Events, Verisoph

c. 260 BCE Ashoka embraces Buddhism 0 cit. After the bloody conquest of Kalinga, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka turns to Buddhism and promotes it through edicts and missionaries. His patronage transforms Buddhism from a regional sect into a pan-Asian religion. politics / religion ●●●●

c. 247 BCE Founding of the Parthian Empire 0 cit. Arsaces I led a revolt that established Parthian rule over Iran and Mesopotamia. The Parthians became Rome's main rival in the east for centuries. politics ●●●●

241 BCE Treaty of Lutatius 0 cit. Peace treaty ending the First Punic War, under which Carthage evacuated Sicily and paid a large indemnity to Rome. It made Rome the dominant naval power in the western Mediterranean. diplomacy / politics / war ●●●

230 BCE to 221 BCE Qin's Wars of Unification 0 cit. no story The state of Qin conquers the six rival Warring States in under a decade. The victory creates the first unified Chinese empire under Qin Shi Huang. politics / war ●●●●●

c. 222 BCE Qin unification of China 0 cit. The state of Qin conquers the last of the Warring States and its king becomes Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor. The unified imperial model he creates endures in China for more than two thousand years. politics / war ●●●●

221 BCE Standardization under Qin Shi Huang 0 cit. The Qin standardized the writing script, currency, weights, measures, and axle widths across the empire. A centralized bureaucracy replaced the old feudal order. politics / society ●●●●

c. 221 BCE The round coin and Chinese cash under the Qin 0 cit. After unifying China, the Qin standardized currency on the round bronze coin with a square central hole, the ban liang. This shape defined Chinese cash coins for the next two thousand years. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 221 BCE Qin unifies China as a bureaucratic empire 0 cit. The Qin state conquered its rivals and created the first unified Chinese empire under a single emperor. It replaced hereditary lords with appointed officials, standardized writing and measures, and built a centralized bureaucratic state. politics ●●●●●

215 BCE Macedonian-Carthaginian Treaty 0 cit. Secret alliance negotiated between Hannibal of Carthage and Philip V of Macedon against Rome during the Second Punic War. Roman forces captured envoys carrying the text, exposing the pact and triggering the First Macedonian War. diplomacy / politics / war ●●

213 BCE Burning of books under the Qin 0 cit. To suppress dissent, the Qin court ordered the destruction of many texts, especially Confucian and historical works. Tradition also records the killing of scholars. culture / politics ●●●

c. 211 BCE Rome introduces the denarius 0 cit. Rome created the silver denarius during the Second Punic War, and it became the backbone of Roman money for centuries. The coin's name survives in later currencies and in the abbreviation d for the penny. economy / politics ●●●●

210 BCE Terracotta Army and death of the First Emperor 0 cit. Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BCE and was buried with thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers guarding his tomb. The army was rediscovered in 1974. culture / politics ●●●●

c. 209 BCE Formation of the Xiongnu Confederation 0 cit. Modu Chanyu united the nomadic tribes of the steppe into a powerful confederation. The Xiongnu became a persistent rival to Han China along its northern frontier. politics ●●●●

206 BCE to 202 BCE Chu-Han Contention 0 cit. no story After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang of Han defeats Xiang Yu of Chu in a civil war for control of China. The outcome founds the Han dynasty, which rules for four centuries. politics / war ●●●

206 BCE Collapse of the Qin and Chu-Han contention 0 cit. Rebellions broke out soon after the First Emperor's death, and the Qin fell in 206 BCE. Rival leaders Liu Bang and Xiang Yu then fought for control. politics / war ●●●

c. 204 BCE Founding of Nam Viet 0 cit. Triệu Đà established the kingdom of Nam Viet in the region of southern China and northern Vietnam. It is regarded in Vietnamese tradition as an early native state. politics ●●●

202 BCE Founding of the Han dynasty 0 cit. Liu Bang defeated his rivals and founded the Han dynasty in 202 BCE, ruling from Chang'an. The Han became a defining era of Chinese civilization, and Chinese people still call themselves the Han. politics ●●●●●

c. 202 BCE Han China builds a merit civil service 0 cit. The Han dynasty kept the centralized empire but softened harsh Qin rule and began recruiting officials partly by learning and recommendation. This helped create a lasting tradition of bureaucratic government staffed by scholars. politics ●●●●

190 BCE Artaxias I founds the Artaxiad dynasty 0 cit. After the Seleucids are defeated by Rome at Magnesia, the governor Artaxias I declares himself king and founds the Artaxiad dynasty. He builds a new capital, Artaxata, said to have been planned with advice from the exiled Carthaginian general Hannibal. His line consolidates a unified Armenian kingdom. politics ●●

188 BCE Treaty of Apamea 0 cit. Peace between Rome and the Seleucid king Antiochus III after his defeat at Magnesia. It stripped the Seleucids of Asia Minor and confirmed Roman dominance in the eastern Mediterranean. diplomacy / politics / war ●●●

c. 185 BCE Fall of the Maurya Empire 0 cit. Around 185 BC the last Mauryan emperor was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga, who founded a new dynasty. The empire that had once unified most of the Indian subcontinent dissolved into smaller states. politics / war ●●●

168 BCE Antiochus Desecrates the Temple 0 cit. In 168 BC by the traditional reckoning Antiochus Epiphanes profanes the Temple in Jerusalem, setting up a pagan altar and forbidding Jewish worship. The books of Maccabees call this the abomination of desolation. politics / religion ●●●

22 June 168 BCE Fall of the Kingdom of Macedon 0 cit. At the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC the Roman legions crushed the Macedonian army of King Perseus. The Antigonid monarchy was abolished, and Macedon was broken up and later annexed by Rome. politics / war ●●●

168 BCE to 161 BCE Maccabean revolt and the rededication of the Temple 0 cit. Jews led by the Maccabees revolt against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV, who had banned Jewish practice and defiled the Temple. Their victory restores Jewish worship and independence under the Hasmonean dynasty. The rededication of the Temple is remembered in the festival of Hanukkah. politics / religion / war ●●

165 BCE The Maccabean Revolt and Rededication 0 cit. Judas Maccabeus and his brothers drive out the Seleucid forces and rededicate the Temple in 165 BC by the traditional reckoning. The feast of dedication, Hanukkah, commemorates the event. politics / religion / war ●●●

146 BCE Destruction of Carthage 0 cit. In 146 BC Roman forces ended the Third Punic War by storming and razing Carthage. The city was destroyed, its people enslaved, and its territory became the Roman province of Africa. politics / war ●●●●

c. 140 BCE The Hasmonean Kingdom 0 cit. The Hasmonean dynasty established an independent Jewish state in Judea that lasted until Roman intervention. It expanded Judean territory across much of the region. politics / religion ●●

136 BCE Confucianism becomes state ideology 0 cit. Under Emperor Wu, the Han court adopted Confucianism as the guiding philosophy of the state. Officials were increasingly chosen for their knowledge of Confucian classics. politics / religion ●●●●

124 BCE Han China founds the Taixue imperial academy 0 cit. Emperor Wu of Han established the Taixue in 124 BC to train officials in the Confucian classics. It tied advancement in the state to a standard curriculum, an early link between schooling and government service. politics / society ●●●

108 BCE Marian reforms of the Roman army 0 cit. Consul Gaius Marius opened army recruitment to landless citizens, previously excluded, turning the Roman army into an effectively professional, standing force rather than a temporary levy of property owners. The state now equipped soldiers, who served long terms for pay and expected land grants on discharge. The reform strengthened Rome militarily but made legions loyal to individual generals rather than the state, a factor in the civil wars that followed. politics / war ●●●

c. 108 BCE Marian Reforms Professionalize Rome's Army 0 cit. The consul Gaius Marius opened army recruitment to landless citizens and put the state, rather than individual soldiers, in charge of equipping the legions. Soldiers now served long terms for pay and looked to their generals, rather than the Senate, for land grants and rewards after discharge. The reform created Rome's first professional standing army and tied soldiers' loyalty to individual commanders, a shift historians link to the collapse of the Republic. politics / war ●●●

91 BCE to 87 BCE Social War 0 cit. no story Rome's Italian allies revolt after being denied citizenship. Rome wins the war but concedes citizenship to most Italians, transforming the Roman state. politics / war ●●

c. 84 BCE to c. 70 BCE Tigranes the Great builds a short-lived empire 0 cit. Tigranes the Great expands Armenia into a brief regional empire stretching from the Caspian toward the Mediterranean, taking the title King of Kings and building a new capital, Tigranocerta. His empire collapses quickly when Rome intervenes; the Roman general Lucullus defeats him at Tigranocerta in 69 BCE. Armenia soon becomes a buffer and battleground between Rome and Parthia. politics / war ●●●

63 BCE Pompey Takes Jerusalem 0 cit. The Roman general Pompey captures Jerusalem in 63 BC and Judea comes under Roman power. This sets the political stage of the New Testament era. politics / war ●●

63 BCE Roman Conquest of Judea 0 cit. The Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BCE and brought Judea under Roman influence. Local client rulers governed under Roman authority. politics / war ●●●

c. 57 BCE Founding of Silla 0 cit. Silla was founded in the southeast of the Korean peninsula as one of the Three Kingdoms. It later unified much of Korea under its rule. politics ●●●

c. January 50 BCE Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon 0 cit. Julius Caesar led his legion across the Rubicon River into Italy, defying the Roman Senate's order to disband his army before returning to Rome. The act triggered civil war and marked one of the clearest breaches of the principle that Roman generals should not turn their armies against the civilian state. It became a lasting example of praetorianism: a military commander using his troops for domestic political power. politics / war ●●●

49 BCE to 45 BCE Caesar's Civil War 0 cit. no story Caesar crosses the Rubicon and defeats Pompey and the Senate's forces across Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Spain. His victory ends the Roman Republic in all but name. politics / war ●●●●

15 March 45 BCE Assassination of Julius Caesar 0 cit. Roman senators stab Caesar to death on the Ides of March, hoping to save the Republic. Instead the murder triggers civil wars that end the Republic and bring one-man rule under Augustus. politics ●●●●

c. 45 BCE July and August are renamed for Julius Caesar and Augustus 0 cit. The month Quintilis was renamed July for Julius Caesar after his calendar reform, and Sextilis became August for the emperor Augustus. Both men were later honored as divine by the Roman state. culture / politics ●●

15 March 44 BCE Julius Caesar is assassinated 0 cit. Senators who feared Caesar was becoming a king stabbed him to death in an attempt to save the republic. Instead his death led to civil war and the end of republican government. politics / war ●●●●

c. 37 BCE Founding of Goguryeo 0 cit. Goguryeo arose in the north of the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. It grew into a powerful kingdom that resisted Chinese expansion. politics ●●●

32 BCE to 30 BCE Final War of the Roman Republic 0 cit. no story Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium and annexes Egypt. The victory makes him Rome's first emperor as Augustus. politics / war ●●●●

2 September 32 BCE Battle of Actium 0 cit. Octavian's fleet defeats Antony and Cleopatra off the coast of Greece, leaving him sole master of the Roman world. The victory ends the Roman Republic's civil wars and opens the age of emperors. politics / war ●●●●

August 30 BCE End of Ptolemaic Egypt 0 cit. In 30 BC, after defeat at Actium, Cleopatra VII took her own life and Octavian annexed Egypt. The death of the last Ptolemaic ruler ended three centuries of Greek dynastic rule over Egypt. politics / war ●●●●

c. 28 BCE Praetorian Guard established 0 cit. Emperor Augustus formally organized the Praetorian Guard as a standing bodyguard for the Roman emperor, drawing on the older tradition of a general's personal cohort. Nine cohorts were stationed in and around Rome, eventually barracked at the Castra Praetoria. The guard became the most privileged unit in the Roman army, with higher pay and shorter service terms than legionaries. politics / war ●●

c. 28 BCE Augustus Establishes the Praetorian Guard 0 cit. Emperor Augustus formalized the Praetorian Guard, an elite force stationed in and around Rome to protect the emperor. Over the following two centuries the Guard repeatedly made and unmade emperors, becoming the textbook case of praetorianism, where the very troops meant to guard the state's ruler instead control who rules. The term "praetorian" entered later political vocabulary to describe any military force that dominates civilian government. politics / war ●●

16 January 27 BCE End of the Roman Republic 0 cit. On 16 January 27 BC the Senate granted Octavian the title Augustus, confirming his sole authority over the Roman state. The move marked the effective end of the Republic and the beginning of imperial rule. politics ●●●●●

27 BCE Founding of the Roman Empire 0 cit. Augustus became the first Roman emperor after the end of the civil wars. His reign began a long period of imperial rule over the Mediterranean world. politics ●●●●●

c. 27 BCE Augustus turns the republic into empire 0 cit. After winning the civil wars, Octavian took the title Augustus and held real power while keeping the outward forms of the republic. Rome shifted from shared republican rule to one-man imperial government. politics ●●●●●

c. 24 BCE Rome keeps the accounts of an empire 0 cit. Roman households and the state kept systematic accounts. Heads of households recorded daily cash in a diary and posted it to a formal ledger, and the emperor Augustus published a summary of imperial finances, the rationarium, and left a record of his own accounts. Roman practice tracked receipts and payments carefully but did not use the balancing double-entry method that came later. economy / politics ●●

c. 19 BCE Herod Rebuilds the Temple 0 cit. Herod the Great begins a grand rebuilding of the Temple about 19 BC. This enlarged Second Temple is the one known in the Gospels. politics / religion ●●

c. 18 BCE Founding of Baekje 0 cit. Baekje was founded in the southwest of the Korean peninsula as one of the Three Kingdoms. It became a center of maritime trade and cultural exchange with Japan. politics ●●●

c. 14 BCE Augustus establishes standing imperial legions 0 cit. Augustus fixed legionary service at a set term of years, standardized pay, and stationed a fixed number of standing legions permanently along the frontiers rather than raising armies for individual campaigns. He created a state treasury, the aerarium militare, funded by new taxes to pay veterans' discharge bonuses. This turned the Roman army into a permanent institution of the empire rather than a citizen levy raised for each war. politics / war ●●

c. 11 BCE Rome transports Egyptian obelisks to the imperial capital 0 cit. Emperor Augustus has obelisks shipped from Egypt to Rome to adorn the Circus Maximus and other public spaces, beginning a long practice of Western powers relocating Egyptian obelisks as trophies of conquest and prestige; later popes re-erected several in the 16th century as Christianized monuments topped with crosses. culture / politics ●●

6 Judea Becomes a Roman Province 0 cit. Rome converted Judea into a directly administered province in 6 CE, governed by prefects and procurators. Tension between Roman rule and Jewish religious life grew over the following decades. politics / religion ●●

9 Wang Mang and the Xin interregnum 0 cit. The official Wang Mang seized the throne in 9 CE and founded the short-lived Xin dynasty. His radical reforms failed and rebellion soon toppled him. politics ●●●

c. 16 Rome expels its astrologers, then obeys them 0 cit. Roman emperors repeatedly banish astrologers from the city while secretly keeping their own, so feared was the power to read a ruler's death in the stars. Astrology sat at the heart of Roman politics even as it was outlawed. politics / religion ●●

25 Restoration of the Eastern Han 0 cit. Emperor Guangwu restored the Han dynasty in 25 CE and moved the capital to Luoyang. This Eastern Han period lasted nearly two centuries. politics ●●●

c. 30 Rise of the Kushan Empire 0 cit. Kujula Kadphises united the Yuezhi tribes and founded the Kushan Empire across Central and South Asia. The Kushans linked trade routes between China, India, and Rome. economy / politics ●●●●

70 Fall of Jerusalem 0 cit. In AD 70 the Roman army under Titus destroys Jerusalem and burns the Second Temple. Christian tradition read the event as the fulfillment of Jesus's prophecy in the Gospels. politics / religion / war ●●●●

September 70 Destruction of Jerusalem and Fall of Judea 0 cit. In 70 CE Roman legions under Titus captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple, ending the First Jewish-Roman War. The Judean commonwealth was crushed and its people scattered. politics / religion / war ●●●●

c. 100 Rise of the Kingdom of Aksum 0 cit. Aksum rose as a trading power in the Horn of Africa linking Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean. It minted its own coins and later adopted Christianity. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 100 Arcana imperii, the secrets of state 0 cit. The Roman historian Tacitus used the phrase arcana imperii, the secrets of empire, for the hidden knowledge and methods that let rulers keep power. The idea that a state holds truths too dangerous for the public runs from Rome through Renaissance thinkers and into the modern world. Historians read Tacitus as describing this practice, not endorsing it. culture / politics ●●

135 Judea Renamed Syria Palaestina 0 cit. After the Bar Kokhba revolt, the emperor Hadrian barred Jews from Jerusalem and renamed the province Syria Palaestina. The period marks the deepening of the Jewish diaspora. politics / religion ●●●

March 193 Praetorians auction the imperial throne 0 cit. After murdering Emperor Pertinax, the Praetorian Guard openly auctioned the imperial throne to the highest bidder. The wealthy senator Didius Julianus won the bidding and was proclaimed emperor, but he was despised by the public and executed within nine weeks. The episode became the classic symbol of the guard's power to make and unmake emperors by force. politics / war ●●●

March 193 Praetorian Guard Auctions the Roman Throne 0 cit. After murdering the emperor Pertinax, the Praetorian Guard publicly auctioned the imperial throne to the highest bidder, the senator Didius Julianus. The episode is one of the starkest documented instances of a military body openly overriding civilian and constitutional authority. It is cited in civil-military relations literature as an extreme case of praetorianism, where armed force replaces political legitimacy outright. politics / war ●●

c. 220 to c. 280 Wars of the Three Kingdoms Period 0 cit. no story The rival states of Wei, Shu, and Wu fight for control of China after the fall of the Han dynasty. The era's wars and famines cause one of history's largest population collapses before Jin reunifies the country. politics / war ●●●●

220 Fall of the Han Dynasty 0 cit. In 220 CE the last Han emperor abdicated in favor of the warlord Cao Pi, ending four centuries of Han rule. China fragmented into the rival states of the Three Kingdoms period. politics / war ●●●●

220 Fall of the Han and the Three Kingdoms 0 cit. The last Han emperor abdicated in 220 CE, ending four centuries of Han rule. China split into the rival states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. politics / war ●●●●●

224 Founding of the Sasanian Empire 0 cit. Ardashir I defeated the last Parthian king and founded the Sasanian dynasty. The empire revived Persian traditions and became a major power for four centuries. politics ●●●●

224 The Sassanids restore Zoroastrian Persia 0 cit. The Sassanid empire makes Zoroastrianism the state church of Persia again and gathers its scriptures, the Avesta. For four more centuries the fire-temples of the wise lord burned across an empire that rivaled Rome. politics / religion ●●

c. 250 Debasement of Roman coinage 0 cit. To fund wars and spending, Roman emperors repeatedly cut the silver content of the denarius until it held almost no precious metal. The falling quality of coins fed rising prices and eroded trust in the currency. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 274 Aurelian promotes Sol Invictus as a unifying sun god 0 cit. The emperor Aurelian raised the cult of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, as a state god drawing on eastern and Roman solar worship. The sun cult gathered several traditions into one imperial religion. politics / religion ●●

280 Jin dynasty briefly reunifies China 0 cit. The Jin dynasty conquered the last of the Three Kingdoms in 280 CE. Its unity was short-lived and soon gave way to renewed division. politics ●●●

c. 293 Diocletian divides the Roman world 0 cit. The emperor Diocletian split the overstretched empire into eastern and western halves ruled by a college of four emperors, the Tetrarchy. The move was meant to steady a state worn down by civil war and invasion, and it set the precedent for a separate government in the Greek-speaking east. politics / society ●●

c. 300 Rise of the Ghana Empire 0 cit. The Ghana Empire arose in the western Sahel and grew wealthy from the gold and salt trade. It was the first of the great West African trading empires. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 3 September 301 Founding of San Marino legendary 0 cit. no story By tradition, the stonemason Marinus founds a monastic community on Mount Titano in 301 CE, the origin of the world's oldest surviving republic. politics / religion ●●

301 Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices 0 cit. Facing severe inflation, the emperor Diocletian set legal ceilings on the prices of goods and wages across the empire. The edict was widely ignored and did little to halt rising prices. economy / politics ●●●

c. 301 Armenia becomes the first Christian state legendary 0 cit. By tradition, King Tiridates III converts and makes Christianity the religion of the Armenian kingdom after Gregory the Illuminator brings him to the faith. This is generally regarded as the first time a state adopted Christianity, more than a decade before Rome's Edict of Milan. The traditional date of 301 is debated, with some scholars favoring around 314, so it is treated as approximate. politics / religion ●●●

c. 304 Age of division and the Northern and Southern dynasties 0 cit. From the early fourth century, nomadic peoples ruled the north while Chinese dynasties held the south. This long period of disunity lasted until the Sui reunification. politics / war ●●●

c. 309 The Byzantine solidus 0 cit. Constantine introduced the gold solidus, which held its weight and purity for centuries and became a trusted currency across the medieval Mediterranean. Its stability earned it a reputation as the dollar of the Middle Ages. economy / politics ●●●●

28 October 312 Praetorian Guard disbanded 0 cit. After backing his rival Maxentius, who died at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Emperor Constantine I dissolved the Praetorian Guard and demolished its barracks, the Castra Praetoria. The guard had a long history of assassinating and installing emperors, and Constantine wanted no rival power base in the capital. Its role was replaced by new imperial escort units loyal directly to him. politics / war ●●

c. February 313 Edict of Milan 0 cit. Constantine and Licinius agree to tolerate Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, ending official persecution. Christianity moves from outlawed sect toward imperial religion, binding church and European power for over a millennium. politics / religion ●●●●

c. 320 Founding of the Gupta Empire 0 cit. Chandragupta I founded the Gupta dynasty in northern India. The Gupta era is often called a golden age of Indian science, mathematics, and art. politics / science ●●●●

c. 330 Founding of the Byzantine Empire 0 cit. Constantine the Great dedicated Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman East. The eastern empire endured for over a thousand years after Rome fell. politics ●●●●●

11 May 330 Constantine refounds Byzantium as Constantinople 0 cit. Constantine the Great dedicated the old Greek town of Byzantium as his new capital, a Christian 'New Rome' guarding the straits between Europe and Asia. Its position on the Bosphorus, ringed by walls and water, would let the city outlast the western empire by nearly a thousand years. The choice tied the empire's future to Christianity and to the Greek east. politics / religion ●●●

c. 330 King Ezana converts Aksum to Christianity 0 cit. King Ezana adopted Christianity in the mid-fourth century, most likely through Frumentius, a Syrian brought to the court who later became the first bishop of Aksum. This made Aksum one of the earliest states anywhere to embrace the faith, close behind Armenia and around the same time as the Roman Empire. Ezana's later coins replaced the old crescent-and-disc symbols with the cross, marking the change in the state religion. politics / religion ●●●

c. 350 Kingdom of Kush at Meroe Collapses 0 cit. Around 350 CE the Nubian Kingdom of Kush, centered on Meroe, declined and was raided by the Kingdom of Aksum. The long-lived African state faded, and its capital was largely abandoned. politics / war ●●

27 February 380 Christianity becomes Rome's state religion 0 cit. Emperor Theodosius I issues the Edict of Thessalonica, making Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Other Christian sects and pagan cults lose imperial favor. politics / religion ●●●●

387 Armenia divided between Rome and Persia 0 cit. Rome and Sassanid Persia partition the Armenian kingdom between them, ending its independence. Most of Armenia falls under Persian control, with a smaller western portion under Rome. Caught between two great powers, Armenians would spend much of the next fifteen centuries divided along a shifting eastern-western line. diplomacy / politics ●●

392 Theodosius outlaws pagan worship 0 cit. The emperor Theodosius bans public and private pagan sacrifice and makes Christianity the sole religion of the Roman state. The old cults were driven underground after a thousand years of open worship. politics / religion ●●●●

395 Theodosius splits the empire between his sons 0 cit. On the death of Theodosius I the empire passed to his two sons, Arcadius in the east and Honorius in the west, and the halves never again shared a single ruler. Contemporaries saw it as one more division of power, but the split proved permanent. The east, richer and more urban, would survive the shocks that broke the west. politics ●●

24 August 410 Sack of Rome by Alaric 0 cit. On 24 August 410 CE the Visigoths under Alaric captured and sacked the city of Rome. It was the first time in nearly 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy, a shock felt across the Roman world. politics / war ●●●●

415 Hypatia of Alexandria and the end of an age 0 cit. Hypatia taught mathematics and astronomy and edited commentaries on Apollonius and Diophantus, one of the few women of antiquity whose scholarly work is recorded. She was murdered by a mob amid the religious and political strife of a declining Alexandria. Her death is often used as a symbol for the fading of the classical mathematical tradition in the Mediterranean. politics / religion / science ●●

c. 452 Leo the Great turns back Attila legendary 0 cit. Pope Leo I met Attila the Hun near Mantua and, by tradition, persuaded him to withdraw from Italy. The episode became a symbol of the bishop of Rome acting where the Western emperors could not. politics / religion ●●●

4 September 476 Fall of the Western Roman Empire 0 cit. The Germanic general Odoacer deposes the boy emperor Romulus Augustulus, ending the line of Western Roman emperors. The date marks the conventional close of antiquity and the start of the medieval world in Europe. politics ●●●●●

476 Rome falls, and the East survives contested 0 cit. The Germanic commander Odoacer deposed the boy emperor Romulus Augustulus and sent the western imperial regalia to Constantinople, an act later marked as the end of the western Roman Empire. The eastern half carried on unbroken, still calling itself Roman and still governed from Constantinople. Historians debate how sharp a break 476 really was, since imperial authority in the west had been fading for decades. politics / war ●●●

494 Gelasius I and the doctrine of two powers 0 cit. In a letter to Emperor Anastasius I, Pope Gelasius I argued that the world is ruled by two powers, the sacred authority of priests and the royal power of kings. The text became a foundation for later claims of Church independence from the state. politics / religion ●●●

1 August 527 Justinian takes the throne 0 cit. Justinian I became sole emperor and set out to restore the old Roman world in full, in territory, in law, and in faith. With his wife Theodora, a former actress and a formidable political partner, he drove a program of reconquest and reform. His reign became the high point of early Byzantine ambition. politics ●●