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A monk named Dionysius Exiguus creates this new dating system as part of his efforts to understand the dating of Easter.
It wanted the year 1 AD to be the date when Jesus Christ was born, although later calculations show that his birth occurred before this.
Gradually use of this calendar became more widespread, and is now the most widely accepted system for counting years in the world. -
A major pandemic that struck the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, causing the estimated deaths of 25 million people -
Li Yuan leads a rebellion against the Sui Dynasty in China and becomes the first emperor of the Tang. His descendants would rule China for nearly 300 years, an era that was noted for its prosperity and stability, and a high point in Chinese civilization. -
The Battle of Langshan Jiang was a naval conflict where gunpowder was used as a flamethrower and proved to be very effective. It would mark the beginning of this technology in warfare. -
At the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls upon Christians to undertake a military expedition in support of the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks. It would lead to the conquest of Jerusalem four years later and a concerted effort by Western Europeans to take control of the Near East. -
A new architectural style that would flourish in medieval Europe, it has its beginnings with the work done by French abbot Suger and his work on the Basilica of St Denis in Paris. -
A charter agreed to by King John of England and his rebellious barons, the document would come to be seen as the beginning of legal limits on the power of monarchs. -
One of the largest pandemics in human history, it crossed through Eurasia and killed as many as 200 million people. -
The first European to use movable type, Johannes Gutenberg would usher in a revolution in the creation of books and the spread of information. -
Christopher Columbus leads a voyage westwards on the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to reach Asia. Instead they land in the Caribbean, beginning the period of European settlement and colonization in the Americas.