slug: conservative-party-uk

label: Conservative Party (UK)

description: centre-right to right-wing political party in the United Kingdom

date: July 4

text: July 4–26 – British general election: The Conservative and Liberal Unionist coalition government loses its majority in the House of Commons, eventually leading to Prime Minister Lord Salisbury's resignation on August 12.

title: 1892

section: Events › July

date: November 15

text: November 15 – In the 1922 United Kingdom general election forced by the Conservatives' withdrawal from the coalition government, the Conservative Party wins an overall majority. Labour for the first time becomes the main opposition party, winning more seats than the divided Liberals. A dining club of newly elected Conservative Members of Parliament evolves the following year into the 1922 Committee.

title: 1922

section: Events › November

date: December 6

text: December 6 – 1923 United Kingdom general election: The governing Conservatives under Stanley Baldwin fail to achieve an overall majority and allow the Labour Party to form a minority government.

title: 1923

section: Events › November–December

date: November 14

text: November 14 – 1935 United Kingdom general election: Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin returns to office at the head of a National Government led by the Conservative Party, with a large but reduced majority.

title: 1935

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after his Conservative Party is soundly defeated by the Labour Party in the 1945 general election. Clement Attlee becomes the new prime minister. It is the first time that Labour has governed Britain with a majority in the House of Commons.

title: 1945

date: September 16

text: September 16 – Leo Amery, British Conservative politician and journalist( b. 1873)

title: 1955

section: Deaths › September

text: March 26 – William Hague, leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Foreign Secretary

title: 1961

section: Births › March

date: October 15

text: October 15 – 1964 United Kingdom general election: The Labour Party wins a narrow victory over Sir Alec Douglas-Home's Conservative Party, which has been in power for 13 years. The new prime minister is Harold Wilson.

title: 1964

section: Events › October

date: July 27

text: July 27 – Edward Heath becomes Leader of the British Conservative Party.

title: 1965

section: Events › July–August

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Following a hung parliament in the United Kingdom general election, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath resigns and is succeeded by Labour's Harold Wilson, who previously led the country from 1964 to 1970.

title: 1974

section: Events › March–April

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for the leadership of the opposition UK Conservative Party. Thatcher, 49, is Britain's first female leader of any political party.

title: 1975

section: Events › February

date: May 3

text: May 3 – The 1979 United Kingdom general election for the House of Commons takes place, giving the Conservatives a majority, and designating Margaret Thatcher the nation's first woman prime minister, ending the rule of James Callaghan's Labour government.

title: 1979

section: Events › May

section: Climate & Environment

date: June 9

text: June 9 – Britain's Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, is re-elected by a landslide majority.

title: 1983

section: Events › June

date: April 9

text: April 9 – In the United Kingdom general election the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major narrowly retains power.

title: 1992

section: Events › April

text: July 4 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major is re-elected as leader of the Conservative Party, ending an internal challenge to his position.

title: 1995

date: May 6

text: May 6 – The 2010 United Kingdom general election results in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party twenty seats short of a majority.

title: 2010

date: May 7

text: May 7 – The 2015 UK General Election results in the first Conservative majority government in 18 years.

title: 2015

date: June 8

text: June 8 – A snap general election is held in the United Kingdom, three years before the next was due, resulting in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, losing their majority in Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, makes gains for the first time since 1997. Days later, the Conservative Party, now lacking a majority, enters a confidence-and-supply deal with the Northern Ireland loyalist party DUP.

title: 2017

date: December 12

text: December 12 – Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party win a landslide victory in the 2019 United Kingdom general election achieving a majority in the House of Commons of 80 seats.

title: 2019

section: Events › December

date: June 7

text: June 7 – British Prime Minister Theresa May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party.

title: 2019

date: May 24

text: May 24 – British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Conservative leader, effective June 7, 2019.

title: 2019


slug: constans-ii

label: Constans II

description: Byzantine Emperor from 641 to 668

section: Births

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Constans II, Byzantine emperor (d. 668)

title: 630

section: Health & Medicine

date: September

text: September – The Byzantine Senate turns against Martina and her son Heraklonas, who are both mutilated, and exiled to Rhodes. Supported by general Valentinus, Constantine's son Constans II, age 10, succeeds to the throne.

title: 641

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Culture & Society

text: Emperor Constans II marries Fausta.

title: 642

section: Conflict & Security

text: Emperor Constans II recognises Theodore Rshtuni as ruler of Armenia, after his successful campaign against the Muslims. He names him commander (nakharar) of the Armenian army.

title: 643

text: Valentinus, Byzantine general, attempts to usurp the throne of his son-in-law Constans II. He appears at the gates of Constantinople with a contingent of Byzantine troops, and demands to be crowned emperor. His claim is rejected, and Valentinus is lynched by the populace.

title: 644

text: Gregory the Patrician, Byzantine exarch of Africa, begins a rebellion against Constans II, and proclaims himself emperor; the revolt finds broad support among the populace.

title: 646

section: Religion & Belief

text: Emperor Constans II issues an imperial edict forbidding Monothelitism to be discussed, to quiet the intense controversy caused by the Monothelete doctrine. This edict, distributed by patriarch Paul II in Constans' name, is known as the Typos.

title: 648

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Arab naval forces under Abdullah ibn Saad conquer Cyprus, sacking the capital Constantia after a short siege, and looting the rest of the island. The Cypriots agree to pay the same revenue as they have done to Emperor Constans II.

title: 649

text: Emperor Constans II voluntarily surrenders Armenia to the Arabs, following a truce with Muawiyah, governor of Syria. Muawiyah grants the Armenians virtual autonomy, and appoints the nakharar Theodor Rshtuni as ruler of Armenia.

title: 653

text: Emperor Constans II appoints his son Constantine IV, age 2, co-emperor (Augustus). He is too young to rule as monarch of the Byzantine Empire, and his title remains a given name.

title: 654

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The exiled Pope Martin I is deposed, and succeeded by Eugene I, as the 75th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. On September 17, Martin is taken to Constantinople and publicly humiliated, for having condemned the Byzantine Emperor Constans II in 649.

title: 654

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Battle of the Masts: Emperor Constans II personally commands the Byzantine fleet (500 ships), and sets off to challenge the Arab navy. He sails to the province of Lycia (now in Turkey) in the southern region of Asia Minor. The two forces meet off the coast of Mount Phoenix, near the harbour of Phoenix (modern Finike). The Arabs under Abdullah ibn Sa'ad are victorious in battle, although losses are heavy for both sides. Constans barely escapes to Constantinople.

title: 655

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Constans II undertakes an expedition to the Balkan Peninsula, and defeats the Avars in Macedonia. He temporarily reasserts Byzantine rule, and resettles some of them in Anatolia to fight against the Rashidun Caliphate (approximate date).

title: 658

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Constans II signs a peace treaty with the Rashidun Caliphate. He uses the pause to strengthen his defences, and consolidates Byzantine control over Armenia. Constans establishes the themata, dividing territorial command in Anatolia.

title: 659

section: Crime & Justice

text: Emperor Constans II is paranoid about the ambitions of his younger brother, Theodosius, and has him murdered. Having attracted the hatred of the citizens of Constantinople, Constans decides to leave the Byzantine capital and moves to Syracuse (Sicily).

title: 660

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

title: 663

text: Emperor Constans II grants the request of Bishop Maurus of Ravenna, allowing the city to consecrate its bishop without approval from Rome (approximate date).

title: AD 666

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Emperor Constans II is killed under mysterious circumstances in his bath, during a mutiny at Syracuse. The Byzantine court returns to Constantinople after an absence of 5 years, in which the Muslim-Arabs have made annual invasions and devastations of Anatolia. Probably assassinated by his chamberlain after a 27-year reign, Constans is succeeded by his son Constantine IV (the "Bearded"), alongside his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius as co-emperors.

title: 668

section: Deaths

date: September 15

text: September 15 – Constans II, Byzantine emperor (b. 630)

title: 668


slug: constans

label: Constans

description: Roman emperor from 337 to 350

text: Constans I, Roman emperor (d. 350)

title: 320

text: Constans I, Roman consul and emperor (d. 350)

title: 323

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Constantine I elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar at Constantinople.

title: 333

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti.

title: 337

text: Constantinople, capital of Emperor Constantius II, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Rome, capital of his brother Constans I.

title: 340

text: Emperor Constans I bans pagan sacrifices and magic rituals, under penalty of death.

title: 341

text: Emperor Constans I campaigns in Britain against the Picts.

title: 342

text: The Western Roman Emperor Constans I is in Britain, possibly in a military campaign against the Picts and Scots (the last visit to Britain by a legitimate emperor).

title: 343

text: Constans orders the Basilica di Santa Tecla to be constructed in Milan.

title: 345

section: Events › By place › Italy

text: Emperor Constans I uses his influence to secure the return of Athanasius. He is restored as Patriarch of Alexandria, and documents are compiled relating to his expulsion, under the title Apology Against the Arians.

title: 346


slug: constantine-ii-of-scotland

label: Constantine II of Scotland

description: 10th-century king of Scotland (Alba)

text: Constantine II, king of Scotland (approximate date)

title: 874

text: King Donald II is killed after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousin Constantine II as king of Scotland; he will reign for more than 40 years.

title: 900

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: King Constantine II of Scotland calls for an assembly to meet at Scone. Scottish Christian clergy under Bishop Cellach pledges that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the laws of churches and gospels, should be kept pariter cum Scottis.

title: 906

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: King Edward the Elder begins with the 'reconquest' of the Danelaw and occupies Essex. Death of High-Reeve Eadwulf II. He is succeeded by his son Ealdred I, who is almost immediately driven out by King Ragnall ua Ímair of Norse York. Ealdred flees to the court of King Constantine II of Scotland.

title: 913

text: Summer – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia cements an alliance with King Constantine II of Scotland against Norse York. She captures the fortress at Derby (belonging to the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw), while her brother, King Edward the Elder, takes Towcester. Æthelflæd's armies also ravage Brycheiniog (Wales) in revenge for killing the Mercian abbot Ecbryht (see 916).

title: 917

text: Battle of Corbridge: High-Reeve Ealdred I persuades King Constantine II of Scotland to help him reclaim his position in Bernicia. They mount an invasion of his now Norse controlled lands. The Vikings under Ragnall ua Ímair (or Rægnald) defeat the Scots and their allies at Corbridge (Northern Northumbria), but take heavy casualties themselves.

title: 918

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 12

text: July 12 – King Æthelstan of Wessex receives the submission of High-Reeve Ealdred I of Bamburgh and probably also of Owain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde, at Eamont Bridge. He also secures a pledge from King Constantine II of Scotland, that he will not ally with the Viking kings. This summer also Kings Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and Owain of Glywysing and Gwent submit to the overlordship of Æthelstan at Hereford. The borders between England and Wales are set at the River Wye.

title: 927

text: King Tewdwr of Brycheiniog attends the court of King Æthelstan and signs the English Land Charters. Kings Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Idwal Foel of Gwynedd and Morgan Mwynfawr ("the Old") of Morgannwg are compelled to accompany Æthelstan on his campaign against King Constantine II of Scotland.

title: 934

section: Events › By place › England

text: Battle of Brunanburh: King Æthelstan defeats a combined Northern Army under the kings Olaf of Dublin, Constantine II of Scotland and Owain of Strathclyde. Though none of the British monarchs appear to have taken part, the people of Strathclyde were a major contingent under their Scottish king.

title: 937

text: King Edmund I ravages Strathclyde and defeats the Scottish king Constantine II, who has reigned as king of Alba since 900. Constantine, ruler of the 'Picts and Scots', abdicates to enter a monastery and yields control of his realm to his cousin Malcolm I.

title: 943

text: King Constantine II dies at the monastery of St. Andrews (where he has been retired since 943). His cousin and ruling monarch, Malcolm I, fights a battle against the Northmen or the Norse–Gaels.

title: 952

section: Events › By place › Scotland

text: Constantine II, king of Alba (Scotland)

title: 952

text: King Malcolm I is killed in battle against the Northmen after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Indulf, the son of the late King Constantine II, as ruler of Alba (Scotland).

title: 954

section: Events › By place › British Isles


slug: constantine-iv

label: Constantine IV

description: Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685

section: Births

text: Constantine IV, Byzantine emperor (d. 685)

title: 652

text: Emperor Constans II appoints his son Constantine IV, age 2, co-emperor (Augustus). He is too young to rule as monarch of the Byzantine Empire, and his title remains a given name.

title: 654

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: July 15 – Emperor Constans II is killed under mysterious circumstances in his bath, during a mutiny at Syracuse. The Byzantine court returns to Constantinople after an absence of 5 years, in which the Muslim-Arabs have made annual invasions and devastations of Anatolia. Probably assassinated by his chamberlain after a 27-year reign, Constans is succeeded by his son Constantine IV (the "Bearded"), alongside his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius as co-emperors.

title: 668

text: Autumn – Siege of Constantinople: Emperor Constantine IV confronts the Arab besiegers in a head-on engagement. The Byzantine fleet, equipped with Greek fire, destroys the Muslim fleet at Sillyon, ending the Arab threat to Europe, and forcing Yazid (a son of caliph Muawiyah I) to lift the siege on land and sea. The victory also frees up forces that are sent to raise the two-year siege of Thessalonica by the local Slavic tribes.

title: 678

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Pope Donus dies at Rome, after a reign of 1 year and 160 days. He is succeeded by Agatho I, who becomes the 79th pope. He is the first pope to stop paying tribute to Emperor Constantine IV upon election.

title: 678

text: Emperor Constantine IV signs a peace treaty, of a nominal 30-year duration, with Caliph Mu'awiya I of the Umayyad Caliphate. Constantine pays an annual tribute of 3,000 (nomismata) pounds of gold, 50 horses and 50 slaves. The Arab garrisons are withdrawn from their bases on the Byzantine coastlands, including Crete & Cyzicus.

title: AD 679

text: King Perctarit makes his son Cunipert co-ruler of the Lombard Kingdom. He signs a formal peace treaty with Constantine IV.

title: 680

text: Battle of Ongal: The Byzantine army (25,000 men) under Constantine IV is defeated by the Bulgars and their Slavic allies in the Danube Delta. Bulgar cavalry force the Byzantines into a rout, while Constantine (suffering from leg pain) travels to Nesebar to seek treatment.

title: 680

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgars under Asparukh subjugate the country of current-day Bulgaria, north of the Balkan Mountains. Emperor Constantine IV leads a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieges their fortified camp in Dobruja.

title: 680

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine IV is forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia, and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace. Consequently, Constantine creates the Theme of Thrace of the Byzantine Empire (located in the south-eastern Balkans).

title: 681

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Constantine IV, Byzantine emperor (b. 652)

title: 685

text: July 10 – Emperor Constantine IV dies of dysentery at Constantinople after a 17-year reign, and is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Justinian II.

title: 685


slug: constantine-the-great

label: Constantine the Great

description: Roman emperor from 306 to 337 and first to convert to Christianity (272–337)

text: Saint Helena, Roman empress who was the reputed discoverer of Christ’s cross and mother of Emperor Constantine (d. 318)

title: 255

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)

title: 272

text: Constantius requests leave for his son Constantine I to join him in the west, who has been living at the courts of Diocletian and Galerius as a hostage. Galerius allows Constantine to return.

title: 305

section: Conflict & Security

text: Maximian, retired emperor, rebels against Constantine I in Arles while the latter is campaigning against the Franks.

title: 310

text: Maximinus Daza, caesar under Emperor Galerius, is acclaimed augustus by his troops. Galerius is forced to recognize him as co-ruler of the East. The Roman Empire is thus divided between seven simultaneous emperors: Galerius (East), Maximinus II (East), Licinius (Middle), Constantine I (West), Maximian (West), Maxentius (Italy), and Domitius Alexander (Africa).

title: 310

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Edict of Milan: Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius meet at a conference in Mediolanum (modern Milan). They proclaim a policy of religious freedom for all, ending the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and returning property confiscated from Christians. The edict is posted in Nicomedia on June 13.

title: 313

text: Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius battle the Sarmates, the Goths and the Carpians along the Danube. Constantine leads a punitive expedition into Dacia and reestablishes the Roman fortifications of the frontier.

title: 315

text: Emperor Constantine the Great issues an edict, prohibiting the punishment of slaves by crucifixion and facial branding.

title: 316

date: October 8

text: October 8 – Battle of Cibalae: Constantine the Great defeats his rival Licinius near the town of Colonia Aurelia Cibalae (modern-day Vinkovci, Croatia). Licinius is forced to flee to Sirmium and loses all of the Balkans except for Thrace. Peace negotiations are initiated between the two Augusti, but they are unsuccessful.

title: 316

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Emperor Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius elevate their sons Crispus, Constantine II and Licinius II to Caesars. After this arrangement Constantine rules the dioceses Pannonia and Macedonia, and establishes his residence at Sirmium, from where he prepares a campaign against the Goths and Sarmatians.

title: 317

text: Emperor Constantine the Great gives the ancient Roman town Drepana (Asia Minor) the name Helenopolis, after his mother Helena, and builds a church in honour of the martyr St. Lucian.

title: 318

text: Emperor Constantine the Great prohibits the separation of the families of slaves, during a change in ownership.

title: 319

text: Crispus, eldest son of Constantine I, leads a victorious campaign against the Franks, assuring twenty years of peace along the Rhine frontier. He establishes his residence in Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), capital of Germania.

title: 320

text: Emperor Constantine the Great defeats the invading Goths and Sarmatians north of the Danube in Dacia, and claims the title of Sarmaticus Maximus.

title: 323

date: July 3

text: July 3 – Battle of Adrianople: Emperor Constantine the Great defeats his rival Licinius near Adrianople, forcing him to retreat to Byzantium. Constantine then invades Thrace with a Visigothic force and raids the countryside.

title: 324

section: Events › Roman Empire

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

title: 326

text: Flavius Julius Crispus, son of Constantine I (b. 303)

title: 326

text: Emperor Constantine the Great decrees that rural slaves can only be sold in the province where they reside, in order to resolve the shortage of labour in the Roman Empire.

title: 327

text: Helena (Augusta), mother of Constantine I

title: 330

date: May 11

text: May 11 – Emperor Constantine the Great dedicates the Column of Constantine and Constantinople, or Nova Roma (modern-day Istanbul). He had spent four years expanding the city of Byzantium, having chosen the site for its strategic location on the Bosporus. The city became the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 330

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

title: 331

text: Emperor Constantine I and his son Constantine II, aged 16, defeat the Goths in Moesia. The Goths become Roman allies and protect the Danube frontier.

title: 332

text: Emperor Constantine the Great pulls Roman troops out of Britain, and abandons work on Hadrian's Wall.

title: 333

text: Emperor Constantine the Great reauthorises gladiatorial combat.

title: 334

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Emperor Constantine I consecrates the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

title: 335

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Constantine the Great, first Christian Roman emperor of the Western Empire (312–324), and of the Roman Empire (324–337), dies in Achyron, near Nicomedia, at age 65, after he is baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia.

title: 337

text: May 22 – Constantine the Great, emperor of the Roman Empire, Orthodox priest and saint

title: 337

text: Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great (b. c. 320)

title: 354

text: Valens completes the aqueduct of Constantinople begun by Constantine I.

title: 378

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

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

title: 469


slug: constantine-v

label: Constantine V

description: emperor of Byzantium

text: Constantine V, Byzantine emperor (d. 775)

title: 718

section: Culture & Society

text: Summer – Emperor Leo III secures the Byzantine frontier, by inviting Slavic settlers into the depopulated districts of the Thracesian Theme (western Asia Minor). He undertakes a set of civil reforms, and reorganizes the theme structure in the Aegean region. Leo's 2-year-old son Constantine V is associated on the throne, and married to Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar ruler (khagan) Bihar.

title: 720

text: Byzantine Emperor Leo III marries his 15 year old son Constantine to Tzitzak (later baptised as Irene), the daughter of the Khazar Khagan Bihar, as a sign of diplomatic unity between the Byzantine Empire and the Khazar Khaganate.

title: 732

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Emperor Leo III ("the Isaurian") dies of dropsy at Constantinople, after a 24-year reign that has saved the Byzantine Empire and delivered Eastern Europe from the threat of an Arab conquest. He is succeeded by his son Constantine V.

title: 741

section: Religion & Belief

text: Summer – Emperor Constantine V defeats his brother-in-law Artabasdos, who has led a two-year insurrection in an attempt to usurp the Byzantine throne. He heads for Constantinople, and captures the capital three months later. Artabasdos and his son Niketas are publicly blinded, and relegated to the monastery of Chora. Constantine renews his policy of Iconoclasm.

title: 743

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

title: 746

text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Constantine V destroys the Arab fleet off Cyprus, with the aid of ships from the Italian city-states, breaking the naval power of the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: AD 747

date: June

text: June – Leo IV, son of Emperor Constantine V, is crowned co-emperor at Constantinople. Only a year or so after his mother Irene died, Constantine's second wife Maria dies, at approximately the same time as Leo's coronation.

title: 751

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

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine V builds a series of fortifications along the Byzantine frontier on the Danube, and starts settling Christian Armenians and Syrians in the Thracesian Theme. In response, Kormisosh, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, demands the payment of tribute. Constantine refuses, and the Bulgars raid into Thrace, reaching the Anastasian Wall stretching between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara (near the outskirts of Constantinople).

title: 756

text: Nikephoros, son of Constantine V (or 758)

title: 756

text: Nikephoros, son of Constantine V (or 756)

title: 758

text: Battle of the Rishki Pass: Emperor Constantine V invades Bulgaria again, but his forces are ambushed and defeated while crossing the Rishki Pass, near Stara Planina (modern Bulgaria). The Bulgarian ruler (khagan) Vinekh does not exploit his success, and begins peace negotiations.

title: 759

text: June – Battle of Anchialus: Emperor Constantine V sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (800 ships and 9,600 cavalry) to Thrace, to defend the fortress city of Anchialus on the Black Sea Coast. Meanwhile, Telets, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, blocks the mountain passes and takes positions on the heights near Anchialus. During a desperate cavalry charge, the Bulgars are defeated and many are captured; Telets manages to escape. Constantine enters Constantinople in triumph, and kills all the prisoners.

title: 763

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Emperor Constantine V publicly humiliates 19 high-ranking officials in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios, and blinds and exiles the rest.

title: 766

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine V invades Bulgaria across the Balkan Mountains, setting afire some settlements around the Bulgarian capital of Pliska. Constantine accepts a peace agreement with Pagan, the Bulgar ruler (khagan), whose land is in anarchy.

title: AD 767

text: Siege of Pavia: Charlemagne besieges Pavia, which is poorly stocked with food. King Desiderius remains in the capital, and orders his son Adalgis to defend Verona to guard Gerberga, and the children of Carloman I. After a short siege, Adalgis flees to Constantinople, where he is received by Emperor Constantine V. Meanwhile, the Franks capture the cities of Verona and Mortara.

title: 773

text: Battle of Berzitia: The Bulgarian ruler (khagan) Telerig sends a small raiding army (12,000 men) to strike into the southwest of Macedonia, and capture Berzitia. Emperor Constantine V is informed about this raid by his spies in Pliska, and assembles an enormous force (80,000 men). He surprises the Bulgarians, who did not expect to find a Byzantine army there, and defeats them decisively. The Bulgars suffer heavy losses.

title: 774

text: September 14 – Constantine V, Byzantine emperor (b. 718)

title: 775

text: September 14 – Emperor Constantine V dies while on a campaign in Bulgaria. In his 34-year reign he has suppressed monasticism and image worship, restored aqueducts, revived commerce, and repopulated Constantinople. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Leo IV ("the Khazar"), who continues Constantine's campaigns against the Bulgars and Muslim Arabs.

title: 775

date: April 24

text: April 24 – Emperor Leo IV ("the Khazar") appoints his 5-year-old son Constantine VI co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire. This leads to an uprising, led by one of Leo's half-brothers, Caesar Nikephoros, the second son of former emperor Constantine V. The revolt is quickly suppressed. Fortunately for Nikephoros, his only punishment is to be stripped of his titles, while the rest of the conspirators are blinded, tonsured, and exiled to Cherson (southern Crimea) under guard.

title: 776

text: Nikephoros, son of Constantine V (approximate date)

title: 812


slug: constantine-vi

label: Constantine VI

description: Byzantine Emperor (771-802)

text: Constantine VI, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (d. 797)

title: 771

title: 776

section: Deaths

date: September 8

text: September 8 - Emperor Leo IV ("the Khazar") dies after a 5-year reign, in which he has been dominated by his wife Irene of Athens, an iconodule. He is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Constantine VI; due to his minority, Irene and her chief minister Staurakios exercise a regency over him.

title: 780

text: Emperor Constantine VI is betrothed to the 6-year-old Rotrude, daughter of Charlemagne; Irene sends a scholar monk called Elisaeus to educate her in Greek language and manners.

title: 782

text: Empress Irene sends a Byzantine expeditionary army to invade southern Italy, but it is defeated and driven out (at Pope Adrian I's urging) by the Frankish army, allied with the forces of Benevento. She breaks off the engagement (see 782) between her son Constantine VI and the Frankish princess Rotrude, daughter of King Charlemagne.

title: AD 787

date: September

text: September – The Armeniac Theme, located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey), revolts against Empress Irene, and declares the 19-year-old Constantine VI sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Other themes follow its example, and imprison their strategoi. Constantine sends his iconoclast general Michael Lachanodrakon, to ensure that the Armeniacs (his closest supporters) take an oath. Irene is confined and imprisoned in her palace at Constantinople; all her eunuchs are exiled.

title: 790

text: Spring – Emperor Constantine VI suppresses a rebellion, and restores his mother Irene to her former position as co-empress of the Byzantine Empire. The rival factions in Constantinople continue their intrigues against Constantine.

title: 792

text: Constantine VI, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 771)

title: 797

date: April 19

text: April 19 or August 19 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son Constantine VI. He is captured and blinded; Irene exiles him to Principo, where he dies shortly thereafter of his wounds. Irene begins a 5-year reign, and calls herself basileus ("emperor") of the Byzantine Empire. (Sources and historians conflict on whether this was in April or August.)

title: 797


slug: constantine-vii

label: Constantine VII

description: Byzantine emperor

text: Constantine VII, Byzantine emperor (d. 959)

title: 905

date: May 15

text: May 15 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI (the Wise), is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople. The ceremony is held in the Hagia Sophia. After the rituals, Constantine is crowned (symbolically) and becomes Leo's successor.

title: 908

text: May 11 – Emperor Leo VI (the Wise) dies after a 26-year reign, in which he has completed the Byzantine code of laws (Basilika). He is succeeded by his brother Alexander III as emperor (basileus) alongside Leo's 6-year-old son Constantine VII. Alexander becomes de facto ruler of the Byzantine Empire and expels Empress Zoe Karbonopsina, the mother of Constantine, from the palace and exiles her to a nunnery.

title: 912

date: June 6

text: June 6 – Emperor Alexander III dies of exhaustion while playing the game tzykanion (Byzantine name for polo). He is succeeded by his 8-year-old nephew Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos ("born in the purple"), a son of the late emperor Leo VI (the Wise). The government is administered by a regency council composed of Constantine's mother, Empress Zoe Karbonopsina, Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos and his guardian John Eladas.

title: 913

text: Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantinople and, with the support of the magistros John Eladas, overthrows Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos as regent over her son, Emperor Constantine VII. She allows Nicholas to remain as patriarch, repudiates the title granted to Simeon I of Bulgaria (see 913) and nullifies the marriage plans (with a Bulgarian princess) made for her son by Nicholas.

title: 914

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (droungarios) of the Byzantine navy, seizes the Boukoleon Palace in Constantinople. He is named megas hetaireiarches (head of the imperial guard). Lekapenos consolidates his position and becomes regent of Emperor Constantine VII. He marries his 9-year-old daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine and assumes the new title of basileopator (one of the highest offices in the Byzantine Empire).

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Byzantine Empire

date: December 17

text: December 17 – Romanos I has himself crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He shares the throne with the 15-year-old Constantine VII (his son-in-law), and constructs an alternative palace at Constantinople with an adjoining monastery near the Great Palace. Though Constantine retains his formal position as first on the protocol list, Romanos becomes sole ruler.

title: 920

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Stephen Lekapenos and Constantine Lekapenos are promoted to the position of co-Emperors of Byzantium, joining Constantine VII, Romanos I and Christopher, creating a pentarchy with five monarchs.

title: 924

section: Events › October—December

date: January 27

text: January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barely a month after deposing their father, Romanos I. With the help of his wife, Constantine VII becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He appoints to the highest army commands four members of the Phokas family, which have been in disgrace under Romanos.

title: 945

text: Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (Domestic of the Schools) in the East. He gives him order to prepare a campaign against the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla. Constantine makes treaties with neighbouring rulers, to seek military aid.

title: 956

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Constantine VII, Byzantine emperor (b. 905)

title: 959

text: November 9 – Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos ("born in the purple") dies at Constantinople after a 46-year reign. He is succeeded by his 21-year-old son Romanos II as ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 959