slug: seven-years-war

label: Seven Years' War

description: global war among European powers (1756–1763)

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Prussia and Russia break off diplomatic relations after the Russians refuse to stop assisting the Electorate of Saxony. Five years later, the two Empires fight the Seven Years' War.

title: 1750

section: Events › October–December

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Seven Years' War: French and Indian War – Fort Oswego falls to the French.

title: 1756

section: Events › July–September

date: December

text: December – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: Militias of the Royal Colony of North Carolina build a fort on the province's western frontier to protect it against natives allied with the French. The fort is named Fort Dobbs in honor of North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs, who persuaded the North Carolina legislature to fund the construction a year earlier.

title: 1756

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Seven Years' War: Siege of Fort St Philip at Port Mahón: The British garrison in Menorca surrenders to the French after two months' siege by the Duke of Richelieu.

title: 1756

section: Events › April–June

date: May 17

text: May 17 – The Seven Years' War formally begins, when Great Britain declares war on France.

title: 1756

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Minorca – The British fleet under John Byng is defeated by the French under Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière.

title: 1756

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Lobositz – Frederick defeats an Austrian army under Marshal Maximilian Ulysses, Reichsgraf von Browne.

title: 1756

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf – A Prussian army under Hans von Lehwaldt is defeated by the Russian army under Marshal Stepan Apraksin.

title: 1757

date: December 5

text: December 5 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen – Frederick defeats Prince Charles's Austrian army, in what is generally considered the Prussian king's greatest tactical victory.

title: 1757

date: January 2

text: January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British East India Company Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India.

title: 1757

section: Events › January–March

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Kolín – Frederick is defeated by an Austrian army under Marshal Daun, forcing him to evacuate Bohemia.

title: 1757

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Prague – Frederick the Great defeats an Austrian army, and begins to besiege the city.

title: 1757

date: November 22

text: November 22 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Breslau – An Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine defeats the Prussian army of Wilhelm of Brunswick-Bevern, and forces the Prussians behind the Oder.

title: 1757

date: November 5

text: November 5 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Rossbach – Frederick defeats the French-Imperial army under the Duc de Soubise and Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen, forcing the French to withdraw from Saxony.

title: 1757

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Seven Years' War: Raid on Berlin – Hungarian raiders (3,400 horseman) under Count András Hadik plunder Berlin. He demands that the city council pay a ransom of 200,000 thalers and a dozen pairs of gloves for Empress Maria Theresa. The Hungarians leave the Prussian capital after they received messages about a Prussian relief force under Prince Dietrich von Anhalt-Dessau, marching towards Berlin.

title: 1757

section: Deaths

text: Hyder Ali and his Sepoy capture Bangalore from "Khande Rao of the Maratha Confederacy". (Part of the Seven Years' War).

title: 1758

section: Deaths › Date unknown

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Zorndorf: Frederick halts the Russian army of Count Wilhelm Fermor near the Oder.

title: 1758

date: August 27

text: August 27 – Seven Years' War – British troops under the command of Colonel John Bradstreet capture Fort Frontenac (near the site of what is now Kingston, Ontario) from the French.

title: 1758

date: August 3

text: August 3 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Negapatam: Off the coast of India, Admiral Pocock again engages d'Aché's French fleet, this time with more success.

title: 1758

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: The island battery at Fortress Louisbourg is silenced, and all French warships are destroyed or taken.

title: 1758

date: July 6

text: July 6 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Bernetz Brook: British troops defeat the French.

title: 1758

date: May 21

text: May 21 – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Pennsylvania by members of the Lenape Nation.

title: 1758

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Seven Years' War: French and Indian War: French forces abandon Fort Duquesne to the British, who then name the area Pittsburgh.

title: 1758

date: October 14

text: October 14 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Hochkirch: Frederick loses a hard-fought battle against the Austrians under Marshal Leopold von Daun, who besieges Dresden.

title: 1758

text: September 14 – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: Battle of Fort Duquesne: A British attack on Fort Duquesne (modern-day Pittsburgh) is defeated.

title: 1758

date: April 13

text: April 13 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Bergen: A French army defeats Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick in Hesse.

title: 1759

text: July 25 – Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): In Canada, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.

title: 1759

date: July 26

text: July 26–27 – Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) – Battle of Ticonderoga: At the southern end of Lake Champlain, French forces withdraw from Fort Carillon, which is taken by the British under General Amherst, and renamed Fort Ticonderoga.

title: 1759

date: May 10

text: May 10 – The Macedonian Hussar Regiment is formed and starts to assist the Russian Empire in the Seven Years' War.

title: 1759

date: November 20

text: November 20 – Battle of Quiberon Bay: The British fleet of Sir Edward Hawke defeats a French fleet under Marshal de Conflans, near the coast of Brittany. This is the decisive naval engagement of the Seven Years' War – after this, the French are no longer able to field a significant fleet.

title: 1759

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) – Battle of the Plains of Abraham: Quebec falls to British forces, following General James Wolfe's victory just outside the city. Both the French Commander (the Marquis de Montcalm) and the British General Wolfe are fatally wounded.

title: 1759

date: April 3

text: April 3 – Great Britain and Prussia agree to begin peace negotiations to end the Seven Years' War.

title: 1760

text: August 30 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Legnica – By a series of brilliant maneuvers, Frederick the Great manages to defeat the Austrian army of Marshal Laudon before it can unite with that of Marshal Daun.

title: 1760

text: February 21–26 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Carrickfergus in the north of Ireland – A force of French troops, under the command of privateer François Thurot, captures and holds the town and castle of Carrickfergus before retiring; the force is defeated (and Thurot killed) in the naval Battle of Bishops Court in the Irish Sea on February 28.

title: 1760

text: February 27 – Seven Years' War: French and Indian War & Anglo-Cherokee War – Cherokee natives attack a North Carolina militia stationed at Fort Dobbs, in the western part of the province. The attack is repelled by the militia, under the command of General Hugh Waddell.

title: 1760

text: January 22 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Wandiwash, India: British general Sir Eyre Coote is victorious over the French under the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau.

title: 1760

text: July 31 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Warburg – The Anglo-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick storms Warburg, with a heroic role being played by the English commander Lord Granby.

title: 1760

text: July 8 – Seven Years' War: French and Indian War – Battle of Restigouche: The British defeat French forces, in the last naval battle in New France.

title: 1760

text: November 3 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Torgau – In another extremely hard battle, Frederick defeats Daun's Austrians, who withdraw across the Elbe.

title: 1760

text: October 16 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Kloster-Kamp – Ferdinand of Brunswick is beaten back from the Rhine by a French army.

title: 1760

text: October 9 – Seven Years' War: Russian troops enter Berlin.

title: 1760

text: September 8 – Seven Years' War: Jeffery Amherst and his British troops capture Montreal from the French, effectively bringing Canada completely under British control.

title: 1760

text: December 16 – Seven Years' War: After four months of siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kolberg.

title: 1761

text: August 13 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Havana concludes after more than two months, with the surrender of Havana by Spain to Great Britain.

title: 1762

text: January 4 – Seven Years' War: Britain declares war against Spain and Naples, following their recent alliance with France.

title: 1762

text: September 15 – French and Indian War: Battle of Signal Hill – British troops defeat the French in the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War, fought in the Newfoundland Colony.

title: 1762

text: February 10 – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war, and France cedes Canada (New France) to Great Britain.

title: 1763

text: February 15 – The Treaty of Hubertusburg puts an end to the Seven Years' War between Prussia and Austria, and their allies France and Russia.

title: 1763

text: July 6 – The last British troops depart Havana, Cuba, two years after having captured it from Spain during the Seven Years' War. The removal of troops follows the treaty between the two Kingdoms, with Spain ceding West Florida to Great Britain in return for the Havana withdrawal.

title: 1764


slug: seville

label: Seville

description: municipality of Andalusia, Spain

year_label: 206 BCE

text: The city of Italica (northwest of modern Seville, Spain) is founded by Scipio as a place to settle for the Roman soldiers wounded in the Battle of Ilipa.

title: 206 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

text: In the Battle of Ilipa (Alcalá del Río, near Seville) in Spain, the Carthaginian generals, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, are defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio. Mago retreats to Gades (modern Cádiz) and then sails for the Balearic Islands.

title: 206 BC

text: Rechila invades Baetica and conquers the capital Seville. The Romans are driven from the Iberian Peninsula with the exception of the Levante.

title: 441

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Births

text: Leander, bishop of Seville (approximate date)

title: 534

section: Crime & Justice

text: Agila I succeeds Theudigisel as king of the Visigoths, after he is murdered by a group of conspirators during a banquet in Seville.

title: 549

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

title: 551

text: Hermenegild, son of Visigothic king Liuvigild, marries Ingund. He rebels against his father, starting in Seville (Southern Spain), and declares himself Catholic.

title: 579

text: King Liuvigild lays siege to Seville (Southern Spain), and forms an alliance with the Byzantines. He summons his rebellious son Hermenegild back to Toledo, and forces him to abandon the Chalcedonian Faith.

title: 583

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild capture the city of Seville, after a siege of nearly 2 years. His rebellious son Hermenegild seeks refuge in a church at Córdoba, but is arrested and banished to Tarragona. His wife Inguld flees with her son to Africa.

title: 584

date: March 13

text: March 13 - Leander, bishop of Seville possibly in 601)

title: 600

text: March 13 or 600 – Leander, bishop of Seville

title: 601

date: July 19

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

title: AD 711

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

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

title: 712

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Continuing campaigns of Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula. Arab forces raid the valley of the Ebro River, and capture the fortress city of Zaragoza. Musa ibn Nusayr is made protector (wali) of Al-Andalus, with his capital at Seville (approximate date).

title: 714

date: May

text: May – Prince Abd al-Rahman I and his followers capture the city of Seville without violence. He defeats Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in a battle for control of the Muslim-ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus). Abd al-Rahman establishes the Emirate of Córdoba. During his reign trade and culture flourish, along with the construction of Islamic architecture (including the Great Mosque of Córdoba).

title: 756

text: Viking raiders ascend the River Garonne as far as the city of Toulouse, and pillage the lands of Septimania. Part of the marauding Vikings invades Galicia (Northern Spain), where some perish in a storm at sea. After being defeated in Corunna, the Scandinavian raiders sack the Umayyad cities of Seville (see below), Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon.

title: 844

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Viking raiders burn the mosques of Seville and Algeciras in al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 859

section: Events › By place › Iberian Peninsula

section: Climate & Environment

text: In Al-Andalus a drought leads to a terrible famine in the Iberian Peninsula, which continues in 915. In his centralization effort, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Rahman III, reconquers Seville from the Banu Hajjaj clan.

title: 914

text: The Judge-Governor of Seville in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) takes advantage of the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba and seizes power as Abbad I, founding the Abbadid dynasty.

title: 1023

text: Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, Abbadid ruler of Seville (d. 1095)

title: 1027

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: A third Almoravid expedition is launched in Al-Andalus, designed to finally subdue the Taifa's Kingdoms. The cities of Córdoba, Seville, Granada, Málaga, Almería and Ronda fall to the troops of Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

title: 1090

date: July

text: July – The Abbadid dynasty ruling in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) falls when Almoravid forces storm Seville. Confronted with this threat, Emir Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Aftas of Badajoz obtains the support of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile, in exchange for the Moorish positions on the river Tagus (Sintra, Santarém and Lisbon).

title: 1091

date: February

text: February – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) announces his intention to resume the Reconquista against the realm of the Almohad Caliphate. Caliph Yusuf II al-Mustansir dies and is succeeded by Abu Muhammad al-Wahid, but in Al-Andalus, two competing pretenders also claim their rights to the throne: Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Mansur al-Adil in Seville and Abu Muhammad abu Abdallah al-Bayyasi in Córdoba. The chronic political instability on the Almohad site allows Ferdinand to begin his campaign victoriously in October, with the capture of Quesada in Spain.

title: 1224

section: Events › January – March

text: Summer – Siege of Seville: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") begin to besiege Seville, the city is isolated and Ramón de Bonifaz sails with 13 galleys up the Guadalquivir River to scatter some 40 smaller Almohad ships trying to oppose him (with many destroyed).

title: 1247

date: November 23

text: November 23 – Reconquista: Siege of Seville: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint") recapture the city of Seville from the Almohads, after a 16-month siege. Prince Alfonso X of Castile takes the city of Alicante.

title: 1248

text: Autumn – Sultan Muhammad II of Granada sends an embassy to the court of Alfonso X in Seville, where it is received with honour. Alfonso agrees to Granada's demands, to end his support for the Banu Ashqilula, in exchange for the promise that Muhammad becomes Alfonso's vassal. Muhammad pays him 450,000 maravedis each year in tribute and grants the Banu rebels a truce for two years.

title: 1273

date: August

text: August – Marinid forces led by Sultan Abu Yusuf cross the Strait of Gibraltar and marches north, ravaging the districts of Jerez de la Frontera, Seville and Córdoba.

title: 1277

date: June

text: June – The 24-year-old Prince Sancho, heir to the throne of Castile, assembles a coalition of nobles and starts a massive rebellion against his father, King Alfonso X. He dispatches his brothers into the realm to claim strategically important cities and castles. Only the cities of Seville, Murcia and Badajoz remain loyal to Alfonso, who becomes isolated politically and abandoned by most of his family.

title: 1282

date: April 4

text: April 4 – King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") falls ill and dies after a 32-year reign at Seville. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Sancho IV ("the Brave") who becomes ruler of Castile and León. Meanwhile, his nephew, Alfonso de la Cerda, challenges his right to the Castilian throne. Pope Martin IV excommunicates Sancho, places an interdict on his kingdom and refuses to acknowledge the marriage to his cousin, Queen María de Molina.

title: 1284

date: April

text: April – Marinid forces under Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq cross the straits from Alcácer Seguir to Tarifa. From there they advance to Jerez de la Frontera, where they besiege the city. Marinids detachments are dispatched to devastate a broad area from Medina-Sidonia to Carmona, Vejer de la Frontera, Écija and Seville, cutting down trees, orchards, and vineyards, destroying villages, and killing or capturing many inhabitants.

title: 1285

text: Late September – Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr crosses the Strait of Gibraltar from Alcácer Seguir to Tarifa. During the next three months, Marinid forces besiege Vejer de la Frontera, and carry out daily raids around Ferez. In the meantime, other Marinid raiding parties devastate the countryside as far north as Alcalá del Río, near Seville.

title: 1291

date: June 6

text: June 6 – Massacre of 1391: Anti-Jewish pogroms erupt in Seville, Spain. Many thousands of Jews are massacred, and the violence spreads throughout Spain and Portugal, especially to Toledo, Barcelona and Mallorca. This event marks a turning-point in the history of the Spanish Jews, with most of the survivors leaving the Iberian Peninsula or being forced to convert.

title: 1391

date: February 6

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

title: 1481

text: From this year until 1660, sixteen million kilograms of silver and 185,000 kilograms of gold will enter the port of Seville.

title: 1503

section: Events › Date unknown

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Seville in Castile is awarded exclusive rights to trade with the New World.

title: 1503

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Magellan expedition departs from Seville in Spain.

title: 1519

text: History of chocolate in Spain: First recorded commercial importation of chocolate to Europe, from Veracruz in Mexico to Seville in Spain.

title: 1585

date: February 13

text: February 13 – After seizing Jaén, Córdoba, Seville and Granada, Napoleonic troops enter Málaga under the command of General Horace Sebastiani.

title: 1810

date: May 23

text: May 23 – The rebel Spanish government withdraws from Madrid to Seville following the French advance.

title: 1823

text: July 21 – A collision between two trains near Seville, Spain, kills 76 people.

title: 1972

text: May 16 – The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.

title: 1986


slug: shaanxi

label: Shaanxi

description: province of central China with its capital Xi'an, the ancient homeland of the Zhou and center of several major dynasty

year_label: 246 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Zhengguo Canal, approximately one hundred miles long, is built across the current-day province of Shaanxi in China, greatly adding to the agricultural productivity of the area and to the military potency of the Qin dynasty.

title: 246 BC

section: Events › By place › China

year_label: 210 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Terracotta Army in the mausoleum of Emperor Shihuangdi, Lintong, Shaanxi, is made (Qin dynasty) (approximate date).

title: 210 BC

section: Religion & Belief

text: Nestorian missionaries build the Daqin Pagoda in Chang'an (Shaanxi). Daqin is the name for the Roman Empire or the Near East.

title: 640

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Health & Medicine

date: August 31

text: August 31 – Shunzong issues an edict to yield the throne to his son Xianzong (Li Chun), because of an illness, taking for himself the title of "Retired Emperor" (Taishang Huang). Xian is confronted with political disputes in Zi Prefecture (Shaanxi).

title: 805

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The short-lived Qi Kingdom is founded by the warlord Li Maozhen (Prince of Qi). His power is centered in Shaanxi province, in Northwest China. The Tang dynasty comes to an end after 289 years as Emperor Ai is forced to abdicate by chancellor Zhu Quanzhong.

title: 907

text: Shen Kuo, Chinese polymath scientist and statesman, begins his defensive military campaign against the Tangut people of the Western Xia. He successfully defends the invasion route to Yanzhou (Shaanxi province).

title: 1080

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

date: May 21

text: May 21 – The Yuan dynasty Chinese warlord of Shaanxi province, Li Siqi, surrenders to the Ming dynasty Emperor Hongwu.

title: 1369

date: January 23

text: January 23 – The Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its epicenter in Shaanxi province, China; 830,000 people may have been killed.

title: 1556

date: October 22

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

title: 1935

section: Events › October


slug: shah-jahan

label: Shah Jahan

description: the fifth Mughal Emperor from 1628 to 1658

section: Culture & Society

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Sir Thomas Roe, a representative of England's East India Company, arrives in Ahmedabad at India's Mughal Empire, and seeks an audience with the Emperor, Shah Jahan. The Emperor receives Roe in an audience three weeks later, on January 6.

title: 1617

section: Events › October–December

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Raja Gaj Singh of Marwar, along with Mahabat Khan and Parviz Mirza, is deputized by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in India to hunt down Jahangir's rebel son, Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram. The search fails, and Khurram will become the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after Jahangir's death in 1627.

title: 1623

section: Events › April–June

date: December 30

text: December 30 (Jumada-l awwal 2, 1037 AH) – Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, son of the later Emperor Jahangir, enters Lahore after defeating his brother Shahryar Mirza. He is proclaimed as Shah Jahan.

title: 1627

date: February 14

text: February 14 – The coronation of Shah Jahan as ruler of the Mughal Empire takes place in Agra.

title: 1628

section: Events › January–March

text: In the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan's Pearl Mosque at Lahore Fort is consecrated (completed 1635).

title: 1630

date: June 17

text: June 17 – The death in childbirth of Mumtaz Mahal at Burhanpur causes her husband Shah Jahan to commission the Taj Mahal at Agra, as a mausoleum for her. Construction is started in 1632, and finished in 1653.

title: 1631

text: In the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan's Pearl Mosque at Lahore Fort is completed.

title: 1635

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Shah Jahan, Emperor of India's Mughal Empire, issues a decree against Portuguese Jesuits, ordering that the Agra Church be demolished and barring them from attempting to convert Hindus and Muslims to the Christian faith, but allows them to conduct their religious ceremonies in private.

title: 1635

date: March 22

text: March 22 – The Peacock Throne of India's Mughal Empire is inaugurated in a ceremony in Delhi to support the seventh anniversary of Shah Jahan's accession to the throne as Emperor.

title: 1635

text: March 22 – Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his sons capture the city of Kandahar from the Safavids.

title: 1638

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Construction begins on the Red Fort in Delhi (India) for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who is transferring his capital there from Agra.

title: 1638

section: Deaths

text: February 6 – (17 Dhu al-Qadah 1052 AH) In India, the first ceremony at the nearly-complete Taj Mahal in Agra, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan observes the 12th anniversary of the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and opens the structure to thousands of mourners.

title: 1643

date: February 22

text: February 22 – The Mughal–Safavid War begins when Shah Abbas II of the Safavid Empire in Persia captures the Afghan city of Kandahar from the Mughal Empire of India after a six-week siege. The Mughals, led by Shah Jahan, fail to recapture Kandahar after three sieges in four years.

title: 1649

date: December 7

text: December 7 – The Moti Masjid, an Islamic mosque made completely of white marble and within the walls of the Agra Fort in what is now the city of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is dedicated by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, on 16 Muharram 1064.

title: 1653

date: January 6

text: January 6 – In India, Jaswant Singh of Marwar (in the modern-day state of Rajasthan) is elevated to the title of Maharaja by Emperor Shah Jahan.

title: 1654

date: September

text: September – Shah Jahan becomes ill, allowing his son to take control of the Mughal Empire.

title: 1657

section: Events › July–September

date: April 15

text: April 15 – In India, the Battle of Dharmat is fought in the modern-day state of Madhya Pradesh between rival claimants to the throne of the Mughal Empire. Prince Muhi al-Din Muhammad, the son of the Emperor Shah Jahan, leads 30,000 men in a triumph over 22,000 troops led by Jaswant Singh of Marwar and Ratan Singh Rathore. Despite heavy losses, with more than 11,000 casualties, Prince Muhi, who has adopted the name Aurangzeb, continues toward Samugarh and Agra and captures the throne at the end of July.

title: 1658

date: February 5

text: February 5 – Prince Muhi al-Din Muhammad, one of the sons of India's Mughal, Emperor Shah Jahan, proclaims himself Emperor after Jahan names Muhi's older brother, Dara Shikoh, as regent, and departs from Aurangabad with troops.

title: 1658

date: July 31

text: July 31 – After Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire.

title: 1658

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Prince Dara Shikoh, who had been the heir apparent to the throne of the Mughal Empire in India until the overthrow of his father, Shah Jahan, makes a stand near Ajmer to fight the armies sent by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but loses and is forced to flee.

title: 1659


slug: shahrbaraz

label: Shahrbaraz

description: general and temporary ruler of the Sassanid Empire (629)

text: Byzantine–Persian War: The Persian army under Shahrbaraz captures Antioch, and most of the remaining Byzantine fortresses in Syria and Mesopotamia. King Khosrau II is re-establishing a neo-Persian Empire, and intensifies his war effort. The Byzantine army, ruined by defeat and corruption, offers only half-hearted opposition.

title: 611

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

text: Battle of Antioch: Heraclius mobilises a Byzantine expeditionary force to Antioch (Syria), but is completely defeated outside the city by the Persians. Shahin Vahmanzadegan makes further inroads into Central and Western Anatolia. In Syria, Shahrbaraz captures the cities of Damascus, Apamea and Emesa.

title: 613

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem: A Persian–Judaean army (26,000 men) commanded by Shahrbaraz captures and sacks Jerusalem, after a 20-day siege against the Byzantine Empire. Somewhere between 57,000 and 66,500 citizens are slain; another 35,000 are enslaved, including the Patriarch Zacharias. Many churches in the city (including the "Church of the Resurrection" or Holy Sepulchre) are burned, and numerous relics, including the True Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Holy Sponge, are carried off to the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

title: 614

text: Byzantine–Sassanian War: A Persian expeditionary force under Shahrbaraz invades Egypt, and occupies the province. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons in the Nile Valley, the Persians march across the Libyan Desert as far as Cyrene.

title: 618

text: Battle of Issus: Heraclius defeats the Persian forces under Shahrbaraz in Cappadocia. He recaptures Anatolia, but returns to Constantinople to deal with the threat posed to his Balkan domains by the Avars, and puts the Byzantine army into winter quarters in Pontus.

title: 622

date: June 23

text: June 23 – While at Ganzak at what is now northwest Iran, the Sassanid Emperor Khosrow II (Chosroes) is informed by soldiers who had escaped capture that Emperor Heraclius of Byzantium is preparing a surprise attack. Khosrow dispatches an envoy to inform General Shahrbaraz to abandon a campaign in Asia Minor and to accompany him to face Heraclius.

title: 624

section: Events › By date › January–June

text: Battle of Sarus: Heraclius is victorious in a Byzantine assault river crossing. The reinforced Persians under Shahrbaraz are defeated along the Sarus River, near Adana (modern Turkey). Heraclius recaptures Cappadocia and Pontus, and returns to Trapezus to spend the winter. Shahrbaraz retreats in good order, and is able to continue his advance through Asia Minor towards Constantinople.

title: 625

text: July 31 – The Avars and Persian allies under Shahrbaraz launch an attack along the entire length of the Theodosian Walls (about 5.7 kilometres); the main effort is concentrated against the central section, particularly the low-lying mesoteichion. After a fierce infantry battle on the walls, the Byzantine army holds off many assaults on the city. Emperor Heraclius makes arrangements for a new army under his brother Theodore to operate against the Persians in western Anatolia, while he returns to his own army in Pontus.

title: 626

text: Spring – Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sweeps through southern Armenia with a 50,000-man expeditionary force, recapturing most of the Byzantine fortresses lost to the Persians ten and fifteen years earlier. The army of Shahrbaraz, still in Anatolia, is now cut off completely. Hearing from Byzantine agents (showing him letters) that King Khosrau II, dissatisfied with his failure to capture Constantinople, is planning to have him executed, he surrenders to Heraclius, refusing to join the Byzantine army against his ungrateful sovereign.

title: 627

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Shahrbaraz usurps the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but is himself deposed forty days later by nobility in favour of Borandukht. Khosrow III briefly rules Khorasan in the confusion, until he is assassinated by the governor of the province.

title: 629

text: Chorpan Tarkhan, general of the Khazars, invades and devastates Roman Armenia. He defeats a Persian cavalry force (10,000 men) sent by Shahrbaraz to repel the invasion.

title: 630

date: June 9

text: June 9 – Shahrbaraz, king of the Persian Empire

title: 630


slug: shandong

label: Shandong

description: province in East China

year_label: 7 CE

text: AD 7 – Zhai Yi, Governor of the Commandery of Dong (modern Puyang, Henan) declares Liu Zin, Marquess of Yang Xiang (modern Tai'an, Shandong), emperor. This proves to be the largest of the rebellions against Emperor Ruzi of Han.

title: 0s

section: Events › China

text: Detail from a rubbing of a stone relief in Wu family shrine (Wuliangci), Jiaxiang, Shandong, is made (Han dynasty).

title: AD 151

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Xianbei kingdom of Southern Yan conquers Qing Province (modern central and eastern Shandong) from the Eastern Jin.

title: 399

text: The Four Gates Pagoda, located in central Shandong Province (East China), is completed.

title: 611

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The Army of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, led by Illig Qaghan, clashes with the army of Tang dynasty China, led by Taizong, Prince of Qin and son of Emperor Gaozu, with fighting taking place west of Binzhou in what is now the Shandong province.

title: 624

section: Events › By date › July–December

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Pagoda of Fogong Temple at Shanxi in northern China is built during the Liao dynasty. Work begins on the Pizhi Pagoda of Lingyan Temple at Shandong under the opposing Song dynasty.

title: 1056

text: The Pizhi Pagoda located at Lingyan Temple (Shandong province) in China is completed, standing at a height of 54 m (177 ft) tall.

title: 1063

section: Events › By topic › Architecture

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

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Jingnan campaign: In the Shandong province of Ming dynasty China, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, defeats the Imperial forces of General Li Jinglong in the two-day Battle of Baigou River, by taking advantage of the chaos that results when a gust of wind breaks the staff of General Li's flag of battle. The Yan forces capture 100,000 of the Imperial soldiers as prisoners and Li and the others retreat to Jinan.

title: 1400

text: Under the reign of Emperor Cheng Zu of Ming China, work begins to reinstate the ancient Grand Canal of China, which fell into disuse and dilapidation during the previous Yuan dynasty. Between 1411 and 1415, a total of 165,000 laborers dredge the canal bed in Shandong, build new channels, embankments, and canal locks. Four large reservoirs in Shandong are also dug, in order to regulate water levels, instead of resorting to pumping water from local tables. A large dam is also constructed, to divert water from the Wen River southwest into the Grand Canal.

title: 1411

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 27

text: November 27 – Hong Taiji (known in the West as Abatai) begins a 60-day march of Manchu warriors southwards from the Great Wall through Ming Chinese provinces of Zhili and Shandong, before returning northward on January 27. (Two years later Beijing falls to rebels, the Chongzhen Emperor commits suicide, and the Shunzhi Emperor becomes the first Qing Emperor to rule over China proper.)

title: 1642

date: December 16

text: December 16 – In China, the 1661 edict of the "Great Clearance", the forcible evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangnan, and Shandong in order to fight a rebellion, is rescinded by the Kangxi Emperor after lobbying by Zhou Youde, the Viceroy of Liangguang.

title: 1668

section: Events › October –December

section: Climate & Environment

date: July 25

text: July 25 – The magnitude 8.5 Shandong earthquake kills at least 43,000 people in China's Shandong province.

title: 1668

text: July 25 – The Imperial Court of China's Emperor Qianlong and his three senior grand councilors, Fuheng, Yenjisan and Liu T'ung-hsun, issues a directive to officials in the Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces warning them about the need to respond to rumors of sorcery.

title: 1768

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Japanese forces withdraw from Shandong province to their garrison in Qingdao, bringing an end to the Jinan Incident.

title: 1929

section: Events › March

date: September 17

text: September 17 – Start of the Han–Liu War over Shandong.

title: 1932

section: Events › September

section: Crime & Justice

date: April 10

text: April 10 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.

title: 1972

section: Events › April


slug: shanghai

label: Shanghai

description: provincial-level municipality in China

text: The Temple of a City God is constructed in Shanghai.

title: 1403

section: Conflict & Security

text: Shanghai is fortified for the first time.

title: 1553

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: November 17

text: November 17 – The city of Shanghai opens for trade with foreigners for the first time, welcoming a party of traders from the United Kingdom.

title: 1843

section: Events › October–December

section: Culture & Society

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Chiang Kai-shek marries Soong Mei-ling in Shanghai.

title: 1927

section: Events › December

date: February 12

text: February 12 – British troops land in Shanghai as a result of UK government concerns about the safety of residents in the British settlement.

title: 1927

section: Events › February

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Korean pro-independence paramilitary Yun Bong-gil detonates a bomb at a gathering of Japanese government and military officials in Shanghai's Hongkou Park, killing General Yoshinori Shirakawa and injuring Mamoru Shigemitsu and Vice Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura.

title: 1932

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The Kuomintang's official newspaper runs an editorial expressing regret that the attempt failed, which is used by the Japanese as a pretext to attack Shanghai later in the month.

title: 1932

section: Events › January

date: April 21

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

title: 1989

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Shanghai Pudong International Airport opens in China, becoming the primary international airport serving Shanghai and taking over all international flights from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

title: 1999

section: Events › October

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Expo 2010 is held in Shanghai, China.

title: 2010

section: Events › May

date: October 31

text: October 31 – Expo 2010 concludes in Shanghai, China.

title: 2010


slug: shanxi

label: Shanxi

description: province of central China with its capital at Taoyuan, the supposed original home of the prehistoric Huaxia

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: In China, the Xiongnu federation crosses the Great Wall and establishes itself in Shanxi Province.

title: AD 195

section: Events › By place › China

text: Tuoba Luguan divides the territory of the Tuoba clan into three areas. His nephews Tuoba Yilu and Tuoba Yituo become chieftains of the western and central areas of (Shanxi province). Tuoba Luguan dominates the eastern area (near Hohhot).

title: 295

section: Science & Discovery

text: The seated Buddha in the Yungang Grottoes, Datong (Shanxi), is made (approximate date).

title: 460

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Emperor Xiao Zhuang Di is arrested and imprisoned in a Buddhist temple at Jinyang (Shanxi). He is succeeded by Chang Guang Wang, who becomes the new ruler of Northern Wei.

title: 530

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci'en Temple, Xi'an (Shanxi) is first erected during the Tang dynasty (approximate date).

title: 645

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Nanchan Temple on Wutaishan, Shanxi, is built during the Tang Dynasty (China).

title: 782

text: Abaoji, a Khitan tribal leader, leads 70,000 cavalry into Shanxi (Northern China) to create a 'brotherhood' with Li Keyong, a Shatuo governor (jiedushi) of the Tang Dynasty.

title: 905

section: Events › By place › Asia

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Abaoji, ruler (khagan) of the confederation of Khitans, proclaims himself emperor and establishes the Liao dynasty, killing most of the other Khitan chieftains. He occupies territories along China's northern border including parts of Hebei and Shanxi provinces.

title: 907

date: February 9

text: February 9 – The Northern Han Kingdom is founded by Liu Chong (called Shizu) in modern-day Shanxi who restores the diplomatic relations with the Khitans. Northern Han becomes a protectorate of the Liao dynasty.

title: 951

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Pagoda of Fogong Temple at Shanxi in northern China is built during the Liao dynasty. Work begins on the Pizhi Pagoda of Lingyan Temple at Shandong under the opposing Song dynasty.

title: 1056

date: November

text: November – Jin–Song War: Emperor Taizong of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty declares war on the Chinese Song dynasty – and orders his armies to invade Song territory. He sends the Western army to the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province and the Eastern army to Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng), the Song capital. The Song forces are not expecting an invasion and are caught off guard.

title: 1125

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a future President of Finland, meets the 13th Dalai Lama in Shanxi, China, becoming only the third European to be granted an audience with him.

title: 1908

section: Events › June


slug: shapur-i

label: Shapur I

description: second Sassanid emperor (r. 241–272)

date: April 12

text: April 12 – Prince Shapur I becomes co-ruler of the Sasanian Empire with his father King Ardashir I.

title: 240

section: Events › By place › Persia

section: Conflict & Security

text: Emperor Gordian III begins a campaign against King Shapur I, and leads victories at Antioch, Carrhae, Nisibis, and Resaina.

title: 242

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Battle of Resaena: A Roman army under Timesitheus defeats the Sassanids at Resaena (modern Syria); King Shapur I is forced to flee to the Euphrates.

title: 243

text: Around February 11 – Battle of Misiche: King Shapur I and his Iranian army defeats the Roman army.

title: 244

text: Sassanid King Shapur I orders an invasion of Syria, with the intent of finally capturing the city of Antioch during the campaign of 251–254.

title: 251

text: Battle of Barbalissos: King Shapur I defeats the Roman army (some 70,000 men) at Barbalissos in Syria (approximate date).

title: 252

text: Battle of Barbalissos: King Shapur I, defeats a Roman field army at Barbalissos in Syria.

title: 253

text: King Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire invades Mesopotamia and Syria. He conquers and plunders Antioch, destroys Dura-Europos, and sacks the Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates. A devastating fire and an earthquake soon follow, causing Zeugma to be abandoned.

title: 256

text: Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia.

title: 257

section: Health & Medicine

text: Emperor Valerian leads an army (70,000 men) to relieve Edessa, besieged by the forces of Persian King Shapur I. An outbreak of a plague kills many legionaries, weakening the Roman position in Syria.

title: 259

text: King Shapur I captures Valerian.

title: 260

text: Persian king Shapur I destroys Caesarea Mazaca in Asia Minor.

title: 260

section: Deaths

text: Shapur I (the Great), ruler of the Sassanid Empire

title: 270

text: King Shapur I builds the Academy of Gundishapur (Iran), which becomes the intellectual center of the Sassanid Empire.

title: 271

section: Events › By topic › Art and Science

text: Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire dies, and his successor, his son Hormizd I, leads an army against nomads in Sogdiana, perhaps taking command of a war that had begun under his father. (Note: Some scholars date Shapur's death to 270 or 272)

title: 271

section: Events › By place › Near East

text: Shapur I (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empire

title: 272

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Mani, a sage of Persia, dies at Gundeshapur after 30 years of preaching his "heresy" at the court of the late Sassanian King Shapur I and on long journeys to Khorasan, India and China. He is executed or allowed to die in prison, and claims to be a prophet of God. Mani combines Zoroastrian dualism with Christian theology, and his disciples gain wide support for Manichaeism, despite opposition from Roman Emperors.

title: 274


slug: shapur-ii

label: Shapur II

description: Sasanian emperor

section: Crime & Justice

text: Hormizd is succeeded by his infant son Shapur II following the brief reign and murder of Adur Narseh.

title: 309

section: Births

text: Shapur II (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empire (d. 379)

title: 309

text: King Shapur II of Persia begins a war against the Roman Empire. He sends his troops across the Tigris to recover Armenia and Mesopotamia.

title: 337

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

title: 338

text: Emperor Constantius II hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years, the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing, with no real victor.

title: 339

text: Battle of Singara: The Roman army under Constantius wins a close victory, at the strongly fortified city of Singara (Mesopotamia). His enemy, King Shapur II, is forced to lift the siege, and withdraw the Persian army.

title: 344

text: The city of Anbar (Iraq) is founded by king Shapur II.

title: 350

text: Emperor Constantius II builds new forts to secure upper Mesopotamia. Persia's king Shapur II sends an emissary to Constantinople with gifts and a letter wrapped in white silk. He requests that Constantius return the lands of his ancestors from the Euphrates to the frontier of Macedonia. Constantius tactfully refuses to cede any territories.

title: 358

text: King Shapur II the Great of the Persian Empire invades southern Armenia. The Romans implement a scorched earth policy and place strong guards at the Euphrates crossings.

title: 359

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Julian builds a fleet of 50 warships, and more than 1,000 transport boats at Samosata, for his expedition in Persia against King Shapur II the Great.

title: 362

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Battle of Ctesiphon: Julian reaches the vicinity of the strongly fortified capital Ctesiphon. King Shapur II in charge of a large Persian army adopts a scorched earth policy, leaving the Romans desperately short of supplies.

title: 363

text: King Shapur II occupies the pro-Roman kingdom of Armenia. He besieges Artogerassa in modern Georgia, where Papas (Pap), son of King Arsaces II (Arshak II), defends the fortress and the royal treasure against Persian forces.

title: 369

text: The Persian Empire attains the zenith of its power under King Shapur II as the Romans renew their war against Persia. Hostilities will continue for the next 5 years.

title: 371

text: King Shapur II declares war as a result of Valens' support of Armenia. Emperor Valens makes Antioch his military base for the campaign against Persia.

title: 373

text: Persian king Shapur II pushes the Huns back across the Caucasus.

title: 377

text: King Shapur II, ruler of the Persian Empire, age 70, dies after a 69-year reign in which he conquered Armenia and transferred multitudes of people from the western lands to Susiana (Khuzistan). The great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) is also founded by him. His brother Ardashir II, governor-king of Adiabene, is placed by the nobles on the throne.

title: 379

text: Shapur II (the Great), ruler of the Sasanian Empire (b. 309)

title: 379


slug: shetland

label: Shetland

description: subarctic archipelago, county and council area of Scotland that lies north-east of mainland Britain

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Harald Fairhair of Norway subdues the rovers on the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, and adds them to his kingdom (approximate date).

title: 875

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Treaty of Perth: King Alexander III of Scotland agrees to a peace settlement with King Magnus VI of Norway ("the Law-mender") in which the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Man are ceded to Scotland in exchange for 4,000 marks. In return, Alexander confirms Norwegian sovereignty over the islands of Shetland and Orkney.

title: 1266

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden publishes the Treaty of Kalmar, proposing the personal union of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney) and Sweden (including Finland and Åland).

title: 1396

section: Events › April–June

section: Culture & Society

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Erik of Pomerania is crowned in Kalmar (Sweden) as ruler of the Kalmar Union, a personal union of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney) and Sweden (including Finland and Åland) engineered by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, his great-aunt and adoptive mother, who retains de facto power in the realm.

title: 1397

text: Orkney and Shetland were absorbed into Scotland.

title: 1471

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 20

text: February 20 – Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland, as a result of a defaulted dowry payment.

title: 1472

section: Events › January–March

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Third Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Ronas Voe – The English Royal Navy captures the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam in Shetland.

title: 1674

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 7

text: November 7 – The Dutch East India Company ship Liefde runs aground and sinks off Out Skerries, Shetland, with the loss of all but one of her 300 crew.

title: 1711

section: Events › October–December


slug: shia-islam

label: Shia Islam

description: second-most populous Islamic denomination

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Ali, central figure in Shia Islam (d. 661)

title: 601

text: Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi`i, Muslim imam (d. 820)

title: AD 767

text: Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i, Muslim imam (b. 767)

title: 820

section: Religion & Belief

text: Muhammad al-Mahdi, the child of the eleventh Shi'i Twelver Imam Hasan al-Askari, begins his Imamate. His first period of occultation, known as the Minor Occultation, also begins (ends 941 CE).

title: 874

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Conflict & Security

text: Abu 'Abdullah al-Shi'i leads the rebellion of the Kutama Berbers (a movement of the Shiʿite Fatimids), against the Aghlabid emirate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia).

title: 901

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

date: March 18

text: March 18 – The Fatimid Dynasty founded by Shiite Muslims in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) gains suzerainty over the Aghlabid Dynasty in North Africa. Emir Ziyadat Allah III escapes to the Near East, unable to secure any help from the Abbasid Caliphate to regain his emirate.

title: 909

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: A rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Fatimid Caliphate occurs. The Kutama tribesmen were previously the main supporters of the Shia regime.

title: AD 911

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i, Muslim Shia missionary

title: AD 911

text: Ali ibn Babawayh Qummi, Twelver Shi'a scholar

title: 939

text: Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, Twelver Shia theologian (approximate date)

title: 948

text: Sharif al-Murtaza, Buyid Shia scholar (d. 1044)

title: 965

text: Al-Sharif al-Radi, Persian Shi'ite scholar and poet (d. 1015)

title: 970

text: Ibn Babawayh, Persian Shi'ite scholar

title: 991

text: Shaykh Tusi, Persian Shia scholar (d. 1067)

title: 995

date: October 14

text: October 14 – Caliph Al-Aziz Billah dies at Bilbeis in Egypt after a 21-year reign in which he has expanded his Shiite caliphate at the expense of the Byzantines, using Turkish mercenaries (Mamelukes). He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate (until 1021).

title: 996

text: Al-Sharif al-Radi, Persian Shi'ite scholar (b. 970)

title: 1015

text: The Sunnis of Kairouan (modern Tunisia) revolt against the Shi'ite Zirid dynasty. The city is quickly retaken and sacked.

title: 1017

section: Events › Africa

title: 1022

text: The Zirid dynasty rejects Shi'ite obedience and Fatimid domination, and recognizes the Abbasids as their overlords.

title: 1041

text: Sharif al-Murtaza, Buyid Shia scholar (b. 965)

title: 1044

date: December 2

text: December 2 – Shaykh Tusi, Persian Shia scholar (b. 995)

title: 1067

text: Shaykh Tabarsi, Persian Shia scholar (d. 1153)

title: 1073

text: Ibn al-Khashshab, Seljuk Shi'i magistrate (qadi)

title: 1125

text: al-Bahrani, Arab Shia scholar and philosopher (d. 1280)

title: 1238

date: December 26

text: December 26 – Al-Mahdi Muhammad bin al-Mutahhar, the Shi'ite Muslim Imam of the Zaidiyyah state in Yemen, leads Zaidi troops to victory in a battle in the Sheref district against the Sunni Muslim Rasulid sultanate that dominates most of Yemen. A 10-year ceasefire agreement is brokered between Zaidiyyah and the Rasulid Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Da'udsultan.

title: 1311

section: Events › October – December

date: November 2

text: November 2 – Al-Nasir Muhammad Salah al-Din, Imam of the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam in Yemen, dies at San'a from injuries sustained from being thrown off of his mule. Nasir's death is not announced for two months while his son Al-Mansur Ali bin Salah ad-Din becomes the new Imam but three other claimants attempt to claim the office as well.

title: 1391

text: The first portion of the Oudh Bequest is transferred from Oudh State in the British Raj to the Shia Islam holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, in Persia.

title: 1850

text: March 2 – A series of bombings occur in Karbala, Iraq, killing over 140 Shia Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura.

title: 2004

section: Events › March

date: February 22

text: February 22 – 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing: Explosions occur at the al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The attack on the shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, causes the escalation of sectarian violence in Iraq into a full-scale war (the Iraqi Civil War of 2006–2008).

title: 2006

section: Events › February

date: June 5

text: June 5 – A Sunni militant group now calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) begins an offensive through northern Iraq, aiming to capture the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad and overthrow the Shiite government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

title: 2014

section: Events › June

date: May 12

text: May 12 – Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a suicide bomber.

title: 2020

section: Events › May


slug: shia

label: Shia

section: Births

text: Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muslim caliph and Shī‘ah imām (approximate date)

title: 600

text: March 18 (approximate) – Muhammad makes his final sermon to the Muslims. It is believed by Shia to be the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. The Imamah (Shia doctrine) of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, for the religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah, begins.

title: 632

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: Ja'far al-Sadiq, Shī‘ah Imām and scholar (or 702)

title: 700

text: Ja'far al-Sadiq, sixth Shī‘ah Imām and Muslim scholar (d. 765)

title: 702

text: Isma'il ibn Jafar, Shī‘ah Imām and scholar (or 722)

title: 719

text: Isma'il ibn Ja'far, Shī‘ah Imām and scholar (or 719)

title: 722

section: Deaths

text: Isma'il ibn Jafar, Shī‘ah Imām (approximate date)

title: 775

date: June 6

text: June 6 – Al-Rashid Billah (deposed caliph of Baghdad), having fled to Isfahan, is killed there by a team of four Nizari Ismailis (Assassins). This is celebrated in Alamut for a week by Shias.

title: 1138

section: Events › By place › Middle East

date: July 11

text: July 11 – His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV becomes the 49th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims at age 20. His grandfather Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III appoints Prince Karim in his will.

title: 1957

section: Events › July


slug: shivaji

label: Shivaji

description: Indian Maratha king and founder of the Maratha Swaraj (Empire)

date: July 13

text: July 13 – (Ashadh Vadya 1 of Shaka 1582) The Battle of Pavan Khind takes place in India when a 600-member contingent of the Maratha Empire army, commanded by Baji Prabhu Deshpande, works to rescue Maratha General Shivaji, who had escaped the night before from the fort of Panhala, which was under siege by the Adilshah Sultanate. The Bijapur Sultanate, commanded by Siddi Masud with a force of 10,000 men, loses 5,000 in a fight against a vastly outnumbered contingent of Adilshah.

title: 1660

section: Events › July–September

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Battle of Surat in India: The Maratha leader, Chhatrapati Shivaji, defeats the Mughal Army Captain Inayat Khan, and sacks Surat.

title: 1664

section: Events › January–March

date: February 21

text: February 21 – In India, Shivaji Bhonsale of the Maratha Empire captures the English East India Company's trading post at Sadashivgad (in the modern-day Indian state of Karnataka).

title: 1665

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Shivaji, leader of the Bhonsale clan of the Marathas in India, signs the Treaty of Purandar with the Mughal Empire, giving up 23 of the 35 forts under his control, agreeing to pay reparations to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and sending his son to stay as a hostage at Agra.

title: 1665

section: Events › April–June

date: August 17

text: August 17 – In India, General Shivaji Bhonsale, future ruler of the Maratha Empire, and his son Sambhaji escape from house arrest at the Agra Fort, where they have been held prisoner since May 12.

title: 1666

text: May 12 – In India, General Shivaji Bhonsale of the Maratha Empire arrives at the Agra Fort for a meeting with Emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire, as part of the terms of peace under the 1665 Treaty of Purandar. After taking offence at the disrespect shown to him, he gets angry and attempts to leave; he and his son Sambhaji are immediately placed under arrest and imprisoned at the fort.

title: 1666

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: After Shivaji's escape, hostilities between the Marathas and the Mughals ebb, with Mughal sardar Jaswant Singh acting as intermediary between Shivaji and Aurangzeb for new peace proposals.

title: 1667

section: Events › Date unknown

date: February 4

text: February 4 – The Battle of Sinhagad takes place in India (in the modern-day Maharashtra state) as the Maratha Empire army, led by Tanaji Malusare, leads an assault on the Kondhana Fortress that had been captured by the Mughal Empire. Tanaji, called "The Lion" by his followers, captures the fortress by guiding the successful scaling of the walls of the fortress with ladders created from rope, but is killed in the battle. The Maratha emperor Shivaji orders the fortress named Sinhagad, the Marathi language words for "Lion's Fort".

title: 1670

date: June 9

text: June 9 – Taking advantage of a monsoon, the Maratha Empire's Shivaji orders an attack on areas that had been turned over to the Mughal Empire and its emperor Aurangazeb in 1665. Within 15 days, the cities of Pune, Baramati, Supi and Indapur, along with the Rohida fort, are recaptured by the Maratha Army.

title: 1670

date: October 3

text: October 3 – In India, Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj, the ruler of the Maratha Empire, leads an attack on the British settlement at Surat near Bombay. British Governor Gerald Aungier secures the British fortress at Surat and saves the lives and property of British citizens.

title: 1670

section: Events › October–December

date: April 24

text: April 24 – In India, Shivaji Bhonsale, the Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, captures the Kenjalgad Fort in what is now the Maharashtra state.

title: 1674

section: Culture & Society

date: October 4

text: October 4 – A second coronation is held by the Maratha Empire for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle, after the Vedic priest Nischal Puri Goswami decides that the June 18 coronation was "held under inauspicious stars".

title: 1674

date: May 6

text: May 6 – The Siege of Ponda, an action by the Maratha Empire in southern India against the Sultanate of Bijapur, ends after four weeks when the Mughal Empire fails to send reinforcements. Most of the defenders are massacred after Emperor Shivaji's troops storm the fortress in what is now a small city in the Indian state of Goa.

title: 1675

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Prince Rajaram Bhosle, the 10-year-old son of the Shivaji, the Chhatrapati (Emperor) of the Maratha Empire in India, is installed on the throne as the new Emperor, less than three weeks after the death of his father. Sambhaji Bhosle, the eldest son of Shivaji, learns the news while imprisoned at Panhala and makes plans to escape prison and take over the throne.

title: 1680


slug: shu-han

label: Shu Han

description: former Chinese state during the Three Kingdoms era

text: Liu Bei, founder of the Shu Han (Three Kingdoms) (d. 223)

title: AD 161

text: Ma Liang, Chinese official of the Shu Han state (d. 222)

title: AD 186

text: Liu Yin (or Xiuran), Chinese general of the Shu Han state (d. 269)

title: AD 190

text: Liu Bei takes Yi Province from his clansman Liu Zhang, forming the later basis for Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.

title: 214

section: Events › By place › China

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord and descendant of the imperial clan of the Han dynasty, proclaims himself emperor in Chengdu, Sichuan, and establishes the state of Shu Han.

title: 221

section: Events › By place › Asia

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Xiaoting/Yiling: The Chinese state of Shu Han is defeated by Eastern Wu.

title: 222

text: c. February – May – Battle of Jieting: The Cao Wei Kingdom decisively defeats the Shu Han Kingdom.

title: 228

text: Ma Su, Chinese general of the Shu Han state (b. 190)

title: 228

text: Zhao Yun, Chinese general of the Shu Han state

title: 229

date: February

text: February – May – Battle of Jianwei: The state of Shu Han is victorious over the state of Cao Wei.

title: 229

date: March

text: March – August – Battle of Mount Qi: The Chinese state of Shu Han gains a tactical victory, and the state of Cao Wei a strategic victory.

title: 231

text: Battle of Wuzhang Plains between the Chinese states of Shu Han and Cao Wei: The army of Shu Han retreats, following an inconclusive result.

title: 234

text: Wu Yi (or Ziyuan), Chinese general of the Shu Han state

title: 237

text: Battle of Xingshi: Shu Han defeats the Chinese state of Cao Wei.

title: 244

text: Wu (or Wu Xian), Chinese empress of the Shu Han state

title: 245

text: Fei Yi, Chinese statesman, general and regent of the Shu Han state

title: 253

text: Conquest of Shu by Wei: The Chinese state of Cao Wei conquers Shu Han, one of its two rival states.

title: 263

text: Liu Chen, Chinese prince of the Shu Han state

title: 263

text: Liu Xuan, Chinese prince of the Shu Han state (b. 224)

title: 264

text: Liu Shan, Chinese emperor of the Shu Han state (b. 207)

title: 271


slug: siberia

label: Siberia

description: geographical region of Russia comprising North Asia

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: December 19

text: December 19 – Vitus Bering dies during his expedition, east of Siberia.

title: 1741

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Vitus Bering sets out from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to map the coasts of Siberia and Alaska.

title: 1741

date: July 25

text: July 25 (O.S.: July 13) – Five leaders of the Decembrist revolt of 1825 in Russia (Pyotr Kakhovsky, Pavel Pestel, poet Kondraty Ryleyev, Sergey Muravyov-Apostol and Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin) are hanged in Senate Square, Saint Petersburg, where they had launched their attempted coup d'état. Other conspirators begin their journey into exile in Siberia.

title: 1826

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 16

text: November 16 – A Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoyevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group, the Petrashevsky Circle. Facing a firing squad on December 23, the group members are reprieved at the last moment, and exiled to the katorga prison camps in Siberia.

title: 1849

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld leaves Karlskrona on a voyage that will make him the first man to navigate the Northern Sea Route, a shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, along the Siberian coast.

title: 1878

section: Events › June

section: Science & Discovery

date: June 30

text: June 30 (June 17 OS) – The Tunguska event near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russian Empire, is believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment, at an altitude of 5 – 10 above the Earth's surface.

title: 1908

date: April 17

text: April 17 – Lena massacre: Russian troops kill or wound 500 striking gold miners in Siberia.

title: 1912

section: Events › April

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Joseph Stalin is arrested by the Russian secret police, the Okhrana, in Petrograd, and exiled to Siberia.

title: 1913

section: Events › February

date: June 29

text: June 29 – Khioniya Guseva attempts and fails to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his hometown in Siberia.

title: 1914

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Japan agrees to withdraw its troops from Siberia.

title: 1922

section: Events › August

date: June 16

text: June 16 – The storming of Ayan in Siberia concludes the Yakut Revolt and the Russian Civil War.

title: 1923

section: Events › May–June

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: June 14

text: June 14 – June deportation: Soviet officials deport about 65,000 people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Siberia.

title: 1941

section: Climate & Environment

date: June 3

text: June 3 – Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the Siberian city of Norilsk within the Arctic Circle on May 26, 2020. The World Wildlife Fund said the accident is believed to be the second-largest in modern Russian history.

title: 2020

date: September 14

text: September 14 – The first discovery of the perfectly preserved remains of a cave bear, believed to be 22,000 to 39,500 years old (Late Pleistocene), is made in Lyakhovsky Islands, Siberia in the thawing permafrost.

title: 2020

section: Events › September


slug: sichuan

label: Sichuan

description: province of China, previously inclusive of the present Chongqing Municipality

year_label: 318 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The state of Qin moves into the Sichuan basin, giving them control of that great food-producing plain.

title: 318 BC

year_label: 309 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Soon after the State of Qin has conquered the State of Shu (in modern-day Sichuan province), they employ the Shu engineer Bi Ling to create the Guanxian irrigation system, which will eventually provide for over five million people in an area of 40 to 50 sqmi km2, still in use today.

title: 309 BC

text: The oldest known painted depiction of a wheelbarrow is found in a Chinese tomb of Chengde, Sichuan province, dated to this year.

title: AD 118

text: Cao Cao controls the Yellow River basin and northern China. Sun Quan rules southern China. Liu Bei controls Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing).

title: 219

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord and descendant of the imperial clan of the Han dynasty, proclaims himself emperor in Chengdu, Sichuan, and establishes the state of Shu Han.

title: 221

text: Emperor Wéndi of the Sui dynasty prepares a campaign against the Chen dynasty. He amasses 518,000 troops along the northern bank of the Yangtze River, stretching from Sichuan to the Pacific Ocean.

title: 588

section: Economy & Finance

text: The first Chinese paper money is issued, yet these banknotes will not become government-issued until the Song dynasty era Sichuan province issues them in the year 1024, with the central government of China following suit in the 12th century.

title: 650

text: Construction begins on the Leshan Giant Buddha near Leshan, Sichuan Province (China). Upon its completion in 803, it will become the largest stone carved Buddha in the world.

title: 713

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Health & Medicine

date: July 14

text: July 14 – Xuan Zong flees the capital of Chang'an (along with the imperial court) for Sichuan, as rebel forces advance through the Tongguan Pass toward the city. Meanwhile, An Lushan is ailing, perhaps with diabetes. He is nearly blind and suffers from extreme irascibility.

title: 756

section: Events › By place › Chinese Empire

text: The Bai kingdom of Nanzhao captures the city of Chengdu, in Sichuan Province.

title: 829

date: November 3

text: November 3 – The Former Shu Kingdom is founded by the warlord Wang Jian (Prince of Shu) in Chengdu. His power is centered in Sichuan province, in Southwest China.

title: 907

text: Jiaozi, the world's first paper-printed money, which later greatly benefits the economy of the Song dynasty, originates in the Sichuan province of China.

title: 1024

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

date: May

text: May – Under the direction of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor Hongwu, the Ming conquest of Xia begins as troops from China, led by Generals Fu Youde and Tang He invade what is now the Sichuan province from the north, while Admiral Liao Yongzhong leads an attack on Xia's east coast and along the Yangtze river.

title: 1371

section: Events › April–June

date: January 2

text: January 2 – Chinese bandit leader Zhang Xianzhong, who has ruled the Sichuan province since 1644, is killed at Xichong by a Qing archer, after having been betrayed by one of his officers, Liu Jinzhong.

title: 1647

section: Events › January–March

date: June 10

text: June 10 – An earthquake-caused landslide dam on the Dadu River gives way, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.

title: 1786

section: Religion & Belief

text: Dzogchen Monastery, in Sichuan, China, is almost completely destroyed by an earthquake.

title: 1842

date: September 12

text: September 12 – The 1850 Xichang earthquake (7.9) shakes the Chinese province of Sichuan killing more than 20,000 people.

title: 1850

section: Events › July–September

date: August 25

text: August 25 – The Diexi earthquake shakes Mao County, Sichuan, China and kills 9,000 people.

title: 1933

date: January 24

text: January 24 – An earthquake of magnitude in Sichuan, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day.

title: 1981

section: Events › January

date: April 20

text: April 20 – 2013 Lushan earthquake: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolts Sichuan, China, leaving 193 people dead and more than 11,000 injured.

title: 2013