Po Valley

plain in Northern Italy

15 dated entries naming Po Valley, drawn from 15 separate years between 222 BCE and 1957 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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3rd century BC

222 BCEAfter taking Acerrae Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus marches on Mediolanum (modern Milan), another stronghold of the Insubres, which also falls into Roman hands, upon which the chieftains of the Insubres lose all hope and surrendered unconditionally. Thus the Romans succeeded in conquering the largest independent Celtic tribe in Italy and firmly established their hegemony over the Po Valley, then the most productive agricultural region in the peninsula.source

2nd century BC

196 BCEThe Insubres, Gauls of the Po Valley, believed by the Romans to have been incited to revolt by Carthage, are finally defeated.source

1st century BC

72 BCEThird Servile War: Spartacus moves with his followers northward to the Po Valley. Roman forces under Lucius Gellius Publicola defeat a group of slaves (30,000 men) led by Crixus near Mount Gargano. He kills two-thirds of the rebels, including Crixus himself.source

5th century

405War of Radagaisus: King Radagaisus leads an invasion with a force of 20,000 men and crosses the Alps. He spends the winter in the Po Valley and is observed by Stilicho, who lacks sufficient strength to prepare an offensive against the invading German tribes. The exact numbers of the migration are unknown, probably nearly 100,000, including Alans, Burgundians, Goths, Vandals, and other smaller tribes.source
476August 23 – Odoacer, age 43, is proclaimed rex Italiae ("king of Italy") by his troops. He leads his Ostrogoth army into the Po Valley, and advances to Ravenna while plundering the countryside.source

6th century

541Winter – Siege of Verona: Totila defends the city of Verona against a numerically superior Byzantine army. He gains control over the Po Valley and prepares a Gothic offensive in Central Italy.source
551Gothic War: Narses arrives in Venetia and discovers that a powerful Gothic-Frank army (50,000 men), under joint command of the kings Totila and Theudebald, has blocked the principal route to the Po Valley. Not wishing to engage such a formidable force and confident that the Franks would avoid a direct confrontation, Narses skirts the lagoons along the Adriatic shore, by using vessels to leapfrog his army from point to point along the coast. In this way he arrives at the capital Ravenna without encountering any opposition. He attacks and crushes a small Gothic force at Ariminum (modern Rimini).source
568Spring – 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.source
590The 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

7th century

641The Lombards under King Rothari conquer Genoa (Liguria), and all remaining Byzantine territories in the lower Po Valley, including Oderzo (Opitergium).source
645Plato, exarch (imperial governor) of Ravenna, invades the southern Po Valley. The Lombards under King Rothari defeat him on the banks of the Panaro River (near Modena); 8,000 imperial troops are killed.source

10th century

919Summer – Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria ("the Bad"), is elected as anti-king by the East-Frankish nobles in opposition to Henry I. Burchard II, duke of Swabia, submits to Henry's rule — allowing him to retain administrative control over his duchy. After an absence of nearly 15 years, the Magyars raid Bavaria and Northern Italy again, sacking the Po Valley (see Hungarian invasions of Europe).source
924Winter – The Hungarians invade Saxony and force King Henry I (the Fowler) to retreat into the Castle of Werla. He makes a pact and agrees to pay them tribute for 9 years. They return to the Po Valley and sack the cities of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua (Northern Italy).source

11th century

1026Conrad II proceeds to Pesaro, but a malarian outbreak forces him to withdraw back up north to the Po Valley. He subdues the March of Turin, where Count Ulric Manfred II opposes the election of Conrad.source

20th century

1957November 13 – Flooding in the Po Valley of Italy leads to flooding also in Venice.source