Note: All dates are Common Era.

Centuries: 5th - 6th - 7th - 8th - 9th - 10th - 11th

The Anglo-Saxon times were from 400–1100

Early Middle Ages

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5th century

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Year Date Event Significance Main Article
401 Little more than a year after he completes the pacification of Britannia following attacks by Attacotti, Franks, Picts, Saxons and Scots, Flavius Stilicho, Regent of Britain under Emperor Theodosius I receives orders to withdraw troops from Britannia to help protect Rome from the invading Goths. The Roman withdrawal from Britain commences.
405 A string of Roman usurpers (Marcus (406-407), Gracianus Municeps (407) and Constantine II of Britain (407-409)) attempt to provide for the defence of Britannia.
410 With Flavius Stilicho murdered and the Visigoth Alaric I marching on Rome, Emperor Honorius instructs the people of Britannia to look to their own defences. The Roman occupation of Britain ends.
410 The Saxon migration into Britain begins.
418 The departing Romans withdraw their gold from Britannia, either by burying it "so that no man might find it", or by taking it to Gaul
430 Saint Patrick's Irish mission begins.
430 The governance of Britannia falls under Saxon influence
444 The "Groans of the Britons" as a British delegation is sent to Rome to make a last appeal for help against the Picts.
446 Roman General Flavius Aetius rejects the British appeal for help, and King Vortigern turns instead to the Angles Britain's bond with Rome is severed.
449 In the year that Martianus and Valentinian The Vandals pillage Rome.
476 The last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, is deposed by Odovacar, conventionally ending the Western Roman Empire.
481 Clovis becomes King of the Franks.
493 Ostrogothic Kingdom founded in Italy by Theodoric.
496 Clovis converted to the Catholic faith.

6th century

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Year Date Event Significance
507 The Franks under Clovis defeat the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouillé, forcing them to retreat into Spain.
c. 515[1] Battle of Mons Badonicus.[1] The West Saxon advance is halted by Britons.
527 August 1 Justinian I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor.[1] Justinian is best remembered for his Code of Civil Law (529), and expansion of imperial territory retaking Rome from the Ostrogoths.
529—534 Justinian I publishes the Code of Civil Law.[1] This compiled centuries of legal writings and imperial pronouncements into three parts of one body of law.
c. 529 Benedict of Nursia founds monastery at Monte Cassino.[1] The first of twelve monasteries founded by Saint Benedict, beginning the Order of Saint Benedict.
534 Byzantines, under Belisarius, retake North Africa from the Vandals.[1]
542 Bubonic plague reaches Constantinople. At least 230,000 people die in the city and perhaps two million in the empire. This Justinian plague undermines emperor's attempts to renew Roman glory through conquests. This plague becomes pandemic and continues to castigate Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa for the next 200 years, until 750.
552 The Byzantine conquest of Italy completes.[1]
563 Saint Columba founds mission in Iona.[1]
568 The Kingdom of the Lombards is founded in Italy.[1]
571 Mohammed is born.[1] Professed receiving revelations from God, which were recorded in the Qur'an, the basis of Islamic theology, in which he is regarded as the most important prophet.
577 The West Saxons continue their advance at the Battle of Deorham.[1]
581—618 Sui Dynasty in China.[1]
590 Gregory the Great becomes Pope.[1]
597 Augustine arrives in Kent.[1]

7th century

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Year Date Event
605 Grand Canal of China constructed.[1]
602-629 Last great Roman-Persian War [1] Long conflict leaves both empires exhausted and unable to cope with the newly united Arab armies under Islam in the 630s
618—907 T'ang Dynasty in China.[1] The essential administrative system of this dynasty lasts for 1,300 years.[1]
622 Muhammad flees Mecca for Medina.[1]
626 Joint Persian-Avar-Slav Siege of Constantinople [1] Constantinople saved, Avar power broken and Persians henceforth on the defensive
627 Battle of Nineveh. The Byzantines, under Heraclius, crush the Persians.[1]
631 Death of Mohammed.[1] By this point, all of Arabia is Muslim.[1]
632 Accession of Abu Bakr as first Caliph.[1]
633/634 Battle of Heavenfield. Northumbrian army under Oswald defeat Welsh army.[1]
638 Jerusalem captured by Muslims.[1]
641 Battle of Nehawand. Muslims conquer Persia.[1]
643 Muslims take Alexandria.[1]
645 In Japan, the Soga clan falls.[1] This initiates a period of imitation of Chinese culture.[1]
650 Slav occupation of Balkans complete.[1]
663 Synod of Whitby.[1] Roman Christianity triumphs over Celtic Christianity in England.[1]
674-678 First Arab siege of Constantinople.[1] First time Islamic armies stopped, saving Europe from Islamic conquest.[1]
681 Establishment of the Bulgarian Empire. A country with great influence in the European history in the Middle Ages.
685 Battle of Nechtansmere.[1] Picts defeat Northumbrians, whose dominance ends.
687 Battle of Tertry
698 Muslims take Carthage.[1]

8th century

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Year Date Event Significance
711 Muslims under Tarik invade Spain.[1]
718 Second Muslim attack on Constantinople, ending in failure.[1] The combined ByzantineBulgarian forces stop the Arab threat in Eastern Europe.
726 Iconoclast movement begun in the Byzantine Empire under Leo III.[1] This was opposed by Pope Gregory II, and an important difference between the Roman and Byzantine churches.[1]
732 Battle of Tours. Charles Martel halts Muslim advance.[1]
735 Death of Bede.[1] Bede was later regarded as "the father of history"
750 Beginning of Abbasid Caliphate.[1]
751 Pepin founds the Carolingian dynasty.[1]
754 Pepin promises the Pope central Italy.[1] This is arguably the beginning of the temporal power of the Papacy.[1]
768 Beginning of Charlemagne's reign.
778 Battle of Roncevaux Pass.[1]
786 Accession of Haroun-al-Rashid in Baghdad.[1]
793 Sack of Lindisfarne.[1] Viking attacks on Britain begin.[1]
795 Death of Offa.[1] Marks the end of Mercian dominance in England.

9th century

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Year Date Event Significance
800 Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III.
814 Death of Charlemagne.[1]
825 Battle of Ellandun. Egbert defeats Mercians.[1] Wessex becomes the leading kingdom of England.[1]
827 Muslims invade Sicily.[1]
840 Muslims capture Bari and much of southern Italy.[1]
843 Division of Charlemagne's Empire between his grandsons with the Treaty of Verdun. Sets the stage for the founding of the Holy Roman Empire and France as separate states.[1]
840 Kenneth McAlpin becomes king of the Picts and Scots, creating the Kingdom of Alba.[1]
862 Viking state in Russia founded under Rurik, first at Novgorod, then Kiev.[1]
864 Christianization of Bulgaria.
866 Fujiwara period in Japan.[1]
866 Viking "Great Army" in England.[1] Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia were overwhelmed.[1]
868 Earliest known printed book in China with a date.[1]
871 Alfred the Great assumes the throne, the first king of a united England. He defended England from Viking invaders, formed new laws and fostered a rebirth of religious and scholarly activities.
872 Harold Fairhair becomes King of Norway.[1]
874 Iceland is settled by Norsemen.[1]
885 Arrival of the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria Creation of the Cyrillic alphabet; in the following decades the country became the cultural and spiritual centre of the whole Eastern Orthodox Slavic World.
885—886 Vikings attack Paris.[1]
893 Simeon I becomes ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in the Balkans.[1]
896 Arpad and the Magyars are present in Pannonia.[1]
897 Death of Alfred the Great.[1]

10th century

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Year Date Event Significance
911 The Viking Rollo and his tribe settle in what is now Normandy by the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, founding the Duchy of Normandy.
917 Battle of Anchialus. Simeon I the Great defeats the Byzantines. Recognition of the Imperial Title of the Bulgarian rulers.
927 Death of Simeon I the Great. Recognition of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the first independent National Church in Europe.
955 Battle of Lechfeld. Otto the Great defeats the Magyars. This is the defining event that prevents them from entering Central Europe.
962 Otto the Great crowned the Holy Roman Emperor.

High Middle Ages

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11th century

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Year Date Event Significance
1010 Malcolm II defeats the Danes in five battles, including Mortlach and Camuston. Scotland remains free from the empire of Cnut
1018 The Byzantines under Basil II conquer Bulgaria after a bitter 50-years struggle.
1049 Pope Leo IX ascends to the papal throne.
1050 The astrolabe, an ancient tool of navigation, is first used in Europe.
1054 The East-West Schism which divided the church into Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades England and becomes King after the Battle of Hastings. End of Anglosaxon rule in England and start of Norman lineage
1067 Pope Gregory VII elevated to the papal throne. This begins a period of church reform.
1071 The Seljuks under Alp Arslan defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert. The Normans capture Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy. Beginning of the end of Byzantine rule in Asia Minor.
1075 Dictatus Papae in which Pope Gregory VII defines the powers of the pope.
1077 Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV walks to Canossa where he stands barefoot in the snow to beg forgiveness of the Pope for his offences, and admitting defeat in the Investiture Controversy. This helps establish Papal rule over European heads of state for another 450 years.
1077 The Construction of the Tower of London begins. The tower of London was the ultimate keep of the British Empire.
1086 The compilation of the Domesday Book, a great land and property survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess his new possessions. This is the first such undertaking since Roman times.
1098 The Cistercian Order is founded.
1099 First Crusade. Jerusalem is re-taken from the Muslims on the urging of Pope Urban II.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br Cite error: The named reference pears 2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

See also

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