Exploration & Expansion in the 5th century

36 sourced entries, 402 CE to 480 CE, oldest first. Also see Exploration & Expansion across every century or everything else in the 5th century.

• 402The Rouran, led by Shelun (Chö-louen), having defeated the Gaoju Dingling (Kao-kiu Ting-ling) near Kobbo, establish a nomadic empire that ranges from the Mongolian Plateau to the Irtysh.source
• 402Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, makes a pilgrimage to India, initiating Sino-Indian relations. Stirred by his faith to Buddhism, he visits the sites of Siddhartha Gautama's life.source
• 405The Khitan are first mentioned in Chinese chronicles. They wander along the boundaries of Kara-muren, and form part of the Donghu (Tong-hou) confederation.source
• 406Faxian, Chinese traveler, arrives in India. He visits the major seats of Buddhist learning (Udyana, Peshawar, and Taxila).source
• 410Raiders from Ireland, such as the Uí Liatháin and Laigin, harry the coasts of Wales. They plunder towns and capture slaves but later colonise large areas of what is called Gwynedd, in particular Llŷn, the coasts of Arllechwedd, Arfon and the Isle of Mona (approximate date).source
• 410At around this time, one of the first Anglo-Saxon settlements in Britain, Mucking, is established by the mouth of the Thames River. (approximate date)source
• 411The Alans establish their rule in the Roman province of Lusitania (Portugal south of the Duero River and Spain).source
• 412Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, spends 2 years in Ceylon and is more than 200 days at sea as storms drive his ship off its course, but returns with sacred Buddhist texts back to China (see 414).source
• 412Winter – Olympiodorus, historical writer, is sent on an embassy by Honorius, and sails in stormy weather around Greece up the Black Sea, to meet the Huns who are located on the middle Danube (modern Bulgaria).source
• 416Rutilius Claudius Namatianus begins his journey home from Rome to Gaul. This becomes the subject of his unfinished poem, De Reditu Suo.source
• 421The Franks conquer new territories in their kingdom and sack the old Roman capital Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier).source
• 425Buddhism begins to spread to Southeast Asia.source
• 430Saint Patrick reaches Ireland on his missionary expedition (approximate date).source
• 435The Vandals use Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) as a port for their expeditions. Genseric establishes a merchant fleet to transport goods between Africa and the Italian mainland.source
• 439Winter – Hun and Roman envoys meet at Margum (modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), an important market town on the Sava River. After negotiations, Attila and his brother Bleda, who are present, accept a four-point peace plan. Trading rights between the two states are confirmed and emperor Theodosius II pays an annual tribute of 700 pounds of gold.source
• 440A center of Buddhist studies is established at Nalanda in Bihar on the plains of the Ganges River (India).source
• 440The Hephthalites (White Huns) move south from the Altai Mountains region into Transoxiana, Bactria, Khorasan and eastern Persia.source
• 441Theodosius II sends the Eastern imperial fleet, under the command of the Romano-Goth Areobindus, into Sicilian waters, taking the Vandals by surprise.source
• 444Attila the Hun establishes his residence along the Tisza River (modern Hungary), and plans the coming campaign in the Balkans.source
• 447Vortigern, king of the Britons, receives the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa "as friends" and grants the brothers the Isle of Thanet, most easterly point of Kent (England).source
• 448Attila demands in the treaty the evacuation of the territory running from Singidunum (Belgrade, in Serbia) 300 mi km east along the Danube to Novae (Svishtov, in Bulgaria). This depopulated buffer zone deprives the Romans of their natural defensive advantages.source
• 449Traditional date – Hengist and Horsa, by tradition chieftains of the Jutes, land at Isle of Thanet, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle at the invitation of Vortigern. The Britons form a military alliance with them against the Picts and Scoti. Bede considers this the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.source
• 450Metal horseshoes come into more common use in the Near East and in Europe, increasing the efficiency of horsepower in agriculture and transportation.source
• 452The city of Venice is founded by fugitives from Attila's army who flee to small islands in the Venetian Lagoon.source
• 455Barter economy replaces organized trade as Romans and other citizens desert their towns for the countryside, where they will be less vulnerable to barbarian raids (approximate date).source
• 456Emperor Avitus sends a Germanic naval expedition under command of Ricimer, to defend Sicily. They defeat the Vandals twice: on land at the Battle of Agrigentum, and in a sea battle off Corsica.source
• 456Summer – Capua is destroyed by the Vandals. Ricimer is unable to end piracy in the western Mediterranean. Backed by his popularity, he gains the consent of the Senate for an expedition against Avitus.source
• 458The city of Tbilisi (Georgia) on the Kura River is founded by King Vakhtang I of Iberia. Its location gives it control of the trade routes between western and eastern Transcaucasia.source
• 460Emperor Leo I founds the Excubitors (imperial guard) at Constantinople; this elite tagmatic unit (300 men) is recruited from among the warlike Isaurians (approximate date).source
• 460Majorian assembles a large fleet in Nova Carthago (Cartagena) in preparation for an invasion of the Vandal Kingdom in Africa. However, King Genseric organizes an attack on the fleet, using individuals sympathetic to the Vandals to conduct the raid. The fleet is destroyed and the expedition is abandoned.source
• 460Emperor Majorian gathers an expeditionary force (Alans and other barbarians) in Liguria, and enters Aquitaine after a long march, where he visits King Theodoric II at Toulouse.source
• 468Basiliscus returns to Constantinople after a disastrous expedition against the Vandals. He is forced to seek sanctuary in the church of Hagia Sophia to escape the wrath of the people. Leo I gives him imperial pardon, but banishes him for 3 years to Heraclea Sintica (Thrace).source
• 468Emperor Anthemius sends a Roman expedition under command of Marcellinus. He expels the Vandals from Sicily and retakes Sardinia. The Eastern general Heraclius of Edessa lands with a force on the Libyan coast, east of Carthage, and advances from Tripolitania.source
• 468Emperor Leo I assembles a massive naval expedition at Constantinople, which costs 64,000 pounds of gold (more than a year's revenue) and consists of over 1,100 ships carrying 100,000 men. It is the greatest fleet ever sent against the Vandals and brings Leo near to bankruptcy.source
• 474Winter – Zeno sends an embassy, to conclude a peace with King Genseric. He succeeds in an agreement with the Vandals, to secure the commercial routes in the Mediterranean.source
• 480The Visigoths under King Euric extend their rule from the Loire to Gibraltar (approximate date).source