political events - events

c. 1240 BC	Egypt	The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is most likely to have happened at this date, almost certainly in the reign of King Ramses II, though possibly earlier. The Israelites leave after being used to build the city of Pi-Ramses on the Nile delta; they are led by Moses.
c. 1200 BC–c. 1100 BC	Middle East, Greece	This century sees the end of the Bronze Age in the Middle East and the Aegean and the beginning of a Dark Age, at least in the latter area. The turmoil caused by the displaced Peoples of the Sea may have been prompted by renewed pressure, from the north, of Indo-European tribes; as the century progresses these tribes, in particular the Phrygians and Dorian Greeks, penetrate Asia Minor and Greece.
753 BC	Rome	Rome is traditionally founded by Romulus and Remus: this is the year from which the Romans date all subsequent events. The date is not completely reliable, though by now Latin-speaking tribes do exist in Italy, probably arriving from further east, with Etruscans to their north and Greek colonial city-states about to be founded to their south.
508 BC	Rome	The exiled king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, fights the indecisive Battle of Silva Arsia against the Romans, with the help of the Etruscan people of Veii, and fails to win back his throne He allies himself with the Etruscan Lars Porsena, King of Clusium.
1 October 331 BC	Greece, Persian Empire	Alexander the Great of Macedon, having left Egypt earlier in the year, defeats the Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela (near present-day Mosul, Iraq). He is now master of the Persian Empire. After Gaugamela he advances to Babylon, which surrenders to him, then into Persia, where he finds vast treasure at Susa.
316 BC	Greece	Cassander, king of Macedon, arranges for the murder of the widow of Philip II of Macedon, Olympias (also mother of Alexander the Great). He also imprisons Alexander the Great's widow, Roxana, and their son, Alexander Aegus, putting them to death five years later.
12 December 164 BC	Palestine, Seleucid Kingdom	Judas Maccabaeus, leader of the rebellion against the rule of King Antiochus IV of Syria, defeats the Seleucid forces by guerrilla tactics and gains control of Jerusalem. He cleanses and rededicates the temple, destroys the idols, and restores Judaism.
161 BC	Palestine, Rome, Seleucid Kingdom	Judas Maccabaeus, the leader of the revolt against Syria in Judaea, strengthens himself by an alliance with Rome but is slain in the Battle of Elasa against the Seleucid forces, leaving his brother Jonathan to continue the struggle.
142 BC	Syria, Palestine, Seleucid Kingdom	Judaea gains its independence from Syria under Simon Maccabaeus, who is both ruler and high priest.
121 BC	Rome	Gaius Sempronius Gracchus fails to be elected as Roman tribune (magistrate) for a third time in succession. He appears in the Roman Forum to protest against the repeal of some of his enactments and a riot ensues. He is induced to flee, but, on the point of capture, asks his slave to kill him. About 3,000 of his followers are killed in the subsequent fighting. His earlier land reforms are reversed, and land concentration becomes the norm throughout Europe for centuries.
15 March 44 BC	Roman Empire	A conspiracy of 60 Roman senators, led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, culminates in the assassination of (Gaius) Julius Caesar, Roman general, dictator, statesman, and conqueror of Transalpine Gaul, in the Senate House in Rome on the Ides of March (c. 56).
4	Roman Empire, Germany	The Roman general Tiberius, stepson, son-in-law, and heir to the emperor Augustus, resumes his military career, winning victories in Germany.
17 September 14	Roman Empire	Tiberius formally succeeds his adoptive father Augustus as Roman emperor.
17	Roman Empire, Germany	The Roman emperor Tiberius recalls his nephew and heir Germanicus from the wars in Germany. There is no serious trouble from Germany for the next 50 years.
c. 19–c. 45	India	Gondopharnes becomes king of the Sakas in India. Under him, the Sakas reach the height of their power.
20	Syria-Roman	Gnaeus Piso, governor of Syria, returns to Rome where his alleged poisoning of Germanicus, adopted son and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, is investigated by the Senate; he commits suicide before a verdict is reached. Germanicus' widow, Agrippina, suspects Tiberius of having engineered her husband's death.
27	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Tiberius retires to Capri, where he spends the last decade of his life. He is saved from a landslide by Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus becomes all-powerful.
c. 30–c. 50	India, Kushan Empire	The Kushans in India are united under King Kadphasis I, and begin to challenge the power of the Sakas, gaining control of the region around modern Kabul, Afghanistan.
37	Roman Empire	Following the death of the Roman emperor Tiberius, he is succeeded by Gaius Caesar, the son of Tiberius's nephew Germanicus. Gaius Caesar is popularly known by his original name, Caligula.
40	Roman Empire	The emperor Caligula exhausts the Roman treasury by his personal extravagance.
25 January 41	Roman Empire	Having murdered the Roman emperor Caligula (Gaius Caesar), the soldiers of the Praetorian Guard proclaim Caligula's uncle, Claudius, emperor.
c. 50–c. 78	India, Kushan Empire	Kadphises II becomes king of the Kushans. In the west, he siezes the modern Punjab area from the Sakas, and in the east the Kushans occupy the area of Magadha as far as the city of Benares.
14 October 54	Roman Empire	Nero, 16-year-old stepson and heir of the emperor Claudius, is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard, at the instigation of his mother Agrippina the Younger, Claudius's widow.
68–69	Roman Empire	Anarchy breaks out in Rome after the death of the emperor Nero, with Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian each claiming the throne during the so-called ‘year of four emperors’.
13 September 81	Roman Empire	Domitian becomes Roman emperor on the death of his brother, Titus.
138	Roman Empire	Antoninus, member of a rich family from Nîmes in the province of Narbonese Gaul (southern France), succeeds Hadrian as Roman emperor.
152–153	Roman Empire, Egypt	The Egyptian peasants revolt but are put down by the Romans. Rome's corn supply is cut and widespread unrest breaks out. The Roman emperor Antoninus Pius makes a distribution from his own funds – as he does on eight other occasions during his reign.
3 March 161	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Antoninus Pius calls his adopted son and heir Marcus Aurelius to his bedside in Lorium, Etruria, Italy, has his golden statue of Fortune transferred to his adopted son's room, and dies. Marcus Aurelius succeeds Antoninus Pius and, remembering Antoninus' wish, has his fellow adopted son and heir, Lucius Verus, made his full colleague. This sets a precedent for later divisions of the imperial maiestas.
175	Roman Empire, Egypt	A rebellion in Egypt is suppressed by the Roman general Avidius Cassius, who then declares himself emperor. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, asserting that he will gladly yield to Cassius if the soldiers wish it, advances eastwards to meet him, but Cassius is to be killed by one of his own centurions.
192	China, Han Empire	The Chinese general Cao Cao assumes power in China, imprisoning the boy-emperor Xiandi. The court eunuchs are destroyed and the 400-year rule of the Han dynasty is now virtually at an end.
192	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Commodus is becoming more paranoid and, as a result, more murderous. To save their own lives, Marcia, one of his concubines who has protected Christians in Rome, and the new head of the Praetorian Guard, Quintus Aemilius Laetus, poison Commodus on the last day of the year. He clings to life but is finished off by his former wrestling companion.
193	Roman Empire	Helvius Pertinax, the Roman general, returns to Rome at the start of the year and is chosen emperor. However, he earns the displeasure of the soldiers for instituting much-needed economies and reforms and is murdered by members of the Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard puts the throne up to the highest bidder. The rich Didius Julianus wins but survives only two months. The people of Rome, angered at the death of Pertinax, appeal to the legions in Britain, Syria, and Pannonia.
193	Roman Empire	The Roman commander Septimius Severus arrives in Rome, by which time the Praetorian Guard has put the emperor Didius Julianus to death and the Senate has deified the former emperor Helvius Pertinax. Septimius Severus is declared Roman emperor. One of his first acts is to reorganize and subdue the Praetorian Guard. The Guard is demobilized and replaced with 15,000 legionary soldiers, to give Severus control in Italy while he deals with his rivals. Military service is made compulsory, but forbidden to citizens of Italy, thus giving more power to the provincial legionaries. A large number of the Senate are executed for having declared for Clodius Albinus, the Roman governor in Britain, instead of Severus. Once more, all power is taken from the Senate. The imperial throne becomes virtually a hereditary military monarchy. A Phoenician by birth, Severus has been well educated and has practised law as well as soldiering. Ulpian, a rising jurist, and the emperor's chief adviser, obligingly argues in defence of absolute power.
194	Roman Empire, UK	Clodius Albinus in Britain, one of the two rivals to the Roman emperor Septimius Severus is placated with the title of Caesar and promises of the succession.
200	Japan, Korea	The Japanese warrior empress, Jingu, invades and subdues part of Korea.
200	Japan	The Japanese state of Yamato is founded, based around the port of Osaka. It soon takes in much of the island of Honshu. The tombs of the first emperors are protected by terracotta figures, as in China. On the other islands indigenous groups remain independent and follow a traditional way of life, such as the Ainu of Hokkaido.
212	Roman Empire	The new Roman co-emperor Caracalla inherits the cruelty of his late father, Septimius Severus, but none of his statesmanship, and has his brother and co-emperor, Geta, and many of Geta's supporters murdered. Caracalla prefers hunting and the company of gladiators to imperial business. He is reputed to have had 20,000 of his brother's supporters put to death.
217	Roman Empire, Parthia, Persia	While campaigning in Parthia, the Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated by his legionaries near Edessa. Macrinus, head of the Praetorian Guard, declares himself emperor and makes peace with Parthia.
218	Roman Empire, Syria	Julia Maesa, the aunt of the assassinated emperor Caracalla, who has been banished to her home in Syria by the head of the Praetorian Guard and self-proclaimed emperor, Macrinus, declares her grandson Elagabalus emperor. Macrinus advances westwards to meet Julia, who fights in person, defeats him, and has him executed. The Syrian legionaries support Elagabalus, a priest of Elagabal (Baal), who is about 14 years of age.
222	Roman Empire	After the murder of the Roman emperor Elagabalus and his mother by the Praetorian Guard, Elagabalus' cousin Alexander Severus becomes emperor, having successfully undergone a philosophic and severe training. He curbs the power of the army and endeavours to restore the power of the Senate and the aristocracy in Rome. He reduces taxes, lends money at 4%, encourages traders' and workers' associations, and censors public morals. He is advised by the Roman jurist Domitius Ulpian, who is appointed one of the Praetorian prefects.
238	Roman Empire, Africa	The Roman proconsul of Africa Gordian I accepts the Roman emperorship jointly with his son, Gordian II, when his troops proclaim him. They are defeated by supporters of the Roman emperor, Maximinus. After defeating the first two Gordians, Maximinus takes his revenge with a brutal proscription in Rome.
238	Roman Empire	The Roman Senate outlaws the Roman emperor Maximinus for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome, and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne. Maximinus advances upon the Senate's nominees at Aquileia in northern Italy, but is killed by his soldiers. Pupienus and Balbinus return to Rome, only to be killed by the Praetorian Guard who then make Gordian III, son of Gordian II and grandson of the former Roman emperor Gordian I, their emperor.
244	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	Following the murder of the Roman emperor Gordian III by his army commander, Philip the Arab, Philip replaces him as emperor. Philip makes peace with Persia and returns to Rome as Rome's first Arab emperor.
249	Roman Empire, Pannonia	Discontented at having an Arab as emperor, the legionaries in several Roman provinces revolt. Philip offers to abdicate, then sends his general Messius Quintus Gaius Decius to pacify the legionaries in Pannonia, who seem to consider themselves the guardians of true Roman virtues. They force Decius to assume the throne and to lead them into Italy. At a battle at Verona, northern Italy, Philip is defeated and slain and Decius becomes emperor.
250	Central America	The Late Formative (or Pre-Classic) period in Mayan history comes to an end, and the Classic period (250–c. 800) begins, when the civilization is at its height.
253	Roman Empire	Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus, the Roman general left in charge in Moesia, achieves some successes against the Goths, and is proclaimed emperor by the troops. He advances on Rome and is met by the emperor Trebonianus Gallus and his son. However, Gallus' troops are so few and so disloyal that they assassinate him and his son rather than fight. Aemilianus rules for four months and then meets the same fate as Gallus, being replaced by Publius Valerian of the Rhine legions.
260	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	The Roman emperor Publius Valerian decides to attack the Persians, who have reached Edessa (modern Urfa). He changes his mind, however, and offers to negotiate. King Shapur of Persia demands a personal interview on the field and Valerian consents, and is either treacherously captured by Shapur, or is captured in battle while campaigning, and ends his days a captive.
260	Roman Empire, Dalmatia	The son of the captured Roman emperor Publius Valerian, the Western ruler Publius Gallienus, meets and overcomes rival claimants to the imperial throne in Dalmatia, and becomes emperor of the entire Roman Empire.
263	Roman Empire, Syria	After his defeat of King Shapur of Persia, King Odenathus of Palmyra declares himself king of the area west of the River Euphrates and is declared ‘Dux Orientalis’ by the Roman emperor Publius Gallienus, who needs his help to suppress rival claimants to the empire.
265	China	The ruling minister of the northern Chinese kingdom of Wei, Ssu-ma Chao, dies, and his son Ssu-ma Yen usurps the throne from the royal family, becoming known as the emperor Wudi, and founding the Western Chin dynasty. For the next 50 years the northern kingdom exerts some suzerainty over the other kingdoms.
267	Roman Empire, Greece	The Goths, originally from Scandinavia, with the Sarmatians (from modern Iran), pour down into the Balkans and Greece and sail through the Hellespont into the Aegean Sea. The Greek cities of Athens, Argos, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes are all sacked.
268–270	Roman Empire	Following the death of Roman emperor Publius Gallienus at the hands of his soldiers, Claudius II, a Dalmatian of obscure origin, becomes emperor.
270	Roman Empire, Dacia	The Roman emperor Claudius II succumbs to the plague and Aurelian (Lucius Domitus Aurelianus), another Dalmatian, becomes emperor. He wins a further battle over the Goths and then makes peace with them. He relinquishes the province of Dacia to the Goths and transfers the name and the civilian population to a province south of the River Danube.
274	Roman Empire, Gaul	The Roman usurper Postumus has been succeeded as ‘Emperor of Gaul’ by Tetricus, whom the Roman emperor Aurelian easily defeats. Rome greets Aurelian as Restitutor Orbis (‘Restorer of the World’) and accords him a magnificent triumph (victory procession), which is graced by his captives Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus and Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, the latter loaded with golden chains. Zenobia is allowed to live out her life with her children at Hadrian's palace, Tivoli. .
275	Roman Empire	Following the murder of the Roman emperor Aurelian, the Roman army passes the appointment of the next emperor to the Senate, which chooses the 75-year-old Cornelius Tacitus, a descendant of the historian of the same name.
282	Roman Empire	The Roman army grows more and more discontented with the emperor Marcus Probus as a result of his crackdown on discipline. His soldiers mutiny and kill him while he is superintending viticulture at Sirmium, his birthplace, a city on the Sava in Pannonia Inferior. Marcus Aurelius Carus, said to be a scholar as well as a soldier, is elected his successor.
283–285	Roman Empire	Following the death of Roman emperor Marcus Aurielius Carus, his two sons, Numerianus and Carinus, are declared his heirs. Numerianus is subsequently murdered in the East, and the other, Carinus, fights for the throne with the Roman commander Diocletian, the army's choice. Diocletian defeats Carinus and kills him.
285	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Diocletian transfers his capital from Rome, Italy, to Nicomedia in Bithynia, near Byzantium, as a more strategic base from which to defend the Empire. Similarly, his second in command, Maximian, chooses Milan in northern Italy as his base.
286	Roman Empire	Following Maximian's successful campaign in Gaul, the Roman emperor Diocletian raises him from Caesar to Augustus, making him his joint ruler with responsibility for the West, reviving the practice of splitting the command of the Empire between East and West.
287	Gaul, UK, Roman Empire	The Roman Caesar, Maximian, places a soldier named Carausius in charge of the Roman fleet at Boulogne, the Classis Britannica, to clear the English Channel of Frankish and Saxon pirates. Carausius catches many pirates, but keeps the spoils for himself. When Maximian orders his execution, he revolts, keeping control of the north coasts of Gaul and using his naval power to cross to Britain, where he declares an independent empire on the model of Postumus in Gaul.
290	UK, Roman Empire	The soldier and naval commander Carausius, a self-proclaimed Roman emperor who has established himself in Britain, is reluctantly acknowledged by Maximian and Diocletian as a third emperor. He rules in Britain for the next three years, efficiently defeating Saxon and Frankish raids.
296	UK, Roman Empire	After two years of preparation, Constantius Chlorus, Roman Caesar of the West, invades Britain. One squadron of his fleet, led by his Praetorian prefect Asclepiodotus, lands near the Isle of Wight and defeats Allectus in Hampshire. The other Roman squadron, under Constantius, sails up the River Thames to London just in time to prevent the sack of the city by the remains of Allectus' army. He rebuilds at Eboracum (York), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans), fortifies the ‘Saxon Shore’ (the coastline from the Wash to the Isle of Wight), and does much to restore prosperity to Britain.
299	Roman Empire	The 3rd century ends in peace, with the Roman Empire recovered in power and prestige and the emperor Diocletian's innovations in government apparently vindicated.
304	China	The Huns under the Chinese-educated Liu Yuan decide to connect themselves with China's past and form a ‘Hun Han’ dynasty in northern China.
305	Roman Empire	Diocletian, the Roman emperor of the East, abdicates in Nicomedia, Bithynia, and Maximian, the emperor of the West, does the same in Milan, Italy. They are succeeded as Augusti by the former Caesars, Constantius Chlorus in the West and Galerius in the East. The posts of Caesar now go to Severus in the West and Maximinus Daia in the East, both protégés of Galerius. The obvious choices of Maxentius, son of Maximian, and Constantine I the Great, son of Constantius, are passed over.
306	Britain, Roman Empire	Constantius I Chlorus, the Western Roman emperor 293–306, who rules in a tetrarchy with Maximian, Diocletian, and Galerius, returns to Britain and undertakes a punitive expedition against the Picts beyond the repaired Hadrian's Wall. His son Constantine (Constantine I the Great) has managed safely to reach his father from the court of Eastern emperor Galerius, and together father and son win a brilliant victory. However, on his return to Eboracum (modern York) in July, Constantius dies. Constantine is declared Augustus (emperor) by his troops, and awaits recognition by Galerius. Despite his anger at this development, Galerius compromises and recognizes Constantine as Caesar in order to avert civil war. He makes Caesar Flavius Valerius Severus the new Augustus in the West. Constantine accepts this decision for the moment, in order to avoid civil war.
306	Italy, Roman Empire	Goaded by Constantine I the Great's success in being recognized as Caesar, Maxentius, son of the former Western emperor Maximian, joins a revolt by the Praetorian Guard in Rome, angry at its suppression by the current Western emperor Severus. Rome and the south of Italy, bitter over their subjection to taxation and loss of privilege, support Maxentius, as does Africa. Northern Italy supports Severus, who has his seat in Milan.
307	Roman Empire	Maxentius calls on his father, the former Western Roman emperor Maximian, to come out of retirement to help him. The emperor of the East, Galerius, orders Severus, Emperor of the West, to march on Rome against Maxentius. Many of Severus' soldiers have previously served under Maximian, however, and Severus is forced to retire to Ravenna, where Maximian, who has resumed his position as Augustus (emperor), persuades him to become his hostage against Galerius. Maximian travels to Gaul to gain the support of Constantine against the Eastern emperor, who acknowledges Maxentius as Augustus in the West. Constantine accepts promotion to the rank of Augustus and marries Maximian's daughter Fausta.
313	Roman Empire	The Eastern Roman emperor Maximinus Daia, who holds Asia and Egypt, attacks his rival emperor Licinius on his return to the East, driving him back into Thrace and capturing Byzantium. Licinius calls up reinforcements and completely defeats Maximinus at Tzurulum, near Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey), pursuing him across Asia Minor to Tarsus, where Maximinus is killed.
313	Roman Empire	The Western Roman emperor Constantine I the Great meets the Eastern emperor Licinius in Milan, Italy. They issue a joint edict and agree to cooperate. Complete religious tolerance for Christians is agreed. Licinius marries Constantine's sister Constantia. Constantine moves to the defence of Gaul and Licinius to consolidate his Eastern possessions against his rival Maximinus Daia.
317	China	The Hun Han dynasty founded by the Huns in 304 is now fully established in northern China.
325	Roman Empire	Following the death of the Eastern Roman emperor Licinius, the Roman Empire once again has a single ruler, Constantine I the Great.
330	Thrace, Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Constantine I the Great dedicates the city of Constantinople, or Nova Roma (modern Istanbul, Turkey), and makes it his new, Christian, base. Although he does not intend to move the capital of the Empire from Rome, his establishment, together with that of the imperial court, in Constantinople effectively brings the long history of Rome as the centre of the world to an end.
338	Pannonia	The late Roman emperor Constantine I the Great's three surviving sons – Constantius, Constantine II, and Constans – meet in Pannonia and try to resolve their differences. They divide the Empire up, possibly according to their father's plans: Constantius gets the East; Constantine II receives Spain, Britain, and Gaul; and Constans becomes ruler of Italy, Africa, and western Illyricum.
349–350	Roman Empire	When Constans, the Western Roman emperor, makes himself extremely unpopular, Gaulish army commander Magnus Magnentius usurps the throne with the support of the military leaders in Rome. Constans flees to Spain, where he is subsequently assassinated. Magnus Magnentius is welcomed in Britain, Spain, Africa, and the rest of Italy, as well as in Gaul.
353	Gaul, Roman Empire	When Magnus Magnentius, the usurper of the Western Roman throne, commits suicide in Gaul, his British follower Martinus holds out. An official named Paulus is sent to control him and proves so harsh in his rule that Martinus kills him and then kills himself. Savage vengeance is taken on the followers of Martinus.
360	Gaul	Julian, the Roman Caesar, is declared emperor by his troops in Paris, Gaul; they refuse to go East to the aid of the emperor Constantius struggling against King Shapur II of Persia. Julian and Constantius exchange several letters, both hoping to avoid civil war, although both prepare for it. Julian finally takes the first step towards war by setting out with his army towards the East.
361	Roman Empire, Asia Minor	When the Roman emperor Constantius dies of a fever in Cilicia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), while on his way to confront his cousin Julian, Julian takes over the combined emperorship of East and West and rules from Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). He declares himself a pagan and makes a final attempt at hellenizing the empire.
364	Roman Empire	The soldier Valentinian is elected Roman emperor. He retains the West and makes his younger brother Valens emperor of the East.
375	Roman Empire	Following the death of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian I, his son Gratian succeeds him as emperor of the West. His other son, the four-year-old Valentinian II, is appointed co-emperor of the West, to which Gratian agrees.
17 November 375	Roman Empire, Yugoslavia	The Western Roman emperor Valentinian I (364–375) concludes an enduring peace with the Alemanni in Germany, then marches to help defend the Danube frontier. While negotiating with the Quadi, Valentinian dies in Sirmium in modern Yugoslavia (c. 54).
383	Western Roman Empire	When the Western Roman emperor Gratian becomes a weak and inefficient ruler, Magnus Maximus, the Spanish commander left behind in Britain by the Roman soldier Theodosius the elder, claims the throne of the Western Empire. He defeats Gratian near Paris, Gaul, and becomes master of Gaul and Spain. Gratian flees and is subsequently killed by his own troops, leaving his half-brother Valentinian II to succeeds him as the rightful emperor of the West. Magnus Maximus crosses from Britain to Gaul in a bid to make himself Roman emperor. He withdraws many of the troops from Britain, with the result that Hadrian's Wall, the northern Roman frontier in Britain, is overrun and falls into ruin.
387	Italy, Roman Empire, Thrace	Magnus Maximus, the usurping emperor of the West, invades Italy. The rightful emperor Valentinian II flees with his mother and sister to Thessaloníki, Thrace, where the Eastern emperor Theodosius I the Great meets him and marries Valentinian's sister, Galla.
389	Thrace, Roman Empire	Resentment among the citizens of Thessaloníki, Thrace, at the billeting of Germanic troops on them, breaks out into violence, in which the captain of the garrison is killed. The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great orders vengeance, despite the pleas of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, for mercy, and more than 7,000 citizens are killed by the troops.
390	Italy, Roman Empire	Bishop Ambrose retires to Milan, Italy, refusing to meet the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great until he repents for ordering the massacre of over 7,000 citizens in Thessaloníki the previous year. Theodosius is by now filled with remorse at his action, and kneels in humility, stripped of his royal purple, before the altar of the cathedral in Milan, thus humbling himself before the power of the church.
392	Gaul	The Western Roman emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against a Frankish usurper, Arbogast, after being sent to restore order in Gaul by the Eastern emperor Theodosius I the Great. Arbogast appoints a weakling, Eugenius, as emperor of the West, and is thus the first of the Germanic kingmakers of the Roman Empire.
397	Africa	The Moorish prince Gildo revolts against Roman rule in Africa, taking much of North Africa and cutting off the corn supply to Rome. The Roman general Flavius Stilicho concludes a hasty treaty with the Goths in the Balkans and returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebel Moorish prince in Africa. Stilicho supervises the war, and Gildo is defeated.
403	Western Roman Empire, Italy	The Western Roman emperor Honorius deserts Milan for Ravenna, which he makes the Western capital.
406	Western Roman Empire, UK	As the Roman government has ceased to send out governors or organize troops in the wake of the Vandal conquest of Gaul, the Romano-British elect their own emperors. The first is Marcus, who is succeeded by Gratian.
408	Western Roman Empire, Italy	In Rome, the chancellor Olympius, jealous of the general Stilicho and believing him to be at heart pro-German, persuades the emperor Honorius to have him assassinated, together with many of Stilicho's Vandal soldiers. Alaric seizes his opportunity and uses the pretext of an unpaid bribe (promised him by Stilicho in 402) to invade Italy once again. Following Stilicho's death, Roman troops are allowed to rob and murder the families of Teutonic troops in Italy, causing many to desert to the Visigoth king Alaric.
411	Western Roman Empire, UK	The Western Roman emperor Honorius tells the Britons that they must look to their own defences, finally abandoning the Romans' claims to the island.
411	Western Roman Empire, Gaul	The Western Roman emperor Honorius sends two generals to deal with the usurper Constantine in Gaul. They kill Gerontius, Constantine's rebellious prefect of Spain, then besiege Arles and defeat Constantine. The Teutonic tribes in Spain join the empire as foederati (allies with military commitments).
425	Western Roman Empire	The usurper John is defeated and the young Valentinian III, son of the Roman Constantius and Placidia, the daughter of the emperor Theodosius I the Great, becomes Emperor of the West. Real power is in the hands of his mother Placidia, the widow of the Visigoth Ataulf. The Roman soldier Aëtius enters her service.
c. 433	Europe	Attila, King of the Huns, consolidates his power in his Hungarian capital, probably on the site of Buda. Both emperors, Theodosius II in the East and Valentinian III in the West, bribe him to keep the peace. Attila initially inherits the Hunnish kingdom with his brother Bleda, but reputedly murders him in 444.
453	Western Roman Empire,	After a wedding feast, on his marriage to the German Ildica, King Attila is found dead in bed with a burst blood vessel. His empire is divided between his sons and the Hunnish threat to the Western Roman empire is ended.
c. 500	Japan	By the end of the 5th century AD, the Japanese have coalesced into one nation and culture.
508	Gaul, France	The Ostrogoths under Theodoric take southern Gaul from the Franks. Clovis, King of the Franks, establishes his capital at Lutetia (present-day Paris).
511	Frankish Kingdom	On his death, Clovis, king of the Franks, leaves his kingdom (in modern France and Germany) to his four sons. They soon expand it, imposing their rule over the Franks on the right bank of the River Rhine.
528	India	The White Hun king Mihirakula (sometimes called the Attila of India) is deposed and the Hunnish invasion of India, which never produces a kingdom, begins to lose its force.
553	Italy	By the end of the Gothic war, Italy is economically ruined. Rome's population has dwindled to about 40,000, with its aristocracy so depleted that the Senate peters out.
589	China, Sui Empire	China approaches unity again under the warlike Yang Chien of the short-lived Sui dynasty.
590	Eastern Roman Empire, Sassanian Empire, Persia	The usurping general Bahram seizes the Sasanian Persian throne, forcing the young King Chosroes II to flee to Syria where he seeks Roman protection. The emperor Maurice re-establishes him firmly on the Sasanian throne and makes a favourable peace with him.
606	Sassanian Empire, Persia, Mesopotamia, Eastern Roman Empire	The Sasanian Persians conquer northern Mesopotamia from the Eastern Roman Empire and advance west across the River Euphrates. Phocas, the Eastern Roman emperor, fails to organize an effective defence.
610	Eastern Roman Empire	The young Heraclius, son of the military governor of Roman Africa, deposes the usurper Phocas and becomes Eastern Roman emperor himself. Phocas, an incompetent and despotical ruler, has allowed the administrative structure of the Empire to decay and Heraclius is forced to undertake fundamental reforms in the following years: these are so far-reaching that the Eastern Roman Empire is subsequently known to historians as the Byzantine Empire after the old Greek name for Constantinople, Byzantion.
614	Frankish Kingdom	After dominating Frankish politics for 20 years, the ruthless queen Brunhild is executed by the young Chlotar II who reunites the (Merovingian) Frankish kingdom under a single ruler after 50 years of civil wars.
626	China, Tang Empire	Gaozu, the first emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, is overthrown by his son Taizong, one of the ablest rulers in Chinese history. Under his rule trade and agriculture prosper and Chinese control is extended far into central Asia.
628	Byzantine Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	When King Chosroes II of Sassanian Persia is murdered by his son following his defeat by the Byzantines at Nineveh, Mesopotamia, in 627, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius makes an advantageous peace with the Sassanian Empire. Both the Byzantine and Sassanian Persian empires have been severely weakened by their 24-year long war.
632	Arab Caliphate, Syria	Abu Bakr, the successor to the founder of Islam Muhammad, suppresses an anti-Islamic Arab revolt with the aid of his general Khalid and launches raids on Byzantine Syria.
644	Arab Caliphate	Following the murder of the Arab caliph Umar by a Persian slave, he is succeeded by Uthman, who centralizes the administration of the Arab caliphate and promulgates an official version of the Koran, the written record of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's teachings.
17 June 656	Arab Caliphate	The rapid growth of the Arab caliphate causes social and political tensions, culminating in the murder of the caliph Uthman in his own home in Medina (in modern Saudi Arabia) by rebel soldiers. The Islamic prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, becomes the fourth caliph, though many suspect him of complicity in Uthman's murder.
683	China, Tang Empire	On the death of her husband, the Chinese emperor Gaozong, the empress Wu Hou exiles his successor, her elder son Zhongzong, and appoints her weak younger son Ruizong emperor while retaining real power for herself.
702	Arab Caliphate, Africa	The Arab governor in Byzantine Africa, Musa, completes the pacification of the Berbers (also known as Moors) and they soon become enthusiastic converts to Islam.
713	China, Tang Empire	Xuanzong becomes the sixth emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty. During his long and prosperous reign (43 years), the Tang dynasty achieves its greatest power and prestige.
716–717	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor Anastasius II is deposed while attempting to discipline his army. He is followed, unwillingly, by Theodosius III, who abdicates the following year in favour of the general of the army in Asia Minor and a saviour of the Empire, Leo III the Isaurian.
741	Frankish Kingdom, Italy, Arab Caliphate, Byzantine Empire	Pepin the Short and Carloman jointly succeed their father, Charles Martel, as Frankish mayors of the palace – Carloman is to rule the west (Neustria) and Pepin the east (Austrasia). Zacharias succeeds Gregory III as pope; Walid II succeeds Hisham as caliph (ruler of the Islamic world); and Constantine V, a militant iconoclast, succeeds Leo III the Isaurian as Byzantine emperor.
751	Frankish Kingdom	With Pope Zacharias's support, the Frankish mayor of the palace Pepin the Short deposes Childeric III, the last king of the Merovingian dynasty, and is crowned king of the Franks by St Boniface at Soissons in the Frankish kingdom, founding the Carolingian dynasty. Childeric, who has been a mere figurehead under Pepin's control, is allowed to retire to a monastery.
756	Arab Caliphate, Spain	The Moors in Spain break away from the Abbasid caliphate to form an independent emirate under Abd-ar-Rahman I, one of the few survivors of the Abbasid caliph Abu-al-Abbas's massacre of the Umayyad family in 750. He makes the southern Spanish city of Córdoba his capital. This marks the beginning of the break-up of the political unity of the Muslim world which has endured since the time of Muhammad, the prophet and founder of Islam.
757	Mercia, England	A short civil war following the death of King Aethelbald results in his cousin Offa becoming king of Mercia, England. Offa reigns for 39 years and brings about the height of Mercian power, making it the leading Anglo-Saxon kingdom. He is addressed by the Popes as ‘king of England’ without qualification. During his reign he builds a 272-km/69-mi-long rampart (‘Offa's Dyke’) to define the border between his kingdom and the Welsh, one of the most ambitious engineering works of early medieval Europe.
763	China, Tang Empire	The rebellion against the Chinese Tang dynasty, begun by An Lushan in 755, is finally put down, but the authority of the dynasty has been permanently weakened. Tibetans sack the Chinese capital, Changan (modern Xian), which has only just been recaptured from the rebels.
786	Arab Caliphate	The death of Abbasid caliph Al Hadi leads to the accession of his younger brother, Harun ar-Rashid, to the throne. Al Hadi is said to have been murdered by his mother, who favours Harun. Harun makes Yahya the Barmakid his vizier and awards him and his four sons great powers. Harun reigns until 809, presiding over a golden age of Arab civilization.
792	Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria, England	King Offa of Mercia annexes the minor Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia to Mercia. Of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, only Wessex and Northumbria retain their independence of Mercia.
797	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine empress Irene deposes and blinds her son, the emperor Constantine VI, and reigns as emperor (not empress).
25 December 800	Carolingian Empire, Italy	Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, is crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day. The coronation ceremony consciously recalls those of the Western Roman Empire, which fell in 476, but the Byzantines refuse to recognize his title as a successor.
802	Khmer Empire	Jayavarman II, a minor king in the Angkor district of southeast Asia (modern Cambodia), declares himself devaraja (‘god king’); he unites the Khmer peoples and founds the Khmer empire.
24 March 809	Arab Caliphate	When the Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid falls ill and dies after suppressing a revolt in Samarkand, his Muslim Arab empire is divided between his sons, al-Ma'mun and al-Amin.
816	Carolingian Empire, Italy	Pope Stephen IV crowns Louis I the Pious as King of the Franks and Emperor of the West at Reims, in the Frankish Empire (now France). In the Pactum Hlodovicianum, Louis confirms the territories around Rome as papal possessions in Italy.
7 July 817	Arab Caliphate	In an attempt to end the factional rivalry of the Sunni Muslims and breakaway minority Shiite Muslims, the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun appoints Ali al-Rida, leader of the Shiites, as his heir. This proves unacceptable to the Sunnite majority, however, and a revolt breaks out in Baghdad (in modern Iraq).
819	Arab Caliphate	The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun abandons his attempt at reconciliation with the Shiite Muslims, bringing the rebellion against him at Baghdad (in modern Iraq) to an end.
25 December 820	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Leo V, is murdered during a Christmas Day service by supporters of Michael the Amorian, who is under sentence of death for treason. He becomes emperor as Michael II.
1 March 834	Carolingian Empire	Louis I the Pious is restored as Frankish emperor by his eldest son, Lothair I, after he quarrels with his brothers, Louis the German and Pepin.
843	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Michael III, restores the veneration of religious icons in the Byzantine Empire. Prominent supporters of iconoclasm such as the patriarch Ignatius are soon eased out of power, ending the diplomatically damaging and socially divisive iconoclastic dispute.
10 August 847	Arab Caliphate	On the death of the Abbasid caliph al-Wathiq, his brother, al-Mutawakkil, becomes caliph (ruler of the Islamic world). A sternly orthodox Muslim, al-Mutawakkil immediately begins the persecution of the Shiite Muslim minority and introduces restrictions on the activities of Christians and Jews.
4 April 850	Carolingian Empire, Italy	Louis II, son of the Frankish emperor Lothair I, is crowned in Rome as emperor and king of Italy.
20 November 855	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Michael III, begins his personal rule after arranging the murder of Theoctistus the Logothete, the principal minister of his mother, the empress and regent Theodora. Michael banishes Theodora to a convent.
858	Japan	Fujiwara Yorifusa, a member of a leading aristocratic family, becomes regent for the young Japanese emperor, Seiwa. Yorifusa uses his position to consolidate the Fujiwara family's hold on power and reduce the emperors to mere figureheads under a perpetual regency. However, the Fujiwara are unable to maintain a strong central government and their rise marks the beginning of Japan's development into a decentralized feudal state.
24 September 867	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Michael III, is murdered by his ruthless protégé, Basil the Macedonian, who succeeds him as Basil I, founding the Macedonian dynasty (867–1059) which brings the Byzantine Empire to the peak of its power.
4 April 871	Wessex	Alfred the Great becomes king of Wessex, England, on the death of his brother, King Aethelred.
31 January 876	Carolingian Empire, Italy	The Frankish emperor, Charles II the Bald, is accepted as king of Italy at Pavia, following the death of Louis II without legitimate issue. Charles promotes Boso, Count of Vienne, to duke and leaves him in charge of Italy when he returns to his West Frankish kingdom.
28 August 876	Carolingian Empire	The East Frankish king Louis the German dies. His lands are divided between his sons Carloman (Bavaria and the East March), Louis the Younger (Saxony and Franconia), and Charles the Fat (Alemannia).
6 October 877	Carolingian Empire	The Frankish emperor, Charles II the Bald, falls ill after a meeting with Pope John VIII at Vercelli, Italy, and dies at Briançon while returning to Francia to face a rebellion of his magnates. He is succeeded by his son Louis II the Stammerer.
10 April 879	Carolingian Empire	Louis II the Stammerer, King of the Franks, dies. He is succeeded by his sons, Louis III and Carloman, after an abortive invasion by Louis of Saxony who tries to seize the kingdom.
20 January 882	Carolingian Empire	King Louis of Saxony and Bavaria dies and is succeeded by the Frankish emperor, Charles III the Fat of Alemannia, who thus reunites Germany.
887	Carolingian Empire	Amid dismay at his unwillingness to fight the Vikings, an assembly of German magnates at Tribur, near Darmstadt, deposes the Frankish emperor, Charles III the Fat, leading to the final break-up of Charlemagne's empire (the ‘Carolingian Empire’).
13 January 888	Carolingian Empire, Bavaria, Italy, Provence, Burgundy, France, Germany	The deposed Frankish emperor, Charles III the Fat, dies and his empire is dismembered. German vassals declare his successor to be Arnulf of Carinthia, illegitimate son of Carloman of Bavaria; in Italy, Berengar, Margrave of Friuli, and Guido, Duke of Spoleto, contend for the crown; King Boso's son, Louis, holds Provence; Rudolph of Auxerre, Duke of Jurane Burgundy, establishes a kingdom of Burgundy; while in West Francia (which develops into the kingdom of France), surviving royal authority disintegrates.
28 January 893	France	Following a revolt against King Odo of France organized by Archbishop Fulk of Reims, Charles the Simple, the posthumous son of Louis II the Stammerer, King of the Franks, is crowned king of France in his place.
26 October 899	Wessex, England	Following the death of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, he is succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder.
6 March 902	Arab Caliphate	The Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid dies. He is the last caliph (ruler of the Islamic world) to rule in his own right; his successors are, generally, controlled by their Turkish bodyguards.
7 December 909	Fatimid Caliphate	After overthrowing the Sunni Aghlabid dynasty of Kairouan (in modern Tunisia), Sa'id ibn-Husayn is proclaimed as Ubaydullah al-Mahdi (‘the divinely guided one’) in Tunis and sets up an Ismailite (Shiite) caliphate in opposition to the Sunni caliphate of Baghdad (in modern Iraq). Al-Mahdi founds the Fatimid dynasty (named after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima, from whom Sa'id claims descent).
911	Mercia, Wessex, England	Ethelred, ealdorman of Mercia, England, dies and is succeeded by his wife, Aethelflaed (daughter of King Alfred the Great), known as ‘the Lady of the Mercians’. Her brother, King Edward the Elder of Wessex, occupies London, formerly a Mercian city.
911	France, Normandy	King Charles III the Simple of France receives the homage of Rollo (Hrolf), the Norse leader established on the River Seine, at St Clair-sur-Epte. Rollo agrees to prevent other Vikings entering the Seine and is baptized as a Christian. In return, Charles grants him the county of Rouen. Rollo's lands become known as Normandy after the Nordmanni (‘Northmen’).
912	China	Zhuwen, the first emperor of the Later Liang dynasty of northern China, is murdered by his son Yingwang, who succeeds him.
6 June 913	Byzantine Empire	Shortly after provoking a war with the Bulgars, the Byzantine emperor, Alexander, dies leaving the empire in the hands of his seven-year-old nephew Constantine VII (the son of the former emperor Leo VI).
12 June 918	Mercia, Wessex, England	On the death of his sister Aethelflaed, the ‘Lady of the Mercians’, King Edward the Elder annexes Mercia to his kingdom of Wessex. He also completes the conquest of the Danish Midlands.
13 July 923	France	Duke Raoul of Burgundia is crowned as king of France in succession to Robert of Neustria. He cedes the duchy to Giselbert, who is challenged by Robert's brother, Count Hugh the Black, and by Duke Hugh the Great of the Franks.
17 July 924	England	King Edward the Elder of England dies; he is succeeded by his capable son, Athelstan.
933	Norway	King Harold I Haarfager of Norway dies; he is succeeded by his son Erik Bloodaxe who kills two of his brothers in order to secure the throne.
935	Korea	Wang Kon reunites Korea, founding the Koryo dynasty (which gives the name ‘Korea’), with the capital at Kaesong.
c. 935	Central America	Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl, a Toltec ruler whose opposition to human sacrifice ultimately causes the Toltecs to expel him, is born in Central America. He later becomes identified with the god Quetzalcoatl (‘feathered serpent’).
936	China	The Later Tang dynasty, the second of the ‘Five Dynasties’ of northern China is overthrown, with help from the Qitan nomads, by the Shatuo Turkish general Shi Jingtang, who founds the Later Jin dynasty.
19 June 936	France	Louis IV d'Outremer, son of Charles III the Simple, is recalled from exile in England by Count Hugh the Great, the Capetian Duke of the Franks, and crowned king of France following the death of King Raoul.
939	Annam	The Annamese rebel leader Ngo Quyen defeats the Chinese and founds the kingdom of Dai Viet (or Annam, modern northern Vietnam), with his capital at Co-loa.
27 October 939	Wessex, Mercia, England	Edmund succeeds o the throne of England following the death of his brother King Athelstan (or Aethelstan or Ethelstan) of England.
16 December 944	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Romanus I Lecapanus, is deposed and exiled by his sons. The co-emperor, Constantine VII, assumes sole rule and crushes the rebellion of Romanus's sons.
17 January 946	Persia	Ahmad ibn-Buwayh Adud ad-Dawlah, the Shiite Muslim ruler of western Persia, expels the Turks from Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid caliphate. His Buwayhid dynasty now rules the Arab caliphate from its capital of Shiraz and has the title of sultan. The Abbasid caliph is reduced to a religious figurehead without political power.
26 May 946	England	When King Edmund of England is murdered at a feast, his brother, Eadred, succeeds to the throne.
947	China	Weakened by devastating Khitan nomad invasions, the Later Jin dynasty, the third of the ‘Five Dynasties’ of northern China, is overthrown by Gaozu, a Shatuo Turk general, who establishes the Later Han dynasty.
948	England	Erik Bloodaxe, the deposed king of Norway, captures York, England, and makes himself king.
949	India	Krishna III, the Rashtrakuta king, defeats and kills the Chola king Parantaka I's son, Rajaditya, at Takkolam. He then takes Tanjore, the Chola capital, and much other territory in southern India.
950	China	The Later Han dynasty, the fourth of the ‘Five Dynasties’ of northern China, is overthrown by Guowei, a Chinese general who establishes the Later Zhou dynasty.
9 September 951	Italy, Germany	Adelaide, the widow of King Lothair II of Italy, appeals to the German king Otto I, later Holy Roman Emperor, for help against Berengar of Ivrea, who has imprisoned her. Otto invades Italy, takes the northern city of Pavia, marries Adelaide, and assumes the Italian crown. Berengar takes refuge in the Alps.
954	England	Erik Bloodaxe, the last Scandinavian king of York, England, is murdered by a rival at York. King Eadred takes possession of the kingdom and, as a consequence, holds all of England.
10 September 954	France	King Louis IV of France dies (c. 33). He is succeeded by his son, Lothair, the penultimate Carolingian king of France.
1 October 959	England	King Eadwig of England dies. He is succeeded by his brother, Edgar, who recalls Abbot Dunstan of Glastonbury from exile.
960	Spain, León	Abd-ar-Rahman III, caliph (Islamic ruler) of Córdoba, Spain, exploiting the civil war in the Spanish kingdom of León, takes the city of Oviedo, and with García I of Navarre, restores Sancho I as king of León.
960	China	A guard commander, Zhao Kuangyin (known posthumously as Taizu), overthrows the Later Zhou dynasty, the last of the ‘Five Dynasties’ of northern China, and founds the Northern Song dynasty.
c. 960	Korea	The Koryo dynasty pushes the border of Koryo (Korea) north to the Yalu River, which remains the northern border of Koryo.
9 September 961	Italy, Germany	In answer to an appeal from Pope John XII for protection against King Berengar II of Ivrea, King Otto I of Germany invades Italy and, with his son Otto, is acknowledged as king of Italy on his capture of the northern city of Pavia.
2 February 962	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	King Otto I of Germany is crowned Roman emperor by Pope John XII, an event which marks the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire.
963	China	Zhao Kuangyin (known posthumously as Taizu), the ruler of northern China and first emperor of the Song dynasty, begins a series of military and diplomatic campaigns against the independent ‘Ten Kingdoms’ of southern China.
16 August 963	Byzantine Empire	Following the death of the Byzantine emperor Romanus II, the Byzantine general Nicephorus Phocas is crowned Byzantine emperor (Nicephorus II), and shortly after marries Romanus's widow.
26 December 963	Italy, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I of Germany, captures former king Berengar II of Italy and exiles him to Germany.
23 June 964	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I of Germany, marches on Rome, exiles Pope Benedict V the Grammarian to Hamburg, Germany, and restores Pope Leo VIII.
1 October 965	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Following the death of Pope Leo VIII, the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I of Germany, refuses the request of the Romans for the restoration of the deposed pope Benedict V and secures the appointment of John XIII.
968	Annam, China	Dinh Bo Linh, after succeeding as ruler of Dai Viet (Annam) and suppressing all opposition, declares himself emperor (adopting the name Dinh-Tien-hoang), with his capital at Hoa-lu. The Song emperors of China recognize him as a vassal.
6 July 969	Egypt, Fatimid Caliphate	The fourth Fatimid caliph (Islamic ruler), al-Mu'izz, already ruling Kairouan, the Maghreb, and Libya in northern Africa, conquers Egypt and extinguishes the Ikshidid dynasty. He founds a new capital at Cairo, Egypt, which becomes the centre of a Shiite empire.
10 December 969	Byzantine Empire	The general John Tzimisces, becomes Byzantine emperor after murdering the emperor Nicephorus II, in a conspiracy with Nicephorus's wife, Theophano, who is his lover.
972	Kiev	The Pechenegs, under Kurya, defeat and kill Prince Svjatoslav I of the Rus principality of Kiev in an ambush on the cataracts of the River Dnieper. Svjatoslav I is succeeded by his son, Jaropolk I.
973	India	Taila, a provincial governor, overthrows the Rashtrakuta dynasty of central India, establishing his own Chalukya dynasty.
7 May 973	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor and German king, Otto I the Great dies, and is succeeded in both positions by his son, Otto II.
10 October 974	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Benedict VII is crowned as pope in Rome, Italy.
10 January 976	Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate	The Byzantine emperor John Tzimisces dies of typhoid contracted on his triumphant campaign in Syria and Palestine in 975. He is succeeded by Basil II and Constantine VIII, the sons of Romanus II. The Bulgarians, led by Samuel, begin a war for independence.
18 March 978	England	King Edward of England is murdered by servants whilst visiting his stepbrother, Aethelred II the Unready, who succeeds him. Edward is subsequently regarded as a martyr and Aethelred, probably unfairly, is suspected of complicity in the murder.
10 October 978	France	The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto II of Germany, invades France, harrying as far as Paris, in retaliation for an attempt by King Lothair IV of France to seize Lorraine.
979	China	The Chinese Song emperor, Taizong, conquers the independent Chinese kingdoms of Jin and Yen, completing the reunification of China begun by his brother Taizu.
981	Kiev, Poland	Prince Vladimir I of the Rus principality of Kiev takes Przemysl, Czerwien, and other areas in Red Russia from Poland.
983	Denmark	Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark, is deposed by his son, Sven I Forkbeard.
7 December 983	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	When the Holy Roman Emperor and German king Otto II dies in Rome, Italy, from malaria, he is succeeded by his three-year-old son, Otto III, under the guardianship of his mother, Theophano.
23 March 984	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	Henry the Wrangler, the former Duke of Bavaria, proclaims himself king of Germany, but the Saxons and many others oppose him.
29 June 984	Germany, Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria	A diet of German princes recognizes Otto III, the young son of the late Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, as king of Germany. Henry the Wrangler surrenders Otto to his mother, Theophano, and grandmother, Adelaide, and is restored to the duchy of Bavaria in compensation.
987	Central America	Kukulcan (‘feathered serpent’), who is probably the exiled Toltec king Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl, captures Chichén Itzá from the Maya and establishes an empire in the northern Yucatán, Central America.
3 July 987	France	Hugh Capet, Duke of the Franks, is elected to succeed Louis V and is crowned king of France, so founding the Capetian dynasty. King Hugh's authority is weak and his own duchy of Neustria disintegrates as his vassals make themselves effectively independent.
2 February 988	Kiev	Prince Vladimir of the Rus principality of Kiev is baptized as a condition of a proposed marriage with Anna, the sister of the Byzantine emperor, Basil II. The marriage is a reward for Vladimir's help against the rebel Byzantine general Bardas Phocas.
29 March 991	France	Bishop Asselin of Laon captures Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, the pretender to the French throne, and Archbishop Arnulf of Reims on King Hugh of France's behalf, so ending Charles's attempt to win the throne of France.
992	Poland	Prince Mieszko I of Poland dies at Gniezno. His lands (Poland as far west as the River Oder, plus Pomerania and Moravia) are divided among his sons, one of whom, Boleslaw Chrobry (the Brave), subsequently reunites them.
24 October 996	France	King Hugh of France, the founder of the Capetian dynasty, dies and is buried at Saint-Denis. He is succeeded by his son, Hugh Cape, Robert II the Pious.
997	China	The Chinese Song emperor, Taizong, dies. Though he has reunited the Chinese under a single dynasty, he has been unable to recover all the territories ruled by the Tang dynasty. Thus the Song empire is the smallest of the Chinese empires, confined only to areas inhabited by ethnic Chinese.
998	Dalmatia, Byzantine Empire, Venice, Italy	Unable to defend Dalmatia against the Bulgar King Samuel, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II grants it to Venice.
999	Italy, Holy Roman Empire, France	Following the death of Gregory V, Gerbert of Aurillac is elected as Pope Sylvester II. He is the first French pope.
c. 1000	Southeast Asia, Pacific	Traders and fishermen from Macassar in Sulawesi in Southeast Asia (modern Indonesia), make contact with the Aborigines of northern Australia.
c. 1000	South America	The rival Andean empires of Tiahuanaco and Huari collapse within a few years of each other.
1000	Iceland	By a majority decision of the Althing (parliament), Iceland adopts Christianity. Pagan worship is permitted in private.
31 March 1000	Poland	Boleslaw Chrobry (the Brave) convinces the Emperor Otto III to create the archbishopric of Gniezno for Poland, with Silesia and Pomerania subject to it. Poland is consequently recognized as independent both politically and ecclesiastically.
25 December 1000	Hungary	Duke Stephen is crowned as king of Hungary. He has placed his country under the protection of the Pope, from whom he receives the crown and the establishment of a Hungarian ecclesiastical hierarchy under the archbishopric of Gran.
13 November 1002	England	The ‘St Brice's day massacre’ takes place in England. Danes resident in southern England are massacred at the instigation of King Aethelred of England.
1003	Poland, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	Vladivoj, Duke of Bohemia dies and is succeeded by his son, Jaromir. Shortly afterwards, King Boleslaw of Poland expels him and restores Duke Boleslaw III, who proceeds to murder his former opponents. The Bohemians then call back Boleslaw of Poland, who deposes and blinds Boleslaw III, and rules Bohemia himself.
9 September 1004	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	King Henry II of Germany restores Jaromir as Duke of Bohemia in a war which follows Boleslaw Chrobry (the Brave) of Poland's refusal to pay homage.
1010	Spain, Umayyad Caliphate	The caliph Suleiman of Córdoba, in Spain, is deposed and Mohammad II is restored. The latter is then murdered and Hisham II restored. The Umayyad Caliphate now slides into political anarchy.
12 May 1012	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The death of Pope Sergius IV within a few weeks of that of his patron John II Crescentius leads to suspicions that they have both been murdered. The election of Sergius IV's successor is disputed: the Crescentius family nominate Gregory, but he is soon expelled by the counts of Tusculum, who put Theophylact of Tusculum, as Benedict VIII, in possession of the papacy.
3 February 1014	Denmark, Norway, England	Following the death of Sewyn I (Sven Forkbeard), king of Denmark, Norway, and England, he is succeeded by his sons, Harold, in Denmark, and Cnut, in England. However, when the English king Aethelred II is restored, Cnut is forced to return to Denmark.
14 February 1014	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	King Henry II of Germany and Italy is crowned emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in Rome, to the accompaniment of anti-German rioting.
29 July 1014	Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate	Byzantine emperor Basil II surrounds and captures a Bulgarian army in the pass of Kleidon, Bulgaria. 15,000 Bulgar prisoners are blinded before being sent home.
6 October 1014	Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate	Samuel, the Bulgarian emperor, dies two days after seeing the 15,000 survivors of the defeat at the pass of Kleidon who had been blinded by the Byzantine emperor Basil II.
1015	Kiev	Following the death of St Vladimir I, grand prince of Kiev and first Christian ruler of Russia, he is succeeded by his son, Sviatopolk I, after he murders his brothers, Boris and Gleb. Another brother, Jaroslav, holds out against Sviatopolk in Novgorod.
23 April 1016	England	Edmund Ironside succeeds to the English throne following the death of his father, King Aethelred II the Unready of England. Edmund revitalizes English resistance to Cnut, the Danish claimant to the English throne.
30 November 1016	England	On the death of King Edmund Ironside, Cnut, king of Denmark, is accepted as sole king of England.
14 August 1018	Kiev	King Boleslaw of Poland enters Kiev, Russia, and restores his son-in-law Sviatopolk I to the throne, but is then forced to retire when Sviatopolk organizes an anti-Polish rising. Boleslaw, however, retains Czerwien and Przemysl for Poland.
1019	Denmark	King Cnut of England takes possession of the Danish throne in succession to his brother, Harold.
25 December 1024	Poland	Boleslaw Chrobry (the Brave) is crowned as king of Poland with the approval of Pope John XIX.
15 December 1025	Byzantine Empire	When the Byzantine emperor Basil II the Bulgarslayer dies without an heir, his brother, Constantine VIII, already co-emperor, becomes sole emperor.
26 March 1027	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	King Conrad II of Germany and Italy is crowned emperor by Pope John XIX in Rome.
14 May 1027	France	In accordance with the custom of the Capetian dynasty, Henry, Duke of Burgundy and eldest son of King Robert II, is crowned as king of France during his father's lifetime.
1028	Norway	Having made himself unpopular for his brutal imposition of Christianity, Olaf Haroldson, King of Norway, is expelled from his kingdom by King Cnut of Denmark and England. The chiefs of the Faroes, Orkneys, and Shetlands also recognize Cnut's rule.
1028	Spain, Navarre	Sancho III of Navarre unites the Spanish realm of Castile with his kingdom following the murder of its young Count Garcia.
1028	Byzantine Empire	Following the death of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VIII, he is succeeded by his son-in-law, Romanus III.
20 July 1031	France	Henry I succeeds to the throne of France following the death of his father, Robert II the Pious, king of France.
30 November 1031	Spain, Umayyad Caliphate	The caliphate of Córdoba comes to an end with the deposing of Hisham III, the last of the Umayyad dynasty. Dozens of independent Moorish and Arab kingdoms arise in Andalusia.
1033	Spain, Navarre, Castile	King Sancho III of Navarre creates the kingdom of Castile for his son, Ferdinand I (in present-day Spain).
2 February 1033	Burgundy, Holy Roman Empire	Emperor Conrad II is crowned as king of Burgundy, which now becomes known as the kingdom of Arles and is attached to the German crown. This marks the end of the independent kingdom of Burgundy.
11 April 1034	Byzantine Empire	When the Byzantine emperor Romanus III dies, he is succeeded by Michael IV the Paphlagonian, who marries Zoe, widow of Romanus and daughter of Constantine VIII.
2 July 1035	Normandy, France	On the death of Robert I (‘the Devil’ or ‘the Magnificent’), duke of Normandy, he is succeeded by his illegitimate son, William I, who is later known as William the Conqueror.
12 November 1035	England, Denmark, Norway	Following the death of Cnut, king of England, Denmark, and, nominally, Norway, dies. He is succeeded by his son Harthacnut in Denmark, with Harold Harefoot, another son, his regent in England. In Norway, Magnus I, the son of St Olaf, is established as king in a revolt against Cnut.
1037	Spain, Castile, León	Ferdinand I of Castile defeats and kills Vermudo III of León at Tamaron (in modern-day Spain), and takes possession of his kingdom.
15 August 1038	Hungary	When Stephen I, first king of Hungary, dies, he is left without a direct heir because his son Imre has already died, so Peter the German, a distant relation by marriage, is elected as his successor.
4 June 1039	Holy Roman Empire	Henry III, king of Germany, becomes Holy Roman Emperor following the death of hi father, Conrad II.
17 March 1040	England	Harold I Harefoot, King of England, dies. He is succeeded by his brother, Harthacnut, King of Denmark.
10 December 1041	Byzantine Empire	Following the death of the Byzantine emperor Michael IV, he is succeeded by his nephew, Michael V.
14 April 1042	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor Michael V is deposed, blinded, and succeeded by Theodora and Zoe, the popular but incompetent daughters of Constantine VIII. Their rule is marked by intrigue and corruption and weakens the Byzantine empire.
8 June 1042	England, Denmark	Harthacnut, King of England and Denmark, dies. He is succeeded in England by his adopted heir, Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred II the Unready, and in Denmark by Magnus I, King of Norway.
12 June 1042	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine empresses Zoe and Theodora prove incapable of governing effectively. Zoe therefore remarries, and her husband Constantine IX Monomachus succeeds as emperor.
1 May 1045	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Benedict IX resigns, after selling the papal office to John Gratian, who is elected as Gregory VI.
20 December 1046	Holy Roman Empire	In the synod of Sutri held by Emperor Henry III, Sylvester III and Gregory VI are formally deposed from the papacy for simony and other uncanonical practices. Benedict IX is also summoned to appear but he fails to turn up.
25 October 1047	Norway, Denmark	Magnus the Good, King of Denmark and Norway, dies. He is succeeded in Denmark by Svein II Estrithson and in Norway by Harald Hardrada.
21 August 1056	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine empress Theodora dies. She is the last of the Macedonian dynasty. She is succeeded by her designated heir Michael VI the Aged, a retired civil servant.
5 October 1056	Holy Roman Empire	When the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III dies, at Bodfeld, in Saxony, he is succeeded by his six-year-old son Henry IV, with his widow Agnes as regent.
1 January 1077	Holy Roman Empire	King Henry IV of Germany submits to Pope Gregory VII at Canossa and is absolved from excommunication.
25 December 1085	England	William I the Conqueror, King of England and Duke of Normandy, orders a survey of the resources of England subsequently recorded in the Domesday Book, possibly because of the threat of invasion from King Cnut IV of Denmark.
24 August 1103	Norway, Ireland	King Magnus III Barelegs of Norway is defeated and killed at Moycoba while invading Ulster, Ireland; he is succeeded by his sons, Eysten I, Olaf IV, and Sigurd I.
12 December 1105	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	Emperor Henry IV is captured and imprisoned in Mainz, capital of the Rhineland palatinate, Germany, by his son King Henry V of Germany who is in rebellion against him, fearing that the conflict with the papacy is undermining royal authority.
4 February 1111	Italy, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire	In a meeting in Sutri, Italy, Pope Paschal II tries to settle the ‘Investiture Contest’ (conflict between the papacy and the Empire over lay investiture of senior churchmen) by offering to surrender all church lands in Germany to Emperor Henry V of Germany if he will renounce the practice of lay investiture (investiture by lay rulers). Henry accepts Paschal's offer, knowing that it is unworkable, and opposition by the German bishops, who will lose their wealth and status, ensures that it is never enforced.
12 April 1111	Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Italy	Emperor Henry V of Germany forces Pope Paschal II to concede to him the right to invest bishops by threatening to recognize the antipope Sylvester IV. Henry then orders Sylvester to abdicate.
13 April 1111	Papal States, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Paschal II formally crowns Henry V of Germany as emperor in Rome. Henry has held the title unofficially since 1106.
1112–1167	Pagan	During the reign of King Alaungsithu, the Burmese kingdom of Pagan reaches the peak of its political and cultural influence.
9 September 1112	France	A French synod under Archbishop Guido of Vienne declares lay investiture (investiture of senior churchmen by lay rulers) to be heretical and excommunicates Emperor Henry V of Germany.
25 November 1120	England	William, the son and heir of King Henry I of England, is drowned when the White Ship is wrecked in the English Channel, on its way to England from Normandy.
27 November 1121	Almohad Emirate, Almoravid Emirate	Mohammad ibn-Tumart, the Berber prophet and leader of the Almohads of the Atlas Mountains, northwest Africa, is hailed as Mahdi (Muslim leader) by his followers and begins the conquest of the Almoravid territories in northwest Africa.
1125	China, Jin Empire	The Khitan (Qitan) state of Liao collapses following the fall of its capital at Beijing, and the Juchen emperor A-ku-ta establishes the Jin dynasty in its place.
1127	Zangid Emirate	'Imad ad-Din Zangi is appointed atabeg (governor) of Mosul in succession to il-Bursuqi; he becomes the Muslim champion against the Franks and founds the Zangid dynasty.
1131	Denmark	Magnus the Strong, the son of King Niels of Denmark, murders the popular duke Knud Lavard; civil war breaks out when Knud's son Erik Emune seeks revenge against Magnus.
1132	Italy	King Roger II of Sicily withdraws from Rome in the summer to suppress a rebellion in Apulia, so allowing the supporters of Pope Innocent II to gain control and expel Pope Anacletus II.
3 March 1135	Holy Roman Empire	In a diet (legislative assembly) at Bamberg, the ‘antiking’ Conrad III Hohenstaufen and his son Frederick submit to Emperor Lothair III.
4 April 1140	Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Saxons reject Albert I the Bear as their duke and refuse to surrender to Conrad III Hohenstaufen, king of the Germans. .
1141	Southern Song Empire, Jin Empire, China	Qingui, chancellor of the Chinese Southern Song Empire and an exponent of peace with the Jin (Juchen) Empire, arranges the arrest and murder of the general Yuefei, the leader of the war party. The Southern Song then declare themselves vassals of the Jin and pay tribute.
1143	Castile, Spain, León, Portugal	King Alfonso VII of Castile and León, Emperor of Spain, recognizes Afonso I as king of Portugal; Afonso does homage to Pope Innocent II's legate, thus making Portugal a papal fief.
1156	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa confers the title ‘Count Palatine’ on his half-brother Conrad who controls much territory in the Rhineland. The Rhine Palatinate develops into one of the leading German principalities.
1168	Central America	The Toltec Empire of Mexico collapses after its capital at Tula is sacked by invaders.
12 March 1171	Byzantine Empire, Venice, Italy	In an attempt to end Venetian dominance of trade in the Byzantine Empire, the emperor Manuel I Comnenus orders the arrest of all Venetians in the empire and the confiscation of their goods; Venice retaliates by attacking Dalmatia and the islands of Chios and Lesbos.
1173	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	King Vladislav II of Bohemia abdicates in favour of his son, Frederick. There follows a period of civil war, with 10 changes of ruler in 24 years, in which royal officials become established as feudal magnates; there is a simultaneous increase in German influence and settlement in Bohemia.
24 June 1179	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Germany	Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, is put under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire for failing to appear before Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa to answer charges of oppressive rule in Saxony.
1180	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus makes pronoia (grants of land held subject to military service) heritable; thus they come to resemble Western feudal tenures. They are also evidence of the decay of imperial authority following the defeat at Manzikert in 1176.
1181	Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Saxony, Germany, England	The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, supported by King Valdemar I of Denmark, completes his dispossession of Henry the Lion when the port of Lübeck, founded by Henry, surrenders to Frederick; Henry submits and is banished (to the court of his father-in-law King Henry II of England) for three years, retaining only Brunswick.
3 September 1189	England	Richard I the Lionheart is crowned as king of England; this date becomes the limit of legal memory (from 1290).
10 October 1189	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Germany	With the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa absent on crusade, Henry the Lion, the dispossessed Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, returns to Germany and recovers much of Saxony and Holstein.
11 December 1192	England, Austria, Holy Roman Empire	On his return journey to England from the Third Crusade, King Richard I the Lionheart is captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria who he humiliated at Acre in Palestine.
14 February 1193	Austria, England, Holy Roman Empire	Leopold V, Duke of Austria, surrenders King Richard I the Lionheart of England to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI for ransom; he uses the money to build towns and fortresses and establish the Wiener pfennig.
6 April 1199	England	Richard I the Lionheart, king of England 1189–99, who gained popularity through his bravery during the Third Crusade, dies of a wound received at the siege of the castle of Châlus in the Duchy of Aquitaine (41).
c. 1200–c. 1230	South America	Manco Capac founds the Inca state in the Cuzco Valley, Peru.
1202	León, Almohad Emirate, Castile, Spain	Pope Innocent III excommunicates King Alfonso IX of León and puts his kingdom under an interdict for allying himself with the Muslim Almohads against the Christian kingdom of Castile.
30 April 1202	France, England	King Philip II of France declares that King John of England has forfeited his French lands because he fails to appear in Philip's court to answer the charges brought against him by Hugh of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, whose fiancée, Isabella of Angoulême, John has married. John's vassals, tired of his arbitrary rule, revolt against him.
1 January 1204	Byzantine Empire	An anti-Latin mob in Constantinople murders the Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus and proclaims Nicholas Canabus as emperor.
8 February 1204	Byzantine Empire	The co-Byzantine emperor Alexius IV Angelus dies in an uprising of the citizens of Constantinople, who are angered at his inability to fulfil his pledge to the Crusaders who had helped install him on the throne. Nicholas Canabus, proclaimed emperor by the anti-Latins, is imprisoned. Alexius V Ducas Murtzuphlus, son-in-law of the deposed Alexius III and leader of the anti-Latin forces in Constantinople assumes the Byzantine throne.
10 October 1204	Latin Empire of Constantinople, Venice, Italy, Byzantine Empire	The Latin emperor Baldwin of Constantinople, the Venetians, and the crusaders partition the Byzantine Empire by treaty. Continuing Byzantine resistance, however, means that many of the crusaders are unable to take possession of their territories.
8 November 1204	Bulgaria	Kalojan is crowned as king of Bulgaria (styling himself tsar) by a papal legate, following his agreement with Pope Innocent III to reject Orthodox Christianity and accept the Roman church.
1207	Southern Song Empire, Jin Empire, China	Han T'o-chou, the Chinese Southern Song emperor, is killed by the Jin when attempting to reconquer northern China.
1 January 1207	Holy Roman Empire, Germany, England	Philip, Duke of Swabia and ‘king of the Romans’ (king of Germany), takes the city of Cologne, so achieving a dominant position in Germany; his rival king, Otto IV, flees through Denmark to England.
21 June 1208	Holy Roman Empire	Shortly after Pope Innocent III has recognized him as ‘king of the Romans’ and agreed to crown him Holy Roman Emperor, Philip, Duke of Swabia, is murdered by Otto of Wittelsbach, Count Palatine of Bavaria, over a personal grudge.
1209	Balkans	The French nobleman Geoffrey of Villehardouin assumes the title of prince of Achaea, founding another feudal Latin dynasty in the Morea (that is, the Peloponnese in Greece, known as ‘Romania’ in the West).
4 November 1209	England, Italy	King John of England's continued refusal to accept Stephen Langton, the Pope's choice, as archbishop of Canterbury leads to his excommunication by Pope Innocent III.
17 July 1210	Sweden	King Sverker II of Sweden is defeated, killed, and succeeded by Eric X Cnutson, the first Swedish king to be anointed at his coronation.
13 May 1213	England, Italy	King John of England accepts Pope Innocent III's terms for ending the interdict placed on England, to avoid severe political consequences, receiving Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury; he also resigns his kingdom to the Pope and receives it again as a papal fief, promising to pay tribute.
10 October 1214	Castile, Spain	King Alfonso VIII of Castile dies; he is succeeded by his son, Henry I, a minor; civil war follows.
15 October 1214	England	King John arrives back in England from France to face growing baronial discontent with his demands for money to fund his unsuccessful campaigns.
15–17 June 1215	England	King John of England and his opponents, the barons, meet at Runnymede (now in Surrey) on the River Thames, England, to agree on terms for peace. Three days of negotiations result in the Magna Carta (Great Charter) in which the king agrees to various curtailments of his powers and concedes ‘liberties’ to different classes of his subjects.
28 October 1216	England	King John of England's son, Henry III, a minor, is crowned king of England at Gloucester. William the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, is appointed his guardian.
1219	Japan	Minamoto Sanetomo, the shogun (military ruler) of Japan, is murdered by the Hojo. Hojo Yoshitoki, leader of the Hojo, assumes power as regent: the shogunate becomes an honorific title. The Hojo family retains power until 1333.
1222	Hungary	King Andrew II of Hungary grants his Golden Bull, which protects the rights of the lesser nobility against the magnates and limits the powers of the crown, granting the right to disobey unlawful commands. All subsequent Hungarian kings have to swear to observe these concessions.
January–April 1224	England	King Henry III of England recovers control of royal castles that have been held by various barons since the civil war of King John's reign.
6 March 1226	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	A second Lombard League is formed by the northern Italian cities of Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Mantua, Bergamo, Turin, Vicenza, Padua, and others to oppose the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
27 November 1226	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The first league of Rhenish towns, directed against the archbishop of Mainz, Germany, is suppressed by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
24 August 1227	Mongol Empire, Central Asia	When the Mongol leader Genghis Khan dies, leaving behind an army numbering about 129,000, he is succeeded as great khan by his son Ogedai. A subordinate khanate is created for Ogedai's brother Chaghadai in Turkestan.
29 September 1227	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Gregory IX excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II for his failure to fulfil his promise to go on crusade (Frederick has claimed to be too ill).
11 November 1227	Ayyubid Sultanate, Syria, Egypt, Palestine	Al-Mu'azzam, the Ayyubid sultan of Damascus, Syria, dies; al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, then seizes Jerusalem.
18 March 1229	Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Jerusalem	The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II crowns himself as king of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem.
1230	Germany, Poland, Prussia	Herman of Salza, the grand master of the Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order of crusading knights), takes possession of the town of Chelmno in Poland, granted to them by Prince Konrad of Masovia; the Knights now begin their conquest of Prussia.
23 September 1230	León, Castile, Spain	King Alfonso IX of León dies; he is succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III of Castile, who thus finally unites the two kingdoms.
7 July 1236	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	In a diet (legislative assembly) in Piacenza, Italy, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II announces his intention of restoring imperial authority in Italy. Pope Gregory IX replies by claiming the supreme temporal dominion of the papacy in Italy under the ‘Donation of Constantine’ (an 8th-century forgery, purporting to show that the Roman Emperor Constantine granted control of all of Italy to Pope Sylvester I and the papacy in the 4th century).
1239	Russia, Mongol Empire	Great Prince Jaroslav II of Vladimir–Suzdal begins the payment of tribute to the Mongols; the other Russian princes soon follow suit.
20 March 1239	Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria, Bohemia, Germany	Pope Gregory IX excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II for infringing the church's rights in Italy. In Germany, only Bavaria and Bohemia rebel in consequence.
1241	Germany	The German towns of Hamburg and Lübeck form a peace-keeping league (which has been regarded as the origin of the Hanseatic League).
26 June–17 July 1245	Italy, France, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Innocent IV holds the General Council in Lyons, France. It legislates for reform, calls for new crusades to liberate Jerusalem, and culminates with Innocent's declaration of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's deposition and invitation to the German nobles to elect a new king.
1246	Holy Roman Empire, Sicily	The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II suppresses a revolt in Sicily and deports its last Muslim inhabitants to Lucera, Italy.
1 January 1246	Provence, France	Provence becomes part of France with the marriage of Beatrice, heiress of Count Raymond Berengar IV (who died in 1245), to Charles, count of Anjou, the brother of King Louis IX of France.
8 August 1246	Mongol Empire	Guyuk, son of the late Great Khan Ogedai, is elected great khan of the Mongols; he receives Pope Innocent IV's envoy.
4 April 1248	Mongol Empire	The death of Guyuk, Great Khan of the Mongols, is followed by an interregnum which lasts until 1251.
27 September 1249	Toulouse, Languedoc, France	Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, dies; he is succeeded by his son-in-law Alfonse of Poitiers, the brother of King Louis IX of France, marking the definitive integration of Languedoc into France.
c. 1250	Africa	The west African rainforest state of Benin is founded.
2 May 1250	Ayyubid Sultanate, Egypt, Mameluke Sultanate	Turan Shah, the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, is murdered by his Mameluke (slave) guards, who elect their commander `Izz-ad-Din Aybak as regent while Shajar-ad-Durr, the widow of the former sultan Ayyub, is made nominal ruler. After 80 days Aybak marries her and assumes the sultanate, founding the Mameluke dynasty.
13 December 1250	Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Sicily, Kingdom of Jerusalem	Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (Stupor mundi, ‘wonder of the world’), his son Conrad IV, king of the Romans (king of Germany), succeeds as king of Sicily and (nominal) king of Jerusalem.
1251	India	Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I accedes to the throne of the Indian kingdom of the Pandya dynasty. Under his rule the Pandyas enter into hostilities with the Somesvara.
7 January 1251	Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The Italian city-republic of Florence admits the exiled anti-imperialist party, the Guelphs. A new constitution is formed led by the capitano del popolo (‘captain of the people’) independent of the nobles.
7 July 1251	Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The imperialist party, the Ghibellines, are exiled from the Italian city-republic of Florence, following the return of the papist Guelphs the year before.
25 March 1252	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	William, Count of Holland, is again elected Holy Roman Emperor. Pope Innocent IV directs the Germans to accept him, following the death of the previous papal candidate, Henry Raspe of Thuringia, in 1247.
10 October 1253	Germany, Sicily, Naples, Italy	King Conrad IV of Germany and Sicily completes his suppression of a Sicilian rebellion with the recovery of the Italian kingdom of Naples.
1254	Germany, Russia	The Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order) found Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad), Russia, in the heart of pagan territory.
21 May 1254	Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Sicily	The death of Conrad IV, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Sicily and Jerusalem, while on his way to recover control in Germany leads to an intensification of the factious dispute over succession within the royal house. He is succeeded in Sicily by his son, Conrad V (Conradin).
13 July 1254	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	A group of Rhineland towns form the Rhenish League, a confederation for mutual protection.
10 October 1254	England, Castile, León, Spain, Gascony, France	Edward Plantagenet, the son of King Henry III of England, marries Eleanor, the sister of King Alfonso X of Castile and León. This helps seal the peace between Alfonso and Henry and ensures English control of Gascony: Prince Edward is endowed with Gascony and resides there.
3 November 1254	Byzantine Empire, Latin Empire of Constantinople	The Byzantine emperor of Nicaea, John III Vatatzes, dies. He is succeeded by his son Theodore II Lascaris. Under his rule the Latin Empire is isolated and the groundwork for the recapture of its capital, Constantinople, is laid.
2 December 1254	Sicily, Italy	Manfred of Sicily, the illegitimate son of the late Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, defeats the papal army near Foggia, Italy. He thus wins the loyalty of the Puglia region for his imperial cause.
28 January 1256	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor William of Holland dies. This dashes any chance for the unanimous election of a successor to the former emperor Frederick II; both Conrad IV and Conradin (Frederick's son and grandson) disgraced themselves politically making the continuation of the Hohenstaufen dynasty unpopular.
1257	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Rhenish League (confederation of Rhineland towns formed in 1254 for their mutual protection) gradually disintegrates.
13 January 1257	Holy Roman Empire	Richard, Earl of Cornwall, is elected King of the Romans by three of the College of Seven Electors.
1 April 1257	Holy Roman Empire	Four members of the College of Seven Electors elect King Alfonso X of Castile and León as King of the Romans.
17 May 1257	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	Richard, Earl of Cornwall, is crowned King of the Romans in Aachen, Germany.
1258	Georgia, Mongol Empire	Georgia is partitioned. Its rulers remain vassals of the Mongols.
1258	Korea	Following the murder of the last Ch'oe dictator, Korean resistance to the Mongols ends. The Koryo kings remain as vassals.
10 August 1258	Sicily	Manfred of Sicily, the illegitimate son of the late Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, assumes the crown of Sicily.
1259	Korea	The crown prince of Korea assumes the throne as King Wonjong. He is controlled by a Mongol resident commissioner, and a close relationship grows between Korea and the Mongols.
4 April 1259	Holy Roman Empire	Pope Alexander IV recognizes Richard, Earl of Cornwall, as King of the Romans.
4 September 1260	Sicily, Italy, Florence, Holy Roman Empire	King Manfred of Sicily's Sienese forces, under Count Jordan, defeat the Florentine Guelphs (anti-imperialists) at Montaperto, Italy. The city submits to a Ghibelline (imperialist) podestà (‘mayor’), Guido Novello.
25 July 1261	Nicaean Empire, Latin Empire of Constantinople	The Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus recovers the city of Constantinople and is crowned there, deposing his ward and fellow emperor, John IV Lascaris. This marks the end of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.
1263	Lithuania	Prince Mindovg of Lithuania is murdered. His death assists the Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order), who now complete their near extermination of the Sambians in the suppression of their rebellion.
16 July 1263	England	King Henry III of England makes peace with his baronial opponents by accepting their terms, following a number of armed clashes and the rising of the city of London, England, against him. The leader of the barons, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and his allies occupy London.
15 December 1263	Norway, Scotland	King Haakon IV of Norway dies in the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, where he has enforced an act of union with Norway by its people and those of the Orkney Islands. He is succeeded by his son, Magnus VI the Law-Mender.
23 January 1264	France, England	King Louis IX of France, arbitrating between King Henry III of England and the English barons, pronounces in favour of Henry in the Mise of Amiens, freeing him from any obligations to maintain the Provisions of Westminster (plan for legal reforms) and affirming his customary rights as king. This decision drives the baronial leader Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the barons into open war.
14 May 1264	England	After a failed attempt to make peace, the leader of the baronial opposition to the monarchy, Simon IV de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, defeats and captures King Henry III of England at Lewes, England.
28 June 1264	England	King Henry III of England accepts a ‘form of government’ giving control to the baronial party of Simon IV de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. A provisional administration is established by the earls of Gloucester and Leicester and the bishop of Chester. The king's affairs are to be controlled by a council of nine.
4 August 1265	England	King Henry III of England and his son Edward Plantagenet defeat and kill the leader of the baronial party Simon IV de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, at Evesham, England.
1266	Russia, Persia	Berke, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’, dies, bringing to an end his war with the ilkhan of Persia, which began in 1262. He is succeeded by Mangu-Temur.
6 February 1266	Sicily, Italy	Charles of Anjou defeats and kills Manfred, former king of Sicily, at Benevento, southern Italy. From this point until the death of Robert of Naples in 1343 the Angevin dynasty is the dominant power in Italy.
1267	Castile, León, Portugal, Spain	King Alfonso X of Castile and León and King Afonso III of Portugal define their frontier in the Convention of Badajoz. The Algarve is now formally annexed to Portugal.
c. 1268	India	Jatavarman Sundara, the Pandya ruler who has made himself supreme in southern India and Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), dies. He is succeeded by Maravarman Kulasekhara, who brings the Pandya dynasty into hostility with the Somesvara.
29 October 1268	Sicily, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, has Conrad V (Conradin) executed, extinguishing the German royal house of Hohenstaufen. Conrad was also nominally king of Jerusalem.
1269	Morocco	Ya'qub III takes Marrakesh, Morocco, and finally destroys the Muslim dynasty of the Almohads. He founds the Marinid dynasty, which rules until 1465. A new capital is founded at Fès (or Fez).
25 August 1270	France	Philip III succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father, King Louis IX of France.
1271	Hungary, Bulgaria	King Stephen V of Hungary makes Bulgaria a tributary state.
21 August 1271	Toulouse, France	Alfonse of Poitiers dies. His nephew, King Philip III of France, thus inherits the counties of Poitou and Toulouse, which are absorbed into the royal domain. Philip presents the Comtât Venaissin, east of the River Rhône, to the papacy.
20 November 1272	England	Edward Plantagenet, the son of the late King Henry III, is proclaimed king of England by hereditary right.
1273	Nicaean Empire, Bulgaria, Mongol Empire	The Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus makes peace with Nogay, the Mongol ruler of the Lower Danube. Nogay holds influence with the ‘Golden Horde’, and is able to prevent anti-Nicaean action by the Bulgarians.
6 July 1274	Sicily, Byzantine Empire	With the enemies of the Byzantine Empire united under Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, at the General Council of Lyon the ambassadors of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus take an oath accepting the pope's supremacy. Pope Gregory X then causes Charles to make a truce with Michael.
1276	Russia	Vasili, Grand Duke of Vladimir, Russia, dies. The throne is assigned to his nephew, Dmitri I, the eldest living son of the former Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, by Mangu-Temur, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’.
14 February 1279	Germany, Holy Roman Empire, Italy	King Rudolf I of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, recognizes the superior authority of the papacy and cedes all claims to sovereignty over the Papal States and southern Italy.
10 April 1281	Rome, Byzantine Empire	Pope Martin IV, under the influence of Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, excommunicates the Byzantines and renounces the union of 6 July 1274.
25 April 1282	England	The Welsh revolt against King Edward I of England collapses with the surrender of Harlech Castle to the English.
1283	Prussia, Germany	Skurdo, the last Prussian leader, flees to Lithuania. The Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order) have now exterminated or subjugated the Prussians, whose lands are colonized by Germans and Poles.
1288	Poland	Leszek III the Black, Grand Prince of Poland, dies without issue. There are several candidates for the succession. The Mongol raids into Poland (since 1282) now cease.
18 July 1290	England	King Edward I of England expels the Jews from England.
1291	Russia	Nogay, Khan of ‘the Nogay Horde’ (between the Dnieper and Danube rivers), deposes and kills Tele-Buga and has Tokhta proclaimed as khan of the ‘Golden Horde’.
1 August 1291	Holy Roman Empire, Swiss Confederation	The Three Forest Cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden (in modern Switzerland) form a defensive league against the Habsburgs.
1294	Ethiopia	King Yagba-Siyon of Ethiopia dies. This is followed by a long period of civil war, resulting in the institution of the royal prison at Mount Gishen.
1 January 1294	England, France	King Edward I of England responds to his summons, by proxy, to the Parlement of Paris to answer for attacks by Anglo-Gascons on French seamen, and agrees to surrender castles in Gascony during an enquiry. The consequent French seizure of Gascony leads to war between the two countries.
1298–1299	Ethiopia	Mohammad Abu Abdullah, a Muslim visionary, makes an abortive attempt to conquer the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia.
5 May 1300	Flanders, France	Guy of Flanders, having been deserted by all his allies, surrenders to King Philip IV of France and is imprisoned. Flanders is placed under French governance, and is adminstered by Jacques de Châtillon, the uncle of the queen.
14 January 1301	Hungary	King Andrew III of Hungary, the last of the Árpád dynasty, dies. King Wenceslas II of Bohemia declines the crown, but his son Wenceslas is elected and crowned, taking the Hungarian name of László (Ladislas). Pope Boniface VIII supports the candidature of Charles Robert of Anjou.
18 May 1302	Flanders, France	The French garrison is massacred in the ‘Matins of Bruges’, beginning the revolt of the Flemings against French occupation. The whole of Western Flanders is soon up in arms, and the French royal army is sent in to crush the rebels.
30 April 1303	Holy Roman Empire	Pope Boniface VIII recognizes Albert I of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor.
9 September 1303	France, Flanders	King Philip IV of France releases Count Guy of Flanders in an attempt to calm the Flemish uprising, after an unsuccessful French campaign in Flanders.
12 September 1303	Italy	Pope Boniface VIII, imprisoned in Anagni, Italy, by an Italian force for King Philip IV of France, is released in a rising by the people of Anagni.
1304	Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Holy Roman Empire	A revolt in Hungary causes King Ladislas (Wenceslas) IV of Hungary to return to Bohemia. The Holy Roman Emperor Albert I invades Bohemia but retires on failing to take Kutná Hora. King Wenceslas II of Bohemia is then expelled from Poland and King Wladyslaw restored.
4 April 1305	Byzantine Empire, Balkans	Roger de Flor, the captain of the Catalan mercenary Grand Company, is murdered in Constantinople. His followers defeat the imperial troops of Andronicus II Palaeologus, the Byzantine emperor, and plunder Thrace.
4 August 1305	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	King Wenceslas III of Bohemia is murdered, ending the Premyslid dynasty.
6 October 1307	Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Corso Donati, an aristocrat and leader of the Black faction of the pro-papal Guelph party in Florence, is killed while evading arrest. He had planned a coup to reverse the recent reform of the Florentine constitution, produced as a result of financial depression and popular unrest. Donati's failure and death brings to an end the period of dominance of the ancient noble families in Florence.
1 May 1308	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Holy Roman Emperor Albert I is murdered by John, Duke of Swabia.
15 August 1308	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine island of Rhodes surrenders to the Knights Hospitallers (a predominantly French order of Latin Christian chivalry). It becomes their headquarters.
1309	Pomerania	The Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order) complete their seizure of East Pomerania. Their grand master moves his headquarters from Venice to Marienburg.
1310	France	The city of Lyon is incorporated into the kingdom of France on its occupation by King Philip IV of France's forces, who arrests its archbishop.
1311	Milan, Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	On leaving northern Italy for Rome, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII appoints Matteo Visconti as imperial vicar of Milan, and Can Grande della Scala as vicar of Verona, thus legitimizing their despotisms. Florence appoints Robert of Naples as its lord to defend it against Henry.
1312	Russia	Tokhta, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’, dies. He is succeeded by Uzbekh, a Muslim who completes the conversion of the horde to Islam.
19 June 1312	England	The banished Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, who has returned to England, is captured and killed by the earls of Lancaster and Warwick. His death causes a split among King Edward II of England's baronial opponents.
12 December 1317	Sweden	Eric, Duke of Södermanland, leader of the baronial opposition to the monarchy in Sweden, is captured by King Birger of Sweden, his brother, and presumably murdered. This is followed by a general rebellion.
23 March 1324	Holy Roman Empire	Pope John XXII excommunicates King Ludwig IV of Bavaria for his refusal to surrender the kingship of the Romans.
22 May 1324	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	In the Appeal of Sachsenhausen, King Ludwig IV of Bavaria denounces Pope John XXII and denies his claim to temporal authority in Germany.
1325	Castile, Spain	The cortes of Castile declares that Alfonso XI of Castile is of age, bringing to an end the anarchy prevailing since 1312.
21 September 1327	England	Edward II of Caernarvon, the former King Edward II of England 1307–27, is murdered in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, in England (43).
11 November 1335	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Poland	King John I of Bohemia, King Charles I of Hungary, and King Casimir (Kazimierz) III of Poland meet in congress at Vyšehrad, near Buda, Hungary. King John I of Bohemia and King Charles I of Hungary decide that the Teutonic Knights should restore Kujavia and Dobrzyn to Poland but retain Pomerania as vassals of King Casimir (Kazimierz) III of Poland. King Casimir (Kazimierz) III of Poland recognizes Bohemian overlordship in Silesia, while King John renounces his title to the Polish crown.
18 April 1336	India	Harihara I, who led a Hindu revolt against Muslim rule, is crowned in his newly built capital, Vijayanagar, and thus founds the Sangama dynasty of the Vijayanagar empire of southern India.
January 1337	Japan	Go-Daigo, the deposed emperor of Japan, escapes from Kyoto, the capital, and flees to Yoshino, where he sets up a rival imperial court.
28 December 1337	Flanders, England	James van Artevelde becomes the accepted leader of the Flemings, who are in revolt against the Count of Flanders because of the hardship caused by the English embargo on the export of wool to Flanders.
4 April 1346	Italy, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary	By abandoning imperial claims in Italy, Charles of Bohemia receives the consent of Pope Clement VI to his election as king of the Romans. Pope Clement VI subsequently orders the German electors to choose a king to replace Ludwig I of Hungary.
11 October 1347	Holy Roman Empire	King Ludwig IV of Bavaria, King of the Romans, dies. His successor Charles IV has already been crowned and now receives general recognition.
22 August 1350	France	Following the death of King Philip VI of France, he is succeeded by his son John II.
5 April 1355	Bohemia, Papal States, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	King Charles IV of Bohemia, King of the Romans, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then returns immediately to Bohemia.
1358	Japan	Following the death of Takauji, the first Ashikaga shogun (military ruler) of Japan, he is succeeded by Yoshiakira Ashikaga.
1363	India, Delhi Sultanate	Firuz, Sultan of Delhi, India, regains control of the Sind region of India.
18 January 1367	Portugal	King Pedro I of Portugal dies and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand I.
1368	China, Tibet	Following the collapse of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China, the Sa-skya lamas are no longer appointed and Tibet regains full independence.
1376	Byzantine Empire, Venice, Genoa	The Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus grants the Aegean island of Tenedos to Venice, while his son Andronicus IV, who claims the imperial throne, grants it to Genoa. This triggers a new war between Venice and Genoa.
29 November 1378	Holy Roman Empire	Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, king of Bohemia, he is succeeded by his son Wenceslas. His younger sons, Sigismund and John, are endowed respectively with the Mark of Brandenburg and the newly formed Duchy of Görlitz.
1382	Egypt, Mameluke Sultanate	The Burji line (of Circassian origin) of Mameluke sultans of Egypt is established. Its history is one of intrigue and murder, and boasts a total of 23 sultans.
1386	Persia, Georgia	Timur Leng (Tamerlane), the grand amir, completes his conquest of Persia and sacks Tbilisi (in modern-day Georgia), where he captures King Bagrat V of Georgia. He is subsequently compelled to withdraw from Azerbaijan after Tokhtamysh, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’, takes Tabriz.
3 August 1387	Denmark, Norway	King Olaf VI of Denmark and Norway dies. His mother Margaret is elected to continue as regent in both countries for her lifetime.
1389	Southeast Asia	Rajasanagara, King of Java, dies and his empire, which extends throughout the whole of modern Indonesia, now collapses.
2 February 1390	Champa	Che Bong Nga, King of Champa (modern southern Vietnam), is assassinated. His conquests in Dai Viet (northern Vietnam) are abandoned by his successor La Khai.
1392	Japan	A period of feudal warfare in Japan, which has been taking place since 1336, ends with the abdication of the southern emperor in favour of the northern emperor in Kyoto, who is still controlled by the Ashikaga shoguns.
1392	Korea	Yi Song-gye, a Korean general, usurps the throne, ending the Koryodynasty and founding the Yi dynasty. He recognizes Chinese supremacy.
8 March 1393	India, Delhi Sultanate	Sikandar, Sultan of Delhi, India, dies and is succeeded by his brother, Mahmud. The kingdom of Delhi is dissolving into feudal anarchy.
17 June 1397	Denmark, Norway, Sweden	Queen Margaret of Denmark and Norway holds an assembly of Scandinavian nobles at Kalmar, Sweden, for the coronation of her grand-nephew, Eric VII of Pomerania, as king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – the ‘Kalmar Union’.
29 September 1397	England	King Richard II of England holds a parliament which condemns the actions of the Lords Appellant in 1387–88. The Earl of Arundel is executed and the Earl of Warwick imprisoned. The Duke of Gloucester has already been murdered.
28 July 1398	France	King Charles VI of France announces his country's withdrawal from obedience to Pope Benedict XIII of Avignon. King Henry III of Castile and León does likewise.
3 September 1402	Milan, Holy Roman Empire, Italy, Florence	When Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan, dies, he is succeeded by his son, Giovanni Maria, with a regency. His death leads to the break out of anarchy in Lombardy, northern Italy, while the war against Florence ends.
21 July 1403	England	King Henry IV of England defeats and kills Henry ‘Hotspur’, son of the Earl of Northumberland, at Shrewsbury, England, so ending his revolt and preventing him from joining forces with the Welsh rebels.
14 June 1404	Wales	The Welsh nationalist leader Owen Glendower, having won control of Wales, assumes the title of prince of Wales and holds a parliament.
19 February 1405	Mongol Empire, Egypt, Mameluke Sultanate, Syria, Central Asia, Asia Minor, Middle East	When Timur Leng (Tamerlane), grand amir of the Mongols, dies while leading an expedition to China, his heirs retain only Transoxiana and Khorasan, with his son, Shah Rukh, ruling from Heart. The Mamelukes recover Syria, while the dynasty of Black Sheep Turkomans from Azerbaijan establishes a dominion from eastern Anatolia to Baghdad, Persia, and the Safavid dynasty appears in Persia.
25–26 December 1406	Castile, Spain	King Henry III of Castile dies. He is succeeded by his infant son, John II.
20 September 1410	Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Hungary	Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Rupert III of Wittelsbach, King Sigismund of Hungary is elected his successor.
1 October 1410	Holy Roman Empire	Jošt, Margrave of Moravia, is elected Holy Roman Emperor, in competition with King Sigismund of Hungary who has also been elected.
28 June 1412	Aragon, Spain	A commission ends the succession dispute in Aragon by electing Ferdinand, uncle and regent of King John II of Castile and León, as king.
20 March 1413	England	Henry V succeeds to the English throne following the death of his father, King Henry IV of England.
29 May 1413	France	Despite the issue of the Ordonnance Cabochienne reforming the government, fresh riots break out in Paris, France, and the butchers establish a rule of terror, slaughtering supporters of the ‘Armagnacs’ (supporters of the late Louis, Duke of Orléans, rival of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy).
4 August 1413	France	The ‘Armagnacs’ (supporters of the late Louis, Duke of Orléans) restore royal authority in Paris, France, with the help of the dauphin Louis, quelling the riots that have been sweeping the city.
2 October 1413	Poland-Lithuania	The Union of Horodlo, a charter issued by King Wldyslaw Jagiello of Poland and Grand Duke Vitold of Lithuania, reaffirms the unity of the two states but makes the autonomy of Lithuania permanent and cedes new privileges to its nobility.
28 May 1414	Mongol Empire, India	Khizr Khan, the Mongol ruler of the Punjab, India, takes the city of Delhi and establishes the Sayyid dynasty of Delhi. He is initially acting as viceroy for Shah Rukh, successor to the late Timur Leng (Tamerlane), grand amir of the Mongols.
6 July 1415	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Council of Constance issues the decree Haec sancta/These Holy Things, which asserts the supremacy of general councils in the church. The Council also condemns the Bohemian reformer John Hus as a heretic and he is burnt at the stake in Constance, Germany, a year later.
5 September 1415	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	The nobles of Bohemia and Moravia form an association to oppose the church authorities and prevent the execution of the condemned Bohemian religious reformer John Hus.
11 November 1417	Germany, Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Italy	The Great Schism (the period 1378–1417 of rival Popes in Rome, Italy, and Avignon, France) ends with the election of Pope Martin V at the Council of Constance in Germany.
1 June 1421	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	The estates (representatives of the aristocracy, clergy, and commons) of Bohemia and Moravia, meeting at Câslav, renounce the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund as their king and form a government.
30 October 1422	France	The dauphin Charles, son of the late king Charles VI of France, assumes the title of King (Charles VII) of France, in defiance of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes by which King Henry VI of England is the successor to the French throne.
1428	Annam, China, Ming Empire	The leader of the Vietnamese resistance to Chinese occupation, Le Loi, having defeated the Chinese, declares himself emperor of Dai Viet (Vietnam) as Le Thaito, establishing the Le dynasty. The Ming recognize him on his admission of Chinese suzerainty.
16 December 1431	England, France	The nine-year old King Henry VI of England is crowned as king of France in Paris, France.
5 October 1434	Florence	The Florentine banker Cosimo de' Medici returns from exile to Florence, becoming its effective ruler. The oligarchy is overthrown, and his rival the political leader Palla Strozzi is banished.
23 August 1436	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund enters Prague, Bohemia, having been fully recognized as king of Bohemia following his recognition of the 1433 Compacts of Prague.
1438	Denmark-Norway, Sweden	A baronial rebellion forces King Eric VII of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to flee from Denmark to the Swedish island of Gotland, where he resorts to piracy. The Swedes also revolt and a diet appoints Charles Knutson as regent.
7 July 1438	France	The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges is published. It is a declaration by a council of the French church held by King Charles VII of France restricting papal authority in France.
6 July 1439	Florence, Byzantine Empire	The union of the Latin and Greek churches is proclaimed at the Council of Florence. Despite the subscription of the Byzantine emperor John VIII and his delegation to the union, the citizens of Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) refuse to accept it.
10 November 1444	Ottoman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Hungary	The Ottoman sultan Murad II destroys the crusading army at Varna, Bulgaria. János Hunyadi, Voivode (governor) of Transylvania, escapes; cardinal Cesarini disappears; and King Wladyslaw III (Warnenczyk) of Poland and Hungary is killed.
25 June 1447	Poland-Lithuania	Grand Prince Casimir (Kazimierz) IV Jagiellonczyk of Lithuania is crowned as King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland. It is now presumed that King Wladyslaw III (Warnenczyk) of Poland and Hungary was killed by the Ottoman Turks at Varna, Bulgaria, in 1444; his body was never recovered leading to tales of apparitions in different parts of Europe and Asia.
3–5 July 1450	England	The rebellious peasants of Kent and Sussex, under the Irish rebel leader ‘Jack Cade’, control the English capital, London.
29 August 1450	Denmark-Norway	The formal union of Denmark and Norway, under King Christian I, is enacted in Bergen, Norway.
June 1457	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	King Charles VIII of Sweden (Karl Knutson) flees from Sweden when there is a rebellion among the nobles (led by the Oxenstierna and Vasa families) over his extension of royal powers. Christian I of Denmark is recalled as king.
1459	Wallachia	Vlad IV Tepes the Impaler, voivod of Wallachia, establishes a frontier fortress against the Ottoman Turks on the Danube plain, effectively founding the city of Bucharest, later capital of Romania.
23 February 1464	China, Ming Empire	Hsien-Tung succeeds as the Ch'eng-Hua emperor following the death of his father Ying-tsung, and immediately orders military reforms, creating 120,000 elite capital troops and introducing military examinations.
March 1465	France	Duke Francis II of Brittany, Charles the Bold, heir to Burgundy and Count of Charolais, René, Duke of Anjou, the Duke of Nemours, and Charles, brother of King Louis XI of France, form the League of the Public Weal to resist Louis XI's exertions of royal power.
1467–1477	South Asia	The kingdoms of Jaffna and Kandy in the north and centre of modern Sri Lanka respectively, wrest their independence from the kingdom of Kotte following the death of its king Parakramabahu VI and end its control over the entire island.
1469	Central America	Montezuma I, the fifth Aztec ruler, dies after a long reign in which the Aztecs extended their empire as far as the Gulf of Mexico and traded ever more widely; this expansion is to continue until the Spanish conquest.
5 January 1477	Holy Roman Empire, France	When Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, is killed by a Swiss dominated army in a battle outside Nancy, capital of the duchy of Lorraine, France, which was being besieged by the remnants of his forces, he is succeeded by his daughter Mary. However, King Louis XI of France quickly seizes the duchy and county of Burgundy and Picardy, although he faces stubborn resistance in Artois, France.
August 1483	England	The ‘princes in the Tower’, Edward V and his brother Richard, disappear. Rumours suggest that they have been murdered by their uncle and guardian, Richard III of England.
16 February 1486	Holy Roman Empire	The diet at Frankfurt, Germany, elects Maximilian I of Habsburg as king of the Romans, a subsidiary title of the Holy Roman Emperor. His father Frederick III the Holy Roman Emperor relinquishes government to Maximilian, who proclaims a general peace in Germany for ten years.
6 April 1490	Hungary, Holy Roman Empire, Austria	The death of Matthias I Corvinus, king of Hungary, without an heir, leads to the dissolution of his empire, and the Habsburgs, under Maximilian, king of the Romans, recover his conquests in Austria.
6 December 1491	France	Anne of Brittany, coerced by the victory of the invasion forces of Anne of Beaujeu, regent of France, forsakes Maximilian, King of the Romans, and marries Charles VIII of France, thus incorporating the duchy of Brittany into France. Its autonomy is guaranteed through the Treaty of Laval.
1493	India, Delhi Sultanate	Husayn Shah 'Ala' ad-Din, chief minister of Muzaffar Shah, the Abyssinian ruler of Bengal, stages a coup against his sovereign, moves the capital from Gaur to Ikdala, and executes the 12,000 palace guards.
1493	Spain, Castile	The Catholic monarchs Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Aragon and Castile take control of the 700,000-strong chivalric crusading ‘Order of Santiago’, gaining possession of extensive lands and an income of 60,000 ducats per annum.
19 August 1493	Holy Roman Empire	Maximilian I assumes the title of Holy Roman Emperor elect (–1519) following the death of his father, the holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, thereby confirming the hereditary claim of the Habsburgs.
17 November 1494	Italy, Florence	King Charles VIII of France enters Florence, Italy, where a popular revolution influenced by the messianic Dominican friar Savonarola expels Piero de' Medici, who had supported Ferrante of Naples. Florence returns to a republican government.
28 January 1495	Papal States, Italy, France	King Charles VIII of France leaves Rome, Italy, for Naples, Pope Alexander VI having agreed to surrender the Italian coastal town of Civitavecchia and to give as a hostage his son Cesare Borgia, who escapes two days later.
12 May 1495	Italy, France	King Charles VIII of France is crowned king of Naples, but faced with a counteroffensive from the League of Venice, leaves for France a fortnight later.
21 October 1496	Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France	Philip (‘the Handsome’), Duke of Burgundy and son of Maximilian I the Holy Roman Emperor, marries the Infanta Joanna (‘the Mad’), daughter of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, an event of great importance as it leads to the union of their families' realms.
December 1496–October 1497	Portugal, Spain	Owing to the ‘purification’ condition of his marriage to the Infanta Isabella of Spain, King Manuel I of Portugal issues an edict ordering all Jews to convert to Christianity or leave Portugal within ten months.
September 1497	Spain, Portugal	Manuel I the Fortunate, king of Portugal, marries the Infanta Isabella of Spain, a marriage with which her parents King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I hope to unite the peninsula.
28 October 1497	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	King John II of Denmark, invited into Sweden by a council of the realm discontented with the power of the regent, Sten Sture, defeats the regent's forces outside Stockholm, Sweden, reviving the Scandinavian Union of Kalmar.
23 May 1498	Florence	Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious leader and messianic Preacher, effective ruler of Florence, Italy, (1494–98), who was excommunicated in June 1497 for disobeying a ban on his preaching and for his criticism of the pope, is strangled and burnt in Florence, Italy, for seeking the deposition of Pope Alexander VI (45). Savonarola was responsible for making Florence a democratic republic.
2 July 1500	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	An edict of the Diet (legislative assembly) of Augsburg establishes the Reichsregiment, a ruling council of the Holy Roman Empire, with representatives from the three colleges of electors, princes, and cities, following the scheme of the archbishop of Mainz and imperial arch-chancellor Berthold of Henneberg. Germany is to be divided into six administrative ‘circles’; this number increases in 1512.
20 July 1500	Spain, Portugal	Dom Miguel, the infant heir to the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, dies, dashing the hopes of his grandparents King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile for a union of these kingdoms and leaving Joanna (‘the Mad’) and Philip (‘the Handsome’), Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy, heirs to Spain.
10 October 1500	Portugal, Spain	King Manuel I of Portugal marries the infanta Maria of Spain, sister of his dead wife and fourth daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, whose hopes of a dynastic union of the kingdoms are thus revitalized.
19 June 1502	England, Holy Roman Empire	King Henry VII of England agrees to pay the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I £10,000 towards his proposed crusade in return for the denial of asylum to English rebels, particularly the Earl of Suffolk, a Yorkist claimant to the throne (confirmed 28 July).
22 September–18 October 1503	Papal States, Italy, Venice	After the election of Pope Pius III, rulers deposed by the Borgias return to the cities of the Romagna, Emilia, and Umbria. The Orsini family returns to Rome and Venice invades the Romagna.
1 November 1503	Papal States, Italy	Giuliano della Rovere is elected Pope Julius II, succeeding Pius III who died on 18 October. He imprisons Cesare Borgia, former captain general of the papal army, to force him to surrender his duchy of Romagna, releasing him upon Borgia's compliance.
4 April 1505	Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Bavaria, Germany	At the Diet (legislative assembly) of Cologne, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, strengthened by his victory in the Landshut War over the duchy of Bavaria-Landshut, obtains support from the German princes for an expedition to Hungary to assist King Ladislas II against his factious nobility; constitutional reforms are designed to further promote his aim of a universal Habsburg monarchy. Bavaria-Landshut is divided between the claimants.
5 May 1506	France, Holy Roman Empire	Revoking the Treaty of Blois of 1504, King Louis XII of France breaks the engagement of his daughter Claude to Archduke Charles (the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), son of Philip (‘the Handsome’), Duke of Burgundy. The Estates General (parliament) of France has declared that the duchies of Brittany and Burgundy and the county of Blois are inalienable. Claude is betrothed instead to Louis's cousin and heir presumptive, Francis of Angoulême, Duke of Valois, the future King Francis I.
25 September 1506	Spain	When King Philip I ‘the Handsome’ of Castile dies suddenly in Burgos, Spain, his widow, Joanna ‘the Mad’, is forced into a confinement (on the basis of her insanity) that is to last until her death in 1555. The Castilian aristocracy, still hostile to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, appoints Cardinal Ximénez as regent.
4 April 1507	Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands	The States-General (parliament) of the Netherlands appoints a regency council for the minority of Archduke Charles (the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). It is effectively headed by his aunt Margaret of Austria.
6 February 1508	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I proclaims, in the cathedral of Trento (Trent) in northern Italy, that he will no longer seek coronation, but will adopt, with Pope Julius II's consent, the title ‘Emperor Elect’ (Latin imperator electus, German erwählter Kaiser).
1 April 1509	Spain, France, Holy Roman Empire, Venice, Italy	The League of Cambrai (an alliance of Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire) declares war on Venice, intending to deprive the Venetian Republic of its territories on the Italian mainland.
11 June 1509	England, Spain	King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
12 October 1509	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, unable to take Padua from its populace, retreats from Italy for the Tirol.
2 February 1510	Papal States, Italy, Venice	In a diplomatic volte-face, Pope Julius II leaves the League of Cambrai and makes peace with Venice. He absolves Venice from excommunication and the Venetians restore his rights in their territory.
7 July 1510	Papal States, Spain, France, Naples, Italy	Pope Julius II secures King Ferdinand II of Aragon's alliance against France, whose aid Ferdinand no longer requires now that his position in Castile is secured. The Pope invests him with the crown of Naples.
5 October 1511	Papal States, Venice, Spain, France, Italy	Pope Julius II forms a ‘Holy League’ with Venice and King Ferdinand I of Aragon, on the pretext of preserving church unity, in reality to drive the French out of Italy. Ferdinand is to acquire the Spanish kingdom of Navarre, the Pope to recover the Italian cities of Bologna and Ferrara.
17 November 1511	England, Spain, France	King Henry VIII of England, having joined the Holy League of the papacy, Venice, and Spain against France on 13 November, augments it with an offensive alliance with Spain.
28 April 1512	Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman sultan Bayezid II acknowledges his hopeless position following his sons' revolts and abdicates in favour of the youngest, Selim, governor of Trebizond, who becomes Selim I.
August 1512	Italy, France, Milan, Florence, Parma, Piacenza, Swiss Confederation, Holy Roman Empire	The Congress of Mantua, held by the cities of the papal Holy League against France, restores the Italian duchy of Milan to Massimiliano Sforza and Florence to the Medici family. The papacy gains the duchies of Parma and Piacenza, and the Swiss acquire Lugano, Locarno, and Ossola.
20 January 1513	Denmark-Norway, Sweden	Christian II succeeds as king of Denmark and Norway on the death of King John I. He continues his family's claim in Sweden, where Sten Sture the Younger, deposing the pro-Danish Erik Trolle with the aid of a peasant insurrection, achieves the regency held by his father Svante Sture.
9 March 1513	Papal States, Italy	The Italian churchman Giovanni de' Medici is elected Pope Leo X, succeeding Pope Julius II, who died on 21 February. He is pope until 1521.
May–October 1514	Hungary	100,000 Hungarian peasants, gathered for a crusade, which is then cancelled by a fearful church, turn their assembly against increasing noble oppression when it is cancelled by a fearful church, and revolt under George Dózsa, the peasant leader, capturing many castles, and massacring their landlords.
10 August 1514	England, France	King Henry VIII of England and King Louis XII of France proclaim a peace between their two countries.
6 January 1515	Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands	Charles, the Spanish Infante and archduke of Austria, heir to Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, comes of age and takes over from Margaret, Archduchess of Austria, as governor of the Netherlands.
23 January 1516	Spain	Following the death of King Ferdinand I of Aragon, his son (also grandson of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), Archduke Charles of Austria (later the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), succeeds as King Charles I of Spain, thereby founding the Habsburg dynasty in Spain. The regency council appoints Cardinal Jiménez de Cisnéros as regent.
18 August 1516	Papal States, Italy, France	Pope Leo X and the French king Francis I establish the Concordat of Bologna to resolve the long-standing conflict over the power of the church in France. The king of France is allowed to make ecclesiastical appointment, but the nominations have to be confirmed by the pope; and appeals to Rome from France are restricted. Francis also concedes that the pope is not subject to a general council of the church.
1517–1518	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	The pro-Danish archbishop Gustav Trolle becomes head of the Swedish Riksråd and seeks to depose the regent, Sten Sture the Younger, in a civil war; the estates at Stockholm depose Trolle, who is subsequently imprisoned. After a papal interdict and two invasions have proved unsuccessful, King Christian II of Denmark-Norway and Sweden seek a new truce.
8 September 1517–15 February 1518	China, Ming Empire	The Chinese Ming dynasty emperor Zhengde leaves Beijing secretly to witness a military campaign on the frontier; this exceptional innovatory act is repeated, in spite of attempts by officials to confine him, until his death in 1521.
1518	Central Asia	Kasym Khan, the leader of an Uzbekh tribal federation, dies, having established Kazakh (‘vagabond’) rule over the steppe between the Ural and Altai mountains.
28 June 1519	Holy Roman Empire	The Habsburg king Charles I of Spain is unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V in Frankfurt, having bought the electors with loans from the Fuggers of Augsburg. The electors are anyway antipathetic to the prospect of French rule, and the army of Habsburg allies, the Swabian League, is encamped close by.
7–24 June 1520	England, France	King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France meet in ostentation at the ‘Field of the Cloth of Gold’ between Gravelines and Ardres in Picardy, near Calais, France, and sign the marriage contract for their children Mary Tudor and the dauphin Francis.
15 June 1520–3 January 1521	Papal States, Italy, Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Germany	Pope Leo X excommunicates the German church reformer Martin Luther for heresy and dissent by the bulls Exsurge Domine/Rise Up, O Lord (which Luther burns at Wittenberg on 10 December) and Decet.
January 1521	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	The county of Dalarnia, to which the Sture family of former Swedish rulers is native, revolts against the tyrannical regime of King Christian II and his pro-Danish governor Archbishop Gustav Trolle; the largely peasant army, led by Gustavus Vasa, captures the towns of Västerås and Uppsala by the end of winter.
26 March 1521	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	Emperor Charles V convenes the Diet (legislative assembly) of Worms. Both Pope Leo X and the emperor want to condemn the views of the German church reformer Martin Luther, but they allow him to present his case. Refusing to retract his antipapal views, Luther makes his famous remark: ‘Here I stand. I can do no other’ on 18 April. On 25 May Luther is condemned as the ‘Devil incarnate’ and his books are ordered to be destroyed.
27 April 1521	Spain, Philippines	Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator and explorer, dies in Mactan, Philippines, while leading a Spanish expedition across the Pacific Ocean (c. 41). He is killed in a skirmish on the island of Mactan while attempting to convert the Philippines to the allegiance of Spain and Christianity. His remaining two ships continue south to the Moluccas in the Malay Archipelago.
26 May 1521	Holy Roman Empire	The Edict of Worms outlaws the German church reformer Martin Luther by imposing on him the Ban of the (Holy Roman) Empire. He takes refuge with Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, in his castle of Wartburg.
January 1522	Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Sweden, Denmark-Norway	Lübeck, the most powerful of the Hanseatic cities, allies with and funds the Swedish leader Gustavus Vasa, declaring war on King Christian II of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway and laying waste to the Danish island of Bornholm.
9 January 1522	Papal States, Italy	Following the death of Pope Leo X on 1 December, Bishop Adrian of Utrecht, Regent of Spain, is elected Pope Adrian VI. He is the last non-Italian pope until 1978.
30 January 1522	Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Tirol, Württemberg, Germany	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V cedes to his brother, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the Tirol, Württemberg, and the Habsburg possessions in southwest Germany, and confirms his grant of Austria of April 1521 by the Convention of Brussels.
1523	Rome	The Italian churchman Giulio de' Medici is elected Pope Clement VII. He is pope until 1534.
March 1523	Denmark-Norway	Insurgent Danish nobles depose King Christian II at an assembly in Viborg, Denmark, crowning his uncle, Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, as King Frederick I of Denmark and Norway. Christian flees to Norway and thence to exile.
1524	Holy Roman Empire, Swiss Confederation	The Swiss Protestant reformer Ulrich Zwingli establishes control over Zürich, and his colleagues Matthew Zell and Martin Bucer (the imperial knight Franz von Sickingen's former chaplain) establish control over Strassburg.
1524	Holy Roman Empire	Lutheranism is adopted during the year across the Holy Roman Empire by the rulers of Sagan in Silesia, Pomerania, Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Schleswig, and Holstein.
January 1524	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Germany	The Diet (legislative assembly) of Nuremberg opens and the papal legate Lorenzo Campeggio orders the enforcement of the repressive Edict of Worms (of May 1521) banning the German church reformer Martin Luther and condemning his teachings. In response, the Lutherans, led by Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, demand that a national synod should meet to discuss church reform at Speyer in the Rhineland Palatinate in November. Frederick's cousin, Duke George, leads an attack by the imperial cities on the financial burden of the Reichsregiment (the imperial governing council) that leads to its abandonment.
March–September 1524	Livonia, Prussia, Courland, Estonia, Poland-Lithuania	The diet of the Baltic Estates subject to the Teutonic Knightly Orders swears to defend the ‘Word of God without any additions’ to the death, effectively adopting the Reformation. Iconoclastic riots take place in the cities of Riga and Reval (present-day Tallinn, Estonia).
June 1524	Holy Roman Empire	The Bauernkrieg (‘Peasants' War’), the most extensive and revolutionary of European insurrections to date, begins in the Hegau at Stühlingen, against the landgrave's despotic demands that his peasants ignore the hay harvest to collect snail shells.
4 April 1525	Holy Roman Empire	Even as it spreads to Alsace and northern Swiss subject territories, the German Bauernkrieg (‘Peasants' War’) revolution experiences its first defeat, by the army of the Swabian League (Habsburg allies) under the Truchesse von Waldburg, at Leipheim, on the River Danube.
10 April 1525	Prussia, Poland-Lithuania	Albert von Hohenzollern, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (a German military Christian order), converts the Prussian lands of his order into the Lutheran duchy of Prussia, of which he will be duke as a vassal of King Sigismund I of Poland.
15–27 May 1525	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Hesse, Germany	The Thuringian and Saxon peasant armies, the most radical of the Bauernkrieg (‘Peasants' War’), led by Thomas Münzer, are routed and massacred by a coalition of nobles under Philip, Margrave of Hesse, Duke George, and John, Elector of Saxony, at Frankenhausen, Thuringia; Münzer is executed, after Mülhausen falls, on 27 May.
March 1526	Spain, Portugal	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King Charles I of Spain, completes the double marriage alliance that will unite the Iberian crowns under his son Philip by marrying Isabella, sister of King John III of Portugal.
23 May 1526	Papal States, Venice, Florence, France, Milan, England, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Clement VII forms the Holy League of Cognac against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with Venice, Florence, and France; Duke Francesco Sforza II of Milan joins later, while King Henry VIII of England allows himself to be named ‘Protector’. The League aims to restore the autonomy of the Italian states and to reverse the Treaty of Madrid of 14 January.
July 1526	Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy	In the last actions of the Bauernkrieg (‘Peasants' War’), which has spread from the archbishopric of Salzburg to the Habsburg lands of Carinthia, Tirol, and Austria, the revolution is defeated at Schladming and brutally suppressed.
August 1526	Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Diet (legislative assembly) of Speyer, in a Germany threatened with religious war by the rival leagues of Dessau (Catholic) and Torgau (Protestant), reaches a compromise: every polity shall act ‘as he hoped would enable him to justify himself in the eyes of God and the Emperor’ with respect to the 1521 Edict of Worms (which banned the German church reformer Martin Luther and condemned his teachings). The diet also imposes form of censorship in the German states.
31 May 1527	England	After secret discussions with his Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey on 17 May, King Henry VIII of England informs his wife, Catherine of Aragon, that he is seeking a divorce on the grounds that she was his brother's widow; Henry has no surviving legitimate son and Catherine is now 41 years old.
24 June 1527	Sweden	At the Swedish Diet (legislative assembly) of Västerås, King Gustavus I Vasa, hard-pressed by a peasants' revolt in Dalarnia and the financial demands of the city of Lübeck, forces through a reformation of the Swedish church; its privileges are abolished, the existing structure is retained, and it is formally placed under royal control. Toleration is granted to anyone preaching the ‘Word of God’.
1528	Songhai	The Songhai ruler Muhammad I Askia is deposed by his eldest son Askia Musa after the assassination of his general, Yaya; he lives another 11 years to, see his empire wracked by the succession wars of his sons.
April 1529	Swiss Confederation, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire	The Swiss Catholic cantons of Schwyz, Unterwald, Luzern, Zug, and Uri form a Christian Union, allying themselves with the traditional enemy, Habsburg Austria, in opposition to the Protestant Civic League formed by Zürich and the cantons of Bern, Basel, Biel, Mulhouse, Schaffhausen, Sankt Gall, and Constance.
19 April 1529	Holy Roman Empire	Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria coerces another Diet (legislative assembly) of Speyer into voting to enforce the 1521 Edict of Worms, revoking the Speyer concessions of 1526; the minority – John, Elector of Saxony, George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, the princes of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anhalt, and Nuremberg, Strassburg, and 12 other imperial cities – read their ‘Protest’ against this, giving rise to the term ‘Protestant’.
26 June 1529	Swiss Confederation	The first Peace of Kappel ends desultory hostilities in the Swiss Confederation between the Catholic cantons of the Christian Union and those of the Protestant Civic League, led by the Zürich of Ulrich Zwingli. The Union agrees to break its alliance with Habsburg Austria, and both sides agree to freedom of conscience in the common subject areas.
25 June 1530	Holy Roman Empire	At the Diet (legislative assembly) of Augsburg, Philip Melanchthon, who pleads the Protestant case while the German church reformer Martin Luther is under the Imperial Ban, presents the ‘Confession of Augsburg’ (a statement of the Protestant faith), agreed by seven princes and two imperial cities, to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The conciliatory tone and content of this statement enrages the Zwinglians and annoys Luther.
27 February 1531	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	Protestant polities of Germany form the Schmalkaldic League, with a common army and treasury, to defend themselves against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Catholic allies. The members are John, Elector of Saxony, Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt, the two counts Mansfeld, four dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and the cities of Strassburg, Ulm, Constance, Reutlingen, Memmingen, Lindau, Biberach, Isny, Lübeck, Magdeburg, and Bremen.
23 November 1531	Swiss Confederation	The Peace of Kappel ends the war in the Swiss Confederation between the Catholic Christian Union and Protestant Civic League cantons; each canton and territory gains the right to worship as they choose, recognizing that the Confederation will be divided between Protestant and Catholic cantons.
1533–1545	Dai Viet	Nguyen Kim restores the south of Dai Viet to the Le dynasty, governing from Hue. The usurping Mac family remains in control of the north from Hanoi.
25 January 1533	England	King Henry VIII of England secretly marries his mistress Anne Boleyn; his divorce from Catherine of Aragon is still pending.
10 April 1533	Denmark-Norway	King Frederick I of Denmark-Norway dies, precipitating a religious and succession crisis that leads to a three-year civil war, ‘the Count's War’. The Danish diet, dominated by Catholic bishops and nobles, refuses to accept his Lutheran son Christian, stadtholder (provincial governor) of Schleswig-Holstein, as king, favouring his other (infant) son Hans.
22 June 1533	Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Hungary	Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria and the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent conclude an interim peace in Hungary; the division of the country is to reflect the status quo, with Ferdinand taking the area west of the River Danube and the Ottoman ally and rival claimant to the throne, Janos Zápolya, having the rest; both are to pay tribute to Suleiman, who also vetoes future arrangements about Hungary. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V is excluded from the treaty, and continues his war against the Ottoman Turks in the Mediterranean.
11 July 1533	Papal States, Italy, England	Pope Clement VII excommunicates King Henry VIII of England for bigamy. Publication of the papal bull is deferred until October; on reading it, Henry appeals to the projected general council.
October 1533	France, Papal States, Italy	Henry, Duke of Orléans, second son of King Francis I of France, marries Catherine de' Medici, daughter of Duke Lorenzo II de' Medici of Urbino, and cousin of Pope Clement VII.
November 1533	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Catholic League of Halle, led by Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, and George, Duke of Saxony, is formed in opposition to the Protestant Schmalkaldic League. Germany is split into two armed camps.
4 December 1533	Muscovy, Russia	Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’), aged three, succeeds as Grand Prince of Moscow on the death of his father Vassily III. His mother, Yelena Glinskaya, becomes regent, assisted by her lover, Prince Obolensky-Telepniev.
1534	Rome	The Italian churchman Alessandro Farnese is elected Pope Paul III. He is pope until 1549.
2 February 1534	England	The Act of Supremacy, which establishes King Henry VIII of England as the supreme head of the Church of England, completes the breach with Rome and marks the beginning of the English Reformation.
12 May 1534	Germany, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Württemberg	Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, leads the German Protestant Schmalkaldic League, aided by Bavaria, in defeating the army of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria, at Lauffen to restore the Protestant convert Ulrich as Duke of Württemberg.
1535	New Spain	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V establishes the honest and efficient Spanish statesman Antonio de Mendoza as the first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) and the audiencia (council of state) of Panama.
February 1536	France, Ottoman Empire	France and the Ottoman Empire sign an alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; King Francis I of France gains important trade concessions in Ottoman territories.
11 March 1536	England	King Henry VIII of England presents a bill to Parliament for the dissolution of the 376 monasteries worth less than £200 per annum; the land thus gained is worth £32,000. The Court of Augmentations is established to administer former monastic property, superseding the Exchequer.
30 May 1536	England	King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, the daughter of a knight, a member of the lesser nobility.
7 January 1537	Florence, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The tyrannical Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, is assassinated by a distant relative; his cousin Cosimo I the Great de' Medici succeeds him when the city fails to take the opportunity to rebel against Medici rule.
March 1537–March 1540	England	The dissolution of the greater monasteries of England and Wales proceeds through inducement, coercion, and the trial and execution of abbots, directed by King Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell.
12 October 1537	England	Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII of England, gives birth to Prince Edward, but dies 12 days later.
24 February 1538	Hungary, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Transylvania, Ottoman Empire	Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria signs the Peace of Nagyvárad with Janos Zápolya, Voivode of Transylvania, ending their war for Hungary. Though they divide the country with the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent along the lines of the status quo, the whole is to revert to Ferdinand on the death of the currently childless Zápolya.
10 September 1538	Holy Roman Empire	The principal Catholic German princes, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, his brother Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria and king of the Romans and Bohemia, George, Duke of Saxony, the dukes of Brunswick, and the archbishops of Mainz and Salzburg, form the League of Nuremberg, to counter the Protestant Schmalkaldic League. Joachim II, the tolerant elector of Brandenburg, stays out.
17 April 1539	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony, Germany	Henry, a German Lutheran, becomes Duke of Saxony on the death of his brother George, a Catholic; all of northern Germany except Brunswick has now become Protestant.
6 January–9 July 1540	England	King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his minister Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex's German diplomatic trophy, but is repelled by her; he favours his new mistress, Catherine Howard. Cromwell falls from power.
23 July 1540	Hungary, Transylvania, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire	Janos Zápolya, Voivode (governor) of Transylvania dies; his infant son John Sigismund is acclaimed king of Hungary. Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria invades on the basis that the 1538 Peace of Nagyvárad stated that he should succeed to the throne of Hungary. His siege of the capital Buda (modern Budapest) in turn provokes the intervention of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent.
28 July 1540	England	King Henry VIII of England marries his young mistress, Catherine Howard, while his minister Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, is being executed elsewhere for having arranged his previous (fourth) marriage, to Anne of Cleves. The Lord Treasurer, Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, who is Catherine's uncle, becomes his principal minister.
27 September 1540	Papal States, Italy	Pope Paul III approves the formation and regulation of the Jesuit Order (The Society of Jesus), as militant Catholic preachers under the Spaniard Ignatius Loyola, by the papal bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae/On the Governance of the Church Militant.
August 1542	Denmark-Norway, France, Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands	King Christian III of Denmark-Norway, allied with King Francis I of France against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's attempts to install the Catholic daughter of the former king Christian II, Dorothea, on the Danish throne, declares war and closes the Sound, and thus the Baltic, to shipping from the Netherlands.
14 December 1542	Scotland	Following the death of King James V of Scotland ‘of a broken heart’ on hearing the news of the bloody Scottish defeat at Solway Moss, he is succeeded by his six-day-old daughter, Mary Queen of Scots. Cardinal David Beaton claims the regency.
12 July 1543	England	King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Parr, widow of Lord Latimer; she is his sixth wife.
April 1544	Holy Roman Empire, Denmark-Norway	In the Peace of Speyer, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V makes peace with Denmark-Norway, France's ally, by abandoning his support for the claim of his daughter-in-law Dorothea, wife of Frederick, Elector Palatine, to the Danish crown.
22 May 1545	India, Mogul Empire	Sher Khan, conqueror of the Mogul ruler Humayun, is killed after a reign dominated by economic and administrative reform, at the siege of Kalinjar, on the road south from the River Ganges.
9 September 1545	France	Charles of Orléans, King Francis I of France's second surviving son, dies, ending the plans for a Habsburg–Valois marriage and consequent French hopes of gaining the Netherlands or Milan in accordance with the 1544 Peace of Crépy.
18 February 1546	Holy Roman Empire, Saxony	Martin Luther, great German theologian, preacher, biblical translator, and instigator of the Protestant Reformation, dies in Eisleben, Saxony (now Germany), while trying to negotiate between the landgraves of Mansfeld, as Germany rushes towards religious war (62).
16 January 1547	Russia	Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) is crowned as first ‘Tsar of All the Russias’ in Moscow, aged 16. He marries the princess Anastasia Romanovna the following month.
28 January 1547	England	Following the death of Henry VIII, king of England 1509–47, at Whitehall, London, England, he is succeeded by his son, Edward VI, aged nine.
31 March 1547	France, Scotland	Following the death of King Francis I of France, he is succeeded by his son Henry II, an outspoken Catholic. Henry is dominated by Francis, duke of Guise, and by his mistress Diane of Poitiers. Guise negotiates the marriage of the dauphin Francis to Mary Queen of Scots.
15 May 1548	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V proclaims the Augsburg Interim, an attempt at compromise between Protestants and Catholics in Germany. Although clerical marriage and lay communion in both kinds are permitted, and the doctrine of justification by faith modified, it follows Catholic dogma in other matters.
12 July–27 August 1549	England	Robert Kett, an English Protestant tanner, leads an insurgent army of East Anglian peasants, who have been in tumult against the enclosure of common land for some months, to Norwich, England, where they establish a ‘commonwealth’, a great camp, 12,000 strong, on Mousehold Heath.
7 February 1550	Papal States, Italy	After a very long conclave, Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, co-president of the Council of Trent, is elected as Pope Julius III, the successor to Pope Paul III, who died on 10 November 1549.
9 March 1551	Habsburg Monarchy	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V settles the succession to the imperial title; his brother, Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, king of the Romans (the German king) and Bohemia, is to succeed him, followed in turn by Charles's son Philip of Spain, and then Ferdinand's son Maximilian; neither Spanish nor Austrian parties are placated, and the compact is replaced in 1553.
March 1553	Holy Roman Empire	The League of Heidelberg is formed by both Catholic and Protestant princes, led by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, to preserve peace in Germany and prevent the threatened succession of Philip of Spain, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, as emperor.
21 May 1553	England	The young king Edward VI of England, dying of tuberculosis, bestows the succession on his fellow Protestant, Lady Jane Grey, at the urging of her father-in-law John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland; the hereditary candidate, Mary Tudor, is Catholic. Dudley then marries his son Lord Guildford Dudley to Lady Jane Grey, the 15-year-old daughter of Henry, Duke of Suffolk, and great-niece of the late king Henry VIII of England; through placing them on the throne, he hopes to retain control of the kingdom.
10 July 1553	England	Following the death of King Edward VI of England on 6 July, the Protestant Lady Jane Grey is unwillingly proclaimed queen of England by her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, de facto regent for the late boy king. Mary Tudor, the heir apparent, a Catholic, flees Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, and, though assaulted in Protestant Cambridge, reaches Framlingham, Suffolk, and musters support.
14–20 July 1553	England	The Duke of Northumberland sets out in force to subdue Mary Tudor, the heir to the English throne, but she has popular and noble support in London, England, in addition to her gentry army in Suffolk. Lady Jane Grey's cause fails, she is deposed, and Mary is proclaimed queen on 19 July. Northumberland surrenders and is incarcerated.
25 July 1554	England, Spain, Naples, Italy	Queen Mary I of England marries Philip of Spain (the future king Philip II) in Winchester, England. Philip is granted the kingdom of Naples by his father the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
9 April 1555	Papal States, Italy	The Italian churchman Marcello Cervini is elected as Pope Marcellus II following the death of Pope Julius III on 23 March.
25 September 1555	Holy Roman Empire	The Diet (legislative assembly) of Augsburg promulgates the religious Peace of Augsburg. The religious affiliations of Germany are to be decided on the principle of Curia Regis: the population must follow the religion of their ruler, or emigrate. Citizens of imperial free cities are granted freedom of conscience, as are knights, towns, and clerical territories Protestant before 2 August 1552. Any bishops subsequently converting must abandon their lands. Though none of this applies to Protestants other than Lutherans, and though it is intended as a provisional settlement, it endures until 1618.
16 January 1556	Spain	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V abdicates as king (Charles I) of Spain; his son succeeds him as King Philip II.
7 September 1556	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V abdicates from the imperial throne in favour of his brother Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, King of the Romans (the German king), Bohemia, and part of Hungary.
9 September 1556	Papal States, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Pope Paul IV, claiming the papal veto over the election of the Holy Roman Emperor, refuses to acknowledge Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, king of the Romans (the German king), Bohemia, and part of Hungary as Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I.
6 June 1557	Portugal	Sebastian I, aged three, succeeds as king of Portugal on the death of his grandfather King John III; Sebastian's mother, Joanna of Austria, daughter of the former Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, acts as regent until 1562.
September 1557	Papal States, Italy, Holy Roman Empire, Spain	A Spanish army under Ferdinand, Duke of Alva (or Alba), advancing on Rome, forces the virulent Hispanophobe Pope Paul IV to make peace with King Philip II of Spain.
7 January 1558	France, England	French forces under Francis, Duke of Guise, capture Calais on the north French coast from England. Guines and Ham castles fall by the end of the month. The loss of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, is regarded as a national disaster in England, and support for the Hispanophile regime of Queen Mary I plummets.
17 November 1558	England	The death of Queen Mary I of England brings an end to the attempt to reconvert England to Roman Catholicism. Her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, succeeds her. The Protestant exiles in Geneva, Zürich, and the German states begin to return to England.
10 July 1559	France, England	Following the death of King Henry II of France, his sickly son, Francis II, succeeds him, but Francis, duke of Guise, and his brother Charles, cardinal of Lorraine, hold the real power. They promote the claim of Francis's wife, Mary Queen of Scots, to the throne of England.
21 October 1559	Scotland	The Scottish Protestant Lords of the Congregation, led by James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, Duke of Châtelherault, and heir presumptive, depose the Scottish regent Mary of Guise in Edinburgh; she has allowed French reinforcements to fortify Leith.
25 December 1559	Papal States, Italy	The conclave elects Giovanni Medici as Pope Pius IV, after the death on 18 October of Pope Paul IV.
1560–1562	France	After the ‘Tumult of Amboise’ of 17 March 1560 (the defeat of a Huguenot conspiracy to rescue King Francis II of France from the domination of the Catholic Guise faction), religious agitation in France reaches such a pitch that outbreaks of violence are frequent and civil war becomes an increasingly likely prospect.
29 September 1560	Sweden	Eric XIV succeeds as king of Sweden on death of Gustavus I Vasa; his half-brothers John and Karl gain autonomy in their duchies.
5 December 1560	France	Following the death of King Francis II of France, he is succeeded by his ten-year-old brother, Charles IX. Their mother, Catherine de' Medici, becomes regent and foils the triumvirate of Francis, duke of Guise, Anne, duke of Montmorency, and Jacques d'Albon, seigneur de St André, when she pursues a policy of religious conciliation.
28 November 1561	Livonia, Poland-Lithuania	In the Union of Wilno (present-day Vilnius), the last Master of the Teutonic Order (a German Christian military order) in Livonia, Gotthard Kettler, becomes the secular Duke of Courland and Senigallia and vassal of King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. The Order's lands north of the Dvina River, largely occupied by Russia, Sweden, and Denmark-Norway, he cedes directly to Sigismund's other principality, Lithuania.
17 January 1562	France	The French chancellor Michel de L'Hôpital promulgates the Edict of St Germain, which permits the existence of the Huguenot (French Protestant) Church. Francis, Duke of Guise, his brother Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, and Anne, Duke of Montmorency form a militant league to prevent the edict from being enforced.
25 July 1564	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I dies; his eldest son, the Protestant sympathizer Maximilian II, already king of Bohemia and Hungary, succeeds as Holy Roman Emperor and archduke of Austria. However, Ferdinand's will grants his younger sons, the archdukes Ferdinand and Charles, the Swabian territories, the Vorarlberg, and Tirol, and the provinces of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola respectively.
7 January 1566	Papal States, Italy	Antonio Ghislieri is elected Pope Pius V, succeeding Pius IV who died on 9 December 1565.
5 September 1566	Ottoman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, Hungary	Following the death of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent, he is succeeded by his son, Selim II the Drunkard.
1567	Russia	The Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) gains his epithet when, after hearing of plots by boyars (aristocratic landowners), he allocates half of Russia to an oprichnina (a separately administered royal territory) and unleashes his royal bodyguard, the oprichniky, on the boyars, the church, and the populace.
15–17 June 1567	Scotland	The Scottish nobility, outraged by Mary Queen of Scots's marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, who is widely regarded as a murderer and usurper, rises and defeats a loyalist army at Carberry Hill. Mary is taken captive, and imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, Fife, on 17 June. Bothwell escapes to Norway.
5 September 1567	Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands	A fortnight after arriving in Brussels, the Netherlands, at the head of 10,000 Spanish and Italian veterans, the captain general Ferdinand, Duke of Alva (or Alba), establishes the Council of the Troubles, a tribunal controlled by Spanish officials to eradicate Protestant heresy and Netherlands autonomy. Its terrorist methods lead to its nickname the ‘Council of Blood’.
1568–1571	Spain	The Moriscos (nominally converted Muslims) revolt in Granada, Spain, against the anti-Arab decree of 1 January 1567 and the depredations of the Monfís (bandits of the sierras). Iñigo López de Mendoza, Marquis of Mondéjar, subdues the initial revolt by February 1569, but atrocities and robbery by his troops stimulate continued resistance.
9 November–28 December 1568	Japan	Having swept aside Kitabatake, Miyoshi, and Rokkaku opposition, the Japanese military ruler Oda Nobunaga enters Kyoto at the head of his army, where he installs Ashikaga Yoshiaki as shogun (military ruler) on 28 December.
1 July 1569	Poland-Lithuania	King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland integrates his principality of Lithuania into Poland in the face of Russian aggression; the Union of Lublin creates a federal state with a unified diet (legislative assembly). Both polities retain their own armies, treasuries, administration, and laws.
1570	Russia	The Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) suppresses resistance to the creation of an oprichnina (royal domain) in Novgorod by laying waste to the city and massacring 60,000 of its inhabitants.
1570	India, Vijayanagara	Having secured the aid of the other Deccan sultans in his struggle against the Sultanate of Bijaipur, the Hindu leader Tirumala is crowned as ruler of the south Indian kingdom of Vijayanagara, founding the Aravidu dynasty.
August 1571	Spain	Under Don John of Austria, half-brother of King Philip II of Spain, royal troops finally eliminate the guerrilla resistance of the Moriscos (nominally converted Muslims) of Granada, Spain. The Moriscos are deported and settled across Castile amongst ‘Old Christian’ village neighbours.
1572	Russia	The Tatars burn Moscow. The Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’), suspecting everyone of treason, abolishes the oprichnina (royal domain) and reverses the land grants made since 1565. Many peasants have fled east and south to become free Cossacks.
13 May 1572	Papal States, Italy	Ugo Buoncompagni is elected Pope Gregory XIII, 13 days after the death of his predecessor Pius V.
7 July 1572	Poland-Lithuania	King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland dies, the last of the Jagiello dynasty; the Sejm (parliament) declares itself free to elect whomever it chooses as a successor.
19 July 1572	Spanish Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire	The assembly of the estates of Holland at Dordrecht elects William the Silent, Prince of Orange, as stadtholder (provincial executive officer), and recognizes him as stadtholder in Zeeland, Utrecht, and Friesland. At the suggestion of William's representative, Philip Marnix, Count van der Marck, is appointed lieutenant governor; standing ‘colleges’ of the admiralty, finance, and the Gecommitteerde Raad (for general administration) are created, and 500,000 florins of tax voted.
18 August 1572	France, Spain	The Huguenot Henri de Bourbon, king of Navarre since the death of his mother Jeanne d'Albret in June, marries Marguerite de Valois, sister of King Charles IX of France – the fruit of the reconciliation between Charles and the French Huguenot commander Admiral Gaspard de Coligny.
22–25 August 1572	France	The agents of Henri, Duke of Guise, and Catherine de' Medici fail to assassinate the Huguenot (French Protestant) leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. Fearing discovery, Catherine persuades her son, King Charles IX of France, to authorize the slaughter of the Huguenots in Paris, France, on the night of 23 August; this ‘St Bartholomew's Day Massacre’ has some 3,000 victims, including Coligny, whom the Duke of Guise defenestrates. King Henry of Navarre and Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, are spared, at the price of their conversion.
9 May 1573	France, Poland-Lithuania	The Polish Sejm (parliament) elects Henry, Duke of Anjou, as king of Poland. He is obliged by the Sejm to sign the ‘Henrician Articles’; he promises to convoke the Sejm every other year, to take regular counsel with senators, and to seek their permission for marriage or war. He must also agree the religious tolerance granted by the Compact of Warsaw of 28 January. Henry was forced to accept these articles (named after him) because parliament was concerned about having a foreigner on the throne.
30 May 1574	France	King Charles IX of France dies. The queen mother Catherine de' Medici acts as regent until his brother, now Henry III, arrives from his kingdom of Poland.
15 February 1575	France	King Henry III of France marries Louise de Vaudémont of Lorraine, thus allying himself with the Catholic House of Guise against the Huguenot (French Protestant) and Politique (moderate Catholic) parties.
12 October 1576	Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy	The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II dies and is succeeded in all his lands and titles by his son, Rudolph II. A patron of the Jesuits, Rudolph is markedly more supportive of the Catholic Counter-Reformation than the Protestant-leaning Maximilian.
31 January 1580	Portugal, Spain	Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal, dies, leaving the succession disputed between King Philip II of Spain (as grandson of Manuel I), the Duke of Braganza, and Dom Antonio, Prior of Crato. A propaganda war between Dom Antonio and Philip ensues.
1 April 1581	Spain, Portugal	King Philip II of Spain and I of Portugal promises the Cortes (parliament) at Thomar that he will uphold Portuguese liberties and laws and administer the kingdom through the Portuguese civil service. Apart from the abolition of customs tolls on the Castilian border, Portugal and its colonies remain autonomous.
21–30 June 1582	Japan	The forces of Akechi Mitsuhide undertake a treacherous assault on the lodgings of the Japanese military leader Oda Nobunaga, unifier of central Japan (southern Honshu), in the Honnoji monastery in Kyoto, resulting in the death of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide hesitates after taking other strongholds, and, on 30 June, the forces of the military leader Hideyoshi (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) defeat and kill him at Yamazaki.
1584	Europe	The Gregorian calendar is adopted throughout Catholic Europe by 1584; the date advances by ten days.
1584	Japan, Spain, Portugal	While the Japanese military leader Hideyoshi (known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi from 1585) is defeating a rebellion by his chief lieutenant Tokugawa Ieyasu, a Spanish galleon from Manila in the Philippines reaches Hirado, breaking the Portuguese monopoly of European-Japanese trade.
18 March 1584	Russia	When the Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) dies and is succeeded by his feeble-minded son Fyodor I as ‘Tsar of All the Russias’, Russia is governed by a regency council dominated by his brother-in-law Boris Godunov. Fyodor is to be the last tsar of the Rurikid dynasty.
24 April 1585	Papal States, Italy	Felice Peretti is elected Pope Sixtus V, following the death of Gregory XIII on 10 April. He is pope until 1590.
19 May 1585	Spain, England	English shipping in Spanish ports is confiscated, serving as a declaration of war on England; Queen Elizabeth I of England launches a counter-embargo and orders reprisals.
4 February 1586	United Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire, England	The English courtier and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, accepts the title of governor and captain general of the Netherlands, but Queen Elizabeth insists that he resign it. His efforts to centralize authority in the United Netherlands are opposed by the (relatively) more secure Dutch provinces of Holland and Zeeland.
19 August 1587	Poland-Lithuania	Sigismund III Vasa, son of King John III of Sweden, is elected king of Poland; he is forced to concede further powers to the Sejm (parliament). A minority supports Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, who invades toward Kraków.
4 April 1588	Denmark-Norway	Christian IV accedes to the throne of Denmark-Norway on the death of King Frederick II.
11 July 1588	France	In the Edict of Union, King Henry III of France capitulates to the Guise Catholic League's demands; he summons the States-General (parliament) to Blois in October, and denies toleration to any Protestant, repudiating King Henry of Navarre, the Huguenot (French Protestant) heir to the throne, in favour of the aged Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, and appointing Henri, Duke of Guise, lieutenant general of the kingdom.
1–2 August 1589	France, Spain	King Henry III of France is stabbed at St Cloud, Paris, France, by Jacques Clément, a fanatical Jacobin monk. On his deathbed the next day he recognizes King Henry of Navarre as his successor. This ends the reign of the House of Valois and inaugurates that of the House of Bourbon. King Philip II of Spain lays claim to the French throne for his daughter Isabella through her mother Elizabeth Valois, Henry III's sister.
10 May 1590	France, Savoy, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, the Catholic candidate for the French crown, dies; a welter of contenders advance their claims in his place, including Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, who invades Provence and the Dauphiné.
4 August 1590	Japan	The Japanese regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi receives the submission of Hojo Ujimasa, his last significant rival, and completes the subjugation of the north by the end of the year, unifying Japan under his rule.
15 September–5 December 1590	Papal States, Italy	Giovanni Battista Castagna is elected as Pope Urban VII, Succeeding Sixtus V who died exactly a month earlier. Pope Urban VII, however, dies after only 13 days in office, and is succeeded in turn by Niccolo Sfondrati on 5 December.
15 May 1591	Russia	Dmitri, son of the late Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’), brother and heir of Fyodor I, dies in mysterious circumstances. His throat is cut by a group of mercenaries, and there are rumours that the deed was carried out on behalf of Boris Gudonov, a powerful aristocrat, but no arrests are made. False Dmitris will plague Russia for 20 years.
29 October 1591	Papal States, Italy	Antonio Facchinetti is elected Pope Innocent IX, following the death of Gregory XIV on 16 October.
30 January 1592	Papal States, Italy	Ippolito Aldobrandini becomes Pope Clement VIII, succeeding Innocent IX who died on 30 December 1591.
27 November 1592	Sweden, Poland-Lithuania	King John III of Sweden dies; he is succeeded by his son Sigismund III Vasa, Catholic king of Poland, as King Sigismund I. The Lutheran clergy and nobility prepare to resist any attempts at re-Catholicization.
3 December 1592	Spanish Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire	When Alessandro Farnese, duke of Parma and Habsburg governor of the Spanish Netherlands, dies before his uncle King Philip II of Spain can sack Him, having failed to subdue the revolutionary regime of the United Netherlands in the north, he has, however, succeeded in reconquering the southern Netherlands (modern Belgium) for Spain and Catholicism. Ernst, archduke of Austria, is eventually appointed governor in his place.
25 July 1593	France	Declaring ‘Paris vaut bien une messe’ (‘Paris is well worth a Mass’), King Henry IV of France abjures Calvinism to become a Roman Catholic, hearing Mass at St Denis. A truce with the Catholic League follows in five days, and Henry enters Paris.
December 1593	France	King Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, secretly (and provisionally) granting the Huguenot (French Protestant) assembly all the concessions of the various previous edicts of pacification. A further Huguenot assembly held at Sainte-Foy in June demands rights to its enforcement in the face of continued Catholic League persecution in the provinces, and full equality in public life for Huguenots.
22 March 1594	France	King Henry IV of France enters Paris, France. Though resistance to his rule continues for some years in the provinces, and popular rebellion against noble and royal exactions is fiercer than ever, the country gradually submits to him as the Catholic League withers.
16 January 1595	Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman sultan Murad III dies; he is succeeded by his son Mehmed III, though Mehmed's mother Safiye Sultan continues to hold much of the power in the Porte.
9 February 1598	England	The English Parliament is dissolved, having enacted a Poor Law statute whose basic tenets are followed until 1834. Parish tithes for the relief of destitution through the institution of workhouses and the appointment of ‘Guardians of the Poor’ complement regularized punishments for ‘undeserving’ so-called ‘Sturdy Beggars’.
17 February 1598	Russia	Boris Godunov, brother-in-law of the late tsar Fyodor I, is elected tsar of Russia by the Zemsky Sobor (council of Boyars); to strengthen his position he forces the head of the rival Romanov family into a monastery.
April–October 1598	Japan, China, Ming Empire, Korea	The Japanese regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, warned by Konishi Yukinaga of the futility of the Korean campaign, recalls half the forces, leaving Shimazu Yoshihiro at the head of the Satsuma levies of Kyushi to repel Chinese attacks, until Hideyoshi's death on 18 September leads to their withdrawal.
13 April 1598	France	King Henry IV of France promulgates the Edict of Nantes; the Huguenots (French Protestants) are granted freedom of worship in those places permitted by the 1577 Edict of Poitiers and the treaties of 1579–80, and one other in each Sénéchaussée and Baillage, with pastors salaried by the crown. Huguenot courts, Chambres de l'édit, are established and their representation is assured in the Parlements and in public office. They are to abandon alliances with foreign powers, sectarian armies, and dissolve their provincial assemblies. The chaos of the French Wars of Religion ends.
10 April 1599	France	Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Etampes, the mistress of King Henry IV of France, de-facto queen, and sponsor of his conversion to Catholicism and appointment of Maximilien de Béthune, Marquis Rosny (later Duke of Sully) as superintendent of finance, dies.
8–28 September 1599	England, Ireland	Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, after dilatory campaigning, signs a truce with the Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and, against orders, leaves Ireland, arriving at the court at Nonsuch on 28 September, where he is arrested.
1 November 1601	Japan	Tokugawa Ieyasu, the leader of the ruling regency council in Japan, enters Osaka Castle on the island of Honshu, Japan, and carries out a redistribution of fiefs to ensure that no other daimyo (warlord) can challenge his hegemony. He decides to make Edo (modern Tokyo) his capital.
24 March 1603	UK	Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, King James VI of Scotland succeeds as James I of England and Ireland, retaining Robert Cecil as secretary of state.
30 March 1603	UK, Ireland	The Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill, fugitive Earl of Tyrone, finally submits to the English Lord Deputy of Ireland Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, at Mellifort; Kinsale, the rebellion ends, and a general amnesty follows.
14–16 January 1604	UK	King James I of England and Archbishop John Whitgift hold the Hampton Court Conference to reconcile differences between Puritans and Anglican bishops. Attended by the bishops and leading Puritans it is intended to settle doctrine and practice. Though the king refuses to consider changes to these, he supports the request for a new translation of the Bible (published in 1611), Jesuits are expelled from England, and some changes are made to the Book of Common Prayer.
1 April 1605	Papal States, Italy	Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici is elected Pope Leo XI following the death of Clement VIII on 5 March; however, he dies on 27 April. Camillo Borghese is elected Pope Paul V on 16 May.
13 April 1605	Russia	Following the sudden death of Boris Godunov, tsar of Muscovy, he is succeeded by his son Fyodor II. Fyodor's mother attempts to control the situation as the chaos of the ‘Time of Troubles’ mounts.
10–21 June 1605	Russia	With the ‘false Dmitri’ (the monk Grigorii Otrepiev) at the gates of Moscow, the Russian tsar Fyodor II Godunov is murdered by a Muscovite mob incited by the boyar (noble) faction of Vasily Shuysky. ‘Dmitri’ is crowned tsar by the army on 21 June and begins radical reforms.
4 November 1605	UK	The Catholic Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament during King James I of England's state opening of Parliament is discovered; Guy Fawkes is arrested in the cellars. Robert Catesby and other conspirators are caught at Holbeche House, Staffordshire, where Catesby dies in the affray (8 November).
17–19 May 1606	Russia	The Russian tsar, the ‘false Dmitri’, is murdered in another Moscow uprising, sponsored by his erstwhile backer Vasily Shuysky returning from a banishment promoted by Dmitri's Polish wife Marina Mniszek. Shuysky usurps the throne; he gains the support of his fellow boyars (nobles) by promising rule through a duma (parliament) and is proclaimed Tsar Vasily IV on 19 May.
11 November 1606	Transylvania, Habsburg Monarchy, Ottoman Empire, Hungary	István Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania, succeeds in his mediation of a peace between the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II and the Ottoman sultan Ahmed I at the conference of Zsitvatörök; the Habsburg tribute to the Ottomans for Royal Hungary ceases after a final ‘gift’ of 200,000 gulden, and Ahmed recognizes the emperor as an equal. The Habsburgs abandon suzerainty over Transylvania to the Turks.
22 September 1609	Habsburg Monarchy, Spain, North Africa	The Duke of Lerma, chief minister of King Philip III of Spain, orders the expulsion of the Moriscos (Muslims forcibly converted to Christianity), many of whom have continued to practice Islam; some 300,000 are made refugees to the Maghreb during the next five years.
14 May 1610	France	François Ravaillac, a Catholic fanatic in the pay of Jean Louis de la Nogaret de la Valette, Duke of Epernon, assassinates King Henry IV of France, who is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Louis XIII, with Marie de' Medici, the queen mother, as regent. The projected war with the Habsburgs is forgotten.
19 July 1610	Russia, Sweden, Poland	The Russian tsar Vasily IV Shuysky is deposed by the Muscovites, following the defeat of his Swedish allies by the Poles. The conservative boyars (nobles), fearing the rule of the second ‘false Dmitri’, offer the throne to Wladyslaw, son of King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland.
December 1611	Sweden	The Swedish Riksdag (parliament), meeting at Nyköping, is able to extract concessions as the price of electing Gustavus II (Gustavus Adolphus), son of Charles IX, King of Sweden. Charles's brother John, Duke of Östergötland, abjures the throne. The new king appoints Axel Oxenstjerna as chancellor.
21 February 1613	Russia	After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow, the Zemsky Sobor (council of Boyars), elects the Boyar Michael Romanov as tsar of Russia (the founder of the Romanov dynasty).
19 February 1614	France	Rebel French nobles led by Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, supported by the Dukes of Nevers, Mayenne, Bouillon, and Longueville, raise armies in rebellion against the regime of the queen mother Marie de' Medici and her Italian favourite Concino Concini; there is widespread support for the rebels in view of the unpopularity of the projected Spanish marriage of the young Louis XIII, the evidence of maladministration, and the failure to summon the Estates General (parliament).
15 May 1614	France	The French rebel princes, led by Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, win many of their demands from the administration in the Peace of St Menehould; the young king Louis XIII undertakes to summon the Estates General (parliament).
October 1614–March 1615	France	The French Estates General (parliament), summoned after the rebellion of the princes against the regime of the queen mother Marie de' Medici and her Italian favourite Concino Concini, meets for the last time before 1789 in Paris, France; it dissolves in wrangling between the three estates.
1 June 1616	Japan	The Japanese de-facto shogun (military ruler) Tokugawa Ieyasu dies, handing de-facto as well as formal rule to his son Tokugawa Hidetada, shogun in name since 1605.
24 April 1617	France	Concino Concini, Marquis of Ancre, the favourite of Marie de' Medici, the queen mother and regent of France, is assassinated by order of her son Louis XIII, who installs Charles d'Albret, Duke of Luynes, as chief minister. Marie de' Medici, exiled to Blois, gathers round her opponents of Luynes and is joined by the bishop of Luçon, Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (Cardinal Richelieu from 1622).
28 February 1618	United Netherlands	Maurice of Nassau, stadtholder of the United Netherlands, succeeds as Prince of Orange on the death of his brother, Philip William.
29 October 1618	UK	On his return to England from his expedition to Guiana, the English courtier and navigator Walter Raleigh is beheaded in the Tower of London, England, for his alleged part in a conspiracy to overthrow King James I in 1603 (c. 64). However, Raleigh's execution comes partly because he failed to find gold on the Orinoco River and partly because he sacked a Spanish settlement in Guiana – an action for which King Philip III of Spain demanded that Raleigh be punished.
24 December 1618	Poland, Sweden, Ottoman Empire	Poland signs a two-year truce with Sweden (afterwards extended to July 1621). The Poles also sign a 14-year truce with the Ottoman Empire.
20 March 1619	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Matthias II dies; his heir, Archduke Ferdinand of Styria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, is formally elected as Matthias's successor in August.
19 August 1619	Bohemia, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire	The Bohemian diet (legislative assembly) deposes the Habsburg heir, King Ferdinand, from the throne.
26 August 1619	Bohemia, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Palatinate, Germany	The Bohemian diet (legislative assembly) elects Frederick V, the Elector Palatine, as king of Bohemia.
9 February 1621	Papal States, Italy	Alessandro Ludovisi, cardinal of Bologna, is elected Pope Gregory XV, following the death of Pope Paul V on 28 January.
31 March 1621	Spain	Philip IV becomes king of Spain on the death of Philip III. He appoints Gaspar de Guzmán, Conde-Duque of Olivares and nephew of Baltazar Zuñiga, former envoy of Prague, as his chief minister.
1623	Japan	Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun (military ruler) of Japan, succeeds Hidetada. Iemitsu later bars trade with the West and suppresses Christianity in Japan.
6 August 1623	Papal States, Italy, France	Maffeo Barberini is elected Pope Urban VIII following the death of Pope Gregory XV on 8 July; fearing the growth of Habsburg power, he leans towards France.
June 1624	UK, North America	After the Virginia Company of London goes bankrupt, the English crown annuls its charter and claims Virginia, North America, as a royal colony. The limited representative government established in the summer of 1619 remains in effect.
27 March 1625	UK	Prince Charles becomes King Charles I of England, Ireland, and Scotland on the death of his father James I of England and Ireland (usually described as James I of England) and VI of Scotland.
1 May 1625	UK, France	King Charles I of Great Britain and Ireland marries Henrietta Maria, sister of King Louis XIII of France, by proxy; George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, stands in for the king at the ceremony in Paris, France.
30 September 1626	China, Ming Empire, Manchuria	Following the death of Nurhachi, the emperor who united the Manchu and Juchen peoples under his own authority, his son Abahai succeeds him as khan.
1627	Manchuria, China, Ming Empire, Korea	The Manchu emperor Abahai of Manchuria subdues Korea whose rulers, the Yi, pay tribute to China from now on.
February 1628	Mogul Empire, India	Having beaten off competition from his brothers by killing all his male relatives, Shah Jahan becomes the Mogul emperor of India.
10 November 1630	France	In the ‘Day of Dupes’, France's Cardinal Richelieu overthrows the conspiracy of the queen mother Marie de' Medici and the heir presumptive Gaston, Duke of Orléans, against him. Marillac, the queen mother's servant, is executed and Marie, banished from Paris, France, takes refuge in Brussels. As a result Richelieu is in a stronger position than ever before, and the Spanish faction in France is vanquished.
20 April 1632	Poland	Following the death of King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland, he is succeeded by his son Wladyslaw IV.
6 November 1632	Sweden	Following the death of King Gustavus II Adolphus in battle, his daughter Christina, aged six, becomes queen of Sweden. She appoints Count Axel Oxenstjerna, chancellor since 1612, as regent.
November 1633	Spanish Netherlands	The Spanish infanta Isabella dies in Brussels; henceforth the Spanish Netherlands are governed from Spain. The States-General (parliament) of the Spanish Netherlands does not meet again until 1790.
25 February 1634	Holy Roman Empire, Hungary	When General Albrecht von Wallenstein and his aides are murdered by garrison officers at Eger following his dismissal, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II appoints his son Ferdinand, king of Hungary, as commander-in-chief of the imperial army, creating a situation in which a revival of Habsburg fortunes can occur.
1637	Japan, Portugal	Following a peasant revolt which is supported by Christians in revolt against the Japanese shogun (military ruler), Portuguese traders are expelled from Japan and Christians are persecuted. The Japanese are banned from leaving the country and very few foreigners are allowed in.
8 February 1640	Ottoman Empire	Sultan Ibrahim succeeds the Ottoman sultan Murad IV on his death.
1 December 1640	Portugal, Spain	Portugal joins the revolt against Spain, which is already troubled by civil war in Catalonia. The Duke of Braganza accepts the throne of an independent Portugal and becomes King John IV.
16 January 1641	Spain, France	Pau Claris, the leader of the Catalan revolt, announces that Catalonia is now an independent republic under the protection of the French. The rebels swear allegiance to King Louis XIII of France.
July 1641	Brandenburg, Germany, Sweden, Holy Roman Empire	Having declared the 1635 Peace of Prague an unsatisfactory basis for settlement of the Holy Roman Empire at the Imperial Diet (legislative assembly) in Regensburg, Bavaria, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, concludes a truce with Sweden, sparking off a growth in opposition to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III on the part of the German princes.
1 June 1642	UK	England's Long Parliament passes the Nineteen Propositions, a list of demands, calling for parliamentary approval of the king's ministers and control of the militia, church reform, and enforcement of anti-Catholic legislation, amongst others, which is presented to King Charles I in York. He rejects them and the outbreak of the English Civil War becomes virtually inevitable.
4 December 1642	France	Following the death of Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of King Louis XIII of France, he is succeeded by Cardinal Jules Mazarin.
15 September 1644	Papal States, Italy	Giovanni Battista Pamfili is elected Pope Innocent X in succession to Urban VIII.
8 December 1644	Sweden	Queen Christina, at the age of 18, becomes the active ruler of Sweden. She pursues a policy aimed at peace in Europe rather than territorial expansion and national aggrandisement.
12 July 1645	Russia	On the death of his father Michael I Romanov, Alexis I becomes the second Romanov tsar of Russia.
June 1648	Russia	A violent rebellion in Moscow forces Tsar Alexis I Romanov of Russia to exile his tutor and chief minister B I Morozov in order to save his life. He also calles a Zemskii Sobor (parliament) to satisfy grievances, which sits between September 1648 and January 1649. The body produces a new Ulozhenie (Code of Law) which bolsters the privileges of the middle classes at the expense of the clergy, boyars (gentry), and peasants.
8 August 1648	Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman sultan Ibrahim is deposed in a revolt by the Janissaries (infantry) and Ulama (religious notables). He is executed ten days later on 18 August and is succeeded by Mehmed IV.
6 December 1648	UK	‘Pride's purge’ of the English House of Commons takes place under the auspices of the English parliamentarian Col Thomas Pride. Many Presbyterian members of Parliament are prevented from sitting. The remainder, about 60 independent radical members, continue to sit as the Rump Parliament. Subsequently, they reinstate the ‘Vote of No Addresses’ of 3 January and discontinue the Newport Treaty negotiations with King Charles I. The action transforms the political situation in England.
17 March 1649	UK	The Rump Parliament in England officially abolishes the monarchy and two days later, as a result of its opposition to the trial of King Charles I, also abolishes the House of Lords.
19 May 1649	UK	England is declared to be a ‘Commonwealth or Free State’ by the Rump Parliament. Supreme authority is placed in the hands of the House of Commons and the executive powers of the monarchy are entrusted to a 40-member Council of State.
10 June 1650	UK	Charles II, the son and heir of the late King Charles I of Great Britain and Ireland, sails for Scotland. Before he arrives at Speymouth, he swears the Covenant, abandoning his anti-Presbyterian Royalist supporters and throwing in his lot with the Scottish Presbyterians who have the resources and support to assist him in his bid for the restoration of his throne.
6 November 1650	United Netherlands	The stadtholder (provincial governor) William II dies in the United Netherlands of smallpox, eight days before his heir, the future king William III of England, is born. By 1653, the Dutch statesman Johan de Witt assumes power in his role as Grand Pensionary.
21 May 1662	UK, Portugal	King Charles II of England marries Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, at Portsmouth, England.
12 September 1683	Poland, Austria, Germany, Ottoman Empire, Hungary, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire	Allied Austro-Polish forces under King John III Sobieski and Duke Charles of Lorraine, assisted by forces from Bavaria and Saxony, raise the Ottoman siege of Vienna. The Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa is made a scapegoat for the defeat and is executed on 25 December. The victory is a preliminary to the Habsburg reconquest of Hungary.
1686	UK, America	After annulling the charter of Massachusetts, King James II of England creates the Dominion of New England in North America, which includes New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and East and West Jersey. The king appoints Edmund Andros to govern the dominion.
11 December 1688	UK	An assembly of peers and bishops meets at the Guildhall to secure order and take on the government of London, England. They invite the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange to enter the city. Many other provincial centres have already fallen to William's supporters.
13 February 1689	UK	The Convention Parliament offers the crown of England to the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange and his wife Mary, the daughter of King James II who has been declared as having abdicated, an act known as the ‘Glorious Revolution’. They also present a Declaration of Rights which states that parliamentary consent is needed to make or suspend laws, to levy taxes, or to maintain a standing army, that the dispensing power is illegal, that petitioning is lawful, and that free elections should be held for frequent parliaments. A Committee of Parliament is created to convert this Declaration into a Bill of Rights.
17 June 1701	Sweden, Russia, Courland, Poland	Having invaded Livonia (part of present-day Latvia and Estonia), King Charles XII of Sweden relieves the port of Riga from Russian occupation and subsequently invades Courland (or Kurland, in present-day Latvia) and Poland. The Great Northern War is to be largely centred in Poland until 1705–06.
16 September 1701	UK, France	Following the death of King James II of England and VII of Scotland at Saint-Germain in France, where he has lived in exile since being deposed from the British throne in 1688, King Louis XIV of France recognizes James II's heir as James III. James III is also known, by those who do not recognize his royal claims, as James Edward Stuart or the ‘Old Pretender’.
8 March 1702	Britain, United Netherlands	When King William III of Britain dies at Hampton Court Palace, outside London, England, after a fall from his horse, he is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne. She has no claim to be stadtholder (ruler, with limited powers) in the United Netherlands, as William had been, and control of Dutch affairs passes to the States General (parliament) under Anthony Heinsius.
1705	North Africa, Ottoman Empire	Hussein ibn Ali, bey (leader) of the janissaries (Ottoman bodyguard) of Tunis, seizes power in Tunisia. Ottoman sovereignty becomes purely nominal from this time and Hussein's descendants, known as the Husseinite dynasty, remain in power until the 20th century.
5 May 1705	Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire	Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I of Austria, he is succeeded by his son Joseph I.
1 January 1707	Portugal	João V, regent of Portugal in 1704 and 1705, succeeds to the throne following the death of his father Pedro II.
3 March 1707	India, Mogul Empire	The death of the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, whose formerly successful rule in India has been increasingly challenged by the Marathas and other enemies, leads to the succession of Bahadur, who oversees the further crumbling of the empire.
1 May 1707	UK	The Act of Union unites England and Scotland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The terms of the act provide for: (a) the Hanoverian succession; (b) one Parliament, to which Scotland is to send members; (c) the churches remaining as before; and (d) adoption of one flag, the Union Jack.
17 April 1711	Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire	When the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I of Austria, dies, aged 33, he is ultimately succeeded by his brother, Charles III of Spain, as Emperor Charles VI, who thus becomes heir to all the Spanish Habsburg and Austrian Habsburg possessions, but Charles does not leave Spain until September.
1712	Africa	The Bambara kingdom of Segu, southwest of Timbuktu on the River Niger in West Africa (modern Mali), emerges as a major regional power under its king Mamari Kulibali.
1 September 1715	France	Following the death of King Louis XIV of France in Versailles, France, aged 76, he is succeeded by Louis XV, his five-year-old great-grandson, under the regency of his nephew Philippe, duc d'Orléans, until 1723. Louis XIV had decreed that power was to be shared between the duc d'Orléans and the duc de Maine, his illegitimate son. Philip V of Spain, the rightful heir to the French throne, had previously (under the Treaty of Utrecht) surrendered his right of succession to accede to the Spanish throne.
1716–1745	Japan	Yoshimune, of the Tokugawa house of Kii, succeeds Ienobu as shogun (military ruler) of Japan.
1717	Afghanistan	Mir Abdullah, ruler of the Afghan state of Kandahar, is succeeded by Mir Mahmud. In the same year, Abdalis of Herat leads a revolt against Persia, and sets up another separate Afghan state. Afghanistan had been divided between the empires of Persia and Hindustan since 1523.
26 June 1718	Russia	Tsarevich Aleksey Petrovich, heir to Tsar Peter I the Great of Russia and focus for opposition to the Tsar's sweeping economic and social reforms, dies (or is put to death) in St Petersburg, aged 28, after repeated interrogation under torture.
17 May 1727	Russia	The young Grand Duke Peter Alexeyvich (Tsar Peter II), son of the murdered Tsarevich Alexey Petrovich, is named by Catherine I, empress of Russia, as her successor, with the entire Supreme Privy Council to act as regents.
11 June 1727	Hanover, Germany, Holy Roman Empire, UK	Following the death of King George I of Great Britain and Ireland, and elector of Hanover, at Osnabrück, Hanover, he is succeeded by his son, George II.
11 February 1730	Russia	Tsar Peter II of Russia dies and is succeeded by Anna, the daughter of Ivan V, Tsar Peter I the Great's half-brother and co-tsar 1682–96.
July 1730	Italy	After an exceptionally contentious four-month conclave, the Florentine churchman Lorenzo Corsini, aged 79, is elected as Pope Clement XII, following the death of Benedict XIII. Frequently bedridden with gout, and blind from 1732, he will make great efforts to remedy the maladministration of his predecessor's pontificate.
17 September 1730	Ottoman Empire	Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire resigns the throne to his nephew Mahmud I, a prisoner in the Seraglio since his father's own abdication in 1703, following the bloody uprising led by Patrona Halil and precipitated by high taxes, unemployment, and Ottoman defeats by Persia.
1731	Persia, Safavid Empire	Having cleared Persia of Afghans, Nadir Kuli dethrones Tahmasp II, and elevates Tahmasp's eight-month son, Abbas III, as another Safavid puppet. He is to be the last of the Safavid dynasty.
1735	China	Ch'ien Lung becomes emperor of China.
2 February 1736	Persia, Safavid Empire	Nadir Shah becomes king of Persia, succeeding Abbas III, the last member of the Safavid dynasty.
31 May 1740	Prussia	Following the death of Frederick William I of Prussia, he is succeeded by his son Frederick II (the Great).
28 October 1740	Russia	Following the death of Empress Anna of Russia, she is succeeded by Ivan VI, the Grandson of Anna's sister Catherine. Ivan's mother acts as regent, but the real power is in the hands of Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, who succeeds in banishing Anna's favourite, Ernst Biron, duke of Courland, from Russia.
16 December 1740	Prussia, Silesia	King Frederick (II) the Great of Prussia enters Silesia and begins the first Silesian War.
12 December 1741	Russia	Elizabeth, the surviving daughter of the former tsar Peter I the Great, becomes empress of Russia after a bloodless coup d'etat, ousting the infant Ivan VI and the regent Anna Leopoldovna (Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel).
24 January 1742	Bavaria, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	With French support, Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, is elected Holy Roman Emperor, as Charles VII. He receives eight votes (all that were cast).
18 March 1745	Britain	Robert Walpole, first prime minister of Britain 1721–42, a Whig, dies in London, England (68).
14–23 July 1745	UK	The British prince Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’), the ‘Young Pretender’, son of Charles Francis Edward Stuart, the ‘Old Pretender’, sails from St Nazaire, France, with some Scottish partisans in his campaign (‘the Forty-Five’) to regain the Scottish and English thrones, and lands on Eriskay Island in the Hebrides, Scotland.
1747	Afghanistan, Persia	After the assassination of King Nadir Shah of Persia, Ahmad Shah, one of Nadir Shah's generals, proclaims himself king of Afghanistan, which becomes independent of Persia.
4 May 1747	United Netherlands	William IV of Orange-Nassau, grand-nephew of King William III of Great Britain and Ireland, is elected hereditary stadtholder (chief magistrate) and captain and admiral general (commander in chief of forces) of the United Netherlands.
31 July 1750	Portugal	Joseph I succeeds as king of Portugal on the death of John V.
5 April 1751	Sweden	King Frederick II of Sweden dies and is succeeded by Adolphus Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, his brother-in-law.
20 June 1756	India, Mogul Empire, UK	In the incident known as the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’, following the capture of the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, from the British by Siraj ud-Daula, nawab (ruler) of Bengal, surviving British defenders are imprisoned in a small dungeon in the city. It is subsequently claimed that only 23 out of 146 prisoners survive, though the circumstances of the incident remain controversial.
10 August 1759	Spain, Naples, Italy	King Ferdinand VI of Spain dies and is succeeded by Charles III (formerly Charles IV of the Italian kingdom of Naples, which passes to his nine-year-old son Ferdinand).
8 September 1760	UK, France, North America	British troops under General Jeffrey Amherst take the town of Montreal from the French, and gain control of Canada.
9–13 October 1760	Russia, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire	The Russians burn the Prussian capital, Berlin, which they and imperial troops occupy, until King Frederick II the Great of Prussia's advance from Silesia. However, Frederick is forced to allow them to retreat unmolested.
17 October 1760	Britain	Following the death of King George II of Britain, he is succeeded by his grandson George III, aged 22.
5 January 1762	Russia	Elizabeth, empress of Russia, daughter of Peter the Great, dies in St Petersburg, Russia. Her successor is her nephew, Peter, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (Tsar Peter III).
7 September 1764	Poland	Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski, the protégé of Russia and former lover of Catherine the Great, is elected king of Poland.
18 August 1765	Habsburg Monarchy	The Habsburg heir Joseph II becomes Holy Roman Emperor. His mother, Maria Theresa, ruler of the hereditary Habsburg lands, accepts Joseph as co-regent in the Habsburg Monarchy as a means of maintaining her dominance over him.
5 August 1772	Poland, Prussia, Austria-HM, Russia	Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia engineers the First Partition of Poland, dividing one-third of Polish territory between Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Prussia takes west Prussia (except Danzig, modern Gdansk) and Ermeland in the north, Austria takes Little Poland south of the Vistula, and Russia takes lands east of the Dvina and Dnieper rivers.
24 February 1777	Portugal	Maria I becomes queen regnant of Portugal on the death of her husband, José I. She frees the Marquis of Pombal's political prisoners and banishes him.
29 November 1780	Habsburg Monarchy	Maria-Theresa, wife and empress of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I 1745–65 and co-ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy, dies in Vienna, Austria. Her son, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, becomes sole ruler of the Habsburg lands.
19 December 1783	UK	The British Tory politician William Pitt the Younger forms a government and, as chancellor of the Exchequer, is the only member of the cabinet in the House of Commons.
January 1787	Austrian Netherlands	The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II introduces a series of radical political reforms in the Austrian Netherlands, provoking riots in Louvain and Brussels.
20 January 1788	France	The Parlement of Paris presents a list of grievances against the French government to the king, Louis XVI, in effect declaring itself the defender of French liberties.
4 March 1789	USA	The US Congress meets under the Constitution for the first time. Proponents of the Constitution (federalists) outnumber opponents (antifederalists) 17–9 in the Senate and 38–26 in the House of Representatives.
13 December 1789	Austrian Netherlands, Belgium	The Austrian Netherlands declare their independence as ‘the United States of Belgium’.
20 February 1790	Habsburg Monarchy	Archduke Leopold, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, becomes ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy on the death of his brother, Joseph II; in July he is elected Holy Roman Emperor as Leopold II.
2 December 1790	Austrian Netherlands, Belgium	Austrian forces reconquer Belgium, restoring it as the Austrian Netherlands.
1793	Russia, Crimea-Ottoman	Russia annexes the Khanate of the Crimea – including the Kuban region of the western Caucasus – following the steady growth of Russian influence in the Khanate after the 1774 Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainardzhi had confirmed its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
7 May 1793	Poland, Russia, Prussia	The Second Partition of Poland is effected, with half of Poland's remaining territory being divided between Russia and Prussia. Russia takes Lithuania and west Ukraine; Prussia takes Danzig (Gdansk), Thorn (Torun), Posen (Poznan), Gnesen (Gniezno), and Kalisch (Kalisz).
24 October 1795	Poland, Prussia, Austria-HM, Russia	Prussia, Austria, and Russia occupy the remaining Polish territory in the so-called ‘Third Partition’; Prussia takes Warsaw and lands between the Bug and the Niemen rivers, Austria takes Kraków and Galicia, and Russia the area between Galicia and the River Dvina.
17 November 1796	Russia	Paul I becomes emperor of Russia on the death of his mother, Catherine II the Great.
6 June 1797	Genoa	Napoleon Bonaparte establishes the French-dominated Ligurian Republic in Genoa, Italy.
16 November 1797	Prussia, France	Frederick William III succeeds his father, Frederick William II, as king of Prussia and continues his father's policy of neutrality in the war against revolutionary France.
15 February 1798	Italy, France	The French-dominated Roman Republic is proclaimed in central Italy. Pope Pius VI refuses to surrender his temporal power and leaves Rome for Valence, France.
14 July 1798	USA	The Alien and Sedition Act in the USA attempts to suppress press criticism of the US president and his administration.
14 March 1801	UK	William Pitt the Younger steps down as prime minister of Britain over King George III's refusal to consider the question of Catholic Emancipation (the removal of legal restrictions on voting and holding political office by Catholics). He is replaced by fellow Tory politician Henry Addington.
23 March 1801	Russian Empire	Tsar Paul I of Russia is assassinated by military officers concerned by his dangerous mental instability. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander I.
15 July 1801	France, Italy	A concordat with the papacy drawn up by Napoleon Bonaparte effectively places the church in France under state control. The pope is allowed to keep the Papal States, with the exception of Ferrara, Bologna, and Romagna, which are annexed by France.
12 September 1801	Russian Empire	Tsar Alexander I of Russia announces the annexation of the kingdom of Georgia and George XIII, Regent of Georgia, recognizes the Russian decision instead of accepting the traditional suzerainty of Persia.
23 October 1802	India	At Poona in India, the maharaja Jaswant Rao Holkar of Indore defeats both Baji Rao, the peshwa of Poona, head of the Maratha confederacy and sympathetic to the British, and Madhoji Rao Sindhia of Gwalior, the most powerful figure in central India.
25 February 1803	Oberpfalz, Germany	The Enactment of Delegates of the Empire (Reichdeputationshauptschluss) at the Diet (legislative assembly) of Regensburg, Oberpfalz, reconstructs the German states. Most of the ecclesiastical estates, free imperial cities, and smaller princes lose their independence, while Bavaria and Prussia greatly improve their positions in a reorganization that proves to be a step towards eventual German unification. Under the Treaty of Lunéville (February 1802) those states and rulers who lost territory on the west bank of the Rhine were to be compensated with indemnities and territory east of the Rhine. In practice this means that the highly complex medieval arrangements are more practically reconfigured to the satisfaction of the leading rulers.
30 April 1803	USA, France	The USA purchases Louisiana and New Orleans from the French, in contravention of the terms of the Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1 October 1800. Including in effect the entire western half of the drainage basin of the River Mississippi, the purchase, for a total sum (including interest) of $27,267,622, roughly doubles the land area of the USA.
2 December 1804	France	Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor as Napoleon I in Paris, France. Pope Pius VII officiates at the coronation.
23 January 1806	England	William Pitt the Younger, prime minister of Britain 1783–1801 and 1804–06, a Tory, dies in London, England (46).
6 August 1806	Europe, Austrian Empire	The Holy Roman Empire comes to an end; Francis II formally resigns as Holy Roman Emperor and becomes Francis I, Emperor of Austria.
29 May 1807	Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman sultan Selim III is deposed by janissaries (members of his bodyguard) opposed to his reforms and is replaced by Mustafa IV.
2 February 1808	France, Papal States	A French force under General Sextius Miollis occupies Rome after Pope Pius VII refuses to recognize the Kingdom of Naples, grant a concordat with the Confederation of the Rhine (association of German states under French protection) on the same lines as that agreed with France, or join in the alliance against Britain.
17 May 1809	Papal States, France	The French emperor Napoleon I issues an imperial decree annexing the Papal States, following their occupation by France in February 1808.
19 April 1810	Venezuela, Spain	Under the influence of the South American nationalist Simón Bolívar, the Junta in Venezuela breaks away from Napoleonic Spain, refusing to recognize Joseph Bonaparte and proclaiming allegiance to Ferdinand VII, the hereditary king of Spain.
22 May 1810	New Granada, Spain	A revolt breaks out in the Spanish viceroyalty of New Granada against Spanish authority.
25 May 1810	South America, Spain	A revolt breaks out in the Spanish viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, South America, against Joseph Bonaparte's regime.
5 February 1811	UK	The worsening mental illness of King George III of Britain necessitates the passage of the Regency Act, under which the Prince of Wales becomes Prince Regent and governs in his place. His powers are limited for 12 months.
11 May 1812	England	Following the assassination of the British prime minister, Spencer Perceval, in the lobby of the House of Commons, the Tory politician Lord Liverpool agrees to form an administration.
7 July 1815	France	The ‘White Terror’ begins in southern France, as fanatical royalists attack revolutionary elements, Bonapartists, and Protestants.
20 March 1816	Portugal	Maria I, the insane queen of Portugal, dies. She is succeeded by her son, John VI.
9 July 1816	Argentina, Spain	At the Congress of Tucuman, the United Provinces of La Plata (Argentina) declare independence from Spain.
18 October 1817	Germany	At the Wartburg festival in Jena, German students gather to celebrate the anniversaries of the death of the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther and the Battle of Leipzig (the defeat of Napoleon I), demonstrating the growing popularity of nationalism in Germany.
6 February 1819	UK, Singapore	The British East India Company, represented by Thomas Stamford Raffles, establishes a trading post in Singapore by treaty with the local ruler, the sultan of Johore. The preliminary treaty was concluded on 30 January. Despite opposition from the Dutch East India Company, the new post ensures British access to the trade of the China Sea.
17 December 1819	Colombia, Venezuela, New Granada, Spain	After a successful military campaign in New Granada against the Spanish colonial forces, the South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar becomes president of the newly formed Republic of Great Colombia, nominally consisting of the Spanish colonies of New Granada, Quito, and Venezuela.
29 January 1820	Britain	Following the death of King George III of Britain, he is succeeded by the prince regent as George IV.
7 March 1820	Spain	King Ferdinand VII of Spain is forced by popular pressure to restore the constitution of 1812 and to abolish the Inquisition, the body responsible for upholding Catholicism in Spain.
6 June 1820	UK	Caroline, Princess of Wales, whom King George IV of Britain wishes to divorce, triumphantly enters London, England, demanding her recognition as queen.
7 August 1821	UK	Queen Caroline of Britain dies, ending the dispute over her place in royal society. Her funeral cortege is diverted through the City of London, England, by her supporters, two of whom are killed in clashes with police.
18 June 1823	Portugal	King John VI annuls the Portuguese constitution of 1822 after risings against his rule and against the loss of Brazil.
16 September 1824	France	Following the death of King Louis XVIII of France, he is succeeded by his brother, Charles X.
10 March 1826	Portugal, Brazil	King John VI of Portugal dies and is succeeded by his son, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, as King Pedro IV.
7 October 1826	Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, Serbia	The Akkerman Convention settles the problem of the Danubian provinces (Moldavia and Wallachia) and Serbia, with the Turks evacuating key fortresses and allowing Russia full access to the Dardanelles.
3 February 1830	Greece	Greece is declared independent of the Ottoman Empire at the London Conference and granted the protection of France, Russia, and Britain.
26 June 1830	England	Following the death of King George IV of Britain, he is succeeded by his brother William IV, duke of Clarence.
27–29 July 1830	France	Revolutionary action known as the ‘Three Glorious Days’ flares up in Paris and other areas of France following the publication of the ordinances of St-Cloud by King Charles X.
2 August 1830	France	Charles X abdicates as king of France following continued opposition to his rule.
20 December 1830	UK, France, Austrian Empire, Prussia, Russian Empire, Belgium, Netherlands	At the London Conference, Britain, France, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, and Russia support Belgium's decision to separate from the Netherlands.
25 January 1831	Poland, Russian Empire	The Polish diet (national assembly) declares Poland independent of Russia and the rule of the Russian tsars.
2 February 1831	Papal States	Pope Gregory XVI is elected. He is believed by many to have liberal sympathies.
7 April 1831	Brazil, Portugal	Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicates in favour of his son, in order to return to Portugal to aid his daughter, Oueen Maria II, who is being challenged by his brother, Dom Miguel, for the throne.
8 September 1831	Poland, Russian Empire	Russia takes the Polish capital, Warsaw, after a two-day battle and the Polish revolt for independence collapses.
17 November 1831	Venezuela, Ecuador, New Granada	Venezuela, Ecuador, and New Granada (now Colombia) dissolve the Union of Colombia (of 1819) and New Granada becomes an independent state.
10 April 1832	Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman Empire declares war on Mehmet Ali, its representative in Egypt, who is in effect independent. He is demanding the Ottoman province of Syria as his reward for aiding the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence.
3 May 1833	Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Ottoman Empire, Aden	The Ottoman Empire recognizes the independence of Egypt (ostensibly a part of the Ottoman Empire but in fact already autonomous) and cedes the provinces of Syria and Aden to its ruler, Mehmet Ali.
8 July 1833	Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire	By the Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, a defensive alliance between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire agrees to close the Dardanelles to all but Russian ships.
29 September 1833	Spain	King Ferdinand VII of Spain dies and is succeeded by his infant daughter Queen Isabella II.
7 July 1834	Spain	A civil war begins in Spain as Don Carlos, brother of the late King Ferdinand VII of Spain, claims the throne occupied by the infant queen, Isabella II. The Carlists are supported by the Catholic Church, the Basques, and other conservative elements, and are opposed by Britain and France.
2 March 1835	Austrian Empire	Emperor Francis I of Austria dies and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand I.
17 August 1836	Peru, Bolivia	The Federation of Peru and Bolivia is proclaimed by the Bolivian dictator Andrés de Santa Cruz, creating a more powerful political unit under his control.
11 November 1836	Chile, Peru, Bolivia	Chile, threatened by the increase in power of its neighbours by confederation, declares war on the Peru–Bolivia Federation.
3 March 1837	USA, Republic of Texas	In one of his last acts in office, US president Andrew Jackson recognizes the Republic of Texas.
20 June 1837	UK	On the death of King William IV of Britain his niece, Queen Victoria, succeeds to the throne.
20 June 1837	Hanover, UK	The German kingdom of Hanover is automatically separated from Britain when Queen Victoria comes to the British throne because Salic Law forbids female monarchs, and the conservative Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the eldest surviving son of George III of Britain, becomes king.
11 November 1837	Canada	Louis Joseph Papineau, the speaker in the Legislative Assembly, leads a rebellion in French-speaking Lower Canada. This is the result of conflicts between the British governor and the legislative councils on the one hand and the popularly elected assemblies on the other, and of friction between French and British settlers.
24 November 1837	Canada, UK	The rebels in Lower Canada attempting to break away from British rule are decisively defeated at St Charles, Lower Canada.
13 December 1837	Canada	William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the revolt against British rule in Upper Canada, sets up a provisional government for Upper Canada from headquarters on Navy Island in the Niagara River, and prepares for an invasion of Canada.
13 January 1838	Canada, USA	William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the revolt against British rule in Upper Canada, is arrested in the USA.
27 November 1838	Mexico, France	A French force occupies the Mexican port of Veracruz in support of the claims for compensation of French victims of civil unrest in Mexico.
3 December 1839	Denmark	King Frederick VI of Denmark dies and is succeeded by his nephew, Christian VIII.
13 July 1841	France, UK, Russian Empire, Prussia, Austrian Empire, Ottoman Empire	By the Convention of the Straits, the European powers guarantee Ottoman independence and the Dardanelles and Bosporus are closed to warships of all nations in peacetime (thus overthrowing the 1833 Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi).
August 1842	UK	Strikes and riots in protest at economic conditions break out in the manufacturing areas of England and quickly turn into agitation in favour of the People's Charter of 1835.
8 March 1844	Sweden	King Oscar I of Sweden accedes to the throne on the death of his father, Charles XIV (the former Napoleonic marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte).
29 December 1845	Republic of Texas, USA	Texas becomes a US state.
10 October 1846	Spain, France	Queen Isabella II of Spain is married to the Duke of Cadiz, Don Francisco de Asis, while her sister Princess Maria Louisa Fernanda marries the duc de Montpensier, the youngest son of the French king, Louis Philippe, giving France undue influence in Spain. Fears of British opposition to the marriages weaken the Orléanist monarchy in France.
20 January 1848	Denmark, Germany	King Christian VIII of Denmark dies and is succeeded by his liberal son Frederick VII, who is nevertheless committed to retaining the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein despite their claims for independence.
24 February 1848	France	King Louis-Phillipe of France abdicates in favour of his grandson, Louis-Philippe-Albert, comte de Paris, but a Republican provisional government containing the socialist Louis Blanc is established under Alphonse de Lamartine.
2 May 1848	Prussia, Denmark, Germany	A Prussian force invades Denmark in support of the independent German government of the combined duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.
17 September 1848	Austrian Empire	Count Josip Jellacic leads a Croat invasion of Hungary, disputing Magyar domination of the Habsburg monarchy's Slav peoples.
2 December 1848	Austrian Empire	The mentally unstable emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicates in favour of his nephew Franz Josef I.
3 April 1849	Prussia, Germany	King Frederick Wilhelm IV of Prussia is unwilling to take the crown of a new united Germany from the people and wishes instead to receive it from the German princes. His vague reply is taken by the German National Assembly as a refusal.
15 May 1849	Naples	The capital of Sicily, Palermo, is entered by Neapolitan forces to end the revolt in Sicily, which is forced to resubmit to monarchical rule from the Italian kingdom of Naples.
21 May 1849	Germany	The core of the deputies to the German National Assembly in Frankfurt withdraw, having been unable to organize a peaceful parliamentary union of the German states.
10 October 1850	China	The Taiping Rebellion breaks out in China under Hong Xiuquan, who takes the cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, proclaims himself emperor, and attacks Beijing.
16 March 1851	Spain	Spain agrees a concordat with the papacy by which Catholicism becomes the sole faith in Spain and the church gains control of education and the press.
2 December 1851	France	The French president, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, carries out a coup d'état to extend his presidency and give him more power.
17 January 1852	Transvaal, UK	The Sand River Convention is made between the Boers (Dutch settlers) and the British government, allowing the Boers to establish the South African Republic (Transvaal).
3 February 1852	Argentina	Juan Manuel de Rosas is overthrown as dictator of Argentina at the Battle of Caseros by the insurgent Justo de Urquiza, supported by Brazilian and Uruguayan forces.
2 December 1852	France	The Second French Empire is proclaimed. President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor Napoleon III.
15 November 1853	Portugal	Queen Maria II of Portugal (known as Maria da Glória dies and is succeeded by her young son Pedro V, who initially rules under a regency.
12 March 1854	UK, France, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire	Britain and France conclude an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against Russia.
25 October 1854	Russian Empire, UK, France	British and French forces win a narrow victory over Russia at great cost at Balaclava in the Crimea, following cavalry charges of the British Light and Heavy Brigades.
2 March 1855	Russian Empire	Following the death of the reactionary tsar Nicholas I of Russia, he is succeeded by the more moderate Alexander II.
6 December 1856	Transvaal	The South African Republic (Transvaal) is organized under the political leadership of Marthinius Wessel Pretorius, from the four republics of Lydenburg, Potchefstroom, Zontpansberg, and Utrecht.
8 July 1859	Sweden	King Oscar I of Sweden dies and is succeeded by Charles XV.
5 May 1860	Italy	The Italian soldier and patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Redshirts (‘The Thousand’) sail from Genoa, northwest Italy, to attempt to complete the unification of Italy.
7 September 1860	Naples	The Italian soldier and patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and his followers enter Naples as part of their attempt to unify Italy, forcing King Francis II of Naples to flee.
11 September 1860	Sardinia-Piedmont, Papal States, Italy	King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia-Piedmont invades the Papal States (which he intends to annex as part of a unified Italy under his sovereignty), after the rising in favour of union with Italy there on 8 September.
20 December 1860	USA	The state of South Carolina secedes from the Union, in protest at the election of the Republican Abraham Lincoln as president of the USA.
2 January 1861	Prussia	King Frederick Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by his brother Wilhelm I.
February 1861	Confederate States of America	South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana form the Confederate States of America in a constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
17 March 1861	Italy	The kingdom of Italy is formally proclaimed by the first Italian parliament. King Victor Emmanuel is proclaimed king.
25 June 1861	Ottoman Empire	Sultan Abdul Mejid of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz.
11 November 1861	Portugal	King Pedro V of Portugal dies and is succeeded by Louis I.
29 August 1862	Papal States, Italy	The Italian soldier and patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi attempts to conquer Rome and make it part of Italy, but is captured at Aspromonte by Italian troops sent to protect the papacy and forestall foreign intervention.
15 November 1863	Denmark, Germany	King Frederick VII of Denmark dies and is succeeded by his liberal son Christian IX, who is determined to pursue his father's policies with regard to the duchy of Schleswig.
1 February 1864	Austrian Empire, Prussia, Germany, Denmark	Austro-Prussian troops enter Schleswig in opposition to Denmark's incorporation of the disputed territory.
10 April 1864	Austrian Empire, Mexico, France	Archduke Maximilian of Austria accepts the title offered by Napoleon III of emperor of Mexico, following French military victories there in an attempt to enforce the payment of European debts. France wishes to establish a liberal, Catholic empire in Mexico.
18 October 1865	England	Henry Temple, Viscount Palmerston, British statesman, prime minister 1855–58 and 1859–65, a Liberal, dies in Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, England (80).
10 December 1865	Belgium	King Leopold I of Belgium dies and is succeeded by his son, Leopold II.
8 April 1866	Italy, Prussia	An offensive and defensive alliance is signed between Prussia and Italy.
4 July 1866	France, Venice, Austrian Empire	Emperor Napoleon III of France announces the cession of the Italian state of Venice by Austria following the Austrian defeat in the Seven Weeks' War with Prussia, as agreed in the treaty between Prussia and Austria of 12 June.
August 1866	Japan	The Japanese shogun (military ruler) Iemochi dies and is succeeded by Yoshinobu.
2 September 1866	Crete, Ottoman Empire, Greece	After a long period of unrest under Ottoman authority, the island of Crete revolts and decrees union with Greece.
24 October 1866	Germany, Austrian Empire	The German Confederation is formally ended following Prussia's defeat of Austria for control of Germany.
3 January 1868	Japan	The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished in Japan, having ruled since 1603, and the Meiji dynasty is restored under Emperor Matsuhito.
10 June 1868	Serbia	King Michael III of Serbia is murdered by followers of the Karageorgevic dynasty and succeeded by his cousin Milan IV.
12 May 1870	Canada	Manitoba is made a Canadian province, which helps to end the Red River Rebellion by mixed-blood rebels over territory.
18 January 1871	Prussia, Germany	Following the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III of France in the Franco-Prussian War, King Wilhelm I of Prussia is proclaimed German emperor at Versailles in France, the North German Confederation having been enlarged to include all the German states except Austria-Hungary.
21–28 May 1871	France	In ‘Bloody Week’ in Paris, France, fighting between government troops and demonstrators ends in the defeat of the extreme left-wing Paris Commune (provisional national government) at a cost of 20,000–30,000 lives.
7 September 1872	Germany, Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary	A meeting of the three emperors Wilhelm, Alexander, and Franz Josef in Berlin, Germany, leads to a tacit entente between Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary to uphold authoritarian rule in Europe.
16 February 1873	Spain	A republic is proclaimed in Spain following the abdication of King Amadeo I.
22 October 1873	Germany, Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary	An alliance of the emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary (the Dreikaiserbund) formalizes the agreement between them of 1872 to uphold autocratic government in Europe.
1875	Russian Empire, Germany, France, UK	Russia has a standing army of 3,360,000 soldiers; Germany 2,800,000; France 412,000; Britain 113,649.
31 August 1876	Ottoman Empire	Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire is deposed because of his insanity and is succeeded by Abdul Hamid II.
1 January 1877	UK, India	Queen Victoria of Britain is proclaimed empress of India.
28 February 1877	Ottoman Empire, Serbia	A peace is signed between the Ottoman Empire and Serbia ending the Serbian revolt against Ottoman rule, without significant concessions.
2 May 1877	Mexico	The dictator Porfirio Díaz becomes president of Mexico after overthrowing the government of President Sebastián Ierdo de Tejada the previous year.
9 September 1877	Japan	The antidemocratic and anti-Western Satsuma Rebellion in Japan ends in defeat for the samurai at Kumamoto.
9 January 1878	Italy	Humbert I succeeds as king of Italy on the death of Victor Emmanuel II.
7 February 1878	Papal States	Cardinal Joachim Pecci is elected as Pope Leo XIII.
1881	Russia	Violent pogroms against Jews begin in Russia and eastern Europe, forcing many Jews to emigrate westwards in succeeding years.
13 March 1881	Russian Empire	Following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by terrorists, he is succeeded by Alexander III.
2 July 1881	USA	A disgruntled campaign worker, Charles J Guiteau, shoots US president James A Garfield, who is to die from his wounds on 19 September. He is succeeded by Chester Alan Arthur.
21 June 1885	Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	The dervish Mahdi (prophet) Mohammed Ahmed of Dongola dies, probably of typhoid, in Omdurman, Sudan, and is succeeded by his son Abdullah.
16 November 1885	Canada	Louis Riel, Canadian Mètis leader who led an uprising against the Canadian government, is hanged in Assiniboia, Canada (41).
4 September 1886	Ottoman Empire	King Alexander of Bulgaria abdicates following the coup and Stefan Nikolov Stambulov becomes regent.
9 March 1888	Germany	Frederick III succeeds as emperor of Germany following the death of Wilhelm I.
15 June 1888	Germany	Wilhelm II becomes emperor of Germany on the death of his father, Frederick III.
23 November 1890	Luxembourg, Netherlands	On the death of William III and the accession of Queen Wilhelmina, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is separated from the Netherlands.
26 November 1894	Russian Empire	Nicolas II becomes tsar of Russia following the death of Alexander III.
15 February 1898	USA, Cuba, Spain	The US warship Maine explodes in Havana harbour, killing 269 US Navy personnel. Despite a lack of evidence, Americans overwhelmingly blame Spain for the incident and begin to agitate for war.
2 December 1898	Pacific, USA, UK, Germany	The USA, Britain, and Germany sign the Samoan Partition Treaty, dividing the Samoan Islands between the three signatories.
1 January 1901	Australia	The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being, with the federalist and protectionist Edmund Barton as prime minister.
22 January 1901	United Kingdom	Following the death of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom after a brief illness, the prince of Wales accedes to the throne as Edward VII.
6 September 1901	USA	The anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots the US president William McKinley at a reception in Buffalo, New York.
20 July 1903		Following the death of Pope Leo XIII, Giuseppe Sarto is elected Pope Pius X.
31 October 1903	USA	A group of US and Panamanian partisans stage a rebellion in Colombia near the site of the proposed Panama canal. The US Navy prevents the Colombian military from entering the area. Three days later the Republic of Panama is declared.
22 January 1905	Russian Empire	Guards outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia, fire on a procession of workers and their families led by the priest Father Gapon, who is carrying a petition to Tsar Nicholas II. Over 100 people are killed, and the day becomes known as ‘Bloody Sunday’. Strikes break out across Russia in protest.
1907	USA	Over 1.25 million immigrants arrive in the US, an all-time record.
26 September 1907	New Zealand	New Zealand becomes known as the Dominion of New Zealand, reflecting its autonomous status within the British Empire.
8 December 1907	Sweden	Following the death of King Oskar II, Gustavus V succeeds as king of Sweden (–1950).
5 October 1908	Bulgaria	King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria declares Bulgaria's independence from the Ottoman Empire and assumes the title of tsar.
7 October 1908	Crete	In response to events in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ottoman possession of Crete announces its union with Greece.
17 December 1909	Belgium	Following the death of King Leopold II of Belgium, Albert I succeeds as king (–1934).
6 May 1910	United Kingdom	Following the death of King Edward VII of Great Britain and Ireland, he is succeeded by George V.
28 August 1910	Montenegro	Montenegro is proclaimed a kingdom independent of the Ottoman Empire under Nicholas I.
August 1912	USA	For the third time in one year, President William Howard Taft dispatches US marines to a neighbouring country to protect US commercial interests from political tumult. This time the country is Nicaragua, where the marines will remain until 1933.
18 March 1913	Greece	King George I of Greece is assassinated in newly occupied Thessaloníki (English Salonika) by a drunken Greek called Alexandros Skinas.
17 November 1913	Panama	The first vessel passes through the Panama Canal.
1916	Germany	The clocks are put forward by one hour in Germany in order to save energy for the war effort by reducing the need for artificial illumination.
15 March 1917	Russian Empire	Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the throne on behalf of both himself and his son. His brother Grand Duke Michael refuses the throne on 16 March, thereby ending the rule of the Romanov dynasty.
2 November 1917	United Kingdom, Palestine, Ottoman Empire	The British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, issues the ‘Balfour declaration’ on Palestine, in which he favours the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people without prejudice to non-Jewish communities.
8 December 1917	Estonia	Bolshevik rule is established in Estonia under the communist leader Jaan Anvelt; it lasts only until the German occupation of the country in February 1918.
16 February 1918	Lithuania, Russia	Lithuania proclaims its independence from Russia.
26 May 1918	Georgia, Russia	Georgia proclaims independence from Russia.
16 July 1918	Russia	Nicholas II, tsar of Russia 1895–1917, is executed by the Bolsheviks, in Yekaterinburg, Russia (50).
21 October 1918	Czechoslovakia	Czechoslovakia is proclaimed an independent republic in the Czech city of Prague.
3 November 1918	Poland, Russia	A Polish republic is proclaimed in Warsaw, Poland, by the Russian-sponsored regency council.
7 November 1918	Germany	A republic is proclaimed in Bavaria, Germany, by the socialist Kurt Eisner.
9 November 1918	Germany	The Social Democrat Philip Scheidemann pre-empts the proclamation of a communist republic in Germany by declaring a republic himself. Friedrich Ebert replaces Prince Max as chancellor and, on 10 November, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany flees to the Netherlands.
12 November 1918	Austria-Hungary	Emperor Charles I abdicates in Austria and, on 13 November, in Austria-Hungary.
16 November 1918		Hungary proclaims itself a republic independent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
26 November 1918	Montenegro, Serbia	The national assembly in Montenegro proclaims the deposition of King Nicholas and the union of Montenegro with Serbia.
30 November 1918	Iceland, Denmark	Iceland becomes a sovereign state, independent of Denmark but under the same monarch.
4 December 1918	Serbia, Croatia, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes	A national council proclaims the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, with Alexander I (son of King Peter of Serbia) as prince-regent. The country will be renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.
13 April 1919	India	Gurkha troops of the British Army fire on a protesting crowd in northern India in what becomes known as the ‘Amritsar Massacre’, killing 379 people and wounding over 1,200 more.
29 April 1919	Greece	The Dodecanese Islands vote to return to Greece, having been under Italian rule since 1912.
28 May 1919	Armenia, Anatolia	Armenia declares its independence from Anatolia (modern Turkey).
20 June 1919	Germany	The German chancellor, Philip Scheidemann, resigns in opposition to the Treaty of Versailles, which dictates peace terms unfavourable to Germany. The Social Democrat Gustav Bauer forms a cabinet comprising Social Democrats, Centre Party delegates, and Democrats on 21 June.
21 June 1919	Germany, United Kingdom	German sailors scuttle the ‘Grand Fleet’ in Scapa Flow, the British naval base in the Orkney Islands where the fleet has been quartered since the end of World War I, to prevent it falling into Allied hands following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
20 November 1919	Latvia, Lithuania, Germany	German troops are forced to evacuate Latvia and Lithuania under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
15 November 1920		Danzig (modern Gdansk in Poland) is proclaimed a free city under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In early December its constitutional assembly is proclaimed the city parliament. Close commercial ties with Poland are confirmed.
5 December 1920	Greece	A plebiscite in Greece following the death of King Alexander favours the return of the former king, Constantine, who abdicated under Allied pressure in 1917. On 19 December he returns to Greece.
27 December 1920	Italy	Italian troops force the revolutionary nationalist Gabriele D'Annunzio and his troops out of Fiume, Italy.
1921	Russia	Five million people die in a famine in the Volga region of Russia, a consequence of Bolshevik food requisitioning policies and drought.
25 February 1921	Georgia, Russia	A Bolshevik government is established in the republic of Georgia.
28 February–17 March 1921	Russia	A mutiny of sailors begins at Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd, Russia, in opposition to the communist government's harsh policies; it is put down by troops.
17 March 1921	Russia	At the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party, the Russian leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin introduces his New Economic Policy, which restores some private business and freedom of trade; the forcible requisition of grain has led to famine and revolts.
2 April 1921	Armenia, Russia	A Bolshevik government is established in the republic of Armenia.
23 April 1921	Romania	Through a Czechoslovak-Romanian alliance Romania joins the ‘Little Entente’ (a defensive alliance of eastern European nations).
24 April 1921	Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes, Italy	The northern Adriatic port of Fiume (Rijeka), disputed between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, votes to become a free city.
7 June 1921	Romania, Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes	An alliance is made between Romania and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, completing Romania's entry into the ‘Little Entente’ (a defensive alliance of eastern European nations).
9 July 1921	United Kingdom	The Irish nationalist leader Eamon de Valera, on behalf of the self-declared Irish Republic, agrees a truce with the British authorities (fighting ends two days later).
29 December 1921	Canada	Following the defeat of the Conservatives in the Canadian general election, the Liberal leader Mackenzie King is appointed prime minister and governs with support from the Progressives.
26 January 1922	Southern Rhodesia	The legislative council of British Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) accepts a draft constitution conferring limited self-government.
12 March 1922	Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, RUSSIA	The communist republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan combine to form the Transcaucasian Socialist Republic.
15 March 1922	Ireland, UK	The Irish nationalist leader Eamon de Valera organizes a Republican Society demanding full independence for Ireland, to fight the Pro-Treaty Party (Cumann na nGaedheal) which supports the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.
24 June 1922	Germany	The Jewish German foreign minister Walther Rathenau is murdered by anti-Semitic nationalists.
28–30 June 1922	Ireland, UK	Anti-Treaty (Anglo-Irish Treaty) republicans seize the assistant chief of staff of the Irish army, General Ginger O'Connell, in Dublin in the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) and hold him hostage in the Four Courts building; the Irish army besieges the building and the rebel forces present surrender. Fighting continues in the rest of Dublin.
10 October 1922	Iraq, UK	The formal British mandate over Iraq is ended and an alliance between the two is concluded.
23 October 1922	UK	Andrew Bonar Law forms a Conservative government in Britain after the resignation of David Lloyd George over the ‘Chanak Crisis’ of September–October.
28 October 1922	Italy	The fascists in Italy begin the ‘March on Rome’ to bring down the government.
17 November 1922	Far Eastern Republic, Russia	The Far Eastern Republic votes for union with Russia, following the defeat of White Russian forces previously active in the region.
30 December 1922	USSR	The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established through the confederation of Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation.
11 January 1923	Germany, France, Belgium	Because of Germany's failure to meet World War I reparations payments, French and Belgian troops occupy the Ruhr, Germany; its inhabitants respond with passive resistance and sabotage.
24 May 1923	Ireland	The Irish nationalist leader Eamon de Valera calls off the guerrilla war, suspended since 27 April, of the anti-Treaty (Anglo-Irish Treaty) republicans who have been fighting for full independence for Ireland because of high losses of men.
26 May 1923	Transjordan	Emir Abdullah ibn Hussein (second son of King Hussein of the Hejaz) is proclaimed ruler of Transjordan (modern Jordan), which becomes an autonomous state under a British mandate.
9 June 1923	Bulgaria	A coup in Bulgaria by discontented army officers leads to the fall of the prime minister Alexander Stambolisky (he is assassinated on 15 June).
2 August 1923	USA	Following the death of US president Warren G Harding, he is succeeded on 3 August by Vice-President Calvin Coolidge.
13 September 1923	Spain	The Spanish soldier and politician Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator in Spain (ruling under King Alfonso XIII) after a coup.
26 September 1923	Germany, France, Belgium	The German chancellor Gustav Stresemann calls for an end to passive resistance to the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr (France is making the region work with imported labour while Germany's economy disintegrates).
26 October–8 November 1923	Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom	The Imperial Conference in London, England, recognizes the right of the Dominions (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) to make treaties with foreign powers.
8–9 November 1923	Germany	In the ‘Munich Putsch’, the German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party attempt a coup to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich, Germany.
21 January 1924	USSR	A struggle for the leadership of the USSR begins following the death of the Soviet leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
23 January 1924	United Kingdom	Ramsay MacDonald forms the first Labour government in Britain (without an overall majority), with Philip Snowden as chancellor of the Exchequer.
25 January 1924	France, Czechoslovakia	A French-Czechoslovak alliance is formed; France wishes to create a defensive ring around Germany.
3 March 1924	Turkey	The Turkish national assembly expels the Ottoman dynasty and abolishes the caliphate and other religious institutions.
25 March 1924	Greece	Greece is proclaimed a republic (confirmed by plebiscite on 13 April; Admiral Pavlos Koundouriotis becomes president).
9 April 1924	Germany	Committees under the US financier Charles Dawes and British politician Reginald McKenna make reports on the World War I reparations issue; the Dawes Plan reduces Germany's debt to 1 million gold marks.
May 1924	USA	US Congress passes the Johnson–Reed Immigration Act, setting the annual immigration quota at 2% of the US population (based on the 1890 census) from any given country. Exceptions are Japanese immigrants, who are totally excluded, and immigrants from Canada and Latin America, for whom there are no limits.
25 October 1924	UK, USSR	The British newspaper the Daily Mail publishes the ‘Zinovyev Letter’, a document inciting revolutionary activity in the army and Ireland, which is said to be from Grigory Zinovyev, chairman of the External Committee of the Comintern (the Soviet-controlled Communist International). It is later proved to be a forgery.
4 November 1924	United Kingdom	Ramsay MacDonald resigns as British prime minister following Labour's electoral defeat; a week later Stanley Baldwin forms a Conservative government with Austen Chamberlain as foreign secretary and Winston Churchill as chancellor of the Exchequer.
18 November 1924	Germany, France	The evacuation of the Ruhr area of Germany by French troops is completed (the Ruhr having been occupied in 1923 because of Germany's default in payment of World War I reparations).
16 January 1925	USSR	Leon Trotsky, outmanoeuvred by Joseph Stalin in his battle for the leadership of the USSR, is dismissed from the chairmanship of the Revolutionary Military Council.
19 October 1925	Italy, Italian Somaliland	Italy completes the occupation of Italian Somaliland in east Africa (part of present-day Somalia), making it a protectorate.
13 December 1925	Persia	The nationalist army officer Reza Khan becomes shah of Persia (modern Iran).
16 May 1926	Ireland	The Irish nationalist Eamon de Valera founds the Fianna Fáil (‘Soldiers of Destiny’) party in the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) to put up republican candidates for election to the Dáil (parliament).
23 May 1926	Lebanon, France	France proclaims the Lebanon (part of the territory mandated to it by the League of Nations) a republic.
26 May 1926	Morocco, France, Spain	The Riff revolt against the French and Spanish invaders in Morocco ends with the Berber leader Abd-al-Karim's surrender to France.
28 July 1926	Belgium	Following a Belgian financial crisis the Belgian franc is devalued and King Albert I is given dictatorial powers for six months.
19 October–18 November 1926	UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa	An Imperial Conference in London, England, decides that Britain and the Dominions (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) are autonomous communities, equal in status.
19 October 1926	USSR	Leon Trotsky and Grigory Zinovyev are expelled from the Politburo of the Communist Party in the USSR, having been defeated by Joseph Stalin on the question of whether to continue Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's New Economic Policy.
November 1926–July 1927	Indonesia	An unsuccessful communist revolt takes place in Java, Dutch East Indies (later Indonesia).
11 November 1926	Italy	The Italian Socialist, Republican, and Communist parties are dissolved and the abstaining antifascist deputies are declared to have forfeited their parliamentary seats.
25 December 1926	Japan	Emperor Yoshihito of Japan dies and is succeeded by his son Hirohito.
6 June 1927	Syria, France	The Druze revolt against French rule in Syria is finally ended.
23 August 1927	Egypt	Following the death of the prime minister Saad Zaghlul, Nahas Pasha becomes the leader of the Wafd nationalist party in Egypt.
17 October 1927	Norway	The first Labour government is formed in Norway by Christopher Hornsrud, following a general election in which Labour won 59 seats, the Conservatives 30, the Liberals 30, and the Farmers' Party 26.
14 November 1927	USSR	In Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's decisive victory over his rivals, Leon Trotsky and Grigory Zinovyev are expelled from the Soviet Communist Party.
27 April 1928	Portugal	The reforming Portuguese academic Antonio de Oliveira Salazar is given wide powers as minister of finance to address Portugal's economic problems.
28 June 1928	Germany	Hermann Müller, Social Democrat, is appointed German chancellor (following the resignation of Wilhelm Marx's ministry on 13 June).
19 July 1928	Egypt	King Fuad I stages a coup in Egypt, where parliament is dissolved and the constitution suspended; the king rules by decree.
27 August 1928	France, USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium	The Kellogg–Briand Pact (drawn up by the US secretary of state F B Kellogg and the French foreign minister Aristide Briand), outlawing war and providing for the pacific settlement of disputes, is signed in Paris, France, by 15 states, including the USA.
1 September 1928	Albania	Albania is proclaimed a kingdom and President Ahmed Bey Zogu is elected as King Zog.
1 October 1928	USSR	The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ends the New Economic Policy and introduces state-directed economic planning and distribution, the development of industry, and collectivization of agriculture, in accordance with the first Five-Year Plan.
6 October 1928	China	The nationalist leader Jiang Jie Shi is elected president of China, the Guomindang (Chinese National People's Party) having secured control of nearly all the country.
7 October 1928	Ethiopia	The modernizing Ras (prince) Tafari becomes negus (king) of Ethiopia on the death of Hapta Giorgis. He retains the position of regent and heir apparent to the empress Zauditu.
5 January 1929	Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes	King Alexander I suppresses the constitution of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and establishes a royal dictatorship.
31 January 1929	USSR	Leon Trotsky, having lost the contest to succeed Vladimir Ilyich Lenin as Soviet leader to Joseph Stalin, is expelled from the USSR.
3 June 1929	Chile, Peru, Bolivia	A settlement is reached in the Arica–Tacna border territory dispute (originated in 1910), by which Chile is awarded Arica, Peru gains Tacna, and Bolivia acquires railway rights.
5 June 1929	United Kingdom	Ramsay MacDonald forms a Labour government in Britain, with Arthur Henderson as foreign secretary, Philip Snowden as chancellor of the Exchequer, and John Clynes as home secretary.
6–13 August 1929	Netherlands, Germany	At the Reparations Conference in The Hague in the Netherlands, Germany accepts the Young Plan for German World War I reparations; in return, the Allies agree to evacuate the Rhineland by June 1930.
3 October 1929	Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes	The name of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes is changed to Yugoslavia as part of King Alexander I's attempts to end ethnic divisions within the country.
17 November 1929	USSR	The ‘Right Opposition’ led by Nikolai Bukharin is expelled from the Communist Party of the USSR by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
28–30 January 1930	Spain	The Spanish dictator Primo de Rivera resigns following the army's withdrawal of its support, and the Liberal general Dámaso Berenguer forms a ministry (30 January) pledged to a restoration of democracy.
12 March–6 April 1930	India	The Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi opens a civil-disobedience campaign in India with his ‘Salt March’ (a march from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to Dandi on the coast where, on 6 April, Gandhi seizes salt to protest at the levying of salt tax on poor people).
30 March 1930	Germany	Heinrich Brüning, leader of the Centre Party, forms a coalition of the right in Germany, replacing the Social Democrats, but without a majority in the Reichstag (parliament).
3 April 1930	Ethiopia	Ras Tafari, regent of Ethiopia, becomes emperor on the death of Empress Zauditu; he assumes the name Haile Selassie (‘Might of the Trinity’).
8 June 1930	Romania	Crown Prince Carol, strongly supported by the army and the peasantry, is elected king of Romania as Carol II by the national assembly, which sets aside his son Michael, king since 1927.
6 August 1930	Canada	Following the general election victory of the Conservatives in July, the Liberal leader William Mackenzie King resigns as prime minister of Canada; he is succeeded by the Conservative leader Richard B Bennett.
25–27 August 1930	Peru	Following a revolt by an army garrison, a military junta takes power in Peru and forces Augusto Leguía to resign the presidency. Colonel Luis Sánchez Cerro, leader of the original revolt, becomes president on 27 August after marching on the capital Lima.
6 September 1930	Argentina	Demonstrations by crowds in Buenos Aires and a revolt by the army force President Hipólito Irigoyen of Argentina to resign; General José Uriburu is appointed president.
1931	China	The Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong establishes the Chinese Soviet Republic (Jianxi Soviet) in southeast China. Many of its social policies will be applied to the entire country after the communist takeover in 1949.
14 April 1931	Spain	Following municipal elections in Spain, Niceto Alcalá Zamora, leader of a revolutionary committee in Madrid, successfully demands the abdication of Alfonso XIII. Alcalá Zamora becomes president of a provisional government.
26 July 1931	Chile	Colonel Carlos Ibáñez del Campo resigns as president of Chile owing to popular opposition to his repressive regime and the failure of his economic policies in the face of the worldwide depression, and flees to exile in Argentina.
24 August 1931	United Kingdom	Ramsay MacDonald offers his resignation as Britain's prime minister after the Labour cabinet splits over policies for reducing unemployment, but the following day remains in office to lead a coalition. The Labour Party subsequently expels MacDonald, Philip Snowden, and J H Thomas, who serve with him.
15 May 1932	Japan, China	Inukai Tsuyoshi, Prime Minister of Japan, is assassinated by young naval officers following his attempt to halt military activities against China.
7 March 1933	Austria	The Austrian chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, suspends parliament after political polarization makes democratic government impossible: he rules by decree while a new constitution is drawn up.
12 March 1933	USA	President Roosevelt holds the first ‘fireside chat’ by radio with the US people, to encourage support for the New Deal.
17 February 1934	Belgium	King Albert I of Belgium is killed in a climbing accident. He is succeeded by his son, Leopold III.
15 March 1934	Latvia	Premier Karlis Ulmanis becomes dictator in Latvia after suspending parliament in response to an alleged communist plot.
30 June 1934	Germany	The German chancellor, Adolf Hitler, purges the SA (Sturmabteilung, storm troopers or ‘Brownshirts’) of dozens of its top leaders in the ‘Night of the Long Knives’. Those murdered by Heinrich Himmler's SS (Schutzstaffel, Nazi elite corps) as potential rivals to Hitler include the SA head Ernst Röhm and the former chancellor Kurt von Schleicher.
30 July 1934	Austria	The ‘Fatherland Front’ politician Kurt von Schuschnigg is appointed Austrian chancellor following the assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss by the Nazis.
9 October 1934	Yugoslavia	King Alexander I of Yugoslavia is assassinated by a Croatian separatist agent during a visit to France. He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son, Peter II.
1 December 1934	USSR	Sergey Kirov, Party leader in Leningrad and a senior communist leader in the USSR, is assassinated, probably with the connivance of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The assassination marks the beginning of the Great Purge (1934–38).
15–17 January 1935	USSR	Grigory Zinovyev, Lev Kamenev, and other former leading communists in the USSR are tried and imprisoned for ‘moral complicity’ in the assassination of party leader Sergey Kirov in December 1934, beginning the ‘ Great Terror’ or purge of the Communist Party.
1 March 1935	Germany	The district of Saarland, administered by the French under the League of Nations since 1919, is restored to Germany.
15 September 1935	Germany	The German Führer Adolf Hitler announces the racist ‘Nuremberg Laws’ against Jews at the Nazi Party Nuremberg rally. Legislation will define Jews, ban them from professions, and forbid their marriage or sexual relations with non-Jews.
10 May 1936	Spain	Manuel Azaña of the Republican Left succeeds Niceto Alcalá Zamora as president of Spain.
11 December 1936	UK	Edward VIII abdicates as king of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following his refusal to give up the idea of marriage to the US divorcee Wallis Simpson.
12 December 1936	UK	The Duke of York, younger brother of Edward VIII, succeeds to the British throne as George VI, following Edward's abdication on 11 December.
20 February 1938	UK	The British foreign minister Anthony Eden resigns in protest at Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.
2–14 March 1938	USSR	The former leading communist Nikolai Bukharin and other political leaders are put on trial in the USSR. Bukharin is falsely accused of counterrevolutionary activities and espionage, found guilty, and shot on 14 March.
12 March 1938	Austria, Germany	German troops are ordered to invade Austria to prevent a vote for continued independence in the referendum proposed by the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg; the referendum is called off before they enter Austrian territory.
13 March 1938	Austria, Germany	Austria is declared part of the German Reich, after the cancellation of a proposed referendum on unity with Germany (Anschluss or ‘Annexation’).
4 October 1938	France	The Popular Front government falls in France when the socialists and communists abstain from a vote of confidence because they are opposed to government economic policy (particularly the devaluation of the franc).
15 March 1939	Germany, Czechoslovakia	German troops occupy Bohemia and Moravia in Czechoslovakia. The German Führer makes a triumphal entry into Prague, the Czech capital, the same evening. The regions become a German protectorate under Konstantin von Neurath.
7 April 1939	Italy, Albania	Italy invades and occupies Albania. The Albanian king, Ahmed Bey Zogu, flees to Greece.
10 May 1940	UK, Norway	The British prime minister Neville Chamberlain resigns following criticism for the failure of the British military expedition to Norway. Winston Churchill forms a coalition government, with Lord Halifax foreign secretary and Labour members Clement Attlee as Lord Privy Seal, Albert Alexander as First Lord of the Admiralty, and Ernest Bevin as minister of labour.
15–17 June 1940	USSR, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	The USSR occupies the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, formally incorporating them into the USSR in August.
4 September 1940	Romania	Ion Antonescu becomes prime minister of Romania and establishes a fascist dictatorship. King Carol II abdicates in favour of his son, Michael, and flees to Switzerland with his mistress, Magda Lupescu.
12 April 1945	USA	Following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president of the USA, he is succeeded by Vice-President Harry S Truman.
28 April 1945	Italy	Benito Mussolini, Italian prime minister 1922–43, first of Europe's fascist dictators, is shot by the Italian Resistance in Dongo, Italy (61). His mistress, Clara Petacci, and members of his entourage are also shot.
30 April 1945	Germany	Adolf Hitler, German fascist leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, dictator of Germany 1933–45, commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin, Germany (56). His mistress, Eva Braun, takes poison.
17 August 1945	Indonesia, Netherlands	Indonesian leaders proclaim their country's independence from Dutch rule, but this is rejected by the Netherlands.
13 November 1945	France	General Charles de Gaulle is elected president of France's post-World War II provisional government in Paris.
29 November 1945	Yugoslavia	The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is proclaimed, under Marshal Josip Broz Tito, leader of the communist resistance against Germany during World War II.
20 January 1946	France	Charles de Gaulle resigns the presidency of the post-World War II French provisional government when he is frustrated by the parliamentary system in the implementation of his plans for post-war reconstruction.
14 June 1946	Italy	King Umberto II and his male heirs are permanently banished from Italy after the popular vote for a republican constitution.
15 August 1947	India, Pakistan, UK	British rule in India ends after 163 years and the two new independent countries of India and Pakistan are established. Jawaharlal Nehru becomes prime minister of India, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah governor general of Pakistan, with Liaquat Ali Khan as prime minister.
20 November 1947	England	The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten takes place in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
4 January 1948	Burma, UK	Burma achieves independence from Britain and becomes a republic.
15 August 1948	South Korea, USA	The Republic of Korea is proclaimed in the city of Seoul, ending the US military administration of World War II in southern Korea.
9 September 1948	North Korea, South Korea	The Supreme People's Assembly in North Korea proclaims the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, with Pyongyang as its capital, and claims authority over the entire country of Korea. The prime minister is Kim Il Sung.
24 October 1948	USA	In speech to a US Senate committee, Bernard Baruch popularizes the phrase ‘Cold War’.
18 April 1949	Ireland, Eire	Eire is formally proclaimed the Republic of Ireland and leaves the Commonwealth.
23 May 1949	West Germany	The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) comes into being, with Bonn as its capital. West Berlin is excluded from the new state but associated with it.
27 December 1949	Indonesia, Netherlands	An Indonesian republic, known as the ‘United States of Indonesia’, is established, comprising all the former Netherlands East Indies territories except western New Guinea and having a nominal union with the Netherlands.
6 February 1952	UK	Following the death of King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he is succeeded by his daughter Queen Elizabeth II, who is on a visit to Kenya at the time (proclaimed on 8 February).
26 February 1952	UK	The British prime minister Winston Churchill announces that Britain has produced its own atomic bomb. The first successful test of the new weapon takes place on 2 October over the Monte Bello Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
11 September 1952	Eritrea, Ethiopia	The United Nations (UN) settlement devised for the former Italian colony of Eritrea (that is, a federation with Ethiopia) is ratified by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Eritrea is to have autonomy in domestic affairs.
20 October 1952	British East Africa, UK	Britain proclaims a state of emergency in its colony of Kenya because of Mau Mau nationalist disturbances, and about 200 leading members of the Kenya African Union (the political party led by future president Jomo Kenyatta, the alleged leader of the Mau Mau movement) are arrested.
9 July 1953	USSR	Lavrenti Beria, the Soviet minister of internal affairs, is arrested (and shot on 23 December); his Politburo rivals for leadership of the USSR fear his potential power.
February 1954	USA	The USA announces that it detonated the world's first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands two years before.
7 May 1954	North Vietnam, France	The Vietminh siege of French forces at Dien Bien Phu in North Vietnam ends with the surrender of 10,000 French troops. 5,000 more French troops are dead and the defeat effectively ends French power in Indochina.
25 February 1956	USSR	The general secretary of the Communist Party in the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, denounces former leader Joseph Stalin and his policies, at a closed session of the 20th Conference of the Communist Party. The speech is made public on 18 March.
1958	China	Communist China launches the ‘Great Leap Forward’, aiming to increase industrial output at great speed, especially the production of steel. Communes become the basis of agricultural production.
17 June 1958	Hungary, USSR	Imre Nagy, independent communist and premier of Hungary 1953–55, who tried to gain Hungary's independence from the USSR, is executed in Budapest, Hungary (62).
19 February 1959	Cyprus	The prime ministers of Greece, Turkey, and Britain sign an agreement in London, England, granting Cyprus independence. As a republic, the president of Cyprus is to be Greek and the vice-president Turkish, and the two communities are to be allowed considerable autonomy. Britain will retain two military bases on the island. Enosis (union with Greece) is ruled out.
August 1959	USA	The US president Dwight D Eisenhower proclaims Hawaii the 50th state. Hawaiians had overwhelmingly endorsed statehood in a referendum on 27 June.
21 March 1960	South Africa	The ‘Sharpeville massacre’ occurs in a township near Vereeniging (south of Johannesburg), South Africa, where members of the Pan-African Congress demonstrating against pass laws are fired on by police, killing 69 demonstrators and wounding 186 more.
31 July 1960	Malaya	The official end of the ‘Malayan Emergency’ (British and Mayalan operations against communist insurgents in Malaya, beginning in 1948) is announced.
1961	USA	The US Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization publishes The Family Fallout Shelter, a 31-page guide that explains how to build a fallout shelter in case of nuclear war.
17–20 April 1961	Cuba, USA	One thousand five hundred Cuban exiles, trained by US military instructors and supported by the CIA, land on Cuba in the ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion. An expected sympathetic uprising fails to occur and the invaders are killed or captured.
31 May 1961	South Africa	South Africa becomes an independent republic outside the Commonwealth, with Charles Swart as president.
17–18 August 1961	East Germany, West Germany	East German building workers begin constructing the Berlin Wall, a near-impregnable physical barrier sealing off West Berlin and preventing the escape of East Germans to the West.
1 January 1962	Pacific, Samoa	Western Samoa, previously administered by New Zealand, becomes the first sovereign independent Polynesian state.
22 November 1963	USA	John F Kennedy, 35th president of the USA 1961–63, a Democrat, is assassinated in Dallas, Texas, as he is driven to make a speech at the Dallas World Trade Center (46). The shots appear to come from the 6th floor of the Texas Book Depository on Elm Street. Former marine and pro-communist Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested 80 minutes later on charges of killing a patrolman, and is subsequently identified as the assassin, although there is speculation as to whether he acted alone or as part of a conspiracy.
22 November 1963	USA	Following the assassination of US president John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, Vice-President Lyndon B Johnson is immediately sworn in as president.
16 October 1964	China	China explodes an atomic bomb, and becomes a nuclear power.
1965	USA	The US journalist Arthur Schlesinger, Jr, publishes Thousand Days, an account of the presidency of John F Kennedy.
13 August 1966	China	The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in its first plenary session since 1962, endorses the ‘Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution’, the movement to ‘purify’ Chinese communism through a purge of the intelligentsia.
1968	UK	Eighty thousand people march on the US embassy in London, England, in protest at US involvement in Vietnam.
4 April 1968	USA	The assassination of Black American civil-rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr, in Memphis, Tennessee, sparks a week of rioting in black ghettos throughout the nation. His assassin, James Earl Ray, is arrested in London, England, on 8 June and promptly extradited to the USA.
14 November 1968	USA, North Vietnam, South Vietnam	As the number of US deaths in Vietnam exceeds 30,000, National Turn In Your Draft Card Day is held, with widespread burning of cards.
16 January 1969	Czechoslovakia	The Czech student Jan Palach publicly burns himself to death in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest at Soviet occupation.
March 1969	USA	With President Richard M Nixon's authorization, the USA begins the secret bombing of Cambodia.
16–24 July 1969	USA	The US Moon-shot mission Apollo 11 takes place. On 20 July US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, famously saying ‘That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ He and Buzz Aldrin also install and operate the first Moon seismograph at Tranquillity base, spending a total of 21.6 hours on the Moon's surface, while Michael Collins remains orbiting the Moon in the command module.
19 August 1969	UK	The British army assumes full responsibility for security in Northern Ireland following civil unrest.
15 February 1971	Israel	Israel affirms a Jewish settlement policy in its occupied territories.
26 March 1971	Pakistan	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League, which has a majority in the all-Pakistan National Assembly, declares the independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh (‘Bengali country’). The split sparks a civil war.
13–19 July 1971	Jordan	Heavy fighting takes place in Jordan between the Jordanian army and Palestinian guerrillas, with 1,500 guerrillas captured by 19 July.
25 October 1971	China, Taiwan	The United Nations General Assembly votes to admit communist China (the People's Republic of China) and expel Taiwan (the Republic of China).
24 November 1971	UK, Rhodesia	An agreement is reached between the British foreign secretary Alec Douglas-Home and the Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith on a new Rhodesian constitution.
2 December 1971	United Arab Emirates	The seven emirates of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Umm al Qaiwain, Ras al Khaimah, Ajman, and Fujairah form the United Arab Emirates.
16 December 1971	India, Pakistan	East Pakistani forces surrender to India after its recognition of East Pakistan's independence as Bangladesh. India orders a ceasefire on the West Pakistan front, and on 17 December a ceasefire is declared in West Pakistan.
16 December 1971	Rhodesia	Leaders of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) (ZANU (PF)) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) form the African National Council with the aim of rejecting the Anglo-Rhodesian independence settlement, which favours white majority rule.
30 January 1972	Northern Ireland	British troops shoot dead 13 civilians in Northern Ireland when violence erupts at a civil-rights march in the Bogside, Londonderry. The day is described as ‘Bloody Sunday’ by Labour members of the British Parliament.
30 January 1972	Pakistan	Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth in protest at Britain's plans to recognize Bangladesh as an independent nation.
30 March 1972	Northern Ireland	Britain assumes direct rule over Northern Ireland, with William Whitelaw as secretary of state.
22 May 1972	Ceylon	Ceylon ceases to be a British dominion and becomes a republic within the Commonwealth under the name of Sri Lanka.
23 May 1972	Rhodesia, UK	Britain abandons its Rhodesian settlement proposals when the Pearce Commission reports that black opinion is unfavourable.
4 August 1972	Uganda, UK	President Idi Amin of Uganda gives Asians holding foreign passports 90 days to leave the country on the grounds that they are ‘sabotaging the economy’. His action prompts a flood of refugees into Britain.
1 September 1972	Iceland	Iceland unilaterally extends its fishing limit from 19 km/12 mi to 80 km/50 mi.
22 September 1972	Uganda	President Idi Amin orders 8,000 Asians to leave Uganda within 48 hours.
24 September 1972	Norway	A referendum in Norway results in a 52.7% vote against entry into the European Economic Community (Common Market).
29 September 1972	Japan, China	Japan and China agree to end the legal state of war that has existed between them since 1937.
3 October 1972	USA, USSR	The USA and the USSR sign the final SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) accords limiting submarine-carried and land-based missiles.
1 January 1973	UK, Ireland, Denmark	Britain, Ireland, and Denmark become members of the European Economic Community (Common Market).
21 February 1973	Laos	The government of Laos and the communist resistance group, the Pathet Lao, sign a ceasefire agreement in the captial, Vientiane.
17 July 1973	Afghanistan	A bloodless army-backed coup deposes King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan and the country is proclaimed a republic.
15 August 1973	USA, Cambodia, Laos	US bombing in Cambodia and Laos ends.
29 August 1973	Egypt, Libya	Presidents Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Moamer al-Khaddhafi of Libya proclaim the unification of their two countries, with a plan for a joint constituent assembly.
18 September 1973	East Germany, West Germany	East and West Germany are admitted to the United Nations (UN).
25–26 April 1974	Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea	General Antônio Ribeiro de Spínola leads a successful coup in Portugal. On 26 April, the junta vows to dismantle the authoritarian state and end the wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau).
18 May 1974	India	An atomic bomb test makes India the world's sixth nuclear power.
28 May 1974	Northern Ireland	The Northern Ireland Executive collapses when all the Unionist members resign. On 29 May, Britain reimposes direct rule and the general strike ends.
15 July 1974	Cyprus	The Cypriot National Guard, with Greek support, overthrows President Makarios of Cyprus and installs Nicos Sampson, a former National Organization of Cypriot Combatants (EOKA) terrorist, in his place.
20–22 July 1974	Cyprus, Turkey	Turkey invades Cyprus, claiming right of intervention under the 1960 treaty which sets Turkey as a guarantor, along with Greece and Britain, of the Cypriot constitution. A ceasefire follows on 22 July.
23–24 July 1974	Greece	The Greek military government resigns. On 24 July, the former prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis returns from exile in France to form a civilian administration.
12–14 August 1974	Turkey	Turkey issues a 24-hour ultimatum demanding the creation of autonomous Turkish cantons in Cyprus. On 14 August, Turkish forces resume their offensive having turned down appeals by Greek foreign minister George Manos and Cypriot president Nicos Sampson to consult their governments.
14 August 1974	Greece, Turkey	Greece withdraws its armed forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in protest at its failure to oppose the Turkish ‘menace to world peace’ following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
16 August 1974	Cyprus	A second ceasefire following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus leaves 40% of the island under Turkish control.
12 September 1974	Ethiopia	A military coup in Ethiopia deposes Emperor Haile Selassie.
13 February 1975	Cyprus	Northern Cyprus declares its separate existence as the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus.
13 April 1975	Lebanon	Civil war erupts in Lebanon when clashes between Palestinians and Christian Phalangists outside a church in the capital, Beirut, leave 30 people dead.
17 April 1975	Cambodia	Communist Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in Cambodia capture the capital, Phnom Penh, in the civil war between the right-wing government of the Khmer Republic and the National United Front of Cambodia (the former leader Prince Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge).
5 June 1975	Egypt	The Suez Canal is reopened by the Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, following its eight-year closure because of Arab–Israeli hostilities.
23 September 1975	Israel, Egypt	Israel and Egypt reach an agreement on an Israeli withdrawal from the Egyptian Sinai peninsula, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
15 October 1975	Iceland, West Germany	The ‘Cod War’ begins when Iceland increases its territorial waters from 80 km/50 mi to 320 km/200 mi and confronts West German trawlers with gunboats.
28 November 1975	East Timor, Portugal	The Revolutionary Front for the Independence of East Timor (FRETILIN) unilaterally declares East Timor independent from Portugal.
14 April 1976	Morocco, Mauritania	Western Sahara is divided between Morocco and Mauritania.
2 July 1976	Vietnam	North and South Vietnam are formally reunified.
14 July 1976	Spain	The ban on political parties in Spain is lifted.
19 September 1976	Rhodesia	Ian Smith, the prime minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), accepts the principle of majority rule in his country.
6 October 1976	Thailand	A military coup in Thailand seizes control from Prime Minister Seni Pramoj.
7 October 1976	China	Hua Guofeng succeeds Mao Zedong as Chinese premier. The ‘Gang of Four’, including Mao's widow, are arrested and denounced for plotting to take power.
25 October 1976	South Africa	The black homeland of Transkei, South Africa, becomes nominally independent.
3 February 1977	Ethiopia	Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam becomes leader of Ethiopia after killing the existing head of state, General Teferi Bante, and six other leading members of the ruling military council.
8 June 1977	Uganda	Uganda is excluded from the Commonwealth conference for its human-rights abuses.
30 June 1977	Asia	The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), a collective military system, is dissolved.
4 November 1977	South Africa	The United Nations (UN) imposes a strict arms embargo on South Africa.
22 March 1978	Lebanon	The first United Nations ‘UNIFIL’ (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) troops arrive in Lebanon.
26 June 1978	South Yemen	The president of South Yemen, Salem Ruba Ali, is assassinated by the faction that murdered the North Yemeni president, Ahmed al-Ghashmi.
5–17 September 1978	USA, Egypt, Israel	A summit at Camp David, Maryland, USA, between the US president, Jimmy Carter, the Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, and the Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin, concludes with a ‘framework’ peace treaty ending 30 years of hostility between Israel and Egypt.
4 October 1978	Lebanon	An estimated 500 people are killed or wounded in heavy battles in the civil war in Beirut, Lebanon.
25 December 1978	Vietnam, Cambodia	Vietnam begins a full-scale invasion of Cambodia.
7 January 1979	Cambodia, Vietnam	Vietnamese troops and Cambodian rebels capture the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, and oust the Khmer Rouge regime.
16 January 1979	Iran, Egypt	The shah of Iran and his family flee to Egypt, driven into exile by supporters of the Shiite Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
23 February–16 March 1979	North Yemen, South Yemen	North and South Yemen wage war; the former is supported by the USSR, the latter by the West.
15 March 1979	Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, UK	The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) defence pact collapses when Turkey withdraws, following the withdrawal of Iran and Pakistan on 12 March.
11 April 1979	Uganda, Tanzania	The Ugandan capital, Kampala, falls to Tanzanian and rebel forces and the president, Idi Amin, flees the country.
19 July 1979	Nicaragua	Left-wing Sandinista rebels take the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, and set up a new government.
6 September 1979	Vietnam, USA	Thirty thousand refugee ‘boat people’ from Vietnam are allowed to settle in the USA.
4 November 1979	Iran, USA	Iranian students seize the US embassy in Tehran, taking 63 US citizens and 40 others hostage. They demand the return of the Shah from the USA for trial.
10 December 1979	Zimbabwe Rhodesia	The rebel parliament in Zimbabwe Rhodesia concludes, ending Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).
21 December 1979	UK, Zimbabwe Rhodesia	The Lancaster House Agreement is signed in London, England, providing for an end to the civil war in Rhodesia and the introduction of majority rule. The new state of Zimbabwe becomes independent in April 1980.
25 December 1979	Afghanistan, USSR	Soviet troops invade Afghanistan in a bid to halt the civil war and protect Soviet interests.
25 April 1980	USA, Iran	A US commando mission to rescue US hostages in Iran fails with the loss of eight lives.
5 May 1980	UK, Iran	Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) storms the Iranian embassy in London, England, retaking it from the terrorists who seized the building on 30 April.
1 January 1981	Greece	Greece becomes the 10th member of the European Community.
25 January 1981	China	A show trial in Beijing, China convicts the ‘Gang of Four’ prominent former political leaders of treason. Jiang Qing, widow of Chairman Mao Zedong, receives a suspended death sentence.
30 March 1981	USA	John Hinckley attempts to assassinate US president Ronald Reagan; he wounds the president and press secretary James Brady.
5 May 1981	Northern Ireland	Riots break out in Northern Ireland following the death of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) hunger striker and successful parliamentary candidate Bobby Sands in the Maze prison.
13 May 1981	Vatican	A Turkish gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca, seriously wounds Pope John Paul II in an assassination attempt in St Peter's Square, Rome. He is jailed for life on 22 July.
17 July 1981	Middle East	Israeli military aircraft attack Palestinian areas of Beirut. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization agree a ceasefire on 29 July after two weeks of fighting in southern Lebanon.
3 October 1981	Northern Ireland	The Irish Republican Army (IRA) hunger strike at the Maze prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and 10 deaths.
13 December 1981	Poland	Martial law is imposed in Poland, leading to mass detentions and imposing curbs on civil liberties and trade union activities.
14 December 1981	Middle East	Israel formally annexes the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in the 1967 Yom Kippur War.
29 December 1981	USA	Responding to perceived Soviet political pressure on Poland to adopt martial law, President Ronald Reagan introduces US economic sanctions against the USSR.
25 April 1982	UK	British commandos recapture South Georgia from the small Argentine force occupying the island.
5 June 1982	Middle East	Israeli armed forces invade Lebanon. On June 6 Israeli and Syrian forces clash in southern Lebanon, and the United Nations Security Council calls for a halt to the fighting.
12 June 1982	USA	Approximately 550,000 protesters against nuclear arms march though New York City.
17 September 1982	West Germany	The West German Social Democrat–Free Democrat government collapses following the withdrawal of Free Democrat ministers. On October 1, a new Christian Democrat–Free Democrat government is formed under Christian Democrat Leader Helmut Kohl.
18 September 1982	Israel, Lebanon	Over 800 Palestinians are killed after Christian Phalangist militiamen enter the West Beirut refugee camps Sabra and Chatila. On September 25 there are protests in Israel over the massacre, and on September 28 the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin agrees to an independent board of inquiry.
8 October 1982	Poland	Poland's communist-controlled parliament bans the Solidarity union and forbids the setting up of new trade unions.
21 August 1983	Philippines	The Philippines opposition leader Benigno Aquino is assassinated at Manila airport.
28 August 1983	Israel	The Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin announces his intention to resign. He is succeeded on 15 September by Yitzhak Shamir.
1 September 1983	USSR, South Korea	A South Korean Boeing 747 airliner is shot down by a Soviet fighter, killing 269 people, after straying into Soviet air space near Sakhalin Island. On 5 September, western European nations impose a 14-day ban on flights by the Soviet airline Aeroflot.
25 October 1983	Grenada	US marines invade Grenada to depose the new military government. On 28 October, the USA vetoes a United Nations (UN) resolution deploring the invasion.
20 December 1983	Middle East	The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yassir Arafat is forced to evacuate his forces from Lebanon after talks between Lebanon and Israel.
4 April 1984	UK	Bailiffs are brought in to clear the women's peace camp at Greenham Common, England, the site of a NATO base for cruise missiles.
19 July 1984	Europe	French finance minister Jacques Delors is named president of the European Commission from January 1985, in succession to Gaston Thorn.
31 October 1984	India	Rajiv Gandhi is sworn in as prime minister of India amid communal violence between Sikhs and Hindus after the assasination of his mother Indira by her Sikh bodyguards.
31 December 1984	USA	The USA withdraws from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), alleging that it is too critical of US policy. It had announced its intention 29 December 1983, saying that the organization ‘exhibited hostility towards the basic installations of a free society’.
25 January 1985	South Africa	The South African president P W Botha opens the country's new three-chamber parliament for whites, Indians, and coloureds.
5 February 1985	Spain	Spain reopens its frontier with Gibraltar, ending the 16-year-long siege imposed by General Francisco Franco on the British territory.
10 February 1985	South Africa	The imprisoned African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela refuses the South African government's offer of freedom, conditional on his renunciation of violence as a means to political change in the country.
11 March 1985	USSR	Mikhail Gorbachev is named first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. He calls for more glasnost (‘openness’) in Soviet life and later pursues a policy of perestroika (‘reconstruction’).
15 March 1985	Brazil	Twenty-one years of military rule in Brazil ends after increasing popular discontent during 1984, with the election of Tancredo Neves as president. When he dies on 21 April, Vice President José Sarney is elected in his place.
15 June 1985	South Africa	South Africa appoints a multiracial administration for Namibia but retains control of the territory's foreign policy and defence.
1 January 1986	Europe	Spain and Portugal become the 11th and 12th members of the European Community.
2 March 1986	Australia	Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signs the Australia Bill in Canberra, severing Australia's last constitutional ties with Britain.
12 March 1986	Spain	Spain votes in a referendum to remain in NATO, but for its military forces to remain separate from the NATO command structure.
15 April 1986	Libya	Bombers from US warships and bases in Britain attack targets in Libya: 100 people are killed, and one aeroplane is shot down.
23 July 1986	UK	Prince Andrew, the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, marries Sarah Ferguson, in London, England.
17 August 1988	Pakistan	Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, president of Pakistan 1978–88, who had his predecessor, Lulfiqar Ali Bhutto, executed, is killed in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, when his plane is blown up by an assassin's bomb (64). A state of emergency is declared.
6 January 1989	USSR	The USSR announces the mass rehabilitation of thousands of citizens who were victims of Stalin's purges in the 1930s–50s.
7 January 1989	Japan	On the death of Emperor Hirohito of Japan after a 62-year reign, he is succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Akihito.
14 February 1989	Iran	Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issues a fatwa against the British author Salman Rushdie, calling for his death for blasphemy against Islam in his book The Satanic Verses. Rushdie goes into hiding.
23 June 1989	Angola	President José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Jonas Savimbi, leader of the UNITA rebels, sign a declaration ending the 14-year civil war in Angola.
10 September 1989	Hungary	Hungary begins to allow East Germans within its frontiers to cross freely to the West.
12 September 1989	Poland	A Solidarity-dominated cabinet is formed in Poland under Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first noncommunist government in Eastern Europe since 1948.
6–7 November 1989	Southeast Asia	Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) join Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea in forming the Council for Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation.
9 November 1989	East Germany	East Germany announces the opening of its border with West Germany as unrest continues and refugees continue to reach the West through the neighbouring countries. The authorities begin demolishing sections of the Berlin Wall the following day.
28 November 1989	Czechoslovakia	The Czechoslovak prime minister, Ladislav Adamec, formally renounces the communist monopoly on power.
19 December 1989	Panama	US troops invade Panama to overthrow the regime of General Manuel Noriega.
22 December 1989	Romania	The Romanian army joins forces with antigovernment demonstrators in Romania and overthrows President Nicolae Ceausescu.
15 January 1990	Bulgaria	The Bulgarian National Assembly votes to end the communist monopoly on power.
22 January 1990	Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia's Communist Party votes to abolish its monopoly on power.
7 February 1990	USSR	The Soviet Communist Party votes to end its monopoly on political power.
11 February 1990	South Africa	The African National Congress (ANC) leader, Nelson Mandela, is released in South Africa after almost 26 years in prison.
11 March 1990	Lithuania	Lithuania declares its independence from the USSR.
15 March 1990	USSR	Mikhail Gorbachev is sworn in as the first executive president of the USSR.
4 May 1990	Latvia, USSR	Latvia declares itself an independent sovereign state.
8 May 1990	Estonia, USSR	Estonia declares its independence from the USSR.
8 June 1990	USSR	The Russian parliament votes that its laws should take precedence over those of the USSR; on 12 June, the Russian Federation formally declares itself a sovereign state.
1 July 1990	East Germany	East Germany cedes sovereignty over economic, monetary, and social policy to the West German government and the Bundesbank, with the Deutschmark becoming its official currency.
8 September 1990	UK	On the final day of the Labour Party Conference, the British Conservative government announces the entry of sterling into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
2 October 1990	East Germany	The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) ceases to exist at midnight, and on 3 October, East and West Germany are formally reunited.
28 November 1990	UK	Margaret Thatcher resigns as British prime minister, to be succeeded by John Major.
31 March 1991	USSR	The military structure of the Warsaw Pact (formed in 1955 between the USSR and East European communist states) is formally dissolved.
9 April 1991	Georgia, USSR	The Soviet republic of Georgia votes for independence from the USSR.
15 May 1991	France	The socialist politician Edith Cresson becomes the first woman prime minister of France, following the resignation of Michel Rocard.
5 June 1991	South Africa	South Africa ends discriminatory land legislation, dismantling the legal framework of apartheid.
8 July 1991	Slovenia, Yugoslavia	Slovenia's independence is recognized by the federal government of Yugoslavia.
19 August 1991	USSR	Reactionary communists led by Gennady Yanayev stage a coup against the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who is placed under house arrest in the Crimea; radio and television stations are shut down and military rule imposed in many cities.
20 August 1991	Estonia, USSR	The Soviet republic of Estonia declares its independence from the USSR.
21 August 1991	USSR	The coup in the USSR against President Mikhail Gorbachev fails; Gorbachev returns to Moscow the following day.
21 August 1991	Latvia, USSR	The Soviet republic of Latvia declares its independence from the USSR.
22 September 1991	Armenia, USSR	The Soviet republic of Armenia declares its independence from the USSR.
8 December 1991	USSR	The leaders of the Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine agree to the formation of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to replace the USSR.
25 December 1991	USSR	Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR, which officially ceased to exist on 9 December.
11–12 January 1992	Algeria	President Chadli Benjedid of Algeria resigns as armed forces take control to thwart electoral victory by the Islamic Salvation Front. The High Security Council cancels the second round of elections on 12 January.
9 December 1992	UK	The separation of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, is announced in Britain.
1 January 1993	Europe	The European Community's single market comes into force, establishing the free movement of goods, capital, and services across national borders, with some restrictions.
1 January 1993	Czech Republic, Slovak Republic	The Czech and Slovak republics become separate sovereign countries.
19 April 1993	USA	The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) storms the compound of the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas (under siege since 28 February); over 80 people die when cult members set fire to the compound.
13 May 1993	USA	The USA formally abandons the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), its attempt to build a laser defence system against ballistic missile attack.
24 May 1993	Eritrea, Ethiopia	Eritrea formally becomes independent from Ethiopia, after a 30-year civil war.
29 May 1993	Germany	Five Turkish women are killed in a neo-Nazi arson attack in Solingen, Germany (Turkish demonstrations and rioting throughout Germany in response to this attack continue until 1 June).
25 June 1993	Canada	Kim Campbell, Progressive Conservative, becomes the first woman prime minister of Canada, following the resignation of Brian Mulroney.
2 August 1993	Europe	Following speculative pressure on currencies in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), the mechanism collapses and currencies are allowed to fluctuate within a broad band of 15% on either side of central rates.
5 August 1993	Sudan	The government of Sudan launches a major offensive against the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), displacing 100,000 people and threatening famine.
9 September 1993	Somalia, USA	Two hundred civilians are killed when a US helicopter on United Nations (UN) peacekeeping duty fires on a crowd in Mogadishu, Somalia.
21 September 1993	Russia	The Russian president Boris Yeltsin suspends the Russian parliament and calls elections; the Supreme Soviet defies this action and swears in Alexander Rutskoi as president.
27 September 1993	Russia	The White House in Moscow, seat of the Russian parliament, is sealed off by troops (telephone links and water and electricity supplies have already been cut off).
4 October 1993	Russia	Rebels holding out in the Moscow parliament building surrender after attacks by pro-Yeltsin forces; a state of emergency remains in force in Russia until 18 October.
8 October 1993	South Africa	The international community lifts sanctions against South Africa in response to African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela's speech of 24 September requesting this.
11 October 1993	Georgia, Commonwealth of Independent States	Georgia joins the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the last of the former Soviet republics to do so.
21 October 1993	Burundi	President Melchior Ndadaye (Burundi's first Hutu president) and other senior ministers are killed during an attempted coup by the Tutsi-dominated army.
17 November 1993	Nigeria	A military coup ends a brief period of civilian rule in Nigeria; defence minister General Sanni Abacha takes over as head of state.
15 December 1993	Switzerland	The ‘Uruguay Round’ of negotiations for a revised General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, started in September 1986) end in Geneva, Switzerland; 117 nations agree the GATT Final Act.
1 January 1994	Europe	The second stage of economic and monetary union in Europe comes into force with the establishment of the European Economic Area, incorporating European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members (except Switzerland and Liechtenstein) into the European Union (EU) free market.
24 March 1994	Somalia	The warring factions of General Muhammad Farah Aidid and President Ali Mahdi Muhammad in Somalia sign a peace agreement following United Nations-sponsored negotiations; US troops withdraw the following day.
9 May 1994	Armenia, Azerbaijan	A ceasefire is established in Nagorno-Karabakh (an Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan), with the support of an international peace-keeping force.
10 May 1994	South Africa	Nelson Mandela is sworn in as the first black president of South Africa. A new cabinet is formed the following day, including representatives from all four racial groups into which the population had been divided under the apartheid system.
13 May 1994	Israel	Israel withdraws its military forces from the Jericho area of the occupied West Bank to make way for self-rule by the Palestinian National Authority, as agreed in Washington, DC, in September 1993; five days later, on 18 May, Israeli military forces are withdrawn from the Gaza Strip.
1 June 1994	South Africa	South Africa rejoins the British Commonwealth.
23 June 1994	France, Rwanda	France sends troops into Rwanda to protect refugees and support the humanitarian effort, following difficulties in establishing an international force.
9 July 1994	China, Hong Kong	The government of the People's Republic of China announces that the British colony of Hong Kong's legislative council will be terminated on China's resumption of sovereignty in 1997; it rejects the reform package approved in the colony on 30 June.
18 July 1994	Rwanda	The Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front claims victory in the Rwandan civil war; the following day, Pasteur Bizimungu assumes the presidency, with Hutu Faustin Twogiramunga as prime minister.
11 August 1994	Cuba, USA	President Fidel Castro of Cuba lifts restrictions on those wishing to leave Cuba, provoking a major exodus from the island; by the end of August, 20,000 people have left. On 19 August the US president Bill Clinton removes automatic refugee status for Cubans fleeing to the USA (and on 9 September restrictions on departures are reintroduced after agreement is reached between Cuba and the USA).
21 October 1994	USA, North Korea	The USA reaches an agreement with North Korea over its nuclear programme; North Korea agrees to submit to regular inspections, while the USA agrees to finance the modernization of North Korea's domestic nuclear industry and give it diplomatic recognition.
9 November 1994	Sri Lanka	Prime Minister Chandrika Kumoratunga becomes the first woman president of Sri Lanka; her mother, Sirima Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, takes over as prime minister.
11 December 1994	Russia, Chechnya	Russian forces invade the breakaway republic of Chechnya.
1 January 1995	Austria, Finland, Sweden, Europe	Austria, Finland, and Sweden join the European Union (EU), increasing the Union's population from 345 million to 368 million.
1 January 1995	Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay	The Southern Common Market or Mercosur, the world's fourth-largest free-trade grouping comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, comes into existence.
8 February 1995	Russia, Chechnya	The president of the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya, Dzhokhar Dudayev, announces that he and his military units are leaving the capital Grozny, conceding its loss; fighting continues to the south and east of the city.
26 March 1995	Europe	Seven members of the European Union (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain) remove internal border controls in line with the 1985 Schengen Agreement.
13 June 1995	France, Pacific	President Jacques Chirac of France announces a series of eight nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific (breaking France's self-imposed halt in testing of April 1992).
30 July 1995	Chechnya, Russia	Chechen and Russian representatives sign a peace agreement in Grozny, the capital of the breakaway republic of Chechnya.
15 August 1995	Japan	On the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of Japan expresses a ‘feeling of deep remorse’ and offers a ‘heartfelt apology’ for Japan's actions in the war.
1 November 1995	Cameroon	The former French colony of Cameroon is admitted to the British Commonwealth.
9 January 1996	Chechnya, Russia	Rebels from the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya take 3,000 people hostage in the Russian town of Kizlar, demanding withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya. The following day 2,870 hostages are released, and the remainder transported towards Chechnya.
15 January 1996	Russia, Chechnya	Russian government troops attempt to end the Chechen hostage crisis by force; over 60 people are killed and some rebels escape with their hostages from the attack on the village of Pervomaiskoye; nine days later, on 24 January, 46 remaining hostages are freed.
19 February 1996	Spain	One million people demonstrate in Madrid, Spain, against the violence of the Basque separatist group ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna, ‘Basque Nation and Liberty’).
21 May 1996	UK, Europe	Britain begins a policy of noncooperation with its European partners in response to the European Union (EU) ban on British beef exports, disrupting the running of the EU and the Intergovermental Conference to plan the future development of Europe.
10 June 1996	Northern Ireland	All-party talks on the future of Northern Ireland begin at Stormont Castle, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), is not admitted because of the IRA's ceasefire violations.
18 June 1996	Israel	Binyamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party forms a government in Israel, following the defeat of the Labour Party in elections.
6–8 August 1996	Chechnya, Russia	Chechen rebels launch a major offensive on Grozny, capturing key points in the capital of the disputed Russian republic.
29 August 1996	Chechnya, Russia	A peace deal ending the war in the Russian breakaway republic of Chechnya postpones a decision on the question of sovereignty until the year 2001.
15 November 1996	Zaire, Rwanda	The refugee crisis in Zaire and Rwanda is defused without the need for outside help after Tutsi rebels defeat extremist Hutu militiamen, allowing 700,000 Hutus under their control to return to Rwanda.
5 December 1996	USA	Madeleine Albright becomes the first female US secretary of state.
23 January 1997	Switzerland	Switzerland establishes a fund to compensate victims of the Holocaust and their families following the discovery of Nazi gold in Swiss banks.
19 February 1997	China	Deng Xiaoping, China's ‘paramount leader’ since 1980–97, chief architect of China's social reform, dies in Beijing, China (93).
16–17 May 1997	Zaire	Antigovernment Tutsi rebels take Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, and President Mobutu Sese Seko flees. The country is renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.
29 May 1997	Zaire	The antigovernment Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Kabila is sworn in as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire).
23 February 1998	Iraq	Iraqi prime minister Tariq Aziz and Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, sign a breakthrough peacekeeping deal to avert war and permit UN weapons inspectors to continue their work.
1 March 1998	Serbia	Serbia sends troops into the southern province of Kosovo to flush out ethnic Albanian secessionist paramilitaries. Hundreds of men, women, and children are killed over the next few weeks. It is the worst bloodshed to date in Kosovo's nine-year campaign by its Albanian majority to regain their autonomy.
15 April 1998	Cambodia	Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator and leader of the Khmer Rouge communist Movement, who was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians, dies, reportedly of heart failure, in a Khmer Rouge camp near the border of Cambodia and Thailand, while attempting to escape international efforts to capture him and try him for genocide (73).
25 June 1998	China, USA	US president Bill Clinton arrives in China for a nine-day visit, the first by a US president since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
17 July 1998	Russia	The last tsar of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II, and his family are buried in St Petersburg, Russia, 80 years after their murder at Yekaterinburg, Russia. Russian president Boris Yeltsin makes a public apology after initially refusing to attend the ceremony.
16 November 1998	Israel	Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu announces that he is suspending the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank until PLO leader Yasser Arafat publicly retracts a pledge to declare a Palestinian state next May.
9 April 1999	Niger	Niger president Ibrahim Barre Mainassara is assassinated by members of his presidential guard at the airport in the capital, Niamey. A military government led by Daouda Wanke, head of the presidential guard, takes power.
12 May 1999	UK	The new Scottish Parliament comes into existence in Edinburgh. It is Scotland's first parliament for nearly 300 years.
9 June 1999	Jordan	Abdullah II is crowned king of Jordan, inheriting the kingdom from his father, King Hussein, who died in February.
23 August 1999	Germany	German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder formally inaugurates Berlin as the new capital of Germany. The German parliament held its final session in Bonn in July.
11 February 2000	UK, Northern Ireland	The British government suspends Northern Ireland's new power-sharing government after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) fails to begin decommissioning weapons.
29 June 2001	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Netherlands	Deposed Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Miloševic is extradited to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, to face charges of atrocities and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. The move splits the federal Yugoslav government, as Prime Minister Zoran Zizic and his Montenegrin allies resign.
6 February 2002	UK	Queen Elizabeth II completes 50 years as monarch of Britain.
20 May 2002	East Timor	East Timor achieves formal independence from Indonesia and becomes a nation state under the recently-elected president Xanana Gusmão, the former guerrilla leader of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETELIN). Indonesia's claim to sovereignty after its military occupation in 1975 was never recognized by the United Nations, which has administered the territory since 1999 when the East Timorese voted for secession in a referendum despite violent intimidation by pro-Indonesian militias.
26 February 2003	UK	In a parliamentary debate in the British House of Commons, Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for a military response by the international community to disarm the Iraqi regime led by President Saddam Hussein is rejected by more than 120 members of his own Labour Party. The Commons vote, although carried with support of opposition parties, is the biggest rebellion within a governing party in over a century.
17–18 March 2003	UK	Dissension within the UK's ruling Labour Party over Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for a military response to disarm the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq is reflected in the resignation from the cabinet of Robin Cook (leader of the House of Commons and a former foreign secretary) and another record rebellion of backbench Labour members of Parliament in a subsequent Commons debate on the international crisis.
12 June 2003	UK	In a controversial UK government reshuffle, Prime Minister Tony Blair abolishes the longstanding position of lord chancellor. Lord Falconer assumes the new post of constitutional affairs secretary. Former Leader of the Commons John Reid takes over the health portfolio from Alan Milburn (who had earlier resigned from the cabinet) to be replaced in that post by Peter Hain, who doubles as secretary of state for Wales. Transport secretary Alistair Darling takes on additional responsibility for Scotland. A new supreme court is planned to replace the current law lords.
July 2003	UK	Political controversy spirals over allegations by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) that the UK Government exaggerated intelligence information about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes to justify going to war in March 2003. Dr David Kelly, an adviser at the Ministry of Defence, is revealed as the source for the BBC reports, but commits suicide after giving evidence before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee. In response, Prime Minister Tony Blair asks Lord Hutton, an appeal court judge, to hold a judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death.
August 2003	Liberia	Hopes of an end to Liberia's 14-year civil war increase during August following the arrival of West African peacekeeping forces, later supported by 200 US marines, and the resignation and departure into exile of President Charles Taylor. Rebel factions and government representatives sign a power-sharing agreement appointing Gyude Bryant, an industrialist and cleric, to lead a new transitional administration.
24 April 2004	Cyprus	A referendum is held in the ethnically divided island of Cyprus on a United Nations (UN) plan for political reunification based on a proposed federation of two largely autonomous states. Although the Turkish Cypriot community endorses the plan, about 75% of the majority Greek Cypriot population rejects it, confirming fears that Cyprus will join the European Union (EU) on 1 May 2004 as a partitioned nation.
9 April 2005	UK	Charles Prince of Wales, the heir to the British crown, marries his long-time companion Camilla Parker- Bowles, both divorcees, in a civil ceremony in Windsor, England, having postponed his wedding plans for a day to attend Pope John Paul II's funeral in the Vatican.
24–27 April 2006	Nepal	In Nepal, King Gyanendra concedes to weeks of violent street demonstrations against his autocratic regime and announces the reinstatement of parliament and restoration of democratic government. Three days later Maoist insurgents declare a three-month ceasefire.
3–5 June 2006	Montenegro Serbia	The small former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro officially declares its independence following the majority vote in the referendum the previous month to split from neighbouring Serbia. Two days later, Serbia acknowledges the end of the federal union, declaring itself its legal successor.
1 August 2006	Cuba	For the first time in 47 years, President Fidel Castro of communist Cuba announces that he is handing over political power temporarily to his brother Raúl, the defence minister, following intestinal surgery.
4 March 2007	Côte d'Ivoire	President Laurent Gbagbo signs a peace deal with rebel leader Guillaume Soro to unify Côte d'Ivoire, which has been a divided country since the outbreak of a civil war in 2002.
27 June 2007	UK	Gordon Brown, the new leader of the Labour Party and former chancellor of the Exchequer, takes over as British prime minister from Tony Blair.
20 November 2007	UK	In a major privacy and security lapse, the British government admits to the loss of computer discs containing personal data on 25 million child benefit recipients in postal transit from HM Revenue and Customs to the National Audit Office.
17 December 2007	UK	Following revelations in November about missing personal data on child benefit recipients, the British government reveals the loss of a computer disc containing private records of more than 3 million driving test applicants by a private firm contracted to the Department of Transport.
20 December 2007	UK	Queen Elizabeth II reaches a new milestone as she becomes the oldest-ever British monarch.