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Christianity spreads into Eastern Europe with the Hungary of Vajk, who becomes Stephen and king in 1001 (Stephen I the Saint)

Emancipation of Afghanistan under the Ghaznavids. The fragmentation of Islamic dominions also included that of Syria under the Fatimids (909-1171), of Egypt under the Tulunids and the Ikhshidids (935-969), of Morocco under the Idrisids (789-926), that of the rest of North Africa under the Aghlabids

A great Slavic insurrection annihilates the ecclesiastical organization between the Elbe and the Oder among the Veleti and the Obodrites.

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor.

China. Feng Jishen invents arrows propelled by burning gunpowder.

Christianity extends northward with Harald Bluetooth’s Denmark. Soon, Norway and Sweden will follow. The Christian cross will remain on national flags.

Euclid’s Elements is translated in India

Adelaide, widow of Lothair, King of Italy, took refuge in the castle of Canossa to escape the persecution of Berengario II, Marquis of Ivreache. Wanting to marry her to his son Adalbert, he unsuccessfully besieged Canossa. Otto I, King of Germany (aka Holy Roman Emperor),

Quetzalcoatl: Priest-king of the Toltecs in Central America during their heyday

Pope Sylvester II introduced the abacus and Arabic numerals to Europe, but they were not immediately successful.

The Venetian Pietro II Candiano and his army landed at Capodistria, probably the largest commercial emporium in the area, forcing the inhabitants to sign a promise pledging to defend the Venetians from any abuse, to judge cases pending against them fairly, and to donate one

Locust invasion in Germany and Spain

Basra, present-day Iraq. Revolt (called “Zanj”) of slaves from East Africa.

Invasion of the Danes in England

The Normans sack Lisbon and Seville

Documented transit of the comet that would be named Halley’s Comet centuries later. It passes extremely close to our planet: only 5 million kilometers, or 13 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. It has never passed this close before in our history. Its

Muslims land in Brindisi

Venice. The first Basilica of St. Mark is built to celebrate the arrival in the city from the East of the body of St. Mark, a relic captured in Alexandria.

The Muslims conquered Sicily, but took 75 years to Islamize it thanks to the fierce resistance of the Sicilians; the Muslims remained in Sicily for 2 and a half centuries, until the arrival of the Normans.

After Corsica, the Ifriqiyan Muslim pirates landed in Sicily.

Thanks to the technology of Norwegian deep-sea ships, the island of Iceland is reached and populated.

Central Asia. Bukhara is the capital of an empire that includes present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and parts of Iran and Afghanistan.

Charlemagne seizes the Ring (the headquarters where the enormous spoils of war were accumulated) from the Avars. Their leader, Tuduno, submits and converts to Christianity. He is baptized in Aachen and has as his godfather Charlemagne, who annexes the western part of the Avar Empire,

The new Japanese emperor, Hieian, leaves the capital Nara and takes up residence in Kyoto.

Abu Jafar Mohammed ibu Musa al-Khwarizmi publishes book with Indian numeral system including “0”

The Bull “Commissa Nobis” of Pope Callixtus II (1123) reports, almost verbatim, a previous Bull of Pope Paschal II (1113), telling us that the Church of Carpi was founded by the Lombard King Astolfo. The commonly accepted year of foundation is 751. The two Bulls

The Shiite Abbasids rule the Sunnis from Baghdad after coming to power through a Shiite revolt. They shifted the center of power from Syria to Baghdad.

Kanaka arrives in Baghdad and brings with him Hindu astronomy and mathematics.

The Republic of Venice. From the late 12th century onward, it would dominate the eastern Mediterranean, with influences extending to the western Mediterranean and as far as England, Bruges in Belgium, and Germany. It was a model for trade (the true soul of Venice), diplomacy

The soldiers of the Sunni Caliph Umayyad kill Ali’s (Shiite) son, Hussein, and many of his traveling companions in Karbala, in present-day Iraq, which thus becomes the city that symbolizes the split. From then on, the Sunnis prevail, and the Shiites are persecuted and hunted

Omar, successor to the first caliph Abu Bakr, was assassinated in 644

Muhammad flees Mecca (Year of Migration) and founds the first mosque in Medina

From 100 BC to 600 AD, the Moche civilization flourished in Peru (near Lake Titichacha). It then collapsed suddenly around 600 AD, likely due to a sudden climate change: several decades of heavy rainfall, followed by a period of famine that destroyed the delicate ecosystem.

Shotoku, ruler of Japan, and himself a convert to Buddhism, proclaims Buddhism the official religion of the country

Modena. The Byzantines briefly conquer the city.

Modena. The Lombards arrive. Modena becomes a sort of border territory between Lombardy (hence Lombardy) and Romania (hence Romagna).

Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk, arrives in southern China, sits in meditation for nine years with his eyes open facing a wall, and then decides to teach silent Ch’an meditation (dhyana in Sanskrit, Zen in Japan); he does not accept disciples until the monk Hui’ke

Battle of Mons Badonicus: The British (Roman-British cavalry commanded by King Arthur) defeat the Angles; this delays the Anglo-Saxon conquest by a few generations.

A monk named Bodhidarma leaves India for China and becomes the first patriarch of a form of Buddhism called Zen.

2nd wave of barbarians: Lombards, Bavarians, Saxons

Modena dominated by Ostrogoths, Lombards, Byzantines, Franks at various times

Aetius, “the last of the Romans,” and hero of the Battle of the Catalan Fields against the Huns, is assassinated.

Attila returns to Hungary, marries Ilticus, and dies of internal bleeding on their wedding night; the Roman Church gains enormous political advantage from Attila’s retreat thanks to the intervention of the Pope (in reality, Attila was planning to return to Italy the following year): Leo

England, invasion of Jutes, Angles and Saxons

The Huns occupied a vast area of the Roman Empire: from Hungary to Greece to the Black Sea.

The Vandals and Berbers, led by Genseric, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Hungary and invaded North Africa, eventually conquering Carthage. The Vandals were the only barbarians to possess a fleet. Andalusia was named after the Vandals (Vandalusia).

How many barbarian invaders were there in the Roman Empire? The Vandals under Genseric who set sail for Africa numbered 80,000. No barbarian group, neither the Franks nor the Visigoths nor any other, ever exceeded 100,000. According to some estimates, in the period immediately following

Hypatia (Hypatia), a Byzantine mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, was murdered by Christian monks. Daughter of Theon of Alexandria, she studied astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and science, and, although a woman, taught philosophy publicly and belonged to the Neoplatonic school. She invented the astrolabe, the planisphere, and

The city of Modena was almost completely abandoned due to wars and floods

The last Roman legions leave England to contain the invasions of the Germans on the mainland; they promise to return but they do not return and the British Isles will go through a dark period in which they will remain subject to invasions by the

Theodosius II is born

Theodosius (new Roman Emperor after the death of Valens in battle) negotiates with the Goths: lands in exchange for soldiers for the Empire

Central America. King Chak Tok Ich’aak of Tikal is defeated and killed in battle by the army of Teotihuacan (a city of 250,000 people, the largest in the Americas, comparable in size to Imperial Rome of the same period).

Battle of Adrianople (European Turkey): Roman Emperor Valens counterattacks the Visigoths: it is a massacre: two-thirds of the Romans remain on the field, approximately 30,000, including 35 senior officers; Valens himself is among the fallen. Roman Emperor Valens wastes an entire army in a battle

Constantine, Roman Emperor, converts to Christianity

Constantius I Chlorus, Galerius, Flavius Severus, Maxentius, Maximinus Daia succeed one another as Roman Emperors (the office of Augustus held jointly with Constantine the Great)

In the final years of the golden age of the Gupta dynasty in India (a center of art, science, literature, and architecture), Aryabhata estimated the year to be within two hours, the diameter of the Earth (13,382 km), and the area of the triangle (pi

With the abandonment of Dacia, Syria and Egypt, the Romans began to withdraw from some of the most remote regions of the Empire.

Europe’s population is around 67 million. By the year 1700, it had dropped to just 27 million.

The invasion of the Chatti is repelled on the Rhine; the Quadi are subdued

Britain. Wales, The Ordovices (northern Wales) rebel against the Romans, but are brutally defeated. The Romans also invade the island of Mona (Anglesey), home to the last Druids. The Druids, alchemists who practiced human sacrifice and worshipped over 400 gods, left no written records.

Britain. Wales, territories of the Silures (southeast Wales) and the Ordovices (north Wales). The area was conquered by the Roman legions and secured by two forts: Carleon and Chester, connected by military roads.

Masada, present-day Israel, on the Dead Sea. The Romans capture the fortress of Masada, the last stronghold of the Sicarii, who commit suicide when all hope was lost, just before the arrival of the legionaries. The Sicarii are a Jewish extremist movement that practices targeted

Jerusalem. In 17 days, the Romans prepare siege engines for the Temple walls, but the Jews have dug tunnels underneath, supported by wooden posts painted with pitch and bitumen. These set them ablaze, causing everything to collapse and undoing the Roman work. At this point,

Africa. Roman exploratory mission (Festus) through Libya and Niger, up to Burkina Faso.

The Romans invented blown glass, which could be molded into almost any shape. For the first time, it was possible to make glass bottles and glasses, and therefore not only to see what one was drinking, but also to eliminate the taste of the metal

Israel. The revolting Jews numbered 67,000 potential fighters. Vespasian first sent the X Fretensis legion, an old and experienced unit under the command of Ulpius Trajanus senior, then the V Macedonica, and finally his son Titus in command of the XV Apollinaris. The III Gallica

Egypt. In Alexandria, the interminable conflicts between Greeks and Jews erupt into open conflict. A horrific massacre ensues. Having entered the Delta district, populated by Jews, they slaughtered everyone they encountered. Exaggerating as usual, the historian Josephus estimates the number of victims at 50,000.

Israel. At the height of the Jewish revolt, Nero entrusted the Roman army to Titus Flavius Vespasianus, assisted by his son Titus. Vespasian managed to enter Jotapata and take over its defense. After the city was taken, Josephus was taken prisoner; the historian prophesied to

Beginning of Coptic Christian civilization in Egypt

Africa. Roman exploratory mission (Nero) through Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, to the mouth of the Nile.

Britain. The Romans found Camulodunum (Colchester), which briefly becomes the capital of the Roman possessions in Britain.

Tiberius is Roman Emperor

In the Teutoburg Forest, several tribes led by the Teutonic Arminius surprised and annihilated three Roman legions: 15,000 soldiers plus 10,000 entourages, women and children. Arminius had the heads of the victims nailed to trees. The Roman Empire never recovered from the shock: it retreated

Birth of Jesus Christ (Yeoshua ben Yosef) in Bethlehem, according to the Gospel of Luke (which places it during the census of Quirinius); this date, however, contradicts the Gospel of Matthew.

Israel. The extremist Zealot movement, spearheaded by Judah, son of Hezekiah, develops. Various revolts erupt.

Tiberius begins a military campaign in Germany against the Marcomanni

The Roman Empire militarily and politically controls Armenia and the Parthians

Loose conjunction in the sky of Venus, Saturn, Moon and Jupiter in the constellation of Aries, which are however distributed over different degrees in perspective on the ecliptic looking towards the East 15 minutes before dawn. On June 17, 2 BC, the conjunction in the

Cleopatra takes her own life. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, takes her own life after her forces’ defeat against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome. Daughter of King Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra had been the lover of Julius Caesar, who in 47 BC had helped her