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Ostrogoths raid Byzantium, then sent west by Zeno; internal palace intrigues and civil unrest.
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Rome had ruled much of Europe. Now much of the land would fall into confusion as local kings and rulers tried to grab power. This was the beggining of the Dark ages or the Middle Ages
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Muhammad, prophet of Islam is born.
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Battle of Tours. The Franks defeat the Muslims turning back Islam from Europe.
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Along with barbarians from the north, Muslims begin to conquer lands from the south. Charles Martel, the Frank king, stops the Muslims' northward push in 732.
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Rome, Florence, Venice, and other Italians towns become city-states. The feudal system begins. Kings give sections of land called fiefs to lords in exchange for help during wars.
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Work is begun on building the Tower of London.
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William of Normandy, a French Duke, conquers England in the Battle of Hastings. He became King of England and changed the country forever.
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Start of the First Crusade. The Crusades were wars between the Holy Roman Empire and the Muslims over the Holy Land. There would be several Crusades over the next 200 years.
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Richard I, Richard the Lionheart, becomes King of England.
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The Mongol Empire is founded by Genghis Khan.
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Rebels oppose King John of England. But they have no ruler to take his place. Instead they have him sign a document, the Magna Carta, stating that there is no divine right of kings.
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The end of the Crusades. Acre, the last Christian city in the Near East, was lost to the Turks.
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The first printed Bible is made. The Middle Ages will be remembered as a time of transitions as old empires fell away, and new nations emerged.
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The perios begins in europe in the early 1500's. It marks the end of the Middle Ages. The Renaissence was a term coined by Petrarch which means a rebirth of classical Greek and Roman ideals.
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Clovis becomes King of the Franks. Clovis united most of the Frankish tribes that were part of Roman Province of Gaul.
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Charlemagne, King of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Charlemagne united much of Western Europe and is considered the father of both the French and the German Monarchies.
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Vikings from the Scandinavian lands (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) begin to invade northern Europe. They would continue until 1042
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Alfred the Great, King of England, turns back the Viking invaders.
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After Charlemagne's son dies, the kingdom is split into three. Raids into western Europe increase. In order to protect themselves, kingships are created.
