slug: march

label: March

description: third month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

date: March

text: March – September: Battle of Tong Pass: Cao Cao defeats Ma Chao.

title: 211

section: Events › By place › China

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

title: 231

text: c. March – Attila the Hun is found dead in bed, after a wedding feast with the Goth princess Ildico. He dies of a nosebleed at his Hungarian stronghold, drowning in his own blood, aged about 47. The Huns celebrate a strava (lamentation) over his burial place with great feasting. Attila's son Ellac is appointed successor, but his brothers Dengizich and Ernakh divide the Hunnic Empire by establishing their own kingdoms north of the Black Sea (Ukraine), supported by vassal states.

title: 453

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: c. March – Attila, ruler of the Huns (b. 406)

title: 453

text: March – Emperor Marcian sends an embassy to Carthage, to end the Vandal raids in the Mediterranean from their strongholds in North Africa, and quells disturbances on the Armenian frontier.

title: 456

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: March – Jiaozhou governor Lưu Mục dies of illness. Lý Trường Nhân, a nobleman, launches a coup d'état against the Jiaozhou government, kills the Liu Song officials in Jiaozhou, seizes control of the citadel, then declares himself the governor.

title: 468

section: Events › By place › Jiaozhou (Vietnam)

text: March – Battle for the Body of St. Patrick: The Uí Néill Dynasty fights over the body of Saint Patrick with the Airgialla Kingdom (according to the Annals of the Four Masters).

title: 493

section: Events › By place › Ireland

text: March – King Gelimer surrenders to Belisarius, after spending a winter in the mountains of Numidia. He and large numbers of captured Vandals are transported to Constantinople. The Vandal Kingdom ends, and the African provinces return to the Byzantine Empire.

title: 534

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: March – April – Belisarius sails to Carthage with 1,000 men, to suppress a mutiny against Solomon. Meanwhile, Carthage is besieged by 9,000 rebels, including many Vandals, under Stotzas.

title: 536

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: March – Ostrogothic King Theodahad cedes Provence and upper Alamannia to the Franks, gaining their support in the war. He sends a large Gothic army into Dalmatia. They defeat the Byzantines, Mundus is killed during the fighting at Salona, and the Byzantine army withdraws.

title: 536

text: March – Gothic War: The Goths and the Burgundians recapture Mediolanum (modern Milan), after many months of siege, the city reaching the point of starvation. The Byzantine garrison (1,000 men) surrenders and is spared, but the inhabitants are massacred (according to Procopius 300,000 people are murdered), and the city itself is destroyed.

title: 539

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: March – Totila bypasses Rome and begins his expedition in Southern Italy. He captures Beneventum and receives the submission of the provinces of Apulia, Lucania and Bruttium.

title: 542

text: March – Siege of Ctesiphon: The Rashidun army (15,000 men) under Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas occupies the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, after a two-month siege. King Yazdegerd III flees with the imperial treasure eastward into Media. Muslim forces conquer the Persian provinces as far as Khuzestan (modern Iran).

title: 637

section: Events › By place › Persia

section: Climate & Environment

text: March, days unknown - An earthquake in Silla with a magnitude of 6.7–7.0 on the Richter scale kills more than 100 people.

title: 779

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: March – Robert the Strong is appointed margrave of Neustria by King Charles the Bald. He re-establishes the Breton March, and extends his remit by campaigning against Salomon, duke 'king' of Brittany. Robert hires a combined Seine-Loire fleet for 6,000 pounds of silver, 'before Salomon can ally with them against him'. In return, Salomon enlists 12 Viking ships under the command of Hastein, to raid the county of Maine, which, with Anjou, becomes squeezed between Brittany and Neustria.

title: 861

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: March – Viking raiders led by Weland are trapped at Trilbardou Bridge (Northern France), and submit to King Charles the Bald. He and his family accept Christianity (they are baptised) before leaving Neustria.

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Central Europe

section: Crime & Justice

text: March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas, is uncovered.

title: 886

text: March – Arnulf of Carinthia proceeds to Piacenza, and from there invades central Italy. After a successful campaign, he calls the invasion off and returns to Pavia – probably because Duke Rudolph I of Burgundy was threatening to invade Lorraine. Arnulf has himself proclaimed King of Italy at Pavia, leaving Berengar I as his vice-regent in Italy.

title: 894

text: March – King Lambert II proceeds to re-conquer Italy. Heading north, he captures western Lombardy, and decapitates count Maginulf of Milan. In the meantime, the deposed king Berengar I recovers Verona (March of Friuli) from Arnulf's candidate, count Walfred of Verona, who dies in office with "great fidelity to the emperor".

title: 896

text: March – Abu Abbas Abdallah resumes his Aghlabid campaign against the Byzantine enclaves of Sicily. He dispatches his fleet towards Messina, while bombarding the town walls of Damona.

title: 901

date: February

text: February – March – Abu Abbas Abdallah, conqueror of Reggio Calabria, returns from Sicily and succeeds his father Ibrahim II as Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya.

title: 902

text: March – Battle of Pegae: Bulgarian forces under kavhan (first minister) Theodore Sigritsa defeat the Byzantine army at the outskirts of Constantinople. After the battle, the Bulgarians burn the palaces in Pegae ("the Spring"), and devastate the area north of the Golden Horn.

title: 921

text: March – A group of 1,800 warriors of the Qarmatians of Bahrayn attack and destroy the returning Hajj caravans at al-Habir. Some of the more prominent pilgrims, who were returning to Baghdad from Mecca, are taken to Al-Ahsa Oasis to be held for ransom. The event leads to the downfall and execution of the Abbasid Caliphate's vizier, Ibn al-Furat.

title: 924

section: Events › January—March

text: March 988 – Ishaq ibn al-Muqtadir, Arab prince

title: 988

text: March – King Æthelred the Unready sends ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward to negotiate to reclaim of the throne at the invitation of the English nobles.

title: 1014

section: Events › By place › England

text: March – Musharrif al-Dawla, ruler of Iraq, comes to Baghdad to see the Abbasid Caliph al-Qadir, and attempts to defy the caliphate.

title: 1023

text: March – Massud ibn Tahir al-Wazzan, the vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt since 1019, is dismissed by the Caliph al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah, and replaced by al-Rudhbari.

title: 1024

text: March – Conrad II converges his armies on Lake Lemano and defeats Count Odo II in battle at Geneva (modern Switzerland). For his assistance, Conrad grants Humbert I with the Burgundian county of Maurienne.

title: 1034

text: March – The French crusaders are left in Adalia; lack of available shipping obliges Louis VII to divide his forces – the knights and best troops accompany him to St. Symeon. Large numbers of pilgrims and non-combatants try to continue along the coastal road. Continually harassed by the Turks many French and Germans are killed. Less than half of them arrive in the late spring at Antioch.

title: 1148

section: Events › By place › Second Crusade

text: March / April (traditional date) – The first stone of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is set by Pope Alexander III during the reign of Louis VII of France.

title: 1163

section: Events

section: Births

text: February/March – Philip of Swabia, rival of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1208)

title: 1177

text: March – Treaty of Venice: Frederick I Barbarossa acknowledges Alexander III as Pope, after a diplomatic mediation by Venetian doge Sebastiano Ziani.

title: 1177

section: Events › January–December

text: March – Frederick I leaves Adrianople to Gallipoli at the Dardanelles to embark, with the help of Byzantine transports, to cross into Asia Minor. On April 25, he enters territory of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum under the rule of Sultan Kilij Arslan II. Although promised to let the German Crusaders pass peaceably through his domains, Kilij Arslan harasses Frederick's forces with hit-and-run attacks. On May 7, a Turkish army (some 10,000 men) is defeated at the Battle of Philomelion, by 2,000 Crusaders.

title: 1190

section: Events › By place › Third Crusade

text: March – Richard returns to England, and remains for only a few weeks before returning to the Continent. He leaves the administration of England in the hands of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, who accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade and led his army back to England. He levied the taxes to pay the king's ransom and put down a plot against Richard by his younger brother John.

title: 1194

text: March – Byzantine officials in Adrianople revolt and expel Latin administrators, requesting Bulgarian support from Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, against Baldwin I who assembles an army (some 40,000 men) and marches to aid the Byzantines. Meanwhile, Baldwin sets out from Constantinople in force, he arrives at Adrianople and promptly begins to siege the city by the end of March.

title: 1205

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

title: 1243

text: March – End of the Hungarian Civil War (1264–1265) – Battle of Isaszeg: Younger King Stephen decisively defeats his father's army.

title: 1265

text: March – Robert the Bruce, the future King of Scotland marries as his second wife the 13-year-old Elizabeth de Burgh at Writtle in Essex. She is the daughter of Richard Óg de Burgh ("the Red Earl"), a powerful Irish nobleman and close friend of King Edward I of England.

title: 1302

text: March – William of Alnwick, Franciscan friar and theologian

title: 1333

text: March – Margaret I of Denmark, queen of Haakon VI of Norway (d. 1412)

title: 1353

text: March - Within a month after the devastating earthquake the Ottomans besieged and captured the town of Gallipoli, making it the first Ottoman stronghold in Europe and the staging area for Ottoman expansion across the Balkans.

title: 1354

text: March – Murad I succeeds his father Orhan as sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1362

text: March – Champa, during the reign of King Po Binasuor, raids Hóa Châu of Đại Việt, then withdraws.

title: 1362

text: March – Orhan, Ottoman sultan (b. 1281)

title: 1362

text: March – William Sawtrey, English Lollard martyr (burned at the stake)

title: 1401

text: March – (late in the month of Tagu, which ended March 28, 769 ME) Ava–Hanthawaddy War: In Burma (now Myanmar), King Razdarit leads the invasion of the Kingdom of North Arakan and overthrows its ruler, Anawrahta of Launggyet, then has him executed.

title: 1408

text: March – Richard Whittington, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1358)

title: 1423

text: March / May – Thomas Hoccleve, English poet (b. c. 1368)

title: 1426

text: March – Alexander I Aldea takes the throne of Wallachia with support from Alexander I of Moldavia.

title: 1431

text: March – Dolce dell'Anguillara, Italian condottiero (b. 1401)

title: 1449

text: March – Jan Łaski, Polish nobleman (d. 1531)

title: 1456

text: March – Simon of Trent, Italian saint, subject of a blood libel

title: 1475

text: March – Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, largely on the poor advice of his counselors, declares war on Venice, and seizes silver mines in and around the Sugana Valley.

title: 1487

text: March or April – 1490 Qingyang event, a presumed meteor shower or air burst over Qingyang in the Gansu province in Ming dynasty China. Some later accounts lists casualties of more than 10,000 people. The only date given for the Qingyang event is that it was in "the third lunar month" on the Chinese lunar calendar coinciding with a period beginning on March 12 and ending on April 19, 1490.

title: 1490

text: August 5 – Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher Columbus, formally founds the city of Santo Domingo (first settled in March) on Hispaniola (in the modern-day Dominican Republic), making it the oldest permanent European settlement in the New World.

title: 1496

text: March – The first complete printed translation of the New Testament of the Bible into the English language by William Tyndale arrives in England from Germany, where printing had been completed in Worms by Peter Schöffer the younger, towards the end of February.

title: 1526

text: March – María Pacheco, Spanish heroine and defender of Toledo (b. 1496)

title: 1531

text: March – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (d. 1576)

title: 1553

text: March – The Takeda clan besiege Katsurayama Castle in eastern Japan. The siege ends with the last stand of the castle garrison, and the complete destruction of Katsurayama, allowing the Takeda to further expand in Shinano Province.

title: 1557

text: March – Bairam Khan, the Vakil or prime minister of India's Mughal Empire, is forced to retire by the Emperor Akbar.

title: 1560

text: February 16–March – The siege of Noda Castle begins near what is now the city of Shinshiro in Japan, after the leader of the Takeda clan, the warlord Takeda Shingen, is shot by a sniper after offering generous terms of surrender to the Tokugawa clan, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu. By March 10, the Noda Castle surrenders.

title: 1573

text: March – The New Testament of the Douai Bible, the translation into English by Father Gregory Martin from Latin of the New Testament, for use in the Roman Catholic Church, is published. Martin had started his work on October 16, 1578.

title: 1582

text: March – Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester (d. 1680)

title: 1606

text: March – Action of 1616, La Goulette, Tunisia: A Spanish squadron under Francisco de Ribera defeats a Tunisian fleet.

title: 1616

text: March – Jane Leade, English esotericist (d. 1704)

title: 1624

text: March – Fedorovych Uprising: Zaporozhian Cossacks rebel against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and occupy a large part of modern-day Ukraine. After a number of indecisive skirmishes with a Polish army sent to pacify the region, the Treaty of Pereyaslav is signed, ending the uprising.

title: 1630

text: March – Thirty Years' War: Gustavus Adolphus invades Bavaria with his army.

title: 1632

text: March – Thomas Randolph, English poet (b. 1605)

title: 1635

text: March – Following the Treaty of Ulm that removed Bavaria from the Thirty Years War, the Bavarian troops' commander, Holy Roman Imperial General Johann von Werth, defies Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and von Werth attempts to move the Bavarian troops out of Bavaria and into Austria to come under Imperial jurisdiction. The troops refuse, and von Werth flees to Austria.

title: 1647

text: March – Edward Hopkins, colonial Connecticut politician (b. 1600)

title: 1657

text: March – Philip Skippon, English soldier (b. c. 1600)

title: 1660

text: March – Louis XIV of France abolishes the livre parisis (Paris pound), in favor of the much more widely used livre tournois (Tours pound). He also designates Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie as the first chief of "police" of Paris.

title: 1667

text: March – In the Battle of Saraighat in India, fought in mid-March, General Lachit Borphukan of the Ahom kingdom, located in what is now the Indian state of Assam defeats a larger force of Mughal Empire troops on the outskirts of what is now Guwahati.

title: 1671

text: March – Archibald Armstrong, court jester to James VI and I and Charles I of England

title: 1672

text: March – Louis XIV passes the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies.

title: 1685

text: March – William Dampier makes the first recorded visit to Christmas Island, now a territory of Australia, located south of the island of Java (now part of Indonesia).

title: 1688

text: March (early) – William Congreve's comedy The Way of the World is first performed in London.

title: 1700

text: March 20 – Rama I, First King of Siam (d. 1809)

title: 1736

text: March – Johann van Beethoven, German musician, father of Ludwig van Beethoven (d. 1792)

title: 1740

text: March – Tecumseh, Native American (Shawnee) chief (d. 1813)

title: 1768

text: March – War of the Regulation: North Carolina Governor William Tryon raises a militia to put down the long-running uprising of backcountry militias against North Carolina's colonial government.

title: 1771

text: March – Restrictions on the grain trade in Sweden are lifted.

title: 1776

text: March – Riots break out in Socorro, Santander, and spread to other towns.

title: 1781

text: March – French Revolution: In France, the National Constituent Assembly accepts the recommendation of its Commission of Weights and Measures that the nation should adopt the metric system.

title: 1791

text: March – English Benedictine monks expelled from Douai are permitted to proceed to England.

title: 1795

text: March–April – The franc germinal is introduced in France.

title: 1803

text: March – Nonosabasut, Beothuk (indigenous Canadian) leader

title: 1819

text: March – Commonwealth v. Hunt: The Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that labor strikes and the formation of labor unions are both legal in the United States.

title: 1842

text: March – Carlota, Cuban slave rebel leader

title: 1844

text: March – The first known publication of the classic joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" occurs in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine.

title: 1847

text: March – The Frankfurt Parliament completes its drafting of a liberal constitution, and elects Frederick William IV emperor of the new German national state.

title: 1849

text: March – The clothing company Levi Strauss & Co. is founded in San Francisco (US).

title: 1853

text: March – The British East India Company annexes Jhansi State in India under the doctrine of lapse.

title: 1854

text: March – Nepalese–Tibetan War: The signing of the Treaty of Thapathali concludes the war.

title: 1856

text: March – The Austrian garrison leaves Bucharest.

title: 1857

text: March–August – The second rout of the Jiangnan Daying destroys the Qing dynasty's army of 180,000.

title: 1860

text: March – Hamm's Brewery opens in St. Paul, Minnesota.

title: 1865

text: March – The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is established (opened one year later).

title: 1867

text: March – In Japan, the daimyōs of the Tosa, Hizen, Satsuma and Chōshū Domains are persuaded to return their domains to the Emperor Meiji, leading to creation of a fully centralized government in the country.

title: 1869

text: March – The Mitsubishi Company is established in Japan as a shipping firm, by Iwasaki Yatarō with Thomas Blake Glover.

title: 1870

text: March – The Young Men's Hebrew Association in Manhattan (which will still be operating 150 years later as the 92nd Street Y) is founded.

title: 1874

text: February–March – The Harvard Lampoon humor magazine is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

title: 1876

text: March – The Nineteenth Century magazine is founded in London.

title: 1877

text: March – John Joseph Montgomery conducts the first manned glider flights in the United States near Otay, California.

title: 1884

text: March – Gottlieb Daimler assembles his first automobile, in Germany.

title: 1886

text: March – Albanian revolt of 1910: An uprising against Ottoman rule breaks out in Albania.

title: 1910

text: March – The 1915 Palestine locust infestation breaks out in Palestine; it continues until October.

title: 1915

text: November 30 – Benito Mussolini and his Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, order "spontaneous" demonstrations in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, demanding that France cede Tunisia, Nice, Corsica and French Somaliland to Italy. This begins an acute crisis in Franco-Italian relations, that lasts until March 1939.

title: 1938

text: March – The 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine ends.

title: 1939

text: March–December – History of computing hardware: British prototype Mark I Colossus computer is constructed (the world's first totally electronic programmable computing device) to assist in cryptanalysis of German signals at Bletchley Park.

title: 1943

text: March – Exiled French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's self-illustrated children's novella, The Little Prince, is published in New York City, the all-time best-selling book originating in French.

title: 1943

text: March – Austrian-born economist Friedrich Hayek publishes his book The Road to Serfdom in London.

title: 1944

text: March–April – Drilling for Project Mohole is undertaken off the coast of Guadalupe Island, Mexico.

title: 1961

text: March – The Cray-1, the first commercially developed supercomputer, is released by Seymour Cray's Cray Research, with the first purchaser being the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

title: 1976

text: August 18 – Five people are killed and 18 others injured when a road train is deliberately driven into a motel at Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory of Australia (the driver, Douglas Edward Crabbe, is convicted in March 1984).

title: 1983


slug: marcomanni

label: Marcomanni

description: historical Germanic group

year_label: 9 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Nero Claudius Drusus, Emperor Augustus' stepson, begins a campaign against the Marcomanni, but dies soon after, due to a fall from his horse.

title: 0s BC

section: Events › 9 BC › Roman Empire

year_label: 8 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Maroboduus becomes ruler of the Marcomanni and fights against the Roman Empire's expansion in Bohemia.

title: 0s BC

section: Events › 8 BC › Roman Empire

year_label: 6 CE

section: Conflict & Security

text: AD 6 – Tiberius makes Carnuntum his base of operations against Maroboduus; The Roman legion XX Valeria Victrix fight with Tiberius against the Marcomanni.

title: 0s

section: Events › Roman Empire

year_label: 19 CE

text: Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, is deposed by Catualda. This ends the threat to the Romans from Germanic tribes until the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Rome places them under its protection.

title: 10s

section: Events › 19 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 37 CE

text: Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni (b. c. 30 BC)

title: 30s

section: Deaths › 37 AD

year_label: 92 CE

text: In spring, several tribes (probably Marcomanni, Quadi, Jazyges) cross the Danube and attack Pannonia, probably destroying Legio XXI Rapax. These tribes are defeated from May to December 92, and chased back over the river. The Romans do not pursue the retreating tribes.

title: AD 92

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Ballomar, leader of the Marcomanni (approximate date)

title: AD 140

text: Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni.

title: AD 166

text: The Marcomanni tribe wages war against the Romans at Aquileia. They destroy aqueducts and irrigation conduits. Marcus Aurelius repels the invaders, ending the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) that has kept the Roman Empire free of conflict since the days of Emperor Augustus.

title: AD 167

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

title: AD 168

text: The Suebian tribes of the Marcomanni cross the Danube and invade Northern Italy. The Roman army (20,000 men) is destroyed near Carnuntum in Pannonia.

title: AD 170

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius forms a new military command, the praetentura Italiae et Alpium. Aquileia is relieved, and the Marcomanni are evicted from Roman territory.

title: AD 171

section: Health & Medicine

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius crosses the Danube with an expeditionary force. He subdues the Marcomanni and their allies and then, in a pact signed with the Germanic tribes, he imports them into the Roman Empire to occupy areas that have been depopulated by the plague.

title: AD 172

text: Second Marcomannic War: Marcus Aurelius and Commodus begin war against the Quadi and the Marcomanni.

title: AD 177

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus arrive at Carnuntum in Pannonia, and travel to the Danube to fight against the Marcomanni.

title: AD 178

text: Marcus Aurelius drives the Marcomanni over the Danube and reinforces the border. To repopulate and rebuild a devastated Pannonia, Rome allows the first German colonists to enter territory controlled by the Roman Empire.

title: AD 179

section: Events › By place › Roman empire

text: In this or the following year, Galerius campaigns with success against Sarmatians and the Marcomanni, attacking through a swamp to defeat a Sarmatian army.

title: 299


slug: marcus-aurelius-probus

label: Marcus Aurelius Probus

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Marcus Aurelius Probus, Roman emperor (d. 282)

title: 232

text: Emperor Aurelian launches a two-pronged invasion of the Palmyrene Empire, sending his commander Marcus Aurelius Probus to restore Roman rule in Egypt while he marches into Asia Minor.

title: 272

text: Florianus becomes Roman Emperor with the support of the Senate, but a general in the east, Marcus Aurelius Probus, usurps power against him. Florianus breaks off his campaign against the Goths and marches east from the Bosporus with support from the Roman legions in Britain, Gaul, Spain and Italy.

title: 276

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Probus travels with his army west across the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), and through the provinces of Thrace, Moesia, and Pannonia to defeat the Goths along the lower Danube. He acquires from the troops the title of Gothicus.

title: 277

text: Emperor Probus defeats the Alamanni, advancing through the Neckar Valley. He expels the Franks from Gaul, and reorganizes the Roman defenses on the Rhine.

title: 278

text: Emperor Probus drives the Alans off to Asia Minor and suppresses the revolt in Gaul; Proculus is executed.

title: 280

text: Emperor Probus returns to Rome, where he celebrates his triumph over the Vandals and the usurpers (Bonosus, Julius Saturninus and Proculus).

title: 281

text: Emperor Probus travels towards Sirmium (Serbia). He tries to employ his troops in peaceful projects, such as draining the swamps in Pannonia.

title: 282


slug: marcus-aurelius

label: Marcus Aurelius

description: 16th Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 and Stoic philosopher

text: Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, is deposed by Catualda. This ends the threat to the Romans from Germanic tribes until the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Rome places them under its protection.

title: 10s

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Marcus Annius Verus, later Emperor Marcus Aurelius (d. 180)

title: AD 121

text: Annia Cornificia Faustina, sister of Marcus Aurelius (d. 158)

title: AD 123

text: Marcus Annius Verus, father of Marcus Aurelius

title: AD 124

section: Religion & Belief

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Emperor Hadrian makes Antoninus Pius his successor, on condition that he adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

title: AD 138

section: Culture & Society

text: Marcus Aurelius is named Caesar. He marries the 9-year-old Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus Pius.

title: AD 139

text: Emperor Antoninus Augustus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar become Roman Consuls.

title: AD 140

title: AD 145

text: Marcus Aurelius receives the imperium proconsular.

title: AD 146

text: Marcus Aurelius receives imperial powers, from Emperor Antoninus Pius.

title: AD 147

text: Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina, daughter of Marcus Aurelius (approximate date)

title: AD 147

title: AD 151

text: Annia Aurelia Fadilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius

title: AD 159

text: Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor, daughter of Marcus Aurelius (d. 212)

title: AD 160

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Emperor Antoninus Pius dies, and is succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, who shares imperial power with Lucius Verus, although Marcus retains the title Pontifex Maximus.

title: AD 161

text: Marcus Annius Verus Caesar, one of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius's thirteen children (d. 169)

title: AD 162

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius gives his daughter Lucilla in marriage to his co-emperor Lucius Verus.

title: AD 164

text: Legio II Italica is levied by Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 165

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius appoints his sons Commodus and Marcus Annius Verus as co-rulers (Caesar), while he and Lucius Verus travel to Germany.

title: AD 166

text: The Marcomanni tribe wages war against the Romans at Aquileia. They destroy aqueducts and irrigation conduits. Marcus Aurelius repels the invaders, ending the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) that has kept the Roman Empire free of conflict since the days of Emperor Augustus.

title: AD 167

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his adopted brother Lucius Verus leave Rome, and establish their headquarters at Aquileia.

title: AD 168

text: Marcus Aurelius becomes sole Roman Emperor upon the death of Lucius Verus.

title: AD 169

text: Emperor Marcus Aurelius writes in Sirmium (Pannonia) his first of 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek.

title: AD 170

title: AD 171

title: AD 172

text: Marcus Aurelius officially confers the title Fulminata ("Thundering") to the Legio XII Fulminata.

title: AD 174

text: Empress Faustina the Younger accompanies her husband, Marcus Aurelius, on various military campaigns and enjoys the love of the Roman soldiers. Aurelius gives her the title of Mater Castrorum ("Mother of the Camp").

title: AD 174

text: Marcus Aurelius suppresses a revolt of Avidius Cassius, governor of Syria, after the latter proclaims himself emperor.

title: AD 175

date: November 27

text: November 27 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of Imperator, and makes him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions.

title: AD 176

title: AD 178

title: AD 179

date: March 17

text: March 17 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies after a week's illness at his camp in Vindobona (modern Vienna). He is succeeded by his son Commodus (age 18).

title: AD 180

text: March 17 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)

title: AD 180

text: Lucilla, Roman empress and daughter of Marcus Aurelius

title: AD 182

section: Economy & Finance

text: The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 50 percent under emperor Septimius Severus, down from 68 percent under Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 193

section: Events › By topic › Commerce

text: Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 195

section: Crime & Justice

text: Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 197

text: Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor, daughter of Marcus Aurelius (b. 160)

title: 212


slug: marcus-claudius-marcellus

label: Marcus Claudius Marcellus

description: general and five time consul of the Roman Republic, awarded the Spolia opima for his victories during the Gallic and Punic Wars

year_label: 222 BCE

text: The Romans split their forces. Marcus Claudius Marcellus heads for Clastidium while his colleague Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus continues the siege of Acerrae. At the Battle of Clastidium Marcellus defeats the Gaesatae. Marcellus personally slays Viridomarus. This victory removes the Gallic threat to Rome. Marcellus is awarded the spolia opima for the third and last time in Roman history.

title: 222 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 216 BCE

text: After the defeat at Cannae, Roman general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, commands the remnants of the Roman army at Canusium and saves the city of Nola and southern Campania from occupation by Hannibal.

title: 216 BC

year_label: 215 BCE

text: The Roman general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, again repulses an attack by Hannibal on the city of Nola.

title: 215 BC

year_label: 214 BCE

text: The Roman general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, who is in Sicily at the time of the revolt of Syracuse, leads an army which storms Leontini and besieges Syracuse. With the help of Archimedes' ideas and inventions, the Syracusans repel his attacks by sea.

title: 214 BC

year_label: 212 BCE

text: After a two year siege, Roman general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, gradually forces his way into Syracuse and takes it in the face of strong Carthaginian reinforcements and despite the use of engines of war designed by the Greek mathematician and scientist Archimedes (such as the Claw of Archimedes).

title: 212 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: The Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus is elected consul for the fourth time and takes Salapia in Apulia, which has revolted and joined forces with Hannibal.

title: 210 BC

year_label: 209 BCE

text: The Battle of Canusium is fought between Hannibal's Carthaginian army and a Roman force led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. The battle is indecisive.

title: 209 BC

year_label: 208 BCE

text: The Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus is killed in battle while fighting Hannibal near Venusia, Apulia.

title: 208 BC

section: Deaths

text: Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman general who has captured Syracuse during the Second Punic War and has become known as "the sword of Rome" (b. 268 BC)

title: 208 BC


slug: marcus-vipsanius-agrippa

label: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

description: ancient Roman statesman and general

year_label: 63 BCE

section: Births

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general (d. 12 BC)

title: 63 BC

year_label: 58 BCE

text: Attica, first wife of the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

title: 58 BC

year_label: 38 BCE

text: Octavian appoints Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa governor of Transalpine Gaul, where he puts down an uprising of the Aquitanians. He also fights successfully against the Germanic tribes, and becomes the next Roman general to cross the Rhine after Julius Caesar.

title: 38 BC

year_label: 37 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Consuls: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Titus Statilius Taurus.

title: 37 BC

year_label: 36 BCE

text: Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Pomponia Caecilia Attica (d. AD 20)

title: 36 BC

date: August

text: August – Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, an admiral of Octavian Caesar, secures the Lipari Islands and harasses the coast from Mylae to Tyndaris. Octavian transports his legions, via Leucopetra, to Tauromenium (modern Taormina).

title: 36 BC

year_label: 35 BCE

text: Illyria becomes a Roman province. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian conducts a rendezvous with the Roman fleet under Agrippa, which is engaged in clearing the Dalmatian coast of piracy.

title: 35 BC

year_label: 33 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa is self demoted to Aedile, and builds the Aqua Julia, one of the aqueducts on which Rome's water supply depends, as well as cleaning the Cloaca Maxima sewerage system.

title: 33 BC

year_label: 31 BCE

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa sails with 300 war galleys to the western Peloponnese, and occupies strategic positions around the Gulf of Corinth to cut off Antony's line of communication.

title: 31 BC

year_label: 28 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the sixth time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the second time.

title: 28 BC

year_label: 27 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the seventh time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the third time.

title: 27 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic/Empire

year_label: 23 BCE

text: Augustus gets seriously ill: he gives Agrippa his signet ring and grants him the title imperium pro consule.

title: 23 BC

year_label: 21 BCE

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa divorces Claudia Marcella Major, and marries Julia the Elder, daughter of Caesar Augustus.

title: 21 BC

year_label: 19 BCE

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa completes the Aqua Virgo; the aqueduct is 21 km in length and supplies the city of Rome with about 100,000,000 liters of water every day.

title: 19 BC

text: Vipsania Julia Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder

title: 19 BC

year_label: 17 BCE

text: Lucius Caesar, son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (d. AD 2)

title: 17 BC

year_label: 14 BCE

text: Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (d. AD 33)

title: 14 BC

year_label: 12 BCE

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman (b. c. 63 BC)

title: 12 BC

year_label: 4 CE

text: AD 4 – February 21 – Gaius Caesar, son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (b. 20 BC)

title: 0s

year_label: 33 CE

text: Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, wife of Germanicus (suicide by starvation; b. 14 BC)

title: 30s

section: Deaths › 33 AD

text: The Pantheon of Agrippa is reconstructed in Rome.

title: AD 115


slug: margaret-i-of-denmark

label: Margaret I of Denmark

description: Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

text: March – Margaret I of Denmark, queen of Haakon VI of Norway (d. 1412)

title: 1353

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Haakon VI of Norway marries Margaret I of Denmark.

title: 1363

section: Events › January–December

date: October 24

text: October 24 – Margaret I of Denmark becomes Regent of Denmark after the death of her father, Valdemar IV.

title: 1375

section: Events › October–December

date: July 29

text: July 29 – At the age of 10, King Olaf II of Denmark is proclaimed as King Olaf IV of Norway, with his mother Margete) as regent. Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as parts of Norway, pass under the Danish crown.

title: 1380

section: Events › July–September

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Olaf, King of Norway and Denmark and claimant to the throne of Sweden, dies. The vacant thrones come under the regency of his mother Margaret I of Denmark, who will soon become queen in her own right.

title: 1387

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Queen Margaret I of Denmark is proclaimed the Queen of Norway after the death of her son, Olav IV Haakonsson.

title: 1388

section: Events › January–March

section: Conflict & Security

date: February 24

text: February 24 – Queen Margaret of Norway and Denmark defeats Albert, King of Sweden in battle and becomes ruler of all three kingdoms. Albert is deposed from the Swedish throne and taken prisoner.

title: 1389

date: July 20

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

title: 1396

section: Events › April–June

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Queen Margaret makes her great-nephew and adopted son Erik of Pomerania joint ruler of Sweden. Eric has already been made joint ruler of Norway.

title: 1396

date: November

text: November – As an aftermath to the War in Gotland (1403-1404), Queen Margaret I buys the rights to Visby for 8000 marks from Albrecht of Mecklenburg during negotiations in Flensburg. This strengthens the Kalmar Union and pushes out the Teutonic Order, angering grand master Konrad von Jungingen.

title: 1405

text: Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen of the Teutonic Knights guarantees peace with the Kalmar Union of Scandinavia by selling the Baltic Sea island of Gotland to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

title: 1409

section: Events › Date unknown

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Erik of Pomerania becomes sole ruler of the Kalmar Union (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) on the death of Queen Margaret.

title: 1412

text: October 28 – Margaret I of Denmark, queen regnant of Denmark of Norway since 1387 and of Sweden since 1389 (b. 1353)

title: 1412


slug: margaret-of-anjou

label: Margaret of Anjou

description: 15th-century English royal consort (1430-1482)

date: March 23

text: March 23 – Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI of England (d. 1482)

title: 1430

section: Religion & Belief

date: April 23

text: April 23 – King Henry VI of England marries Margaret of Anjou, daughter of René of Anjou, the former King of Naples, at a ceremony at Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire.

title: 1445

date: May 30

text: May 30 – At a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the coronation of Margaret of Anjou as Queen consort of England takes place before John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury.

title: 1445

section: Culture & Society

date: April 15

text: April 15 – Queens' College, Cambridge is founded by Margaret of Anjou.

title: 1448

date: February 17

text: February 17 – Second Battle of St Albans, England: The Earl of Warwick's army is defeated by a Lancastrian force under Queen Margaret, who recovers control for her husband.

title: 1461

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Battle of Hexham: Neville defeats another Lancastrian army, this one led by King Henry and Queen Margaret themselves. This marks the end of organized Lancastrian resistance for several years.

title: 1464

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Henry of Lancaster, the former King Henry VI of England, is imprisoned in the Tower of London by order of King Edward IV. His queen consort Margaret of Anjou and Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, have fled to France.

title: 1465

date: May 4

text: May 4 – At the Battle of Tewkesbury, King Edward defeats a Lancastrian army led by Queen Margaret and her son, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. Edward is killed in the battle.

title: 1471

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI of England (b. 1430)

title: 1482


slug: margaret-thatcher

label: Margaret Thatcher

description: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

date: February 11

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

title: 1975

section: Events › February

date: May 3

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

title: 1979

section: Events › May

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 15

text: November 15 – British art historian and former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt's role as the "fourth man" of the 'Cambridge Five' double agents for the Soviet NKVD during World War II is revealed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; she gives further details on November 21.

title: 1979

section: Events › November

section: Climate & Environment

date: June 9

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

title: 1983

section: Events › June

date: October 12

text: October 12 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the British Cabinet in the Brighton hotel bombing with an explosive device planted nearly a month earlier in their conference hotel. The terror attack kills five people and injures 31.

title: 1984

section: Events › October

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: October 29

text: October 29 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher officially opens the M25 Motorway, which encircles Greater London, in a ceremony on the carriageway near Potters Bar. It became Europe's second longest orbital road upon completion, and provides the first and only full bypass of London.

title: 1986

date: June 11

text: June 11 – The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, led by Margaret Thatcher, is re-elected for a third term at the 1987 general election.

title: 1987

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, conducts a 45-minute interview on Soviet television.

title: 1987

section: Events › March

section: Economy & Finance

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax (the poll tax) is introduced in Scotland. It will be introduced in England and Wales the following year.

title: 1989

section: Events › April

date: April 8

text: April 8 – Death of Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

title: 2013


slug: margravate-of-meissen

label: Margravate of Meissen

description: medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony

section: Deaths

text: Rikdag, margrave of Meissen (Germany)

title: 985

section: Births

text: Regelinda, margravine of Meissen (approximate date)

title: 989

text: Uta von Ballenstedt, margravine of Meissen

title: AD 1000

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Henry II of Germany signs a peace treaty at Merseburg with Duke Bolesław I the Brave) of Poland. As part of the treaty, Bolesław pays homage and recognizes Henry as his overlord in exchange for receiving the March of Lusatia (including the town of Bautzen) and the March of Meissen as fiefs. To seal their peace, Bolesław's son Mieszko II marries Richeza of Lotharingia (granddaughter of the late Emperor Otto II).

title: 1013

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Egbert I, margrave of Meissen

title: 1068

text: Conrad I ("the Great"), margrave of Meissen (approximate date) (d. 1157)

title: 1097

text: Otto II (the Rich), margrave of Meissen (d. 1190)

title: 1125

text: Albert I ("the Proud"), margrave of Meissen (d. 1195)

title: 1158

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Theodoric I, margrave of Meissen (d. 1221)

title: 1162

text: Jutta of Thuringia, margravine of Meissen (d. 1235)

title: 1184

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Otto II (the Rich), margrave of Meissen (b. 1125)

title: 1190

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Constance, margravine of Meissen (d. 1243)

title: 1212

date: June 4

text: June 4 – Constance, margravine of Meissen (b. 1212)

title: 1243

date: January 6

text: January 6 – The Electorate of Saxony merges with the Margravate of Meissen and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg.

title: 1423

section: Events › January–March


slug: margraviate-of-austria

label: Margraviate of Austria

description: southeastern frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, 976–1156

text: Leopold I, margrave of Austria (approximate date)

title: 940

section: Culture & Society

text: Summer – Otto II appoints Leopold I (the Illustrious), a member of the House of Babenberg, as margrave of the Marcha Orientalis (the later Archduchy of Austria). In order to maintain his possession in Southern Italy, Otto strengthens his army with 2,100 mailed horsemen (heavy cavalry) from Germany, of which around 1,500 are to be provided by the Churches.

title: 976

text: Adalbert, margrave of Austria (approximate date)

title: 985

date: July 8

text: July 8 – Richardis, margravine consort of Austria

title: 994

text: Frozza Orseolo, margravine of Austria (d. 1071)

title: 1015

date: June 23

text: June 23 – Henry I ("the Strong"), margrave of Austria

title: 1018

text: Ernest the Brave, margrave of Austria (d. 1075)

title: 1027

text: Leopold II ("the Fair"), margrave of Austria (d. 1095)

title: 1050

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Adalbert, margrave of Austria

title: 1055

text: Leopold III ("the Good"), margrave of Austria (d. 1136)

title: 1073

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Ernest (the Brave), margrave of Austria (b. 1027)

title: 1075

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 12

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

title: 1082

text: November 15 – Leopold III, margrave of Austria (b. 1073)

title: 1136

date: September 17

text: September 17 – Frederick I makes the Margraviate of Austria a duchy and gives the Babenberg Dynasty special privileges (the Privilegium Minus).

title: 1156

date: December 31

text: December 31 – Leopold V, duke of Austria (b. 1157)

title: 1194


slug: margraviate-of-brandenburg

label: Margraviate of Brandenburg

description: Holy Roman Empire principality (1157–1806)

text: Albert I (the Bear), margrave of Brandenburg (d. 1170)

title: 1100

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Albert II, margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1177)

title: 1220

text: John II, margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (d. 1281)

title: 1237

text: John III of Prague, margrave of Brandenburg (d. 1268)

title: 1244

date: September 10

text: September 10 – John II, margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (b. 1237)

title: 1281

date: March 3

text: March 3 – Konrad I of Oleśnica and his brother Boleslaw, sons and heirs of Henry III, Duke of Głogów renounce their rights to Gdańsk Pomerania (now part of Poland) in return for payment by the principality of Brandenburg, ruled by the Margrave Heinrich I.

title: 1310

section: Events › January – March

date: April 14

text: April 14 – In Germany, Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen signs the Treaty of Tangermünde after having been captured by Waldemar the Great of Brandenburg. Under the treaty, Meissen cedes its territory between the Elbe River and the Elster River to Brandenburg, and Frederick the Brave pays 32,000 silver coins to Waldemar.

title: 1312

section: Events › April – June

date: December 9

text: December 9 – Brandenburg–Pomeranian conflict: In Germany, the Margraviate of Brandenburg renounces all claims to the region around Loitz (in the modern-day northeast German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) to the Principality of Rügen in Denmark in return for payment.

title: 1314

section: Events › October – December

date: March 17

text: March 17 – In Germany, Waldemar the Great becomes the sole ruler of the reunited Margraviate of Brandenburg upon the death of his cousin, John V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel. Waldemar had been the Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal since 1308.

title: 1317

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Treaty of Templin: After ending the war between the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Denmark, Brandenburg is forced to negotiate a truce. King Eric VI, his ally Duke Henry the Lion and Waldemar the Great sign a peace treaty in Templin. Brandenburg agrees to transfer Burg Stargard and Arnsberg castle to Mecklenburg. They also surrender the territories of Schlawe-Stolp, located on the Baltic coast, to Pomerania.

title: 1317

section: Religion & Belief

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Duke Władysław I Łokietek ("Ladislaus the Short") becomes king of a reunited Poland, after receiving the approval from Pope John XXII. He is crowned, along with his wife Jadwiga of Kalisz, at the royal cathedral on Wawel Hill at Kraków. Wladysław's kingdom is surrounded by three hostile neighbors: Brandenburg, the Teutonic Order and Bohemia. Looking for allies, he makes an alliance with Charles I, ruler of Hungary.

title: 1320

date: May 24

text: May 24 – In Germany, Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg cedes the territories of Prignitz and the Uckermark to the Margraviate of Brandenburg in an unfavorable peace treaty signed at Daber (modern-day Dobra Nowogardzka in Poland).

title: 1325

date: February 10

text: February 10 – The Raid on Brandenburg begins as Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Władysław I Łokietek, "the elbow-high", King of Poland, and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under Gediminas, raid the territories of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (within the Holy Roman Empire), with the sanction of Pope John XXII. Władysław regards the Neumark (East Brandenburg) as Polish territory.

title: 1326

date: May 17

text: May 17 – The dukes of the various duchies of Pomerania, enter into an alliance in a meeting at Kaseburg (now Karsibor in Poland) to resist the expansion of the neighboring state of Brandenburg.

title: 1373

section: Events › April–June

date: November 19

text: November 19 – The alliance between the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast against the Duchy of Pomerania-Stettin is renewed.

title: 1413

section: Events › October–December

date: October 12

text: October 12 – Uckermark War (1425–1427): Representing Brandenburg, the Elector Friedrich and his son Johann "the alchemist" sign a treaty with William of Werle, ruler of one of the opposing states of Mecklenburg. Friedrich and Johann had recaptured the town of Prenzlau on August 23.

title: 1426

date: September 12

text: September 12 – In a royal wedding at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, King Christoffer III of Denmark (who also rules Sweden and Norway) marries Dorothea of Brandenburg, daughter of John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg. After King Christoffer's death in 1448, Dorothea marries King Christian I of Denmark in 1449.

title: 1445

section: Events › July–September

date: May 3

text: May 3 – The Treaty of Prenzlau is signed between in Germany by the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania, both principalities within the Holy Roman Empire. The treaty partitions the disputed territory of the Uckermark, with Brandenburg receiving the southern part and Pomerania the northern part, with rights for Brandenburg to receive the north if Pomerania's ruling house should become extinct.

title: 1448

text: June 10 – The War of the Jülich Succession begins as the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg sign a treaty at Dortmund and then send troops to establish Protestant Union rule in the Roman Catholic United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

title: 1609

date: July 28

text: July 28 – War of the Jülich Succession: The Siege of Jülich, a walled city within the Holy Roman Empire (now in Germany), is started by a combined force of troops from the Dutch Republic, the Kingdom of France and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

title: 1610

date: October 24

text: October 24 – The War of the Jülich Succession ends as the Protestant Union (including Margraviate of Brandenburg Brandenburg and Electoral Palatinate) and the Catholic League (led by the Duchy of Bavaria) agree to withdraw their forces from Germany and to disband them by year's end.

title: 1610

date: May 15

text: May 15 – After an invasion and attempt to take over the German principality of Brandenburg, the army of Sweden makes its first conquest, forcing the surrender of the fortress at Löcknitz.

title: 1675

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Great Turkish War: Battle of Buda – Imperial forces of the Holy League of 1684 (Russia, Saxony, Brandenburg and Bavaria under Austrian leadership) liberate Buda (now part of Budapest) from Ottoman Turkish rule (leading to the end of Ottoman rule in Hungary during subsequent years).

title: 1686

section: Health & Medicine

text: Europe's first systematic population census is taken in the Kingdom of Prussia's Margraviate of Brandenburg.

title: 1719

section: Events › Undated


slug: marie-de-medici

label: Marie de' Medici

description: Queen of France (1575-1642); second wife of King Henry IV of France

date: October 6

text: October 6 – The première of Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest known fully surviving work of modern opera, takes place in Florence for the wedding of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Emilio de' Cavalieri stages the production.

title: 1600

date: May 13

text: May 13 – A formal coronation is held for Marie de' Medici, wife of King Henry IV, as Queen Consort of France. King Henry is preparing to depart to Germany to participate in the War of the Jülich Succession.

title: 1610

date: May 14

text: May 14 – King Henry IV of France is assassinated in Paris by François Ravaillac, a French Catholic activist who resents the Protestant monarch's decision to launch a war against the Catholic Spanish Netherlands. Ravaillac rushes up to a horse-drawn carriage and stabs King Henry in the chest. Henry's 8-year-old son becomes King Louis XIII, with Henry's widow, Marie de' Medici, governing France as queen regent.

title: 1610

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully is forced by Queen regent Marie's Regency Council to resign as chief minister of France. He is replaced by Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy.

title: 1611

text: May 15 – The Queen Regent of France, Marie de' Medici, convenes the Estates General to suppress a rebellion by Henri II, Prince of Condé.

title: 1614

date: October 2

text: October 2 – After Louis XIII reaches the age of 13, he is given full power as King of France and the regency of his mother is ended. Queen Regent Marie retains her position as leader of the Conseil du Roi, however, and continues to control the French government.

title: 1614

date: April 24

text: April 24 – Encouraged by Charles d'Albert, fifteen-year-old Louis XIII, king of France, forces his mother Marie de Medici, who has held de facto power, into retirement and has her favourite, Concino Concini, assassinated.

title: 1617

date: April 30

text: April 30 – The Treaty of Angoulême ends the French civil war between Louis XIII and his mother, Marie de' Medici.

title: 1619

date: August 7

text: August 7 – In a battle at Les Ponts-de-Cé in France, King Louis XIII defeats troops led by his mother, Marie de' Medici.

title: 1620

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Day of the Dupes: Marie de' Medici attempts to oust Cardinal Richelieu from the French Court, but fails after two days.

title: 1630


slug: marinid-dynasty

label: Marinid dynasty

description: Muslim Berber dynasty (1244–1465)

date: January 10

text: January 10 – Muhammad II as Said becomes ruler of the Marinid dynasty in modern-day Morocco after the assassination of Abu Inan Faris.

title: 1358

section: Events › January–December

text: Abu Salim Ali II overthrows Muhammad II as-Said as ruler of the Marinid dynasty, in modern-day Morocco.

title: 1359

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Princes from the Kingdom of Granada choose Abu al-Abbas Ahmad to succeed Muhammad as-Said, as Sultan of the Marinid Empire in Morocco. The Empire is split into the Kingdom of Fez and the Kingdom of Marrakesh.

title: 1374

section: Climate & Environment

text: The Nasrid princes of Al-Andalus replace Abu al-Abbas with Abu Faris Musa ibn Faris, as ruler of the Marinid dynasty in modern-day Morocco.

title: 1384

section: Events › Unknown Date

text: Abu al-Abbas is reinstated as ruler of the Marinid dynasty in modern-day Morocco.

title: 1386

text: Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad al-Mustansir, Sultan of the Marinid dynasty in Morocco

title: 1393

text: Abu Amir succeeds Abdul Aziz II as ruler of the Marinid dynasty, in modern-day Morocco.

title: 1396

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Abu Said Uthman III succeeds his older brother Abdallah ibn Ahmad II as the ruler of the Marinid dynasty in modern-day Morocco, reigning until his death in 1420.

title: 1398

date: September 20

text: September 20 – Led by Prince Henry the Navigator, a poorly-prepared Portuguese attempt to conquer the city of Tangier in the Marinid Sultanate in Morocco begins. Although the Portuguese have more than 6,000 troops, they reach the walled city and find that their scaling ladders are too short to reach the top, and their artillery is too weak to damage the walls.

title: 1437

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: July 2

text: July 2 – The Sultanate of Morocco renews its siege of Ksar es-Seghir (renamed Alcácer-Ceguer), which had been seized by the Kingdom of Portugal on October 24, 1458. The Portuguese Governor Duarte de Meneses leads the defense of the city against the attacks led by the Sultan Abd al-Haqq II, who calls off the siege after less than two months.

title: 1459


slug: mark-antony

label: Mark Antony

description: Roman politician and general (83 BC – 30 BC)

year_label: 83 BCE

section: Births

text: Mark Antony, Roman politician and General (who later married Cleopatra) (approximate date) (d. 30 BC)

title: 83 BC

year_label: 74 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Marcus Antonius (father of Mark Antony), a praetor, receives wide-ranging powers and considerable resources to fight the pirates in the Mediterranean Sea.

title: 74 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 71 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Marcus Antonius Creticus, Roman politician (father of Mark Antony)

title: 71 BC

year_label: 50 BCE

text: Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony

title: 50 BC

year_label: 48 BCE

date: March

text: March – Mark Antony joins Julius Caesar.

title: 48 BC

year_label: 47 BCE

text: Marcus Antonius Antyllus, son of Mark Antony and Fulvia (d. 30 BC)

title: 47 BC

year_label: 45 BCE

text: Iullus Antonius, son of Mark Antony and Fulvia; consul 10 BC (d. 2 BC)

title: 45 BC

year_label: 44 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Consuls: Gaius Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

title: 44 BC

date: April 18

text: April 18–April 21 – Octavian engages in a charm offensive with consular Cicero who is fulminating against Mark Antony.

title: 44 BC

year_label: 43 BCE

text: Iullus Antonius, Roman consul (son of Mark Antony) (suicide 2 BC)

title: 43 BC

date: April 14

text: April 14 – Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Caesar's assassin Decimus Brutus Albinus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Hirtius. Both consuls are killed (Hirtius does not die until after the Battle of Mutina).

title: 43 BC

year_label: 42 BCE

text: Gaius Antonius, Roman general and brother of Mark Antony (murdered)

title: 42 BC

date: July

text: July – Mark Antony lands with an army (28 legions) in Illyria, leaving Octavian ill at Dyrrachium, and marches to Amphipolis. Admiral Ahenobarbus, with the Republican fleet (130 warships), blockades the Adriatic Sea.

title: 42 BC

year_label: 41 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Mark Antony meets Cleopatra VII in Tarsus (Cilicia) and forms an alliance. He returns to Alexandria with her and they become lovers in the winter of 41–40 BC. To safeguard herself and Caesarion, she has Antony order the execution of her (half) sister Arsinoe IV, who is living at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

title: 41 BC

section: Events › By place › Egypt

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Cleopatra Selene (d. AD 6) and Alexander Helios (d. between 29 and 25 BC), twins of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony

title: 40 BC

date: May

text: May – Gaius Claudius Marcellus, a distinguished member of the Claudii, dies. He leaves Octavia the Younger (the elder sister of Octavian) widowed. She will later marry Mark Antony.

title: 40 BC

year_label: 39 BCE

text: Antonia the Elder, daughter of Mark Antony, grandmother of Nero and Messalina (d. bef. AD 25)

title: 39 BC

text: Caesar Augustus (Octavian) engineers the "Second Pact of Tarentum" which renews the Triumvirate for an additional five years. Mark Antony exchanges 120 ships, for service against Sextus Pompeius. Octavian Caesar donates 1,000 troops from the Praetorian Guard and 20,000 legionaries for the Parthian campaign in Syria.

title: 37 BC

text: Antigonus II Mattathias (Antigonus the Hasmonean) (executed by order of Mark Antony)

title: 37 BC

text: Ptolemy Philadelphus, son of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony (d. 29 BC)

title: 36 BC

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, mother of the emperor Claudius

title: 36 BC

date: June

text: June – Mark Antony launches a major offensive against the Parthians, in which he marches with 10 legions and 10,000 cavalry to Carana in Anatolia.

title: 36 BC

year_label: 34 BCE

text: Mark Antony becomes Roman Consul for the second time. His partner is Lucius Scribonius Libo. The latter is replaced with Aemilius Lepidus Paullus during the year.

title: 34 BC

text: Mark Antony annexes the kingdom of Media and arranges the marriage of his son Alexander Helios with princess Iotapa, the daughter of king Artavasdes I.

title: 33 BC

year_label: 32 BCE

text: Spring – Final War of the Roman Republic: Mark Antony transfers his headquarters from Samos to Athens, where he assembles a fleet of 500 combat vessels and 300 transport ships, crewed by 150,000 men.

title: 32 BC

text: September 2 – Roman Civil War: Battle of Actium: Off the western coast of Greece, Octavian Caesar defeats naval forces under Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII.

title: 31 BC

year_label: 30 BCE

text: Summer – Cornelius Gallus lands in Cyrene and occupies Paraetonium. Mark Antony storms the city walls and blockades the harbour, then retreats with his army (7 legions) to Egypt and receives the news that Pelusium has opened its gates to Octavian without resistance.

title: 30 BC

date: August 1

text: August 1 – Mark Antony, Roman consul and general (suicide) (b. 83 BC)

title: 30 BC

date: August 23

text: August 23 – Marcus Antonius Antyllus, son of Mark Antony and Fulvia (executed) (b. 47 BC)

title: 30 BC

text: July 31 – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.

title: 30 BC

text: Augustus founds the city of Nicopolis in Egypt to commemorate his final victory over Mark Antony.

title: 24 BC

text: Lucius Antonius, grandson of Mark Antony d. AD 25)

title: 20 BC

text: May 12 – Emperor Augustus Caesar negotiates a peace with Parthia, making Armenia a buffer zone between the two major powers. The captured eagles of Marcus Licinius Crassus and Mark Antony are returned.

title: 20 BC

text: Iullus Antonius, Roman consul and son of Mark Antony (b. 43 BC)

title: 0s BC

text: Lucius Antonius, grandson of Mark Antony (b. 20 BC)

title: 20s

text: May 1 – Antonia the Younger, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger (b. 36 BC)

title: 30s

text: Domitia Lepida the Elder, granddaughter of Mark Antony

title: 50s


slug: mark-the-evangelist

label: Mark the Evangelist

description: credited author of the Gospel of Mark and Christian saint; traditionally identified with John Mark (20-68)

year_label: 12 CE

text: Mark the Evangelist, Christian evangelist, martyr, known for The Gospel of Mark (approximate date) (d. 68 AD)

title: 10s

section: Births › 12 AD

year_label: 40 CE

section: Religion & Belief

text: Christianity comes to Egypt as a church is founded in Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist founds the Church of Alexandria as the first Patriarch (traditional date).

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 40

year_label: 42 CE

text: Traditional date of foundation of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria by the apostle Mark the Evangelist.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 42

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: 63 CE

text: Mark the Evangelist (traditional date) (see AD 61)

title: AD 63

year_label: 65 CE

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

title: AD 65

section: Events › By topic › Religion

year_label: 68 CE

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Mark the Evangelist, pope of Alexandria

title: AD 68

text: Pope Mark begins to build the basilica of San Marco; the church is devoted to St. Mark.

title: 336

text: Relics of Mark the Evangelist are stolen from Alexandria (controlled by the Abbasid Caliphate) by two Venetian merchants, and brought to Venice.

title: 828


slug: marrakesh

label: Marrakesh

description: city in Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco

text: Marrakesh is founded by the Almoravids which becomes their capital.

title: 1062

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Conflict & Security

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

title: 1147

date: January 23

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

title: 1199

date: September

text: September – Abdallah al-Adil (the Just), governor in Al-Andalus, challenges the Almohad throne and captures Seville. He marches to Marrakesh to confront Abu Muhammad al-Wahid. Abdallah seizes the royal palace and deposes Muhammad al-Wahid, who is strangled to death.

title: 1224

section: Events › July – September

date: September 8

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

title: 1269

text: Princes from the Kingdom of Granada choose Abu al-Abbas Ahmad to succeed Muhammad as-Said, as Sultan of the Marinid Empire in Morocco. The Empire is split into the Kingdom of Fez and the Kingdom of Marrakesh.

title: 1374

date: April 23

text: April 23 – In Portuguese-occupied Morocco, the Governor of Safi, Nuno Fernandes de Ataíde, conducts an unsuccessful attack on Marrakesh, and is forced to retreat by defenders led by the Emir Nasr ibn Chentaf al-Hintati.

title: 1515

section: Events › April–June

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire: An army of 20,000 troops, led by Judar Pasha is dispatched from Marrakesh in the Saadi Sultanate (now Morocco), on orders of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. The Saadi Army's objective is to conquer the Songhai Empire, led by the Emperor Askia Ishaq II, in North Africa, corresponding to what is now the Republic of Mali.

title: 1590

section: Events › October–December

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Ahmed al-Ghazzal, the emissary from Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah of Morocco to the Spanish Empire, makes a triumphant return to Marrakesh with almost 300 Muslims who had been held captive in Spain, as well as sacred Islamic manuscripts that had been seized by the Spanish in 1612. The negotiation of the release had started with al-Ghazzal's meeting with Spain's King Carlos III on August 21, 1766.

title: 1767


slug: mars

label: Mars

description: fourth planet from the Solar System, tellurian and orange-red due to iron oxide

section: Science & Discovery

date: October 13

text: October 13 – German astronomer Michael Maestlin becomes the first person to record an observation of the occultation of the planet Mars by the planet Venus.

title: 1590

date: August 12

text: August 12 – American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Deimos, the outer moon of Mars.

title: 1877

section: Events › August

date: August 18

text: August 18 – Asaph Hall discovers Phobos, the inner moon of Mars.

title: 1877

date: December 2

text: December 2 – During the new moon, a near-grand conjunction of the classical planets and several binocular Solar System bodies occur. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are all within 15° of each other, with Venus 5° ahead of this conjunction and Jupiter 15° behind.

title: 1899

section: Events › December

date: December 17

text: December 17 – The Prix Guzman, first and only prize ever offered for communication with extraterrestrial life, is announced in Paris. A prize of 100,000 francs is provided, except for communication with Mars, which is considered too easy.

title: 1900

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Wernher von Braun publishes the first in his series of articles titled Man Will Conquer Space Soon!, including ideas for crewed flights to Mars and the Moon.

title: 1952

section: Events › March–April

date: July 14

text: July 14 – U.S. spacecraft Mariner 4 flies by Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to return images from the Red Planet.

title: 1965

section: Events › July–August

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 km).

title: 1969

text: December 2 – The Soviet Mars 3 lander reaches the surface of Mars, transmits for a few seconds and then goes silent. It is the first spacecraft to reach the planet.

title: 1971

date: May 30

text: May 30 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars.

title: 1971

section: Events › May

date: November 13

text: November 13 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to enter Mars orbit successfully.

title: 1971

section: Events › November

date: February 4

text: February 4 – Mariner 9 sends pictures as it orbits Mars.

title: 1972

section: Events › February

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

title: 1975

date: August 7

text: August 7 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.

title: 1976

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Viking program: The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

title: 1976

section: Events › July

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Viking program: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars, taking the first close-up color photographs of the planet's surface.

title: 1976

section: Events › September

date: August 21

text: August 21 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Observer orbiter 3 days before the spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars.

title: 1993

date: August 6

text: August 6 – NASA announces that the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, may contain evidence of primitive lifeforms; further tests are inconclusive.

title: 1996

date: July 4

text: July 4 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

title: 1997

date: July 5

text: July 5 – Japan launches the probe Nozomi to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as an outer space-exploring nation.

title: 1998

date: September 23

text: September 23 – NASA permanently loses contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter during orbital insertion around Mars, resulting in the spacecraft's loss and the failure of the mission.

title: 1999

date: February 19

text: February 19 – NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.

title: 2002

date: August 27

text: August 27 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in over 60,000 years.

title: 2003

date: January 4

text: January 4 – NASA's Spirit rover lands on the surface of Mars.

title: 2004

section: Events › January

text: August 12 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched from Cape Canaveral, designed to explore Mars.

title: 2005

date: March 10

text: March 10 – NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters orbit around Mars.

title: 2006

section: Events › March

date: August 4

text: August 4 – The Phoenix spacecraft is launched toward Mars to study its north pole.

title: 2007

date: May 25

text: May 25 – NASA's uncrewed Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars.

title: 2008

date: November 26

text: November 26 – The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It lands on Mars on August 6, 2012.

title: 2011

text: August 6 – Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on Mars.

title: 2012

date: September 24

text: September 24 – The Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan, which was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation, reached Martian orbit, making India the first Asian country to successfully reach Mars.

title: 2014

date: September 28

text: September 28 – NASA announces that liquid water has been found on Mars.

title: 2015

date: March 14

text: March 14 – The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.

title: 2016

text: July 31 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth since 2003, four days after reaching opposition.

title: 2018

text: May 5 – NASA's space probe InSight is launched. It landed on Mars on November 26 and uses a drill to conduct geological science.

title: 2018

text: November 26 – NASA's InSight probe successfully lands on the surface of Mars.

title: 2018

text: February 18 – NASA's Mars 2020 mission (containing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone) lands on Mars at Jezero Crater, after seven months of travel.

title: 2021

text: February 9 – The UAE's uncrewed Hope spacecraft becomes the first Arabian mission successfully to enter orbit around Mars.

title: 2021


slug: marseille

label: Marseille

description: French commune

year_label: 600 BCE

text: Victorious over the Carthaginians in a naval battle, the Greeks of Phocaea establish the city of Marseille in today's France.

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

year_label: 310 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Pytheas, Greek merchant, geographer and explorer from the Greek colony Massilia (today Marseille) (b. c. 380 BC)

title: 310 BC

year_label: 231 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Romans send envoys to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to negotiate with the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca who is based there.

title: 231 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 226 BCE

text: The Greek merchants of Massilia, frightened by Carthaginian successes in Spain (including their exploitation of the Spanish silver mines), appeal to Rome. Rome makes an alliance with the independent Spanish port city of Saguntum south of the Ebro River.

title: 226 BC

year_label: 151 BCE

text: Roman forces help the thriving Greek commercial port of Massilia combat raids from the Celts from Cisalpine Gaul.

title: 151 BC

year_label: 125 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: In Rome, Marcus Fulvius Flaccus proposes the extension of Roman citizenship to the northern Italians, but the Senate reacts by sending him off to deal with disturbances around Massilia. And in so doing, commences the conquest of Transalpine Gaul.

title: 125 BC

year_label: 70 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

date: August

text: August – In Rome, Cicero prosecutes former governor Verres; Verres exiles himself to Marseille before the trial is over.

title: 70 BC

year_label: 52 BCE

text: Milo is tried for the murder of Clodius. Despite Cicero's legal defence (Pro Milone) he is found guilty and exiled in Massilia (modern Marseille).

title: 52 BC

date: March 15

text: March 15 (the Ides of March) – Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus.

title: 44 BC

date: July

text: July – Maximian flees to Marseille where he is besieged and surrenders. Constantine encourages his suicide and Maximian, age 60, hangs himself. Emperor Maxentius condemns the killing of his father.

title: 310

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Constantius III, Roman general (magister militum), begins a military campaign against the Visigoths in Gaul. He blockades the Gallic ports and besieges Marseille.

title: 414

section: Religion & Belief

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

title: 415

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: King Theodoric II is killed by his younger brother Euric, who succeeds him on the throne. He conquers Hispania and the harbor city of Marseille (Southern Gaul), adding them to the existing Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 466

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: King Euric orders the invasion of Italy, but is defeated by Glycerius. The Visigoths withdraw to Gaul, and conquer the cities of Arles and Marseille.

title: 473

text: Odoacer crosses the Maritime Alps with a Gothic army and invades Provence (Southern Gaul). He conquers the cities of Arles and Marseille, after a victorious battle against the Burgundians.

title: 476

text: Caesarius becomes bishop of Arles. His episcopal see, near the mouth of the Rhone River and close to Marseille, retains its ancient importance in the social and commercial life of Gaul for forty years.

title: AD 502

text: Pope Gregory I criticizes the bishops of Arles and Marseille for allowing the forced baptism of Jews in Provence (France).

title: 591

text: Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Muslim forces under Abd al-Malik ibn Qatn al-Fihri, governor (wali) of Al-Andalus (modern Spain), enter Provence and raid the Rhône Valley. The cities of Avignon, Arles, and probably Marseille are handed over by Count Maurontus, who is in rebellion against Charles Martel.

title: 734

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

title: AD 737

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

title: 739

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

title: 1164

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: July 4 – King Richard I (the Lion Heart) and Philip II (Augustus), meet at Vézelay and agree to divide the spoils of the Crusade equally between themselves. They march to the coast and then make their way across the Mediterranean, taking different routes. Richard travels with an expeditionary force (some 17,000 men) via Marseille and Philip travels with a smaller contingent (some 15,000 men) via Genoa. Richard has some 100 ships at his disposal, several of which are from Norman ports, others from Shoreham and Southampton.

title: 1190

date: April

text: April–May – The bulk of the Crusader army gathers at Venice, although with far smaller numbers than expected: about 12,000 men (4–5,000 knights and 8,000 soldiers) instead of 33,500 men. Several contingents decide to make their own way to the Holy Land by different routes. A Crusader fleet, sailing from Flanders, carrying supplies for the Counts Baldwin IX and his brother Henry of Flanders, winters in Marseille, but is slowed by adverse weather. Later it sails on to the Middle East, along with other contingents from southern France.

title: 1202

section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade

section: Health & Medicine

date: June

text: June – The 12-year-old Stephen of Cloyes leads a group across France to Vendôme. Attracting a following of over 30,000 adults and children. After arriving in Marseille the vast majority return home to their families.

title: 1212

date: June 7

text: June 7 – King Louis VIII of France begins the Crusade against the Cathars (Albigensians) in southern France and against Raymond VII, count of Count of Toulouse. Over the next three months, the Crusaders capture the cities of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire and Marseille and by Avignon's surrender on September 9, Louis forces the region of Languedoc into submission, and reasserts his authority upon the autonomous municipalities of his estates. Most cities have to accept the authority of Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence, but Marseille and Nice rebel.

title: 1226

section: Events › April – June

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Louis IX departs from Aigues-Mortes and Marseilles with a French expeditionary force (some 10,000 men) transported by 100 ships. An English detachment (some 5,000 men) under William Longespée the Younger, grandson of King Henry III, and his mistress Ida de Tosny follows close behind with 36 transport ships.

title: 1248

section: Events › By place › Seventh Crusade

date: May 7

text: May 7 – At the marketplace in the French city of Marseille, four of the most defiant members of the Fraticelli (or Spiritual Franciscans) are found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake.

title: 1318

date: September 1

text: September 1 – The Black Death reaches the French port city of Marseille.

title: 1347

section: Events › January–December

date: October 12

text: October 12 – Pope Gregory XI and several cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church depart on a ship from the port of Marseille in France, and encounter severe storms before arriving in Genoa. He will finally arrive in Rome on January 17, 1377.

title: 1376

date: August 24

text: August 24 – The French warrior René of Savoy departs from Marseille on his flagship, Sainte Marie de Bonaventure on a four-month mission to protect the Knights Hospitaller against an attack by the Ottoman Turks.

title: 1520

section: Events › July–September

date: August 20

text: August 20 – The French city of Marseille is besieged by Holy Roman Empire forces commanded by the Charles III, Duke of Bourbon and lasts until September 26.

title: 1524

section: Culture & Society

date: October 28

text: October 28 – The 14-year olds Henry, Duke of Orléans – the future King Henry II of France – and Catherine de' Medici are married at the Église Saint-Ferréol les Augustins in Marseille.

title: 1533

date: April 11

text: April 11 – The visiting Ottoman envoys to France depart from Marseille, six months after having arrived from Istanbul in October. Jean de La Forêt, the new French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, accompanies the Ottoman fleet with his party on a French galley, and the group sails to Tunis.

title: 1535

date: May 23

text: May 23 – The allied French and Ottoman navies depart from the French port of Marseille and travel to Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. The French fleet is commanded by Antoine Escalin des Aimars, known as Captain Polin, French ambassador to the Ottomans, while the Turks are led by Hayreddin Barbarossa.

title: 1544

date: August 1

text: August 1 – The Comet of 1729, possibly the largest comet based on the absolute magnitude, on record, is discovered by Fr. Nicolas Sarrabat, a professor of mathematics at Marseille.

title: 1729

date: May 20

text: May 20 – Zarafa, the first giraffe to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, arrives in Marseille as a gift from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet Ali Pasha, to King Charles X of France. The giraffe then begins a 50-day journey to Paris, walking with its handlers toward Paris where it will arrive on July 9.

title: 1827

text: June 5 – In Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde, the city's most famous landmark, is consecrated.

title: 1864

text: March 21 – The Eden Theatre in La Ciotat, a commune in France near Marseille, lays a claim to being the first cinema as brothers Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière present their short film, L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat ("The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station") to 250 surprised spectators.

title: 1899

text: October 9 – King Alexander of Yugoslavia and French foreign minister Louis Barthou are assassinated, during the king's state visit in Marseille.

title: 1934

text: May 20 – Pan American Airways begins transatlantic mail service with the inaugural flight of its Boeing 314 flying boat Yankee Clipper from Port Washington, New York, to Marseille.

title: 1939

text: Bastille Day Gaullist demonstrations in Vichy France; 2 women are shot dead by members of the fascist French Popular Party (PPF) in Marseille.

title: 1942

text: January 22 – The Holocaust: Round up of Marseille begins – Over 4,000 Jews are arrested in Nazi-occupied Marseille as part of "Action Tiger", before being transported to extermination camps in Poland.

title: 1943

text: August 28 – WWII: Operation Dragoon – The Free French Army liberates the cities of Marseille and Nice.

title: 1944

text: November 10 – The arrest of four steel workers in Marseille begins a French communist riot, that also spreads to Paris.

title: 1947

text: September 10 – Murderer Hamida Djandoubi is the last person executed by guillotine in France (at Marseille) and the last legal beheading in the Western world.

title: 1977


slug: marshal-of-france

label: Marshal of France

description: military distinction in contemporary France

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Jean II Le Maingre is named as the Marshal of France by King Charles V in a ceremony at the cathedral of St. Martin at Tours. Lalande, Denis, Jean II le Meingre, dit Boucicaut: (1366–1421) - étude d'une biographie héroïque, Genève 1988.

title: 1391

section: Events › October–December

section: Conflict & Security

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Battle of Modon: The Genoese fleet under Jean Le Maingre (Marshal Boucicaut) is defeated by the Republic of Venice, at Modon in the Peloponnese.

title: 1403

section: Deaths

date: April 2

text: April 2 – Henri de Montmorency, 3rd Duke of Montmorency, Marshal of France (b. 1534)

title: 1614

section: Deaths › April–June

date: January 4

text: January 4 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, Marshal of France (b. 1628)

title: 1695

section: Deaths › January–March

section: Births

date: October 21

text: October 21 – Charles-Pierre Augereau, Marshal of France and duc de Castiglione (d. 1816)

title: 1757

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, King Charles XIV John of Sweden and Charles III John of Norway (d. 1844)

title: 1763

date: April 4

text: April 4 – Étienne Maurice Gérard, Prime Minister and Marshal of France (d. 1852)

title: 1773

date: October 15

text: October 15 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France and duke of Isly (d. 1849)

title: 1784

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, Marshal of France (d. 1878)

title: 1795

date: June 27

text: June 27 – François Certain de Canrobert, French general, Marshal of France (d. 1895)

title: 1809

section: Births › January–June

date: August 21

text: August 21 – Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden, by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.

title: 1810

date: June 12

text: June 12 – Pierre Augereau, Marshal of France, duc de Castiglione (b. 1757)

title: 1816

section: Deaths › January–June

text: December 25 – Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon, Marshal of France (b. 1754)

title: 1818

section: Deaths › July–December

date: November 21

text: November 21 – Georges Mouton, count of Lobau, Marshal of France (b. 1770)

title: 1838

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France, duke of Isly (b. 1784)

title: 1849

date: February 28

text: February 28 – Guillaume Dode de la Brunerie, Marshal of France (b. 1775)

title: 1851

date: September 29

text: September 29 – Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud, French general, Marshal of France, Minister of War (b. 1798)

title: 1854

date: December 16

text: December 16 – Alphonse Juin, French general, Marshal of France (d. 1967)

title: 1888

section: Births › November–December

date: February 2

text: February 2 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (d. 1952)

title: 1889

section: Births › February

date: January 28

text: January 28 – François Certain de Canrobert, French general, Marshal of France (b. 1809)

title: 1895

section: Deaths › January–February

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (b. 1889)

title: 1952

section: Deaths › January


slug: marsilio-ficino

label: Marsilio Ficino

description: Italian philosopher and Catholic priest (1433–1499)

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Marsilio Ficino, Florentine philosopher (d. 1499)

title: 1433

section: Religion & Belief

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Cosimo de' Medici, later the unofficial leader of Florence and patron of Marsilio Ficino, is imprisoned in the Palazzo dei Priori. Initially facing life imprisonment, Medici is then exiled by the Albizzi/Strozzi faction instead. He returns a year later, on October 6, 1434.

title: 1433

text: Corpus Hermeticum is translated into Latin, by Marsilio Ficino.

title: 1463

section: Events › Date unknown

text: Marsilio Ficino completes his translation of the collected works of Plato, writes Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love, and starts to work on Platonic Theology.

title: 1469

text: Marsilio Ficino's translation of the Corpus Hermeticum into Latin, De potestate et sapientia Dei, is published.

title: 1471

text: Florentine physician Marsilio Ficino becomes a Catholic priest.

title: 1473

text: Marsilio Ficino completes his book Theologia Platonica (Platonic Theology).

title: 1474

text: Marsilio Ficino publishes his translation and commentary of Plotinus.

title: 1492

section: Events › Unknown dates

text: Iamblichus' De mysteriis Aegyptorum edited by Marsilio Ficino is published.

title: 1497

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher (b. 1433)

title: 1499