of Dunkeld

title: 1347

text: November – Lionel of Antwerp, son of King Edward III of England, is created Duke of Clarence.

title: 1362

text: November – The Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of China directs General Lan Yu to attack the Mongol forces led by Tögüs Temür, whom the Emperor Zhu had deposed. The confrontation between Lan Yu and Tögüs Temür will culminate six months later at the Battle of Buir Lake, 500 mi north of Beijing.

title: 1387

text: November – An English revenge raid on Brittany by Sir William Wilford captures 40 ships and causes considerable damage ashore.

title: 1403

text: November – As an aftermath to the War in Gotland (1403-1404), Queen Margaret I buys the rights to Visby for 8000 marks from Albrecht of Mecklenburg during negotiations in Flensburg. This strengthens the Kalmar Union and pushes out the Teutonic Order, angering grand master Konrad von Jungingen.

title: 1405

text: November – For his services during the defense of Marienburg and Prussia, Heinrich von Plauen is chosen as the 27th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

title: 1410

text: November – The Bourges astronomical clock, designed by Jean Fusoris, is installed in Bourges Cathedral as a gift to the town from Charles VII of France.

title: 1424

text: November or December – Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (d. 1476)

title: 1431

text: November - In Vietnam, a rebellion led by chieftains in Tuyên Quang against King Lê Nhân Tông of the Lê dynasty was defeated.

title: 1448

text: November – The pretender Perkin Warbeck begins a campaign to take the English throne, with a landing in Ireland.

title: 1491

text: November (probable) – François Rabelais, French Renaissance writer (d. 1553)

title: 1494

text: November – Gazapati, becomes the new King of Burma as his father, King Raza, abdicates the throne at the capital of Arakan, Mrauk U.

title: 1513

text: January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palace of Whitehall in London, before Queen Elizabeth I of England, who recognises his status. He returns to Ireland on May 26, and resumes his rebellious activities by November.

title: 1562

text: November – Jacques Grévin, French dramatist (b. 1539)

title: 1570

text: November – Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602): A diplomatic delegation from Safavid Persia, led by Hossein Ali Beg Bayat and his staff after being dispatched by the Shah Abbas the Great, arrives in Moscow as part of a mission to enlist European nations into an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. The Persians are accompanied by English adventurer Anthony Shirley, who had persuaded Shah Abbas to undertake the initiative.

title: 1599

text: November – John Ogilby, English writer and cartographer (d. 1676)

title: 1600

text: November – Rokugō rebellion: More than 1,000 rōnin rebel in support of their exiled lord, Onodera Yoshimichi, in Japan.

title: 1603

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

title: 1615

text: October/November – Ben Jonson's satirical five-act comedy, The Devil is an Ass, is produced at the Blackfriars Theatre in London by the King's Men, poking fun at contemporary credence in witchcraft and Middlesex juries.

title: 1616

text: November – Simon Arnauld, Marquis de Pomponne, French diplomat and minister of Louis XIV (d. 1699)

title: 1618

text: November – The Castle of Elvas in Portugal resists a 9-day siege by the Spanish during the Portuguese Restoration War.

title: 1644

text: November – John Casor, a servant of African descent in Northampton County of the colony of Virginia, leaves Anthony Johnson's farm, after claiming his contract of indenture had expired, and goes to work for a new employer, Robert Parker. Johnson sues Parker, claiming that Casor is a slave for life, rather than an indentured servant, and the court issues a landmark ruling on March 8, 1655, establishing African-Americans as property.

title: 1653

text: November – Feodosia Morozova, Russian religious dissident martyr (b. 1632)

title: 1675

text: November – Tani Jinzan, astronomer and calendar scholar, observes a fire destroy Tosa (now Kōchi) in Japan at the same time as a Leonid meteor shower, taking it as evidence to reinforce belief in the "Theory of Areas".

title: 1698

text: November – In Williamsburg, capital of the Colony of Virginia in America, construction of the Capitol Building is completed.

title: 1705

text: November – Mirwais Hotak, Pashtun emir, and founder of the Hotaki Dynasty (b. 1673)

title: 1715

text: November – Mary Toft allegedly gives birth to 16 rabbits in England; the story is later revealed to be a hoax.

title: 1726

text: November – Samuel Hearne, English explorer, fur-trader, author and naturalist (b. 1745)

title: 1792

text: November – 1797 Rugby School rebellion: The students at Rugby School in England rebel against the headmaster, Henry Ingles, after he decrees that the damage to a tradesman's windows should be paid for by the students.

title: 1797

text: November – According to tradition, William Webb Ellis invents the sport of rugby football at Rugby School in England.

title: 1823

text: November – The term "socialist" is coined by Robert Owen in his London periodical, The Co-operative Magazine and Monthly Herald.

title: 1827

text: November – Tenskwatawa, Shawnee prophet, political leader (b. 1775)

title: 1836

text: November – The settlement of Dallas, Texas, is founded by John Neely Bryan.

title: 1841

text: November – Esther Leach, English-Indian actress and director (b. 1809)

title: 1843

text: November – Austin College receives a charter in Huntsville, Texas.

title: 1849

text: November – Leo Tolstoy's debut novel Childhood is published under the initials L. N., in this month's issue of the Saint Petersburg literary journal Sovremennik (and later in book form).

title: 1852

text: November – Land is acquired for Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black school, established as a Baptist institution.

title: 1879

text: November – Newcastle United F.C. is founded in the northeast of England as Stanley F.C., with a further name change to Newcastle East End F.C. the following year.

title: 1881

text: November – The Third Anglo-Burmese War begins.

title: 1885

text: January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.

title: 1886

text: November – The extremely harsh winter of 1886–87 in the United States begins, killing tens of thousands of cattle on the Great Plains of North America.

title: 1886

text: November – The first free elections are held in Costa Rica.

title: 1889

text: November – Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, moves to a building on London's Victoria Embankment, as New Scotland Yard.

title: 1890

text: November–December – Russian Revolution of 1905: In the Baltic governorates, workers and peasants burn and loot hundreds of Baltic German manors. The Imperial Russian Army thereafter executes and deports thousands of looters.

title: 1905

text: November – Vladimir Zworykin takes out the first patent for color television.

title: 1929

text: September 3 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaks at 381.17, a height it would not reach again until November 1954.

title: 1929

text: November – Alfred Wegener, German geophysicist, meteorologist (b. 1880)

title: 1930


slug: novgorod-republic

label: Novgorod Republic

description: Russian city-state (1136–1478)

section: Disasters & Accidents

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

title: 1192

section: Conflict & Security

text: Swedish-Novgorodian War: Grand Prince Yaroslav II of Vladimir leads an attack from the Novgorod Republic on Baltic Finnic peoples in eastern Fennoscandia, called "Yem", whom he devastates.

title: 1227

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Battle of the Neva: A Swedish army under Bishop Thomas sails up the Gulf of Finland in their longboats. They proceed into the Neva River with the aim of seizing control over Lake Ladoga and from there, striking at the city of Novgorod. Prince Alexander rallies his druzhina comparable to the 'household' of western European countries, and decisively routs the Swedish forces, saving the Novgorod Republic from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North. As a result, Alexander wins his first military victory at the age of 19 and receives the title of 'Nevsky'.

title: 1240

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: August 12

text: August 12 – Treaty of Nöteborg: Sweden signs a peace treaty with the Novgorod Republic, regulating the border (known as Finland today) for the first time. The treaty is negotiated with the help of the Hanseatic League in order to conclude the conflict over the control of the Gulf of Finland during the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.

title: 1323

section: Events › July – September

text: The Pskov Republic gains independence from the Novgorod Republic with the treaty of Bolotovo.

title: 1348

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Muscovy and the Novgorod Republic conclude the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy.

title: 1456

date: February 25

text: February 25 – The Treaty of Yazhelbitsy is signed between the Grand Principality of Moscow (led by Grand Prince Vasily II) and the Novgorod Republic (governed by Vasily Shuisky) with Vasily II becoming the Prince of Novgorod.

title: 1456

section: Events › January–March

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

title: 1477

section: Events › Undated

date: January 15

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

title: 1478


slug: novgorod

label: Novgorod

text: Vsevolod Mstislavich of Novgorod defeats the Chuds and captures Tartu.

title: 1134

section: Events › By place › Eastern Europe

text: The Russian town of Kostroma is destroyed by the ushkuynik pirates from Novgorod.

title: 1375

text: Ushkuinik pirates from Novgorod sack the Muscovy towns of Zhukotin and Kazan.

title: 1391

title: 1478

date: March 3

text: March 3 – The Russo-Swedish War (1495–1497) ends with a six year truce signed in Russia at Novgorod. Due to gathering unrest at home, the Swedish leader Sten Sture the Elder is forced to offer a peace to Ivan III of Moscow.

title: 1497

date: February 24

text: February 24 – Delegates from Sweden, Finland and Russia arrive at Novgorod to negotiate a treaty to end the war between the two empires.

title: 1557

date: January 14

text: January 14 – WWII: Soviet troops start the offensive at Leningrad and Novgorod.

title: 1944

section: Events › January

section: Crime & Justice

date: July 26

text: July 26 – The first birch bark manuscript is discovered in Novgorod.

title: 1951

section: Events › July


slug: nubia

label: Nubia

description: region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt

section: Science & Discovery

text: 1953 BC: Senusret I launches a military campaign against Lower Nubia and conquers the region down to the Second Cataract.

title: 20th century BC

text: 1913 BC – 1903 BC: Egyptian-Nubian war.

title: 20th century BC

text: c. 1860 BC: Senusret III inspects the Nubian frontier, he leads four punitive campaigns against the Nubians.

title: 19th century BC

year_label: 730 BCE

text: 730 BC: Piye succeeds his father Kashta as king of the Nubian kingdom of Napata.

title: 8th century BC

section: Events › 730s BC

year_label: 656 BCE

text: Psamtik I extends his control over all Egypt. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty, and subsequent Nubian period, end in Ancient Egypt.

title: 656 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 343 BCE

text: The King of Persia, Artaxerxes III, personally leads the Persian forces invading Egypt. The Persians are keen to access Egypt's gold and corn supplies. The town of Pelusium in the Nile Delta puts up resistance, but Pharaoh Nectanebo II is forced to retreat to Memphis. As the situation deteriorates, Nectanebo II leaves for exile in Nubia. His departure marks the end of the 30th Dynasty, the last native house to rule Egypt.

title: 343 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 23 BCE

text: The Nubians, led by queen Kandake Amanirenas, take the initiative against the Roman Empire, and attack the Roman province of Egypt moving towards Elephantine.

title: 23 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 22 BCE

text: The Roman governor of Egypt, Gaius Petronius, marches up the Nile with legions XXII Deiotariana and III Cyrenaica, and destroys the Nubian capital of Napata.

title: 22 BC

year_label: 1 CE

section: Deaths

text: AD 1 – Amanishakheto, queen of Kush (Nubia)

title: 0s

year_label: 50 CE

section: Culture & Society

text: Christianity is introduced throughout Nubia by a high official of Queen Judith.

title: 50s

section: Events › 50 AD › Nubia

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Nubian kingdom of Alodia is converted to Christianity by Byzantine missionaries (according to John of Ephesus).

title: 569

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Nubian rulers become Christian (approximate date).

title: 600

text: Battle of Dongola: 'Amr ibn al-'As sends an Arab expedition of 20,000 horsemen, under his cousin Uqba ibn Nafi, to Makuria (Southern Egypt). The Nubians strike hard against the Muslims near Dongola with hit-and-run attacks. The Arab incursions into Nubia are temporarily halted.

title: 642

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Uthman ibn Affan establishes a treaty (the Baqt) between the Christian Nubians and the Muslims in Egypt, that lasts for six centuries, including the tribute of 400 slaves annually.

title: 652

section: Events › By place › Arab Empire

text: Abdullah ibn Sa'ad, governor of Upper Egypt, dies after a 12-year regime in which he has defeated neighboring Nubia.

title: 656

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: The Church of Nubia transfers its allegiance, from the Eastern Orthodox Church to the Coptic Church (approximate date).

title: 719

text: The Qarmatians are defeated north of Cairo by Fatimid forces under General Jawhar al-Siqilli. He consolidates Fatimid rule and sends a legation to the Christian land of Nubia to secure the southern border of Egypt. Arab traders introduce Islam to the population, which gradually supplants Christianity.

title: 974


slug: numidia

label: Numidia

description: Amazigh (Berber) kingdom in North Africa (202 BC - 40 AD)

year_label: 270 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Carthage, already in control of Sardinia, southern Spain and Numidia, is ruled by an oligarchy of merchants under two Suffetes or chief magistrates. While Carthage's military commanders are strong, the state relies on mercenaries (including Spanish ones) for its soldiers.

title: 270 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 247 BCE

text: In Numidia Carthaginian general Hanno conquered the city of Theveste (nicknamed: Hekatompylos) after which he negotiated a peace settlement with the Numidians ending Carthage's war with the Numidians. He was praised by both parties for the fairness of the treaty.

title: 247 BC

year_label: 240 BCE

text: After the Numidian mercenary leader Narawas defects to Hamilcar Barca, Numidian reinforcements (about 2,000 men) help him defeat the mercenaries again. Hamilcar pardons his captured prisoners, accepting into his army anyone who will fight for Carthage, and exiling anyone who will not.

title: 240 BC

year_label: 238 BCE

section: Births

text: Masinissa, king of Numidia (approximate date)

title: 238 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: Syphax, king of the western Numidian tribe, the Masaesyli, concludes an alliance with the Romans and they send military advisers to help Syphax train his soldiers. He then attacks the eastern Numidians (the Massylii) ruled by Gala, who is an ally of the Carthaginians. The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal travels to northern Africa from Spain to stamp out the uprising by the Numidians.

title: 212 BC

text: The Capuans then send an appeal for help to Hannibal. In response, Hannibal sends 2,000 Numidian cavalry as reinforcements to Capua. The combined Carthaginian forces defeat the Roman force led by Flaccus and Pulcher, the latter of whom will soon die of wounds he has sustained.

title: 212 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 211 BCE

text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barca returns to Spain after his victory over the rebellious Numidians. He then manages to turn the tide against the Romans in Spain, with the Roman generals Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus killed in separate battles—Publius on the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) and Gnaeus in the hinterland of Carthago Nova (Cartagena). The Carthaginians recover all their territory south of the Ebro.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 206 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Hasdrubal Gisco retreats to the coast and then crosses to North Africa, where he gives his daughter in marriage to Syphax, king of the Numidian Masaesyli tribe, to formalize their military alliance.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Having lost his alliance with the Numidian chief Masinissa, the Carthaginian general, Hasdrubal Gisco, finds a new ally in the Numidian king Syphax, who marries Sophonisba, Hasdrubal's daughter, who, until his defection to Rome, has been betrothed to Masinissa.

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

text: Syphax, Numidian king allied with the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War against Rome

title: 203 BC

year_label: 202 BCE

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: 172 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The peace treaty at the end of the Second Punic War requires that all border disputes involving Carthage be arbitrated by the Roman Senate and requires Carthage to get explicit Roman approval before going to war. As a result, envoys from Carthage appear before the Roman Senate to request resolution of a boundary dispute with Numidia. The dispute is decided in Numidia's favour.

title: 172 BC

year_label: 171 BCE

text: Lucius Postumius Albinus is sent by Rome as an ambassador to King Masinissa of Numidia, and to the Carthaginians in order to raise troops for the war against Perseus of Macedonia.

title: 171 BC

year_label: 160 BCE

text: Jugurtha, King of Numidia (d. 104 BC)

title: 160 BC

year_label: 157 BCE

text: The Carthaginians, prevented by their treaty with Rome from engaging in armed resistance, but equally guaranteed against any loss of territory, appeal to Rome against the depredations of King Masinissa of Numidia. The Roman censor Marcus Porcius Cato heads a commission which arbitrates a truce between Carthage and her former ally, Masinissa.

title: 157 BC

year_label: 151 BCE

text: Numidia launches another border raid on Carthaginian soil, besieging a town. In response Carthage launches a large military expedition (25,000 soldiers) to repel the Numidian invaders.

title: 151 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

year_label: 148 BCE

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus divides Numidia among the three sons of the recently deceased Masinissa.

title: 148 BC

text: Masinissa, king of Numidia (b. c. 238 BC)

title: 148 BC

year_label: 134 BCE

text: Scipio Aemilianus, victor of Carthage, takes command in Spain against the Numantians. He recruits 20,000 men and 40,000 allies, including Numidian cavalry under Jugurtha. Scipio, an expert in sieges, builds a ring of seven forts and a ditch palisade before beginning the Siege of Numantia. The perimeter of the circumvallations is twice as long as that of the city. The river Durius (Douro), enables the defenders to be supplied by small boats.

title: 134 BC

year_label: 118 BCE

text: Micipsa dies and Numidia, following the king's wish, is divided into three parts, a third each ruled by Micipsa's own sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal I, and the king's adopted son, Jugurtha.

title: 118 BC

section: Events › By place › Numidia

text: Micipsa, king of Numidia (approximate date)

title: 118 BC

year_label: 111 BCE

text: Jugurtha, king of Numidia, bribes the commander Lucius Calpurnius Bestia and Roman friends to secure easy terms. He is given a safe conduct to Rome in order to account for his actions in the Roman Senate. Jugurtha contemptuously bribes his way through all difficulties.

title: 111 BC

year_label: 110 BCE

text: Jugurtha, king of Numidia, defeats a Roman army under Aulus Postumius Albinus.

title: 110 BC

year_label: 108 BCE

text: Roman forces under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus defeat the forces of Jugurtha of Numidia at the Battle of the Muthul, with Gaius Marius as a subordinate.

title: 108 BC

year_label: 104 BCE

text: Jugurtha, king of Numidia (execution by Rome) (b. c. 160 BC)

title: 104 BC

year_label: 52 BCE

text: Juba II, king of Numidia (d. AD 23)

title: 52 BC

year_label: 46 BCE

text: Juba I, king of Numidia (killed after the Battle of Thapsus)

title: 46 BC

year_label: 17 CE

text: Tacfarinas, Numidian deserter from the Roman army, begins a guerrilla war against the Romans. He leads his own Musulamii tribe and a coalition of Berbers, attacking the Limes Tripolitanus, a fortified zone (limes) of the Roman Empire in Africa.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Africa

year_label: 24 CE

text: The Roman war against Numidia and Mauretania ends with the annexation of the two African kingdoms.

title: 20s

section: Events › 24 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 97 CE

text: The Roman colony of Cuicul is started in Numidia.

title: AD 97

section: Health & Medicine

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

title: AD 125

text: A defense for Numidia is constructed at Lambaesis by Legio III Augusta.

title: AD 129

text: July 17 – Twelve Christian inhabitants of Scillium in Numidia are executed in Carthage (also in North Africa) (known as the Scillitan Martyrs) – they had refused to swear an oath to the Emperor.

title: AD 180

text: The province of Numidia is taken from the African proconsul, and made an Imperial province.

title: AD 200

text: Severus launches a campaign in Africa; Legio III Augusta under Quintus Anicius Faustus fights a guerrilla war against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus. They capture several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia and their capital Garama, 600 km south of Lepcis Magna. The province of Numidia is enlarged: the Romans annex Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae and Vescera.

title: 202

text: c. April – Battle of Carthage: Numidian forces loyal to Maximinus invade Africa with support of Legio III Augusta. Gordian II is killed and after a siege, Gordian I commits suicide by hanging himself with his belt.

title: 238

text: King Genseric concludes a peace treaty with the Romans, under which the Vandals retain Mauretania and a part of Numidia as foederati (allies under a special treaty) of Rome.

title: 435

text: December 15 – Battle of Tricamarum: Gelimer assembles an army of about 50,000 men at Bulla Regia (Numidia), and advances towards Carthage. Belisarius moves out to meet the Vandals; he leads the Byzantine cavalry (5,000 men) into battle. Without waiting for his infantry to come up, he charges, despite odds of almost 10-to-1, and throws Gelimer in confusion. Belisarius captures the Vandal camp by storm. Tzazo is killed in an all-cavalry fight, and Gelimer is forced to seek refuge in the mountains of Tunis with the Berbers.

title: 533

text: March – King Gelimer surrenders to Belisarius, after spending a winter in the mountains of Numidia. He and large numbers of captured Vandals are transported to Constantinople. The Vandal Kingdom ends, and the African provinces return to the Byzantine Empire.

title: 534

text: Spring – Solomon defeats the Moorish rebels at Mount Mammes and Mount Bourgaon. He secures Byzacena (modern Tunisia) and establishes fortifications along the Numidian border.

title: 535

text: Solomon captures the Aurès Mountains from the Moors and extends Byzantine authority over Numidia and Mauretania Sitifensis. The city of Theveste (Algeria) is restored and fortified.

title: 540

text: Battle of Cillium: A medium-sized Byzantine army under Solomon is defeated by the Moors on the border of Numidia. Solomon and his bodyguard are forced to retreat and are later killed.

title: 544

section: Events › By place › The Mediterranean World, Europe, and the Middle East


slug: nur-al-din-zengi

label: Nur al-Din Zengi

description: Emir of Aleppo (1146–1174) and Damascus (1154–1174)

text: Nur ad-Din, Seljuk ruler of Damascus and Aleppo (d. 1174)

title: 1118

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

title: 1146

section: Events › By place › Levant

date: May

text: May–June – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, signs a peace treaty with Mu'in al-Din Unur. As part of the agreement, he marries Mu'in al-Din's daughter Ismat al-Din Khatun. Together Mu'in al-Din and Nur al-Din besiege the fortresses of Bosra and Salkhad, which has been captured by rebellious Muslim forces.

title: 1147

text: Spring – Joscelin II, count of Edessa, on his way to Antioch is separated from his escort and falls into the hands of some Turcoman free-booters. Nur al-Din, ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, heard of Joscelin's capture and sends a squadron of cavalry to take him from his captors. Joscelin is led before a hostile crowd and publicly blinded. Nur al-Din puts him in prison in the Citadel of Aleppo.

title: 1150

text: Summer – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, re-captures most of Crusader territory in the Orontes Valley – reducing the Principality of Antioch to little more than a narrow coastal strip along the Mediterranean. The County of Tripoli remains unchanged and Jerusalem remains a potential threat with ambitions to expand eastward, while also striving to dominate the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.

title: 1152

date: April 18

text: April 18 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, encamps before Damascus and overthrows Mujir al-Din by force with support of the Jewish citizens, who open the eastern gate to the bulk of his army. Mujir flees to the citadel, but capitulates after only a few hours. He is offered his life and the Emirate of Homs. A few weeks later Mujir is suspected of plotting with old friends in Damascus and is exiled to Baghdad. Damascus is annexed to Zangid territory and all of Syria is unified under the authority of Nur al-Din, from Edessa in the north to the Hauran to the south.

title: 1154

text: Nur al-Din Zengi besieges the Knights Hospitaller in the crusader fortress of Banyas, routs a relief army led by King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, and takes Grand Master Bertrand de Blanquefort prisoner.

title: 1157

section: Events

text: Spring – Saladin accompanies his uncle, General Shirkuh, with an army sent to the Fatimid Caliphate (modern Egypt) by Nur al-Din, ruler (atabeg) of Syria.

title: 1164

text: Nur al-Din, Zangid ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, sends an expedition under General Shirkuh to Egypt on request of the Fatimid caliph Al-Adid. He offers him a third of the land, and fiefs for his generals.

title: 1168

section: Deaths

date: March 23

text: March 23 – Shirkuh dies from over-eating after a 2-month reign. He is succeeded by Saladin, who is appointed chief vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate. He takes over as commander of Nur al-Din's forces in Egypt.

title: 1169

section: Events › By place › Egypt

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Caliph Al-Adid dies of natural causes (or poisoning) after a 11-year reign. Saladin overthrows the Fatimid Caliphate, and takes over as governor (atabeg) of Egypt – ruling in the name of Emir Nur al-Din.

title: 1171

text: Summer – Emir Nur al-Din begins a two year war against the Danishmendids. He creates a buffer zone between the Syrian realm and Egypt. Meanwhile, he releases Count Raymond of Tripoli for the sum of 80,000 dinars.

title: 1172

text: Traditional date – The Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul, is completed to the orders of Nur al-Din Zengi.

title: 1173

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler of Syria (b. 1118)

title: 1174

text: May 15 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Syria, dies at Damascus after a 28-year reign. He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son As-Salih Ismail al-Malik. Meanwhile, Saladin declares himself his regent and vassal.

title: 1174

text: Spring – Saladin defeats the Zangid forces before Damascus and marries Nur al-Din's widow Asimat. On June 24 he accepts a truce and is recognized as the sovereign over Syria.

title: 1176


slug: nuremberg

label: Nuremberg

description: city in the German state of Bavaria

date: December 18

text: December 18 – Conrad III (with support of the imperial cities, Swabia and Austria) is elected and crowned as anti-king of Germany at Nuremberg.

title: 1127

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: In Germany, Peter Henlein of Nuremberg uses iron parts and coiled springs to build a portable timepiece.

title: 1502

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Science & Discovery

text: The Pomander Watch of 1505, the earliest known pocket watch, is made by Peter Henlein in Germany at Nuremberg. After an absence of 480 years, the watch will be rediscovered at a flea market in London; an inscription on the watch, "MDVPHN", will be interpreted in 2014 as meaning a rendition of the year (MDV, 1505 in Roman numerals); the inventor (PH for Peter Henlein) and the place of manufacture (N for Nuremberg).

title: 1505

date: March 21

text: March 21 – In Nuremberg, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is printed during the illness of Nicholas Copernicus, offering mathematical arguments for the existence of the heliocentric universe, denying the geocentric model. According to legend, Copernicus, who had a stroke in December, is presented a copy of the book on his deathbed shortly before dying on May 24 in Frombork at the age of 70.

title: 1543

section: Events › January–March

date: April 14

text: April 14 – The citizens of Nuremberg see what appears to be an aerial battle, followed by the appearance of a large black triangular object and a large crash (with smoke) outside the city. A news notice (an early form of newspaper) is printed on April 14, describing the event.

title: 1561

section: Events › April–June

text: March 21 – Thirty Years' War: King Gustavus Adolphus makes a triumphant entry into Nuremberg, where he is welcomed by the populace and pledges to protect the cause of Protestantism.

title: 1632

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of the Alte Veste – Besieged by Wallenstein at Nuremberg, Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus attempts to break the siege, but is defeated.

title: 1632

section: Events › July–September

text: Three-wheeled wheelchairs are invented in Nuremberg by watchmaker Stephan Farffler.

title: 1650

section: Religion & Belief

text: Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola is printed in Nuremberg.

title: 1689

section: Economy & Finance

text: Faber-Castell Company is founded by Kasper Faber in Nuremberg, Germany.

title: 1761

section: Crime & Justice

date: May 26

text: May 26 – The supposed feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered in Nuremberg, Germany.

title: 1828

date: December 7

text: December 7 – The Bavarian Ludwig Railway opens between Nuremberg and Fürth, with a train hauled by the English-built Der Adler ("The Eagle"), the first railway in Germany.

title: 1835

section: Events › October–December

section: Culture & Society

date: October 3

text: October 3 – The Staedtler Company (pencil manufacturers) is founded by J. S. Staedtler in Nuremberg, Germany.

title: 1835

date: September 10

text: September 10 – Hermann Göring, in a speech at Nuremberg, calls the Czechs a "miserable pygmy race" who are "harassing the human race". That same evening, Edvard Beneš, President of Czechoslovakia, makes a broadcast in which he appeals for calm.

title: 1938

section: Events › September

date: September 12

text: September 12 – Hitler makes his much-anticipated closing address at Nuremberg, in which he vehemently attacks the Czech people and President Beneš. American news commentator H. V. Kaltenborn begins his famous marathon of broadcast bulletins over the CBS Radio Network, with a summation of Hitler's address.

title: 1938


slug: nusaybin

label: Nusaybin

description: district and town in Mardin, Turkey

section: Conflict & Security

text: In summer, rebellious movement emerges in Mesopotamia against Roman occupation. General Lusius Quietus is sent by Trajan to suppress the uprisings, recovering Nisibis, besieging and sacking Edessa, and waging war against local Jews

title: AD 116

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establishes his headquarters and the colonies there.

title: AD 195

text: Summer – Battle of Nisibis: A Roman army, under the command of Macrinus, is defeated in a three days' battle by the Parthians at Nisibis, in the province of Mesopotamia.

title: 217

text: King Ardashir I of the Persian Empire invades the Roman province of Mesopotamia, and unsuccessfully besieges the fortress town of Nisibis (Turkey). His army threatens the border outposts of Syria and Cappadocia.

title: 230

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

text: Shapur I makes a pre-emptive attack on Antioch to drive out the Romans. Gordian's father-in-law, Timesitheus, leads a Roman army to defeat the Sassanids at Carrhae and Nisibis.

title: 242

section: Events › By place › Persia

text: Shapur II besieges the Roman fortress of Nisibis (Syria), but is repulsed by forces under Lucilianus.

title: 337

text: Shapur II, for the second time, besieges the Roman fortress of Nisibis in eastern Mesopotamia, but is repulsed by forces under General Lucilianus.

title: 344

text: King Shapur II continues his campaign against the Roman fortresses, capturing Singara, Bezabde and Nisibis.

title: AD 360

text: Emperor Jovian negotiates a disastrous peace with Persia, surrendering four of the five Roman provinces gained by Caesar Galerius in 298, and the cities Nisibis and Singara (Mesopotamia).

title: 363

text: Autumn – Ardaburius devastates Arzanene (Armenia) and forces the Persians to retreat to Nisibis (Syria). King Bahram V allies himself with the Lakhmid Arabs of Hirah.

title: 421

text: May – Areobindus, Byzantine general (magister militum), is stationed as commander at Dara, with an army of 12,000 men to keep watch at the Persian stronghold of Nisibis (modern Turkey).

title: 503

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

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

title: 541

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

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: Emperor Maurice defeats the Persian forces under Bahrām Chobin at Nisibis (modern Turkey), and drives them back into Armenia.

title: 590

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Hormizd VI proclaims himself king in Nisibis (Turkey). He seizes the throne and will reign until 632.

title: 631

date: November

text: November – Abdallah ibn Ali, governor of Syria and uncle of as-Saffah, launches a claim for the caliphate, but is defeated by forces loyal to al-Mansur, under Abu Muslim, at Nisibis (modern Turkey).

title: 754

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

text: Imad ad-Din Zengi, a Turkish military leader, becomes governor (atabeg) of Mosul. He seizes the cities of Nisibin, Sinjar and Harran in the Jazira Region (Northern Mesopotamia).

title: 1127

section: Events › By place › Levant

date: September

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

title: 1182


slug: obotrites

label: Obotrites

description: ethnic group, Independent confederation of Polabian Slavic tribes

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: Events › By place › Europe

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

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: 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: September 4

text: September 4 – Battle of Lenzen: Slavic forces (the Redarii and the Obotrites) are defeated by a Saxon army near the fortified stronghold of Lenzen (modern Germany).

title: 929

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Battle on the Raxa: Otto I, allied with the Rani tribe, defeats the Obotrite federation, led by Nako and his brother Stoigniew (probably at the Recknitz or Elde rivers) near Mecklenburg. The Elbe Slavs are forced to pay tribute, and accept a peace agreement.

title: 955

text: Great Slav Rising: The Polabian Slavs (Wends), mainly Lutici and Obotrite tribes living east of the Elbe River revolt against Christianity and their subjugation to the German (former East Frankish) realm of the Holy Roman Empire. They invade northern Germany, sacking the cities of Havelberg, Brandenburg and Hamburg.

title: 983

section: Exploration & Expansion

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: october

label: October

description: tenth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

year_label: 37 CE

section: Health & Medicine

date: October

text: October – Caligula becomes seriously ill, or perhaps is poisoned. He recovers from his illness, but Caligula turns toward the diabolical: he starts to kill off those who are close to him, whom he sees as a serious threat.

title: 30s

section: Events › 37 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 66 CE

text: Mid–late October – Cestius Gallus, legate of Syria, marches into Judea and leads a Roman army of 30,000 men to put down the Jewish rebellion. At its core is Legio XII Fulminata, plus 2,000 selected men from the other three Syrian legions, six more cohorts of infantry and four alae of cavalry, plus over 14,000 auxiliaries furnished by Rome's eastern allies, including Herod Agrippa II and two other client kings, Antiochus IV of Commagene and Sohaemus of Emesa, who lead their forces (largely archers and cavalry) in person.

title: AD 66

text: October – The Jewish Revolt commences against the Roman Empire. The Zealots lay siege to Jerusalem and annihilate the Roman garrison (a cohort of Legio III Cyrenaica). The Sicarii capture the fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea.

title: AD 66

text: June –October – Battle of Shiting: The Eastern Wu Kingdom defeats the Cao Wei Kingdom.

title: 228

section: Events › By place › China

section: Climate & Environment

text: October – The Greuthungi, faced with food shortages, split off and move west into Pannonia. Followed by their families, they raid villages and farmland.

title: 378

section: Religion & Belief

text: October – A Roman synod repudiates all the decisions of the Second Council of Ephesus.

title: 449

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Deaths

text: October – King Childebert II dies; his mother Brunhilda attempts to rule Austrasia and Burgundy, as regent for her grandsons. He is succeeded by his two young sons, Theudebert II and Theuderic II.

title: 595

text: October – Siege of Aleppo: Muslim Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid conquer the Byzantine stronghold Aleppo; the large walled city surrenders after a four-month siege. A column of troops under Malik al-Ashtar is sent to take Azaz.

title: 637

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: October – The Frankish army crosses the Vienne River and establishes a camp at or around the partially abandoned Roman mansion or agricultural settlement, now known as 'Vieux-Poitiers' (near Châtellerault), perhaps using the Roman theatre with its substantial towers as a fortification. Charles Martel forms a defensive position across the Roman road, and fends off Muslim skirmishes during the 'seven days' stand-off, probably involving scouts, and perhaps raiders from both armies.

title: 732

text: October – Hildeprand is deposed by the council of nobles, for his incompetence as ruler. He is succeeded by Ratchis (formerly duke of Friuli) as king of the Lombards, who makes peace with Pope Zachary.

title: 744

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

text: October – Lothair I, co-emperor and eldest son of Louis I, marries Ermengarde in Thionville (northeastern France). She is the daughter of Count Hugh of Tours.

title: 821

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

title: 829

text: October – Siege of Paris: Count Odo slips through Viking-controlled territory, to ask the king of West Francia Charles the Fat for support. He returns with a relief force, and reaches safety within the walls. Charles arrives later with a large army, and establishes a camp at Montmartre. After negotiations he promises the Vikings tribute (Danegeld) worth 700 Livres (equivalent to 257kg of silver), and allows them to sail up the River Seine, to over-winter in Burgundy.

title: 886

text: October – Alan I (the Great), count of Vannes, and his rival Judicael, unite their forces to defeat the Vikings at Questembert (or 889). Judicael is killed, in a notable victory for the Bretons, with 15,000 Vikings crushed, some few 400 escaping to their ships. In command of a 'united' Breton force, Alan is able to drive the Vikings back to the Loire River. Alan becomes sole ruler of Brittany, and over the Frankish counties of Rennes, Nantes, Coutances and Avranches.

title: AD 888

text: October – Battle of Milazzo: The Aghlabids score a crushing victory over a Byzantine fleet off Sicily.

title: AD 888

text: October — In Byzantium, John Mystikos, chief minister (paradynasteuon), is deposed by the Emperor Romanos I, flogged, and sent into exile in a monastery. He is replaced by the chamberlain (protovestiarios) Theophanes, who becomes the closest adviser of Emperor Romanos I. At this time the Byzantine Empire has been embroiled in a protracted and disastrous war with Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria.

title: 925

section: Events › By date › July – December

text: September - October – A Byzantine fleet under Basil Hexamilites deals a crushing defeat to the Hamdanid fleet at Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey).

title: 956

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

text: October – Influential Japanese statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga is appointed to be Associate Regent.

title: 1015

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: October – Seljuk sultan Mahmud I dies after a 2-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Barkiyaruq (one of the Seljuk princes who claim the throne) as ruler of the Seljuk Empire.

title: 1094

section: Events › By place › Eastern Islamic world

text: October – Mahmud I, sultan of the Seljuk Empire

title: 1094

text: October–December – Crusaders under Baldwin I (supported by King Sigurd I of Norway) besiege Sidon. Norwegian ships blockade the harbour, but are nearly dispersed by a powerful Fatimid flotilla from Tyre. They are saved by the arrival of a Venetian squadron under Doge Ordelafo Faliero. On December 4, the city capitulates (under notable terms) to Baldwin.

title: 1110

text: October – Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir, was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Mustazhir and Ismah.

title: 1114

text: October – Conrad III, duke of Franconia, gives up his title as King of Italy in opposition with Lothair III. He receives a pardon and recovers his estates.

title: 1135

text: October – Battle of Thurles: Gaelic-Irish forces under King Domnall Mór Ua Briain defeat an Anglo-Norman invasion at Thurles in Ireland. The English expedition led by Earl Richard de Clare (Strongbow) is surprised while encamped in the area of Lognafola and is forced to retreat to Waterford.

title: 1174

section: Events › By place › Ireland

text: October – Alexios II Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1167)

title: 1183

text: October – Lý Huệ Tông, Emperor of Vietnam, cedes the throne to his second daughter, the Princess Chiêu Thánh, who becomes the Empress Regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng. Trần Thủ Độ then arranges a marriage between the Empress and Trần Cảnh, the 8-year-old son of Trần Thừa, and ends the rule of the Lý dynasty by making the Empress pass the throne to Trần Cảnh the following year.

title: 1224

section: Events › October – December

text: October – Mongol forces led by Baiju Noyan (operating under Hulagu Khan's command) win a victory over Kaykaus II, Seljuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, and capture Anatolia. Kaykaus flees to the Byzantine court where he seeks refuge at Constantinople. The Empire of Trebizond fearing a potential punitive Mongol expedition, becomes a vassal state and is forced to pay a tribute tax every year in gold and silk.

title: 1256

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: October – Qalawun orders a general mobilization of the Mamluk forces. In a council, it is decided that a peace delegation be sent to Cairo under Guillaume de Beaujeu, Grand Master of the Knights Templar. However, Qalawun demands huge compensation for those killed in Acre, and sends a Syrian army to the coast of Palestine, near Caesarea.

title: 1290

text: October – About 500 knights led by John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos, uncle of King James II of Castile, desert the Castilian encampment during the Siege of Algeciras because they are not getting paid and because one-sixth of Granada will be ceded to the Kingdom of Aragon. King Ferdinand of Aragon continues the siege.

title: 1309

text: October – Hundred Years' War: Edward III of England formally rejects Philip VI's claim to the French throne, initiating hostilities between France and England.

title: 1337

section: Events › January–December

section: Births

text: October – Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (d. 1384)

title: 1340

text: September–October – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 (between John VI Kantakouzenos and the regency for the infant John V Palaiologos) breaks out.

title: 1341

text: October–November – Several Mongol towns in the Crimea are cleared of inhabitants by the Black Death.

title: 1346

text: October – Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí, Scottish magnate

title: 1346

text: September–October – Anglo-Gascon offensives overrun large parts of southwest France.

title: 1346

text: October – Ships arrive in the Sicilian city of Messina, carrying people afflicted by the Black Death onboard.

title: 1347

text: October – Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357 – Battle of Demotika: Fighting as allies of John VI Kantakouzenos, the Ottoman beylik scores its first victory on European soil, against the Serbs.

title: 1352

text: October – Alexandrian Crusade: The city of Alexandria in Egypt is sacked by an allied force of Peter I of Cyprus and the knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

title: 1365

text: October – Joanna of Aragon, Countess of Foix, Aragonese throne claimant (d. 1407)

title: 1375

text: October – Joan Holland, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1350)

title: 1384

text: October – A Transylvanian expedition captures Vlad I Uzurpatorul, thus allowing the restoration of Mircea the Elder of Wallachia to the throne.

title: 1396

text: October – Anabella Drummond, queen of Scotland

title: 1401

text: October – The Hunger War ends inconclusively with a truce brokered by a Papal legate. Famine and plague is sweeping through Prussia as a result from the war.

title: 1414

text: October – Alexios IV Megas Komnenos, Empire of Trebizond (b. 1382)

title: 1429

text: October – Iliaș of Moldavia is deposed by his half-brother and joint ruler Stephen II.

title: 1433

text: October – Murad II, who recently became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire after his son Mehmed II was forced by the Janissaries to abdicate, invades Attica, forcing Constantine XI to return Thebes to the duchy of Athens, and remove the tribute imposed in 1444. Murad II imposes his own tribute.

title: 1446

text: October – Vlad the Impaler becomes reigning Prince of Wallachia for two months, before being deposed in November by Vladislav II of Wallachia.

title: 1448

text: October – Carlo II Tocco, ruler of Epirus

title: 1448

text: October – Bogdan II of Moldavia enters the country with troops from John Hunyadi, and takes the throne after Alexăndrel flees.

title: 1449

text: October – Bogdan II of Moldavia, assassinated by Petru Aron

title: 1451

text: October – Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: The Ottoman governor of Thessaly, Turakhan Beg, breaks through the Hexamilion wall for the fourth time, and ravages the Peloponnese Peninsula to prevent the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea from assisting Constantinople, during the final Ottoman siege of the imperial capital.

title: 1452

text: October – Contessina de' Bardi, politically active Florentine woman (b. 1390)

title: 1473

text: October – Saint Cajetan, founder of the Theatines (d. 1547)

title: 1480

text: October – Olaus Magnus, Swedish ecclesiastic and writer (d. 1557)

title: 1490

text: October – Babur besieges and captures Kabul.

title: 1504

text: October – Louis de Blois, Flemish mystical writer (d. 1566)

title: 1506

text: October – Bartolomeo d'Alviano, Venetian general (b. 1455)

title: 1515

text: October – Túpac Huallpa, puppet ruler of Peru

title: 1533

text: Manco Inca Yupanqui is crowned as Sapa Inca in Cusco, Peru by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, in succession to his brother Túpac Huallpa (d. October 1533).

title: 1534

text: September–October – Landrecies in Picardy is besieged by forces under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but the siege is withdrawn on the approach of the French army.

title: 1543

text: October – Mellin de Saint-Gelais, French poet (b. c. 1491)

title: 1558

text: October – Privateer John Hawkins undertakes the first of several slave trading voyages, attacking Portuguese slave ships off the West African coast and forcibly transporting the enslaved Africans onboard to Spanish colonies in the Americas to sell. Hawkins arrives at the island of Hispaniola in the Spanish West Indies, where he illicitly sells the enslaved Africans to local colonists, as his presence is technically in violation of Spanish law.

title: 1562

text: October – George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (b. 1514)

title: 1562

text: October – The first Martello tower, the Tour de Mortella, designed by Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (el Fratin), is completed as part of the Genovese defence system at Mortella (Myrtle) Point, in Upper Corsica.

title: 1565

text: October – Thomas Morley, English composer (b. 1557)

title: 1602

text: June or October – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: An improvised Spanish fleet under Luis Fajardo defeats the Dutch fleet under Willem Haultain.

title: 1606

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

title: 1606

text: October/November – Ben Jonson's satirical five-act comedy, The Devil is an Ass, is produced at the Blackfriars Theatre in London by the King's Men, poking fun at contemporary credence in witchcraft and Middlesex juries.

title: 1616

text: October – John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1694)

title: 1630

text: October – An English diplomatic team, headed by Oliver St John, goes to The Hague to negotiate an alliance between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1651

text: October – William Congreve's comedy The Double-Dealer is first performed in London.

title: 1693

text: October – An edict by King Louis XIV establishes an office of police magistrate in almost every village in France, with the title of lieutenant general de police created.

title: 1699

text: October – Twinings founder, Thomas Twining, opens the first known tea room at 216 Strand, London, still open .

title: 1706

text: October – The start of the Mascate War (a.k.a. the War of the Peddlers) between two rival mercantile groups the Zillioto family and the Astrid family in colonial Brazil.

title: 1710

text: October – Raja Sitaram Ray, autonomous king, vassal of the Mughal Empire (b. 1658)

title: 1714

text: October – James Paine, English architect (d. 1789)

title: 1717

text: October – Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, French naval officer and Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1661)

title: 1717

text: October – Anna Maria Garthwaite, British designer (b. 1688)

title: 1763

text: October – King George III of the United Kingdom becomes deranged; the Regency Crisis of 1788 starts.

title: 1788

text: October – King George III of the United Kingdom is deemed permanently insane.

title: 1810

text: October – Robert Adams, American sailor and the first Westerner to visit Timbuktu, is found wandering the streets of London, starving and half-naked, leading to the invitation for him to tell his story as a Barbary captive, which is later published as The Narrative of Robert Adams.

title: 1815

text: October–December – Dispute between the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and the Empire of Brazil over the Banda Oriental region leads to the Cisplatine War.

title: 1825

text: October – The Regeneration in Switzerland begins: more liberal constitutions are adopted in most cantons.

title: 1830

text: October – The last volcanic eruption of Mount Guntur in West Java occurs.

title: 1847

text: October – The Reuters news service is founded in London

title: 1851

text: October – John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant leave Zanzibar, to search for the source of the Nile River.

title: 1860

text: October – The 'Edinburgh Seven', led by Sophia Jex-Blake, start to attend lectures at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, the first women in the United Kingdom to do so (although they will not be allowed to take degrees).

title: 1869

text: October – The Ottoman state declares partial bankruptcy, and places its finances in the hands of European creditors. It is also suffering widespread nationalist rebellions resulting in Russian intervention and Great Power tensions.

title: 1875

text: October – Eugène Dubois finds the first fragmentary bones of Pithecanthropus erectus (later redesignated Homo erectus), or "Java Man", at Trinil on the Solo River.

title: 1891

text: October – Rudyard Kipling publishes the story "Mowgli Leaves the Jungle Forever" in The Cosmopolitan illustrated magazine in the United States, collected in The Second Jungle Book, published in England in November.

title: 1895

text: October – Fauvist artists, led by Henri Matisse and André Derain, first exhibit their works, at the Salon d'Automne in Paris.

title: 1905

text: October – A committee of the Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language, made up of academics including Otto Jespersen, Wilhelm Ostwald and Roland Eötvös, meet in Paris to select a language for international use. The committee ultimately decides to reform Esperanto.

title: 1907

text: March – The 1915 Palestine locust infestation breaks out in Palestine; it continues until October.

title: 1915

text: October – 3,000 German marks are now needed to buy a single American dollar – triple the figure three months ago due to hyperinflation.

title: 1922

text: October – The major money forgery and fraud of Alves dos Reis is exposed in Portugal.

title: 1925

text: October – Niels Bohr presents his theoretical principle of complementarity at the Fifth Solvay Conference on Physics.

title: 1927

text: October – The women's organisation Gruaja Shiqiptare is founded in Albania, with Princess Senije as its chair.

title: 1928

text: October – The Indochinese Communist Party is formed.

title: 1930

text: October – Hergé's Tintin in America (Tintin en Amérique) concludes serial publication and is issued in book format (in black and white) in Belgium.

title: 1932

text: October – Arthur C. Clarke puts forward the idea of a geosynchronous communications satellite, in a Wireless World magazine article.

title: 1945

text: October – First recorded use of the word computer in its modern sense, referring to an electronic digital machine.

title: 1947

text: October – The UNIVAC 1103 is the first commercial computer to use random-access memory.

title: 1953

text: October – In Somalia, the government of President Siad Barre formally introduces the Somali alphabet as the country's official writing script.

title: 1972


slug: oda-nobunaga

label: Oda Nobunaga

description: Japanese samurai and warlord (1534–1582)

date: June 4

text: June 4 – Hirate Masahide, Japanese retainer and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (d. 1553)

title: 1492

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Oda Nobunaga wins control of his native province of Owari.

title: 1559

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Conflict & Security

date: June 12

text: June 12 (19th day of 5th month of Eiroku 3) – In Japan, Oda Nobunaga defeats Imagawa Yoshimoto in the Battle of Okehazama.

title: 1560

section: Events › April–June

date: July 30

text: July 30 (28th day of 6th month of Genki 1) – Battle of Anegawa: The allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the combined forces of the Azai and Asakura clans.

title: 1570

section: Events › July–September

date: September 25

text: September 25 (26th day of 8th month of Genki 1) – The 10-year-long Ishiyama Hongan-ji War begins in Japan as Oda Nobunaga stages simultaneous attacks on two fortresses (Ishiyama Hongan-ji and Nagashima) of the Ikkō-ikki faction near Osaka.

title: 1570

date: September 30

text: September 30 (12th day of 9th month of Genki) – In Japan, the Siege of Mount Hiei is carried out by Oda Nobunaga at Ōmi Province (now the Shiga Prefecture). After Nobunaga's 30,000 troops overwhelm the monks of the 4,000 warriors of the Sōhei, Nobunaga orders the massacre of more than 1,500 survivors.

title: 1571

date: August 27

text: August 27 – Oda Nobunaga drives the 15th Ashikaga shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki out of Kyoto, effectively destroying the Ashikaga shogunate, and historically ending the Muromachi and Sengoku periods. The Azuchi–Momoyama period of Japan begins.

title: 1573

date: June 28

text: June 28 – Battle of Nagashino: Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori in Japan's first modern battle.

title: 1575

text: April 14 – Ishiyama Hongan-ji War: In Japan, the Third Battle of Ishiyama begins as Oda Nobunaga sends 10,000 soldiers against the Ashikaga shogunate to capture the Honganji Temple.

title: 1576

date: November 13

text: November 13 – In the Battle of Tedorigawa, Uesugi Kenshin's forces decisively defeat the forces of Oda Nobunaga, in what will be Kenshin's last victory before his death the following year.

title: 1577

section: Events › October–December

date: August 17

text: August 17 – "Yasuke", a man of African origin who has been hired as a manager by the Chancellor of the Realm, Oda Nobunaga, arrives in Japan. Called "The Black Samurai" in dramatizations of his experience, he begins a service of three years to the Chancellor, ending on June 21, 1582.

title: 1579

text: September 30 – In Japan, warlord Oda Nobunaga invades the Iga Province. With 42,000 troops under his command against 10,000 defenders led by Takino Jurobei, Nobunaga controls most of central Japan within eight days.

title: 1581

date: June 21

text: June 21 – (2nd day of the sixth month, Tenshō 10) The Honnō-ji Incident occurs in Kyoto in Japan, as Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga, on the verge of unifying Japan under his rule, is assassinated following a betrayal by a rebel subject, Akechi Mitsuhide.

title: 1582


slug: odo-of-france

label: Odo of France

description: King of West Francia (c.857-898) (r.888-898)

text: Odo I, king of the West Frankish Kingdom (or 860)

title: 859

text: Odo I, king of the West Frankish Kingdom (or 859)

title: 860

date: November 27

text: November 27 – The Vikings begin the Siege of Paris by attacking the northeast tower with ballistae, mangonels and catapults. All Viking attacks are repulsed by Count Odo, who defends the city with a small garrison (about 200 men). Sigfred decides to withdraw, and builds a camp on the right bank of the river. Meanwhile he mines the city, and scours the countryside for provisions.

title: 885

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: October – Siege of Paris: Count Odo slips through Viking-controlled territory, to ask the king of West Francia Charles the Fat for support. He returns with a relief force, and reaches safety within the walls. Charles arrives later with a large army, and establishes a camp at Montmartre. After negotiations he promises the Vikings tribute (Danegeld) worth 700 Livres (equivalent to 257kg of silver), and allows them to sail up the River Seine, to over-winter in Burgundy.

title: 886

date: January 13

text: January 13 – Emperor Charles III (the Fat) dies at Neidingen, after having suffered repeat bouts of an illness that may have been epilepsy. The Frankish Empire is split again, and falls apart into separate kingdoms. Count Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris, is elected king of the West Frankish Kingdom, and crowned at Compiègne by Walter, archbishop of Sens. Other Frankish noblemen support the 8-year-old Charles the Simple (the posthumous son of the late king Louis the Stammerer).

title: AD 888

section: Religion & Belief

text: The 13-year-old Charles III (the Simple), the posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer, is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom at the Reims Cathedral—though he is not recognized as such by King Odo (or Eudes) until 898.

title: 893

text: King Odo (or Eudes) takes a large army against Rheims, and forces anti-king Charles the Simple to flee to Germany. King Arnulf of Carinthia, throwing off his agreements with Odo, charges his illegitimate son Zwentibold to invade the West Frankish Kingdom, and re-install Charles on the throne.

title: 895

date: January 1

text: January 1 – King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) after a 10-year reign. His rival, the 18-year-old Charles the Simple in Laon, gains sovereignty and becomes ruler (with no real authority) of the West Frankish Kingdom. This puts an end to five years of civil war between the Frankish nobles.

title: 898

text: January 1 – Odo I, king of the West Frankish Kingdom

title: 898

text: Summer – The West Frankish nobles revolt and depose King Charles III (the Simple) after a 24-year reign. He seeks refuge in Lotharingia and is replaced by Robert I, a brother of the late King Odo, who is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom in the cathedral at Rheims.

title: 922


slug: odo-the-great

label: Odo the Great

description: 8th-century Duke of Aquitaine

text: Duke Eudes proclaims himself the independent prince of Aquitaine (located north-east of the Garonne River), thereby asserting legal as well as practical independence from the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 714

text: Battle of Soissons: King Chilperic II of Neustria and his mayor of the palace Ragenfrid, allied with Eudes, independent duke of Aquitaine, march on Soissons in Picardy (northern France) but an army of Frankish veterans under Charles Martel defeat the Neustrian allies, who sue for peace. Chilperic flees to the land south of the River Loire and Ragenfrid escapes to Angers. Charles diplomatically chooses not to execute the enemy leaders, and becomes undisputed dux Francorum, ending the Frankish civil war.

title: 718

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

date: June 9

text: June 9 – Battle of Toulouse: After besieging Toulouse for three months, Muslim forces under governor (wali) Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani are defeated by Eudes, duke of Aquitaine, preventing the extension of Umayyad control over Gaul.

title: 721

text: Duke Eudes of Aquitaine seeks an alliance with Munuza, governor of Cerdagne (eastern Pyrenees), currently in rebellion against the central Umayyad government at Córdoba in Andalusia (probably not cemented until 729).

title: 725

text: An alliance between Duke Eudes of Aquitaine and Munuza, the Moorish governor of Cerdanya, is cemented by marriage to Eudes' illegitimate daughter Lampégia.

title: 729

text: Ragenfrid, ex-mayor of the palace of Neustria, meets Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, to accept his rule and independence from the Frankish Kingdom. Fearing an alliance against him, Charles Martel exiles Ragenfrid's supporter Wandon of Fontenelle, and imprisons bishop Aimar of Auxerre.

title: 731

text: Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, aged almost 80, abdicates and retires to a monastery. His lands are divided between his sons Hunald I and Hatton, who continue the conflict with Charles Martel, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Austrasia. In battles at Benest in Charente and La Rochefoucauld (near Angoulême), Charles probably defeats the Aquitainians. He also campaigns against the Burgundians.

title: 733

section: Deaths

text: Eudes, duke of Aquitaine (approximate date)

title: 735


slug: odoacer

label: Odoacer

description: 5th-century Germanic soldier and monarch of Italy (476–493)

text: Odoacer, first "barbarian" king of Italy (d. 493)

title: 431

text: Odoacer becomes the leader of the Germanic tribes (Herulic – Scirian foederati) in Northern Italy (approximate date).

title: 470

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

title: 476

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

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

title: 479

date: December 9

text: December 9 – Odoacer occupies Dalmatia and prosecutes Nepos's killers. He later establishes his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate.

title: 480

section: Events › By place › Balkans

text: King Odoacer leads an army to victory against the Rugians in Noricum (modern Austria).

title: 487

text: Zeno orders Theodoric the Great to overthrow his rival Odoacer, who has established himself as king of Italy (see 476). He marches with an Ostrogoth army to the West.

title: 488

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: August 28

text: August 28 – After crossing the Julian Alps, the Ostrogoths defeat the overwhelming forces of Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo (near Roman Aquileia or modern Soča) and enter Italy. This date is subsequently used by Theodoric to establish a 30-year statute of limitations (tricennium) ending on 28 August 519, after which any unlawful seizure of land during this period can no longer be contested.

title: 489

text: Spring – Odoacer receives reinforcements from the south and leaves Ravenna. He defeats the Ostrogoths near Faenza.

title: 490

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theodoric the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric repulses the attack, forcing Odoacer back into Ravenna.

title: 491

date: February 25

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

title: 493

date: March 15

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

title: 493


slug: offa-of-mercia

label: Offa of Mercia

description: King of Mercia

text: Offa of Mercia (approximate date)

title: 730

section: Crime & Justice

text: King Æthelbald of Mercia is murdered by his own household in a palace coup. He is succeeded briefly by Beornred, but he is, in turn, ousted by Æthelbald's distant cousin, Offa. In the meantime, Mercian supremacy over Southern England is lost.

title: AD 757

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Battle of Hereford: The Welsh kingdoms of Brycheiniog, Gwent and Powys defeat the Mercians under King Offa at Hereford. They free themselves from the influence of the Anglo-Saxons.

title: 760

text: King Offa of Mercia conquers Kent, and brings an end to the rule of kings Ealhmund and Sigered in West Kent. He imposes Mercian overlordship on the kingdom, but allows a local king, Heaberht, to rule there.

title: 764

text: King Offa of Mercia defeats the Haestingas, and joins their little region to his sub-kingdom of Sussex.

title: 771

text: In England, King Offa of Mercia attempts to rule Kent directly, possibly to depose his rival Egbert II (approximate date).

title: 772

text: King Offa of Mercia subdues the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent and Wessex (approximate date).

title: 774

text: Battle of Otford: King Egbert II of Kent defeats the Mercians under King Offa (near Otford), and re-asserts himself as ruler of Kent.

title: 776

text: Battle of Bensington: King Offa of Mercia defeats his rival Cynewulf of Wessex at Bensington (modern-day Oxfordshire). He seizes control of Berkshire, and probably London as well. According to sources of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Offa becomes "King of All England". Charlemagne writes a letter to him as "his dearest brother", but when Offa refuses to let one of Charlemagne's sons marry one of his daughters, Charlemagne threatens to close the ports to English traders.

title: 779

section: Culture & Society

text: The city of Aldwych rises as an important trading centre in London, under Mercian control. King Offa of Mercia possibly establishes a royal palace at Aldermanbury, on the site of the old Roman Cripplegate fort and amphitheatre (approximate date).

title: 780

text: King Offa of Mercia re-asserts his control of Kent, deposes his rival Egbert II, and establishes direct Mercian rule. Egbert's brother, Eadberht Præn, flees to the court of Charlemagne.

title: 785

text: Cyneheard is executed and succeeded by Beorhtric, through the support of King Offa of Mercia. His rival claimant to the Wessex throne, a distant nephew of the late king Ine, named Egbert, is driven across the Channel.

title: 786

text: Kings Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex call the Synod of Chelsea in Kent, which is attended by the Papal legates. There, Offa persuades the Papacy to grant Archepiscopal status to the Mercian See of Lichfield. In order to secure the royal succession, he has Hygeberht crown his son Ecgfrith king of Mercia at Brixworth.

title: AD 787

text: King Beorhtric of Wessex marries Princess Eadburh, daughter of King Offa of Mercia, and accepts Mercian overlordship.

title: 789

text: King Offa of Mercia takes control of East Anglia. King Æthelberht II mints his own coins, in defiance of his overlord (approximate date).

title: 790

date: September

text: September – King Æthelred I of Northumbria marries Princess Ælfflæd, daughter of King Offa of Mercia, at Catterick. Unrest in Northumbria tempts the exiled king Osred II back to his kingdom from the Isle of Man. His supporters desert him, and Osred II is killed by Æthelred's men at Aynburg. He is buried at Tynemouth Priory.

title: 792

text: King Offa of Mercia founds an abbey at St Albans.

title: 793

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: May 20

text: May 20 – King Æthelberht II of East Anglia visits the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls (Herefordshire), with a view to marrying Princess Ælfthryth. He is taken captive and beheaded, on the orders of King Offa.

title: 794

text: King Offa of Mercia receives diplomatic gifts from Charlemagne. He re-founds St. Albans Abbey, supposedly in thanks for overrunning East Anglia (approximate date).

title: 795

text: King Offa of Mercia and Charlemagne seal a trading agreement, and a marriage alliance is proposed. However, Offa dies after a 39-year reign, that has incorporated Kent, Essex, Sussex, and East Anglia into the Mercian realm. Offa is buried at Bedford, and succeeded for a short time by his son Ecgfrith, and then a distant cousin, Coenwulf.

title: 796

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Offa, king of Mercia (b. 730)

title: 796


slug: ogedei-khan

label: Ögedei Khan

description: Khan of the Mongol Empire (c.1186-1241) (r. 1229-1241)

section: Births

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Ögedei Khan, third son and successor of Genghis Khan (d. 1241)

title: 1186

text: Autumn – Genghis Khan moves against the wealthy city of Urgench. He is joined by his eldest son Jochi, now conqueror of half a dozen lesser towns who attacks it from the north. Despite a stout defense, the city is taken after a 5-months siege. The Mongols have to fight for Urgench street by street, razing many houses. Jochi is given the right to loot the city for himself, but prefers to negotiate with the locals to avoid property damage. This is refused by Genghis, who removes Jochi from command and appoints Ögedei instead.

title: 1220

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: After the invasion and destruction of the Khwarezmian Empire in 1221, Genghis Khan returns to Mongolia, and a rebellion sparks in Helmand, to which the response is a large army led by Ögedei Khan sent into the region to put an end to the rebellion of Muhammad the Marghani, resulting in the killing of every man in Ghazni and Helmand, and the enslavement and selling of most of the women of the region.

title: 1222

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: The Ghurid dynasty capital of Firozkoh (in modern-day Afghanistan) is destroyed, by Mongol Emperor Ögedei Khan.

title: 1222

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Ögedei Khan, the third son of Genghis Khan is proclaimed "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire, at a Kurultai council.

title: 1229

date: August

text: August – Ögedei Khan orders the invasion of Korea. A Mongol army crosses the Yalu River and quickly secures the surrender of the border town of Uiju. The Mongols are joined by Hong Pok-wŏn, a Goryeo general, who takes their side with his subordinates numbering some 1500 families.

title: 1231

date: April 8

text: April 8 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan and his brother Tolui begins the Siege of Kaifeng (1232), capital of the Chinese Jin dynasty. During the summer, the Jurchens try to end the siege by negotiating a peace treaty, but the assassination of a Mongol embassy makes further talks impossible. While the negotiations are going on, a plague is devastating the population of the city. In the meantime, supplies stored at Kaifeng are running out, and several residents of the city are executed on the suspicion that they are traitors.

title: 1232

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan captures Kaifeng, capital of the Jin dynasty ('Great Jin'), after the 13-month Siege of Kaifeng (1232). The Mongols plunder the city, while Emperor Aizong of Jin flees for the town of Caizhou. Meanwhile, Ögedei departs and leaves the final conquest to his favoured general, Subutai.

title: 1233

date: February 9

text: February 9 – Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan captures the Jin capital at Caizhou, after the two-month Siege of Caizhou). Emperor Aizong of Jin abdicates the throne to Wanyan Chenglin, a descendant of the Jin imperial clan. After the Mongol and Song forces have breached the city walls, Aizong tries to escape, but commits suicide to avoid being captured. This marks the end of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) ('Great Jin') in China.

title: 1234

text: Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan penetrate deep into the Southern Song. The important city of Xiangyang, gateway to the Yangtze plain, capitulates to them.

title: 1236

date: December 11

text: December 11 – Ögedei Khan dies after a drinking binge. His death halts the Mongol advance into Western Europe.

title: 1241

section: Events

date: August 24

text: August 24 – Güyük Khan, eldest son of Ögedei Khan, is enthroned as the 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (which is witnessed by a papal mission under Giovanni da Pian del Carpine) at Karakorum. Güyük reverses several edicts of his mother, Töregene Khatun, and orders Eljigidei, Mongol viceroy of Persia, to advance into Syria and prepare an attack on Baghdad.

title: 1246


slug: ohio

label: Ohio

description: state of the United States of America

text: The Hopewell tradition roughly begins in what is now Ohio.

title: AD 100

section: Events › By place › Americas

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: May 19

text: May 19 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company 200000 acre (312½ square miles or 810 km 2 ) of land north of the Ohio River, encompassing most of the modern U.S. state of Ohio and part of West Virginia. The grant is conditioned on the Company being able to attract 100 European families every year, for seven years, to move to the area occupied by Indian tribes, and to build a fort to protect them

title: 1749

section: Events › April–June

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 8

text: March 8 – Gnadenhutten massacre: In Ohio, 29 Native American men, 27 women, and 34 children are killed by colonial militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by another Native American group.

title: 1782

section: Events › January–March

section: Economy & Finance

date: March 1

text: March 1 – The Ohio Company of Associates is organized by five businessmen at a meeting at the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern in Boston to purchase land from the United States government to form settlements in the modern-day U.S. state of Ohio.

title: 1786

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: April 7

text: April 7 – American pioneers establish the town of Marietta (in modern-day Ohio), the first permanent American settlement outside the original Thirteen Colonies.

title: 1788

date: July 22

text: July 22 – Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio Cleveland, after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.

title: 1796

section: Events › July–September

date: February 19

text: February 19 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.

title: 1803

date: July 31

text: July 31 – The first newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio is issued by publisher Andrew Logan. Using the original name of the small settlement (population 172), Logan names the weekly paper The Cleaveland Gazette & Commercial Register.

title: 1818

date: October 31

text: October 31 – In what will become the world's leading consumer goods brand, Procter & Gamble is founded in Ohio in the United States.

title: 1837

date: September 24

text: September 24 – Mark Hanna, United States Senator from Ohio (d. 1904)

title: 1837

section: Births › July–September

text: September – Wesleyan University is established in Ohio.

title: 1842

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: March 12

text: March 12 – The Columbus and Xenia Railroad, the first railroad planned to be built in Ohio, is chartered.

title: 1844

date: December 18

text: December 18 – The College of Wooster is founded in Ohio.

title: 1866

section: Events › December

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: December 29

text: December 29 – The Ashtabula River railroad disaster occurs in Ohio when a bridge collapses, leaving 92 dead.

title: 1876

section: Health & Medicine

text: Bernard Kroger establishes the first Kroger grocery store, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

title: 1883

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 15

text: February 15 – Mark Hanna, United States Senator from Ohio (born 1837)

title: 1904

section: Deaths › February

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Charles Elwood Brown, U.S. Representative from Ohio (born 1834)

title: 1904

section: Deaths › May

date: March 4

text: March 4 – The Collinwood school fire near Cleveland, Ohio kills 175.

title: 1908

section: Events › March

date: November 2

text: November 2 – 1920 United States presidential election: Republican U.S. senator Warren G. Harding defeats Democratic governor of Ohio James M. Cox and Socialist Eugene V. Debs, in the first national U.S. election in which women have the right to vote.

title: 1920

section: Events › November

date: December 14

text: December 14 – The first successful surgical separation of conjoined twins is conducted in Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.

title: 1952

section: Events › November–December

date: May 13

text: May 13 – John Kasich, Governor of Ohio

title: 1952

section: Births › May

text: November 7 – Carl B. Stokes is elected Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American elected mayor of a major United States city.

title: 1967

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Kent State shootings: Four students at Kent State University in Ohio, are killed and nine wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen at a protest against the U.S. incursion into Cambodia.

title: 1970

section: Events › May

section: Climate & Environment

date: May 31

text: May 31 – Forty-four tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, including a rare and powerful F5. In total, the event kills 90 people.

title: 1985


slug: okinawa-prefecture

label: Okinawa Prefecture

description: prefecture of Japan

section: Conflict & Security

text: Bunei succeeds his father, Satto, as King of Chūzan (modern-day central Okinawa, Japan).

title: 1398

text: Hananchi succeeds Min as King of Hokuzan, in modern-day north Okinawa, Japan.

title: 1400

text: probable – Ououso becomes King of Nanzan, in present-day south Okinawa, Japan.

title: 1403

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 11

text: March 11 – The Ryukyu Domain is incorporated into the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan and the last ruler, Shō Tai, exiled to Tokyo.

title: 1879

date: October 10

text: October 10 – WWII: 10/10 Air Raid: Allied forces inflict significant losses upon Imperial Japanese Navy ships moored in Naha Harbor, destroying much of the city of Naha, Okinawa as well.

title: 1944

section: Events › October

date: April 1

text: April 1 – WWII: Battle of Okinawa: The Tenth United States Army lands on Okinawa.

title: 1945

section: Events › April

section: Crime & Justice

date: April 18

text: April 18 – American war correspondent Ernie Pyle is killed by Japanese machine gun fire on the island of Ie Shima off Okinawa.

title: 1945

date: November 21

text: November 21 – U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree in Washington, D.C. to the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. retains rights to military bases on the island, but they must be nuclear-free.

title: 1969

date: April 3

text: April 3 – A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 strikes off the eastern coast of Taiwan, with small tsunamis reaching heights of 20 – 30 hitting Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

title: 2024