History of the World

Beginnings of European silk industry after Justinian's missionaries smuggle silkworms out of China

Buddhism in Japan

St. Augustine of Canterbury brings Christianity to Britain

After killing about half the population, plague in Europe subsides

Mohammed flees from Mecca to Medina (the Hegira); first year of the Muslim calendar

Muslim empire grows

Arabs conquer Jerusalem

Arabs conquer Persians

Arabs attack North Africa

Arabs destroy Carthage

Arab empire extends from Lisbon to China

Charles Martel, Frankish leader, defeats Arabs at Tours/Poitiers, halting Arab advance in Europe

Charlemagne becomes king of the Franks

Vikings begin attacks on Britain

Vikings land in Ireland

Charlemagne crowned first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome

Charlemagne dies

Charlemagne is succeeded by his son, Louis the Pious, who divides France among his sons

Norsemen attack as far south as the Mediterranean but are thwarted

Norsemen discover Iceland

Alfred the Great becomes king of Britain

Alfred the Great defeats Danish invaders

Vikings discover Greenland

Otto I becomes King of Germany

Mieczyslaw I becomes first ruler of Poland

Eric the Red establishes first Viking colony in Greenland

Hugh Capet elected King of France (Capetian dynasty to rule until 1328)

Musical notation systematized

Otto I crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII

Hungary and Scandinavia converted to Christianity. Viking raider Leif Eriksson discovers North America, calls it Vinland. Beowulf, Old English epic.

Murasaki Shikibu finishes The Tale of Genji, the world's first novel

Muslims destroy Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Danes control England

Canute takes throne

Canute conquers Norway

Canute dies. Canute divides kingdoms among his sons: Harold Harefoot (England), Sweyn (Norway), Hardecanute (Denmark).

Macbeth murders Duncan, king of Scotland.

Robert Guiscard, Norman invader, establishes kingdom in Italy, conquers Sicily

Final separation between Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman) churches

Seljuk Turks, Asian nomads, move west, capture Baghdad, Armenia

Seljuk Turks, Asian nomads, capture Syria, and Palestine

William of Normandy invades England, defeats last Saxon king, Harold II, at Battle of Hastings, crowned William I of England (“the Conqueror”).

Construction on the cathedral in Pisa, Italy, begins.

Emergence of strong papacy when Gregory VII is elected. Conflict with English and French kings and German emperors will continue throughout medieval period.

At Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls for a holy war to wrest control of Jerusalem from Muslims, which launches the First Crusade

Second Crusade begins.

Angkor Wat is completed

Thomas á Becket named Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered by Henry II's men

Troubadours (wandering minstrels) glorify romantic concepts of feudalism

Ibn-Rushd begins translating Aristotle's works

Henry II in England, killed in France

Richard I succeeds Henry II in England,, succeeded by King John. Third Crusade.

Crucifixion of Jesus

Han dynasty in China founded by Emperor Kuang Wu Ti.

Claudius is poisoned ending his reign as emperor.

Nero commits suicide ending the line of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Jews revolt against Rome and Jerusalem is destroyed

Roman persecutions of Christians begin

Oldest Mayan temples in Central America are built

Goths invade Asia Minor

The Persian Empire is re-established

End of the Chinese Han dynasty

Constantine the Great reunites the eastern and western Roman empires, with a new capital Constantinople on site of Byzantium

Constantine the Great issues the Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity

Constantine the Great becomes a Christian on his deathbed

Council of Nicaea defines orthodox Christian doctrine

First Gupta dynasty in India

Huns (Mongols) invade Europe

Roman empire permanently divided. The western empire ruled from Rome and eastern empire ruled from Constantinople.

Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacks Rome

Attila, Hun chieftain, attacks Roman provinces

St. Patrick returns to Ireland and brings Christianity to the island

St. Augustine's City of God

Vandals destroy Rome

Western Roman empire ends as Odoacer, German chieftain, overthrows last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and becomes king of Italy

Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy established by Theodoric the Great

Clovis, ruler of the Franks, is converted to Christianity

First schism between western and eastern churches

Eastern and western churches reconciled

Justinian I, the Great becomes Byzantine Emperor

Justinian I, the Great issues his first code of civil laws and conquers North Africa, Italy, and part of Spain

Plague spreads through Europe

Arthur, semi-legendary king of the Britons is killed

Boëthius, Roman scholar is executed

Birth of Jesus Christ

Reign of Augustus Tiberius (Roman Emperor)

The reign of Caligula Successor to Augustus Tiberius. Assassinated in A.D. 41 (Roman Emperor)

Reign of Claudius (Roman Emperor)

Buddhism introduced to China somewhere during this time period

Reign of Nero (Roman Emperor)

Missionary journeys of Paul the Apostle

Colosseum built in Rome

Trajan rules and the Roman Empire extends to Mesopotamia, Arabia, Balkans

Hadrian rules Rome and codifies Roman law, rebuilds the Pantheon, establishes a postal system, and builds wall between England and Scotland.

The Jews revolt against Bar Kokhba. Final Diaspora of Jews begins

Marcus Aurelius rules Rome

Roman persecution of Christians increase

Increasing invasions of the Roman empire by Franks and Goths. Buddhism spreads in China.

Classic Period of the Mayan civilization witch develop hieroglyphic writing, advances in art, architecture, science.

Rule of Constantine the Great

Theodosius the Great rules and is the last emperor of a united Roman empire.

Western Roman empire disintegrates under weak emperors.

Lifetime of Justinian I, the Great

Lifetime of Mohammed, founder of Islam

Lifetime of Venerable Bede, English monk

Lifetime of Charlemagne

Introduction of pagodas in Japan from China.

Caliph Harun al-Rashid rules Arab empire during the “golden age” of Arab culture

City of Machu Picchu flourishes in Peru.

Arabs conquer Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia

Existence of Russian nation founded by Vikings under Prince Rurik, establishing capital at Novgorod

Beginning of Mayan Post-Classical period

Arab Spain under Abd ar-Rahman III becomes center of learning

Vikings and Danes attack Britain

Classic Pueblo period of Anasazi culture; cliff dwellings

8 European military campaigns

Construction of Cathedral at Chartres, France.

Universities of Paris and Oxford founded in France and England