wars - events

2675 BC	Sumeria	Gilgamesh, King of the Sumerian city of Uruk, revolts against another Sumerian city, Kish. He becomes a legendary hero and later has an epic written about him.
2331 BC	Sumeria	Sargon of Akkad, a man of humble origin, usurps the throne of the north Sumerian city of Kish and sweeps south, defeating King Lugal-zaggisi of Umma, to make himself master of all Sumeria. He conquers the Elamite city of Susa and may even have conquered Cyprus. He builds a new capital near Kish, which he calls Akkad (the exact site of which is still unknown).
2190 BC	Sumeria	The Sumerian Empire of Sargon is swept away by barbarians from the mountains to the north, whom the Sumerians call the Guti or ‘the Vipers from the Hills’. The invasion and the ensuing confusion is described as a time of terror by Sumerian literature.
c. 1750 BC	India	The Indus Valley civilization collapses as some of its cities are destroyed and their populations slaughtered, probably by Aryan peoples moving in from the west. The Aryan tribes move gradually eastwards, out of the Indus Valley and into the valley of the Ganges.
c. 1546 BC	Egypt	The Egyptian king Amenhotep I acceeds to the throne (1546 BC–1526 BC) and changes to an expansionist foreign policy, in direct contrast to the former policy of restoring or maintaining the country's boundaries. In the south he begins to subdue and colonize Nubia (‘Kush’), while in the north he reaches the upper Euphrates and possibly penetrates the lands of the Hittites and the Mitanni in Asia Minor. He also initiates the practice of being buried in a rock-cut tomb rather than a pyramid.
1232 BC	Egypt	The Egyptian king Merneptah achieves a victory over the invading Libyans, who are helped by the displaced Peoples of the Sea. Nearly 10,000 Libyans and their allies are killed, with few Egyptian casualties.
1195 BC	Palestine	The death of Moses and the entrance of the Israelites into Palestine under their military leader Joshua probably occur at this time. The Israelites cross the River Jordan and capture Jericho.
c. 1100 BC	Egypt	With the Egyptian empire much reduced the flow of riches into Egypt diminishes, and the country reverts to a state of near anarchy. The high priest falls and tomb robbery and the depredation of monuments becomes rife. Civil war also rages in Egypt, with Libyans and also Nubians taking part.
1050 BC	Palestine	The Israelites in Palestine reach the height of their struggle with the Philistines, originally one of the displaced Peoples of the Sea but now settled along the coast of Canaan, as the Ark of the Covenant (the symbolic residence of the Israelite God) is captured and their holy city of Shiloh destroyed.
1027 BC	China	The Zhou dynasty, traditionally said to have been founded by kings Wën and Wu in 1122 BC, overruns the failing Shang dynasty, establishing the Zhou people as the ruling force in China.
1010 BC	Palestine	King Saul of Israel and his son Jonathan are defeated and slain by the Philistines at the Battle of Mount Gilboa. David, Saul's successor, becomes king of Judah.
876 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire	King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria marches west to the Mediterranean and conquers Syria, founding the fortress of Harran from which to administer the country. He appears to leave the Jews alone, but extracts tribute from the Phoenicians. On his way he subdues the Neo-Hittite city of Carchemish.
827 BC	China	The Chinese drive the nomadic Huns out of their domains. This may set in motion a movement of their western neighbours, the Scythians, which becomes apparent in the next two centuries.
722 BC	Palestine, Neo-Assyrian Empire	The Israelite capital of Samaria falls to Assyria after a three-year siege and 27,290 Israelites are deported wholesale into Mesopotamia. This marks the end of Israel as a nation and the start of the so-called Captivity of the Ten Tribes. Judah is left alone. Israel becomes the land of the Samaritans, while Judah, under King Hezekiah, remains inviolate.
703 BC–701 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire	The Assyrian king Sennacherib reacts energetically to the revolt by vassal states and defeats Babylon, which supported the revolt. He then turns west into Palestine, defeating an Egyptian army and taking Lachish (a city to the south of Jerusalem) as well as ‘forty-six walled cities’. He records in stone the feats of his army at the siege of Lachish.
c. 700 BC	Egypt, Babylon, Neo-Assyrian Empire	The rulers of the old civilizations, Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria, spend much of this period warring amongst themselves and so fail to appreciate the threat presented by new powers of different races, such as the Cimmerians, Scythians, Phrygians, Medes, Lydians, and Ionian Greeks.
c. 700 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Palestine	The Assyrian king Sennacherib continues his campaign in Palestine and besieges Jerusalem. Hezekiah, King of Judah, with the prophet Isaiah's moral support, defies the Assyrians and successfully repulses them. Although he has to pay considerable tribute to Sennacherib, Judah remains independent. Sennacherib lists the booty stolen from Jerusalem and taken to his capital, Nineveh, on what has become known as the Rassam cylinder, named after the 19th-century archaeologist who found it, Hormuzd Rassam.
671 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Egypt	Assyria renews its attack on Egypt, taking the city of Memphis. The pharaoh Taharqa is defeated but escapes to Nubia. King Esarhaddon of Assyria appoints local rulers, including Necho of Saïs, and then retires to deal with home affairs.
670 BC	Greece	The Greek city-state of Argos, under King Pheidon, is at the height of its power, though soon to decline. Mycenae and Tiryns, two client states of Argos, temporarily defeat the city-state of Sparta in the Battle of Hysiai.
667 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Egypt	In his first Egyptian campaign, King Ashurbanipal of Assyria turns Pharaoh Taharqa out of Memphis, reappoints pro-Assyrian governors throughout the country, and then retires. Taharqa flees south to Nubia, where, in 664 BC, he dies. Assyria's puppet king in Egypt, Necho of Saïs, who had joined the rebels against Assyria, is temporarily taken away to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh as a captive.
663 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Egypt	In his final Egyptian campaign, King Ashurbanipal of Assyria claims to have penetrated to Thebes and to have carried away vast booty. However, the Egyptians also claim a victory. Both the pharaoh Tanutamon and the Assyrians retire, the former to his native Ethiopia (modern Sudan) where he settles in the city of Meroe. The 25th dynasty of Egypt ends with his passing from the Egyptian scene.
651 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Egypt	Assyria retreats from Egypt for the last time, in order to deal with trouble nearer home. Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik I reforms the Egyptian government and removes the last traces of Cush rule.
648 BC	Neo-Assyrian Empire, Babylon	Assyrian king Ashurbanipal besieges Babylon, causing famine in the city and driving its citizens to cannibalism. Babylon capitulates to Assyria and is again devastated, but Ashurbanipal orders that the city be rebuilt.
630 BC	Greece, Messenia	The Greek city-state of Sparta wages its second war against Messenia, southwest of the Peleponnese. The revolt and second subjugation of the Messenians may well be the origin of the unique system of government in Sparta, by which a dedicated military aristocracy perennially suppresses a subjugated serf class of Messenians known as the helots. Particularly noted for its peculiar harsh laws and customs, The Spartans themselves credit their laws and constitution to a semi-mythical figure, Lycurgus.
626 BC	Scythia, Palestine, Syria, Neo-Assyrian Empire	The Scythians pour down through Syria and Palestine, helping to weaken Assyria, annihilating the Philistines, and reaching the borders of Egypt.
612 BC	Scythia, Neo-Assyrian Empire, Babylon	The Medes persuade the Scythians to join with them and the Babylonians. They besiege the Assyrian capital Nineveh, which falls after three months and the Assyrian king perishes in the burning city. An Assyrian general, Assuruballit, assumes the kingship and takes up a new stand at Harran.
608 BC	Assyria, Babylon	The Assyrians under Assuruballit fail to recapture Harran from the Babylonians and Medes and fade out of the records. The victorious Medes turn upon the Scythians, their temporary allies, who retire to their own lands.
608 BC	Egypt, Palestine, Neo-Assyrian Empire	Pharaoh Necho II, seeing the chance to fill the vacuum left by Assyria and to reassert Egypt's traditional sway over Syria, sends his full army north. King Josiah of Judah, who still considers himself Assyria's vassal, meets the Egyptians single-handed at Megiddo and is slain. It is this battle that gives its name to the prophetic world-battle of the biblical book of Revelations: ‘Har’ (the Mountain of) ‘Megiddo’, Armageddon.
600 BC	Greece	The Athenians undertake their first overseas venture, the capture of Sigeum (a promontory controlling the Hellespont) from their neighbour Megara. The expedition is motivated more by economic than political or military considerations and marks the beginning of Megara's lagging behind in the great rivalry between the various Greek city-states.
597 BC	Palestine, Neo-Babylonian Empire	King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem in January and finally captures the city in March. A puppet king, Zedekiah, is installed, while King Jehoiakim and the leading men and artisans of the city are deported into Babylonia. The future prophet Daniel is a child among them. This period (until 538 BC) is known as the ‘Exile’ or ‘Captivity of the Jews’ in Jewish history.
596 BC	Greece	Sparta, by now the most powerful Greek city, arbitrates in the long dispute and war between Athens and Megara over the island of Salamis and decides in Athens' favour.
586 BC	Palestine, Neo-Babylonian Empire	King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon resumes the siege of Jerusalem in response to King Zedekiah's rebellion against Babylonian rule, and the city falls – this time it is completely destroyed. This is the end of Judah as a nation, 136 years after the end of Israel. King Zedekiah of Judah flees but is captured at Jericho, and has to witness the death of his sons before being blinded.
570 BC	Egypt, Greece	The Egyptian pharaoh Apries tries to help the Libyans to destroy the Greek city of Cyrene in north Africa but fails and is deposed by the army, which mutinies. After a short civil war, Ahmose II, an Egyptian army general, is elected king of Egypt. Egypt prospers under his reign, during which he marries a Cyrenean, develops the delta town of Naucratis as a (mainly Greek) port, and acquires a reputation for being philhellenic.
570 BC	Greece	The Greek city-state of Athens finally succeeds in winning the island of Salamis from Megara, the city-state between Athens and Corith. The young politician Pisistratus makes his name on the expedition.
546 BC	Persian Empire, Lydia	King Croesus of Lydia retires to his capital, Sardis, for the winter and sends for help against Persia from Egypt, Sparta, and Babylon. However, King Cyrus of Persia follows rapidly and Sardis falls; Croesus is probably spared.
29 October 539 BC	Neo-Babylonian Empire, Persian Empire	King Cyrus of Persia triumphantly enters Babylon. The Persian Empire takes over from the short-lived Neo-Babylonian Empire and absorbs the kingdom of the Medes.
533 BC	Persian Empire, India	King Cyrus of Persia crosses the Hindu Kush mountains (in modern Afghanistan) and receives tribute from the Indian cities of the Indus valley. The Greek historian Herodotus says he forms his twentieth satrapy (administrative district) of Gandhara there.
525 BC	Persian Empire, Egypt	King Cambyses II of Persia invades Egypt, wins the stubbornly fought Battle of Pelusium, and besieges Memphis. Egypt passes into the Persian Empire under Persian kings who form the 27th dynasty.
507 BC	Rome	Lars Porsena, the Etruscan king of Clusium, marches on Rome and besieges it. It is probable that he captures the city, but his stay there is brief.
506 BC	Greece	Cleomenes of Sparta organizes a full-scale Peloponnesian invasion of Attica. However, the city-state of Corinth withdraws support and the plan collapses. Athens demonstrates its new-found power by defeating the Boeotians and Chalcidians.
c. 500 BC–c. 400 BC	Rome	Rome and its Latin allies are almost constantly at war with both the Etruscans in the north and the native mountain tribes to the south, in particular the Aequi and the Volscians.
494 BC	Rome	At the end of a military campaign, the plebeian element in the Roman army (those who do not belong to the privileged patrician class) retires to the Sacred Mount outside Rome – the so-called ‘Secession of the Plebs’ – and threatens to found a new city. The Senate grants concessions, including establishing the Tribunate, an office charged with the protection of plebeian interests.
467 BC	Greece	The Greek island of Naxos tries to secede from the Delian League but is blockaded and brought into subjection by the Athenian-dominated fleet, a high-handed action resented by the rest of Greece and widely seen as an early attempt by the Athenians to treat the confederacy as their own personal empire.
462 BC	Greece	The Peloponnesian city of Argos, taking advantage of Sparta's preoccupation with its internal problems, finally conquers the city of Mycenae (which seems to have been temporarily independent). The inhabitants are dispersed, some finding their way into Macedon.
456 BC–454 BC	Greece, Egypt, Persian Empire	The Athenian-led expedition to Egypt to assist the pharaoh Inaros in his revolt against Persia ends in disaster: the fleet is defeated with heavy losses and the army retreats in disarray. The army retreats across the Sinai Desert to Byblos before its remnants are rescued; Inaros is crucified.
416 BC–415 BC	Greece, Sicily	The Sicilian city of Segesta asks for Athenian help against the Dorian city of Selinus, which has the backing of the powerful Greek city of Syracuse. A large Athenian expedition under the joint command of the Athenian leaders Nicias and Alcibiades sets sail for Sicily to aid Segesta, hoping to gain a foothold in Sicily and attain control of the sea. Alcibiades is immediately recalled to meet charges of impiety arising from the mutilation of all the protective statues of Hermes outside the house of Athens, the Hermae, on the eve of the Sicilian expedition; the sacrilege is believed to have been committed during drunken pranks by Alcibiades and his friends. He flees to the court of the Spartan king Agis II.
409 BC	Carthage, Sicily	The Carthaginian general Hannibal, grandson of Hamilcar, invades Sicily with a strong force, intending to reimpose its influence over the island, and defeats the Sicilian Greeks at a second Battle of Himera. Hannibal avenges his grandfather by the torture and immolation of 3,000 prisoners.
398 BC	Sicily, Carthage	Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily, strikes at Carthage while it is still weakened by plague, attacking its cities in the western corner of Sicily. There is a massacre of Carthaginians in many cities and the city of Motya with its fine harbour is taken.
396 BC	Greece, Persian Empire	King Agesilaus of Sparta campaigns with some success in Asia Minor against the Persian satraps (governors) Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes. After the Peloponnesian War, Persia regained control of the Greek cities of Asia Minor; Sparta is now determined to liberate them.
6 June 390 BC	Rome	A wandering tribe of Celts (whom the Romans call Gauls) defeats the Romans, deserted by their allies, at the Battle of the Allia and Rome is besieged for six months until only the Capitol is unconquered. The rest of the city is sacked by the Gauls. They are probably bought off with gold, though the legend grows that the former Roman dictator Camillus is recalled from exile and defeats them.
385 BC	Rome, Italy	Rome defeats an alliance of the Latins, Volsci, and Hernici. A Latin colony is established in the Volscian town of Satricum and three years later, one at Setia. The Latins and Volsci continue to give trouble, especially the Volscian towns of Satricum, Antium, and Velitrae, which are repeatedly captured and besieged by each side, until Rome is victorious with the defeat of the Latin League in 338 BC.
7 July 371 BC	Greece	Theban general Epaminondas wins a decisive victory over the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in southern Boetia. The victory shocks Greece, as Spartan soldiers have always been believed to be invincible; Athens does not welcome the victory, fearing the rising aggression of the city of Thebes. The Arcadians decide to reassert their independence from Sparta and form an Arcadian League; they rebuild their city of Mantinea as well as building a new federal city, Megalopolis.
369 BC	Greece	The Theban leader Epaminondas frees the Peloponnesian state of Messenia from Spartan rule. Not wishing to disturb the balance of power, the Greek city-state of Athens allies itself with Sparta, its traditional enemy.
364 BC	Greece	The Boeotian city of Thebes builds a fleet of 100 triremes (warships) to combat Athens. The Thebans win no naval battles but the existence of the fleet influences the ever-changing kaleidoscope of Greek city alliances. Thebes shocks the Greek world by destroying its Boeotian rival Orchomenus.
362 BC	Greece	The Peloponnesian state of Arcadia drifts into an alliance with the city-state of Sparta. The Thebans invade Arcadia and win the Battle of Mantinea at the expense of death of the Theban leader Epaminondas. His dying wish, for Koine Eirene/a general peace, comes to be, and the brief supremacy of the Boeotian city of Thebes comes to an end.
361 BC	Persian Empire	The Persian Empire is weakening, despite the failure of a joint Egyptian-Spartan expedition to the Phoenician coast, and many satraps (provincial governors) revolt, including Straton I at Sidon. The city of Sidon (in modern Lebanon) has become rich and prosperous again by this time.
360 BC	Egypt, Greece	King Agesilaus of Sparta, displeased with his reception in Egypt in 363 BC, supports a revolt against the pharaoh Tachos, who flees to Susa, Persia, and makes peace with the Persians. The new pharaoh, Nectanebo II, a grandson of Nectanebo I, pays the Spartans off. He reigns until 343 BC and carries out considerable building work. With him Egypt's 30th and last native dynasty comes to an end.
354 BC	Greece	The Phocians of central Greece are defeated in the Sacred War over the protection of pilgrims to the shrine of Apollo in the Phocian-held city of Delphi, but they revive under a new leader.
352 BC	Greece	After two initial defeats, Philip II of Macedon drives the Phocians of central Greece south as he begins to execute his plan to dominate the Greek world. The city-states of Athens and Sparta support the Phocians and Philip is checked at Thermopylae but then moves against Thrace. Athens is saved by Philip falling ill.
350 BC	Rome	By the beginning of this decade the Romans have finally recovered from the setback caused by the sack of their city by the Gauls in 390 BC and have reasserted their ascendancy in Italy. The Gauls, once more threatening Rome, are decisively beaten.
349 BC	Greece	Philip II of Macedon cements his control over the remaining Greek cities in Macedon, in particular taking the city of Olynthus. The Athenians send help to Olynthus eventually, but are diverted by a revolt in Euboea, stirred up by Philip, which leads to Euboea being declared independent.
347 BC	Greece	The Greek city-state of Athens sends embassies to Philip II of Macedon, and the Peace of Philocrates establishes a status-quo ante. Philip refuses to forgo the right to punish the Phocians for their ‘sacrilege’ of looting the temple at Delphi in the Sacred War. Greece and Macedon spend much of the rest of the decade preparing for war in an interval of uneasy peace.
342 BC–341 BC	Greece, Thrace	Philip II of Macedon conquers Thrace (modern Bulgaria); this is regarded by the Greek city-state of Athens as a further threat to its safety. Thrace has been governed by native princes since Persia's expulsion from Europe by the Greeks. Philip builds several cities in Thrace, including Philippopolis.
340 BC–338 BC	Rome	The Romans are at war with the Latin League. The Romans defeat the Latins at a battle on the Campanian coast, near Mount Vesuvius, according to the Roman historian Livy.
340 BC	Greece	Philip II of Macedon starts a war against the Greek city-state of Athens in the Bosporus area, and is not successful at first. He then has to attend to trouble from the Scythians near the mouth of the River Danube; he is wounded but soon recovers.
338 BC	Greece	Philip II of Macedon wins the battle for the supremacy of the Greek world against the Athenians and Thebans, at Chaeronea, west of the Boeotian capital of Thebes. He advances into the Peloponnese, subdues the city-state of Sparta, and summons a pan-Hellenic congress at Corinth where he announces that the Greeks will set about reliberating the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Persian rule.
336 BC	Greece	Philip II of Macedon, while sending an advance force to begin the invasion of Asia Minor, attends to his personal affairs. He puts away his wife, Olympias, sister of King Alexander of Epirus, and marries a nobleman's daughter called Cleopatra. Then, to appease Alexander of Epirus, he gives him his own daughter in marriage and attends the wedding feast. At the feast he is murdered, supposedly by Olympias (46).
316 BC	Asia Minor	Eumenes, one of the generals fighting for control of Alexander the Great's empire, is defeated by another general, Antigonus, and executed. Antigonus now has control of Asia Minor.
305 BC	India, Mauryan Empire	Seleucus, the ruler of Babylon, consolidates his Asian empire as far as India where he is checked by Indian emperor Chandragupta Maurya who gains control of the Indus valley as well as the Ganges valley, laying the foundations of the Mauryan Empire. Seleucus relinquishes all claims, receiving 500 war-trained elephants as a gift.
301 BC	Asia Minor	King Cassander of Macedon and Lysimachus of Thrace persuade Seleucus of Babylon and Ptolemy I of Egypt to join them in trying to destroy King Antigonus I of Asia Minor. They defeat him at Ipsus in Asia Minor, resulting in the final dissolution of Alexander the Great's empire.
283 BC	Rome, Italy	At a battle near Lake Vadimo, Rome finally quells the allied Etruscans and Gauls, becoming undisputed master of northern and central Italy.
281 BC	Greece, Persia	King Seleucus I of Nicator invades Macedon and kills Lysimachus of Thrace in the Battle of Corupedion, leaving him master of western Asia Minor. Seleucus and his son Antiochus also extend their territory east into Persia to the borders of India, making the Seleucid dynasty heir to the greater part of Alexander the Great's Persian Empire.
279 BC	Greece, Rome	In renewed fighting, King Pyrrhus of Epirus wins another ‘Pyrrhic’ victory (in which his losses are almost as great as those of his opponents) against the Romans at Asculum in Italy. Disheartened, he retires to the Greek city of Tarentum in Italy. Later in the year, he marches on Rome but realizes he cannot take the city and suggests peace terms. These are refused, largely at the instigation of the ex-censor, Appius Claudius.
279 BC	Greece	A horde of Gauls – a Celtic people from central Europe – sweeps down from the Danube valley through Macedon into Greece, killing and plundering. They are only just halted by the Aetolian League before they reach Delphi, where they intended to plunder the shrine. They turn back north, where King Antigonus II defeats them in Macedon, winning popular support for his kingship.
278 BC–276 BC	Sicily, Carthage, Greece	The Carthaginians besiege the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily, which appeals to King Pyrrhus of Epirus for help. He crosses from the Greek town of Tarentum in Italy to Sicily and drives the Carthaginians back to the town of Lilybaeum. After two years the Greeks of Sicily ask him to leave, and he returns to Italy.
275 BC	Egypt, Ptolemaic Kingdom, Asia, Macedon	From about this time the Near East and Aegean are relatively peaceful with the stabilizing of the three great Hellenistic kingdoms that were formed from Alexander's Persian Empire – Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Asia, and Antigonid Macedon. These kingdoms maintain a balance of power through diplomacy and limited war until about 220 BC, with the accession of ambitious rulers to the thrones of Macedon and Asia and the rise of Rome.
267 BC	Sicily	Hieron, the young king of Syracuse in Sicily and a descendant of the tyrant Hieron who came to power in 474 BC, beats back the Mamertines from his territory. (The Mamertines are a society of disbanded mercenaries formed in 289 BC.) .
260 BC	India, Mauryan Empire	The Mauryan emperor Asoka completes the conquest of virtually the whole of the Indian subcontinent by the bloody defeat of Kalinga on the east coast. After this he renounces war, and Buddhism prospers throughout India. It is introduced to the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where it has continued to flourish.
256 BC	China	The Chinese state of Qin makes war upon the last of the Zhou emperors, who abdicates.
229 BC–228 BC	Rome, Greece, Illyria	Rome becomes embroiled for the first time with the affairs of Greece by taking retaliatory action for the murder of Italian merchants and Roman envoys in Illyria, and for Illyrian piracy in the Adriatic Sea; the First Illyrian War takes place. The Greeks congratulate Rome on quelling the pirates; Antigonus III, the new king of Macedon, is not so pleased, however, and pursues a policy of befriending the Illyrians, a policy continued by his successor Philip V.
220 BC	Greece, Rome, Illyria	Antigonus III (Doson) is succeeded by the young Philip V as king of Macedon. Philip immediately comes into collision with Rome over the Illyrian pirates, when Rome again tries to drive them from the area and their chief seeks refuge with Philip who is deeply resentful of Roman interference. The Second Illyrian War takes place (220–219 BC).
192 BC–189 BC	Rome, Greece, Syria, Seleucid Kingdom	The Romans are at war in Greece with King Antiochus III the Great of Syria, who is trying to extend his empire westwards.
190 BC	Rome, Syria, Asia Minor, Seleucid Kingdom	The Romans under the command of Domitius Ahenobarbus defeat King Antiochus III the Great of Syria at the Battle of Magnesia in Caria, Asia Minor. Ahenobarbus is aided by King Eumenes II of Pergamum, who is rewarded with a great increase of territory. The towns of Asia Minor surrender to the Romans and Antiochus flees.
181 BC–179 BC	Rome, Spain	In Spain, the Lusones, a Celtiberian tribe, try to migrate into Carpetania, and the First Celtiberian War begins. Fulvius Flaccus defeats them at Aebura, captures their capital at Contrebia, and takes the district known as Celtiberia Citerior (Nearer Celtiberia) to the Romans. The following year Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus senior takes over the war, and continues to defeat the Celtiberians. He makes a treaty with the Nearer Celtiberians, by which they provide tribute and auxiliary troops, and an alliance with Further Celtiberia.
180 BC	Rome	Rome rounds off its subjugation of all Italy by defeating the Ligurians who live in the Apennines between the River Arno and Savoy (in the area of modern Genoa) and deporting 40,000 of them to the area around Beneventum in Samnium, southern Italy.
169 BC	Syria, Bactria, India, Mauryan Empire, Seleucid Kingdom	King Antiochus IV of Syria attempts to regain the kingdom of Bactria and India for the Seleucid Empire. Although he does not succeed, he weakens the kingdom sufficiently to lead to its subsequent downfall. With increasing nomadic pressure from the steppes, the kingdom has disappeared by 128 BC.
153 BC	Rome, Spain	The tribes in Nearer Celtiberia revolt against Rome again, starting the Second Celtiberian War (153–151 BC). The consul Nobilior is sent to Spain with four legions. The tribes of Further Celtiberia join the revolt, and Nobilior is heavily defeated near the town of Numantia.
152 BC–151 BC	Rome, Spain	The Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus takes over the war against the Celtiberians in Spain. He makes peace with the Celtiberians of the town of Numantia by paying them a large sum of money. When the new consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus arrives the following year, he brutally attacks another tribe who were not involved in the war. This stiffens the resistance of other cities and when Lucullus fails to take them he withdraws, ending the Second Celtiberian War.
148 BC	Lusitania, Spain, Rome	Viriathus, a survivor of the Lusitanian massacre in Spain of 150 BC, persuades the Lusitanians to fight. He defeats and kills a Roman governor and then for eight years withstands the armies of Rome, inflicting several defeats and capturing Roman towns.
147 BC	Greece, Rome	A Roman delegation, arriving in Corinth to resolve the dispute between the Spartans and the Achaean League, is snubbed and insulted and the League declares war on Sparta. The Roman praetor Q Caecilius Metellus hurries south from Macedonia and defeats a Greek force but is recalled to Rome at the end of his term of office.
143 BC	Spain, Rome	Revolt against the Romans spreads in Spain, encouraged by the success of the Lusitanian rebel Viriathus, and the Celtiberians rebel once more, starting the Third Celtiberian or Numantine War.
105 BC	Europe, Rome	The Cimbri, a Celtic tribe, inflict a more serious defeat on the Romans at Arausio (modern Orange) on the River Rhône; the province of Transalpine Gaul in southern France now appears to be at their mercy and Rome itself seems threatened.
101 BC	Rome, Europe	The Roman consul Gaius Marius completely defeats the Cimbri, a Celtic tribe, at the Battle of Vercellae in the Po valley, northern Italy, with a reputed slaughter of 120,000 men. Rome has no more threats from the Celtic and Germanic barbarians for another five centuries. Marius returns to Rome a hero.
80 BC	Rome, Spain	The Marian general Quintus Sertorius, who was sent to Spain by the Roman consul and rebel Cinna, is driven into Africa by the dictator L Cornelius Sulla's troops. He returns on the invitation of the Lusitanians and sets up an anti-Sullan regime in Spain with the enthusiastic support of the natives.
78 BC	Rome	The Roman consul Lepidus quarrels with his co-consul to the point of bloodshed. He assembles an army, advances on Rome, is beaten, and flees the country. The task of rounding up the rebels is entrusted to the Roman soldier Pompey the Great, although some escape to join the rebel Roman general Quintus Sertorius in Spain.
73 BC	Rome	Spartacus, a gladiatorial slave, takes up the cause of the badly treated agricultural slaves in Italy, and sets up bandit headquarters on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Spartacus' followers increase rapidly and he tries to curb their worst excesses, hoping to march north to the Alps, from where his soldiers can return to their homes.
71 BC	Rome	The Roman general Marcus Crassus drives the Spartacists (slave rebels led by the gladiatorial slave Spartacus) into the tip of the Italian peninsula, defeats them, and has 6,000 of them crucified along the Appian Way. The Roman soldier Pompey the Great defeats some remnants and the two argue over who has stamped out the rebellion. They are persuaded to settle their differences and stand for the consulate.
63 BC	Rome, Palestine, Seleucid Kingdom	The Roman general Pompey the Great marches on Jerusalem, where followers of the rival claimant Aristobulus II have refused to submit to Hyrcanus II as high priest and are resisting him on the temple hill. After a three-month siege by Pompey they capitulate. Hyrcanus is recognized as high priest and ruler but not as king of Judaea.
9 September 55 BC	Rome, UK	The Roman statesman and general Julius Caesar sails for Britain with two legions. He is content to do no more than show his superiority in arms, but it is received with popular acclaim in Rome. He lands, despite opposition, probably near modern Walmer, Kent. The Britons return the Roman ambassador Commius but sue for peace. However, when a high tide destroys some of Caesar's ships, they renew the fighting and Caesar, having made his point, recrosses the English Channel.
49 BC	Rome	Roman statesman and general Julius Caesar marches through Italy to confront Pompey the Great. However, Pompey crosses to Greece where he has armies and great support. In Numidia, north Africa, King Juba I gains a victory over Caesar's forces on Pompey's behalf. Caesar's general, Labienus, defects to Pompey. Caesar crosses to Spain and defeats Pompey's forces there.
28 September 48 BC	Rome, Egypt, Ptolemaic Kingdom	The Roman general Pompey the Great is assassinated in Egypt by King Ptolemy XIII of Egypt's troops when he lands at Pelusium, Egypt (57).
46 BC	Rome, Numidia	The Roman statesman and general Julius Caesar overwhelmingly defeats the Pompeian forces at the Battle of Thapsus in Carthaginia, north Africa. Titus Labienus, the only officer of the Gallic Wars to have deserted Caesar for Roman general and statesman Pompey the Great, and Pompey's son Sextus Pompeius flee to Spain, where Gnaeus Pompeius, another of Pompey's sons, has established himself. The Roman tribune (magistrate) Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger and King Juba I of Numidia commit suicide, and Numidia becomes a Roman province.
45 BC	Rome, Spain	The Roman consul and dictator Julius Caesar is forced to fight one last battle against the Pompeians to end the civil war. He returns to Spain, where he finally defeats Pompey the Great's sons and the turncoat general Titus Labienus at the hard-fought Battle of Munda (between Seville and Málaga), although Sextus Pompeius escapes. Caesar severely punishes the Spanish districts that supported the Pompeians, and makes some preliminary plans for the colonies he intends to establish there, then returns to Rome.
42 BC	Rome, Macedonia	At the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia, the Roman consul and heir to Julius Caesar, Octavian, and Mark Antony defeat Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, who have gone to the East to raise armies against Antony and the supporters of the former dictator Julius Caesar. Cassius and Brutus both kill themselves.
37 BC	Palestine, Rome	The Roman triumvir Mark Antony sends two legions under C. Sosius to install Herod, son of Antipater, the former governor of Judaea, on the throne of Jerusalem in Judaea. After the city is captured the reign of Herod the Great begins. He had previously married a member of the Hasmonaean royal family to support his claim to the throne, but had had her grandfather and brother put to death. With Herod's accession to the throne, Judaea is no longer a Roman province, but a client kingdom of Rome.
34 BC	Armenia	The Roman triumvir Mark Antony invades Armenia and carries its king Artavasdes, whom he blames for his defeat by the Parthians in 36 BC, captive to Alexandria, Egypt.
32 BC	Rome	The two Roman consuls and some senators defect to the Roman triumvir Mark Antony, and the triumvir Octavian formally terminates Antony's command in the East and declares war on him.
26 BC–19 BC	Roman Empire, Spain	Spain suffers a period of bitter warfare as the Cantabrians prove themselves brave and fierce enemies of Rome. The Roman emperor Augustus travels to Spain from Gaul and begins the difficult task of pacification, which is later finished by his general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.
19 BC	Roman Empire, Spain	Roman emperor Augustus returns to Rome and the day is made an annual holiday. The Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa completes the war of pacification in Spain.
12 BC	Roman Empire, Pannonia	Tiberius, the stepson of the Roman emperor Augustus successfully continues the Danubian War after the death of the co-regent, Marcus Agrippa. Tiberius' brother, Drusus, warring against the German tribes, advances to the River Elbe.
9 BC	Roman Empire, Germany	Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, the younger stepson of the Roman emperor Augustus, successfully draws his German campaigns towards completion. Shortly before his death, Drusus and his brother Tiberius are at last allowed by Augustus to adopt the military title of Imperator.
6 BC	Roman Empire	Tiberius, the stepson of the Roman emperor Augustus, having successfully continued the German campaign started by his brother, Drusus, and twice held the consulship the previous year, is finally made a colleague of the ageing Augustus with the grant of tribunician powers. However, he feels that Augustus' grandsons (and adopted sons), Gaius and Lucius Caesar, are being favoured over him, and retires to Rhodes where he is to remain for seven years.
7–12	Illyricum, Germany	Germanicus, nephew and adopted son of Tiberius, heir to the Roman Empire, conducts campaigns under his uncle in Illyricum and Germany.
9	Roman Empire, Germany	German forces under Arminius, chief of the Cherusci people, ambush three Roman legions (17th, 18th, and 19th) under Quintilius Varus in the Teutoburger Forest. The legions are wiped out and Varus commits suicide.
51	Roman Empire, UK	The British chieftain Caractacus is finally defeated by Roman forces in the northwest of what is now Wales, and is handed over to the Roman authorities.
58–60	Roman Empire, Parthia, Armenia	The Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo drives the Parthians out of Armenia, burning the Armenian capital Artaxata and establishing the former Cappadocian prince Tigranes as Rome's client ruler.
81–91	China, Central Asia	The Chinese general Ban Chao drives the Xiongnu nomads, who have been attacking China, out of the entire Tarim Basin (modern Sinkiang) in Central Asia. He is made protector general of the western regions.
84	UK	Julius Agricola, the Roman governor of Britain, wins the battle of Mons Graupius (probably modern Bennachie) against the Picts and considers that he has conquered Hibernia (modern Scotland).
92–102	China, Central Asia	The Chinese general Ban Chao extends his conquests in Central Asia across the Pamir Mountains to the Caspian Sea.
114–116	Parthia, Persia, Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Trajan mounts a campaign of spectacular conquest. He takes Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital, gaining much booty, and reaches the Gulf. Looking toward India, he regrets that he is too old to emulate Alexander the Great and make further conquests there.
118–120	Roman Empire, UK	There are serious revolts against the Romans in Britain, with the 9th (Hispana) Roman Legion, stationed at Lindum (modern Lincoln, England), totally disappearing from the records.
135	Roman Empire, Palestine	The Jews under their leader Simeon Bar-Kokhba are finally defeated by the Romans in Judaea, after a rebellion lasting three and a half years and costing over half a million lives. Many Jews are sold into slavery. This is the final destruction of the Jews as a nation in Judaea; they are forbidden to enter Jerusalem, which is renamed Aelia Capitolina. From now on, the Jews of the ‘Diaspora’, or ‘Dispersion’, are to take on most significance. Judaea is changed into the new consular province of Syria Palaestrina.
156	China, Han Empire	The Sien-Pei, a Mongol horde who have conquered Mongolia, attack the Liaodong Peninsula in China and continue to make frequent raids over the frontier.
168–169	Roman Empire, Italy	With help (duly paid for) from other German tribes and from the Scythians, the Romans eventually beat back the Marcomanni-led German invaders from the town of Aquileia in northern Italy.
169	Roman Empire	Germanic tribes again break through northern frontiers of the Roman Empire and invade the provinces from Raetia (modern Switzerland) to Moesia (modern Bulgaria) – the Second Marcomannian War. At the same time, the Moors of north Africa invade Spain, and the Lombards appear on the River Rhine.
171–173	Roman Empire, Thrace, Moesia, Dacia	The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius continues the Second Marcomannian War in Rome's Danubian provinces (Thrace, Moesia, and Dacia) from his base in Upper Pannonia, defeating the Marcomanni in 172.
178–180	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, believing that Rome will only be safe with its frontiers extended to the Carpathian Mountains, renews the Marcomannian Wars along the River Danube. By 180 he has cleared the Roman provinces of Germanic invaders and is preparing to advance the frontier.
194	Roman Empire, Syria, Asia Minor	The Roman emperor Septimius Severus marches against his second rival, Pescennius Niger, and defeats him at Issus in Cilicia, Asia Minor. Severus confiscates vast estates from Niger's supporters and punishes rebellious cities. Antioch is deprived of its position as capital of Syria, and Byzantium is destroyed after a siege of two years.
197	Roman Empire, Parthia, Persia, Mesopotamia	The Roman emperor Septimius Severus renews his war against the Parthians. Their capital city, Ctesiphon, is again captured and is destroyed. Severus leaves the small state of Osrhoene in Mesopotamia in the hands of a client king, Abgar IX, but he makes the rest of Mesopotamia into a Roman province, with its capital at Nisibis.
208–210	Roman Empire, UK	The Roman emperor Septimius Severus campaigns in northern Britain. Hadrian's Wall has now been repaired, and he plans to subdue the land to the north of it, ravaging it so severely that a second wall will not be necessary. Road-building and forest-clearing as he goes, Severus reaches beyond modern Aberdeen. The Scottish tribes conduct skilful guerrilla warfare against him.
221	China	With the collapse of the Han dynasty in China, the Chinese general Cao Cao's son has power in the north, Souen Kiuan secedes from the empire in the area to the south of the River Chang Jiang, while Liu Bei proclaims himself emperor in Sichuan in the west. Three kingdoms thus arise – the Wei in the north, the Wu in the south, and the Shu Han in the west. These kingdoms fight each other for more than half a century.
224	Parthia, Persia	The kingdom of Parthia comes to an end. King Ardashir of Persis, having made himself increasingly powerful in the area, defeats King Artabanus IV, the last of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, in three great battles.
226	Persia, Sassanian Empire, Roman Empire	With the accession of King Ardashir of Persia, Rome exchanges one enemy for another, the rising Sassanid Persian enemy taking the place of the long declining Parthian enemy.
231–233	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	The Roman emperor Alexander Severus, accompanied by his mother, campaigns against the Persian king Ardashir. Ardashir defeats part of the Roman army, and the Romans win some minor victories, then both sides retire. The Roman–Persian frontier remains the same as it was previously. Roman coinage of the time depicts a Roman victory.
235–238	Roman Empire, Germany	The new Roman emperor, Maximinus, campaigns on the rivers Danube and Rhine in Germany, defeating the Alemanni, and never visits Rome. He is accepted by the Senate, but taxes the rich aristocracy heavily and engenders such hostility among them that they plot against him.
240	Roman Empire, Africa, Germany, Persia, Sassanian Empire	This year sees the start of the worst danger that Rome has so far experienced, with enemies active on several fronts at the same time. Africa revolts, and tribes in northwest Germany, under the name of the Franks, combine into a warlike federation. In Persia, King Ardashir is assassinated.
251	Roman Empire, UK	The prosperity of Roman Britain declines during this period as the Germanic tribes of the Franks and Saxons, whose homelands are in Friesland and the Low Countries, make raids around the southeast coast.
254	Roman Empire	The Roman Empire is threatened simultaneously by the Franks, Alemanni, and Marcomanni in Germany, by the Goths in the Danubian provinces (Thrace and Moesia) and Asia Minor, and by the Persians in the East. The emperor Publius Valerian makes his son, Publius Gallienus, ruler of the Western half of the empire and himself ruler of the Eastern half.
255–265	China	Peace and unity are finally restored in China with the victories of the Wei Kingdom in the north. The ruling dynasty is worn out by war, and the kingdom is ruled by ministers on their behalf – the Ssu-mas. During the next decade, Ssu-ma Chao conquers the western kingdom of Shu Han.
256	Roman Empire, Spain, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Syria	In simultaneous attacks on the Roman Empire, the Franks penetrate into Spain by sea, the Goths ravage Macedonia, and the Persians invade Mesopotamia and Syria.
259	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	The Alemanni break into Italy but are repulsed by the ruler of the western Roman Empire, Publius Gallienus, at Milan in the north. The eastern emperor of the Roman Empire, Publius Valerian, simultaneously leads an army of 70,000 men to relieve the city of Edessa in Syria, besieged by the forces of King Shapur I of Sassanian Persia.
271	Roman Empire, Italy, Pannonia	The Roman emperor Aurelian pushes the Vandals back from Pannonia over the River Danube and the Alemanni and Iuthungi out of Italy again, where they had returned after defeat by the former emperor Claudius II, defeating them near Milan in the north with one of the earliest large-scale cavalry actions.
272	Roman Empire, Egypt, Syria	The Roman emperor Aurelian sends his commander Marcus Probus to restore Roman rule in Egypt, and himself advances on Queen Zenobia's capital, Palmyra, which he takes after a difficult campaign. Zenobia is captured; her life is spared but her advisor, the Greek philosopher Longinus, is put to death. Having retraced his steps across the Bosporus, Aurelian receives the news that Palmyra has revolted. He returns and suppresses the revolt, this time dealing more harshly with the city.
277–279	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Marcus Probus continues the former emperor Aurelian's forcible pacification of the empire, pushing the Franks back across the River Rhine, expelling the Goths and Vandals from Raetia and Pannonia (modern Switzerland and Hungary) – which he resettles with groups displaced by the Goths – quelling trouble in Britain and Dalmatia, and forcing Moorish invaders of Spain back to North Africa.
294–297	Roman Empire	Galerius, Roman Caesar in the East, proves his worth in campaigning in the Danubian provinces, fighting the Goths, Marcomanni, Sarmatians, Bastarnians, and Carpi, but becomes embittered when he has to follow up with the unspectacular job of land reclamation and repopulation, moving the entire tribe of the Carpi to settlements within the Roman Empire.
296–297	Egypt, Roman Empire	Rebellion again breaks out in Egypt and the Eastern Roman emperor Diocletian goes there in person with the young Constantine I the Great (later the first Christian emperor of Rome) on his staff. He besieges Alexandria and deposes the city's ‘emperor’, Achilleus.
297	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	Galerius, the Roman emperor Diocletian's Caesar in the East, is given the job of combating the Sassanian King Narses of Persia. After initial success he suffers a serious defeat near Carrhae; Diocletian deliberately inflames his pride by making him walk behind his chariot as a punishment.
298	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	Galerius, the Roman emperor Diocletian's Caesar in the East, redeems his humiliation of the previous year by winning a complete victory over King Narses of Sassanian Persia, capturing his wives and children and taking a huge booty, then pressing on to capture Ctesiphon itself, the capital of the Sassanian Empire. King Narses cedes Mesopotamia and five small provinces beyond the River Tigris to Rome. The city of Nisibis is designated a centre for commercial relations between the two empires. In return for this, Narses' wives and children are restored.
312	Italy, Roman Empire	The Western Roman emperor Constantine I the Great defeats and kills his rival Western emperor Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge (sometimes called the Battle of Saxa Rubra) on the River Tiber, about 14 km/9 mi from Rome, Italy. This may be described as Rome's first battle of the Christian religion – Constantine's troops go into battle with the Chi-Rho monogram on their shields after Constantine is reported to have been told in a dream to put the heavenly sign of God on his soldiers' shields.
313	Pannonia, Thrace, Moesia, Roman Empire	The Western Roman emperor Constantine I the Great defeats the Eastern emperor Licinius in Pannonia and exacts surrender of the provinces of Pannonia and Moesia, thus gaining control of all of Roman Europe except Thrace. Licinius retires to his Eastern capital Nicomedia in Bithynia, Asia Minor.
321	Dacia	The Western Roman emperor Constantine I the Great expels the barbarians from Roman Dacia, repairs the former emperor Trajan's bridge over the River Danube, penetrates the old province of Dacia, and makes peace with the barbarians.
323	Thrace, Roman Empire	Goths invade the Roman province of Thrace but the Eastern Roman emperor Licinius takes no action, forcing the Western emperor Constantine I the Great to cross into Thrace and expel the barbarians himself.
324	Roman Empire	Negotiations between the Western Roman emperor Constantine I the Great and the Eastern emperor Licinius fail, and war breaks out. In two battles, near Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey) and Chrysopolis (Usküdar, Turkey), Constantine defeats Licinius.
339–350	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire, Mesopotamia	The Roman emperor Constantius hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking the Roman province of Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing with no real victor.
340	Roman Empire	The Roman emperor Constantine II crosses the Alps and attacks the army of his brother Emperor Constans at Aquileia in northern Italy. When he is ambushed and killed by Constans, Constans is left master of the West, with his other brother, the emperor Constantius, master of the East.
352	Roman Empire	Eastern Roman emperor Constantius defeats the pretender to the Empire in the West, Magnus Magnentius, at the hard-fought Battle of Mursa in Mesopotamia. Magnentius flees to Aquileia in northern Italy and fortifies the Alpine passes. Both sides suffer huge losses in the battle. Cavalry armoured with chain mail help Constantius win the battle, and this new style of cavalry, or catafractarii, will become a major element in the later Roman Empire. Constantius declares an amnesty for Magnentius' men, many of whom desert to him. By the end of the year Constantius is in Milan, Italy, repealing all Magnentius' measures. Magnentius flees to Gaul.
354	Gaul, Roman Empire	As a result of the armies of the West having been withdrawn by the usurper Magnus Magnentius to fight the Roman emperor Constantius, hoards of barbarians now sweep across the River Rhine into Gaul, ravaging the whole country.
355	Russia	The Huns of Central Asia begin their great drive westwards with an advance into Scythia (modern Russia). They overcome and absorb the Alans, the nomadic and warlike horse-breeding people from the steppes northeast of the Black Sea.
363	Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	The Roman emperor Julian invades Sassanian Persia and reaches the capital Ctesiphon, but his army is enticed into the desert by a ruse. King Shapur II of Persia avoids battle and adopts a scorched earth policy, leaving the Romans desperately short of supplies. As the Romans retreat, Julian is mortally wounded in a skirmish, and Jovian, Captain of the Guard and a Christian, succeeds him and makes peace, surrendering four of the five provinces gained by the Caesar Galerius in 298, and the cities of Nisibis and Singara.
365–366	Gaul	The Alemanni pour across the frontier into Gaul. The Western Roman emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the war, appointing Jovinus, his master of horse, general of the army. Jovinus defeats the Alemanni in three successive battles.
376–378	Thrace, Roman Empire	The Visigoths north of the River Danube, defeated by the Huns, are allowed to settle in Roman territory, but revolt and overrun Thrace. The Eastern Roman emperor Valens meets them near Hadrianople, but when he is defeated and killed he leaves Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) itself in danger from the Goths. The Gothic heavy cavalry proves decisive in the battle.
376	Thrace, Roman Empire	The Western Roman emperor Gratian recalls the military commander Theodosius, son of the executed general Theodosius the elder, from retirement in Spain and puts him in charge of the Roman troops in Thrace. Theodosius defeats the Sarmatians, and in 379 is appointed co-emperor by Gratian to replace Valens.
387	China	Southern China is saved at the Battle of Fei Shui from Hunnish invasion but the weakened north suffers another wave of invading Hunnish or Tatar tribes.
388	Roman Empire, Italy	The usurping Western Roman emperor Magnus Maximus is defeated in three battles by the Eastern emperor Theodosius I the Great, who is in command of an army including Goths, Huns, and Alans. When Maximus is killed near Aquileia, Italy, the rightful emperor, Valentinian II, is restored to power. With the death of his mother Justina, Valentinian's most influential adviser is the early Christian leader and theologian Bishop Ambrose of Milan.
388	India, Gupta Empire	Chandra Gupta II, the ruler of the Indian Gupta dynasty, begins a war against the Shaka dynasty, which finally gives him control of northwest India. He calls himself Vickramaditya (‘Sun of Prowess’).
390–392	Thrace, Roman Empire	The Visigoths and Huns invade Thrace, led by Alaric, a Visigoth prince. Command of the Roman defensive campaign goes to Flavius Stilicho, a commander of Vandal origin, who defeats the invaders. The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great permits them to go free on condition they provide military services to the Empire.
394	Italy, Roman Empire	The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great defeats the Frankish usurper Arbogast and Arbogast's appointed emperor of the West, Eugenius, near Aquileia, Italy, at the Battle of the River Frigidus. The Gothic contingent of Theodosius' army is commanded by the Visigoth leader Alaric. Theodosius' victory is aided by a storm, which hampers Arbogast's forces, and by desertions to his side.
409	Western Roman Empire, Spain	The Vandals, under King Gunderic and their allies the Alani and Suevi, invade Spain and plunder the rich cities there. Constans, the son of the usurping emperor Constantine in Gaul, despite having installed Gerontius as prefect in Spain, does nothing to stop the Vandal invasion.
418	Western Roman Empire, Spain, Gaul	The western Roman emperor Honorius bribes Wallia, King of the Visigoths, into regaining Spain for the Empire. His victory over the Vandals, who overran Spain in 409, forces them to retire to Vandalusia (Andalusia). The Visigoth land in Gaul now extends from the River Garonne to the Loire, and becomes known as the Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse.
430	Western Roman Empire, Spain, Africa	The Vandals in Spain, under King Genseric (or Gaiseric), are invited to come to Africa by the Roman governor Boniface, who has quarrelled with the imperial government. The Vandals conquer Roman Africa, helped by a revolt of the Moors and of Donatist Christians. They besiege and take the city of Hippo Regius, killing its bishop, Augustine (later St Augustine).
452	Western Roman Empire, Italy	Under Attila, the Huns advance into Italy. The emperor Valentinian III flees from Ravenna to Rome and sends Pope Leo I to persuade Attila to return to his capital. Aquileia falls to Attila and Milan has to buy him off before Pope Leo, his hand strengthened by news of reinforcements from the Eastern Roman Empire and the plague breaking out among the Huns, is able to persuade Attila to withdraw.
455	UK	The Saxons rebel against the Welsh king Vortigern and fight the Britons in Britain. The Saxon leader Horsa, brother of Hengist, is said to have been slain at Aylesford.
455	Western Roman Empire, Italy	Genseric the Vandal takes advantage of the death of Emperor Valentinian III and crosses from Africa to attack and loot Rome. Along with his booty Genseric abducts the Empress Eudoxia and her two daughters.
456–457	Western Roman Empire, Italy	The Western Roman emperor Avitus is forced to flee Rome due to famine caused by Vandal possession of Africa and Vandal control of the western Mediterranean. Rome goes through a period of chaos and changing rulers, with the Visigoth Ricimer the power behind the throne. The new emperor is Majorian.
460	Western Roman Empire, Africa	The Western Roman emperor Majorian gathers a large force to attack the Vandals in Africa. The failure of the attack forces him to make peace and leads to his dismissal as emperor the following year by the Visigoth Ricimer. He is replaced by Libius Severus.
466–470	Western Roman Empire, Gaul, Spain	Theodoric II, King of the Visigoths, is killed by his brother Euric who succeeds him on the throne. He conquers Spain and Massilia (modern Marseille), adding them to the existing Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse, which includes all Gaul south of the Loire and west of the Rhône.
c. 493	Italy	The Ostrogoth king Theodoric invites Odoacer, King of Italy (whom he defeated in 489), and his son to a peace treaty and feast at Ravenna, where he assassinates them. Theodoric extends his realm to the western Balkans and to Sicily and settles down as a king with nominal subordination to the Eastern Roman emperor at Constantinople. Cassiodorus, the historian, becomes his secretary (probably at a fairly early age, although his date of birth is unknown).
c. 500	UK	‘Arturus, Dux Bellorum’, the legendary King Arthur, takes up the struggle against the Saxons. In 12 battles he subdues the Saxons, the last battle being at Mons Badonicus (site unknown). Arthur is a ‘war leader’, a Christian Romano-Briton, who defeats the Saxons with a mobile field army of armoured cavalrymen, the typical army of the British chieftains. The authenticity and provenance of Arthur are ever in dispute, but not his date.
507–510	France	Clovis, King of the Franks, defeats the Visigoth Alaric II at the battle of Vouglé, near Poitiers. Clovis ends the division between the Riparian and Salic Franks, thus uniting under his rule all the Franks on the left bank of the Rhine, and moves his capital to Paris.
532	Eastern Roman Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire, Africa	The Eastern Roman emperor Justinian patches up an expensive peace with Sasanian Persia and plans to send his general Belisarius on the first campaign to fulfil his own great ambition of re-unifying the Roman Empire by taking Africa back from the Vandals. Belisarius is accompanied by the historian Procopius of Caesarea.
533–534	Eastern Roman Empire, Africa	The Eastern Roman general Belisarius sets sail to win back Vandal Africa for the Empire. He takes Carthage and decisively defeats the Vandal king Gelimar at Tricamarum, effectively destroying the Vandals as a political power. North Africa remains part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire until its conquest by the Arabs in the following century.
536–540	Italy	The Roman general Belisarius captures Naples and enters Rome unopposed. Witigis, new king of the Ostrogoths, besieges Belisarius in Rome but gives up after a year. Belisarius in turn besieges Ravenna, which finally capitulates.
548–549	Italy	The Roman general Belisarius is recalled to Constantinople and the Ostrogoth king Totila recaptures most of Italy.
550	Central America	The Toltecs conquer the city of Teotihuacán in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, overcoming its ancient civilization.
551–553	Italy	The Roman general Narses, successor to Belisarius, defeats the Ostrogoth Totila and expels the Goths from Italy. Narses uses Lombard mercenaries.
551	Russia, Italy, Balkans	The Avars, a central Asian nomadic people, begin to migrate into eastern Europe via the south of modern Russia. They ultimately drive the Lombards into Italy, and settle in the Balkans.
568	Italy	Up to 130,000 Lombards, led by King Alboin, pressed from behind by Avars, cross the Alps into the plains of the River Po and overrun northern Italy. With the emperor Justinian and his general Belisarius dead and the general Narses deposed and disgraced, the Eastern Roman Empire is unable to halt their advance.
579–581	Eastern Roman Empire, Sassanian Empire, Persia	The Eastern Roman general Maurice continues his successful campaign against Sasanian Persia, which has now lost its great king, Chosroes I.
614	Persia, Sassanian Empire, Byzantine Empire	King Chosroes II of Sasanian Persia declares holy war on the Christian Byzantine Empire and sacks Jerusalem, capturing the True Cross. His victories over the Byzantines earn Chosroes the nickname Parvez (‘the Victorious’).
616–619	Sassanian Empire, Persia, Byzantine Empire	King Chosroes II of Persia conquers Byzantine Egypt and Asia Minor. He occupies both Alexandria in Egypt and Chalcedon, across the Bosporus from Constantinople. Byzantine control of the sea prevents Chosroes from attacking Constantinople but the loss of corn supplies from Egypt causes hardship in the city.
622–627	Byzantine Empire, Persia, Sassanian Empire	Using the Byzantine fleet to bypass the Persian army occupying Asia Minor, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sets out on a brilliant campaign against the Persians, penetrating as far as Hamadan. The warlike Persian king Chosroes II has retired from active campaigning and his generals are much less successful against the Byzantines.
August 636	Byzantine Empire, Syria	The Arab general Khalid defeats the Byzantine emperor Heraclius at a decisive engagement on the Yarmuk River near Damascus, Syria, opening the way for the Arab conquest of Syria and Palestine.
June–September 637	Sassanian Empire, Persia, Arab Caliphate	The Persian general Rustam, with an army of 50,000 men, is defeated by a much smaller Arab army under Sa'd in a three-day battle at Qadisiya in Persia (modern Iraq). The Persian capital at Ctesiphon falls to the Arab army three months later.
January 638	Byzantine Empire, Palestine, Arab Caliphate	The Byzantine patriarch Sophronios surrenders Jerusalem to the Arab caliph Umar after a long siege. The city is subsequently regarded as a holy place by Muslims as well as Christians and Jews.
642	Northumbria, Mercia, England	The death of Oswald, the Christian king of Northumbria, at the hands of Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, at the Battle of Maserfelth (probably near modern Oswestry, Shropshire, England), marks the rise of Mercia at the expense of Northumbria.
653	Persia, Arab Caliphate	Yezdegird III, the last king of the Sasanian dynasty of Persia, is murdered at Merv (in modern Turkmenistan), bringing Persian resistance to the Arabs to a complete end.
December 656	Arab Caliphate, Mesopotamia	Muawiya of the Umayyad clan revolts but is defeated by Ali, the caliph of Islam, at the Battle of the Camel at Khoraiba in South Iraq. Muawiya is supported by the Islamic prophet Muhammad's widow, Aisha, who commands her contingent of troops from the back of a camel, from which the battle gets its name.
677	Byzantine Empire, Arab Caliphate	Having suffered heavy losses in their seven-year siege of the city, the Arab army retreats from the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor, Constantine IV, who has led the defence, makes an advantageous peace with them.
680	Arab Caliphate	Following the death of the caliph Muawiya, a war of succession once again breaks out among the Arabs. Husein, a son of the murdered 4th caliph, Ali (ibn Abi Talib), responds to an appeal to seize the leadership but is to be defeated and killed (at Karbala in modern Iraq) by supporters of Muawiya's son Yazid, who becomes caliph. Husein is regarded as a martyr by those who believe that the caliphate can only rightly be held by a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and they break away to form the minority Shiite movement of Islam.
687	Frankish Kingdom	Pepin the Stout, mayor of the palace (administrator of the royal court of the Merovingian Frankish dynasty), defeats his rivals at the Battle of Tertry and becomes the effective ruler of all the Frankish kingdom (except Aquitaine). He gives himself the title Dux et Princeps Francorum (‘Duke and Prince of the Franks’) but does not depose the Merovingian king, Theuderic III, who is maintained as a powerless figurehead.
688	Byzantine Empire, Macedonia, Thrace	The Byzantine emperor, Justinian II, recovers Macedonia and Thrace from the Slavs. Many Slavs are drafted into the Byzantine army while thousands of others are deported and resettled as farmers in northwest Anatolia under the title of ‘the Abundant People’.
697	Byzantine Empire, Arab Caliphate	The Arabs recapture Carthage, the capital of Byzantine Africa, and the Byzantines are never able to recover it. Following this defeat the Byzantine navy rebels against the emperor, Leontius, who has his nose cut off and is banished. The general Apsimar becomes emperor under the name Tiberius II.
c. 700	Central America	Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico, for over 500 years the dominant power of Mesoamerica (the area of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations), is sacked and burnt by unknown attackers and abandoned.
705	Byzantine Empire	Aided by Tervel, Khan (ruler) of the Bulgars, the exiled Byzantine emperor Justinian II returns to Constantinople and the deposed emperor Leontius, his successor, Tiberius II, and most of their followers are massacred.
711	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor Justinian II's ruthless pursuit of his political opponents causes discontent and fear. When he sends an expedition to punish the people of Cherson who ill-treated him while in exile in the Crimea, the army and navy rebel. Bardanes, an Armenian general, is proclaimed emperor (under the name Philipicus). He sails to Constantinople and captures and executes Justinian and his family.
7 July 711	Spain, Arab Caliphate	At the invitation of the rebel governor of Ceuta, the Arabs and their Moorish allies invade the Visigoth kingdom of Spain. Led by the Moorish chief Tariq, the Muslim army lands at Gibraltar (Jebel el-Tariq, ‘the mountain of Tariq’). At the battles of Guadelete and Ecija the smaller Arab army decisively defeats Roderick, the last Visigoth king of Spain, and before the end of the year the Visigoth capital of Toledo falls without resistance. Except for the mountainous northwest, all of Spain comes under Muslim control within two years.
717	Arab Caliphate, Byzantine Empire	The Arabs make their last and greatest effort to take Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The city's walls and defenders both hold out through a winter siege and the Arabs retreat with heavy losses.
718	Spain, Arab Caliphate	Resistance to the Arabs has continued in northwest Spain, and following a convincing victory at Covadonga, the Visigoth Pelaya makes himself king of Asturias. In Spanish tradition this victory marks the beginning of the Christian Reconquista (‘Reconquest’).
725	Frankish Kingdom, Aquitaine, France	Charles Martel, the Frankish mayor of the palace, defeats an invasion of the Frankish kingdom by the Alemanni and Saxons. The invading Arabs, moving northwards, take the town of Autun (now in central France), but Duke Eudo of Aquitaine stops their further advance.
732	Arab Caliphate, Aquitaine, Frankish Kingdom, France	The Arab general Abd-ar-Rahman resumes the offensive against Duke Eudo of Aquitaine. Eudo is forced to appeal for help to the Frankish mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, who defeats Abd-ar-Rahman at the Battle of Tours (sometimes called the Battle of Poitiers) in the Frankish kingdom, decisively halting the advance of the Arabs into Europe. As a result of this victory Charles Martel earns his title of Martel the Hammer.
739	Frankish Kingdom, France, Arab Caliphate	The Frankish mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, supported by King Liutprand of the Lombards of northern Italy, finally succeeds in driving the Arabs and Moors out of Provence, southern France, having laid waste to much of the countryside and burned the amphitheatre at Nîmes.
750	Arab Caliphate	Abu-al-Abbas, founder of the Abbasid dynasty of Arab Islamic rulers, defeats the Umayyad caliph Merwan II at the Battle of the River Zab. Merwan flees to Egypt but is caught and killed and his head is sent to Abu. Abu-al-Abbas's victory is followed by a general massacre of the Umayyad family and of members of his own family whose popularity he fears, for which he earns the nickname as-Saffah, ‘the blood-shedder’.
751	Arab Caliphate, China, Tang Empire, Asia	Following an appeal from the ruler of Tashkent for military assistance, the Arabs defeat the Chinese at the Battle of the Talas River near Samarkand, causing the collapse of the Chinese Empire in central Asia. Chinese craftsmen captured after the battle introduce papermaking into the Middle East.
755	China, Tang Empire	The threat of frequent invasions by the Tibetans and steppe nomads leads to a build-up of the Chinese army and an increase in the power of the military governors, culminating in the rebellion of An Lushan, a general of Turkish origin. He seizes the capital Siking (modern Xian), forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee. Shortly after he is forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Suzong.
757	Lombardy, Italy, Frankish Kingdom	When King Aistulf of Lombardy again threatens Rome, the Frankish king Pepin the Short again invades Italy in support of Pope Stephen III. Pepin takes the city of Ravenna from the Lombards and gives it to the Pope – the so-called ‘Donation of Pepin’. Aistulf dies following a riding accident soon afterwards and is succeeded by Desiderius.
774	Lombardy, Italy, Carolingian Empire	The Lombard city of Pavia is taken by the Franks and Charlemagne, King of the Franks, banishes the Lombard king, Desiderius, to a monastery. Charlemagne promptly assumes the crown of Lombardy in northern Italy, confirms his father's ‘donation’ to the papacy of 757, and accepts the role of protector of the church. Charlemagne and Pope Hadrian I become close friends and allies.
789	Wessex, England, Scandinavia	The first recorded Viking raid in England occurs at Portland in the kingdom of Wessex. The king's reeve Beaduheard is murdered when he mistakes the Norsemen for merchants.
791	Carolingian Empire, Pannonia	Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, launches a meticulously planned attack on the Avars, a Hunnish nomad people settled in Pannonia (modern Hungary). Avar resistance collapses almost immediately and Charlemagne's armies spend 52 days plundering the Avar lands, taking many prisoners and much treasure. The death of thousands of horses in an epidemic at the end of the expedition prevents major campaigning the following year.
791	Central Asia	Following a crushing defeat by the Tibetans at Tingzhou, the Chinese lose control of the strategic Gansu Corridor, shutting them out of central Asia for nearly a thousand years.
801	Spain, Arab Caliphate, Carolingian Empire	The Spanish city of Barcelona is taken by the Franks from the Moors after a two-year siege. The Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid sends the Frankish emperor, Charlemagne, an elephant as a present.
806	Arab Caliphate, Byzantine Empire, Asia Minor	The Abbasid caliph (ruler of the Islamic world) Harun ar-Rashid invades Anatolia with a force of 135,000 men and takes Heraclea and other places in Cappadocia, Asia Minor, forcing the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus I to resume payment of tribute.
810	Denmark, Carolingian Empire	The Danish king, Godfred, ravages Frisia with a large fleet, exacting a large tribute, and threatens to attack the Frankish emperor Charlemagne's capital, Aachen. Shortly afterwards, Godfred is murdered and is succeeded by his nephew Hemming who makes peace with Charlemagne.
26 July 811	Byzantine Empire, Bulgarian Empire	The Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus I, is killed when his army is ambushed in a mountain pass by the Bulgars. The Bulgar khan, Krum, has Nicephorus's skull lined with silver for use as a drinking cup.
815	Wessex, England	King Egbert of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, England, conquers the Britons (Welsh) of Cornwall.
825	Wessex, Mercia, England	In one of the most important battles in English history, King Egbert of Wessex defeats King Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun (now Nether Wroughton, Wiltshire). Later the same year, Beornwulf is killed when the East Anglians rebel against Mercian control and Egbert conquers Kent, Sussex, and Essex, making Wessex the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
834	Carolingian Empire, Scandinavia	Taking advantage of the political problems of the Frankish Empire, the Vikings sail down the River Rhine and sack Dorestadt (near Utrecht, in the modern Netherlands), the empire's richest and largest port.
837	Carolingian Empire, Scandinavia	Louis I the Pious, King of the Franks and Emperor of the West, despatches missi (itinerant officers) to restore order in Frisia in the north of the Frankish Empire, which has been badly hit by Viking raids. Vikings attack a coastguard fort on the island of Walcheren at the mouth of the River Rhine and many senior officers are killed or captured.
20 June 840	Carolingian Empire	The Frankish emperor, Louis I the Pious, dies shortly after an expedition to put down a rebellion by his son Louis the German. He is succeeded as emperor by his eldest son, Lothair I, who is immediately embroiled in territorial disputes with his brothers, Louis the German and Charles the Bald, over their share of the empire.
843	Scotland	Kenneth I (called MacAlpin), King of the Scots of Argyll, conquers the Picts of Caledonia to create the kingdom of Alba or ‘Scotland’.
845	Carolingian Empire, Scandinavia	After they sack Paris, the West Frankish king, Charles II the Bald, pays the Vikings ‘Danegeld’ (protection money) to persuade them to leave.
22 November 845	Carolingian Empire, Brittany, France	The Bretons, led by Duke Nomenoë, defeat an army sent by the West Frankish king, Charles II the Bald, to enforce their subjection, at Ballon, Brittany.
846	India	With the help of his overlords, the Chalukyas of central India, Vijayalaya captures the city of Tanjore in the Pandya kingdom of South India, marking the birth of the Chola Empire which remains a major power until 1279.
851	Wessex, Mercia, England, Denmark	Aethelwulf of Wessex defeats the Danes at Oakley, England, and King Athelstan of Kent defeats a Danish fleet at Sandwich, but another Danish fleet enters the River Thames, defeats the Mercians, and sacks the cities of London and Canterbury. The Danes then winter in England for the first time, in Thanet, Kent.
854	Denmark	The leading Danish king, Horik, is killed in a civil war following a rebellion within his own family. His kingdom disintegrates and little is known of Denmark for the next century.
3 September 863	Arab Caliphate, Byzantine Empire	Petronas, the uncle of the Byzantine emperor, Michael III, annihilates an Abbasid army which has invaded Anatolia. The Abbasid general Omar is killed in the battle, which ends the Arab threat to the Byzantine Empire.
865	Denmark, England	Under its leaders Halfdan, Guthrum, and Ivar, the ‘Great Heathen Host’, the largest Danish army yet seen, arrives in England bent on conquering lands for settlement.
867	Arab Caliphate, Persia	Ya'cub ibn-al-Laith al-Saffar (‘the coppersmith’), a craftsman turned bandit leader, seizes control of Seistan (in eastern Persia) and establishes the Saffarid dynasty in independence from the Abbasid caliphate. Under Ya'cub the Persian language enjoys a revival after two centuries of strong Arabic influence.
873–874	Mercia, England, Denmark	The Danes capture Repton, the royal centre of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, England. Disheartened by his failure to resist the Danes, the Mercian king, Burgred, flees into exile in Rome. The Danish army winters at Repton and in the spring it splits up, Halfdan returning to York, Guthrum and the other leaders going to Cambridge.
877	Egypt, Syria, Arab Caliphate	Ahmad-ibn-Tulun, Emir of Egypt, seizes Syria from the declining Abbasid caliphate.
5 May 878	Wessex, Denmark	King Alfred the Great of Wessex, England, defeats the Danes at Edington (in Wiltshire). By the Peace of Wedmore which follows, the Danish leader, Guthrum, is baptized as a Christian.
881–882	Carolingian Empire, Scandinavia	In the worst year of raiding ever experienced by the Low Countries and the Rhineland, the Vikings sack the cities of Liège, Tongres, Maastricht, Deventer, Neuss, Cologne, Bonn, Coblenz, Malmedy, Stavelot, Prüm, Aachen, and Trier.
882	Kiev, Russia	The Russian prince Oleg captures Kiev from the rival Viking leaders Askold and Dir, whom he kills, and makes it the capital of the Rus state (Russia) in place of Novgorod.
884	China, Tang Empire	The usurping Chinese emperor, Huang Chao, is driven into Henan and finally into Shandong by the Tang emperor's Shatuo Turkish allies. Abandoned by most of his followers, Huang Chao commits suicide. Despite defeating the rebellion, the authority of the Tang dynasty has been permanently broken and power now devolves on provincial warlords.
October 886	Carolingian Empire, Scandinavia	After almost a year under siege by the Vikings, Paris is finally relieved by the Frankish emperor Charles III the Fat, but instead of fighting the Vikings he pays them 318 kg/700 lb of silver and allows them to sail further up the River Seine to raid in Burgundy.
October 891	Scandinavia, Germany	King Arnulf of Germany wins an impressive victory over the Vikings at the Battle of the Dyle near Louvain and the Vikings withdraw to Boulogne. Arnulf's victory marks the end of the worst period of Viking raiding on the European mainland.
892	England, Scandinavia	The Danish army leaves France for England where King Alfred the Great of Wessex has used the respite from Viking raids following his earlier victories to reform his army and build a fleet and a network of forts (‘burhs’) to resist them.
895	England, Denmark	By blocking the River Lea, King Alfred the Great of Wessex, England, traps the Danes led by King Haesten in their camp near London. The Danes escape overland to Bridgnorth in Mercia, but lose their entire fleet to Alfred's West Saxons.
895	Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate	The Byzantine emperor, Leo VI, prompts the Magyars (a nomadic people settled between the Dnieper and the Danube rivers) to attack the Bulgar Khanate. The Bulgar khan Symeon retaliates by inciting the Pechenegs, recent arrivals on the Dnieper, to invade Magyar territory. Consequently the Magyars, after their expulsion from Bulgaria, are forced to seek lands elsewhere and settle in central Europe, on the River Theiss.
896	Italy, Germany	Seeking to escape the dominance of the Roman emperor Lambert of Spoleto, Pope Formosus calls on King Arnulf of Germany for help. Arnulf storms Rome and is crowned emperor by Formosus. However, Arnulf falls ill and is forced to leave Italy, Formosus dies soon afterwards, and Lambert recovers his position.
21 July 905	Italy, Provence	Berengar of Friuli, the deposed king of Italy, captures the emperor, Louis III, at Verona, blinds him, and expels him from Italy back to his kingdom of Provence.
906	Moravia, Saxony, Germany	After defeating a German and Slav army at Pressburg, the Magyars overrun and destroy the Moravian kingdom and also raid Saxony.
907	China, Tang Empire	The Chinese warlord Zhuwen deposes Aidi, the last Tang dynasty emperor, and declares himself Chinese emperor. The Tang empire collapses and China fragments into 11 warring states, beginning the ‘Period of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms’ (907–960). Zhuwen and his successors, styled the Later Liang dynasty, establish control over the Chang Jiang Basin, the richest region of China.
910	Germany	The Magyars defeat King Louis the Child of Germany near Augsburg.
915	Italy, Byzantine Empire	On the initiative of Pope John X, the Arab base on the River Garigliano in Italy is destroyed by Byzantine and Italian forces, thus ending the Arab presence in central Italy.
20 August 917	Bulgar Khanate, Byzantine Empire	The Bulgar khan, Symeon, demands that he should be recognized as Byzantine emperor, after defeating the imperial forces near Anchialus on the River Achelous, invading Thrace, and making himself master of the Balkans.
919	Brittany, France	The Vikings under Rognvald conquer Brittany (northwest France), making Nantes their capital. Those Bretons who are able to escape seek refuge with King Athelstan in England.
923	China	The Later Liang dynasty, the first of the ‘Five Dynasties’ of northern China, is overthrown by the Shatuo Turks, who establish the Later Tang dynasty.
15 June 923	France	The usurping king of France, Robert of Neustria, defeats King Charles III the Simple of France at Soissons, but is himself killed in the battle. Charles is captured and imprisoned by Count Herbert of Vermandois.
924	Italy, France, Germany	The Magyars resume their raids. In Italy they burn the northern city of Pavia, but King Rudolph of Italy and Hugh of Arles, the effective ruler of Provence, drive them off into southern France. They also invade Germany, where King Henry I the Fowler obtains a truce for Saxony, which he uses to strengthen his duchy by building fortified towns.
924	Byzantine Empire, Bulgar Khanate	Symeon, Khan of the Bulgars, fails in his attempt to take the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. In negotiations afterwards, the Byzantines recognize Symeon's right to call himself ‘emperor of the Bulgars’ but not his claim to the Byzantine throne.
927	England, Scotland	Athelstan, King of Wessex and Mercia, drives the Norse king Guthfrith out of York and receives the submission of the Northumbrians, so becoming the first king to rule all of England. In a meeting near Penrith, Cumberland, the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde recognize Athelstan as their overlord.
4 September 929	Germany	A German army defeats the pagan Wends at Lenzen, on the River Elbe, and they are compelled to submit and accept Christianity.
939	France, Brittany	The Breton chief Alain Barbetorte completes the liberation of Brittany (northwestern France) from the Vikings when he takes their stronghold at Trans near Dol.
10 August 955	Germany, Hungary	King Otto I of Germany defeats the Magyars on the Lechfeld, near Augsburg. Their raids on Western Europe now cease and they begin a settled life in Hungary.
983	Holy Roman Empire	Following the defeat of the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto II of Germany, in Italy, the Wends revolt against German rule and restore their pagan religion.
988	Byzantine Empire	The rebel Byzantine general Bardas Phocas is defeated in the summer at Chrysopolis by loyal imperial forces assisted by an army of ‘Varangians’ (Russian Vikings) sent by Prince Vladimir of the Rus principality of Kiev. This is the origin of the Byzantine emperors' Varangian Guard.
1000	Denmark, Norway	King Svein of Denmark defeats and kills King Olaf I Tryggvesson of Norway at Svöld and thus conquers Norway.
1003	England, Denmark	King Svein of Denmark invades England to gain revenge for the ‘St Brice's day massacre’, in which Danes resident in the south of England were murdered on the orders of King Aethelred of England.
28 March 1005	Poland	King Henry II of Germany makes an alliance with the Wends (a Slav tribe) against King Boleslaw of Poland, who has seized territory between the River Oder and the River Elbe. Henry later invades Poland as far as Poznan but is defeated by Boleslaw.
9 September 1006	Flanders, Holy Roman Empire, France	A joint expedition by King Henry II of Germany and King Robert II of France fails to recover Valenciennes from the expansionist Count Baldwin IV of Flanders, who has also seized the castle of Ghent.
1013	England, Denmark	King Svein of Denmark, having been accepted in England as king in Northumbria and the Danelaw, now conquers Wessex. King Aethelred II of England flees to Normandy.
1018	Korea, China	The Qitans (Khitans) of Liao, in northern China, again invade Koryo (Korea) in pursuit of their territorial claims, but their army is surrounded and defeated with heavy loss near Kaesong. A lasting peace settlement is agreed shortly afterwards.
1031	Hungary, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	King Stephen of Hungary makes peace with Emperor Conrad II, to whom he restores Vienna, and with Oldrvich of Bohemia, to whom he cedes Moravia.
1031	Poland, Russia, Holy Roman Empire	King Mieszko II of Poland is attacked by a coalition; the Russians take Red Russia and he has to cede Lusatia to Emperor Conrad II. He is then expelled in a popular rising which establishes his brother, Bezprym, as ruler of Poland.
1039	Sicily	In a civil war in Sicily, Emir Ahmad is assisted by the Byzantine general, George Maniaces, who engages Norman soldiers for the campaign.
1048	Byzantine Empire, Balkans	The Pechenegs, a Turkish tribe settled in the area of modern Ukraine, begin almost continuous plundering raids in the Byzantine Balkan provinces.
3 September 1054	Spain, Castile, Navarre	Ferdinand I of Castile defeats and kills his brother García III of Navarre at Atapuerca, near Burgos, Spain. Garcia's son Sancho IV succeeds as king of Navarre.
1055	Wales	Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, completes the conquest of southern Wales to become the king of all Wales.
18 December 1055	Mesopotamia, Seljuk Sultanate	The city of Baghdad surrenders to the Seljuk Turks, who thus end Buwayhid rule. Tughril Beg is proclaimed sultan, and the Abbasid caliph remains the spiritual leader of Sunni Muslims, under Seljuk control.
8 August 1059	Italy, Apulia, Sicily, Byzantine Empire	In the Treaty of Melfi, Pope Nicholas II invests Robert Guiscard as his vassal, proclaiming him Duke of Apulia and Calabria and Count of Sicily. These territories are still largely occupied by the Byzantines and the Arabs but the Pope's grant legitimizes Guiscard's campaigns to conquer them.
5 May 1063	England, Wales	Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, begins a campaign against King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales.
8 May 1065	Aragon, Spain	Ramiro I of Aragon is killed attacking the Moors in Graus. He is succeeded by his son, Sancho Ramirez. His death attracts volunteers from Western Europe to serve in the campaigns against the Moors.
25 September 1066	England	Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and Earl Tostig are defeated and killed by King Harold Godwinson of England at Stamford Bridge, England. Harald of Norway is succeeded by his sons Magnus II and Olaf III.
14 October 1066	England	Harold II Godwinson, last Anglo-Saxon king of England January–October 1066, falls in battle against the Norman forces of William I of Normandy, at Hastings, Sussex, England (c. 46).
1069	Poland, Kiev	Duke Boleslaw II of Poland captures Kiev and restores his uncle, Iziaslav, as its prince; Boleslaw abandons Kiev within a year but recovers Red Russia for Poland.
December 1069	England	William I the Conqueror, King of England and Duke of Normandy, retakes York from the English rebels and their Danish allies, and spends the winter in a brutal ravaging campaign, ‘the Harrying of the North’, to force northern England into submission.
1071	England	William I the Conqueror, King of England and Duke of Normandy, expels Hereward the Wake, the last significant English rebel, from his stronghold on the Isle of Ely.
19 August 1071	Byzantine Empire, Seljuk Sultanate, Fatimid Caliphate	The Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan destroys a Byzantine army at Manzikert, Armenia, and captures Emperor Romanus IV, whom he frees for a ransom and the payment of tribute. The Seljuk Turks now complete their conquest of Armenia and overrun most of Anatolia (modern Turkey). In the same year, the Seljuks also conquer Syria and, under the general Atsiz ibn-Abaq, take Jerusalem from the Fatimid caliphate.
15 October 1080	Germany	In a battle near Hohen-Mölsen, Rudolf of Swabia defeats King Henry IV of Germany, but is mortally wounded.
1081	England	William I the Conqueror, King of England and Duke of Normandy, makes an expedition into southern Wales, where Norman marcher lords are now established.
1083–1087	Japan	The Kiyowara clan, formerly allies of the Minamoto in the Nine Years' War, challenge Minamoto rule in northern Honshu, Japan. The Minamoto, led by Yoshiie, destroy the Kiyowara and impose absolute rule on the north.
21 March 1084	Papal States, Holy Roman Empire	King Henry IV of Germany captures Rome and besieges Pope Gregory VII in the Castel Sant' Angelo.
5 May 1084	Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Apulia, Italy	Answering a call for help from Pope Gregory VII, Robert Guiscard, the Norman duke of Apulia, expels the Germans from Rome; however, the Norman soldiers do so much damage that Gregory is forced to go into exile with them to escape popular anger.
17 July 1085	Italy, Greece, Byzantine Empire, Sicily	When the Norman duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia is killed at the siege of Cephalonia, Greece, he is succeeded as duke of Apulia by his son, Roger Borsa, who withdraws the Normans from Greece. Robert's brother, Roger, succeeds him as count in Sicily and Calabria.
23 October 1086	Almoravid Emirate, Castile, Spain, León	Yusuf ibn-Tashfin, the Almoravid emir of Morocco, who has been called into Spain by al-Mutamid of Seville to stem the Christian advance, defeats Alfonso VI of Castile and León at Azagal, near Badajoz.
29 April 1090	Byzantine Empire	Aided by the Cumans, a nomadic people of Turkish origin, Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus defeats the Pechenegs, a Turkish people settled in the area of modern Ukraine, who are blockading Constantinople, at Mount Levunium.
11 November 1092	Seljuk Sultanate	Following the death of the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah, he is succeeded by his son Mahmud I, who is immediately attacked by his brothers. Torn by civil war, the Seljuk sultanate disintegrates as its provinces and cities become independent under local dynasties.
1094	Castile, Spain, León	Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid, captures Valencia from the Moors and rules it nominally as a vassal of Alfonso VI of Castile and León.
1094	Papal States, Italy	Pope Urban II regains possession of the Lateran Palace in Rome, so completing his recovery of Rome from the antipope Clement III. Although Emperor Henry IV's cause in Italy is now ruined, he is prevented from returning to Germany because of his son King Conrad II of Germany's rebellion, and the empress Adelaide deserts him.
1095	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus repulses the Cumans, a Turkish people, at Adrianople and appeals to Pope Urban II for western aid against the Turks.
28 September 1106	England, Normandy	King Henry I of England defeats and captures his brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Tinchebrai in Normandy. Robert is imprisoned and Henry becomes Duke of Normandy as well as king of England.
1107	Poland	A civil war in Poland ends with Duke Zbigniew recognizing the supremacy of his brother and co-ruler Duke Boleslaw III.
11 February 1115	Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	Duke Lothair of Saxony rebels against Emperor Henry V and defeats him at Welfesholz.
27 November 1121	Poland, Pomerania	With the capture of the city of Stettin (modern Szczecin), Boleslaw III, Duke of Poland, completes his conquest of Pomerania.
1122	Byzantine Empire	The Byzantines exterminate the Pechenegs, a Turkish people settled in the area of modern Ukraine.
8 August 1124	Holy Roman Empire, France, England	Emperor Henry V of Germany attempts to invade France as the ally of King Henry I of England, but retires as the French vassals respond to King Louis VI of France's summons to military service. Louis's success in exercising his feudal rights marks a major advance in the authority of the French monarchy.
1126	Jin Empire, Song Empire, China	The Juchen (or Jurchen, a Tungusic pastoralist people from Manchuria) besiege Kaifeng, the capital of the Chinese Song Empire, and are bought off with massive tribute, only to return a few months later when they capture the city along with Emperor Huizong and his son Qinzong, 3,000 courtiers, and the imperial treasury. Gaozong, a younger son of the emperor, escapes to re-establish the Song dynasty in southern China.
5 May 1138	England	Robert, Earl of Gloucester, begins a civil war in England by declaring himself for the late King Henry I's daughter Matilda against King Stephen.
9 September 1141	Seljuk Sultanate, Central Asia	The Seljuk sultan Sanjar is defeated on the Qatwan Steppe, at Samarkand, by the Kara-Khitai Turks who are establishing an empire stretching from China to the River Oxus (present-day Amu Darya) in central Asia.
1 November 1141	England	King Stephen of England is released in exchange for Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the leader of the rival claimant Matilda's party, whom his partisans have captured; the civil war continues with neither party able to establish ascendancy.
1145	Champa, Khmer Empire	The Khmer emperor Suryavarman II conquers the kingdom of Champa.
1146	Poland	Grand Prince Wladyslaw II, attempting to reunite Poland under his rule, is defeated by his brothers Boleslaw and Mieczyslaw and flees to Germany; Boleslaw IV replaces him as grand prince.
29 June 1147	Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	An assembly of Saxon nobles plans a crusade against the pagan Wends of the Baltic.
9 September 1147	Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Saxons abandon their crusade against the pagan Wends after failing to take Dobin.
1151	Byzantine Empire, Hungary	The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus makes his first attack on Hungary in a war which lasts, intermittently, until 1167.
1157	Sweden	King Erik IX the Saint of Sweden begins the conquest of the area of modern Finland.
1157	Holy Roman Empire, Poland	After invading Poland, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa compels Grand Prince Boleslaw IV of Poland to admit, in the Peace of Krzyszkowo, the imperial overlordship of Poland (for the last time).
1158	England, Wales, Brittany, France	King Henry II of England campaigns against the Welsh and gains the overlordship of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. He also becomes overlord of Brittany on the death of his brother, Geoffrey of Anjou.
1161	Jin Empire, Southern Song Empire, China	An attempt by the Jin (emperors of the Juchen people) to conquer the Chinese Southern Song Empire is defeated at the Battle of Zaishi, near Yangzhou, China.
1162	Norway	King Haakon II of Norway is defeated and murdered by the jarl (earl) Erling, whose son Magnus VI succeeds as king.
1166	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	Hoping to take advantage of the weak position of Pope Alexander III following the death of his supporter King William I of Sicily, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa begins his fourth expedition to Italy.
1167–1168	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The Lombard League, formed to defend the northern Italian cities against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, builds the city of Alessandria to strengthen its defences.
11 April 1167	Kingdom of Jerusalem, Zangid Emirate, Fatimid Caliphate, Egypt	King Amalric I of Jerusalem, in alliance with the Fatimid vizier Shawar, defeats the Syrians under the Zengid general Shirkuh and his nephew Saladin near Cairo, Egypt. Both the Syrians and the Franks of Jerusalem subsequently agree to leave Egypt.
24 June 1167	Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Italy	The Holy Roman Frederick I Barbarossa camps outside Rome; he subsequently forces an entry, Pope Alexander III flees to Benevento, and the antipope Paschal III is installed.
8 March 1169	Russia, Kiev	Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Suzdal seizes and sacks Kiev; now the most powerful Russian prince, he assumes the title of great prince and establishes his capital at Vladimir (after which his principality subsequently takes its name).
1170	Korea	The Korean palace guards massacre civil officials and enthrone a puppet king; a period of civil war follows.
13 July 1174	Scotland, England	King William I the Lion of Scotland is captured while invading Northumberland; King Henry II of England has now suppressed his sons' rebellion in England.
29 May 1176	Holy Roman Empire, Italy	After Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, refuses to send reinforcements, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa is decisively defeated by the Lombard League, at Legnano, Italy.
17 September 1176	Byzantine Empire, Seljuk Sultanate of Rum	The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus invades the sultanate of Rum but his army is trapped and destroyed by Sultan Kilij Arslan II at Myriocephalum.
1177	Khmer Empire, Champa	King Jaya Indravarman IV of Champa sacks Angkor, capital of the Khmer Empire. Tribhuvanadityavarman, who had usurped the Khmer throne, is killed, and Jayavarman, son of Dharanindravarman II, assumes leadership of Khmer resistance to Champa domination.
1178	Danishmend Emirate, Seljuk Sultanate of Rum	Malatya, the last stronghold of the Danishmend dynasty, falls to Kilij Arslan II, Sultan of Rum.
1179	Central America	The Toltec city of Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán peninsula of Central America, built entirely on alignments with the rising and setting of the Sun and Venus, is sacked and burnt by the Mayapán king Hunac Ceel.
25 April 1185	Japan	At the naval battle of Dan-no-ura the Japanese Minamoto clan finally destroys the Taira samurai clan. Minamoto Yoritomo, adopting the title Sei-i-tai Shogun (‘barbarian-suppressing generalissimo’), becomes the effective ruler of Japan, making his capital at Kamakura (near Tokyo). Rule by the shoguns (military rulers) continues in Japan until 1868.
12 September 1185	Byzantine Empire, Normandy	The Byzantine emperor Andronicus I Comnenus is killed in a riot in Constantinople; he is succeeded by his cousin, Isaac II Angelus, who defeats the Normans at Mosinopolis and expels them.
8 May–5 June 1191	England, Cyprus, Navarre	King Richard I the Lionheart of England conquers Cyprus from its Byzantine ruler, Isaac II Angelus. While there, at Limassol, he marries Berengaria of Navarre (12 May).
8 August 1191	Holy Roman Empire, Italy, Germany	Empress Constance is captured in a revolt in Salerno, Italy, while the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI is forced by fever in his army to raise the siege of Naples and return to Germany.
1192	Ghur, India	At the second Battle of Tarain, near Delhi in India, Sultan Mohammad of Ghur (modern Afghanistan) defeats a confederation of Rajput princes and goes on to conquer northern India.
1196	Korea	Ch'oe Ch'ung-hon, a Korean general, massacres his rivals, takes control of the kingdom, and restores its unity; his family, the Ch'oe, retain power until 1258.
24 June 1204	France, England, Normandy, Gascony, France	With the fall of the Norman capital Rouen, King Philip II's conquest of Normandy is complete; of his French possessions King John of England retains only Gascony and the Channel Islands (originally part of the duchy of Normandy).
14 April 1205	Bulgaria, Latin Empire of Constantinople	Tsar Kalojan of Bulgaria defeats, captures, and executes the Latin emperor Baldwin of Constantinople at Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey).
1208	Almohad Emirate, Almoravid Emirate, North Africa	Mohammad al-Nasir, the Almohad emir of northwest Africa and Muslim Spain, destroys the last Almoravid strongholds in North Africa.
11 November 1210	Holy Roman Empire, Italy, Apulia, Germany	The Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, having agreed not to, opens a campaign to conquer the Italian duchy of Apulia and is therefore excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. Thus freed from their vows of obedience to Otto, his subjects in Germany rebel against him.
27 July 1214	England, Holy Roman Empire, France, Flanders	King John of England's allies, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and the Flemings, are decisively defeated by King Philip II of France at Bouvines, Flanders. By capturing the counts of Flanders and Boulogne, Philip establishes French control there; John is forced to abandon his campaign to recover his French lands; and Otto's cause in the Holy Roman Empire suffers a fatal blow.
1216	South Asia	King Maravarman Sundara of the Pandyas of southern India drives the Chola king, Kulottunga III, into (temporary) exile; the second Pandya Empire is now founded.
20 May 1217	England, France	William the Marshal, leading the loyalists for King Henry III of England, defeats the French dauphin Louis and the rebels who invited him to become king at Lincoln, England.
1220	Champa, Dai Viet	Jaya Parameshvaravarman II becomes king of Champa (corresponding roughly to modern southern Vietnam) on the withdrawal of the Khmers (of modern Cambodia). He begins a long and indecisive war with Dai Viet (modern northern Vietnam, also known as Annam).
5 May 1224	France, England	King Louis VIII of France declares war on King Henry III of England; he then overruns Poitou and most of Gascony north of the River Garonne.
1225	Khwarizm, Persia, Georgia	Jalal-ad-Din, the shah of the central Asian province of Khwarizm, re-establishes control of Persia, then invades Georgia and sacks the capital Tbilisi (modern Tbilisi) after defeating the Georgians at Garnhi.
22 July 1227	Denmark, Germany	King Valdemar II of Denmark is defeated at Bornhöved by the allies of Henry, Count of Schwerin, losing the town of Lübeck and other conquests in northern Germany. German colonization towards the east now resumes.
4 April 1230	Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire	John Asen II, Tsar of Bulgaria, defeats and captures Theodore Angelus, the despot of Epirus, at Klokotinitza; the Bulgarian Empire now extends from the Black Sea to the River Danube, the Adriatic Sea, and Thessaly.
4 April 1233	Cyprus, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Jerusalem	With the surrender of the Cypriot port of Kyrenia to John of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's forces are expelled from Cyprus and Henry of Lusignan is restored as king.
8 August 1233	Wales, England	Richard the Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, in alliance with Llywelyn ap Iorwerth the Great, Prince of Gwynedd (north Wales), begins a revolt against King Henry III of England.
1235	Mali	Sundiata, a Mandingo chief from the minor state of Kangaba, rebels against Sumanguru of Kaniaga, the dominant ruler in the west African Sahel, and defeats him at the Battle of Kirina (in southwest Mali). Sundiata compels Sumanguru's subjects to recognize his overlordship, so founding the empire of Mali.
1236	Germany, Prussia	The Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order of crusading knights) complete their conquest of the Pomeranians of west Prussia.
22 February 1240	Italy, Holy Roman Empire, Sicily, Germany	The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II reaches the outskirts of Rome, but withdraws to Sicily when Pope Gregory IX rouses the Romans to resist. Gregory, ineffectively, orders a crusade against Frederick in Germany.
21 July 1242	England, France, Toulouse	King Henry III of England retreats to Saintes after he is defeated by King Louis IX of France at Taillebourg, France. Louis suppresses the revolt of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, and the Lusignans.
1252	Champa, Dai Viet	King Jaya Parmesvaravarman II of Champa (corresponding roughly to modern southern Vietnam) is killed during an invasion from Dai Viet (modern Northern Vietnam, also known as Annam). Both states make peace, bringing 30 years of inconclusive warfare to a close.
1259	Poland, Lithuania, Russia	Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia in central Europe are devastated in punitive raids by Mongols and Russians.
7 July 1260	Lithuania	The Lithuanians defeat the Teutonic Knights (a German Christian military order) at Durben in Lithuania. This is followed by the revolt of Courland (Kurland) against the Knights and the apostasy (rejection of his Christian faith) of Prince Mindovg of Lithuania, who conquers the north Baltic region of Livonia.
1262–1269	Ilkhanate, Persia, Mongol Empire	War is waged between the Ilkhan of Persia, Hulagu, and Berke, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’. It is inconclusive but saves Egypt from Mongol attack.
1263	Venice, Genoa, Italy	The Venetians defeat the Genoese, the allies of the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, in a naval battle off Settepozzi, Italy, in their struggle to gain control of trade with the Byzantine Empire.
3 October 1263	Scotland, Norway, Iceland	King Alexander III of Scotland defeats King Haakon IV of Norway, in the Battle of Largs, after King Haakon IV attempts to subjugate the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, having already received the submission of Iceland and the colonists in Greenland. Alexander then subdues the Hebrides himself.
23 July 1266	Mameluke Sultanate, Kingdom of Jerusalem	The Mameluke sultan of Egypt, Baybars, wins control of the Galilee region of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by taking the Templars' fortress of Safed. Despite assurances, all 2,000 knights (members of the Knights Templar) are executed.
21 May 1268	Mameluke Sultanate, Syria, Principality of Antioch	The Mameluke sultan of Egypt, Baybars, takes Antioch, Syria (modern Antakya, Turkey), from its Crusader occupants, and destroys the city with unprecedented slaughter. The city never recovers.
23 August 1268	Italy, Sicily, Holy Roman Empire	Conrad V (Conradin) of the German royal house of Hohenstaufen invades Italy to recover his father, Conrad IV's, kingdom of Sicily. He is defeated by Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, at Tagliacozzo, northern Italy.
1277	Central Asia	An army sent by Kublai Khan defeats his cousin Khaidu at Karakorum in central Asia, but he survives this and subsequent attempts to suppress his rebellion.
28 August 1278	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Hungary	King Ottokar II of Bohemia is defeated and killed by King Rudolf I of Germany and King Ladislas IV of Hungary at Dürnkrut, on the River Danube near Stillfried. He is succeeded by his seven-year-old son, Wenceslas III, in Bohemia only, where civil war breaks out.
30 October 1281	Mameluke Sultanate, Armenia, Ilkhanate, Syria	The Mameluke sultan of Egypt, Qalawun, defeats the Mongols, Armenians, and Knights Hospitallers (members of an order of Christian chivalry) at Homs, Syria, after a failure by the Ilkhan of Persia to persuade Pope Martin IV to order a crusade against the Mamelukes.
21 March 1282	England	David ap Gruffydd, brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, begins a widespread Welsh revolt against King Edward I of England by capturing Hawarden Castle. A Welsh ‘parliament’ soon commits the Welsh to war.
7 September 1285	France, Aragon, Spain	King Philip III of France takes the town of Gerona in Aragon. He now withdraws from his ‘crusade’ against King Pedro III of Aragon as his army is ravaged by disease.
1292	Swiss Confederation, Holy Roman Empire	Albert of Habsburg defeats the Swiss Confederation but fails to take Zürich.
1293	Russia	Tokhta, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’, ravages Russia, including Vladimir and Moscow, in re-establishing Andrew as grand duke in place of Dmitri I, the vassal of Nogay, Khan of ‘the Nogay Horde’ (between the Dnieper and Danube rivers).
1297	Venice, Genoa, Byzantine Empire	The Venetians sack the Genoese port of Kaffa, in the Crimea, in their struggle to seize control of trade with the Byzantine Empire. The Genoese ravage the Venetian island of Crete and are assisted by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus in massacring Venetian merchants in the Byzantine Empire.
1298	Mongol Empire	Nogay, Mongol Khan of the ‘Nogay Horde’ (operating between the Dnieper and Danube rivers), ravages the Crimea after defeating Tokhta, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’.
2 July 1298	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	In a battle near Göllheim (near Worms), Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor Adolf I of Nassau is defeated and killed by Albert of Habsburg.
8 September 1298	Genoa, Venice	The Genoese destroy the Venetian navy off the Dalmatian island of Curzola in their struggle to gain control of trade with the Byzantine Empire. As a result, Venice ‘closes’ its Great Council, a council of nobles who deal with administrative and legislative affairs, restricting its membership.
1299	Russia	Tokhta, Khan of the ‘Golden Horde’, defeats and kills Nogay, Khan of the ‘Nogay Horde’ (between the Dnieper and Danube rivers), on the River Kagamlyk. The Mongols in eastern Europe are thus reunited.
5 May 1299	Genoa, Venice	Matteo Visconti negotiates a peace between Genoa and Venice, ending their war (since 1261) to control trade with the Byzantine Empire.
1300	Byzantine Empire, Anatolia,	A new wave of Turks, known as the ‘Ottomans’ after their founder Osman, are driven westwards by the Mongols. They defeat the Byzantines in Bithynia, and occupy western Anatolia. The Byzantine Empire holds on only in Nicaea, Heraclea, and Smyrna.
8 August 1300	Holy Roman Empire	The Holy Roman Emperor Albert I abandons his siege of Nijmegen in the war against John of Hainault. This failure is followed by a revolt of the Rhenish princes.
11 July 1302	Flanders, France	The French army, considered to be the finest fighting force of the time, is destroyed by the Flemish urban militia at Courtrai, Flanders. The Flemings repel the French cavalry, inflicting over a thousand casualties at a cost of only a few hundred casualties to their side.
25 May 1315	Ireland, Scotland	Edward Bruce, brother of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scotland, invades Ireland, having been offered the high kingship by Donal O'Neill, King of Tyrone.
15 November 1315	Swiss Confederation, Austria, Holy Roman Empire	The Swiss defeat Duke Leopold of Austria at Morgarten.
16 March 1322	England	King Edward II of England defeats Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, at Boroughbridge, England. In the course of the battle the Earl of Hereford is killed, the Earl of Lancaster and his captains surrendering to Edward the following day.
28 September 1322	Austria, Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria, Germany, Bohemia	King Ludwig IV of Bavaria is aided by King John I of Bohemia in defeating and capturing Frederick of Austria on the River Inn at Mühldorf, on the Austrian border.
2 February 1323	Italy	The papal legate Bertrand du Poujet opens his campaign against the Lombard ‘Ghibellines’, the German imperialists, with the capture of Tortona and Monza in Italy.
8 October 1323	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	As a result of King Ludwig IV of Bavaria's claim of imperial authority in northern Italy, Pope John XXII asserts his right to confirm imperial elections and requires Ludwig to surrender the kingship of the Romans.
8 August 1324	France, England	King Charles IV of France invades Gascony when the parliament of Paris declares the province confiscated because King Edward II of England's lieutenant has sacked the French fortified town of Saint-Sardos.
6 April 1326	Byzantine Empire	Ghazi Orkhan succeeds his father Osman I as ruler of the Ottoman Turks and takes the Byzantine city of Bursa (in modern Turkey), making it his capital.
16 November 1326	England	King Edward II of England and Hugh Despenser the Younger are captured at Neath Abbey in Wales. Hugh Despenser the Younger is executed.
28 June 1330	Serbia, Bulgaria	Stephen Uroš III, King of Serbia, defeats and kills Michael Šišman, the Bulgarian tsar, near Velbužd, thereby establishing Serbian dominance in Macedonia. Michael Šišman is succeeded in 1331 by John Alexander.
1333	Japan	Go-Daigo, assisted by the great feudatory Ashikaga Takauji, defeats the Hojo regency and establishes himself as emperor of Japan. The Hojos are extinguished and the effective Japanese capital is removed from Kamakura and restored to Kyoto.
1336	India, Delhi Sultanate	Mubarak Shah rebels against Mohammed II, Sultan of Delhi, and declares eastern Bengal independent.
c. 1336	India	The Sammas, a Rajput tribe, oust the ruling Sumras and assume control of the Sind region of India.
July 1336	Japan	The Japanese emperor Go-Daigo's attempt to restore imperial authority in Japan collapses. Forces of the Ashikaga clan under Ashikaga Takauji defeat those of Go-Daigo. Takauji takes Kyoto and enthrones a new emperor, Komyo.
1339	India, Delhi Sultanate	Ali Shah rebels against Mohammed II, Sultan of Delhi, and declares western Bengal independent.
30 October 1340	Spain, Portugal, Africa	King Alfonso XI of Castile and King Afonso IV of Portugal defeat a Muslim invasion from Africa on the River Salado.
11 November 1341	France	Charles of Blois captures John de Montfort, and imprisons him in France. John's niece, Jeanne, wife of Charles of Blois, recognizes King Edward III of England as king of France and seeks his assistance to continue the Breton war of succession.
8 July 1343	Poland	The Treaty of Kalisz ends the war between the Teutonic Knights and King Casimir (Kazimierz) III of Poland, who cedes Pomerania.
28 October 1344	Anatolia	A crusading fleet organized by Pope Clement VI takes the Turkish-held port of Smyrna in Anatolia (modern Izmir, Turkey). The port is held, first by Papal forces and then by the Knights Hospitaller, until 1402.
26 March 1349	Spain	King Alfonso XI of Castile dies of the Black Death (a form of bubonic plague) while besieging the Muslims in Gibraltar. He is succeeded by his son Pedro I.
2 March 1352	Byzantine Empire	The Ottoman Turks take Gallipoli from the Byzantine Empire. Originally involved only as allies of the Byzantine emperor John VI Cantacuzenus in his new war with John V of Byzantium, they now remain in Gallipoli (in modern Turkey), making it their base for conquests in Europe.
1355	Serbia	The Serbian empire of King Stephan Dušan IV of Serbia begins to collapse following his death while advancing to take Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey).
17 January 1356	Italy	Pope Innocent VI declares a crusade against Francesco Ordelaffi, lord of the northern Italian towns of Cesena and Forli.
1358	Tibet	Pyang-chubrGyal-mtsham, ruler of the Tibetan territory of Phag-mo-gru, seizes power from the Sa-skya, and so achieves almost complete control of Tibet.
1362	Bulgaria, Hungary	King Ludwig I of Hungary defeats and captures King Strascimir of Bulgaria. He conquers northern Bulgaria, extending his control over the Balkans.
30 November 1363	Sweden, Germany	Albert II is elected king of Sweden when his father Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, Germany, leads a rebellion which deposes King Magnus II of Sweden.
10 October 1365	Mameluke Sultanate, Egypt, Cyprus	A crusade led by King Peter I of Cyprus takes Alexandria, in Mameluke Egypt. He departs after sacking the town and massacring its population.
3 April 1367	Spain, England, France	Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, son of King Edward III of England, invades Castile on behalf of the usurped King Pedro I and defeats King Henry of Castile, capturing his French ally Bertrand du Guesclin at Nájera, Spain. Illness subsequently forces him to withdraw and new rebellions break out against King Pedro I.
1369	Central Asia	Timur Leng (Tamerlane), Grand Amir of the Mongols, gains control of the khanate of Chaghadai, centred in Turkestan and with its capital at Samarkand.
23 March 1369	Spain	Henry of Trastamare kills Pedro I, former king of Castile, and becomes King Henry II in uncontested control of the kingdom. This places the Castilian fleet in the hands of an ally of France.
10 October 1369	Italy, Byzantine Empire	The Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus visits Rome, Italy, on a mission to solicit aid against the Ottoman Turks, and is accepted into the Roman church.
26 September 1371	Serbia, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire	Murad, leader of the Ottoman Turks, defeats and kills King Vukašin of Serbia at Crnomen, on the Marica. He conquers Macedonia, while the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria become Turkish tributaries.
3 March 1372	Castile, Spain, England, Portugal	John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, claims the throne of Castile on his standing as the son-in-law of King Pedro I of Castile. King Henry II of Castile besieges Lisbon, Portugal, in order to compel King Ferdinand I of Portugal to abandon his alliance with John of Gaunt.
1377	Dai Viet, Champa	Tran Due-tong, Emperor of Dai Viet (modern northern Vietnam), is killed in his unsuccessful invasion of the kingdom of Champa (southern Vietnam). Che Bong Nga, King of Champa, subsequently again sacks Hanoi, Dai Viet.
1377	Southeast Asia	Hayam Wuruk, Emperor of Majapahit (Java), destroys the last remains of the Hindu empire of Srivijaya (Sumatra).
15 June 1389	Serbia, , Ottoman Empire	Following the death of Murad I, ruler of the Ottoman Turks, while defeating the Serbians at Kosovo, he is succeeded by his son Bayezid I. King Lazar of Serbia is also killed in the battle. In the ensuing disintegration of his dominions Montenegro becomes independent.
17 May 1395	Hungary, Wallachia, Ottoman Empire	The Hungarians and Wallachians defeat the Ottoman Turks at Rovine, but Wallachia becomes tributary to the Turks, who also conquer the Dobrudja area of the Balkans.
25 September 1396	Ottoman Empire, Hungary, Bulgaria	The Ottoman Turks destroy the crusading army of King Sigismund of Hungary and his western allies at Nicopolis, Bulgaria.
1 January 1409	Wales, England	The Welsh rebels holding Harlech Castle surrender to the English. The rebellion of Owen Glendower, Prince of Wales, has now collapsed.
15 July 1410	Poland-Lithuania	In the Great Northern War, King Wldyslaw Jagiello of Poland and Grand Duke Vitold of Lithuania defeat the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald (Tannenberg).
25 March 1420	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	In the first battle of the Hussite Wars, the extremist antipapal Taborites, led by John Žiška, defeat the Bohemian Catholics at Sudomer, Bohemia.
14 July 1420	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	In the Hussite Wars, the extremist antipapal Taborites, led by John Žiška, defeat a crusading army led by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia, on the Vitkow, now Ziška's Hill, outside Prague, Bohemia. The ‘Four Articles of Prague’ defining the principles common to the Hussites are now published.
1 November 1420	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	The Hussites again defeat the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia, under the Heights of Vyšehrad, near Prague, Bohemia: the first anti-Hussite crusade fails. Four further unsuccessful crusades follow.
2 November 1421	Bohemia, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	In the Hussite Wars, the Bohemians defeat a second invading crusade by German princes at Saaz, Bohemia. This marks the failure of the second anti-Hussite crusade.
27 April 1423	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	John Žiška, leader of the antipapal Taborite Hussites, defeats the moderates at Horic, Bohemia, in the first battle of the Bohemian civil war.
16 June 1426	Bohemia, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Hussites, led by Prokop the Great, destroy a German crusading army at Usti, Bohemia: the third anti-Hussite crusade fails.
27 August 1427	Bohemia, England, Holy Roman Empire	A crusading army led by the English cardinal Henry Beaufort flees from Stribo on the approach of the Bohemians: the fourth anti-Hussite crusade fails.
14 August 1431	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	A crusading army led by Cardinal Cesarini flees from Domažlice, Bohemia, on the approach of the Bohemians: the fifth anti-Hussite crusade fails.
30 May 1434	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	In the Battle of Lipany, the Bohemian Catholics and Utraquists (the moderate Hussites) defeat the extremist antipapal Taborite Hussites led by Andrew Prokop, who is killed.
5 August 1435	Aragon, Genoa, Italy, Milan, Naples, Spain, Holy Roman Empire	King Alfonso V of Aragon is defeated and captured by the Genoese in a naval battle off the island of Ponza. He is soon afterwards released, having made a treaty of alliance with Milan, in which his claim to the throne of Naples is recognized.
1443	Albania, Ottoman Empire	The Albanian national hero George Castriota, known as Skanderbeg, begins the revolt of Albania against the Ottoman Turks, having served with them against János Hunyadi, Voivode (governor) of Transylvania.
10 November 1443	Hungary, Ottoman Empire	A crusading army led by János Hunyadi, Voivode (governor) of Transylvania, defeats the Ottoman Turks at Niš, Bulgaria. He subsequently also takes the city of Sofia.
17 October 1448	Hungary, Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman sultan Murad II defeats János Hunyadi, Voivode (governor) of Transylvania, at the second Battle of Kosovo Polje in Serbia and thus regains control of the Balkans, excluding Albania.
September 1452	Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire	The city of Tabor, Bohemia, last stronghold and headquarters of the Taborites (the radical social revolutionary wing of the Hussite movement), surrenders to George of Podebrady, leader of the reformist Utraquist wing and governor of Bohemia.
6 March 1454	Poland-Lithuania, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland proclaims the incorporation of Prussia into Poland when the Prussian Union of Cities (led by Gdansk) and the gentry renounce allegiance to the Teutonic Order of Knights. The Thirteen Years' War follows between Poland and the Teutonic Order of Knights.
8 September 1454	Poland-Lithuania, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The forces of the Teutonic Order of Knights severely defeat Polish forces under King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland at Chojnice, Poland, in the first major battle of the Thirteen Years' War.
August 1461	Aragon, Spain	Prince Carlos de Viana, son and heir of John II of Aragon, dies suddenly in Barcelona, Spain. Civil war breaks out in Aragon and Navarre against John II, and Catalan Barcelona attempts a republican revolution.
1462	Wallachia, Ottoman Empire	An Ottoman force devastates the principality of Wallachia, causing its ruler Vlad IV Tepes the Impaler to flee. He is replaced by a native vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
6 December 1463	Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Moldavia, Holy Roman Empire, Wallachia	Matthias I Corvinus, King of Hungary, takes Jajce, the former capital of Bosnia, from the Ottoman Turks, and claims suzerainty over Bosnia, Serbia, Moldavia, and Wallachia.
1464	North Africa, Mali	Sonni `Ali accedes to the rule of Gao, Mali, on the River Niger. Relying on cavalry, he defeats Mossi attacks, conquers the Dogon and Fulani peoples in the Bandiagara Hills to the southwest, and expels the Tuaregs, thus founding the Songhai empire (–1591).
5 June 1465	Spain, Castile	A faction of nobles led by Alphonso Carillo, archbishop of Toledo, declares King Henry IV of Castile and León deposed in favour of his infant brother Alfonso in the ‘farce of Avila’. This decision, prompted by wrangling over the legitimacy of Henry's heir Joan ‘La Beltraneja/child of Beltran’, provokes civil war.
5 October 1465	France	King Louis XI of France is forced to make the Peace of Conflans with the League of the Public Weal, the price being the cession of territory on the Somme to Burgundy, and the grant of the duchy of Normandy to his brother Charles, Duke of Berry.
19 October 1466	Poland-Lithuania, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The Thirteen Years' War between Poland and the Teutonic Order of Knights ends with the Peace of Torun. The Teutonic Order of Knights cedes the disputed areas of Pomerania and West Prussia to Poland, and becomes a vassal of King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland.
1471	Annam, Southeast Asia	Le Thanh-tong, emperor of Dai Viet, starts the annexation of the northern provinces of the Champa kingdom. A 500 kilometre stretch of Annam is conquered and settled southwards from Da Nang to Nha Trang.
11 October 1471	Europe, Muscovy	Following its defeat by Muscovite forces, the extensive and wealthy republic of Novgorod becomes subject to Ivan III, Grand Duke of Muscovy, and Moscow. The ascendancy in Russia of the principality of Muscovy is established.
6 June 1473	Japan	In Japan, Hosokawa Katsumoto, leader of the loyalist faction in the Onin War, dies. Following the earlier death of his opponent Yamana Mochitoyo, this ends any prospect of a truce and many residents leave the devastated capital, Kyoto, as Japan descends into feudal chaos.
April 1474	China, Ming Empire	Ming forces construct the present-day ‘Great Wall’ along the border of the Ordos desert in the Shensi province of China in order to hold back persistent Mongol incursions.
1475	Ottoman Empire, Khanate of the Crimea	An Ottoman force conquers the Crimea. The Genoese trading colony at Khaffa (Feodosiya) falls, and the Tatar (Mongol) Krim Khan becomes an Ottoman vassal.
4 July–29 August 1475	England, France	King Edward IV of England lands at Calais, France, with a large army. He finds his allies unwilling or unable to campaign, and manoeuvres as far as the River Somme, where he bargains with King Louis XI of France. The Treaty of Picquigny specifies a seven-year truce, the freedom and security of merchants, and compensation to Edward of 75,000 crowns, followed by annual payments of 50,000 crowns.
1476	Mali	Sonni `Ali, founder of the Songhai empire in Mali, leads the subjugation of the Niger lakes region west of Timbuktu, Mali.
1476	Moldavia, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire	Ottoman forces win a Pyrrhic victory at Valea Alba in Moldavia when they defeat the armies of Stephen the Great of Moldavia but are forced to retreat from his principality. Stephen receives the accolade ‘the athlete of Christ’ from Pope Sixtus IV.
1478	Ottoman Empire	Krujë, last stronghold of the Albanian prince George Castriota, son of Skanderbeg, falls to the Ottoman Turks, who thus complete their conquest of Albania save for a few Venetian outposts.
18 January 1478	Muscovy	Ivan III the Great, Prince of Muscovy, uses the pretext of contact with Lithuania as evidence of rebellion and sacks the merchant city and republic of Novgorod, deporting many boyar (noble) families. He incorporates the republic into Muscovy, now the undisputed suzerain of Russia.
1 June 1478	Italy, Papal States	Following the failure of the ‘Pazzi Conspiracy’ and the murder of the conspirator, the archbishop of Pisa, Pope Sixtus IV, excommunicates Lorenzo de' Medici and allies with Naples in a war against Florence, Venice, and Milan, Italy.
1480	Muscovy, Poland-Lithuania	Ivan III, Grand Duke of Muscovy, dispels the last relics of domination by the Mongol Tatar ‘Golden Horde’ when his armies face down the forces of its khan Akhmet at the ‘battle’ of the River Ugra, at which the Horde's Lithuanian allies fail to appear.
6 March 1480	Naples, Florence, Italy, Papal States, Milan, Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Aragon	Having travelled to Naples, Italy, after receiving overtures of peace, Lorenzo de' Medici reaches agreement with Ferrante, King of Naples, for peace between Naples and Florence, Italy. The papacy, Milan, and Venice accede shortly afterward, ending the War of the Pazzi.
1481	Castile, Spain, Granada	Abu-al-Hasan (Muley Hacen), Sultan of Granada, surprises and takes the fortified Castilian town of Zahara, starting the War of Granada, the final phase of the Reconquista (‘Reconquest’).
26 February 1482	Granada, Castile, Aragon, Spain	Castilian forces under Ferdinand of Aragon capture the stronghold of Alhama from Muslim Granada. `Abu-Abd-Il (Boabdil), governor of Guadix, Granada, is aided by the Abencerrajes family in usurping the throne of Granada from his father `Ali Abu-al-Hasan (Muley Hacen) who retreats to Málaga, Spain.
1 June 1485	Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Hungary	The burghers of Vienna, Austria, surrender their city to the besieging army of Matthias I Corvinus, King of Hungary. Frederick III the Holy Roman Emperor loses his capital, as he has already lost much of his territory in the duchies of Austria, Styria, and Carinthia.
15 September 1485	Poland-Lithuania, Moldavia, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire	During a campaign against the Ottoman and Tatar forces advancing along the Black Sea coast, King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland receives the homage of the voivod of Moldavia, Stephen III the Great.
5 February–16 May 1488	Holy Roman Empire	Maximilian, King of the Romans, and his court are taken prisoner while trying to garrison the rebellious city of Bruges in Flanders. They are sent to Ghent, Flanders, as hostages, and Maximilian is forced to proclaim his acquiescence to a peace that guarantees the autonomy of the Netherlands ‘Union’.
25 November 1489	Granada, Spain, Castile, Aragon	Mohammed XII Zagal of Granada surrenders to King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I of Aragon and Castile when they capture the city of Baza in Granada. Mohammed XI Boabdil resumes the rule of the kingdom of Granada, which has been reduced by the surrender of the cities of Almería and Guadix with Mohammed XII Zagal.
25 January 1491	Poland-Lithuania	Polish–Lithuanian forces under Jan Olbracht, son of King Casimir (Kazimierz) IV of Poland, decisively defeat the Kazan Tartars at Zaslaw, Poland, gaining respite from their raids.
2 January 1492	Spain, Granada	Granada, the last Muslim city in Spain, surrenders, completing the Christian Reconquista (‘Reconquest’) and unifying Spain (apart from Navarre) under its besiegers of nine months, Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Aragon and Castile.
1 September 1494	Italy, France	King Charles VIII of France invades Italy in order to claim the throne of Naples, Italy. He crosses the Alps and arrives in Turin, Italy, a week later.
December 1494	Spain	Alfonso Fernandez de Lugo leads a Spanish invading force to victory in battle against the native Guanche at La Laguna in Tenerife, the Canary Islands, securing the island for Spain.
7 July 1501	France, Spain, Naples, Italy	The French army under King Louis XII, aided by Cesare Borgia, captain general of the papal army, storms and sacks the city of Capua, while its Spanish allies under Gonzalo de Córdoba take control of the provinces of Apulia and Calabria.
4 August 1501	France, Naples, Italy	The French complete their conquest of the northern half of the kingdom of Naples; the last castles surrender. King Federigo surrenders himself and the throne to King Louis XII of France and accepts the French duchy of Anjou. Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, becomes viceroy.
1502	North Africa, Songhai	The Songhai emperor Muhammad I Askia completes his conquests of the Mossi people of Yatenga and the Tuaregs of Aïr in northwest Africa.
29 December 1503	Spain, France, Naples, Italy	Spanish forces under Gonzalo de Córdoba defeat the French at the Battle of the River Garigliano, completing the Spanish conquest of the kingdom of Naples and domination of southern Italy.
14 May 1509	France, Venice, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Italy	The French under King Louis XII defeat the Venetians at Agnadello. As a result, Pope Julius II annexes Faenza, Rimini, and Ravenna in the Romagna; King Ferdinand II of Aragon takes Otranto and Brindisi; and the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I annexes Verona, Vicenza, and Padua.
1510–1512	Denmark-Norway, Spanish Netherlands	King John I of Denmark-Norway, allied with the county of Holland, fights a war with and defeats the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, which has dominated Baltic trade for 350 years. By the Treaty of Malmö, navigation of the Sund is controlled from Copenhagen.
11 April 1512	France, Italy, Papal States, Spain	Este (Ferrarese) artillery and French cavalry under Gaston, comte de Foix, defeat the Spanish and papal forces of the anti-French Holy League in a bitter battle at Ravenna, Italy, but Gaston's death in battle mars French prospects in Italy.
9 September 1513	England, Scotland	King Henry VIII of England's northern army under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, annihilates the invading Scottish army at the Battle of Flodden Field, near Branxton, Northumberland. Amongst the more than 10,000 dead is King James IV of Scotland; his infant son succeeds him as James V and the queen, Margaret Tudor, assumes the regency.
7 September 1514	Persia, Ottoman Empire, Azerbaijan, Safavid Empire	The Ottoman sultan Selim I takes and enters Tabriz in Azerbaijan, the erstwhile capital of the Safavid Persian shah Ismail I.
August 1515	France, Milan, Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Italy	King Francis I of France sets out for Italy, crossing the Alps with an army of 110,000, to recover the duchy of Milan. He rapidly defeats Milanese forces at Villafranca. Venice besieges the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I's stronghold of Verona.
13–14 September 1515	France, Italy, Venice, Milan, Swiss Confederation, Holy Roman Empire	Having seized Novara, King Francis I of France's forces, decisively aided by the Venetians, defeat the Swiss armies at Marignano, south of Milan, and so conquer the duchy; the supremacy of the Swiss mercenary infantry is brought to an end.
24 August 1516	Ottoman Empire, Mameluke Sultanate, Syria, Palestine, Egypt	Ottoman armies under Sultan Selim I rout the fractious army of the Mameluke sultan of Egypt, Kansu-al-Guari, at Marj Dabik near Aleppo, Syria, killing Kansu. The Ottomans go on to conquer Syria and Palestine before the end of the year.
23–30 January 1517	Ottoman Empire, Egypt	The Ottomans take the Egyptian city of Cairo from its Mameluke rulers after bitter battles culminating in four days of vicious street fighting. After a last stand in the citadel, the Mameluke sultan escapes to continue resistance to the south, but is later captured and executed (13 April).
13 August 1521	Spain, Mexico, Aztec Empire	A Spanish force under the conquistador Hernán Cortés, aided by Tlaxcalan allies, completes its capture of the smouldering ruin of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán, in the Valley of Mexico, after an eight-week siege and bitter street fighting. The surrender of the Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc hands Mexico to Spain.
21 December 1522	Ottoman Empire, Rhodes	The Order of the Knights of St John of the Hospital surrender their fortress of Rhodes to Ottoman forces under Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent; they leave the island, accepting generous terms of capitulation after a bitter six-month siege.
6–14 May 1527	Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Italy	Unpaid and mutinous Habsburg Spanish and (often Protestant) Landsknecht (mercenary knight) troops, under Charles, duc de Bourbon, and Georg von Frunsberg, assault and sack Rome, Italy. Bourbon dies in the assault, and Pope Clement VII takes refuge in the Castel Sant' Angelo.
1528	Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands	Continuing its campaigns against the Habsburgs and the county of Holland, the marauding army of Charles of Egmont, Duke of Guelders, under ‘Black’ Maarten van Roosem, sacks The Hague.
11 October 1531	Swiss Confederation	The Swiss Catholic Christian Union armies defeat those of the canton of Zürich, under Jörg Göldli at Kappel, killing the Protestant pastor and theologian Ulrich Zwingli in battle.
26 July 1533	Spain, Inca Empire	The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro executes his prisoner of eight months, Atahualpa, the Inca emperor, at Cajamarca (in modern Ecuador), despite having accepted a large ransom for his release. He then arranges to have the emperor's treacherous brother Tupac Hualpa crowned emperor, in the mistaken hope of retaining the support of Atahualpa's followers.
3 May 1534	Spain, Inca Empire	The Inca general of the Quitan forces, Quisquis, narrowly loses the battle of Teocajas to the Spanish force under Sebastián de Belalcázar, which goes on to occupy the city before the end of June, though Inca resistance continues in the area now known as Ecuador until December.
24 June 1535	Holy Roman Empire	The coalition of nobles besieging Münster, aided by information from deserters, assaults the city and ends Anabaptist resistance in a night of carnage. The mutilated body of the revolutionary Anabaptist leader Jan Boekelszoon (John of Leiden) hangs from the cathedral spire, after his execution by the restored bishop Franz von Waldeck in 1536, until 1848.
July 1535	Holy Roman Empire, North Africa, Ottoman Empire	The imperial expedition led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Genoese admiral Andrea Doria captures the north African city of Tunis; its Ottoman conqueror, the corsair Khair ad-Din (‘Barbarossa’), flees to Algiers, and the bey (governor), Mulai Hassan, is restored, protected by a Spanish garrison at La Goletta.
28 July 1536	Denmark-Norway	Count Christopher von Oldenburg, the mercenary general of Lübeck, surrenders Copenhagen to the forces of the Lutheran Christian III after a long siege; this ends the Danish civil war known as the ‘Count's War’.
4 September–6 November 1538	India, Portugal, Ottoman Empire, Egypt	An Ottoman Egyptian fleet under Suleiman Pasha arrives to aid the Gujaratis in their blockade of the Portuguese-held fortress of Diu, northwest India; the Muslim admirals quarrel and the Egyptians return to Yemen, enabling the Portuguese to hold out.
November 1542	Sweden	The peasant insurgents under the Swedish bandit Nils Dacke, rising against enforcement of the Reformation in Sweden, gain a truce from King Gustavus I Vasa by their defeat of royal forces in the Dacke War.
February 1543	Sweden	The peasant armies in Småland, Sweden, under the bandit leader Nils Dacke, are crushed by troops under King Gustavus I Vasa, ending the Dacke War over enforcement of the Reformation in Sweden. Dacke dies in battle, the other leaders are executed, and the county made to pay a fine.
21 February 1543	Ethiopia, Adal	The Ethiopian forces of Emperor Galawdewos (Claudius) ambush the army of Adal at Weyna Dega near Lake Tana, Ethiopia, killing its leader Ahmad Grañ; the invasion force withdraws and Adali attempts to conquer Ethiopia come to an end.
June–July 1545	England, France	A French fleet under Admiral d'Annebault pursues the English under John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, Duke of Northumberland, from the Seine estuary into the Solent; though King Henry VIII of England's great flagship the Mary Rose keels over and sinks on her maiden voyage during a battle off Portsmouth, England, the French landings on the Isle of Wight fail and they retreat.
1547–1552	Russia, Central Asia	Tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) of Russia mounts two unsuccessful assaults on Kazan before taking the city and deposing its khan, beginning the Russian conquest of the Tatar lands.
12 August 1549	England, France	Following King Henry II of France's declaration of war on England on 8 August, his forces capture Ambleteuse Castle, between Calais and Boulogne in northern France, besieging the latter.
4 April 1552	Holy Roman Empire, France	Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Albert Alcibiades II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, leading the German Protestant armies, in concert with King Henry II of France in Lorraine, against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, take Augsburg, the largest and richest German city.
May 1563	Russia, Poland-Lithuania	The Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) seizes the town and territory of Polotsk along the Dvina River in Lithuania, on the borders of King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland's recent acquisitions in Livonia. War follows.
September 1563	Sweden, Denmark-Norway, Holy Roman Empire, Germany	The ‘War of the Three Crowns’ opens with an assault by King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway's army under Daniel Rantzau on Elfsborg (present-day Gothenburg), the fortified port on the Kattegat, Sweden's only outlet to the west. This is a territorial war, aimed also at the deposition of Erik XIV, the deranged king of Sweden.
23 January 1565	India, Vijayanagara	A coalition of the Muslim sultans of the Deccan defeats the armies of Vijayanagara at Talikota, India, effectively bringing an end to the ancient Hindu kingdom.
1569–1573	England, Ireland	James Fitzmaurice attempts to raise Ireland in Catholic rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I of England and the ‘Plantations’ (English colonies) in his native Munster and Leinster. Though the resistance succeeds in ejecting the colonists, he eventually surrenders to John Perrot, the English lord deputy of Ireland.
July 1573	Japan	The Japanese ‘daimyo’ Oda Nobunaga leads his forces in a descent on Kyoto, across Lake Biwa, takes the city by stealth, and deposes the last Ashikaga shogun (military ruler) Yoshiaki, who has been in contact with Nobunaga's enemies.
4 August 1578	North Africa, Portugal, Morocco	King Sebastian I of Portugal and Al Mutawakkil, his candidate for the throne of Morocco, invading Morocco on a crusade, are drowned after his forces are routed near Alcazarquivir (Ksar el Kebir) in the Battle of the Three Kings by the army of the sultan of Morocco, Abd-al-Malik (who dies the next day). Sebastian's uncle, Cardinal Henry, aged 67, succeeds as king of Portugal.
15 January 1582	Russia, Poland-Lithuania, Livonia	The Russian tsar Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) and King Stephen I Báthory of Poland agree the Truce of Yam-Zapolski, mediated by Pope Gregory XIII. Ivan concedes defeat in the Livonian War, abandoning Livonia and Polotsk to Poland in return for Polish-Lithuanian withdrawal from Velikiye Luki.
5–17 January 1583	France, Spanish Netherlands	French forces trying to enforce the authority of Francis, Duke of Anjou, in the Spanish Netherlands by coup de main seize Dunkirk, Ostend, Diksmuide, Aalst, Dendermonde, and Vilvoorde, but fail in two attempts on Bruges and Antwerp (17 January), in the ‘French Fury’.
23 December 1588	France	King Henry III of France mounts a coup against the Catholic League. He has Henri, Duke of Guise, assassinated at Blois, followed the next day by his brother Cardinal Louis, and takes the Catholic claimant to the throne, Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, prisoner. Charles, Duke of Mayenne, the third Guise brother, assumes leadership of the League.
1590–1600	China, Ming Empire	The Chinese warlord Yang Yinglong maintains his rebellion against Ming imperial forces in the Huguang–Sichuan–Guizhou border region of China until veterans of the war in Choson (modern Korea) under Li Hualong annihilate the insurgents.
15 July 1592	Japan, Korea	Invading Japanese forces under Konishi Yukinaga defeat the remnants of the royal Choson (Korean) army at the Taedong River and capture Pyongyang. However, guerrilla resistance stiffens and the control of the Japanese over most of the country is nominal as they await an order to invade China.
January 1593	Korea, Japan, China, Ming Empire	A huge Chinese imperial army under Li Rusong enters Korea in support of the vassal Choson state; it pushes the invading Japanese forces back to Seoul.
9 May 1593	Korea, China, Ming Empire, Japan	The Chinese-Japanese war in Choson (Korea) having reached stalemate in bitter fighting outside the Choson capital Seoul, Shen Weijing, the Chinese emissary, and Konishi Yukinaga, the Japanese commander, agree a ceasefire; the Japanese are to evacuate Seoul but retain a bridgehead at Pusan.
17 January 1595	France, Spain	King Henry IV of France declares war on Spain, King Philip II of Spain having tried to enforce the claims of a Spanish pretender to the French throne.
1597	Persia, Central Asia, Safavid Empire	Shah Abbas I the Great of Safavid Persia's new Ghulam army (comprising slave Circassian and Georgian converts) defeats the Uzbekhs to secure the disputed province of Khorasan (in modern Afghanistan). He makes Esfahan his new capital, building magnificent new palaces and mosques and encouraging carpet manufacture.
6 August 1600	France, Savoy, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	King Henry IV of France leads an invasion of the duchy of Savoy following the breakdown of negotiations for the return of the town of Saluzzo, which Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, annexed in 1588.
20 October 1600	Japan	The ‘Eastern Army’ under Tokugawa Ieyasu, the leader of the ruling regency council in Japan, annihilates the rebel coalition, the ‘Western Army’, led by Ishida Matsunari, claiming to act for the underage Toyotomi Hideyori, at the pass of Sekigahara. Tokugawa hegemony is established in Japan.
March 1606	Poland, Sweden	When King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland, at war with his uncle King Charles IX of Sweden, demands a large standing army and the funds to maintain it from the Polish Sejm (parliament), resistance crystallizes around a series of congresses held by Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, governor of Kraków. Eventually, he leads his supporters into armed rebellion and civil war.
6 July 1607	Poland	King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland's royal forces destroy the rebel army under Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, governor of Kraków, at Guzów, though resistance continues into the following year.
September 1609	Russia, Sweden, Poland	King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland declares war on Russia, following Tsar Vasily IV Shuysky's alliance with Sweden earlier in the year, and supports his son Wladyslaw's claim to the Russian throne. Polish forces under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Hetman (general commander), relieve Riga, Livonia (modern Latvia), from a siege by King Charles IX of Sweden as Sigismund III leads a siege of Smolensk, Russia.
October 1610	Russia, Poland	King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland decides on personal control of Russia and continues his war on the boyar (noble) council in Moscow and his son Wladyslaw, whom they have installed as tsar.
4 April 1611	Denmark-Norway, Sweden	King Christian IV of Denmark forces the Riksråd (parliament) to declare war on Sweden (the War of Kalmar), hoping to reconquer the country. Danish forces take the Swedish port of Kalmar and the mouth of the Göta River the following month.
October 1612	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	Sweden, under King Gustavus II Adolphus, fights the Danish invasion of the War of Kalmar to a halt; Sweden preserves its independence.
20 January 1613	Sweden, Denmark-Norway, UK	The Peace of Knäred, mediated by King James I of England, ends the War of Kalmar between Denmark and Sweden; Denmark gains acknowledgement of its claim to Finnmark and retains Älvsborg for four years as security against reparations of $1 million.
May–June 1615	Japan	The Tokugawa forces led by the de-facto Japanese shogun (military ruler) Tokugawa Ieyasu conduct a continuous assault, the ‘Summer Siege’, on Osaka Castle until the rebel leader Toyotomi Hideyori commits suicide rather than submitting. This finally secures the rule of the Edo Bakufu (shogun).
9 August 1615	France	Renewed civil war breaks out in France, in which Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé is in league with the Huguenots (French Protestants) led by Henri, Duke of Rohan, against the queen mother Marie de' Medici and Concino Concini, Marquis of Ancre, Marshal of France.
July 1620	Spain, Spanish Netherlands, Palatinate, Germany, Holy Roman Empire	Troops from the Spanish Netherlands, under the Italian general Ambrogio di Spinola, attack the Palatinate. The attack comes in the wake of the defeat (by the Spanish viceroy in Milan) of Protestants holding the Valtelline Pass in the Alps, and marks the ascendancy of the imperial coalition.
17 July 1630	Mantua, Italy, Holy Roman Empire	Mantua falls to the imperialist army in the War of the Mantuan Succession.
1632	Russia, Poland	Russia declares war with Poland over the issue of the city of Smolensk on the River Dnieper, claimed by both countries.
14 May 1639	UK	Royalist and Covenanter forces engage in the Trot of Turriff, a skirmish that opens the First Bishops' War in Scotland. The Covenanter troops are driven out of Aberdeen but retake the city on 19 June 1639.
18 June 1639	UK	Due to a lack of funds, King Charles I of Great Britain and Ireland is unable to attack the Scots. He signs the Pacification of Berwick, which ends the First Bishops' War, and returns to London, England. Under the terms of the agreement, Charles agrees to refer ecclesiastical affairs to a General Assembly and civil affairs to a Parliament (which is summoned for August) and to confirm the abolition of episcopacy (rule by bishops).
20 August 1640	UK	A Scottish army crosses the River Tweed into England, beginning the Second Bishops' War. The war, between the Scottish Covenanters and Charles I of England, is caused by Charles' unpopular policies against the Scottish Kirk and ended in English defeats and bankruptcy for Charles.
1642	Papal States, Parma, Venice, Tuscany, Italy	In an attempt to establish his supremacy in northern Italy, Pope Urban VIII excommunicates Odoardo I Farnese, Duke of Parma. His actions spark off the War of Castro and prompt the formation of an antipapal league, including Venice, Tuscany, and Modena, in defence of Parma.
January 1644	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	Having launched their planned attack on Denmark in December 1643 by invading Holstein, Swedish forces cross the border into Jutland and establish control over the province by the end of January.
October 1652	Spain	Following a decade under French control, Barcelona, Spain, falls after a lengthy siege, enabling Don John, viceroy of Naples, to complete the reconquest of Catalonia for the Spanish.
24 August 1654	France, Spain, Spanish Netherlands	A turning point in the Franco-Spanish war occurs when French forces under Marshal Henri de Turenne storm three lines of trenches and expel the Spanish army besieging Arras. Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, retreats to Cambrai in the Spanish Netherlands.
July 1655	Sweden, Russia, Poland	The first Northern War breaks out when King Charles X of Sweden invades Poland from two directions. The invasion is prompted by the threat created by Russia's recent invasion of Lithuania.
26 September 1655	North America	The Dutch governor of New Amsterdam (modern New York City), Peter Stuyvesant, captures Fort Casimir (later Newcastle) in Delaware, thereby ending Swedish rule in North America.
1657	India, Mogul Empire	The Great Mogul Shah Jahan, conqueror of South India and builder of the Taj Mahal, falls ill and makes a will bequeathing the empire to his eldest son. This is disputed by his other sons, causing civil war to break out.
22 January–31 July 1657	Poland, Ottoman Empire, Sweden, Transylvania	György II Rákóczy, Prince of Transylvania, invades Poland but is forced to withdraw in July 1657 when King Charles X of Sweden deserts him and the Ottoman Empire takes military action against him. The remainder of his troops in Poland, under János Kemény, are defeated by a combined Ottoman and Tatar force at the battle of Trembowla on 31 July. Kemény is taken and imprisoned in the Crimea.
November 1657	Portugal, United Netherlands	Following the loss of Brazil in 1654 and seeing the trading privileges granted to Britain by the Portuguese in the same year, the Dutch declare war on Portugal.
12 February 1658	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	Having marched his forces across the frozen sea of the Little Belt to Fyn and the Great Belt to Zealand, King Charles X of Sweden besieges the Danish capital, Copenhagen; Denmark surrenders, effectively ending the (First) Northern War.
26 February 1658	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	The Treaty of Roskild ends the first Swedish-Danish war. Denmark loses possession of land in southern Sweden and Tröndheim in Norway.
25 June 1658	India, Mogul Empire	Aurangzeb proclaims himself Mogul emperor, after imprisoning his sick father and slaughtering his two elder brothers, his son, and several nephews.
August 1658	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	King Charles X of Sweden begins a second war with Denmark. He lands on Zealand and besieges Copenhagen.
September 1658	Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Germany, Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Poland, United Netherlands, Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire	An army of allied forces from Poland, Brandenburg, and Austria march to the aid of Denmark. By the end of the year, they have cleared Swedish forces from Jutland, Schleswig, and Holstein. Additionally, in October a Dutch fleet breaks through the blockade of Copenhagen in the Sound.
May 1660	Transylvania, Ottoman Empire	Despite his appeal to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I for assistance in his fight against the Ottoman Turks, the ousted György II Rákóczy, Prince of Transylvania, is left to fight on alone for his crown. He is defeated and seriously wounded in a battle at Fenes, near Koloszvár, and dies a fortnight later.
22 January 1662	Transylvania, Hungary, Ottoman Empire	Having been failed by his Austrian allies, Prince János Kemény of Transylvania is defeated and killed at the Battle of Nagyszöllös. The defeat completes the Ottoman conquest of Transylvania and leaves Hungary open to Ottoman invasion.
1671	Poland, Ottoman Empire	The Ottoman Empire declares war on Poland, invading in 1672, taking Kamieniec Podolski (now Kamenets Podolsky, Ukraine), and advancing towards Lvov (modern Lviv, Ukraine).
28 May 1674	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Imperial German diet (assembly) at Ratisbon (modern Regensburg) declares war on France.
11 August 1674	France, United Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Spanish Netherlands	The important Battle of Seneffe, near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, takes place between French and allied Dutch, Imperial, and Spanish forces. Though the two sides fight to a stalemate, the Dutch Captain-General William of Orange emerges with an enhanced reputation as a military leader.
October 1675	Denmark-Norway, Sweden	In fulfilment of treaty obligations of 1674, Denmark enters the Franco-Dutch war on the side of the United Netherlands after Sweden invades Brandenburg. Denmark invades the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp's lands, which deprives Sweden of a base on Denmark's southern border.
18 October 1676	North America	Nathaniel Bacon, leader of the rebellion in Virginia, dies unexpectedly. His forces surrender to the governor Sir William Berkeley with the promise of amnesty.
3 December 1676	Sweden, Denmark-Norway	King Charles XI of Sweden defeats an invading Danish army at Lund in southern Sweden.
1682	Ottoman Empire, Austria, Habsburg Monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary	The Ottoman Turks recognize Imre Thököly as king of Hungary. They send a small force to assist him, allowing Thököly to capure two fortresses from the Austrians. Attempts are made by the Austrians to renew the Treaty of Vasvár of August 1664 which is due to expire in August 1682. However, their proposals are rejected by the Ottoman Turks and war becomes inevitable.
12 August 1687	Hungary, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire	Imperial forces under Charles, Duke of Lorraine, unexpectedly defeat an Ottoman army, led by Süleyman Pasha, at Nagyharsány (Berg Hasan), near Mohács. For the first time in 150 years Hungary is free from Ottoman influence.
12 March 1689–3 July 1690	UK	The dispossessed James II arrives at Kinsale in Ireland with French arms and assistance. In the space of a month he gains control of the entire country, with the exception of Londonderry and Enniskillen.
27 July 1689	England, Scotland	Scottish Jacobites led by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, defeat troops loyal to King William III of Britain under Gen Hugh Mackay at Killiecrankie, Scotland. However, when Dundee is killed, resistance to the ‘Glorious Revolution’ in Scotland is effectively ended.
1 July 1690	UK	King William III of England defeats the dispossessed king James II at the battle of the Boyne in Ireland. James flees to France.
19 August 1691	Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Transylvania, Habsburg Monarchy	Imperial forces under Louis, Margrave of Baden, defeat the Ottoman Turks under Imre Thököly at Zalánkemén, completing the re-conquest of Transylvania. Mustafa Köprülü, the Grand Vizier, is killed in action.
25 July 1712	Swiss Confederation	The Battle of Villmergen (the ‘Second Villmergen War’) between the Catholic and Protestant cantons, largely over the disproportionate Catholic supremacy in the diet of the Swiss Confederation, is won by the Protestant cantons, led by the prosperous industrial centres of Bern and Zürich. This firmly establishes their dominance.
6 June–7 July 1718	Spain, Sicily	A Spanish army sails for Sicily. The property of the Spanish crown since the 16th century, Sicily had been given to the Duke of Savoy, under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, in return for his services in the Allied cause during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Spanish government hopes to use Sicily as a base for the invasion of Italy, and its troops conquer the island by July.
September 1722	Afghanistan, Persia, Safavid Empire	Afghan forces defeat the demoralized Safavid Persian army of Shah Hussein at Gulnabad, central Persia, after which Mir Mahmud, the Afghan ruler of Kandahar, takes Isfahan and becomes shah of Persia.
2 February 1727	UK, Spain	Without a formal declaration, war begins between Britain and Spain. Spain lays siege to Gibraltar until 24 February. In addition, Spain issues commissions for attacks against British islands and against British shipping.
1731	Africa	Following defeats in battle, the slave-trading kingdom of Dahomey, in west Africa, accepts the suzerainty of the Oyo empire (Yoruba people).
1738	Persia, Afghanistan	King Nadir Shah of Persia, having driven the Afghans out of Persia, carries his offensive eastwards and subjects all of Afghanistan to his rule.
1739	Persia, India, Mogul Empire	King Shah Nadir of Persia sacks the Indian city of Delhi, northeastern India, and conquers the Punjab (now eastern Pakistan).
8 October 1739	UK, Spain	Britain declares war against Spain after Spain refuses to adhere to the Convention of Pardo of 3 January.
4–6 December 1745	UK	The Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’), the ‘Young Pretender’, advances as far south as Derby, England, in his attempt to regain the Scottish and English thrones, but with three Hanoverian British armies in the field against him he is forced to retreat.
16 April 1746	UK	The Jacobite army under Prince Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’), the ‘Young Pretender’, is totally defeated in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland by the English military commander William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who subsequently abolishes the Scottish clan organization. He earns the nickname ‘Butcher’ for his ruthlessness in hunting down the Jacobite rebels. Stuart escapes from the aftermath of the battle.
31 August 1751	UK, India, Mogul Empire, France	The English soldier and colonial administrator Robert Clive takes the Indian town of Arcot, capital of the Carnatic, defeating the territorial ambitions (on behalf of France) of the French governor general Joseph, Marquis de Dupleix.
23 June 1757	UK, India, Mogul Empire	The English soldier and colonial administrator Robert Clive marches against Siraj ud-Daula, the nawab (ruler) of Bengal, India, and wins the Battle of Plassey. Clive installs Mir Jaffer as nawab and brings Bengal under British control.
14 January 1761	India	A coalition of Afghan forces under Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Maratha army at Panipat, ending any prospect of Maratha succession to the Mogul empire.
7 May 1763–24 July 1766	America	The Ottawa chief Pontiac leads a loose confederation of Indian tribes in an assault against British forts and settlements all along the western frontier of the American colonies. Before the Treaty of Oswego ends the rebellion three years later, 2,000 Americans die, impressing royal authorities with the need for regular troops in the colonies.
3 July 1778	Prussia, Habsburg Monarchy, Saxony, Austria-HM	Prussia, in alliance with Saxony, declares war on the Habsburg Monarchy following the Austrian occupation of Lower Bavaria. Skirmishes between Prussia and Austria continue until May 1779.
June 1788	Sweden, Russia	Sweden declares war on Russia, invading Russian Finland and aiming to recover the Baltic provinces lost to Tsar Peter the Great at the beginning of the century.
19 May 1792	Russia, Poland	Russian forces invade Poland, to forestall constitutional changes designed to stabilize the Polish monarchy and thus weaken Russian influence in the country.
2 April 1801	UK, Denmark	British vice admiral Horatio Nelson is victorious against the Danish fleet in the Battle of Copenhagen, fought in retaliation for Danish actions against Britain in closing the River Elbe.
15 October 1802	France, Switzerland	Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, intervenes in the civil war in Switzerland between the towns and the forest cantons. Using his newly-won authority in the region, he styles himself ‘Mediator of the Helvetic League’ and imposes a settlement.
29 March 1809	Sweden	King Gustavus IV Adolphus of Sweden is forced to abdicate after military defeats in war with Denmark.
24 June 1821	Venezuela, Colombia, Spain	The South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar ensures the independence of Venezuela from Spain by defeating the Spanish army of General Miguel de la Torre at Carabobo, near Caracas. A subsequent congress of the republic of Great Colombia (to which Venezuela is now added) at Cúcuta, Colombia, reorganizes the administration of the new republic, constitutionally limiting Bolívar's powers as president.
24 February 1824	UK, Burma	The British governor general of India, Lord Amherst, declares war against the Burmese as the latter have violated the territory of the British East India Company by capturing the island of Shahpuri.
6 March 1836	Mexico, Republic of Texas	Two hundred Texans are killed at the isolated fortress of Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, when 3,000 Mexican troops commanded by Gen Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna overrun the Republic of Texas garrison.
21 April 1836	Republic of Texas, Mexico	Republic of Texas general Sam Houston defeats his Mexican counterpart General Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, thereby securing the independence of Texas and ending the Texas-Mexican War.
1 October 1838	UK, Afghanistan	Britain begins the First Anglo-Afghan War to consolidate its influence over the Afghans and to prevent Russia increasing its power in the region, which constitutes a threat to British interests in India.
20 January 1839	Chile, Peru, Bolivia	The Battle of Yungay, resulting in a victory for Chile against the Peru–Bolivia Federation, leads to the dissolution of the Federation.
24 February 1839	Uruguay, Argentina	Uruguay declares war against Argentina, following Argentine attempts to subvert the government of Uruguay.
7 July 1839	China, UK	The First Opium War between China and Britain begins after the Chinese authorities seize and burn cargoes of opium due to be exported from China by British merchants, in an attempt to combat smuggling of the drug.
3 November 1839	UK, China	The First Opium War between Britain and China gains momentum when a British frigate sinks a Chinese fleet of junks.
5 November 1840	Afghanistan, UK	The First Anglo-Afghan War ends when Afghan forces surrender to the British in Afghanistan.
2 November 1841	Afghanistan, UK	The Second Anglo-Afghan War begins when the Afghans rise and massacre British army officers.
13 January 1842	Afghanistan, UK	Most of General William Elphinstone's British forces are massacred by Afghan troops at Gandalak, Afghanistan, in the Second Afghan War.
10 October 1842	Afghanistan, UK	The First Anglo-Afghan War, begun by a British invasion in 1839 to counter perceived Russian and Persian expansionism in the region, ends in British defeat. After the massacre of over 3,000 British and Indian troops retreating from a popular revolt in Kabul in January, a punitive expedition reoccupying the country is withdrawn by the British government.
11 December 1845	India, UK	The First Anglo-Sikh War breaks out in northwest India when the powerful Sikh army crosses the Sutlej River to attack British territories in central Hindustan, after a period of growing tension following the death of the Sikh maharaja Ranjit Singh.
13 May 1846	USA, Mexico	The USA makes a formal declaration of war against Mexico over the disputed territory of New Mexico.
21 October 1847	Switzerland	Civil war begins in Switzerland, following the Catholic cantons' refusal on 20 July to dissolve their armed league, the Sonderbund, in the face of a liberal, anticlerical majority in the diet.
2 February 1848	USA, Mexico	The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War. By its terms, Mexico sells territory comprising the modern states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, and western Colorado to the USA for a payment of $15 million.
20 March 1848	India, UK	The Second Anglo-Sikh War begins in India, arising out of the Sikh aristocracy's discontent at British administration and the subsequent murder of two British officers.
22 March 1848	Sardinia-Piedmont, Austrian Empire	King Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont declares war on Austria in an attempt to check Austrian influence and unify Italy under his leadership.
23 March 1849	Austrian Empire, Sardinia-Piedmont	The Austrian army of Count Joseph Radetzky decisively defeats the Piedmontese army of King Charles Albert at Novara, Piedmont, ending the war between them. Charles Albert, who had renewed the war only because of radical pressure, abdicates in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
1 April 1852	Burma, UK	The Second Anglo-Burmese War breaks out after the expiry of a British ultimatum to the king of Burma to pay compensation to British merchants following disputes between the traders and local inhabitants.
8 October 1856	UK, China	The Arrow Incident, when a ship flying the British flag is boarded by Chinese who arrest members of its crew, provokes the outbreak of the Second Opium War.
1 November 1856	UK, Persia, Afghanistan	War breaks out between Britain and Persia after the latter occupies the city of Herat in Afghanistan (known as ‘the key of India’).
16 November 1857	India, UK	British troops, under the Scottish general Sir Colin Campbell, commander of the forces in India, future field marshal and Baron Clyde, relieve the north Indian city of Lucknow, besieged by Indian rebels.
6 December 1857	India, UK	British forces recapture the rebel-held city of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) from Indian rebel forces.
8 July 1858	UK, India	The British declare the Indian Mutiny officially at an end.
3 May 1859	France, Austrian Empire, Sardinia-Piedmont	France declares war on Austria in response to the Austrian invasion of the Italian kingdom of Piedmont to dispute plans for Italian unification.
14 June 1859	Prussia, France, Austrian Empire, Italy	Prussia begins to mobilize against France in support of Austria, opposing the unification of Italy.
24 June 1859	Austrian Empire, France, Sardinia-Piedmont, Italy	Austrian forces, opposing the unification of Italy, are defeated in a decisive battle at Solferino, near Verona, Italy, by French and Piedmontese forces.
17 March 1860	New Zealand, UK	The Second Maori War breaks out in New Zealand, arising out of grievances against British settlers encroaching on aboriginal territory.
18 March 1865	Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay	The dictator of Paraguay, President Francisco Solano López, seizes Argentine territory, provoking a war against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
14 January 1866	Peru, Spain	Peru declares war on Spain in resentment over clauses in the treaty of 27 January 1865 by which Peru's independence was recognized.
7 July 1868	New Zealand, UK	The Third Maori War breaks out in New Zealand between the aboriginal inhabitants and British settlers encroaching on their land.
26 April 1872	Spain	The proclamation of Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid, as Charles VII of Spain leads to the Second Carlist War as his followers dispute the authority of the ruling king Amadeo I.
4 April 1873	UK, Africa	War breaks out between Britain and the Ashanti in west Africa (modern Ghana) as a result of British attempts to stop King Kofi Kari-Kari's slave trade.
4 February 1874	UK, Africa	The British general Garnet Wolseley burns the Ashanti capital of Kumasi in west Africa (modern Ghana), ending the war between the Ashanti and Britain.
28 February 1876	Spain	The Second Carlist War in Spain ends with the flight to France of the pretender Don Carlos following the defeat of his forces by the king's troops.
25 June 1876	USA	At the Battle of Little Bighorn, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors commanded by legendary chief Sitting Bull rout a force of US soldiers led by General George A Custer, killing Custer and over 200 of his soldiers.
30 June 1876	Serbia, Ottoman Empire	Serbia, under the nationalist leader Jovan Ristic, declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
2 July 1876	Montenegro, Ottoman Empire	Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire in support of the revolt against Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
14 December 1877	Serbia, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire	Serbia, siding with Russia, declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
12 January 1879	Zululand, UK	Frederic Thesiger, Lord Chelmsford, invades Zululand and begins the war between the British and the Zulus.
22 January 1879	Zululand, UK	Zulu warriors massacre British troops at Isandhlwana, Zululand.
22 January 1879	Natal, UK	One hundred and forty British troops under the command of Lt John Chard hold off an attacking army of 4,000 Zulus at the outpost of Rorke's Drift, Natal. 17 British soldiers are killed against 400 Zulus. 11 Victoria Crosses are awarded to the defenders, the most ever given for a single battle.
14 February 1879	Chile, Peru, Bolivia	Chile begins a war with Peru and Bolivia over the control of nitrate-producing regions.
3 September 1879	Afghanistan, UK	Afghan troops massacre the British legation at Kabul, reigniting the Anglo-Afghan war ended by the Treaty of Gandamak on 26 May.
13 September 1882	Egypt, UK, Sudan	The British general Sir Garnet Wolseley defeats the Egyptians at Tel-el-Kebir, Lower Egypt, and proceeds to occupy Egypt and the Sudan.
9 November 1882	Egypt, UK, France	Anglo-French dual control of Egypt is re-established following its suspension during Arabi Pasha's period of influence.
June 1883–December 1885	Madagascar, France	The French wage a war with Madagascar when the Hova government rejects the island's status as a French protectorate, created in 1882.
20 October 1883	Peru, Chile	By the peace of Ancón, hostilities between Peru and Chile are concluded. Peru cedes territory to Chile, which is to occupy the disputed provinces of Tacna and Arica for ten years, at the end of which a plebiscite is to be held.
5 November 1883	Egypt, UK, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	The Sudanese followers of the dervish Mahdi (prophet) Mohammed Ahmed of Dongola defeat an Egyptian force under the British general William Hicks at El Obeid, in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, and the British decide to evacuate the country.
26 January 1885	Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, England, Egypt	The Sudanese followers of the dervish Mahdi (prophet) Mohammed Ahmed of Dongola capture the city of Khartoum, capital of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, massacring the inhabitants and the occupying Anglo-Egyptian forces, including the Anglo-Egyptian commander, British general Charles Gordon.
13 November 1885	Ottoman Empire, Serbia, Ottoman Empire	Serbia invades Bulgaria following the union of Bulgaria and former Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, to force compensation for the territorial gains of its neighbour.
10 December 1890	USA	US Army troops capture Sioux chief Sitting Bull, who resists the white settlement of South Dakota.
1 August 1894	Korea, Japan, China	Japan declares war on China over the right of influence in Korea.
12 February 1895	China, Japan	The Japanese navy achieves a resounding victory over Chinese forces at Weihaiwei during the Sino-Japanese war.
2 January 1896	Transvaal	Leander Starr Jameson surrenders to Boer commandos at Doornkop, Transvaal, after his attempt to start an anti-Boer rising in Transvaal fails.
1 March 1896	Ethiopia, Italy	The Ethiopians under King Menelek II defeat the attacking Italian force at Adowa, Ethiopia, forcing Italy to sue for peace.
12 March 1896	Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, UK	In order to protect the Nile region from a French advance, Britain decides to undertake the re-conquest of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, evacuated in 1885 because of the hostility of the Sudanese followers of the dervish Mahdi (prophet) Mohammed Ahmed of Dongola.
26 October 1896	Ethiopia, Italy	By the Treaty of Addis Ababa the Italian protectorate of Ethiopia is withdrawn, following Italian military defeat by the Ethiopians.
7 April 1897	Greece, Ottoman Empire, Crete	Turkey declares war on Greece in retaliation for its support for the revolt in Crete.
2 September 1898	Sudan, UK	General Horatio Kitchener defeats the dervishes at the Battle of Omdurman as his British force advances across the Sudan.
9 October 1899	Transvaal, UK	Transvaal president Paul Kruger sends an ultimatum to Britain to stop sending troops to southern Africa, or face war.
19 February 1907	Central America	War breaks out between Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador when Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya tries to use force to create a Central American confederation under his leadership. The conflict continues until December.
12 December 1909	Honduras	Civil war breaks out in Honduras between the supporters of President Miguel Dávila and ex-president Manuel Bonilla, and continues until 1911.
15 March 1916	USA, Mexico	A US punitive expedition under the command of General John J Pershing is sent into Mexico to pursue the Mexican revolutionary Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa.
28 March 1919	Hungary, Czechoslovakia	Hungary declares war on Czechoslovakia over disputed areas of Slovakia.
10 April 1919	Romania, Hungary	Romania invades Hungary to prevent it attempting to retake disputed Transylvania.
3 May 1919	India, Afghanistan	War begins between British India and Afghanistan following Afghanistan's demand for complete independence. On 8 August a peace will be agreed at Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan), conceding independence.
12 September 1919	Italy, Kingdom of the Serbs Croats and Slovenes	The poet and nationalist Gabriele d'Annunzio leads an unofficial Italian army to seize the northern Adriatic port of Fiume before it is incorporated into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
25 April–12 October 1920	Russia, Poland	A Polish offensive is launched under Joseph Pilsudski, which aims to capture the Ukraine. The action begins the Polish–Russian War.
7 May 1920	Poland, Russia	During the Polish–Russian War, Polish and Ukrainian forces enter Kiev in the Ukraine, but are driven out by Bolshevik forces on 11 June.
22 June 1920	Greece, Anatolia	Greece, with the support of Britain, invades Anatolia (modern Turkey) in order to force it to accept the peace dictated by the Allies.
14–16 August 1920	Poland, Russia	Polish forces under Joseph Pilsudski defeat the advancing Russian troops led by Michael Tukhachevski at Warsaw, Poland.
21 July 1921	Spain, Morocco	Spanish troops under General Fernandez Silvestre waging a campaign against the Riffians in Morocco are defeated by troops led by Abd al-Karim; 12,000 are killed.
30 August 1922	Greece, Anatolia	In the Greek–Turkish War, the Ankara Turks (nationalists) defeat the Greeks at the Battle of Afyon in Anatolia (modern Turkey).
15 June 1932	Bolivia, Panama	The Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay begins, with Bolivians attacking Paraguayan positions in the disputed border territory of Chaco Boreal.
3 October 1935	Italy, Ethiopia	Italy invades Ethiopia (Abyssinia), aiming to extend Italian territory in East Africa.
9 May 1936	Italy, Ethiopia	Italy formally annexes Ethiopia (Abyssinia), having occupied the capital, Addis Ababa, on 5 May.
26 September 1938	UK	Gas-masks are issued to civilians in Britain.
5 May 1946	Greece	Civil war breaks out in Greece between the British-backed monarchists and the communists supported by Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.
16 October 1949	Greece	The civil war in Greece between the monarchists and the rebel communists (ELAS) ends with the defeat of the rebels.
4 November 1956	Hungary, USSR	Soviet forces attack Budapest, Hungary, and the Hungarian prime minister Imre Nagy takes refuge in the Yugoslavian embassy. János Kádár, the leader of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Workers' Party, cooperates with the USSR and forms a ‘revolutionary peasant-worker’ government.
5 December 1956	Egypt, UK, France	British and French forces begin their withdrawal from Egypt and the Suez Crisis there, completing their evacuation on 22 December.
6 February 1957	Israel, Egypt	Israeli troops hand over the ‘Gaza Strip’, Egyptian territory to the southwest of Israel seized in 1956, to a United Nations (UN) force.
20 August 1968	Czechoslovakia, USSR	Soviet and other Warsaw Pact forces invade Czechoslovakia and arrest reform leaders including Alexander Dubcek.
2–15 March 1969	China, USSR	Soviet and Chinese forces clash on the Manchurian border, initiating an intensified period of violence along the disputed frontier.
19 April 1970	Laos, Cambodia	The communist Pathet Lao of Laos advances on the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, and, on 20 April, the Cambodian government appeals for US assistance.
1–4 May 1970	USA	Demonstrations begin at universities across the USA in protest at military intervention in Cambodia; the National Guard fire on a peaceful demonstration at Kent State University, Ohio, killing four students.
27 September 1970	Jordan	King Hussein of Jordan, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Arafat, and other Arab leaders sign an agreement in Cairo, Egypt, to end the civil war in Jordan.
27 August 1992	USA, UK, France, Iraq	The USA, Britain, and France impose an air exclusion zone in southern Iraq to protect Shiite Muslims from air attacks by the forces of the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
13 January 1993	Iraq	Allied forces carry out air strikes against targets in southern Iraq following Iraq's refusal to remove missiles stationed south of the 32nd parallel (the Shiite exclusion zone).
11 July 1995	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Serbs capture the United Nations (UN)-designated safe area of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina; Muslim women and children are moved to Tuzla while men are held back and massacred.
20 July 1995	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Serbs and allies attack the United Nations (UN) safe haven of Bihac in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina; on 27 July, Croat troops enter Bosnia to relieve pressure on Bihac.
28 August 1995	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Serb troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina bombard Sarajevo market place, killing 37 people.
11 September 1995	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Bosnian government forces launch an offensive in western and central Bosnia-Herzegovina, which reduces Serb-controlled territory from 70% to 50%.
9 February–23 April 1998	Nigeria., Sierra Leone	Nigeria launches an artillery attack against Sierra Leone's military junta in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Fighting continues for several weeks until ousted president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah returns.
29 July 1998	Serbia	After four days of fighting, Serb forces overrun the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, routing the Kosovo Liberation Army, who are fighting for Kosovo autonomy. Over 100,000 Albanians are displaced.
16 December 1998	USA, UK, Iraq	In Operation Desert Fox, the USA and the UK launch air strikes against Iraq for failing to cooperate with UN weapons inspections.