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Period: 753 BCE to 476
Ancient Rome
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44 BCE
Julius Ceasar Death
The "dictator of life" of the Roman Empire is murdered by his own senators at a meeting in a hall next to Pompey’s Theatre -
27 BCE
Roman Empire Begins
Augustus appoints himself to be the first Roman Emperor and the military leader. He controlled the Empire until 14 BCE. -
117
Rome at the Greatest Extent
At this point, Rome was to its extent since it had a powerful government and was spread across the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Wester Asia. -
284
Rule of Diocletian
Diocletian ruled the Roman Empire until the year 305. He was primarily a soldier, but he made reforms not only in Roman military, but also in its financial system, administration, religion, architecture and changed rules of ruling the Empire as Rome got to experience Tetrarchy. -
306
Rule of Constantine
Constantine converted to Christianity, and later made it the official religion of the Roman Emperor. He also moved the capital (which used to be Rome), to Constantinople (which was renamed to that in his honor). -
313
Legalization of Christianity
Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal and for the first time, and the citizens were allowed to openly worship. Churches were quickly built not just in Rome but throughout the empire. -
330
Split of the Roman Empire and move to Constantinople
Constantine split the empire because it was too big and simply too hard to manage alone. The Western part remained in Rome, but the Easter part was then referred to as the Byzantine Empire. The split was more than just an organising event; the two areas had separate languages (Latin and Greek) and had separate emperors. -
387
First Sack of Rome
The first sack of Rome began when Rome became embroiled in a conflict with a band of Gallic Celts (West-central Europe) led by the warlord Brennus. -
476
End of Western Empire
The Western Roman Empire was overthrown by a Germanic leader and warrior Odoacer, who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome. -
Period: 476 to 1453
Middle Ages
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527
Reign of Justinian
Justinian was the Eastern Roman Emperor for about 40 years. During his reign, he tried his best to revive the Roman Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the Roman Empire. -
647
Muslims Conquer North Africa
The conquering was an difficult process of 3 stages led by Caliph Umar. -
701
Viking Invasion
The invasions of the Vikings brought them land from numerous countries, as they were invaders for about 300 years. The Norse explorers (traders and warriors) reached North Africa, and quickly Eastern Russia. -
732
Battle of Tours
The Battle of Poitiers was battle between the Franks and the Islam. The Christian (Franks) defeated the Muslim invaders from Spain -
768
Rule of Charlemagne
Charlemagne was the ruler of most the the Western medieval Europe for almost 50 years. He was the first recognised emperor to rule Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Throughout his years, Charlemagne encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance, which was a cultural and intellectual revival in Europe. -
862
Missionary of St. Cyril and Methodius
With the request of Prince Rostislav, St. Cyril and Methodius started working among the Slavs, using Slavonic in the liturgy. -
1054
East-West Schism
The East-West was a disagreement between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches, as they argued over who had the most power in the church, and whether or not icons should be used. -
1096
Crusades
This was a series of wars initiated by the Christians from Europe, as they tried to retake control of Jerusalem, which was extremely significant to multiple religions. As well, they attempted to take away the Holy Land from the Muslims. -
1206
Mongol Invasion
A series of invasions aimed at mainly Eurasia, that continued for about 200 years. -
1215
Magna Carta
There was once a document of promises between the king of England and the government. After the king started abusing these rules, the Magna Carta was created by the barons, as an attempt to stop king John from misapplying his powers toward the citizens of England. -
1296
Architect Brunelleschi designs the dome for the Florence Cathedral
The dome's designed by Filippo Brunelleschi building took about 140 years. It was extremely important because it helped set the tone for the Italian Renaissance. -
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance
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1317
Plague
The Plague, also called The Black Death, is a bacterial infection which caused up to 200 million deaths. The disease spread rapidly throughout Europe through coughs, sneezes, and rodents. -
1320
Dante writes his epic poem the Divine Comedy
Dante wrote the his long narrative poem in three major sections: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The book is an imaginary journey through the three realms of the afterlife. -
1337
100 year war
The war was a series of battles with tiny "rests" of peace throughout it. The French and the English disagreed over succession to the French throne. -
1378
The Papacy returned to Rome
Between 1309 and 1377 all 7 of the French popes resisted the Avignon in Rome. In 1378, though, Gregory XI made the decision that the papal residence will move back to Rome. -
Jul 6, 1415
Jan Hus Dies
Hus was a very talented Czech theologian, philosopher, rector
and an inspirer of Hussitism, which was key to Protestantism. His teachings had a strong influence on Western Europe. -
1439
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press
Gutenberg's printing press was revolutionary invention that allowed manuscripts to be made mass-produced and sold by an affordable price. -
1453
End of Eastern Empire
The fall of the Easter Roman Empire happened because of the Ottoman Turks that invaded the capital of the Byzantine Empire - Constantinople. -
1469
Lorenzo de Medici ascends to power in Florence
Medici was the Florentine statesman and ruler, as well as "the king" of art in Florence, Italy. -
1473
Sistine Chapel
The construction of the chapel has been going on for about 10 years, until it was finally opened in 1483. The ceiling of the chapel, though, was painted by Michael Angelo between 1508 and 1512. Currently, the chapel is the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. -
1486
Botticelli completed the painting The Birth of Venus
The painting was made by tempera on canvas, and shows the goddess - Venus, at shore for the first time, after she is fully-grown. -
1491
King Henry VIII
King Henry VIII is known for "as a bully who executed his opponents, oversaw the destruction of religious buildings and works of art, and killed off two of his six wives [by beheading them]" -
1500
Start of Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was a movement of the Roman Catholics, with the aim to reform and improve the church, basically, a response to the Protestant-Reformation -
1503
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa
The portrait was made using oil paints and was a great success. Ever since it was made, it has been "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world". -
1511
Erasmus published The Praise of Folly
The essay was initially written for entertainment purposes for Erasmus' friend, but quickly, the essay got an very positive response from the public, for the story's genre of fantasy mixed with satire. -
Period: 1517 to
Reformation
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Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther nails 95 Theses
The 95 Theses were questions and propositions for debate, that Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. -
1543
Copernicus’ Heliocentric Theory
The Theory revolved around the idea that the Sun is fixed in the middle of the Universe, with planets orbiting it. -
Period: 1543 to
Scientific Revolution
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1558
Elizabeth I became Queen of England
Queen Elizabeth I's reign provided stability, peace, comfort and security for all of England. -
William Shakespeare builds the Globe theatre. He will write many of his great plays over the next few years including Hamlet and Macbeth.
The theatre was one of the first playhouses in England since Roman times. It burned, though, during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII in 1613. -
Galileo studies planets with his telescope
After the telescope was invented, Galileo Galilei used it to discover the moons "circling Jupiter, to study Saturn, to observe the phases of Venus, and to study sunspots on the Sun". His discoveries helped prove Copernicus' previous theory that the sun is fixed in the middle of the Universe, and everything revolves around it. -
30 Years War
It began as a religious war between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Germany. This ongoing engaged the Austrian Habsburgs and the German princes to join in, as well as most of Europe. The war resulted in a significant power imbalance in Europe. -
Bacon published Novum Organum
Francis Bacon wrote his philosophical and scientific book in Latin. To book was written by him "to adjust the thought and methodology of learning about and understanding science and nature", proposing some of his own theories and methods. -
Galileo was warned by the Catholic Church
Galileo Galilei was put on trial for the suspicion of heresy. All of the Roman Catholic Church seemed to be against Galilei, and under threat of torture he was forced on him knees. -
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between different nations ending the European was between religion. -
Kepler discovered elliptical orbits
After Copernicus' discovery that planets revolve around the Sun, Kepler was the one that defined their orbits. -
The invention of the microscope
Zacharias Janssen and his father accidentally invented the microscope by putting two lenses in a tube, and realising that the object below the lense became greatly enlarged.
