Year 8 History

Charlemagne becomes King

Jan 1, 768

When Charles (now known as Charlemagne) farther died in 768, his brother Carloman and him inherited the Kingdom. Not long later Carloman died, leaving Charlemagne as a sole ruler.
Charlemagne is best known for being the founding farther of the french and German Monarchies, he was also one of the greatest leaders of the middle ages.
After becoming king Charlemagne expanded the Frankish Empire by conquering much of the Saxon territory, then conquering the Lombards and the Bavarias.

Henry the iv & Gregory the vii struggle for power

Jan 1, 1076

In 1065, at the age of 15, Henry IV became King and the Holy Roman Emperor. In the process of trying to devorce his wife, whom he married in 1066, it became hard to maintain the kingdom and appease the pope so he gave up on the idea of devorce.
Pope Gregory VII then took adventage of the kings situation to advance his own agenda of church reform. Councils were then called and the struggle for power and battles began between Henry and Gregory, posing and opposing the reform

First Crusade begins

Jan 1, 1099

The First Crusades began when armies of christians from Western Europe responded to the Pope's (known as Urban II) beg to go to war against Muslims in the Holy Land.
The Crusades goal was to gain land and after the first Crusade they achieved part of this goal by capturing Jerusalem.
Towards the end the Crusades seeked to gain ground in the Holy Land by short-lived raids. This didn't do anything except annoy Muslim rulers in that region.

King John signs the Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

When the archbishop of Canterbury died King John seized the monastery making the new archbishop angry. He was so angry he called all nobles to tell them of a law about what they could do. The nobles gave him a second chance to be a good king, but he blew it making the nobles angry. They forced the King to sign a parchment called the Magna Carta saying the nobles have rights.
After King John signed the Magna Carta, Kings and Queens onwards also had to follow it.

The Crusades end

Jan 1, 1291

The Crusades ended in the 13th century with the Islamic recapture of the Holy Land when the last city the Crusades owned, fell. After the Crusades ended the Church still organized minor crusades to push Muslims from conquered territory, but this ended in the 16th century.

The Black Death

Jan 1, 1348

The Black Death started when 12 trading ships docked in Messina after a long trip through the Black Sea. Many people on the ships were dead and the ones who were still alive were gravely ill. The Sailors were covered in black boils thats oozed blood and pus and this is how the name 'The Black Death' came along.
The Black Death also known as the plague killed around 60% of Europes population. The desease spread from person to person, through the air and being bitten by infected fleas and rats.

Reconquista ends in Spain

Apr 21, 1492

The Reconquista is the name given to a series of battles between the Christians and the Muslims for the control of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Reconquista began when King Pelayo of the Visigoths defeated the Muslim army in 718. Over the Next 700 and more years the Christians and Moors battled.
In 1492 the King and Queen decided to turn their united forces on Granada to take it back, this ending the Reconquista. After, all jews and Muslims who lived in Spain were forced to convert to Christianity