slug: bede

label: Bede

description: Anglo-Saxon monk, writer and saint (672/3–735)

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Traditional date – Hengist and Horsa, by tradition chieftains of the Jutes, land at Isle of Thanet, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle at the invitation of Vortigern. The Britons form a military alliance with them against the Picts and Scoti. Bede considers this the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.

title: 449

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: King Cenwalh of Wessex is driven from his kingdom by his brother-in-law, King Penda of Mercia (according to Bede). He flees to the court of king Anna of East Anglia, and is baptised while in exile. Penda overruns Wessex.

title: 645

section: Events › By place › Britain

section: Health & Medicine

text: According to Bede, a Northumbrian monk and historian, the plague begins shortly after the eclipse of 1 May.

title: 664

section: Events › By place › Great Britain & Ireland

text: Ebroin, mayor of the palace, becomes de facto ruler of Neustria and (in theory) "of the Franks". According to Bede, he runs the nation's foreign policy and internal security.

title: 668

text: Bede, Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian (approximate date)

title: 672

text: Bede, Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian (or 672)

title: 673

text: King Ecgfrith requests Benedict Biscop to build a second monastery at Jarrow (Northumbria). Benedict leaves Monkwearmouth with 20 monks, (including his protégé, the young Bede).

title: 682

text: Plague kills almost all of the Benedictine monks in the monastery of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (Northumbria), aside from the abbot Ceolfrith and one small boy – future scholar Bede.

title: 686

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Ine of Wessex installs his kinsman, Nothelm, as ruler of Sussex. According to Bede, Sussex is subjected to Ine for a number of years.

title: 692

section: Science & Discovery

text: Bede, Northumbrian monk-historian, writes The Reckoning of Time (De temporum ratione), explaining how to calculate medieval Easter.

title: 725

section: Events › By topic › Literature

text: Bede, Anglo-Saxon monk and historian, completes his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum at the monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth.

title: 731

text: May 26 – Bede, Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian

title: 735

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

title: 735


slug: bedouin

label: Bedouin

description: Arab nomads who historically nomadized between North Africa and the Middle East

section: Conflict & Security

date: January

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

title: 630

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: Arab–Byzantine War: The Rashidun army (4,000 men), under the command of 'Amr ibn al-'As, invades Byzantine Egypt. They capture the strategic town of Pelusium (Nile Delta) after a two-month siege. Arab reinforcements led by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam are sent from Medina to assist Amr's army. The losses incurred by the Muslims are ameliorated by Sinai Bedouins, tribes of Rashida and Lakhm; they join the invaders in conquering Egypt.

title: 639

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Summer – The climax of the Bedouin anti-Fatimid rebellion in Palestine is reached. Abu'l-Futuh al-Hasan ibn Ja'far is acclaimed as anti-Caliph with the title of al-Rashid bi-llah ("Righteous with God").

title: 1012

text: Emperor Romanos III Argyros decides to retaliate upon the incursions of the Muslims on the eastern frontier. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (20,000 men) to secure Antioch. The Mirdasid emir Shibl al-Dawla Nasr of Aleppo sues for peace, but Romanos refuses to negotiate and leads his army against Aleppo, against the advice of his generals. The Byzantine army encamped near Azaz, where they were encircled by the Mirdasids' Bedouin troops, who cut off the Byzantines from food and water.

title: 1030

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Battle of Haydaran: The Zirid dynasty is defeated by the invading Bedouin Arab tribes of the Banu Hilal.

title: 1052

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Religion & Belief

text: Great German Pilgrimage of 1064–65: A large pilgrimage led by Siegfried I (archbishop of Mainz) arrives in Jerusalem after having been attacked by Bedouin bandits. Two weeks later (in April) they return to Ramla and take ships back to Latakia.

title: 1065

text: Summer – Saladin leads an expeditionary army against the Bedouin tribes in Oultrejordain to secure a route between Egypt and Syria. He raids the region at Kerak Castle.

title: 1173

section: Events › By place › Egypt

text: Abu Ishaq Ibrahim I, ruler of the Hafsid Sultanate, is overthrown by the Bedouin rebellion, led by Abd al-Aziz I.

title: 1283

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

title: 1284

date: June 15

text: June 15 – In Egypt, the Sultan Sayf al-Din Inal confronts a revolt of 500 of his ethnic Circassian slave-troops (mamluks) after rejecting the soldiers' requests for camels to accompany them on an expedition against Bedouin invaders in the Nile Delta. After attempting to assassinate the Sultan's secretary, Yunus al-Aqba'i, the rebels join discontented Zahiri troops and besieged the Cairo Citadel. Facing a withdrawal of support from the Egyptian Caliph, the Sultan eventually meets the rebels' demands.

title: 1455

section: Events › April–June

date: October 24

text: October 24 (10 Safar 1171 A.H.) – 1757 Hajj caravan raid: Bedouin warriors of the Bani Sakher confederacy conduct a massive assault against a caravan of thousands of Muslim travelers who are on their way back to Damascus after the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The attack, made at Hallat Ammar after the group has been resupplied at Tabuk, leads to the annihilation of 20,000 of the pilgrims. Those who are not killed outright die later in the desert from thirst and starvation. According to one Arabic source, the largest attack takes place on October 24.

title: 1757

section: Events › October–December

date: April

text: April – The previous discovery of the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' in the Qumran Caves (above the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) by Bedouin shepherds, becomes known.

title: 1947

section: Events › April

date: July 13

text: July 13 – Several clashes erupt in southern Syria between armed Druze and Bedouin groups.

title: 2025

section: Events › July


slug: beijing

label: Beijing

description: capital city of China

year_label: 160 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: A Painted banner, from the tomb of the wife of the Marquis of Dai, of the Han dynasty, in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, is made (approximate date). It is nowadays preserved at the Historical museum in Beijing.

title: 160 BC

section: Events › By place › China

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Emperor Yángdi completes the Grand Canal; it provides an unbroken inland ship transport between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The canal network is 1,776 km (1,400 miles) long—linking five river systems—and extends from Beijing to the city of Hangzhou.

title: 609

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: December 16

text: December 16 – General An Lushan begins the Anshi Rebellion against Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty (China). His army surges down from Fanyang (near modern Beijing), and moves rapidly along the Grand Canal. Meanwhile, Xuan Zong sends Feng Changqing, governor of Fanyang, to build up defenses at the eastern capital of Luoyang.

title: 755

text: The Sixteen Prefectures, which includes the area around modern-day Beijing, are absorbed in the Khitan Empire.

title: 938

section: Deaths

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin. Khitan forces head southwards to the Yellow River, but must return to their base in present-day Beijing in May after Tai Zong dies of an illness.

title: 947

text: Battle of Gaoliang River: Emperor Tai Zong leads an expedition into You Prefecture (or Youzhou). The Liao Dynasty counter-attacks and defeats the Song forces near modern-day Beijing.

title: 979

text: The Niujie Mosque is constructed in Beijing during the Liao Dynasty. The first mosque is built under supervision of the Muslim architect Nazaruddin.

title: 996

text: The Lugouqiao (later the Marco Polo) Bridge is completed in Beijing.

title: 1192

section: Events

text: Jin China is overrun by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, who plunder the countryside and cities, until only Beijing remains free, despite two bloody palace coups and a lengthy siege.

title: 1213

text: Spring – Emperor Xuan Zong of the Jurchen-led Chinese Jin dynasty surrenders to the Mongols under Genghis khan – who have besieged the capital of Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing) for a year. He is forced to pay tribute (including some 3,000 horses, 10,000 'bolts' of silk and his daughter), along with subjugation to the Mongol Khan. Xuan Zong abandons northern China and moves his court to Kaifeng.

title: 1214

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Mongol conquest of Jin China: After the long Battle of Zhongdu, the Mongol forces capture Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing). Meanwhile, Genghis Khan has decamped to the edge of the grasslands and is on his way back to the Kherlen River. Without his restraining influence, the Mongols run wild. They devastate and ransack the city, killing thousands. The royal palace goes up in flames, and a part of the capital burns for a month.

title: 1215

section: Events › By continent › Asia

text: The Toluid Civil War ends: Kublai Khan defeats his brother and pretender to the title of "Great Khan", Ariq Böke, who surrenders to Kublai on August 24. He is imprisoned and with the Chinese support behind him, Kublai is acknowledged by the rulers of the western khanates and as sole ruler of the Mongol Empire. He moves his capital from Shangdu in Inner Mongolia, to the Chinese city of Dadu (modern-day Beijing).

title: 1264

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, father and uncle of Marco Polo, reach the Mongol capital Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing), setting the stage for Marco's famous expedition 5 years later. Kublai Khan sends the Polos back with a message, requesting that Pope Clement IV dispatch western scholars to teach in the Mongol Empire; however, this request is largely ignored.

title: 1266

text: The "Grand Capital" is constructed in Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing) by Kublai Khan, having moved the capital of the Mongol Empire there three years prior.

title: 1267

section: Events › By place › Asia and North Africa

text: The 17-year-old Marco Polo departs from Venice with his father and uncle Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, to set off for Asia to meet the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan) at his court in Beijing, China. They sail across the Mediterranean Sea and travel overland, crossing Armenia, Persia and the Pamir Mountains.

title: 1271

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: June 21

text: June 21 – The coronation of Külüg Khan as Khan of the Mongol Empire and as Emperor Wuzong of Yuan dynasty China, takes place in Khanbaliq in what is now Beijing.

title: 1307

section: Events › April – June

text: In China, the Grand Canal, which runs from Beijing to Hangzhou over a distance of 1,800 km, is completed.

title: 1327

section: Events › By topic › Trade and Transport

date: September 14

text: September 14 – General Xu Da captures the Yuan city of Khanbaliq and renames it Beiping ("northern peace"), a forerunner to the current name of Beijing ("northern capital").

title: 1368

section: Events › July–September

date: November

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

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Prince of Yan (Zhu Di) of China starts a rebellion, the Jingnan campaign in Beijing against his nephew, the Emperor Zhu Yunwen, after two of Zhu Di's officials are arrested for "subversive activity".

title: 1399

date: December 25

text: December 25 – In China, the Jingnan campaign of Prince Zhu Di of Yan suffers a serious reversal at the Battle of Dongchang as Imperial General Sheng Yong, replacement of Li Jinglong, encircles the Yan forces. Yan Army General Zhang Yu is killed, but Zhu Di is able to escape to the northern capital at Beijing and regroups his forces for a second attack to take place in February.

title: 1400

date: January 16

text: January 16 – After their disastrous defeat on December 25 in the Battle of Dongchang in the Jingnan campaign, the forces of the Principality of Yan within China return to Beiping (located at the site of present-day Beijing).

title: 1401

section: Events › January–March

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Zhu Di, King of the Yan State at Beijing, becomes the new Ming Dynasty Emperor of China at Nanjing, uniting north and south China.

title: 1402

text: In China, the Emperor Cheng Zu moves the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, commissions the Yongle Encyclopedia, one of the world's earliest and largest known general encyclopedias, and orders his coastal provinces to build a vast fleet of ships, with construction centered at Longjiang near Nanjing; the inland provinces are to provide wood and float it down the Yangtze River.

title: 1403

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Construction of the Forbidden City begins in Beijing during the Chinese Ming dynasty.

title: 1406

date: March 25

text: March 25 – The first of the Yongle Emperor's campaigns against the Mongols is launched by the Emperor Cheng Zu, as at least 100,000 soldiers depart from Beijing on a mission to depose Öljei Temür Khan.

title: 1410

date: April 6

text: April 6 – China's Emperor Cheng Zu departs from Beijing to lead a military campaign against the Oirat Mongols.

title: 1414

text: The Grand Canal of China is reinstated by this year after it had fallen out of use; restoration began in 1411, and was a response by the Emperor Cheng Zu of the Ming Dynasty to improve the grain shipment system of tribute traveling from south to north, towards his new capital at Beijing. With this action, the food supply crisis is solved by the end of the year.

title: 1415

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Beijing ("Northern Capital") is officially designated the capital of Ming dynasty China by the Yongle Emperor, replacing Nanjing, during the same year that the Forbidden City, the seat of government, is completed and construction begins on the Temple of Heaven in the new capital city.

title: 1420

text: Beijing, capital of China, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Nanjing (estimated date).

title: 1425

date: January 8

text: January 8 – The interment of Ming dynasty China's Yongle Emperor, who died on August 12, takes place at the Chang Mausoleum in Beijing's Ming tombs.

title: 1425

section: Events › January – March

date: July 22

text: July 22 – Admiral Zheng He and the crew of the seventh Ming Chinese overseas expedition return to China, arriving at Beijing two and one half years after their departure on January 19, 1411 from Nanjing. With the completion of the maritime expedition, the fleet is dispersed, altering the balance of power in the Indian Ocean, and making it easier for Portugal and other Western naval powers to gain dominance over the seas.

title: 1433

date: March 9

text: March 9 – The Ming Chinese expedition departs from Hormuz Island and begins its four-month voyage home to Beijing.

title: 1433

text: The Buddhist Zhihua Temple (智化寺) is built in Beijing, at the order of Wang Zhen, chief eunuch at the court of the Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty China.

title: 1443

date: July 20

text: July 20 – News arrives at the imperial court of the Emperor Yingzong of China of a Mongol invasion from the north, led by the Khagan Esen Taishi. Yingzong orders the dispatch of 45,000 soldiers from the Beijing garrison, led by four generals, to advance to Datong and Xuanfu to guard the border.

title: 1449

date: September 19

text: September 19 – China's Emperor Yingzong returns to Beijing after having been held as a prisoner of war by the Mongols since September 1, 1449. Upon returning, he is held under house arrest in the Forbidden City along with his wife, the Empress Qian, on orders of his younger brother Emperor Daizong.

title: 1450

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Mongols, led by Anda, burn the suburbs of Beijing in China.

title: 1544

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Altan Khan crosses the Great Wall of China and besieges Beijing, burning the suburbs.

title: 1550

text: The earliest reference is made to the publishing of private newspapers in Beijing.

title: 1582

text: May 30 – Wanggongchang Explosion in Beijing, China: a gunpowder factory explosion destroys part of the city and kills 20,000 people.

title: 1626

text: March 3 – Fyodor Baykov, the Russian Empire's first envoy to China, is admitted to the Forbidden City within Beijing, after being sent by Tsar Alexis to negotiate a trade agreement with the Emperor Shunzi.

title: 1656

text: February 2 – Jesuit missionary Johann Grueber arrives in Rome after a 214-day journey that had started in Beijing, proving that commerce can be had between Europe and Asia by land rather than ship.

title: 1664

text: September 2 – The 8.0 magnitude Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake devastates Beijing and Hebei in China.

title: 1679

text: February 7 – Six French Jesuit scientists, Joachim Bouvet, Jean-François Gerbillon, Louis-Daniel Lecomte, Guy Tachard, Claude de Visdelou and the leader, Jean de Fontaney, arrive in Beijing and are welcomed by the Emperor of China, Kangxi.

title: 1688

text: December 10 – A great comet is visible from Pekin and sightings continue until December 24th, including many from Dutch ships near the equator.

title: 1689

text: June 29 – Flemish Jesuit missionary François Noël is welcomed in China by the Kangxi Emperor at the Forbidden City in Beijing, and discusses the Emperor's disdain over the disapproval of Jesuit accommodation of Confucian rites by the Roman Catholic Church.

title: 1706

text: October 23 – Russia dispatches 1,500 troops and 120 civilians to Russia's border with China, on a mission to survey the boundaries in order to make a treaty with the Chinese Empire. Serbian adventurer Sava Vladislavich leads a group of cartographers to prepare maps in advance of traveling on to Beijing.

title: 1725

text: May 17 – French missionary Father Armand David first observes Père David's deer in Peking, China.

title: 1865

text: September 27 – Da-Qing Bank, predecessor of Bank of China, is founded in Peiping.

title: 1905

text: March 4 – Bank of Communications, a major financial services provider in China, is founded in Beijing.

title: 1908

text: April 17 – Zhang Zuolin's army captures Beijing.

title: 1926

text: July 25–31 – Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Beiping–Tianjin, a series of actions fought around Beiping and Tianjin, result in Japanese victory.

title: 1937

text: August 31 – The Workers' Stadium sports venue in Beijing (China) is officially opened.

title: 1959

text: November – Queen Sisowath Kossamak of Cambodia is released from house arrest to Beijing.

title: 1973

text: April 21 – Students from Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Nanjing begin protesting in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

title: 1989

text: June 4 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre: A violent military crackdown takes place on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

title: 1989

text: May 17 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: More than 1,000,000 Chinese protesters march through Beijing demanding greater democracy, leading to a crackdown.

title: 1989

text: January 23 – A self-immolation incident takes place in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, China. Five members of the Falun Gong are alleged to have set themselves on fire, but details surrounding the incident are disputed by Falun Gong sources.

title: 2001

text: October 15 – October 21 – The 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, China.

title: 2007

text: August 8–24 – The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China.

title: 2008

text: July 31 – The International Olympic Committee awards Beijing the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

title: 2015

text: December 6 – The United States announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia join shortly after.

title: 2021

text: February 4 – February 20 – The 2022 Winter Olympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.

title: 2022

text: March 4 – March 13 – The 2022 Winter Paralympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city to host both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics.

title: 2022

text: August 15–17 – The first World Humanoid Robot Games are held in Beijing, China.

title: 2025


slug: beirut

label: Beirut

description: capital and largest city of Lebanon

year_label: 14 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Caesar Augustus makes Beeroth (modern Beirut) a colonia, named Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus.

title: 14 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Climate & Environment

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Beirut is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami. Its epicenter has an estimated magnitude of about 7.2 or 7.6, and according to reports of Antoninus of Piacenza, Christian pilgrim, some 30,000 people are killed.

title: 551

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Hazir: Muslim Arab forces (17,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeat the Byzantine army near Qinnasrin (Northern Syria). The cities of Beirut and Tyre are captured by Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan after a short siege.

title: 637

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

date: May

text: May – The Crusaders march past Tripoli, accompanied by guides provided by the emir who lead them safely through the towns of Batroun and Byblos. On May 19 they cross the Dog River north of Beirut into Fatimid territory. There local governors supply the Crusaders with tribute and food in return for no damage to the agricultural area. The Fatimids keep no large troops in the north, except for small garrisons.

title: 1099

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: August

text: August – Saladin sends an Egyptian fleet to blockade Beirut and leads his forces in the Bekaa Valley. The city is strongly fortified and Baldwin IV rushes with his army up from Galilee – only pausing to collect the ships that lay in the harbors of Acre and Tyre. Failing to take Beirut by assault before the Crusaders arrived, Saladin breaks off the siege and withdraws.

title: 1182

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Saladin sends his nephew Izz al-Din Usama, governor (emir) of the iron-rich mountains near Beirut, to build Ajloun Castle, which controls the trade along the road between Damascus and Egypt.

title: 1184

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Frederick II departs from Acre, while he and his suite pass down the "Street of the Butchers" to the harbour, the people crowd out of the doors, and pelts him with entrails and dung. Meanwhile, Odo of Montbéliard (or Eudes), commander of the Crusader army, and John of Ibelin, lord of Beirut, are left behind to quell the unrest in Palestine.

title: 1229

section: Events › By place › Sixth Crusade

text: War of the Lombards: Richard Filangieri sails for Beirut, where the town is handed over to him. He occupies Sidon and Tyre – while other Lombard forces appear before Acre. At Acre, Filangieri summons a meeting of the High Court and shows letters from Frederick II appointing him as ambassador (baili).

title: 1231

section: Religion & Belief

date: June

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

title: 1283

text: June – Al-Ashraf Khalil enters Damascus in triumph with Crusaders chained at their feet and the captured Crusader standards, which are carried upside-down as a sign of their defeat. Following the capture of Acre, Khalil and his Mamluk generals proceed to wrest control of the remaining Crusader-held fortresses along the Syrian coast. Within weeks, the Mamluks conquer Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, Haifa and Tartus.

title: 1291

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Near East earthquakes of 1759: The second and stronger event in an earthquake doublet occurs to the east of Beirut, with a surface wave magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), destroying all the villages in the Beqaa Valley.

title: 1759

section: Events › October–December

date: September 10

text: September 10 – Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut, and land troops on the coast, to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country.

title: 1840

date: February 24

text: February 24 – Battle of Beirut: Italy makes a surprise attack on the Ottoman port of Beirut, when the cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi and the gunboat Volturno bombard the harbour, killing 97 sailors and civilians.

title: 1912

section: Events › February

date: July 15

text: July 15 – 1958 Lebanon crisis: 5,000 United States Marines land in the Lebanese capital Beirut in support of the pro-Western government.

title: 1958

section: Events › July

date: April 10

text: April 10 – Operation Spring of Youth: Israeli commandos raid Beirut, assassinating 3 leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement. The Lebanese army's inaction brings the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Saeb Salam, a Sunni Muslim.

title: 1973

section: Events › April

section: Crime & Justice

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Hundreds of Western tourists are moved from Beirut and taken to safety in Syria by the U.S. military, following the murder of the U.S. Ambassador.

title: 1976

section: Events › June

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Lebanese Civil War: Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-story apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO-associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.

title: 1981

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Lebanese Civil War: A multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the PLO withdrawal from Lebanon.

title: 1982

section: Events › August

date: June 6

text: June 6 – The 1982 Lebanon War begins: Israeli forces under Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut. The United Nations Security Council votes to demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

title: 1982

text: September 14 – Lebanese President-elect Bachir Gemayel is assassinated in Beirut.

title: 1982

section: Events › September

date: September 24

text: September 24 – The Wimpy Operation, the first act of armed resistance against Israeli troops in Beirut.

title: 1982

date: August 29

text: August 29 – Two U.S. Marines are killed by mortar blast in Beirut, marking the first U.S. combat fatalities of the Multinational Force in Lebanon.

title: 1983

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Beirut barracks bombing: Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French Army and United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.

title: 1983

section: Events › October

date: March 16

text: March 16 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Beirut, William Francis Buckley, is kidnapped by the Islamic Jihad Organization and later dies in captivity.

title: 1984

section: Events › March

date: February 16

text: February 16 – The ideology of Hezbollah is declared in a program issued in Beirut.

title: 1985

text: March 16 – Lebanon hostage crisis: US journalist Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he remains a prisoner until December 4, 1991.

title: 1985

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991).

title: 1987

section: Events › January

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri is assassinated, along with 21 others, by a suicide bomber in Beirut.

title: 2005

date: August 25

text: August 25 – 2019 Beirut drone crash: According to Lebanese officials, two Israeli drones attack Beirut, Lebanon. One crashed into the roof of the Hezbollah Media Center, about 45 minutes before the second exploded in the air and damaged the building. It is the first such incident between Israel and Lebanon since the 2006 Lebanon War.

title: 2019

date: August 4

text: August 4 – An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills at least 218 people, injures thousands, and severely damages the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless. The following day, the Lebanese government declares a two-week state of emergency.

title: 2020


slug: bejaia

label: Béjaïa

description: city and commune in Algeria

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Béjaïa (or Bugia) becomes the capital of the Hammadid dynasty in modern-day Algeria. It becomes an important port and centre of culture.

title: 1090

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Conflict & Security

text: The city of Béjaïa (modern Algeria) repels a Genoan naval assault.

title: 1136

text: The Almohad Caliphate conquers the Maghrib al-Awsat (modern Algeria). The city of Béjaïa becomes one of the main naval bases of the Almohads.

title: 1152

date: May

text: May – Berber forces under Ali Banu Ghaniya seize the Almohad cities of Algiers, Béjaïa and Constantine by surprise. While he is away from his base in Mallorca, one of his brothers, Muhammad, takes control of the island and calls in the Almohads, who intend to capture Mallorca for themselves. Banu Ghaniya arrives just in time to defeat the Almohads and recapture the island.

title: 1184

text: The Almohad forces under Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur reconquer Béjaïa and Algiers, that have been taken by the Banu Ghaniya, descendants of the Almoravids.

title: 1185

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

title: 1229

text: Abu Ishaq, uncle of the Hafsid caliph Abu Ishaq Ibrahim I, sides with the Almohad rebels of Béjaïa, and takes Tunis.

title: 1279

text: Abu Hafs Umar I, ruler of the Hafsid Sultanate, takes control of Béjaïa and becomes a rival of the main Hafsid entity based in Tunis.

title: 1286


slug: bela-iv-of-hungary

label: Béla IV of Hungary

description: King of Hungary (1206-1270)

section: Births

text: Béla IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1270)

title: 1206

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

title: 1239

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Battle of Mohi: Batu Khan and Subutai defeat Béla IV of Hungary. The battle is the last major event in the Mongol Invasion of Europe.

title: 1241

section: Events

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: November 16

text: November 16 – King Béla IV issues the Golden Bull to the inhabitants of Gradec (modern-day Zagreb) and Samobor in Croatia. By this golden bull, Béla proclaimes Gradec a royal free city.

title: 1242

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Battle of the Leitha River: Hungarian forces, under King Béla IV, defeat Duke Frederick II (the Quarrelsome) at the banks of the Leitha River. Frederick is killed (leaving no male heirs); the House of Babenberg is dissolved. Emperor Frederick II places the fiefs of Austria and Styria under his rule. This ends the Austrian claims to the western counties of Hungary.

title: 1246

date: July 2

text: July 2 – King Béla IV grants territories to the Knights Hospitaller in the Banate of Severin and Hungarian Cumania (according to a document called the Diploma of the Joannites), makes an early mention of Litovoi and other Vlach/Romanian local rulers, in Wallachia and Transylvania.

title: 1247

section: Culture & Society

text: The town of Banská Bystrica (located in central Slovakia) is granted municipal privileges by King Béla IV of Hungary.

title: 1255

section: Events › By topic › City and Towns

text: Croatia is divided into two sub-regions ruled by ban: the Croatian region on the south and Slavonian region on the north, by King Béla IV of Hungary.

title: 1260

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Battle of Kressenbrunn: King Ottokar II of Bohemia captures Styria from King Béla IV of Hungary.

title: 1260

date: December 10

text: December 10 – Hungarian Civil War, a dynastic conflict, erupts between King Béla IV and his son, Duke Stephen. Hungarian forces under Ladislaus II Kán invades Stephen's realm and push forward unhindered penetrating the valley of the Mureș River in the southern part of Transylvania. Stephen's army halts Ladislaus' advance at the Fortress of Deva (modern Romania).

title: 1264

date: March

text: March – End of the Hungarian Civil War (1264–1265) – Battle of Isaszeg: Younger King Stephen decisively defeats his father's army.

title: 1265

section: Deaths

date: May 3

text: May 3 – Béla IV of Hungary (b. 1206)

title: 1270


slug: belarus

label: Belarus

description: country in Eastern Europe

text: The Rus' Khaganate is created by people who are called Rus', after the 182-year dominance of the Khazars. This is the starting period of the rise of the Kievan Rus', and the later states of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (approximate date).

title: 800

section: Events › Europe

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Minsk and Orsha are first mentioned in the chronicles, making them two of the oldest cities in Belarus.

title: 1067

text: Construction of the Tower of Kamyenyets (or the White Tower) in Belarus begins. Later, it becomes a frontier stronghold on the northern border of Volhynia.

title: 1271

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Union of Krewo: A delegation of Poland's nobles visits the Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania at Valkaviskas

title: 1386

section: Events › January–March

date: October 25

text: October 25 – Grand Duke Sigismund of Lithuania signs a document at Grodno

title: 1432

section: Events › October–December

date: February 2

text: February 2 – During the Glinski rebellion, Lithuanian noble Mykolas Glinskis attacks Grodno (now in Belarus) and decapitates Jan Zabrzeziński, the top ally of Grand Duke Alexander.

title: 1508

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Livonian War: In what is now Belarus, the city of Polotsk falls to the forces of Stephen Báthory, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland.

title: 1579

section: Events › July–September

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Ukrainian Cossack troops under the command of Mykhailo Krychevsky and Stepan Pobodailo are overwhelmed in the Battle of Loyew (in what is now Belarus) by a smaller force of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth soldiers led by Lithuania's Janusz Radziwiłł, with the Cossacks losing more than 3,000 fighters. Krychevsky is mortally wounded and dies on August 3.

title: 1649

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Great Northern War – Battle of Grodno: A coalition of 34,000 Swedish and Polish troops besieges the then-Lithuanian city in the winter time, and clashes with 41,000 Russian and Saxon troops. After almost three months of fighting that lasts to April 10, Sweden takes control of the city, which is now located in Belarus.

title: 1706

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 18

text: September 18 – Bishop Bogusław Gosiewski sells the town of Maladzyechna in the Minsk Region of Belarus to the mighty Ogiński family.

title: 1711

date: January 22

text: January 22 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to liberate the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from Russian occupation.

title: 1863

date: June

text: Operation Bagration: A general attack by Soviet forces clears the German forces from Belarus, resulting in the destruction of German Army Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat of the Wehrmacht during WWII.

title: 1944

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Chernobyl disaster: A mishandled safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union "killed at least 4,056 people and damaged almost $7 billion of property". Radioactive fallout from the accident is concentrated near Belarus, Ukraine and Russia and at least 350,000 people are forcibly resettled away from these areas. After the accident, "traces of radioactive deposits unique to Chernobyl were in nearly every country in the northern hemisphere".

title: 1986

section: Events › April

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

title: 2021

section: Events › May


slug: belfast

label: Belfast

description: capital city of Northern Ireland

date: September 1

text: September 1 – The oldest existing English language newspaper in the world, The News Letter, is founded in Belfast, Ireland.

title: 1737

text: Belfast Academy (later Belfast Royal Academy) is founded by Rev. James Crombie in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

title: 1785

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Crime & Justice

text: Glentoran F.C. in Belfast in the north of Ireland;

title: 1882

section: Science & Discovery

date: January 14

text: January 14 – The White Star Line's transatlantic ocean liner is launched from the Belfast shipyards in Ireland. At 17,272 gross register tons and 704 ft m, she is the largest ship afloat at this time.

title: 1899

section: Events › January

date: May 22

text: May 22 – The White Star Liner SS Ionic is launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast.

title: 1902

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Construction begins on the , at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast.

title: 1908

section: Events › December

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Construction begins on the RMS Titanic, at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast.

title: 1909

section: Events › March–April

date: October 20

text: October 20 – The hull of White Star ocean liner is launched, at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast.

title: 1910

section: Events › October

date: May 31

text: May 31 – The hull of the is launched in Belfast, on the same day starts her sea trials.

title: 1911

date: February 26

text: February 26 – The ocean liner that will become HMHS Britannic, sister to the , is launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast.

title: 1914

section: Events › February

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 3

text: August 3 – Irish War of Independence: Catholics riot in Belfast, in protest at the continuing British Army presence.

title: 1920

section: Events › August

section: Health & Medicine

date: July 21

text: July 21 – The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) begin with 8,000 Catholic and Socialist workers driven from shipyards and industrial sites in Belfast.

title: 1920

section: Events › July

date: June 28

text: June 28 – The keel of the first 1,000 ft (300 m)-long ocean liner, Oceanic, for the British White Star Line, is laid by Harland and Wolff in Belfast; construction is delayed, and cancelled on 23 July 1929.

title: 1928

section: Events › June

date: December 4

text: December 4 – The McGurk's Bar bombing by the Ulster Volunteer Force in Belfast kills 15.

title: 1971

date: March 5

text: March 5 – In Belfast, a Led Zeppelin show includes the first public performance of "Stairway to Heaven," a song from the band's fourth album.

title: 1971

section: Events › March

date: July

text: Operation Motorman 4:00 AM : The British Army begins to regain control of the "no-go areas" established by Irish republican paramilitaries in Belfast, Derry ("Free Derry") and Newry.

title: 1972

text: July 21 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday – 22 bombs planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army explode in Belfast, Northern Ireland; nine people are killed and 130 seriously injured.

title: 1972

date: March 16

text: March 16 – Milltown Cemetery attack: Three men are killed and 70 wounded in a gun and grenade attack by loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone on mourners at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the funerals of the 3 IRA members killed in Gibraltar.

title: 1988

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Kathleen Margaret Brown and Irene Templeton are ordained as priests in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast, becoming the first female Anglican priests in the United Kingdom.

title: 1990

date: February 10

text: February 10 - Manx2 Flight 7100, a Fairchild Metro III, crashes on its third attempt at landing at Cork airport, Ireland from Belfast. Six of the twelve passengers and crew are killed.

title: 2011


slug: belgium

label: Belgium

description: country in western Europe

text: Frankish invasion of 388: Rebellious Franks led by Marcomer, Sunno and Genobaud invade the Roman Empire with plunder and threaten Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne). A part of the invaders are destroyed by the Romans in the charcoal forest (present-day Belgium). The Roman general Quintines pursues the invaders on Frankish soil and is ambushed. His army is surrounded and defeated by the Franks.

title: 388

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Childeric I succeeds his father Merovech as king of the Salian Franks. He establishes his capital at Tournai (modern Belgium) and becomes a foederatus (pl. foederati) of the Western Roman Empire.

title: 458

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Deaths

text: King Childeric I dies at Tournai after a 24-year reign. He is succeeded by his 15-year-old son Clovis, who becomes ruler of the Salian Franks in the province Gallia Belgica (modern Belgium) until his death in 511.

title: 481

text: December 16 – Pepin II (of Herstal), mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). His grandson Theudoald (who at age eight was still well into early childhood) becomes the nominal mayor of the palace, while his wife Plectrude holds actual power and imprisons Pepin's illegitimate son Charles Martel.

title: 714

text: Battle of Amblève: Charles Martel defeats his Neustrian and Frisian rivals near Amel (modern-day Belgium). His forces attack the army of Chilperic II and his allies, as they return triumphantly from Cologne. According to the Annals of Metz, Charles uses a feigned retreat to destroy his foes while they are resting, and recovers much of the ransom paid by Plectrude to Chilperic. He will remain undefeated until his death 25 years later.

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire › Europe

section: Culture & Society

text: King Louis I (son of Charlemagne), age 16, marries Ermengarde of Hesbaye. She is a Frankish noblewoman and the daughter of Ingerman, count of Hesbaye (modern Belgium).

title: 794

text: Battle of Leuven: Viking raiders on the Dyle River (near Leuven), in modern-day Belgium, suffer a crushing defeat by Frankish forces under King Arnulf of Carinthia.

title: 891

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Hungarians plunder the regions of Hesbaye and Carbonaria (modern Belgium). They plunder and burn the monastery of Saint Lambert from Hainaut, the monastery of Moorsel, sack the cities of Gembloux and Tournai.

title: 954

text: Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, is sent into exile by King Eadwig. He takes refuge in Flanders (modern Belgium), where Count Arnulf I gives him shelter in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.

title: 956

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The city of Brussels is founded by Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine. He constructs fortifications (a castrum on an island) on the Senne River (modern Belgium).

title: 979

text: Notker (or Notger), Frankish Benedictine monk and bishop, founds the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (modern Belgium) which will remain an independent state inside the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years.

title: 980

date: October 31

text: October 31 – Heriger, abbot of Lobbes (Belgium)

title: 1007

text: King Harold I seizes the throne of England from his half-brother Harthacnut. His mother, Emma of Normandy, flees to Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1037

section: Events › By place › England

text: 1048 or 1066 – End of the Viking Age: Vikings make an unsuccessful raid on the Kingdom of England; The raiders flee to Flanders (modern Belgium).

title: 1048

text: Affligem Abbey, of the Order of St. Benedict, is founded in Affligem (modern Belgium).

title: 1062

date: October 3

text: October 3 – Northumbria revolts against Tostig Godwinson, who is exiled. He takes refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V in Flanders (modern Belgium). The Northumbrian nobles choose Morcar (or Morkere) as earl at York.

title: 1065

date: July 27

text: July 27 – The city of Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium) receives its city charter as well new walls, and canals are built.

title: 1128

text: The counties of Flanders and Hainaut (modern Belgium) are united under Count Baldwin VIII. Flanders, a feudal fiefdom of France, becomes an important, wealthy independent state of Western Europe.

title: 1191

text: The town and monastery of Orval Abbey in Belgium burn to the ground; rebuilding takes 100 years.

title: 1252

text: The construction of Ypres Cloth Hall, in Ypres (modern Belgium), is completed.

title: 1304

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

date: September 17

text: September 17 – Louis Dampierre becomes the new Count of Flanders (the Flemish-speaking half of modern-day Belgium) upon the death of his grandfather, Robert III, "The Lion of Flanders". Louis has become Count of Nevers upon the July 22 death of his father (and Robert's eldest son), Count Louis.

title: 1322

section: Events › July – September

date: December 9

text: December 9 – The Old University of Leuven, Belgium is founded.

title: 1425

section: Events › October –December

text: October 20 – Near Sint-Truiden in what is now Belgium, Charles the Bold, son of the Duke of Burgundy leads his troops to victory over the rebellious province of Liege at the Battle of Montenaken, and 1,200 of the rebels are killed.

title: 1465

section: Events › October–December

date: August 17

text: August 17 – The revolt of Ghent begins in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) as members of the city's guilds demand the right to choose their own leaders, and the resignation of the Spanish-sponsored city leaders. Within four days, the city is under the control of nine guild leaders.

title: 1539

section: Events › July–September

date: February 12

text: February 12 – The "Perpetual Edict", providing for the removal of Spanish troops from what is now the Netherlands, is signed in the city of Marche-en-Famenne in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) by the Spanish Governor-General, Don Juan de Austria and representatives of the Dutch rebellion. The Perpetual Edict will last only five months, before Don Juan begins new attacks on the rebels.

title: 1577

section: Events › January–March

date: October 28

text: October 28 – In Flanders (now part of Belgium), two Protestant members of the city council of Ghent, Jan van Hembyze and François van Ryhove, proclaim the Calvinist Republic of Ghent. The stadtholder of Flanders, Philippe III de Croÿ, Duke of Aarschot is arrested, along with the Roman Catholic bishops Martin Rythovius of Ypres and Remi Drieux of Bruges. The Calvinist Republic will exist for seven years until the Spanish conquest of Ghent in 1584.

title: 1577

date: July 31

text: July 31 – At the Battle of Rijmenam, fought near Antwerp in what is now Belgium, a combined Dutch and English force under the command of the Count of Boussu and England's John Norreys defeats Spanish troops commanded by Don Juan de Austria.

title: 1578

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Battle of Borgerhout in Brabant (now Belgium): Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Parma overwhelm rebels fighting for the Union of Utrecht.

title: 1579

date: September 9

text: September 9 – In the Burgundian Netherlands (part of modern-day Belgium), the faculty at the University of Leuven publishes a condemnation of the 34 propositions drawn up by the Jesuit scholar Michel Baius, leading to a campaign by traditional Belgian Catholics against the Jesuits.

title: 1587

date: July 10

text: July 10 – England deports 47 Roman Catholic priests, including Thomas Garnet, putting them on board a ship bound for Flanders in modern-day Belgium. A royal proclamation is read to the group, warning them that they will be put to death if they ever return to the British Isles.

title: 1606

date: February 7

text: February 7 – A peace conference opens at the Binnenhof at The Hague, in the Netherlands, to end a war between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1608

date: March 25

text: March 25 – The Spanish Netherlands city of Ypres falls after a seven-day siege by the French Army. It is later returned to the Netherlands and eventually becomes part of Belgium.

title: 1678

date: July 12

text: July 12 – The Siege of Namur begins in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1695

date: June 25

text: June 25 – With the Holy Roman Empire having been ceded the "Southern Netherlands" (modern Belgium) from Spain, Prince Eugene of Savoy arrives in Brussels as the first Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands. Eugene soon returns home and leaves administration of the area to a dictatorial Hercule-Louis Turinetti.

title: 1716

section: Events › April–June

date: October 9

text: October 9 – The University of Ghent opens in Belgium.

title: 1817

date: December 20

text: December 20 – The independence of Belgium is recognized by the Great Powers.

title: 1830

date: October 4

text: October 4 – Belgian Revolution: The Provisional Government in Brussels declares the creation of the independent state of Belgium.

title: 1830

text: July 21 – Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is inaugurated as the first King of the Belgians, in Brussels.

title: 1831

text: May 5 – The first railway in continental Europe is opened between Brussels and Mechelen in Belgium.

title: 1835

text: April 19 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom, with its independence and neutrality guaranteed by the great powers of Europe. Half of the Limburg province of Belgium is added to the Netherlands, giving rise to a Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg (the latter being joined (from September 5) to the German Confederation).

title: 1839

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

title: 1867

text: December 22 – More than 40 schoolchildren from Belgium drown in the capsizing of a boat near the French town of Frelinghien.

title: 1899

text: December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre, France after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer.

title: 1938

text: September 5 – Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg constitute Benelux as representatives of the exiled governments sign the London Customs Convention.

title: 1944

text: May 29 – Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine spectators are killed in rioting on the terraces during the European Cup final between Liverpool F.C. and Juventus (0–1) at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.

title: 1985

text: April 13 – The 5.3 Roermond earthquake affects the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong).

title: 1992

text: June 10–July 2 – Belgium and the Netherlands jointly host the UEFA Euro 2000 football tournament, which is won by France.

title: 2000

text: February 15 – Two trains collide in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.

title: 2010


slug: belgrade

label: Belgrade

description: capital and largest city of Serbia

year_label: 279 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Scordisci Celts found a city called Singidon (Roman Singidunum) which is today the Serbian city of Belgrade.

title: 279 BC

section: Events › By place › The Balkans

text: Attila demands in the treaty the evacuation of the territory running from Singidunum (Belgrade, in Serbia) 300 mi km east along the Danube to Novae (Svishtov, in Bulgaria). This depopulated buffer zone deprives the Romans of their natural defensive advantages.

title: 448

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 504

text: Emperor Maurice decides to end the annual tribute to the Avars, a mounted people who have swept across Russia and threatened the Balkan Peninsula. They capture the cities of Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and Viminacium (Moesia).

title: 583

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Summer – Maurice begins a series of military expeditions, to defend the Balkan provinces from the Avars and Slavs. He establishes the Danube frontier (Limes Moesiae) from the Delta to the fortress city of Singidunum (Belgrade), and permits the Byzantines to reassert their authority in the interior.

title: 591

text: Emperor Maurice regains the Byzantine stronghold Singidunum (modern Belgrade) from the Avars. By counter-invading their homelands on the Balkans, Byzantine troops increase their pay by pillaging in hostile territory.

title: 592

text: Balkan Campaign: A Byzantine relief force under Priscus marches up the Danube River along the southern bank to Novae (modern Bulgaria). The fortress city of Singidunum (Belgrade) is plundered by the Avars, and abandoned after the approach of the Byzantines. The Avars retreat and launch a raid against Dalmatia.

title: 595

text: Summer – Balkan Campaign: The Byzantine generals Priscus and Comentiolus join their forces at Singidunum (modern Belgrade), and move downstream to the fortress city of Viminacium (Serbia). The Byzantines cross the Danube River and invade Upper Moesia, where they defeat the Avars in open battle.

title: 599

text: Summer – Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches an attack to the West, and penetrates into Pannonia. He expels the local chiefs, and installs Bulgar governors over the Slavic tribes to control them. Omurtag conquers the cities of Beograd, Braničevo, Sirmium, and most of eastern Slavonia.

title: 827

date: April 16

text: April 16 – The city of Belgrade is first mentioned in a papal letter to Boris I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 878

text: Peter Delyan leads a rebellion against the Byzantine Empire and is proclaimed by the Bulgarian nobles as emperor (tsar) Peter II in Belgrade.

title: 1040

text: The Kingdom of Hungary launches a campaign against the Byzantine Empire. They besiege and capture the border fortress of Belgrade, along with Sirmium and Taurunum.

title: 1071

date: May 8

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

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: May

text: May – June – Béla III, king of Hungary, ravages the region of Belgrade and Barancs (modern-day Braničevo). Meanwhile, Serbia allies itself with Hungary to gain independence.

title: 1182

date: March 12

text: March 12 – At Belgrade, Stefan Vladislav II becomes the new King of Syrmia (now part of Serbia) upon the death of his father, Stefan Dragutin.

title: 1316

section: Events › January – March

text: Stefan Lazarević establishes Belgrade, as the capital of the Serbian Despotate.

title: 1403

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Stefan Lazarević, ruler of the Serbian Despotate, dies at Belgrade and is succeeded by his nephew, Đurađ Branković.

title: 1427

date: April

text: April – Ottoman Sultan Murad II begins the siege of Belgrade, at this time part of the Kingdom of Hungary following the conquest of Serbia. The fortress is heavily damaged, but the defenders' use of artillery prevents the Turks from capturing the city, and the siege ends after six months.

title: 1440

date: September 18

text: September 18 – As the Crusade of Varna resumes, the 16,000 Christian soldiers under the command of Wladyslaw and Hunyadi begin crossing over the Danube river near Belgrade and complete their crossing into Ottoman Muslim territory in Bulgaria.

title: 1444

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Ulrich II, Count of Celje, regent for King Ladislas of Hungary and governor of Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia, is assassinated the day after he had entered the fortress of Belgrade, apparently at the direction of Ladislaus Hunyadi, son of the late John Hunyadi.

title: 1456

date: April 27

text: April 27 – After suppressing the Serbian uprising in Banat, the Ottoman Empire rulers carry out the public burning of the bones of Saint Sava in Belgrade.

title: 1594

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Kara Mustafa Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire since 1676, is executed on orders of Sultan Mehmed IV after being blamed for the Ottoman loss of the Battle of Vienna on September 12. The execution is carried out in Belgrade as Kara Mustafa is strangled with a silk cord. The Sultan appoints Bayburtlu Kara Ibrahim Pasha as the new Grand Vizier.

title: 1683

date: May 3

text: May 3 – Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire enters Belgrade.

title: 1683

date: July 22

text: July 22 – The Ottoman Empire retakes Belgrade from Austria's Habsburg monarchy after winning the Battle of Grocka.

title: 1739

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Hadži Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman commander and politician, is assassinated in Belgrade, Sanjak of Smederevo, by Kučuk-Alija.

title: 1801

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, is assassinated in Košutnjak, Belgrade.

title: 1868

section: Events › June

text: July 10 – Nicholas Hartwig, Russian Minister to Serbia, dies of a heart attack while visiting Austrian minister Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen at the Austrian Legation in Belgrade.

title: 1914

section: Events › July

date: July 29

text: July 29 – World War I: Austro-Hungarian Navy river monitor fires the first shots of the war, opening the bombardment of the defenses of Belgrade, Serbia's capital.

title: 1914

date: August 29

text: August 29 – WWII: The Government of National Salvation, a Serb puppet state of the Axis powers, is established by General Milan Nedić in Nazi-occupied Serbia in Belgrade, under military commander Heinrich Danckelmann; the regime includes 15 Ministers.

title: 1941

section: Events › August

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Smederevo Fortress explosion: A Serbian ammunition depot explodes at Smederevo on the outskirts of Belgrade, Serbia, killing 2,500 and injuring over 4,500.

title: 1941

date: March 6

text: March 6 – WWII: Yugoslav Partisans, operating in Nazi-occupied Serbia, assassinate Đorđe Kosmajac in Belgrade.

title: 1942

section: Events › March

date: October

text: Belgrade Offensive ends when Belgrade is liberated by Yugoslav Partisans, together with the Bulgarian Army and the Red Army, and the remnants of Nedić's collaborationist Serbian puppet state, the Government of National Salvation, are abolished.

title: 1944

section: Events › October

text: October 4 – The JSD Partizan sports club is founded in Belgrade, Serbia.

title: 1945

date: August 18

text: August 18 – The Danube Commission is created by the Belgrade Convention (enters into force 11 May 1949).

title: 1948

date: September 1

text: September 1 – The first meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement is held in Belgrade. The Soviet Union resumes nuclear testing, escalating fears over the ongoing Berlin Crisis.

title: 1961

section: Events › September

date: August 30

text: August 30 – An express train bound for Germany from Belgrade derails in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing more than 150 passengers.

title: 1974

section: Events › July–August

section: Crime & Justice

text: June 1 – Large protests erupt against Slobodan Milošević's regime in Belgrade; opposition leader Vuk Drašković and his wife Danica are arrested.

title: 1993

text: August 19 – In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Yugoslavs rally to demand the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević.

title: 1999

text: May 7 – Kosovo War: in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese embassy workers are killed and 20 others wounded when a NATO B-2 aircraft bombs the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

title: 1999

text: October 5 – Mass demonstrations in Belgrade lead to resignation of Yugoslavia's president Slobodan Milošević.

title: 2000

text: July 21 – Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year-long manhunt.

title: 2008

text: May 20–24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".

title: 2008

text: July 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of people rally outside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade in response to stricter lockdown measures proposed by President Aleksandar Vučić following an increase of cases in the city.

title: 2020

text: May 3 – A school shooting occurs in Belgrade, Serbia. A second mass murder occurs the next day near Mladenovac and Smederevo. These events leave 19 people dead, causing the government to increase regulations on gun ownership and mass anti-government protests to begin.

title: 2023


slug: belisarius

label: Belisarius

description: 6th century Byzantine general instrumental in reconquest of much of the former Roman Mediterranean territories (505-565)

section: Births

text: Antonina, Byzantine patrikia and wife of Belisarius (approximate date)

title: 484

text: Belisarius, Byzantine general (d. 565)

title: 505

text: Justinian I appoints Belisarius to command the Eastern army in Armenia and on the Byzantine-Persian frontier.

title: 527

text: Spring – Battle of Dara: Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeat a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at Dara (modern Turkey), by entrenching his infantry in a refused position in the centre line, then carrying out a cavalry envelopment to culminate a classic defensive-offensive battleplan.

title: 530

section: Events › By place › Persia

date: April 19

text: April 19 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army (20,000 men), commanded by Belisarius, is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria). Emperor Justinian I negotiates an end to the hostilities, and Belisarius is hailed as a hero.

title: 531

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Nika riots in Constantinople: Anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—escalates into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the capital is in chaos. The fires that start during the tumult result in the destruction of much of the city. The insurrection is put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus; 30,000 people are killed in the Hippodrome.

title: 532

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Summer – Emperor Justinian I holds a war council in Constantinople. His advisers warn him against launching an expedition to North Africa, because of the supply-lines (1,000 miles into Vandal waters) and the huge drain on the imperial treasury. Justinian appoints Belisarius to command the Byzantine army.

title: 533

date: March

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: Gothic War: Emperor Justinian I appoints Belisarius commander-in-chief (stratēgos autokratōr), and sends a Byzantine expeditionary force of only 8,000 soldiers (half are heavy East Roman cavalry) to begin the reconquest of Italy.

title: 535

text: Summer – Gothic War (535–554): Belisarius crosses the Strait of Messina and invades Italy. He conquers the city of Rhegium and advances to Naples.

title: 536

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

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogothic army (45,000 men) under King Vitiges begins the siege of the city. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.

title: 537

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Belisarius attacks the Goths when they have crossed the Milvian Bridge. After fierce resistance, Vitiges routs in panic, and many are slain or drowned in the river.

title: 538

text: Belisarius, still besieging Ravenna, negotiates a treaty with Theodebert I (whose forces are suffering from dysentery), and the Franks retreat to Gaul. The Byzantine fleet controls the Adriatic Sea and blockades the port of the capital from supplies.

title: 539

text: Emperor Justinian I offers to make peace with Vitiges, but Belisarius refuses to transmit the message. The Ostrogoths then offer to support Belisarius as emperor of the West.

title: 540

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

text: Gothic War: Emperor Justinian I sends Belisarius back to the Ostrogothic Kingdom (Italy) with an inadequate Byzantine expeditionary force (4,000 men and 200 ships).

title: 544

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

section: Religion & Belief

date: December 17

text: December 17 – Sack of Rome: After almost a year's siege, the capture of a grain fleet sent by the exiled Pope Vigilius near the mouth of the Tiber, and failure of troops of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius to relieve the city, the Ostrogoths under King Totila plunder Rome and destroy its fortifications. He then withdraws to Apulia (Southern Italy).

title: 546

text: Gothic War: Belisarius recaptures Rome from the Ostrogoths, but his Italian campaign is unsuccessful (he is starved of supplies and reinforcements from Constantinople).

title: 547

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Emperor Justinian I relieves Belisarius from military service, in favour of 70-year-old Byzantine general Narses.

title: 548

text: Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under Totila besiege Rome for the third time, after Belisarius has returned to Constantinople. He offers a peace agreement, but this is rejected by Emperor Justinian I.

title: 549

text: Byzantine forces under Liberius seize Granada (Andalusia) and occupy the old province of Baetica. Justinian I calls Belisarius out of retirement, to complete the consolidation of reconquered regions of Southern Spain.

title: 554

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

title: 559

text: Belisarius stands trial for corruption in Constantinople, possibly with Procopius acting as praefectus urbi. He is found guilty and sent to prison.

title: 562

text: Emperor Justinian I pardons Belisarius; he orders his release from prison, and restores his properties and honours. He permits the general to live in obscurity, and gives him a veterans' pension.

title: 563

section: Deaths

text: Belisarius, Byzantine general ("Last of the Romans")

title: 565

text: Antonina, wife of Belisarius (approximate date)

title: 570


slug: belize

label: Belize

description: sovereign state in Central America

text: c. 1500 BC: Early traces of Maya civilization developing in Belize.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

text: The Mayan civilization reaches its most prolific period, the classic period, in what is now Guatemala, Belize and parts of southern Mexico adjacent to the former two. During most of this period, Tikal dominates the Mayan world.

title: 300

section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica

section: Conflict & Security

text: First Tikal-Calakmul War: The Maya state of Caracol (Belize) defeats King Wak Chan K'awiil (Double Bird) of Tikal in battle, ending his dynasty.

title: 562

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain from his fourth voyage, during which he and his younger son, Ferdinand, explored the coast of Central America from Belize to Panama.

title: 1504

section: Events › October–December

text: Shipwrecked English buccaneer Peter Wallace, called Balis by the Spanish, settles near and perhaps gives his name to the Belize River, the first known European settlement in Belize.

title: 1638

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Guatemalan Sergeant Major Melchor de Mencos y Varón departs the city of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala with an infantry battalion to fight British pirates that are reportedly disembarking on the coasts of Petén (modern-day Belize), and sacking the nearby towns.

title: 1754

section: Events › January–March

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: July 14

text: July 14 – Convention of London between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain: British settlements on the Mosquito Coast of Central America are to be evacuated; Spain expands the territory available to the British in Belize on the Yucatán Peninsula, for cutting mahogany.

title: 1786

section: Events › July–September

date: September 10

text: September 10 – Battle of St. George's Caye: Off the coast of British Honduras (modern-day Belize), a group of European settlers and Africans defeats a Spanish force sent from Mexico to drive them out.

title: 1798

section: Events › July–December

section: Climate & Environment

text: September 10 – The worst hurricane in British Honduras history kills an estimated 1,500.

title: 1931

date: October 31

text: October 31 – Hurricane Hattie devastates Belize City, Belize killing over 270. After the hurricane, the capital moves to the inland city of Belmopan.

title: 1961

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Belize, formerly British Honduras, gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

title: 1981


slug: benedictine

label: Benedictine

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Randoald of Grandval, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval

title: 675

date: August 15

text: August 15 – The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.

title: 1070

section: Events

text: Saracen pirates raid the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat, on the Lérins Islands .

title: 1107

text: Saracen pirates raid the city of Antibes in Provence and the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat on the Lérins Islands (French Riviera).

title: 1125

text: Basingwerk Abbey originally Benedictine, and later Cistercian, is founded near Holywell in Wales.

title: 1132

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: March 9

text: March 9: Frances of Rome, Italian Benedictine nun and saint (b. 1384)

title: 1440

text: The Priory of St. Gregory's is founded at Douai, Flanders, at this time in the Spanish Netherlands, by its first prior, John Roberts, and other exiles, thus becoming the first English Benedictine house to renew conventual life after the English Reformation. More than two centuries later the community will establish Downside Abbey back in England.

title: 1605

section: Health & Medicine

text: The recipe for the herbal liqueur Bénédictine is devised by Alexandre Le Grand in Fécamp, France.

title: 1863

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Columba Marmion, Irish Benedictine and Roman Catholic monk and blessed (b. 1858)

title: 1923

section: Deaths › January


slug: benedictines

label: Benedictines

description: Catholic monastic order

section: Religion & Belief

text: Amalfitan Benedictines found the only Latin Christian monastery on Mount Athos with the support of John the Iberian. The monastery will last until 1287.

title: 985

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Íñigo of Oña, Spanish Benedictine abbot

title: 1057

text: Affligem Abbey, of the Order of St. Benedict, is founded in Affligem (modern Belgium).

title: 1062

section: Births

date: April 16

text: April 16 – Orderic Vitalis, English Benedictine chronicler

title: 1075

text: Anselm of Aosta, an Italian Benedictine abbot, completes his Monologion at the request of his fellow monks.

title: 1076

section: Events › By topic › Literature

text: Benno II, bishop of Osnabrück, founds the Benedictine abby of Iburg Castle (modern Germany).

title: 1080

text: Goswin of Anchin, French Benedictine monk and abbot (d. 1165)

title: 1082

text: Wolfhelm of Brauweiler, German Benedictine abbot

title: 1091

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Anselm, Italian Benedictine abbot and theologian, becomes archbishop of Canterbury in England, succeeding Lanfranc. The post of archbishop has been left vacant since 1089 by King William II of England – so he can collect the church's income for himself.

title: 1093

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Hildegard of Bingen, German Benedictine abbess (d. 1179)

title: 1098

text: Wivina, French Benedictine abbess (d. 1168)

title: 1103

date: November 16

text: November 16 – Ingulf, Norman Benedictine abbot

title: 1109

text: Thiofrid, Benedictine abbot of Echternach

title: 1110

text: Clairvaux Abbey is founded by Bernard, French abbot and a major leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism, in France.

title: 1115

text: Henry I founds Reading Abbey in England. The Cluniac Order populates the abbey.

title: 1121

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Erminold, German Benedictine abbot

title: 1121

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Nicholas of Worcester, prior of the Benedictine priory of Worcester Cathedral

title: 1124

date: March 23

text: March 23 – Ottone Frangipane, Italian Benedictine monk and saint (b. 1040)

title: 1127

text: Elisabeth of Schönau, German Benedictine abbess (d. 1164)

title: 1129

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

title: 1133

text: Hildegard of Bingen becomes abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg, upon the death of Jutta von Sponheim.

title: 1136

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Bernard du Bec, French Benedictine abbot

title: 1149

text: Approximate date – Hildegard of Bingen, German Benedictine abbess, founds Eibingen Abbey near Rüdesheim am Rhein.

title: 1165

text: Goswin of Anchin, Flemish Benedictine abbot (b. 1086)

title: 1165

text: Wivina, French Benedictine abbess and saint (b. 1103)

title: 1168

text: Westminster School is founded by Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey (by papal command) in England.

title: 1179

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Eckbert of Schönau (or Egbert), German Benedictine abbot

title: 1184

text: Saracen pirates, from the Balearic Islands, raid the city of Toulon in Provence, and the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat, on the Lérins Islands.

title: 1197

text: Matthew Paris, English Benedictine monk and chronicler (d. 1259)

title: 1200

text: Ragnall mac Somairle, a Scottish nobleman, invites Benedictine monks to establish the abbey of Iona.

title: 1203

date: May 10

text: May 10 – Beatrice d'Este, Italian Benedictine nun and saint (b. 1192)

title: 1226

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English Benedictine monk and chronicler, dies at St Albans Abbey. His chronicle is continued by Matthew Paris.

title: 1236

text: Matthew Paris, English Benedictine chronicler, completes the major part of his Chronica Majora, a chronicle of English history.

title: 1253

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Giuliana of Collalto, Italian Benedictine abbess and Blessed

title: 1262

text: Eleanor of Brittany, Anglo-Norman Benedictine abbess (d. 1342)

title: 1275

text: Vitalis of Assisi, Italian Benedictine monk and hermit (d. 1370)

title: 1295


slug: benevento

label: Benevento

description: Italian comune

year_label: 321 BCE

text: Two Roman consuls, Spurius Postumius Albinus and Titus Veturius Calvinus, leading an invading force into Samnium, are trapped in a mountain pass known as the Caudine Forks (Caudium) near Beneventum, where they can neither advance nor retire, and after a desperate struggle, they are forced to submit to the humiliating terms imposed by the Samnite victor, Gaius Pontius. The captured consuls pledge themselves to a five-year treaty on terms most favourable for the Samnites.

title: 321 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 268 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Romans found a colony at Malventum which they, for superstitious reasons, call Beneventum (since male means bad and bene means good in Latin).

title: 268 BC

year_label: 214 BCE

text: Roman legions led by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus defeat Hanno's Carthaginian forces in a battle near Beneventum, thus denying Hannibal much needed reinforcements.

title: 214 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: The Roman consuls, Appius Claudius Pulcher and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, besiege Capua with eight legions. Hanno moves to Beneventum to try to help the inhabitants of Capua, but he is defeated by the Romans.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 190 BCE

text: One of the main highways in Roman Italy, the Via Appia, is extended to Benevento and Venosa.

title: 190 BC

year_label: 88 CE

text: Two Egyptian obelisks are erected in Benevento in front of the Temple of Isis, in honour of Emperor Domitian.

title: AD 88

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Via Traiana is constructed at the Emperor Trajan's personal expense; the road connects Benevento with Brundisium (Brindisi).

title: AD 109

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Construction begins on the Arch of Trajan in Benevento.

title: AD 114

date: March

text: March – Totila bypasses Rome and begins his expedition in Southern Italy. He captures Beneventum and receives the submission of the provinces of Apulia, Lucania and Bruttium.

title: 542

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Benevento becomes the capital of an independent duchy, under the Lombard chieftain Zotto (approximate date).

title: 571

section: Deaths

text: Radoald, duke of Benevento (Italy)

title: 651

text: Emperor Constans II launches an assault against the Duchy of Benevento (Southern Italy). Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard king Grimoald I is engaged against Frankish forces from Neustria, Constans disembarks at Taranto, and besieges Lucera and Benevento.

title: 663

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Culture & Society

text: Grimoald III, Lombard duke of Benevento, is installed as semi-client by King Charles the Younger (son of Charlemagne) at Benevento (Italy).

title: 788

text: Summer – Orso, Lombard prince of Benevento, is deposed after the capture of Benevento by the Byzantines. Benevento becomes the capital of the thema of Longobardia.

title: 891

text: Guy IV, duke of Spoleto, conquers Benevento (after the Byzantines have moved the capital of Byzantine Italy from Benevento to Bari). Guy makes himself prince, thereby uniting the two Italian states. The Byzantines attempt to retake Benevento, but are defeated by Lombard troops.

title: 895

text: Otto I goes on a tour of the Lombard duchies of southern Italy. In Capua he grants Pandulf I (Ironhead) the vacant Duchy of Spoleto and Camerino and charges him with prosecuting the war against the Byzantine Empire. In Benevento, Otto receives the homage of Pandulf's brother and co-ruler Landulf III. In Salerno he receives also the support of Gisulf I.

title: 967

text: Summer – Pope John XIII convenes a synod at Rome. He raises the bishopric of Benevento to Archbishopric of Benevento. The city is made a metropolitan see over 10 bishoprics in Byzantine Capitanata (Southern Italy).

title: 969

text: Winter – Otto III makes a pilgrimage through middle Italy from Gargano to Benevento. Stopping by Monte Cassino, where he meets the hermit monk Romuald.

title: 998

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Battle of Civitate: Norman horsemen (3,000 men), led by Humphrey of Hauteville, count of Apulia and Calabria, rout the combined forces under Pope Leo IX, in Southern Italy. The Normans destroy the allied Papal army and capture Leo, who is imprisoned (as a hostage for 8 months) in Benevento.

title: 1053

date: August

text: August – Pope Honorius II invests Roger II of Sicily as duke of Apulia at Benevento, after his failure to form a coalition against Roger.

title: 1128

date: March 14

text: March 14 – An earthquake in the middle of the Calore valley in Italy, east of Benevento, kills 400 people.

title: 1702


slug: bengal

label: Bengal

description: historical and geographical region in the east region of the Indian subcontinent

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Shashanka is the first recorded independent king of Bengal. He establishes his capital in modern-day Murshidabad (approximate date).

title: 606

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: King Dharmapala begins his reign of Bengal (South Asia).

title: 775

section: Conflict & Security

text: Emperor Rajendra Chola I extends his influence of the Chola Empire to the banks of the Ganges River (North India) and invades Bengal.

title: 1021

text: Iltutmish, Ghurid ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, repels a Mongol attack and invades Bengal. His rival, Ghiyasuddin, leads an army to halt Iltutmish's advance, but decides to avoid a conflict by paying him tribute and accepting his suzerainty.

title: 1225

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: Shah Jalal, Sufi saint of Bengal (b. 1271)

title: 1347

text: The Adina Mosque is built in Bengal.

title: 1373

section: Events › Date unknown

date: March 3

text: March 3 – Battle of Tukaroi: The Mughal Empire decisively defeats the Karrani dynasty of Bengal. The battle took place near the village of Tukaroi in present-day Balasore District of Odisha.

title: 1575

section: Events › January–March

date: July 12

text: July 12 – The Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Rajmahal.

title: 1576

section: Events › July–September

text: The Portuguese are driven out of Bengal.

title: 1632

date: January 27

text: January 27 – Mughal conquest of Chittagong: Mughal forces of Emperor Aurangzeb, in alliance with the Portuguese, under Shaista Khan and his son Buzurg Umed Khan, expel the Maghs from the Bengal port city of Chittagong, renaming the city as Islamabad.

title: 1666

section: Climate & Environment

text: Famine in Bengal kills 3 million people.

title: 1669

text: November 16 – Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent ruler of Bengal of undivided India (d. 1757)

title: 1733

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent ruler of Bengal of undivided India (b. 1733)

title: 1757

date: September

text: September – Massive droughts in Bengal lead to the Bengal famine of 1770, in which ten million people, a third of the population, will die, the worst natural disaster in human history (in terms of lives lost).

title: 1769

text: The first cholera pandemic originates in Bengal, reaching Calcutta by September.

title: 1817

date: July 28

text: July 28 – In Bengal, India, British officer William James Herschel uses the hand impression of Rajyadhar Konai, as a contract fingerprint signature.

title: 1858

section: Crime & Justice

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Kukis raid the Chhagalnaiya plains in eastern Bengal, murdering and kidnapping hundreds of people, particularly women.

title: 1861

section: Events › January

date: October 10

text: October 10 – The Noakhali riots in Bengal begin: several hundred Hindus are massacred by Muslims.

title: 1946

section: Events › October

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Bangladesh and eastern Bengal are flooded; thousands flee the area.

title: 1971

section: Events › August


slug: benito-mussolini

label: Benito Mussolini

description: dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1945

section: Economy & Finance

date: November 24

text: November 24 – Benito Mussolini is expelled from the Italian Socialist Party.

title: 1914

section: Events › November

date: March 23

text: March 23 – Benito Mussolini founds his Italian Fascist political movement in Milan.

title: 1919

section: Events › March

date: October 28

text: October 28 – In Italy, the March on Rome brings the National Fascist Party and Benito Mussolini to power. Italy begins a period of dictatorship that lasts until the end of the Second World War.

title: 1922

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies which will be regarded by historians as the beginning of his dictatorship.

title: 1925

date: April 7

text: April 7 – An assassination attempt against Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini fails.

title: 1926

section: Events › April

date: April 12

text: April 12 – A bomb attack against Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini in Milan kills 17 bystanders.

title: 1928

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Pope Pius XI meets Benito Mussolini in Vatican City.

title: 1932

section: Events › February

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet for the first time, at the Venice Biennale.

title: 1934

section: Events › May–June

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.

title: 1935

date: May 9

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

title: 1936

date: March 30

text: March 30 – Italy's Duce Benito Mussolini is granted equal power over the Italian military to that of King Victor Emmanuel III, as First Marshal of the Empire.

title: 1938

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Benito Mussolini and his Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, order "spontaneous" demonstrations in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, demanding that France cede Tunisia, Nice, Corsica and French Somaliland to Italy. This begins an acute crisis in Franco-Italian relations, that lasts until March 1939.

title: 1938

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Benito Mussolini, Fascist Prime Minister of Italy since 1922, is arrested after the Grand Council of Fascism withdraws its support. "Il Duce" is replaced by General Pietro Badoglio.

title: 1943

section: Events › July

date: April 28

text: April 28 – The bodies of Benito Mussolini, his mistress, Clara Petacci, and other followers are hung by their heels at a gas station in the public square of Milan, Piazzale Loreto, following their execution by Italian partisans after an attempt to flee the country.

title: 1945


slug: benjamin-franklin

label: Benjamin Franklin

description: American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)

section: Births

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Josiah Franklin, English-born American businessman, father of Benjamin Franklin (d. 1745)

title: 1657

date: April 2

text: April 2 – The first Silence Dogood letter, written by Benjamin Franklin, is printed.

title: 1722

section: Events › April–June

date: April 3

text: April 3 – Benjamin Franklin, aged 23, writes the essay "A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature and Necessity of Paper Currency" and later applies the economic principles to backing of paper money used in the United States.

title: 1729

section: Culture & Society

date: December 9

text: December 9 – The first documented notice in North America about freemasonry is published in The Pennsylvania Gazette in an article by its publisher, Benjamin Franklin.

title: 1730

section: Events › October–December

section: Science & Discovery

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Benjamin Franklin, in the Pennsylvania Gazette, first advertises the publication of Poor Richard's Almanack, purportedly written by "Richard Saunders", a pen name used by Franklin. The book goes on sale on December 28. The annual publication will continue until 1758.

title: 1732

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: December 7

text: December 7 – Benjamin Franklin builds the first volunteer fire company in Philadelphia.

title: 1736

section: Conflict & Security

text: Benjamin Franklin creates the Philadelphia Police Force – the first city-paid force.

title: 1737

date: October 21

text: October 21 – Benjamin Franklin's view of a lunar eclipse from Philadelphia is spoiled by a rainstorm; several days later, he learns that residents of Boston received the same storm hours after the eclipse, demonstrating that weather moves from west to east.

title: 1743

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: December 7 – Benjamin Franklin forms the Pennsylvania Associators, the first militia in the colony of Pennsylvania, which had no standing militia because of its foundation by pacifistic Quakers.

title: 1747

date: August 13

text: August 13 – The Academy and College of Philadelphia, predecessor to the private University of Pennsylvania, opens its doors, with Benjamin Franklin as president.

title: 1751

text: January 7 – The University of Pennsylvania, conceived 12 years earlier by Benjamin Franklin and its other trustees to provide non-denominational higher education "to train young people for leadership in business, government and public service". rather than for the ministry, holds its first classes as "The Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania" in Philadelphia.

title: 1751

section: Health & Medicine

date: May 11

text: May 11 – The Pennsylvania Hospital, first hospital in the American colonies, is chartered in Philadelphia by the Pennsylvania legislature, which grants the right to Benjamin Franklin and to Dr. Thomas Bond.

title: 1751

date: May 10

text: May 10 – At Marly-la-Ville in France, physicist Thomas-François Dalibard successfully conducts the kite experiment proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1750 book Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity.

title: 1752

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Russian scientist Georg Richmann becomes the first person to be electrocuted by his own equipment after he uses an insulated, but improperly grounded, lightning rod in an attempt to gather data on a thunderstorm. Richmann also becomes the first victim of ball lightning during his scientific experiment, in an attempt to replicate the experiments of American Benjamin Franklin.

title: 1753

date: February 13

text: February 13 – John Mills is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, with Benjamin Franklin as one of his sponsors.

title: 1766

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 18

text: March 18 – American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which has been very unpopular in the British colonies; the persuasion of Benjamin Franklin is considered partly responsible. The Declaratory Act asserts the right of Britain to bind the colonies in all other respects.

title: 1766

date: September 11

text: September 11 – The Public Advertiser publishes a satirical essay titled Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One, written by Benjamin Franklin.

title: 1773

date: July 26

text: July 26 – The Second Continental Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what later becomes the United States Post Office Department.

title: 1775

section: Events › July–December

date: July 4

text: July 4 – American Revolution: United States Declaration of Independence – The Continental Congress approves the declaration by the United States of its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The text was drafted during June by Benjamin Franklin.

title: 1776

section: Events › July–August

date: January 29

text: January 29 – After a second petition for partition from its residents, the North Carolina General Assembly abolishes Bute County, North Carolina (established 1764) by dividing it and naming the northern portion Warren County (for Revolutionary War hero Joseph Warren), the southern portion Franklin County (for Benjamin Franklin). The General Assembly also establishes Warrenton (also named for Joseph Warren) to be the seat of Warren County, and Louisburg (named for Louis XVI of France) to be the seat of Franklin County.

title: 1779

text: Benjamin Franklin tries in vain to persuade the French to alter their clocks in winter to take advantage of the daylight.

title: 1784

text: Benjamin Franklin invents bifocal spectacles.

title: 1784

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Benjamin Franklin receives a patent for bifocals.

title: 1785

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Benjamin Franklin takes office as the new President of the Supreme Council of Pennsylvania, at the time the equivalent of a republic as one of the 13 independent governments of the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation.

title: 1785

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Benjamin Franklin returns to Philadelphia after seven years as the U.S. Ambassador to France and prepares to take office as the new Governor of Pennsylvania.

title: 1785

section: Deaths

date: December 5

text: December 5 – Anne Louise Boyvin d'Hardancourt Brillon de Jouy, French confidant of Benjamin Franklin (b. 1744)

title: 1824

section: Deaths › July–December