400 A.D.

Movement of nations – invasions of nomadic tribes, arrival of western Slavs from the Danube and Vistula basins. Agrarian-pastoral culture, cremation burials. The empire of Samo – the first tribal union of the Slavs.

500 A.D.

Around this time the portcullis gate in the Eketorp ring-fort on Öland falls for the last time. As far as we know, this gate, built around AD 400, was the first of its kind outside the Roman Empire.

500 A.D.

Vandal occupation and the Berber kingdom of the Djeddars.

500 A.D.

During the rule of the Merovingian Dynasty (c. 500–751) Germanic tribes become subjects of the Merovingian Dynasty.

502 A.D.

A treaty is made between the Roman Empire and the Ghassanids, a Christian Arab tribe settled in southern Syria and Damascus, in order to defend the eastern frontiers against the Persians.

507 A.D.

Visigoths defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Vouillé; collapse of the Visigoth Kingdom of Tolosa and withdrawal to the Iberian Peninsula (Kingdom of Toledo).

511 A.D.

Death of Clovis, the Merovingian king who converted to Catholicism, won control of most of the Frankish kingdoms and took Aquitaine from the Visigoths.

521 A.D.

Rumour has it that in this year King Hugleikr, possibly from what is Sweden today, was slain with all his men in Friesland by the Frankish, i.e. Merovingian, Prince Theodebert.

527 A.D.

Byzantine Emperor Justinian orders the construction of St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Moses in Central Sinai. It became the third pilgrimage site after Jerusalem and Rome.

527 A.D.

Justinian (527–65) becomes the Emperor of Byzantium and sets about reconquering the West, succeeding in destroying the Gothic Kingdom in Italy.

527 A.D.

Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, begins constructing many castles along the main caravan routes, and several churches in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gaza and Nabatian Negev.

528 A.D.

The Byzantine Emperor Justinianus (later Justinian) grants the ally of the Byzantines, al-Haritha ibn Jibla, the Arab-Christian ruler of the Ghassan tribe who settled in Syria and Jordan, the title ‘Baselues’ (king).

529 A.D.

The Corpus Iuris Civilis is compiled under Justinian, collecting and organising Roman law. The work remains influential for centuries, becoming the cornerstone of legal studies.

531 A.D.

The land of Thuringia is conquered by rulers of the Merovingian Dynasty with the help of the Saxons.

533 A.D.

Byzantine reconquest of Africa led by the Byzantine general Belisarius. End of the Vandal kingdom.

533 A.D.

The Vandals take refuge in Mauritania Tingitana (Northern Morocco in Antiquity).

533 A.D.

Byzantine conquest of Central Maghreb.

534 - 548 A.D.

Berber insurrections threaten the Byzantine army, which suffered repeated setbacks.

537 A.D.

The church of Haghia Sophia in Constantinople is opened on 27 December by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I having been rebuilt after its destruction in Nika Riot (532).

537 A.D.

According to Annales Cambriae, the Battle of Camlann is fought between the forces of King Arthur and Mordred; both leaders are killed in the battle.

542 A.D.

Sanctification of Bishop Theodorus as a bishop of Jordan and Palestine by the Empress Theodora according to the request of al-Haritha al-Ghassani.

544 A.D.

The Goths attempt to occupy the town of Sebta.

553 A.D.

Basilica of Euphrasius built in Piorec, one of the most important monuments in Croatia. It was built on the remains of an earlier three-naved basilica.

555 A.D.

Reorganisation of the Suebian Church by Saint Martin of Dumes.

558 A.D.

Chlothar I, son of Clovis, becomes the sole ruler of the Franks, having previously shared his kingdom with his brothers.

558 A.D.

During the rule of the Merovingian Dynasty (558–629), rulers of the Frankish Dynasty gradually gain power over parts of what will later become Germany.

563 A.D.

St Columba and a small group of monks sail from Ireland to the west coast of Scotland. They establish a monastery that becomes the head of the Celtic church in Britain and a major political centre.

565 A.D.

Death of Emperor Justinian I soon after his construction of the Ibn Wardan fortress in the Syrian desert. The long and intermittent Byzantine–Persian war is refuelled.

565 A.D.

Emperor Justinian I dies on 13/14 November. He was famous for his successful military campaigns and also for his reform of the legal code. He was also known as ‘the last Roman Emperor’.

568 A.D.

The Lombards enter Italy. The lands occupied in the Centre and the South become the Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento respectively.

570 A.D.

The birth at Mecca on 2 July of Prophet Muhammad, the messenger of God who introduced Islam to the whole world.

571 A.D.

Birth in Mecca of Prophet Muhammad from the tribe of Quraysh.

573 A.D.

The Sassanian Persian ruler Chosroe I raids Syria as far as Apamea and Antioch.

578 A.D.

Byzantium puts down the Berber revolt that flared up after local chieftains are murdered by Sergius, Byzantine Governor of Tripoli.

582 - 602 A.D.

Reorganisation of the Byzantine Empire and institution of the Exarchate of Carthage, consolidating the pre-eminence of the military.

589 A.D.

Catholicism becomes the official religion of the Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo.

590 A.D.

Economic and religious interaction between Arabia and the Fertile Crescent as Muhammad joins his uncle on mercantile travel to Syria, where he meets the monk Bahira in Bosra.

590 A.D.

Gregory the Great (590–604) becomes pope. During his pontificate, the Church becomes more independent from the Byzantine Empire and great efforts are made to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons and Lombards.

602 A.D.

Byzantine Emperor Maurice breaks the peace treaty with the Persians and invades Syria. War continues with both sides growing weak and weary, inadvertently easing the path for the upcoming Muslim conquerers.

610 A.D.

Birth of Saint Fructuosus of Braga.

613 A.D.

The Sassanian invasion of Syria (Bilad al-Sham) begins under the leadership of Shahrbaraz, causing the destruction of many cities.

614 A.D.

The Sassanian (Persian) army conquers Palestine during a campaign of occupation of Great Syria and Egypt. The conquest is very destructive, tens of churches are destroyed, and monasteries are sacked and burned.

614 A.D.

Croats settle in the area between the Adriatic Sea and the Sava and Drava rivers.

619 A.D.

Egypt, Jerusalem and Damascus come under the rule of the Persian Emperor Xerxes II.

622 A.D.

On 4 September Prophet Muhammad emigrates with the Muslims to the town of Medina. This event known as Hijra and marks the beginning of the Hijri calendar.

627 A.D.

Prophet Muhammad sends a letter to Cyrus, the Byzantine Patriarch of Alexandria and ruler of Egypt, inviting him to accept Islam. Cyrus sends gifts to the Prophet in answer, together with two sisters from Upper Egypt. The Prophet married one of them, called Maria the Copt. She bore him his only son, who died in boyhood.

627 A.D.

The victory of the Byzantine army over the Persian army in the Battle of Nineveh on 12 December, which breaks the power of the Sassanid dynasty.

628 A.D.

Heracles (r. 610–41) reconquers Palestine and the Emperor brings back the Holy Cross to Jerusalem. Restoration projects begin all over Palestine and in Jerusalem in particular.

629 A.D.

Dagobert I, King of Austrasia, creates a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in Paris. With the help of the future Saint Eligius, his precarious reign lasts for about ten years.

629 A.D.

On 4 September the Battle of Mu’ta begins between the Muslims and the Byzantines at the site of Mu’ta in southern Jordan. The cause of the battle is the killing of messenger of Prophet Muhammad by the Ghassanids.

630 A.D.

Expulsion of the Byzantines and unification of the peninsular lands of the Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo.

630 A.D.

In October a peace treaty is made between Prophet Muhammad and the Bishop of Ayla, John bin Ru’ba in exchange for the payment of 300 dinars a year as poll tax for protection.

633 A.D.

Liturgical unification of Hispania.

635 A.D.

In January the inhabitants of Pella sign a covenant with the new Muslim rulers after the battle of Fihl (Pella) agreeing to pay poll and land taxes; the transition from Byzantine to Islamic rule at Pella was peaceful and uninterrupted.

636 A.D.

The Muslim armies expand in southern Palestine, and then begin to move towards the north. In the Battle of Yarmuk the Byzantine army is defeated and Greater Syria gradually falls under the control of the Muslim army.

636 A.D.

On 20 August the Muslim armies overrun the Transjordan highlands. They go on to win a decisive battle against the Byzantines on the banks of the Yarmouk River, which opens the way to the conquest of Syria.

636 A.D.

At the Battle of Yarmuk on 15 August the Muslim army defeats the Byzantine forces. Damascus is definitively occupied and the Islamic conquest of Syria begins.

637 A.D.

Jerusalem is surrendered by the Patriarch Sophronius to ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab. The Plaza of the Haram al-Sharif is cleaned and prepared for a modest wooden structure. It will take the Muslim armies another ten years to control the rest of Palestine.

639 A.D.

The plague of ‘Amwasa, a town located between Jerusalem and Jaffa, in which hundreds of soldiers and officers, including the army commander Abu ‘Ubaida ‘Amir bin al-Jarrah, lose their lives

639 A.D.

The first mosque in Egypt is built in Bilbis, east of the Delta, to honour the martyrs and 120 companions of the Prophet who died in battle there during the Arab invasion of Egypt. It followed the ground plan of the Prophet's mosque in Medina.

639 A.D.

During the conquest of Jordan, a plague called ‘Emwas’ starts in Palestine and spreads all over Jordan. Among the 25,000 people who die are the companions of the Prophet who ruled the Jordan valley.

641 A.D.

Babylon (the Roman settlement south of present-day Cairo) capitulates to the Muslim armies led by Amr ibn al-'As.The first Islamic capital of Egypt, Fustat, is founded.

642 A.D.

Penda establishes his kingdom of Mercia as the pre-eminent Anglo-Saxon realm after defeating and killing Oswald of Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield.

643 A.D.

Mu’awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Greater Syria begins to build the seaport of ‘Akka and to establish the first Islamic shipyard, where the first Muslim fleet is built.

647 A.D.

First expedition of Muslim Arabs in Ifriqiya. Victory at Sufetula (Sbeitla).

649 A.D.

First maritime conquests of the Muslims, occupying Cyprus.

653 A.D.

The Lombards officially convert to Catholicism, a process that began with the work of Gregory the Great.

654 A.D.

Publication of the Fuero Juzgo, a summary of Visigothic law.

655 A.D.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and companion, isappointed wali (ruler) of Egypt by ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, the third Righteous Caliph.

657 A.D.

Battle of Siffin between Mu’awiya, governor of Damascus, and ‘Ali, the fourth caliph and cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, resulting in a schism in the Muslim community with Kharijites (secessionists) accepting neither.

658 A.D.

In February mediation between ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu’awiya is held at Udhruh in southern Jordan after the battle of Siffin to decide who will be the caliph of Muslims. Mu’awiya wins by trickery.

661 A.D.

The Umayyad Dynasty starts its caliphate in Syria and Jordan under Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, who makes Damascus his capital.

661 A.D.

Damascus becomes capital of the Umayyad Empire under Mu‘awiya (Caliph 661–81). Assassination of ‘Ali, nephew of the Prophet, by a Kharijite (secessionist).

661 A.D.

Mu’awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan (r. 661–80) declares himself Caliph in Jerusalem, announcing the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty. The caliphs ‘Abd al-Malik, Sulayman, ‘Umar II and other Umayyad caliphs did the same.

664 A.D.

The Synod of Whitby establishes the date of Easter in Britain and consequently the supremacy of Roman Christianity over Celtic Christianity.

665 A.D.

Second Arab expedition. Victory at Hadrumetum (Sousse).

670 A.D.

Third Arab expedition led by ‘Uqba (Okba) ibn Nafi, who founds the town of Kairouan.

670 - 680 A.D.

According to the double conquest theory of Gyula László the origin of the first archaeological finds in the Carpathian basin indicate the presence of the first wave of the Hungarian tribes.

674 - 678 A.D.

Siege of Constantinople by the Muslim Arabs.

679 A.D.

The first diplomatic agreement of the Croats with the Holy See. They made an agreement with Pope Agaton by which they agreed not to start wars against neighbouring Christian states.

679 A.D.

After several attempts to conquer Constantinople, the Umayyads and Byzantines agree to a truce. Frontier warfare continues under the Abbasids but Constaninople is left unconquered until the Ottomans.

680 A.D.

Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, reunites the Frankish kingdom, which had disintegrated under the last of the Merovingians.

681 A.D.

‘Uqba (Okba) ibn Nafi reaches Sebta, Tangiers then Walili (Ancient Volubilis) before going on to the town of Nfis in the Haouz and Igli in the Souss.

682 A.D.

Having conquered all of North Africa and established Arab rule, ‘Uqba (Okba) ibn Nafi is killed. His mausoleum and mosque are erected near Biskra at Sidi Okba.

687 A.D.

Beginning with the Battle of Tertry in 687 the Carolingian Dynasty rules over larger parts of the Germanic tribes.

691 A.D.

The Dome of the Rock is built as the framework of a large construction programme on the plazas of the Haram al-Sharif, including the Dome of the Chain, the gates of the Plaza and the Aqsa Mosque.

697 A.D.

The first Islamic gold coin devoid of iconographic representation is struck in Damascus by Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik, with Arabic declaration of faith. Arabisation of the administration.

698 A.D.

Carthage conquered by the Arabs under the leadership of Hassan ibn Numan.

700 A.D.

During the lifetime of Saint Boniface, an English missionary who lived from c. 675 to 754, the tribes in Germany become Christians.

700 A.D.

Around this time a new and shorter Nordic runic alphabet with 16 runes instead of 24 is introduced. It turns out to be a great success which rapidly spreads literacy in Sweden.

701 A.D.

Death of the Berber resistance fighter Kahina.

705 A.D.

Musa ibn Nossayr becomes the first governor of Ifriqiya.

705 - 715 A.D.

Building of the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus proclaims the imperial status of the new religion and places Islam on an equal footing with the strong Christian heritage of the region.

709 A.D.

The inauguration of the Aqsa Mosque by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid Ibn ‘Abd al-Malik (r. 705–15).

711 A.D.

Start of the islamicisation of al-Andalus. First incursions in al-Gharb.

711 A.D.

Beginning of the Muslim invasion of the peninsula following victory over the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete.

711 A.D.

The Muslims begin the conquest of Spain under the leadership of Tarik ibn Ziyad.

711 A.D.

Tarik ibn Ziyad crosses the Straits of Gibraltar, defeats King Roderick of Spain and takes Córdoba and Toledo.

712 A.D.

Sulayman Ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, the governor of Palestine, begins to build the city of Ramla as a new administrative centre.