Middle Ages

Tacitus' Germania

100

Tacitus was trying to critique the Roman society by writing about the Germans.

Edict of Milan

313

Helped to protect Christians and made Christianity the official language.

Nicene Creed

325

Constantine was with the council of Nicea to unify the Christian church with one doctrine.

Legions depart

410

The Roman legions leave Brittania which leads to the end of literacy in that region.

The Sacking of Rome by Alaric

410

The city was attacked by the Visigoths who were being led by King Alaric and this sacking was seen as a major component to the downfall of Rome.

Theodosius II builds a great wall around Constantinople

413

Built and were being used to protect the city.

Merovingian Dynasty

481

Founded by Childeric, who is the father of Clovis. Clovis united all of Gaul under the Merovingian rules. Pepin the short was crowned the King of the Franks. During the Battle of Tours, the Franks were led by Charles Martel and were going against Muslims, but the Franks were victorious.

The Salic Law

507

The purpose of these laws was to show the price a man would have to pay, literally, for committing any of the crimes.

The House of Wessex

519

The House of Wessex refers to the family that initially ruled a kingdom in Southwest England known as Wessex. The founder was Cerdic of Wessix.

Justinian becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire

527

When Justinian was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire he was able to reclaim some of the land that was lost throughout the years. He also began the construction of the Hagia Sophia.

Nika Revolt

532

The destruction of these revolts allowed for the Hagia Sophia to be built, which was designed to overawe barbarians to get them to convert to Christianity.

Anglo-Saxon Invasion

550

The first Anglo-Saxons ended up traveling to Britain because the Roman troops had left and they saw an opportunity to strike,

Gregory of Tours

594

Gregory was a bishop and he was the person who excused Clovis of his sins because he is a Christian.

Muhammad leaves Mecca for Medina/Foundation of Islam

Dec 24, 622

Muhammad was invited to live with a tribe who lived in Medina and left in the middle of the night to make it there.

Muhammad conquers Mecca

Dec 24, 623

When he was outnumbered in battle, Muhammad called out "If you die you'll go to paradise," which made his men want to die for their rights.

Ali is murdered, creating Sunni/Shia split

Dec 24, 632

The Shia and Sunni split over the dispute of who is the rightful successor of Muhammad, some believed it should be a family member while other people believed that it should be a muslim member.

Umayyad Empire

Dec 24, 661

The second of the four major Arab Caliphates established after the death of Muhammad and still included Muslim teachings.

The Venerable Bead's Writing

Dec 24, 672

The Venerable Bead was the founding father of English history and was the first story teller.

Dome of the Rock built in Jersusalem

Dec 24, 691

A shrine that is located on the Temple Mount and is one of the oldest works of Islamic Architecture.

The Carolingian Dynasty

Dec 24, 800

The Carolingian Dynasty was a Frankish noble family and Pepin the short was declared King of the Franks.

Charlemagne is crowned by Pope

Dec 24, 800

Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo, at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, which made him the most powerful ruler of his time.

Alfred the Great

Dec 24, 849

One of the things that Alfred the Great is known for is he had the only Anglo-Saxon tribe to survive Viking attacks. The other thing he is well known for is making peace with the English and the Vikings.

Beowulf

Dec 24, 1000

The date of when Beowulf was written is important because we know that the author was a Christian.

Population Growth

Dec 24, 1000

The population in England started to increase due to the expansion of trades and more people coming to get more resources and now living there.

Schism between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic

Dec 24, 1054

Cerularius wanted to go against the Pope due to an alliance the Pope and Emperor might make. This caused the schism to happen, which led to Cerularius to be excommunicated (took away his power).

Norman Invasion of England

Dec 24, 1066

The Bayeux tapestry tells of William the Conqueror's invasion of Britain, which was successful. (last person to have a successful invasion of Britain).

Pope Urban's speech at the Council of Clermont

Dec 24, 1095

The fives reasons why you should go on a crusade are, remission of sins, reclaim holy land, overpopulation, killed a lot of Christians, and Christians were not allowed to go on a pilgrimage.

Christians take Jerusalem in 1st crusade

Dec 24, 1097

The Christians who went on the Crusade and slaughtered all of the Muslims were seen as violent and their acts were "un-Christian."

Seljuk Dynasty

Dec 24, 1100

The Seljuk Dynasty is different from the Umayyad and Abbasid Empire because they were both caliphates and successors to Muhammad.

3rd Crusade

Dec 24, 1189

During the third crusade Richard and the Christians went against Saladin and the Muslims. They each had gains and loses during this crusade, sometimes they would gain land, others they would lose the land. In the end there was a Peace Treaty, which did not last.

Prose Edda

Dec 24, 1200

Snorri Sturlson says we lost the name of God because we started worshipping other Gods. Thor reflects the German values because he is arrogant, easy to anger, and relentless.

4th Crusade

Dec 24, 1202

Originally the Crusaders planned to conquer Jerusalem and get it back from the Muslims, but instead they ended up conquering Constantinople which was capitol of the Byzantine Empire that was controlled by the Christians.

Children's Crusade

Dec 24, 1212

The children's crusade was supposedly a very bad crusade led by the European Christians to attempt to get the Muslims out of the Holy Land.

5th Crusade

Dec 24, 1213

During the Fifth Crusade the Western Europeans attempted to reconquer Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. But in doing so they would first have to conquer the Ayyubid state which was in Egypt.

6th Crusade

Dec 24, 1228

Once again the crusaders were still trying to reconquer Jerusalem, which was kind of successful because they gained some control over Jerusalem and they also gained control over some of the other Holy Lands.

The Abbasid Empire

Dec 24, 1261

The Abbasid Empire was the third Muslim Caliphate to succeed the prophet Muhammad and they ruled as Caliphs.

8th Crusade

Dec 24, 1270

The crusade was created by Louis IX of France against the city of Tunis. The crusade is considered a failure because Louis died of a disease shortly after arriving at the shores of Tunisia.

9th Crusade

Dec 24, 1271

The crusade was not a complete failure like most of the other crusades. Considered to be the last major medieval crusade to the holy land. The result of this crusade was the Treaty of Caesarea.

Ibn Battuta left on pilgrimage for Mecca

Dec 24, 1325

Traveled across North Africa to get to Egypt, he studied Muslim law which led him to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which is Hajj.

Ottoman Empire takes Constantinople

Dec 24, 1453

The Ottomans were being controlled by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated the Byzantine army who were controlled by the Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos. The conquest of Constantinople was followed by a 53 day siege. The capture of Constantinople was the end of the Roman empire, which lasted for 1500 years.