Western Civilization

Maccabean Revolt

167 BCE

The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion, lasting from 167 to 160 BC, led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and the Hellenistic influence on Jewish life

Birth of Jesus Christ

4 BCE

Birth of the prophet and spiritual leader Jesus Christ, believed to have been the son of God, and whose teachings would later become the foundation of the ideologies of Christianity.

Death of King Herod

4 BCE

Death of the Client King Herod, whose reign over Judea, in the name of Rome, lead to the further suppression of Judaism

Death Of Jesus

33

Jesus is put to death by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and is killed by crucifixion although it is believed by some that Jesus was later resurrected 3 days after his death and told his followers to spread his messages.

Peterine Docterine

70

The Petrine doctrine is the belief that Saint Peter was given special authority by Christ that has since passed on to each Pope.

Split of Rome into 2 regions by Diocletian

285

By 285 CE the Roman Empire had grown so vast that it was no longer feasible to govern all the provinces from the central seat of Rome. The Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantium (later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed from Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by the Roman emperors Constantine and Licinius, that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. The letter was issued in 313, shortly after the end of the persecution of Christians by the emperor Diocletian.

Nicaean Creed

325

Document Produced by Constantine and the council of Nicene in which they created a standard pray stating the beliefs Constantine and the council of Nicene had agreed upon as the standards of Christianity.

Sacking of Rome by Germanic Tribes

410

The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths led by King Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum in 286 and then by Ravenna in 402. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. The sack was a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike.

 Clovis and The Merovingian Dynasty

457

The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I (c. 457 – 481), the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, but it was his famous son Clovis I (481–511) who united all of Gaul under Merovingian rule.

Reign of Clovis

481

In 481, at the age of fifteen,[4] Clovis succeeded his father. He conquered the remaining rump state of the Western Roman Empire at the Battle of Soissons (486), and by his death in 511 he had conquered much of the northern and western parts of what had formerly been Roman Gaul. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France".Clovis is also significant due to his conversion to Christianity in 496

Theodosius II builds great wall around Constainople, establishing the Bzyantine Empire

500

The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great.

Justinian Becomes the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire

527

Begins the reign of Justinian as the emperor of Byzantine, During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the historical Roman Empire. Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Later Roman empire, and his reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire".

Hagia Sophia is built

537

Hagia Sophia, Turkish Ayasofya, Latin Sancta Sophia, also called Church of the Holy Wisdom or Church of the Divine Wisdom, cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the 6th century ce (532–537) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian

Muhammed Conquers Mecca

Jan 11, 630

Conquest of Mecca. The conquest of Mecca (Arabic: فتح مكة ‎‎ fatḥ makkah) is the historical event when Mecca was capitulated for and conquered by Muslims on 11 January 630 (Julian), 20 Ramadan, 8 AH. The Islamic prophet Muhammad started the journey on 6 Ramadan and entered Mecca on 18 Ramadan.

Ali is murdered, creating Shia/Sunni split

Jan 27, 661

His death led to the great debate about who should succeed Ali as Caliph and this debate is what create the Sunni/Shia split

Umayyad Empire

Apr 2, 661

Beginning of a new empire, and series of Caliphates.

Charles Martel

Mar 28, 686

Charles Martel was a Frankish statesman and military leader who as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace from 718 until his death. The son of the Frankish statesman Pepin of Herstal . Charles is considered to be a founding figure of the European Middle Ages.[14] Skilled as an administrator as well as a warrior, he is credited with a seminal role in the emerging responsibilities of the knights of courts, and so in the development of the Frankish system of feudalism

 The Carolingian Dynasty

Apr 28, 714

The dynasty consolidated its power in the mid 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty, which had ruled the Germanic Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and a Carolingian Pepin the Short was crowned King of the Franks.

The Battle of Tours

Oct 10, 732

The Battle of Tours (often called the Battle of Poitiers, but not to be confused with the Battle of Poitiers, 1356) was fought on October 10, 732 between forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel and a massive invading Islamic army led by Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman, near the city of Tours, France. The signifigance of this battle is the fact that this defeat of the Islamic army lead by Charles Martell allowed for the Franks to prevent Islam from spreading into western Europe

 The Abbasid Empire

Apr 28, 750

Abbāsid Dynasty, second of the two great dynasties of the Muslim Empire of the Caliphate. It overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in ad 750 and reigned as the ʿAbbāsid caliphate until destroyed by the Mongol invasion in 1258

Baghdad built as new capitol

Jul 30, 762

on 30 July 762,[25] the caliph Al-Mansur commissioned the construction of the city, and it was built under the supervision of the Barmakids.[26] Mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, "This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward"

 Diplomatic Relations with Harun Al Rashid

Apr 28, 797

An Abbasid–Carolingian alliance was attempted and partially formed during the 8th to 9th century through a series of embassies, rapprochements and combined military operations between the Frankish Carolingian Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate and pro-Abbasid rulers in Al Andalus (Islamic Spain and Portugal). In 797, numerous embassies were opened between emperor Charlemagne and Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, in an attempt to forge an alliance between the two empires.

 Charlemagne and the Renaissance

Dec 25, 800

In 800 when Charlemagne was crowned the emperor of Western Rome, by Pope Leo III, his reign began and in during his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church and the Frankish Kingdom as Charlemagne implemented educational and intellectual reforms that brought about a period or Renaissance of intellecutual, cultural, and artistic growth.

 Agreement with Byzantine Empire to recognize Charlemagne

Apr 28, 812

810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor, and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 the emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor,although not necessarily as "Emperor of the Romans".