Top Ten Events of the Middle Ages

  • Anno Domini calendar invented
    525

    Anno Domini calendar invented

    Anno Domini calendar has been used for 100s of year it was only until recently that we stared to use BCE and CE. We know AD as After Death of Jesus. 1 AD was meant to be when Jesus was born but they later found out that this date was wrong and it maked Jesus, death.
  • Period: 529 to 534

    Code of Justinian issued

    A set of laws created during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor. It was considered an important milestone in the history of law.
  • Plague of Justinian
    541

    Plague of Justinian

    A major pandemic that struck the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. This cause an estimated death of 25 million people. It had weakended the country and shaped the country to what it is today.
  • First use of gunpowder
    919

    First use of gunpowder

    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.
  • Foundation of Cairo
    969

    Foundation of Cairo

    The Fatimids establish a new city, al-Qāhirah (Cairo), which goes on to become the capital of Egypt. By the 14th century it is one of the largest cities in the world.
  • Invention of moveable type
    1040

    Invention of moveable type

    This was the first movable and printing machine. This technology later would develop and expand outside of China.
  • Period: 1315 to 1317

    The Great Famine

    A series of crop failures and bad weather struck large parts of Europe. This happened for 2 years and this helped the other nation learn that this could happen to them as well
  • Dante Alighieri completes the Divine Comedy
    1320

    Dante Alighieri completes the Divine Comedy

    This was considered one of the greatest works in literary history. The poem was written by Dante Alighieri.
  • Beginning of the Hundred Years of War
    1337

    Beginning of the Hundred Years of War

    The Kings of England and France begin a war and this lasted until 1453. This fight was for the French throne.
  • Period: 1347 to 1351

    Black Death

    One of the largest pandemics in human history. It crossed through Eurasia and killed as many as 200 million people.