slug: moldavia

label: Moldavia

description: principality in Southeast Europe between 1346–1859

text: earliest possible date – Bogdan I becomes Prince of Moldavia (modern-day Moldova) after freeing it from Hungarian control. He will be ancestor of the House of Bogdan, who will rule Moldavia for more than three centuries.

title: 1359

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Bogdana Monastery is built in Moldavia.

title: 1364

text: Petru I succeeds his grandfather Bogdan I as voivode (ruler) of Moldavia.

title: 1367

text: Lațcu, son of Bogdan I, deposes his nephew Petru I, and becomes voivode of Moldavia. (Other sources state that Lațcu had succeeded his father Bogdan in 1367).

title: 1368

text: Polish priest Andrzej Jastrzębiec becomes the first bishop of Siret, thus bringing Catholicism to Moldavia.

title: 1371

text: Petru succeeds as Voivode (ruler) of Moldavia (modern-day Moldova & eastern Romania). He is the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan.

title: 1375

section: Culture & Society

date: December

text: December – At Suceava, Roman I succeeds Petru Mușat, as Prince of Moldavia (now Moldova and northeastern Romania).

title: 1391

section: Events › October–December

text: Ştefan I succeeds Roman I, as Prince of Moldavia (now Moldova and eastern Romania).

title: 1394

section: Conflict & Security

text: A Wallachian army captures Iuga, and makes Alexandru cel Bun the Prince of Moldavia.

title: 1400

date: April 23

text: April 23 – In what is now Romania, Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander the Good) is installed as the new Prince (Voivode) of Moldavia by Mircea the Elder, the Voivode of Wallachia, after Mircea removes the reigning monarch, Prince Iuga.

title: 1400

section: Events › April–June

text: Moldavia becomes a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland in order to protect itself from an invasion by Hungary.

title: 1402

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Moldavian town of Iaşi is first mentioned.

title: 1408

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Iliaș succeeds his father as Prince of Moldavia.

title: 1432

section: Events › January–March

date: August 4

text: August 4 – The Battle of Podraga is fought to a draw between the two claimants to the throne of Moldavia, Iliaș and Stephen II, sons of the late voivode Alexander the Good, begin joint rule of Moldavia after intervention by the King of Poland.

title: 1435

section: Events › July–September

text: In Moldavia, the conflict between brothers and co-rulers Iliaș and Stephen II reignites, and Stephen captures Iliaș and blinds him, thus remaining sole ruler of the country.

title: 1443

text: Stephen II remains sole ruler of Moldavia.

title: 1445

date: July 13

text: July 13 – At Suceava (now in Romania) Stefan II, Voivode of Moldavia since 1434, is killed in a coup d'état by his nephew, Roman II.

title: 1447

section: Events › July – September

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Roman II seizes the throne of Moldavia after killing his uncle, Stephen II, and makes plans to enlist his other uncle, Petru as co-ruler.

title: 1447

text: Roman II flees to Poland, when an army sent by John Hunyadi, and led by Csupor de Monoszló, comes to put Petru III on the throne of Moldavia. Petru dies suddenly, and Csupor takes on the throne for two months, as Ciubăr Vodă.

title: 1448

text: February – Alexăndrel seizes the throne of Moldavia, with the support of the boyars.

title: 1449

text: February – Alexăndrel retakes the throne of Moldavia, in his long struggle with Petru Aron.

title: 1452

date: August 22

text: August 22 – In Moldavia, Petru Aron retakes the throne from Alexăndrel.

title: 1454

text: Petru Aron becomes the first ruler of Moldavia to pay tribute to the Ottomans.

title: 1456

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Ştefan cel Mare secures the throne of Moldavia, which he retains for the next 47 years.

title: 1457

date: December 15

text: December 15 – At the Battle of Baia, troops under Stephen III of Moldavia decisively defeat the forces of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, at Baia (present-day Romania). This is the last Hungarian attempt to subdue the Principality of Moldavia.

title: 1467

text: Moldavia becomes a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, on the same conditions as Wallachia: the voivode will be designated by the Turks, but will be Eastern Orthodox Christians. Also, the Turks are not allowed to build mosques, to be buried, to own land or to settle in the country.

title: 1512

text: August 22 – Battle of Obertyn: The Moldavians are defeated by Polish forces under Jan Tarnowski, allowing the Poles to recapture Pokucie.

title: 1531

date: May 27

text: May 27 – Michael the Brave becomes ruler of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia, formally uniting the three Danubian Principalities under one Romanian ruler.

title: 1600

date: September 17

text: September 17–October 7 – Battle of Cecora: The Ottoman Empire defeats Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth–Moldavian troops.

title: 1620

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Ecaterina Cercheza, Princess consort of Moldavia (b. 1620)

title: 1666

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Iliaș Alexandru steps down as the voivode or elected ruler of Moldavia (now part of Romania and the Republic of Moldova) and is replaced by his predecessor, Gheorghe Duca.

title: 1668

section: Events › October –December

text: February 8 – Prince Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino returns to the throne of the principality of Moldavia for a third reign but is overthrown 14 months later on June 25. In 1859, Moldavia will unite with neighboring Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania.

title: 1684

date: April 13

text: April 13 – The Treaty of the Lutsk, a secret agreement between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Protectorate of Moldavia is signed in Lutsk, Poland-Lithuania (modern-day Ukraine).

title: 1711

date: February 9

text: February 9 – Austria enters the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), and attacks Moldavia.

title: 1788

date: January 23

text: January 23 – A 7.5 earthquake strikes the Romanian district of Vrancea causing damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, killing 73 people.

title: 1838

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Britain sends Russia an ultimatum to withdraw from two Romanian provinces it has conquered, Moldavia and Wallachia.

title: 1854

date: January 24

text: January 24 (O. S.) – Under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia are united under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. It would be a principal step in forming the modern state of Romania.

title: 1859


slug: moldova

label: Moldova

description: country in Eastern Europe

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: c. 2750 BC: Estimated ending of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the region of modern-day Romania, Moldova, and southwestern Ukraine.

title: 28th century BC

section: Events

section: Religion & Belief

text: Coming from Hungary, the noble Vlach Dragoş becomes the first voivode of Moldova, being seen as the founder of this principality (some scholars place this moment as early as 1345).

title: 1352

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Petru succeeds as Voivode (ruler) of Moldavia (modern-day Moldova & eastern Romania). He is the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan.

title: 1375

date: December

text: December – At Suceava, Roman I succeeds Petru Mușat, as Prince of Moldavia (now Moldova and northeastern Romania).

title: 1391

text: Ştefan I succeeds Roman I, as Prince of Moldavia (now Moldova and eastern Romania).

title: 1394

title: 1668

date: August 23

text: August 23 – The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, a neutrality treaty that also agrees to division of spheres of influence (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, eastern Poland and Bessarabia (modern-day Moldova), north-east province of Romania to the Soviet Union; Lithuania and western Poland to Germany). Its annex reassigns Lithuania to the Soviet Union.

title: 1939

section: Events › August

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Ukraine and four other nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States reject Russia's proposal to maintain unified armed forces. Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan announce they will go ahead with plans to create their own military forces.

title: 1992

section: Events › February

date: November 21

text: November 21 – Moldovan-flagged cargo ship makes port in Beirut, Lebanon, carrying 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. After inspection by port state control, the Rhosus is deemed unseaworthy, and is forbidden to set sail. By order of an Urgent Matters judge in Beirut, the cargo is brought ashore in 2014 and placed in Warehouse 12 at the port, where it will remain for six years. The ammonium nitrate will erupt in a massive explosion on August 4, 2020.

title: 2013

section: Events › November


slug: moliere

label: Molière

description: French playwright and actor (1622–1673)

date: December 26

text: December 26 – Molière's play, The School for Wives, is given its première in Paris.

title: 1662

date: May 12

text: May 12 – The original version of Tartuffe, a comedy by French playwright and actor Molière, is given its first performance, staged at the Palace of Versailles

title: 1664

date: February 15

text: February 15 – Molière's comedy Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre, based on the Spanish legend of the womanizer Don Juan Tenorio and Tirso de Molina's Spanish play El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra, premieres in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.

title: 1665

date: September 22

text: September 22 – Molière's L'Amour médecin is first presented, before Louis XIV, at the Palace of Versailles, with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully.

title: 1665

date: June 4

text: June 4 – Molière's comedy of manners The Misanthrope is premièred at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris by the King's Players with himself in the title role.

title: 1666

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Molière's comedy The Miser (L'Avare) is first performed, in Paris.

title: 1668

section: Crime & Justice

date: October 6

text: October 6 – Molière's comedy ballet Monsieur de Pourceaugnac

title: 1669

date: October 14

text: October 14 – Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, a five-act comedy and ballet authored by Molière, is given its first performance, presented before King Louis XIV at the Château de Chambord. Public performances begin on November 23 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.

title: 1670

date: February 10

text: February 10 – Molière's comédie-ballet The Imaginary Invalid premiers in Paris. During the fourth performance, on February 17, the playwright, playing the title rôle, collapses on stage, dying soon after.

title: 1673

date: October 21

text: October 21 – The play Amphitryon by John Dryden, based on Molière's 1668 play of the same name, receives its first performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

title: 1690


slug: monaco

label: Monaco

description: microstate in Western Europe

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Guelph forces, led by the Genoese leader François Grimaldi (il Malizia), storm and capture the Rock of Monaco. François, disguised as a Franciscan friar, gains entry to the city, and opens the gates for his soldiers. He seizes the castle with his stepson Rainier I, an event that is commemorated on the coat of arms of Monaco. Rainier becomes the first sovereign ruler of the House of Grimaldi in Monaco; he rules initially until 1301, but the family will be ruling there into the 21st century.

title: 1297

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: The Republic of Genoa regains control of Monaco.

title: 1402

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 5

text: November 5 – The Republic of Genoa resumes control of Monaco, deposing Louis Grimaldi. Genoese control lasts for more than 16 years.

title: 1402

date: November 15

text: November 15 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed between representatives of Honoré I, Lord of Monaco and of King Charles of Spain, and places Monaco under the protection of Spain.

title: 1524

section: Culture & Society

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Honoré I, Lord of Monaco reaches the age of 19 and after the future principality of Monaco had been administered by regents for more than 18 years.

title: 1540

date: September 14

text: September 14 – The Treaty of Péronne is signed between Honoré II, Prince of Monaco and France's King Louis XIII, guaranteeing the Grimaldi family the right to rule Monaco in return for the principality becoming a French protectorate.

title: 1641

section: Health & Medicine

date: December 29

text: December 29 – Jacques Grimaldi, the husband of the reigning monarch of Monaco, Louise Hippolyte, succeeds to the throne after Louise's death from smallpox. Jacques I rules until his own death in 1751.

title: 1731

date: May 17

text: May 17 – The occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian hands.

title: 1814

date: April 14

text: April 14–18 – The first International Criminal Police Congress is held in Monaco; 24 countries are represented, including some from Asia, Europe, and the Americas; the Dean of the Paris Law School is president.

title: 1914

section: Events › April

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi becomes Reigning Prince Louis II of Monaco.

title: 1922

section: Events › June

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Princess Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet Grimaldi of Monaco, heir to the throne, resigns in favor of her son Prince Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi, who later reigns as Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

title: 1944

section: Events › May

date: January 11

text: January 11 – The Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques is founded in Monaco.

title: 1959

section: Events › January

section: Economy & Finance

date: February 28

text: February 28 – 2022 Russian financial crisis: In an unprecedented move, Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore and South Korea impose unilateral sanctions over Russia including the introduction of export controls and asset freezes.

title: 2022


slug: monastery

label: Monastery

description: complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplace(s) of monks or nuns

text: Three Disasters of Wu: The Northern Wei dynasty begins persecuting Buddhists, having heretofore encouraged them. The drain of manpower and tax money to temples and monasteries has threatened the secular government, and the reaction is fierce: monks and nuns are murdered, temples and icons destroyed. All men under age 50 are prohibited from joining any monastic order in a program that will continue until 450, helping the Confucianist philosophy of the Han dynasty to gain dominance over Buddhism.

title: 446

section: Events › By place › China

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

title: 616

text: Máel Ruba, Irish abbot, founds one of the first Christian monasteries in Applecross (Scotland) located in hostile Pictish territory.

title: 672

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Æthelthryth, Anglo-Saxon princess, returns to East Anglia and founds the Abbey of Ely (Cambridgeshire). At about this time a small nunnery is also founded in her name, in Stow Green.

title: 673

text: Emperor Xuan Zong forbids all commercial vendors and shops in the Chinese capital city of Chang'an to copy and sell Buddhist sutras, so that the emperor can give the clergy of the Buddhist monasteries the sole right to distribute written sutras to the laity.

title: 714

text: A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau island is first mentioned. In 744, the nunnery is sold to Einsiedeln Abbey. (Unclear significance)

title: 741

section: Events › By place › Switzerland

text: A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau Island is first mentioned, and is in this year sold to Einsiedeln Abbey.

title: 744

date: February

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

title: 754

text: Nestorians in China build Christian monasteries, and erect the Nestorian Stele (approximate date).

title: 781

text: In the earliest recorded Viking raid on Ireland, they attack the monasteries at Iona (Inner Hebrides), Inishbofin and Inishmurray (approximate date).

title: 795

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius). His sons are castrated to prevent them succeeding the Byzantine throne, and relegated into monasteries. One of them, Niketas (renamed Ignatius), eventually becomes a patriarch of Constantinople.

title: 813

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Synod of Chelsea: King Coenwulf of Mercia calls for a council about his right to appoint abbots and monasteries in England.

title: 816

section: Conflict & Security

text: Constantine Kontomytes, Byzantine general (strategos) of the Thracesian Theme, inflicts a severe defeat on the Cretan Saracens. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary force, to raid the monastic community near Mount Latros (modern Turkey).

title: 841

text: Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution: Emperor Wu Zong begins the persecution of Buddhists and other foreign religions in China, such as Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity and Manichaeism. More than 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 temples and numerous shrines are destroyed. More than 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns are forced to return to secular life.

title: 845

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Viking marauders in Gaul sail eastward from Nantes without opposition, and reach Tours. The monasteries at Saint-Florent-le-Vieil and Marmoutier are ravaged.

title: 853

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Summer – The Viking chieftains Hastein and Björn Ironside (a son of Ragnar Lodbrok) begin an expedition, and sail from the Loire River with a fleet of 62 ships, to raid cities and monasteries in the Mediterranean Sea.

title: 859

text: King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lombard nobility and monasteries. He grants concessions to Bobbio Abbey in Emilia-Romagna (Northeast Italy).

title: 903

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Jan IV of Dražic, Bishop of Prague, founds a friary and builds a stone bridge at Roudnice in Bohemia.

title: 1333


slug: monasticism

label: Monasticism

description: religious way of life

section: Deaths

text: Anthony the Great (pictured) dies at his hermitage near the Red Sea in mid-January at age 105 (approximate), having preached against Arianism, and having tried to codify guidelines for monastic life. His followers subsequently establish the Monastery of Saint Anthony, beginning the tradition of Coptic monasticism.

title: 356

text: Diodorus of Tarsus, bishop and monastic reformer

title: 390

text: Macarius of Egypt, Christian monk and hermit

title: 391

section: Religion & Belief

text: Honoratus founds the Monastery of Lérins on the île Saint-Honorat (France), and forms a monastic community.

title: 410

text: John Cassian, Christian theologian, settles at a monastery in Marseille (Gaul); he organizes monastic communities after an eastern model.

title: 415

section: Crime & Justice

text: Three Disasters of Wu: The Northern Wei dynasty begins persecuting Buddhists, having heretofore encouraged them. The drain of manpower and tax money to temples and monasteries has threatened the secular government, and the reaction is fierce: monks and nuns are murdered, temples and icons destroyed. All men under age 50 are prohibited from joining any monastic order in a program that will continue until 450, helping the Confucianist philosophy of the Han dynasty to gain dominance over Buddhism.

title: 446

section: Births

text: Benedict of Nursia, monasticist (approximate date)

title: 480

text: Pope Boniface IV presides over a Council of Rome for the restoration of monastic discipline. Attendees include Mellitus, first bishop of London.

title: 610

text: Fourth Council of Mâcon: A council of Christian bishops approves the Monastic Rule of Saint Columbanus in the city of Mâcon (Burgundy).

title: 627

text: A monastic settlement is founded in Hampshire (England) which later becomes Winchester Cathedral.

title: 642

text: Hilda of Whitby, age 33, is persuaded by Aidan, bishop of Lindisfarne, to enter the monastic life at Hartlepool Abbey (Northumbria).

title: 647

text: Synod of Aachen: Louis the Pious calls for a council about the regulations (Institutio canonicorum Aquisgranensis) for monastic life in the Frankish Empire.

title: 816

text: Synod of Aachen: The council adopts a capitulare monasticum, containing the Benedictine rules of monastic life in the Frankish realm.

title: 817

text: Fall – The Arabs sack the abbey of Monte Cassino in two raids (September and November). The bulk of the monastic community flee to Teano (Campania).

title: 884

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Uhtred (the Bold), a son of Ealdorman Waltheof I of Northumbria, establishes an episcopal see at Durham and moves the monastic community of Chester-le-Street there.

title: 995

section: Events › Europe › England

text: The Synod of Rathbreasail marks the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan structure.

title: 1111


slug: mongke-khan

label: Möngke Khan

description: Fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

text: January 11 – Möngke Khan, Mongol emperor (khagan) (d. 1259)

title: 1209

text: Autumn – The Mongols under Batu Khan retire, leaving behind the ruined northern Rus' territories. He spends the rest of the year suppressing the last resistance of the Kipchaks, while his cousin Möngke (son of Tolui Khan) conquer the Alans and the northern Caucasian tribes. Later, Möngke makes a raid of reconnaissance as far as Kiev.

title: 1238

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: A kurultai is called by Batu Khan in Siberia as part of maneuverings which will elect Möngke Khan as khan of the Mongol Empire in 1251.

title: 1250

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Möngke Khan is elected as the fourth great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

title: 1251

date: January 4

text: January 4 – William of Rubruck, Flemish missionary and explorer, is received courteously with an embassy at Karakorum. He is given an audience with Möngke Khan, who is loaded with gifts and letters from Louis IX.

title: 1254

text: Spring – Mongol forces under Uriyangkhadai conduct a campaign against local Yi and Lolo tribes in Vietnam. He returns to Gansu and sends messengers to the court of Möngke Khan informing him that Yunnan is firmly under Mongolian control. Möngke Khan honors and rewards Uriyangkhadai for his military achievements.

title: 1257

date: August 11

text: August 11 – Möngke Khan of the Mongol Empire

title: 1259

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Kublai Khan becomes a claimant to the Mongol Empire, after the death of Möngke Khan.

title: 1260

text: In the first major battle in five years (since the Song dynasty Chinese pushed the forces of Kublai Khan back across the Yangzi River, after Möngke Khan's failed invasion in 1259), Kublai Khan engages the Chinese in Sichuan province. Kublai gains a preliminary victory, and war booty of 146 captured Song dynasty naval ships.

title: 1265

section: Events › By place › North Africa and Asia


slug: mongol-empire

label: Mongol Empire

description: 13th- and 14th-century empire originating in Mongolia

text: Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire (d. 1227)

title: 1162

text: Temüjin (or Genghis Khan) manages to unite about half the feuding Mongol clans under his leadership. He delegates authority based on skill and loyalty, rather than tribal affiliation or family. The main rivals of the Mongol confederation are the Naimans to the west, the Merkits to the north, the Tanguts to the south and the Jin Dynasty (or Great Jin) to the east.

title: 1200

text: Temüjin assembles at a Kurultai, a council of chiefs of the Mongol tribes under his rule, and is elected as their leader. He is given the title of Genghis Khan of the Mongol people – founding the Mongol Empire. Genghis takes immediate steps to underpin his military command, starting with a fundamental reordering of tribal loyalties. United under one nomadic nation, under one banner and one authority.

title: 1206

text: Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, subjugates people of the Siberian forest (taiga); the Uriankhai, the Oirats, the Barga, the Khakas, the Buryats, and the Tuvans, extending the northern border of the Mongol Empire.

title: 1207

text: Spring – Mutukan commander of Mongol Empire

title: 1221

text: Spring – The Mongol army led by Subutai and Jochi cross the steppes of modern Kazakhstan, and returns to the horde of Genghis Khan on the Irtysh River. At a great kurultai or gathering of chiefs, Subutai reports on the Western campaign. Jochi submits to Genghis and his supposed 'insubordination' (see 1220) is forgiven. As a result of the Mongol invasion in 1219–1223, Kazakhstan and Central Asia become part of the Mongol Empire.

title: 1224

date: August 18

text: August 18 – Genghis Khan dies during the fall of Yinchuan after a 21-year reign. His exact cause of death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to being killed in action against the Western Xia, illness, falling from his horse, or wounds sustained during hunting. Genghis is succeeded by his third son, Ögedei Khan, who becomes the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire.

title: 1227

date: September 13

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

title: 1229

date: December

text: December – Siege of Lahore (1241): The Mongols under Tair Bahadur besiege and sack the city of Lahore in the Delhi Sultanate.

title: 1241

section: Events

date: August 24

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

title: 1246

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Louis IX sends Andrew of Longjumeau on a diplomatic mission to meet the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire. He carries letters from Louis and the Papal States, and rich presents, including a chapel-tent lined with scarlet cloth and embroidered with sacred pictures. From Cyprus he goes to the port of Antioch in Syria and travels for a year to the khan's court at Karakorum.

title: 1249

section: Events › By place › Europe

title: 1250

text: Oghul Qaimish, 3rd regent of the Mongol Empire, following her husband's death

title: 1251

title: 1251

text: Summer – The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia becomes a vassal state to the expanding Mongol Empire. Prince Daniel of Galicia is crowned king of Ruthenia (rex Russiae) and becomes officially an Orthodox subject of the Papal States.

title: 1253

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan capture and dismantle Alamut Castle (near the Masoudabad region) after the surrender of the Nizari Ismaili leaders. Hulagu founds the Ilkhanate dynasty of Persia, which becomes one of the four main divisions of the Mongol Empire. The Nizari Ismaili government is disestablished; some of them migrate to Afghanistan, Badakhshan and Sindh (modern Pakistan).

title: 1256

text: The Goryeo Kingdom in Korea surrenders to invading Mongol forces.

title: 1259

text: Nogai Khan leads the second Mongol Golden Horde attack against Lithuania, and Poland.

title: 1259

title: 1260

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee: The Egyptians defeat the Mongols, marking their first decisive defeat, and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire. Isa ibn Muhanna is appointed amir al-ʿarab under the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate.

title: 1260

text: Kublai Khan releases 75 Chinese merchants who were captured along the border of the Mongol Empire. By doing this, Kublai hopes to bolster his popularity and depend on the cooperation of his Chinese subjects to ensure that his army receives more resources.

title: 1261

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

title: 1264

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

title: 1266

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

title: 1267

section: Events › By place › Asia and North Africa

text: Kublai Khan sends an emissary to the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, demanding an acknowledgment of suzerainty and payment of tribute; the Japanese refuse, starting a diplomatic back-and-forth, lasting until the Mongols attempt to invade in 1274.

title: 1268

text: The Battle of Xiangyang, a 6-year battle between the Chinese Song dynasty and the Mongol forces of Kublai Khan, begins in what is today Hubei.

title: 1268

text: The Tibetan monk Drogön Chögyal Phagpa of the Sakya School completes the 'Phags-pa script, which was sponsored by Kublai Khan as a new writing system in his empire.

title: 1268

text: The city of Tabriz, in present-day Iran, is made capital of the Mongol Ilkhanate Empire (approximate date).

title: 1270

section: Events › Asia

text: The Hindu Majapahit Empire is founded by Kertarajasa in Java. It benefits from internal conflict and Mongol intervention, to defeat the Singhasari Kingdom and establish the empire.

title: 1293

section: Events › By area › Asia

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Kublai Khan dies; by this time the separation of the four khanates of the Mongol Empire (the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Golden Horde in Russia, the Ilkhanate in Persia, and the Yuan Dynasty in China) has deepened.

title: 1294

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Khutughtu Khan, Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, emperor of the Yuan dynasty and the Mongol Empire (b. 1300)

title: 1329

text: Estimation: Hangzhou in Mongolian China becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Cairo, capital of Mamluk Egypt.

title: 1348

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: mongol

label: Mongol

section: Culture & Society

text: The Northern Wei Dynasty begins in China. The Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe (proto-Mongol people) is politically separated from the Chinese dynasties established in Jiankang (modern Nanjing). The Northern Wei rulers are ardent supporters of Buddhism. Prince Dao Wu Di, age 15, becomes the first emperor (see Northern dynasties).

title: 386

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Conflict & Security

text: Early – Battle of Khalakhaljid Sands: Temüjin, khan of the Mongol tribe and the future Genghis Khan, is comprehensively defeated by the forces of Toghrul, khan of the Kereit.

title: 1203

section: Events › By place › East Asia

text: Andrew de Longjumeau, dispatched two years earlier by King Louis IX of France as an ambassador to the Mongols, meets the king in Palestine, with reports from the Mongols and Tartary; his mission is considered a failure.

title: 1251

text: Winter 1251–52 – Eljigidei, Mongol commander of Persia, killed

title: 1251

text: Mongol armies, led by Nogai Khan, raid Thrace.

title: 1265

date: October

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

title: 1346

date: November

text: November or December – Togha Temür, claimant to the throne of the Mongol Il-Khanate in Persia (assassinated)

title: 1353

text: Zhu Yuanzhang, one of the leaders in the Red Turban Rebellion, captures the city of Nanjing from the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China; from then on it becomes his base of power, and the capital of a new dynasty he would establish in 1368, the Ming dynasty.

title: 1356

text: Mubariz al-Din Muhammad, leader of the Arab Muzaffarid tribe, expels the Blue Horde from Ilkhanate territory in Persia. The Muzaffarid then release control of the Il-Khanate, after being marched on by the Mongol Jalayirid tribe, ruled by Shaikh Uvais. Shaikh Uvais becomes the new Il-Khan. The Ilkhanate is effectively now disbanded, and replaced by the Jalayirid dynasty of Persia.

title: 1358

text: August 11 – Battle of the Vozha River: Prince Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow resists a small invasion by the Mongol Blue Horde under Mamai.

title: 1378

section: Events › July–September

date: August 12

text: August 12 – At the Battle of the Vorskla River, Golden Horde forces, led by Mongol Khan Temür Qutlugh and Emir Edigu, annihilate a crusading army led by former Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania..

title: 1399


slug: mongolia

label: Mongolia

description: country in East Asia

year_label: 87 BCE

section: Deaths

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Emperor Wu of Han dies after a 54-year reign in which he leads the Han dynasty (China) through its greatest expansion. The Empire's borders span from modern Kyrgyzstan in the west, to Mongolia in the north, to Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south.

title: 87 BC

section: Events › By place › China

year_label: 93 CE

text: The Xianbei incorporates 100,000 Xiongnu, and establishes the Xianbei State in Mongolia (approximate date).

title: AD 93

text: Tuoba Xilu, chieftain of the Tuoba clan (modern Mongolia)

title: 286

text: Yujiulü Hulü, ruler of the Rouran Khaganate (Mongolia)

title: 414

text: Yujiulü Futu, ruler (khan) of the Rouran (Mongolia)

title: 508

text: Summer – Xuan Zong makes his general Xue Ne de facto chancellor and commissions him, with a Chinese army (60,000 men), to attack the Khitans (Mongolia). Xue falls into a Khitan trap and the Tang forces are crushed, at an 80-90% casualty rate.

title: 714

text: The newly founded Uyghur Empire controls most of the former Turkic Empire territory, creating an empire that extends from Lake Balkash (modern Kazakhstan) to Lake Baikal (Mongolia), and is subject to Chinese suzerainty (approximate date).

title: 745

text: The Yenisei Kirghiz settle along the Yenisei River, and sack with a force of around 80,000 horsemen the Uyghur capital, Ordu-Baliq (driving the Uyghurs out of Mongolia). This ends the Uyghur Khaganate.

title: 840

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Sheng Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty leads an expedition into Mongolia and subdues the Zubu tribe who are forced to pay an annual tribute.

title: 1003

section: Religion & Belief

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

title: 1007

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: The Mongol army under Muqali (or Mukhali) attacks Hebei Province, as well as Shandong Province and Shaanxi Province (controlled by the Jin Dynasty). He returns to Genghis Khan's camp in Mongolia, and receives the hereditary of prince with the title "Grand Preceptor of the Empire", a golden seal, and a white standard with nine tails and a black crescent in the middle. He is appointed as commander-in-chief of operations in North China.

title: 1217

section: Events › Other events by place › Asia

text: The Red Turban Rebellions break out in China, leading to permanent weakening of the Mongolian-run Yuan dynasty.

title: 1351

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür succeeds his father, Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara, as ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty in Mongolia.

title: 1378

section: Events › April–June

date: May 18

text: May 18 – At the Battle of Buyur Lake, an invasion force from Ming dynasty China, under General Lan Yu defeats a large Mongolian army led by Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür, and captures 100 members of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Uskhal Khan will be killed later while trying to escape. The invading Chinese army destroys Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire.

title: 1388

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 18

text: November 18 – Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür, the Emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty in Mongolia, is killed by the Ming Chinese General Jorightu Khan Yesüder , who becomes the new Emperor.

title: 1388

section: Events › October–December

date: January 19

text: January 19 – In Mongolia, Taisun Khan, the reigning khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, is killed while fleeing after a defeat at Turfan in a war with Esen Taishi. Taisun's younger brother, Agbarjin, becomes the new khagan.

title: 1452

section: Events › January–March

text: The Khalkha submit to the Manchu invaders, bringing most of modern-day Mongolia under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

title: 1691

section: Climate & Environment

date: July 24

text: July 24 – The 1905 Bolnai earthquake (8.4 magnitude) strikes Mongolia, the second-largest on record here.

title: 1905

section: Events › July

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Outer Mongolia, the predecessor of modern-day Mongolia, is declared independent from the Chinese Empire.

title: 1911

section: Events › December

date: March 13

text: March 13 – Occupation of Mongolia: The Russian White Army captures Mongolia from China; Roman von Ungern-Sternberg declares himself ruler.

title: 1921

section: Events › March

date: September 16

text: September 16 – A ceasefire ends the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, the undeclared border war between the Soviet Union (and Mongolian allies) and Japan.

title: 1939

section: Events › September

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Vyacheslav Molotov resigns as foreign minister of the Soviet Union; he later becomes ambassador to Mongolia.

title: 1956

section: Events › June


slug: mongols

label: Mongols

description: ethnic group native to Mongolia and neighbouring areas

text: The Khamag Mongol, a Mongolic tribal confederation, begins to play an important role on the Mongolian Plateau. They occupy the fertile lands of the basins of the rivers Onon, Kherlen and Tuul in the Khentii Mountains.

title: 1125

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 1213

section: Events

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Battle of Legnica: The Mongols, under the command of Baidar, Kadan and Orda Khan, defeat the feudal Polish nobility, including the Knights Templar.

title: 1241

date: March 18

text: March 18 – Battle of Chmielnik (Mongol invasion of Poland): The Mongols overwhelm the feudal Polish armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces, and plunder the abandoned city of Kraków.

title: 1241

text: Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: the Mongols take the westernmost province of the Song dynasty empire.

title: 1252

date: May

text: May – William of Rubruck from Constantinople returns to Cyprus from his missionary journey to convert the Mongols of central and eastern Asia; his efforts have been unsuccessful.

title: 1255

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Georgians under King George V (the Brilliant) finally defeat the Mongolians in a decisive battle. After that George V returns the Grave of Christ from the Muslims.

title: 1335

section: Events › Date unknown

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Battle of Tumu Fortress: The Oirat Mongols defeat the Ming dynasty army, and capture the Emperor Xingzong of China on September 3. The Emperor is officially deposed, while his brother Zhu Qiyu ascends as the Jingtai Emperor the next year.

title: 1449

section: Events › July–September

section: Disasters & Accidents

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

title: 1544

text: The Mongols invade and occupy Qinghai.

title: 1560


slug: monophysitism

label: Monophysitism

description: Christological doctrine which emphasizes the one holy, divine aspect and nature of Christ

section: Religion & Belief

text: Emperor Zeno promulgates an Edict of Union (Henotikon), in an unsuccessful effort to soften the decision made at the Council of Chalcedon (451), and resolve differences between the Eastern and Western Churches. Zeno wishes to placate the Monophysite churches of Egypt, Palestine and Syria for political reasons.

title: 482

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Emperor Anastasius I ends a period of moderate eclectic policy, and starts strongly favoring his own monophysitist beliefs.

title: 512

date: September 29

text: September 29 – Severus, patriarch of Antioch, is deposed by a synod for his Monophysitism. Paul the Jew is appointed to replace him.

title: 518

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Byzantine troops drive the extremist Monophysite party out of Alexandria, and establish Theodosius I as patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

title: 535

text: Pope Vigilius rejects Monophysitism in letters to Justinian I and patriarch Menas of Constantinople.

title: 540

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople is deposed as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople by Justinian I after he refuses the Byzantine Emperor's order to adopt the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae, a sect of Monophysites. From April 12 he is replaced by John Scholasticus.

title: 565

text: The Monophysites again reject the Council of Chalcedon, causing another schism.

title: 571

section: Deaths

date: September 2

text: September 2 – John IV ("the Faster"), patriarch of Constantinople, dies after a 13-year reign in which he has mediated disputes between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Monophysites.

title: 595

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Heraclius, ill, infirm, and unpopular with the Eastern Orthodox Church, is unable to personally lead the Byzantine army to resist the Muslim conquest of the Levant. He sends his brother Theodore to assemble forces to retake the newly won Muslim territories. Monophysites and Jews throughout Syria welcome the Arab invaders, as they are discontented with Byzantine rule.

title: 634

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, governor of Syria, develops an Arab navy in the Levant and uses it to confront the Byzantine Empire in the Aegean Sea. It is manned by Monophysitise Christian, Coptic and Syrian Christian sailors.

title: 649

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


slug: montana

label: Montana

description: state of the United States of America

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: June 15

text: June 15 – The Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode gold mine is named in Montana.

title: 1867

date: August 4

text: August 4 – American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the Seventh Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux, near the Tongue River (only 1 man on each side is killed).

title: 1873

section: Events › August

date: November 9

text: November 9 – American Indian Wars: In Washington, D.C., Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins issues a report stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are hostile to the United States (the Battle of the Little Bighorn is fought in Montana the next year).

title: 1875

section: Events › November

date: August 9

text: August 9 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Big Hole – Near Big Hole River, Montana, a small band of Nez Perce people who refuse government orders to move to a reservation, clash with the United States Army. The army loses 29 soldiers, and the Indians lose 89 warriors, in an Army victory.

title: 1877

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Battle of Wolf Mountain – Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry in Montana.

title: 1877

section: Events › January

date: July 20

text: July 20 – American Indian Wars: Sioux chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana.

title: 1881

section: Events › July

section: Climate & Environment

date: January 28

text: January 28 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are 15 in cm wide and 8 in cm thick.

title: 1887

date: January 12

text: January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, leaving 235 dead, many of them children on their way home from school.

title: 1888

date: February 22

text: February 22 – President Grover Cleveland signs the Enabling Act of 1889, admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.

title: 1889

section: Events › February

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Montana is admitted as the 41st U.S. state.

title: 1889

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.

title: 1916

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman member of the United States House of Representatives.

title: 1917

section: Events › March

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 11

text: February 11 – The Emergency Alert Systems of five different television stations across the U.S. states of Montana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico are hijacked, airing a false "Zombie apocalypse" hoax. It is amongst one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in EAS history.

title: 2013


slug: monte-cassino

label: Monte Cassino

description: rocky hill with monastery, southeast of Rome, Italy

text: The Benedictine Order is established at Monte Cassino near Naples by Benedict of Nursia, who founds a monastery and formulates for his monks strict rules in the "Regula Benedicti".

title: 529

text: The Lombards under Zotto, Duke of Benevento, sack the abbey of Monte Cassino near Naples. The Benedictine monks who survive flee to Rome, but they return to the site, and rebuild the monastery.

title: 581

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: King Ratchis of the Lombards besieges Perugia, but is convinced to lift the siege by Pope Zachary. His decision to lift the siege of Perugia undermines his authority among the Lombard nobility, and ultimately results in the nobility deposing him at a council in Milan. King Ratchis is forced to retire with his family to the monastery at Monte Cassino.

title: 749

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne and ruler of Aquitaine, visits Monte Cassino and Capua, both in Beneventan territory. Prince Arechis II, feeling threatened by the Franks, decides that he needs to stop quarrelling with the Byzantine Duchy of Naples so he can focus on the Frankish foe. Prince Arechis II therefore signs a peace agreement, or 'pactum', with the Duchy of Naples.

title: 786

text: Paul the Deacon, a Benedictine monk at Monte Cassino, completes the History of the Lombards (approximate date).

title: 795

text: Fall – The Arabs sack the abbey of Monte Cassino in two raids (September and November). The bulk of the monastic community flee to Teano (Campania).

title: 884

text: A Hungarian army invades Burgundy, and burns the city of Tournus. Then they go southwards to Italy, pillaging the environs of Naples, Benevento and Monte Cassino. When the Hungarians return home, they are attacked in the Apennine Mountains by Lombard forces, losing their plunder (approximate date).

title: 937

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

title: 998

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Lombard Revolt: Mahmoud the Fat of Bari rises up against the Lombard rebels, led by Melus, and delivers the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy. Melus is forced to flee to Salerno, and his brother-in-law Dattus escapes to Monte Cassino, but their families are taken captive, and carted off to Constantinople.

title: 1011

text: Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor ("the Elder") travels to Southern Italy and holds court in Troia. He orders Pandulf IV of Capua to restore the territories of Monte Cassino. Pandulf holes himself up in the fortress of Sant'Agata de' Goti, and dispatches tribute (300 lb of gold) and his son as hostage to Troia as a token of peace. Conrad accepts his offer, but the son escapes. Conrad goes on the offensive and seizes Capua, and gives it to Guaimar IV of Salerno.

title: 1038

date: September 16

text: September 16 – Pope Victor III dies after a 1-year pontificate at Monte Cassino. He is buried in the abbey's chapter house.

title: 1087

date: February 15

text: February 15 – WWII: Battle of Monte Cassino – The monastery atop Monte Cassino is destroyed by Allied bombing.

title: 1944

date: May

text: Battle of Monte Cassino: The Germans evacuate Monte Cassino and Allied forces, led by Władysław Anders from Polish II Corps, take the stronghold after a struggle that has claimed 20,000 lives.

title: 1944

section: Events › May


slug: montenegro

label: Montenegro

description: country in southeastern Europe

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Mihailo I is given the title "King of the Slavs" by Gregory VII. He becomes the first recognized ruler of the kingdom of Duklja (modern Montenegro).

title: 1077

date: January 13

text: January 13 – Balša II succeeds his brother, Durađ I, as ruler of Lower Zeta in what is now Montenegro.

title: 1378

section: Events › January–March

section: Culture & Society

date: April

text: April – Balša III succeeds his father Đurađ II as ruler of the Principality of Zeta (now Montenegro).

title: 1403

section: Events › April–June

date: January 30

text: January 30 – The First Scutari War between the Kingdom of Zeta (part of modern-day Albania and Montenegro) and the Venetian Republic comes to an end.

title: 1413

date: July 18

text: July 18 – The siege of Castelnuovo (now the town of Herceg Novi in Montenegro) is started by General Hayreddin Barbarossa, leader of the Ottoman Empire's Army, after the Spanish commanding officer, Francisco de Sarmiento, rejects an offer of honorable surrender with safe passage. Spain had taken the city in war from the Ottomans in 1538, giving the Christian Europeans control of the eastern Mediterranean sea and access to the Holy Land. With 50,000 Ottomans against less than 4,000 Spanish defenders, Castelnuovo falls in less than three weeks.

title: 1539

section: Events › July–September

section: Religion & Belief

date: December 13

text: December 13 – At the Morača monastery in Kolašin, in what is now the nation of Montenegro, Patriarch Jovan Kantul assembles the rebel leaders of Montenegro and Herzegovina. The group agrees with a representative of the Duchy of Savoy to deliver Duke Charles Emmanuel I a monarchy within the Balkans, in return for special privileges to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

title: 1608

section: Events › October–December

date: October 17

text: October 17 – Šćepan Mali, nicknamed "Stephen the Little", is selected as the legislature at Podgorica to be the Tsar of Montenegro, representing "a short but an important break in the succession of the Petrovic dynasty".

title: 1767

section: Events › October –December

date: April 28

text: April 28–May 1 – Battle of Grahovac: The Ottomans are decisively defeated by Montenegrin forces. The Bawani Imli massacre, (April 28) where 52 Indian freedom fighters were hanged to death on a tamarind tree by British colonial forces.

title: 1858

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1876

date: July 13

text: July 13 – The Treaty of Berlin makes Serbia, Montenegro and Romania completely independent, confirms the autonomy of Bulgaria, makes Cyprus a British possession, and allows Austria-Hungary to garrison the Bosnia Vilayet.

title: 1878

date: April 15

text: April 15 – 1979 Montenegro earthquake: A 6.9 shock affects Montenegro (then part of Yugoslavia) and parts of Albania, causing extensive damage to coastal areas and taking 136 lives; the old town of Budva is devastated.

title: 1979

section: Events › April

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Montenegro adopts a new constitution, which among other things changes the country's official name from "Republic of Montenegro" to "Montenegro".

title: 2007

section: Events › October

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Montenegro joins NATO as the 29th member.

title: 2017

section: Events › June


slug: montevideo

label: Montevideo

description: capital and largest city of Uruguay

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, Spanish Captain general of the Río de la Plata, forces the Portuguese to abandon their fortified settlement at what will become the city of Montevideo in Uruguay.

title: 1724

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: December 24

text: December 24 – The settlement of Montevideo is founded by the Spaniards in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

title: 1726

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Trade between the United States and modern-day Uruguay begins when John Leamy's frigate John arrives in Montevideo.

title: 1798

section: Events › July–December

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Napoleonic Wars and Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Montevideo – The British Army captures Montevideo from the Spanish Empire, as part of the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.

title: 1807

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Gaspar de Vigodet, Spain's last colonial administrator of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (covering nearly all of modern-day Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), surrenders the city of Montevideo to independence fighters, led by General Carlos María de Alvear.

title: 1814

date: May 14

text: May 14 – The three time world champion Club Nacional de Football is founded in Montevideo, Uruguay.

title: 1899

date: July 30

text: July 30 – Uruguay beats Argentina 4–2 to win the first FIFA World Cup final in Association football, at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.

title: 1930

section: Events › July

text: December 13 – WWII – Battle of the River Plate: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee is trapped by cruisers , HMNZS Achilles, and after a running battle off the coast of Uruguay. Graf Spee is scuttled by its crew off Montevideo Harbor, on December 17.

title: 1939

section: Events › December

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September.

title: 1971

section: Events › January

date: November 6

text: November 6 – At Montevideo, Uruguay, the International Olympic Committee adopts a resolution, whereby Taiwan Olympic and sports teams will participate with the name Chinese Taipei in future Olympic Games and international sports tournaments and championships.

title: 1979

section: Events › November


slug: montreal

label: Montreal

description: largest city in Quebec, Canada

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Jacques Cartier reaches the island in the Saint Lawrence River, that eventually becomes Montreal.

title: 1535

text: French nobleman Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière obtains the seigneurial title to the island of Montreal in New France (modern-day Quebec) in the name of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal to establish a Roman Catholic mission to evangelize indigenous peoples.

title: 1639

section: Events › Date unknown

date: May 17

text: May 17 – Ville-Marie (later Montreal) is founded as a permanent settlement.

title: 1642

text: Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, places the first Mount Royal Cross atop Mount Royal above Montreal.

title: 1643

date: March 3

text: March 3 – A group of 107 French Canadian soldiers, under the command of Pierre de Troyes, begins the Hudson Bay expedition, departing from Montreal on an 800 mi journey to take control of the properties of British North American settlers of the Hudson's Bay Company. The group marches for 82 days and arrives at the first Hudson's Bay fort, at Moose Factory on June 19.

title: 1686

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Sieur Juchereau, Lieutenant General of Montréal, establishes the first trading post on the Wabash River in order to trade buffalo hides with American Indians. The site of the trading post may be the modern-day location of Vincennes, Indiana.

title: 1702

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: June 21

text: June 21 – In Montreal, New France, a black slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is tortured then hanged by the French authorities for allegedly setting a fire that destroyed part of the city.

title: 1734

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Quebec: Construction begins on the Chemin du roy between Quebec and Montreal.

title: 1735

section: Conflict & Security

date: April 20

text: April 20 – France's Marshal François Gaston de Lévis departs from Montreal up the St. Lawrence River with 7,000 troops on a plan to retake Quebec City from the British.

title: 1760

date: May 18

text: May 18 – Not long after British rule has started over the formerly French colony of Quebec, an accidental fire destroys one quarter of the town of Montreal.

title: 1765

date: September 25

text: September 25 – American Revolution: Siege of Fort St. Jean – Battle of Longue-Pointe: Thirteen Colonies revolutionary forces under Maj. Ethan Allen attack Montreal in Quebec, commanded by British General Guy Carleton. Allen's forces are defeated, and Allen himself is captured and held on British ships until he is released.

title: 1775

text: November 6 Louis-Joseph Papineau begins the Lower Canada Rebellion in the Quebec city of Montreal.

title: 1837

date: April 25

text: April 25 – James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, the Governor General of Canada, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.

title: 1849

date: December 9

text: December 9 – The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal.

title: 1851

date: June 29

text: June 29 – St-Hilaire train disaster, a passenger train operated by Grand Trunk Railway and travelling from Quebec City to Montreal is derailed at a swung open bridge after a signal passed at danger. The train also collapses onto a ship, sinking both ship and train. 99 people are killed and 100 injured making this the deadliest train accident in Canada's history.

title: 1864

text: March 3 – The first indoor ice hockey game is played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

title: 1875

section: Events › March

date: August 10

text: August 10 – Marshall "Major" Taylor wins the world 1 mi km professional cycling championship in Montreal, securing his place as the first African American world champion in any sport.

title: 1899

section: Events › August

date: November 22

text: November 22 – In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the National Hockey Association suspends operations.

title: 1917

date: September 6

text: September 6 – The CBC in Montreal, Quebec, goes on air launching television in Canada.

title: 1952

section: Events › September–October

text: June 5 – The first annual National Hockey League Entry Draft is held in Montreal, Canada.

title: 1963

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831, a Douglas DC-8 crashes into a wooded hillside after taking-off from Dorval International Airport near Montreal, killing all 118 on board, the worst air disaster for many years in Canada's history.

title: 1963

date: October 14

text: October 14 – The city of Montreal inaugurates the Montreal Metro system.

title: 1966

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Montreal, Quebec, Expo 67, a World's Fair to coincide with the Canadian Confederation centennial, officially opens with Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson igniting the Expo Flame in the Place des Nations.

title: 1967

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: July 24

text: July 24 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delights many Quebecers but angers the Canadian government and many English Canadians.

title: 1967

section: Health & Medicine

date: October 29

text: October 29 – Expo 67 closes in Montreal, after having attracted more than 50 million visitors in six months.

title: 1967

date: May 26

text: May 26–June 2 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono conduct their second bed-in. The follow-up to the Amsterdam event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Lennon composes and records the song "Give Peace a Chance" during the event.

title: 1969

section: Events › May

section: Crime & Justice

date: December 3

text: December 3 – October Crisis: In Montreal, kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Government of Canada grants 5 terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.

title: 1970

date: October 10

text: October 10 – October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.

title: 1970

section: Climate & Environment

date: March 4

text: March 4 – The southern part of Quebec, and especially Montreal, receives " (42 cm) of snow in what becomes known as the Century's Snowstorm (la tempête du siècle).

title: 1971

date: August 1

text: August 1 – The 1976 Summer Olympics ends in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

title: 1976

date: July 17

text: July 17 – The 1976 Summer Olympics begin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

title: 1976

section: Science & Discovery

text: November 22 – The Edmonton Eskimos (14–1–1) barely stave off defeat and win a record 4th consecutive Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League, at the 69th Grey Cup at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders (5–11–0) with a score of 26–23 in the final three seconds, after being down 20–1 at halftime.

title: 1981

date: August 24

text: August 24 – Concordia University massacre: Valery Fabrikant murders four colleagues and seriously wounds another in a shooting at Concordia University, in Montreal, Quebec.

title: 1992

section: Economy & Finance

text: November 28 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Montreal.

title: 2005

text: September 27 – 500,000 people march in a climate change protest led by activist Greta Thunberg and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, Canada. 4,000,000 go on strike around the world.

title: 2019


slug: moon

label: Moon

description: Earth's only natural satellite

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Aristarchus of Samos uses the size of the Earth's shadow on the Moon to estimate that the Moon's radius is one-third that of the Earth. He proposes, for the first time, a heliocentric view of the Solar System, but is ignored due to the lack of evidence of the Earth's motion.

title: 280 BC

section: Events › By topic › Astronomy

year_label: 129 BCE

text: Total solar eclipse, used by Hipparchus to estimate distance to the Moon.

title: 129 BC

date: August 15

text: August 15 (August 5 O.S.) – English astronomer Thomas Harriot becomes the first person to make a detailed drawing of the Moon, based on his observations through a telescope.

title: 1609

section: Events › July–September

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Ben Jonson's play News from the New World Discovered in the Moon is given its first performance, a presentation to King James VI and I. In addition to dialogue about actual observations made by telescope of the Moon, the play includes a fanciful discussion of a lunar civilisation, featuring a dance by the "Volatees", the lunar race.

title: 1620

section: Events › January–March

date: January 15

text: January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on January 1, 2257, at .

title: 1930

section: Births

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Buzz Aldrin, American pilot, astronaut (Apollo 11), second person to set foot on the Moon

title: 1930

section: Births › January

date: January 2

text: January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the vicinity of Earth's Moon, where it was intended to crash-land, but instead becomes the first spacecraft to go into heliocentric orbit.

title: 1959

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 becomes the first human-made object to crash on the Moon.

title: 1959

section: Events › September

date: April 26

text: April 26 – The U.S. Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the far side of the Moon without returning any scientific data.

title: 1962

section: Events › April

date: February 3

text: February 3 – The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.

title: 1966

section: Events › February

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.

title: 1966

section: Events › June

date: December 24

text: December 24 – Apollo program: The crewed U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders become the first humans to see the far side of the Moon and planet Earth as a whole, as well as having traveled further away from Earth than any people in history. Anders photographs Earthrise. The crew also give a reading from the Book of Genesis.

title: 1968

section: Events › November–December

date: July 16

text: July 16 – Apollo program: Apollo 11 (Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins) lifts off from Cape Kennedy in Florida towards the first crewed landing on the Moon.

title: 1969

section: Events › July

date: May 18

text: May 18 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 (Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford, John Young) is launched. It is to be a full rehearsal for the Moon landing, stopping 15 kilometers short of actually reaching the lunar surface.

title: 1969

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Apollo program: Apollo 10's lunar module flies to within 15,400 m of the Moon's surface.

title: 1969

text: May 26 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth, after a successful 8-day test of all the components needed for the upcoming first crewed Moon landing.

title: 1969

date: November 14

text: November 14 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12 (Pete Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan Bean), the second crewed mission to the Moon.

title: 1969

date: November 19

text: November 19 – Apollo program: Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum ("Ocean of Storms"), becoming the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon.

title: 1969

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Apollo program: Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched from the United States toward the Moon.

title: 1970

date: December 11

text: December 11 – Apollo 17 lands on the Moon.

title: 1972

section: Events › December

date: December 7

text: December 7 – Apollo 17 (Gene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Harrison Schmitt), the last crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit until the Artemis II lunar flyby in 2026, is launched to the Moon and The Blue Marble photograph of the Earth is taken. The mission also includes five mice.

title: 1972

date: February 21

text: February 21 – The Soviet uncrewed spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.

title: 1972

date: January 6

text: January 6 – The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's poles.

title: 1998

date: July 31

text: July 31 – NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the lunar surface.

title: 1999

date: November 13

text: November 13 – The European Space Agency probe SMART-1 arrives at the Moon, becoming the first European satellite to fly to the Moon and orbit it.

title: 2004

text: September 14 – The SELENE spacecraft launches, with its objective being to study the Moon.

title: 2007

text: November 13 – Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon's Cabeus crater.

title: 2009

date: December 14

text: December 14 – Chinese uncrewed spacecraft Chang'e 3, carrying the Yutu rover, becomes the first spacecraft to "soft"-land on the Moon since 1976 and the third ever robotic rover to do so.

title: 2013

text: February 21 – SpaceIL launches the Beresheet probe, the world's first privately financed mission to the Moon.

title: 2019

date: April 30

text: April 30 – NASA officially selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to build its next-generation lunar lander to carry American astronauts to the Moon by 2024.

title: 2020

date: October 26

text: October 26 – NASA confirms the existence of molecular water on the sunlit side of the Moon, near Clavius crater, at concentrations of up to 412 parts per million.

title: 2020

section: Events › October

date: November 16

text: November 16 – NASA launches Artemis 1, the first uncrewed mission of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit. The onboard Orion capsule orbits the Moon before returning to Earth, as a demonstration of planned human missions.

title: 2022

date: August 23

text: August 23 – India's Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first spacecraft to land near the south pole of the Moon, carrying a lunar lander named Vikram and a lunar rover named Pragyan.

title: 2023

text: January 19 – Japan becomes the 5th country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, with its SLIM mission.

title: 2024


slug: moors

label: Moors

description: an exonym used in European languages to designate primarily the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages

section: Conflict & Security

text: Northern African Moors invade what is now Spain.

title: AD 169

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Deaths

text: Gildo, Moorish prince and comes Africae (governor)

title: 398

text: A Vandal fleet and their allies (Alans, Goths and Moors) set out from Carthage for Sicily, the principal supplier of oil and grain to Italy after the loss of North Africa. They loot all the coastal towns and besiege Palermo. Heavily laden ships return to the court of King Genseric.

title: 440

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: King Genseric, fearing a Roman invasion, tries to negotiate peace with Majorian, who refuses. The Vandals devastate Mauretania and Moorish warriors poison the wells.

title: 460

text: Battle of Cape Bon: The Vandals defeat the Roman navy under Basiliscus, anchored at Promontorium Mercurii, 45 miles from Carthage (Tunisia). During peace negotiations Genseric uses fire ships, filling them with brushwood and pots of oil, destroying 700 imperial galleys. Basiliscus escapes with his surviving fleet to Sicily, harassed all the way by Moorish pirates.

title: 468

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Leptis Magna (modern Libya) is sacked by Berber (Moor) raiders. Gelimer leads a successful expedition in North Africa.

title: 523

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April

text: April – Belisarius leaves a small force in Africa under the Byzantine general Solomon, to continue the subjugation of the province. He is appointed governor (Exarch) and pacifies the Moorish tribes with success. Malta becomes a Byzantine province (until 870).

title: 534

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

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

title: 535

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

title: 540

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

title: 544

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

text: Battle of Marta: The Byzantine army under John Troglita is defeated by Moorish tribes in Tripolitania. He flees to Lunci (9 km south of Mahares), and is forced to withdraw north to the fortress of Laribus (near modern El Kef).

title: 547

text: Spring – Battle of the Fields of Cato: The Byzantine army, under John Troglita, crushes the Moorish revolt in Byzacena (Tunisia).

title: 548

text: An Arab army is invited into Ceuta by its governor, Julian, who is an opponent of Roderick. He encourages them to invade the Iberian Peninsula. Tariq ibn Ziyad is appointed governor of Tangier (Morocco), and establishes a Moorish garrison of 1,700 men.

title: 710

section: Events › By place › Europe

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

title: 729

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim forces under Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, governor (wali) of Al-Andalus, cross the Pyrenees and ravage both sides of the mountains. He establishes colonies along the Ebro Valley, and within Basque territory. The Moorish main military efforts are in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and Septimania (Southern France), strengthening the towns already in their hands.

title: 733

text: Siege of al-Sakhra: Moors under Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj (governor of Al-Andalus) besiege Pelagius, king of Asturias, in the uppermost Northern mountain ranges in Iberia. The battle ends inconclusively, with Pelagius surviving, but 270 out of his 300 followers are killed (at least according to a Muslim chronicle from the 11th century).

title: 735

text: Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, invades Burgundy. Duke Hunald I of Aquitaine refuses to recognise the authority of the Franks, whereupon Charles marches south of the River Loire, seizing the cities of Bordeaux and Blaye. Within 4 years he will have subdued all the Burgundian chieftains, while continuing to fight off Moorish advances into Gaul.

title: 735

text: Moors under Uqba ibn Al-Hajjaj cross the Pyrenees into France. Uqba fortifies Narbonne and reconquers Avignon, Arles, Nimes. He then advances into Provence, and penetrates as far as Piedmont; he then heads North, and conquers Dauphiné, destroying the city of Saint-Paul, taking Valence, Vienne and Lyon, which he uses as a base to attack Bourgogne.

title: 738

text: Battle of the Nobles: The Berber rebels under chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati defeat and overwhelm the Umayyad forces of Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri, near Tangier (Northern Morocco), undermining Arab domination in Islamic North Africa. The rebellion spreads in Al-Andalus (Spain), causing governor Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab to withdraw Moorish troops from many garrisons north of the Pyrenees.

title: 740

text: The Frankish Kingdom conquers Girona and Urgell (modern Spain) from the Moors. The Franks divide Catalonia into 14 countships. Charlemagne suppresses a rebellion by count Hardrad of Thuringia.

title: 785

text: Charlemagne creates the Hispanic Marches, a buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania. A group of Iberian lordships form a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 795

text: Battle of Pancorbo: A Moorish army from the Emirate of Córdoba is sent by Emir Al-Hakam I, to take control of the pass at Pancorbo. They defeat the army of Asturian-Basque Frankish vassals.

title: 816

text: Winter – The Basques, supported by the Moors, cross the Garonne River and revolt against the Franks in Gascony (north of the Pyrenees).

title: 816

text: The Mozarabs, Iberian Christians who live under Moorish rule, try to repopulate León in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). The city is recaptured by the Muslim Arabs.

title: 846

text: The County of Portugal is established around the town of Portus Cale (present-day Porto) by Vímara Peres, an Asturian nobleman, after the reconquest from the Moors of the region north of the Douro River.

title: 868

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

title: 893

text: Winter – The Balearic Islands are conquered by the Emirate of Córdoba. The Moors improve agriculture with irrigation on the islands.

title: 902

text: Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz: Umayyad forces under Abi-Abda besiege the repoblación of San Esteban de Gormaz (Northern Spain). King Ordoño II of León (supported by his brother Fruela II of Asturias) allies himself with Sancho I, king of Pamplona, and defeats the Moors. Abi-Abda is captured and executed by decapitation.

title: 917

section: Events › By place › Islamic Empire

text: Battle of Fraxinet: King Hugh of Provence launches an attack on Fraxinet, the Moorish fortress on the Côté d'Azur that had taken control of the Piedmontese valleys. With the assistance of a Byzantine fleet sent by Emperor Romanos I, Hugh lays siege to the Moorish fortress with the help of Hungarian auxiliary troops (Kabars).

title: 942

text: Summer – The Hungarians plunder the surroundings of Laon, Reims, Chalon, Metz, and Gorze. After that, they return to Burgundy. In Provence, the Hungarians battle with the Moors from the Muslim enclave of Fraxinet.

title: 954

date: July 6

text: July 6 – The city of Barcelona is sacked by Moorish troops under Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain).

title: 985

text: Moorish forces under vizier Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar sack the Catalan city of Manresa (modern Spain).

title: 1004

text: Abd al-Aziz al-Mansur, a grandson of the prominent Andalusian figure Almanzor begins his rule in Taifa of Valencia, a Moorish kingdom in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), ushering in a period of relative stability and prosperity that will last until 1061. Taifa of Valencia gained its independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1010.

title: 1021

date: May 25

text: May 25 – King Alfonso VI of León and Castile ("the Brave") recaptures Toledo from the Moors, and occupies other cities such as Madrid and Talavera (including the castle of Aledo). Alfonso moves his capital to Toledo, and consolidates his power between Sistema Central and the Tagus River, from where he launches more attacks against the taifas of Córdoba, Seville, Badajoz and Granada (modern Spain).

title: 1085

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Battle of Sagrajas: Spanish forces under King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile are defeated by the Moors and their allies, the Almoravids, who have been invited to help on orders by Emir Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad.

title: 1086

text: The city of Balaguer (located in Catalonia) is conquered from the Moors by Ermengol VI, count of Urgell.

title: 1106

date: September 7

text: September 7 – The Republic of Pisa signs a treaty with Ramon Berenguer III ('the Great'), count of Barcelona. The Pisan fleet embarks on a campaign against the Moors in the Balearic Islands.

title: 1113

text: Count Ramon Berenguer III (the Great) of Barcelona, joins the expedition to the Balearic Islands. A Pisan and Catalan fleet (some 450 ships), supported by a large army, conquer Ibiza and Mallorca. They destroy the bases on the islands used by Moorish pirates to prey on Mediterranean shipping.

title: 1114

section: Religion & Belief

text: Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona ("the Great"), sails to Rome in an effort to gain support from the Italian states and a licence from Pope Paschal II for his crusade against the Moors in Spain.

title: 1116

text: The troops of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, led by archbishop Oleguer Bonestruga, capture Tarragona from the Moors.

title: 1118

section: Events › By place › Spain

date: December 18

text: December 18 – Alfonso the Battler expels the Moors from Zaragoza. The Aragonese reconquer many of the valleys of the Jalón and the Jiloca.

title: 1118

date: March

text: March – Olegarius Bonestruga, archbishop of Tarragona, preaches successfully a Crusade against the Moors in Catalonia.

title: 1119

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: A Moorish fleet raids the Catalan port-town of Elna (Southern France).

title: 1135

text: Reconquista – King Sancho II of Portugal conquers the cities of Aljustrel and Mértola from the Moors.

title: 1234

text: September 28 – King James I of Aragon captures the city of Valencia from the Moors, who retreat to Granada. During the campaign, James' cousin, Bernat Guillem de Montpeller, dies from wounds received in action.

title: 1238

text: March – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) turns the independent Taifa of Murcia into a protectorate, and initiates the process of the colonization and Christianization of the region. He receives the submission of the Moors, under the terms of a peace agreement (the famous Treaty of Alcaraz).

title: 1243

text: Reconquista – King James I of Aragon ("the Conqueror") captures Crevillent from the Moors and it becomes a part of the Kingdom of Valencia.

title: 1263

text: August 21 – Conquest of Ceuta: Portugal conquers the city of Ceuta from the Moors, initiating the Portuguese Empire, and European expansion and colonialism.

title: 1415

text: August 31 – An attempt by Spain to recapture Gibraltar from the Moors fails as the expedition leader Enrique Pérez de Guzmán drowns along with 40 of his men after reaching the shore.

title: 1436


slug: mopsuestia

label: Mopsuestia

description: ancient city of Cilicia in modern-day Turkey

date: November 3

text: November 3 – Emperor Constantius II dies of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia, age 44; on his deathbed he is baptised, and declares his cousin Julian rightful successor.

title: 361

text: Arab–Byzantine War: The Umayyad army under Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik captures Mopsuestia in Cilicia from the Byzantines, and refortifies it, making it the first major Muslim stronghold in the area that will later become the Thughur.

title: 703

section: Climate & Environment

text: The 803 Mopsuestia earthquake takes place in the vicinity of Mopsuestia, and the Gulf of Alexandretta (İskenderun)

title: 803

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

text: Arab–Byzantine War: The Byzantines under Andronikos Doukas, along with Eustathios Argyros, campaign against the Abbasids and defeat the Muslim garrisons of Mopsuestia and Tarsus, near Marash (modern Turkey).

title: 904

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey). He recaptured Cyprus through Niketas Chalkoutzes, and reorganizes the conquered lands into new themes. In the summer, they take the fortress cities of Anazarbus and Adana. Byzantine troops under General John Tzimiskes besiege Mopsuestia, but with the coming of winter he is forced to retreat to Caesarea.

title: 964

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim residents abandon the defense and flee into Syria. Nikephoros completes the conquest of Cilicia; Muslim raids into Anatolia (modern Turkey) permanently cease. Byzantine troops under General Niketas Chalkoutzes occupy Cyprus, liberating the Greek population from Muslim domination.

title: 965

text: Summer – The Byzantine fleet under Admiral Eustathios recaptures the ports of western Cilicia, Seleucia and Corycus. Eustathios extends his power over Cilician territory (belonging to Bohemond I) further east – occupying Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra.

title: 1101

text: Spring – Bohemond I, Norman prince of Antioch, is released from Seljuk imprisonment at Niksar, after a ransom is paid of 100,000 gold pieces. During his absence, Tancred (Bohemond's nephew) attacks the Byzantines, and re-captures the cities of Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra in Cilicia. Tancred is deprived of his lordship by Bohemond's return, and is rewarded with a small fief within the Principality of Antioch.

title: 1103

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: Summer – The Byzantines re-occupy the Cilician cities of Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra. A naval squadron, under Admiral Cantacuzenus, pursues in Cypriot waters a Genoese raiding fleet, and sails on to Latakia, where they capture the harbour and the lower city. Bohemond I reinforces the garrison in the citadel.

title: 1104

text: The Crusaders under Tancred, prince of Galilee, recover the Cilician cities of Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra conquered by Emperor Alexios I 3-years ago (see 1104).

title: 1107

date: November 29

text: November 29 – A large earthquake damages the areas of the Crusaders in the Middle East. From Antioch and Mamistra to Marash and Edessa are hit by the shocks.

title: 1114

section: Events › By topic › Earthquake

text: Spring – Emperor John II (Komnenos) leads a Byzantine expeditionary force into Cilicia (the Byzantine fleet guards his flank). He defeats the Armenians under Prince Leo I ("Lord of the Mountains"), and captures the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra. Leo retreats to the great fortifications of Anazarbus – where its garrison resists for 37 days. The Byzantine siege engines batter down its walls, and the city is forced to surrender. Leo escapes into the Taurus Mountains, while the Byzantine forces march southward into the plain of Antioch.

title: 1137


slug: moravia

label: Moravia

description: historical land in the Czech Republic

year_label: 40 CE

text: The Germanic Quadi tribe begins settling in present-day Moravia and Slovakia.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 40

section: Conflict & Security

text: Miracle in Moravia: As the Roman army is encircled by the Quadi under intense heat, a violent thunderstorm sweeps away the Quadi in a torrent of water and mud, and refreshes the parched legionaries.

title: AD 172

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Moravians gain independence, by holding off the attacks from the Avars and the Franks who try to invade.

title: 600

text: The Avars attack the outskirts of Constantinople. Numerous Slavic tribes rebel against Avar overlordship; they carve out their own sovereign territory in Moravia and Lower Austria (approximate date).

title: 619

text: Samo, reputedly a Frankish merchant, is elected king of the Slavs in Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria. A string of victories over the Avars proves his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects, and he secures the throne to establish his own kingdom, which stretches from the upper Elbe to the Danube.

title: 623

text: Duke Bretislav I (Bohemian Achilles) of Bohemia of the Přemyslid Dynasty reconquers Moravia from Poland (approximate date).

title: 1029

date: May 12

text: May 12 – Battle of Mailberg: Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia invades Austria with an army of 8,000 men (supported by mercenaries from Moravia and Bavaria). He defeats the forces under Margrave Leopold II ("the Fair") near Mailberg. The northern region of Lower Austria is devastated from pillage and famine.

title: 1082

text: Ottokar I of Bohemia reunites Bohemia and Moravia.

title: 1222

section: Deaths

text: May 25 – Otto III, Duke of Carinthia, dies and is succeeded by his younger brother, King Henry of Bohemia, Margrave of Moravia and the nominal King of Poland.

title: 1310

section: Events › April – June

date: January 18

text: January 18 – Jobst of Moravia, ruler of Moravia, King of the Romans

title: 1411

text: Isaac Zarfati sends a circular letter to Rhineland, Swabia, Moravia and Hungary, praising the happy conditions of the Jews under the crescent, in contrast to the "great torture chamber" under the cross, and urging them to come to the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1454

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Culture & Society

date: May 3

text: May 3 – At Olomouc, Hungarian King Matyáš Korvín is elected by the Czech Catholic estates to be the King of Bohemia and his rule is accepted by the occupied regions of Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia, though the other Bohemian estates remain loyal to the Bohemian King Jiří z Poděbrad.

title: 1469

section: Events › April–June

date: September 1

text: September 1 – King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary accepts the draft of the Treaty of Brno with slight modifications regarding the division of the lands of the Bohemian crowned claimed by both Hungary and King Vladisalus II of Bohemia. Under the terms, Vladislaus II cedes Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia to Corvinus, and both monarchs are permitted to refer to themselves as "King of Bohemia".

title: 1478

section: Events › July–September

section: Births

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Saint John Sarkander, Moravian priest (d. 1620)

title: 1576

date: March 17

text: March 17 – St. John Sarkander, Moravian priest (injuries caused by torturing) (b. 1576)

title: 1620

section: Deaths › January–March

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

title: 1722

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: November 16 – Austria: Moravia opens the final section of Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (Rajhrad–Brno) for exhibition (preliminary) use.

title: 1838

section: Events › October–December

section: Science & Discovery

date: February 8

text: February 8 & March 8 – Gregor Mendel reads his paper on Experiments on Plant Hybridization at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brünn in Moravia, subsequently taken to be the origin of the theory of Mendelian inheritance.

title: 1865

section: Events › February

date: March 15

text: March 15 – German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist. The Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia declares independence as Carpatho-Ukraine.

title: 1939

section: Events › March