slug: ancient-greece

label: Ancient Greece

description: Greek civilization from 1200 BC to 600 AD

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: c. 1500 BC — Eleusinian Mysteries start in Ancient Greece.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

text: c. 1500 BC — Mycenaean civilization starts in Ancient Greece.

title: 1500s BC (decade)

year_label: 635 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: 635 BC—Birth of Thales, Greek philosopher (d. 543 BC) (approximate date)

title: 630s BC

section: Significant people

year_label: 625 BCE

text: Orientalizing period of vases ends in Ancient Greece (approximate date).

title: 625 BC

section: Events

year_label: 566 BCE

text: The first known Panathenaic Games of Ancient Greece are conducted in Athens.

title: 566 BC

section: Events › By place › Athens

year_label: 540 BCE

text: Greek city of Elea of southern Italy is founded (approximate date).

title: 540 BC

year_label: 515 BCE

text: Pheretima (Cyrenaean Queen), wife of the Greek Cyrenaean King Battus III and the last recorded queen of the Battiad dynasty in Cyrenaica

title: 515 BC

year_label: 499 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: After a failed attack on the rebellious island of Naxos in c. 501 BC (on behalf of the Persians), Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus, to save himself from the wrath of Persia, plans a revolt with the Milesians and the other Ionians. With the encouragement of Histiaeus (his father-in-law and former tyrant of Miletus), Aristagoras induces the Ionian cities of Asia Minor to revolt against Persia, thus instigating the Ionian Revolt and beginning the Greco-Persian Wars between Greece and Persia. The pro-Persian tyrant of Mytilene is stoned to death.

title: 499 BC

year_label: 494 BCE

text: Having successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states, the Persians under Artaphernes lay siege to Miletus. The decisive Battle of Lade is fought at the island of Lade, near Miletus' port. Although out-numbered, the Greek fleet appears to be winning the battle until the ships from Samos and Lesbos retreat. The sudden defection turns the tide of battle, and the remaining Greek fleet is completely destroyed. Miletus surrenders shortly thereafter, and the Ionian Revolt comes to an end.

title: 494 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian empire

year_label: 492 BCE

text: The first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences under the leadership of his son-in-law and general, Mardonius. Darius sends Mardonius to succeed his satrap (governor) in Ionia, Artaphernes, with a special commission to attack Athens and Eretria.

title: 492 BC

year_label: 490 BCE

text: Empedocles, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)

title: 490 BC

text: Zeno of Elea, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)

title: 490 BC

year_label: 487 BCE

text: Gorgias, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 376 BC)

title: 487 BC

year_label: 484 BCE

text: Achaeus of Eretria, Greek tragedian

title: 484 BC

text: Herodotus of Halicarnassus, Greek historian (approximate date) (died c. 425 BC)

title: 484 BC

year_label: 483 BCE

text: Xerxes I of Persia is encouraged by his cousin and brother-in-law, Mardonius, supported by a strong party of exiled Greeks, to take revenge for the defeat that Darius I suffered at the hands of the Greeks at Marathon in 490 BC. In response, Xerxes prepares for a major expedition to crush the Greeks. To avoid a repeat of the significant losses to the Persian fleet that occurred in 492 BC, Xerxes has a canal cut through the promontory of Mount Athos.

title: 483 BC

year_label: 481 BCE

text: The Persian King Xerxes I arrives at Sardis and begins to build up his great army and navy for the invasion of Greece. Egypt contributes 481 ships.

title: 481 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

text: Protagoras, Greek presocratic philosopher (d. c. 420 BC)

title: 481 BC

year_label: 480 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Alexander I of Macedon is obliged to accompany Xerxes in a campaign through Greece, though he secretly aids the Greek allies. With Xerxes' apparent acquiescence, Alexander seizes the Greek colony of Pydna and advances his frontiers eastward to the Strymon, taking in Crestonia and Bisaltia, along with the rich silver deposits of Mount Dysorus.

title: 480 BC

text: Breaking through the pass at Thermopylae from Macedonia into Greece, the Persians occupy Attica.

title: 480 BC

text: The archaic period of sculpture ends in Greece and is succeeded by the Severe (Early Classical) period (approximate date).

title: 480 BC

section: Events › By topic › Arts

date: August 20

text: August 20 or September 8-10 – The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes. His army engulfs a force of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespiae under the Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Greeks under Leonidas resist the advance through Thermopylae of Xerxes' vast army. For two days Leonidas and his troops withstand the Persian attacks; he then orders most of his troops to retreat, and he and his 300-member royal guard fight to the last man.

title: 480 BC

date: September 22

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

title: 480 BC

year_label: 479 BCE

text: August 27 – The Battle of Plataea in Boeotia ends the Persian invasions of Greece as the Persian general Mardonius is routed by the Greeks under Pausanias, nephew of the former Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Athenian contingent is led by the repatriated Aristides. Mardonius is killed in the battle and the Greeks capture enormous amounts of loot. Thebes is captured shortly thereafter and the Theban collaborators executed by Pausanias.

title: 479 BC

year_label: 477 BCE

text: The Spartan co-ruler Leotychides and the Athenian leader Themistocles lead a fleet and army to reoccupy northern Greece and to punish the aristocratic family of the Aleuads for having aided the Persians. Leotychides is caught accepting a bribe during the operations in Thessaly.

title: 477 BC

year_label: 466 BCE

text: The Greek colony of Taras, in Magna Graecia, is defeated by the native population of Apulia. As a result, the Tarentine monarchy falls, with the installation of a democracy.

title: 466 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 454 BCE

text: Hostilities between Segesta and Selinunte, two Greek cities on Sicily, take place over access to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

title: 454 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily

year_label: 450 BCE

text: The Severe (Early Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Mature Classical period (approximate date).

title: 450 BC

year_label: 449 BCE

text: The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after Callias II, the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptian rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.

title: 449 BC

year_label: 447 BCE

text: Achaeus of Eretria, a Greek playwright, produces his first play.

title: 447 BC

section: Events › By subject › Literature

year_label: 441 BCE

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

title: 441 BC

section: Events › By topic › Literature

year_label: 438 BCE

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

title: 438 BC

year_label: 432 BCE

text: The Greek colony of Heraclea in Southern Italy is founded by colonists from Tarentum and Thurii.

title: 432 BC

text: The Greek philosopher Empedocles distinguishes the four elements - earth, fire, water, and air - that he claims all substances are made of. He explains the development of the universe by the forces of attraction and repulsion known as Love and Strife.

title: 431 BC

text: The Greek colony of Cumae in Italy falls to the Samnites, who begin to take control of the Campanian plain.

title: 428 BC

text: What some historians call the Rich style begins in Greece.

title: 425 BC

text: Herodotus of Halicarnassos, Dorian Greek historian (b. 484 BC)

title: 425 BC

text: The city of Cumae, the most northerly of the Greek colonies in Italy, falls to the Samnites.

title: 421 BC

text: Protagoras, Greek presocratic philosopher (b. c. 490 BC)

title: 420 BC

text: The Persians under Darius II see their opportunity to play off one Greek city-state against another and to recover control of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, which have been under Athenian control since 449 BC. The satraps of Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, are ordered to collect overdue tribute.

title: 412 BC

text: Dionysius the Elder ruthlessly consolidates and expands his power. He builds a wall around Syracuse and fortifies Epipolae. The Greek citizens of Naxos, Catana, and Leontini are removed from their cities; many of them are enslaved and their homes are given to Sicilian and Italian mercenaries. Dionysius prepares his army to fight against Carthage, which now occupies western and southern Sicily.

title: 405 BC

text: Cyrus the Younger uses a quarrel with Tissaphernes over the Ionian cities as a pretext for gathering a large army and also pretends to prepare an expedition to Pisidia, in the Taurus Mountains. Cyrus starts out with about 15,220 men, of whom 10,400 are Greek mercenaries. When he reaches the Euphrates River at Thapsacus, he announces that he is marching against Artaxerxes II. He advances unopposed into Babylonia; but Artaxerxes, warned at the last moment by Tissaphernes, hastily gathers an army. The two forces meet in the Battle of Cunaxa, north of Babylon, where Cyrus is slain.

title: 401 BC

text: The catapult is invented by Greek engineers.

title: 400 BC

text: The Mature classical period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the fourth-century (Late Classical) period (approximate date).

title: 400 BC

text: Socrates, Greek philosopher (b. c. 470 BC)

title: 399 BC

text: February 15 – The Greek philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by Athenian authorities, condemned for impiety and the corruption of youth. He refuses to flee into exile and dies by drinking hemlock.

title: 399 BC

text: The ancient Greek city of Helike is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

title: 373 BC

text: Theophrastus, Greek philosopher, a native of Eressos in Lesbos, the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school (d. c. 285 BC) Chanakya

title: 370 BC

text: Callisthenes of Olynthus, Greek historian (d. 327 BC)

title: 360 BC

text: The fourth-century (Late Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Hellenistic period (approximate date).

title: 325 BC

text: Cassander, who has allied himself with Ptolemy and Antigonus, declares war on the regent, Polyperchon. Most of the Greek states support him, including Athens. Cassander further effects an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip III Arrhidaeus of Macedon.

title: 318 BC

text: Antigonus drives out Cassander's Macedonian forces of occupation from the Greek islands and forms the island cities in the Aegean into the "League of the Islanders", preparatory to his invasion of Greece. His ally, the city of Rhodes, furnishes him with the necessary fleet.

title: 315 BC

text: As Cassander fights to retain control over central Greece, Antigonus promises freedom to the Greek cities in a bid to gain support from them against Cassander.

title: 314 BC

text: Aristarchus of Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician (approximate date) (d. c. 230 BC)

title: 310 BC

text: Ptolemy crosses from Asia Minor into Greece, where he takes possession of Corinth, Sicyon and Megara.

title: 308 BC

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes returns to Greece with the aim of becoming master of Macedonia. While Demetrius is in Greece, Lysimachus seizes his possessions in Asia Minor.

title: 297 BC

text: Archimedes of Syracuse, Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer and philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 212 BC)

title: 287 BC

text: As Demetrius Poliorcetes and his army are chased across Asia Minor to the Taurus Mountains by the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus, in Greece his son Antigonus meets with success. Ptolemy's fleet is driven off and Athens surrenders to Antigonus.

title: 286 BC

text: Dicaearchus, Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and author (b. c. 350 BC)

title: 285 BC

text: Although he has only a few bases in Greece, Antigonus II Gonatas lays claim to Macedonia. His claim is disputed by Antiochus I.

title: 281 BC

text: Following the Battle of Corupedium, Lysimachus's widow, Arsinoe, flees to Cassandrea, a city in northern Greece, where she marries her half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos. This proves to be a serious misjudgement, as Ptolemy Keraunus promptly kills two of her sons, though the third is able to escape. Arsinoe flees again, this time to Alexandria in Egypt.

title: 281 BC

text: Responding to an appeal from Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the Romans. In the Battle of Heraclea he defeats a Roman army led by consul Publius Valerius Laevinus. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii and the Messapians as well as the Greek cities of Crotone and Locri join Pyrrhus.

title: 280 BC

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

title: 271 BC

text: Epicurus, Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement (b. 341 BC)

title: 270 BC

title: 270 BC

text: Without a declaration of hostilities, Greek statesman, Aratus of Sicyon, who has gradually built up the Achaean League into a major power in Greece, makes a surprise attack on Corinth and forces the withdrawal of the Macedonian occupation troops. Megara, Troezen, and Epidaurus also desert the Macedonian King Antigonus II.

title: 243 BC

text: Almost all of Greece falls under Macedonian suzerainty after Antigonus III re-establishes the Hellenic Alliance as a confederacy of leagues, with himself as president.

title: 222 BC

text: Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.

title: 220 BC

text: The Roman historian Quintus Fabius Pictor is sent to Delphi in Greece to consult the Oracle for advice about what Rome should do after its defeat in the Battle of Cannae.

title: 216 BC

text: Archimedes of Syracuse, Greek mathematician and scientist, who has calculated formulae for the areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, parabolas and other plane and solid figures. He has also founded the science of hydrostatics, including the principle of the upthrust on a floating body which has led to his cry, "Eureka". Thirdly, he has invented siege-engines for use against the Romans and the Archimedean screw to raise water (b. c. 287 BC)

title: 212 BC

text: Polybius, Greek historian, famous for his book called "The Histories" or "The Rise of the Roman Empire", covering in detail the period between 220 and 146 BC (d. 120 BC)

title: 208 BC

text: Hannibal erects a bilingual Punic/Greek inscription describing his accomplishments in the temple of Juno Lacinia near Crotone.

title: 205 BC

text: The Roman ambassador to Greece, Syria, and Egypt, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus delivers an ultimatum to Philip V warning Macedonia not to make war on any Greek state. Philip decides to reject the Roman ultimatum and the Romans declare war on Macedon, thus starting the Second Macedonian War.

title: 200 BC

text: Titus Quinctius Flamininus' forces manage to push Philip V out of most of Greece, except for a few fortresses. He then defeats Philip V in the Battle of the Aous, near modern Tepelenë in Albania.

title: 198 BC

text: After checking the ambitions of Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, the Roman forces under proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus finally withdraw from Greece.

title: 194 BC

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

title: 193 BC

text: The leader of the Achaean League, Philopoemen, enters northern Laconia with his army and a group of Spartan exiles. His army demolishes the wall that the former tyrant of Sparta, Nabis, has built around Sparta. Philopoemen then restores Spartan citizenship to the exiles and abolishes Spartan law, introducing Achaean law in its place. Sparta's role as a major power in Greece ends, while the Achaean League becomes the dominant power throughout the Peloponnese.

title: 188 BC

text: With concerns rising in Rome over whether Philip V of Macedon is preparing for a new war with the Romans, Appius Claudius Pulcher is sent at the head of an embassy into Macedonia and Greece to observe Philip's activities.

title: 184 BC

text: Philip V, king of Macedonia from 221 BC, whose attempt to extend Macedonian influence throughout Greece has occurred at a time of growing Roman involvement in Greek affairs and resulted in his military defeat by Rome (b. 238 BC)

title: 179 BC

text: Titus Quinctius Flamininus, Roman general and statesman whose skillful diplomacy has enabled him to establish a Roman protectorate over Greece (b. c. 227 BC) (approximate date)

title: 174 BC

text: Private documents collected by the Romans when they capture Perseus of Macedon incriminate political leaders of the Achaean League. Many influential Greeks are deported to Rome.

title: 167 BC

text: With the aid of the Greek statesman and historian Polybius, the son of the former Seleucid king Seleucus IV Philopator, Demetrius escapes from Rome, where he has been held as a hostage for many years, and returns to Syria to claim the throne from his cousin Antiochus V. In the resulting dispute, Antiochus V and his regent, Lysias, are overthrown and put to death. Demetrius then establishes himself on the Seleucid throne.

title: 162 BC

text: At Polybius' request, Scipio Aemilianus manages to gain the support of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (whose son has married Scipio's sister Aemilia) for a proposal to release (and return to Greece) the 300 Achaean internees who are still being held without trial after being deported to Rome in 167 BC.

title: 151 BC

text: Achaean War: The Romans conquer the Achaean League and southern Greece becomes a Roman province.

title: 146 BC

text: Spring – Lucius Cornelius Sulla returns to Italy from his campaigns in Greece and lands with his legions unopposed at Brundisium. He defeats the popular forces of Gaius Norbanus in the Battle of Mount Tifata.

title: 83 BC


slug: ancient-olympic-games

label: Ancient Olympic Games

description: athletic competitions in ancient Greece

year_label: 716 BCE

text: 716 BC—Pythagoras of Laconia wins the stadion race at the 16th Olympic Games.

title: 710s BC

section: Events and trends

year_label: 696 BCE

text: 696 BC—Pantacles of Athens wins the stadion race at the 21st Olympic Games.

title: 690s BC

year_label: 676 BCE

text: Callisthenes of Laconia wins the stadion race at the 26th Olympic Games.

title: 676 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 550 BCE

section: Births

text: Miltiades, renowned Olympic chariot-racer

title: 550 BC

year_label: 548 BCE

text: Diognetus of Croton wins the stadion race at the Olympic Games.

title: 548 BC

year_label: 496 BCE

text: Tisicrates of Kroton wins the stadion race at the 71st Olympic Games.

title: 496 BC

year_label: 492 BCE

text: Tisicrates wins the stadion race for a second time at the 72nd Olympic Games.

title: 492 BC

year_label: 488 BCE

text: Astylos of Croton wins the stadion race at the 73rd Olympic Games.

title: 488 BC

text: Astylos of Croton wins the stadion race for a second time at the 74th Olympic Games.

title: 484 BC

year_label: 474 BCE

text: The Greek poet Pindar moves to Thebes after two years at the Sicilian Court of Hiero I of Syracuse. While at Thebes, he composes lyric odes to celebrate triumphs in the Olympic Games and other athletic events.

title: 474 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

text: Kyniska becomes the first woman to win an event at the Olympic Games when the horse-drawn chariot she sponsors crosses the finish line first, even though the prohibition on women competing forces her to hire a man to drive it.

title: 396 BC

section: Events › By topic › Sports

year_label: 372 BCE

text: Troilus of Elis wins two equestrian events at the Olympic Games, which leads to referees being banned from competing in the Games.

title: 372 BC

year_label: 67 CE

text: Nero travels to Greece, where he participates in the Olympic Games and other festivals.

title: AD 67

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Aurelios Zopyros becomes the last reported athlete at the Ancient Olympic Games. He is a victor in "junior boxing" (pankration).

title: 385

section: Events › By topic › Sport in the Roman Empire

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


slug: ancient-rome

label: Ancient Rome

description: country that began growing on the Italian Peninsula from the 8th century BC

year_label: 519 BCE

text: Cincinnatus, Roman aristocrat and statesman (d. 430 BC)

title: 519 BC

year_label: 505 BCE

text: A war between Rome and the Sabines begins, concluding in 504 BC.

title: 505 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 504 BCE

text: A war between Rome and the Sabines ends, having begun in 505 BC.

title: 504 BC

year_label: 468 BCE

text: Antium is captured by Roman forces.

title: 468 BC

year_label: 450 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Myron makes a bronze statue called The Discus Thrower (Discobolus). A Roman copy is now kept at Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome (approximate date).

title: 450 BC

text: Polykleitos starts making the bronze statue Achilles (also known as The Spear Bearer or Doryphoros), which he finishes about ten years later. A Roman copy of the original bronze is now kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy (approximate date).

title: 450 BC

year_label: 378 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Servian Wall is constructed around Rome to prevent the city from being captured or sacked (see 390 BC). This is the first fortification that the Romans build around their home city.

title: 378 BC

year_label: 365 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman soldier and statesman. (b. c. 446 BC)

title: 365 BC

year_label: 315 BCE

text: The Romans take Ferentum, a city of Apulia, and this pushes the citizens of Nuceria to end their friendship with Rome.

title: 315 BC

year_label: 266 BCE

text: Caparronia, an ancient Roman Vestal virgin died by hanging after being convicted of unchastity.

title: 266 BC

year_label: 253 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: A second Roman war fleet of 150 ships is wrecked on the voyage from Lilybaeum (in Sicily) to Rome.

title: 253 BC

year_label: 201 BCE

text: In Rome, according to the Roman historian Livy, land is distributed to veterans of the Second Punic War. This is the first documented instance of a practice that later becomes commonplace.

title: 201 BC

year_label: 169 BCE

text: Quintus Ennius, Roman epic poet, dramatist, and satirist, the most influential of the early Latin poets – and often called the founder of Roman literature or the father of Roman poetry. His epic Annales, a poem telling the story of Rome from the wanderings of Aeneas to Ennius' own time, remains the national epic until it is later eclipsed by Virgil's Aeneid.

title: 169 BC

year_label: 118 BCE

text: The Second Dalmatian War ends with victory for Rome. Lucius Caecilius Metellus assumes the surname Delmaticus.

title: 118 BC

year_label: 115 BCE

text: Gaius Marius is praetor in Rome: he defeats Celtic tribes in modern-day Spain.

title: 115 BC

year_label: 104 BCE

text: Rome enacts a state of emergency, as the way to Italy lays open to the Germanic invaders. Gaius Marius, the conqueror of Jugurtha, is elected consul for the second time. He celebrates his triumph over Jugurtha, who is led in the procession and thrown into the Tullianum where he dies of starvation.

title: 104 BC

year_label: 97 BCE

text: Sulla displays a lion hunt for the first time in games at Rome.

title: 97 BC

year_label: 90 BCE

text: Corfinium in south-central Italy is the center of a rebellion against Rome.

title: 90 BC

year_label: 76 BCE

text: The Third Dalmatian war ends with the capture of Salona by proconsul Gaius Cosconius and the victory of Rome.

title: 76 BC

year_label: 74 BCE

text: Publius Servilius Vatia returns to Rome, where he has triumphed against the pirates in Anatolia, and is given the agnomen Isauricus.

title: 74 BC

year_label: 72 BCE

text: Summer – Spartacus and his followers defeat the Roman forces under Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus and Gellius, forcing the Roman legions to retreat in disarray. Both consuls are recalled to Rome in disgrace and relieved of their duties.

title: 72 BC

year_label: 68 BCE

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Ostia, the harbour city of Ancient Rome, is sacked by pirates. The port is set on fire and the consular war fleet is destroyed.

title: 68 BC

year_label: 65 BCE

date: December 8

text: December 8 – Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)

title: 65 BC

year_label: 62 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Metellus Nepos, also tribune, leaves Rome.

title: 62 BC

year_label: 60 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar suppresses an uprising and conquers all of Lusitania for Rome.

title: 60 BC

year_label: 54 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Pompey builds the first permanent theatre in Rome.

title: 54 BC

year_label: 49 BCE

date: January

text: January – Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon, which separates his jurisdiction in Cisalpine Gaul from that of the Senate in Rome, and thus initiates a civil war.

title: 49 BC

section: Events › By place and Date › Roman Republic

year_label: 48 BCE

text: The Roman temple to Bellona on the Capitolinus outside Rome is burnt to the ground.

title: 48 BC

year_label: 47 BCE

date: August

text: August – Julius Caesar quells a mutiny of his veterans in Rome.

title: 47 BC

year_label: 44 BCE

date: March 15

text: March 15 (the Ides of March) – Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus.

title: 44 BC

year_label: 32 BCE

text: Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Gaius Sosius become consuls of Rome.

title: 32 BC

year_label: 17 BCE

text: Emperor Augustus celebrates the secular games in Rome, for which Horace's hymn the "Carmen Saeculare" is commissioned.

title: 17 BC

text: c. 2 BC: The Aqua Alsietina (or Aqua Augusta), which was a Roman aqueduct in Rome, is constructed during the reign of Augustus.

title: 0s BC

text: AD 8 – Roman poet Ovid is banished from Rome and exiled to the Black Sea near Tomis (modern-day Constanța).

title: 0s

text: Emperor Augustus abandons his plan to create a defensive border at the Elbe, in order to reinforce the Roman defenses along the Rhine and the Danube.

title: 10s

text: May 26 – Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other Germanic tribes west of the Elbe.

title: 10s

text: Germanicus concludes a peace treaty with Artabanus II of Parthia, in which he is recognized as king and friend of Rome.

title: 10s

text: The manufacture of pens and metal writing tools begins in Rome (approximate date).

title: 20s

text: Greek geographer Strabo publishes Geographica, a work covering the world known to the Romans and Greeks at the time of Emperor Augustus – it is the only such book to survive from the ancient world.

title: 20s

text: Lucius Aelius Larnia, Roman consul, governor and praefectus urbi in Rome (b. 45 BC)

title: 30s

text: Pliny the Elder is brought to Rome before this year.

title: 30s

text: Pontius Pilate is recalled to Rome, after putting down a Samaritan uprising.

title: 30s

text: Emperor Claudius expels the Jews from Rome (estimated date, more probably later, 47-49 AD).

title: 40s

text: Rome and its northeast border are reunited by the Danube Road.

title: 40s

text: Likely date for the expulsion of the Jews from Rome.

title: 40s

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

text: The captured Caratacus is exhibited in chains in Claudius' triumph in Rome, but his dignified demeanour persuades the emperor to spare his life and allow his family to live free in the capital for a short period of time.

title: 50s

text: In Rome, a law prohibits the execution of old and crippled slaves.

title: 50s

text: Under Nero, Rome annexes Aden to protect the maritime route between Alexandria and Asia.

title: 50s

text: Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus becomes a consul in Rome.

title: 50s

text: The apostle Paul returns to Jerusalem with the money he has collected to give the Christian community there. However, he is accused of defiling the temple, and is arrested and imprisoned in Caesarea. He then invokes his Roman citizenship and is sent to Rome to be judged.

title: 50s

text: Paul of Tarsus journeys to Rome, but is shipwrecked on Malta. He stays for three months and converts Publius, the first bishop of Malta.

title: AD 60

text: Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (possible date).

title: AD 67

text: Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (latest possible date).

title: AD 68

text: June 9 – Emperor Nero commits suicide four miles outside Rome. He is deserted by the Praetorian Guard, and then stabs himself in the throat.

title: AD 68

text: Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaims himself emperor, and reigns for three months before committing suicide.

title: AD 69

text: Panic strikes Rome as adverse winds delay grain shipments from Africa and Egypt, producing a bread shortage. Ships laden with wheat from North Africa sail 300 miles to Rome's port of Ostia in 3 days, and the 1,000 mile voyage from Alexandria averages 13 days. The vessels often carry 1,000 tons each to provide the city with the 8,000 tons per week it normally consumes.

title: AD 70

text: March 18 – Hyginus, bishop of Rome

title: AD 74

text: The Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian, is built in Rome. The temple celebrates the conquest of Jerusalem (in AD 70) and houses the Menorah from Herod's Temple.

title: AD 75

text: Emperor Kadphises of the Kushan Empire sends a delegation to Rome, to seek support against the Parthians.

title: AD 78

text: In Rome, the castration of slaves is prohibited.

title: AD 83

text: Emperor Domitian recalls Agricola back to Rome, where he is rewarded with a triumph and the governorship of the Roman province of Africa, but he declines it.

title: AD 84

text: First Battle of Tapae: Roman legions face disaster in Dacia, when Roman general Cornelius Fuscus launches a powerful offensive that becomes a failure. Encircled in the valley of Timi, he dies along with his entire army. Rome must pay tribute to the Dacians in exchange for a vague recognition of Rome's importance.

title: AD 86

text: The First Dacian War ends: Decebalus becomes a client king of Rome, he receives money, craftsmen and war machines to protect the borders (limes) of the Roman Empire.

title: AD 88

text: Rome is described by Statius in his poems.

title: AD 91

text: Domitian banishes all Stoic philosophers from Rome.

title: AD 94

text: In Rome a severe form of malaria appears in the farm districts and will continue for the next 500 years, taking out of cultivation the fertile land of the Campagna, whose market gardens supply the city with fresh products. The fever drives small groups of farmers into the crowded city, bringing the malaria with them, and lowers Rome's live-birth rate while rates elsewhere in the empire are rising.

title: AD 95

text: The Arch of Titus is completed in Rome.

title: AD 96

text: Nerva recognizes the Sanhedrin of Jamnia as an official governmental body of the Jews, and the patriarch or nasi is designated as the representative of the Jewish people in Rome.

title: AD 97

text: Emperor Trajan returns to Rome.

title: AD 99

text: Clement I, bishop of Rome (epistle to the Corinthians) (or 102 according to Roman Catholic tradition)

title: AD 101

text: Emperor Trajan returns to Rome after a successful campaign against Dacia, through which he reestablishes clear Roman sovereignty over King Decebalus.

title: AD 102

text: Clement I, bishop of Rome (approximate date according to Roman Catholic tradition)

title: AD 102

text: June 24 – The Aqua Traiana is inaugurated by Emperor Trajan; the aqueduct channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 km mi northwest of Rome.

title: AD 109

text: The Forum of Trajan is constructed in Rome, by the Syrian architect Apollodorus of Damascus.

title: AD 110

text: Trajan's Column near the Colosseum in Rome is completed to commemorate the Emperor's victory over the Dacians in the Second Dacian War.

title: AD 113

text: A monument to Philopappos, prince-in-exile of old Commagene (a buffer-state between Rome and Parthia) is erected in Athens.

title: AD 114

text: Pope Sixtus I succeeds Alexander I as the seventh pope of Rome (according to Catholic biographies).

title: AD 115

text: Alexander I, bishop of Rome (approximate date)

title: AD 115

text: Trajan makes Syria a province of Rome and crosses the Tigris to annex Adiabene. He proceeds with his army to the Persian Gulf and conquers territory that becomes the province of Parthia.

title: AD 116

text: Rome has a population exceeding 1 million, making it the largest city in the world.

title: AD 118

text: Salonia Matidia (a niece of former Emperor Trajan) dies. Hadrian delivers her funeral oration, and grants her a temple in Rome.

title: AD 119

text: Construction of the Temple of Venus and Roma begins in Rome.

title: AD 121

text: Sixtus I, bishop of Rome according to Roman Catholic tradition (possible date)

title: AD 124

text: Emperor Hadrian returns to Rome, after a seven-year voyage to the Roman provinces.

title: AD 127

text: The Pantheon in Rome is finished.

title: AD 128

text: A law is passed in Rome banning the execution of slaves without a trial.

title: AD 130

text: A law improving the lot of free workers is passed in Rome.

title: AD 134

text: Hadrian dictates his memoirs at his villa near Tivoli (Tibur) outside Rome.

title: AD 136

text: July 10 – Hadrian dies after a heart failure at Baiae, and is buried at Rome in the Gardens of Domitia beside his wife, Vibia Sabina.

title: AD 138

text: The Tomb of Hadrian in Rome is completed; Emperor Antoninus Pius cremates the body of Hadrian, and places his ashes, together with that of his wife Vibia Sabina and his adopted son, Lucius Aelius, in the mausoleum.

title: AD 139

text: Antoninus Pius recognizes the king of the Quadi, who becomes an ally of Rome.

title: AD 140

text: Hyginus, bishop of Rome (approximate date)

title: AD 142

text: Festivals to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the founding of Rome begin.

title: AD 147

text: King Eupator of Bosphorus pays tribute to Rome, due to the threat posed by the Alani.

title: AD 154

text: The earliest dated use of Sol Invictus, in a dedication from Rome.

title: AD 158

text: In Rome, the manufacturing of soap containing grease, lime and ashes begins.

title: AD 160

text: Marcus Aurelius creates 4 legal districts (iuridici) in Italy (5 if Rome is included).

title: AD 165

text: Antonine Plague: A pandemic breaks out in Rome, after the Roman army returns from Parthia. The plague significantly depopulates the Roman Empire and China.

title: AD 165

text: Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni.

title: AD 166

text: Anicetus, pope of Rome (approximate date)

title: AD 167

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his adopted brother Lucius Verus leave Rome, and establish their headquarters at Aquileia.

title: AD 168

title: AD 168

text: Galen moves back to Rome for good.

title: AD 169

text: An Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is erected in Rome.

title: AD 170

text: Soter (or Sorterius), bishop of Rome (approximate date)

title: AD 174

text: December 23 – Marcus Aurelius and Commodus enter Rome after a campaign north of the Alps, and receive a triumph for their victories over the Germanic tribes.

title: AD 176

text: Marcus Aurelius drives the Marcomanni over the Danube and reinforces the border. To repopulate and rebuild a devastated Pannonia, Rome allows the first German colonists to enter territory controlled by the Roman Empire.

title: AD 179

text: Work begins in Rome on the building of the Column of Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 180

text: The volcano associated with Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, one of the largest on Earth in the last 5,000 years. The effects of this eruption are seen as far away as Rome and China.

title: AD 181

text: Commodus drains Rome's treasury to put on gladiatorial spectacles and confiscates property to support his pleasures. He participates as a gladiator and boasts of victory in 1,000 matches in the Circus Maximus.

title: AD 185

text: Plague (possibly smallpox) kills as many as 2,000 people per day in Rome. Farmers are unable to harvest their crops, and food shortages bring riots in the city.

title: AD 189

text: May 24 – Eleutherius, bishop of Rome (or Catholic Church)

title: AD 189

text: A part of Rome burns; Emperor Commodus orders the city to be rebuilt, under the name Colonia Commodiana.

title: AD 190

text: c. 191–192 – The sculpture of Commodus as Hercules, from Esquiline Hill, Rome, is made (it is now kept at Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome).

title: AD 191

text: Civil war again strikes Ancient Rome (192–193).

title: AD 192

text: April 14 – Lucius Septimius Severus is proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Carnuntum, in Pannonia Superior (Balkans). He marches with his army to Rome.

title: AD 193

text: Clodius Albinus, who had been proclaimed emperor in Britain, crosses into Gaul with his legions, while at the same time recruiting new soldiers. He is soon the head of an army of 150,000 men, according to Cassius Dio. Severus, still in Mesopotamia, hastily returns to Rome.

title: AD 195

text: In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul.

title: AD 196

text: Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 197

text: Emperor Septimius Severus returns to Rome after a five-year absence. Festivals are held to celebrate his six-year reign. Severus undertakes changes in the imperial government, giving the Roman army a dominant role, raising pay in the legions and permitting legionaries to marry in order to secure their loyalty.

title: 202

text: A trade recession in the Leptis Magna region (Africa) is alleviated by Emperor Septimius Severus, who buys up the country's olive oil for free distribution in Rome.

title: 204

text: Roman jurist Papinian, one of the famous jurists who flourished during the reign of the late emperor Septimius Severus, refuses to write a legal defence for the murder of Caracalla's brother, Emperor Geta. He is beheaded in Rome, in Caracalla's presence.

title: 212

text: Emperor Caracalla leaves Rome and expels some Germanic marauders from Gaul, while his mother, Julia Domna, rules the Empire. He defends the northern Rhine frontier against the Alamanni and the Chatti. Caracalla wins over the Germanic tribes on the banks of the River Main, and gives himself the title "Germanicus". It is probably while campaigning in Germania that he takes a liking to the caracalla, a Celtic or Germanic tunic from which he acquires the name by which he is known.

title: 213

text: The Baths of Caracalla in Rome are completed with public baths (Thermae), reading rooms, auditoriums, running tracks, and public gardens that cover 20 acres.

title: 216

text: King Artabanus V signs a peace treaty with Rome after he receives 200 million sesterces, for the rebuilding of towns destroyed during the war in Parthia.

title: 217

text: December 20 – Zephyrinus, pope of Rome

title: 217

text: May 16 – Julia Maesa, an aunt of the assassinated Emperor Caracalla, is banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus, and declares her grandson Elagabalus, age 14, emperor of Rome.

title: 218

text: March 13 – Emperor Elagabalus is assassinated, along with his mother, Julia Soaemias, by the Praetorian Guard during a revolt. Their mutilated bodies are dragged through the streets of Rome before being thrown into the Tiber.

title: 222

text: The first Christian paintings appear in Rome, decorating the Catacombs.

title: 225

text: July 21 – Pope Pontian succeeds Pope Urban I, as the 18th pope of Rome.

title: 230

text: May 23 – Urban I, bishop of Rome (b. 175)

title: 230

text: Emperor Alexander Severus celebrates a triumph in Rome to observe his "victory" the previous year over the Persians (in reality, Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I). He is soon summoned to the Rhine frontier, where the Alamanni invade what is now modern-day Swabia. German tribes destroy Roman forts, and plunder the countryside at the Limes Germanicus.

title: 233

text: November 21 – Anterus succeeds Pontian as the nineteenth pope of Rome.

title: 235

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

text: Fabian separates Rome into seven deaconships.

title: 236

text: January 3 – Anterus, bishop of Rome

title: 236

text: Emperor Maximinus Thrax campaigns on the rivers Danube and Rhine in Germania, defeating the Alemanni, and never visits Rome. He is accepted by the Roman Senate, but taxes the rich aristocracy heavily, and engenders such hostility among them, that they plot against him. He had a road rebuilt in what is now the Golan Heights, between 236 and 237.

title: 237

text: c. May – The Senate outlaws Maximinus for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Ancient Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne.

title: 238

text: Plotinus, Greek philosopher, escapes the bloodshed that accompanies the murder of Gordianus III and makes his way to Antioch. Back in Rome he founds his Neoplatonist school and attracts disciples like Porphyry, Castricius Firmus and Eustochius of Alexandria.

title: 244

text: Emperor Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome by holding the Ludi Saeculares.

title: 247

text: The Roman Empire continues the celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Rome, with the ludi saeculares, organized by Philip the Arab.

title: 248

text: January 20 – Fabian (or Fabianus), pope of Rome and martyr

title: 250

text: In Rome, Hostilian, son of Decius, succeeds his father, while Trebonianus Gallus is proclaimed Emperor by the troops. Gallus accepts him as co-emperor, but an outbreak of plague strikes the city, and kills Hostilian.

title: 251

text: Hostilian, Roman emperor (of plague in Rome)

title: 251

text: The legions who have campaigned against the Goths on the Danube elect Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus as new emperor. He advances on Rome along the Flaminian Way, to meet his opponent emperor Trebonianus Gallus and his son Volusianus. For the most part, generals in the border regions are proclaimed emperor by their armies to halt the invasion of Germanic tribes.

title: 253

text: March 5 – Lucius I, bishop of Rome

title: 254

text: January 6 – Marcellus I, bishop of Rome (d. 309)

title: 255

text: Pope Stephen I threatens to excommunicate Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and other bishops in Africa and Asia Minor, unless they stop rebaptizing heretics. Cyprian attacks the Pope in a treatise that gains support from the Council of Carthage. He sends envoys to Rome, raising the specter of a schism between the Roman and Carthaginian Churches.

title: 256

text: Future emperor Aurelian defeats the Goths and brings many prisoners back to Rome.

title: 257

text: August 2 – Stephen I, bishop of Rome

title: 257

text: Pope Sixtus II, bishop of Rome, is martyred.

title: 258

text: August 6 – Sixtus II, bishop of Rome

title: 258

text: Gallienus becomes the sole emperor of Rome; during his reign the Pannonian governor Ingenuus revolts on the Danube.

title: 260

text: Postumus makes no move to march on Rome and claim his territory south of Gaul.

title: 265

text: Aureolus, charged with defending Italy, defeats Victorinus (co-emperor of Gaul), is proclaimed emperor by his troops, and begins his march on Rome.

title: 267

text: Marcus Aurelius Claudius, who may have murdered Gallienus, becomes the new emperor of Rome and will reign as Claudius II.

title: 268

text: December 26 – Dionysius, bishop of Rome

title: 268

text: January 5 – Pope Felix I succeeds Dionysius as the 26th pope of Rome.

title: 269

text: Battle of Fano: The Iuthungi move towards a defenseless Rome. Aurelian rallies his men and defeats the Germanic tribes on the Metauro River, just inland of Fano.

title: 271

text: Marcus Claudius Tacitus, future Roman Emperor, is consul in Rome.

title: 273

text: Rome greets Aurelian as Restitutor Orbis ("Restorer of the World") and accords him a magnificent triumph (victory procession), which is graced by his captives Zenobia, Tetricus I, and his son Tetricus II.

title: 274

text: December 30 – Felix I, bishop of Rome

title: 274

text: January 4 – Eutychian succeeds Felix I as the 27th pope of Rome.

title: 275

text: Florianus holds power for some weeks and fights indecisively against Probus in Cilicia, but his soldiers, many of whom are from the colder Rhine and Danube frontiers, suffer from heat and disease. He is overthrown and then assassinated by his own troops near Tarsus (Turkey), in collusion with Probus. Probus, age 44, is proclaimed new Emperor of Rome.

title: 276

text: Probus enters Rome, to have his position as Emperor ratified by the Senate.

title: 277

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

title: 280

text: Emperor Probus returns to Rome, where he celebrates his triumph over the Vandals and the usurpers (Bonosus, Julius Saturninus and Proculus).

title: 281

text: December 17 – Pope Caius succeeds Eutychian as the 28th pope of Rome.

title: 283

text: December 7 – Etychian, bishop of Rome

title: 283

text: Emperor Numerian travels through Bithynia (Asia Minor) on his way home to Rome. Suffering from an inflammation of the eyes, he travels in a closed litter in which soldiers find his decaying corpse.

title: 284

text: April 22 – Caius, bishop of Rome

title: 296

text: April 22 – Pope Caius dies after a 13-year reign and is succeeded by Marcellinus as the 29th pope of Rome.

title: 296

text: November 20 – The Augusti Diocletian and Maximian reunite in Rome to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Diocletian's accession, which is now treated as a joint anniversary for both emperors. A series of columns in the Roman Forum and a triumphal arch are dedicated to the emperors. The two emperors also agree on a plan of abdication.

title: 303

text: October 28 – Maxentius, son of former Western Emperor Maximian, leads a revolt by the Praetorian Guard and members of the Senate in Rome, and is proclaimed Emperor. Southern Italy supports Maxentius, as do Africa, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Maxentius recalls Maximian from retirement, who joins his son in Rome.

title: 306

text: Pope Marcellus I is banished from Rome by Emperor Maxentius.

title: 309

text: January 16 – Marcellus I, bishop of Rome (b. 255)

title: 309

text: August 17 – Eusebius, bishop of Rome

title: 310

text: July 2 – Pope Miltiades succeeds Eusebius as the 32nd pope of Rome.

title: AD 311

text: Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (or Basilica Nova), in Rome, is finished.

title: 313

text: January 10 – Miltiades (or Melchiades), bishop of Rome

title: 314

text: Emperor Constantine the Great travels to Rome to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his accession to power, but while en route at Pola he orders his older son, Crispus Caesar, to be executed, possibly on charges of adultery. Later, Fausta, second wife of Constantine I, is also executed by being suffocated or boiled in a hot bath.

title: 326

text: December 31 – Pope Sylvester I dies at Rome after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by Mark as the 34th pope.

title: 335

text: Pope Julius I gives refuge in Rome to the Alexandrian patriarch Athanasius, who is deposed and expelled during the First Synod of Tyre (see 335).

title: 339

text: April 12 – Julius I, bishop of Rome

title: 352

text: November 22 – Felix II, antipope of Rome (b. 287)

title: AD 365


slug: andalusia

label: Andalusia

description: autonomous community of Spain

section: Conflict & Security

text: Athanagild revolts against the Visigothic king Agila. Their armies meet at Seville (Andalusia), and Agila is defeated.

title: 551

section: Events › By place › Europe

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

title: 554

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade the Byzantine province of Spania (modern Andalusia), and seize the city of Córdoba. After the death of his brother Liuva I, he becomes sole ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 571

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Visigoths under King Suintila recapture the Byzantine territories of Spania (Andalusia), after 70 years of occupation. Only the Balearic Islands stay a part of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 624

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Battle of Guadalete: The Muslim Arabs defeat the Visigothic army (33,000 men) under King Roderick, who dies in battle. The Visigoth capital of Toledo opens its city gates; Tariq ibn Ziyad sends Moorish detachments to capture the cities of Córdoba and Seville (Andalusia).

title: AD 711

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: From North Africa, Musa ibn Nusayr lands in Iberia (Al-Andalus), with an army of 18,000 Arabs and Berbers. He joins the Islamic conquest and captures the city of Seville (Andalusia), where he meets stiff resistance after 3-months of siege.

title: 712

text: Arab forces under Musa ibn Nusayr conquer the fortress city of Mérida, located on the borders of Andalusia. It becomes part of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 713

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

title: 725

text: Andalusian merchants set up an emporium (trade settlement) on the Maghreb coast at Ténès (modern Algeria). It is early evidence of the revival of the maritime trade in the Western Mediterranean, after the chaos of the early 8th century.

title: 775

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: King Alfonso II of Asturias campaigns against the Arab Muslims in Al-Andalus. With Frankish military support, he raids into Andalusia and sacks Lisbon (modern Portugal).

title: 798

section: Events › By place › Iberia

text: Viking raiders invade the Kingdom of Pamplona (Western Pyrenees), and capture King García Íñiguez I, somewhere in the Andalusian heartland. They extort a ransom, rising to around 70,000 gold dinars.

title: 859

text: Moorish Andalusian merchants set up a trade settlement (so-called emporium) in Oran (modern Algeria).

title: 902

text: Almoravid forces under Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf occupy Zaragoza (modern Spain), bringing all of Andalusia's Muslim states under Almoravid control.

title: 1110

text: King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre leads a Castellan raid in Andalusia (Southern Spain).

title: 1125

text: Summer – King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre launches a campaign raid into Granada in Andalusia (modern Spain) against the Almoravids. In the aftermath, the Almoravid deport Jews and Christians from Andalusia to Morocco.

title: 1126

date: June

text: June – Marinid forces land in Spain and ravage the countryside. They kill and capture many and plunder livestock. They also attack the castle of Vejer de la Frontera in Andalusia. On hearing the news, King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") abandons his meeting with Sultan Muhammad I of Granada and orders an all-out war against Granada.

title: 1272

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Sultan Muhammad I (or Ibn al-Ahmar) suffers fatal injuries after falling from his horse near the city of Granada during a minor military expedition. He is succeeded by his son Muhammad II, who becomes ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Muhammad enters negotiations with King Alfonso X ("the Wise") to make peace with Castile, but he refuses to grant a truce to the Banu governors (arraeces) of Málaga and Guadix in Andalusia.

title: 1273

date: September 16

text: September 16 – After a siege of almost four months, the Muslim city of Antequera, located in what is now Andalusia in Spain, surrenders to the Crown of Castile and its army, commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Aragon.

title: 1410

section: Events › July–September

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Antonio de Nebrija publishes Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar text for the Castilian Spanish language, in Salamanca, which he introduces to the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, newly restored to power in Andalusia, as "a tool of empire".

title: 1492

section: Events › January—March

date: April 11

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

section: Events › April–June

date: October 6

text: October 6 – In Córdoba, in the Spanish kingdom of Andalusia, members of the nobility and the general public revolt against the Spanish inquisitor Diego Rodriguez de Lucero and General Inquisitor Diego de Deza. The mob liberates the people incarcerated at the Córdoba prison.

title: 1506

section: Events › October–December

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Kılıç Ali Pasha begins construction of an Ottoman fortress on the coastline of Morocco, directly across Andalusia in mainland Spain.

title: 1574


slug: andhra-pradesh

label: Andhra Pradesh

description: state in South India, India

year_label: 230 BCE

text: King Kubera rules Bhattiprolu in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

title: 230 BC

section: Events › By place › India

year_label: 11 CE

text: Satakarni begins his reign as Emperor of the Andhra Empire (AD 11–29).

title: 10s

section: Events › 11 AD › India

text: Reign in Northern India by Nahapana, Scythian king. He attacks the kingdom of Andhra and annexes Southern Rajputana.

title: AD 119

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Gautamiputra Satakarni, a king of the Andhra dynasty, conquers the Konkan near Bombay. He then controls central India from coast to coast.

title: AD 125

text: The Scythian king Rudradaman I reconquers the lands annexed by Gautamiputra from the Andhra.

title: AD 130

text: In India, the reign of Shivashri Satakarni, as King Satavahana of Andhra, begins.

title: AD 159

text: Reign in India of Yajnashri Satakarni, Satavahana king of the Andhra. He extends his empire from the center to the north of India.

title: AD 174

text: Prince Vijaya becomes king of the Andhra Empire. During his reign, the empire is broken apart into smaller independent principalities.

title: 203

text: Chandra Shri Satakarni begins his reign, as ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty in Andhra Pradesh (approximate date).

title: 209

text: The reign of Pulona, Satavahana king of Andhra, begins in India.

title: 219

text: Anavema Reddy succeeds Anavota Reddy, as ruler of the Reddy Dynasty in Andhra Pradesh (part of modern-day southern India).

title: 1364

section: Events › Date unknown

date: July 27

text: July 27 – In Southern India, Bukka Raya II becomes the new ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire in what are the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

title: 1404

date: December 7

text: December 7 – By order of the Nizam, Hyderabad is made the permanent capital of the Indian princely state of the same name. It becomes capital of the Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

title: 1724

date: January 15

text: January 15 – James Macrae, a former captain of a freighter for the British East India Company, is hired by the Company to administer the Madras Presidency (at this time, the "Presidency of Fort St. George"), and begins major reforms. The area administered is most of Southern India, including what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, parts the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha and the union territory of Lakshadweep.

title: 1725

section: Events › January–March

date: November 25

text: November 25 – In India, the Maratha Empire's army invades the Mughal Empire's Malwa province, crossing the Narmada River. On November 29, the two armies clash at the Battle of Amjhira; the Maratha troops, commanded by General Chimaji Appa, overcome the defenders of Malwa (now part of India's Andhra Pradesh state) and Malwa's Governor Girdhar Bahadur is killed.

title: 1728

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Chamaraja Wodeyar VII becomes the new Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore in Southern India, now the state of Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

title: 1732

date: November 1

text: November 1 – The States Reorganisation Act of India reforms the boundaries and names of Indian states. Three new states, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, are formed.

title: 1956

section: Events › November

section: Economy & Finance

date: June 1

text: June 1 – The Vizianagaram district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.

title: 1979

section: Events › June

section: Climate & Environment

date: November 7

text: November 7 – A category 4 cyclone strikes Andhra Pradesh, India, killing at least 1,000 people.

title: 1996


slug: andrew-ii-of-hungary

label: Andrew II of Hungary

description: King of Hungary (1175-1235)

section: Conflict & Security

text: Autumn – A brothers' quarrel breaks out between Emeric, King of Hungary and his younger brother Duke Andrew. After a brief skirmish, Emeric is forced to cede Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew, who begins to administer the provinces as a de facto sovereign monarch.

title: 1197

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Summer – After uncovering a plot against him, Emeric, King of Hungary defeats his brother Duke Andrew in a battle, forcing him into exile in Austria. Thereafter, border clashes occurs between Hungary and Austria.

title: 1199

date: October

text: October – Brothers' Quarrel: Emeric, King of Hungary captures his rebellious brother Duke Andrew without resistance following their third confrontation in recent years.

title: 1203

section: Deaths

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Andrew II, brother of the late King Emeric, is crowned ruler of Hungary and Croatia at Székesfehérvár, after his 5-year-old nephew, Ladislaus III, suddenly dies in Vienna. Andrew introduces a new policy for royal grants, which he calls "new institutions". He distributes large portions of his domain–such as royal castles and all estates attached to them–to supporters and Hungarian nobles.

title: 1205

section: Religion & Belief

text: Summer – Various groups of French knights reach the Italian ports. King Andrew II of Hungary arrives with his army in Split, in Dalmatia. He is joined by German forces, led by Duke Leopold VI (the Glorious). At the end of July, Pope Honorius III orders the crusaders assembled in Italy and Sicily to proceed to Cyprus, but there is no transport provided by the Italian city-states, Venice, Genoa and Pisa.

title: 1217

section: Events › Fifth Crusade

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Teutonic Knights are expelled from Transylvania by King Andrew II, because they wanted to separate from Hungary.

title: 1225

date: January 11

text: January 11 – The city of Požga in Croatia is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary.

title: 1227

section: Events › By topic › Cities and Towns

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Transylvanian town of Reghin is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary.

title: 1228

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Oath of Bereg: King Andrew II of Hungary vows to the Holy See that he will not employ Jews and Muslims to administer royal revenues, which causes diplomatic complaints and ecclesiastical censures.

title: 1233

text: King Andrew II of Hungary proclaims his son, Coloman of Galicia, as ruler (or ban) of Bosnia, who passes it on to Prijezda, a cousin of Matej Ninoslav, despite Matej being the legitimate ruler.

title: 1234

date: September 21

text: September 21 – King Andrew II of Hungary (b. 1175)

title: 1235


slug: andrew-jackson

label: Andrew Jackson

description: president of the United States from 1829 to 1837

date: April 10

text: April 10 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson, age 14, is slashed by a British officer's sword at his home near Waxhaw, North Carolina, after refusing to clean the officer's boots, an event that leaves physical and psychological scars.

title: 1781

section: Events › April–June

section: Births

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Nicholas P. Trist, secretary to President Andrew Jackson of the U.S. (d. 1874)

title: 1800

section: Births › January–June

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Future President of the United States Andrew Jackson fights his third duel, killing lawyer Charles Dickinson following a dispute over payment of a forfeit.

title: 1806

date: March 27

text: March 27 – War of 1812 – Battle of Horseshoe Bend: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek Indians.

title: 1814

section: Events › March

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Battle of New Orleans: American forces led by Andrew Jackson defeat British forces led by Sir Edward Pakenham. American forces suffer around 60 casualties and the British lose about 2,000 (the battle lasts for about 30 minutes).

title: 1815

section: Events › January

date: March 22

text: March 22 – The United States signs a treaty with the Cherokee Nation, acknowledging that it will return land in Alabama and Georgia that had been illegally ceded to the U.S. in 1814 by the Creek Nation. General and future U.S. president Andrew Jackson, refuses to honor the treaty, and uses the controversy as a justification for removing Indians from the southeastern United States.

title: 1816

date: April 1

text: April 1 – First Seminole War – Battle of Miccosukee, Florida: General Andrew Jackson defeats chief Kinhagee.

title: 1818

date: July 15

text: July 15 – U.S. President James Monroe convenes a cabinet meeting, to discuss whether General Andrew Jackson's unauthorized invasion and conquest of Spanish Florida should be disavowed by the White House. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams persuades the President that the action is justifiable, in stopping terror caused by the Seminole tribes.

title: 1818

section: Events › July–September

date: March 15

text: March 15 – First Seminole War: General Andrew Jackson and his American army invade Florida.

title: 1818

date: May 21

text: May 21 – The Maryland Democratic Party is founded by supporters of Andrew Jackson in Baltimore, and hosts its first meeting at the Baltimore Atheneum.

title: 1827

date: December 22

text: December 22 – Rachel Jackson, wife of U.S. President Andrew Jackson (b. 1767)

title: 1828

section: Deaths › July–December

date: December 3

text: December 3 – 1828 United States presidential election: Andrew Jackson is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent John Quincy Adams in a landslide.

title: 1828

section: Events › October–December

text: June 1 – Lyncoya Jackson, second adopted son of American President Andrew Jackson (b. c. 1811)

title: 1828

section: Deaths › January–June

date: May 28

text: May 28 – The Indian Removal Act is signed into law by U.S. President Andrew Jackson, beginning the "Trail of Tears" with the forced relocation of more than 60,000 Indigenous Americans from the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations from the southeastern United States to what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The relocation is accomplished by the end of 1838. In addition to the five tribes, thousands of Indian-owned black slaves are moved as well, and the move has the effect of beginning mass destruction of bison in North America.

title: 1830

date: December 10

text: December 10 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson responds to the Nullification Crisis by threatening to send the U.S. Army and Navy into South Carolina if it does not comply.

title: 1832

text: December 3 – 1832 United States presidential election: Andrew Jackson is re-elected president.

title: 1832

date: May 6

text: May 6 – In Alexandria, Virginia, an attack is made on U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

title: 1833

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Andrew Jackson is censured by the United States Congress (expunged in 1837).

title: 1834

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Attempted assassination of Andrew Jackson: The first assassination attempt against a President of the United States is carried out against President Andrew Jackson at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., by English-born delusional unemployed house painter Richard Lawrence; the attempt fails when his pistols misfire due to humidity.

title: 1835

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Former U.S. President Andrew Jackson, 78, dies at The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee).

title: 1845

date: June 13

text: June 13 – Richard Lawrence, failed assassin of Andrew Jackson (b. 1800)

title: 1861


slug: andronikos-ii-palaiologos

label: Andronikos II Palaiologos

description: Byzantine Emperor from 1282 to 1328

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1332)

title: 1259

date: April

text: April – John XXI sends a papal embassy to Constantinople to force Michael VIII Palaiologos, his 18-year-old son and heir Andronikos and Patriarch John XI Bekkos to reaffirm their allegiance to the Union of Lyon in the Palace of Blachernae. Michael refuses to accept a religious union of the Greek Orthodox Church with Rome.

title: 1277

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Conflict & Security

text: Spring – Arghun Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate, sends an embassy under Rabban Bar Sauma with the mission of contracting a military alliance against the Mamluk Sultanate and take the city of Jerusalem. He travels with a large retinue (bearing gifts and letters) and 30 riding animals from Tabriz through Armenia to Trebizond. Bar Sauma arrives in Constantinople and receives an audience with Emperor Andronikos II (Palaiologos).

title: 1287

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: July 22

text: July 22 – War of Curzola: Genoese raids on the Venetian quarter in Constantinople lead to a formal declaration of war with the Republic of Venice. A Venetian fleet (some 40 war galleys) attacks Galata, the quarter of the Genoese merchants. Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos arrests surviving Venetians in the capital and joins the war with the Republic of Genoa.

title: 1295

date: July 27

text: July 27 – Battle of Bapheus: To counter the Turkish threat at Nicomedia, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos sends a Byzantine force (some 2,000 men) to cross over the Bosporus to relieve the city. On the plain, Turkish forces (some 5,000 light cavalry) led by Sultan Osman I defeat the Byzantines, who are forced to withdraw to Nicomedia. After the battle, Andronikos loses control of the countryside of Bithynia, withdrawing to the forts. Meanwhile, Turkish forces capture Byzantine settlements, such as the coastal city of Gemlik.

title: 1302

date: September

text: September – Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, facing a possible siege of Constantinople by Ottoman-Turkish forces, seeks support from the European kingdoms. He makes Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer and nobleman, an offer of service. Roger with his fleet and army (some 7,000 men), now known as the Catalan Company, departs from Messina with 36 ships (including 18 galleys), and arrives in Constantinople. He is adopted into the imperial family, Andronikos appoints him as grand duke (megas doux) and commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army and fleet.

title: 1303

date: October 12

text: October 12 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, who was co-ruler of Byzantium, becomes the sole ruler upon the death of his son Michael IX Palaiologos. Michael's son Andronikos begins a rebellion against his grandfather emperor six months later.

title: 1320

section: Events › October – December

date: April 19

text: April 19 – At Easter, the Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 breaks out in the Byzantine Empire as Co-Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos flees Constantinople to Adrianople, where he sets up his court and initiates an uprising against his grandfather, the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. The 24-year-old Andronikos is joined by Theodore Synadenos and John Kantakouzenos in the rebellion. Syrgiannes Palaiologos leads an expeditionary army towards the capital, forcing the emperor to negotiate.

title: 1321

section: Events › April – June

date: July 17

text: July 17 – An agreement is reached in the Byzantine civil war between Emperor Andronikos II and his rebellious grandson, Andronikos III Palaiologos, signed outside the Byzantine fortress of Epibates (modern Selimpaşa in Turkey). The two men agree that they will jointly rule Byzantium as co-Emperors.

title: 1322

section: Events › July – September

date: February 13

text: February 13 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1259)

title: 1332


slug: angles-tribe

label: Angles (tribe)

description: North Sea Germanic people, from the eponymous area

text: Bernicia (North East England) is settled by the Angles (approximate date).

title: 525

section: Events › By place › Britannia

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Glappa succeeds his father Ida as king of Bernicia (North East England). During his rule, Anglian settlers expand their territory in what is now southeastern Scotland.

title: 559

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Battle of Raith: An invading force of Angles lands on the Fife coast near Raith (Kirkcaldy) and defeats an alliance of Scots, Britons and Picts, under King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata (Scotland).

title: 596

text: Battle of Catraeth: The Gododdin under Mynyddog Mwynfawr, Brythonic king of Hen Ogledd ("The Old North"), defeat the Angles of Bernicia and Deira, at the stronghold of Catraeth in Northern England (approximate date).

title: 598

text: Battle of Degsastan: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeats the combined forces of the Strathclyde Britons and Scots under Áedán mac Gabráin, establishing the supremacy of the Angles in the northern part of what will become known as the British Isles.

title: 603

text: The Angles under King Edwin of Northumbria invade Rheged ("Old North") in Northern England, and expel King Llywarch Hen. He flees to Powys, and becomes a famous bard. Edwin's armies fight against Gododdin and Strathclyde.

title: 620

text: The Flag of Scotland: According to legend, King Óengus II of Fortriu leads an army of Picts and Scots, against the invading Angles from Northumbria, near Athelstaneford.

title: 832

section: Events › By place › Britain and Ireland

section: Crime & Justice

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

title: 941

section: Events › By place › Europe


slug: anglesey

label: Anglesey

description: island in north-west Wales, UK

year_label: 60 CE

text: Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Roman governor of Britain, captures the island of Mona (Anglesey), the last stronghold of the Druids.

title: AD 60

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 61 CE

title: AD 61

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Raiders from Ireland, such as the Uí Liatháin and Laigin, harry the coasts of Wales. They plunder towns and capture slaves but later colonise large areas of what is called Gwynedd, in particular Llŷn, the coasts of Arllechwedd, Arfon and the Isle of Mona (approximate date).

title: 410

text: King Pabo Post Prydain of the Pennines (Northern England) abdicates his throne, and divides the kingdom between his two sons. He retires, as a hermit, to Anglesey.

title: 520

text: King Hywel of Gwynedd is attacked by his brother Cynan on Anglesey (modern Wales), who is killed during the fighting (approximate date).

title: 816

text: King Burgred of Mercia appeals to Æthelwulf, king of the West Saxons, for help against the rebellious Welsh king Rhodri the Great. Æthelwulf agrees to send help, and Wales is subdued as far north as Anglesey.

title: 853

text: The Danish Vikings invade Anglesey after being driven out of Dublin (see 902). They fail to gain a foothold in Wales, and sail on to Chester.

title: 903

text: Kings Idwal Foel of Gwynedd and Hywel ap Cadell, and Prince Clydog of Deheubarth (Wales) submit to the overlordship of Edward the Elder. The Vikings raid Anglesey.

title: 918

date: November 6

text: November 6 – Battle of Moel-y-don: English forces led by Luke de Tany are ambushed and defeated by Welsh troops, while crossing over a floating bridge to the island of Anglesey.

title: 1282

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Construction begins on Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey under the direction of James of Saint George as part of the conquest of Wales by Edward I.

title: 1295

section: Climate & Environment

date: December 6

text: December 6 – The British Isles are hit by a great storm, creating large areas of sand dunes on Anglesey.

title: 1330

section: Events › January–December

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Conwy Castle in English-ruled North Wales, is captured on Good Friday by trickery by two Welsh brothers, Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur of the Island of Anglesey, in support of the anti-English rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr.

title: 1401

section: Events › April–June

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: March 25 – England's first royal yacht, HMY Mary, strikes rocks off of the coast of Anglesey while traveling from Dublin to Chester with 74 passengers and crew, and quickly sinks, with the loss of 35 people. The other 39 are able to get to safety. The wreckage is not discovered until almost 300 years later, on July 11, 1971.

title: 1675

section: Events › January–March

text: January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford as the first major suspension bridge in world history, is opened between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales.

title: 1826

date: October 26

text: October 26 – The steamship Royal Charter is wrecked on the coast of Anglesey, Wales, with 454 dead.

title: 1859


slug: anglican-diocese-of-rochester

label: Anglican Diocese of Rochester

description: Church of England diocese in England

section: Religion & Belief

text: The See of Rochester is established, and Justus is appointed as bishop. He founds Rochester Cathedral (Kent).

title: 604

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Æthelred of Mercia invades Kent, in an attempt to enforce overlordship and diminish Kentish influence in Surrey and London. His armies destroy the Diocese of Rochester (seat of the bishops in West Kent), and ravage the surrounding countryside.

title: 676

section: Deaths

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Arnost (or Arnošt), bishop of Rochester

title: 1076

text: Approximate date – The White Tower of the Tower of London is begun, under the direction of Gundulf (or Gundulph), bishop of Rochester.

title: 1078

section: Events › By place › England

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Gundulf, Norman bishop of Rochester (b. c.1024)

title: 1108

date: June 20

text: June 20 – John I, bishop of Rochester

title: 1137

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Gilbert Glanvill (or Glanville), bishop of Rochester

title: 1214

date: December 18

text: December 18 – Benedict of Sausetun, bishop of Rochester

title: 1226


slug: anglican-diocese-of-worcester

label: Anglican Diocese of Worcester

description: Diocese of the Anglican Church

date: December 30

text: December 30 – Egwin of Evesham, bishop of Worcester

title: 717

text: Dunstan, bishop of Worcester and London, is appointed by Edgar I as archbishop of Canterbury and becomes his chief adviser.

title: 959

date: February 29

text: February 29 – Oswald, archbishop of Worcester

title: 992

section: Births

text: Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester (approximate date)

title: 1008

text: Ealdred, bishop of Worcester, leads troops from England on an unsuccessful punitive raid against the Welsh leaders Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

title: 1046

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: The Worcestershire rebellion led by Robert de Lacy (a son of Ilbert de Lacy) is dealt with quickly by Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, who calls on those knights and local landowners still loyal to William II to defend Worcester. Many of the rebels are captured or killed.

title: 1088

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester

title: 1095

date: March 20

text: March 20 – Simon of Worcester, bishop of Worcester

title: 1150


slug: anglican

label: Anglican

date: September

text: September – Anglican bishops in England are arrested, and Roman Catholic bishops are restored.

title: 1553

section: Events › July–September

date: June 4

text: June 4 – Scottish-born Presbyterian (and former physician) Alexander Leighton is brought before Archbishop William Laud's Star Chamber court in London for publishing the seditious pamphlet An Appeale to the Parliament, or, Sions Plea Against the Prelacy, an attack on Anglican bishops (printed in the Netherlands, 1628). He is sentenced to be pilloried and whipped, have his ears cropped, one side of his nose slit, and his face branded with "SS" (for "sower of sedition"), to be imprisoned, and be degraded from holy orders.

title: 1630

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, according to Anglican rite in his first visit to Scotland since early childhood, although he has been Scottish monarch since 1625.

title: 1633

date: May 4

text: May 4 – King James II of England orders his Declaration of Indulgence, suspending penal laws against Catholics, to be read from every Anglican pulpit in England. The Church of England and its staunchest supporters, the peers and gentry, are outraged; on June 8 the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Sancroft, is imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to proclaim it.

title: 1688

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Arthur Tooth, Anglican clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s (d. 1931)

title: 1839

section: Births › January–June

section: Crime & Justice

date: July 13

text: July 13 – The prosecution of Arthur Tooth, an Anglican clergyman, for using ritualist practices begins.

title: 1876

section: Events › July

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Edward King (bishop of Lincoln) in England is called to account for using ritualistic practices in Anglican worship.

title: 1888

section: Events › June

date: November 21

text: November 21 – Edward King, Anglican bishop of Lincoln, is convicted of using ritualistic practices.

title: 1890

section: Events › November


slug: anglo-saxon-chronicle

label: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

description: set of related medieval English chronicles

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 449

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 4,000 Britons are slain at Crecganford in battle against Hengist and his son Oisc of Kent.

title: 457

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

title: 465

section: Events › By place › Britannia

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Aelle, first king of the South Saxons, lands on the Sussex coast of England with his three sons near Cymenshore, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Britons engage him upon landing, but his superior force besieges them at Pevensey and drives them into the wood called Andredes leage. Over the next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded.

title: 477

text: Aelle of Sussex, king of the South Saxons, fights the Britons at the stream of Mercredesburne. The battle ends in a draw (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 485

text: According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Hengist dies and is succeeded by his son Oisc as king of Kent.

title: 488

text: Aelle of Sussex besieges and conquers the fortified town Anderitum in southern Britain. He massacres the population, apparently sub-Roman Brythons (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 491

text: Battle of Netley: King Cerdic of Wessex moves with an Anglo-Saxon army inland, and defeats the British king, Nudd-Lludd (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 508

text: Ælla becomes king of Deira (this according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 560

text: Battle of Wibbandun: Ceawlin of Wessex defeats Æthelberht of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 568

text: Battle of Bedcanford: The Anglo-Saxons under King Cuthwulf fight against the Britons, and conquer the settlements of Aylesbury, Benson, Eynsham and Limbury (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 571

text: Battle of Deorham: The Anglo-Saxons under Ceawlin of Wessex invade the lower Severn Valley, and defeat the British Celts at Dyrham (South West England). After the battle, the Saxons occupy the three cities: Cirencester, Gloucester and Bath, bringing their advance to the Bristol Channel (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 577

text: The Anglo-Saxons under Ælla conquer Deira (Northern England) from the Britons. He becomes the first king of Deira (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 581

text: Creoda becomes king of Mercia (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 585

text: Æthelberht succeeds his father Eormenric as king (bretwalda) of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 590

text: Ceol succeeds his uncle Ceawlin after his defeat at Woden's Burg. He becomes king of Wessex (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 592

text: Rædwald becomes king (bretwalda) of East Anglia (East of England), under the overlordship of Æthelberht of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

title: 599

text: Cynegils becomes king of the West Saxons, or Wessex, after the death of his uncle Ceolwulf (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). He rules from 611 to 643 and shares power to some extent with his eldest son, Cwichelm, who may have been given Upper Wessex (approximate date).

title: 611

text: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles description under this date (now dated 757), of King Sigeberht of Wessex being deposed by Cynewulf, is notably fuller than earlier entries.

title: 755

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

title: 779

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

title: 789


slug: anglo-saxons

label: Anglo-Saxons

description: confederation of Germanic tribes who started to inhabit parts of Great Britain from the 5th century onwards

text: End of Roman rule in Britain: After 360 years of occupation, the local regional British-Roman leaders raise their own levies for defence against Saxon sea rovers. They cultivate oysters, having learned the technique from the Romans.

title: 407

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: King Vortigern invites a number of Germanic warriors to aid him in consolidating his position in Britain, according to the Historia Brittonum. He hires Saxons who are probably settled in Kent as mercenaries to fight against the Picts and the Scots beyond Hadrian's Wall.

title: 428

text: Battle of Wallop: Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of the Romano-British, defeats the Anglo Saxons under King Vortigern. He is given all the kingdoms of the western side of Britain (according to Historia Brittonum).

title: 437

text: The Britons and Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, under King Vortigern, appeal to Flavius Aetius (magister militum of Gaul) for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and Irish. Aetius has enough problems with Attila the Hun and is unable to send any help (according to Groans of the Britons).

title: 446

text: Vortigern, king of the Britons, receives the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa "as friends" and grants the brothers the Isle of Thanet, most easterly point of Kent (England).

title: 447

text: Horsa, leader of the Anglo-Saxons (approximate date)

title: 455

text: The Anglo-Saxons call the British nobles to a peace conference at Stonehenge, but turn on them and massacre almost everyone (approximate date).

title: 456

text: Cerdic, first king of Anglo-Saxon Wessex (approximate date)

title: 467

text: Ambrosius Aurelianus, war leader of the Romano-British, is proclaimed king of the Britons (according to Historia Regum Britanniae). He rules probably in the south of Britain, and continues the war against the Anglo-Saxons.

title: 479

text: Possible date for the Battle of Mons Badonicus: Romano-British and Celts defeat an Anglo-Saxon army, that may have been led by the bretwalda Aelle of Sussex or possibly Cerdic of Wessex (approximate date; suggested dates range from 490 to 517). This battle may have influenced the legend of King Arthur.

title: AD 500

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

title: 508

text: King Ida establishes the kingdom of Bernicia. He builds Bamburgh Castle (northeast England) as a fortress that will become the seat of Anglo-Saxon kings (according to the Historia Brittonum).

title: 547

title: 571

text: The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia is divided into the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and perhaps the eastern part of the Cambridgeshire Fens (approximate date).

title: 575

title: 577

title: 581

section: Religion & Belief

date: December 25

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

title: 598

text: The Britons of Strathclyde (Scotland), Wales, and Cornwall are all separated by the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

title: 600

text: King Æthelfrith annexes the neighboring kingdom of Deira (Northern England). The region between the Forth and Humber rivers will hereafter be known as Northumbria, the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

title: 605

title: 611

text: Bangor Massacre: The Anglo-Saxons, under King Æthelfrith of Northumbria, after defeating the Kingdom of Powys, finally reach the Irish Sea and massacre 1,200 Christian monks at their monastery, in Bangor (Wales).

title: 615

text: Rædwald installs Edwin as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming him as bretwalda. He takes power in his native Deira and in Bernicia. His reign marks the domination of Northumbria as leading Anglo-Saxon state of the British Isles.

title: 616

section: Culture & Society

text: King Clovis II of Neustria and Burgundy marries Balthild, said to be an Anglo-Saxon aristocrat sold into slavery in Gaul. She has been owned by Clovis' mayor of the palace, Erchinoald, who gives her to him to garner royal favour (approximate date).

title: 651

text: Jurmin, Anglo-Saxon prince (approximate date)

title: 654

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Battle of the Winwaed: King Oswiu of Bernicia defeats his rival, King Penda of Mercia at Cock Beck, near what later will be Leeds (Yorkshire). Kings Cadafael Cadomedd of Gwynedd and Œthelwald of Deira, allies of Mercia, withdraw their forces before the battle begins. It marks the defeat of the last credible pagan force in England. It also sows the seeds which will lead to Anglo-Saxon acceptance of the Catholic Church (approximate date).

title: 655

section: Health & Medicine

text: King Ealdwulf succeeds Æthelwald as king of East Anglia. He becomes the last ruler recorded known to Bede. During Ealdwulf's reign the plague sweeps across the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

title: 664

section: Events › By place › Great Britain & Ireland

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

title: 665

text: King Æscwine of Wessex dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by Centwine, son of the late king Cynegils. He reasserts the power of his Anglo-Saxon kingdom over the Welsh.

title: 676

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

title: 760

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

title: 774

text: The Anglo-Saxons, led by King Coenwulf of Mercia, raid Dyfed in Wales (approximate date).

title: 818

text: Danish Viking raiders enter the Thames Estuary, and plunder Canterbury and London. They land at Wembury near Plymouth, but are defeated by Anglo-Saxon forces led by King Ethelwulf of Wessex. His eldest son Æthelstan of Kent, accompanied by Ealdorman Ealhhere, attacks a Viking fleet off the coast at Sandwich, and captures nine of the enemy vessels while the remainder flees.

title: 851

text: Spring – A Viking army under Hastein moves to a fortified camp at Benfleet (Essex). The Danish camp is captured by the Saxons, while the army is out raiding. Hastein is forced to retreat to Shoebury.

title: 893

text: Edward the Elder takes the title "King of the Anglo-Saxons". His mother, Dowager-Queen Ealhswith, founds the Nunnaminster at Winchester and retires into a religious life there.

title: 901

date: December 13

text: December 13 – Battle of the Holme: The Anglo-Saxon army is defeated by the Danish Vikings under Æthelwold (a son of Æthelred I) at Holme. Æthelwold is killed, ending his revolt against King Edward the Elder.

title: 902

section: Events › By place › Britain And Ireland

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

title: 909

text: Battle of Pinhoe: Vikings defeat the Anglo-Saxons in Devon.

title: 1001

text: A Danish Viking fleet under Sweyn Forkbeard lands in Norfolk. Ealdorman Ulfcytel orders his Anglo-Saxon troops to burn the raiding ships. The plan fails and Ulfcytel's small army is defeated by the Vikings.

title: 1004


label: Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)

description: 1585–1604 war between the kingdoms of Spain and England

section: Conflict & Security

date: September 24

text: September 24 – Battle of San Juan de Ulúa (Anglo-Spanish War): In the Gulf of Mexico, a Spanish fleet forces English privateers under John Hawkins to end their campaign.

title: 1568

section: Events › July–September

date: May 19

text: May 19 – Spain seizes English ships in Spanish ports, precipitating the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).

title: 1585

section: Events › April–June

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Anglo-Spanish War: The island of Santiago in Cape Verde is captured by Francis Drake.

title: 1585

section: Events › October–December

date: May 20

text: May 20 –August 19 – Battle of Flores (Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)), a series of naval engagements in the Azores in which the English are victorious, taking the great Portuguese carrack Madre de Deus on or about August 3.

title: 1592

date: April 18

text: April 18 – Anglo-Spanish War: Naval Battle of Blaye in the Gironde estuary sees a Spanish victory over the blockading English fleet, allowing the Spanish to relieve the French Catholic garrison of Blaye.

title: 1593

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: June 23

text: June 23 – A cargo ship explosion kills over 700 people the day after three English Navy ships— the Mayflower, Sampson and Royal Exchange— set fire to the Portuguese carrack Cinco Chagas off of the coast of Faial Island during the Anglo-Spanish War. The treasure inside, gathered from the East Indies, sinks in the north Atlantic Ocean. Only 13 people on the Cinco Chagas survive, and the cargo is lost.

title: 1594

date: March 15

text: March 15 – During Spain's Brittany Campaign during the Anglo-Spanish War, a Spanish ship carrying 25 soldiers invades England after arriving at Cawsand Bay in Cornwall. After starting a fire, the Spanish retreat.

title: 1596

section: Events › January–March

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604): The Siege of Zaltbommel, located in the Dutch Republic, is begun by Spanish general Francisco López de Mendoza.

title: 1599

date: February 17

text: February 17 – Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Puerto Caballos is fought off of the coast of Guatemala by two Spanish Navy galleons, and eight English Navy and French pirate ships. The English-French soldiers and pirates, commanded by Christopher Newport and Michael Geare, plunder Puerto Caballos over the next two weeks, and the Spanish defenders suffer 230 casualties.

title: 1603

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area to obtain supplies. The Spanish defenders repel the fleet, and Newport leads the attackers to the coast of Central America.

title: 1603

date: August 18

text: August 18 – England concludes the Treaty of London with Spain, ending the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), an intermittent conflict within the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1604

text: May 20 – Peace discussions between England and Spain begin at Somerset House in London to end the Anglo-Spanish War after 19 years of fighting.

title: 1604