slug: chinese-communist-party

label: Chinese Communist Party

description: founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of China

text: January 20–30 – Kuomintang in China holds its first National Congress, initiating a policy of alliance with the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party.

title: 1924

section: Events › January

section: Deaths

date: April 28

text: April 28 – Li Dazhao, Chinese intellectual, co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party (executed) (b. 1888)

title: 1927

section: Deaths › March–April

date: March 24

text: March 24 – Nanking Incident: After six foreigners have been killed in Nanking, and it appears that Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party forces will overrun the foreign consulates, warships of the U.S. Navy and the British Royal Navy fire shells and shoot to disperse the crowds.

title: 1927

section: Events › March

text: October 16 – The Long March of the People's Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party begins.

title: 1934

section: Events › September–October

date: October 22

text: October 22 – The Chinese Communist Party settles in Shaanxi after the Long March.

title: 1935

section: Events › October

section: Culture & Society

date: February 1

text: February 1 – Mao Zedong makes a speech on "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature", starting the Yan'an Rectification Movement in the Chinese Communist Party.

title: 1942

section: Events › February

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Chinese Civil War: Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek meet in Chongqing to discuss an end to hostilities between the Communists and the Nationalists.12

title: 1945

section: Events › August

text: The Chinese Civil War intensifies between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party.

title: 1946

section: Events › Date unknown

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Forces from the Chinese Communist Party enter Beijing.

title: 1949

date: May 16

text: May 16 – The Chinese Communist Party issues the 'May 16 Notice', marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

title: 1966

section: Events › May

date: December 22

text: December 22 – The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue the reform and opening up.

title: 1978

section: Events › December

date: October 19

text: October 19 – The Chinese Communist Party promotes several market-oriented reformers to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, signaling a defeat for hard-line ideologues.

title: 1992


slug: chinese-language

label: Chinese language

description: language group of the Sinitic languages

section: Religion & Belief

text: Zhi Yao, a Kushan Buddhist monk of Yuezhi ethnicity, translates Buddhist texts into the Chinese language during the Han dynasty.

title: AD 185

section: Events › By place › China

text: Kumarajiva, Kuchean Buddhist monk, arrives in Chang'an and begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.

title: 401

text: Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, returns from India and begins translating Buddhist works into Chinese.

title: 414

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist monk, is an invited honored guest by emperor Wen of Liu Song (Liu Song dynasty). He translates the Lankavatara Sutra from Sanskrit into the Chinese language.

title: 443

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Emperor Xiao Wen Di moves the capital of Northern Wei from Datong to Luoyang. He makes Chinese the official language of his court, and orders his nobility to adopt Chinese names.

title: 494

text: Jnanagupta, a Buddhist monk from Gandhara (Pakistan), begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.

title: 561

text: Jnanagupta, Afghan Buddhist monk, translates the Vimalakirti Sutra into Chinese.

title: 591

date: February 15

text: February 15 – The Galle Trilingual Inscription, with inscriptions in three languages (Chinese, Tamil and Persian) is installed by the Chinese admiral Zheng He at Galle in Sri Lanka, where he has stopped while on his way home during the second of his treasure voyages.

title: 1409

section: Events › January–March


slug: chinese-painting

label: Chinese painting

description: artistic tradition

section: Births

text: Zhang Xuan, Chinese painter (d. 755)

title: 713

text: China has accomplishments in poetry, painting and printing, but its monarchical system tends toward failure. Emperor Xuan Zong has fallen under the spell of his son's wife Yang Guifei (one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China), a Taoist priestess. He is ignoring the economy and the Tang dynasty is declining.

title: 745

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Zhang Xuan, Chinese painter (b. 713)

title: 755

text: Han Gan, Chinese painter of the Tang Dynasty

title: 783

text: Li Cheng, Chinese painter (d. 967)

title: 919

text: Li Cheng, Chinese painter (b. 919)

title: 967

text: Wen Tong, Chinese painter and calligrapher (d. 1079)

title: 1019

text: Yi Yuanji, Chinese painter (approximate date)

title: 1064

text: Wen Tong, Chinese painter and calligrapher (b. 1019)

title: 1079


slug: chinese-philosophy

label: Chinese philosophy

description: philosophy in the Chinese cultural sphere

year_label: 325 BCE

text: Gongsun Long, Chinese scholar and philosopher (approximate date)

title: 325 BC

year_label: 305 BCE

text: Zou Yan, Chinese philosopher (d. 240 BC)

title: 305 BC

year_label: 295 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Zhuang Zhou, Chinese philosopher (approximate date)

title: 295 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: Gongsun Long, Chinese scholar and philosopher (b. c. 325 BC)

title: 250 BC

year_label: 240 BCE

text: Zou Yan, Chinese philosopher (b. 305 BC)

title: 240 BC

year_label: 27 CE

text: Wang Chong, Chinese astronomer and philosopher (d. AD 100)

title: 20s

section: Births › 27 AD

text: Emperor Kōtoku establishes the Taika Reform: a land reform based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China (approximate date)

title: 645

section: Events › By place › Japan

text: Li Ao, Chinese philosopher and prose writer (d. 841)

title: 772

text: Li Ao, Chinese philosopher and prose writer (b. 772)

title: 841

text: Liu Yuxi, Chinese poet and philosopher (b. 772)

title: 842


slug: chinese-poetry

label: Chinese poetry

description: Poetical art developed in China

text: Xie Lingyun, Chinese poet of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (d. 433)

title: 385

text: Tao Qian, Chinese poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 365)

title: 427

text: Xie Lingyun, Chinese poet of the Southern and Northern dynasties (b. 385)

title: 433

text: Shen Quanqi, Chinese poet and official (approximate date)

title: 650

text: Luo Binwang, Chinese poet and official

title: 684

text: Wang Zhihuan, Chinese poet (d. 742)

title: 688

text: Wang Changling, Chinese poet and official (d. 756)

title: 698

text: Wang Wei, Chinese poet (d. 759)

title: 699

date: May 19

text: May 19 – Li Bai (or Li Po), Chinese poet (d. 762)

title: 701

text: Chen Zi'ang, Chinese poet and official of the Tang dynasty (b. 661)

title: 702

text: Cui Hao, Chinese poet (d. 754)

title: 704

text: Liu Zhangqing, Chinese poet (d. 785)

title: 709

text: Shen Quanqi, Chinese poet and official (b. 650)

title: 729

text: Li Bai (also Li Po), Chinese poet, is summoned by Xuan Zong to attend the imperial court. He and his friend Du Fu become the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry, during the mid-Tang dynasty.

title: 742

text: Wang Zhihuan, Chinese poet (b. 688)

title: 742

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Autumn – Li Bai (also Li Po), Chinese poet and skilled calligrapher, meets Du Fu for the first time.

title: 744

title: 745

text: Li Shizhi, chancellor and poet of the Tang dynasty

title: AD 747

text: Meng Jiao, Chinese poet (d. 814)

title: 751

section: Conflict & Security

date: December 8

text: December 8 – Du Fu, Chinese poet, returns to Chang'an as a member of Emperor Xuan Zong's court, after having escaped the city during the An Lushan Rebellion.

title: AD 757

text: Wang Wei, Chinese poet (b. 699)

title: 759

text: Li Bai, (also Li Po), Chinese poet (b. 701)

title: 762

text: Zhang Ji, Chinese scholar and poet (approximate date)

title: 766

text: Han Yu, Chinese philosopher and poet (d. 824)

title: 768

text: Bai Juyi, Chinese poet and official (d. 846)

title: 772

text: Liu Zongyuan, Chinese poet and official (d. 819)

title: 773

text: Bai Xingjian, Chinese poet and writer (d. 826)

title: 776

text: Jia Dao, Chinese poet and Buddhist monk (d. 843)

title: 779

text: Liu Changqing, Chinese poet (b. 709)

title: 785

text: Lü Dongbin, Chinese scholar and poet

title: 796

text: Du Mu, Chinese poet and official (d. 852)

title: 803

text: Wen Tingyun, Chinese poet and lyricist (d. 870)

title: 812

text: Li Shangyin, Chinese official and poet (d. 858)

title: 813

text: Meng Jiao, Chinese poet (b. 751)

title: 814

text: Liu Zongyuan, Chinese poet and official (b. 773)

title: 819

text: Song Ruoxin, Chinese scholar and poet (b. 768)

title: 820

text: Chen Tao, Chinese poet (d. 882)

title: 824

text: Bai Xingjian, Chinese poet and writer (b. 776)

title: 826

text: Wang Jian, Chinese poet (approximate date)

title: 830

text: Guanxiu, Chinese Buddhist monk and poet (d. 912)

title: 832

text: Xue Tao, Chinese poet (b. 768)

title: 832

text: Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet (d. 910)

title: 833

text: Pi Rixiu, Chinese poet (approximate date)

title: 834

text: Lu Tong, Chinese poet (b. 790)

title: 835

text: Wei Zhuang, Chinese poet (approximate date)

title: 836

title: 842

text: Jia Dao, Chinese poet and Buddhist monk (b. 779)

title: 843

text: Yu Xuanji, Chinese poet (approximate date)

title: 844

text: Du Xunhe, Chinese poet (d. 904)

title: 846

text: Du Mu, Chinese poet and official (b. 803)

title: 852

text: Li Shangyin, Chinese official and poet

title: 858

text: Yu Xuanji, Chinese poet (or 869)

title: 868

text: Yu Xuanji, Chinese poet (or 868)

title: 869

text: Wen Tingyun, Chinese poet and lyricist (b. 812)

title: 870

text: Chen Tao, Chinese poet (b. 824)

title: 882

text: Du Xunhe, Chinese poet (b. 846)

title: 904

text: Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet (b. 833)

title: 909

text: January 26 – Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet

title: 910

text: Guanxiu, Chinese Buddhist monk and poet (b. 832)

title: 912

text: Zhang Mi, Chinese Ci lyric poet (d. unknown)

title: 930

text: Wang Yucheng, Chinese official and poet (d. 1001)

title: 954

text: Lin Bu, Chinese poet and calligrapher (d. 1028)

title: 967

text: Madame Huarui, Chinese concubine and poet

title: 976

text: Zhang Xian, Chinese poet and writer (d. 1078)

title: 990

text: Yan Shu, Chinese statesman and poet (d. 1055)

title: 991

text: Wang Yucheng, Chinese official and poet (b. 954)

title: 1001

text: Ouyang Xiu, Chinese historian and poet (d. 1072)

title: 1007

text: Cai Xiang, Chinese calligrapher, official and poet (d. 1067)

title: 1012

text: Lin Bu (or Junfu), Chinese poet and calligrapher (b. 967)

title: 1028

text: Cai Xiang, Chinese calligrapher and poet (b. 1012)

title: 1067

text: September 22 – Ouyang Xiu, Chinese historian and poet (b. 1007)

title: 1072

text: Ye Mengde, Chinese scholar, minister and poet (d. 1148)

title: 1077

text: Li Qingzhao, Chinese female poet and writer

title: 1084

text: Zhu Bian, Chinese diplomat, poet and writer (d. 1144)

title: 1085

text: Qin Guan, Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, writes the Can Shu (Book of Sericulture), which describes a silk-reeling machine that has the world's oldest known mechanical belt drive.

title: 1090

section: Events › By topic › Science and Technology

text: August 24 – Su Shi, Chinese statesman and poet (b. 1037)

title: 1101

text: October 29 – Yang Wanli, Chinese politician and poet (d. 1206)

title: 1127

text: Yang Wanli, Chinese politician and poet (b. 1127)

title: 1206


slug: chios

label: Chios

description: Greek island in the Aegean Sea

year_label: 392 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Isocrates sets up a school of rhetoric in Chios.

title: 392 BC

section: Events › By topic › Art

year_label: 356 BCE

text: The Achaemenid King Artaxerxes III orders all the satraps (governors) of his empire to dismiss their mercenaries. The Athenians, who have originally approved their mercenaries' collaboration with Artabazus of Phrygia, order them to leave due to their fear of Achaemenid support for the rebellion of Chios, Rhodes, and Cos. Thebes follows suit and withdraws its mercenaries.

title: 356 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

text: The Social War begins between the Second Athenian League, led by Athens, and its revolting allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Kos as well as the independent state Byzantium. Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria, instigates the rebellion against the Athenian control of these states. The revolting allies ravage the islands of Lemnos and Imbros which are loyal to Athens.

title: 356 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

text: Chabrias, Athenian general died at Chios

title: 356 BC

year_label: 354 BCE

text: Athens recognises the independence of Chios, Kos and Rhodes and makes peace with Mausolus of Caria.

title: 354 BC

year_label: 330 BCE

text: Theopompus of Chios, Greek historian and rhetorician (b. c. 380 BC)

title: 330 BC

year_label: 201 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon captures Samos and the Egyptian fleet stationed there. He then besieges Chios to the north.

title: 201 BC

text: Arab-Byzantine War: The Arab fleet dominates the Aegean Sea and conquers the strategic islands, Rhodes, Cos and Chios. The shore on the southern part of Sea of Marmara is taken, providing an excellent base at Cyzicus to begin the blockade of Constantinople by sea.

title: 670

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Summer – Bardas Phokas (the Younger) and his family rebel against their own cousin, John I. Bardas is proclaimed 'emperor' by his troops at Caesarea, but the rebellion is extinguished by Bardas Skleros. Phokas and his relatives are captured and exiled to the island of Chios (Aegean Sea).

title: 970

text: The Republic of Venice pillages the islands of Rhodes, ravages Samos and Lesbos, and occupies Chios (controlled by the Byzantine Empire). The Republic of Florence sacks and conquers the neighboring independent republic of Fiesole in Italy.

title: 1125

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Byzantines lose the island of Chios, in the Aegean Sea, to the Genoese under Admiral Benedetto I Zaccaria. He establishes an autonomous lordship and justifies the act to the Byzantine court as necessary to prevent the island from being captured by Turkish pirates. Benedetto is granted the island as a fief for a period of 10 years.

title: 1304

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Battle of Chios: A Knights Hospitaller-Genoese fleet (some 30 ships) led by Albert of Schwarzburg defeats a Turkish fleet, off Chios.

title: 1319

section: Events › July – September

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Genoese forces led by Simone Vignoso land on the Mediterranean island of Chios and capture it from local Greek control within a week, apart from the Castle of Chios, which resists until 12 September.

title: 1346

section: Events

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Greek War of Independence: Konstantinos Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy's flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.

title: 1822

section: Events › April–June

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Greek War of Independence – Chios massacre: 20,000 Greeks on the island of Chios are slaughtered by Ottoman troops, and 23,000 more are exiled.

title: 1822

date: January 3

text: January 3 – First Balkan War: Greece completes its capture of the eastern Aegean island of Chios, as the last Ottoman forces on the island surrender.

title: 1913

section: Events › January


slug: chlothar-i

label: Chlothar I

description: king of Franks (511-561)

section: Births

text: Chlothar I, king of the Franks (d. 561)

title: 497

date: November 27

text: November 27 – King Clovis I dies at Paris (Lutetia) at age 45, and is buried in the Abbey of St. Genevieve. The Merovingian dynasty is continued by his four sons (Theuderic I, Chlodomer, Childebert I and Chlothar I), who divide the Frankish Kingdom and rule from the capitals at Metz, Orléans, Paris and Soissons, respectively.

title: 511

text: King Chlothar I takes part in an expedition against Burgundy and captures the town of Autun. Now about 26, he makes plans to expand the territory he inherited from his late father, Clovis I.

title: 523

date: June 25

text: June 25 – Battle of Vézeronce: The Franks under Chlodomer, Childebert I and Chlothar I are defeated by the Burgundians and allied Ostrogoths near Isère (France), averting the Frankish advance into Burgundy. During the fighting Chlodomer is killed. Later Childebert annexes the cities of Chartres and Orléans.

title: 524

section: Crime & Justice

text: Frankish tribesmen, under the command of King Chlothar I, plunder Burgundy.

title: 525

text: The Franks under King Chlothar I march against the Thuringi with Chlothar's nephew Theudebert I. The Kingdom of Thuringia comes under Frankish domination.

title: 531

text: Battle of Autun - The Franks, under command of King Childebert I and his brother Chlothar I, invade the Kingdom of Burgundy. They defeat the Burgundians under King Godomar near Autun (modern France).

title: 532

text: The Frankish kings Childebert I and Chlothar I overthrow Godomar, king of the Burgundians, and end the Kingdom of Burgundy.

title: 534

text: King Childebert I and his brother Chlothar I invade Visigothic Spain. They capture Pamplona, but Zaragoza withstands a siege and the Franks retreat to Gaul. From this expedition Childebert brings back to Paris a relic, the tunic of Saint Vincent.

title: 542

text: King Chlothar I annexes the Frankish territories of Metz and Reims, after the death of his great-nephew Theudebald.

title: 555

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

title: 556

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Chlothar I of the Franks founds the Abbey of St. Medard at Soissons (Northern France).

title: 557

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: December 13

text: December 13 – King Chlothar I reunites the Frankish Kingdom after his brother Childebert I dies, becoming sole ruler of the Franks.

title: 558

date: December 23

text: December 23 - Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.

title: 558

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Chlothar I, king of the Franks

title: 561

text: November 29 – King Chlothar I ("the Old") dies at Compiègne at age 64. The Merovingian dynasty is continued by his four sons (Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I), who divide the Frankish Kingdom and rule from the capitals at Paris, Orléans, Reims and Soissons, respectively.

title: 561

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Gundoald, illegitimate son of Chlothar I, tries to expend his territory from Brive-la-Gaillarde (Burgundy) and proclaims himself king (approximate date).

title: 584


slug: chola-dynasty

label: Chola dynasty

description: dynasty of southern India

text: The Medieval Cholas in Southern India start to rule (approximate date).

title: 848

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Conflict & Security

text: Maravarman Rajasimha II, king of Pandya, begins to rule. He is constantly at war with Chola (his overlord) and becomes the last ruler of the first Pandyan Empire (India).

title: 900

text: Raja Raja Chola I, king of Chola Kingdom (d. 1014)

title: 947

section: Deaths

text: Parantaka I, ruler of Chola Kingdom (India)

title: 955

text: Arinjaya, king of the Chola Kingdom (India)

title: 957

text: Emperor Aditya Chola II, co-regent of the Chola dynasty (modern India), is murdered and succeeded by Uttama. Due to his immaturity, Arunmozhi Varman becomes the heir apparent.

title: 971

text: Rajendra Chola, Emperor of Chola Dynasty at its peak

title: 971

text: Aditya Chola II, prince and ruler of the Chola dynasty (India)

title: 971

text: Raja Raja Chola I (considered by many as the greatest emperor of the Chola Empire) becomes ruler of the Chola Dynasty. During his reign he expands his domains beyond South India.

title: 985

text: Construction of the Brihadisvara Temple in Tamil Nadu (modern India), during the Chola Dynasty (Early Medieval period).

title: 1003

text: The construction of 217 ft (66 m) tall Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur (a city now in Tamil Nadu, India) is completed during the Chola dynasty, and at about this time the wall painting Rajaraja I and His Teacher

title: 1010

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

text: In the Chola dynasty of southern India, the first votes are celebrated by adding a ballot in an urn.

title: 1010

text: Rajendra Chola I, king of the Chola dynasty begins his reign. (India)

title: 1014

text: Raja Raja Chola I, king of the Chola dynasty. (India)

title: 1014

text: Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola dynasty (in modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.

title: 1017

section: Events › Asia

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: Srivijaya, a Buddhist kingdom based in Sumatra, is attacked by Emperor Rajendra I of the Chola dynasty of southern India in a dispute over trading rights in Southeast Asia. It survives but declines in importance.

title: 1025

text: The Chola Empire reaches its greatest extent.

title: 1030

text: Rajendra Chola I, emperor of the Chola dynasty

title: 1044

text: Athirajendra Chola, Indian ruler of the Chola Empire

title: 1070

text: Sinhalese king Parakramabahu I "the Great" gains a decisive victory by invading the Chola Empire as an ally of the Pandyas, capturing Tondi and Pasi regions.

title: 1173

section: Events › By place › South India

text: Rajaraja II, Indian ruler of the Chola dynasty

title: 1173

text: The Chola dynasty of South India falls under the rule of Rajendra Chola III, due to attacks by the Hoysala Empire and Pandya kingdom.

title: 1279


slug: christchurch

label: Christchurch

description: largest city in the South Island of New Zealand

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Members of the Canterbury Association, the first settlers bound for Christchurch, arrive from England at the port of Lyttelton, New Zealand, aboard the Charlotte Jane and Randolph.

title: 1850

section: Events › October–December

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city.

title: 1856

section: Events › July–September

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: December 1

text: December 1 – The first steam-operated passenger railway in New Zealand opens at Christchurch in South Island.

title: 1863

section: Events › December

section: Culture & Society

date: June 13

text: June 13 – Samuel Butler's dystopian article "Darwin among the Machines" is published (under the pen name Cellarius) in The Press newspaper in Christchurch, New Zealand; it will be incorporated into his novel Erewhon (1872).

title: 1863

section: Events › June

date: November 1

text: November 1 – International Exhibition opens in Christchurch, New Zealand.

title: 1906

section: Events › November–December

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 18

text: November 18 – Ballantyne's fire: A fire in Ballantynes department store in Christchurch, New Zealand, kills 41 people.

title: 1947

section: Events › November

date: September 4

text: September 4 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Christchurch, New Zealand causing large amounts of damage but no direct fatalities. It is the first in a series of earthquakes between 2010 and 2012 that resulted in the deaths of 187 people and over $40 billion worth of damage. Seismologists noted that the earthquake sequence was highly unusual, and likely to never happen again anywhere else in the world.

title: 2010

section: Events › September

section: Climate & Environment

date: February 22

text: February 22 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Christchurch, in what becomes New Zealand's third-deadliest natural disaster. 185 people are killed, many ESL students within the CTV Building, and the city centre and 10,000 homes are destroyed. Many foreign search and rescue workers respond to the event.

title: 2011

section: Events › February

date: March 15

text: March 15 – 51 people are killed and 50 others injured in terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the deadliest mass shooting and terrorist attack in New Zealand's history.

title: 2019

section: Events › March


slug: christiaan-huygens

label: Christiaan Huygens

description: Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1629–1695)

section: Science & Discovery

date: March 25

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

title: 1655

section: Events › January–March

date: December 25

text: December 25 – The pendulum clock is invented by Christiaan Huygens, so accurate that it only loses 10 seconds per day. Huygens will mention the date in a letter to Ismail Boulliau a year later.

title: 1656

text: Christiaan Huygens writes the first book to be published on probability theory, De ratiociniis in ludo aleae ("On Reasoning in Games of Chance").

title: 1657

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July

text: July – Christiaan Huygens's important work on astronomy, Systema Saturnium, is published.

title: 1659

date: October 25

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

title: 1671

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

title: 1672

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Netherlands scientist Christiaan Huygens files drawings of his invention of the balance spring, the key component to the accuracy of portable clocks and pocket watches, in a letter to the Journal des Sçavants.

title: 1675

text: Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens publishes his book Treatise on Light. The book is considered a pioneering work of theoretical and mathematical physics.

title: 1690


slug: christian-i-of-denmark

label: Christian I of Denmark

description: Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (1426-1481)

section: Births

date: February

text: February – Christian of Oldenburg, King of Denmark 1448–1481, of Norway 1450–1481 and of Sweden 1457–1464 (d. 1481)

title: 1426

date: September 12

text: September 12 – In a royal wedding at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, King Christoffer III of Denmark (who also rules Sweden and Norway) marries Dorothea of Brandenburg, daughter of John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg. After King Christoffer's death in 1448, Dorothea marries King Christian I of Denmark in 1449.

title: 1445

section: Deaths

date: September 1

text: September 1 – After his betrothal to Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen Dowager and widow of King Christoffer III (who died in January), German Count Christian of Oldenburg, is elected by the Danish nobility to become the new monarch, King Christian I of Denmark.

title: 1448

date: August 2

text: August 2 – The coronation of Christian I of Denmark as King of Norway takes place at Trondheim.

title: 1450

section: Religion & Belief

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Charles VIII of Sweden, also serving as Carl I of Norway, is declared deposed from the latter throne, in favor of Christian I of Denmark.

title: 1450

section: Events › April–June

section: Conflict & Security

date: February 24

text: February 24 – King Charles VIII of Sweden is declared deposed after fleeing from Stockholm to Danzig following a rebellion. The Archbishop of Sweden, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna, and statesman Erik Axelsson Tott become co-regents of Sweden. The coup leaders then offer the throne to Christian I, King of Denmark and Norway.

title: 1457

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 5

text: March 5 – King Christian I of Denmark, the various nobles of the Duchy of Schleswig and the County of Holstein agree to the Treaty of Ribe, electing King Christian as the new Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein, and placing both political entities under Denmark's control.

title: 1460

date: June 23

text: June 23 – King Christian of Sweden who is also King of Denmark and of Norway in the union of the three kingdoms, is declared deposed from the latter throne. His deposed predecessor Charles VIII of Sweden is re-elected to the throne on August 9.

title: 1464

date: September 8

text: September 8 – The Orkney Islands are pledged to Scotland by King Christian I of Kingdom of Norway in consideration of an agreement for the marriage of 16-year-old King James III of Scotland to Princess Margrete, King Christian's daughter, with the islands pledged as security against the payment of the dowry. As the money is never paid, the connection with the crown of Scotland becomes perpetual.

title: 1468

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Battle of Brunkeberg in Stockholm, Sweden: The forces of Regent of Sweden Sten Sture the Elder, with the help of farmers and miners, repel an attack by Christian I, King of Denmark.

title: 1471

date: June 19

text: June 19 – After Queen consort Dorothea of Denmark visits Rome, Pope Sixtus IV issues a papal bull permitting King Christian I to establish a university in Denmark

title: 1475

date: June 1

text: June 1 – The University of Copenhagen is inaugurated by King Christian I of Denmark, seven months after he had issued a royal decree on October 4 establishing its creation.

title: 1479

date: May 21

text: May 21 – King Christian I of Denmark and Norway dies at the age of 55. Although his eldest son, Prince Hans of Oldenburg, is accepted as the new King of Denmark, the Riksrådet (Council of the Realm) of the Kingdom of Norway postpones its decision pending negotiations to possibly reunite with the Kingdom of Sweden.

title: 1481

date: July 14

text: July 14 – Margaret of Denmark, Scottish queen consort, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (b. 1456)

title: 1486


slug: christian-ii-of-denmark

label: Christian II of Denmark

description: king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

date: July 1

text: July 1 – King Christian II of Denmark, Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (d. 1559)

title: 1481

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Isabella of Burgundy, queen of Christian II of Denmark (d. 1526)

title: 1501

date: February 20

text: February 20 – Hans, King of Denmark dies at the age of 58 from injuries sustained in being thrown from a horse. He is succeeded by his 32-year-old son Christian II as ruler of Denmark-Norway.

title: 1513

section: Culture & Society

date: July 22

text: July 22 – Christian II becomes King of Denmark-Norway.

title: 1513

section: Events › July–September

date: April 29

text: April 29 – After a month of negotiations at Linz between the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark, representatives of the two nations sign an alliance agreement, to be secured by the marriage of the Emperor's 13-year-old daughter Isabella, to the new King of Denmark, Christian II, along with payment of a dowry to King Christian of 250,000 Rhenish gulden, equivalent to $118,000,000 USD 500 years later.

title: 1514

date: July 20

text: July 20 – King Christian II is crowned King of Norway in Oslo. This coronation will be the last in Norway for 304 years until the crowning of King Karl III Johan in 1818.

title: 1514

date: August 12

text: August 12 – Isabella of Austria is crowned as Queen consort of Denmark and Norway after her marriage to King Christian II is ratified.

title: 1515

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, mistress of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1490)

title: 1517

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Swedish regent Sten Sture dies from his wounds leaving a vacancy on the throne that allows King Christian II of Denmark to conquer Sweden within eight months.

title: 1520

date: January 19

text: January 19 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes, at Lake Åsunden in Sweden. The Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger is mortally wounded in the Battle of Bogesund. He is rushed towards Stockholm, in order to lead the fight against the Danes from there.

title: 1520

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Christian II of Denmark makes his triumphant entry into Stockholm, which had surrendered to him a few days earlier. Sten Sture's widow Christina Gyllenstierna, who has led the fight after Sten's death, and all other persons in the resistance against the Danes, are granted amnesty and are pardoned for their involvement in the resistance.

title: 1520

date: January 20

text: January 20 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway is forced to abdicate after the nobles of the herredag at Viborg have renounced their allegiance in favour of his uncle, Frederick, Duke of Holstein. Christian is exiled to the Netherlands in April.

title: 1523

text: January 19 – Isabella of Burgundy, queen of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)

title: 1526

date: May 18

text: May 18 – The third Dalecarlian rebellion in Sweden is settled on St. Eric's Day at Arboga in Denmark when King Christian II returns church bells, confiscated earlier to pay Denmark's debts, to the villages in rebellion.

title: 1531

date: November 5

text: November 5 – Christian II`s invasion force arrives in Oslo.

title: 1531

section: Events › October–December

date: April 10

text: April 10 – King Frederick I of Denmark, ruler of the Danes since 1523 and later elected, but never crowned, King of Norway, dies at the age of 61. The vacancy leaves a dispute over his successor, which soon becomes the Count's Feud (Grevens Fejde) between the Roman Catholic supporters of the former King Christian II of Denmark, and the Lutheran supporters of Frederick's son, proclaimed to be King Christian III.

title: 1533

text: June 23 – Copenhagen opens its gates to Count Christopher of Oldenburg, leading the army of Lübeck (and the Hanseatic League), nominally in the interests of the deposed King Christian II of Denmark. The surrenders of Copenhagen and, a few days later, of Malmö represent the high point of the Count's War for the forces of the League. These victories presumably lead the Danish nobility to recognize Christian III as King on July 4.

title: 1534

date: May 23

text: May 23 – The Treaty of Speyer is signed between the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark (which includes Norway). Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor agrees to recognize Christian III as the ruler of Denmark and Norway, and abandons further attempts to restore King Christian II to the throne. In return, Denmark and Norway agree to support the Habsburg monarchy in the Empire.

title: 1544

date: January

text: January – Christina Gyllenstierna, leading opponent of King Christian II of Denmark and Norway (b. 1494)

title: 1559


slug: christian-iii-of-denmark

label: Christian III of Denmark

description: king of Denmark and Norway

date: April 8

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

title: 1529

title: 1533

date: June 23

title: 1534

date: April 6

text: April 6 – Count's Feud: Malmø surrenders to King Christian III of Denmark.

title: 1536

date: July 29

text: July 29 – The Count's Feud ends when Copenhagen surrenders to King Christian III of Denmark. On August 6 he marches into the city and on August 12 arrests the country's bishops, thus consolidating the Protestant Reformation in Denmark.

title: 1536

text: The dissolution of the monasteries takes place in Norway, as religious organizations are dissolved by King Christian III; these include Bakke Abbey, Munkeby Abbey, Tautra Abbey, Nidarholm Abbey, Gimsøy Abbey and Utstein Abbey.

title: 1537

text: August 12 – The coronation of Christian III as King of Denmark and King of Norway takes place at Copenhagen.

title: 1537

date: September 2

text: September 2 – King Christian III of Denmark and Norway appoints Gjeble Pederssøn as Norway's first Lutheran bishop for the Church of Norway.

title: 1537

date: April 12

text: April 12– Printing of the first translation of the New Testament into the Icelandic language is completed after King Christian III of Denmark finishes having Oddur Gottskálksson's text compared to the original Latin.

title: 1540

title: 1544

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Danish queen, consort of Christian III of Denmark (b. 1511)

title: 1571


slug: christian-iv-of-denmark

label: Christian IV of Denmark

description: king of Denmark and Norway (1577–1648)

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Christian IV becomes king of Denmark–Norway, upon the death of his father, Frederick II.

title: 1588

date: August 24

text: August 24 – Christian IV of Denmark-Norway refuses to let Tycho Brahe return to Denmark.

title: 1597

date: July 24

text: July 24 – King Christian IV of Denmark, as the guest of his brother-in-law, King James of England, Scotland and Ireland, is welcomed at London, and the two monarchs are driven by coaches to a banquet at Theobalds House at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. They are entertained by playwright Ben Jonson's play, The Entertainment of the Kings of Great Britain and Denmark.

title: 1606

date: November 25

text: November 25 – King Christian IV of Denmark invites the Sephardic Jews of Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic to settle in the newly-built Danish town of Lykstad, promising them the free exercise of their religion without persecution. The city remains part of Denmark until 1864 until it is captured in the Second Schleswig War and is now part of Germany as Glückstadt.

title: 1622

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Denmark's first postal service is launched by order of King Christian IV.

title: 1624

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: May 24

text: May 24 – The city of Oslo, Norway, is destroyed by fire for the fourteenth time. King Christian IV of Denmark–Norway decrees its rebuilding on a new site, where it will be renamed Christiania.

title: 1624

date: December 9

text: December 9 – Thirty Years' War: The Netherlands and England sign the Treaty of The Hague, a military peace treaty for providing economical aid to King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, during his military campaigns in Germany.

title: 1625

date: August 27

text: August 27 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of Lutter – Tilly defeats King Christian IV of Denmark's army.

title: 1626

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Thirty Years' War: With the help of Danish and Swedish reinforcements, Stralsund is able to resist Wallenstein's siege until the landing of a Danish army, led by Christian IV of Denmark, forces Wallenstein to raise the siege, and move his army to confront the new threat.

title: 1628

text: September 2 – Thirty Years' War – Battle of Wolgast: Wallenstein defeats Christian IV of Denmark's army.

title: 1628

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Thirty Years' War: Christian IV of Denmark and Albrecht von Wallenstein sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ending Denmark's involvement in the Thirty Years' War.

title: 1629

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Norwegian city of Kristiansand is founded by King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway.

title: 1641

date: April 19

text: April 19 – Kirsten Munk, second wife of Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1598)

title: 1658


slug: christianity

label: Christianity

description: Abrahamic monotheistic religion

year_label: 5 CE

text: AD 5 – Paul the Apostle, Jewish leader of the Christians

title: 0s

year_label: 32 CE

text: John the Baptist, religious figure in Christianity, Islam, and other Abrahamic religions

title: 30s

section: Deaths › 32 AD

year_label: 34 CE

text: Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, is converted to Christianity, and becomes Paul the Apostle (possible date).

title: 30s

section: Events › 34 AD › Syria

text: Stephen, Jewish martyr of Christianity (stoned to death)

title: 30s

section: Deaths › 34 AD

year_label: 37 CE

text: The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus is converted to Christianity, after a vision (possible date). After the year 39, he is recognised as Saint Paul.

title: 30s

section: Events › 37 AD › Anatolia

year_label: 48 CE

text: According to Christian tradition, Martha travels to Avignon.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 48

year_label: 49 CE

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

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 49

year_label: 50 CE

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

title: 50s

section: Events › 50 AD › Nubia

year_label: 59 CE

text: Paul the Apostle pleads his case and testifies to his Christianity before King Agrippa II of the Herodians, who reportedly responds "You almost persuade me to be a Christian."

title: 50s

section: Events › 59 AD › Palestine

year_label: 63 CE

text: According to legend, Joseph of Arimathea goes to Glastonbury on the first Christian mission to Britain.

title: AD 63

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Marcion proclaims that the Old Testament is incompatible with Christianity.

title: AD 142

text: A systematic persecution of Christians begins in Rome; the followers take refuge in the catacombs.

title: AD 177

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Pantaenus, who was sent by the bishop of Alexandria to India to preach Christianity, meets with little success.

title: AD 189

text: Athenagoras of Athens, Greek Christian apologist (b. 133)

title: AD 190

text: A Christian council is held in Edessa.

title: AD 197

text: An edict bans conversions to Christianity and all Christian propaganda.

title: 202

text: Origen replaces Clement as the head of the Christian school in Alexandria.

title: 203

text: Hippolytus, Christian theologian and writer (b. 170)

title: 235

text: Decian persecution: Decius begins persecuting Christians, and others refusing to sacrifice publicly to the Roman gods for the well-being of the emperor.

title: 249

text: A second Imperial edict prohibits Christianity in the Roman Empire. This edict divides Christians into four categories: priests, who are to be put to death; senators and equestrians, who are to be stripped of their positions and their property confiscated; nuns, who are to be exiled; and imperial civil servants, who are condemned to forced labour.

title: 258

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

title: 276

section: Events › By place › Sassanid Empire

text: Approximate date – Saint George, Cappadocian Greek-born Roman soldier and Christian martyr

title: 280

text: Petra rejoins the province of Palestine, and is converted to Christianity by the Syrian monk Barsauma.

title: 295

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Battle of the Milvian Bridge: Constantine defeats Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, becoming the only Roman emperor in the West. Prior to the battle, he reportedly has a vision of a cross (labarum) with the phrase "in hoc signo vinces" ("In this sign you shall conquer"). This encourages him to convert to Christianity.

title: 312

text: Christianity is introduced in Colchis, present-day Georgia.

title: 319

section: Events › By place › Georgia

text: Lactantius, Christian writer (approximate date)

title: 320

section: Deaths › Date unknown

text: Christianity is introduced to the Kingdom of Iberia (modern-day Georgia) by Saint Nino (approximate date).

title: 326

text: Emperor Constantine the Great vigorously promotes Christianity, confiscating the property and valuables of a number of pagan temples throughout the Roman Empire.

title: 331

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

title: 341

section: Health & Medicine

text: The veneration of non-Christian images is banned in the Roman Empire.

title: 356

text: Emperor Julian tries to organize a pagan church and substitute it for Christianity. Pope Liberius repudiates the Arian creed, and declares that the Council of Ariminum has no authority to issue decrees.

title: 361

text: Fritigern becomes king of the Visigoths; amidst hostilities with his rival Athanaric, he asks Valens and the Thracian field army to intervene. They end the civil war, and Fritigern converts to Christianity.

title: 369

text: Philip of Side, Christian church historian (approximate date)

title: 380

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Edict of Thessalonica: Theodosius I, with co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II, declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to trinitarian Christianity, in accordance with the patriarchs of Rome and Alexandria, implicitly rejecting the Arianism of the patriarch of Constantinople as heretical.

title: 380

text: Emperor Gratian moves the capital to Mediolanum (modern-day Milan). Because of his Christian beliefs, he eliminates Pontifex Maximus as Imperial title. Gratian also refuses the robe of office, insulting the pagan aristocrats of Rome.

title: 381

text: Priscillian, Spanish bishop, is accused of Manichaeism and magic, and beheaded at Trier . He becomes the first person in the history of Christianity to be executed for heresy.

title: 385

text: Emperor Theodosius I establishes Christianity as the official state religion. All non-Christian temples in the Roman Empire are closed. The eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta at the Roman Forum is extinguished, and the Vestal Virgins are disbanded.

title: 391

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Theodosius I issues an edict reinforcing the prohibition of prayers or sacrifices at non-Christian temples, leading to the persecution of pagans and the end of the almost 2,000-year-old Eleusinian Mysteries. He also bans items of pagan spiritual significance that could be used in the home, such as incense or spiritual figures.

title: 392

text: Theodosius I abolishes the Greek Olympic Games, ending a thousand years of festivals, as part of the general Christian policy to establish universal Christian worship in accordance with the doctrines set forth in the Nicene Creed (the next Olympic Games will not be held until 1896).

title: 393

text: Salvian, Christian writer (approximate date)

title: 405

text: Augustine of Hippo, age 59, begins to write his spiritual book De Civitate Dei (City of God), as a reply to the charge that Christianity was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire.

title: 413

text: The Visigoths continue their invasion of Hispania, and take control of Tarraconensis. King Wallia occupies the gold mines at Las Médulas, and forces Jewish citizens to convert to Christianity.

title: 416

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: August 28 – Augustine dies during the siege of Hippo Regius at age 75, leaving behind his monumental work The City of God and other works that will have influence on Christianity.

title: 430

text: Saint Patrick, Roman Britain-born missionary, is consecrated a bishop and converts the Irish to Christianity until his death around 460.

title: 432

text: The Vatican makes a pact with the Salian Frankish king Childeric I, agreeing to call him "the new Constantine" on condition that he accept conversion to Christianity.

title: 469

text: The Sasanian Persians conquer the independent kingdom of Caucasian Albania, a state converted to Christianity in the 4th century by Armenian missionaries (approximate date).

title: 510

text: Arethas, leader of the Christian community in Yemen

title: 523

text: Pope John I returns to Ravenna from Constantinople. Theodoric the Great finds that he has been only partly successful in persuading the Byzantine emperor Justin I to withdraw his edict against Arian Christianity, and throws the pope into prison.

title: 526

text: The Academy, originally founded at Athens by Plato around 387 BC, closes down by order of Justinian I, on charges of un-Christian activity. Many of the school's professors emigrate to Persia and Syria.

title: 529

text: As a result of persecutions by the Byzantine Empire, Monophysite Christians establish the Coptic Church in Alexandria (approximate date).

title: 538

text: Justinian I sends two Nestorian monks on a mission to Central Asia, to spread Christianity in the East (approximate date).

title: 550

text: The Garamantian Kingdom (modern Libya) signs a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. The capital city of Garama is converted to Christianity.

title: 569

text: The Jews of Clermont-Ferrand are forced to convert to Christianity.

title: 570

text: The Temple of Dendur, dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis, Harpocrates (Horus) and Osiris, is converted for use as a Christian church (approximate date).

title: 577

text: King Custennin of Dumnonia is converted to Christianity.

title: 586

text: Gregorian Mission: Augustine of Canterbury lands with a group of missionaries on the Isle of Thanet (South East England). He is welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, who accepts baptism (along with the rest of his court) at the behest of his Christian Frankish wife, Bertha. Æthelbert assigns Augustine and his 40 monks a residence at Canterbury, where they found a Benedictine monastery that will make the town a centre of Christianity (or 596).

title: 597

text: Missionaries begin to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity throughout much of what will later be the British Isles (approximate date).

title: 598

text: Augustine of Canterbury converts Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity (approximate date).

title: 600

text: Sæbert succeeds his father Sledd as king of Essex. He is persuaded to convert to Christianity through the intervention of his uncle, King Æthelberht of Kent.

title: 604

text: King Sisebut orders in the Council of Toledo that Jews are to convert to Christianity. Children are taken from their parents and put in monasteries, where they learn the teaching of evangelism in the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 616

text: King Edwin of Northumbria marries Æthelburga of Kent. As a Christian, she brings her personal chaplain, Paulinus, and encourages her husband to convert to Christianity.

title: 625

text: April 12 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York, who previously saved his life.

title: 627

text: King Ricberht of East Anglia dies and is succeeded by Sigeberht, who returns from exile in France. He rules together with his kinsman Ecgric, re-establishing Christianity.

title: 630

text: April – Siege of Jerusalem: The Rashidun army (20,000 men), led by 'Amr ibn al-'As, conquers Jerusalem after a six-month siege. The Byzantine garrison surrenders to Caliph Umar I, who is invited by Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Umar declines, fearing that accepting the invitation might endanger the church's status, and turn the Christian holy site into a mosque.

title: 637

text: Sigeberht II is persuaded by Oswiu to adopt Christianity, as part of a mobilization against Penda.

title: 653

text: King Swithelm of Essex is converted to Christianity and baptised by Cedd, at the court of King Æthelwald of East Anglia, who acts as his sponsor. East Anglia may have held some sort of overlordship over Essex at this time (approximate date).

title: 662

text: According to the Annales Cambriae, the Anglo-Saxons convert to Christianity after the Second Battle of Badon.

title: 665

text: Boniface begins his education at an English Celtic Christian monastery, probably in Exeter near his birthplace and one of many monasteriola built by local landowners and churchmen.

title: 680

text: The wandering ex-Wessex sub-king, Cædwalla, seeks St. Wilfrid as his spiritual father, but does not convert to Christianity.

title: 682

text: Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, travels from York with 12 Benedictine monks to Westkapelle, (modern Netherlands) to Christianize the pagan Frisians.

title: 690

text: Sturm, disciple of Boniface, establishes the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda (Hesse), as part of Boniface's mission to bring Christianity to the pagan tribes in Germany (or 742).

title: 744

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

title: 776

text: Massacre of Verden: Charlemagne executes 4,500 rebel Saxons at Verden for practicing paganism. He issues the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae and imposes Christianity on the Saxons, making Saxony a Frankish province.

title: 782

text: Council of Paderborn: The clergy debates the matter of the Christianization of the Saxons. They make laws against idolatry, and order the death penalty for self-appointed witch-hunters, who have caused the death of people accused of witchcraft.

title: 785

text: Harald Klak accepts Christianity, and is baptized with his wife and son Godfrid at Mainz.

title: 826

text: Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his youngest son Malamir, because his older brother Enravota favours Christianity.

title: 831

text: March – Viking raiders led by Weland are trapped at Trilbardou Bridge (Northern France), and submit to King Charles the Bald. He and his family accept Christianity (they are baptised) before leaving Neustria.

title: 862

text: Autumn – King Charles III (the Simple) and Rollo, leader of the Vikings, sign a peace agreement (Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte). In return for his homage and conversion to Christianity, Rollo becomes a vassal and is made Count of Rouen; this is the beginning of the duchy of Normandy. He divides the lands between the rivers Epte and Risle among his chieftains, and prevents any other Vikings sailing up the Seine to attack the West Frankish Kingdom.

title: AD 911

text: King Ordoño II of Galicia continues his expansion of the Christian polity. He sacks the cities of Mérida and Évora.

title: 912

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

title: 914

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

title: 960

text: March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas capture and pillage Chandax after an 8-month siege. Nikephoros massacres the population without mercy and carries them off into slavery, returning to Constantinople with Emir Abd al-Aziz ibn Shu'ayb and his family as prisoners. The island Emirate of Crete is converted into a Byzantine theme and the remaining Muslims are converted to Christianity.

title: 961

text: The last of the Jelling stones was erected in Denmark by the king Harald Bluetooth; a monumental incident in danish history, often referred to as the birth of Denmark as a nation unified under the religion of Christianity.

title: 965

text: April 14 – Mieszko I, first duke and prince of Poland, is baptized a Christian, which is usually considered the foundation of the Polish state. Mieszko's baptism, under the influence of his wife Doubravka of Bohemia, brings his territories into the community of Christian countries. The lands ruled by Mieszko cover about 250,000 km², and are inhabited by about 1.2 million people around this time.

title: 966

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

title: 967

text: Cloves, ginger, black pepper, and other Eastern spices are available for purchase in the marketplace at Mainz. The spices are brought to the city by Jewish traveling merchants, known as the Radhanites, who have contacts in the international trade between the Christian and Islamic world (approximate date).

title: 973

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

title: 974

text: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers and razes the city of Zamora, as part of his effort to seize the Christian-dominated north of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 981

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

title: 983

text: Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, ruler of Kievan Rus', marries Anna Porphyrogenita (sister of Basil II) and converts to Christianity. He is baptized at Cherson in the Crimea, taking the Christian name of Basil (in honor of his brother-in-law). Vladimir returns in triumph to Kiev, and begins the Christianization of Kievan Rus' to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

title: 988

text: Olaf Tryggvason is crowned king of Norway (and ruled until 1000) and builds the country's first Christian church.

title: 995

text: Sigmundur Brestisson, a Viking chieftain, introduces Christianity in the Faroe Islands.

title: AD 999

text: The Keraites, a Turco-Mongolian tribe, are converted to Nestorianism (a sect of Christianity).

title: 1007

text: Autumn – Bruno of Querfurt, a missionary bishop, and 18 companions sets out on a mission to spread Christianity among the Prussians.

title: 1008

text: The last evidence of indigenous Christian and non-Arabophone culture in Tripolitania (modern Libya) is seen.

title: 1021

text: King Olof Skötkonung dies and is succeeded by his son Anund Jakob as ruler of Sweden. He becomes the second Christian king of the Swedish realm.

title: 1022

text: March 23 (9 Muharram 415 AH) – In the first example of the reversal of the policy of religious tolerance created by the late Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, Egyptian Christian Abu Zakariyya is arrested on charges of apostasy. Zakariyya, raised as a Christian, had converted to Islam, but then renounced Islam and converted back to Christianity, with immunity granted by al-Hakim. Zakariyya, apparently singled out for punishment is executed on October 14 (7 Shaban 415 CE).

title: 1024

text: King Ferdinand I of León ("the Great") begins his campaign against al-Andalus. He conquers Seia from the Christian allies of the Muslim taifas. In a drive to consolidate his southern border in Portugal he re-populates the city of Zamora with some of his Cantabrian (montañeses) subjects.

title: 1055

text: The Muslims expel 300 Christians from Jerusalem, and European Christians are forbidden to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

title: 1056

text: A church council, held in Constantinople, discuses relations between Eastern and Western Christianity.

title: 1089

text: May – The Rhineland massacres: Members of the People's Crusade led by Count Emicho destroy most of the Jewish communities along the Rhine in a series of large pogroms in France and Germany. Thousands of Jews are massacred, driven to suicide, or forced to convert to Christianity. Estimates of the number of Jewish men, women and children murdered are 2,000 to 12,000.

title: 1096

text: Battle of Aintab: A Crusader army led by King Baldwin III repels the attacks of Nur al-Din near Aintab. Baldwin safely evacuates the Christian residents of the County of Edessa, which is captured by the Zangids.

title: 1150

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

title: 1165

text: Approximate date – Peter Waldo, French spiritual leader, is converted to Christianity and founds the Waldensians.

title: 1173

text: Frederick II bestows on the Teutonic Order a special privilege for the conquest of Prussia, including Chełmno Land, with papal sovereignty. He allows the Teutonic Knights to forcibly convert the Prussians to Christianity.

title: 1230

text: The Domus Conversorum ("House of the Converts"), a building and institution in London for Jewish converts to Christianity, is established by Henry III.

title: 1232

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

text: April 16 – Innocent IV sends Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (accompanied by Stephen of Bohemia) to the Mongol court at Karakorum, suggesting that the Mongols convert to Christianity.

title: 1245

text: December – Louis IX receives an embassy during his stay in Cyprus from the Mongol general, Eljigidei, who is viceroy in Persia. They bring a letter from Guyuk Khan (who had died by the time his envoys reached Cyprus) with no demands of submission, but talking in terms about Mongol favouritism for Christianity, and a proposal of a joint invasion against the Ayyubid forces in Syria.

title: 1248

text: King Mindaugas of Lithuania perhaps renounces Christianity, returning to the country's pagan roots, and reverting to Grand Duke.

title: 1262

text: July 6 – Pope Eugene IV issues the Bull of Union with the Greeks (Laetentur Caeli), signed by the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, proclaiming the end of the East–West Schism between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy and the union of the two divisions of the Christian faith. The bull is repudiated by most Eastern bishops shortly thereafter.

title: 1439

text: August 14 – Two days after Ottoman troops had broken a siege and taken control of the village of Otranto in southern Italy, led by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, carry out the massacre of 813 inhabitants who had refused to convert from Christianity to Islam.

title: 1480

text: February 6 – The first execution during the Spanish Inquisition is carried out in Seville in an auto-da-fé as six people convicted of heresy are burned alive. As a result of this and other murders, thousands of conversos— mostly Jewish people who had converted to Christianity— flee their homes.

title: 1481

text: June 25 – Friar Bernardo Buil, a Catalan monk in Spain, is appointed by Pope Alexander VI as the first Christian "Vicar Apostolic of the New World". Friar Buil will depart from Cadiz on September 25 on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus, and will begin his mission at La Isabela, a Spanish settlement on the island of Hispanola in what becomes the Dominican Republic.

title: 1493

text: April 11 – The Rebellion in the Alpujarras ends in southern Spain with a treaty of surrender of the last Muslim insurgents in the Alpujarra Mountains in Andalusia on the Mediterranean Sea. The Muslims are given the choice of expulsion or conversion to Christianity.

title: 1501

text: August 19 – Maximillian I orders all Jews within the Holy Roman Empire to destroy all books opposing Christianity.

title: 1509

text: December 4 – Antão de Noronha, Viceroy of Portuguese India (the modern-day Indian state of Goa) issues decrees prohibiting the public performance of Hindu rituals for marriages, cremations, and sacred thread wearing. Other rules require all natives 15 or older to attend Christian religious services, upon penalty of punishment.

title: 1567

text: February 28 – Three Jesuit priests from Portuguese Goa, including Rodolfo Acquaviva, arrive in Agra on the mainland of India as guests of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, who is curious about Christianity. The Emperor grants land to the Jesuit fathers for the building of the first Roman Catholic Church in the Mughal Empire.

title: 1580

text: February 1 – In Japan, the practice of Christianity is banned, and an edict is issued for the expulsion of all foreign missionaries.

title: 1614

text: August – The Cambridge Platform, a new, localized system of Christian church governance, is agreed upon and written down in New England.

title: 1648

text: February 18 – The first part of English nonconformist preacher John Bunyan's Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress is published in London.

title: 1678

text: A firman (decree) of Ottoman sultan Osman III (d. October 30) preserves the division of ownership and responsibilities of various Christian holy places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem (e.g. the former's Church of the Holy Sepulchre); this becomes established as the Status Quo in international law.

title: 1757


slug: christians

label: Christians

description: person who adheres to Christianity

year_label: 65 CE

section: Religion & Belief

text: The first Christian community in Africa is founded by Mark, a disciple of Peter.

title: AD 65

year_label: 93 CE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Emperor Domitian persecutes the Christians.

title: AD 93

text: Ignatius writes a letter to Christians in Smyrna, using the term Catholic Church (approximate date). This is the earliest surviving witness to the use of the term "Catholic Church".

title: AD 106

text: Hadrian, acting on the advice of his proconsul of Asia, Gaius Minicius Fundanus, determines that Christians shall not be put to death without a trial.

title: AD 127

text: Marcion arrives in Rome, bringing Evangelikon and Apostolikon to the Christian community.

title: AD 140

text: The philosopher Justin of Nablus is executed in Rome as a Christian.

title: AD 165

text: Marcus Aurelius orders humane treatment for Christians and slaves throughout the Roman Empire.

title: AD 170

text: Syriac Christians establish an early Christian community in Kerala, India.

title: AD 192

text: Hippolytus begins his "pontificate" as antipope and sets up a breakaway church for Christian followers.

title: 217

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Pope Pontian resigns, the first to abdicate, because he and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia. Emperor Maximinus persecutes the Christians.

title: 235

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Decian persecution of Christians is initiated when Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to perform a sacrifice to the gods of religion in ancient Rome. On January 20, Pope Fabian becomes one of the first martyrs of this persecution.

title: 250

text: Valerian's persecution of Christians begins: his edict orders bishops and priests to sacrifice according to the pagan rituals, and prohibits Christians, under penalty of death, from meeting at the tombs of their deceased.

title: 257

text: Diocletian expels Christians from the Roman army.

title: 299

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Constantine institutes toleration of the Christians in his territories.

title: 306

text: Maxentius institutes toleration of the Christians in his territories.

title: 308

text: Maximinus recommences the persecution of Christians, having encouraged his subjects to petition him to do so.

title: AD 311

date: February

text: February: Emperors Constantine I and Licinius convene in Mediolanum (modern Milan). Licinius marries Constantine's half-sister Constantia, and they issue the Edict of Milan. This edict ends the Great Persecution against the Christians and is the first piece of legislation in western history to decree freedom of religion. It also returns property confiscated from Christians. The edict is posted in Nicomedia on June 13.

title: 313

text: Licinius reneges on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan, and begins a new persecution of Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire. He imprisons Christians, confiscates their properties and destroys churches.

title: 320

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

title: 338

section: Events › By place › Persia

section: Crime & Justice

text: Thousands of Christians are executed at Seleucia in Mesopotamia.

title: 341

date: January

text: January – Constans I flees towards Spain, where he is subsequently assassinated at Castrum Helenae. Magnentius rules the Western portion of the Roman Empire and is far more tolerant towards Christians and Pagans alike.

title: 350

text: Constantius II recalls Pope Liberius to Rome, where he receives a joyous welcome from the Christians. Antipope Felix II prudently retires to his estate near Porto (Portugal).

title: 358

text: Gregory Nazianzus (Saint Gregory the Theologian) returns to Nazianzus and is appointed a priest by his father, who wants him to assist local Christians.

title: 361

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Athanasius returns to Alexandria and convenes a council, at which he appeals for unity among Christians who differ in terminology, but Emperor Julian orders Athanasius to leave Alexandria. He will remain in exile in Upper Egypt, until after Julian's death the next year.

title: 362

text: Emperor Valens is converted to Arianism, and orders the persecution of Trinitarian Christians in the Roman East.

title: 373

text: First Council of Constantinople (some authorities date this council to 381): Theodosius I calls a general council to affirm and extend the Nicene Creed, and denounce Arianism and Apollinarism. Most trinitarian Christian churches consider this an Ecumenical council.

title: AD 383

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

title: 388

section: Births

text: Prosper of Aquitaine, disciple and Christian writer (approximate date)

title: 390

text: Patriarch Theophilus destroys all pagan temples in Alexandria under orders from Theodosius I. Christians go on an iconoclastic rampage, smashing religious symbols or monuments through the city and destroying the Temple of Serapis. The "Order of Monks" known as the Parabalani take charge of patrolling the streets.

title: 391

section: Deaths

text: Macarius of Egypt, Christian monk and hermit

title: 391

text: Evagrius Ponticus, Christian monk and ascetic (b. 345)

title: 399

text: Salvian, Christian writer (approximate date)

title: 400

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Emperor Arcadius dies in his palace at Constantinople, after a weak 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old son, Theodosius II, who rules under the domination of his devout Christian sister Pulcheria and Anthemius, who acts as regent.

title: 408

date: March

text: March – Hypatia of Alexandria, Neoplatonist philosopher, is murdered by a Christian mob of Nitrian monks at the church (former temple conceived by Cleopatra VII) called Caesareum. Having driven out the Jews, Alexandria's new patriarch, Cyril, has instigated the mob after taking offense at Hypatia's scientific rationalism (approximate date).

title: 415

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Battle of Vartanantz: King Yazdegerd II defeats the Armenian army (66,000 men) under their rebel leader Vartan Mamikonian on the Avarayr Plain (Armenia). Despite the loss of Mamikonian, who is killed, the Armenians consider this battle to have been a moral and religious victory, since Yazdegerd, out of respect for their efforts, allows them to remain Christian. The anniversary is a national and religious holiday.

title: 451

text: The Lateran Council, convened by Pope Felix III, establishes conditions for readmitting to the Church those Christians who have been rebaptized by the Vandals.

title: 487

text: King Liuvigild calls for an Arian synod in Toledo (central Spain), which modifies several doctrines; he tries to unify the Christians within the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 580

text: Gregory, archdeacon of Rome, converts English slaves on the Roman market. He calls them Angels if they would be Christians.

title: 589

text: Nubian rulers become Christian (approximate date).

title: 600

text: Augustine of Canterbury meets with the Welsh bishops at Aust near Chepstow. He accuses them of not adopting the Roman Christian way of dating Easter, and persuades them to accept the teaching of baptism (according to the Roman Rite).

title: 602

section: Culture & Society

text: King Edwin of Northumbria marries Æthelburga of Kent. As a Christian, she brings her personal chaplain, Paulinus, and encourages her husband to convert to Christianity.

title: 625

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Benjamin I, Coptic patriarch of Alexandria, escapes during the persecutions of his fellow Christians and hides in the monastery of St. Macarius (Upper Egypt).

title: 631

text: King Sigeberht II of Essex is murdered by his brothers, Swithelm and Swithfrith, and other kinsmen for being "too ready to pardon his enemies"; that is to say, the Christians. Swithelm becomes king of Essex, with Swithfrith as joint-monarch for a period (approximate date).

title: 660

text: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan imprisons and tortures patriarch Mar Khnanishu I. He is the first caliph to insist on the collection of the poll tax from the Christians (approximate date).

title: 686

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Summer – Battle of Covadonga: Visigothic nobleman Pelagius (Don Pelayo) defeats the Umayyad forces under Munuza, provincial governor of Asturias, at Picos de Europa (near Covadonga). This marks the beginning of the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. He founds the Kingdom of Asturias, and establishes a military base at Cangas de Onís (northwest of Spain) (or 718).

title: 722

text: Arab–Byzantine Wars: Taking advantage of discontent among the Muslim Arabs, Emperor Constantine V invades Syria, and captures Germanikeia (modern Turkey). He organises the resettlement of part of the local Christian population in Thrace.

title: 746

text: February – Council of Hieria: Emperor Constantine V summons a Christian council in the palace of Hieria in Constantinople. The council, under the presidency of Bishop Theodosius of Ephesus, supports the policy of Iconoclasm and condemning the use of religious images (icons) in the Byzantine Empire. Constantine increases the persecution of the monasteries; hundreds of monks and nuns are mutilated or put to death.

title: 754

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

title: 794

text: King Alfonso III repopulates the city of Zamora with Mozarabs (Iberian Christians who have lived under Moorish rule) from Toledo in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 893

text: Almanzor, a court official and regent of Córdoba, becomes a chamberlain (hajib) and seizes power from the 13-year-old Caliph Hisham II. During his reign, Almanzor will exercise strong influence over Subh (the mother of Hisham) and wages successful campaigns against the Christian kingdoms in Northern Spain.

title: 978

text: January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Assawampsett Pond, an event which will trigger a year-long war between the English American colonists of New England, and the Algonquian Native American tribes.

title: 1675


slug: christmas

label: Christmas

description: holiday originating in Christianity, usually December 25

section: Science & Discovery

date: December 25

text: December 25 – The first celebration of Christmas is recorded.

title: 336

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: December 25 – Christmas is celebrated for the first time in Alexandria (approximate date).

title: 432

text: December 25 – At Christmas, Christianity spreads rapidly in Kent; Augustine and his fellow-labourers baptise more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.

title: 597

text: December 25 – Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III as Charles I, with the title "Emperor of the Romans". The coronation takes place during Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, on Christmas Day. The Frankish Empire is formed in Western Europe, which is not recognized by Empress Irene at Constantinople. This triggers a series of disputes with the Byzantines around who is officially ruling the former Western Roman Empire.

title: 800

section: Events › Europe

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

title: 941

text: Winter – Otto I returns to Rome. On Christmas day, John XIII crowns Otto II as co-emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Although Otto II is nominated as co-ruler, he exercises no real authority.

title: 967

text: Winter – Otto II celebrates Christmas with his family at Ravenna. He receives the Iron Crown of Lombardy as the King of Italy.

title: 980

date: December

text: December – The 15-year-old Robert (the son of Hugh Capet) is crowned co-ruler of France around Christmas at Orléans.

title: 987

date: November

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

title: 1021

text: December 25 – Gregory VII is kidnapped in the church during Christmas night in Rome and briefly imprisoned by the Roman nobleman Cencio I Frangipane.

title: 1075

text: December 25 (Christmas Day) – The Praemonstratensian Order (Norbertines) is formed, when a group of canons make solemn vows at Prémontré.

title: 1121

text: December – Stephen lays siege to Oxford Castle, trapping Matilda and her supporters inside the city. Just before Christmas she manages to escape across the snow and ice of the frozen Thames River – dressed in white (to get past Stephen's pickets), and safely reaches Abingdon. The next day Oxford Castle surrenders to Stephen, Matilda rides with an escort to Wallingford Castle, where she seeks refuge.

title: 1142

section: Events › By place › England

date: November 13

text: November 13 – King Fulk of Jerusalem dies after a hunting accident in Acre. He is succeeded by his 13-year-old son Baldwin III – who is crowned as co-ruler alongside his mother, Queen Melisende on Christmas Day. Due to the political situation the Crusader States of Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa assert their independence. Raymond of Antioch demands the return of Cilicia to his principality and invades the province.

title: 1143

section: Events › By place › Levant

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

title: 1147

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

text: December – Baldwin IV raids through the Hauran and reaches Bosra, while Raymond III of Tripoli recaptures Habis Jaldak. A few days later, Baldwin sets out with a Crusader force to Damascus and encamps at Dareiya in the suburbs. He decides not to attack the city and retires laden with booty, to spend Christmas at Tyre.

title: 1182

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Father Francis of Assisi (Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone), founder of the Order of the Franciscans with in the Roman Catholic Church, begins the tradition of celebrating Christmas with a nativity scene. Having received permission from Pope Honorius III, Francis arranges for a display in a cave near the Italian city of Greccio, with the representation of the events associated with the birth of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, using real people and animals.

title: 1223

section: Events › October–December

date: April 11

text: April 11 – After its clandestine removal from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1950, the Stone of Scone resurfaces at Arbroath Abbey in Scotland.

title: 1951

section: Events › April

text: December 9 – A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first Peanuts television special, debuts on CBS in the United States. It becomes a Christmas tradition.

title: 1965

section: Events › November–December

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: December 18

text: December 18 – How the Grinch Stole Christmas, narrated by Boris Karloff, is shown for the first time on CBS in the United States. It becomes a Christmas tradition.

title: 1966

section: Events › December


slug: christopher-columbus

label: Christopher Columbus

description: Italian navigator, explorer, and colonist (1451–1506)

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Christopher Columbus, an experienced mariner and successful trader in the thriving Genoese expatriate community in Portugal, marries Felipa Perestrelo Moniz (Italian on her father's side), and receives as dowry her late father's maps and papers, charting the seas and winds around the Madeira Islands, and other Portuguese possessions in the Ocean Sea.

title: 1479

section: Events › April–June

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 17

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

title: 1492

section: Events › April—June

date: August 3

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

title: 1492

section: Events › July—September

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Christopher Columbus meets Ferdinand and Isabella at the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos in Córdoba, Andalusia, and persuades them to support his Atlantic voyage intended to find a new route to the East Indies.

title: 1492

section: Events › January—March

date: May 23

text: May 23 – At the shipbuilding town of Palos de la Frontera in Spain, an April 30 decree of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon is read aloud to the residents, directing that two ships are to be delivered to Christopher Columbus and people chosen by the Pinzon brothers will be required to travel on the voyage westward "by command of Their Highnesses").

title: 1492

date: October 12

text: October 12 – Believing he has reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus and his expedition of three ships make landfall in the Caribbean and land on the island of Guanahani, now part of the Bahamas. He names the island "San Salvador". Earlier in the day, sailor Rodrigo de Triana on the Pinta had become the first person to spot land. Because of his belief that he is in the East Indies, Columbus refers to the natives as "indios".

title: 1492

section: Events › October—December

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

title: 1492

date: February 14

text: February 14 – A storm east of the Azores threatens to capsize both of the remaining ships, the Niña and the Pinta, on the expedition of Christopher Columbus as the crew are returning to Europe after being the first to reach the "New World". The two ships are separated and neither crew knows the fate of the other. The crew takes a vow for one of them to make a pilgrimage if they survive the storm. Columbus himself later makes a pilgrimage to the cathedral at Moguer in Andalusia in Spain.

title: 1493

section: Events › January–March

text: January 15 – Christopher Columbus and his crew begin their voyage back to Europe on their two remaining ships, the caravel La Niña (guided by Columbus) and the Pinta (piloted by Martín Alonso Pinzón), departing from the island of Hispanola and what becomes known as the Bay of Rincón in the Dominican Republic. The decision to return to Spain comes two days after the crew's battle with the indigenous residents, the Ciguayos.

title: 1493

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Martín Alonso Pinzón returns in the Pinta to the city of Bayona in Spain from Christopher Columbus's voyage of discovery, sending the first notice about the discovery to the Catholic Monarchs. Columbus himself is delayed by a storm in the Azores.

title: 1493

date: March 15

text: March 15 – Christopher Columbus and Martín Alonso Pinzón return to Palos de la Frontera, the original port in Spain from where they started the first voyage of discovery.

title: 1493

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Christopher Columbus anchors in Lisbon and completes his February 15 letter on the first voyage, conveying the news of his discoveries.

title: 1493

date: September 24

text: September 24 – Christopher Columbus leaves Cádiz on his second voyage of exploration.

title: 1493

section: Events › July–September

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Christopher Columbus first sights Jamaica.

title: 1494

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 24

text: March 24 – The first military combat between the Old World and the New World takes place at the Battle of Vega Real. In his role as the Spanish Governor of Hispaniola, Christopher Columbus and his ally, the Taino Chief (cacique) Guacanagaríx of Marién and begin a war of retaliation against the cacique Caonabo of Maguana, who had led the 1493 massacre of the Spanish colonists at La Navidad.

title: 1495

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher Columbus, formally founds the city of Santo Domingo (first settled in March) on Hispaniola (in the modern-day Dominican Republic), making it the oldest permanent European settlement in the New World.

title: 1496

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Christopher Columbus leaves Hispaniola for Spain, ending his second visit to the Western Hemisphere. During his time here he has forcibly subjugated the island, enslaved the Taíno, and laid the basis for a system of land grants tied to the Taíno's enslavement.

title: 1496

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Christopher Columbus sets out on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere from Sanlúcar, Spain.

title: 1498

date: September 3

text: September 3 – On complaints from Christopher Columbus, who had been replaced as Viceroy of the New World and arrested in 1500 by Francisco de Bobadilla, Queen Isabella of Spain orders that Bobadilla be recalled from Santo Domingo. Declining to allow Columbus to resume his brutal rule of the New World, the Queen appoints a friend, Nicolás de Ovando, as the new Viceroy. Although Bobadilla receives news of his firing several weeks later, he declines to step aside. Ovando will assemble a fleet of 30 ships and depart Spain on February 13 for Santo Domingo.

title: 1501

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Christopher Columbus and his crew land at Puerto Castilla in what is now the mainland of the nation of Honduras, becoming the first Europeans to visit.

title: 1502

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Christopher Columbus begins preparation for his fourth and final voyage, with a goal of finding a westward passage in the New World to link the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

title: 1502

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz in Spain for his fourth and final trip to the New World, taking with him 147 men on his flagship, Capitana and the companion ships Gallega, Vizcaína, and Santiago de Palos. He explores Central America, and discovers the Isthmus of Panama and the land now occupied by Honduras, and Costa Rica, and possibly the island of St. Lucia as well

title: 1502

date: September 18

text: September 18 – Christopher Columbus lands at Central America at what is now Costa Rica.

title: 1502

date: June 25

text: June 25 – After his ships are damaged in a storm, Christopher Columbus and his 230 men are forced to beach at the island of Jamaica (at modern-day Saint Ann Parish) and remain stranded there for the next six months.

title: 1503

date: May 10

text: May 10 – Christopher Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands, which he names Las Tortugas, after the numerous sea turtles there.

title: 1503

date: February 29

text: February 29 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse this night, to convince the indigenous Jamaican people to provide him with supplies (in Europe, the eclipse is in the early morning of March 1).

title: 1504

date: June 28

text: June 28 – After being marooned in Jamaica for six months, Christopher Columbus and his men are rescued by a Spanish ship.

title: 1504

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

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (b. c.1451)

title: 1506

text: Italian explorer Rafael Perestrello, a cousin of the wife of Christopher Columbus, commands an expedition from Portuguese Malacca to land on the shores of mainland southern China, and trade with Chinese merchants at Guangzhou, during the Ming Dynasty.

title: 1516

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: christopher-of-bavaria

label: Christopher of Bavaria

description: king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden 1442-1448

section: Births

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Christopher of Bavaria (d. 1448)

title: 1416

section: Culture & Society

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Christopher of Bavaria is elected King of Denmark.

title: 1440

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Christopher of Bavaria, King Christopher III of Denmark, is formally enthroned as King Kristofer I of Sweden, bringing an end to the regency of Karl Knutsson Bonde.

title: 1440

date: May 3

text: May 3 – In Denmark, a rebel army of 25,000 peasants led by Henrik Reventlow repels an attack by Swedish nobles, led by Eske Jensen Brock. The peasants prepare a trap near their camp at St. Jørgensbjerg before the Battle of St. Jorgen's Hill, placing trees and soil over a swamp, and Brock's army of knights becomes mired down, where almost all (including Brock) are slaughtered.

title: 1441

text: September 13 — The coronation of King Christopher II of Denmark as King Cristoffer of Sweden takes place in Uppsala.

title: 1441

date: July 2

text: July 2 – The coronation of King Christopher of Sweden and Denmark as King of Norway takes place in Oslo.

title: 1442

date: June 4

text: June 4 – Erik III is deposed as King of Norway and the nobles vote to invite King Christopher of Sweden to become the new monarch.

title: 1442

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The coronation of Christoffer III as King of Denmark and of his wife Dorothea of Brandenburg, as Queen Consort, took place at the Vor Frue Maria Dormkirke in Ribe, nearly three years after he had first claimed the throne on April 9, 1440.

title: 1443

date: September 12

text: September 12 – In a royal wedding at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, King Christoffer III of Denmark (who also rules Sweden and Norway) marries Dorothea of Brandenburg, daughter of John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg. After King Christoffer's death in 1448, Dorothea marries King Christian I of Denmark in 1449.

title: 1445

date: August

text: August – Christopher of Bavaria undertakes a fruitless military campaign against Gotland to end Erik of Pomerania's piracy.

title: 1446

date: August 24

text: August 24 – After many years of fruitless negotiations between Christopher of Bavaria and Erik of Pomerania, a Swedish war march to Gotland is launched in the early summer of 1446. King Christopher comes with a force to the island and on an open field in Västergarn with crossbowmen at gunpoint behind each monarch's back; regular peace negotiations take place.

title: 1446

section: Deaths

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, dies at his palace, the Kärnan, in Helsingborg (now in Sweden) with no designated heir, leaving all three kingdoms with vacant thrones. Brothers Bengt Jönsson Oxenstierna and Nils Jönsson Oxenstierna are selected to serve as co-regents of Sweden.

title: 1448

text: January 6 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1418)

title: 1448

date: September 1

text: September 1 – After his betrothal to Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen Dowager and widow of King Christoffer III (who died in January), German Count Christian of Oldenburg, is elected by the Danish nobility to become the new monarch, King Christian I of Denmark.

title: 1448