slug: aegean-sea

label: Aegean Sea

description: part of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Greek mainland, the Turkish mainland, Crete, and Rhodes

text: c. 3000 BC: Cycladic civilization in the Aegean Sea starts.

title: 30th century BC

section: Events

text: c. 1400 BC – The center of political and cultural power in the Aegean has shifted from Crete to mainland Greece, which at that time is home to wealthy warrior-kings.

title: 1400s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

year_label: 516 BCE

text: Cleomenes I of Sparta receives an embassy from Maeandrius of Samos asking for help to expel the tyrant Syloson, a puppet of the Persian Empire, which is at the time subjugating the city-states of the eastern Aegean Sea.

title: 516 BC

year_label: 490 BCE

text: Darius I sends an expedition, under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede, across the Aegean to attack the Athenians and the Eretrians. Hippias, the aged ex-tyrant of Athens, is on one of the Persian ships in the hope of being restored to power in Athens.

title: 490 BC

year_label: 477 BCE

text: Greek maritime cities around the Aegean Sea no longer wish to be under Spartan control and at Delos offer their allegiance, through Aristides, to Athens. They form the Delian League (also known as the Confederacy of Delos) with Cimon as their principal commander.

title: 477 BC

year_label: 469 BCE

text: Themistocles, after being exiled from Athens, makes his way across the Aegean to Magnesia, an inland Ionian city under Persian rule.

title: 469 BC

year_label: 449 BCE

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

title: 449 BC

year_label: 404 BCE

text: Theramenes secures terms that save the city of Athens from destruction. The Spartans allow Athens to retain its independence. However, Athens loses all its foreign possessions and what is left of its fleet and is required to become an ally of Sparta. The Long Walls around Athens are pulled down. Greek towns across the Aegean Sea in Ionia are again the subjects of the Persian Empire.

title: 404 BC

year_label: 389 BCE

text: The Athenian general, Thrasybulus, leads a force of triremes to levy tribute from cities around the Aegean and support Rhodes, where a democratic government is struggling against Sparta. On this campaign, Thrasybulus captures Byzantium, imposes a duty on ships passing through the Hellespont, and collects tribute from many of the Aegean Islands.

title: 389 BC

year_label: 366 BCE

text: Athens founds the town of Kos on the island of Kos in the Aegean Sea.

title: 366 BC

year_label: 347 BCE

text: Aristotle leaves Athens due to the anti-Macedonian feeling that arises in Athens after Philip II of Macedon has sacked the Greek city-state of Olynthus in 348 BC. With him goes another Academy member of note, Xenocrates of Chalcedon. They establish a new academy on the Asia Minor side of the Aegean Sea at the newly built town of Assus.

title: 347 BC

section: Events › By topic › Philosophy

year_label: 315 BCE

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

title: 315 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

text: Cassander orders Dionysius (the commander of his garrison in Athens) and Demetrius of Phalerum (the tyrant of Athens) to send a fleet of 20 warships to try and recapture Lemnos. An Athenian strategos named Aristoteles is sent, ravaging the island in conjunction with Seleucus (who was sent into the Aegean by Ptolemy). After Seleucus sails away, Aristoteles is attacked by the Antigonid fleet, most of his ships being captured.

title: 313 BC

year_label: 306 BCE

text: Demetrius Poliorcetes lands on Cyprus and besieges Menelaus, brother of Egypt's ruler, Ptolemy I Soter, at Salamis. Ptolemy Soter, coming to his brother's aid, is decisively defeated in the Battle of Salamis. The battle completely destroys the naval power of Egypt and results in the capture of Cyprus by Demetrius. This gives Demetrius' father, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, control of the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean.

title: 306 BC

section: Events › By place › Cyprus

year_label: 288 BCE

text: After the Egyptian fleet participates decisively in the liberation of Athens from Macedonian occupation, Ptolemy obtains the protectorate over the League of Islanders, which includes most of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Egypt's maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean in the ensuing decades is based on this alliance.

title: 288 BC

year_label: 280 BCE

text: Rhodes, rising in prosperity, becomes head of an Island League and helps to keep the peace and freedom of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

title: 280 BC

year_label: 261 BCE

text: The new Seleucid king Antiochus II reaches an agreement with the king of Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonatas, to work together in trying to push Ptolemy II's fleet and armies out of the Aegean Sea. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia Minor.

title: 261 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 258 BCE

text: The forces of the Macedonian King Antigonus II and the Seleucid King Antiochus II win a naval victory at Cos against their common enemy, Ptolemy II. This victory secures Antigonus control over the Aegean Sea and the League of the Islanders. It also diminishes Ptolemaic naval power.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 246 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Egypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks.

title: 246 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 244 BCE

text: The war in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea intensifies as the Achaean League allies itself to Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt, while Seleucus II secures two allies in the Black Sea region. Ptolemy III's armies reach as far as Bactria and the borders of India in their attacks on the Seleucid Empire.

title: 244 BC

year_label: 242 BCE

text: The destruction of the Egyptian fleet by the Macedonians ends the naval supremacy of the Ptolemies but does not force them to relinquish their territories in Syria and the Aegean Sea.

title: 242 BC

year_label: 204 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon and Antiochus III of the Syrian-based Seleucid kingdom realize Egypt's weakness and agree to partition Egypt's Anatolian and Aegean possessions. Antiochus' share is to be southern Syria, Lycia, Cilicia and Cyprus, while Philip is to gain western Anatolia and the Cyclades.

title: 204 BC

year_label: 200 BCE

text: The Roman consul, Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus, asks Attalus I and his fleet to meet up with the Roman fleet off the Greek Aegean coast and they conduct a naval campaign against Philip V, harassing Macedonian possessions in and along the Aegean.

title: 200 BC

year_label: 75 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Julius Caesar travels to Rhodes to study under Apollonius Molon. On his way across the Aegean Sea, he is kidnapped by Cilician pirates and held prisoner in the Dodecanese islet of Pharmacusa. The young Caesar is held for a ransom of twenty talents, but he insists they ask for fifty. After his release Caesar raises a fleet at Miletus, pursues and crucifies the pirates in Pergamon.

title: 75 BC

year_label: 69 BCE

text: Rhodes becomes a bulwark against pirates, the Rhodians are unable to suppress piracy in the Aegean Sea. Delos gets the status of a free port.

title: 69 BC

year_label: 43 BCE

text: Summer – Gaius Cassius captures Rhodes after they refuse to pay tribute. Their fleet is defeated by Roman galleys in the Aegean Sea. He lands a military force on the island and plunders the city. Cassius puts to death 50 of the leading citizens and seizes all the gold he can lay hands on.

title: 43 BC

text: The Heruls accompany the Goths, ravaging the coasts of the Black Sea and the Aegean.

title: 262

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: The Heruli invade the Black Sea coast; they unsuccessfully attack Byzantium and Cyzicus. The Roman fleet defeats the Herulian fleet (500 ships) but allows them to escape into the Aegean Sea, where they raid the islands of Lemnos and Skyros.

title: 267

text: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan destroys the city of Sardis, including its synagogue. Its importance is due to a highway, leading from the interior to the Aegean coast. Shahin marches through Anatolia, defeating the Byzantines numerous times.

title: 616

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

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

title: 649

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Arab-Byzantine War: The Arab fleet dominates the Aegean Sea and conquers the strategic islands, Rhodes, Cos and Chios. The shore on the southern part of Sea of Marmara is taken, providing an excellent base at Cyzicus to begin the blockade of Constantinople by sea.

title: 670

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

title: 720

date: October

text: October – Battle of Thasos: Saracens from the newly founded Emirate of Crete almost annihilate the Byzantine fleet at Thasos, close to the coast of Thrace. The Cyclades and other islands in the Aegean Sea are pillaged.

title: 829

text: Presian I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, sends his prime-minister Isbul against the Smolyani (a Slavic tribe in Byzantine territory near the Struma River). The Bulgarian army campaigns along the Aegean coasts, and conquers most of Thrace and Macedonia, including the fortress city of Philippi, as recorded in the Presian Inscription.

title: 837

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Summer – Bardas Phokas (the Younger) and his family rebel against their own cousin, John I. Bardas is proclaimed 'emperor' by his troops at Caesarea, but the rebellion is extinguished by Bardas Skleros. Phokas and his relatives are captured and exiled to the island of Chios (Aegean Sea).

title: 970

text: Battle of Lemnos: Kievan Viking raiders (800 men) sail through the straits at Abydos to the Aegean Sea. From there they make for the island of Lemnos, but are defeated by a Byzantine fleet of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme.

title: 1024

section: Religion & Belief

text: Autumn – Conrad III decides not to wait for the French and crosses the Bosporus into Asia Minor. He leads the German crusader army to Nicomedia, and divides his forces into two divisions. Conrad takes the knights and his professional soldiers across Seljuk central territory while the baggage train, pilgrims and a defending force under Bishop Otto of Freising travel along the Aegean coast.

title: 1147

text: The War of the Donkey is fought between the rival noble families of the Ghisi and the Sanudo, in the Duchy of the Archipelago in the Aegean Sea.

title: 1286

text: The Byzantines lose the island of Chios, in the Aegean Sea, to the Genoese under Admiral Benedetto I Zaccaria. He establishes an autonomous lordship and justifies the act to the Byzantine court as necessary to prevent the island from being captured by Turkish pirates. Benedetto is granted the island as a fief for a period of 10 years.

title: 1304

text: June 20 – The Senate of the Republic of Venice votes to approve the transfer of ownership of the island of Santorini (now the Greek island of Thera) to Domenico Pisani. The island was the dowry given to Pisani for the marriage of Fiorenza Crispo, by Firenzo's father, Giacomo III Crispo, Duke of the Archipelago, a set of 18 of the 20 inhabited Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.

title: 1480

text: The stalactic grotto of Antiparos (Aegean Sea) is discovered.

title: 1673

text: November 21 – WWI: Hospital ship HMHS Britannic, designed as the third for White Star Line, sinks in the Kea Channel of the Aegean Sea after hitting a mine; 30 lives are lost. At 48,158 gross register tons, she is the largest ship lost during the war.

title: 1916

text: October 24 – WWII: British Royal Navy destroyer is sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea, with the loss of 119 of the ship's company and 134 troops.

title: 1943

text: July 9 – The 7.7 Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the subsequent tsunami leave 53 people dead.

title: 1956

text: December 8 – The Typaldos Line's ferry sinks in rough seas in the Aegean Sea near Crete, leaving 217 dead.

title: 1966


slug: aegina

label: Aegina

description: Greek island of the Saronic Gulf

year_label: 491 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Greek city of Aegina, fearing the loss of trade, submits to Persia. The Spartan king, Cleomenes I tries to punish Aegina for its submission to the Persians, but the other Spartan king, Demaratus, thwarts him.

title: 491 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 487 BCE

text: The island of Aegina and the city of Athens go to war. The island has earned the enmity of Athens by earlier submitting to the Persians. The Spartan King, Leotychidas, tries unsuccessfully to arrange a truce in the war.

title: 487 BC

year_label: 480 BCE

text: A sculpture of the Dying Warrior is made in the left corner of the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina (approximate date). Today, it is preserved at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek in Munich, Germany.

title: 480 BC

section: Events › By topic › Arts

text: The Athenian soldier and statesman, Aristides, as well as the former Athenian archon Xanthippus, return from banishment in Aegina to serve under Themistocles against the Persians.

title: 480 BC

year_label: 458 BCE

text: Aegina joins the Peloponnesian alliance, but their combined fleet is defeated by the Athenians in the Battle of Aegina. The Athenians, under the command of Leocrates, land on the island of Aegina and besiege and defeat the city. Aegina is forced to pay tribute to Athens.

title: 458 BC

year_label: 457 BCE

text: Athens goes on to defeat Aegina later in the year, and to finish the construction of the Long Walls to the Athenian port of Piraeus (an action opposed by Sparta).

title: 457 BC

text: Boeotia, Phocis and Opuntian Locris become members of the Delian League. Athens now has enrolled in the Delian League all the Boeotian cities except Thebes. Aegina is forced to become a member of the League. It is assessed, with Thasos, for a yearly contribution to the League of 30 talents.

title: 457 BC

year_label: 433 BCE

text: The Corinthians, upset by Athens' actions, lobby Sparta to take action against Athens. This appeal is backed by Megara (which is being severely affected by Pericles' economic sanctions) and by Aegina (which is being heavily taxed by Pericles and which has been refused home rule).

title: 433 BC

year_label: 431 BCE

text: The Spartans, led by King Archidamus II, invade Attica effectively starting the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, actually the second of such wars, between the Athens-led Delian League and the Sparta-led Peloponnesian League. The Spartans lay waste to the countryside around Athens. Athenian leader, Pericles, does not seriously oppose them, rather withdrawing the rural population of the country districts within Athens' city walls. Instead, he pursues active naval warfare and reduces any danger from the island of Aegina by replacing its native population with Athenians.

title: 431 BC

year_label: 322 BCE

text: Hypereides flees to Aegina only to be captured by the Macedonians at the temple of Poseidon and put to death.

title: 322 BC

text: The Acarnanians, with Macedonian support, invade Attica, causing Athens, which has previously maintained its neutrality, to seek help from the enemies of Philip. Attalus I of Pergamum, who is with his fleet at Aegina, receives an embassy from Athens asking him to come to the city for consultations. After he is told that Roman ambassadors are also in Athens, Attalus goes there in haste.

title: 200 BC


slug: aequi

label: Aequi

description: ancient ethnic group of Italic people

year_label: 494 BCE

text: The Roman consul Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus defeats the Aequi at the request of Rome's Latin allies.

title: 494 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 488 BCE

text: Gaius Marcius Coriolanus and Attius Tullius, leading an army of the Volsci, besiege Rome. Coriolanus' mother and wife convince him to break off the siege. In recognition of the service of these women, a temple is erected in Rome dedicated to Fortuna. Subsequently, the Volsci and their allies the Aequi have a falling out, and their armies fight as a result, significantly diminishing the strength of each of them.

title: 488 BC

section: Events › By place › Rome

year_label: 485 BCE

text: The consul Quintus Fabius Vibulanus defeated the Volsci and Aequi in battle, but incurred the anger of the plebs by lodging the spoils of victory with the publicum.

title: 485 BC

year_label: 484 BCE

text: The Romans defeat the Volsci and Aequi in battle.

title: 484 BC

year_label: 482 BCE

text: Continuation of hostilities with the Aequi.

title: 482 BC

year_label: 481 BCE

text: The Aequi lay siege to Ortona but are defeated by the Romans. Tensions between the Roman classes flare during the battle.

title: 481 BC

year_label: 479 BCE

text: Ongoing hostilities between Rome and the Aequi. No major battle is fought.

title: 479 BC

year_label: 459 BCE

text: The Aequi occupied Tusculum. In response to the threat, the Roman Senate decided to send an army to help the allied city, under the command of consul Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis. In addition, the consul Fabius Vibulanus, who was at that point besieging Antium, moved his forces to attack Tusculum. The Tusculans were able to recapture their city. A truce was then arranged with the Aequi.

title: 459 BC

text: The Roman general Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is summoned by the Roman Senate to defend the city from attack by the approaching Aequi. He is named dictator of Rome for six months. He goes on to defeat the enemy in a single day at the Battle of Mount Algidus and celebrates a triumph in Rome. Sixteen days after the battle, he resigns his dictatorship and returns to his farm.

title: 458 BC

year_label: 446 BCE

text: In the Battle of Corbione, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus leads Roman troops to a victory over the Aequi of north-east Latium and the Volsci of southern Latium.

title: 446 BC

text: The Romans defeat the Aequi and the Volsci at the Battle of Mount Algidus.

title: 431 BC


slug: aeschylus

label: Aeschylus

description: ancient Athenian playwright

year_label: 525 BCE

section: Births

text: Aeschylus, author of Greek tragedies

title: 525 BC

section: Culture & Society

text: The Athenian playwright, Aeschylus, wins first prize in drama at the Dionysia festival.

title: 484 BC

section: Events › By place › Literature

year_label: 472 BCE

text: The tragedy The Persians is produced by Aeschylus. It is the oldest surviving classical Greek play.

title: 472 BC

section: Events › By topic › Literature

year_label: 468 BCE

text: Sophocles, Greek playwright, defeats Aeschylus for the Athenian Prize.

title: 468 BC

year_label: 467 BCE

text: Aeschylus writes Seven Against Thebes and wins the Dionysia.

title: 467 BC

text: The Athenian playwright Aeschylus completes his trilogy The Oresteia (which comprise Agamemnon, Choephoroi (The Libation Bearers) and The Eumenides).

title: 458 BC

year_label: 456 BCE

text: Aeschylus, Greek playwright (b. 525 BC)

title: 456 BC

year_label: 419 BCE

text: Sophocles' play Electra is performed. The play takes its theme from The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus.

title: 419 BC

section: Events › By topic › Drama


slug: aetolia

label: Aetolia

description: mountainous region of western Greece

year_label: 313 BCE

text: Becoming tired of Macedonian rule, the people of Epirus recall their former king Aeacides (who until then had been campaigning with his old ally Polyperchon in the Peloponnese). Cassander immediately sends an army against him under his brother Philip, who is diverted from invading Aetolia.

title: 313 BC

text: Aristodemus and his mercenary army (recruited the year prior) cross over to the Peloponnese and fight Alexander, the son of Polyperchon, at Cyllene, and liberate Patrae and Aegium from Cassander's garrisons. Aristodemus then returns to Aetolia, leaving a sizeable force in the Pelopponese who help the city of Dyme eject its garrison, despite a failed intervention by Alexander.

title: 313 BC

year_label: 253 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.

title: 253 BC

year_label: 239 BCE

text: With Aetolia now as its ally, the Achaean League under the command of Aratus of Sicyon repeatedly attacks Athens and Argos.

title: 239 BC

year_label: 231 BCE

text: Demetrius II, king of Macedonia, seeks military help from Agron, king of Illyria, a loosely organized state on the Adriatic coast north of Epirus, against the advancing Aetolians. The Illyrian army routs the Aetolians and returns home as the victor.

title: 231 BC

year_label: 220 BCE

text: Aratus of Sicyon counters Aetolian aggression by obtaining the assistance of the Hellenic League now under the leadership of Philip V of Macedon. In the resulting Social War, the Hellenic League of Greek states is assembled in Corinth at Philip V's instigation. He then leads the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia, Sparta and Elis.

title: 220 BC

year_label: 219 BCE

text: The Cretan city of Kydonia joins the Aetolian alliance.

title: 219 BC

year_label: 206 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon is able to take advantage of Roman inactivity. After sacking Thermum, the religious and political centre of Aetolia, Philip is able to force the Aetolians to accept a peace treaty based on his terms.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 198 BCE

text: The Battle of Panium is fought between Seleucid forces led by Antiochus III and Ptolemaic forces led by Scopas of Aetolia. The Seleucids win the battle which allows Antiochus III to obtain entire possession of Palestine and Coele-Syria from King Ptolemy V of Egypt. Though the Romans send ambassadors to Ptolemy V, they are unable to lend him any serious assistance against Antiochus III.

title: 198 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 194 BCE

text: With the Roman legions under Flaminius returning to Italy, the Greek states are once again on their own. The Romans leave the dominant powers in the region; the kingdom of Macedonia, the Aetolians, the strengthened Achaean League and the weakened Sparta. The Aetolians, who have opposed the Roman intervention in Greek affairs, incite the Spartan leader, Nabis, to retake his former territories and regain his influence in Greek affairs.

title: 194 BC

year_label: 193 BCE

text: Flamininus attempts to rally the Greeks against Antiochus III and to counter the pro-Seleucid policy of the Aetolians. When the Aetolians call on Antiochus III for aid, Flamininus persuades the Achaean League to declare war on both parties. He also prevents Philopoemen from taking Sparta.

title: 193 BC

year_label: 192 BCE

text: Nabis then appeals to the Aetolians for help. They send 1,000 cavalry under the command of Alexamenus to Sparta. However, the Aetolians murder Nabis and temporarily occupy Sparta. The Aetolian troops seize the palace and set about looting the city, but the inhabitants of Sparta are able to rally and force them leave the city. Philopoemen, however, takes advantage of the Aetolian treachery and enters Sparta with his Achaean army. Now in full control of Sparta, Philopoemen forces Sparta to become a member state of the Achaean League.

title: 192 BC


slug: aetolian-league

label: Aetolian League

description: confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece

text: At the autumn meeting of the Aetolian League, Aristodemus of Miletus, Antigonus' top diplomat, is able to persuade the Aetolians to support Antigonus.

title: 313 BC

year_label: 293 BCE

text: The Boeotians revolted against Demetrius Poliorcetes, the King of Macedon. They received help from the Aetolians and the Spartans.

title: 293 BC

year_label: 229 BCE

text: The involvement of Rome in Illyria led to the establishment of friendly relations between Rome and the enemies of Macedonia: the Aetolian League and Achaean League, which approve the suppression of Illyrian piracy.

title: 229 BC

section: Events › By place › Illyria

year_label: 217 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon, continuing his war with the Aetolian League lays siege to Phthiotic Thebes, captures it and sells the inhabitants into slavery.

title: 217 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: The Roman commander Marcus Valerius Laevinus explores the possibility of an alliance with the Aetolian League as the Aetolians are once again ready to consider taking up arms against their traditional enemy, Macedonia. A treaty is signed to counter Philip V of Macedon who is allied to Hannibal. Under the treaty, the Aetolians are to conduct operations on land, the Romans at sea. Also, Rome will keep any slaves and other booty taken and Aetolia will receive control of any territory acquired.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: After allying with Hannibal, Philip V of Macedon attacks the Roman positions in Illyria, but fails to take Corcyra or Apollonia, which are protected by the Roman fleet. Rome's command of the sea prevents his lending any effective aid to his Carthaginian ally in Italy. The Aetolians, Sparta and King Attalus of Pergamum join the Romans in the war against Philip V. This coalition is so strong that Philip V has to stop attacking Roman territory.

title: 210 BC

text: Seleucid forces under their king, Antiochus III, invade Greece at the invitation of the Aetolian League, who are revolting against the Romans. The Aetolians appoint him commander in chief of their league. Antiochus lands in Demetrias, Thessaly with only 10,500 men and occupies Euboea. However, he finds little support for his cause in central Greece.

title: 192 BC

year_label: 191 BCE

text: Manius Acilius Glabrio then turns his attention to the Aetolian League, which has persuaded Antiochus to declare war against Rome, and is only prevented from crushing them by the intercession of Titus Quinctius Flamininus.

title: 191 BC

year_label: 189 BCE

text: The defeat of Antiochus III by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia robs the Aetolian League of its principal foreign ally and makes it impossible for them to stand alone in continued opposition to Rome. The League is forced to sign a peace treaty with Rome that makes it a subject ally of the Republic. Although the League continues to exist in name, the power of the League is broken by the treaty and it never again constitutes a significant political or military force.

title: 189 BC


slug: afghanistan

label: Afghanistan

description: country in Central and South Asia

text: Shapur I annexes parts of the Kushan Empire. The ancient city of Bagram (modern Afghanistan) is abandoned.

title: 241

section: Events › By place › Persia

text: The first and smaller of the two Buddhas of Bamyan is erected in central Afghanistan.

title: 507

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: The second and larger of the two Buddhas of Bamyan is erected in central Afghanistan.

title: 554

text: First Perso-Turkic War: The Sassanid Persians capture the cities Balkh and Herat (Afghanistan). They cross the Oxus River and repulse a Turkic invasion.

title: 589

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Western Turks conquer the Oxus valley and cooperate with Heraclius against Persia, taking Khorasan (modern Afghanistan).

title: 622

text: Xuanzang, Chinese traveler, writes about two huge statues of Buddha carved out of a mountainside in the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan).

title: 632

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: The Rashidun army under Abdullah ibn Aamir invades Afghanistan, and captures the main forts in Khorasan (modern Iran). The Muslim Arabs occupy the cities of Balkh and Herat, which surrender peacefully.

title: 651

section: Events › By place › Arabian Caliphate

text: Muslim Conquest: Arab forces under Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra begin launching raids from Persia, striking at Multan in the southern Punjab (modern Pakistan). Muslims conquer the city of Kabul, invading from eastern Afghanistan.

title: 664

date: September 30

text: September 30 – Battle of the Baggage: The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, pursue them south of the River Oxus (northern Afghanistan), and capture their baggage train. In the winter, the Turgesh and their Transoxianan allies launch a major counter-invasion but are halted and their army is destroyed. Khuttal is then conquered by the Arabs.

title: AD 737

text: Ya'qub ibn al-Layth, a Muslim military leader, starts rebelling against the Abbasids and founds the Saffarid Dynasty in the 870s. He rules over parts of Khurasan and eastern Iran, and establishes his capital at Zaranj (modern Afghanistan).

title: 861

section: Events › By place › Abbasid Caliphate

text: Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghanistan) over Amr ibn al-Layth; the latter is captured and sent to Caliph Al-Mu'tadid in Baghdad. The Samanid Dynasty rules over Khorasan, as well as Transoxiana. A few months later, the Samanids conquer the Zaydid emirate of Tabaristan. This victory marks the beginning of the dispersion of the local Shi'ites by the new Sunni power.

title: 900

section: Climate & Environment

text: Spring – Sabuktigin, a Samanid general, succeeds his father-in-law Alp-Tegin as governor of Ghazna (modern Afghanistan). He enlarges his dominions and founds the Ghaznavid Dynasty.

title: 977

section: Deaths

date: April 30

text: April 30 – Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni dies after a 28-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Mas'ud I, who seizes the throne of the Ghaznavid Empire, which includes much of Afghanistan, Iran, and India.

title: 1030

text: Battle of Ghazni: Seljuk forces under Ahmad Sanjar (supporting the claim of Bahram-Shah) invade Afghanistan and defeat the ruling Sultan Arslan-Shah. Bahram succeeds his brother as ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire.

title: 1117

section: Events › By place › Seljuk Empire

text: 1210–1211 – Shazi creates the Pen Box, from Persia (Iran) or Afghanistan (it is now kept at Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.).

title: 1210

section: Events › By topic › Art and Culture

text: Spring – Genghis Khan dispatches a Mongolian army (some 20,000 cavalry) under Jebe, to deal with the Qara Khitai (or Western Liao) threat. Meanwhile, he sends Subutai with another army on a simultaneous campaign against the Merkits. Jebe defeats a force of 30,000 men led by Prince Kuchlug at the Khitan capital Balasagun. Kuchlug flees south to modern Afghanistan, but is captured by hunters – who hands him over to the Mongols. After Kuchlug is beheaded and paraded through the cities of his new domains, Genghis annexes the entire Khitai empire under Mongol rule.

title: 1218

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

date: December 15

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

title: 1256

text: Rabban Bar Sauma, Chinese Nestorian monk, embarks on a pilgrimage from China to Jerusalem. He travels to Hotan, Kashgar, Taraz and Khorasan (modern Afghanistan).

title: 1275

date: April

text: April – (Muharram 783 AH) In what is now Afghanistan, the Siege of Herat by the Mongol conqueror Timur ends with the Persian city surrendering to the Mongols, in return for the populace being spared.

title: 1381

section: Events › April–June

date: March 13

text: March 13 – At Herat, Ulugh Beg (born Mirza Muhammad Taraghay) becomes the new ruler of the Timurid Empire upon the death of his father Sharukh Mirza, who had reigned for 42 years. The Empire is in decline but still controls most of what is now Afghanistan as well as parts of Iraq and Pakistan.

title: 1447

section: Events › January–March

text: Kasur established as a city by the Kheshgi tribe of Pashtuns from Kabul who migrate to the region in 1525 from Afghanistan.

title: 1525

section: Events › Date unknown

date: April 3

text: April 3 – In Qazvin, the Shah of Iran Tahmasp I, becomes enraged with the sexual orientation of his son Ismail II, and sends Ismail to Afghanistan to serve as the Iranian governor of Herat province.

title: 1556

date: March 8

text: March 8 – Battle of Gulnabad in Persia: The Pashtun people of Afghanistan, led by Mahmud Hotak, decisively defeat forces of the Persian Safavid dynasty, precipitating its fall.

title: 1722

section: Crime & Justice

text: Shah Mahmud Hotaki of Afghanistan goes insane.

title: 1724

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Herat Campaign: General Nader Shah of Persia (now Iran) suppresses the rebellion by Zulfiqar Khan in the city of Herat in what is now Afghanistan.

title: 1732

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Ahmad Shah Durrani establishes the Durrani Empire after being elected by Pashtun chieftains in a jirga at Naderabad, laying the foundation for modern Afghanistan.

title: 1747

section: Events › July–September

date: April 12

text: April 12 – The Kingdom of Afghanistan, under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani, recaptures the city of Lahore four years after its capture by the Sikhs of Punjab.

title: 1752

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Karim Khan Zand, the King of Persia (now Iran) recaptures the city of Shiraz from Afghan warlord Azad Khan Afghan, who had taken control of much of central Iran since 1749.

title: 1754

section: Events › October–December

date: December

text: December – First Anglo-Afghan War: British and Presidency armies set out from Punjab in support of Shah Shujah Durrani's claim to the throne of Afghanistan.

title: 1838

text: July 23 – First Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Ghazni – British forces capture the fortress city of Ghazni in Afghanistan.

title: 1839

date: December 23

text: December 23 – First Anglo-Afghan War: At a meeting with the Afghan general Akbar Khan, British diplomat Sir William Hay Macnaghten is shot dead at close quarters.

title: 1841

date: January 6

text: January 6–13 – First Anglo-Afghan War – Massacre of Elphinstone's army (Battle of Gandamak): British East India Company troops are destroyed by Afghan forces on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, by Akbar Khan, son of Dost Mohammad Khan.

title: 1842

date: January 3

text: January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan.

title: 1869

section: Events › January

date: November 12

text: November 12 – The Durand Line is established as the boundary between British India and Afghanistan, by a memorandum of understanding signed by Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, Amir of Afghanistan.

title: 1893

section: Events › November

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Afghanistan joins the League of Nations.

title: 1934

section: Events › September–October

date: February 14

text: February 14 – In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who is killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.

title: 1979

section: Events › February

date: July 3

text: July 3 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan.

title: 1979

section: Events › July

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: November 3

text: November 3 – A gasoline (petrol) tanker explodes in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing at least 176 people.

title: 1982

text: April 14 – In the Geneva Accords, the Soviet Union commits itself to withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.

title: 1988

text: December 27 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Air Base, solidifying their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.

title: 1996

text: May 30 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hits northern Afghanistan, killing up to 5,000.

title: 1998

text: April 24 – The 2011 Guantanamo Bay files leak occurs, WikiLeaks and other organisations publishing 779 classified documents about Guantanamo Bay detainees, and it had been exposed 150 innocent citizens from Afghanistan and Pakistan were held in the camp without trial and detainees being as young as 14 years old.

title: 2011

text: October 26 – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths, with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India.

title: 2015

text: October 3 – A United States airstrike on a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Afghanistan kills an estimated 20 people.

title: 2015

text: September 19 – 30 Afghan nut farmers are killed and 40 injured in a U.S. drone attack in Nangarhar Province.

title: 2019

text: February 29 – A conditional peace agreement is signed between the United States and the Taliban. The U.S. begins gradually withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan on March 10.

title: 2020

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

title: 2020

text: October 7 – A series of earthquakes occur in Herat Province in Afghanistan, killing over 1,000 people and injuring nearly 2,000, with tremors felt in Iran and Turkmenistan. The earthquakes are the deadliest in the country since 1998.

title: 2023

text: August 19 – A multi-vehicle collision involving a bus carrying migrants deported from Iran, a motorcycle and a truck kills at least 79 people in Herat Province, Afghanistan.

title: 2025

text: August 31 – An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 2,200 people and injures 3,500.

title: 2025

text: November 3 – A powerful 6.3 earthquake shakes the provinces of Balkh and Samangan in Afghanistan, causing 31 deaths and 956 injuries.

title: 2025


slug: afonso-de-albuquerque

label: Afonso de Albuquerque

description: Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman (1453–1515)

section: Births

text: Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese naval and military commander

title: 1453

section: Births › Date unknown

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Portuguese navigator João da Nova discovers Ascension Island. It is definitely sighted and named on May 20, 1503 (Feast of the Ascension) by Afonso de Albuquerque.

title: 1501

date: May 20

text: May 20 (Feast of the Ascension) – Ascension Island is first definitively sighted, by Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque.

title: 1503

section: Religion & Belief

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Fort Emmanuel is christened at Cochin after Afonso de Albuquerque obtained permission to be able to build it. It is the first European fort in India, in addition to being the first Portuguese fort.

title: 1503

date: August 10

text: August 10 – Afonso de Albuquerque departs with six ships from the Yemeni island of Socotra to begin pillaging towns along the way to conquering the Persian Gulf port of Hormuz.

title: 1507

section: Events › July—September

date: September 26

text: September 26 – A fleet commanded by Portugal's Afonso de Albuquerque arrives at the port of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf and sets about to conquer it.

title: 1507

section: Conflict & Security

date: November 4

text: November 4 – Afonso de Albuquerque becomes the Viceroy of Portuguese India, replacing Francisco de Almeida, who departs five days later from Diu. Almeida never makes it home, getting killed along with his 64 men in a battle on March 1 with the local Khoekhoe people at South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

title: 1509

text: February 27– Portuguese conquest of Goa: Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal begins a nine month battle to conquer Goa off the coast of India.

title: 1510

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Afonso de Albuquerque succeeds in conquering Goa and establishes the colony of Portuguese India.

title: 1510

text: After the fall of Malacca, Afonso de Albuquerque sends Duarte Fernandes on a diplomatic mission to Burma and Siam, becoming the first European to visit these countries diplomatically.

title: 1511

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal, Governor of Portuguese India, begins an assault on the strategic city of Malacca (now part of Malaysia) and captures it by August 15.

title: 1511

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 20

text: November 20 – The vessel Frol de la Mar, transporting Afonso de Albuquerque and the valuable treasure of the conquest of Malacca, sinks en route to Goa.

title: 1511

date: September 10

text: September 10 – Portuguese Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque departs from the Indian city of Cochin with 14 ships and 1,700 troops to retake the fortress of Goa, capital of Portuguese India, from Bijapur's General Rasul Khan. A day before a planned Portuguese attack on Bihar's army, Rasul Khan and his occupying forces depart from Goa.

title: 1512

date: March 26

text: March 26 – On Easter Sunday, Afonso de Albuquerque, Governor of Portuguese India, makes an unsuccessful attempt to capture the port city of Aden, on the Arabian Peninsula, from the Mamluk Sultanate, using 20 ships and 2,500 soldiers. The 1,700 Portuguese, along with 800 mercenaries from Malabar, lose at least 100 killed during the attack and retreat.

title: 1513

date: April 1

text: April 1 – The Portuguese Navy, led by Afonso de Albuquerque, conquers the strategic Hormuz Island as King Turan Shah and his prime minister, Rais Nureddin invited Albuquerque to land his forces and formally take possession of Hormuz.

title: 1515


slug: afonso-i-of-portugal

label: Afonso I of Portugal

description: king of Portugal from 1139 to 1185

text: July 25 – Afonso I, king of Portugal (d. 1185)

title: 1109

text: Afonso I (the Conqueror), King of Portugal (d. 1185)

title: 1111

section: Deaths

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Henry, Count of Portugal, dies from wounds received during a siege at Astorga. He is succeeded by his 3-year-old son Afonso I, but his mother Theresa desires to rule Portugal alone and becomes regent.

title: 1112

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: June 24

text: June 24 – Battle of São Mamede: Count Alfonso I (Henriques) defeats the forces led by his mother, Queen Theresa of Portugal, near Guimarães, and gains control of the county. Alfonso styles himself "Prince of Portugal".

title: 1128

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

text: Siege of Lisbon (1142): King Afonso I of Portugal attempts to besiege Lisbon with the aid of a group of Anglo-Norman crusaders.

title: 1142

date: October 5

text: October 5 – Treaty of Zamora: The Kingdom of Portugal is recognized by King Alfonso VII ("the Emperor") of León and Castile in the presence of his cousin, King Afonso I of Portugal and papal representatives.

title: 1143

date: July 1

text: July 1–October 25 – Siege of Lisbon: King Afonso I of Portugal conquers Lisbon from the Taifa of Badajoz after a four-month siege, with support of English, Flemish and German Crusaders. The garrison surrenders on the guarantee that their lives will be spared. The Crusaders break the terms and take part in a bloody massacre. Afonso rules from his capital at Coimbra, takes Sintra and Santarém, and sacks Palmela.

title: 1147

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

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: 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: Spring – Gerald the Fearless, Portuguese warrior and knight, receives the support of King Afonso I ("the Great"). The Almohad caliph, Abu Yaqub Yusuf, manages to broker an alliance with King Ferdinand II against Afonso. The allies manage to besiege Badajoz, and finally take both Afonso and Gerald prisoner.

title: 1169

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

title: 1178

text: Summer – Afonso I (the Conqueror) is recognized as King of Portugal by Pope Alexander III – bringing Portugal the protection of the Catholic Church against the Leonese monarchy.

title: 1179

date: December 6

text: December 6 – King Afonso I of Portugal ("the Great") dies after a 36-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Sancho I ("the Populator") as ruler of Portugal.

title: 1185


slug: afonso-v-of-portugal

label: Afonso V of Portugal

description: King of Portugal and the Algarves

date: January 15

text: January 15 – King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)

title: 1432

date: September 13

text: September 13 – Afonso V becomes King of Portugal upon the death of his father King Duarte I.

title: 1438

section: Events › July–September

date: August 15

text: August 15 – King Afonso V of Portugal, the 9-year-old monarch since the 1438 death of his father, King Duarte, is formally betrothed to his cousin, Isabel of Coimbra, aged 10, as part of an arranged marriage planned by Isabel's father Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, the King's regent. Their marriage does not take place until almost six years later, on May 6, 1447.

title: 1441

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Pedro de Portugal, Duke of Coimbra and regent for the 11-year old King Afonso V, grants letters patent to his younger brother Dom Henrique of Navegador ("Prince Henry the Navigator"), giving Henrique an exclusive monopoly over all navigation south of Cape Bojador, whether for the purpose of war or trade, as well as a commission on any African goods or slaves brought back to mainland Portugal.

title: 1443

section: Events › October–December

text: January 15 – On his 14th birthday, Afonso V is acclaimed as King of Portugal, with full power to govern the kingdom, although his uncle, Pedro, Duke of Coimbra continues to operate as regent. Afonso had succeeded to the throne in 1438 upon the death of his father, King Duarte I.

title: 1446

section: Events › January–March

section: Culture & Society

date: July 28

text: July 28 – The compilation of the Alfonsine Ordinances, the first codification of the laws of the Kingdom of Portugal, is completed by Rui Fernandes of Almada and given to Dom Pedro de Coimbra, the regent for King Afonso V.

title: 1446

date: May 6

text: May 6 – In a royal wedding at Lisbon, King Afonso V of Portugal is married to his first cousin, Princess Isabel of Coimbra, when both of them are 15 years old. Isabel is the daughter of Afonso's uncle, Dom Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, who continues to serve as the regent for King Afonso.

title: 1447

section: Events › April – June

text: May 20 – Battle of Alfarrobeira: King Afonso V of Portugal defeats the forces of Peter, Duke of Coimbra.

title: 1449

section: Events › April–June

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Pope Nicholas V publishes Romanus Pontifex, an encyclical addressed to King Afonso V of Portugal, which sanctions the conquest of non-Christian lands, and the reduction of native non-Christian populations to 'perpetual slavery'. (Later there will be a dramatic reversal when, in 1537, the bull Sublimis Deus of Pope Paul III forbids the enslavement of non-Christians.)

title: 1455

date: June 25

text: June 25 – Prince João, the new son of King Afonso V of Portugal, is approved as the heir to the throne by the representatives of the three estates of the realm (nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie) in the Portuguese Cortes at Lisbon.

title: 1455

date: October 24

text: October 24 – King Afonso V of Portugal conquers the area around Ksar es-Seghir in the Sultanate of Morocco, led by Sultan Abd al-Haqq II.

title: 1458

date: August 22

text: August 22 – King Afonso V of Portugal conquers the Moroccan town of Arzila.

title: 1471

date: January 22

text: January 22 – At age 15, Prince João of Aviz, the eldest son of King Afonso V, marries his 12-year-old first cousin, Leonor de Avis. Both are grandchildren of King Duarte I of Portugal.

title: 1471

date: December 12

text: December 12 – Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile, a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile, and her niece Juana, who is supported by her husband, Afonso V of Portugal. Isabella wins the civil war after a lengthy struggle, when her husband, the newly crowned Ferdinand II of Aragon, comes to her aid.

title: 1474

date: April 3

text: April 3 – While in Valladolid, capital of the Kingdom of Castile and León, to celebrate a tournament in their honor, the joint rulers of Castile, Queen Isabella and King Fernando II are interrupted by a messenger sent by King Afonso V of Portugal. King Afonso announces a declaration of war against the crown of Castile and León.

title: 1475

date: April 6

text: April 6 – King Afonso V of Portugal orders his navy to "capture anyone trading illegally in Africa, and to throw the goods and ship's crew into the sea.

title: 1480

date: March 6

text: March 6 – The Treaty of Toledo is signed as Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize the African conquests of Afonso V of Portugal, and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain.

title: 1480


slug: africa-roman-province

label: Africa (Roman province)

description: Roman province on the northern African coast covering parts of present-day Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya

year_label: 42 BCE

text: In Sicily, Sextus Pompeius leads the naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea against the triumvirs. He blockades the grain routes from Spain and Africa.

title: 42 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 17 CE

text: Tacfarinas, Numidian deserter from the Roman army, begins a guerrilla war against the Romans. He leads his own Musulamii tribe and a coalition of Berbers, attacking the Limes Tripolitanus, a fortified zone (limes) of the Roman Empire in Africa.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Africa

year_label: 60 CE

text: Vitellius is (possibly) proconsul of the province of Africa.

title: AD 60

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 63 CE

text: Vespasian becomes governor of Africa (estimated year).

title: AD 63

year_label: 70 CE

section: Climate & Environment

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

title: AD 70

year_label: 84 CE

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

title: AD 84

text: Publius Helvius Pertinax becomes pro-consul of Africa from 188 to 189.

title: AD 188

text: Severus launches a campaign in Africa; Legio III Augusta under Quintus Anicius Faustus fights a guerrilla war against the Garamantes along the Limes Tripolitanus. They capture several settlements such as Cydamus, Gholaia and their capital Garama, 600 km south of Lepcis Magna. The province of Numidia is enlarged: the Romans annex Castellum Dimmidi, Gemellae and Vescera.

title: 202

text: Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilds Byzantium, and expands the southern frontier of Africa, with the metropolis Carthage re-fortified.

title: 203

section: Economy & Finance

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

title: 204

section: Events › By topic › Commerce

text: c. March – Roman subjects in Africa revolt against Maximinus. The elderly Gordian yields to public demand that he succeed Maximinus and rules jointly with his 46-year-old son Gordian II.

title: 238

text: The Roman Empire is threatened on several fronts at the same time. Africa revolts and tribes in northwest Germania, under the name of the Franks, are raiding the Rhine frontier.

title: 240

text: Valerian reforms Legio III Augusta to fight the "five peoples", a dangerous coalition of Berber tribes in Africa.

title: 253

text: In Africa, the Berbers massacre Roman colonists.

title: 256

date: October 28

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

title: 306

text: The overthrow of Maximian prompts the soldiers of Roman Africa to prop up the vicarius of Africa, Domitius Alexander, as a usurper.

title: 308

text: Gratian, age 16, takes over the government at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), but ministers wishing to retain the loyalty of the Illyrian army fear a usurper. They proclaim Valentinian's 4-year-old son Valentinian II co-emperor with his mother, Justina, as regent. Gratian reserves for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, and hands over Italy, Illyrium, Hispania and Africa to his stepmother, who makes Mediolanum (Milan) her residence.

title: 375

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Emperor Gratian, age 24, is assassinated at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon), leaving a young widow Laeta. Pannonia and Africa maintain their allegiance to co-emperor Valentinian II, now 12, whose mother, Justina, rules in his name.

title: AD 383

text: Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.

title: 398

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

title: 398

section: Crime & Justice

text: Piracy is committed by slave-traders from Galatia (Anatolia), along the coasts of Africa.

title: 401

text: In the Roman province of Africa, Augustine of Hippo opposes Donatism as a heresy.

title: 405

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Alaric I marches southwards into Calabria and makes plans to invade Africa. But a storm destroys his Gothic fleet and many of his soldiers drown. Alaric dies in Cosenza, probably of fever, and his body is buried along with his treasure under the riverbed of the Busento. He is succeeded by his brother-in-law Ataulf, who becomes king of the Visigoths.

title: 410

text: Bonifacius, Roman general and governor in Africa (born 354 BC).

title: 432

text: The Vandals in North Africa defeat the Roman general Aspar and force him to withdraw. He serves as consul at Constantinople.

title: 434

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: The Vandals use Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) as a port for their expeditions. Genseric establishes a merchant fleet to transport goods between Africa and the Italian mainland.

title: 435

text: Vandal War (439-442): King Genseric breaks his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and invades Africa Proconsularis.

title: 439

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

title: 440

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

text: Winter – Zeno recognizes the full extent of the Vandal Kingdom, including all of western Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. King Gaiseric gives Sicily, with the exception of the city of Lilybaeum, to Odoacer in return for tribute.

title: 476

date: January 25

text: January 25 – Genseric, ruler of the Vandal Kingdom, dies a natural death at Carthage, and is succeeded by his eldest son Huneric. He maintains control over the islands in the western Mediterranean Sea with his Vandal fleet, and rescinds his father's policy of persecuting the Roman Catholics in Africa.

title: 477

date: June 21

text: June 21 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails in 500 transports, escorted by 92 war vessels (dromons), manned by 20,000 seamen from Constantinople, to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. The fleet carries 10,000 infantry, about half Byzantine and half foederati, and 5,000 cavalry, consisting of 3,000 Byzantine horsemen, 1,000 foreign allies (Huns and Heruli) and 1,500 of Belisarius' retainers (bucellarii). On the flagship Belisarius is accompanied by his military secretary Procopius, and his wife Antonina.

title: 533

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Spring – Emperor Justinian I appoints his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis in Africa. He sends a mobile force of comitatenses (mostly cavalry) and an elite guard. Solomon, the previous magister militum, returns to Constantinople.

title: 536

section: Events › By place › Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire

date: October 3

text: October 3 – Heraclian revolt: Heraclius arrives with a fleet from Africa at Constantinople. Assisted by an uprising in the capital, he overthrows and personally beheads Emperor Phocas. Heraclius gains the throne with help from his father Heraclius the Elder. His first major act is to change the official language of the Byzantine Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population).

title: 610


slug: africa

label: Africa

description: continent

text: 2807 BC: Suggested date for an asteroid or comet impact occurring between Africa and Antarctica, around the time of a lunar eclipse on May 10, based on an analysis of flood stories. Possibly causing the Burckle crater and Fenambosy Chevron.

title: 29th century BC

section: Events

year_label: 270 BCE

section: Births

text: Hamilcar Barca, founder of Barcid Spain and leading Carthaginian general who will fight against Rome in Sicily and Italy, against the Libyans and the mercenary revolt in Africa, and against the Iberians and Celti-Iberians in Spain (d. 228 BC)

title: 270 BC

year_label: 149 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Third Punic War begins. The Romans land an army in Africa to begin the Battle of Carthage.

title: 149 BC

year_label: 88 BCE

date: August

text: August: The consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla becomes the first Roman commander to march on Rome with his army and to capture the city by force. This extraordinary act is prompted by his desire to maintain his proconsular command for the First Mithridatic War in Asia Minor. Sulla then murdered his enemy P. Sulpicius Rufus and forced Gaius Marius to flee to Africa.

title: 88 BC

year_label: 82 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Pompey is ordered by Sulla to stamp out Marian rebels in Sicily and Africa, after his campaigns in he gets the insulting nickname of adulescentulus carnifex, the "teenage butcher".

title: 82 BC

year_label: 24 CE

text: The revolt of Tacfarinas revolt in Africa is repressed.

title: 20s

section: Events › 24 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 43 CE

text: In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, Mark the Evangelist becomes the first Pope of Alexandria, thus establishing the Christian Church in Africa.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 43

year_label: 65 CE

text: The first Christian community in Africa is founded by Mark, a disciple of Peter.

title: AD 65

text: Pope Victor I succeeds Pope Eleuterus as the fourteenth pope, the first from Africa.

title: AD 189

text: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus becomes proconsul of Africa, and is made a member of the pontifical college.

title: 373

text: The Council of Bagaï in Africa brings 310 Donatist bishops together.

title: 394

text: Bonifacius, weakened by the civil war against empress Galla Placidia, sues for peace and is elevated to the rank of supreme commander (magister militum) of Africa.

title: 429

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Kaleb, king of Aksum, collects a fleet and crosses from Africa to conquer Yemen. He establishes better trade ports on the Red Sea.

title: 525

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Maurice establishes the Exarchate of Carthage in Africa. He combines the civil authority of a praetorian prefect and the military authority, based at Carthage.

title: 590

text: The east coast of Africa is impacted by trade and Arab, Persian and Indian traders mix with the indigenous Bantu. Many of the coastal Bantu adopt Islam, reaching as far south as Sofala (Mozambique).

title: 900

text: The Golden Age of the Ghana Empire begins in Africa (approximate date).

title: 920

text: An extensive slave trade begins in modern Cameroon as the Portuguese sail up the Wouri River and Fernão do Po claims the central-African islands Bioko and Annobón for Portugal.

title: 1472

section: Events › Undated

text: April 6 – King Afonso V of Portugal orders his navy to "capture anyone trading illegally in Africa, and to throw the goods and ship's crew into the sea.

title: 1480

text: March 6 – The Treaty of Toledo is signed as Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize the African conquests of Afonso V of Portugal, and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain.

title: 1480

date: July 3

text: July 3 – Captain Andrew Shilling, on behalf of the English Honourable East India Company, lays claim to Table Bay in Africa.

title: 1620

section: Events › July–September

section: Health & Medicine

text: The 1899–1923 cholera pandemic begins, spreading to Europe, Asia and Africa.

title: 1899

section: Events › Date unknown

date: April 24

text: April 24 – Al Ahly SC is founded in Cairo by Omar Lotfi, as a gathering place for Egyptian students' unions in the struggle against colonization; it is the first association football club officially founded in Egypt or Africa.

title: 1907

section: Events › April

text: Common African, Malagasy and Mauritian Organization (OCAMM) (Organisation Commune Africaine Malgache et Mauricienne) is established.

title: 1969

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Pope Paul VI arrives in Entebbe, Uganda for the first visit by a reigning Pope to Africa.

title: 1969

section: Events › July


slug: african-american

label: African American

date: September 10

text: September 10 (also dated September 12) – John Lawson, Christoph von Graffenried, two African American slaves and two Native Americans leave on an exploration expedition from New Bern, North Carolina, and travel north by canoe up the Neuse River.

title: 1711

section: Crime & Justice

date: September 16

text: September 16 (approximate date) – Tuscarora natives kill Lawson. Von Graffenried and one African American slave are known to have been set free.

title: 1711

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Benjamin Banneker, African-American astronomer, surveyor of the District of Columbia (d. 1806)

title: 1731

date: February 6

text: February 6 – A group of 86 free African American colonists sail from New York City to Freetown, Sierra Leone, with a goal of creating a home for freed American slaves, to be called "Liberia".

title: 1820

section: Events › January–March

date: May 28

text: May 28 – American Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts, the first African-American regiment, leaves Boston to fight for the Union.

title: 1863

section: Events › May

date: April 12

text: April 12 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Pillow – Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers who surrender at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

title: 1864

date: January 8

text: January 8 – African-American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia.

title: 1867

section: Events › January

date: February 3

text: February 3 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing African American men the right to vote, is passed.

title: 1870

section: Events › February

date: December 9

text: December 9 – In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African-American to govern a U.S. state.

title: 1872

section: Events › December

section: Culture & Society

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy.

title: 1877

section: Events › June

text: April 24 – Father Augustine Tolton, the first Roman Catholic priest from the United States to identify himself publicly as African American, is ordained in Rome.

title: 1886

date: March 17

text: March 17 – A white mob storms a courthouse in Carroll County, Mississippi, killing 23 African Americans.

title: 1886

section: Events › March

text: Booker T. Washington High School (Houston) is founded as "Colored High", the first African-American high school in Houston, Texas.

title: 1893

date: August 10

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

title: 1899

section: Events › August

section: Deaths

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Ida B. Wells, African-American anti-lynching crusader (b. 1862)

title: 1931

section: Deaths › March

date: August 3

text: August 3 – 1936 Summer Olympics: African-American athlete Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash.

title: 1936

section: Events › July–August

date: April 7

text: April 7 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.

title: 1940

date: June 16

text: June 16 – At age 14, African-American teenage boy George Stinney Jr. becomes the youngest person ever executed by electric chair in the United States. His conviction was vacated 70 years later, in 2014, due to him not receiving a fair trial.

title: 1944

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: July 25

text: July 25 – In the last mass lynching in the United States, a mob of white men shoot and kill two African-American couples, near Moore's Ford Bridge in Georgia.

title: 1946

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Jackie Robinson, the first African American in Major League Baseball since the 1880s, signs a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

title: 1947

text: February 3 – P.L. Prattis becomes the first African American news correspondent allowed in the United States House of Representatives and Senate press galleries.

title: 1947

section: Climate & Environment

date: December 17

text: December 17 – We Charge Genocide, a petition describing genocide against African Americans, is delivered to the United Nations.

title: 1951

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Marian Anderson is the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

title: 1955

date: March 2

text: March 2 – Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old African-American girl, refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white woman after the driver demands it. She is carried off the bus backwards, while being kicked, handcuffed and harassed on the way to the police station. She becomes a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle (1956), which rules bus segregation to be unconstitutional.

title: 1955

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Freedom Summer, a volunteer Civil Rights project in the United States intended to promote voter registration for as many African Americans as possible in Mississippi, begins with orientation sessions for the 300 volunteers at Western College for Women, Oxford, Ohio.

title: 1964

date: August 30

text: August 30 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He is the first African American to hold the position.

title: 1967

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: July 23

text: July 23–31 – 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city: 43 are killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned.

title: 1967

date: June 13

text: June 13 – Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall is nominated as the first African American justice of the United States Supreme Court.

title: 1967

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Carl B. Stokes is elected Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American elected mayor of a major United States city.

title: 1967

section: Events › November

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and African American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

title: 1979

date: December 22

text: December 22 – Four African-American youths (Barry Allen, Troy Canty, James Ramseur, and Darrell Cabey) board an express train in the Bronx borough of New York City. They demand five dollars from Bernhard Goetz, who shoots them. The event starts a national debate about urban crime in the United States.

title: 1984

date: December 20

text: December 20 – Three African Americans are assaulted by a group of white teens in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York. One of the victims, Michael Griffith, is run over and killed by a motorist while attempting to flee the attackers.

title: 1986

date: August 23

text: August 23 – Murder of Yusef Hawkins in a shooting in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, sparking racial tensions between African Americans and Italian Americans.

title: 1989

text: February 10 – Ron Brown is elected as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a major United States political party.

title: 1989

text: November 7 – David Dinkins becomes the first African-American mayor of New York City.

title: 1989

text: October 24 – African-American civil rights activist Rosa Parks dies of natural causes.

title: 2005

text: January 20 – Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African-American to hold the office.

title: 2009

text: African-American teenage boy George Stinney Jr.'s conviction of murdering two white girls back in 1944 is vacated due to him having received an unfair trial.

title: 2014


slug: african-national-congress

label: African National Congress

description: left-wing nationalist political party in South Africa

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: January 8

text: January 8 – The African National Congress is founded as the South African Native National Congress in Bloemfontein, to promote improved rights for black South Africans, with John Langalibalele Dube as its first president.

title: 1912

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 11

text: July 11 – South Africa: police raid Liliesleaf Farm to the north of Johannesburg, arresting a group of African National Congress leaders.

title: 1963

section: Events › July

section: Health & Medicine

date: September

text: September – Attempted poisoning of 500 members of the African National Congress by South African government infiltrators.

title: 1978

section: Events › September

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.

title: 1980

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Church Street bombing: A car bombing in Pretoria, South Africa, kills 19 people. The bomb has been planted by members of Umkhonto we Sizwe, a military wing of the African National Congress.

title: 1983

date: January 29

text: January 29 – In South Africa, Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress and Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party agree to end violence between the two organizations.

title: 1991

section: Economy & Finance

date: November 4

text: November 4–5 – End of Apartheid: The African National Congress leads a general strike, demanding representation in the government and an end to the value-added tax.

title: 1991

date: February 3

text: February 3 – South African State President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader, are jointly awarded the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

title: 1992

date: September 7

text: September 7 – In Ciskei, members of the Ciskei Defence Force loyal to dictator Oupa Gqozo open fire into a crowd of anti-Gqozo protestors organized by the African National Congress, killing at least 28 people and wounding nearly 200.

title: 1992

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Shell House massacre: Inkatha Freedom Party and ANC supporters battle in central Johannesburg, South Africa.

title: 1994

date: May 9

text: May 9 – South Africa's National Party pulls out of the coalition government formed two years earlier, and the African National Congress assumes full political control.

title: 1996

text: June 14 – 2024 South African general election: The ANC and other opposition parties agree to form a national unity government, with Cyril Ramaphosa being re-elected President of South Africa.

title: 2024

date: May 29

text: May 29 – 2024 South African general election: The ANC party fails to win a majority of the vote for the first time in South Africa's democratic history.

title: 2024


slug: agathocles-of-syracuse

label: Agathocles of Syracuse

description: Greek tyrant of Syracuse from 317 to 289 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, increased the size of his forces until they surpassed the Carthaginian garrison forces on the island.

title: 312 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily

year_label: 311 BCE

text: The Carthaginian general Hamilcar crosses the Mediterranean with an army and wins the Battle of Himera against Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse.

title: 311 BC

year_label: 308 BCE

text: Agathocles leaves his main army under the command of his son Archagathus encamped before Tunis while he, with a strikeforce of 8,000 infantry, 800 cavalry and 50 chariots, marches after the Carthaginian army.

title: 308 BC

section: Events › By place › North Africa

year_label: 307 BCE

text: Agathocles besieges and takes a town called Hippu Acra. After capturing Hippu Acra several towns and cities come over to his side; even some Numidian tribes start sending their warriors to join Agathocles.

title: 307 BC

text: Agathocles assaults the walls of Utica. The Uticans, despite having to inflict death and injury on their fellow citizens, fiercely defend their city. Eventually, Agathocles' army is able to break into the city, they sacked the city and left behind a garrison.

title: 307 BC

text: Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, (who has been campaigning in North Africa for several years) launches a surprise attack on Utica. He captures around 300 citizens outside the walls and tries to negotiate a surrender of the city; Utica refuses. Agathocles then uses the prisoners as human shields by binding them to his siege engines.

title: 307 BC

text: Agathocles abandons his army and his sons and secretly sails back to Sicily. His soldiers kill his sons in anger.

title: 307 BC

text: Xenodocus, a general from Acragas, leads an army of 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry against Agathocles' generals on Sicily. Leptines and Demophilus, two of Agathocles' generals, oppose Xenoducus with 8,200 infantry and 1,200 cavalry. Xenoducus is defeated and retreats to Acragas. As a result of this defeat the people of Acragas give up the fight against Agathocles.

title: 307 BC

text: Agathocles returns to his expeditionary army. Trying to restore his army's moral, he fights a battle under less than ideal conditions and suffers a bloody defeat (losing 3,000 soldiers).

title: 307 BC

text: Archagathus, son of Agathocles the tyrant of Syracuse.

title: 307 BC

text: Heracleides, son of Agathocles the tyrant of Syracuse.

title: 307 BC

year_label: 306 BCE

text: A peace agreement is reached between Syracuse and Carthage. The peace restricts Carthaginian power in Sicily to the area west of the Halycus (Platani) River. This agreement allows the tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, to strengthen his rule over the Greek cities in the east of Sicily.

title: 306 BC

text: Agathocles tries to negotiate a settlement with Deinocrates, the leader of the exiles, but the latter refuses, forcing Agathocles to continue the war for dominance over eastern Sicily.

title: 306 BC

year_label: 305 BCE

text: Agathocles, unable to come to terms with Deinocrates and the exiles, takes to the field with the remnants of his forces; at the Battle of Thorgium Agathocles defeats the much larger army of the exiles.

title: 305 BC

year_label: 304 BCE

text: The tyrant Agathocles of Syracuse takes on the title of King of Sicily. He extends his influence into southern Italy and the Adriatic.

title: 304 BC

year_label: 289 BCE

text: The tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, dies after restoring the Syracusan democracy on his death bed by stating that he does not want his sons to succeed him as king. However, the resulting dissension among his family about the succession leads to a renewal of Carthaginian power in Sicily.

title: 289 BC

text: Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily from 317 BC and self-styled king of Sicily after 304 BC (b. 361 BC)

title: 289 BC


slug: agathocles

label: Agathocles

description: Wikimedia disambiguation page

year_label: 361 BCE

section: Births

text: Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse (d. 289 BC)

title: 361 BC

year_label: 325 BCE

text: Agathocles, a rich and ambitious citizen of Syracuse, is exiled for attempting to overthrow the oligarchic party in the city.

title: 325 BC

year_label: 317 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: After twice being banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party, Agathocles returns with an army and banishes or murders about 10,000 citizens (including the oligarchs), and sets himself up as tyrant of Syracuse. Acestorides is banished from the city.

title: 317 BC

year_label: 316 BCE

text: Agathocles, the new tyrant of Syracuse, extends his rule over the eastern part of the island.

title: 316 BC

year_label: 315 BCE

text: Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, seizes the city of Messina.

title: 315 BC

year_label: 313 BCE

text: Deinocrates, the leader of the Syracusan exiles, sends envoys to the Carthaginians to ask them for help against Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse. The Carthaginians, fearing for their own possessions in Sicily, send a large force to the island.

title: 313 BC

year_label: 310 BCE

text: The tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, escapes from the siege of the city by the Carthaginians with a fleet and carries the war with the Carthaginians back into his enemy's territory. He defeats the Carthaginians in the Battle of White Tunis.

title: 310 BC

section: Events › By place › Sicily and Africa

year_label: 309 BCE

text: Leaving his brother Antander to continue the defence of Syracuse, Agathocles lands in North Africa with the aim of distracting the Carthaginians from their siege of Syracuse. Agathocles concludes a treaty with Ophellas, ruler of Cyrenaica. He then takes advantage of the civil unrest in Carthage and nearly succeeds in conquering the city.

title: 309 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

year_label: 298 BCE

text: Agathocles, king of Syracuse, assists the Italian Greeks against the Bruttians and supports the Greeks against the Romans.

title: 298 BC

year_label: 288 BCE

text: Following the death of Agathocles, some of his disbanded mercenaries seize Messana in northeast Sicily and set up a society, calling themselves Mamertines (Sons of Mars). The city becomes a base from which they will ravage the Sicilian countryside.

title: 288 BC

year_label: 269 BCE

text: The Mamertines, a body of Campanian mercenaries who have been employed by Agathocles, the former tyrant of Syracuse, capture the stronghold of Messana (Messina in north-eastern Sicily), from which they harass the Syracusans. The Syracusan military leader, Hieron, defeats them in a pitched battle at the Longanus River near Mylae, but Carthaginian forces intervene to prevent him from capturing Messana. His grateful countrymen then choose Hieron as their king and tyrant, to be known as Hieron II.

title: 269 BC


slug: agesilaus-ii

label: Agesilaus II

description: king of Sparta

year_label: 401 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Agesilaus II becomes king of Sparta on the death of his stepbrother Agis II.

title: 401 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 399 BCE

text: The Spartan admiral, Lysander, tries to effect a political revolution in Sparta by suggesting that the king should not automatically be given the leadership of the army. He also suggests that the position of king should be elective. However, he is unsuccessful in achieving these reforms, and earns the disfavour of King Agesilaus II of Sparta.

title: 399 BC

year_label: 397 BCE

text: Called on by the Ionians to assist them against the Persian King Artaxerxes II, King Agesilaus II of Sparta launches an ambitious campaign in Asia Minor.

title: 397 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

text: Agesilaus II, the King of Sparta, campaigns successfully in Asia Minor against the Persian satraps Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes and inflicts a major defeat on Tissaphernes at Sardis. Agesilaus agrees to a three months' truce with the Persians under Tissaphernes, the satrap of Lydia and Caria. Negotiations conducted during that time prove fruitless, and on its termination, Agesilaus raids Phrygia, where he easily captures an immense amount of booty, since Tissaphernes has concentrated his troops in Caria.

title: 396 BC

year_label: 395 BCE

text: After spending the winter in organizing a cavalry force, Agesilaus II, the King of Sparta, makes a successful incursion into Lydia in the spring.

title: 395 BC

section: Events › By place › Persian Empire

year_label: 394 BCE

text: The two sides' armies meet each other again at Coronea, in Theban territory in the Battle of Coronea. Once more, the Spartans under King Agesilaus II are successful in battle. After this victory, Agesilaus sails with his army across the Gulf of Corinth and returns to Sparta.

title: 394 BC

year_label: 389 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: A Spartan expeditionary force under King Agesilaus II crosses the Gulf of Corinth to attack Acarnania, an ally of the anti-Spartan coalition. Agesilaus is eventually able to draw them into a pitched battle, in which the Acarnanians are routed.

title: 389 BC

year_label: 388 BCE

text: Concerned about the revival of Athenian imperialist ambitions, the Persian King Artaxerxes II and King Agesilaus II of Sparta enter into an alliance. Sparta also seeks and gains the support of Dionysius I of Syracuse.

title: 388 BC

year_label: 382 BCE

text: In punishment for his unauthorized action in the previous year of taking over Thebes, Phoebidas is relieved of his command, but the Spartans continue to hold Thebes. The Spartan king Agesilaus II argues against punishing Phoebidas, on the grounds that his actions had benefited Sparta, and this was the only standard against which he ought to be judged.

title: 382 BC

year_label: 377 BCE

text: The Peace of Antalcidas (387 BC), includes a clause guaranteeing the Greek cities their independence. The Spartan King Agesilaus II uses this clause as an excuse to force the dissolution of Thebes' Boeotian League. In two sieges, he reduces Thebes to near starvation.

title: 377 BC

year_label: 371 BCE

text: A fresh peace congress is summoned at Sparta. At the peace conference, the Spartan King Agesilaus II (with the support of Athens) refuses to allow the Thebans to sign the treaty on behalf of all Boeotia. The Theban statesman Epaminondas, who is boeotarch (one of the five magistrates of the Boeotian federation), maintains Thebes' position, even when it leads to the exclusion of Thebes from the peace treaty.

title: 371 BC

year_label: 370 BCE

text: The Spartans under King Agesilaus II invade Arcadia. After appealing in vain to the Athenians for help, Arcadia turns to the Thebans. Epaminondas of Thebes arrives with an army, finds that the Spartans have retired and follows them.

title: 370 BC

year_label: 367 BCE

text: Archidamus III, son of Agesilaus II of Sparta, commands a Spartan army which scores a victory over the Arcadians.

title: 367 BC

year_label: 362 BCE

text: King Agesilaus II of Sparta arrives with 1,000 men to assist Egypt in its fight with Persia.

title: 362 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

text: The Egyptians under their King Teos and the Spartans under King Agesilaus II, with some Athenian mercenaries under their general Chabrias, set out to attack the Persian King's Phoenician cities. However, they have to return almost at once due to revolts back in Egypt. Subsequently, Agesilaus II quarrels with the Egyptian king and joins a revolt against him.

title: 361 BC

year_label: 360 BCE

text: With the help of King Agesilaus II of Sparta, Nectanebo II deposes Teos and becomes king of Egypt. Teos flees to Susa and makes peace with the Persians. Nectanebo II pays the Spartans 230 talents for their help.

title: 360 BC

text: The King of Sparta, Agesilaus II, dies at Cyrene, Cyrenaica, on his way home to Greece from Egypt. He is succeeded by his son Archidamus III as Eurypontid king of Sparta.

title: 360 BC

text: Agesilaus II, Eurypontid king of Sparta (b. c.444 BC)

title: 360 BC


slug: aghlabids

label: Aghlabids

text: Ibrahim I, Muslim emir of the Aghlabids (d. 812)

title: 756

text: The Republic of Amalfi sends galleys to support the Byzantine general (strategos) of Sicily, Gregorio, against the Aghlabid invaders. It is one of the earliest evidences of the independence of the city.

title: 812

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Ibrahim I, Muslim emir of the Aghlabids (b. 756)

title: 812

text: The Ad-dimnah Hospital (bimaristan) is created in Kairouan (modern Tunisia), by the Aghlabid emir Ziyadat Allah I.

title: 830

date: June 27

text: June 27 – Ibrahim II, emir of the Aghlabids (d. 902)

title: 850

text: Muslim Arab forces under Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabid Dynasty (modern Tunisia), conquer the island of Malta and raid into the mainland of Italy.

title: 868

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabids, dies and is succeeded by his brother Ibrahim II. Towards the end of his reign, a caravan of pilgrims from Mecca introduces the plague in Ifriqiya (Tunisia).

title: 875

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabids

title: 875

date: August

text: August – Siege of Syracuse: The Aghlabids begin raiding the Byzantine territories, in the east of the island of Sicily. They besiege Syracuse, and blockade the fortress city by sea and land.

title: 877

date: May 21

text: May 21 – Siege of Syracuse: The Aghlabids capture the Byzantine fortress city of Syracuse, after a nine-month siege. Most of the population is massacred by the Arabs.

title: 878

text: Battle of Cephalonia: A Byzantine fleet, under Admiral Nasar, is sent by Emperor Basil I to the Ionian Islands. Nasar defeats the Aghlabids in a night battle near Cephalonia (modern Greece).

title: 880

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Aghlabids issue decrees according to which Jews and Christians are to wear a patch (ruq'a) of white fabric on their shoulder of their outer garment, with the patch for Jews depicting an ape and that for the Christians depicting a pig.

title: AD 888

date: October

text: October – Battle of Milazzo: The Aghlabids score a crushing victory over a Byzantine fleet off Sicily.

title: AD 888

text: August – Abdallah, son of the Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II, represses a revolt of his Muslim subjects, and then initiates a campaign against the last Byzantine strongholds in Sicily.

title: 900

text: June 10 – Abu Abbas Abdallah crosses the Strait of Messina and proceeds to Reggio Calabria. Appearing before its walls, the Byzantine garrison flees, surrendering the city to the Aghlabids.

title: 901

text: The Kutama tribe under Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i revolt against the Aghlabids. He begins a campaign and dispatches an invitation to the Fatimid spiritual leader Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah to support him.

title: 902

date: March 18

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

title: 909

text: The Fatimids begin the conquest of Sicily, over their Aghlabid archrivals. Fatimid Sicilian governor Ibn al-Khinzir raids the south Italian coast (approximate date).

title: AD 911


slug: agilulf

label: Agilulf

description: Lombard king

date: September 5

text: September 5 – King Authari dies (possibly by poison) after a six-year reign, and is succeeded by Agilulf, duke (dux) of Turin, who marries his widow Theodelinda.

title: 590

section: Culture & Society

text: Agilulf, cousin of Authari (called "the Thuringian"), is raised on the shield (a ceremonial investment) by Lombard warriors in Milan. He becomes king of the Lombards, on advice of the Lombard dukes (dux). Agilulf marries widowed queen Theodelinda and is baptized to please her.

title: 591

text: Maurice makes peace with King Agilulf, conceding northern Italy. Pope Gregory I the Great negotiates a truce, ending 30 years of Lombard terror. Agilulf expands the Lombard Kingdom by occupying Sutri and Perugia.

title: 598

text: Callinicus breaks the truce by kidnapping the Lombard daughter of King Agilulf, beginning a war with the Exarchate of Ravenna (approximate date).

title: 599

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: King Agilulf of the Lombards and Queen Theodelinda build a palace complex at Monza, northeast of Milan.

title: 600

text: The Lombards under King Agilulf expand into Northern Italy, establishing a settlement with the Franks and maintaining intermittent relationships with Rome.

title: 601

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Agilulf besieges Cremona, and with the assistance of the Slavs the city is destroyed. He captures Padua and Mantua (Northern Italy); its territory is divided between the Lombard duchies of Brescia and Bergamo.

title: 603

text: Emperor Phocas recognizes Agilulf as king of the Lombards, and signs a peace treaty. He pays a tribute and cedes Orvieto (Central Italy), among other towns. The Byzantine army is withdrawn from the Balkan Peninsula.

title: 605

text: Adaloald, age 14, succeeds his father Agilulf as Lombard king of Italy. He reigns under his mother Theodelinda as regent. The Lombard Kingdom gradually begins to convert to Catholicism, and establishes peace with the Exarchate of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 616

text: Agilulf, king of the Lombards (approximate date)

title: 616


slug: agra

label: Agra

description: city in Uttar Pradesh, India

date: January 20

text: January 20 – In India, the Mughal Emperor Babur departs from the capital at Agra toward Ghazipur to fight the Rajputs and the rebel Afghans who had captured the city.

title: 1529

section: Events › January–March

date: November 15

text: November 15 – (10 Ramadan 952 AH) Hamida Banu Begum, Empress consort of India's Mughal Empire and wife of the Emperor Humayun, returns to the capital, Agra, after a three-year absence. She is accompanied by an army provided to Humayun by Tahmasp I, Shah of Iran.

title: 1545

section: Events › October–December

date: July 2

text: July 2 In India, the Mughal Emperor Akbar departs from the capital, Agra

title: 1564

section: Events › July–September

date: January 27

text: January 27 – At Agra, Bhagwant Das becomes the new Maharaja of the Kingdom of Amber in what is now India's state of Uttar Pradesh, upon the death of his grandfather, the Raja Bharmal.

title: 1574

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Three Jesuit priests from Portuguese Goa, including Rodolfo Acquaviva, arrive in Agra on the mainland of India as guests of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, who is curious about Christianity. The Emperor grants land to the Jesuit fathers for the building of the first Roman Catholic Church in the Mughal Empire.

title: 1580

date: February 14

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

title: 1628

date: June 17

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

title: 1631

section: Events › April–June

date: May 13

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

title: 1638

date: February 6

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

title: 1643

text: The gardens surrounding the Taj Mahal mausoleum are completed at Agra.

title: 1653

section: Events › Date unknown

date: December 7

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

title: 1653

date: April 15

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

title: 1658

text: May 29 – Aurangzeb wins the Battle of Samugarh as Indian Mughal regent Dara Shikoh makes a last effort to defend the Mughal capital Agra.

title: 1658

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: June 11

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

title: 1665