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

GERMANIC TRIBES: Tacitus Germania

100

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

EARLY CHRISTIAN: Edict of Milan

313

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

EARLY CHRISTIAN: Nicene Creed

325

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.

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

330

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

EARLY CHRISTIAN/GERMANIC TRIBES: Sacking of Rome by Alaric

410

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

ENGLAND: Legions depart

410

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.

FRANCE: Merovingian Dynasty

Period: 476 to Dec 25, 750

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

FRANCE: The Salic Law

507

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.

FRANCE: Reign of Clovis

Period: 509 to 511

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

BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Nika Revolt

532

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.

ENGLAND: Anglo-Saxon Invasion

550

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.

BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Justinian becomes emperor

565

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

FRANCE: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks

591

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.

ISLAM: Foundation of Islam

Dec 24, 600

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

ISLAM: Muhammad conquers Mecca

Dec 24, 624

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.

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

Dec 24, 661

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

ISLAM: Umayyad Empire

Period: Dec 24, 661 to Dec 25, 750

The first great dynasty to rule the Arab Kingdom

ISLAM: Dome of the Rock built in Jerusalem

Dec 24, 691

Known as one of the most recognizable landmarks of Jerusalem. it was completed in 691 at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik.

FRANCE: Pepin the Short

Period: Dec 24, 714 to Dec 25, 768

Pepin the Short was the son of Charles Martel and the father of Charlemagne.

FRANCE: The Battles of Tours and Charles Martel

Oct 10, 732

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

ENGLAND: The Venerable Bead's Writings

Dec 24, 735

The Venerable Bead was the first storyteller of English literature. he was a brilliant historian and church propagandist

ISLAM: The Abbasid Empire

Period: Dec 24, 750 to Dec 25, 1517

The Third Islamic dynasty following the death of Muhammad

FRANCE: Charlemagne is crowned king by pope.

Dec 24, 768

Charlemagne after being crowned king expanded the empire greatly and attempted to reunite the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.

FRANCE: Carolingian Dynasty

Period: Dec 24, 800 to Dec 25, 924

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.

ENGLAND: The House of Wessex

Period: Dec 24, 871 to Dec 25, 1066

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

ENGLAND: Alfred the Great

Dec 24, 899

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".

GERMANIC TRIBES: Beowulf

Dec 24, 1000

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

ENGLAND: Norman Invasion of England

Dec 24, 1000

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

ISLAM: Seljuk Dynasty

Period: Dec 24, 1037 to Dec 25, 1194

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.

BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Schisim between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic

Dec 24, 1054

The Catholic Church split into two different parts, the Greek Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church

MIDDLE AGES: Pope Urban's Speech

Dec 24, 1095

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.

MIDDLE AGES: Christians take Jerusalem

Dec 24, 1097

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Third Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1187 to Dec 25, 1192

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

MIDDLE AGES: The Fourth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1198 to Dec 25, 1204

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.

GERMANIC TRIBES: Prose Edda

Dec 24, 1200

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Children's Crusade

Dec 24, 1212

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Fifth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1216 to Dec 25, 1221

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Sixth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1229 to Dec 25, 1230

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Seventh Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1239 to Dec 25, 1241

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.

MIDDLE AGES: The Eighth Crusade

Dec 24, 1249

In 1249, King Louis IX of France led the Eighth Crusade against Egypt, which ended in defeat at Mansura the following year.

MIDDLE AGES: The Ninth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1271 to Dec 25, 1272

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.

ISLAM: Ibn Battuta left on pilgramage to Mecca

Dec 24, 1300

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.

MIDDLE AGES: Population Growth

Dec 24, 1300

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.

MIDDLE AGES: Ottoman Empire Takes Constantinople

May 29, 1453

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.