A
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE,
FROM
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
TO
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
IN THE WEST, AND IN THE EAST
¹ In the following table, I have confined myself to the more easy and convenient eras of before (B.C.) and after (A.D.) Christ. For the sake of those, however, that do not wish the exclusion of the Julian period, it is necessary to observe that, as the first year of the christian era always falls on the 4714th of the Julian years, the number required either before or after Christ will easily be discovered by the application of the rules of subtraction or addition. The era from the foundation of Rome (A.U.C.) will be found with the same facility, by recollecting that the city was built 753 years before Christ; and the Olympiads can likewise be recurred to by the consideration that the conquest of Corœbus (B.C. 776) forms the first Olympiad, and that the Olympic games were celebrated after the revolution of four years.
| Before Christ.¹ | |
|---|---|
| The world created in the 710th year of the Julian period | 4004 |
| The deluge | 2348 |
| The tower of Babel built, and the confusion of languages | 2247 |
| Celestial observations are first made at Babylon | 2234 |
| The kingdom of Egypt is supposed to have begun under Misraim the son of Ham, and to have continued 1663 years, to the conquest of Cambyses | 2188 |
| The kingdom of Sicyon established | 2089 |
| The kingdom of Assyria begins | 2059 |
| The birth of Abraham | 1996 |
| The kingdom of Argos established under Inachus | 1856 |
| Memnon the Egyptian said to invent letters, 15 years before the reign of Phoroneus | 1822 |
| The deluge of Ogyges, by which Attica remained waste above 200 years, till the coming of Cecrops | 1764 |
| Joseph sold into Egypt by his brethren | 1728 |
| The chronology of the Arundelian marbles begins about this time, fixing here the arrival of Cecrops in Attica, an epoch which other writers have placed later by 26 years | 1582 |
| Moses born | 1571 |
| The kingdom of Athens begun under Cecrops, who came from Egypt with a colony of Saites. This happened about 780 years before the first Olympiad | 1556 |
| Scamander migrates from Crete, and begins the kingdom of Troy | 1546 |
| The deluge of Deucalion in Thessaly | 1503 |
| The Panathenæa first celebrated at Athens | 1495 |
| Cadmus comes into Greece, and builds the citadel of Thebes | 1493 |
| The first Olympic games celebrated in Elis by the Idæi Dactyli | 1453 |
| The five books of Moses written in the land of Moab, where he dies the following year, aged 110 | 1452 |
| Minos flourishes in Crete, and iron is found by the Dactyli by the accidental burning of the woods of Ida, in Crete | 1406 |
| The Eleusinian mysteries introduced at Athens by Eumolpus | 1356 |
| The Isthmian games first instituted by Sisyphus king of Corinth | 1326 |
| The Argonautic expedition. The first Pythian games celebrated by Adrastus king of Argos | 1263 |
| Gideon flourishes in Israel | 1245 |
| The Theban war of the seven heroes against Eteocles | 1225 |
| Olympic games celebrated by Hercules | 1222 |
| The rape of Helen by Theseus, and, 15 years after, by Paris | 1213 |
| Troy taken, after a siege of 10 years. Æneas sails to Italy | 1184 |
| Alba Longa built by Ascanius | 1152 |
| Migration of the Æolian colonies | 1124 |
| The return of the Heraclidæ into Peloponnesus, 80 years after the taking of Troy. Two years after, they divide the Peloponnesus among themselves; and here, therefore, begins the kingdom of Lacedæmon under Eurysthenes and Procles | 1104 |
| Saul made king over Israel | 1095 |
| The kingdom of Sicyon ended | 1088 |
| The kingdom of Athens ended in the death of Codrus | 1070 |
| The migration of the Ionian colonies from Greece, and their settlement in Asia Minor | 1044 |
| Dedication of Solomon’s temple | 1004 |
| Samos built | 986 |
| Division of the kingdom of Judah and Israel | 975 |
| Homer and Hesiod flourished about this time, according to the marbles | 907 |
| Elias the prophet taken up into heaven | 896 |
| Lycurgus, 42 years old, establishes his laws at Lacedæmon, and, together with Iphitus and Cleosthenes, restores the Olympic games at Elis, about 108 years before the era which is commonly called the first Olympiad | 884 |
| Phidon king of Argos is supposed to have invented scales and measures, and coined silver at Ægina. Carthage built by Dido | 869 |
| Fall of the Assyrian empire by the death of Sardanapalus, an era placed 80 years earlier by Justin | 820 |
| The kingdom of Macedonia begins, and continues 646 years, till the battle of Pydna | 814 |
| The kingdom of Lydia begins, and continues 249 years | 797 |
| The triremes first invented by the Corinthians | 786 |
| The monarchical government abolished at Corinth, and the Prytanes elected | 779 |
| Corœbus conquers at Olympia, in the 28th Olympiad from the institution of Iphitus. This is vulgarly called the first Olympiad, about 23 years before the foundation of Rome | 776 |
| The Ephori introduced into the government of Lacedæmon by Theopompus | 760 |
| Isaiah begins to prophesy | 757 |
| The decennial archons begin at Athens, of which Charops is the first | 754 |
| Rome built on the 20th of April, according to Varro, in the year 3961 of the Julian period | 753 |
| The rape of the Sabines | 750 |
| The era of Nabonassar king of Babylon begins | 747 |
| The first Messenian war begins, and continues 19 years, to the taking of Ithome | 743 |
| Syracuse built by a Corinthian colony | 732 |
| The kingdom of Israel finished by the taking of Samaria by Salmanasar king of Assyria. The first eclipse of the moon on record March 19th, according to Ptolemy | 721 |
| Candaules murdered by Gyges, who succeeds to the Lydian throne | 718 |
| Tarentum built by the Parthenians | 707 |
| Corcyra built by the Corinthians | 703 |
| The second Messenian war begins, and continues 14 years, to the taking of Ira, after a siege of 11 years. About this time flourished the poets Tyrtæus and Archilochus | 685 |
| The government of Athens intrusted to annual archons | 684 |
| Alba destroyed | 665 |
| Cypselus usurps the government of Corinth, and keeps it for 30 years | 659 |
| Byzantium built by a colony of Argives or Athenians | 658 |
| Cyrene built by Battus | 630 |
| The Scythians invade Asia Minor, of which they keep possession for 28 years | 624 |
| Draco established his laws at Athens | 623 |
| The canal between the Nile and the Red sea begun by king Necho | 610 |
| Nineveh taken and destroyed by Cyaxares and his allies | 606 |
| The Phœnicians sail round Africa, by order of Necho. About this time flourished Arion, Pittacus, Alcæus, Sappho, &c. | 604 |
| The Scythians are expelled from Asia Minor by Cyaxares | 596 |
| The Pythian games first established at Delphi. About this time flourished Chilo, Anacharsis, Thales, Epimenides, Solon, the prophet Ezekiel, Æsop, Stersichorus | 591 |
| Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar, 9th of June, after a siege of 18 months | 587 |
| The Isthmian games restored and celebrated every first and third year of the Olympiads | 582 |
| Death of Jeremiah the prophet | 577 |
| The Nemæan games restored | 568 |
| The first comedy acted at Athens by Susarion and Dolon | 562 |
| Pisistratus first usurped the sovereignty at Athens | 560 |
| Cyrus begins to reign. About this time flourished Anaximenes, Bias, Anaximander, Phalaris, and Cleobulus | 559 |
| Crœsus conquered by Cyrus. About this time flourished Theognis and Pherecydes | 548 |
| Marseilles built by the Phocæans. The age of Pythagoras, Simonides, Thespis, Xenophanes, and Anacreon | 539 |
| Babylon taken by Cyrus | 538 |
| The return of the Jews by the edict of Cyrus, and the rebuilding of the temple | 536 |
| The first tragedy acted at Athens on the waggon of Thespis | 535 |
| Learning encouraged at Athens, and a public library built | 526 |
| Egypt conquered by Cambyses | 525 |
| Polycrates of Samos put to death | 522 |
| Darius Hystaspes chosen king of Persia. About this time flourished Confucius the celebrated Chinese philosopher | 521 |
| The tyranny of the Pisistratidæ abolished at Athens | 510 |
| The consular government begins at Rome after the expulsion of the Tarquins, and continues independent 461 years, till the battle of Pharsalia | 509 |
| Sardis taken by the Athenians and burnt, which became afterwards the cause of the invasion of Greece by the Persians. About this time flourished Heraclitus, Parmenides, Milo the wrestler, Aristagoras, &c. | 504 |
| The first dictator, Lartius, created at Rome | 498 |
| The Roman populace retire to mount Sacer | 493 |
| The battle of Marathon | 490 |
| The battles of Thermopylæ, August 7th, and Salamis, October 20th. About this time flourished Æschylus, Pindar, Charon, Anaxagoras, Zeuxis, Aristides, &c. | 480 |
| The Persians defeated at Platæa and Mycale on the same day, 22nd September | 479 |
| The 300 Fabii killed at Cremera, July 17th | 477 |
| Themistocles, accused of conspiracy, flies to Xerxes | 471 |
| The Persians defeated at Cyprus, and near the Eurymedon | 470 |
| The third Messenian war begins, and continues 10 years | 465 |
| Egypt revolts from the Persians under Inarus, assisted by the Athenians | 463 |
| The Romans send to Athens for Solon’s laws. About this time flourished Sophocles, Nehemiah the prophet, Plato the comic poet, Aristarchus the tragic, Leocrates, Thrasybulus, Pericles, Zaleucus, &c. | 454 |
| The first Sacred war concerning the temple of Delphi | 448 |
| The Athenians defeated at Chæronea by the Bœotians | 447 |
| Herodotus reads his history to the council of Athens, and receives public honours in the 39th year of his age. About this time flourished Empedocles, Hellanicus, Euripides, Herodicus, Phidias Artemones, Charondas, &c. | 445 |
| A colony sent to Thurium by the Athenians | 444 |
| Comedies prohibited at Athens, a restraint which remained in force for three years | 440 |
| A war between Corinth and Corcyra | 439 |
| Meton begins here his 19 years’ cycle of the moon | 432 |
| The Peloponnesian war begins, May the 7th, and continues about 27 years. About this time flourished Cratinus, Eupolis, Aristophanes, Meton, Euctemon, Malachi the last of the prophets, Democritus, Gorgias, Thucydides, Hippocrates, &c. | 431 |
| The history of the Old Testament finishes about this time. A plague at Athens for five years | 430 |
| A peace of 50 years made between the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, which is kept only during six years and ten months, though each continued at war with the other’s allies | 421 |
| The scene of the Peloponnesian war changed to Sicily. The Agrarian law first moved at Rome | 416 |
| Egypt revolts from the Persians, and Amyrtæus is appointed king | 414 |
| The Carthaginians enter Sicily, where they destroy Selinus and Himera, but they are repulsed by Hermocrates | 409 |
| The battle of Ægospotamos. The usurpation of Dionysius | 405 |
| Athens taken by Lysander, 24th of April. The end of the Peloponnesian war, and the appointment of 30 tyrants over the conquered city. About this time flourished Parrhasius, Protagoras, Lysias, Agathon, Euclid, Cebes, Telestes, &c. | 404 |
| Cyrus the younger killed at Cunaxa. The glorious retreat of the 10,000 Greeks, and the expulsion of the 30 tyrants from Athens by Thrasybulus | 401 |
| Socrates put to death | 400 |
| Agesilaus of Lacedæmon’s expedition into Asia against the Persians. The age of Xenophon, Ctesias, Zeuxis, Antisthenes, Evagoras, Aristippus of Cyrene, and Archytas | 396 |
| The Corinthian war begun by the alliance of the Athenians, Thebans, Corinthians, and Argives, against Lacedæmon | 395 |
| The Lacedæmonians, under Pisander, defeated by Conon at Cnidus; and, a few days after, the allies are defeated at Coronæa, by Agesilaus | 394 |
| The battle of Allia, July 17th, and the taking of Rome by the Gauls | 390 |
| Dionysius besieges Rhegium, and takes it after 11 months. About this time flourished Plato, Philoxenus, Damon, Pythias, Iphicrates, &c. | 388 |
| The Greek cities of Asia tributary to Persia, by the peace of Antalcidas, between the Lacedæmonians and Persians | 387 |
| The war of Cyprus finished by a treaty, after it had continued two years | 385 |
| The Lacedæmonians defeated in a sea-fight at Naxos, September 20th, by Chabrias. About this time flourished Philistus, Isæus, Isocrates, Arete, Philolaus, Diogenes the cynic, &c. | 377 |
| Artaxerxes sends an army under Pharnabazus, with 20,000 Greeks, commanded by Iphicrates | 374 |
| The battle of Leuctra, July 8th, where the Lacedæmonians are defeated by Epaminondas the general of the Thebans | 371 |
| The Messenians, after a banishment of 300 years, return to Peloponnesus | 370 |
| One of the consuls at Rome elected from the plebeians | 367 |
| The battle of Mantinea gained by Epaminondas, a year after the death of Pelopidas | 363 |
| Agesilaus assists Tachos king of Egypt. Some of the governors of Lesser Asia revolt from Persia | 362 |
| The Athenians are defeated at Methone, the first battle that Philip of Macedon ever won in Greece | 360 |
| Dionysius the younger is expelled from Syracuse by Dion. The second Sacred war begins, on the temple of Delphi being attacked by the Phocians | 357 |
| Dion put to death, and Syracuse governed seven years by tyrants. About this time flourished Eudoxus, Lycurgus, Ibis, Theopompus, Ephorus, Datames, Philomelus, &c. | 354 |
| The Phocians, under Onomarchus, are defeated in Thessaly by Philip | 353 |
| Egypt is conquered by Ochus | 350 |
| The Sacred war is finished by Philip taking all the cities of the Phocians | 348 |
| Dionysius recovers the tyranny of Syracuse, after 10 years’ banishment | 347 |
| Timoleon recovers Syracuse and banishes the tyrant | 343 |
| The Carthaginians defeated by Timoleon near Agrigentum. About this time flourished Speusippus, Protogenes, Aristotle, Æschines, Zenocrates, Demosthenes, Phocion, Mamercus, Icetas, Stilpo, Demades | 340 |
| The battle of Cheronæa, August 2nd, where Philip defeats the Athenians and Thebans | 338 |
| Philip of Macedon killed by Pausanius. His son Alexander, on the following year, enters Greece, destroys Thebes, &c. | 336 |
| The battle of the Granicus, 22nd of May | 334 |
| The battle of Issus in October | 333 |
| Tyre and Egypt conquered by the Macedonian prince, and Alexandria built | 332 |
| The battle of Arbela, October 2nd | 331 |
| Alexander’s expedition against Porus. About this time flourished Apelles, Callisthenes, Bagoas, Parmenio, Philotas, Memnon, Dinocrates, Calippus, Hyperides, Philetus, Lysippus, Menedemus, &c. | 327 |
| Alexander dies on the 21st of April. His empire is divided into four kingdoms. The Samian war, and the reign of the Ptolemies in Egypt | 323 |
| Polyperchon publishes a general liberty to all the Greek cities. The age of Praxiteles, Crates, Theophrastus, Menander, Demetrius, Dinarchus, Polemon, Neoptolemus, Perdiccas, Leosthenes | 320 |
| Syracuse and Sicily usurped by Agathocles. Demetrius Phalereus governs Athens for 10 years | 317 |
| Eumenes delivered to Antigonus by his army | 315 |
| Seleucus takes Babylon, and here the beginning of the era of the Seleucidæ | 312 |
| The conquests of Agathocles in Africa | 309 |
| Democracy established at Athens by Demetrius Poliorcetes | 307 |
| The title of kings first assumed by the successors of Alexander | 306 |
| The battle of Ipsus, where Antigonus is defeated and killed by Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander. About this time flourished Zeno, Pyrrho, Philemon, Megasthenes, Crantor, &c. | 301 |
| Athens taken by Demetrius Poliorcetes, after a year’s siege | 296 |
| The first sun-dial erected at Rome by Papirius Cursor, and the time first divided into hours | 293 |
| Seleucus, about this time, built about 40 cities in Asia, which he peopled with different nations. The age of Euclid the mathematician, Arcesilaus, Epicurus, Bion, Timocharis, Erasistratus, Aristyllus, Strato, Zenodotus, Arsinoe, Lachares, &c. | 291 |
| The Athenians revolt from Demetrius | 287 |
| Pyrrhus expelled from Macedon by Lysimachus | 286 |
| The Pharos of Alexandria built. The Septuagint supposed to be translated about this time | 284 |
| Lysimachus defeated and killed by Seleucus. The Tarentine war begins, and continues 10 years. The Achæan league begins | 281 |
| Pyrrhus of Epirus goes to Italy to assist the Tarentines | 280 |
| The Gauls, under Brennus, are cut to pieces near the temple of Delphi. About this time flourished Dionysius the astronomer, Sostratus, Theocritus, Dionysius Heracleotes, Philo, Aratus, Lycophron, Persæus, &c. | 278 |
| Pyrrhus, defeated by Curius, retires to Epirus | 274 |
| The first coining of silver at Rome | 269 |
| Athens taken by Antigonus Gonatas, who keeps it 12 years | 268 |
| The first Punic war begins, and continues for 23 years. The chronology of the Arundelian marbles composed. About this time flourished Lycon, Crates, Berosus, Hermachus, Helenus, Clinias, Aristotimus, &c. | 264 |
| Antiochus Soter defeated at Sardis by Eumenes of Pergamus | 262 |
| The Carthaginian fleet defeated by Duilius | 260 |
| Regulus defeated by Xanthippus. Athens is restored to liberty by Antigonus | 256 |
| Aratus persuades the people of Sicyon to join the Achæan league. About this time flourished Cleanthes, Homer junior, Manetho, Timæus, Callimachus, Zoilus, Duris, Neanthes, Ctesibius, Sosibius, Hieronymus, Hanno, Laodice, Lysias, Ariobarzanes | 251 |
| The Parthians under Arsaces, and the Bactrians under Theodotus, revolt from the Macedonians | 250 |
| The sea-fight of Drepanum | 249 |
| The citadel of Corinth taken by Aratus, 12th of August | 243 |
| Agis king of Sparta put to death for attempting to settle an Agrarian law. About this period flourished Antigonus Carystius, Conon of Samos, Eratosthenes, Apollonius of Perga, Lacydes, Amilcar, Agesilaus the ephor, &c. | 241 |
| Plays first acted at Rome, being those of Livius Andronicus | 240 |
| Amilcar passes with an army to Spain, with Annibal his son | 237 |
| The temple of Janus shut at Rome, the first time since Numa | 235 |
| The Sardinian war begins, and continues three years | 234 |
| Original manuscripts of Æschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, lent by the Athenians to Ptolemy for a pledge of 15 talents | 233 |
| The first divorce known at Rome, by Spurius Carvilius. Sardinia and Corsica conquered | 231 |
| The Roman ambassadors first appeared at Athens and Corinth | 228 |
| The war between Cleomenes and Aratus begins, and continues for five years | 227 |
| The colossus of Rhodes thrown down by an earthquake. The Romans first cross the Po, pursuing the Gauls, who had entered Italy. About this time flourished Chrysippus, Polystratus, Euphorion, Archimedes, Valerius Messala, C. Nævius, Aristarchus, Apollonius, Philocorus, Aristo Ceus, Fabius Pictor the first Roman historian, Philarchus, Lysiades, Agro, &c. | 224 |
| The battle of Sellasia | 222 |
| The Social war between the Ætolians and Achæans, assisted by Philip | 220 |
| Saguntum taken by Annibal | 219 |
| The second Punic war begins, and continues 17 years | 218 |
| The battle of the lake Thrasymenus, and next year that of Cannæ, May 21st | 217 |
| The Romans begin the auxiliary war against Philip in Epirus, which is continued by intervals for 14 years | 214 |
| Syracuse taken by Marcellus, after a siege of three years | 212 |
| Philopœmen defeats Machanidas at Mantinea | 208 |
| Asdrubal is defeated. About this time flourished Plautus, Archagathus, Evander, Teleclus, Hermippus, Zeno, Sotion, Ennius, Hieronymus of Syracuse, Tlepolemus, Epicydes | 207 |
| The battle of Zama | 202 |
| The first Macedonian war begins and continues near four years | 200 |
| The battle of Panius, where Antiochus defeats Scopas | 198 |
| The battle of Cynoscephale, where Philip is defeated | 197 |
| The war of Antiochus the Great begins, and continues three years | 192 |
| Lacedæmon joined to the Achæan league by Philopœmen | 191 |
| The luxuries of Asia brought to Rome in the spoils of Antiochus | 189 |
| The laws of Lycurgus abrogated for a while at Sparta by Philopœmen | 188 |
| Antiochus the Great defeated and killed in Media. About this time flourished Aristophanes of Byzantium, Asclepiades, Tegula, C. Lælius, Aristonymus, Hegesinus, Diogenes the stoic, Critolaus, Massinissa, the Scipios, the Gracchi, Thoas, &c. | 187 |
| A war, which continues for one year, between Eumenes and Prusias, till the death of Annibal | 184 |
| Philopœmen defeated and killed by Dinocrates | 183 |
| Numa’s books found in a stone coffin at Rome | 179 |
| Perseus sends his ambassadors to Carthage | 175 |
| Ptolemy’s generals defeated by Antiochus, in a battle between Pelusium and mount Cassius. The second Macedonian war | 171 |
| The battle of Pydna, and the fall of the Macedonian empire. About this period flourished Attalus the astronomer, Metrodorus, Terence, Crates, Polybius, Pacuvius, Hipparchus, Heraclides, Carneades, Aristarchus, &c. | 168 |
| The first library erected at Rome, with books obtained from the plunder of Macedonia | 167 |
| Terence’s Andria first acted at Rome | 166 |
| Time measured out at Rome by a water-machine, invented by Scipio Nasica, 134 years after the introduction of sun-dials | 159 |
| Andriscus the Pseudophilip assumes the royalty of Macedonia | 152 |
| Demetrius king of Syria defeated and killed by Alexander Balas | 150 |
| The third Punic war begins. Prusias king of Bithynia put to death by his son Nicomedes | 149 |
| The Romans make war against the Achæans, which is finished the next year by Mummius | 148 |
|
Carthage is destroyed by Scipio, and Corinth by ♦Mummius
♦ ‘Mummus’ replaced with ‘Mummius’ |
147 |
| Viriathus is defeated by Lælius, in Spain | 146 |
| The war of Numantia begins, and continues for eight years | 141 |
| The Roman army of 30,000, under Mancinus, is defeated by 4000 Numantines | 138 |
| Restoration of learning at Alexandria, and universal patronage offered to all learned men by Ptolemy Physcon. The age of Satyrus, Aristobulus, Lucius Accius, Mnaseas, Antipater, Diodorus the peripatetic, Nicander, Ctesibius, Sarpedon, Micipsa, &c. | 137 |
| The famous embassy of Scipio, Metellus, Mummius, and Panætius, into Egypt, Syria, and Greece | 136 |
| The history of the Apocrypha ends. The Servile war in Sicily begins, and continues for three years | 135 |
| Numantia taken. Pergamus annexed to the Roman empire | 133 |
| Antiochus Sidetes killed by Phraates. Aristonicus defeated by Perpenna | 130 |
| Demetrius Nicator defeated at Damascus by Alexander Zebina | 127 |
| The Romans make war against the pirates of the Beleares. Carthage is rebuilt by order of the Roman senate | 123 |
| Caius Gracchus killed | 121 |
| Dalmatia conquered by Metellus | 118 |
| Cleopatra assumes the government of Egypt. The age of Erymnæus, Athenion, Artemidorus, Clitomachus, Apollonius, Herodicus, Lucius Cælius, Castor, Menecrates, Lucilius, &c. | 116 |
| The Jugurthine war begins, and continues for five years | 111 |
| The famous sumptuary law at Rome, which limited the expenses of eating every day | 110 |
| The Teutones and Cimbri begin their war against Rome, and continue it for eight years | 109 |
| The Teutones defeat 80,000 Romans on the banks of the Rhone | 105 |
| The Teutones defeated by Caius Marius at Aquæ Sextiæ | 102 |
| The Cimbri defeated by Marius and Catulus | 101 |
| Dolabella conquers Lusitania | 99 |
| Cyrene left by Ptolemy Apion to the Romans | 97 |
| The Social war begins, and continues three years, till finished by Sylla | 91 |
| The Mithridatic war begins, and continues 26 years | 89 |
| The civil wars of Marius and Sylla begin, and continue six years | 88 |
| Sylla conquers Athens, and sends its valuable libraries to Rome | 86 |
| Young Marius is defeated by Sylla, who is made dictator | 82 |
| The death of Sylla. About this time flourished Philo, Charmidas, Asclepiades, Apellicon, Lucius Sisenna, Alexander Polyhistor, Plotius Gallus, Diotimus, Zeno, Hortensius, Archias, Posidonius, Geminus, &c. | 78 |
| Bithynia left by Nicomedes to the Romans | 75 |
| The Servile war, under Spartacus, begins, and, two years after, the rebel general is defeated and killed by Pompey and Crassus | 73 |
| Mithridates and Tigranes defeated by Lucullus | 69 |
| Mithridates conquered by Pompey in a night battle. Crete is subdued by Metellus, after a war of two years | 66 |
| The reign of the Seleucidæ ends in Syria, on the conquest of the country by Pompey | 65 |
| Catiline’s conspiracy detected by Cicero. Mithridates kills himself | 63 |
| The first triumvirate in the person of Julius Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus. About this time flourished Apollonius of Rhodes, Terentius Varro, Tyrannion, Aristodemus of Nysa, Lucretius, Dionysius the grammarian, Cicero, Antiochus, Spurinus, Andronicus, Catullus, Sallust, Timagenes, Cratippus, &c. | 60 |
| Cicero banished from Rome, and recalled the next year | 58 |
| Cæsar passes the Rhine, defeats the Germans, and invades Britain | 55 |
| Crassus is killed by Surena, in June | 53 |
| Civil war between Cæsar and Pompey | 50 |
| The battle of Pharsalia about May 12th | 48 |
| Alexander taken by Cæsar | 47 |
| The war of Africa. Cato kills himself. This year is called the year of confusion, because the calendar was corrected by Sosigenes, and the year made to consist of 15 months, or 445 days | 46 |
| The battle of Munda | 45 |
| Cæsar murdered | 44 |
| The battle of Mutina. The second triumvirate in Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus. Cicero put to death. The age of Sosigenes, Cornelius Nepos, Diodorus Siculus, Trogus Pompey, Didymus the scholiast, Varro the poet, &c. | 43 |
| The battle of Philippi | 42 |
| Pacorus general of Parthia defeated by Ventidius, 14 years after the disgrace of Crassus, and on the same day | 39 |
| Pompey the younger defeated in Sicily by Octavius | 36 |
| Octavius and Antony prepare for war | 32 |
| The battle of Actium, 2nd September. The era of the Roman emperors properly begins here | 31 |
| Alexander taken, and Egypt reduced into a Roman province | 30 |
| The title of Augustus given to Octavius | 27 |
| The Egyptians adopt the Julian year. About this time flourished Virgil, Manilius, Dioscorides, Asinius Pollio, Mæcenas, Agrippa, Strabo, Horace, Macer, Propertius, Livy, Musa, Tibullus, Ovid, Pylades, Bathyllus, Varius, Tucca, Vitruvius, &c. | 25 |
| The conspiracy of Muræna against Augustus | 22 |
| Augustus visits Greece and Asia | 21 |
| The Roman ensigns recovered from the Parthians by Tiberius | 20 |
| The secular games celebrated at Rome | 17 |
| Lollius defeated by the Germans | 16 |
| The Rhæti and Vindelici defeated by Drusus | 15 |
| The Pannonians conquered by Tiberius | 12 |
| Some of the German nations conquered by Drusus | 11 |
| Augustus corrects the calendar, by ordering the 12 ensuing years to be without intercalation. About this time flourished Damascenus, Hyginus, Flaccus the grammarian, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Dionysius the geographer | 8 |
| Tiberius retires to Rhodes for seven years | 6 |
| Our Saviour is born, four years before the vulgar era, in the year 4709 of the Julian period, A.U.C. 749, and the fourth of the 193rd Olympiad | 4 |
| Tiberius returns to Rome | A.D. 2 |
| The leap year corrected, having formerly been every third year | 4 |
| Ovid banished to Tomos | 9 |
| Varus defeated and killed in Germany by Arminius | 10 |
| Augustus dies at Nola, August 19th, and is succeeded by Tiberius. The age of Phædrus, Asinius Gallus, Velleius Paterculus, Germanicus, Cornel. Celsus, &c. | 14 |
| Twelve cities in Asia destroyed by an earthquake | 17 |
| Germanicus, poisoned by Piso, dies at Antioch | 19 |
| Tiberius goes to Capreæ | 26 |
| Sejanus disgraced | 31 |
| Our Saviour crucified, Friday, April 3rd. This is put four years earlier by some chronologists | 33 |
| St. Paul converted to Christianity | 35 |
| Tiberius dies at Misenum, near Baiæ, March 16th, and is succeeded by Caligula. About this time flourished Valerius Maximus, Columella, Pomponius Mela, Appion, Philo Judæus, Artabanus, and Agrippina | 37 |
| St. Matthew writes his Gospel | 39 |
| The name of christians first given, at Antioch, to the followers of our Saviour | 40 |
| Caligula murdered by Chæreas, and succeeded by Claudius | 41 |
| The expedition of Claudius into Britain | 43 |
| St. Mark writes his Gospel | 44 |
| Secular games celebrated at Rome | 47 |
| Caractacus carried in chains to Rome | 51 |
| Claudius succeeded by Nero | 54 |
| Agrippina put to death by her son Nero | 59 |
| First persecution against the christians | 64 |
| Seneca, Lucan, and others put to death | 65 |
| Nero visits Greece. The Jewish war begins. The age of Persius, Quintus Curtius, Pliny the elder, Josephus, Frontinus, Burrhus, Corbulo, Thrasea, Boadicea, &c. | 66 |
| St. Peter and St. Paul put to death | 67 |
| Nero dies, and is succeeded by Galba | 68 |
| Galba put to death. Otho, defeated by Vitellius, kills himself. Vitellius is defeated by Vespasian’s army | 69 |
| Jerusalem taken and destroyed by Titus | 70 |
| The Parthians revolt | 77 |
| Death of Vespasian, and succession of Titus. Herculaneum and Pompeii destroyed by an eruption of mount Vesuvius, November 1st | 79 |
| Death of Titus, and succession of Domitian. The age of Silius Italicus, Martial, Apollon. Tyanæus, Valerius Flaccus, Solinus, Epictetus, Quintilian, Lupus, Agricola, &c. | 81 |
| Capitoline games instituted by Domitian, and celebrated every fourth year | 86 |
| Secular games celebrated. The war with Dacia begins, and continues 15 years | 88 |
| Second persecution of the christians | 95 |
| Domitian put to death by Stephanus, &c., and succeeded by Nerva. The age of Juvenal, Tacitus, Statius, &c. | 96 |
| Nerva dies, and is succeeded by Trajan | 98 |
| Pliny proconsul of Bithynia sends Trajan an account of the christians | 102 |
| Dacia reduced to a Roman province | 103 |
| Trajan’s expedition against Parthia. About this time flourished Florus, Suetonius, Pliny junior, Philo Biblius, Dion, Prusæus, Plutarch, &c. | 106 |
| Third persecution of the christians | 107 |
| Trajan’s column erected at Rome | 114 |
| Trajan dies, and is succeeded by Adrian | 117 |
| Fourth persecution of the christians | 118 |
| Adrian builds a wall in Britain | 121 |
| Adrian visits Asia and Egypt for seven years | 126 |
| He rebuilds Jerusalem, and raises there a temple to Jupiter | 130 |
| The Jews rebel, and are defeated after a war of five years, and all banished | 131 |
| Adrian dies, and is succeeded by Antoninus Pius. In the reign of Adrian flourished Teon, Phavorinus, Phlegon, Trallian, Aristides, Aquila, Salvius Julian, Polycarp, Arian, Ptolemy, &c. | 138 |
| Antoninus defeats the Moors, Germans, and Dacians | 145 |
| The worship of Serapis brought to Rome | 146 |
| Antoninus dies, and is succeeded by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the last of whom reigned nine years. In the reign of Antoninus flourished Maximus Tyrius, Pausanias, Diophantus, Lucian, Hermogenes, Polyænus, Appian, Artemidorus, Justin the martyr, Apuleius, &c. | 161 |
| A war with Parthia, which continues three years | 162 |
| A war against the Marcomanni, which continues five years | 169 |
| Another, which continues three years | 177 |
| Marcus Aurelius dies, and Commodus succeeds. In the last reign flourished Galen, Athenagoras, Tatian, Athenæus, Montanus, Diogenes, Laërtius | 180 |
| Commodus makes peace with the Germans | 181 |
| Commodus put to death by Martia and Lætus. He is succeeded for a few months by Pertinax, who is murdered 193; and four rivals arise, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Severus, and Albinus. Under Commodus flourished Julius Pollux, Theodotion, St. Irenæus, &c. | 192 |
| Niger is defeated by Severus at Issus | 194 |
| Albinus defeated in Gaul, and killed at Lyons, February 19th | 198 |
| Severus conquers the Parthians | 200 |
| Fifth persecution against the christians | 202 |
| Severus visits Britain, and two years after builds a wall there across from the Frith of Forth | 207 |
| Severus dies at York, and is succeeded by Caracalla and Geta. In his reign flourished Tertullian, Minutius Felix, Papinianus, Clemens of Alexandria, Philostratus, Plotianus, and Bulas | 211 |
| Geta killed by his brother Caracalla | 212 |
| The Septuagint discovered. Caracalla murdered by Macrinus. Flourished Oppian | 217 |
|
Opilius ♦Macrinus
killed by the soldiers, and succeeded by Heliogabalus
♦ ‘Macrinius’ replaced with ‘Macrinus’ |
218 |
| Alexander Severus succeeds Heliogabalus. The Goths then exacted an annual payment not to invade or molest the Roman empire. The age of Julius Africanus | 222 |
| The Arsacidæ of Parthia are conquered by Artaxerxes king of Media, and their empire destroyed | 229 |
| Alexander defeats the Persians | 234 |
| The sixth persecution against the christians | 235 |
| Alexander killed and succeeded by Maximinus. At that time flourished Dion Cassius, Origen, and Ammonius | 235 |
| The two Gordians succeeded Maximinus, and are put to death by Pupienus, who soon after is destroyed, with Balbinus, by the soldiers of the younger Gordian | 236 |
| Sarbinianus defeated in Africa | 240 |
| Gordian marches against the Persians | 242 |
| He is put to death by Philip, who succeeds, and makes peace with Sapor the next year. About this time flourished Censorius, and Gregory Thaumaturgus | 244 |
| Philip killed, and succeeded by Decius. Herodian flourished | 249 |
| The seventh persecution against the christians | 250 |
| Decius succeeded by Gallus | 251 |
| A great pestilence over the empire | 252 |
| Gallus dies, and is succeeded by Æmilianus, Valerianus, and Gallienus. In the reign of Gallus flourished St. Cyprian and Plotinus | 254 |
| The eighth persecution against the christians | 257 |
| The empire is harassed by 30 tyrants successively | 258 |
| Valerian is taken by Sapor and flayed alive | 260 |
| Odenatus governs the east for Gallienus | 264 |
| The Scythians and Goths defeated by Cleodamus and Athenæus | 267 |
| Gallienus killed, and succeeded by Claudius. In this reign flourished Longinus, Paulus Samosatenus, &c. | 268 |
| Claudius conquers the Goths, and kills 300,000 of them. Zenobia takes possession of Egypt | 269 |
| Aurelian succeeds | 270 |
| The ninth persecution against the christians | 272 |
| Zenobia defeated by Aurelian at Edessa | 273 |
| Dacia ceded to the Barbarians by the emperor | 274 |
| Aurelian killed, and succeeded by Tacitus, who died after a reign of six months, and was succeeded by Florianus, and, two months after, by Probus | 275 |
| Probus makes an expedition into Gaul | 277 |
| He defeats the Persians in the east | 280 |
| Probus is put to death, and succeeded by Carus, and his sons Carinus and Numerianus | 282 |
| Diocletian succeeds | 284 |
| The empire attacked by the Barbarians of the north. Diocletian takes Maximianus as his imperial colleague | 286 |
| Britain recovered, after a tyrant’s usurpation of 10 years. Alexandria taken by Diocletian | 296 |
| The tenth persecution against the christians, which continues 10 years | 303 |
| Diocletian and Maximianus abdicate the empire, and live in retirement, succeeded by Constantius Chlorus and Galerius Maximianus the two Cæsars. About this period flourished Julius Capitolinus, Arnobius, Gregory and Hermogenes the lawyers, Ælius Spartianus, Hierocles, Flavius Vopiscus, Trebellius Pollio, &c. | 304 |
| Constantius dies, and is succeeded by his son | 306 |
| At this time there were four emperors, Constantine, Licinius, Maximianus, and Maxentius | 308 |
| Maxentius defeated and killed by Constantine | 312 |
| The emperor Constantine begins to favour the christian religion | 319 |
| Licinius defeated and banished by Constantine | 324 |
| The first general Council of Nice, composed of 318 bishops, who sit from June 19th to August 25th | 325 |
| The seat of the empire removed from Rome to Constantinople | 328 |
| Constantinople solemnly dedicated by the emperor on the 11th of May | 330 |
| Constantine orders all the heathen temples to be destroyed | 331 |
| The death of Constantine, and succession of his three sons, Constantinus, Constans, and Constantius. In the reign of Constantine flourished Lactantius, Athanasius, Arius, and Eusebius | 337 |
| Constantine the younger defeated and killed by Constans at Aquilea | 340 |
| Constans killed in Spain by Magnentius | 350 |
| Gallus put to death by Constantius | 354 |
| One hundred and fifty cities of Greece and Asia ruined by an earthquake | 358 |
| Constantius and Julian quarrel, and prepare for war; but the former dies the next year, and leaves the latter sole emperor. About this period flourished Ælius Donatus, Eutropius, Libanius, Ammian. Marcellinus, Jamblicus, St. Hilary, &c. | 360 |
| Julian dies, and is succeeded by Jovian. In Julian’s reign flourished Gregory Nazienzen, Themistius, Aurelius Victor, &c. | 363 |
| Upon the death of Jovian, and the succession of Valens and Valentinian, the empire is divided, the former being emperor of the east, and the other of the west | 364 |
| Gratian taken as partner in the western empire by Valentinian | 367 |
| Firmus tyrant of Africa defeated | 373 |
| Valentinian II. succeeds Valentinian I. | 375 |
| The Goths permitted to settle in Thrace, on being expelled by the Huns | 376 |
| Theodosius the Great succeeds Valens in the eastern empire. The Lombards first leave Scandinavia and defeat the Vandals | 379 |
| Gratian defeated and killed by Andragathius | 383 |
| The tyrant Maximus defeated and put to death by Theodosius | 388 |
| Eugenius usurps the western empire, and is two years after defeated by Theodosius | 392 |
| Theodosius dies, and is succeeded by his sons, Arcadius in the east and Honorius in the west. In the reign of Theodosius flourished Ausonius, Eunapius, Pappus, Theon, Prudentius, St. Austin, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, &c. | 395 |
| Gildo, defeated by his own brother, kills himself | 398 |
| Stilicho defeats 200,000 of the Goths at Fesulæ | 405 |
| The Vandals, Alani, and Suevi permitted to settle in Spain and France by Honorius | 406 |
| Theodosius the younger succeeds Arcadius in the east, having Isdegerdes king of Persia as his guardian, appointed by his father | 408 |
| Rome plundered by Alaric king of the Visigoths, August 24th | 410 |
| The Vandals begin their kingdom in Spain | 412 |
| The kingdoms of the Burgundians is begun in Alsace | 413 |
| The Visigoths found a kingdom at Toulouse | 415 |
| The Alani defeated and extirpated by the Goths | 417 |
| The kingdom of the French begins on the Lower Rhine | 420 |
| The death of Honorius, and succession of Valentinian III. Under Honorius flourished Sulpicius Severus, Macrobius, Anianus, Panodorus, Stobæus, Servius the commentator, Hypatia, Pelagius, Synesius, Cyrill, Orosius, Socrates, &c. | 423 |
| Theodosius establishes public schools at Constantinople, and attempts the restoration of learning | 425 |
| The Romans take leave of Britain and never return | 426 |
| Pannonia recovered from the Huns by the Romans. The Vandals pass into Africa | 427 |
| The French defeated by Ætius | 428 |
| The Theodosian code published | 435 |
| Genseric the Vandal takes Carthage, and begins the kingdom of the Vandals in Africa | 439 |
| The Britons, abandoned by the Romans, make their celebrated complaint to Ætius against the Picts and Scots, and three years after the Saxons settle in Britain, upon the invitation of Vortigern | 446 |
| Attila king of the Huns ravages Europe | 447 |
| Theodosius II. dies, and is succeeded by Marcianus. About this time flourished Zozimus, Nestorius, Theodoret, Sozomen, Olympiodorus, &c. | 450 |
| The city of Venice first began to be known | 452 |
| Death of Valentinian III., who is succeeded by Maximus for two months, by Avitus for 10, and, after an interregnum of 10 months, by Majorianus | 454 |
| Rome taken by Genseric in July. The kingdom of Kent first established | 455 |
| The Suevi defeated by Theodoric on the Ebro | 456 |
| Marcianus dies, and is succeeded by Leo, surnamed the Thracian. Vortimer defeated by Hengist at Crayford, in Kent | 457 |
| Severus succeeds in the western empire | 461 |
| The paschal cycle of 532 years invented by Victorius of Aquitain | 463 |
|
♦Anthemius succeeds in the western empire, after an interregnum of two years
♦ ‘Athemius’ replaced with ‘Anthemius’ |
467 |
| Olybrius succeeds Anthemius, and is succeeded, the next year, by Glycerius, and Glycerius by Nepos | 472 |
| Nepos is succeeded by Augustulus. Leo junior, son of Ariadne, though an infant, succeeds his grandfather Leo in the eastern empire, and, some months after, is succeeded by his father Zeno | 474 |
| The western empire is destroyed by Odoacer king of the Heruli, who assumes the title of king of Italy. About this time flourished Eutyches, Prosper, Victorius, Sidonius Apollinaris | 476 |
| Constantinople partly destroyed by an earthquake, which lasted 40 days at intervals | 480 |
| The battle of Soissons and victory of Clovis over Siagrius the Roman general | 485 |
| After the death of Zeno in the east, Ariadne married Anastasius, surnamed the Silentiary, who ascends the vacant throne | 491 |
| Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths revolts about this time, and conquers Italy from the Heruli. About this time flourished Boethius and Symmachus | 493 |
| Christianity embraced in France by the baptism of Clovis | 496 |
| The Burgundian laws published by king Gondebaud | 501 |
| Alaric defeated by Clovis at the battle of Vorcillè near Poitiers | 507 |
| Paris made the capital of the French dominions | 510 |
| Constantinople besieged by Vitalianus, whose fleet is burned with a brazen speculum by Proclus | 514 |
| The computing of time by the christian era, introduced first by Dionysius | 516 |
| Justin I., a peasant of Dalmatia, makes himself emperor | 518 |
| Justinian I. nephew of Justin succeeds. Under his glorious reign flourished Belisarius, Jornandes, Paul the Silentiary, Simplicius, Dionysius, Procopius, Proclus, Narses, &c. | 527 |
| Justinian publishes his celebrated code of laws, and four years after his digest | 529 |
| Conquest of Africa by Belisarius, and that of Rome, two years after | 534 |
| Italy is invaded by the Franks | 538 |
| The Roman consulship suppressed by Justinian | 542 |
| A great plague, which arose in Africa, and desolated Asia and Europe | 543 |
| The beginning of the Turkish empire in Asia | 545 |
| Rome taken and pillaged by Totila | 547 |
| The manufacture of silk introduced from India into Europe by monks | 551 |
| Defeat and death of Totila the Gothic king of Italy | 553 |
| A dreadful plague over Africa, Asia, and Europe, which continues for 50 years | 558 |
| Justin II., son of Vigilantia the sister of Justinian, succeeds | 565 |
| Part of Italy conquered by the Lombards from Pannonia, who form a kingdom there | 568 |
| Tiberius II., an officer of the imperial guards, is adopted, and soon after succeeds | 578 |
| Latin ceases to be the language of Italy about this time | 581 |
| Maurice the Cappadocian, son-in-law of Tiberius, succeeds | 582 |
| Gregory I., surnamed the Great, fills St. Peter’s chair at Rome. The few men of learning who flourished the latter end of this century were Gildas, Agathias, Gregory of Tours the father of French history, Evagrius, and St. Augustin the monk | 590 |
| Augustin the monk, with 40 others, comes to preach christianity in England | 597 |
| About this time the Saxon heptarchy began in England | 600 |
| Phocas, a simple centurion, is elected emperor after the revolt of the soldiers, and the murder of Maurice and of his children | 602 |
| The power of the popes begins to be established by the concessions of Phocas | 606 |
| Heraclius, an officer in Africa, succeeds, after the murder of the usurper Phocas | 610 |
| The conquests of Chosroes king of Persia, in Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, and afterwards his siege of Rome | 611 |
| The Persians take Jerusalem with the slaughter of 90,000 men, and the next year they overrun Africa | 614 |
| Mahomet, in his 53rd year, flies from Mecca to Medina, on Friday, July 16th, which forms the first year of the Hegira, the era of the Mahometans | 622 |
| Constantinople is besieged by the Persians and Arabs | 626 |
| Death of Mahomet | 632 |
| Jerusalem taken by the Saracens, and three years after Alexandria and its famous library destroyed | 637 |
| Constantine III. son of Heraclius, in partnership with Heracleonas, his brother by the same father, assumes the imperial purple. Constantine reigns 103 days, and after his death, his son. Constantine’s son Constans is declared emperor, though Heracleonas, with his mother Martina, wished to continue in possession of the supreme power | 641 |
| Cyprus taken by the Saracens | 648 |
| The Saracens take Rhodes, and destroy the Colossus | 653 |
| Constantine IV., surnamed Pogonatus, succeeds, on the murder of his father in Sicily | 668 |
| The Saracens ravage Sicily | 669 |
| Constantinople besieged by the Saracens, whose fleet is destroyed by the Greek fire | 673 |
| Justinian II. succeeds his father Constantine. In his exile of 10 years the purple was usurped by Leontius and Absimerus Tiberius. His restoration happened 704. The only men of learning in this century were Secundus, Isidorus, Theophylactus, Georgius Pisides, Callinicus, and the venerable Bede | 685 |
| Pepin engrosses the power of the whole French monarchy | 690 |
| Africa finally conquered by the Saracens | 709 |
| Bardanes, surnamed Philippicus, succeeds at Constantinople, on the murder of Justinian | 711 |
| Spain is conquered by the Saracens. Accession of Artemius, or Anastasius II., to the throne | 713 |
| Anastasius abdicates, and is succeeded by Theodosius III., who, two years after, yields to the superior influence of Leo III., the first of the Isaurian dynasty | 715 |
| Second, but unsuccessful, siege of Constantinople by the Saracens | 717 |
| Tax called Peter-pence begun by Ina king of Wessex, to support a college at Rome | 727 |
| Saracens defeated by Charles Martel between Tours and Poitiers in October | 732 |
| Constantine V., surnamed Copronymus, succeeds his father Leo | 741 |
| Dreadful pestilence for three years over Europe and Asia | 746 |
| The computation of years from the birth of Christ first used in historical writings | 748 |
| Learning encouraged by the race of Abbas caliph of the Saracens | 749 |
| The Merovingian race of kings ends in France | 750 |
| Bagdad built, and made the capital of the caliphs of the house of Abbas | 762 |
| A violent frost for 150 days from October to February | 763 |
| Monasteries dissolved in the east by Constantine | 770 |
| Pavia taken by Charlemagne, which ends the kingdom of the Lombards, after a duration of 206 years | 774 |
| Leo IV. son of Constantine succeeds, and, five years after, is succeeded by his wife Irene and his son Constantine VI. | 775 |
| Irene murders her son and reigns alone. The only men of learning in this century were Johannes Damascenus, Fredegaire, Alcuinus, Paulus Diaconus, and George the monk | 797 |
| Charlemagne is crowned emperor of Rome and of the western empire. About this time the popes separate themselves from the princes of Constantinople | 800 |
| Egbert ascends the throne of England, but the total reduction of the Saxon heptarchy is not effected till 26 years after | 801 |
| Nicephorus I., great treasurer of the empire, succeeds | 802 |
| Stauracius son of Nicephorus, and Michael I., surnamed Rhangabe, the husband of Procopia sister of Stauracius, assume the purple | 811 |
| Leo V. the Armenian, though but an officer of the palace, ascends the throne of Constantinople | 813 |
| Learning encouraged among the Saracens by Almanon, who made observations on the sun, &c. | 816 |
| Michael II. the Thracian, surnamed the Stammerer, succeeds, after the murder of Leo | 821 |
| The Saracens of Spain take Crete, which they call Candia | 823 |
| The Almagest of Ptolemy translated into Arabic by order of Almanon | 827 |
| Theophilus succeeds his father Michael | 829 |
| Origin of the Russian monarchy | 839 |
| Michael III. succeeds his father Theophilus with his mother Theodora | 842 |
| The Normans get possession of some cities in France | 853 |
| Michael is murdered, and succeeded by Basil I. the Macedonian | 867 |
| Clocks first brought to Constantinople from Venice | 872 |
| Basil is succeeded by his son Leo VI. the philosopher. In this century flourished Mesué, the Arabian physician Eginhard, Rabanus, Albumasar, Godescalchus, Hincmarus, Odo, Photius, John Scotus, Anastasius the librarian, Alfraganus, Albategni, Reginon, John Asser | 886 |
| Paris besieged by the Normans, and bravely defended by bishop Goslin | 887 |
| Death of Alfred king of England, after a reign of 30 years | 900 |
| Alexander brother of Leo succeeds, with his nephew Constantine VII., surnamed Porphyrogenitus | 911 |
| The Normans establish themselves in France under Rollo | 912 |
| Romanus I., surnamed Lecapenus, general of the fleet, usurps the throne, with his three sons, Christopher, Stephen, and Constantine VIII. | 919 |
| Fiefs established in France | 923 |
| Saracen empire divided by usurpation into seven kingdoms | 936 |
| Naples seized by the eastern emperors | 942 |
| The sons of Romanus conspire against their father, and the tumults this occasioned produced the restoration of Porphyrogenitus | 945 |
| Romanus II. son of Constantine VII., by Helena the daughter of Lecapenus, succeeds | 959 |
| Romanus, poisoned by his wife Theophana, is succeeded by Nicephorus Phocas II., whom the empress, unable to reign alone under the title of protectress of her young children, had married | 963 |
| Italy conquered by Otho, and united to the German empire | 964 |
| Nicephorus, at the instigation of Theophana, is murdered by John Zimisces, who assumes the purple | 969 |
|
Basil II., and Constantine IX., the two sons of Romanus by ♦Theophana,
succeed on the death of Zimisces
♦ ‘Theopana’ replaced with ‘Theophana’ |
975 |
| The third or Capetian race of kings in France begins July 3rd | 987 |
| Arithmetical figures brought into Europe from Arabia by the Saracens | 991 |
| The empire of Germany first made elective by Otho III. The learned men of this century were Eudes de Cluni, Azophi, Luitprand, Alfarabius, Rhazes, Geber, Abbo, Aimoin, Gerbert | 996 |
| A general massacre of the Danes in England, Nov. 13th | 1002 |
| All old churches about this time rebuilt in a new manner of architecture | 1005 |
| Flanders inundated in consequence of a violent storm | 1014 |
| Constantine becomes sole emperor on the death of his brother | 1025 |
| Romanus III., surnamed Argyrus, a patrician, succeeds by marrying Zoe the daughter of the late monarch | 1028 |
| Zoe, after prostituting herself to a Paphlagonian money-lender, causes her husband Romanus to be poisoned, and afterwards marries her favourite, who ascends the throne under the name of Michael IV. | 1034 |
| The kingdoms of Castile and Arragon begin | 1035 |
| Zoe adopts for her son Michael V., the trade of whose father (careening vessels) had procured him the surname of Calaphates | 1041 |
| Zoe and her sister Theodora are made sole empresses by the populace, but after two months Zoe, though 60 years old, takes for her third husband Constantine X., who succeeds | 1042 |
| The Turks invade the Roman empire | 1050 |
| After the death of Constantine, Theodora recovers the sovereignty, and, 19 months after, adopts, as her successor, Michael VI., surnamed Stratioticus | 1054 |
| Isaac Commenus I. chosen emperor by the soldiers | 1057 |
| Isaac abdicates, and when his brother refuses to succeed him, he appoints his friend Constantine XI., surnamed Ducas | 1059 |
| Jerusalem conquered by the Turks from the Saracens | 1065 |
| The crown of England is transferred from the head of Harold by the battle of Hastings, October the 14th, to William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy | 1066 |
| On the death of Ducas, his wife Eudocia, instead of protecting his three sons, Michael, Andronicus, and Constantine, usurps the sovereignty, and marries Romanus III., surnamed Diogenes | 1067 |
| Romanus being taken prisoner by the Turks, the three young princes ascend the throne, under the name of Michael Parapinaces VII., Andronicus I., and Constantine XII. | 1071 |
| The general Nicephorus Botaniates III. assumes the purple | 1078 |
| Doomsday-book begun to be compiled from a general survey of the estates of England, and finished in six years | 1080 |
| Alexius Commenus I. nephew of Isaac I. ascends the throne. His reign is rendered illustrious by the pen of his daughter, the princess Anna Commena. The Normans, under Robert of Apulia, invade the eastern empire | 1081 |
| Asia Minor finally conquered by the Turks | 1084 |
| Accession of William II. to the English throne | 1087 |
| The first crusade | 1096 |
| Jerusalem taken by the crusaders 15th July. The only learned men of this century were Avicenna, Guy d’Arezzo, Glaber, Hermannus, Franco, Peter Damiani, Michael Celularius, George Cedrenus, Berenger, Psellus, Marianus Scotus, Arzachel, William of Spires, Suidas, Peter the Hermit, Sigebert | 1099 |
| Henry I. succeeds to the throne of England | 1100 |
| Learning revived at Cambridge | 1110 |
| John, or Calojohannes, son of Alexius, succeeds at Constantinople | 1118 |
| Order of Knights Templars instituted | 1118 |
| Accession of Stephen to the English crown | 1135 |
| Manuel son of John succeeds at Constantinople | 1143 |
| The second crusade | 1147 |
| The canon law composed by Gratian, after 24 years’ labour | 1151 |
| The party names of Guelfs and Gibbelines begin in Italy | 1154 |
| Henry II. succeeds in England | 1154 |
| The Teutonic order begins | 1164 |
| The conquest of Egypt by the Turks | 1169 |
| The famous council of Clarendon in England, January 25th. Conquest of Ireland by Henry II. | 1172 |
| Dispensing of justice by circuits first established in England | 1176 |
| Alexius II. succeeds his father Manuel | 1180 |
| English laws digested by Glanville | 1181 |
| From the disorders of the government, on account of the minority of Alexius, Andronicus the grandson of the great Alexius is named Guardian, but he murders Alexius, and ascends the throne | 1183 |
| Andronicus is cruelly put to death, and Isaac Angelus, a descendant of the great Alexius by the female line, succeeds | 1185 |
| The third crusade, and siege of Acre | 1188 |
| Richard I. succeeds his father Henry in England | 1189 |
| Saladin defeated by Richard of England in the battle of Ascalon | 1192 |
| Alexius Angelus brother of Isaac revolts, and usurps the sovereignty by putting out the eyes of the emperor | 1195 |
|
John succeeds to the English throne. The learned men of this century were Peter Abelard, Anna Commena, St. Bernard, Averroes, William of Malmesbury, Peter Lombard, Otho ♦Frisingensis,
Maimonides, Humenus, Wernerus, Gratian, Jeoffry of Monmouth, Tzetzes, Eustathius, John of Salisbury, Simeon of Durham, Henry of Huntingdon, Peter Comestor, Peter of Blois, Ranulph Glanville, Roger Hoveden, Campanus, William of Newburgh
♦ ‘Trisingensis’ replaced with ‘Frisingensis’ |
1199 |
| Constantinople is besieged and taken by the Latins, and Isaac is taken from his dungeon and replaced on the throne with his son Alexius. This year is remarkable for the fourth crusade | 1203 |
| The father and son are murdered by Alexius Mourzoufle, and Constantinople is again besieged and taken by the French and Venetians, who elect Baldwin count of Flanders emperor of the east. In the mean time, Theodore Lascaris makes himself emperor of Nice; Alexius grandson of the tyrant Andronicus becomes emperor of Trebizond; and Michael, an illegitimate child of the Angeli, founds an empire in Epirus | 1204 |
| The emperor Baldwin is defeated by the Bulgarians, and next year is succeeded by his brother Henry | 1205 |
| Reign and conquests of the great Zingis Khan first emperor of the Moguls and Tartars, till the time of his death, 1227 | 1206 |
| Aristotle’s works imported from Constantinople are condemned by the council of Paris | 1209 |
| Magna Charta granted to the English barons by king John | 1215 |
| Henry III. succeeds his father John on the English throne | 1216 |
| Peter of Courtenay, the husband of Yolanda sister of the two last emperors, Baldwin and Henry, is made emperor by the Latins | 1217 |
| Robert son of Peter Courtenay succeeds | 1221 |
| Theodore Lascaris is succeeded on the throne of Nice by his son-in-law John Ducas Vataces | 1222 |
| John of Brienne, and Baldwin II. son of Peter, succeeded on the throne of Constantinople | 1228 |
| The inquisition which had been begun 1204 is now trusted to the Dominicans | 1233 |
| Baldwin alone | 1237 |
| Origin of the Ottomans | 1240 |
| The fifth crusade | 1248 |
| Astronomical tables composed by Alphonso XI. of Castile | 1253 |
| Ducas Vataces is succeeded on the throne of Nice by his son Theodore Lascaris II. | 1255 |
| Lascaris succeeded by his son John Lascaris, a minor | 1259 |
| Michael Palæologus son of the sister of the queen of Theodore Lascaris ascends the throne, after the murder of the young prince’s guardian | 1260 |
| Constantinople is recovered from the Latins by the Greek emperors of Nice | 1261 |
| Edward I. succeeds on the English throne | 1272 |
| The famous Mortmain act passes in England | 1279 |
| Eight thousand French murdered during the Sicilian vespers, 30th of March | 1282 |
| Wales conquered by Edward and annexed to England | 1283 |
| Michael Palæologus dies, and his son Andronicus, who had already reigned nine years conjointly with his father, ascends the throne. The learned men of this century are Gervase, Diceto, Saxo, Walter of Coventry, Accursius, Anthony of Padua, Alexander Halensis, William of Paris, Peter de Vignes, Matthew Paris, Grosseteste, Albertus, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, John Joinville, Roger Bacon, Cimabue, Durandus, Henry of Ghent, Raymond Lulli, Jacob Voragine, Albertet, Duns Scotus, Thebit | 1293 |
| A regular succession of English parliaments from this time | 1293 |
| The Turkish empire begins in Bithynia | 1298 |
| The mariner’s compass invented or improved by Flavio | 1302 |
| The Swiss cantons begin | 1307 |
| Edward II. succeeds to the English crown | 1307 |
| Translation of the holy see to Avignon, which alienation continues 68 years, till the return of Gregory XI. | 1308 |
| Andronicus adopts, as his colleagues, Manuel, and his grandson the younger Andronicus. Manuel dying, Andronicus revolts against his grandfather, who abdicates | 1320 |
|
Edward III. succeeds in England
♦ ‘1337’ replaced with ‘1327’ |
♦1327 |
| First comet observed, whose course is described with exactness, in June | 1337 |
| About this time flourished Leo Pilatus, a Greek professor at Florence, Barlaam, Petrarch, Boccace, and Manuel Chrysoloras, where may be fixed the era of the revival of Greek literature in Italy | 1339 |
| Andronicus is succeeded by his son John Palæologus in the ninth year of his age. John Cantacuzene, who had been left guardian of the young prince, assumes the purple. First passage of the Turks into Europe | 1341 |
| The knights and burgesses of parliament first sit in the same house | 1342 |
| The battle of Crecy, August 26th | 1346 |
| Seditions of Rienzi at Rome, and his elevation to the tribuneship | 1347 |
| Order of the Garter in England established April 23rd | 1349 |
| The Turks first enter Europe | 1352 |
| Cantacuzene abdicates the purple | 1355 |
| The battle of Poictiers, September 19th | 1356 |
| Law pleadings altered from French into English as a favour from Edward III. to his people, in his 50th year | 1362 |
| Rise of Timour, or Tamerlane, to the throne of Samarcand, and his extensive conquests till his death, after a reign of 35 years | 1370 |
| Accession of Richard II. to the English throne | 1377 |
| Manuel succeeds his father John Palæologus | 1391 |
| Accession of Henry IV. in England. The learned men of this century were Peter Apono, Flavio, Dante, Arnoldus Villa, Nicholas Lyra, William Occam, Nicephoras Gregoras, Leontius Pilatus, Matthew of Westminster, Wickliff, Froissart, Nicholas Flamel, &c. | 1399 |
| Henry IV. is succeeded by his son Henry V. | 1413 |
| Battle of Agincourt, October 25th | 1415 |
| The island of Madeira discovered by the Portuguese | 1420 |
| Henry VI. succeeds to the throne of England. Constantinople is besieged by Amurath II. the Turkish emperor | 1422 |
| John Palæologus II. succeeds his father Manuel | 1424 |
| Cosmo de Medici recalled from banishment, and rise of that family at Florence | 1434 |
| The famous pragmatic sanction settled in France | 1439 |
| Printing discovered at Mentz, and improved gradually in 22 years | 1440 |
| Constantine, one of the sons of Manuel, ascends the throne after his brother John | 1448 |
| Mahomet II. emperor of the Turks besieges and takes Constantinople on the 29th of May. Fall of the eastern empire. The captivity of the Greeks, and the extinction of the imperial families of the Commeni and Palæologi. About this time the House of York in England began to aspire to the crown, and, by their ambitious views, to deluge the whole kingdom in blood. The learned men of the 15th century were Chaucer, Leonard Aretin, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Poggio, Flavius Blondus, Theodore Gaza, Frank Philelphus, Georgius Trapezuntius, Gemistus Pletho, Laurentius Valla, Ulugh Beigh, John Guttemberg, John Faustus, Peter Schoeffer, Wesselus, Peurbachius, Æneas Sylvius, Bessarion, Thomas à Kempis, Argyropulus, Regiomontanus, Platina, Agricola, Pontanus, Ficinus, Lascaris, Tiphernas, Annius of Viterbo, Merula, Savonarola, Picus, Politian, Hermolaus, Grocyn, Mantuanus, John Colet, Reuchlin, Lynacre, Alexander ab Alexandro, Demetrius Chalcondyles, &c. | 1453 |