306 |
Constantine I acclaimed emperor at York, northern Britain |
312 |
Constantine’s victory at the battle of the Milvian Bridge outside Rome |
313 |
Edict of Milan declares religious toleration |
324 |
Constantine’s victory over Licinius at Chrysopolis and foundation of Constantinople |
325 |
First Oecumenical Council at Nicaea |
326 |
Helena’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem |
330 |
11 May, inauguration of the city of Constantine, Constantinople |
337 |
Death and Christian funeral of Constantine I |
356/7 |
Constantius II installs relics of saints at the church of Holy Apostles |
378 |
Valens killed by Goths at the battle of Adrianople |
380 |
Theodosius I enters Constantinople |
381 |
Second Oecumenical Council at Constantinople |
402 |
Honorius moves court from Milan to Ravenna |
406 |
Withdrawal of Roman forces from Britain |
410 |
Rome sacked by Alaric and Goths |
412/13 |
Constantinople expanded by new walls |
437 |
Marriage of Valentinian III and Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius II |
437/8 |
Codex Theodosianus issued |
451 |
Fourth Oecumenical Council at Chalcedon |
455 |
Rome sacked by Vandals from North Africa |
489 |
Theoderic’s victory at Ravenna |
524 |
Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy |
529 |
Platonic Academy of Athens closed |
532 |
Eternal Peace with Persia; Nika riot in Constantinople |
533 |
Defeat of Vandals in Africa |
534 |
Codex Juris Civilis issued |
540 |
Capture of Gothic king Vitiges in Ravenna |
541/2 |
Bubonic plague spreads throughout Mediterranean |
547 |
4 Dedication of the church of San Vitale, Ravenna |
608 |
Senate of Constantinople appeals to Herakleios, exarch of Carthage |
610 |
Phokas overthrown by Herakleios, son of exarch |
622 |
Flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina |
626 |
Siege of Constantinople by combined Avar and Persian forces |
628 |
Herakleios defeats Persia, Chosroes II dies |
630 |
Herakleios returns the True Cross to Jerusalem |
632 |
Death of Muhammad |
636 |
Arab victory at battle of Yarmuk |
638 |
Arabs capture Antioch and Jerusalem |
642 |
Arabs overrun Egypt |
655 |
Arabs defeat Constans II at naval battle of Phoinix |
662 |
Constans II moves court to Syracuse in Sicily |
674–8 |
Long blockade and siege of Constantinople by Arabs |
680/81 |
Sixth Oecumenical Council at Constantinople |
691/2 |
Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik constructs Dome of the Rock |
692 |
Council in Trullo (Quinisext) at Constantinople |
698 |
Arabs overrun exarchate of Carthage |
711 |
Arabs defeat Visigoths in Spain, cross River Oxus in Uzbekistan |
717–18 |
Siege of Constantinople by Arabs |
726 |
Underwater volcanic eruption at Thera (Santorini) |
730 |
Leo III dismisses Patriarch Germanos and imposes iconoclasm |
740 |
Ekloga issued by Leo III and Constantine V; Byzantine victory over the Arabs at Akroinon |
750 |
Abbasid revolt and removal of Caliphate to Baghdad |
751 |
Fall of Ravenna to Lombards |
754 |
Iconoclast Council at Hiereia; Alliance between Pope Stephen II and Pippin, king of the Franks |
787 |
Seventh Oecumenical Council at Nicaea |
800 |
Pope Leo III crowns Charles, king of the Franks, emperor in Rome |
815 |
Iconoclast Council in Hagia Sophia |
829 |
Relics of St Mark taken from Alexandria to Venice |
843 |
Theodora ends Iconoclasm with Synodikon of Orthodoxy |
858–67 |
Patriarch Photios, first reign, conversion of the Bulgars and baptism of Khan Boris |
860 |
Russian attack on Constantinople |
863 |
Mission of Constantine-Cyril and Methodios to Moravia |
867 |
Murder of Michael III by Basil I the Macedonian |
869/70 |
Eighth Oecumenical Council in Constantinople |
877–86 |
Patriarch Photios, second reign |
905 |
Birth of Constantine Porphyrogennetos |
907 |
Fourth marriage of Leo VI |
911 |
First treaty between Byzantium and the Rus |
941 |
Russian attack on Constantinople |
944 |
Second trade treaty with Rus, followed by Olga’s visit to Constantinople |
961 |
Byzantine reconquest of Crete by Nikephoros Phokas |
965 |
Byzantine reconquest of Cyprus |
972 |
Marriage of Theophano to Otto II in Rome |
969 |
Byzantine reconquest of Antioch by John Tzimiskes |
989 |
Baptism of Vladimir of Kiev and marriage to Anna Porphyro gennetos |
992 |
Basil II issues first Byzantine chrysobull for Venice |
1004 |
Marriage of Maria Argyropoulaina and Giovanni Orseolo |
1004/5 |
Introduction of the fork to Venice |
1034 |
Harald Hadrada arrives in Constantinople with Varangians |
1046–53 |
Pechenegs cross Danube frontiers and devastate Balkans |
1048 |
onwards Constantine IX Monomarchos devalues gold coinage |
1054 |
Schism between Constantinople and Rome |
1071 |
Normans capture Bari in southern Italy; Seljuk Turks defeat and capture Romanos IV Diogenes at the battle of Mantzikert |
1082/4 |
Alexios I Komnenos issues second chrysobull for Venice |
1082–5 |
Norman invasion of Epiros |
1087 |
Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem |
1092 |
Alexios I Komnenos reforms the gold coinage |
1095 |
Alexios I Komnenos appeals for western military help against the Turks |
1096–9 |
First Crusade |
1111 |
Basil the Bogomil burned at the stake |
1146–8 |
Second Crusade |
1171 |
Byzantine attack on Venetian colonies throughout the empire |
1182 |
Further Byzantine attacks on Venetian, Pisan and Genoese property |
1187 |
Saladin recaptures Jerusalem, expels crusaders |
1189–92 |
Third Crusade, Richard I, ‘the Lionheart’ of England, invades |
Cyprus |
|
1202–4 |
Fourth Crusade |
1203 |
First siege of Constantinople, flight of Alexios III Angelos, |
Crusaders install Alexios IV with his father Isaac II Angelos |
|
1204 |
Crusaders’ second siege and sack of Constantinople, establishment of the Latin Empire of Constantinople |
1204/5 |
Foundation of rival Byzantine states in Trebizond, Nicaea and |
Epiros |
|
1208 |
Theodore I Laskaris crowned as emperor in Nicaea |
1216 |
Theodore Komnenos Doukas captures Ohrid |
1224 |
Theodore Komnenos Doukas captures Thessalonike |
1225/7 |
Theodore Komnenos Doukas captures Adrianople, crowned |
emperor in Thessalonike |
|
1248 |
Mistras founded by William II Villehardouin |
1249 |
Michael II Komnenos Doukas adopts the title Despot of Epiros |
1249/50 |
Theological debates between Byzantines and friars at Nymphaion |
1259 |
Michael Palaiologos defeats forces of Epiros and Achaia, William II Villehardouin taken prisoner |
1261 |
Latins driven out of Constantinople, Michael VIII Palaiologos |
returns in triumph |
|
1274 |
Council of Lyons declares union of churches |
1278 |
William II Villehardouin dies, Charles of Anjou inherits principality of Achaia |
1282 |
‘Sicilian Vespers’ attack on Charles of Anjou halts his projected |
invasion of Byzantium |
|
1327 |
Ottomans capture Prousa/Bursa |
1331 |
Ottomans capture Nicaea/Iznik |
1337 |
Ottomans capture Nikomedeia/Izmit |
1341–7 |
Civil war between John V Palaiologos and John VI Kantakouzenos |
1342–9 |
Zealots seize control of Thessalonike |
1351 |
Council in Constantinople approves doctrine of Hesychasm |
1354 |
Ottoman forces cross Dardanelles and capture Gallipoli |
1369 |
Ottomans capture Adrianople/Edirne |
1396 |
Crusade of King Sigismund defeated at Nicopolis |
1397–1402 |
Siege of Constantinople |
1399–1403 |
Manuel II’s travels in Western Europe |
1402 |
Timur (Tamerlane) defeats Ottomans at Ankyra, Sultan Bayezid and son Musa captured |
1422 |
Sultan Murad II besieges Constantinople |
1438/9 |
Council of Ferrara-Florence, another attempt at church union |
1444 |
Murad II defeats Crusade of Christian forces at Varna |
1453 |
29 May, Sultan Mehmed II captures Constantinople, death of |
Constantine XI on the walls of the city |
|
1460 |
Ottomans capture Mistras |
1461 |
Ottomans capture Trebizond/Trabzon |