Europe/Middle East after Fall of Rome/ Middle Ages Timeline

  • 100

    GERMANIC TRIBES: Tacitus Germania

    This is a description of the Germanic people. Tacitus was trying to compare the qualities of Germanic warriors to the Romans
  • 313

    EARLY CHRISTIAN: Edict of Milan

    The Edict of Milan created religious tolerance and made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire
  • 325

    EARLY CHRISTIAN: Nicene Creed

    The Nicene Creed was made to emphasize that God had 3 forms but all were one being and One God. This creed was used to justify that Christianity is a monotheistic religion.
  • 330

    BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Theodisius II establishes Constantinople as center of Byzantine Empire

    Theodosius II builds a great wall around Constantinople, establishing it as the center of the new Eastern Roman Empire
  • 410

    EARLY CHRISTIAN/GERMANIC TRIBES: Sacking of Rome by Alaric

    This was important because it showed that Rome was not as powerful as it once was and this led to the "Fall" of the Roman Empire
  • 410

    ENGLAND: Legions depart

    To protect the more valuable parts of the empire, many Romans left England. The remaining Romans and English were left defenseless against attacking Germanic Tribes.
  • Period: 476 to Dec 25, 750

    FRANCE: Merovingian Dynasty

    The Frankish dynasty that is known as the "first race" of the kings of France.
  • 507

    FRANCE: The Salic Law

    The Salic Law was a codification of rules goverining the behavior within the lands held by the Salians or Salic branch of the Frankish people. The main goal of these Germanic Legal Codes was to stop blood feuds.
  • Period: 509 to 511

    FRANCE: Reign of Clovis

    Clovis was the first Frankish king to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler. He converted to Christianity at the request of his wife Clotilda
  • 532

    BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Nika Revolt

    A revolt against Emperor Justinian for not pardoning two young killers who escaped hanging when their ropes broke. The destruction of these revolts allowed for the Hagia Sofia to be built. This structure is interesting and differing in religious iconography because it created conflict between Islam and Christianity. The conflict occurred because Hagia Sofia was built as a Christian church but was later converted into an Islamic mosque.
  • 550

    ENGLAND: Anglo-Saxon Invasion

    The Anglo Saxons raided the shores of south and east England but were beaten back by Romans. The Anglo Saxons invaded England because they were looking for new land due to the bad agriculture of their home land.
  • 565

    BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Justinian becomes emperor

    Justinian becomes the emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 527 and rules until 565
  • 591

    FRANCE: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks

    Gregory of Tours was a deacon and historian. He wrote a history of the Frankish people but it was heavily Christian biased due to his connection to the church. Gregory was a deacon and this was important to his depiction of Clovis because he made Clovis look very good.
  • Dec 24, 600

    ISLAM: Foundation of Islam

    Muhammad had his revelations from God in Medina and Mecca and they were written down in the 7th century. The written word of God as written by muhhamad is known as the Quran
  • Dec 24, 624

    ISLAM: Muhammad conquers Mecca

    After the treaty between the Meccans and the Quraysh is broken, Muhammad takes 10,000 men to Mecca to conquer Mecca. Muhammad rallied his outnumbered troops by calling out he dangerous idea that if you die fighting, you will go to Paradise.
  • Dec 24, 661

    ISLAM: Ali is murdered, creating the Sunni/Shia split

    Soon after Muhammad died in 632, Islam broke out into civil war between two branches of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites. Ali, a member of the Sunnis branch, was married to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. He was named caliph and soon after he was killed in battle against the Shiites in 661
  • Period: Dec 24, 661 to Dec 25, 750

    ISLAM: Umayyad Empire

    The first great dynasty to rule the Arab Kingdom
  • Dec 24, 691

    ISLAM: Dome of the Rock built in Jerusalem

    Known as one of the most recognizable landmarks of Jerusalem. it was completed in 691 at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik.
  • Period: Dec 24, 714 to Dec 25, 768

    FRANCE: Pepin the Short

    Pepin the Short was the son of Charles Martel and the father of Charlemagne.
  • Oct 10, 732

    FRANCE: The Battles of Tours and Charles Martel

    A battle fought between forces led by Charles Martel and a large invading Islamic army near the city of Tours
  • Dec 24, 735

    ENGLAND: The Venerable Bead's Writings

    The Venerable Bead was the first storyteller of English literature. he was a brilliant historian and church propagandist
  • Period: Dec 24, 750 to Dec 25, 1517

    ISLAM: The Abbasid Empire

    The Third Islamic dynasty following the death of Muhammad
  • Dec 24, 768

    FRANCE: Charlemagne is crowned king by pope.

    Charlemagne after being crowned king expanded the empire greatly and attempted to reunite the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.
  • Period: Dec 24, 800 to Dec 25, 924

    FRANCE: Carolingian Dynasty

    The size was about 429,000 square miles and its population was about 20 million people. it was ruled by the noble family of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans.
  • Period: Dec 24, 871 to Dec 25, 1066

    ENGLAND: The House of Wessex

    The House of Wessex was founded by Alfred the Great and is made up of all of his descendants. The house ended in 1066 with the death of Edward the Congessor
  • Dec 24, 899

    ENGLAND: Alfred the Great

    Alfred lived from 849-899. He was the King of Wessex and King of the Anglo Saxons. He is well known for two things. He was able to fight off the Danish viking invasion and converted many of the to Christianity. He is also known because he is the only English king in history to have the title " the Great".
  • Dec 24, 1000

    GERMANIC TRIBES: Beowulf

    Epic poem about Germanic tribes and kingdoms. The date is important because Christianity was growing at this time and Beowulf included religious syncretism between Norse Mythology and Christianity
  • Dec 24, 1000

    ENGLAND: Norman Invasion of England

    When William the Conqueror and his Norman forces invaded England to become the king of England. The tapestry describing these events is called the Bayeux Tapestry
  • Period: Dec 24, 1037 to Dec 25, 1194

    ISLAM: Seljuk Dynasty

    The Seljuk Dynasty took over Jerusalem in 1070. It is different to the two previous dynasties because it was involved in the First Crusade and fought the crusaders.
  • Dec 24, 1054

    BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Schisim between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic

    The Catholic Church split into two different parts, the Greek Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church
  • Dec 24, 1095

    MIDDLE AGES: Pope Urban's Speech

    Pope Urban gave a speech at the Council of Clermont urging the king to start a crusade to retake the Holy Land. His 5 reasons for a crusade were that all serfs could leave their land, recruits were free from taxes, all debts became interest free, prisoners who enlisted were freed, and that all death sentences were taken back.
  • Dec 24, 1097

    MIDDLE AGES: Christians take Jerusalem

    The First Crusade was a crusade to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. The crusaders breached Jerusalem's walls in 1097 ad took the city by storm. The Christians acted ruthless. They slaughtered about 70,000 Muslims and any Jews were herded into synagogues that were burned down.
  • Period: Dec 24, 1187 to Dec 25, 1192

    MIDDLE AGES: The Third Crusade

    Muslim general Saladin took back Jerusalem rom the crusaders in 1187. King Philip II of France and King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) approached Jerusalem and signed a peace treaty in 1192 to end the Third Crusade
  • Period: Dec 24, 1198 to Dec 25, 1204

    MIDDLE AGES: The Fourth Crusade

    The Fourth Crusade was set in motion by Pope Innocent II> The Fourth Crusade was focused on stopping power struggles between Byzantium and the rest of Europe. It ended with Constantinople being looted and falling.
  • Dec 24, 1200

    GERMANIC TRIBES: Prose Edda

    This document explained Norse mythology and told of Thor and the Asgardians. Snorri Sturlson says people lost the name of god beause humans became too focused on the lusts and luxuries of the worl and neglected God. Thor is described as strong, brave, and angry. This reflected the traits of the Germanic people because many German warriors fought with anger and rage and were intimidating like Thor.
  • Dec 24, 1212

    MIDDLE AGES: The Children's Crusade

    The preacher of the Children's crusade was a child about twelve years old, a French peasant boy, named Stephen of Cloyes, who became persuaded that Jesus Christ had commanded him to lead a crusade of children to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. Children became wild and excited and flocked in many crowds. Most of the crusaders were boys but there were any girls.
  • Period: Dec 24, 1216 to Dec 25, 1221

    MIDDLE AGES: The Fifth Crusade

    In the Fifth Crusade, put in motion by Pope Innocent III before his death in 1216, the Crusaders attacked Egypt from both land and sea, but were forced to surrender to Muslim defenders led by Saladin’s nephew, Al-Malik al-Kamil, in 1221.
  • Period: Dec 24, 1229 to Dec 25, 1230

    MIDDLE AGES: The Sixth Crusade

    In 1229, in what became known as the Sixth Crusade, Emperor Frederick II achieved the peaceful transfer of Jerusalem to Crusader control through negotiation with al-Kamil.
  • Period: Dec 24, 1239 to Dec 25, 1241

    MIDDLE AGES: The Seventh Crusade

    The Seventh Crusade, led by Thibault IV of Champagne, briefly recaptured Jerusalem, though it was lost again in 1244 to Khwarazmian forces enlisted by the sultan of Egypt.
  • Dec 24, 1249

    MIDDLE AGES: The Eighth Crusade

    In 1249, King Louis IX of France led the Eighth Crusade against Egypt, which ended in defeat at Mansura the following year.
  • Period: Dec 24, 1271 to Dec 25, 1272

    MIDDLE AGES: The Ninth Crusade

    Is thought to be part of the Eighth Crusade. Edward I of England attempted another military expedition against Baibars in 1271, afterward having attended Louis on the 8th Crusade. Louis died in Tunisia. The 9th Crusade caused a bankruptcy and ceased the Crusades in the Middle East.
  • Dec 24, 1300

    ISLAM: Ibn Battuta left on pilgramage to Mecca

    Ibn Battuta was an Arab traveler who traveled to almost every Muslim country in 25-30 years. He made his pilgramage in the 14th century and it was 3000 miles.
  • Dec 24, 1300

    MIDDLE AGES: Population Growth

    After the Little Ice Age of the Middle Ages, Europe became warmer and agriculture flourished all over Europe. This led to a growth in population.
  • May 29, 1453

    MIDDLE AGES: Ottoman Empire Takes Constantinople

    The Ottomans were commanded by 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated an army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege that had begun on 6 April 1453. The capture of Constantinople was a big event in the Middle ages because it marked the end of the Byzantine Empire.