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10
Pax Romana
The period of stability achieved during the reign of Augustus Caesar has been given the name Pax Romana ('Roman peace') -
100
Roman roads
The network of Roman roads stretches eventually from England to Egypt -
200
incorporated in the Roman empire
The rock tombs of prosperous Petra, now incorporated in the Roman empire, are carved in the cliffs as classical temples -
300
Han dynasty
Ten dynasties and nineteen kingdoms jockey for power in the three centuries after the fall of the Han dynasty -
400
imperial descent from the sun
Niall of the Nine Hostages is the first man to be called king of Ireland, though his direct control does not extend beyond Ulster. -
500
rocky islands
Monks in Ireland live in stone beehive cells on rocky islands, to achieve maximum discomfort -
800
Thousand and One Nights
The luxury of Baghdad, under the caliph Harun al-Rashid, is evident in the Thousand and One Nights -
1000
time between the sixth and seventeenth century AD
The huge stone heads standing on Easter Island are carved and erected at some time between the sixth and seventeenth century AD -
1200
Flemish towns begin
Flemish towns begin to acquire municipal independence, as communes, following the earlier Italian trend -
1400
Richard II dies in Pontefract castle,
Richard II dies in Pontefract castle, almost certainly starved to death on the orders of the new king - insecure on his throne as an undeniable usurper -
'magnetic pole'
William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth, concludes that the earth is a magnet and coins the term 'magnetic pole' -
Napoleon
Napoleon appoints a commission to prepare a code of civil law, which becomes known as the Code Napoléon -
Mercedes
Daimler cars develop a new brand using the name Mercedes, that of the ten-year-old daughter of the investor and distributor Emil Jellinek -
Movement for Democratic Change
Trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai leads a newly formed party in Zimbabwe, the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) -
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili, the real winner of Georgia's November 2003 presidential election, has a resounding victory in the replay -
King Abdullah
Protests begin in Jordan, causing King Abdullah to form a new cabinet on February 1 with the brief to introduce reform and steps towards democracy -
Bush
US President Bush signs into law a $700 billion emergency fund to purchase failing bank assets -
Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai is inaugurated, entering the record books as the world tallest building at 828 m (2717 ft)
