Fluid | Fixed

History Timeline AD: First Millennium

To fully appreciate what history has to offer, sometimes we need to take a couple of steps back to view its bigger picture. Perhaps, if we looked across the broad spectrum, we would realize that nothing happens in isolation. No one gets ups one morning and says, “hmm, think I’ll invent pottery or maybe even a religion today”. History is an evolutionary development that happens over time.

The Common Era (CE) / Anno Domini (AD)

6 - 4
  • Birth of Jesus.
9
  • Hermann(Arminius) defeats the Romans at the battle of Teutoberger Wald.
25
  • Buddhism introduced - China Han Dynasty
27 - 30
  • Period of Jesus’ ministry.
29 - 69
  • Christianity spreads - Syria Asia Minor and Italy.
43
  • Successful Roman invasion begun by Claudius
48
  • Paul’s Conversion
50 - 100
  • Gnosticism
50 c.
  • Danish Meldorf Brooch; the first surviving artifact with runes on it.
65 - 95
  • The Gospels are written.
98
  • Tacitus writes the Germania, the earliest account of the culture of Germanic people.
100 - 250
  • Administrative structure of the Church develops.
  • 150-250 Modalism / Monarchianism (Sabellius, Praxeus, Paul of Samosata and Noetus)
122
  • Hadrian Wall built by Romans
142
  • Taoism
150 - 230
  • Clement of Alexandria
250
  • Emperor Decius begins systematically persecuting Christians
300 - 700
  • Migration Age (The Heroic Age)
303
  • Emperor Diocletian issues his laws against Christianity
312
  • Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity.
325 - 400
  • The Goths are converted to Aryan Christianity
  • Ulfias writes his translation of the New Testament, the only surviving work of written Gothic.
330
  • Constantinople is dedicated as the capital of a Christian Empire.
350
  • Goths and Vandals are converted to Aryan Christianity.
370
  • St. Basil writes first monastic rules.
378
  • The Goths defeat the Romans in the East at the Battle of Adrianople.
389
  • sacrifices banned
394
  • Emperor Theodosius declares Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
399 - 414
  • Fa-hsien travels to India
400
  • The Kingdom of Axum converts - Christianity.
  • Nestorian Christianity becomes dominant Christian sect in Sassinid Empire
406 - 407
  • A coalition of Germanic tribes cross the Rhine into Roman territories and take land for settlement.
410
  • Alaric, king of the Visigoths, conquers Rome
  • Roman legions withdraw from Britain; Emperor Honorius tells the cities in Britain that they must defend themselves.
436
  • The Huns, encouraged by the Roman Emperor Aetius, overrun the East Germanic kingdom fo the Burgundians on the Rhine, killing King Gundahari (the historical antecedent for Gunther/Gunnar of Nibelungenlied/Volsunga saga.)
438
  • Theodosian Code
449
  • Hengest and Horsa begin the Anglo Saxon conquest of Britian
  • The Venerable Bede writes that Vortigorn invited the Saxons, lead by Hengest and Horsa (brothers,) to Britain as mercenaries in defense against the Picts.
450
  • St. Patrick missionary journey - Ireland.
  • c. 450 The West Germanic tribes living around the North Sea (Angles, Saxons and Frisians) begin to add runes to the Elder Futhark to deal with sound changes in their dialects, creating the Anglo-Frisian Futhork.
476 - 542
  • T’an-luan is first master of the Pure Land School
480 - 547
  • St. Benedict and the spread of monasticism.
483
  • Edict of toleration granted - Christians in the Sassanid Empire
493 - 517
  • The legend of King Arthur may be based upon the great Romano-celtic military leader who defeated the Anglo Saxon forces at Mons Badonicus, a site that has never been identified.
493 - 526
  • King Theodoric the Great, later a prominent hero in Germanic tales, rules in Rome until his death.
500 - 530
  • Lives the historical antecedents of Beowulf, Hrothgar and Hrolf Kraki
500 - 1000
  • Early Middle Ages
538 - 597
  • Chih-i organizes the T-ien-t’ai School
563
  • St. Columba brings Celtic Christianity to Iona.
571
  • Anglo Saxon victory leading to the eventual final defeat of the British.
574 - 622
  • Prin Shotuku the “founder” of Buddhism in Japan
590 - 604
  • Pope Gregory the Great. -Roman Catholicism
590 - 616
  • Æthelbert reigns in Kent.
596
  • St. Augustines missionary trips to England and does another one in 601
597
  • St Augustine brings Roman Christianity to Kent.
599 - 624
  • East Anglia is ruled by Redwald
610
  • Mohammed founder of Islam
600 - 800
  • Moslem conquests of Christian Asia North Africa and Spain.
616 - 633
  • Edwin is king of Northumbria
622
  • Islam begins to be established
630 - 640
  • Conquest of the Near East and Egypt
636
  • Date of Sutton-Hoo ship burial; a rich Germanic grave containing artifacts of Swedish orgin.
659
  • Penda last heathen King of England dies in battle.
664
  • At the Synod of Whitby, Roman Christianity is endorsed as supreme over the Celtic tradition.
675
  • Development of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism
688 - 726
  • Wessex has Ine as King
690 - 710
  • Conquest of North Africa and Spain
696
  • Radbod King of the Frisians rejects attempts to convert him to Christianity.
700
  • Primitive Norse (or Runic Norse) gives way to the Old Norse
717 - 718
  • Attempt - conquer Constantinople.
722 - 754
  • St. Bonifa’s missionary work in eastern Germany.
731
  • Bede completes his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum ; His book is referred to in the Malleus Maleficarum
737 - 1160
  • Building of the Danevirke
751
  • Battle of Talas
757 - 796
  • Offa is king of Mercia, and he builds his dike on the Welsh border, consolidates power in Mercia, and views himself as equal to Charlemagne.
772
  • Charlemagne begins his war of extermination against the heathen Saxons, destroying the Irminsul.
793 - 1066
  • The Viking Age
793 - 850
  • Sporadic but constant Viking raids on England.
793
  • Norse sea-raiders (Vikings) sack the Anglo-Celtic monastery at Lindisfarne
795
  • Norse raids on Ireland begin
  • Vikings sack the monastry at Iona.
800
  • The Elder Futhark is replaced by the Younger or Sixteen Rune Futhark
800 - 810
  • Reign of King Godfrid of Denmark
810 - 827
  • Reign of King Harald Klak of Denmark
814
  • Death of Charlemagne
814
  • Arrival of pagan normans in France
827 - 853
  • Reign of King Horik Godfredsson of Denmark
835
  • Danish raiders ally with the Cornish against the rule of King Eegbehrt of Wessex.
840 - 870
  • Reign of King Halfdan the Black of Norway
844 - 845
  • Norse raids on Moorish Spain begin
845
  • Al-Ghazal’s embassy in Turgeis, King of the Vikings in Ireland
851
  • First Norse raid on Wales recorded in the Welsh chronicles Annales Cambriae, Brut y Tywysogion and Brut y Saeson stating that a certain Cyngen or Cinnen died on the swords of the Heathens.
  • First Viking winter encampment in England.
852
  • The Swedish Rus becomes dominant among the Volga
853 - 873
  • Reign of King Rorik of Denmark
860
  • Norse discovery of Iceland
  • Ragnar Loddbrok killed at York
  • The Rus found Novgorod and Kiev.
865
  • Great Viking army lands in East Anglia
866
  • Viking army enter York on November 1
867
  • Northumbria is defeated and is no longer a major political force
868
  • The oldest printed book in the world a Chinese translation of the Diamond-Cutter Sutra
870
  • Settlement of Iceland begins
870 - 945
  • Reign of King Harald Harfagra of Norway
870
  • Vikings attack Wessex
871 - 899
  • Alfred the Great reigns as king of Wessex.
873 - 891
  • King Sigfred and Halfdan are co-rulers of Denmark
  • Alfred the Great defeats Guthrum/Guthorm and forces the Vikings forces to accept Christianity in return for English as a settlement.
878
  • Harald Harfagra completes his conquest and unification of Norway, Orkney Islands, many Norwegians flee to Iceland.
879
  • Alfred the Great retreats to the fens west of Selwood and builds a fortress at Athelney. He wins major battles.
886
  • Alfred occupies London: the Danelaw is established.
887
  • Alfred learns Latin.
890
  • Reign of King Helgi of Denmark, followed by Swedish rule of Denmark under King Olaf the Swede.
899 - 955
  • Alfred’s son Edward the Elder and Alfred’s grandsons Ædmund and Eadred carry out the reconquest of England.
900
  • Canon Episcopi
910 - 990
  • Life of poet/warrior Egill Skallagrimsson.
912
  • Gongu-Hrolf and his men take lands in Normandy as vassals of the French King. Their descendants become the Normans.
920
  • Ulfljotr the Norwegian brings the Gulathing Law to Iceland, where it is used as a model upon which Icelandic Law is based.
922
  • Ibn-Fadlan, an Arab ambassador to the Scandinavian Rus along the Volga, writes his accounts of their customs, including a full description of a ship/cremation funeral.
924 - 939
  • Æthelstan is king of the English.
930
  • First Althing held at Thingvellir in Iceland, establishment of Icelandic Free State
930 - 1011
  • Life of Njal of Berthorsknoll.
935 - 950
  • Reign of King Gorm the Old of Denmark
946
  • Reign of King Hakon the Good of Norway
947
  • Start of reign of King Olafr Tryggvasson of Norway
  • Norway adopts Christianity
950 - 983
  • Reign of King Haraldr Bluetooth of Denmark
  • Denmark adopts Christianity
954
  • Expulsion of Eric Bloodaxe, son of King Harold Fairhair of Norway from his position as the las Scandinavian king of York.
959 - 975
  • Edgar reigns in England
978 - 1016
  • Æthelred the Unready (Uræd or without counsel) rules. Within two years of his accession, Viking resume attacks and at the end of his reign, Cnut of Denmark becomes King of England.
982
  • Eirikr inn Rauda (Eric the Red) discovers Greenland.
983
  • Starting of reign of King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark
986
  • Settlement of Greenland
988
  • Kievan Russia converts - Orthodox Christianity.
991
  • Vikings overcome the resistance of Byrhtnoth and the army as recounted in The Battle of Maldon

Notes:

All dates are approximations and you may find a source with contradicting information and as such I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the dates. This is intended to be used as a guideline.

European Paganism –Ken Dowden
Encyclopedia Britannica 1991
The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions –edited by Keith Crim
Media History Timeline (article) –Irving Fang and Kristina Ross