Post-classical history By adelie.pernot 800 Coronation of Charlemagne as king of the Holy Roman Empire 843 Signing of the Treaty of Verdun 850 Invention of gunpowder 1096 First crusad 1215 Conquest of China by the Mongols 1295 Journey of Marco Polo May 30, 1431 Death of Jeanne d'Arc May 29, 1453 Capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire