Humanities Spring Timeline

Tacitus' Germania

100

(Monograph on people inhabiting lands behind Rhine)
Plenty of what we know about Germanic history evolves from the writings of Tacitus. Instead of using rumor or gossip, he only included verifiable accounts in his writings, as he was trying to give an accurate description of Germania.

Edict of Milan

313

Constantine's establishment of religious toleration for Christianity.

Nicene Creed

325

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

Sacking of Rome by Alaric

410

The Visigoths had attacked the city of the Rome, and this was one of the first events that lead to the downfall of Rome.

Legions depart

410

Britain leaves Rome

Theodosius builds wall around Constantinople

413

This establishes Constantinople as the center of the new Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire).

Anglo-Saxon Invasion

450

(Anglo-Saxons' raid of England)
The Anglo-Saxons could have been invited to come, or they could have come to help England defend from others.

Merovingian Dynasty Begins

476

The start of the Merovingian Dynasty.

Salic Law

500

(Ancient laws for the Frankish civilization)
Salic Law's purpose was to show the price a man would have to pay for disobeying any of the rules (in other words, to prove to men that crimes were serious).

Reign of Clovis

509

Clovis I, a Frankish King, reigned from 509-511.

House of Wessex

519

Family that ruled kingdom known as Wessex.

Justinian becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire

527

Justinian I was the eleventh emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

Nika Revolt

532

Riot when Justinian refused to pardon two young killers.

Nika Revolt

532

(Riot when Justinian refused to pardon two young killers)
The Haga Sophia was able to be built because of these riots, and it expanded on the original basilican design.

Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks

594

Writer that made history of Frankish people.

Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks

594

(Writer that recorded history of Frankish people)
Besides a historian, Gregory of Tours was a bishop. The bishop excused Clovis' sins because he is Christian.

Muhammed leaves Mecca for Medina

Dec 24, 622

He migrated to Medina after the death of his uncle, and many of his followers were there to help him.

Muhammed conquers Mecca

Dec 24, 623

(Muhammed takes over Mecca with the help of his followers)
Muhammed calls out the statement "If you die, you'll go to Paradise."

Caliph Ali is murdered

Dec 24, 661

This creates the Sunni/Shia split.

Umayyad Empire Begins

Dec 24, 661

The first Muslim dynasty.

Dome of the Rock built in Jerusalem

Dec 24, 691

The shrine is built

The Venerable Bede's Writing

Dec 24, 700

Writer of three Latin hymns.

Battle of Tours and Charles Martel

Dec 24, 732

Battgle fought between Frankish forces and an Islamic army.

Umayyad Empire Ends

Dec 24, 750

The first Muslim dynasty.

Abbasid Empire Begins

Dec 24, 750

The next Muslim dynasty beings.

Merovingian Dynasty Ends

Dec 24, 750

The Merovingian Dynasty comes to an end.

The Carolingian Dynasty

Dec 24, 750

The Carolingian Dynasty was in power from 750-887.

Pepin the Short

Dec 24, 751

(He became King of the Franks in 751)

Charlemagne is crowned by Pope

Dec 24, 800

Said to be the most powerful ruler of all time.

Alfred the Great

Dec 24, 849

(Alive 50 years)
(King of Wessex from 871 to death)
Alfred the Great both fought the Vikings, and made peace so that the English and Vikings could settle down together.

Beowulf

Dec 24, 1000

(Tale of a Germanic hero defeating enemies)
The date of when this poem was written is significant because the author is determined to be Christian. The poem contains both Christian and Norse qualities.

Schism between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic

Dec 24, 1054

The Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches split here.

Seljuk Dynasty

Dec 24, 1060

The Dynasty goes from 1060-1307.
The Seljuk Dynasty had control of the Holy Land from the start of the reign until 1099.
The Seljuk Dynasty is different than the Umayyad and Abbasid because they were able to take over the Holy Land, whereas the others were did not during their reign.

Norman Invasion of England

Dec 24, 1066

(Invasion of England by Norman, Breton and French soldiers)
The Bayeux Tapestry describes this event.

Pope Urban's Speech at Council of Clermont

Dec 24, 1095

(Speech Pope Urban gave addressing crowd to aid Greeks and recover Palestine from Muslims)
Pope Urban gave the French these five reasons to go on a crusade: serfs can leave land, people freed from paying taxes, no interest on debt, prisoners freed, and all to have a death sentence were off the hook.

Christians take Jerusalem in First Crusade

Dec 24, 1097

(Amidst great slaughter, Christians finally breach the walls of Jerusalem on 15 July 1097)
The conquers acted very vicious- at this point it was pure bloodshed. 70,000 Muslims were slaughtered and all the city's Jewish inhabitants were herded into a synagogue, which the Crusaders burned promptly to the ground.

Third Crusade

Dec 24, 1189

The Third Crusade lasted from 1189-1192, and it was a response to Jerusalem's fall.

Prose Edda

Dec 24, 1200

(Text on Old Norse Poetics, written by Snorri Sturlson, contains tales of Norse mythology)
Snorri Sturlson said man lost the name of God because as people were not paying the necessary amount of respect to God, newer generations did not know their maker.
Thor thinks very high of himself and can act selfish, and he is on the lower side of the heroic scale. He has great power, and it can go to his head. This reflects Germanic tribal values as they were more focused on the power people possessed.

Fourth Crusade

Dec 24, 1201

The Fourth Crusade lasted from 1201-1204, and it was centered in Constantinople.

Children's Crusade

Dec 24, 1212

Crusade by which European Christians expelled Muslims from the Holy Land.

Fifth Crusade

Dec 24, 1213

The Fifth Crusade lasted from 1213-1221. It was an attempt by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem.

Sixth Crusade

Dec 24, 1228

The Sixth Crusade lasted from 1228-1229, and was another attempt to regain Jerusalem.

Seventh Crusade

Dec 24, 1248

The Seventh Crusade lasted from 1248-1254, and was led by Louis IX of France.

Abbasid Empire Ends

Dec 24, 1258

It is destroyed by a Mongol invasion.

Eighth Crusade

Dec 24, 1270

Launched by King Louis IX of France against the city of Tunics.

Ninth Crusade

Dec 24, 1271

The Ninth Crusade lasted from 1271-1272. This is commonly considered the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land.

Ibn Battuta leaves on pilgrimage to Mecca

Dec 24, 1325

This journey took sixteen months.

Ottoman Empire takes Constantinople

Dec 24, 1453

This event specifically occurred on May 29, 1453.

Population growth in Europe following Ice Age

Dec 24, 1750

The conditions of Europe got better and so did the population.