date: February 5

text: February 5 – Dacius, archbishop of Milan


date: July 1

section: Deaths

text: July 1 – Totila, king of the Ostrogoths

source_section: Deaths


date: December 13

text: December 13 – Columba of Terryglass, Irish abbot and saint


text: Anicius Maximus, Roman patrician


text: Xiao Dong, emperor of the Liang dynasty


text: Xiaojing, emperor of Eastern Wei (b. 524)


text: Aba I, patriarch of the Church of the East


text: Menas, patriarch of Constantinople


text: Turismod, prince of the Lombards


text: Hou Jing, regent of the Liang dynasty


text: Bumin Qaghan, ruler of the Göktürks


text: Bumin Qaghan dies; the new khagan is Issik Qaghan of the Turkic Empire.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Wang Wei, chief strategist of the Liang dynasty


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: In the Turkic Khaganate Istemi is appointed governor (yabgu) in the west of the empire (modern Turkestan), and Muqan Qaghan succeeds his brother Issik Qaghan as emperor (khagan) of the Göktürks.


text: The Ostrogothic Kingdom ends after 60 years of rule in Italy. The Goths are allowed to return to their homes in peace and (re)settle in modern-day Austria. Some 7,000 people retreat to Campsas (Southern Gaul), and resist with minimal help from the Franks against the Byzantines until 554.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Mons Lactarius: King Teia secretly marches to join forces with his brother Aligern in Campania, to relieve the siege of Cumae. Meanwhile at Mons Lactarius (modern Monti Lattari), Narses lays an ambush. The combined Gothic force is crushed in a hopeless last stand for two days (south of Naples), and Teia is killed in the fighting. Aligern escapes, but surrenders a few months later.


text: The Sassanid commander Mihr-Mihroe force the Byzantines to retreat from Telephis and later Ollaria. (See Battle of Telephis–Ollaria).


text: King Seong of Baekje attacks the kingdoms of Goguryeo and Silla. However, under a secret agreement, Silla troops attack the exhausted Baekje army, and take possession of the entire Han River valley.


date: May 5

section: Religion & Belief

text: May 5 – The Fifth Ecumenical Council is held in Constantinople. In an edict, Emperor Justinian I condemns the Three Chapters, causing further schisms and heresies of monoenergism and monothelitism.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: December 10

section: Births

text: December 10 – Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (d. 604)

source_section: Births


date: August 5

text: August 5 – Xiao Ji, prince of the Liang dynasty (b. 508)


text: Issik Qaghan, ruler of the Turkic Khaganate


text: Gelimer, king of the Vandals and Alans (b. 480)


text: Athanagild is crowned as king of the Visigoths and succeeds Agila I. He acknowledges the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: After a protracted siege, Jiangling fell to the Western Wei army.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Baekje and the Gaya Confederacy wage war upon Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, but are defeated.


text: Mass Enslavement and Destruction: Following the capture of Jiangling, the city faced extensive looting and destruction. Historical records indicate that a large portion of the population was either killed or enslaved. The fall of Jiangling significantly weakened the Liang dynasty, leading to further internal strife and fragmentation. Power vacuums emerged, causing shifts in control among the remaining regional powers.


text: Gong Di succeeds his brother Fei Di as emperor of Western Wei. He is deposed by general Yuwen Tai who puts him to death.


text: Byzantine forces under Liberius seize Granada (Andalusia) and occupy the old province of Baetica. Justinian I calls Belisarius out of retirement, to complete the consolidation of reconquered regions of Southern Spain.


text: Siege and Fall of Jiangling: The Western Wei forces launched a military campaign against the Liang dynasty, targeting Jiangling, the Liang capital.


text: Muqan Qaghan succeeds his brother Issik Qaghan as emperor (khagan) of the Göktürks.


text: Wideok becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.


text: Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man is defeated and killed by the Ghassanids under al-Harith ibn Jabalah, at the battle of Yawm Halima; 'Amr III ibn al-Mundhir succeeds as king of the Lakhmid kingdom.


text: Emperor Yuan of Liang (Xiao Yi) was captured during this assault and was subsequently executed.


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Byzantine Emperor Justinian I issues a pragmatic sanction reorganizing Italy, and rewards the praetorian prefect Liberius for over 60 years of distinguished service, granting him extensive estates in Italy.


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


text: Pope Vigilius was allowed to return to Rome after years of pressure from Emperor Justinian regarding the Second Council of Constantinople.


text: Wei Shou completes compilation of the Book of Wei.


text: Cassiodorus, Roman statesman, founds the Monastery at Vivarium (approximate date).


date: August 15

section: Climate & Environment

text: August 15 – The 554 Anatolia earthquake takes place in the southwest coasts of Anatolia (Asia Minor). It affects the Güllük Gulf (Mandalya Gulf), and the island of Kos.


text: probable Wendelin of Trier, Germanic hermit and abbot


text: Suiko, empress of Japan (d. 628)


text: Fei (Chen Bozong), emperor of the Chen dynasty (d. 570)


date: March

text: March - Agila I, king of the Visigoths


text: Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man, king of the Lakhmid kingdom (Iraq)


text: Fei Di (Yuan Qin), emperor of Western Wei


text: Chinese Liang dynasty: Jing Di, age 12, succeeds his father Yuan Di and is declared emperor by general Chen Baxian.


text: By this date, the Roman Empire under Justinian I has reached its height. Justinian I has reconquered many former territories of the Western Roman Empire, including Italy, Dalmatia, Africa and Southern Hispania.


text: The Rouran Khaganate ends; it is defeated by the Göktürks under Muqan Qaghan, who expands his rule in Central Asia.


text: Summer – Lazic War: The Byzantine army under Bessas is repulsed, and forced to retreat out of Archaeopolis (Georgia).

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: King Gubazes II is invited to observe the siege of a Persian-held fortress, and is murdered by the Byzantine military staff after accusing them of incompetence.


text: Around this time, the historian Jordanes writes several books, among them De origine actibusque Getarum (The origin and deeds of the Goths).

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences


text: An earthquake devastates the city of Latakia (modern Syria).


section: Culture & Society

text: Taliesin, British poet, becomes court bard to King Brochwel of Powys (approximate date).


text: Khadija, wife of Islamic prophet Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Fatimah bint Asad, mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 626)


text: Basolus, French Benedictine and hermit (approximate date)


date: January 27

text: January 27 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang dynasty (b. 508)


date: June 7

text: June 7 – Pope Vigilius dies at Syracuse on his journey back home. His body is brought to Rome and buried in the San Martino ai Monti.


date: September

text: September/October - Gubazes II, king of Lazica (Georgia)


text: Helier, Flemish-born hermit and patron saint of Jersey


text: Ly Thien Bao, emperor of Vietnam (b. 499)


text: King Chlothar I annexes the Frankish territories of Metz and Reims, after the death of his great-nephew Theudebald.


text: Wang Sengbian, general of the Liang dynasty


text: King Erb of Gwent (in Southern Wales) dies; his kingdom is divided into Gwent and Ergyng (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Cybi Felyn, abbot of Holyhead, dies at his monastery in Caer Gybi (approximate date).


text: King Khosrau I opens negotiations with Justinian I, leading to the establishment of a 50 year peace agreement in 562.


text: Lazic War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Justin retakes Archaeopolis (modern Georgia), and routs the Persian army.


text: King Chlothar I suppresses a revolt of the Saxons and Thuringi in Saxony (Germany). For some time he exacts a tribute of 500 cows every year.


text: King Cynric and his son Ceawlin of Wessex fight against the Britons at Beranburh, now identified as Barbury Castle (Wiltshire) in South West England.


text: Siege of Phasis: The Persians are defeated at the besieged town of Phasis in Lazica, held by the Byzantines.


date: April 16

text: April 16 – The diplomatic representative (apocrisiarius) to Constantinople is elected as Pope Pelagius I, succeeding Vigilius as the 60th pope of Rome.


text: Gao Bainian, crown prince of Northern Qi (d. 564)


text: Amr Ibn Hashim, Arab pagan chieftain, and biggest enemy to the spread of early Islam


date: February 22

text: February 22 – Maximianus, Bishop of Ravenna (b. 499)


text: Echu Tirmcharna, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Erzhu Ying'e, empress of Northern Wei


text: Romanos the Melodist, Syrian poet (approximate date)


text: Xiao Yuanming, emperor of the Liang Dynasty


text: Yuwen Tai, general of Western Wei (b. 507)


text: The Liang dynasty ends: Chen Wu Di, a distinguished general, becomes the first emperor of the Chen dynasty in Southern China.


text: The Göktürks under Muqan Qaghan ally with the Persian Empire, and destroy the Hephthalites (White Huns) in Central Asia.


text: The Western Wei Dynasty ends: Yuwen Hu deposes emperor Gong Di, and places Yuwen Tai's son Xiaomin on the throne. Yuwen Hu becomes regent and establishes the Northern Zhou dynasty in China.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Avars arrive in the northern region of the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They send envoys to the Byzantines in Lazica (modern Georgia). Like the Huns, the Avars are the former elite of a central Asian federation, which has been forced to flee westwards.


text: King Chlothar I of the Franks founds the Abbey of St. Medard at Soissons (Northern France).


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Jiming Temple in Nanjing is built; the Buddhist pagoda is located near Xuanwu Lake.


section: Crime & Justice

text: Ming Di is made emperor, after his younger brother Xiao Min Di is arrested while trying to assume power. Xiao Min Di is deposed and executed by Yuwen Hu.


date: December 14

text: December 14 – The 557 Constantinople earthquake occurs.


text: Ouyang Xun, Confucian scholar (d. 641)


text: Gao Wei, emperor of Northern Qi (d. 577)


text: Dushun, Chinese (Buddhist) patriarch (d. 640)


date: March 14

text: March 14 – Leobinus, bishop of Chartres


text: Xiao Min Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 542)


text: Saint Cyriacus the Anchorite, legendary centenarian (b. 448)


text: Istämi, ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate, establishes diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire.


text: Conall mac Comgaill becomes king of Dál Riata, a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland.


date: December 23

text: December 23 – The Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is dedicated by Germain, bishop of Paris.


text: December 23 - Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.


text: The Bangor Abbey is founded by the Irish abbot Comgall in Northern Ireland (approximate date).


section: Health & Medicine

text: The Avars and the Slavs occupy the Hungarian Plain on the Balkans. The threat of Avar domination prompts the Lombards to migrate to Italy.


date: May 7

text: May 7 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses due to an earthquake. Emperor Justinian I orders the dome to be rebuilt.


text: Gao Yan, prince of Northern Qi (d. 571)


text: Yu Shinan, calligrapher and official (d. 638)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – Marcouf, missionary and saint


date: May 13

text: May 13 – John the Silent, bishop and saint


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Hilary of Galeata, Christian monk


date: December 13

text: December 13 – King Chlothar I reunites the Frankish Kingdom after his brother Childebert I dies, becoming sole ruler of the Franks.


text: December 13 – Childebert I, king of the Franks


text: Abraham of Kratia, Christian monk (approximate date)


text: Empress Dugu, Northern Zhou consort


text: Jing Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 543)


text: Gabrán mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata


text: Glappa succeeds his father Ida as king of Bernicia (North East England). During his rule, Anglian settlers expand their territory in what is now southeastern Scotland.


text: Pyeongwon becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.


text: Wen Di, age 37, succeeds his uncle Chen Wu Di as emperor of the Chen dynasty. During his reign, he consolidates the state against the rebellious warlords.


text: The city-state Ara Gaya, a member of the Gaya confederacy, surrenders to Silla in the Korean peninsula.


text: Winter – The Kutrigurs and Huns under Zabergan cross the frozen Danube River, and invade the Balkans. They raid Thracia and Macedonia, but are driven back near Constantinople by a Byzantine force under Belisarius.


text: Battle of Melantias: Outside the city walls of Constantinople, Belisarius defeats the combined "barbarians" with his veteran cavalry (bucellarii), and a few thousand hastily raised levies.


text: First successful human flight: a kite carrying Yuan Huangtou lands in the proximity of Ye. Emperor Wen Xuan Di sponsors the flight; Yuan is taken prisoner; other imprisoned kite flyers also fly, but those die and Yuan survives. Yuan is executed afterwards.


text: Wu Shihuo, father of Wu Zetian (d. 635)


text: Xuan Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (d. 580)


text: Reccared I, king of the Visigoths (d. 601)


text: Wen Xuan Di, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 529)


text: Chen Wu Di, emperor of the Chen dynasty (b. 503)


text: Leonard of Noblac, Frankish abbot and saint


text: Ida, king of Bernicia (approximate date)


year_label: 56 CE

text: The Jianwu era of the Eastern Han dynasty changes to the Jianwuzhongyuan era.

source_section: Events › 56 AD › China


text: Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus becomes a consul in Rome.

source_section: Events › 56 AD › Roman Empire


text: War between Rome and Parthia breaks out due to the invasion of Armenia by King Vologases I, who has replaced the Roman-supported ruler with his brother Tiridates I of Armenia. (approximate date)


text: The apostle Paul writes his second Epistle to the Corinthians, probably from Philippi.

source_section: Events › 56 AD › Greece


text: The apostle Paul writes his Epistle to the Romans, from Corinth (approximate date).


text: Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian.

source_section: Births › 56 AD


text: Lucius Volusius Saturninus, Roman politician and governor

source_section: Deaths › 56 AD


text: Ælla becomes king of Deira (this according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


text: Custennin ap Cado abdicates as king of Dumnonia (South West England).


text: Alboin succeeds his father Audoin after his death, as king of the Lombards.


text: Columba quarrels with Finnian of Moville over authorship of a psalter, leading to a pitched battle the next year.


text: Elidyr of Strathclyde invades Gwynedd (Wales) and tries to expel his brother-in-law, King Rhun ap Maelgwn.


text: Adda succeeds his brother Glappa as king of Bernicia (approximate date).


text: Ceawlin succeeds his father Cynric as king of Wessex (approximate date).


text: Richarius, Frankish hermit and monk (approximate date)


text: Eustace of Luxeuil, abbot (approximate date)


text: Isidore of Seville, archbishop and scholar


text: Tassilo I, duke of Bavaria (d. 610)


text: Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 638)


text: Constantina, Byzantine empress (approximate date)


text: Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Arabic leader (d. 652)


text: Yang Yin, official of Northern Qi (b. 511)


text: Glappa, king of Bernicia (approximate date)


text: Aspasius of Auch, bishop of Éauze


text: Clodoald, Merovingian prince (approximate date) (b. 522)


text: Ming Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 534)


text: Domitian of Huy, Frankish bishop and saint


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


text: Thurisind, king of the Gepids (approximate date)


text: Dorotheus of Gaza, monk and abbot (approximate date)


text: Chen Chang, prince of the Chen dynasty (b. 537)


text: The Battle of Cúl Drebene (modern Ireland) is fought between the Northern and Southern Uí Néill (approximate date).


text: The First Council of Braga is held. The council condemns the doctrine of Priscillianism.


text: Jnanagupta, a Buddhist monk from Gandhara (Pakistan), begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.


section: Science & Discovery

text: Sky Witness is crowned as leader of Calakmul.

source_section: Events › By place › Americas


text: Yang Lihua, empress of Northern Zhou (d. 609)


date: March 4

text: March 4 – Pope Pelagius I dies in Rome after a five-year reign, and is succeeded by John III as the 61st pope.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Chlothar I, king of the Franks


text: November 29 – King Chlothar I ("the Old") dies at Compiègne at age 64. The Merovingian dynasty is continued by his four sons (Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I), who divide the Frankish Kingdom and rule from the capitals at Paris, Orléans, Reims and Soissons, respectively.


text: Xiao Zhao Di, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 535)


text: Winter – Wu Cheng Di succeeds his brother Xiao Zhao Di, who dies from injuries suffered while hunting, as Chinese emperor of Northern Qi.


text: Fei Di, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 545)


text: Chram, Frankish prince and son of Chlothar I


text: Emperor Justinian I signs a peace treaty with the Sasanid Empire. The status quo ante is restored, with Lazica (modern Georgia) in Byzantine hands.


text: End of the Lazic War: In the Fifty-Year Peace Treaty, King Khosrau I recognises Lazica as a Byzantine vassal state for an annual payment of 5,000 pounds of gold each year.


text: The secondary capital Taiyuan in Northern Qi is rebuilt and becomes a center of Buddhism.


text: First Tikal-Calakmul War: The Maya state of Caracol (Belize) defeats King Wak Chan K'awiil (Double Bird) of Tikal in battle, ending his dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: King Sigebert I repels an attack on Austrasia by the Avars at Regensburg (Germany). He moves his capital from Reims to Metz (approximate date).


text: The last Ostrogothic strongholds at Verona and Brixia are taken by the Byzantine Empire, ending the Gothic War.


text: Silla, by order of king Jinheung, wages war upon Gaya (Three Kingdoms of Korea) and conquers it.


text: December 23 – Justinian I re-consecrates Hagia Sophia after its dome is rebuilt. Paul the Silentiary, Byzantine poet, writes an epic poem (Ekphrasis).


text: Belisarius stands trial for corruption in Constantinople, possibly with Procopius acting as praefectus urbi. He is found guilty and sent to prison.


text: Spring – Xiao Ming Di, age 20, succeeds his father Xuan Di as emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty.


text: Dowager Cao, concubine of Xuan Di

source_section: Deaths


text: Xuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 519)


text: Procopius, Byzantine historian (approximate date)


text: Dowager Gong, empress mother of Xuan Di


text: Columba, Irish missionary monk, travels to Scotland with twelve companions. He lands on the Kintyre Peninsula, near Southend, and begins his evangelising mission to the Picts. On the island of Iona, he founds a monastery (Iona Abbey) on the west coast in the Inner Hebrides.


text: The new Hagia Sophia (cost: 20,000 pounds of gold), with its numerous chapels and shrines, octagonal dome and mosaics, becomes the centre and most visible monument of Eastern Orthodoxy.


text: Emperor Justinian I pardons Belisarius; he orders his release from prison, and restores his properties and honours. He permits the general to live in obscurity, and gives him a veterans' pension.


text: Tauredunum event: A mountain landslide into the Rhone river destroys a fort and two villages, and creates a tsunami in Lake Geneva. The wave which reaches Lausanne is thirteen metres high, and eight metres high by the time it hits Geneva. Describing the event, Marius Aventicensis writes that the tsunami "devastated very old villages with their men and cattle, it even destroyed many sacred places", and swept away "the bridge in Geneva, windmills and men".


text: Andreas of Caesarea, bishop and writer (d. 637)


text: Chindasuinth, king of the Visigoths (d. 653)


date: January

text: January –Cutzinas, Berber chieftain


text: Wang, empress of the Liang dynasty


text: Hou Andu, general of the Chen dynasty (b. 520)


date: August 22

text: August 22 – Columba reports seeing the Loch Ness Monster at the River Ness (according to the "Life of St. Columba").


text: Tulum, Maya walled city, on the Yucatán Peninsula (modern Mexico) is first mentioned on a stele inscription.


text: Cadoc, abbot of Llancarfan (Wales), settles in Weedon and is made bishop (approximate date).


text: Samson of Dol, one of seven founder saints of Brittany, attends a council in Paris and witnesses several royal decrees (approximate date).


text: Hermenegild, Visigoth prince (approximate date)


text: Li Baiyao, Chinese official and historian (d. 647)


text: Tudwal, Breton monk and saint (approximate date)


text: Laisrén mac Nad Froích, Irish monk and saint


text: Petroc, Celtic prince and saint (approximate date)


text: Gao Bainian, crown prince of Northern Qi (b. 556)


text: Agathias begins to write a history, beginning where Procopius finished his work.


text: Gao Wei succeeds his father Wu Cheng Di as ruler of the Chinese Northern Qi Dynasty. Wu Cheng Di becomes a regent and Grand Emperor.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: November 15

text: November 15 – Justin II succeeds his uncle Justinian I as emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He begins his reign by refusing subsidies to the Avars, who conduct several large-scale raids through the Balkan Peninsula.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: The Uyghurs are defeated by the Göktürks, who expand their territory in Central Asia (approximate date).


text: Justin II sends his son-in-law Baduarius (magister militum) with a Byzantine army, to support the Gepids in their war against the Lombards.


text: Columba, an Irish missionary, spots the Loch Ness Monster on the River Ness (in present day Scotland) and saves the life of a Pict (approximate date).


date: January 22

text: January 22 – Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople is deposed as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople by Justinian I after he refuses the Byzantine Emperor's order to adopt the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae, a sect of Monophysites. From April 12 he is replaced by John Scholasticus.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: May 2

text: May 2 – Ahkal Moʼ Nahb II becomes the new ruler of Palenque and reigns until his death in 570.

source_section: Events › By place › Central America


text: Columba begins preaching in the Orkney Islands (approximate date).


text: The Madaba Map is made in the Byzantine church of Saint George. The floor mosaic contains the depiction of the Holy Land (approximate date).


text: Justin II recalls his cousin Justin (pretender to the throne) to Constantinople; after accusations against him, he is placed under house arrest.


text: Summer – A war erupts between Alboin, the king of the Lombards, and King Cunimund, the leader of the Gepids. (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Cuthwine, prince of Wessex (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Mirin, Irish monk and missionary (approximate date)


text: Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian (d. 649)


text: Chen Yueyi, empress of Northern Zhou (approximate date)


text: Sisebut, king of the Visigoths (approximate date)


text: Witteric, king of the Visigoths (approximate date)


text: Yuan Leshang, empress of Northern Zhou


text: Gundoald, Bavarian nobleman (approximate date)


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Kʼan Joy Chitam I, ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque, in what is now the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, dies after a reign of exactly 36 years.


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Justinian I, emperor of the Byzantine Empire


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


text: Samson of Dol, bishop and saint (approximate date)


text: Diarmait mac Cerbaill, High King (approximate date)


text: Procopius, Byzantine historian (approximate date)


text: Belisarius, Byzantine general ("Last of the Romans")


text: Imru' al-Qais, was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet and last King of Kinda


text: Kirtivarman I succeeds his father Pulakeshin I as king of the Chalukya dynasty (India). During his rule he completes the subjugation of the Kadambas and annexes the port of Goa.


text: Ainmuire mac Sétnai becomes High King of Ireland, and rules from 566–569 (this according to the Book of Leinster).


text: A Byzantine army, under command of Baduarius, assists the Gepids in their war against the Lombards. The Byzantines win the first battle in the lower Danube (Moesia), but Gepid King Cunimund refuses to hand back the fortress city of Sirmium (modern Serbia), as he had promised.


text: Emperor Justin II, facing an empty treasury, breaks the treaty with the Gepids that has existed since 565. King Alboin of the Lombards makes an alliance with the Avars under Bayan I, at the expense of tough conditions. They demand a tenth of the Lombards' cattle and half of the war booty.


text: Justin II sends his cousin Justin to exile in Alexandria, where he is installed as Augustal prefect of Egypt. There he is murdered in his sleep, and his head is cut off and brought to Constantinople (most likely by assignment of Empress Sophia).


text: A major volcanic eruption occurs in the Antarctic.

source_section: Events › By place › Unidentified


text: Fei Di, age 12, succeeds his father Wen Di, as emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He honors his grand-aunt Zhang Yao'er with the title of Grand Empress, and she becomes his regent.


text: A poet from Italy named Venantius Fortunatus arrives at the Merovingian court at Metz. With a strong grasp of traditional Roman poetry, Fortunatus impresses and entertains the Frankish royalty and aristocracy. The success of a Latin poet in Francia suggests that Roman culture persisted well after the Roman Empire disintegrated in Gaul in the late 5th century.

source_section: Events › By place › Francia


text: Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang dynasty (d. 635)


text: Xiao, empress of the Sui dynasty (approximate date)


text: Yuchi Chifan, empress of Northern Zhou (d. 595)


text: Justin, Byzantine aristocrat and general


text: Wen Di, emperor of the Chen dynasty (b. 522)


text: Forggus mac Muirchertaig, High King


text: Domnall Ilchelgach, High King of Ireland


text: Pulakeshin I, king of the Chalukya dynasty (India)


text: Liuva I succeeds his predecessor Athanagild, after an interregnum of five months, and becomes king of the Visigoths.


text: The Lombard–Gepid War (567) ends with a Lombard-Avar victory, and the annihilation of the Gepids.


text: The Second Council of Tours is held. It decrees that any cleric found in bed with his wife will be excommunicated.


text: John III, patriarch of Constantinople, organizes a compromise between the Chalcedonians and Monophysites.


text: Three Disasters of Wu: Emperor Wu Di of the Northern Zhou dynasty initiates the second persecution of Buddhists in China. This persecution continues until he is succeeded by his son Emperor Xuan.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Sigebert I, king of Austrasia, marries Brunhilda, and his half brother Chilperic I marries Galswintha, both daughters of the Visigothic king Athanagild.


text: Ingund, wife of Hermenegild (or 568)


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Theodosius I, patriarch of Alexandria


text: Cissa, king of the South Saxons


text: Athanagild, king of the Visigoths


text: King Charibert I dies without an heir; his realm (region Neustria and Aquitaine) is divided between his brothers Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I.


text: Charibert I, king of the Franks


text: Emperor Justin II and his wife Sophia send the Cross of Justin II ("Vatican Cross") to Rome, to improve the relations with the Byzantine Empire.


text: Mummolus, Gallo-Roman prefect, defeats the Lombards at Embrun and expels them from Provence (Southern Gaul).


text: Liuvigild is declared co-king and heir after the second year of the reign of his brother Liuva I. He becomes ruler over the Visigoths in Hispania Citerior (Eastern Spain).


text: Sigebert I, king of Austrasia, repels a second attack from the Avars. His half brother Chilperic I strangles his wife Galswintha at the instigation of his mistress Fredegund.


text: The Avar Khaganate attempts to expel Kutrigurs who had fled the Göktürks, ordering them to go south of the Sava River; those who leave generally fall under rule of the Turks.


text: Spring – The Lombards, led by King Alboin, cross the Julian Alps. Their invasion of Northern Italy is almost unopposed; withered Byzantine forces, that remain in the Po Valley and are based at Ravenna, are no match for the overwhelming Lombard incursion. Residents of the Italian countryside flee at the Lombards' approach. Some retreat to the barrier islands along the shore of the Northern Adriatic Sea, where they establish permanent settlements: the nascent city of Venice.


text: Battle of Wibbandun: Ceawlin of Wessex defeats Æthelberht of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Æthelric succeeds his brother Adda as king of Bernicia (modern Scotland). He rules from 568–572 (approximate date).


text: The Byzantines abandon present-day Lombardy and Tuscany, to establish a frontier march in the hills south of Ravenna (still known as Le Marche). Bavarians, Sarmatians, Saxons and Taifali, join the invasion en route. As they advance, the vacuum left behind them on the Balkan Peninsula is filled by Avars, Bulgars and Slavs.


text: The Turks and Sassanids succeed in destroying the Hepthalites on the eastern frontier (approximate date).


text: A Turkish khan sends emissaries to the Byzantine Empire (approximate date).


text: Paulinus I, patriarch of Aquileia, flees with the treasures of his church and transfers them to the island of Grado.


text: Liu Wenjing, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 619)


text: Feng Deyi, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 627)


text: Ingund, princess, spouse of Visigoth prince Hermenegild (d. 584)


text: Galswintha, queen consort of Neustria, married to Chilperic I (b. 540)


text: Adda, king of Bernicia (approximate date)


text: The Garamantian Kingdom (modern Libya) signs a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. The capital city of Garama is converted to Christianity.


date: September

text: September – The Lombards conquer Forum Iulii (Cividale del Friuli) in northeastern Italy. Later in the year, the Lombards conquer Milan.


text: Al-Mundhir III succeeds his father Al-Harith V and becomes king of the Ghassanids.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabia


text: John of Ephesus completes his "Biographies of Eastern Saints" (approximate date).


text: The Nubian kingdom of Alodia is converted to Christianity by Byzantine missionaries (according to John of Ephesus).


text: Emperor Justin II and his wife Sophia send a relic of the "True Cross" to the Frankish princess Radegund, who has founded a monastery at Poitiers.


date: November 19

text: November 19 – In Poitiers the "Vexilla Regis" is first sung during the Procession.


text: Gisulf I, nephew of Alboin, is appointed as the first duke of Friuli (approximate date).


text: Yángdi, emperor of the Sui dynasty (d. 618)


text: Ainmuire mac Sétnai, High King of Ireland


text: Wu Cheng Di, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 537)


text: Al-Harith ibn Jabalah, king of the Ghassanids


text: Peter IV, Coptic Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria


year_label: 57 CE

text: Accession of King Talhae as Korean ruler of Silla.

source_section: Events › 57 AD › Korea


text: Quintus Veranius Nepos becomes governor in place of Aulus Didius Gallus. He begins a campaign against the Silures of south Wales.

source_section: Events › 57 AD › Britain


text: Emperor Nero becomes a Roman consul again.

source_section: Events › 57 AD › Roman Empire


text: Emperor Guang Wu grants Nakoku (located around modern-day Fukuoka City) a golden seal, being the oldest evidence of writing in Japan. In return King Na sends an envoy to China.

source_section: Events › 57 AD › China


text: Paul of Tarsus writes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians and his Epistle to the Romans (probable date).

source_section: Events › 57 AD › Greece


text: Envoys from Cilicia come to Rome to accuse their late governor, Cossutianus Capito, of extortion; the Roman Senate is supported in the case by Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus.


text: Han Zhang Di, Chinese emperor (d. AD 88)

source_section: Births › 57 AD


date: March 29

text: March 29 – Guang Wu dies after a 32-year reign and is succeeded by his son Han Mingdi.


text: March 29 – Guang Wu, Chinese emperor (b. 5 BC)

source_section: Deaths › 57 AD


text: Quintus Veranius, Roman consul and general


text: Leutfred becomes duke of Alemannia (modern Germany).


text: Spoleto becomes the capital of an independent duchy, under the Lombard chieftain Faroald (approximate date).


text: Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Battle of Gwen Ystrad: A British alliance is forged between the kingdoms of Strathclyde, Bryneich and Elmet (approximate date).


text: Abraha, Christian ruler of coastal Yemen, who was acting as a general for the Christian kingdom in Abyssinia, begins a military expedition in Arabia against the predominantly pagan Quraysh of Mecca, known as the Year of the Elephant.


text: The anonymous Pilgrim of Piacenza travels the Holy Sites of Christianity in Syria, Palestine and Sinai, an experience that he later writes down as a travel report (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: The Jews of Clermont-Ferrand are forced to convert to Christianity.


text: The first mention is made of the Spear of Destiny (approximate date).


text: A limestone statue of Boddhisattva is created in Henan (approximate date).


text: Year of the Elephant, according to Islamic tradition.


text: Rigunth, daughter of Chilperic I (d. 585)


text: Khosrow II, last great Sasanian king of Iran (d. 628)


text: Imerius of Immertal, Swiss monk (approximate date)


text: Muhammad, last prophet of Islam (d. 632) (approximate date)


text: Ammar ibn Yasir, companion of Muhammad.


text: Namri Songtsen, king of Tibet (approximate date)


text: Childebert II, king of Austrasia (d. 595)


text: Li Dashi, Chinese official and historian (d. 628)


text: Gao Heng, emperor of Northern Qi (d. 577)


text: Pei Ji, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 629)


text: Pybba, king of Mercia (approximate date)


text: Chen Yuan, crown prince of the Chen dynasty (approximate date)


text: Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards (d. 628)


date: January 15

text: January 15 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun

source_section: Deaths


text: Fei Di, emperor of the Chen dynasty


text: John Philoponus, Aristotelian commentator (b. 490)


text: Zhang Yao'er, empress dowager of the Chen dynasty (b. 506)


text: Antonina, wife of Belisarius (approximate date)


text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, is born in Mecca (today's Saudi Arabia). His father Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib dies a few months before his birth, so he and his mother Aminah bint Wahb are protected by Muhammad's paternal grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who is recognized as the leading figure in his tribe, the Quraysh.


text: Abraha, an Aksumite army general, Islamic tradition places his death immediately after his expedition to the Hejaz


text: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, father of Muhammad (b. 545)


text: Soga no Iname, leader of the Soga clan


text: Armel, Breton prince and bishop (approximate date)


text: Benevento becomes the capital of an independent duchy, under the Lombard chieftain Zotto (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Battle of Bedcanford: The Anglo-Saxons under King Cuthwulf fight against the Britons, and conquer the settlements of Aylesbury, Benson, Eynsham and Limbury (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


text: The Monophysites again reject the Council of Chalcedon, causing another schism.


text: Wuffa becomes the first king of East Anglia, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies (approximate date).


text: Muhammad, prophet of Islam (d. 632) – see also 570

source_section: Births


text: Wang Gui, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 639)


text: Li Jing, general and chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 649)


text: Yang Jun, prince of the Sui dynasty (d. 600)


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Kinmei, emperor of Japan (b. 509)


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Saint Yared, Axumite composer (b. 505)


text: November 29? – Brendan of Birr, Irish monastic saint


text: He Shikai, high official of Northern Qi (b. 524)


text: Narses dies at Domitian's palace in Rome.


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade the Byzantine province of Spania (modern Andalusia), and seize the city of Córdoba. After the death of his brother Liuva I, he becomes sole ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).


text: Gao Yan, prince of Northern Qi (b. 558)


text: Fall – killed in dynastic intrigue


text: Liuva I, king of the Visigoths (or 572)


text: Theodric succeeds his brother Æthelric as king of Bernicia (southeastern Scotland). He rules until 579.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591: Emperor Justin II refuses to pay the annual tribute to Khosrau I, putting an end to the 50-year peace treaty established ten years earlier. The Armenians are considered allies to the Byzantine Empire, and Justin sends a Byzantine army into Persian territory, besieging the fortress city of Nisibis (modern Turkey).

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Calakmul defeats Tikal, bringing an end to the First Tikal-Calakmul War.

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Siege of Pavia (569–572): King Alboin captures Ticinum (Pavia); after a siege the Byzantine garrison surrenders to the Lombards. The city is of strategic importance, lying at the rivers Po and Ticino, and becomes the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards.


text: Taspar Qaghan succeeds his brother Muqan Qaghan as ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Alboin, king of the Lombards, is murdered at Verona in his palace, at the instigation of his wife Rosamund (daughter of the Gepid king Cunimund), and her henchman, Helmechis (the king's squire); both flee to seek Byzantine protection in Ravenna. Alboin is succeeded as king by Cleph, who is not related by blood.


text: Bidatsu succeeds his father Kinmei and ascends to the throne of Japan as the 30th emperor.


text: Hovnan Mayravanetsi, Armenian philosopher


text: June 28 – Alboin, king of the Lombards


text: Æthelric of Bernicia, Scottish king


text: Muqan Qaghan, ruler of the Göktürks


text: Sky Witness, ruler of Calakmul


text: Yuwen Hu, regent of Northern Zhou (b. 515)


text: Wei Shou, Chinese author (b. 506)


text: Corippus, Byzantine epic poet (approximate date)


text: Eochaid mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland


text: Hulü Guang, general of Northern Qi (b. 515)


text: Waldrada, Lombard princess (b. 531)


text: Báetán mac Muirchertaig, High King of Ireland


text: Liuva I, king of the Visigoths (or 571)


text: King Cleph completes the Lombard conquest of Tuscany (Central Italy) and extends his dominion to the gates of Ravenna.


text: King Sigibert I goes to war against his half brother Chilperic I of Neustria at the urging of his wife, Brunhilda. He appeals to the Germans on the right bank of the Rhine for help, and they obligingly attack the environs of Paris and Chartres.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Persian forces under the command of King Khosrau I capture the Byzantine stronghold of Dara, after a six-month siege. Meanwhile, a smaller Persian army under Adarmahan advances from Babylon through the desert, crosses the Euphrates River and ravages Syria. The cities of Apamea and Antiochia are plundered.


text: Battle of Arfderydd: Leading his warband, Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio is slain by the sons of Eliffer, Gwrgi and Peredur. Myrddin Wyllt goes mad watching this defeat (according to the Annales Cambriae).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Sigibert I appoints Gregory to succeed his mother's cousin, Eufronius, as bishop of Tours (approximate date).


text: Pope John III is forced by the Lombards to retire from Rome, and takes up residence at the Catacombs along the Via Appia (approximate date).


text: The Lombards again raid Southern Gaul, but are defeated by the Franks under Mummolus, patricius and son of the Gallo-Roman count of Auxerre, and are driven out.


text: Chen Yin, crown prince of the Chen dynasty


text: Jing Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (d. 581)


text: Dou Jiande, general of the Sui dynasty (d. 621)


text: Lupus of Sens, French bishop (approximate date)


text: Abu Bakr, Muslim Caliph (approximate date)


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)


text: Brendan of Birr, Irish abbot (approximate date)


text: Narses, Byzantine general (b. 478)


text: Wang Lin, Chinese general (b. 526)


text: Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, Brythonic king


date: December 7

text: December 7 – Emperor Justin II retires due to recurring seizures of insanity; he abdicates the throne in favour of his general Tiberius. Justin proclaims him Caesar and adopts him as his own son.


text: Áedán mac Gabráin becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland) (approximate Date).


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade Cantabria (Northern Spain), and destroy the city of Amaya (Burgos). He massacres the inhabitants and adds the province to the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: The Persian Empire overthrows the Axumite- and Byzantine-affiliated regimes in Yemen (Arabian Peninsula).


text: Winter – Empress Sophia and Tiberius agree to a one year truce with the Persians, at the cost of 45,000 solidi. The truce applies only to the Mesopotamian front; in the Caucasus, war continues.


text: Marius Aventicensis is made bishop of Aventicum (modern Avenches).


text: King Cleph is murdered after an 18-month reign by a guard, a slave who he has mistreated. For the next decade, the Lombard Kingdom is governed by independent duchies (Rule of the Dukes).


text: A major volcanic eruption occurs in the Antarctic.

source_section: Events › By place › Unidentified


date: February 7

text: February 7 – Shōtoku, prince and regent of Japan (d. 622)


text: Xiao Yu, prince of the Liang Dynasty (d. 647)


date: July 13

text: July 13 – Pope John III dies at Rome after a 13-year tenure. The Holy See becomes sede vacante until June of the following year.


text: Cleph, king of the Lombards (or 575)


text: Conall mac Comgaill, king of Dál Riata


text: Xuan, empress of Northern Zhou


text: Childebert II succeeds his father Sigibert I as king of Austrasia. His mother Brunhilda becomes regent and seeks protection from Guntram, king of Burgundy. He adopts Childebert as his own son and heir. A group of Frankish aristocrats rule Austrasia.


text: The Convention of Druim Cett: Irish kings discuss the relationship between them and King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata. The Irish colony (now western Scotland) is confirmed, and rights to tax and levy are agreed to between the rulers.


text: The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia is divided into the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and perhaps the eastern part of the Cambridgeshire Fens (approximate date).


text: Tardu succeeds his father Istämi, as governor (yabgu) of the Western Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).


text: The Franks under Sigibert I pursue his half brother Chilperic I, and conquer the cities Poitiers and Tournai. While he is proclaimed new king of Neustria by the nobles, Sigibert is assassinated at Vitry-en-Artois (Northern Gaul) by hirelings of Fredegund.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine army under command of Maurice drives the Persians from Cappodocia (modern Turkey), and strengthens the Byzantine position in Caucasian Albania.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia Minor


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade the Suebian Kingdom (Northern Spain). Intermarriage between Goths and non-Goths is allowed in the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).


text: Zhiyi, Chinese monk, travels to Mount Tiantai for intensive study and practice. He works with a group of disciples on the Indian meditation of śamatha and vipaśyanā.


date: June 2

text: June 2 – Pope Benedict I succeeds Pope John III as the 62nd pope.


text: Alexander of Tralles, Greek physician, writes "Libri duodecim de re Medica" (approximate date).


text: Al-Khansa, Arabic poet (d. 645)


text: Heraclius, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (approximate date)


text: Wen Yanbo, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 637)


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Ahudemmeh, Syriac Orthodox Grand Metropolitan of the East.


text: Sigebert I, king of Austrasia (approximate date)


text: Cerbonius, bishop of Populonia (Central Italy)


text: Istämi, ruler (yabgu) of the Western Turkic Khaganate


text: Áed mac Echach, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under King Khosrau I breaks through the Caucasus into Anatolia (modern Turkey). They attack the cities of Theodosiopolis and Caesarea, but are thwarted. Khosrau is forced to retreat and sacks Sebasteia. On the way home, he is intercepted by a Byzantine force under Justinian (magister militum of the East), and severely defeated near Melitene. The royal baggage is captured, and many Persians drown, while escaping across the Euphrates.


text: The Göktürks under Tardu cross the Cimmerian Bosporus into the Crimea, and besiege the city of Panticapaeum (Ukraine).


text: Jinji becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Silla.


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild establish the capital of their kingdom in Toledo, located in central Spain (approximate date).


text: Gao Shilian, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 647)


text: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, friend of Muhammad (approximate date)


date: May 28

text: May 28 – Saint Germain, bishop of Paris


text: Baduarius, Byzantine aristocrat (approximate date)


text: Baduarius, son-in-law of the Byzantine emperor Justin II, is sent to Italy to resist the Lombard conquest. He leads an aborted counter-assault against the Lombards and dies soon after.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under command of Justinian (magister militum) invades Caucasian Albania, launching raids across the Caspian Sea against the Persians.


text: A predecessor of the modern match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, are first used in China. Besieged by military forces of Northern Zhou and Chen, Northern Qi court ladies use the "lighting sticks" to start fires for cooking and heating.

source_section: Events › By topic › Science and Invention


text: Battle of Deorham: The Anglo-Saxons under Ceawlin of Wessex invade the lower Severn Valley, and defeat the British Celts at Dyrham (South West England). After the battle, the Saxons occupy the three cities: Cirencester, Gloucester and Bath, bringing their advance to the Bristol Channel (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


text: Winter – Maurice is appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the East. He succeeds Justinian, despite complete lack of military experience.


text: Winter – Northern Qi, one of the Northern Dynasties, is conquered by Northern Zhou under Emperor Wu Di. He orders the last ruler (Gao Wei) and other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide. Northern China, above the Yangtze River, is once again brought under the control of a single power.


text: Summer – Tiberius, Byzantine co-ruler (Caesar), establishes a naval base at Derbent on the Caspian Sea to construct a Byzantine fleet (approximate date).


text: The Temple of Dendur, dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis, Harpocrates (Horus) and Osiris, is converted for use as a Christian church (approximate date).


text: Eutychius is restored as patriarch of Constantinople, after an exile of 12 years at Amasia (modern Turkey).


text: Reccopolis (modern Zorita de los Canes) in Hispania is founded by King Liuvigild, in honour of his son Reccared.


text: Uthman ibn Affan, Muslim Caliph (d. 656)


text: Princess Ningyuan, Chinese princess


text: Pope Agatho (approximate date)


date: August 31

text: August 31 – John Scholasticus, patriarch of Constantinople


text: Mu Tipo, high official of Northern Qi


text: Gao Yanzong, prince of Northern Qi


text: Muhammad, age 6, returns to his immediate family, but within a year his mother Aminah bint Wahb dies.


text: Aminah bint Wahb, mother of Muhammad


text: Brendan, Irish abbot (approximate date)


text: Gao Heng, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 570)


text: Lu Lingxuan, noblewoman of Northern Qi


text: Xiao Zhuang, prince of the Southern Dynasties (b. 548)


text: Gao Wei, emperor of Northern Qi (b. 557)


date: November 15

text: November 15 – K'ak' Chan Yopaat, becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city state of Copán in Honduras, and rules until his death 49 years later in 628.

source_section: Events › By place › Central America


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine army under command of Maurice (magister militum per Orientem) invades Upper Mesopotamia, and raids on both sides of the Tigris. He deports 70,000 captives from Hyrcania to Cyprus, and installs military colonists to guard the strategic locations.


text: Summer – Emperor Wu Di engages in military campaigns on two fronts: against the invading Göktürks to the north and against the Chen dynasty in the south.


text: Kongō Gumi, the world's oldest construction company (578–2006), is founded in Osaka (Japan).


date: July 30

text: July 30 – Jacob Baradaeus, bishop of Edessa


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Emperor Justin II dies after several periods of insanity. On the advice of his wife Sophia, he has raised his general Tiberius to the rank of co-emperor (Caesar). From December 574 he has ruled jointly with Sophia, and now succeeds them as emperor of the Byzantine Empire.


text: October 5 – Justin II, Byzantine emperor


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Tzi-B'alam, who had been the ruler of the Mayan city state of Copán in Honduras, dies after a 25-year reign that began in May 553.


text: Wuffa, king of East Anglia (approximate date)


text: Wu Mingche, general of the Chen dynasty (b. 512)


text: Bhavyaviveka, Indian Madhyamaka scholar


text: Wu Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 543)


text: Yuwen Xian, prince of Northern Zhou (b. 544)


text: John Malalas, Byzantine chronicler (b. c.491)


text: Abdul Muttalib, grandfather of Islamic prophet Muhammad


text: Wu Di, age 35, dies from an illness, and is succeeded by his eldest son Xuan Di as emperor of Northern Zhou.


date: September 2

text: September 2 – Uneh Chan becomes the ruler of the Mayan city state of Calakmul in southern Mexico and reigns until 611.


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


text: Frithuwald succeeds his brother Theodoric as king of Bernicia (Scotland). He rules from 579–585 (approximate date).


text: Emperor Xuan Di abdicates the throne to his son Jing Di, age 6, and rules as regent the Northern Zhou dynasty.


text: Jinpyeong becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Silla.


text: Heavy taxes levied by Merovingian king Chilperic I of Neustria produce a revolt at Limoges (central France), as he sells bishoprics to the highest bidder.


text: Pelagius II sends Gregory as his apocrisiarius (ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople). He is part of a Roman delegation to ask for military aid against the Lombards.


text: Summer – Hormizd IV refuses to give up territories, and breaks off negotiations with the Byzantine Empire. The Türks invade Khorasan and reach Hyrcania on the Caspian Sea.


text: Leander, Catholic bishop of Seville, is exiled by Liuvigild and withdraws to Constantinople. At the Byzantine court he composes works against Arianism (approximate date).


text: Fang Xuanling, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 648)


text: July 30 – Pope Benedict I dies after a 4-year reign, and is succeeded by Pelagius II as the 63rd pope. During the Lombard siege of Rome, he labors to solve the problems of famine.


text: Byzantine-Sassanid War: King Khosrau I seeks peace, but dies before an agreement can be reached. The Mesopotamian front becomes stalemated, and Maurice (magister militum of the East) fortifies the borders in Armenia and Syria.


text: Khosrau I, king of the Persian Empire


text: Khosrau I dies after a 48-year reign, during which he has extended his realm from the River Oxus to the Red Sea. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd IV, who becomes king of the Persian Empire.


text: Theodric, king of Bernicia (Scotland)


year_label: 58 CE

text: Agrippina the Younger, conspired with the senators in late 58 to overthrow Nero.

source_section: Events › 58 AD › Roman Empire


text: Emperor Nero and Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus become Roman consuls.


text: Roman-Parthian War: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, commander in the East, launches his Armenian offensive against Parthia. He leads a Roman army (four legions) through the mountainous country of Armenia, against the fortress at Volandum, to the southwest of Artaxata. After a siege of eight hours Corbulo takes the city; the legionnaires massacre the defenders and plunder Volandum to their hearts' content.

source_section: Events › 58 AD › Caucasus


text: Gnaeus Julius Agricola, 18 years old, is serving as a military tribune in Britain under Gaius Suetonius Paulinus and is attached to Legio II Augusta.

source_section: Events › 58 AD › Britain


text: Agrippina the Younger is expelled from the imperial palace by her son Nero, who installs her in Villa Antonia in Misenum, and leaving more of the effective and real power of Empire in the hands of Nero.


text: Corbulo marches to Artaxata crossing the Aras River; along the valley he is shadowed by tens of thousands of mounted Parthian archers led by king Tiridates I. The city opens its gates to Corbulo, just as it had to Germanicus four decades before. When he takes the 250-year-old Armenian capital, Corbulo gives the residents a few hours to collect their valuables and burns the city to the ground.


text: Emperor Ming of Han introduces Buddhism to China inviting monks from the western Indus Valley.

source_section: Events › 58 AD › China


text: Romans learn the use of soap from the Gauls (approximate date).

source_section: Events › 58 AD › Europe


text: Start of Yongping era of the Chinese Han dynasty.


text: The friendship between Nero and Marcus Salvius Otho ends when they both fall in love with Poppea Sabina, and Otho is sent to Lusitania as governor.


text: In China, sacrifices to Confucius are ordered in all government schools.


text: The apostle Paul returns to Jerusalem with the money he has collected to give the Christian community there. However, he is accused of defiling the temple, and is arrested and imprisoned in Caesarea. He then invokes his Roman citizenship and is sent to Rome to be judged.

source_section: Events › 58 AD › Palestine


text: The Ficus Ruminalis begins to die (see Rumina).


text: In Thuringia, conflict between two Germanic tribes erupts over access to water.


text: Juvenal, Roman poet and writer (approximate date)

source_section: Births › 58 AD


text: Xu Shen, Chinese politician and writer (approximate date)


text: Deng Yu, Chinese general of the Han dynasty (b. AD 2)

source_section: Deaths › 58 AD


text: Pharasmanes I, Roman client king of Iberia


text: Geng Yan, Chinese general of the Han dynasty (b. AD 3)


text: Rhadamistus, Roman client king of Armenia


text: Æthelberht succeeds his father Eormenric as king (bretwalda) of Kent (approximate date).


text: The Slavs begin to migrate into the Balkan Peninsula. The Avars, under King (khagan) Bayan I, invade the Lower Danube (modern Bulgaria).


text: Siege of Sirmium: The Avars march to the right bank of the River Sava, and besiege the Byzantine stronghold of Sirmium (Pannonia).


text: The Chinese city of Ye (Henan) is razed to the ground by Yang Jian, future founder of the Sui dynasty, who defeats a resistance force under Yuchi Jiong.


text: The Northern Zhou dynasty, strategically based in the basin of the Wei River, is supreme in Northern China. In the south only the Chen dynasty remains a rival.


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

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: The Roman Senate sends an embassy to Constantinople, with a gift (3,000 pounds of gold) to Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, along with a plea for help against the Lombards.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Gregory of Tours is brought before a council of bishops, on charges of slandering the Frankish queen Fredegund (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: King Liuvigild calls for an Arian synod in Toledo (central Spain), which modifies several doctrines; he tries to unify the Christians within the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, companion of Muhammad

source_section: Births


text: Umm Salama, wife of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Dayi Daoxin, Chán Buddhist patriarch (d. 651)


text: Cadfan ap Iago, king of Gwynedd (approximate date)


text: Livinus, Irish apostle (approximate date)


text: Clemen ap Bledric, king of Dumnonia (approximate date)


text: Maximus the Confessor, monk and theologian (d. 662)


text: Abdel Rahman ibn Awf, companion of Muhammad


text: Fabia Eudokia, Byzantine empress (approximate date)


text: Wei Zheng, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 643)


text: Didier of Cahors, Frankish bishop (approximate date)


text: Pepin the Elder, Frankish Mayor of the Palace (d. 640)


text: Gao Anagong, high official of Northern Qi

source_section: Deaths


text: Wei Xiaokuan, general of Western Wei (b. 509)


text: Galam Cennalath, king of the Picts


text: Eormenric, king of Kent (approximate date)


text: Xuan Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 559)


text: Yuchi Jiong, general of Northern Zhou


text: Dorotheus of Gaza, monk and abbot (approximate date)


text: Martin of Braga, missionary and archbishop


text: Bacurius III, king of Iberia (Georgia)


text: Audovera, wife of Chilperic I (approximate date)


text: Ishbara Qaghan, grandson of Bumin Qaghan, becomes the new ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: The Anglo-Saxons under Ælla conquer Deira (Northern England) from the Britons. He becomes the first king of Deira (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: In the Turkic Empire an interregnum begins, since there are several candidates to the throne: Talopien (late khagan's candidate), Ishbara (Kurultai's choice) and Tardu (western yabghu).


text: The Northern Zhou dynasty ends: Yáng Jiān executes the last ruler, 8-year-old Jing Di, along with 58 royal relatives at Chang'an. He proclaims himself emperor, and establishes the Sui dynasty in China.


text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: A Byzantine army commanded by Maurice, and supported by Ghassanid forces under King Al-Mundhir III, fails to capture the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, along the Euphrates.


text: Al-Nu'man VI, son (de facto) of Mundhir III, revolts with the Ghassanids against the Byzantine Empire, after his father is treacherously arrested.


text: The "Great City of Helu", situated on the shores of Taihu Lake, is renamed Suzhou during the Sui dynasty (approximate date).


text: Palace coup in Austrasia: New advisors break the peace treaty with King Guntram, and make a new alliance with his half brother Chilperic I, in which Childebert II, age 11, is recognized as Chilperic's heir.


text: Maurice writes an encyclopedic work on the science of war (the Strategikon), which exercises a major influence on the military system.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: The Göktürks under Taspar Qaghan besiege the city of Chersonesos Taurica (modern Ukraine), located at the Black Sea; their cavalry keep plundering the steppes of the Crimean Peninsula until 590.


text: Second Council of Mâcon: In a council of Christian bishops in Mâcon (Burgundy), Jews are prohibited from serving as judges or customs officers.


text: The Lombards under Zotto, Duke of Benevento, sack the abbey of Monte Cassino near Naples. The Benedictine monks who survive flee to Rome, but they return to the site, and rebuild the monastery.


text: Maurice accuses Mundhir III of treason, and brings him to Constantinople to face trial. Emperor Tiberius II Constantine treats him well, and allows Mundhir with his family a comfortable residence.


text: Yan Shigu, Chinese author of the Tang dynasty (d. 645)


text: Sun Simiao, Chinese medicine doctor (approximate date)


text: Jing Di, Chinese emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 573)


text: Feng Xiaolian, concubine of Gao Wei (approximate date)


text: Taspar Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks


text: Gundoald, illegitimate son of Clotaire I, arrives with the financial support of Constantinople in southern Gaul. He claims as usurper king the cities Poitiers and Toulouse, part of the Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).


text: Autumn – Maurice elevates John Mystacon to magister militum per Orientem. He sends a Byzantine expeditionary force to Arzanene (Armenia), where they fight a pitched battle at the river Nymphius (Batman River).


text: Siege of Sirmium: The Avars, under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I, aided by Slavic auxiliary troops, capture the city of Sirmium after almost a 3-year siege. Bayan establishes a new base of operations within the Byzantine Empire, from which he plunders the Balkan Peninsula, including Athens.


text: A Persian army under Tamkhosrau crosses the Euphrates River and attacks the city of Constantina (modern Turkey), but he is defeated by the Byzantines and killed.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty orders the building of a new capital, which he calls Daxing (Great Prosperity), on a site southeast of Chang'an (modern Xi'an).


date: April 11

text: April 11 – John Nesteutes becomes the 33rd bishop or patriarch of Constantinople.


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild capture the city of Mérida (western central Spain), which is under the political control of its popular bishop Masona. He is arrested and exiled for 3 years.


text: Arnulf of Metz, Frankish bishop and saint (approximate date)


text: Li Mi, Chinese rebel leader during the Sui dynasty (d. 619)


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinople


date: August 14

text: August 14 – Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Emperor


text: August 14 – Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, age 47, dies (possibly from deliberately poisoned food) at Constantinople, after a 4-year reign during which Thrace and Greece have been inundated by the Slavs. He is succeeded by his son-in-law Maurice, former notary who has commanded the Byzantine army in the war against the Persian Empire.


text: Xuan Di, emperor of the Chen dynasty (b. 530)


text: Ashina, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 551)


text: Tamkhosrau, Sassanid Persian general (marzban)


text: Spring – Emperor Xuan of Chen, age 52, dies after a 13-year reign and is succeeded by his incompetent son Chen Shubao (Houzhu), who becomes the new ruler of the Chen dynasty.


text: Justinian, Byzantine general (magister militum)


text: Agathias, Greek poet and historian (approximate date)


text: Eboric (also called Euric) succeeds his father Miro as king of the Suevi (Hispania Gallaecia).


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


text: Yohl Ikʼnal succeeds Kan Bahlam I as queen of the Maya city of Palenque (Mexico).

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Emperor Maurice decides to end the annual tribute to the Avars, a mounted people who have swept across Russia and threatened the Balkan Peninsula. They capture the cities of Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and Viminacium (Moesia).


text: Muhammad, age 12, accompanies his uncle Abu Talib during trading journeys to Syria.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabia


text: The city of Monemvasia (Peloponnese) is founded by people seeking refuge from the Slavs and Avars.


text: Smallpox begins spreading from China to Japan and Korea (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Medicine


text: Liuva II, king of the Visigoths (d. 603)


text: Xiao Xian, prince of the Liang dynasty (d. 621)


text: Abu Ubaidah, companion of Muhammad (d. 639)


text: Theodosius, Byzantine co-emperor (approximate date)


text: Umar, companion of Muhammad (d. 644) and second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Kan Bahlam I, ruler of Palenque (b. 524)


text: Gundoald, illegitimate son of Chlothar I, tries to expend his territory from Brive-la-Gaillarde (Burgundy) and proclaims himself king (approximate date).


date: September

text: September – King Chilperic I is stabbed to death while returning from a hunt near Chelles, after a 23-year reign over a territory extending from Aquitaine, to the northern seacoast of what later will be France. His wife Fredegund, who has paid for his assassination, seizes his wealth, flees to Paris with her son Chlothar II, and persuades the nobles to accept him as legitimate heir while she serves as regent, continuing her power struggles with Guntram, king of Burgundy, and her sister Brunhilda, queen mother of Austrasia.


text: The Lombards re-establish a unified monarchy after a 10-year interregnum (Rule of the Dukes). Threatened by a Frankish invasion that the dukes have provoked, they elect Authari (son of Cleph) as their king and give him the capital of Pavia (Northern Italy).


text: The Slavs push south on the Balkan Peninsula – partly in conjunction with the Avars under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I – ravaging the cities Athens and Corinth, and threatening the Long Walls of Constantinople.


text: Battle of Fethanleigh: King Ceawlin of Wessex is defeated by the Britons. He ravages the surrounding countryside in revenge (approximate date).


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


text: King Eboric is deposed by his mother (second husband Andeca) who becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia (Northern Spain) and the Suevi.


text: The Exarchate of Ravenna is founded, and organised into a group of duchies, mainly coastal cities on the Italian Peninsula. The civil and military head of these Byzantine territories is the exarch (governor) in Ravenna.


text: Emperor Wéndi of the Sui dynasty organises the Grand Canal. He builds ships for transportation and grain stores are located at strategic points.


text: Yang Zhao, prince of the Sui dynasty (d. 606)


text: Amand, bishop and saint (approximate date)


text: Chlothar II, king of the Franks (d. 629)


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Ruadhán of Lorrha, Irish abbot and saint


text: Chilperic I, king of Neustria (or Soissons)


text: Deiniol, bishop of Bangor (Wales)


text: Maurus, Roman abbot and saint (b. 512)


text: Ingund, wife of Visigoth prince Hermenegild


text: Approximate date – Bridei I, king of the Picts


text: Creoda becomes king of Mercia (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


date: July

text: July – Gundoald, Merovingian usurper king, and his followers are defeated during the siege of Saint-Bertrand. He is executed and Guntram stages a triumphal entry into Orléans.


text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild devastate the Suevic Kingdom in Gallaecia (northwest Spain).


text: The Persian commander, Kardarigan ("black hawk"), begins an unsuccessful siege of Monokarton (modern Turkey).


text: Hussa succeeds his brother Frithuwald as king of Bernicia (approximate date).


text: Emperor Xiao Jing Di succeeds his father Xiao Ming Di as ruler of the Liang dynasty (China).


text: King Childebert II, age 15, takes up his sole rule of Austrasia. A Frankish army under King Guntram marches to Comminges (Pyrenees), and besieges the citadel of Saint-Bertrand.


text: Columbanus, Irish missionary, gathers 12 companions for his journey to Britain, probably to the Scottish coast. After a short time, he crosses the English Channel and lands in Brittany (France).


text: Zhiyi, Chinese monk, returns to the city of Jinling, where he completes his commentarial works on the Lotus Sutra.


text: The Armenian bishop Kardutsat goes with 7 priests, on a missionary trip to the steppes north of the Caucasus. He succeeds in baptizing many Huns and in translating books into their language.


text: King Wideok of Baekje (Korea) sends an official escort (bearing tribute), along with a master of Buddhist meditation, a reciter of Buddhist magic spells, a temple architect, and a sculptor of Buddhist images, to the Chinese court of the Sui dynasty (approximate date).


text: Edwin of Northumbria, king of Deira and Bernicia (d. 633)


text: Du Ruhui, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 630)


text: Yang Jian, imperial prince of the Sui dynasty (d. 618)


text: Goar of Aquitaine, priest and hermit (approximate date)


text: Yuchi Gong, general of the Tang dynasty (d. 658)


text: Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, general of the rashidun Caliphate (d. 642)


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince (or 586)


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Bidatsu, emperor of Japan (b. 538)


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Emperor Bidatsu, age 47, dies of smallpox after a 13-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Yōmei as the 31st emperor of Japan.


text: Gundoald, Merovingian usurper king (approximate date)


text: Rigunth, daughter of Chilperic I (b. 570)


text: Xiao Ming Di, emperor of the Liang dynasty (b. 542)


text: John of Ephesus, Armenian bishop (approximate date)


text: Cassiodorus, Roman statesman and writer (approximate date)


text: Frithuwald, king of Bernicia (approximate date)


text: Battle of Solachon: A Byzantine army under command of Philippicus defeats the Sassanid Persians, near Dara.


text: Japanese Buddhism comes under attack as a "foreign" religion.


text: The Avars besiege Thessalonica (Central Macedonia), the second city of the Byzantine Empire.


text: Spring – Emperor Maurice rejects a peace proposal of the Persians, in exchange for renewed payments in gold.


text: Avars destroy a lien of Roman camps along the Danubian Limes, including Oescus and Ratiaria.


text: Slavs advance to the gates of Thessaloniki and the Peloponnese.


text: The Vlachs are first mentioned in a Byzantine chronicle (approximate date).


text: King Custennin of Dumnonia is converted to Christianity.


text: The Page with the Crucifixion, from the "Rabbula Gospels", at the Monastery of St. John in Beth Zagba (Syria), is completed. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Saint Comgall founds an abbey in Bangor, Northern Ireland.


text: Theudebert II, king of Austrasia (d. 612)


text: Yang Hao, prince of the Sui dynasty (approximate date)


date: April 21

text: April 21 – King Liuvigild dies at Toledo after an 18-year reign, and is succeeded by his second son Reccared I.


text: April 21 – Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths


text: Hermenegild, Visigothic prince (or 585)


text: Prætextatus, bishop of Rouen (or 589)


text: Zhu Manyue, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 547)


text: Rhun ap Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd


date: November 28

text: November 28 – Treaty of Andelot: Guntram recognizes King Childebert II of Austrasia as heir. He signs a treaty with Queen Brunhilda at Andelot-Blancheville.


text: Winter – Childebert II appoints Uncelen as the Duke of Alemannia (approximate date).


text: Emperor Maurice builds more fortifications along the Danube frontier, separating the Byzantine Empire from the realm of the Avars and Slavs (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Eastern Roman Empire


text: King Reccared I renounces Arianism and adopts Catholicism. Many Visigothic nobles follow his example, but in Septimania (Southern Gaul) there are Arian uprisings.


text: Fall – The Liang dynasty ends: Emperor Wéndi of the Sui dynasty abolishes Western Liang and expands his territory into the lower valley of the Yangtze River. He sends his official Gao Jiong to the capital Jiangling, to pacify the citizens. The former emperor Xiao Jing Di becomes a vassal and is named the Duke of Liang.


text: King Guntram sends envoys to Brittany, to stop the raiding on Frankish territory. He compels obedience from Waroch II and demands 1,000 solidus for looting Nantes.


text: Bagha Qaghan becomes the seventh ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Kaganate.


text: Comentiolus, Byzantine general (magister militum), assembles an army of 10,000 men at Anchialus (modern Bulgaria). He prepares an ambush for the Avars in the Haemus Mountains.


text: The filioque clause is first used in the Nicene Creed, against the Arians in Visigothic Spain (approximate date).


text: Sledd succeeds his father Æscwine as king of Essex (approximate date).


text: Soga no Emishi, statesman of Japan (d. 645)


text: Zhang Xingcheng, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 653)


text: Theuderic II, king of Austrasia (d. 613)


date: April

text: April – Yōmei, emperor of Japan (b. 540)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Radegund, Frankish princess


text: Varāhamihira, Indian astronomer (b. 505)


text: Mononobe no Moriya, clan leader (Ō-muraji)


text: Æscwine, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Ishbara Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks


text: Battle of Shigisan: The Soga clan, which has intermarried with the royal Yamato clan, fights the Mononobe and Nakatomi clans over influence in selecting a new successor for the Japanese throne, after Emperor Yōmei dies. The Soga favor importing Buddhism from the Asian mainland, described there as the religion of the most civilized. The Mononobe and Nakatomi hold that Buddhism would be an affront to the gods. The Soga win the civil war and Sushun, age 66, becomes the 32nd emperor of Japan.


text: Æthelric succeeds his father Ælla as king of Deira in Northern England.


text: Summer – Guaram I of Iberia, Georgian prince in exile, is sent by Emperor Maurice to the city of Mtskheta (Georgia). He restores the monarchy and is bestowed with the Byzantine court title of curopalates.


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


text: First Perso-Turkic War: A Persian army (12,000 men) under Bahrām Chobin, supported by Cataphracts (heavy cavalry), ambush the invading Turks, and win a great victory at the Battle of the Hyrcanian Rock.


text: Byzantine-Sassanid War: Unpaid Byzantine troops mutiny against Priscus (magister militum per Orientem). King Hormizd IV begins a Persian offensive, but is defeated at Martyropolis (modern Turkey).


text: The Franks and Burgundians under King Guntram and his nephew Childebert II invade Northern Italy, but suffer a disastrous defeat against the Lombards.


text: The Skellig Michael monastery is founded on a steep rocky island off the coast of Ireland (approximate date).


text: The Lombard Kingdom (Italy) is converted to Roman Catholicism under the rule of King Authari (approximate date).


text: The Guanghua Temple in Putian (China) is built during the Chen dynasty, under Emperor Chen Wu Di.


text: Yu Zhining, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 665)


text: Eligius, bishop and saint (approximate date)


text: Suintila, king of the Visigoths (approximate date)


text: Ælla, king of Deira (approximate date)


text: Áed mac Bricc, Irish bishop and saint


text: Li Ezi, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 536)


text: Fridianus, Irish prince and saint


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under Bahrām Chobin captures the fortress city of Martyropolis (modern Turkey).


text: King Guntram sends an expedition into Septimania (Southern Gaul), in support of a rebellion by the Arian bishop Athaloc.


text: Tulan Qaghan, son of Ishbara Qaghan, becomes the seventh ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate.


text: The Chinese Empire is reunited under the leadership of Emperor Wéndi (Sui dynasty), who defeats the Chen forces at Jiankang (modern Nanjing), ending the Chen dynasty (the last of the Southern dynasties) that has ruled since 557.


text: Claudius, duke (dux) of Lusitania, defeats the Franks and Burgundians at Carcassonne (Languedoc) on the Aude River.


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


text: The Third Council of Toledo, called by King Reccared I of the Visigoths, renounces Arianism and embraces Catholicism.


text: King Childebert II attempts to impose taxes on the citizens of Tours; Bishop Gregory successfully opposes this by claiming state immunity instituted by Fredegund.


text: Gregory, archdeacon of Rome, converts English slaves on the Roman market. He calls them Angels if they would be Christians.


text: The Council of Narbonne is held. In Septimania, Jews are forbidden from chanting psalms while burying their dead.


text: Yan Zhitui, scholar-official, makes the first reference to the use of toilet paper in human history. It is used in the Chinese imperial court and amongst the other wealthy citizens.


text: The plague hits Rome, and its victims include Pope Pelagius II.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – Breach at Cucca. The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. Zeno and damaging the walls of Verona.


date: May 15

text: May 15 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence at court and among the Lombard nobility.


text: Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, wife of Muhammad (d. 666)


text: Li Jiancheng, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 626)


date: March 1

text: March 1 – David, Welsh bishop and saint


text: Finnian of Moville, Irish missionary (b. 495)


text: Zhang Lihua, consort of the Chen dynasty


text: Bagha Qaghan, ruler of the Turkic Khaganate


year_label: 59 CE

text: Rioting breaks out between the people of Pompeii and the people of Nuceria during a gladiator fight in Pompeii. Thousands are killed.

source_section: Events › 59 AD › Roman Empire


text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Roman commander in the east, captures Tigranocerta in Mesopotamia. He installs Tigranes VI, a Cappadocian prince, as ruler of Armenia. For the next four years, a cohort from Legio VI Ferrata and Legio X Fretensis is stationed in the capital as bodyguard to the king, supported by fifteen hundred auxiliaries.

source_section: Events › 59 AD › Caucasus


text: Paul the Apostle pleads his case and testifies to his Christianity before King Agrippa II of the Herodians, who reportedly responds "You almost persuade me to be a Christian."

source_section: Events › 59 AD › Palestine


text: An eclipse on 30 April over North Africa is recorded by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History.

source_section: Events › 59 AD › North Africa


date: March 23

text: March 23 – Emperor Nero orders the murder of his mother Agrippina the Younger. He tries to kill her through a planned shipwreck, but when she survives, he has her executed and frames it as a suicide.


text: In the Satyricon, Petronius pokes fun at Roman immorality.


text: Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus retires from the Roman Senate. He openly shows his disgust at the behaviour of Nero regarding the murder of Agrippina.


text: March 23 – Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero (b. AD 15)

source_section: Deaths › 59 AD


text: Gnaeus Domitius Afer, Roman politician and orator


text: Domitia Lepida the Elder, granddaughter of Mark Antony


text: Servilius Nonianus, Roman consul and historian


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

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Kadungon becomes king of the Pandyan Kingdom in South India (approximate date).


text: Stephen I succeeds his father Guaram I as king of Iberia (Georgia) (approximate date).


text: Yeongyang becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.


text: Æthelberht succeeds his father Eormenric as king (bretwalda) of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


date: February 15

text: February 15 – Hormizd IV is deposed and assassinated by Persian nobles. Having ruled since 579, he is succeeded by his son Khosrau II as king of the Persian Empire.


text: September – Bahrām Chobin defeats the inferior forces of Khosrau II near Ctesiphon. He seizes the throne and proclaims himself as king Bahrām IV of Persia.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Maurice defeats the Persian forces under Bahrām Chobin at Nisibis (modern Turkey), and drives them back into Armenia.


text: Owain mab Urien succeeds his father Urien, as Brythonic king of Rheged in Northern England (approximate date).


text: Comentiolus, commander (magister militum) of the eastern army, receives the legitimate Persian king, Khosrau II, as a refugee in his headquarters at Hierapolis.


text: The Franks and Burgundians under King Guntram invade Italy. They capture the cities Milan and Verona, but are forced to leave by a plague outbreak in the Po Valley.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Siege of Lindisfarne: A Brythonic coalition lays siege to King Hussa of Bernicia at Lindisfarne Castle (Holy Island).


text: Spring – King Hormizd IV dismisses Bahrām Chobin as commander (Eran spahbed). He revolts and marches with the support of the Persian army towards Ctesiphon.


text: Frankish rebellion led by Basina, daughter of Chilperic I.


text: The Franks again invade Italy; they capture Modena and Mantua. Several Lombard dukes defect: Gisulf I, duke of Friuli, is defeated and replaced by his son Gisulf II.


date: February 7

text: February 7 – Pope Pelagius II falls victim to the plague that devastated Rome. He is succeeded by Gregory I, age 50, as the 64th pope, and the first from a monastic background.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Theodosius, eldest son of Maurice, is proclaimed as co-emperor. He becomes his father's heir to the Byzantine throne.


text: Egidius, bishop of Reims, is tried at Metz before a council of bishops for a conspiracy against King Childebert II; he is found guilty and exiled to Strasbourg.


text: Columbanus, Irish missionary, obtains from King Guntram the Gallo-Roman castle Luxovium (Luxeuil-les-Bains), where he founds the Abbey of Luxeuil.


text: John of Biclaro, Visigoth chronicler, finishes his "Chronicle" before he is appointed bishop of Girona (Catalonia, Spain).


text: Gregory I begins a vigorous program of rebuilding aqueducts and restoring Rome. He feeds the citizens with doles of grain, as under Roman imperial rule.


text: Cedda, prince of Wessex (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Theodore Rshtuni, Armenian general


text: Benjamin, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria (approximate date)


text: Secundus of Non, Lombard abbot


text: Judicaël, high king of Domnonée (approximate)


text: Sichilde, Frankish queen (d. 627)


text: Kavadh II, king of the Sasanian Empire (d. 628)


text: Boran, Queen of Persia (d. 632)


text: Dervan, prince of the Sorbs (approximate date)


text: Braulio, bishop of Zaragoza (d. 651)


text: Harsha, Indian emperor (d. 647)


text: Eanfrith, king of Bernicia (d. 634)


text: February 7 – Pope Pelagius II (b. 520)

source_section: Deaths


date: September 5

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


text: September 5 – Authari, king of the Lombards


text: Blane, Scottish bishop and saint


text: Ermelinde, Brabant Saint (b. 510)


text: Gisulf I, duke of Friuli (Italy)


text: Guaram I, king of Iberia (Georgia)


text: Hormizd IV, king of the Persian Empire


text: Eormenric, king of Kent (England)


text: Khosrau II is reinstalled as king of the Persian Empire. Peace with Constantinople is concluded after a war of almost 20 years. Maurice receives the Persian provinces of Armenia and Georgia. The recognition of the traditional frontiers, and the cessation of subsidies for the Caucasus forts, leaves the Byzantines in a dominant position in their relations with Persia.


text: Battle of Blarathon: A Persian army of about 40,000 men under King Bahrām VI is defeated, in the lowlands near Ganzak (northwestern Iran), by the Byzantines. Bahrām flees to seek refuge with the Turks in Central Asia, and settles in Fergana. However, after some time, he is murdered by a hired assassin of Khosrau II.


text: Arechis I succeeds his uncle Zotto as the second Duke of Benevento.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Maurice, seeing an opportunity to end the prolonged war to the advantage of Constantinople, assists Khosrau II to regain the Persian throne. He sends a Byzantine army (35,000 men) under Narses into Mesopotamia, through Syria. At the same time, an expeditionary force in Armenia advances through Caucasian Iberia into Media (modern Azerbaijan).


text: Summer – Maurice begins a series of military expeditions, to defend the Balkan provinces from the Avars and Slavs. He establishes the Danube frontier (Limes Moesiae) from the Delta to the fortress city of Singidunum (Belgrade), and permits the Byzantines to reassert their authority in the interior.


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


text: Jnanagupta, Afghan Buddhist monk, translates the Vimalakirti Sutra into Chinese.


text: The first city wall of Hangzhou (Eastern China) is constructed.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: A locust swarm destroys the harvest in Northern Italy (approximate date).


date: May 21

text: May 21 – A Mesoamerican ballgame court is dedicated at the Mayan city of Chinkultic (Mexico).


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


text: Su Dingfang, general of the Tang dynasty (d. 667)


text: Cadwallon ap Cadfan, king of Gwynedd (approximate date)


text: Li Xiaogong, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 640)


text: Gundeberga, queen of the Lombards


text: Li Delin, Chinese official and writer (b. 531)


text: John Mystacon, Byzantine general (approximate date)


text: Faroald I, duke of Spoleto (or 592)


text: Yan Zhitui, Chinese scholar and official (b. 531)


text: Zotto, founder of the Duchy of Benevento


text: Peter III of Raqqa, Patriarch of Antioch


text: Garibald I, duke of Bavaria (b. 540)


text: Emperor Maurice regains the Byzantine stronghold Singidunum (modern Belgrade) from the Avars. By counter-invading their homelands on the Balkans, Byzantine troops increase their pay by pillaging in hostile territory.


text: Battle of Woden's Burg: After the mass killing at Woden's Burg, near Marlborough (South West England), Ceawlin is deposed as king of the West Saxons. His son Cuthwine is taken prisoner and goes into exile.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Ceol succeeds his uncle Ceawlin after his defeat at Woden's Burg. He becomes king of Wessex (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


text: Ariulf becomes the second Duke of Spoleto (Central Italy).


text: Summer – Emperor Wéndi reduces taxes, due to an overflowing abundance of food and silk in the governmental stores. He sends messengers around central China, redistributing land to give the poor farming land.


text: Gregory, bishop of Tours, completes his Historia Francorum ("History of the Franks").

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


date: December 8

text: December 8 – Emperor Sushun of Japan is murdered after 5 years on the throne by agents of his rival Umako Soga, who is jealous of the emperor's power. He is succeeded by Suiko, widow of the late emperor Bidatsu.


text: Winter – Empress Suiko moves the imperial capital of Japan to Asuka-Toyura Palace (Nara Prefecture) during the Asuka period.


text: Itta, wife of Pepin of Landen (d. 652)


text: Xu Jingzong, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 672)


text: Asmā' bint Abi Bakr, companion of Muhammad


text: Cutha Cathwulf, prince of Wessex (approximate date)


text: Khalid ibn al-Walid, Arab general (approximate date)


date: January 28

text: January 28 – King Guntram, age 59, dies after a 31-year reign, and is succeeded by his nephew Childebert II, who becomes ruler of Burgundy. He is buried at Saint Marcellus of Chalons Church, in Chalon-sur-Saône (Eastern France).


text: January 28 – Guntram, king of Burgundy


text: Faroald I, duke of Spoleto (Italy)


text: Pybba succeeds his father Creoda as king of Mercia (approximate date).


text: Æthelfrith of Northumbria succeeds Hussa as king of Bernicia (Scotland). His accession possibly involves dynastic rivalry and the exile of Hussa's relatives.


text: Suiko appoints her 21-year-old nephew Shōtoku as regent, with strongman Umako Soga. He holds shared power for nearly 30 years, creating the nation's first constitution (Seventeen-article constitution).


text: The Persian usurper Hormizd V (who rises temporarily to power) is defeated by King Khosrau II.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Autumn – Emperor Maurice orders Priscus to spend the winter with his troops on the northern Danube bank, but he disobeys the emperor's order and retreats to the port city of Odessus (Varna) on the Black Sea Coast.


text: Spring – Priscus, commander-in-chief in Thrace, defeats the Slavic tribes and Gepids on Byzantine territory south of the Danube. He crosses the river to fight in the uncharted swamps and forests of modern-day Wallachia.


text: The Shitennō-ji monastery is founded at Osaka (Japan) by Shōtoku.


text: Empress Suiko begins a long reign during a pivotal period, in which Buddhism influences the development and culture of Japan. She is the first female ruler and the first to receive official recognition from China.


text: The Altar to Amitābha Buddha is made during the Sui dynasty. It is now kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.


text: Jomei, emperor of Japan (d. 641)


text: Zaynab bint Jahsh, wife of Muhammad (d. 641)


text: Eberigisil, bishop of Cologne (approximate date)


text: Paul, father of Maurice (approximate date)


text: Hussa, king of Bernicia (approximate date)


text: Ino Anastasia, Byzantine empress consort


text: Ceawlin, king of Wessex (approximate date)


text: Anastasius I is restored as patriarch of Antioch, after Gregory dies.


text: Gregory, patriarch of Antioch (approximate date)


text: Creoda, king of Mercia (approximate date)


text: Empress Suiko issues the "Flourishing Three Treasures Edict", officially recognizing the practice of Buddhism in Japan. She begins diplomatic relations with the Sui dynasty (China).


text: Autumn – Emperor Maurice replaces general Priscus for disobeying orders. He installs his inexperienced brother Peter, as commander-in-chief in charge of the war against the Avars.


text: Balkan Campaign: The Slavs invade the Byzantine provinces of Moesia and Macedonia again; during their pillaging the towns of Aquis, Scupi and Zaldapa in Dobruja are destroyed.


text: Emperor Wéndi repairs and expands sections of the Great Wall in the north-west, which is undertaken by using forced labour. During the years, thousands of civilians are killed.


text: Approximate date – Pope Gregory I publishes his Dialogues.


text: Amos succeeds John IV as Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.


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


text: Maymuna bint al-Harith, wife of Muhammad


text: Kōgyoku, empress of Japan (d. 661)


text: Ramla bint Abi Sufyan, wife of Muhammad


text: Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, companion of Muhammad (d. 656)


text: Li Shiji, general and chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 669)


date: November 17

text: November 17 – Gregory of Tours, bishop and historian


text: John IV, patriarch of Jerusalem (approximate date)


text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, meets and marries Khadija. She is a 40-year-old widow and 15 years older than he. Supported by Khadija's wealth, they form a successful merchant partnership.


text: Spring – Emperor Wéndi orders the confiscation and destruction of privately held weapons; he exempts the border provinces from this edict.


text: The Lombards sack the town of Terracina (Central Italy). After they conquer more cities, Terracina remains an important military stronghold of the Byzantine Empire.


text: Balkan Campaign: A Byzantine relief force under Priscus marches up the Danube River along the southern bank to Novae (modern Bulgaria). The fortress city of Singidunum (Belgrade) is plundered by the Avars, and abandoned after the approach of the Byzantines. The Avars retreat and launch a raid against Dalmatia.


date: June

text: June – Pope Gregory I the Great sends a group of Benedictine monks under Augustine of Canterbury on a mission to Britain, to Christianize King Æthelberht, and convert the Kingdom of Kent from native Anglo-Saxon paganism. He carries letters of commendation to bishops, and is accompanied by Frankish interpreters.


text: Construction begins on the Zhaozhou Bridge ("Safe crossing bridge") in Hebei Province, during the Sui dynasty (China).


text: Supratisthitavarman succeeds his father Susthitavarman, as king of the Varman dynasty in Assam (Northeast India).


text: Zaynab bint Khuzayma, wife of Muhammad (d. 627)


text: Talhah, disciple and companion of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Asmā' bint Abu Bakr, female disciple (Sahaba) of Muhammad (d. 695)


text: Kim Yu-shin, general of Silla (Korea) (d. 673)


text: Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, companion of Muhammad (d. 674)


text: Cen Wenben, chancellor and editor of the Book of Zhou (d. 645)


date: September 2

text: September 2 – John IV ("the Faster"), patriarch of Constantinople, dies after a 13-year reign in which he has mediated disputes between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Monophysites.


text: September 2 – John IV, patriarch of Constantinople


date: October

text: October – King Childebert II dies; his mother Brunhilda attempts to rule Austrasia and Burgundy, as regent for her grandsons. He is succeeded by his two young sons, Theudebert II and Theuderic II.


text: Owain mab Urien, king of Rheged (approximate date)


text: Childebert II, king of Austrasia (b. 570)


text: Berach, Irish bishop and saint


text: Yuchi Chifan, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 566)


text: Gartnait II, king of the Picts


text: King Dynod Bwr of the Pennines (Northern England) dies fighting off a Bernician invasion. His kingdom Hen Ogledd ("The Old North") is overrun, and his family flees to Powys (approximate date).


text: After the death of Euin, Gaidoald becomes the Duke of Trent (Northern Italy).


text: Euin, Lombard duke of Trent (Italy)


text: Dynod Bwr, king of Hen Ogledd (approximate date)


text: Emperor Wéndi sends diplomatic letters to the royal court of Goguryeo (Korea). He demands the cancellation of the military alliance with the Eastern Turk Khanate, and the raiding of Sui border regions.


text: Battle of Raith: An invading force of Angles lands on the Fife coast near Raith (Kirkcaldy) and defeats an alliance of Scots, Britons and Picts, under King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata (Scotland).


text: Emperor Maurice uses the city of Marcianopolis (modern Bulgaria) as a military base of operations on the lower Danube River, against the Slavs on the Balkans.


text: Gregorian Mission: Augustine of Canterbury lands with a group of missionaries on the Isle of Thanet (South East England). He is welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, who accepts baptism along with the rest of his court at the behest of his Christian Frankish wife, Bertha. Æthelbert assigns Augustine and his 40 monks a residence at Canterbury (Kent), where they found a Benedictine monastery that will make the town a centre of Christianity (or 597).


text: Gao Jifu, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 654)


text: Cui Dunli, general of the Tang dynasty (d. 656)


text: Kōtoku, emperor of Japan (d. 654)


text: Liu Xiangdao, official of the Tang dynasty (d. 666)


text: Daoxuan, Chinese Buddhist monk (d. 667)


text: Ebrulf, Frankish hermit and abbot (b. 517)


text: Marius Aventicensis, bishop of Aventicum (b. 532)


text: Chlothar II, age 13, becomes sole ruler of Neustria, and continues his mother's feud with Brunhilda. He is advised to prepare for war against Austrasia, the eastern part of the Frankish Kingdom.


text: Ceolwulf succeeds his brother Ceol as king of Wessex. He becomes regent of Ceol's son Cynegils who is too young to inherit the throne.


text: Autumn – Balkan Campaign: The Avars, strengthened by the tribute of the Franks, resume their campaign along the Danube River, and besiege the Byzantine fortress city of Tomis (modern Romania) on the Black Sea coast.


date: December 25

text: December 25 – At Christmas, Christianity spreads rapidly in Kent; Augustine and his fellow-labourers baptise more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.


text: The King's School is founded by Augustine in Canterbury. He builds an abbey where the Benedictine teaching takes place.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education