Middle/Dark Ages Timeline Project

Vandals Sack Rome

455

The vandals sack and pillage Rome, sieging the capital city for 14 days and weakening the Roman empire.

Clovis Merovingian Dynasty (476-750)

476

Dynasty that began with King Clovis I, who single handedly united all the Frankish tribes underneath him. He also changed the leadership from a group of royal chieftans, to one ruler that came from his dynasty.

Benedict of Nursia

480

St. Benedict was a religious reformer who is known for establishing the Benedict Rule, changing people's way of life as Christians and monks.

Saint Bede

672

English Monk, historian, and scholar, who contributed to our knowledge of early humans through his writing, including information on the conversion to Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon tribes.

Battle of Tours

Oct 10, 732

Faught between Christian Europeans and the Spanish Moors. The loss of the Moors stopped Muslim advance in Western Europe.

Missi Dominici

768

Officials that were sent by Frankish Kings and Queens to investigate the behavior of royal officials and report back were named the Missi Dominici.

Al-Khwarizmi

780

Al-Khwarizmi is the individual who introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and algebra to the European mathmaticians.

Massacre of Verden

782

Charlamagne orders the massacre of 4500 Saxons, which made the Saxons lose their leadership to be governed under the Franks and Charlamagne.

Vikings Attack Lindisfarne

Jun 8, 793

Vikings attack the monks on the "Holy Island", one of the first landing sites of the vikings.

Death of Charlamagne

814

After his reign of more than 4 decades, Charlamagne dies, leaving king Louis to come after him.

Muhammed Al-Razi

854

Muhammed Al-Razi was the first individual to describe smallpox and expose the difference between smallpox and measles.

King Alfred of England

899

King alfred was the extraordinary King of England who defended his kingdom against the vikings, reformed the law and coinage, and implemented more defenses.

Battle of Hastings

Oct 14, 1066

Fought between England, led by King Harold II, and the Norman forces, led by William the Conqueror. Established the Normans as the new rulers of England, which changed the culture of England.

Doomsday Book

1085

This book was commissioned by an order from William the Conqueror, that assessed the wealth of his subjects. It was used to raise money for his army.

Ibn Zuhur

1094

Considered the father of experimental surgery, first person to use animals to experiment surgery before acting on humans.

Genghis Khan

1162

Genghis Khan is the man who unified the Mongolian Steppe under one dominant, large empire that captured territory in large parts of central Asia and China.

Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

Magna Carta is the document that established that everyone is beneath the law, including the king himself. It guaranteed the rights of individuals in England.

Sundiata Keita

1217

Sundiata Keita was the first ruler and founder of the Mali empire, who made it prosper for years to come.

Marco Polo (1254 - 1324)

1254

Marco Polo was an explorer who traveled many places in the world, including the Silk Road to Asia, before many other European explorers.

Guy De Chauliac

1300

Guy De Chauliac was a Middle Ages surgical writer who's work had been useful for the advancement of many surgical procedures.

Mansa Musa Journey for the Hajj

1324

Mansa Musa, emperor of the Mali empire went on a journey to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage that spread the thoughts of Mali to portray power and wealth of the empire.

Geoffery Chaucer

1342

Geoffery Chaucer was an English poet and author who contributed to English literature through his work, including the Canterbury Tales.

Jani Beg Siege of Kaffa

1346

Jani Beg orders an attack on the city of Kaffa, by sending infected troops of the plague to transmit the disease to the people living in the city as well as other parts of the world.

Christine De Pisan

Sep 11, 1364

Christine De Pisan was a medieval writer that advocated for the rights of women. She had some of the earliest writings of feminism at the time that set the trend for women's rights later on.

Joan of Arc

1412

Joan of Arc was a girl peasant who led the French Army to win against England in the Hundred Years War.