Timeline of Medieval History

All dates take place in the Common Era (CE)

## 5th cenutry

* 400 : Highland Maya fall to the city of Teotihuacan in central Mexico.
* 405 : Christian gospel is first translated from Greek into Latin.
* 409: Gupta Empire conquers Gujarat.
* 410 : Rome is sacked by German conqueror Alaric.
* 415: Chandragupta II, Ruler of the golden age of the Gupta empire, dies.
* 431: Council of Ephesus confirms the Christian Nicene Creed
* 455: Huns attack Rome and India.
* 476: Odoacer Sacks Rome and rules northern Italy for 2 years
* 478: Gaetan, Farinc, and Marcelus, Roman generals leading legions in southern Italy re-take Rome. Odoacer is executed and the empire re-instated with Gaetan as emperor. Beginning of re-emergence of stability within the Roman Empire.

## 6th century

* 500: Rise of Tikal in the lowland Maya
* 500: Battle of Mons Badonicus; Saxon advance in England is halted in England. Known for the involvement of King Arthur.
* 501: Compilation of the Spring and Autumn annals in China.
* 507: The Franks, under Clovis, defeat the Visigoths in the battle of Vouille. Decline of Visigoth power in France.
* 511: Roman army re-takes Provence and Marseilles from Visigoths.
* 527: Justinian I is crowned emperor in Rome.
* 528: Huns are driven out of India.
* 529: Justinian I publishes the code of civil law, compiling centuries of civil law into one document.
* 532: Nikla Riots in Constantinople.
* 532: Gupta Empire falls in India. The subcontinent enters a period of disunity. Urban culture declines and Buddhism starts to collapse after pressure from Hindu rulers.
* 533: Romans under Belisarius re-take Hispania from the Visigoths.
* 535-540: Gothic war between Romans and Franks in Gaul. Roman defeat.
* 563: St. Columbia founds a mission in Ionia, leading to the Christianization of Scotland.
* 570: Muhammad is born in Mecca.
* 577: England takes Cornwall.
* 581: Sui Dynasty Re-unites China for the first time since the Jin falls in 310 CE
* 597: St. Augustine arrives in Kent, beginning the Christianization of England.
* 598: Sui Dynasty invasions of Korea lead to instability in China.

## 7th century

* 600: Fall of Teotihuacan in Mexico. Tikal becomes most powerful Mesoamerican state.
* 602-612: Roman-Persian War
* 605: Imperial bureaucratic exam system is first used in China.
* 609: Grand Canal is completed, connecting the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers by water.
* 613: Rome and Persia at peace. Alliance is formed to suppress growing Arab discontent and power.
* 618: Fall of the Sui Dynasty to the Tang. Tang dynasty survives until 907 CE.
* 622: Muhammad migrates from Mecca to Medina.
* 626: Chinese emperor Taizong takes the throne of Tang China.
* 632: Death of Muhammad. By this point, all of Arabia is Islamic.
* 632: Abu Bakr Succeeds as first Caliph.
* 638: Battle of Jerusalem. Roman & Persian armies halt invading Arabs.
* 641: Battle of Nehawand: Roman and Persian armies defeat Arab forces, saving Persia and Rome from Islamic conquest and preserving Zoroastrian and Christian communities in the Levant.
* 650: Peaceful Slavic migrations into Balkans complete.
* 650: The city-state Xochicalco is established near the ruins of Teotihuacan, becoming a major military and commercial power in Mesoamerica.
* 663: Korean kingdom of Silla and Tang Chinese forces defeat Baekje rebels and Japanese invasion forces.
* 668: End of the three kingdoms period in Korea.
* 685: Battle of Dun Nechtain. Picts defeat Anglo-Northumbrians, preserving Scottish independence.
* 690: Empress Wu Zeitan takes the throne of China.

## 8th Century

* 711: Second Arab assault on Syria ends in failure and a resounding Roman vistory.
* 729: Treatise on Astrology & Astronomy published in Tang China.
* 736: Delhi is founded in India.
* 751: Battle of Talas: Allied Tibetan and Persian forces defeat Tang Chinese forces in central Asia.
* 755: An Lushan Rebellion in China results in civil war. Tang power is eventually restored.
* 758: Persian pirates attack Guangzhou in southern China.
* 768: Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Franks in Aachen.
* 793: Sack of Lindesfarne; Viking attacks on Britain begin. Beginning of Viking age.
* 794: Heian period in Japan
* ~800: Gunpowder is invented in China.

## 9th century

* 814: Charlemagne dies. Empire is split among heirs nearly 30 years later, leading to the establishment of France and Germany.
* 827: Arab attacks on Roman Egypt. After short period of Arab rule, Rome retakes Egypt under Petronius.
* 843: Division of Charlemagne's empire, establishing Germany and France as separate countries.
* 843: Kenneth McAlpin becomes king of the Picts, establishing the kingdom of Scotland.
* 845: Beginning of Buddhist persecution in China. Emperor Wuzhong abolishes Buddhist monasteries.
* 858: Floods on the Yellow River kill thousands in China.
* 862: Rurik, a Swedish viking establishes Novgorod, the first Russian kingdom.
* 864: Roman missionaries Christianize Bulgars.
* 866: Fujiwara period in Japan.
* 870: Chinese invasions of Korea.
* 871: Alfred the great unites England for the first time.
* 872: Harold Fairhair becomes king of Norway.
* 874: Iceland is settled by Scandinavian Vikings.
* 882: Kiev is founded.
* 885: St. Cyril and Methodious, Roman monks, arrive in Kiev, and establish the Cyrillic Alphabet.
* 885: Vikings sack Paris.
* 896: Magyars under Arpad invade Pannonia, but halt at the Roman border.
* 899: Death of Alfred the Great.
* 900: Tikal and other southern Lowland Mayan cities collapse. Yucatan Mayan cities continue to thrive.

## 10th century

* 907: Tang dynasty ends when Emperor Ai is deposed. Beginning of the 5 dynasties and civil war in China.
* 910: English forces defeat Vikings in Northumbria.
* 911: Viking king Rollo establishes the Duchy of Normandy.
* 917: Battle of Anchialus: Roman defeat by Slavic forces.
* 919: Greek fire and the flamethrower are used in China.
* 925: Roman defeat in 917 leads to the establishment of Slavic Kingdoms in the upper Balkans.
* 925: Tomislav becomes the first king of Croatia.
* 927: Bosnia is established.
* 931: Slavic invasions of Dalmatia are forced back by Roman forces.
* 931: Harun-Al-Rashid becomes leader of a united Arabia.
* 936: Korea is re-unified under Wang Geon.
* 938: Vietnamese kings drive back Chinese forces: Vietnam becomes independent.
* 955: Otto the great unites Germany
* 960: Mieszko I founds Poland.
* 960: Song Dynasty re-unites China, with its capital at Kaifeng.
* 962: Otto the Great crowned emperor of Germany.
* 969: Moorish invasions of Mauritania and Hispania. Roman emperor Nikophoros II is killed in battle.
* 976: Basil II becomes Roman emperor. Resurgence of Roman military power.
* 978: Al Mansur, Arabian Caliph, leads Arab armies into Sudan and Egypt.
* 981: Basil leads successful Roman reconquests of the lower Balkans.
* 983: Basil II retakes Hispania from Moors, pushes them back south into Morocco.
* 984: Song Chinese perfect the use of canal locks and coke for blast furnaces.
* 985: Erik the Red begins Scandinavian colonization of Greenland after being exiled from Iceland.
* 985: Chola Empire in India is at its peak: Rajarja Chola conquers Sri Lanka and the Andaman Islands.
* 987: Hugh Capet ascends to the French throne. Beginning of the French Capetian dynasty.
* 988: Russia is Christianized when Volodymyr embraces Christianity. Volodymyr marries the daughter of Basil II of Rome, establishing close Roman-Russian relations.

## 11th Century

* 1001: Leif Erikson settles in L'anse Aux Meadows and discovers the American continent.
* 1002: Ghazni (Afghans) invades Punjab and the North Indian plain.
* 1014: Chola Dynasty conquers Shrivijaya in Sumatra.
* 1016: Canute of Denmark becomes king of England. Denmark rules England for 26 years.
* 1018: Persia invaded by Seljuk Turks. Turks capture Esfahan, ending the Sassanid Dynasty. Turkish Turghil Dynasty rules Persia and embraces Zoroastrianism.
* 1019: Roman campaigns into Sudan drive back Arab forces from Egypt. Al Mansur is captured by Basil II and executed.
* 1021: Tale of Genji, first modern novel, is written in Japan.
* 1021: Afghans annex Punjab.
* 1025: Avecinna, Persian polymath published the Canon of medicine. Becomes standard for Roman, Persian and Arab medicine practice. Rejected by European science.
* 1027: Death of Basil II.
* 1037-1044: Roman-Persian war. Temporary Persian gains in Anatolia are eventually returned to the status quo after Roman push back.
* 1050: Astrolabe is first used in Europe.
* 1050: Westminster Abbey is built.
* 1052: Ghanzi is captured by the Persians.
* 1055: Portuguese Rebellions. Roman emperor Gregorius III dies trying to put down the rebellion.
* 1057: Rome acknowledges Portuguese independence and recognizes Joao I as the first king of Portugal.
* 1058: Sumra Hindus drive the last of the Ghanzi Kingdom out of Sindh and Punjab.
* 1066: Battle of Hastings. William the conqueror, Duke of Normandy defeats English troops and conquers all of England.
* 1068: Drydocks are first used in China.
* 1071-1074: Roman-Persian War: Rome defeats Persia at Mazikert, leading to Armenian independence.
* 1077: Towe of London is constructed.
* 1086: Compilation of the Domesday book in England, a census commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess his new possessions.
* 1094: Clock tower is built in the Chinese capital Kaifeng.
* 1095: Jerusalem is taken by Arabs.
* 1099: Jerusalem is returned to Roman rule at the urging of Pope Urban II by a coalition of French, German, Roman and English forces.

## 12th century

* 1102: Hungary conquers Croatia.
* 1106: Civil war in England. Battle of Tinchembrai leads to conflict between France and England.
* 1107: The last gladiatorial combat is held in the Colosseum in Rome.
* 1111: Donglin and other educational academies are established in China.
* 1116: Persian invasions of Turkish central Asia.
* 1119: Polish forces defeat Germany at Danzig and regain sea access.
* 1123: Taizu of Song dies, leaving Song China weakened.
* 1125: Jurchen forces sack Kaifeng. North China comes under Manchu rule while the Song Dynasty retreats to south of the Yellow River and moves the capital to Hangzhou.
* 1126: Manchu-Song wars in China.
* 1135: Civil war in England.
* 1139: Persian invasion of Georgia and Circassia ends in failure.
* 1158: Irish Celtic Church enters the fold of Catholic Christianity, but remains uniquely autonomous.
* 1158: Hanseatic league is founded.
* 1165: Peace between Manchus and Song Chinese. Manchus occupy Yellow River and establish their capital at Kaifeng.
* 1166: Serbia is re-united.
* 1171: English invasion of Ireland fails and Henry II is killed.
* 1174: England defeats Scottish armies and captures their king.
* 1175: Buddhism gains popularity in Japan, and begins synthesizing with Shinto.
* 1175: Afghan forces under Manoman Ghori invade India.
* 1176: Rome defeats a French invasion at the battle of Legano. Last major military conflict between Rome and northern Europe.
* 1185: First windmills in Europe.
* 1185: Minamotos defeat the Tara clan and take power in Japan.
* 1187: Saladin Re-unites Arabia and leads conquests into Somalia, Sudan and invades Mesopotamia.
* 1189: Richard I the Lionheart is king in England.
* 1190: Tuareg incursions into Roman Ifriqiya temporary capture Carthage, but is reconquered after several months.
* 1192: Minamoto Yorimoto becomes the first Japanese Shogun.
* 1192: Afghan troops under Ghori capture Multan and Delhi.
* 1193: Bakhityar burns the library of Nanda in India, leading to the predominance of Hinduism in India and the elimination of Indian Buddhism.
* 1194: Afghan leader Ghori defeats Jaichand of Kannauj and Jaichand is killed. Afghans take Benares. Zoroastrian rule in India.
* 1199: Portuguese invasion of northern Morocco ends in failure and the Almoravid retaliation by conquering Roman Mauritania.
* 1199: Europeans first use compasses.

## 13th century

* 1202: Turkic Dynasties in Persia lose Bukhara and Samarqand to Buddhist Khans of Khwarzim.
* 1206: Genghis Khan is elected Khagan of the Mongols and the Mongol empire is established.
* 1206: Delhi Kingdom is established by Hindu kings. Resurgence of Hindu military power in India.
* 1209: Mongols conquer the Xia Kingdoms in NW China.
* 1210: Shams Iltumish, Ruler of Delhi, conquers Punjab.
* 1215: The Magna Carta is signed by King John of England
* 1216: Mongols conquer Kashgar and Uighur Cities
* 1217: Mongols take Almaty
* 1218: Mongols conquer Ferghana
* 1219: Siege of Samarqand and Bukhara. Buddhist Khanates fall to the Mongols. Khwarzim falls to Genghis Khan.
* 1220-1223: Liao Manchu Dynasty (Kaifeng) is conquered by the Mongols.
* 1220: Tehran is sacked by the Mongols. Turghil Dynasty ends when Genghis Khan captures Persia.
* 1221: Ctesiphon is sacked by Mongols.
* 1221: Georgia, Circassia and Armenia fall to Mongols.
* 1222: Mongols under Genghis Khan are defeated by the Kingdom of Delhi and fail to invade India.
* 1223: Siege of Kaifeng; Aizong, the Manchu emperor is killed.
* 1223: Mongols capture Astrakhan in Volga Bulgaria.
* 1227: Genghis Khan dies. Mongol empire divided under successors who respond to the Khagan in Karakoram.
	+ Yuan Dynasty rules China, Mongolia, Korea
	+ Ilkhanate Rules central Asia, Mesopotamia, and Persia.
	+ Golden Horde Rules Asian Steppes, Russia and Eastern Europe.
* 1231: Mongols capture Korea.
* 1235: Kublai Khan sacks Nanjing and Hangzhou, ending the Chinese Song Dynasty and beginning Mongol Rule in China under the Yuan Dynasty.
	+ Yuan Capital is established at Beijing.
* 1236: Mongol invasions of Rus.
	+ 1238: Kiev Falls
	+ 1238: Moscow & Novgorod fall
* 1241: Mongols invade Poland. German and Polish armies halt Mongol advance at the battle of Leignitz in Germany.
* 1241: Mongols invade Hungary. Battle of Mohi destroys the entire Hungarian army and Mongols sack Budapest. Golden Horde takes Crimea and Dacia. Mongols advance to the Roman border.
* 1241: Kublai Khan takes Tibet for Yuan China.
* 1242: Mongols invade Rome in the east. Eastern Anatolia falls to the Mongols.
* 1244: Mongol invasions of Yunnan are successful.
* 1248: Roman and German troops halt Mongols at the battle of Altach in Austria. Furthest extent of Mongol advance into Europe.
* 1251: Mongols invade Syria. They sack Aleppo and Palmyra and massacre the entire population.
* 1253: Yunnan is brought under Yuan Mongol rule.
* 1257: First Mongol invasion of Vietnam fails.
* 1258: Muslims invade Roman Judea and Egypt and conquer them.
* 1259: Muslim Arabs invade Mesopotamia and capture Ur and Susa.
* 1260: Mongols take Damascus from Rome, take Cilicia, Pontus and Lydia.
* 1261: Mongols conquer Tyre.
* 1261: Peace of Antioch: Roman and Mongol Treaties are signed.
* 1262: Arab armies sack Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia.
* 1266: Mongols Retake Ctesiphon and Ur. Massacre all Arabs in the cities and kill Persian co-conspirators.
* 1266: Mongols take Sakhalin.
* 1268: Mongols invade Arabia. Muslim Caliph is taken prisoner and the entire Arab army is put to death. This marks the end of Arab power forever. Arabia is estimated to have lost over 50% of its population as a result of their invasions of Mesopotamia and the resulting Mongol retaliation.
* 1271: Rome retakes Jerusalem and Egypt without resistance.
* 1271: Marco Polo, a Roman merchant, travels to Mongol China and meets Kublai Khan
* 1274: 1st Yuan invasion of Japan fails after typhoons sink the Mongol fleet and Japanese defenders defeat Mongol ground forces largely comprised of Koreans.
* 1275: Mongols take Lithuanian territories.
* 1276: Mongols take Oman and most of coastal east Arabia.
* 1277: Yuan invasion of Burma ends in failure.
* 1281: 2nd Yuan invasion of Japan ends in disaster after typhoons sink the Mongol fleet again.
* 1283: Mongols sack Hanoi and invade the Khmer Empire.
* 1287: 2nd invasion of Burma fails.
* 1287: 3rd invasion of Vietnam brings gold to the Yuan but fails to conquer Vietnam.
* 1294: Kublai Khan, leader of the Yuan Dynasty dies.
* 1296: England invades Scotland under Edward I.
* 1297: Battle of Stirling Bridge secures Scottish independence.
* 1298: Moveable type is invented in Yuan China.
* 1299: Mongols retreat from Syria, and Romans retake the region.
* 1299: Romans retake all of Anatolia to the Euphrates from the Mongols. Establishes current Roman frontier in the east.

## 14th century

* 1314: Battle of Bannockburn: Rober the Bruce defeats English armies and ensures Scottish independence.
* 1325: Tenochtitlan is founded by the Mexica
* 1331: Black Plague kills 15 million in China after being brought by Mongols.
* 1333: Kamakura Shogunate ends. Ashikaga shogunate takes power.
* 1336: Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India is founded. Vies for power in India with the Kingdom of Delhi in the north.
* 1337: The Hundred Years' War begins. England and France struggle for dominant positions in Europe.
* 1343: Black Plague arrives in Crimea. Mongols launch plague-infected bodies over the walls during the siege of Caffa. Roman trading ships then bring the plague to Italy and the rest of Europe.
* 1346: Battle of Crecy: English forces defeat the French despite being outnumbered 4 to 1.
* 1347: Black Plague arrives in Italy, Hispania, and Alexandria.
* 1350: By this date, the black plague reaches Europe, Iceland, and Antioch.
* 1351: The Red Turban Nationalist rebellion begins in China against Mongol rule.
* 1368: Yuan Dynasty falls in China. Red Turban rebellion leads to the installation of the Hongwu Emperor as the founder of the Ming Dynasty.
* 1368: Yuan remnants are forced out to Mongolia, where the Mongols continue to decline.
* 1370: Persian Safavid Dynasty overthrows the Ilkhanate. Restores Zoroastrian Persian rule and ends Mongol rule in the near east. (capital Esfahan)
* 1371: Ming emperor initiates a ban on maritime foreign trade.
* 1373: Persians take Ctesiphon.
* 1378: Persians take Kandahar, ending the Ilkhanate.
* 1380: Dimitry Donosky, prince of Moscow, leads the Russian army to a victory over the Golden Horde.
* 1381: Peasants' Revolt in England.
* 1381: The Bible is translated into English for the first time.
* 1392: Joseon Dynasty founded in independent Korea.
* 1397: Legal code based on the Tang legal code instituted in Ming China.
* 1397: Union of Kalmar unites Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.
* 1398: Persian troops plunder Lahore.
* 1398: Hongwu emperor, founder of the Ming dynasty dies.
* 1399: English rebellion leads to Henry IV of Lancaster founding the Lancaster Dynasty.
* 1399: Persian-Roman war led by Persian Emperor Timur of Safavid.

## 15th century

* 1402: Battle of Ancyra: Roman emperor Manuel II is captured by Timur's forces. Although treated well under Persian captivity, Manuel dies in 1403.
* 1403-1406: Roman Civil war between Manuel II's successors.
* 1405-1433: Chinese naval expeditions of the Indian ocean under Zheng He.
* 1406-1411: German-Polish War begins.
* 1406: Alexios I takes Constantinople, killing his brother Miguel and ending the Roman civil war.
* 1410: Battle of Tannenburg: Polish-Lithuanian troops rout the German army
* 1411: Siege of Marienburg: German forces hold east Prussia and lead to the peace of Thorn, ending the Polish-German war.
* 1415: Portuguese capture Casablanca
* 1415: Battle of Agincourt: English armies defeat the French.
* 1428: Itzacoatl, king of Tenochtitlan, defeats Atzapozalco, signifying the beginning of the Aztec Empire and Mexico.
* 1429: Joan of Arc lifts the siege of Orleans and leads to a French victory over the English.
* 1438: Cusi Yupanqi becomes king of Cuzco, founding the Inca Empire.
* 1439: Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.
* 1443: Korean Hangul alphabet is created.
* 1444: Dacians invade Thrace but are driven back after the battle of Varna.
* 1448: German capital is moved from Vienna to Berlin.
* 1453: End of the 100 years war. England loses Normandy, Maine, and Aquitaine to the French, only retaining control of Calais.
* 1455-1487: Civil war in England.
* 1458: Khanate of Crimea sacks Kiev.
* 1467: Onin war in Japan: First of many civil wars in Japan.
* 1470: Chimu civilization falls to the Incas.
* 1475: Russian counterattacks against the Khanate of Crimea. Golden Horde begins to collapse.
* 1482: Great Observatory and university at Samaqand is built.
* 1486: Aztec Empire conquers the Mixtecs.
* 1487: 20,000 people are sacrificed to the Gods in Tenochtitlan for the city's centennial.
* 1487: English civil war ends and Tudor dynasty overthrows the Lancaster dynasty.
* 1488: Ming Dynasty begins rebuilding the Great wall.
* 1492: Portugal takes Tangier from the Almoravids.
* 1497: Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sails around Africa to India by sea, bypassing Roman and Persian trade monopolies.