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406
Visigoths, Suevi and Burgundians cross the Rhine and invade Roman Gaul.
Beginning of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. -
410
Rome is captured and looted by the Visigoths under Alaric I.
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455
The Vandals pillage Rome.
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476
End of the Western Roman Empire.
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570
Mohammed is born
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Jan 1, 631
Death of Muhammed. By this point, all of Arabia is Muslim.
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Period: Jan 1, 674 to
First Arab siege of Constantinople. First time Islamic armies stopped, saving Europe from Islamic conquest.
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Jan 1, 1023
Paper money invented
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Jan 1, 1050
The astrolabe, an ancient tool of navigation, is first used in Europe.
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Jan 1, 1050
Invention of the Crossbow
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Jan 1, 1066
Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Vikings
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Oct 14, 1066
The Battle of Hastings
End of Anglosaxon rule in England and start of Norman lineage and feudalism -
Dec 24, 1066
William the Conqueror crowned king of England
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Jan 1, 1077
The Construction of the Tower of London begins.
The tower of London was the ultimate keep of the British Empire. -
Jan 1, 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. -
Jan 1, 1096
First Crusade. Jerusalem is re-taken from the Muslims on the urging of Pope Urban II.
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Jan 1, 1100
Creation of Arabic Numerals
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Jan 1, 1117
The University of Oxford is founded
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Jan 1, 1147
The Second Crusade begins. It was an overall failure.
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Jan 1, 1163
The first cornerstone is laid for the construction of Notre Dame de Paris.
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Jan 1, 1182
Invention of Magnetic Compass
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Feb 15, 1187
Saladin recaptures Jerusalem.
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Jan 1, 1188
Richard I ascends the throne of England.
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Jan 1, 1189
The Third Crusade follows upon Saladin's uniting the Muslim world and recapturing Jerusalem.
Despite managing to win several major battles, the Crusaders did not recapture Jerusalem. -
Feb 15, 1204
Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.
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Feb 15, 1206
Genghis Khan was elected as Khagan of the Mongols and the Mongol Empire was established.
The Mongols would conquer much of Eurasia, changing former political borders. -
Jan 1, 1209
The University of Cambridge is founded.
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Jan 1, 1212
Children's Crusade.
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Jan 1, 1215
The Magna Carta is sealed by John of England.
This marks one of the first times a medieval ruler is forced to accept limits on his power. -
Jan 1, 1249
Invention of Gunpowder
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Jan 1, 1250
Invention of the primativegun
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Jan 1, 1268
Invention of the Eyeglass
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Jan 1, 1280
Mechanical Clocks are invented
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Jan 1, 1295
Marco Polo publishes his tales of China.
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Jan 1, 1297
William Wallace emerges as the leader of the Scottish resistance to England.
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Jan 1, 1337
The Hundred Years' War begins. England and France struggle for dominance of Western Europe.
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Jan 1, 1347
The Black Death ravages Europe for the first of many times. An estimated 20% - 40% of the population is thought to have perished within the first year.
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Jan 1, 1348
Quarantine invented in Venice
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Jan 1, 1381
Peasants' Revolt in England.
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Jan 1, 1381
The Bible is translated into English by John Wycliffe.
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Jan 1, 1411
Invention of Musket trigger
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Jan 1, 1429
Joan of Arc lifts the siege of Orléans for the Dauphin of France.
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Jan 1, 1430
Capture, trial, and execution of Joan of Arc.
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Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the New World. Regarded by many historians as the end of the Middle Ages.
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Jan 1, 1500
Start of the Renaissance
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Clovis becomes King of the Franks.
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Gregory the Great becomes Pope.
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Jerusalem captured by Muslims.
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Establishment of the Bulgarian Empire.
A country with great influence in the European history in the Middle Ages. -
Beginning of Charlemagne's reign.
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Sack of Lindisfarne. Viking attacks on Britain begin.
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Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III
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Death of Charlemagne.
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Viking "Great Army" in England. Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia were overwhelmed.
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Earliest known printed book in China with a date.
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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. -
Death of Alfred the Great.
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Invention of the Metronome
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Invention of Fountain Pen
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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.