text:
406

Year 406 (CDVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arcadius and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1159 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 406 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Radagaisus is forced to retreat into the hills of Fiesole. There he tries to escape, but is captured by the Romans.
 * August 23 – Radagaisus is executed; 12,000 "barbarians" are incorporated into the Roman army, or sold as slaves.
 * Autumn – The remaining Roman legions in Britain decide to mutiny. The usurper Marcus is proclaimed emperor.
 * The Vandals, led by Godigisel, are intercepted and defeated by the Franks under Marcomir. Godigisel is killed in battle and succeeded by his son Gunderic.
 * December 31 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mogontiacum (modern Mainz), beginning an invasion of Gaul (traditional date, this may have occurred in 405).

Asia

 * Faxian, Chinese traveler, arrives in India. He visits the major seats of Buddhist learning (Udyana, Peshawar, and Taxila).
 * Hanzei succeeds his brother Richu, and becomes the 18th emperor of Japan in the traditional order of succession.

Agriculture

 * Cultivation of rye, oats, hops, and spelt (a wheat used for livestock feed) is introduced in Europe by the native Vandals, Alans, and Sciri, who also introduce a heavy wheeled plow to be used for farming.

Religion

 * Stained glass is used for the first time in churches in Rome.

Births

 * Attila the Hun, ruler of the Hunnic Empire (approximate date) (d. 453)
 * Lu Xiujing
 * Shao Di, emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 424)

Deaths

 * August 23 – Radagaisus, Gothic king
 * Alban of Mainz, priest and martyr (approximate date)
 * Godigisel, king of the Vandals
 * Gu Kaizhi, Chinese painter (b. c. 344)
 * Zhang Tianxi, ruler of Former Liang (b. 346)

title: 406


text:
412

Year 412 (CDXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Europe as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 1165 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 412 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * The Visigoths, led by King Ataulf, move into the south of Gaul. He establishes his residence at Narbonne, and makes an alliance with Emperor Honorius, against the usurper Jovinus.
 * Emperor Jovinus elevates his brother Sebastianus as co-emperor (Augustus) and takes control of Gaul.
 * Heraclianus, governor (Comes Africae), revolts against Honorius and proclaims himself Augustus. He interrupts the grain supply to Rome. Honorius condemns him and his supporters to death with an edict at Ravenna.
 * The Theodosian Walls are constructed at Constantinople during the reign of emperor Theodosius II. The work is carried out under supervision of Anthemius, notable praetorian prefect of the East.
 * Winter – Olympiodorus, historical writer, is sent on an embassy by Honorius, and sails in stormy weather around Greece up the Black Sea, to meet the Huns who are located on the middle Danube (modern Bulgaria).

Balkans

 * The forts on the west bank of the Danube, which were destroyed by the Huns, are rebuilt, and a new Danubian fleet is launched.

Religion

 * An edict of Honorius outlaws Donatism.
 * Cyril of Alexandria becomes Patriarch of Alexandria.
 * Lazarus, bishop of Aix-en-Provence, and Herod, bishop of Arles, are expelled from their sees on a charge of Manichaeism.
 * Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, spends 2 years in Ceylon and is more than 200 days at sea as storms drive his ship off its course, but returns with sacred Buddhist texts back to China (see 414).

Births

 * February 8 – Proclus, Greek Neoplatonist philosopher (d. 485)
 * Lu Huinan, empress dowager of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 466)

Deaths

 * October 15 – Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria
 * Qifu Gangui, prince of the Xianbei state Western Qin
 * Sarus, Gothic chieftain
 * Uldin, chieftain of the Huns
 * Wang Shen'ai, empress of the Jin Dynasty (born 384)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 412


text:
414

Year 414 (CDXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constans (or, less frequently, year 1167 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 414 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years

Roman Empire

 * January 1 – Galla Placidia, half-sister of emperor Honorius, is married to the Visigothic king Ataulf at Narbonne. The wedding is celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty.
 * July 4 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigns as regent and proclaims herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
 * Constantius III, Roman general (magister militum), begins a military campaign against the Visigoths in Gaul. He blockades the Gallic ports and besieges Marseille.
 * Priscus Attalus is proclaimed rival emperor by the Visigoths for a second time at Bordeaux, in order to impose their terms on Honorius, who has his residence in Ravenna.

Asia

 * The Southern Liang, a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty, comes to an end.

Religion

 * Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, returns from India and begins translating Buddhist works into Chinese.
 * Abdas, bishop of Susa, burns down a Zoroastrian temple; in retaliation, King Yazdegerd I of Persia orders the destruction of churches.

Deaths

 * Synesius, bishop of Ptolemais (approximate date)
 * Yujiulü Hulü, ruler of the Rouran Khaganate (Mongolia)

title: 414


text:
415

Year 415 (CDXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 1168 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 415 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Constantius, Roman general (magister militum), drives the Visigoths out of Gaul. He captures the usurper Priscus Attalus, and sends him under military escort to Ravenna.
 * The Visigoths invade the Iberian Peninsula and begin to conquer territory taken previously by the Vandals. King Ataulf and his pregnant wife Galla Placidia leave Gallia Narbonensis; they relocate at Barcelona. Their infant son, Theodosius, dies in infancy, eliminating an opportunity for a Roman-Visigothic line. Ataulf is assassinated in the palace while taking a bath. Sigeric succeeds him, but after a reign of seven days he is also murdered.
 * Autumn – Wallia, brother of Ataulf, becomes king of the Visigoths. He accepts a peace treaty with emperor Honorius, in return for a supply of 600,000 measures of grain. After the negotiations he sends Placidia to Rome with hostages.

Asia

 * March 18 – The Daysan River floods Edessa (Mesopotamia).

Religion

 * Hypatia of Alexandria, Neoplatonist philosopher, is murdered by a Christian mob of Nitrian monks at the church (former temple conceived by Cleopatra VII) called Caesareum.
 * Having driven out the Jews, Alexandria's new patriarch, Cyril, has instigated the mob after taking offense at Hypatia's scientific rationalism (approximate date).
 * John Cassian, Christian theologian, settles at a monastery in Marseille (Gaul); he organizes monastic communities after an eastern model.
 * The Eustathian schism in Antioch is healed (approximate date).

Births

 * Euric, king of the Visigoths (d. 484)
 * Tonantius Ferreolus, prefect of Gaul (approximate date)

Deaths

 * Athaulf, king of the Visigoths
 * Chandragupta II, emperor of the Gupta Empire (India)
 * Hypatia of Alexandria, female Neoplatonist philosopher
 * Sigeric, king of the Visigoths
 * Thermantia, Roman empress
 * Tufa Rutan, prince of the Southern Liang (b. 365)

title: 415


text:
427

Year 427 (CDXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hierius and Ardabur (or, less frequently, year 1180 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 427 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Bonifacius, Roman governor (Last of the Romans), revolts in Africa against Emperor Valentinian III. Under the influence of Aetius, he is convicted of treason by empress-mother Galla Placidia.

Europe

 * The Roman province of Pannonia Prima is finally assimilated into the Hunnic Empire.

Asia

 * The Ephthalites (White Huns) invade Western Asia and reduce the Sasanian Empire threat to the Eastern Roman Empire. King Bahram V sends an expeditionary force into Khorasan.
 * King Jangsu transfers the Goguryeo capital from Gungnae City (modern Ji'an, Jilin) on the banks of the Yalu River to Pyongyang (modern Korea).
 * Biyu becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.

Births

 * Erbin of Dumnonia, Brythonic king (approximate date)
 * Qi Gaodi, Chinese emperor of the Southern Qi Dynasty (d. 482)
 * Wang Xianyuan, empress and wife of Song Xiaowudi (d. 464)
 * Plato, Greek philosopher (or 428 BC)

Deaths

 * December 24 – Sisinnius I, archbishop of Constantinople
 * Guisin, king of Baekje (Korea)
 * Tao Qian, Chinese poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 365)

title: 427


text:
434

Year 434 (CDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aspar and Areobindus (or, less frequently, year 1187 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 434 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum) in the service of Emperor Valentinian III, begins to hold power in Rome (this will continue for 20 years). He allows the Huns to settle in Pannonia, along the Sava River.
 * Justa Grata Honoria, older sister of Valentinian, becomes pregnant from an officer in her household. Circles in the court at Ravenna assume inevitably that Honoria is planning to raise her paramour to imperial rank and challenge her brother. Valentinian then has him executed.
 * Summer – The Huns under Rugila devastate Thrace and move steadily towards Constantinople. The citizens prepare themselves for a long siege, depending on the strength of the Theodosian Walls.
 * Emperor Theodosius II bribes the Huns (after the death of Rugila) to keep the peace in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Africa

 * The Vandals in North Africa defeat the Roman general Aspar and force him to withdraw. He serves as consul at Constantinople.

Europe

 * Attila, king of the Huns, consolidates his power in the Hungarian capital, probably on the site of Buda (modern Budapest). He jointly rules the kingdom with his brother Bleda.

Religion

 * April 12 – Maximianus dies on Great and Holy Thursday. He is succeeded by Proclus, who becomes archbishop of Constantinople.

Deaths

 * April 12 – Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople
 * Helian Chang, emperor of the Chinese Xiongnu state Xia
 * Rugila, king of the Huns (approximate date)
 * Tao Sheng, Chinese Buddhist scholar

title: 434


text:
436

Year 436 (CDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Isodorus and Senator (or, less frequently, year 1189 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 436 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Europe

 * End of the Burgundian Revolt of Gunther: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), attempts to put an end to Burgundian raids in Gaul. He calls in Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda, which plunder Augusta Vangionum, killing some 20,000 Burgundians. The Kingdom of the Burgundians is destroyed; King Gunther and his family are killed (this epic disaster will later provide the source for the Nibelungenlied).
 * In the Gothic War (436-439) besieges king Theodoric I the city of Narbonne; the Visigoths obtain access to the Mediterranean Sea and the roads to the Pyrenees.

Religion

 * The Buddhist Srimala Sutra is translated into Chinese by Gunabhadra.

Births

 * Zangloo Zhenfeng, empress of the Liu Song dynasty (d. 479)

Deaths

 * April 9 – Tan Daoji, general of the Liu Song dynasty
 * Chu Lingyuan, last empress of the Jin dynasty (b. 384)
 * Gunther, king of the Burgundians (approximate date)

title: 436


text:
439

Year 439 (CDXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Festus (or, less frequently, year 1192 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 439 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Europe

 * Battle of Guoloph: Vitalinus (possibly Vortigern) is defeated at the hands of Ambrosius Aurelianus, and a combined force of Romano-British forces from across southern Britain.
 * Gothic War (436-439): Litorius, Roman general (Magister militum per Gallias), lays siege to Toulouse. During the decisive battle before the walls he suffers a severe defeat and is killed, and only the heavy loss of Visigoths makes King Theodoric I decide to agree to a provisional restoration of the status quo.
 * Licinia Eudoxia, wife of emperor Valentinian III, is granted the title of Augusta following the birth of their daughter Eudocia.

Byzantium

 * Winter – Hun and Roman envoys meet at Margum (modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), an important market town on the Sava River. After negotiations, Attila and his brother Bleda, who are present, accept a four-point peace plan. Trading rights between the two states are confirmed and emperor Theodosius II pays an annual tribute of 700 pounds of gold.

Africa

 * Vandal War (439-442): King Genseric breaks his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and invades Africa Proconsularis.
 * October 19 – Carthage falls to the Vandals. Genseric makes it his capital and establishes the Vandal Kingdom.
 * The Vandals establish a North African granary that enables them to enforce their will on other nations, who are dependent on North Africa for grain and other food staples.

Religion

 * Isaac the Great, Armenian apostolic patriarch, dies at Ashtishat. He helped to develop a Greek-inspired alphabet, and translate the Bible, along with various Christian writings, into Armenian.
 * The Historia Ecclesiastica of Socrates of Constantinople is concluded, perhaps due to the author's death.
 * The monastery of Mar Saba is founded near Bethlehem (Palestine).

Births

 * Eudocia, Vandal queen and daughter of Valentinian III
 * Ming Di, emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 472)
 * Sabbas the Sanctified, Christian monk and saint (d. 532)

Deaths

 * Isaac, patriarch of Armenia (b. 338)
 * Litorius, general of the Western Roman Empire
 * Sima Maoying, empress of the Liu Song Dynasty (b. 393)
 * Spearthrower Owl, ruler of Teotihuacan (Mexico)

title: 439


text:
443

Year 443 (CDXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Paterius (or, less frequently, year 1196 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 443 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Europe

 * The Burgundians sign a peace treaty with Rome, agreeing to serve as foederati in the Roman army. They begin to move from the Upper Rhine and Flavius Aetius, commander-in-chief (magister militum), gives them land in the Geneva area (Maxima Sequanorum).
 * Period of civil war and famine in Britain, caused by rival kingdoms and Pictish invasions; the situation aggravates tensions between Pelagian and Roman factions. Pro-Roman citizens migrate towards Gaul.

Religion

 * Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist monk, is an invited honored guest by emperor Wen of Liu Song (Liu Song dynasty). He translates the Lankavatara Sutra from Sanskrit into the Chinese language.

Deaths

 * Zong Bing, Chinese artist and musician

title: 443


text:
450

Year 450 (CDL, CCCCL) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 450th Year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD designations, the 450th year of the 1st millennium, the 50th year of the half of 5th century, and the 1st year of the 450s decade. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Avienus (or, less frequently, year 1203 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 450 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Byzantium

 * July 28 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 49, falls from his horse while hunting at Constantinople and dies soon afterward. He has reigned since 408, mostly under the domination of his Christian sister Pulcheria, who has been allowed to return to court (see 441).
 * August 25 – Pulcheria is forced to marry and co-rule the Eastern Roman Empire. She gives the imperial diadem to the Illyrian (or Thracian) officer and senator Marcian, age 58, and is crowned as empress in the Hippodrome at Constantinople, in the first religious coronation ceremony.
 * Marcian orders the execution (or assassination) of the unpopular court eunuch Chrysaphius. He discontinues the tribute payments to Attila.
 * All the Temples of Aphrodisias (City of Goddess Aphrodite) are demolished and its libraries burned down. The city is renamed Stauroupolis (City of the Cross).

Europe

 * Spring – Justa Grata Honoria, eldest sister of emperor Valentinian III, sends her ring to Attila the Hun in an effort to escape a marriage being forced upon her by her brother. Now about 34, she has had an affair with an officer in her household and has allegedly plotted to overthrow Valentinian, who has sent her to a convent at Constantinople. Attila announces his intention to marry her, says he expects to be given half the Western Roman Empire as her dowry, and gathers a large Hun invasion force. Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), musters an army in Gaul of Burgundians, Celts, Ripuarians, Salian Franks and Visigoths under the command of the Visigoth king Theodoric I.
 * Angles, Saxons and Jutes invade Britain, marking the beginning of the Old English period (approximate date).
 * Remodelling of the Dome of Baptistry of Neon, Ravenna (Italy) begins (approximate date).

Persia

 * King Yazdegerd II summons the leading Armenian nobles to the Persian capital Ctesiphon, pressuring them to cut their ties with the Western Church.

Asia

 * Nalanda University (India) is founded (approximate date).

Agriculture

 * Metal horseshoes come into more common use in the Near East and in Europe, increasing the efficiency of horsepower in agriculture and transportation.

Births

 * February 2 – Justin I, Byzantine Emperor (d. 527)
 * Ariadne, Byzantine Empress (approximate date)
 * Avitus, archbishop of Vienne (approximate date) (d. 518)
 * Chilperic II, king of Burgundy (approximate date)
 * Gunthamund, king of the Vandals (d. 496)
 * Isidore, Neoplatonist philosopher (approximate date)
 * Pope Hormisdas (approximate date)
 * Thrasamund, king of the Vandals (d. 523)

Deaths

 * July 28 – Theodosius II, Roman Emperor (b. 401)
 * July 31 – Peter Chrysologus, bishop of Ravenna
 * November 27 – Galla Placidia, Roman Empress (b. 392)
 * Chrysaphius, eunuch and chief minister
 * Cui Hao, prime minister of Northern Wei
 * Chlodio, semi legendary Frankish king and supposed great-grandfather of Clovis I (approximate date) (b.390)
 * Kālidāsa, Classical Sanskrit writer (approximate date)
 * Quodvultdeus, bishop of Carthage (approximate date)
 * Socrates Scholasticus, church historian (approximate date)
 * Sozomen, church historian (approximate date)

title: 450


text:
1811

January–March

 * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana.
 * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón Bridge: A heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
 * January 22 – The Casas Revolt begins in San Antonio, Spanish Texas.
 * February 5 – British Regency: George, Prince of Wales becomes prince regent, because of the perceived insanity of his father, King George III of the United Kingdom.
 * February 19 – Peninsular War – Battle of the Gebora: An outnumbered French force under Édouard Mortier routs and nearly destroys the Spanish, near Badajoz, Spain.
 * March 1 – Citadel Massacre in Cairo: Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali kills the last Mamluk leaders.
 * March 5 – Peninsular War – Battle of Barrosa: A French attack fails, on a larger Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish force attempting to lift the Siege of Cádiz in Spain.
 * March 13 – Battle of Lissa: The British fleet defeats the French.
 * March 22 – The Commissioners' Plan for Manhattan is presented.
 * March 25 – The Great Comet of 1811 is discovered by Honoré Flaugergues.
 * March 27 – Battle of Anholt: The British Navy defeats Denmark.
 * March 28 – Henri Christophe is proclaimed King Henri I, turning the northern State of Haiti into the Kingdom of Haiti.

April–June

 * April 5–6 – Revolutionary riots occur in Buenos Aires.
 * May 14 – Paraguay declares independence from the Spanish Empire (recognised May 15).
 * May 16 – Peninsular War – Battle of Albuera: Spain, Portugal and Great Britain defeat the French.
 * May 18 – Battle of Las Piedras near Las Piedras, Banda Oriental: The independentists of Uruguay gain their first victory.
 * June 10 – A volcanic eruption briefly creates Sabrina Island (Azores).
 * June 15 – The Klågerup riots erupt in Sweden.
 * June 19 – The Carlton House Fête is held at the Prince Regent's London residence Carlton House to celebrate the establishment of the Regency era.

July–September

 * July 5 – Venezuela declares its Independence from the Spanish Empire.
 * July 9 – The Great Podil fire breaks out in Kiev, Ukraine.
 * July 9 – British explorer David Thompson posts a notice at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern-day Washington), claiming the area for the United Kingdom.
 * July 11 – The Russian Empire removes Anton II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, from his office, placing a Russian-appointed bishop at the head of the Georgian church.
 * July 14
 * Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his memoir about the molecular content of gases.
 * David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Columbia River, finding Fort Astoria under construction.
 * July 26 – Forest fires break out in the Tyrol region of Switzerland, reportedly destroying 64 villages and hamlets.
 * July 30 – Mexican War of Independence: Priest and military leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is executed as a rebel, by the Spanish government of New Spain.
 * August 3 – Jungfrau, the third highest summit in the Bernese Alps, is first ascended.
 * September – Nathan of Breslov leads the first annual Rosh Hashana kibbutz (pilgrimage) of Breslov Hasidim, to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine.

October–December

 * October 11 – Inventor John Stevens' boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry service, between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey.
 * October 17 – The silver deposits of Agua Amarga in Chile are discovered becoming, in the following years, instrumental for the Patriots to finance the Chilean War of Independence.
 * October 23 – José Gervasio Artigas and 16,000 orientales leave the Banda Oriental del Uruguay, to go into exile.
 * October 26 – The Argentine Government declares freedom of expression for the press.
 * November 4 – Luddite uprisings, in which workers destroy industrial machines, begin in northern England and the Midlands. According to one historian, "The first attack on textile machines by men who used the name 'General Ludd' and called themselves his followers, was on the night of 4th November 1811 in the village of Bulwell, four miles north of Nottingham, when a small band of men gathered in the darkness and marched to the home of a master weaver called Hollingsworth," then destroyed six of his weaving machines.
 * November 7 – Battle of Tippecanoe: American troops led by William Henry Harrison defeat the Native American spiritual leader Tenskwatawa, also known as The Prophet (Chief Tecumseh's brother).
 * November 17 – José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile.
 * December 2 – Reverend Samuel Marsden sends the first commercial shipment of wool from New South Wales to England.
 * December 16 – The New Madrid earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, near New Madrid, reverses the course of the river for a while. Other earthquakes along the fault occur on January 23, 1812 and February 7, 1812.
 * December 21 – The first Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela, after it declares its independence from Spain, goes into effect.
 * December 26 – The Richmond Theatre fire in Virginia kills 72 people, including the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia, Abraham B. Venable.

Date unknown

 * The Red River Colony is founded in Manitoba, Canada.
 * Iodine was discovered by French chemist Bernard Courtois.
 * The first novel by Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, was published.

January–June

 * January 6 – Charles Sumner, American senator, civil rights activist (d. 1874)
 * January 9 – Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English writer (d. 1856)
 * January 27 – Ernst Dieffenbach, German scientist (d. 1855)
 * February 1 – Arthur Hallam, English poet (d. 1833)
 * February 3 – Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
 * February 6 – Henry George Liddell, English clergyman (d. 1898)
 * February 13 – François Achille Bazaine, French general (d. 1888)
 * February 15 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian politician, writer and father of education (d. 1888)
 * February 16 – Béla Wenckheim, 8th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1879)
 * March 20
 * Napoleon II of France (d. 1832)
 * Alfred Domett, 4th Premier of New Zealand (d. 1887)
 * March 30 or March 31 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist, inventor (d. 1899)
 * May 5 – Francisco Robles, 6th President of Ecuador (d. 1893)
 * May 11
 * Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese twins and sideshow performers (d. 1874)
 * Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1893)
 * May 20 – Alfred Domett, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1887)
 * June 3 – Henry James, Sr., American theologian (d. 1882)
 * June 8 – Carl Johan Thyselius, 3rd Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1891)
 * June 14 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author, abolitionist (d. 1896)
 * June 17 – Jón Sigurðsson, leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement (d. 1879)
 * June 24 – John Archibald Campbell, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1889)

July–December

 * July 11
 * Isaac A. Van Amburgh, American animal trainer (d. 1865)
 * William Robert Grove, Welsh chemist, inventor (d. 1896)
 * July 13 – George Gilbert Scott, British architect (d. 1878)
 * July 18 – William Makepeace Thackeray, British novelist (d. 1863)
 * August 11 – Judah P. Benjamin, Cabinet officer of the Confederate States (d. 1884)
 * August 31 – Théophile Gautier, French writer (d. 1872)
 * September 2 – J.C. Jacobsen, Danish industrialist, founder of Carlsberg Group (d. 1887)
 * September 13 – Emmanuel Félix de Wimpffen, French general (d. 1884)
 * September 19 – Orson Pratt, American religious leader (d. 1881)
 * September 30 – Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German empress (d. 1890)
 * October 22 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer, pianist (d. 1886)
 * October 24 – Georg August Wallin, Finnish orientalist, explorer and professor (d. 1852)
 * October 25
 * Évariste Galois, French mathematician (d. 1832)
 * C. F. W. Walther, German-American theologian (d. 1887)
 * October 27 – Stevens Thomson Mason, first governor of Michigan (d. 1843)
 * October 31 – William Loring, British admiral (d. 1895)
 * November 8 – John Tarleton, British admiral (d. 1880)
 * November 21
 * Ludwik Gorzkowski, Polish politician, physicist and revolutionary activist (d. 1857)
 * Ludwig Preiss, German-born British botanical collector (d. 1883)
 * November 24 – Ulrich Ochsenbein, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1890)
 * November 26 – Zeng Guofan, Chinese official, military leader (d. 1872)
 * November 28 – King Maximilian II of Bavaria (d. 1864)
 * December 5 – Justus Carl Hasskarl, German explorer, botanist (d. 1894)
 * December 21 – Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1882)

Date unknown

 * Mohammad Afzal Khan, Emir of Kabul, Emir of Kandahar (d. 1867)

Deaths

 * January 8 – Samuel Story, Dutch admiral (b. 1752)
 * January 10 – Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet (b. 1764)
 * February 9 – Nevil Maskelyne, English Astronomer Royal (b. 1732)
 * February 24 – James Brudenell, 5th Earl of Cardigan, English noble and politician (b. 1715)
 * February 26 – Mateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista, Governor of Chile (b. 1727)
 * March 12 – Judah Leib Ben-Ze'ev, Galician Jewish modern Hebrew philologist, lexicographer, Biblical scholar and poet (b. 1764)
 * March 14 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1735)
 * April 4 – Mary Woffington, Irish socialite (b. 1729)
 * April 7 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat, politician (b. 1757)
 * May 4 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
 * May 28 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, British minister (b. 1742)
 * June 19 – Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (b. 1741)
 * June 26 – Ignacio Allende, captain of the Spanish Army in Mexico (b. 1769)
 * July 29 – William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (b. 1748)
 * July 30 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican War of Independence (b. 1753)
 * August 2 – William Williams, Connecticut politician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (b. 1731)
 * August 12 – Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet, Prime Minister of Naples (b. 1736)
 * August 31 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French navigator, military commander (b. 1729)
 * September – Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, German explorer (b. 1767)
 * September 4 – Matsumura Goshun, Japanese artist (b. 1752)
 * September 8 – Peter Simon Pallas, German zoologist (b. 1741)
 * September 14 – Johanna Löfblad, Swedish actor, singer (b. 1733)
 * September 21 – William Adams, British politician (b. 1752)
 * October 11 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician, naturalist (b. 1724)
 * October 15 – Eva Merthen, Finnish political activist (b. 1723)
 * November 21 – Heinrich von Kleist, German writer (suicide) (b. 1777)
 * November 27 – Andrew Meikle, Scottish engineer (b. 1719)

title: 1811


text:
648 BC

The year 648 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 106 Ab urbe condita . The denomination 648 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Middle East

 * Babylon falls to Assyrian forces after a 3-year siege (see 651 BC); starved out by his half brother Ashurbanipal, king Shamash-shum-ukin commits suicide in his burning palace, allegedly having built a pyre of his concubines and royal treasure as the Assyrians slaughter his city's garrison and much of its population.

Greece

 * Messenians in the Peloponnese revolt against Sparta under the leadership of king Aristomenes, beginning a struggle that will continue until 631 BC.
 * April 6 - The earliest solar eclipse to be chronicled by the Greeks is observed.

Sports

 * Greece's 33rd games of the Olympiad is held at Olympia with a new event: the pankration is a no-holds-barred contest that combines boxing and wrestling.

Births

 * Josiah, king of Judah (d. 609 BC)

Deaths

 * Shamash-shum-ukin, Assyrian king of Babylonia

title: 648 BC


text:
407

Year 407 (CDVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 1160 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 407 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Gratian, Roman usurper, is installed as emperor after the death of Marcus. According to Orosius, he is a native Briton of the urban aristocracy.
 * Gratian is assassinated and Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over Gaul and Spain, he takes practically all the Roman garrisons from Britain and crosses the English Channel. Constantine occupies Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of Rome's withdrawal from Britain.
 * End of Roman rule in Britain: After 360 years of occupation, the local regional British-Roman leaders raise their own levies for defence against Saxon sea rovers. They cultivate oysters, having learned the technique from the Romans.

China

 * Liu Bobo (Xia Wuliedi) founds the state of Xia, and claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang).

Births

 * Wen Di, Chinese emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 453)

Deaths

 * Fu Xunying, empress of the Xianbei state Later Yan
 * Gratian, Roman usurper
 * John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople
 * Marcus, Roman usurper
 * Maria, empress consort and wife of Honorius
 * Murong Xi, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 385)
 * Victricius, missionary and bishop of Rouen (approximate date)

title: 407


text:
AD 404

Year 404 (CDIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Aristaenetus (or, less frequently, year 1157 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 404 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * January 1 – Last known gladiator fight in Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus, a Christian monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.
 * October 6 – Empress Eudoxia has her seventh and last pregnancy, which ends in a miscarriage. She is left bleeding and dies of an infection shortly after.
 * Fravitta, a Goth serving the Eastern Roman Empire as a high-ranking general, is executed on the behest of a powerful official named Ioannes. Fravitta is executed because he accused Ioannes of pitting Emperor Arcadius and Emperor Honorius (of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, respectively) against each other. The execution of Fravitta results in the Eastern Roman Empire losing one of their most loyal and competent generals. (404 or 405)

Asia

 * Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo (Korea) attacks Liaodong and takes the entire Liaodong Peninsula.
 * The Chinese Buddhist monk Huiyuan, who founded the Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year. In his book he argues that although the Buddhist clergy should remain independent and undisturbed by politics, the Buddhist laymen nonetheless make good subjects under monarchs, due to their fear of retribution of karma and desire to be reborn in paradise.

Religion

 * Eudoxia exiles John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, for criticizing her sumptuous lifestyle. He is banished to the Caucasus in Armenia. Pope Innocent I at Rome orders a synod to reinstate the bishop, but his envoys are imprisoned. Atticus becomes the new bishop of Constantinople.

Deaths

 * January 1 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
 * February – Flavian I, Patriarch of Antioch
 * June 19 – Huan Xuan, warlord and emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 369)
 * October 6 – Aelia Eudoxia, Roman Empress and wife of Arcadius
 * Claudian, Roman poet (approximate date)
 * He Fani, empress of the Jin dynasty (b. 339)
 * Paula, Desert Mother and saint (b. 347)

title: AD 404


text:
403

Year 403 (CDIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Rumoridus (or, less frequently, year 1156 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 403 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * June – Battle of Verona: The Visigoths, under command of King Alaric I, invade Italy again, and advance through the Brenner Pass. Stilicho, with an army of 30,000 men, defeats the Goths north of Verona. Alaric makes a truce, and withdraws eastward to Illyricum.
 * Emperor Honorius and Stilicho are honored with a triumphal march, for the victories against the Goths and Vandals. This becomes the last victory celebrated in Rome.
 * Theodosius II, age 2, becomes consul of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Asia

 * Hui Yuan argues that Buddhist monks should be exempt from bowing to the emperor.
 * Asin of Baekje allies with Silla against Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo (Korea).

Religion

 * The Synod of the Oak deposes and banishes John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, but shortly afterward he is recalled only to be banished again.

Births

 * Hilary, bishop of Arles (d. 449)
 * Yuan He, official of the Northern Wei Dynasty (d. 479)

Deaths

 * Epiphanius of Salamis, Church Father
 * Severin, bishop of Cologne
 * Sima Daozi, regent of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 364)

title: 403


text:
401

Year 401 (CDI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vincentius and Fravitus (or, less frequently, year 1154 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 401 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Arcadius sends many gifts to the Hunnish chieftain Uldin, in appreciation of his victory over the Goths and Gainas. Arcadius then allies himself with the Huns.
 * Piracy is committed by slave-traders from Galatia (Anatolia), along the coasts of Africa.
 * The old Legio II Adiutrix, part of which had always been stationed at Aquincum (modern Budapest), is divided into two comitatenses, and shipped to Britannia.
 * Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), leads his army in an extensive campaign against the Vandals in Rhaetia (Switzerland).
 * The Temple of Artemis near Selçuk in Ephesus is dismantled.
 * November 18 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.
 * Emperor Honorius begins to use the city of Ravenna as a temporary center for certain administrative and military functions. The city is chosen because of its proximity to the bulk of the Western Roman army and due to the fact that its relative poverty makes it a less tempting target for barbarian invaders than cities such as Rome or Milan. This event is often misinterpreted as the establishment of Ravenna as a capital. In reality, the capital of the Western Roman Empire was not truly established at Ravenna until 408.

Black Sea

 * The Chronicon Pachale (Paschal Chronicle) reports that the Black Sea is completely frozen.

China

 * Kumarajiva, Kuchean Buddhist monk, arrives in Chang'an and begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.

Religion

 * December 19 – Pope Anastasius I dies at Rome after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by Innocent I as the 40th pope proclaiming his universal power over the whole of Christendom.
 * The Mahabharata, an Indian Sanskrit epic, is finalised.

Births

 * April 10 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)
 * Aelia Eudocia, Roman empress and wife of Theodosius II (approximate date)
 * Leo I, Byzantine Emperor (d. 474)

Deaths

 * December 19 – Pope Anastasius I
 * Duan Ye, prince of the Chinese state Northern Liang
 * Lü Zuan, emperor of the Di state Later Liang
 * Murong Sheng, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 373)
 * Empress Yang, wife of Lü Zuan

title: 401


text:
400

Year 400 (CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 1153 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 400 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * January 9 – Emperor Arcadius gives his wife Aelia Eudoxia the official title of Augusta. She is able to wear the purple paludamentum and is depicted in Roman currency.
 * Anthemius, praetorian prefect of the East, is sent on an embassy to the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, to congratulate King Yazdegerd I on his accession the year before.
 * A riot breaks out in Constantinople; the Great Palace is burned to the ground. Gainas, a Gothic leader, attempts to evacuate his soldiers out of the city, but 7,000 armed Goths are trapped and killed by order of Arcadius. After the massacre, Gainas tries to escape across the Hellespont, but his rag-tag ad hoc fleet is destroyed by Fravitta, a Gothic chieftain in imperial service.
 * Winter – Gainas leads the remaining Goths back to their homeland across the Danube. They meet the Huns and are defeated; the Hunnic chieftain Uldin sends the head of Gainas to Constantinople, where Arcadius receives it as a diplomatic gift.

Europe

 * The Paeonians (Illyricum) lose their identity (approximate date).

Asia

 * Richū, the eldest son of Nintoku, becomes the 17th Emperor of Japan.

Art

 * Resurrection and "Two Marys with Angel near the Empty Tomb", panel of a diptych, found in Rome, is made. It is now kept at Castello Sforzesco, Milan (approximate date).

Literature

 * The Vergilius Vaticanus, an illuminated manuscript containing fragments of Virgil's Aeneid and Georgics, is made in Rome.
 * The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are composed.

Medicine

 * Caelius Aurelianus, Roman physician, is practising his work "De morbis acutis et chronicis" (Concerning Acute and Chronic Illness), a guide to acute and chronic diseases.

Physics

 * Hypatia, Greek philosopher, distinguishes herself as one of the first female scientists, and becoming head of the Neo-Platonist school at Alexandria.

Religion

 * The mausoleum of Galerius in Salonica (Greece) is converted into a church.
 * Bishops from Gaza (Palestine) arrive at Constantinople to ask Arcadius that he close the pagan temple of Marnas.

Births

 * Aspar, Alan patrician and general (magister militum) (approximate date)
 * Bahram V, Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah)
 * Hassan Yuha'min, king of the Himyarite Kingdom
 * Hydatius, bishop of Aquae Flaviae (modern Chaves, Portugal) (approximate date)
 * Pope Leo I, Bishop of Rome
 * Qusayy ibn Kilab, Ishmaelite descendant of Abraham
 * Salvian, Christian writer (approximate date)
 * Sozomen, Christian Church historian

Deaths

 * Castor of Karden, Christian priest and hermit
 * Duan, Chinese empress and wife of Murong Bao
 * Gainas, Gothic chieftain and general (magister militum)
 * Li Lingrong, empress and mother of Jin Xiaowudi
 * Lü Guang, emperor of the Di state Later Liang (b. 337)
 * Lü Shao, "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang) of Later Liang
 * Oribasius, Greek medical writer and physician

title: 400


text:
399

Year 399 (CCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eutropius and Theodorus (or, less frequently, year 1152 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 399 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * The Emperor Honorius of the Western Roman Empire, who is only 15 years old, closes the gladiatorial schools in Rome, and legally ends munera (gladiator games).
 * Flavius Mallius Theodorus becomes Roman consul and official at the imperial court of emperor Arcadius.
 * Gainas, a Gothic leader, is made magister militum and forms an alliance with deserters of Tribigild along the Bosphorus. He proclaims himself co-regent (usurper), and installs his forces in Constantinople. Gainas deposes anti-Gothic officials and has Eutropius, imperial advisor (cubicularius), executed.

Middle East

 * King Bahram IV dies after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Yazdegerd I, who becomes the thirteenth Sassanid Emperor of Persia.

Asia

 * Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels to India, Sri Lanka and Kapilavastu (modern Nepal).
 * Xianbei kingdom of Southern Yan conquers Qing Province (modern central and eastern Shandong) from the Eastern Jin

Religion

 * November 26 – Pope Siricius dies at Rome after a 15-year reign in which he has commanded celibacy for priests, asserted papal authority over the entire Western Church, and threatened to impose sanctions on those who do not follow his dictates.
 * Anastasius I succeeds Siricius as the 39th pope. He seeks to reconcile the churches of Rome and Antioch. Anastasius also condemns the doctrine of Origen.
 * Flavian I is acknowledged as legitimate bishop of Antioch by the Church of Rome.

Births

 * Narsai, Syriac poet and theologian (approximate date)

Deaths

 * November 26 – Pope Siricius
 * Bahram IV, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)
 * Eutropius, Roman consul and eunuch
 * Evagrius Ponticus, Christian monk and ascetic (b. 345)
 * Fabiola, Christian saint
 * Nintoku, emperor of Japan
 * Tribigild, Ostrogothic general
 * Tufa Wugu, prince of the Xianbei state Southern Liang
 * Yuan Shansong, official and poet of the Jin Dynasty

title: 399


text:
398

Year 398 (CCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 395th Year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 398th year of the 1st millennium, the last 3 years of the 4th century, and the 9th and pre-final year of the 390s decade. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Eutychianus (or, less frequently, year 1151 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 398 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Revolt of Alaric I: After Stilicho returned to Italy, the Eastern Roman Empire concludes a peace treaty with Alaric. The Visigoths are given a settlement area in Illyricum and their king is appointed magister militum per Illyricum.
 * Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.
 * Eutropius, Roman general (magister militum), celebrates his victory over the Huns ("the wolves of the North") in a parade through Constantinople (see 395).
 * An imperial edict obliges Roman landowners with plantations to yield 1/3 of their fields to the "barbarians" who have been settled in the Roman Empire.
 * Emperor Honorius marries Stilicho's daughter Maria.
 * Possible date for the Second Pictish War.

Religion

 * John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, receives a delegation of clergy who want to close the pagan temples at Gaza (Palestine) where worshippers are openly defying the law. John works through the eunuch Eutropius, who has great power over emperor Arcadius, and within a week an imperial Constitution is issued closing the Roman temples, but the official appointed to execute this order is bribed.
 * Augustine of Hippo completes his Confessions, an autobiography that recounts his intellectual and spiritual development.

Births

 * Fan Ye, Chinese historian (d. 445)

Deaths

 * May 27 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
 * August 15 – Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yan
 * Didymus the Blind, Alexandrian theologian
 * Gildo, Moorish prince and comes Africae (governor)
 * Murong Lin, Chinese prince of the Xianbei state Later Yan
 * Murong Nong, Chinese prince of the Xianbei state Later Yan
 * Nectarius, archbishop of Constantinople

title: 398


text:
396

Year 396 (CCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1149 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 396 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), controls the young emperor Honorius as his regent, and becomes the actual ruler of the Western Roman Empire. He enlists the Alemanni and the Franks, to defend the Rhine frontier.
 * Revolt of Alaric I: The Visigoths, led by Alaric I, rampage through Greece and plunder Corinth, Argos and Sparta. They destroy the Temple of Eleusis, and harry the Peloponnese. Stilicho makes peace with the Goths, and allows them to settle in Epirus (Balkans).

China

 * Emperor Jìn Ān Dì, age 14, succeeds his father Emperor Xiaowu, as ruler of the Eastern Jin dynasty, after he is murdered by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang.
 * Lü Guang claims the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), signifying his claim to the Later Liang Kingdom.

Births

 * Petronius Maximus, Western Roman Emperor (approximate date)

Deaths

 * Duan Yuanfei, empress and wife of emperor Murong Chui
 * Dowager Helan, mother of emperor Wei Daowudi (b. 351)
 * Jin Xiaowudi, emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 362)
 * Murong Chui, general and founder of Later Yan (b. 326)

title: 396


text:
394

Year 394 (CCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Western Europe as the Year of the Consulship of Flavianus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1147 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 394 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * September 6 – Battle of the Frigidus: Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the usurper Eugenius. The forces of Theodosius are bolstered by numerous auxiliaries, including 20,000 Visigoth federates under Alaric. The Frankish general Arbogast (magister militum) escapes into the Alps and commits suicide.
 * Late Roman army: The Notitia Dignitatum shows the development of forces in the Roman Empire. By now 200,000 soldiers guard the borders, and a reserve force of 50,000 is available for deployment. Many non-Roman soldiers are from Germanic tribes: Alamanni, Franks, Goths, Saxons and Vandals.
 * Winter – The Huns cross the frozen Danube and destroy the villages built by the Goths. Theodosius I, six hundred miles away in Italy, sends no reinforcements to defend the northern frontier.
 * In Rome, the sacred fire stops burning (see Vesta and Vestal Virgins).

Egypt

 * The last known hieroglyphic inscription, known as the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, is written in Philae, Egypt.

China

 * The last ruler of Former Qin, Fu Chong, is killed in battle against an army of Western Qin, bringing Former Qin to an end.

Religion

 * Epiphanius of Salamis attacks Origen's followers and urges John II, Bishop of Jerusalem, to condemn his writings.
 * The Council of Bagaï in Africa brings 310 Donatist bishops together.

Births

 * Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist scholar-monk (d. 468)
 * Jangsu, Korean king of Goguryeo (d. 491)

Deaths

 * September 6 – Eugenius, Roman usurper
 * September 8 – Arbogast, Frankish general
 * Fu Chong, emperor of the Chinese Di state Former Qin
 * Fu Deng, emperor of the Di state Former Qin (b. 343)
 * Murong Yong, emperor of the Xianbei state Western Yan
 * Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Roman historian and politician (b. 334)
 * Yao Chang, emperor of the Qiang state Later Qin (b. 331)

title: 394


text:
393

Year 393 (CCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1146 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 393 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * January 23 – Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his son Honorius, age 8, co-ruler (Augustus) of the Western Roman Empire.
 * Theodosius I demands the destruction of pagan temples, holy sites, and ancient objects throughout the Roman Empire.
 * Theodosius I abolishes the Greek Olympic Games, ending a thousand years of festivals, as part of the general Christian policy to establish universal Christian worship in accordance with the doctrines set forth in the Nicene Creed (the next Olympic Games will not be held until 1896).

China

 * Gao Zu succeeds Tai Zu as emperor of the Later Qin Empire.
 * Chinese astronomers observe the guest star SN 393.

Religion

 * Synod of Hippo: A council at Hippo Regius (Algeria) is hosted by the Church. The bishops approve a canon of Sacred Scripture that correspond to the Roman Catholic Church.

Births

 * Sima Maoying, empress of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 439)
 * Theodoret of Cyrrhus, bishop and theologian (approximate date)

Deaths

 * Eunomius of Cyzicus, Arian bishop and theologian
 * Zhai Zhao "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), emperor of Wei

title: 393


text:
392

Year 392 (CCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 1145 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 392 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), defeats the Visigoths and Huns in Thrace. Emperor Theodosius I permits Alaric to go free on condition he provides, as foederati, military services to the Roman Empire.
 * May 15 – Emperor Valentinian II, age 21, dies while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne under unknown circumstances.
 * August 22 – Arbogast nominates Eugenius, Roman teacher of rhetoric, as the next emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He sends ambassadors to Theodosius's court asking for his recognition.
 * Theodosius I becomes the last emperor who rules the whole Roman Empire. He issues an edict reinforcing the prohibition of prayers or sacrifices at non-Christian temples, leading to the persecution of pagans and the end of the almost 2,000-year-old Eleusinian Mysteries. He also bans items of spiritual significance that could be used in the home, such as incense or spiritual figures.

Asia

 * Asin becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.

Births

 * Flavius Marcian, Roman Emperor (d. 457)
 * Galla Placidia, Roman Empress and daughter of Theodosius I (d. 450)
 * Ming Yuan Di, emperor of the Xianbei state Northern Wei (d. 423)

Deaths

 * May 15 – Valentinian II, Roman Emperor (b. 371)
 * Gregory Bæticus, bishop of Elvira (Spain)

title: 392


text:
391

Year 391 (CCCXCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tatianus and Symmachus (or, less frequently, year 1144 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 391 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Theodosius I establishes Christianity as the official state religion. All non-Christian temples in the Roman Empire are closed. The eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta at the Roman Forum is extinguished, and the Vestal Virgins are disbanded.
 * Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, urban prefect of Rome, pleads for traditional cult practices. He petitions Theodosius I to re-open the pagan temples, but is opposed by Ambrose.
 * Saint Telemachus dies after being stoned to death. His date of death is also given to the year 404.

Asia

 * A Rouran chief named Heduohan (曷多汗) is defeated and killed in battle against the Toba Northern Wei Dynasty. Surviving Rouran move west towards the Gaoche, led by Heduohan's son and successor, Shelun.
 * King Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo (Korea) ascends to the throne.

Literature

 * Flames destroy the great Library of Alexandria, established in the Mouseion in the fourth century BC. Among the items lost in the fire are works of science, including parchments by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, and dozens of dramatic works by Euripides and Sophocles.

Religion

 * Patriarch Theophilus destroys all pagan temples in Alexandria under orders from Theodosius I. Christians go on an iconoclastic rampage, smashing religious symbols or monuments through the city and destroying the Temple of Serapis. The "Order of Monks" known as the Parabalani take charge of patrolling the streets.

Births

 * Flavius Aetius, Roman general (Magister militum) of part Gothic heritage. (d.454)

Deaths

 * Heduohan, chief of the Rouran tribes (killed in battle against the Northern Wei)
 * Justina, Roman empress (approximate date)
 * Macarius of Egypt, Christian monk and hermit
 * Peter of Sebaste, bishop of Armenia
 * Zhai Liao "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang), founder of the Dingling state Wei

title: 391


text:
390

Year 390 (CCCXC) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Neoterius (or, less frequently, year 1143 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 390 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * April – Massacre of Thessalonica: Resentment among the citizens of Thessalonica (Macedonia) breaks out into violence after the arrest of a popular charioteer. Butheric, military commander of Illyricum, is murdered. Emperor Theodosius I orders vengeance, despite the pleas for mercy by Ambrose, bishop of Milan; more than 7,000 inhabitants are massacred by the Roman army.
 * Ambrose retires to Milan (residence of Theodosius I) and refuses to celebrate a mass in the emperor's presence, until he repents for ordering the massacre in Thessalonica. Theodosius, filled with remorse, kneels in humility and strips off his royal purple, before the altar of the cathedral in Milan, humbling himself before the church.
 * The Visigoths and Huns, led by Alaric, invade Thrace. Stilicho, high-ranking general (magister militum) of Vandal origin, raises an army and begins a campaign against the Goths.
 * Theodosius I brings an obelisk from Egypt to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

India

 * Rudrasena II of Vakataka succeeds his father, Prthivisena I. In the same year he marries Prabhavatigupta, daughter of the Gupta king Chandragupta II.

Art

 * C. 390–401 – Priestess of Bacchus: Late Antiquity ivory diptych; documents the relationship of the senators Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. It commemorates the marriage of the two families. The right panel is inscribed "Symmachorum", with an elaborately dressed priestess who makes an offer on an altar. It is now kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Religion

 * Jerome, having finished the Latin translation of the New Testament, begins translating the Old Testament.
 * The Kama Sutra is revised by Vatsyayana.

Births

 * Bleda, king of the Huns (approximate date)
 * Gao Yun, duke of the Xianbei state Northern Wei (d. 487)
 * Prosper of Aquitaine, disciple and Christian writer (approximate date)
 * Romanus of Condat, hermit and saint (approximate date)
 * Simeon Stylites, Christian Stylite (approximate date)
 * Xie Hui, general of the Liu Song Dynasty (d. 426)

Deaths

 * January 25 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
 * Apollinaris of Laodicea, bishop and theologian
 * Aurelius Victor, Roman historian and politician
 * Chen Guinü, queen consort of Jin Xiaowudi
 * Diodorus of Tarsus, bishop and monastic reformer

title: 390


text:
390s

The 390s decade ran from January 1, 390 to December 31, 399

Significant people

 * Arcadius, Eastern Roman Emperor
 * Honorius (emperor), Western Roman Emperor

title: 390s


text:
410s

The 410s decade ran from January 1, 410, to December 31, 419.

title: 410s


text:
440s

The 440s decade ran from January 1, 440, to December 31, 449.

Significant people

 * Attila the Hun, King of the Huns

title: 440s


text:
460s

The 460s decade ran from January 1, 460, to December 31, 469.

title: 460s


text:
862

Year 862 (DCCCLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Europe

 * The Varangians (called Rus'), under the leadership of Rurik, a Viking chieftain, arrive (with his brothers, Sineus and Truvor) at Staraya Ladoga. He builds a trade settlement near Novgorod (modern Russia), and founds the Rurik Dynasty.
 * King Lothair II of Lotharingia tries to divorce his wife Teutberga, on trumped-up charges of incest. With the support of his brother, Louis II, the bishops give him permission to remarry during a synod at Aachen.
 * March – Viking raiders led by Weland are trapped at Trilbardou Bridge (Northern France), and submit to King Charles the Bald. He and his family accept Christianity (they are baptised) before leaving Neustria.
 * Robert the Strong, margrave of Neustria, captures 12 Viking ships and kills their crews. He pays tribute (Danegeld) for keeping the Vikings out of Neustria.
 * Carloman, eldest son of King Louis the German, revolts against his father. He is captured, but manages to escape to the Ostmark (or 861).
 * First raid of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin at the request of Rastislav of Moravia against the East Frankish Kingdom.
 * The first written record (according to the Primary Chronicle) is made of the towns of Belozersk and Murom (Northern Russia).
 * Viking forces sack Cologne.

Britain

 * April 13 – King Donald I of Scotland dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his nephew Constantine I, as ruler of Scotland.
 * Áed Findliath is crowned High King of Ireland, after the death of Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid (until 879).

Abbasid Caliphate

 * June – Caliph al-Muntasir dies after just a half-year reign. He is succeeded by al-Musta'in (son of prince Muhammad), as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.
 * Ashot I ("the Great") is recognized as the 'Prince of Princes' of Armenia, by the Abbasids.

China

 * Fan Chuo finishes his Manchu ("Book of the Southern Tribes"), during the Tang Dynasty.

Religion

 * Constantine the Philosopher (alias Saint Cyril) invents the 42-letter Slavonic alphabet (Cyrillic script) as a tool for converting the Moravians to Christianity (approximate date).

Births

 * June 8 – Xi Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 888)
 * Li Cunxin, general of the Tang Dynasty (d. 902)
 * Li Cunshen, general of Later Tang (d. 924)
 * Wang Chuzhi, Chinese warlord (d. 922)
 * Wang Shenzhi, founder of Min (Ten Kingdoms) (d. 925)
 * Xiao Qing, chancellor of Later Liang (d. 930)
 * Xu Wen, general and regent of Wu (d. 927)
 * Yúnmén Wényǎn, Chinese Zen master (or 864)
 * Zhou Ben, general of Wu (d. 938)

Deaths

 * April 13 – Donald I, king of Scotland (b. 812)
 * July 2 – Swithun, bishop of Winchester
 * September 26 – Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi, Muslim military leader (b. c. 790)
 * Æthelred II, king of Northumbria
 * Al-Muntasir, Muslim caliph (b. 837)
 * Bugha al-Kabir, Muslim general
 * Lupus Servatus, Frankish abbot (approximate date)
 * Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid, High King of Ireland
 * Ruarc mac Brain, king of Leinster (Ireland)
 * Tahir ibn Abdallah, Muslim governor

title: 862


text:
667 BC

The year 667 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 87 Ab urbe condita . The denomination 667 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Middle East

 * King Ashurbanipal of Assyria resumes his late father's attack on Egypt (see 671 BC), recapturing Memphis and beginning an offensive into Upper Egypt.

Asia Minor

 * Byzantium (modern Istanbul) is founded by Megaran colonists under Byzas.

title: 667 BC


text:
100 BC

Year 100 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Flaccus (or, less frequently, year 654 Ab urbe condita) and the First Year of Tianhan. The denomination 100 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Republic

 * Consuls: Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Gaius Marius (Marius's sixth consulship).
 * Manius Aquillius celebrates an ovation for victories in the Second Servile War.
 * Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, a tribune, passes a law to redistribute land to military veterans. The law requires that all senators swear to abide by it. Quintus Caecilus Metellus Numidicus refuses and is exiled. He goes to Rhodes to study philosophy.
 * Late summer–autumn: Saturninus stands for tribune again for the following year, and is elected. His associate, the praetor Gaius Servilius Glaucia, attempts to stand for the consulship (illegally, as praetors cannot immediately become consul). A rival candidate, Gaius Memmius, is found murdered by agents of Saturninus and Glaucia, who are declared public enemies by the Senate. The Senate issues the senatus consultum ultimum, and Marius, as consul, defeats his former ally in battle in the Forum. Saturninus and his followers surrender on condition that their lives are spared, but they are stoned to death with roof tiles in the Curia Hostilia by renegade senators.
 * The building of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, Palestrina, Italy, is begun. The model of it is now kept at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Italy (approximate date).

Asia Minor

 * Tigranes II of Armenia is placed on the Armenian throne by the Parthians in exchange for the cession of "seventy valley" (approximate date).

Judea

 * The deuterocanonical books of 1 and 2 Maccabees are written.

India

 * Gandhara and Punjab are ruled by the Indo-Greek king Demetrius III Aniketos.

China

 * War of the Heavenly Horses: the Han expedition under Li Guangli returns victorious to China. He is followed by dynastic representatives sent by various Central Asian kings, so that they may pay tribute to Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu keeps these representatives as hostages and sends soldiers to build pavilions and reclaim wasteland along the route to the west to provide food and shelter for Han envoys.
 * Han-Xiongnu War: the Han general Zhao Ponu escapes Xiongnu custody and returns to China.

America

 * Mural room in the Maya pyramid at San Bartolo, Guatemala, painted.
 * Olmec III period ends in Southeastern Mexico.

Births

 * Julius Caesar, Roman general and politician (d. 44 BC)
 * Titus Labienus, Caesar's chief lieutenant in the conquest of Gaul (d. 45 BC)

Deaths

 * Cornelia, mother of Tiberius Gracchus (b. c. 190 BC)
 * Gaius Memmius, Roman politician
 * Gaius Servilius Glaucia, Roman politician
 * Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, Roman politician
 * Salvius Tryphon, Rebel slave
 * Theodosius of Bithynia, Greek astronomer and mathematician (b. c. 169 BC)

title: 100 BC


text:
44 BC

Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, common year starting on Monday, leap year starting on Friday, or leap year starting on Saturday. (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Julius Caesar V and Marc Antony (or, less frequently, year 710 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 44 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

44 BC is well known as in the year Julius Caesar was assassinated (March 15).

Roman Republic

 * Consuls: Gaius Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
 * February – Rome celebrates the festival of the Lupercal. Mark Antony twice presents Caesar with a royal diadem, urging him to take it and declare himself king. He refuses this offer and orders the crown to be placed in the Temple of Jupiter.
 * March 15 (the Ides of March) – Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus.
 * March 20 – Caesar's funeral is held. Marcus Antony gives a eulogy and in his speech he makes accusations of murder and ensures a permanent breach with the conspirators against Caesar. He snatches Caesar's bloody tunic and purple toga to show the crowd the stab wounds; the citizens tear apart the forum and cremate their Caesar on a makeshift pyre. Antony becomes the highest ranking politician in Rome.
 * April – Octavian returns from Apollonia in Dalmatia to Rome to take up Caesar's inheritance, against advice from Atia (his mother and Caesar's niece) and consul Antony.
 * April 18–April 21 – Octavian engages in a charm offensive with consular Cicero who is fulminating against Mark Antony.
 * June – Antony is granted a five-year governorship of northern and central Transalpine Gaul (France) and Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy).
 * September 2
 * Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
 * The first of Cicero's Philippicae (oratorical attacks) on Antony is published. He will make 14 of them over the next several months.
 * December – Antony besieges Brutus Albinus in Mutina (Modena), with Octavian, an ally of Decimus, who is one of his uncle's assassins, close by.

Europe

 * Comosicus succeeds Burebista as king of Dacia.

Births

 * Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, Roman statesman and governor (d. 20 AD)

Deaths

 * March 15 – Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (assassinated in the Senate) (b. 100 BC)
 * July 26 – Ptolemy XIV, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (approximate date)
 * Burebista, Thracian king of the Getae and Dacian tribes
 * Lucius Caninius Gallus, Roman politician
 * Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, Roman consul
 * Publius Sittius, Roman Mercenary commander

title: 44 BC


text:
AD 411

Year 411 (CDXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1164 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 411 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Honorius sends two Roman generals to deal with the usurper Constantine III in Gaul. They kill Gerontius, Constantine's rebellious general (magister militum) in Spain, then besiege Arles and defeat Constantine III. He is taken prisoner and put to death at Ravenna.
 * Following the defeat of Constantine III, the Burgundians and the Gallic nobility proclaim Jovinus, Gallo-Roman senator, emperor of the Western Roman Empire at Mogontiacum (modern Mainz).

Europe

 * King Ataulf leads the Goths into Gaul at the instigation of Honorius, who promises to recognise a Visigothic Kingdom if he defeats the several usurpers who threaten the Roman Empire.
 * The Alans establish their rule in the Roman province of Lusitania (Portugal south of the Duero River and Spain).
 * The Teutonic tribes in Spain join the Roman Empire as foederati (allies with military commitments).

Asia

 * Ingyo succeeds his brother Hanzei, and becomes the 19th emperor of Japan.

Religion

 * Rabbula becomes bishop of Edessa.
 * The Councils of Carthage are held, on the issue of Donatism.

Births

 * Merovech, Founder of the Merovingian dynasty and grandfather of Clovis I (approximate date)

Deaths

 * September 18 – Constantine III, Roman usurper
 * Constans II, usurper and son of Constantine III
 * Gerontius, Roman general
 * Gundomar I, king of Burgundy
 * Yax Nuun Ayiin I, king of Tikal (Guatemala) (approximate date)

title: AD 411


text:
413

Year 413 (CDXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Herclianus and Lucius (or, less frequently, year 1166 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 413 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Heraclianus, Roman usurper, lands in Italy with a large army to fight Emperor Honorius. He is defeated in Umbria and flees to Carthage, where he is put to death by envoys of Honorius.
 * May 8 – Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
 * The Visigoths, led by King Ataulf, conquer the towns of Toulouse and Bordeaux by force of arms. After a successful siege of Valence, he captures the usurper Jovinus and his brother Sebastianus. In Narbonne they are executed and their heads are sent to Honorius' court at Ravenna.

Asia

 * Kumaragupta I succeeds his father Chandragupta II as emperor of the Gupta Empire (India).
 * Jangsu becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.

Religion

 * Augustine of Hippo, age 59, begins to write his spiritual book De Civitate Dei (City of God), as a reply to the charge that Christianity was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire.

Deaths

 * March 7 – Heraclianus, Roman usurper
 * September 13 – Marcellinus of Carthage, martyr and saint
 * Chandragupta II, emperor of the Gupta Empire
 * Gwanggaeto the Great, king of Goguryeo (b. 374)
 * Jovinus, Roman usurper of Gaul
 * Kumarajiva, Buddhist monk and translator (b. 344)
 * Prudentius, Roman Christian poet (b. 348)
 * Sebastianus, Roman usurper and brother of Jovinus
 * Qiao Zong, warlord and prince of Chengdu

title: 413


text:
416

Year 416 (CDXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Palladius (or, less frequently, year 1169 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 416 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Priscus Attalus, Roman usurper, is forced to participate in a triumph celebrated by Emperor Honorius, in the streets of Rome. After the festivities, he is exiled to the Lipari Islands (north of Sicily).

Europe

 * The Visigoths continue their invasion of Hispania, and take control of Tarraconensis. King Wallia occupies the gold mines at Las Médulas, and forces Jewish citizens to convert to Christianity.

Asia

 * Reports of the eruption of Krakatoa are recorded in a Javanese historical chronicle called the Book of Kings.

Arts and Sciences

 * Rutilius Claudius Namatianus begins his journey home from Rome to Gaul. This becomes the subject of his unfinished poem, De Reditu Suo.

Deaths

 * Huiyuan, Buddhist teacher and founder of the Donglin Temple (b. 334)
 * Lü Long, last emperor of the Chinese Di state Later Liang
 * Yao Xing, emperor of the Qiang state Later Qin (b. 366)

title: 416


text:
284

Year 284 (CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Numerianus (or, less frequently, year 1037 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 284 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Numerian travels through Bithynia (Asia Minor) on his way home to Rome. Suffering from an inflammation of the eyes, he travels in a closed litter in which soldiers find his decaying corpse.
 * November 17 – Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome
 * November 20 – The commander of Numerian's domestici (household troops), Diocles, is chosen to be the new emperor. In a military assembly outside Nicomedia (modern İzmit, Turkey), Diocles claims that the praetorian prefect (and rival for the throne) Arrius Aper murdered Numerian, and he personally stabs and kills the prefect on the spot. The new emperor changes his name to the Latinised 'Diocletian'. Building on existing trends, Diocletian presents his rule as that of a god-like dominus or autocrat.
 * Sabinus Julianus, the praetorian prefect of Emperor Carinus, exploits the instability and usurps the throne in northern Italy.

Persian Empire

 * King of Kings Bahram II installs Mirian III, of the House of Mihran, on the throne of the Kingdom of Iberia. Mirian would rule the kingdom until his death in c. 361.

Korea

 * Yurye becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Silla.

Religion

 * Rufinus succeeds Dometius as Bishop of Byzantium.

Births

 * Fu Hong (or Pu Hong), Chinese general and prince (d. 350)
 * Huai of Jin, Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty (d. 313)

Deaths

 * November 20 – Numerian, Roman emperor (b. 254)
 * Lucius Flavius Aper, Roman general and praetorian prefect
 * Sun Hao, Chinese emperor of the Eastern Wu state (b. 243)

title: 284


text:
305

Year 305 (CCCV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1058 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 305 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * May 1 – Emperor Diocletian abdicates and retires to his palace at Salona (modern Split) on the Adriatic coast, after a reign of nearly 21 years, in which the last vestiges of republican government have disappeared.
 * Maximian retires from office, and leaves for Campania or Lucania (southern Italy), to live a life of ease in his luxury villas.
 * Constantius I and Galerius are declared Augusti; Flavius Valerius Severus and Maximinus Daza are appointed Caesars.
 * Constantius requests leave for his son Constantine I to join him in the west, who has been living at the courts of Diocletian and Galerius as a hostage. Galerius allows Constantine to return.
 * Summer – Constantine joins his father at Bononia (Boulogne) in Gaul; they cross the Channel to Britain and make their way to Eboracum (York), capital of Britannia Secunda and home to a large military base. They campaign with success against the Picts.
 * Galerius begins a series of campaigns against the Sarmatians, winning his first victory before the end of the year.
 * Maximinus Daza persecutes the Christians of Egypt, many of whom take refuge in the desert. In time, this refuge leads to the monastic life. In these monasteries, Coptic writing develops, supporting the propagation of Christian texts.
 * Patron of Pozzuoli, Saint Proculus, and patron of Naples, Saint Januarius are thrown to wild beasts in Pozzuoli's Flavian Amphitheater, then beheaded at Solfatara.
 * In this or the following year, the Baths of Diocletian are dedicated; the thermae become the largest imperial baths in Rome.

Asia

 * The Daysan River floods Edessa.

Commerce

 * Landowners dominate the Roman Empire, and enjoy the title of senator, which exempts them from the crushing taxes imposed on the rest of the population. The Senate has lost all its power and the landowners almost never attend Senate sessions. Members of municipal senates (curiales or decuriones) are charged with the responsibility of collecting taxes and paying arrears; smaller landowners are held responsible for providing recruits for the Roman army, and with keeping wastelands under cultivation.

Religion

 * Catherine makes a public confession of the Christian gospel at a sacrificial feast ordered by Maximinus Daza at Alexandria. A virgin of royal descent, she is tortured on a spiked wheel (later called the "Catherine Wheel") and beheaded; her remains are spirited to Mount Sinai.
 * The Council of Illiberis decrees that priests must be celibate. Additionally, it condemns visiting the homes of Jews and prohibits Christian women from marrying Jews, unless they have converted.

Births

 * Yu Yi (or Zhigong), Chinese calligrapher and general (d. 345)

Deaths

 * Januarius I of Benevento, Roman bishop and martyr
 * Catherine of Alexandria, Christian martyr and virgin
 * Porphyry of Tyre, Neoplatonist philosopher and writer
 * Proculus of Pozzuoli (or Proclus), Christian martyr
 * Sossianus Hierocles, Roman proconsul and aristocrat
 * Tuoba Yituo, Chinese chieftain of the Tuoba clan
 * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor, Christian martyrs
 * Wang Rong (or Junchong), Chinese politician (b. 234)
 * Zuo Si (or Taichong), Chinese poet and writer (b. 250)

title: 305


text:
419

Year 419 (CDXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Monaxius and Plinta (or, less frequently, year 1172 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 419 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Byzantine Empire

 * A law is passed, making it illegal for anybody in the Western or Eastern Roman Empires, to instruct barbarians in the art of shipbuilding.

China

 * Jin Gongdi, age 33, succeeds his developmentally disabled brother Jin Andi as emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Andi is strangled by orders of the warlord Liu Yu.

Births

 * July 2 – Valentinian III, emperor of the Western Roman Empire (d. 455)

Deaths

 * Jin Andi, emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 382)

title: 419


text:
454

Year 454 (CDLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aetius and Studius (or, less frequently, year 1207 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 454 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * September 21 – Emperor Valentinian III stabs his commander-in-chief Flavius Aetius to death, during a meeting of the imperial council at Ravenna. He has accused Aetius of plotting against him to seize power. After his assassination, the Western Roman Empire has no effective defender against its hostile barbarian neighbors (Alans, Franks, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Visigoths).

Europe

 * Battle of Nedao: Allied forces of subjected peoples (Gepids, Heruli, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Sciri and Suebi), under the leadership of King Ardaric, defeat the Huns under Ellac, eldest son of Attila the Hun, in Pannonia. Ellac is killed during the battle and succeeded by his brother Dengizich.
 * Ardaric unites the Gepids with other Germanic tribes, and founds the Kingdom of the Gepids in the Pannonian Basin.
 * The Vandals conquer Malta.
 * Ireland: The Diocese of Clogher is erected.

Births

 * Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths (d. 526)
 * Xian Wen Di, Chinese emperor of Northern Wei (d. 476)

Deaths

 * September 21 – Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum)
 * Ellac, king of the Huns
 * Justa Grata Honoria, sister of Valentinian III (approximate date)
 * Dioscorus the Great, patriarch of Alexandria

title: 454


text:
455

Year 455 (CDLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anthemius (or, less frequently, year 1208 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 455 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * March 16 – Emperor Valentinian III, age 35, is assassinated by two Hunnic retainers of the late Flavius Aetius, while training with the bow on the Campus Martius (Rome), ending the Theodosian dynasty. His primicerius sacri cubiculi, Heraclius, is also murdered.
 * March 17 – Petronius Maximus, former domesticus ("elite bodyguard") of Aetius, becomes (with support of the Roman Senate) emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He secures the throne by bribing officials of the imperial palace. Maximus consolidates his power by a forced marriage with Licinia Eudoxia, widow of Valentinian III.
 * Maximus appoints Avitus, most trusted general, to the rank of magister militum and sends him on an embassy to Toulouse, to gain the support of the Visigoths. He elevates his son Palladius to Caesar and has him marry Eudocia, eldest daughter of Valentinian III.
 * May 31 – Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome. A widespread panic occurs when many citizens hear the news that the Vandals are plundering the Italian mainland.
 * June 2 – Sack of Rome: King Genseric leads the Vandals into Rome, after he has promised Pope Leo I not to burn and plunder the city. Genseric sacks the city for a period of two weeks. Eudoxia and her daughters, Eudocia and Placidia, are taken hostage. The loot is sent to the harbour of Ostia and loaded into ships, from whence the Vandals depart and return to Carthage.
 * July 9 – Avitus is proclaimed Roman emperor at Toulouse, and later recognised by the Gallic chiefs in Viernum (near Arles).
 * September 21 – Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army. He restores the imperial authority in Noricum (modern Austria) and leaves a Gothic force under Remistus, Visigoth general (magister militum), at Ravenna.
 * The Ostrogoths conquer Pannonia and Dalmatia.

Britannia

 * Battle of Aylesford: Prince Vortimer rebels against the pro-Anglo-Saxon policies of his father, Vortigern. He is defeated in the battle at Aylesford (Kent). Hengist and his son Oisc become king of Kent. Horsa and Catigern, brother of Vortimer, are killed. The Britons withdraw to London (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

Asia

 * Skandagupta succeeds Kumaragupta I as ruler of the Gupta Empire (India). During his reign he crushes the Hun invasion; however, the expense of the wars drains the empire's resources and contributes to its decline.
 * Gaero becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.

Mesoamerica

 * Earliest recorded date at Chichen Itza on the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico) (approximate date).

Commerce

 * Barter economy replaces organized trade as Romans and other citizens desert their towns for the countryside, where they will be less vulnerable to barbarian raids (approximate date).

Medicine

 * The city of Vindobona (Vienna) is struck by an epidemic that spreads through the Roman provinces. The disease is probably streptococcus or a form of scarlet fever with streptococcus pneumoniae (approximate date).

Births

 * Rusticus, archbishop of Lyon (approximate date)
 * Wang Baoming, empress of the Southern Qi (d. 512)

Deaths

 * March 16
 * Valentinian III, emperor of the Western Roman Empire (b. 419)
 * Heraclius, Roman courtier (primicerius sacri cubiculi )
 * May 31 – Petronius Maximus, emperor of the Western Roman Empire
 * Biyu of Baekje, king of Baekje
 * Catigern, prince and son of Vortigern (approximate date)
 * Horsa, leader of the Anglo-Saxons (approximate date)
 * Kumaragupta I, ruler of the Gupta Empire (India)
 * Niall Noigiallach, High King of Ireland (approximate date)
 * Palladius, son of Petronius Maximus (approximate date)
 * Prosper of Aquitaine, disciple and Christian writer (approximate date)

title: 455


text:
456

Year 456 (CDLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avitus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1209 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 456 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * March – Emperor Marcian sends an embassy to Carthage, to end the Vandal raids in the Mediterranean from their strongholds in North Africa, and quells disturbances on the Armenian frontier.
 * Emperor Avitus sends a Germanic naval expedition under command of Ricimer, to defend Sicily. They defeat the Vandals twice: on land at the Battle of Agrigentum, and in a sea battle off Corsica.
 * Summer – Capua is destroyed by the Vandals. Ricimer is unable to end piracy in the western Mediterranean. Backed by his popularity, he gains the consent of the Senate for an expedition against Avitus.
 * September 17 – Remistus, Roman general (magister militum), is besieged with a Gothic force at Ravenna and later executed in the Palace in Classis, outside the city.
 * October 5 – The Visigoths under King Theodoric II, acting on orders of Avitus, invade Spain with an army of Burgundians, Franks and Goths, led by their kings Chilperic I and Gondioc. They defeat the Suebi under King Rechiar on the Urbicus River, near Astorga (Gallaecia); this shatters the power of the Suebi.
 * October 17 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian (comes domesticorum), defeats the usurper Avitus near Piacenza (northern Italy). They compel him to renounce the purple, and Avitus is obliged to become bishop of Piacenza.
 * October 28 – The Visigoths brutally sack the Suebi's capital of Braga (modern Portugal); churches are burnt to the ground. Rechiar flees wounded from the battlefield.
 * December - Rechiar, first Germanic king to convert to Nicene Christianity, is captured at Oporto and executed.

Britannia

 * Saint Patrick leaves Britain once more to evangelise Ireland as a missionary bishop.
 * The Anglo-Saxons call the British nobles to a peace conference at Stonehenge, but turn on them and massacre almost everyone (approximate date).

Asia

 * After a 10-year reign, Emperor Ankō is assassinated by the 10-year-old Mayowa no Ōkimi (prince Mayowa), in retaliation for the execution of his father. He is succeeded by his brother Yūryaku who becomes the 21st emperor of Japan.

Births

 * Liu Zixun, prince and pretender of Liu Song (d. 466)

Deaths

 * September 17 – Remistus, Roman general (magister militum)
 * Emperor Ankō of Japan (approximate date)
 * Eutyches, presbyter and archimandrite (approximate date)
 * Rechiar, king of the Suebi (captured and executed)
 * Talorc I, king of the Picts (approximate date)

title: 456


text:
457

Year 457 (CDLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 1210 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 457 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * January 27 – Emperor Marcian dies at Constantinople, possibly of foot gangrene, an infection contracted during a long religious journey. He is buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, together with his late wife Pulcheria.
 * February 7 – Leo I, a Thraco-Roman (or Dacian) high-ranking officer, becomes the new emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reigning for nearly 20 years. He is first to accept the Byzantine crown from the hands of the patriarch of Constantinople.
 * April 1 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army, after defeating 900 Alemanni near Lake Maggiore (Italy).
 * December 28 – Majorian is crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by Pope Leo I. His rule is accepted in Italy, Dalmatia and some territories in Northern Gaul.

Europe

 * According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 4,000 Britons are slain at Crecganford in battle against Hengist and his son Oisc of Kent.

Persia

 * Yazdegerd II dies after a 19-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd III who seizes the Persian throne. His elder brother Peroz I rebels against him in Sistan (Iran). After months of civil war he defeats Hormizd and becomes the seventeenth Sasanian king of the Persian Empire.

Religion

 * Victorius of Aquitaine computes new tables for celebrating Easter.

Births

 * Leontia, Roman empress and wife of Anthemius (d. 479)
 * Medardus, bishop of Vermandois (approximate date)

Deaths

 * January 27 – Flavius Marcian, Roman emperor (b. 392)
 * October 28 – Ibas, bishop of Edessa (modern Turkey)
 * Avitus, emperor of the Western Roman Empire
 * Merovech, king of the Salian Franks (approximate date)
 * Palladius, first bishop of Ireland (approximate date)
 * Saint Proterius, Patriarch of Alexandria
 * Theodoret of Cyrrhus, bishop and theologian
 * Valerian of Abbenza, bishop and saint (b. 377)
 * Yazdegerd II, king of the Persian Empire

title: 457


text:
458

Year 458 (CDLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maiorianus and Leo (or, less frequently, year 1211 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 458 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Majorian builds a Roman fleet at Miseno and Ravenna. He strengthens the army, by recruiting a large number of barbarian mercenaries (Bastarnae, Burgundians, Huns, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Scythians and Suebi).
 * Summer – The Vandals land in Campania, at the mouth of the Liri or the Garigliano River, and devastate the region. Majorian personally leads the Roman army and defeats the invaders near Sinuessa, destroying their ships on the seashore, loaded with booty.
 * Battle of Arelate: Majorian defeats the Visigoths under King Theodoric II at Arles (Southern Gaul), near the Rhone River. Theodoric is forced to sign a peace treaty and becomes a foederatus (pl. foederati) of the Western Roman Empire.
 * Winter – Majorian enters the Rhone Valley, and defeats the Burgundians under King Gondioc at Lugdunum. He forces the Bagaudae to join the western coalition against the Suebi in Spain.

Europe

 * Childeric I succeeds his father Merovech as king of the Salian Franks. He establishes his capital at Tournai (modern Belgium) and becomes a foederatus (pl. foederati) of the Western Roman Empire.

Asia

 * Jabi becomes the king of the Korean kingdom of Silla.

Exploration and Colonization

 * The city of Tbilisi (Georgia) on the Kura River is founded by King Vakhtang I of Iberia. Its location gives it control of the trade routes between western and eastern Transcaucasia.

Religion

 * July 3 – Gennadius I becomes patriarch of Constantinople.

Births

 * Damascius, Syrian neoplatonist (approximate date)
 * Xiao Zhangmao, crown prince of Southern Qi (d. 493)

Deaths

 * July 3 – Anatolius, patriarch of Constantinople
 * Nulji, king of Silla (Korea)

title: 458


text:
459

Year 459 (CDLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricimer and Patricius (or, less frequently, year 1212 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 459 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Leo I signs a peace treaty with the Ostrogoths. King Theodemir sends his son, the future Theoderic the Great, age 5, as a child hostage to Constantinople. He learns at court about Latin, military tactics and religion (until 469).

Britannia

 * King Vortigern is burnt to death, while being besieged by a Romano-British force under Ambrosius Aurelianus at Ganarew (Herefordshire).

Europe

 * The Franks conquer the city of Trier. The Frankish Kingdom becomes a military power and gets involved in Roman politics.
 * Remigius, age 22, is elected bishop of Reims (approximate date).

Asia

 * King Dhatusena of Anuradhapura of the Moriyan dynasty rules over Sri Lanka. During his reign the Avukana Buddha statue is built.

Other events
• Total lunar eclipse on May 3, in which totality was for 106 minutes and 32 seconds. A totality of this length will not occur until August 19, 4763.

Births

 * November 15 – B'utz Aj Sak Chiik, king of Palenque (Mexico).

Deaths

 * September 2 – Simeon Stylites, Christian pillar-saint.
 * Hormizd III, king of the Sasanian Empire (approximate date)
 * Vortigern, king of the Britons (approximate date)

title: 459