slug: alfonso-iii-of-asturias

label: Alfonso III of Asturias

description: Spanish King

text: Alfonso III, king of Asturias (approximate date)

title: 848

text: King Alfonso III conquers Porto from the Emirate of Cordoba. This is the end of the direct Muslim domination of the Douro region.

title: 864

date: May 27

text: May 27 – King Ordoño I, ruler of the Kingdom of Asturias, dies after a 16-year reign. He is succeeded by his son, Alfonso III, who later is referred to as "Alfonso the Great".

title: 866

text: Reconquista: King Alfonso III of Asturias conquers the city of Coimbra (modern Portugal), which is under the Umayyad Caliphate.

title: 878

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

date: March 1

text: March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repopulates (repoblación) Burgos and Ubierna (Northern Spain), under the mandate of King Alfonso III of Asturias.

title: 884

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

title: 893

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Battle of Zamora: In Al-Andalus, Ibn al-Qitt and Abū Naṣr ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Alī al-Sarrāj call for a small jihad, but are defeated by King Alfonso III.

title: 901

text: Summer – King Alfonso III of Asturias is forced to abdicate the throne and partitions the kingdom among his three sons. The eldest son, García I, becomes king of León. The second son, Ordoño II, reigns in Galicia, while the third, Fruela II, receives Asturias with Oviedo as his capital.

title: 910

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Alfonso III, king of Asturias

title: 910


slug: alfonso-the-battler

label: Alfonso the Battler

description: King of Aragon and Pamplona (1073-1134)

section: Births

text: Alfonso the Battler, king of Aragon (d. 1134)

title: 1073

section: Deaths

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Alfonso I becomes king of Aragon and Navarre (after the death of his half-brother Peter I).

title: 1104

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Urraca of León becomes queen of León, Castile and Galicia after the death of her father, King Alfonso VI, making her the first European queen regnant. She marries Alfonso I.

title: 1109

section: Conflict & Security

text: Queen Urraca of Castile unsuccessfully attempts to seize the city of Burgos from her ex-husband, King Alfonso the Battler.

title: 1113

text: As part of the Norman expansion southward, Count Routrou II enters the service of King Alfonso I (the Battler) of Aragon.

title: 1114

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: December 18

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

title: 1118

section: Events › By place › Spain

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Reconquista: Battle of Cutanda: The combined forces of Aragon and Navarre under King Alfonso the Battler crush the Almoravid army near Calamocha. Alfonso recaptures the fortified towns of Calatayud and Daroca.

title: 1120

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon creates the lay community of knights known as the Confraternity of Belchite. It is the first local attempt to imitate the Order of the Knights Templar created in Palestine.

title: 1122

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

title: 1125

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

title: 1126

text: The Knights Templars appear in the North-East of Spain and are receiving privileges from King Alfonso I (the Battler). The Templars support him to regain land from the Almoravids. Alfonso grants them exemption of tax on a fifth of the wealth taken from the Muslims. The Templars found their first stronghold in Aragon.

title: 1131

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Battle of Fraga: The Castellan troops led by King Alfonso I (the Battler) defeat the Almoravid army, thanks to a timely intervention of a Norman Crusader army from Tarragona, led by Robert Bordet.

title: 1133

text: Battle of Fraga: Castillan forces are defeated by Muslim troops. King Alfonso I (the Battler) is killed and succeeded by his brother Ramiro II as ruler of Aragon. In Navarre the nobility elects Garcia VI as Alfonso's successor.

title: 1134

section: Events › By place › Mediterranean

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Alfonso I (the Battler), king of Aragon

title: 1134


slug: alfonso-v-of-aragon

label: Alfonso V of Aragon

description: King of Aragon from 1416 to 1458

date: April 2

text: April 2 – Alfonso V becomes the new King of Aragon and the new King of Sicily upon the death of his father, King Ferdinand I of Aragon.

title: 1416

section: Events › April–June

date: June 2

text: June 2 – Battle of L'Aquila: Jacopo Caldora and Micheletto Attendolo, for the Kingdom of Naples, defeat Braccio da Montone, for Alfonso V of Aragon.

title: 1424

section: Religion & Belief

date: August 15

text: August 15 – With 132 ships, the navy of Spain's Crown of Aragon, dispatched by King Alfonso V, lands in North Africa at the island of Djerba off of the coast of Tunisia and begins a siege. The Caliph of Ifriqiya, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II, attempts to defend the island. but the Aragonese take control of Djerba by September 9.

title: 1432

section: Events › July–September

section: Crime & Justice

date: January 9

text: January 9 – (Rajab 9, 837 AH) King Alfonso V of Aragon ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily as well, contracts with tapestry weaver Guillem d'Uxelles to Flanders to begin learning the Flemish methods to be duplicated in Spain, beginning the "Hispano-Flemish" style.

title: 1434

section: Events › January–March

date: August 5

text: August 5 – In the Battle of Ponza, the navy of the Duchy of Milan decisively defeats King Alfonso V of Aragon who is captured.

title: 1435

date: May 19

text: May 19 – René of Anjou, son of the late King Louis II of Valois-Anjou arrives in the Kingdom of Naples to take the vacant throne, reaching the Italian city ahead of King Alfonso V of Aragon, who also wants the throne. Alfonso makes plans to lay siege to the city of Naples.

title: 1438

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Alfonso V of Aragon lays siege to Naples.

title: 1441

section: Events › October–December

text: June 2 – After a six-month siege, King Alfonso of Aragon proclaims himself King of Naples. Alfonso allows the French ruler, King René of Anjou, to return to France.

title: 1442

section: Culture & Society

date: February 26

text: February 26 – The Spanish monarch, King Alfonso V of Aragon, makes a triumphant entrance into the city of Naples in order to assume the throne of the Kingdom of Naples.

title: 1443

date: August 13

text: August 13 – The Milanese War of Succession begins in Italy when Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan since 1412, dies from natural causes. In that Visconti had no male heir, he had bequeathed the Duchy to King Afonso V, ruler of the Kingdom of Naples (in Italy) and the Crown of Aragon (in Spain), as well as his son-in-law Francesco I Sforza and Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.

title: 1447

section: Events › July – September

date: November 3

text: November 3 – The University of Barcelona is founded by the grant of King Alfonso V of Aragon.

title: 1450

date: March 26

text: March 26 – The Treaty of Gaeta is signed at the Italian city of Gaeta between the Kingdom of Albania

title: 1451

date: June 27

text: June 27 - Alfonso V of Aragon, King of Aragon (b. 1396)

title: 1456

text: June 27 – King Alfonso V of Aragon (b. 1396)

title: 1458

text: June 27 – Alfonso V of Aragon, King of Aragon in Spain since 1416 and King of Naples in Italy since 1442, dies at his home at the Castel dell'Ovo in Naples. By prior arrangement with his family, Alfonso is succeeded as King of Naples by his son, Fernando, popularly known in Naples as "Ferrante". At the same time, Alfonso's brother Juan, King of Navarre and King of Sicily, becomes the new King of Aragon.

title: 1458


slug: alfonso-vi-of-leon-and-castile

label: Alfonso VI of León and Castile

description: King of León (1065 to 1109), of Castile (1072 to 1109), and of Galicia (1071 to 1109)

date: December 24

text: December 24 – King Ferdinand I of León ("the Great") dies in León, Spain, after an 11-year reign as Emperor of All Spain. His kingdom is divided among his three sons: the eldest Sancho II, the second Alfonso VI and the youngest García II. The kingdoms of Galicia and Portugal become independent under the rule of García.

title: 1065

date: January

text: January – Battle of Golpejera: King Sancho II ("the Strong") defeats the Castilian forces of his brother Alfonso VI ("the Brave") near Carrión de los Condes. Alfonso is captured, but released into exile, where he seeks refuge in the Taifa of Toledo (under the protection of his vassal, Emir Al-Mamun).

title: 1072

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") reaches an agreement with his cousin Sancho Ramírez, who is elected as king of Navarre. Alfonso annexes the territories of Álava, part of Gipuzkoa and La Bureba, he is crowned and adopts the title of Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all Spain").

title: 1077

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of León and Castile establishes Latin liturgy in the Catholic Church, in place of the Hispanic Rite.

title: 1080

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile exiles his most famous commander, El Cid, who goes into exile and offers his services to the twins – Counts Ramon Berenguer II and Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona, but is turned down. He ends up in the service of Emir Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud of Zaragoza.

title: 1081

date: May 25

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

title: 1085

text: Almoravid forces (supported with fighters from local Andalusian provinces), under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, besiege Aledo, but are forced to retreat, by the arrival of Spanish troops of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile.

title: 1088

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: May

text: May – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar) completes his conquest of Valencia in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and begins his rule (in the name of King Alfonso VI) there. The Almoravid campaign to regain the city fails.

title: 1094

text: The Second County of Portugal is established by Count Henry of Burgundy. The Almoravids start pushing back the forces of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") to the positions they occupied a decade earlier. This offensive begins with the re-conquest of Lisbon, which had been given away to Castile in 1091.

title: 1095

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile arranges to marry his daughter Theresa to Henry of Burgundy (House of Burgundy). Theresa's dowry includes the County of Portugal, given to Henry with Porto as the capital.

title: 1096

text: August 15 – Battle of Consuegra: The Castilian and Leonese army (30,000 men) of King Alfonso VI ('"the Brave") is defeated by Almoravid forces (10,000 men) near the Castle of Consuegra.

title: 1097

date: May 5

text: May 5 – The short-lived principality created by Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar ends: Valencia is captured by Almoravid forces under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin. It is later recaptured, evacuated and burned by King Alfonso VI.

title: 1102

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile

title: 1109

text: July 1 – Urraca of León becomes queen of León, Castile and Galicia after the death of her father, King Alfonso VI, making her the first European queen regnant. She marries Alfonso I.

title: 1109


slug: alfonso-x-of-castile

label: Alfonso X of Castile

description: King of Castile from 1252 to 1284

section: Births

date: November 23

text: November 23 – Alfonso X ("the Wise"), king of Castile (d. 1284)

title: 1221

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: Summer – The Lord Edward travels from Portsmouth with his mother, Queen Eleanor of Provence, and Boniface of Savoy, archbishop of Canterbury, to marry the 13-year-old Eleanor of Castile, the half-sister of King Alfonso X of Castile. Henry III has demanded the marriage in exchange for ending the war with Alfonso. In August, the party arrives in Burgos, capital of Castile, where the marriage is due to take place.

title: 1254

section: Events › By place › England

date: January 13

text: January 13 – At the first recorded meeting of the college of the seven Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the 48-year-old Richard of Cornwall (the brother of King Henry III of England) is elected King of the Romans. He is crowned at Aachen, on May 17. His candidacy is opposed by King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise"), Pope Alexander IV and King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") who favour Alfonso, but both are ultimately convinced by Richard's sister-in-law, Queen Eleanor of Provence, to support Richard.

title: 1257

section: Science & Discovery

text: Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") commissions Yehuda ben Moshe and Isaac ibn Sid to compile the Alfonsine Tables, describing the movement of the planets.

title: 1262

section: Events › By topic › Science and Technology

text: May – King Alfonso X ("the Wise") of Castile and León, at a meeting in Jaén, demands military support from Muhammad I, ruler of Granada, and relinquishes the ports of Tarifa and Algeciras to prepare an invasion of North Africa.

title: 1262

text: Winter – Reconquista: King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") conquers Niebla from the Moors, terminating any Muslim presence in the western region of Spain.

title: 1263

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Mudéjar Revolt: Muslim rebel forces, aided by allies from Algeciras and Tarifa, take the town of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the outnumbered Castilian garrison led by Nuño González de Lara ("the Good"). The rebels are supported by Muhammad I, ruler of the Emirate of Granada, while King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") is allied with Aragon. The rebels manage to capture Murcia, as well as several smaller towns.

title: 1264

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Kings Afonso III of Portugal and Alfonso X of Castile sign the Badajoz Convention, determining the border between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of León and ensuring Portuguese sovereignty over Algarve.

title: 1267

date: June

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

title: 1272

date: January 22

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

title: 1273

date: August

text: August – Gregory X persuades King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") to give up his claim to the title of "King of the Romans". Gregory gains support in northern Italy through Rudolf I, king of Germany.

title: 1275

text: Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq and Muhammad II, ruler of Granada, agree to a truce with King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") for two years. Before Abu Yusuf leaves, Muhammad's secretary addresses a poem to Abu Yusuf, expressing fear of Castile's power and appealing for Marinid's continued support. Later, Abu Yusuf lands at Alcázar Seguir on January 19. This ending the first Marinid invasion in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 1276

text: August 5 – Reconquista: Siege of Algeciras – Castilian forces (some 30,000 men) led by King Alfonso X ("the Wise") besiege Algeciras (at this time under control of the Marinids). A fleet of 24 ships and some 80 galleys is placed in the Bay of Gibraltar to prevent the supply of the city from nearby Gibraltar. The fleet is made up of most of the members of the Order of Saint Mary of Spain, a military-religious order which is concentrated in naval warfare.

title: 1278

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Siege of Algeciras: Castilian forces led by King Alfonso X ("the Wise") abandon the siege (begun in 1278), after their fleet (some 400 ships) is destroyed by the Marinids led by Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr. All prisoners are decapitated except the officers who are taken hostage. For the second time, the entire Castilian fleet is lost and Alfonso is forced to sign a new truce.

title: 1279

text: June – Reconquista: Castilian forces led by King Alfonso X ("the Wise") and accompanied by his sons, the Infantes Sancho, Peter and John, invade the lowlands of Granada. Sultan Muhammad II of Granada sends a Moorish army, supported by many archers and cavalry, to repel them. Alfonso defeats the Moors in a battle near Granada's walls on June 25, but after the failure of the negotiations that follow, he leaves Granada.

title: 1281

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

text: The Libro de los juegos, an early European treatise on board games (including chess, dice, and a version of backgammon), is commissioned by King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") (approximate date).

title: 1283

section: Events › By topic › The arts, culture and literature

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


slug: alfred-the-great

label: Alfred the Great

description: king of Wessex (r. 872–901)

text: Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (d. 899)

title: 849

text: King Æthelwulf of Wessex sends his two youngest sons, Alfred and Æthelred, on a pilgrimage to Rome.

title: 854

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Spring – King Æthelwulf of Wessex decides to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, accompanied by his youngest son Alfred (age 6) and a large retinue. He divides the kingdom between his two eldest sons; Æthelbald receives the western part of Wessex, while Æthelberht becomes ruler over Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex.

title: 855

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Alfred the Great marries Ealhswith (a daughter of Æthelred, known as Mucel, an ealdorman of the Gaini). He supports his brother Æthelred I, in his choice to form an alliance with Mercia.

title: 868

section: Conflict & Security

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Battle of Reading: A West Saxon force, under the command of King Æthelred I and his brother Alfred, is defeated by the Danes at Reading. Among the many dead on both sides is Æthelwulf. The Saxon troops are forced to retreat, allowing the Vikings to continue their advance into Wessex.

title: 871

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: June – The Great Heathen Army, led by Guthrum, moves on Cambridge. He later returns to Wessex, to establish a winter quarter. King Alfred the Great fights the Danes in a naval engagement.

title: 875

text: The Great Heathen Army, led by Guthrum, captures the fortress of Wareham (Dorset), and is met by a Viking army (3,500 men) from the sea, which lands at Poole Harbour. King Alfred the Great traps the Vikings, and demands hostages in return for a peace agreement. The Danes divide their forces; half flees to Exeter, where they besiege the town while the other half escape in their ships, but are lost in a storm near Swanage.

title: 876

text: Autumn – King Alfred the Great raises a large force, and marches on the Viking camp at the city of Exeter. His army besieges the Great Summer Army, led by Guthrum, and forces the Vikings to surrender. They flee north to Gloucester, and settle in the Five Boroughs (modern East Midlands).

title: 877

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Battle of Chippenham: King Alfred the Great of Wessex is surprised by a Viking attack at Chippenham in Wiltshire. He is forced to flee, with his retinue, into the Somerset Levels for safety. From his headquarters at Athelney, Alfred wages guerrilla warfare against the Vikings.

title: 878

text: King Alfred the Great establishes a series of fortified villages (or burhs) to protect Wessex against Viking raids. He creates a standing army to defend the strategic ports, and builds a network of well-maintained army roads (known as herepaths).

title: 879

text: Æthelweard, son of Alfred the Great (approximate date)

title: 880

text: King Alfred the Great increases the size of his new navy, and sails out to attack four Viking ships. Two of the ships are captured (before they surrender), and the other crews are killed.

title: 882

text: King Æthelred II of Mercia marries Princess Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred the Great. He accepts Wessex overlordship, and demotes himself to become "Lord of the Mercians".

title: 884

text: A naval force raised by Alfred the Great takes part in the two Battles of the River Stour.

title: 885

text: King Alfred the Great summons Asser, a relative of Bishop Nobis of St. David's, to the English royal court. He agrees to spend six months of the year in the king's service. Asser helps to negotiate the recognition of Alfred, as overlord of the Welsh kings.

title: 885

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: King Alfred the Great of Wessex recaptures London from the Danish Vikings, and renames it Lundenburh. Slightly upstream from London Bridge, he builds a small harbor called Queenhithe. Alfred hands the town over to his son-in-law Æthelred, lord of Mercia. A street system is planned out in the town, with boundaries of 1,100 yards from east to west, and around 330 yards from north to south.

title: 886

text: Shaftesbury Abbey is founded by King Alfred the Great in Dorset. He installs his daughter Æthelgifu as first abbess (approximate date).

title: AD 888

text: Lord Æthelred II and Lady Æthelflæd (a daughter of king Alfred the Great) of the Mercians begin their policy of fortifying Mercian cities as defensive burghs, starting with Worcester (approximate date).

title: 889

text: King Alfred the Great begins to commission and undertake a series of translations into Old English, beginning with his own version of Pope Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care.

title: 890

section: Events › By place › Europe › Britain

text: Viking raiders (80 ships) under Hastein arrive in the Thames Estuary, and set up camp at Middleton. King Alfred the Great decides to position his army in the Wealden Forest.

title: 892

text: Spring – Prince Edward, the son of King Alfred the Great, defeats the Danish Viking raiders at Farnham, and forces them to take refuge on Thorney Island. At the same time, Danes from East Anglia sail around the Cornish coast, and besiege Exeter.

title: 893

text: The Vikings in Northumbria and East Anglia swear allegiance and hand over hostages to King Alfred the Great, but promptly break their truce by attacking the southwest of England. A Viking force returns from Exeter and sails along the coast, in an attempt to plunder Chichester. They are defeated by the Saxon garrison, losing many ships and men.

title: 894

text: Autumn – King Alfred the Great blockades the Lea River and builds fortifications, trapping the Danish Vikings at Hertford. They abandon their longships and escape to Bridgnorth, located in the Severn Valley.

title: 895

text: Summer – King Alfred the Great orders the building of English warships (almost twice as long as the longships) on the Itchen at Southampton, against the Danish Viking raiders in Wessex.

title: 896

text: King Alfred the Great makes his eldest son Edward the Elder co-ruler of Wessex in preparation for his accession to the English throne.

title: 898

section: Deaths

date: October 26

text: October 26 – King Alfred the Great dies after a 28-year reign in which he has forced invading Danish Vikings to withdraw, consolidated England around Wessex, divided parts of Mercia into shires, compiled the best laws of earlier kings, encouraged learning by bringing famous scholars to Wessex and made his own translations of Latin works. He is succeeded by his eldest son, Edward the Elder as king of Wessex.

title: 899

text: October 26 – Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (b. 849)

title: 899

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Edward the Elder (son of Alfred the Great) is crowned king of England at Kingston upon Thames.

title: 900

date: December 5

text: December 5 – Ealhswith, queen and wife of Alfred the Great

title: 902

text: Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, a daughter of King Alfred the Great, builds a burh or fortified dwelling at Warwick and repairs Eddisbury hill fort. She leads the Mercians in their fight against the Danish invaders.

title: 914

text: Lady Æthelflæd, daughter of the late King Alfred the Great and the widow of Earl Æthelred of Mercia, sends an army into Brycheiniog to avenge the murder of the Mercian abbot Ecbryht and his companions. They seize and burn the royal fort of King Tewdr of Brycheiniog at Llangorse Lake (Wales), and take the queen and thirty-three others captive.

title: 916

text: Æthelweard, son of Alfred the Great (or 922)

title: 920

text: Æthelweard, son of Alfred the Great of England (or 920)

title: 922

text: The earliest known manuscript of The Proverbs of Alfred, a collection of sayings of England's Alfred the Great, is written.

title: 1251


slug: algeria

label: Algeria

description: country in North Africa

year_label: 42 CE

text: The territories of the current Algeria and Morocco become a Roman province.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 42

section: Religion & Belief

text: Synod of Hippo: A council at Hippo Regius (Algeria) is hosted by the Church. The bishops approve a canon of Sacred Scripture that correspond to the Roman Catholic Church.

title: 393

text: Augustine, age 40, becomes bishop of Hippo Regius (modern Algeria). His assignment is the reunification of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa, primarily focusing on the Donatist movement led by Primianus of Carthage.

title: 395

text: End of the Vandal War (439-442): Emperor Valentinian III signs a peace treaty with King Genseric, and recognises the Vandal Kingdom. He grants him sovereignty over most of Africa. Genseric gives back Sicily and Mauretania (Algeria and Morocco). This marks the end of the Vandal migrations; they settle in North Africa, with Carthage as their capital.

title: AD 442

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: The independent Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Kingdom of the Moors and Romans) is formed by Christian Berbers in the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis (present-day northern Algeria), bordering the Vandal Kingdom to the east.

title: 477

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

title: 540

text: Carcasan, king of the Ifuraces (Algeria)

title: 548

text: At about this time, Muslim Umayyad Caliphate forces led by Uqba ibn Nafi overrun the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He occupies the cities of Tripoli and Carthage, the last Byzantine bases in Africa. In 682 or 683 the Umayyads are ambushed at the Battle of Vescera near Biskra (modern Algeria) by Romano-Berbers of King Caecilius and their Byzantine allies from the Exarchate of Carthage. Uqba ibn Nafi is killed and his army evacuates the city of Kairouan in Tunisia and withdraws to Barca.

title: 682

text: Berber forces led by Queen Kahina ("The Diviner") are crushed by Arab invaders at Aures (Algeria). She has rallied the Berbers since the collapse of Byzantine power (see 647).

title: 698

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Musa ibn Nusayr defeats the Berber forces in Algeria, ending resistance against the Arabs (approximate date).

title: 700

text: Arab general Musa ibn Nusayr conquers the city of Tlemcen in Algeria; once and for all solidifying Al-Maghreb Al-Awsat (Modern-day Algeria), which makes way for the stabilization of the entirety of North Africa a couple years later.

title: 705

text: The Zenata Berber tribe of Banu Ifran rebels against the Abbasid Caliphate, and creates an independent state centered around Tlemcen (modern Algeria). Their tribal chief Abu Qurra rebuilds the city (formerly, the Roman colonia Pomaria).

title: 765

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

section: Exploration & Expansion

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

title: 775

text: The Abbasid Caliphate is forced to cede Ifriqiya (present-day north-eastern Algeria, Tunisia and western Libya) to the Aghlabid Dynasty.

title: 800

section: Events › Africa

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

title: 902

date: November

text: November – (Shaban 312 AH) Hamd bin Khazar, leader of the Zenata Berber nomads in the high plateau of central Algeria, sets an ambush that kills Massala ibn Habus, the Fatimid Governor of Tahert.

title: 924

section: Events › October—December

text: Ziri ibn Manad is installed as governor of central Maghreb. He initiates the construction of the fortress of Ashir, near Médéa (modern Algeria). It symbolises the rise of the Zirid dynasty in the Western Mediterranean region.

title: 935

text: Abu Yazid, a Kharijite Berber leader, launches a rebellion in the Aurès Mountains (modern Algeria) against the Fatamids, seeking aid from the Caliphate of Córdoba in Al-Andalus.

title: 944

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Abu Yazid, a Kharijite Berber leader who has led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, is defeated in the Hodna Mountains (modern-day Algeria). Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah sets about restoring the Fatimid dominion over North Africa.

title: 947

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah dies after a severe illness. He is succeeded by his 21-year-old son al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate. His authority is recognized over most of what later will be Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

title: 953

text: The Kharijite Banu Ya'la tribe revolts against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya and destroys the city of Oran (modern Algeria). They construct a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara.

title: 955

text: The Fatimid general Abu al-Hasan Jawhar ibn Abd Allah takes Ifgan, the capital of the rebellious Kharijite Banu Ya'la tribe. In the following two years, Jawhar conquers most of the north of modern-day Morocco and Algeria. In particular, he conquers the cities of Tangier, Sijilmasa and Tlemcen.

title: 958

text: Hammad ibn Buluggin adopts Sunni Islam and declares his independence from the Zirid dynasty (modern Algeria). He recognizes the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad as being the rightful caliphs and becomes the first ruler of the Hammadid dynasty (until 1028).

title: 1014

text: A Pisan and Genovese fleet attack Bona (modern Annaba) on the Maghribi coast (modern Algeria). The city is occupied for one year.

title: 1034

text: Béjaïa (or Bugia) becomes the capital of the Hammadid dynasty in modern-day Algeria. It becomes an important port and centre of culture.

title: 1090

text: The Hammadid Emirate (modern Algeria) launches an assault against the city of Mahdia (modern Tunisia).

title: 1135

section: Events › By place › North Africa

text: The city of Béjaïa (modern Algeria) repels a Genoan naval assault.

title: 1136

text: Norman raiders capture Jijel (modern Algeria). A Norman raid on Ceuta fails, but at the same time the Normans lead a successful assault against Sfax.

title: 1143

text: Summer – King Roger II launches a full scale invasion into North Africa, seizing lands from Emir Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali in what is now parts of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – thereby opening up more of the mercantile wealth of the Muslim world to Sicilian merchants. On June 18, George of Antioch conquers Tripoli and establishes more Sicilian authority.

title: 1146

text: The Almohad Caliphate conquers the Maghrib al-Awsat (modern Algeria). The city of Béjaïa becomes one of the main naval bases of the Almohads.

title: 1152

text: Normans conduct a series of raids in North Africa, including Annaba (modern Algeria) and the Nile Delta.

title: 1154

text: Abu Zakariya Yahya expands his influence by conquering the cities of Constantine and Béjaïa (modern Algeria). He becomes the founder and first ruler of the Hafsid Dynasty in Ifriqiya.

title: 1229

text: Summer – In the Maghreb, after a string of successes against the Almohad Caliphate, Hafsid forces under Sultan Abu Zakariya Yahya conquer the city of Tlemcen (modern Algeria). The Kingdom of Tlemcen becomes a vassal of Abu Zakariya, and is formed in a series of small states between his rule and the states of the Western Maghreb.

title: 1242

date: January 17

text: January 17 – Aragonese forces led by King Alfonso III (the Liberal) conquer the island of Menorca. He signs the "Treaty of San Agayz" with Sultan Abû 'Umar ibn Sa'îd on January 21. Alfonso accepts a policy of free trade for merchants and their property. He also concludes an alliance against the Marinids with Abu Said Uthman I, ruler of the Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen (modern Algeria). He proposes to supply him with five to ten galleys (with food and other goods) in exchange for 500 elite Zayyanid horsemen.

title: 1287

text: The Zayanids under Abu Hamuw II recapture Kingdom of Tlemcen in Algeria.

title: 1359

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Abu Tashufin II succeeds his nephew, Abu Hammu II, as ruler of the Abdalwadid Dynasty in present-day eastern Algeria.

title: 1389

text: Abd ar-Rahmân II succeeds Musa II as ruler of the Ziyanid Dynasty, in present-day western Algeria.

title: 1389

text: Abu Zayyan II succeeds his brother, Abul Hadjdjadj I, as ruler of the Abdalwadid dynasty in present-day eastern Algeria.

title: 1394

date: June 3

text: June 3 – At Tunis, Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz al-Mutawakkil becomes the new of Caliph of the Hafsid Sultanate of Ifriqiya in North Africa

title: 1394

section: Events › April–June

date: September 13

text: September 13 – In what is now Algeria, the Spanish Army under the command of Ramón de Cardona, captures the city of Mers-el-Kébir, a port of the Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen, ruled by the Sultan Abu Abdallah V.

title: 1505

section: Events › July–September

date: June 5

text: June 5 – The Sultan Abu Abdallah V of Tlemcen (now part of Algeria) agrees to pay a demand for tribute to the Ferdinand II, King of Aragon (now part of Spain), prompting Ferdinand to plot an invasion of the neighboring kingdom Ifriqiya and its capital, Tripoli.

title: 1510

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Abu Abdallah Muhammad VI is installed as the new ruler of the Kingdom of Tlemcen in modern-day Algeria, succeeding his brother Abu Zayyan III.

title: 1543

section: Events › January–March

date: May 20

text: May 20 – The Spanish Catalan city of Cullera is plundered by the Ottoman Empire General Dragut Reis, and most of its inhabitants are sold into slavery in Algeria.

title: 1550

date: December 18

text: December 18 – The Battle of Cádiz begins off of the coast of the Spanish city as the English warship HMS Mary Rose encounters seven pirate ships from Algeria. Although none of the ships on either side are sunk, the Algerians are forced to retreat with an unknown number of casualties, and the Mary Rose loses 12 dead and 18 wounded.

title: 1669

text: October 3 – The Battle of Jouami' al-Ulama takes place in Algeria with a surprise attack and ambush on the army of Murad III Bey of Tunis by two Algerian defenders, Hadj Mustapha, Dey of Algiers and Ahmed ben Ferhat, Beylik of Constantine.

title: 1700

text: Sylvain Charles Valée founds Skikda, Algeria.

title: 1838

text: January 31 – Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Bey Karam leaves Lebanon aboard a French ship for Algeria.

title: 1867

text: September 8 – The Little Sisters of Jesus is founded in Algeria, by Little Sister Magdeleine.

title: 1939

text: July 3 – WWII: Attack on Mers-el-Kébir: British naval units sink or seize ships of the French fleet anchored in the Algerian ports of Mers-el-Kebir and Oran, to prevent them from falling into German hands. The following day, Vichy France breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain.

title: 1940

text: Operation Torch: Elements of the Allied expeditionary force (some 105,000 men) under Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower lands simultaneously along the coastline of Morocco and Algeria in French North Africa.

title: 1942

text: February 6 – WWII: Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Louisburg is bombed and sunk off Oran, Algeria by Italian aircraft.

title: 1943

text: September 9 – The 6.7 Chlef earthquake shakes northern Algeria, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The shock destroys Orléansville, leaving 1,243–1,409 dead, and 5,000 injured.

title: 1954

text: August 20 – Hundreds of people are killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.

title: 1955

text: May 23 – French minister Pierre Mendès France resigns, due to his government's policy on Algeria.

title: 1956

text: February 4 – France prohibits U.N. involvement in Algeria.

title: 1957

text: December 9 – French President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is bloodied by European and Muslim rioters in Algeria's largest cities. These riots cause 127 deaths.

title: 1960

text: February 13 – Gerboise Bleue: France tests its first atomic bomb, in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.

title: 1960

text: April 22 – Algiers putsch: Four French generals who oppose de Gaulle's policies in Algeria fail in a coup attempt.

title: 1961

text: October 17 – 1961 Paris massacre: French police in Paris attack about 30,000 people protesting against a curfew applied solely to Algerians. The official death toll is 3, but human rights groups claim 240 dead.

title: 1961

text: August 16 – Algeria joins the Arab League.

title: 1962

text: July 31 – Algeria proclaims independence; Ahmed Ben Bella is the first President.

title: 1962

text: March 8–12 – In Geneva, France and the Algerian FLN begin negotiations.

title: 1962

text: June 19 – Houari Boumediene's Revolutionary Council ousts Ahmed Ben Bella, in a bloodless coup in Algeria.

title: 1965

text: June 30 – Moise Tshombe, former president of Katanga and former prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is kidnapped and taken to Algeria.

title: 1967

text: October 10 – The 7.1 El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,633–5,000 and injuring 8,369–9,000.

title: 1980

text: October 8 – Gaddafi announces that Algeria and Libya have "agreed in principle" to a proposed union of the two states, which Gaddafi suggests should be named "Algibya."

title: 1987

text: February 9 – Algerian Civil War: The government of Algeria declares a state of emergency and begins a crackdown on the Islamic Salvation Front.

title: 1992

text: March 27 – Following a rash of integrist murders (including those of foreigners), Algeria breaks diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing the country of interfering in its interior affairs.

title: 1993

text: August 18 – 1994 Mascara earthquake: a 5.8 earthquake leaves 171 dead in Algeria.

title: 1994

text: May 21 – Seven Trappist monks from the monastery of Thibirine are killed by members of the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria after talks with French government concerning the imprisonment of several GIA sympathisers break down.

title: 1996

text: April 3 – The Thalit massacre in Algeria: all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.

title: 1997

text: January 11 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.

title: 1998

text: June 5 – The Islamic Salvation Army, the armed wing of the Islamic Salvation Front, agrees in principle to disband in Algeria.

title: 1999


slug: algiers

label: Algiers

description: capital city of Algeria

section: Conflict & Security

text: The cities of Algiers and Miliana are re-founded by the Zirid ruler (emir) Buluggin ibn Ziri.

title: 944

date: May

text: May – Berber forces under Ali Banu Ghaniya seize the Almohad cities of Algiers, Béjaïa and Constantine by surprise. While he is away from his base in Mallorca, one of his brothers, Muhammad, takes control of the island and calls in the Almohads, who intend to capture Mallorca for themselves. Banu Ghaniya arrives just in time to defeat the Almohads and recapture the island.

title: 1184

text: The Almohad forces under Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur reconquer Béjaïa and Algiers, that have been taken by the Banu Ghaniya, descendants of the Almoravids.

title: 1185

text: Marinid forces take the city of Algiers, at this time independent.

title: 1275

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: October 24

text: October 24 – Algiers Expedition: One day after thousands of Spanish, German and Italian soldiers arrived on the North African coast and proceeded to surround the city of Algiers, heavy storms begin and the Algerian defenders surround King Charles and the other commanders. Fifteen European ships are wrecked onshore, and 33 others sink. Over the next 30 days, the Europeans are forced to retreat.

title: 1541

section: Events › October–December

date: July 5

text: July 5–13 – Turkish Abductions: Barbary corsairs from Algiers raid the East Fjords of Iceland and take captives into slavery.

title: 1627

section: Crime & Justice

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Algerian pirates sack Baltimore, County Cork, in Ireland.

title: 1631

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Abu l-Hasan Ali I, Bey of Tunis is forcibly removed after 23 years as the ruler of the North African emirate by his cousins, who are avenging the overthrow and execution of their father, Husayn in 1735. Hasan Ali surrenders to the rebels and is imprisoned in Algiers, then executed on September 22 on orders of the new Bey of Tunis, Muhammad I ar-Rashid.

title: 1756

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: January 3

text: January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (see also 1796).

title: 1797

section: Culture & Society

text: Eugénie Luce founds the Luce Ben Aben School in Algiers.

title: 1845

text: Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and Empress Eugénie visit Algiers and stay at the Casbah of Algiers.

title: 1860

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Crisis in France: French Algerian protesters seize government offices in Algiers, leading to a military coup.

title: 1958

section: Events › May

date: April 20

text: April 20 – OAS leader Raoul Salan is arrested in Algiers.

title: 1962

section: Events › April

text: June 20 – Police in Algiers break up demonstrations by people who have taken to the streets chanting slogans in support of deposed President Ahmed Ben Bella.

title: 1965

section: Events › May–June

date: November 15

text: November 15 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed at the Palestinian National Council meeting in Algiers, by a vote of 253–46.

title: 1988

section: Events › November


slug: ali

label: Ali

description: 4th Rashidun Caliph (r. 656–661) and first Shia Imam

section: Births

text: Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of the prophet Muhammad, father of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (d. 619)

title: 535

text: Ali ibn Abi Talib born(13 rajab), first Shia Imam (d. 661)

title: 594

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

title: 600

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

title: 601

text: Ali ibn Abi Talib, ruler of the Rashidun Caliphate (d. 661)

title: 607

text: Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, son of Abu Bakr and brought up by Ali

title: 631

section: Religion & Belief

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Uthman ibn Affan is murdered at Medina after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi-Talib, who becomes the fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. He makes Kufah (Iraq) his capital, but the succession is disputed.

title: 656

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

date: July 26

text: July 26 - July 28 – Battle of Siffin: Muslim forces under Ali ibn Abi-Talib fight an inconclusive battle against Mu'awiya I, on the banks of the Euphrates, near Raqqa (Syria).

title: 657

section: Events › By place › Arab Empire

date: April

text: April: Amr ibn al-As and Abu Musa al-Ashari conclude the arbitration agreement that ended the Battle of Siffin the previous year, declaring Caliph Ali deposed and declaring Muawiyah as the legitimate Caliph. This badly damages Ali's standing among the Caliphate, and paves the way for the end of the First Fitna.

title: 658

section: Events › By place › Rashiduin Caliphate

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Assassination of Ali: Ali ibn Abi Talib, first Shia imam and fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, is struck on the head with a poisoned sword by the Khawarij Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, while at prayer at a shrine at Kufa (modern-day), dying two days later. His son, Hasan ibn Ali, is chosen by Muslims to succeed him as the next leader. According to the Umayyads, he is succeeded by Muawiyah I as Caliph, age 59, who moves his seat of government to Damascus, and founds the Umayyad Caliphate, ending the Rashidun Caliphate.

title: 661

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire (Islamic Caliphate)

section: Deaths

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Ali, first Shia Imam and Fourth Rashidun Caliph (b. 601) (martyred)

title: 661


slug: allies-of-world-war-ii

label: Allies of World War II

description: grouping of the victorious countries of World War II

section: Conflict & Security

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Iran (which has provided weapons for Russia) refuses to support the Allied Forces after the October Revolution.

title: 1917

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: December

text: Mildred Gillars ("Axis Sally") delivers her first propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.

title: 1941

section: Events › December

date: December 2

text: December 2 – WWII: Bari chemical warfare disaster: A surprise Luftwaffe air raid on Bari, Italy sinks 28 Allied ships in the harbor, including the American Liberty ship , releasing its secret cargo of mustard gas bombs, inflating the number of casualties.

title: 1943

date: July 10

text: July 10 – (0245 GMT (4:45 a.m. local time)) – WWII: Allied invasion of Sicily – The Allied invasion of Axis-controlled Europe begins, with landings on the island of Sicily off mainland Italy by the Seventh United States Army and the British Eighth Army, including the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.

title: 1943

section: Events › July

date: March 5

text: March 5 – The Gloster Meteor, the first Allied jet fighter, makes its first flight, in England.

title: 1943

section: Events › March

date: October

text: The Burma Railway is completed between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma (modern-day Myanmar) (415 km mi) by the Empire of Japan, to support its forces in the Burma campaign, using the forced labour of Asian civilians and Allied Prisoners of war.

title: 1943

section: Events › October

date: March 15

text: March 15 – WWII: Battle of Monte Cassino: Allied aircraft bomb the monastery, and an assault is staged.

title: 1944

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

title: 1944

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Mildred Gillars ("Axis Sally") delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops (the first was on December 11, 1941).

title: 1945

date: January 7

text: January 7 – The Allies of World War II recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones.

title: 1946

section: Events › January

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to Germany.

title: 1949

section: Events › September

date: April 28

text: April 28 – The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the war between Japan and the Allies, and simultaneously ending the occupation of the four main Japanese islands by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

title: 1952

section: Events › March–April

date: October 26

text: October 26 – After the last Allied troops have left Austria, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, the country declares its permanent neutrality.

title: 1955


slug: almanzor

label: Almanzor

description: Arab Andalusian military leader and statesman (c.938-1002)

text: Almanzor, Umayyad vizier and de facto ruler (approximate date)

title: 938

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Caliph Al-Hakam II dies after a 15-year reign in which he has ended the Fatimid Caliphate in Morocco and made the University of Córdoba the greatest institution in the world. Al-Hakam is succeeded by his 10-year-old son Hisham II as ruler of the Caliphate of Córdoba. His widow Subh becomes regent together with Almanzor the de facto rulers.

title: 976

section: Events › By place › Europe

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

title: 978

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

title: 981

date: July 6

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

title: 985

text: Summer: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, continues his effort in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and plunders the city of Coimbra (modern Portugal).

title: 986

text: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, occupies the city of Coimbra (modern Portugal).

title: 987

text: Almanzor (Al-Mansur), de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, continues his offensive against the kingdoms of León and Castile. King Bermudo II escapes to Zamora; the city resists for four days, but is finally sacked and captured.

title: 988

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Al-Mansur, Chancellor and effective ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (modern Portugal), expanding the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba.

title: 990

text: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, assaults and partially destroys the city of Santiago de Compostela. He is accompanied in his raid by Christian Portuguese lords, who all receive a share of the booty. On their way, they sack the cities of Zamora and León.

title: 997

text: King Bermudo II abdicates in favor of his 5-year-old son Alfonso V as ruler of León. Moorish invaders have forced Bermudo to recognize the suzerainty of their leader, Umayyad vizier and the de facto ruler Al-Mansur.

title: AD 999

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Al-Mansur, Umayyad vizier and de facto ruler (b. 938)

title: 1002

date: July

text: July – Battle of Calatañazor: Christian armies led by Alfonso V of León, Sancho III of Pamplona and Sancho García of Castile, defeat the invading Saracens under Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus.

title: 1002


slug: almeria

label: Almería

description: municipality and capital of the province of Almeria, Spain

text: Abd ar-Rahman III signs a peace in 951 with the new king of León, Ordoño III, in order to have a free hand against the Fatimids, whose ships are harassing the caliphal fleet in the Mediterranean and had even launched an assault against Almeria. Abd ar-Rahman's force, led by prime minister Ahmad ibn Said, besieges the Fatimid port of Tunis, which purchases its safety through a huge sum.

title: 951

section: Events › By place › China

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

text: The Almoravid fleet under Admirals Abu Abd Allah ibn Maymum of Almería and Isa ibn Maymum of Sevilla attacks the coastline of the Christian Kingdom of Galicia.

title: 1120

text: The Republic of Genoa raids the Muslim-held Balearic Islands. The Republic of Pisa protests officially – seeing the islands as rightfully theirs. The Genoese then proceed to lay siege to Almería, in vain.

title: 1146

date: July 17

text: July 17 – King Alfonso VII of León and Castile, leads a campaign at the head of mixed armies of Catalonia, Genoa, Pisa and France. He besieges Almería in southern Al-Andalus (modern Spain); a Genoese fleet of 63 galleys and 163 other vessels, blockade the Almoravid-held port, which is captured after a 2-month siege on October 17.

title: 1147

date: August 11

text: August 11 – Siege of Almería: Aragonese forces (some 12,000 men) under King James II of Aragon ("James the Just") land on the coast of Almería and begin blockading the city with his fleet. His forces include siege engines such as mangonels and trebuchets. James orders multiple unsuccessful assaults on the city and is forced (due to a shortage of supplies) to make a truce in December.

title: 1309

section: Events › July – September

date: January 13

text: January 13 – In Spain, Marinid Prince Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, who started an uprising the year before against the Emirate of Granada and its ruler Muhammad IV, arrives at Almería and proceeds to enlist Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Sa'id, Muhammad IV's uncle, to be installed as the new Emir, with the name al-Qa'im bi-amr Allah.

title: 1327

section: Events › January – March

section: Climate & Environment

date: September 22

text: September 22 – A 6.8 magnitude earthquake kills more than 2,500 people in the Spanish city of Almería, near Alhama de Almería. It has a maximum felt intensity of X–XI (extreme), making it the most destructive earthquake in Spanish history, and destroys the city, as well as damaging 80 other towns; in Granada, large cracks are observed in various walls and towers.

title: 1522

section: Events › July–September


slug: almohad-caliphate

label: Almohad Caliphate

description: 1121–1269 Berber empire in North Africa and Iberia

text: In the first commercial treaty between the Almohad Caliphate and a Christian power, the Republic of Genoa obtains trading rights in the port of North Africa.

title: 1137

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Abd al-Mu'min, ruler of the Almohad Caliphate, is unable to feed his population during a famine. He recognize the de facto protectorate of Roger II to support the commercial center of Mahdia.

title: 1142

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min conquers most of Morocco from the Almoravids.

title: 1146

section: Conflict & Security

text: Spring – The Almohads under Abd al-Mu'min destroy the Almoravid Empire. They capture Marrakesh and kill the last emir, Ishaq ibn Ali. Abd al-Mu'min orders the elimination of 30,000 Almoravids in a purge.

title: 1147

text: Following the uprising of other cities in the region of Meknes (modern Morocco) under al-Massati, the population of Ceuta rebels against the Almohads.

title: 1148

text: The Almohad Caliphate conquers the Maghrib al-Awsat (modern Algeria). The city of Béjaïa becomes one of the main naval bases of the Almohads.

title: 1152

text: The Almohad army conquers the last independent Muslim stronghold at Granada (modern Spain), after a six year siege.

title: 1154

text: The independent city-state Sfax revolts against Norman occupation. Almohad forces conquer the city and massacre the Christian citizens.

title: 1156

text: Approximate date – A commercial treaty between the Almohad Caliphate and the Republic of Pisa opens the North African ports to Tuscan merchants.

title: 1160

section: Deaths

text: The Almohad emir, Abd al-Mu'min, prepares a gigantic fleet of some four hundred ships to invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain). He dies the following year, before the fleet is completed.

title: 1162

text: A commercial treaty grants access to Almohad-dominated ports to merchants from several European powers, including Marseille and Savona.

title: 1164

text: Reconquista – Gerald the Fearless, Portuguese warrior and adventurer, seizes the city of Évora by surprise. The same year (or soon after), he takes Cáceres, Trujillo, Montánchez, Moura, Monsaraz and Alconchel from the Almohads.

title: 1165

date: October 15

text: October 15 – Battle of Fahs al-Jullab: Almohad forces defeat Ibn Mardanish, ruler of the Taifa of Murcia. His army is routed at a place called the "merchant field" near Alhama, in the valley of the Guadalentín.

title: 1165

text: Fes in the Almohad Caliphate (modern Morocco) becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 1170

text: Autumn – King Alfonso II (the Chaste) of Aragon conquers the cities of Caspe and Teruel. He strengthens his southern frontier after Almohad forces under Caliph Yusuf I ravage Catalonia.

title: 1171

text: Abu Yaqub Yusuf, caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, re-populates the western Andalusian city of Beja. But it is rapidly abandoned, a sign of the quick demographic weakening of the Muslims in the peninsula.

title: 1173

text: Under the admirals of the clan Banu Mardanish, an Almohad fleet suffers a large defeat at the hand of the Portuguese, as they are trying to re-conquer Lisbon.

title: 1175

text: Portuguese forces under King Afonso I (the Conqueror) capture the city of Beja from the Almohads.

title: 1178

date: September 17

text: September 17 – A large offensive, by the Almohad army led by Yusuf I in southern Portugal, aims at the reconquest of the Alentejo. Further north, an Almohad fleet sails to attack Lisbon, but is repelled by the Portuguese, near the Cape Espichel. The Portuguese fleet later manages to enter in the harbour of Ceuta, and destroy a number of Muslim ships. It is the beginning of a four-year naval conflict between the Almohads and Portuguese.

title: 1179

text: Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song dynasty in China, becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Fez in the Almohad Caliphate.

title: 1180

section: Events › By topic › Demography

text: After a series of defeats, the Almohad fleet under the admiral Ahmad al-Siqilli, crushes the Portuguese navy and reasserts its control over the Atlantic Ocean.

title: 1181

section: Events › Europe

date: August 10

text: August 10 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur is proclaimed the new caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, after his father Abu Yaqub Yusuf is killed in Portugal.

title: 1184

text: Siege of Silves – the Almohad caliph, Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, fails to reconquer Silves, Portugal.

title: 1190

date: January 23

text: January 23 – Caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur dies at Marrakesh after a 15-year reign in which he has defeated the Castilian forces of King Alfonso VIII (the noble) (see 1195) and other Christian enemies in Al-Andalus. He is succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Nasir as ruler of the Almohad Caliphate (until 1213).

title: 1199

text: The Almohad fleet expels the Banu Ghaniya from the Balearic Islands.

title: 1202

text: Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir establishes Almohad domination over the eastern parts of Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). He appoints General Abu Mohammed ibn Abi Hafs as governor of Ifriqiya.

title: 1205

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

text: King Sancho II of Portugal ("the Pious") launches an offensive against the Almohad Caliphate during the Reconquista, and takes the city of Elvas.

title: 1226

text: The Almohad army besieges the city of Ceuta, where Abu Musa, rebellious brother of Caliph Idris al-Ma'mun, has received shelter and the support of the population. The Genoese rent a part of their fleet to the rebels, who successfully resist the forces of the caliph. The consequences of this revolt are threefold: the city becomes de facto independent from the Almohads, but its reliance on the Italian maritime powers increases, and the Trans-Saharan trade routes begin to shift eastward, due to the local turmoil.

title: 1232

date: October 17

text: October 17 – Idris al-Ma'mun, ruler of the Almohad Caliphate

title: 1232

date: November

text: November – Pope Gregory IX grants the status of Crusade to King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint"), who leads a successful campaign against the Almohads in Murcia.

title: 1239

text: Summer – In the Maghreb, after a string of successes against the Almohad Caliphate, Hafsid forces under Sultan Abu Zakariya Yahya conquer the city of Tlemcen (modern Algeria). The Kingdom of Tlemcen becomes a vassal of Abu Zakariya, and is formed in a series of small states between his rule and the states of the Western Maghreb.

title: 1242

date: September 8

text: September 8 – Berber forces of the Marinid Sultanate under Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq complete the conquest of Morocco and capture Marrakesh after a long siege, effectively ending the Almohad Caliphate. The last Almohad ruler, Idris al-Wathiq (or Abu Dabbus), is assassinated by a slave. The Marinids become the new masters of the western Maghreb and Abu Yusuf Yaqub takes up the title of "Prince of the Muslims".

title: 1269


slug: almoravid-dynasty

label: Almoravid dynasty

description: Berber dynasty that once ruled over Al-Andalus and Maghreb

text: The Almoravids, led by Abdallah ibn Yasin, invade Morocco (approximate date).

title: 1042

section: Events › By place › Islamic world

text: The Almoravids retake the trading center of Aoudaghost from the Ghana Empire. Repeated Almoravid incursions, aimed at seizing control of the trans-Saharan gold trade, disrupt Ghana's dominance of the trade routes.

title: 1054

text: The Almoravids conquer the Barghawata, a group of Berber tribes, who have established an independent state in modern-day Morocco.

title: 1058

text: The Almoravids overrun modern-day Morocco, and establish an intercontinental kingdom, stretching from Spain to Senegal.

title: 1062

section: Culture & Society

date: September

text: September – Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah marries Abu Bakr ibn Umar, leader of the Almoravids, and becomes his queen and co-regent.

title: 1068

date: May

text: May – Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah marries Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the Almoravids, and becomes his queen and co-regent.

title: 1071

text: Approximate date – Koumbi Saleh, an important mercantile and political center of the Ghana Empire (modern Mauritania), is besieged by the Almoravids.

title: 1076

text: The Almoravids complete the conquest of the Ghana Empire, and reach Spain (approximate date).

title: 1077

text: The Almoravid emir, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, besieges Ceuta. Since the city can receive help from the sea, the siege will last until 1083.

title: 1078

text: The Almoravid emir, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, conquers Tangier, Badis and Hunayn.

title: 1080

text: Ceuta falls to the Almoravids, after a five-year siege.

title: 1083

section: Births

text: Ali ibn Yusuf, ruler of the Almoravids (d. 1143)

title: 1084

date: October 23

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

title: 1086

text: Abu Bakr ibn Umar, military leader of the Almoravids

title: 1087

text: Almoravid forces (supported with fighters from local Andalusian provinces), under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, besiege Aledo, but are forced to retreat, by the arrival of Spanish troops of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile.

title: 1088

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

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

text: May – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar) completes his conquest of Valencia in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and begins his rule (in the name of King Alfonso VI) there. The Almoravid campaign to regain the city fails.

title: 1094

text: The Second County of Portugal is established by Count Henry of Burgundy. The Almoravids start pushing back the forces of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") to the positions they occupied a decade earlier. This offensive begins with the re-conquest of Lisbon, which had been given away to Castile in 1091.

title: 1095

text: Summer – Almoravid forces launch a new campaign in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the Almoravid Empire, is honored with the title of Amir al Muslimin ("Commander of the Muslims").

title: 1097

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Reconquista: Peter I of Aragon conquers Barbastro (modern Spain) from the hands of the Almoravids.

title: 1100

date: May 5

text: May 5 – The short-lived principality created by Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar ends: Valencia is captured by Almoravid forces under Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin. It is later recaptured, evacuated and burned by King Alfonso VI.

title: 1102

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid forces defeat the armies of Castile and León. The advance of the Reconquista is halted, and the Berbers re-capture the towns of Uclés, Cuenca, Huete and Ocaña. The Christians, many of nobility, are beheaded.

title: 1108

text: Summer – Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf organizes a public ritual of penance (auto-da-fé) of the works of Al-Ghazali, in front of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

title: 1109

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

title: 1110

text: Almoravid forces under Syr ibn Abi Bakr capture Santarém and Sintra in Portugal. The efforts of the Berbers to reconquer lost ground also lead to the sack of Coimbra. The same year the city revolts against their lord.

title: 1111

text: Battle of Martorell: The Almoravid governor of Zaragoza, Muhàmmad ibn al-Hajj, launches an expedition against the County of Barcelona, but is defeated in an ambush near Martorell.

title: 1114

text: Almoravid troops conquer the Balearic Islands, whose Moorish rulers have been severely weakened by Pisan and Catalan raiders.

title: 1116

text: The Almoravids briefly reconquer Coimbra (modern Portugal).

title: 1117

date: June 17

text: June 17 – Reconquista: Battle of Cutanda: The combined forces of Aragon and Navarre under King Alfonso the Battler crush the Almoravid army near Calamocha. Alfonso recaptures the fortified towns of Calatayud and Daroca.

title: 1120

text: A large rebellion takes place in Córdoba (modern Spain) against the ruling Almoravid dynasty.

title: 1121

text: The Almoravid fleet attacks Sicily to suppress the Italo-Norman raiders. The same year the Muslim population of Malta rebels against the Normans.

title: 1122

text: Diego Gelmírez, archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, declares a Crusade in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) against the Almoravids.

title: 1123

section: Events › By topic › Religion

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

title: 1126

text: Summer – King Roger II of Sicily claims the Hauteville possessions in Italy as well the overlordship of Capua. However, a coalition of Norman noblemen in Apulia and Calabria resist (supported by Pope Honorius II) against Sicilian rule. The same year, Roger regains control over Malta after a rebellion. Roger II also establishes a pact with the maritime Republic of Savona to guarantee the security of the Mediterranean Sea, probably following an Almoravid raid against the Sicilian realm.

title: 1127

text: July 17 – Battle of Fraga: The Castellan troops led by King Alfonso I (the Battler) defeat the Almoravid army, thanks to a timely intervention of a Norman Crusader army from Tarragona, led by Robert Bordet.

title: 1133

text: An Almoravid fleet of 37 ships attack the coasts of southern Italy, under Norman rule.

title: 1137

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Battle of Ourique: The independence of Portugal from the Kingdom of León is declared after the Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques. He then becomes Afonso I, King of Portugal, after calling the first assembly of the Estates-General of Portugal at Lamego, where he is given the Crown from the Bishop of Bragança, to confirm the independence.

title: 1139

section: Events › By region › Europe

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Ali ibn Yusuf, ruler of the Almoravids (b. 1084)

title: 1143

text: Catalan mercenary Reverter de La Guardia, the main Almoravid commander in the Maghrid al-Aqsa, dies. His elimination opens the regions to the troops of the Almohads.

title: 1144

text: Spring – Almohad forces under Abd al-Mu'min defeat a Muslim Almoravid army at Tlemcen. Almoravid ruler Tashfin ibn Ali dies while escaping his enemies near Oran. He is succeeded by his son Ibrahim ibn Tashfin.

title: 1145

text: The Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min conquers most of Morocco from the Almoravids.

title: 1146

text: Spring – The Almohads under Abd al-Mu'min destroy the Almoravid Empire. They capture Marrakesh and kill the last emir, Ishaq ibn Ali. Abd al-Mu'min orders the elimination of 30,000 Almoravids in a purge.

title: 1147

text: July 17 – King Alfonso VII of León and Castile, leads a campaign at the head of mixed armies of Catalonia, Genoa, Pisa and France. He besieges Almería in southern Al-Andalus (modern Spain); a Genoese fleet of 63 galleys and 163 other vessels, blockade the Almoravid-held port, which is captured after a 2-month siege on October 17.

title: 1147

text: King Afonso I ("the Great") of Portugal takes Abrantes from the Almoravids. Ramon Berenguer IV conquers the lower Ebro plain (between 1148–1149).

title: 1148

text: October 24 – Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, conquers Lleida from the Almoravids, after a siege of seven months (as well as Fraga and Mequinenza).

title: 1149

text: Confronted with important financial difficulty due to the expenses of the Spanish crusade, the Republic of Genoa has to sell a third of the city of Tortosa (which they had conquered in 1148 during an expedition against the Almoravids) to Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona.

title: 1153

text: Portuguese forces, led by King Afonso I of Portugal ("the Great"), conquer Pamela, Alcácer do Sal and Sesimbra from the diminished Almoravids.

title: 1158

text: A large Portuguese offensive begins in the Alentejo region, against the Almoravids. The city of Tomar is founded by Gualdim Pais, Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

title: 1160

text: An Almoravid offensive against the Kingdom of Portugal reaches the city of Almada, located on the Tagus river.

title: 1161

text: The Almohad forces under Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur reconquer Béjaïa and Algiers, that have been taken by the Banu Ghaniya, descendants of the Almoravids.

title: 1185

text: Almohad forces under Caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur reconquer the city of Gabès (modern Tunisia) from the Almoravid pretender, Ali Banu Ghaniya.

title: 1187

text: Reconquista – King Sancho II of Portugal ("the Pious") conquers the city of Ayamonte from the Almoravids, securing the Portuguese position in Al-Andalus.

title: 1240


slug: alp-arslan

label: Alp Arslan

description: second sultan of the Seljuk Empire (1063–1072)

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Alp Arslan (Heroic Lion), sultan of the Seljuk Empire (d. 1072)

title: 1029

text: Alp Arslan succeeds his father Chaghri Beg as governor of Khorasan. He crosses with a Seljuk expeditionary force the upper Halys River and plunders the Theme of Sebasteia (modern Turkey).

title: 1059

section: Events › By place › Seljuk Empire

text: Battle of Damghan: Seljuk forces under Alp Arslan defeat his brother Qutalmish who claims the throne of late Tughril, founder of the Seljuk Empire. Qutalmish flees from the battle, but his son Suleiman is taken prisoner.

title: 1063

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Alp Arslan succeeds to the throne, as sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He becomes sole ruler of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

title: 1064

text: Alp Arslan, leader of the Seljuk Turks, campaigns against the Kipchaks and the Türkmen in Central Asia. He captures the city of Kars and plunders the western provinces of Georgia.

title: 1065

text: Seljuk forces under Alp Arslan defeat the Byzantine rear guard and advance deep into Cappadocia and Lycaonia. They plunder at will, but fail to capture the city of Iconium. Romanos retreats and returns to Constantinople. Alp Arslan takes advantage of Romanos' retreat and captures Manzikert. He recaptures the strategical fortress cities of Chliat and Van, consolidating his control over the Lake Van region.

title: 1069

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Sultan Alp Arslan ("Heroic Lion") dies after a 9-year reign, during his campaign in Transoxiana. He is succeeded by his 17-year-old son Malik-Shah I, who is declared new ruler of the Seljuk Empire. Qavurt, a brother of Alp Arslan, claims the Seljuk throne for himself and occupies the capital of Isfahan.

title: 1072

text: Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, a cousin of late Sultan Alp Arslan, consolidates his leadership over the Oghuz Turks and founds the Sultanate of Rum (modern Turkey).

title: 1077


slug: alps

label: Alps

description: major mountain range system in central Europe

year_label: 226 BCE

text: A formidable host of Gauls, some of them from across the Alps, threaten Rome.

title: 226 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 223 BCE

text: Gaius Flaminius is elected consul for the first time and, with his co-consul Publius Furius Philus, he forces the Gauls south of the Alps to submit to Rome, creating the province of Cisalpine Gaul.

title: 223 BC

year_label: 219 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Romans extend their area of domination around the head of the Adriatic Sea as far as the peninsula of Histria by the conquest of peoples who dwell to the east of the Veneti. Thus, with the exception of Liguria and the upper valley of the Po River, all Italy south of the Alps is brought within the Roman sphere.

title: 219 BC

year_label: 72 BCE

text: Spartacus moves north again, to cross the Alps into Gaul and then to Thracia. Outside Mutina on the plain of the River Po he defeats the Roman forces under Gaius Cassius Longinus, governor of Gallia Cisalpina.

title: 72 BC

year_label: 15 BCE

text: The Raeti tribes of the Alps are subjugated by Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus and the new Roman province of Raetia is established with Chur (in modern-day Switzerland) as its capital. During the campaign, Roman triremes destroy the fleet of the Vindelici in the Battle of Lake Constance. Augsburg is founded as Augusta Vindelicorum; and Legio XXI Rapax is stationed at Regensburg in the new province.

title: 15 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Drusus decides to improve the passage through the Alps for military control of Noricum and Raetia and builds the Via Claudia Augusta through Italy.

title: 15 BC

text: The Roman army crosses the Alps into Pannonia, and subdues the Marcomanni at Carnuntum, north of the Danube.

title: AD 168

date: December 23

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

title: AD 176

text: A Roman road crosses the Alps, by the Simplon Pass.

title: AD 190

text: Battle of Mediolanum: A Germanic confederation, the Alamanni (300,000 warriors), who crossed the Alps, are defeated by Roman legions under Gallienus, near Mediolanum (modern Milan).

title: 259

text: Postumus wins over all the Roman provinces west of the Alps, including Gaul, Britain and Hispania.

title: 260

text: Battle of Pavia: The Roman army pursues the Alamanni in Lombardy. Aurelian closes the passes in the Alps and encircles the invaders near Pavia. The Alamanni are destroyed and Aurelian receives the title Germanicus Maximus.

title: 271

text: Constantine II, emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire (Britain, Gaul, the Rhine provinces and Iberia), crosses the Alps and attacks the army of his brother Constans I, emperor of the central part of the Roman Empire (Upper Danube, Italy and middle Africa). They clash at Aquileia in northern Italy. Constantine is killed in a skirmish by an ambush of Constans' troops.

title: 340

text: Winter – Magnentius flees to Aquileia in northern Italy and fortifies the mountain passes in the Alps.

title: 351

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Battle of the Frigidus: Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the usurper Eugenius. The forces of Theodosius are bolstered by numerous auxiliaries, including 20,000 Visigoth federates under Alaric. The Frankish general Arbogast (magister militum) escapes into the Alps and commits suicide.

title: 394

date: November 18

text: November 18 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.

title: 401

text: War of Radagaisus: King Radagaisus leads an invasion with a force of 20,000 men and crosses the Alps. He spends the winter in the Po Valley and is observed by Stilicho, who lacks sufficient strength to prepare an offensive against the invading German tribes. The exact numbers of the migration are unknown, probably nearly 100,000, including Alans, Burgundians, Goths, Vandals, and other smaller tribes.

title: 405

text: Spring – Constantine III crosses the Alps into Liguria (Northern Italy), but retreats to Gaul after Gerontius revolts in Spain against his son Constans II.

title: 410

section: Crime & Justice

text: Summer – The Burgundians, under King Gundobad, cross the Alps and plunder Liguria. Many Romans are taken into captivity.

title: 490

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Summer – King Theudebert I sends a small Frankish force across the Alps, and defeats the Goths and Byzantines at the River Po. Belisarius retreats to Tuscany.

title: 538

text: The Lombards drive the last Ostrogoths across the Alps (Northern Italy). During the "Rule of the Dukes" the Lombards adopt Roman titles, names, and traditions.

title: 580

text: King Liutprand of the Lombards builds a close alliance with Charles Martel, and attacks the Bavarian castles on the River Adige, maintaining strategic control of the Alpine passes in the Italian Alps (approximate date).

title: 718

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

text: Battle of Narbonne: Frankish forces under Charles Martel besiege Narbonne, occupied by a Umayyad garrison, but are unable to retake the fortress city. A Lombard army under King Liutprand crosses the Alps, to aid Charles in expelling the Muslims from Septimania. Meanwhile Maurontus, duke or count of Provence, raises a revolt from his unconquered city of Marseille, and threatens the rear of the Franks.

title: AD 737

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Charles Martel attacks Duke Maurontus of Provence and his Muslim allies. His brother Childebrand captures Marseille, one of the largest cities still in Umayyad hands. Maurontus is forced to go into hiding in the Alps.

title: 739

text: Grifo, Frankish duke and illegitimate son of Charles Martel, rebels against King Pepin III ("the Short") (his half-brother), in alliance with the Bretons. He flees to Italy to join King Aistulf of the Lombards, but is caught and killed while passing the Alps.

title: 753

text: Summer – King Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard, son of Charles Martel, cross the Alps with a Frankish expeditionary force at the request of Pope Adrian I. At the foot of the mountains in the Susa Valley (Northern Italy), the Franks are hindered by Lombard fortifications. After scouting, Charlemagne attacks the defenders from the flank, and forces the Lombards to flee to the fortified capital Pavia.

title: 773

text: An East Frankish expeditionary force under Zwentibold, the eldest son of King Arnulf of Carinthia, crosses the Alps into Friuli. He makes junction at Verona, with the army of the deposed king Berengar I, and proceeds to lay siege to Pavia. After a three-month campaign, Zwentibold receives orders to head back to Bavaria, in case of a Magyar intervention.

title: 893

text: Arnulf of Carinthia returns to Germany through the Alps, harried by militias dispatched by Rudolph I of Burgundy and margrave Anscar I of Ivrea. Only with much difficulty is Arnulf able to get his army through the Aosta Valley and through St. Moritz, back into Germany. Guy III descends from the Apennines, and re-seizes the Italian kingdom.

title: 894

text: Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, leads a rebellion with the support of the Italian nobles against King Berengar I. He crosses the Alps into Burgundy and invites Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy to invade Italy. Berengar flees again to Verona and Rudolph is crowned King of Italy at Pavia.

title: 922

date: March 24

text: March 24 – Hungarian Magyar forces led by General Szalárd, capture Pavia, capital of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, at the request of the Holy Roman Emperor Berengar. Later, after crossing the Alps via the St. Bernard Pass, the Magyars pillage Provence, Septimania and Nismes in southern France).

title: 924

section: Events › January—March

text: Fall – Hugh of Provence makes a truce with the Moors of Fraxinet, after hearing the news that a Swabian army is about to descend on Italy. He allows the Moors to attack the Alpine passes for his own political ends in his struggle with Berengar of Ivrea. The Byzantines cry foul and end their alliance with Hugh.

title: 942

text: Spring – Emperor Conrad II (the Elder) leads a German military expedition via the Rhone River into Burgundy, while two Italian armies led by Archbishop Aribert and Boniface III (margrave of Tuscany) head over the Alps and join with Count Humbert I at Great St. Bernard Pass.

title: 1034

text: Spring – A revolt in northern Italy is started by Archbishop Aribert of Milan. King Henry III (eldest son of Emperor Conrad II) travels south of the Alps to quell it.

title: 1037

date: August

text: August – Hugh ("the Great"), count of Vermandois (a brother of King Philip I), departs to join the First Crusade. He travels with a small army via the Alps to Rome. While sailing the Adriatic Sea from Bari to Dyrrachium his fleet is reduced by shipwreck. Hugh's own ship is stranded on the shore near Epirus.

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

text: Spring – A German expeditionary force, led by King Lothair III, marches into northern Italy, and arrives at Rome, after a 6-month journey across the Alps. Accompanied by Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot and Doctor of the Church, Lothair is crowned by Pope Innocent II as Holy Roman Emperor at the Church of the Lateran, on June 4. He receives as papal fiefs the vast estates of Matilda, former margravine of Tuscany, which he secures for his daughter Gertrude of Süpplingenburg and her husband, Duke Henry X (the Proud) of Bavaria.

title: 1133

text: The Diet of Roncaglia is convoked by Frederick I. He mobilises an army of 100,000 men and leaves in June for a second Italian expedition – accompanied by Henry the Lion and his Saxon forces. He crosses the Alps and lays siege to Milan. German forces capture the city from the rebels after a short siege. However Milan soon rebels again, with Empress Beatrice taken captive and forced into parading on a donkey.

title: 1158

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans and is crowned again with great ceremony at Aachen by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne. After several threats, Adolf is removed from office by Pope Innocent III and excommunicated, on July 19. Philip is able to increasingly assert his kingship against Otto of Brunswick (who is also crowned king of Germany) in the northern parts of the Alps.

title: 1205

text: Summer – Emperor Frederick II assembles an expeditionary force (some 15,000 men) to crush the rebellious Lombard League. He crosses the Alps to Verona – where he is joined by Lord Ezzelino III da Romano, including troops from Brescia, Vicenza, Padua and Treviso. Frederick relies on his allies for support and in doing so, he provokes the opposition of earlier supporters, such as the House of Este, which now sides with the Lombards.

title: 1237

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Jakob Hutter, leader of the Hutterites is arrested along with his wife in Klausen in the Tyrol region on the Italian side of the Alps. The two are taken to the prison at the fortress in Bronzolo.

title: 1535

section: Events › October–December

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Rodi avalanche: A rock- or snowslide buries the Alpine town of Piuro, claiming 2,427 victims.

title: 1618

date: July 29

text: July 29 – The Habsburg army under Marshal Wurmser advances from the Alps, and captures Rivoli and Verona. The French abandon the east bank of the Mincio River, the outnumbered division (15,000 men) of Masséna retreats towards Lake Garda.

title: 1796

text: May 15 – Napoleon and his French army (40,000 men)—not including the field artillery and baggage trains—(35,000 light artillery and infantry, 5,000 cavalry) begin crossing the Alps. He selects the shortest route through the Great St Bernard Pass, and invades after five days traversing the northern region of Italy.

title: 1800

text: July 14 – First ascent of the Matterhorn: The summit of the Matterhorn in the Alps is reached for the first time, by a party of 7 led by the Englishman Edward Whymper; 4 die in a fall during the descent.

title: 1865

text: December 31 – The 12.8 km mi Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps is completed.

title: 1870

text: April 2 – The Simplon Tunnel through the Alps is opened to railway traffic.

title: 1905

text: January 25 – The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, open in Chamonix, in the French Alps.

title: 1924

text: January 20 – Winter of Terror: Avalanches in the Alps kill 240 and bury 45,000 for a time, in Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

title: 1951

text: September 19 – Ötzi the Iceman is found in the Alps.

title: 1991


slug: alsace

label: Alsace

description: territorial community and former administrative region of France

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Brumath: Roman forces pursue Germanic warbands through the Gallic countryside. Julian wins an open battle near Brumath (Alsace).

title: 356

date: January 2

text: January 2 – The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, and invade the Gallic provinces. They capture Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau.

title: 366

text: King Theuderic II loses Alsace, Champagne and Thurgau to his elder brother Theudebert II of Austrasia. His Burgundian army is defeated east of the Jura Mountains against the Alemanni.

title: 610

text: Pepin the Short, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy, invades the Swabian Jura (southwestern Germany), and chases Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, from his mountain redoubt in Alsace.

title: 744

date: May 21

text: May 21 – Otto III, 16, is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at St. Peter's Basilica, and claims also the title of King of Italy. His grandmother, Adelaide, retires to a convent she has founded at Seltz (Alsace). Otto puts down a Roman rebellion; a number of nobles (including Crescentius II) are banished for their crimes.

title: 996

section: Science & Discovery

date: November 7

text: November 7 – The Ensisheim meteorite, a 127 kg lb meteorite, lands in a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim in Alsace.

title: 1492

section: Events › October—December

text: Chambers of Reunion (French courts under Louis XIV) decide on the complete annexation of Alsace.

title: 1680

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Religion & Belief

text: A religious schism takes place in Switzerland, within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists led by Jakob Ammann. Those who follow Ammann become the Mennonite Amish sect.

title: 1693

date: May 10

text: May 10 – The Treaty of Frankfurt is signed, confirming the frontiers between Germany and France. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are transferred from France to Germany.

title: 1871

section: Events › April–June

text: Battle of Mulhouse: France launches its first attack of the war, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the province of Alsace from Germany, beginning the Battle of the Frontiers.

title: 1914

section: Events › August

section: Deaths

text: September 4 – Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician and missionary, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1875)

title: 1965

section: Deaths › September


slug: amadeus-viii-duke-of-savoy

label: Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy

section: Births

text: September 4 - Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, aka Antipope Felix V (d. 1451)

title: 1383

section: Culture & Society

date: November 2

text: November 2 – At Chambéry (now in France), Amadeus the Peaceful becomes the new Count of Savoy at the age of 8 upon the death from tetanus of his 31-year-old father, Amadeus VII, the Red Count, who was injured in a hunting accident. Bonne of Bourbon, the mother of the older Amadeus, serves as regent for her grandson until 1397.

title: 1391

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: August 5

text: August 5 – The County of Geneva, located in southeastern France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, comes to an end after more than 300 years when it is sold to Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy for 45,000 gold francs

title: 1401

section: Events › July–September

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: February 9

text: February 9 – Sigismund, King of Germany, creates the independent Duchy of Savoy with Count Amadeus the Peaceful becoming the first Duke of Savoy and taking the regnal title Amadeus VIII.

title: 1416

section: Events › January–March

date: January 25

text: January 25 – The civil war in Switzerland, which has pitted the cantons of Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden, supporting rebels in Valais against the Baron of Valais and against the Canton of Bern, is ended by the signing of a treaty at the neutral town of Zug, after mediation by Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy.

title: 1420

date: November 5

text: November 5 – The Council of Basel elects its own pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, and selects Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (considered an antipope), who takes the regnal name Felix V.

title: 1439

text: January 6 – Ludovico becomes the new Duke of Savoy upon the abdication of his father Amadeus VIII.

title: 1440

date: July 24

text: July 24 – At Basel in Switzerland, Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy is crowned as "Pope Felix V" by Roman Catholic cardinals of the Council of Basel who had voted to depose Pope Eugene IV as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. As Felix V, he is designated in Vatican history as the last "antipope". He remains in Basel and never travels to Rome to assume the papacy; in 1449, after the death of Eugene IV, Amadeus assumes an oath of loyalty to Eugene's successor, Pope Nicholas V.

title: 1440

date: July 25

text: July 25 – The Council of Basel, opposed to the Pope at Rome, moves to Lausanne and holds its first session, presided over by the antipope Felix V.

title: 1448

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, aka Antipope Felix V (b. 1383)

title: 1451


slug: amazon-river

label: Amazon River

description: river in South America

date: February 24

text: February 24 – English courtier Thomas Roe sets out on an expedition to The Guianas and Amazon River.

title: 1610

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: January 12

text: January 12 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco, who had previously taken the city of São Luís in Maranhão from the French.

title: 1616

section: Events › January–February

date: August 15

text: August 15 – The Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Teixeira completes the first ascent of the Amazon River, crossing the Quijos River and arriving at Quito in Ecuador soon after (the same trip had been made in the opposite direction, in 1541).

title: 1638

text: The Casiquiare canal, a river forming a natural channel between the Amazon River and Orinoco River basins, is first encountered by Europeans, an expedition led by Pedro Teixeira and Cristóbal Diatristán de Acuña.

title: 1639

date: August 27

text: August 27 – Portuguese Jesuits led by António Vieira sign the Treaty of the Mapuá with various indigenous peoples on the Marajó Archipelago at the mouth of the Amazon River.

title: 1659

section: Climate & Environment

date: June

text: June – An earthquake in Brazil of estimated magnitude 7, with epicenter on the left bank of the Amazon River about 45 km downstream from Manaus, spreads seismic waves through the forest and is felt up to 1000 km away.

title: 1690

date: May 5

text: May 5 – Border Treaty between Brazil and Venezuela: The two countries agree their borders should be traced at the water divide, between the Amazon and the Orinoco basins.

title: 1859

date: May 29

text: May 29 – English explorer Percy Fawcett sends a last telegram to his wife before he disappears in the Amazon.

title: 1925

section: Events › May

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: September 20

text: September 20 – The overcrowded ferry boat Sobral Santos II capsizes in the Amazon River, Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300 people.

title: 1981

section: Events › September


slug: ambrose

label: Ambrose

description: Roman theologian and Bishop of Milan (c. 340–397)

text: Aurelius Ambrosius, Italian bishop and theologian (d. 397)

title: 339

text: Aurelius Ambrose, bishop of Milan (approximate date)

title: 340

section: Religion & Belief

date: December 7

text: December 7 – The people of Milan astonish Ambrosius, governor of Aemilia-Liguria, by acclaiming him bishop. He is the second son of the former praetorian prefect of Gaul, and becomes a creative thinker whose ideas will provide the paradigm for medieval church-state relations.

title: 374

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Gratian, advised by his chief advisor Ambrosius, begins a systematic persecution of the pagans. He confiscates the fortunes of the temples and adds the money to the Imperial Treasury. He proscribes Arianism and Donatism.

title: 375

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Council of Aquileia: Ambrose and the council depose the Arian bishops Palladius of Ratiaria and Secundianus of Singidunum.

title: 381

text: Ambrosius refuses the request of Empress Justina for a church in Milan, where she can worship according to her Arian belief.

title: 384

section: Conflict & Security

date: April

text: April – Massacre of Thessalonica: Resentment among the citizens of Thessalonica (Macedonia) breaks out into violence after the arrest of a popular charioteer. Butheric, military commander of Illyricum, is murdered. Emperor Theodosius I orders vengeance, despite the pleas for mercy by Ambrose, bishop of Milan; more than 7,000 inhabitants are massacred by the Roman army.

title: 390

text: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, urban prefect of Rome, pleads for traditional cult practices. He petitions Theodosius I to re-open the pagan temples, but is opposed by Ambrose.

title: 391

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Aurelius Ambrosius, bishop of Milan

title: 397

text: April 4 – Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, dies in his diocese after 23 years in office, during which he dominated the political life of the Roman Empire.

title: 397

text: Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and Pope Gregory I are named the first Doctors of the Church. They are known collectively as the Great Doctors of the Western Church.

title: 1298