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Period: Jan 1, 600 to
Year8 History Overview
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Jan 1, 740
King Charlemagne
King Charlemagne spent the early part of his reign on several military campaigns to expand his kingdom. He invaded Saxony in 772, he also extended his dominance by conquering the kingdom of Lombards in northern Italy. In 800 a rebellion against Pope Leo III began. Charlemagne went to his aid in Rome and defeated the rebellion. To show Leo’s appreciation he crowned Charlemagne on Christmas day that year and declaring him emperor of the Romans. -
Jan 1, 1066
Battle of Hastings
Duke William of Nomady intended to invade England. He had sent an insulting demand that Harold pay him homage and the gathering of the troops and ships had northern France in turmoil, causing Harold to assemble a powerful army along the Sussex coast in defence.The winds changed and William’s fleet crossed the Channel, landing on the Saxon coast unopposed on 28th September 1066. Harold received the news of the Norman landing in York he immediately marched south to battle William -
Jan 1, 1085
Domesday Book
When William I captured England in 1066 he became King.
At Christmas 1085, intent on knowing more about the land he had reigned for almost twenty years, William commissioned the survey that became known as the Domesday Book. It recorded the value of land he held personally and that held by his tenants-in-chief. Where there were disputes over land it helped settle disagreements. -
Jan 1, 1099
The First Crusade
The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time. Muslim soldiers made life very difficult for the Christians. This greatly angered all Christians. There were Christians who wanted to reclaim Jerusalem for their belief and get the Muslims out of the city. -
Jan 1, 1162
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan was born in 1162. Genghis Khan and the Mongols were always associated with terrible tales of conquest, destruction and bloodshed. This famed clan leader and his successors had created the largest empire to ever exist. Spanning the entire Asian continent from the Pacific Ocean to Hungary in Europe. -
Jan 1, 1185
Minamato Yoritomo
Minamato Yoritomo, who became the first shogun to rule Japan. In 1183 Yoritomo sent his brother Yoshitsune and Minamoto Yoshinaka to destroy the Taira in the Western Provinces and even that was the result of Taira assaults on him. The war between Minamoto Yoritomo and Taira Kiyomori was a major civil war that lasted for five years from 1180 to 1185, and is known as the Genpei War. In 1185, Yoritomo became the de-facto leader of the new warrior society. -
Jan 1, 1185
Kamakaru Bakufu
The Kamakaru bakufu was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 133. It was based in Kamakaru.
The Kamakaru period had its name from the capital of the shogunate. From 1203 onwards, the family of Minamato Yoritomo’s wife, the Hojo clan, had total control of over the nation with the title Shikken (Regent). Setting up a Hojo family court that had discussed and made most of the decisions. -
Jan 1, 1258
Baghdad conquered
3 decades after the death of Genghis Khan, his grandson Hulagu launched an assault on Mesopotamia. He did this to secure the loyalty of Abbasid Caliphate to his brother the supreme leader of Mongke Khan. After a 2 week siege on Baghdad, Hulagu claimed the capital on 1258 and ended more than 500 years of the Muslim rule. -
Jan 1, 1274
The Mongols try to invade Japan
The first Mongol invasion of Japan occurred in 1274. An armada of nearly 900 vessels containing more than 40,000 troops was dispatched from Korea. The armada arrived at Hakata Bay. The troops landed on the bay and fought the Japanese defence on land. The Japanese were no match for the Mongols. The Japanese defence had no choice but to retreat to a fortress. When the Mongols retired to their ships, a severe storm hit the island sinking ships and killing over 13,000 Mongol soldiers. -
Jan 1, 1348
Persecution of the Jews
In 1348 there appeared in Europe a devastating plague knows as the Black Death, which has killed one third of Europe’s population. In the terror of the epidemic, many people looked for someone to blame for their suffering. They believed that the Jews had poisoned the well of Christian communities. In September 1348 a group of Jews were put on trial at Chillon and were charged for poisoning the well. From November of that year Jews were burnt to death in cities throughout Germany. -
Jan 1, 1348
The Black Death
Coming out of the east, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in 1348 unleashing death across Europe and spreading rapidly. By the time the epidemic played itself out three years later, anywhere between twenty five percent and fifty percent of Europe’s population had fallen victim to the pestilence. -
Jan 1, 1348
Plague reaches England
The Black Death reached the shores of England in 1348. This was because the plague was spread by infected fleas carried by rats on boats that landed in the ports of different countries. It first appeared in Dorset and It had spread to London. It reached Norwich by 1349, Dublin in the summer, and Edinburgh early in 1350. After the plague one third of Europe’s population died. -
Jan 1, 1369
Recurrence of plague
When the plague died out in 1348, everyone hoped that it had been truly gone. But then in 1369 it broke out again. This was due to the plague in the air and the hot temperatures. After the plague the wages rose, the prices of agriculture had dropped and giving people better living conditions. -
Jan 1, 1438
Inca Empire expansion
The Incas ruled a great empire in South America, but only for a short time. At its peak the Incas Empire lasted less than a century before it was destroyed by the Spaniards. In about 1300 the Incas had found their capital city of Cuzco. They were a small tribe, but they came to rule a vast empire including most parts of Peru and parts of Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and northwest Argentina. -
Jan 1, 1453
Fall of Constantinople
The fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of Byzantine Empire. It had occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, they were under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by the Emperor Constatine XI. The siege has lasted from April 1453 until, May 1453, when the city was controlled by Ottomans. -
Jan 1, 1494
French invasion of Italy
Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, in 1494. The event was very traumatic for Italy because, Italy had not been invaded in any serious way since the days of Hohenstaufen in the 13th century. The invasion had greater significance than the effects of foreign armies, this had heralded a period of Spanish and French involvement in Italian affairs that would last more than 40 years. -
Battle at Sekigahara
On 21 October 1600, Ieyasu led an army of 80 000 samurai against a similar-sized army led by Ishida Mitsunari, another former general of Hideyoshi.The two armies fought each other about 100 kilometres north-east of Kyoto at Sekigahara. Ieyasu defeated his rival and gained control of most of Japan. -
The Great Plague of London
The great plague of London in 1655 was the last long series of plague epidemics.The great plague killed between 75,000 and 100,000 of London’s rapidly expanding population of about 460,000. By September 1665 8,000 people every week have died. Well-off residents fled to the country side while leaving the poor behind and old worn out parishes. -
Meiji Restoration
In 1868 the Tokugawa shogun, in the feudal period who ruled Japan, lost his power and the emperor was restored to the supreme position. The name Meiji was taken by the emperor as his reign name; this was known as the Meiji restoration. When the Meiji emperor was restored and was head of Japan in 1868, the nation was a military weak country, primarily agricultural and had technological development. -
Vikings
In the year 793 due to their naval and military superiority, the Viking raids were very devastating to Northern Europe. Against the monastery of Lindisfarne on England's east coast. Their raids were usually against coastal villages as they very rarely marched inland. By attacking the coast, they could pillage and take the spoils of war with them to their ships for the long sail back home. They took whatever they found that they could use or trade.
