12-05-2010, 09:12 PM
Here is another fifth century A.D. Western Roman Empire ("West") timeline.
It combines information from Fectio/Robert & Wikipedia/many contributors.
I am adding key events in: economics, engineering, law, literature, religion, natural disasters, epidemiology, climate change, etc.
Thank you in advance for your comments & contributions to help make this a more useful resource.
Fifth Century Western Roman Empire Timeline (work in progress)
Fifth Century A.D. Western Roman Empire Timeline
401
+ 5c AD starts.
+ Theodosius II (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born (Apr 10); only son of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius & Frankish-Roman Eastern empress Aelia Eudoxia.
+ King Radagaisus/Vandals invade/raid Noricum & Rhaetia.
+ Stilicho/Western armies campaign against King Radagaisus/Vandals in Rhaetia.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths break peace, leave Illyricum, invade northern Italy, destroy countryside (autumn).
+ Stilicho recalls legions from Western empire frontiers; they gather in Gaul.
+ Pope Anastasius I dies (Dec 19).
+ Bishop Innocent I becomes 40th pope (Dec 22). (Later proclaims pope’s universal power over all Christendom.)
+ Aelia Eudocia (future wife of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II) born in Athens; daughter of Greek philosopher & sophist Leontius.
+ Leo I (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born to Thraco-Roman parents.
402
+ King Radagaisus/Vandals raid Rhaetia.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths approach Western capital of Milan. Western Roman Emperor Honorius/retainers flee Milan, go west, trying to move imperial court to Arles, Gaul.
+ Visigoth infantry besieges Milan, Italy.
+ Visigoth cavalry cuts off Western Roman Emperor Honorius’ alpine escape route. Honorius/retainers change route, go south to fortified city of Hasta, Liguria; Visigoths in close pursuit.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius/retainers arrive in fortified city of Hasta, Liguria; Visigoths immediately besiege city (Feb-Apr).
+ Stilicho/Western armies move from Gaul, through Rhaetia, into northern Italy; relieve Milan from Visigoth siege.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths retreat to Pollentia, Italy.
+ Stilicho/Western armies defeat King Alaric I/Visigoths at Pollentia, Italy (Apr 06 [Easter day]), capture Alaric’s familiars & camp. Alaric I/most Visigoth cavalry escape.
+ Stilicho returns Visigoth prisoners, in exchange for King Alaric I/Visigoths’ retreat back to Illyricum.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius moves Western capital from Milan to Ravenna.
+ Arcadius & Honorius become Rome consuls.
403
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths reach Verona, Italy, stop retreat to Illyricum, try to capture city.
+ Stilicho/local Roman forces surround, defeat Visigoths in Battle of Verona, forces King Alaric I to retire (Jun).
+ Many of King Alaric’s generals desert him, swear allegiance to Stilicho,
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths resume retreat to Illyricum.
+ Theodosius II (age 2) becomes Rome consul.
+ Hilary of Arles (future bishop of Arles, Gaul) born.
404
+ Monk Telemachus martyred.
+ Eastern empress Aelia Eudoxia, spouse of Arcadius, dies after miscarriage (Oct 6).
+ Ravenna, Italy citizens build city’s Dome.
405
+ King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces cross Danube, move through Pannonia & Noricum invade Italy, siege Florence. Stilicho/Western army move from Gaul, weakens Rhine frontier; but with Uldin the Hun chieftain/Huns/Sarus the Goth chieftain & Western Army commander/Goth federates break the seige & King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces retreat.
+ Stilicho orders pagan Sibylline Books burned.
+ Last official gladiator combat in Rome (Jan 1)?
+ (Western Roman Emperor Honorius closes Roman coliseum?)
+ Jerome of Stridon publishes Vulgate Bible.
+ Ricimer (future de facto ruler of West) born.
+ Salvian (future Christian writer) born about 405.
406
+ Stilicho/Western army with Uldin the Hun chieftain/Huns/Sarus the Goth chieftain & Western Army commander/Goth federates defeat King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces (~20k) at Battle of Fiesole, Italy (Aug); execute King Radagaisus (Aug 23); ~12k higher status fighters join Roman army; the rest are sold as slaves or escape & join Alaric I/Visigoths.
+ Roman legions in Britain mutiny against Western Roman Emperor Honorius, raise Western usurper Marcus.
+ Begin of Fall of Roman Britain.
+ Western usurper Marcus assassinated, replaced by Western usurper Gratianus.
+ Stained glass first used in churches in Rome, Italy.
+ Vandals, Suebi (Germanic), & Alans (Iranic) cross frozen Rhine at Mogontiacum, Gaul (~Dec 31; maybe in 405).
+ Battle of Moguntiacum.
+ King Respendial/Alans rescue Vandals,
+ War between Franks & Vandals,
+ Fall of Roman Gaul.
+ Begin of Fall of Roman Spain.
+ Attila (future King of the Huns) born (approximate year).
407
+ Western Roman usurper Gratianus assassinated, replaced by Western Roman usurper Constantine III (407-411).
+ Western Roman usurper Constantine III/many Roman army units move from Britain to Gaul, occupy Arles (generally seen as start of Roman withdrawal from Britain).
+ Legio II Augusta, last Roman legion in Britain, leaves.
+ Vandals, Suebi, Burgundians, & Alans invade Gaul (or in 406?).
+ Vandals occupy Bordeaux, Gaul.
+ King Godgisel of Asding Vandals dies; his son Gunderic becomes king.
408
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius dies (Mar 1); his son Theodosius II (age 7) becomes Eastern Roman Emperor; Praetorian prefect Anthemius rules as regent.
+ Constantine III captures Hispania, destroys defending loyalist forces (summer).
+ Vandals invade Spain.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius kills Stilicho (Aug 23), on rumor Stilicho planned to have his son proclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor.
+ Romans kill wives & children of barbarian foederati
+ Maria, daughter of Stilicho, wife of Honorius, dies.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths siege Rome 1st time (Sep).
Rome pays King Alaric I/Visigoths an indemnity, they settle in Tuscany.
+ Saxons attack Roman Britain.
409
+ Constantine III's General Gerontius revolts in Hispania, raises own Western usurper Maximus.
+ Vandals, Suebi (Marcomanni, Quadi, Buri), & Alans cross Pyrenees, draw lots to divide Iberian Peninsula; Vandals to get Hispania Baetica (Andalusia), Suebi Gallaecia (Galicia & n. Portugal), Alans Lusitania (central/south Portugal & Spanish Extremadura).
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths siege Rome 2nd time; with Senate agreement King Alaric I makes Priscus Attalus Western Roman Emperor.
+ Serena, niece of Theodosius I, wife of Stilicho, executed in Rome.
+ Famines in Hispania, Gaul & Italian Peninsula.
410
+ King Alaric I deposes Western Roman Emperor Priscus Attalus.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths sack/heavily loot/lightly damage Rome (Aug 24–27). (First sack of Rome since 390 BC.)
+ Christian scholar Jerome laments that in Rome’s ruin, the whole world has perished. Pagans see Sackof Rome as work of Rome's old gods, blame Christians. Pagan members of Rome's senate fear Christians’ retaliation if they speak out.
+ Visigoths start attacks on Vandals.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius tells Britain to defend itself; Fall of Roman Britain.
+ Picts, Scoti & Irish Celts start raids on Britons.
+ General Constantius III becomes Magister Militum.
+ Council of Seleucia: Persian Christians create national church, adopt Nicene Creed.
+ King Alaric I of Visigoths dies; his brother-in-law Ataulf becomes king.
411
+ King Gundahar/Burgundians establish Kingdom left of Rhine.
+ Burgundians, Franks & Alans raise self-declared Western Roman usurper Jovinus.
+ Alans control Lusitania (central/south Portugal & Spanish Extremadura).
+ Western Roman usurper Constantine III executed.
+ King Gundomar I dies.
412
+ King Ataulf/Visigoths move south from Rome, intend to invade Africa, cut off Rome’s grain supply.
+ King Ataulf marries Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius.
+ Storm destroys Goths’ fleet.
+ Constantius III drives King Ataulf/Visigoths north, into s. Gaul.
+ Western usurper Jovinus takes control of Gaul.
+ Heraclianus starts usurpation in Africa.
+ Danube west bank forts (destroyed by Huns) rebuilt; new Danubian fleet launched.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius edict outlaws Donatism.
+ Chieftain Uldin of Huns dies.
413
+ Heraclianus’ Revolt in Africa put down.
+ Usurper Heraclianus dies (Mar 7).
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius edict provides tax relief for Visigoth-plundered Italian provinces (May 8th).
+ King Ataulf /Visigoth siege/capture Narbonne, Toulouse, & Valence; capture Western Roman usurper Jovinus, give him to Postumus Dardanus for execution.
+ Western Roman usurper Jovinus executed.
+ Franks sack Trier.
+ Bishop Augustine of Hippo responds to claims Christianity caused Rome’s fall, overturns Bishop Eusebius’ theory of Rome. Augustine claims Roman Empire was influenced both by God & by demons; Romans are most successful brigands in history; & Rome was product of sin & based on self-love, robbery, violence & fraud.
414
+ Visigoths raise Western usurper Priscus Attalus in Bordeaux, Gaul.
+ Pulcheria self-proclaimed Eastern empress, regent for Theodosius II (age 12).
+ Bishop Abdas of Susa, burns down Zoroastrian temple; King Yazdegerd of Persia retaliates, orders destruction of Christian churches.
415
+ John Cassian (Scythian) settled at monastery in Marseilles, Gaul, organized monastic communities of men & women after eastern model (approximate date).
+ Jews expelled from Alexandria, Egypt.
+ Hypatia of Alexandria, Neoplatonic philosopher/mathematician, murdered by mob in Alexandria, Egypt church (under Peter the Reader?).
+ King Ataulf/Visigoths move from Gallia Narbonensis to near Barcelona, Spain.
+ King Ataulf of Visigoths murdered; Sigeric becomes king.
+ King Sigeric of Visigoths murdered after seven days; Wallia becomes king.
+ Euric (future Visigoth king) born.
416
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius has Visigoths in Spain campaign against Vandals, Suevi & Alans
+ Visigoths defeat Vandals & Alans, except those with Suevi.
+ Suevi settle as federates in NW Spain.
+ King Wallia of Visigoths, returns King Athaulf's widow Galla Placidia to Rome, in return for supplies.
417
+ Constantius III marries Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius, widow of King Ataulf (Jan 1).
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius rewards King Wallia/Tervingi (now calling themselves “Visigoths”), grants them Aquitaine; they make capital at Toulouse.
+ Pope Innocent I dies (Mar 12).
+ Bishop Zosimus becomes 41st pope (Mar 18th).
418
+ Visigoths spread across Pyrenees into Spain, officially to re-establish Roman authority there.
+ Pope Zosimus dies (Dec 26).
+ Bishop Boniface I becomes 42nd pope (Dec 28th).
419
+ Valentinian III (future Western Roman Emperor) born (Jul 2) to Constantius III & Galla Placidia.
+ King Wallia of Visigoths dies; Theodorid becomes king.
420
+ Ostrogoths settle in Pannonia.
+ Legendary Pharamond/Franks cross Rhine.
+ John Cassian writes “Institutes of the Monastic Life” (which influences Benedict of Nursia in 6th century, Western medieval monasticism).
+ Jerome of Stridon dies in Bethlehem (Sep 30); buried near Grotto of Nativity; later transferred to Church of Sta. Maria Maggiore, Rome.
+ Glycerius (future Western Roman Emperor) born (approximate date).
421
+ Franks sack Trier
+ Constantius III becomes Western Co-emperor (Feb 8th).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia (formerly “Athenais”) (Jun 7).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II declares war against Persian Sassanids, after Sassanid King Bahram V again persecutes Persian Christians.
+ Western Co-emperor Constantius III dies (Sep 2).
+ According to legend, Romans fleeing Germans found Venice.
422
+ Eastern Romans defeat Persian Sassanids, sign 100 year peace treaty, end Persian persecution of Christians & and Romans persecution of Zoroastrians.
+ Romans capture & execute King Theudemeres of Franks.
+ Romans/ Visigoths attack Vandals.
+ Vandals & Alans leave Suebi refuge from Visigoths, move south into Andalusia.
+ Priest Petrus of Illyria starts construction of Church of Santa Sabina, Rome (approximate date).
+ Pope Boniface I dies (Sep 4).
+ Bishop Celestine I becomes 43rd pope (Sep 10). (Later makes principle: “No bishop is to be appointed against the will of the people.” On church’s canons, he wrote, “The rules rule us; we do not stand over the rules: Let us be subject to the canons.”)
423
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius dies (Aug 15).
+ Valentinian III (age 4) named Western Roman Emperor.
+ Joannes (primicerius notariorum [senior civil servant]) usurps, becomes self-proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
424
+ Valentinian III (age 5) becomes caesar.
425
+ Valentinian III (age 6) becomes emperor (Oct 23); his mother Galla Placidia rules as regent.
+ Western General Aëtius leads army into Italy to support Western usurper Joannes.
+ Eastern Roman Empire disbands Sanhedrin.
+ Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy built (425-426 ca.).
+ Western usurper Joannes dies.
426
+ Western Roman start 10-year campaign against Visigoths in southern Gaul.
+ Visigoths & Alans war.
+ King Attaces of Western Alans dies.
+ King Gunderic of Vandals also becomes king of Alans; Alans subject to Vandals (approximate date).
+ Vandals conquer Balearic Islands.
+ Augustine of Hippo publishes “De Civitate Dei” (City of God).
+ John Cassian publishes “Conferences”. (Influences Benedict of Nursia in 6c, then Western medieval monasticism.)
427
+ Huns fully assimilate Roman province of Pannonia Prima.
+ General/Count Boniface of Africa (one of several "last of the Romans") revolts in Africa.
+ Persians war against Ephthalites (White Huns) until 557; reduces Persian threat to Eastern Empire.
+ Augustine of Hippo finishes “City of God”.
428
+ King Chlodio/Salian Franks invade northern Gaul.
+ Western Romans start failed 3-year campaign against Salian Franks, Juthungi on Rhine & Danube.
+ King Gunderic of Vandals & Alans dies; Geiseric becomes king.
429
+ King Geiseric/~80,000 Vandals, invited by General/Count Boniface of Africa, cross from Spain, invade & conquer Mauretania in northern Africa.
+ Pope Celestine I sends Germanus of Auxerre & Lupus of Troyes to Britain to combat Pelagianism.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II starts Roman law reform, has panel of lawyers compile/clarify Roman law since Constantine.
430
+ Western General Aëtius starts X-year campaign against Visigoths, Burgundians & Franks in Gaul, re-establishes some Roman control (approx. year).
+ King Geiseric/~80,000 Vandals siege Hippo.
+ Patrick reaches Ireland (approx. year).
+ Neilos the Ascetic (abbot of monastery near Ankyra, Turkey), first known writer to clearly refer to Jesus Prayer, dies (approx. year).
+ Julius Nepos (future Western Roman Emperor) born.
+ Anastasius I, (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born.
+ Augustine of Hippo dies, as Vandals siege Hippo (Aug 28th).
431
+ Salian Franks invade Somme River region.
+ Western General Aëtius pushes Salian Franks back across Somme River.
+ King Genseric/Vandals take Hippo Regius, make it their capital.
+ Marcian (future Eastern Roman Emperor) captured fighting Vandals.
+ First Council of Ephesus: Nestorianism rejected, Nicene creed declared complete. Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople deposed (Jun).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II calls 3rd Ecumenical Council in Ephesus.
+ Pope Celestine I sends bishop Palladius to Ireland.
432
+ Western General Aëtius & General/Count Boniface of Africa (one of several "last of the Romans") fight Battle of Ravenna; Boniface dies.
+ King Rus unites Huns.
+ Priest Petrus of Illyria finishes construction of Church of Santa Sabina, Rome
+ Pope Celestine I dies (Apr 6)
+ Bishop Sixtus III becomes 44th pope. (Jul 31)
+ Patrick consecrated bishop, starts mission in Ireland.
+ Christmas celebrated on Dec 25th for first time, in Alexandria, Egypt (approx. year).
433
+ Petronius Maximus becomes Rome Consul.
+ John Cassian, one of Desert Fathers, dies.
434
+ Western General Aëtius, under Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, gains & power in Rome 20 years.
+ Attila & his brother Bleda jointly gain control of Hun tribes.
+ Attila becomes King of the Huns.
435
+ King Theodoric I/Visigoths siege Romans at Narbonne. Gaul.
+ Romans capture Visigoth chieftain Anaolsus.
+ Nestorius exiled by Imperial edict to Sahara oasis monastery (Aug 3).
+ Vandals allowed northern Africa territory, become Roman foederati.
+ Odoacer (future king of Italy) born.
+ Justin I, future Eastern Roman Emperor, born (approx. year)
+ British monk Pelagius dies (approx. year)
436
+ Western General Aëtius defeat King Theodoric I/Visigoths at Battle of Narbonne, Gaul.
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns invade Burgundian Rhineland
437
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns end Burgundian raids in Augusta Vangionum, overwhelm city, kill ~20,000 Burgundians (source for “Nibelungenlied”).
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns defeat Burgundians; kill Burgundian King Gundahar & royal family.
+ Galla Placidia, mother of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III (age 18th), quits as his regent.
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II; unifies two branches of House of Theodosius (Oct 29).
+ Childeric I (future king of Salian Franks) born (approx. year)
438
+ Last known Gladiator combat in Rome Coliseum.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II finishes Roman law reform; compiled/clarified Roman law since Constantine, published as single “Codex Theodosianus” (Feb 15).
439
+ King Geiseric/Vandals take Carthage (Oct 19), make it their capital.
+ Licinia Eudoxia, wife of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, granted title “Augusta” after birth of their daughter Eudocia.
+ Greek becomes an official language in East Roman Empire.
440
+ King Geiseric/Vandals invade/pillage Sicily, bribed to leave.
+ Vandals begin pirate raids (approx. year).
+ Persia & Eastern Roman Empire start 2-year war.
+ Pope Sixtus III dies (Aug 18th).
+ Bishop Leo I becomes 45th pope (Sep 29). (Discourages mixing of Christianity with Sun worship. Rebukes people reverencing Sun god on St. Peter’s steps before entering basilica. Sends letter to emperor, stating “by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration the emperor needs no human instruction and is incapable of doctrinal error.” First pope to claim “plenitude of power” over church (later plays large role in papal monarchy over medieval church).
441
+ King Attila/Huns invade Balkans.
+ Persia fights short war with Eastern Roman Empire.
+ Chrysaphius has Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II’ dismiss his sister Pulcheria, becomes Theodosius’ chief advisor.
442
+ Saxons take Britain, despite pleas for help to Western General Aëtius.
+ Western Roman treaty with Geiseric, recognize Vandal conquest of north Africa, Vandal Kingdom as independent state.
+ Placidia, second & last child of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III & Licinia Eudoxia, born.
+ Persia & Eastern Roman Empire end 2-year war.
443
+ Burgundians create new kingdom in Rhone valley, Lake Geneva area, as Roman foederati.
+ King Attila/Huns destroy Naissus.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II/Eastern Empire make terms with King Attila/Huns, who move focus to west.
+ Britain goes into civil war, Groans of the Britons, Western Emperor Valentinian III abandons Britain (approx. year).
444
445
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III states whatever “See of Peter” sanctions, or shall sanction, shall be law for all. Apparently quoted from Valentinian’s Novel 17, which gives Pope authority over provincial churches.
+ Attila the Hun/Huns & Eastern Romans fight indecisive Battle of the Utus.
+ Huns invade Balkans as far as Thermopylae, destroy Serdica (Sofia).
+ Earthquakes level most of walls of Constantinople, which are rebuilt within 60 days.
+ Merovech becomes King of Franks.
446
+ Vortigern/Britons/Anglo-Saxon mercenaries campaign against Picts (from Scotland) & Scots (from Wales).
+ Huns take Pannonia.
447
+ King Attila/Huns invade Moesia.
+ Theodosius II sends ambassador to Attila; Priscus records one of few eyewitness accounts of Hun kingdom. (or in 448th)
+ Germanus of Auxerre dies
448
+ Salian Franks defeated in Battle of Vicus Helena,
449
+ Anglo-Saxon elite mercenaries land in Britain.
450
+ Angles, Saxons & Jutes invade Britain (approx. year).
+ Celts from Britain settle in Bretagne, get status as foederati.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II dies after fall from hunting horse.
+ Soldier Marcian, married to Theodosius II’ sister Pulcheria, becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Aug 25).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian stops paying tribute to King Attila/Huns.
+ Justin I (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born in Illyria.
+ Galla Placidia dies (Nov 27).
+ Rome population estimated down to ~500,000.
+ Baptistry of Neon dome, Ravenna, Italy, remodeling starts (approx. year).
451
+ King Attila/Huns cross Rhine, invade Gaul.
+ King Attila/Huns with Frankish, Gothic & Burgundian mercenaries devastate Gaul, sack Trier & Metz, Siege of Orléans.
+ Western General Aëtius/King Theodoric I/Visigoths/Franks repulse King Attila/Huns/Ostrogoths at Battle of Châlons, Gaul; 10,000 to 20,000 men die on Catalaunian Fields; Visigoth King Theodoric I dies in battle, his son Theodoric II becomes king.
+ 4th Ecumenical Council, in Chalcedon. Pope’s representatives say they lack instructions on Constantinople’s privileges, absent themselves from discussions. While absent, council reassert Constantinople’s rights as patriarchate, with equal privileges to Rome, 2nd in standing to Rome, because Constantinople is new Rome.
452
+ King Attila/Huns invade northern Italy; sack Aquileia, Vicetia, Verona, Brixia, Bergamum, (Emona, most inhabitants desert), and Milan.
+ King Attila/Huns target Rome, Pope Leo I meets them outside Rome, King Attila decides to spare Rome & Huns leave.
+ Venice founded by fugitives from Attila's army.
+ Anglo-Saxon mercenaries push Picts back to Scotland.
+ Anglo-Saxon mercenaries rebel in Britain.
+ Saxon 50-year invasion of Britain; food shortages in Britain (approx. year).
453
+ King Attila the Hun (polygamist) marries Germanic woman Ildico.
+ Attack on Constantinople,
+ King Attila the Hun dies.
+ King Attila’s sons divide Hunnic Empire.
+ King Thorismund of Visigoths dies, his brother Thorismund becomes king.
+ Eastern Empress Pulcheria dies.
454
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III has Western General/Governor of Gaul Aëtius enforce papal summons of bishops.
+ Vandals conquer Malta.
+ Ostrogoths/ Gepids defeat Huns in Battle of Nedao.
+ King Ellac of Huns dies,
+ Hunnic Empire collapses with revolts by subjugated peoples, internal power struggles & enemy attacks.
+ Pope Saint Dioscorus the Great dies (Sep 17)
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, with Hun threat gone, fears Western General Aëtius’ power, kills him in throne room in Ravenna (Sep 21).
+ Alemmani invade across Danube.
+ Bishop Hilary of Arles asserts church of Gaul independent of Rome.
+ Theodoric the Great (future king of Ostrogoths) born.
455
+ Aëtius’ former soldiers kill Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, revenge for his killing Aëtius ~6 months earlier; & kill Heraclius, Valentinian III’s Courtier/Primicerius Sacri Cubiculi (Mar 16).
+ Petronius Maximus becomes Western Roman Emperor (Mar 17).
+ Visigoths depose Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus.
+ Roman mob stones fleeing former Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus to death (Apr 22).
+ King Geiseric/Vandals, at Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III's widow Eudoxia’s request, sail from Africa, invade/plunder Rome for two weeks (June 2-??); also take Eudoxia & her daughters, leave power vacuum in Western Empire.
+ Visigoths proclaim Avitus (dead Western General Aëtius’ former general) Western Roman Emperor at Tolosa (Jul 9).
+ Pope Leo I prevents wholesale destruction & massacre of Rome.
+ Ostrogoths conquer Pannonia & Dalmatia.
456
+ Vandals conquer Sardinia, destroy Capua.
+ Ricimer sends fleet against Vandals’ naval attacks; fleet defeats Vandals in battle near Corsica.
+ Roman general Remistus dies (Sep 17)
+ King Theodoric II /Visigoths, in name of Western Roman Emperor Avitus, defeat Suevi at river Urbicus near Astorga, Gallaecia; sack Suevi’s capital of Braga, break Suevi’s power (Oct 5).
+ Suevi retain north-western corner of Iberian peninsula.
+ Visigoths start to act increasingly independent from Rome.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer & Majorian defeat Western Roman Emperor Avitus, compel him abdicate & become Bishop of Placentia (Oct 17).
+ Ostrogoths settle in Pannonia.
457
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian dies (Jan 27).
+ Leo I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Feb 7); apparently first to accept crown from hands of patriarch of Constantinople. (Later emperors do same. Roman coronations, previously secular, take on religious character.)
+ Western Roman Emperor Avitus executed.
+ Western Roman Army proclaims Majorian Western Roman Emperor (Apr 1).
+ Majorian crowned Western Roman Emperor, recognized by Pope Leo I (Dec 28th).
458
+ Western Roman Emperor Majorian defeats Visigoths in southern Gaul.
+ Childeric I succeeds Merovech as king of Franks (or in 457).+ Anglo-Saxons send Celtic Britons fleeing westward toward & into Wales, to Ireland & across English Channel into Brittany.
459
+ Franks seize Trier,
460
+ Vandals destroy Western Roman Emperor Majorian's fleet off Cartagena.
+ Visigoths defeat Western Roman Emperor Majorian.
+ Swabians invade Lugo, Gaul, kill governor (Mar 27, night).
+ Baptistry of Neon (Ravenna, Italy) dome remodeling finished.
+ Aelia Eudocia, wife of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, dies (Oct 20)
+ Anglo-Saxons kill all British chieftains (Night of the Long Knives), start violent land grab (approx. year).
+ Salian Frank King Chlodio dies.
461
+ Saint Patrick dies (Mar 17).
+ Western Roman Emperor Majorian resigns.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer declares Libius Severus Western Roman Emperor (Aug2).
+ Ex-Western Roman Emperor Majorian executed (Aug 7).
+ Battle of Cartagena,
+ Pope Leo I dies (Nov 10).
+ Bishop Hilarius becomes 46th pope (Nov 19).
462
463
+ Western General Aegidius/ King Childeric I /Salian Franks prevents Visigoths from crossing Loire.
+ King Frumar of Southern Galicia dies.
+ King Richimund of Northern Galicia dies.
464
+ Olybrius becomes consul in Constantinople.
+ Western General Aegidius dies.
+ Roman official Syagrius rules as “governor” of independent, northern Romano-Gallic state.
465
+ Western Roman Emperor Libius Severus dies (Aug 15).
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer rules Western Empire as Patrician under Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I.
+ King Theodoric II of Visigoths dies.
+ Euric becomes King of Visigoths.
+ King Euric/Visigoths start conquest of Spain.
466
+ Battle of Wippedesfleot.
467
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I appoints General Anthemius as Western Roman Emperor (Apr 12).
+ Leo II, future Byzantine Emperor, born.
468
+ Pope Hilarius dies (Feb 29).
+ Bishop Simplicius becomes 47th pope (Mar 3).
+ Eastern Roman General Basiliscus invades Africa, attacks King Geiseric/Vandals, but his army is destroyed.
+ Vandal fleet overpowers Eastern Roman navy.
+ Vandals conquer Sicily.
+ Huns re-invade Dacia; Eastern Roman Emperor Leo repels them.
469
+ Vandals conquer Corsica.
+ Pope Gelasius I dedicates Feb 14 as "Valentine's Day", after Roman Catholic Church moves pagan Feast of Lupercalia to same day.
+ Hunnic Empire falls.
470
+ King Euric/Visigoths defeat Celtic military leader Riothamus’ attempted invasion of Gaul.
+ Dionysius Exiguus, inventor of the Anno Domini era, born.
471
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths.
472
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer deposes Western Roman Emperor Anthemius, proclaims Olybrius as new Western Roman Emperor.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer besieges Rome, where Anthemius is located; Anthemius is caught & killed fleeing.
+ Ex-Western Roman Emperor Anthemius executed (Jul 11).
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer dies of malignant fever (Aug 18th).
+ Western Roman Emperor Olybrius dies (Oct 23).
+ Mount Vesuvius erupts.
Chieftain Theodoric Strabo/Ostrogoths revolt in Thrace.
473
+ Western Master of Soldiers Ricimer proclaims Glycerius as Western Roman Emperor.
+ Gundobad becomes King of Burgundians.
+ Ostrogoths leave Pannonia, migrate to Macedonia & Moesia, from there ravage Balkan Peninsula the following years.
474
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I dies (Jan 18th).
+ Leo II (age ?) becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Jan 18th).
+ Zeno becomes Eastern Co-Emperor (Feb 9).
+ King Euric of Visigoths deny Roman emperor's supremacy, start to conquer remaining parts of Roman Gaul.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo II dies (Nov 17)
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo II’s death leaves Zeno sole Eastern Roman Emperor (Nov 17); his mother-in-law Verina conspires against him.
+ Western Roman Emperor Glycerius deposed.
+ Nepos becomes Western Roman Emperor with Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno’s support.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno's envoys conclude peace with King Geiseric, end 45 years of conflict between Roman Empire & Vandals.
+ King Theodomir of Ostrogoths dies.
475
+ Basiliscus usurps Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno; Zeno flees from Constantinople (Jan 9).
+ Eastern usurper Basiliscus acclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople (Jan 12).
+ Hunnic Western General Orestes installs his son Romulus Augustus as Western Roman Emperor (Aug 28th).
+ Western Roman Emperor Nepos flees from Rome to Dalmatia (never returns to Rome).
+ King Euric of Visigoths returns Provence to Rome in exchange for full independence.
+ Burgundian princess Clotilde born.
476
+ Eastern usurper Basiliscus deposed, Zeno restored as Eastern Roman Emperor (Aug, or Winter, or early 477).
+ Heruli, Scirian, & Torcilingi mercenaries in Italy revolt.
+ Battle of Ravenna
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, kills Hunnic Western General Orestes.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, deposes Orestes’ son Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus; ends Western Roman Empire (Sep 4, traditional date).
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, exiles ex Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus to Castellum ??? near Naples, with 6,000 solidus annual pension.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer offers to Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno to rule Italy as King in Zeno’s name.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno keeps Nepos as Western Roman Emperor, counteroffers to Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer to be Lieutenant in the West.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer accepts Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno’s offer, serves as Lieutenant in the West (de fact King of Italy); issues coins, governs in Western Roman Emperor Nepos’ name (until 480), is effectively King of Italy.
+ Western Roman Emperor Nepos, legally last “Western Roman Emperor”, only rules Dalmatia, has no power in rest of Western Roman Empire.
+ Vandals cede Sicily to King Odoacer.
477
+ King Geiseric of Vandals dies (Jan 25)
+ Vandal Kingdom decline starts
+ Huneric becomes King of Vandals.
478
479
+ Ostrogoths start 4-year war against Eastern Empire, are generally successful.
480
+ King Odoacer of Italy defeats Western Roman Emperor Nepos’ attempt to recapture Italy.
+ King Odoacer of Italy has Western Roman Emperor Nepos, legally last Western Roman Emperor, killed in Dalmatian exile.
+ King Odoacer of Italy captures Dalmatia.
+ Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, future ??? & Christian philosopher, born.
+ Gelimer, last King of Vandals, born.
+ Benedict of Nursia, early monasticist, born (approx. year).
+ Scholastica, Benedict of Nursia’s twin sister, born.
481
+ Ostrogothic Chieftain Theodoric Strabo dies.
+ King Childeric I of Salian Franks dies (or 482?).
+ Clovis I becomes King of Salian Franks (or 482?). (Later converted to Orthodox Christianity under influence of wife, Burgundian princess Clotilde, & Bishop Remigius of Rheims.)
481
482
+ Monk Severinus of Noricum dies (Jan 8th)
+ Justinian I, future Eastern Roman Emperor, born (approx. year).
483
+ Bishop Felix III succeeds Pope Simplicius as 48th pope (Mar 13).
+ Ostrogoths given status as foederati, stop ravaging the Balkans, control large part of Balkans.
484
+ Gundobad proclaims Burgundian Code
+ King Theoderic the Great of Ostrogoths appointed consul.
+ Pope Felix III excommunicates Patriarch of Alexandria Peter Mongus & Patriarch of Constantinople Acacius, causing “Acacian” schism between eastern & western Christianity that lasts 35 years.
+ King Huneric of Vandals dies (Dec 23).
+ Gunthamund becomes king of Vandals.
+ King Euric of Visigoths dies.
+ Alaric II becomes King of Visigoths (Dec 28th).
485
+ Battle of Mercredesburne.
486
+ Clovis I/Franks defeat Roman governor Sygerius at Battle of Soissons, take northern Romano-Gallic rump state “Kingdom” of Soissons.
+ Sygerius escapes to ____ & seeks help, is imprisoned & given to ___.
487
+ Sygerius former "King of the Romans" executed in Soissons
488
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, to protect his back as he put down revolt in Syria, betrays Rugian Western General Odoacer, gives Italy to King Theodoric of Ostrogoths (descended from Greuthingi), sends Theodoric/Ostrogoths against Odoacer.
+ Popes, with King Theodoric of Ostrogoths’ support, become relatively free of Eastern Roman Emperor (until 536).
489
+ King Theodoric/Ostrogoths continue invasion of Italy with Zeno’s approval.
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Isonzo (Aug 28th).
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Verona (Sep 27).
490
+ Most of King Odoacer of Italy’s army, including Magister Militum Tufa, surrenders to King Theodoric/Ostrogoths in Milan (Apr 1).
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Adda (Aug 11).
491
+ South Saxons siege Pevensey.
492
+ Pope Felix III dies (date?).
+ Pope Gelasius I becomes 49th pope (Mar 1).
+ Pope Gelasius I (492-6) claims “See of Peter” has right revoke any other bishop’s decisions. Gelasius states political theory the church has auctoritas (legislative) authority, superior in Roman law to secular rulers’ potestas (executive) authority; states imperial potestas derived from papal auctoritas; implies church superior to state. (Gelasius’ theory driving force behind church-state relations until Aristotelian rediscovery in 12c.)
493
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths, moves Ostrogoth capital to Ravenna (Feb 25).
+ King Odoacer of Italy agrees to mediated peace with King Theodoric, meets in Theodoric’s dinner to commemorate peace, Theodoric personally chokes Odoacer to death (Mar 15 or 17).
+ Bishop of Rome befriends King Theodoric.
+ Patrick, missionary Bishop to the Irish (Mar 17) dies.
+ King Clovis I of Franks marries Burgundian princess Clotilde.
494
+ Pope Gelasius I changes pagan Lupercalia festival into Roman Catholic Candlemas feast of Purification.
+ Pope Gelasius I delineates relationship between church & state.
+ Pope Gelasius I canonizes Saint George.
495
496
+ King Clovis/Franks & Alamanni war for supremacy on Rhine.
+ King Clovis/Franks defeat Alamanni at Battle of Tolbiac, Alamanni become subject to Franks.
+ King Clovis of Franks’ wife, Clotilda, is ____ Christian. Clovis accepts her faith for himself & his subjects.
+ Christianizing of Europe starts.
+ Pope Gelasius I decrees list of recommended & banned books (predecessor of 16c “Index of Forbidden Books”).
+ Alamannic King Gibuld dies.
+ Pope Gelasius I dies (Nov 21).
+ Pope Anastasius II becomes 50th pope (Nov 24).
497
+ King Arthur/ Britans defeat Anglo-Saxons in Battle of Mons Badonicus (approx. year).
498
+ Pope Anastasius II dies (Nov 19).
+ Bishops Symmachus & Laurentius fight for papal office. Candidates allow King Theodoric (Arian, ruling from Ravenna) to decide, to limit bloodshed in Rome. King Theodoric chooses clergy’s candidate, Symmachus, also inclined against King Theodoric’s enemy, Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno.
+ Bishop Symmachus becomes 51st pope, in official papal selection in Lateran Palace (Nov 22).
+ Antipope Laurentius elected "pope" in Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.
499
+ Bishop Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of Nocera, Campania, during synod in Rome (Mar 1).
500
+ Barbarian invasions effectively limit Pope’s jurisdiction to central & southern Italy (approx. year).
+ Rome population estimated down to ~100,000 (~50,000 in 550).
+ Roman catacomb burials end (approx. year).
+ 5c AD ends.
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It combines information from Fectio/Robert & Wikipedia/many contributors.
I am adding key events in: economics, engineering, law, literature, religion, natural disasters, epidemiology, climate change, etc.
Thank you in advance for your comments & contributions to help make this a more useful resource.
Fifth Century Western Roman Empire Timeline (work in progress)
Fifth Century A.D. Western Roman Empire Timeline
401
+ 5c AD starts.
+ Theodosius II (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born (Apr 10); only son of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius & Frankish-Roman Eastern empress Aelia Eudoxia.
+ King Radagaisus/Vandals invade/raid Noricum & Rhaetia.
+ Stilicho/Western armies campaign against King Radagaisus/Vandals in Rhaetia.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths break peace, leave Illyricum, invade northern Italy, destroy countryside (autumn).
+ Stilicho recalls legions from Western empire frontiers; they gather in Gaul.
+ Pope Anastasius I dies (Dec 19).
+ Bishop Innocent I becomes 40th pope (Dec 22). (Later proclaims pope’s universal power over all Christendom.)
+ Aelia Eudocia (future wife of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II) born in Athens; daughter of Greek philosopher & sophist Leontius.
+ Leo I (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born to Thraco-Roman parents.
402
+ King Radagaisus/Vandals raid Rhaetia.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths approach Western capital of Milan. Western Roman Emperor Honorius/retainers flee Milan, go west, trying to move imperial court to Arles, Gaul.
+ Visigoth infantry besieges Milan, Italy.
+ Visigoth cavalry cuts off Western Roman Emperor Honorius’ alpine escape route. Honorius/retainers change route, go south to fortified city of Hasta, Liguria; Visigoths in close pursuit.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius/retainers arrive in fortified city of Hasta, Liguria; Visigoths immediately besiege city (Feb-Apr).
+ Stilicho/Western armies move from Gaul, through Rhaetia, into northern Italy; relieve Milan from Visigoth siege.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths retreat to Pollentia, Italy.
+ Stilicho/Western armies defeat King Alaric I/Visigoths at Pollentia, Italy (Apr 06 [Easter day]), capture Alaric’s familiars & camp. Alaric I/most Visigoth cavalry escape.
+ Stilicho returns Visigoth prisoners, in exchange for King Alaric I/Visigoths’ retreat back to Illyricum.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius moves Western capital from Milan to Ravenna.
+ Arcadius & Honorius become Rome consuls.
403
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths reach Verona, Italy, stop retreat to Illyricum, try to capture city.
+ Stilicho/local Roman forces surround, defeat Visigoths in Battle of Verona, forces King Alaric I to retire (Jun).
+ Many of King Alaric’s generals desert him, swear allegiance to Stilicho,
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths resume retreat to Illyricum.
+ Theodosius II (age 2) becomes Rome consul.
+ Hilary of Arles (future bishop of Arles, Gaul) born.
404
+ Monk Telemachus martyred.
+ Eastern empress Aelia Eudoxia, spouse of Arcadius, dies after miscarriage (Oct 6).
+ Ravenna, Italy citizens build city’s Dome.
405
+ King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces cross Danube, move through Pannonia & Noricum invade Italy, siege Florence. Stilicho/Western army move from Gaul, weakens Rhine frontier; but with Uldin the Hun chieftain/Huns/Sarus the Goth chieftain & Western Army commander/Goth federates break the seige & King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces retreat.
+ Stilicho orders pagan Sibylline Books burned.
+ Last official gladiator combat in Rome (Jan 1)?
+ (Western Roman Emperor Honorius closes Roman coliseum?)
+ Jerome of Stridon publishes Vulgate Bible.
+ Ricimer (future de facto ruler of West) born.
+ Salvian (future Christian writer) born about 405.
406
+ Stilicho/Western army with Uldin the Hun chieftain/Huns/Sarus the Goth chieftain & Western Army commander/Goth federates defeat King Radagaisus/mostly Ostrogothic forces (~20k) at Battle of Fiesole, Italy (Aug); execute King Radagaisus (Aug 23); ~12k higher status fighters join Roman army; the rest are sold as slaves or escape & join Alaric I/Visigoths.
+ Roman legions in Britain mutiny against Western Roman Emperor Honorius, raise Western usurper Marcus.
+ Begin of Fall of Roman Britain.
+ Western usurper Marcus assassinated, replaced by Western usurper Gratianus.
+ Stained glass first used in churches in Rome, Italy.
+ Vandals, Suebi (Germanic), & Alans (Iranic) cross frozen Rhine at Mogontiacum, Gaul (~Dec 31; maybe in 405).
+ Battle of Moguntiacum.
+ King Respendial/Alans rescue Vandals,
+ War between Franks & Vandals,
+ Fall of Roman Gaul.
+ Begin of Fall of Roman Spain.
+ Attila (future King of the Huns) born (approximate year).
407
+ Western Roman usurper Gratianus assassinated, replaced by Western Roman usurper Constantine III (407-411).
+ Western Roman usurper Constantine III/many Roman army units move from Britain to Gaul, occupy Arles (generally seen as start of Roman withdrawal from Britain).
+ Legio II Augusta, last Roman legion in Britain, leaves.
+ Vandals, Suebi, Burgundians, & Alans invade Gaul (or in 406?).
+ Vandals occupy Bordeaux, Gaul.
+ King Godgisel of Asding Vandals dies; his son Gunderic becomes king.
408
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius dies (Mar 1); his son Theodosius II (age 7) becomes Eastern Roman Emperor; Praetorian prefect Anthemius rules as regent.
+ Constantine III captures Hispania, destroys defending loyalist forces (summer).
+ Vandals invade Spain.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius kills Stilicho (Aug 23), on rumor Stilicho planned to have his son proclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor.
+ Romans kill wives & children of barbarian foederati
+ Maria, daughter of Stilicho, wife of Honorius, dies.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths siege Rome 1st time (Sep).
Rome pays King Alaric I/Visigoths an indemnity, they settle in Tuscany.
+ Saxons attack Roman Britain.
409
+ Constantine III's General Gerontius revolts in Hispania, raises own Western usurper Maximus.
+ Vandals, Suebi (Marcomanni, Quadi, Buri), & Alans cross Pyrenees, draw lots to divide Iberian Peninsula; Vandals to get Hispania Baetica (Andalusia), Suebi Gallaecia (Galicia & n. Portugal), Alans Lusitania (central/south Portugal & Spanish Extremadura).
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths siege Rome 2nd time; with Senate agreement King Alaric I makes Priscus Attalus Western Roman Emperor.
+ Serena, niece of Theodosius I, wife of Stilicho, executed in Rome.
+ Famines in Hispania, Gaul & Italian Peninsula.
410
+ King Alaric I deposes Western Roman Emperor Priscus Attalus.
+ King Alaric I/Visigoths sack/heavily loot/lightly damage Rome (Aug 24–27). (First sack of Rome since 390 BC.)
+ Christian scholar Jerome laments that in Rome’s ruin, the whole world has perished. Pagans see Sackof Rome as work of Rome's old gods, blame Christians. Pagan members of Rome's senate fear Christians’ retaliation if they speak out.
+ Visigoths start attacks on Vandals.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius tells Britain to defend itself; Fall of Roman Britain.
+ Picts, Scoti & Irish Celts start raids on Britons.
+ General Constantius III becomes Magister Militum.
+ Council of Seleucia: Persian Christians create national church, adopt Nicene Creed.
+ King Alaric I of Visigoths dies; his brother-in-law Ataulf becomes king.
411
+ King Gundahar/Burgundians establish Kingdom left of Rhine.
+ Burgundians, Franks & Alans raise self-declared Western Roman usurper Jovinus.
+ Alans control Lusitania (central/south Portugal & Spanish Extremadura).
+ Western Roman usurper Constantine III executed.
+ King Gundomar I dies.
412
+ King Ataulf/Visigoths move south from Rome, intend to invade Africa, cut off Rome’s grain supply.
+ King Ataulf marries Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius.
+ Storm destroys Goths’ fleet.
+ Constantius III drives King Ataulf/Visigoths north, into s. Gaul.
+ Western usurper Jovinus takes control of Gaul.
+ Heraclianus starts usurpation in Africa.
+ Danube west bank forts (destroyed by Huns) rebuilt; new Danubian fleet launched.
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius edict outlaws Donatism.
+ Chieftain Uldin of Huns dies.
413
+ Heraclianus’ Revolt in Africa put down.
+ Usurper Heraclianus dies (Mar 7).
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius edict provides tax relief for Visigoth-plundered Italian provinces (May 8th).
+ King Ataulf /Visigoth siege/capture Narbonne, Toulouse, & Valence; capture Western Roman usurper Jovinus, give him to Postumus Dardanus for execution.
+ Western Roman usurper Jovinus executed.
+ Franks sack Trier.
+ Bishop Augustine of Hippo responds to claims Christianity caused Rome’s fall, overturns Bishop Eusebius’ theory of Rome. Augustine claims Roman Empire was influenced both by God & by demons; Romans are most successful brigands in history; & Rome was product of sin & based on self-love, robbery, violence & fraud.
414
+ Visigoths raise Western usurper Priscus Attalus in Bordeaux, Gaul.
+ Pulcheria self-proclaimed Eastern empress, regent for Theodosius II (age 12).
+ Bishop Abdas of Susa, burns down Zoroastrian temple; King Yazdegerd of Persia retaliates, orders destruction of Christian churches.
415
+ John Cassian (Scythian) settled at monastery in Marseilles, Gaul, organized monastic communities of men & women after eastern model (approximate date).
+ Jews expelled from Alexandria, Egypt.
+ Hypatia of Alexandria, Neoplatonic philosopher/mathematician, murdered by mob in Alexandria, Egypt church (under Peter the Reader?).
+ King Ataulf/Visigoths move from Gallia Narbonensis to near Barcelona, Spain.
+ King Ataulf of Visigoths murdered; Sigeric becomes king.
+ King Sigeric of Visigoths murdered after seven days; Wallia becomes king.
+ Euric (future Visigoth king) born.
416
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius has Visigoths in Spain campaign against Vandals, Suevi & Alans
+ Visigoths defeat Vandals & Alans, except those with Suevi.
+ Suevi settle as federates in NW Spain.
+ King Wallia of Visigoths, returns King Athaulf's widow Galla Placidia to Rome, in return for supplies.
417
+ Constantius III marries Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius, widow of King Ataulf (Jan 1).
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius rewards King Wallia/Tervingi (now calling themselves “Visigoths”), grants them Aquitaine; they make capital at Toulouse.
+ Pope Innocent I dies (Mar 12).
+ Bishop Zosimus becomes 41st pope (Mar 18th).
418
+ Visigoths spread across Pyrenees into Spain, officially to re-establish Roman authority there.
+ Pope Zosimus dies (Dec 26).
+ Bishop Boniface I becomes 42nd pope (Dec 28th).
419
+ Valentinian III (future Western Roman Emperor) born (Jul 2) to Constantius III & Galla Placidia.
+ King Wallia of Visigoths dies; Theodorid becomes king.
420
+ Ostrogoths settle in Pannonia.
+ Legendary Pharamond/Franks cross Rhine.
+ John Cassian writes “Institutes of the Monastic Life” (which influences Benedict of Nursia in 6th century, Western medieval monasticism).
+ Jerome of Stridon dies in Bethlehem (Sep 30); buried near Grotto of Nativity; later transferred to Church of Sta. Maria Maggiore, Rome.
+ Glycerius (future Western Roman Emperor) born (approximate date).
421
+ Franks sack Trier
+ Constantius III becomes Western Co-emperor (Feb 8th).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia (formerly “Athenais”) (Jun 7).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II declares war against Persian Sassanids, after Sassanid King Bahram V again persecutes Persian Christians.
+ Western Co-emperor Constantius III dies (Sep 2).
+ According to legend, Romans fleeing Germans found Venice.
422
+ Eastern Romans defeat Persian Sassanids, sign 100 year peace treaty, end Persian persecution of Christians & and Romans persecution of Zoroastrians.
+ Romans capture & execute King Theudemeres of Franks.
+ Romans/ Visigoths attack Vandals.
+ Vandals & Alans leave Suebi refuge from Visigoths, move south into Andalusia.
+ Priest Petrus of Illyria starts construction of Church of Santa Sabina, Rome (approximate date).
+ Pope Boniface I dies (Sep 4).
+ Bishop Celestine I becomes 43rd pope (Sep 10). (Later makes principle: “No bishop is to be appointed against the will of the people.” On church’s canons, he wrote, “The rules rule us; we do not stand over the rules: Let us be subject to the canons.”)
423
+ Western Roman Emperor Honorius dies (Aug 15).
+ Valentinian III (age 4) named Western Roman Emperor.
+ Joannes (primicerius notariorum [senior civil servant]) usurps, becomes self-proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
424
+ Valentinian III (age 5) becomes caesar.
425
+ Valentinian III (age 6) becomes emperor (Oct 23); his mother Galla Placidia rules as regent.
+ Western General Aëtius leads army into Italy to support Western usurper Joannes.
+ Eastern Roman Empire disbands Sanhedrin.
+ Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy built (425-426 ca.).
+ Western usurper Joannes dies.
426
+ Western Roman start 10-year campaign against Visigoths in southern Gaul.
+ Visigoths & Alans war.
+ King Attaces of Western Alans dies.
+ King Gunderic of Vandals also becomes king of Alans; Alans subject to Vandals (approximate date).
+ Vandals conquer Balearic Islands.
+ Augustine of Hippo publishes “De Civitate Dei” (City of God).
+ John Cassian publishes “Conferences”. (Influences Benedict of Nursia in 6c, then Western medieval monasticism.)
427
+ Huns fully assimilate Roman province of Pannonia Prima.
+ General/Count Boniface of Africa (one of several "last of the Romans") revolts in Africa.
+ Persians war against Ephthalites (White Huns) until 557; reduces Persian threat to Eastern Empire.
+ Augustine of Hippo finishes “City of God”.
428
+ King Chlodio/Salian Franks invade northern Gaul.
+ Western Romans start failed 3-year campaign against Salian Franks, Juthungi on Rhine & Danube.
+ King Gunderic of Vandals & Alans dies; Geiseric becomes king.
429
+ King Geiseric/~80,000 Vandals, invited by General/Count Boniface of Africa, cross from Spain, invade & conquer Mauretania in northern Africa.
+ Pope Celestine I sends Germanus of Auxerre & Lupus of Troyes to Britain to combat Pelagianism.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II starts Roman law reform, has panel of lawyers compile/clarify Roman law since Constantine.
430
+ Western General Aëtius starts X-year campaign against Visigoths, Burgundians & Franks in Gaul, re-establishes some Roman control (approx. year).
+ King Geiseric/~80,000 Vandals siege Hippo.
+ Patrick reaches Ireland (approx. year).
+ Neilos the Ascetic (abbot of monastery near Ankyra, Turkey), first known writer to clearly refer to Jesus Prayer, dies (approx. year).
+ Julius Nepos (future Western Roman Emperor) born.
+ Anastasius I, (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born.
+ Augustine of Hippo dies, as Vandals siege Hippo (Aug 28th).
431
+ Salian Franks invade Somme River region.
+ Western General Aëtius pushes Salian Franks back across Somme River.
+ King Genseric/Vandals take Hippo Regius, make it their capital.
+ Marcian (future Eastern Roman Emperor) captured fighting Vandals.
+ First Council of Ephesus: Nestorianism rejected, Nicene creed declared complete. Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople deposed (Jun).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II calls 3rd Ecumenical Council in Ephesus.
+ Pope Celestine I sends bishop Palladius to Ireland.
432
+ Western General Aëtius & General/Count Boniface of Africa (one of several "last of the Romans") fight Battle of Ravenna; Boniface dies.
+ King Rus unites Huns.
+ Priest Petrus of Illyria finishes construction of Church of Santa Sabina, Rome
+ Pope Celestine I dies (Apr 6)
+ Bishop Sixtus III becomes 44th pope. (Jul 31)
+ Patrick consecrated bishop, starts mission in Ireland.
+ Christmas celebrated on Dec 25th for first time, in Alexandria, Egypt (approx. year).
433
+ Petronius Maximus becomes Rome Consul.
+ John Cassian, one of Desert Fathers, dies.
434
+ Western General Aëtius, under Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, gains & power in Rome 20 years.
+ Attila & his brother Bleda jointly gain control of Hun tribes.
+ Attila becomes King of the Huns.
435
+ King Theodoric I/Visigoths siege Romans at Narbonne. Gaul.
+ Romans capture Visigoth chieftain Anaolsus.
+ Nestorius exiled by Imperial edict to Sahara oasis monastery (Aug 3).
+ Vandals allowed northern Africa territory, become Roman foederati.
+ Odoacer (future king of Italy) born.
+ Justin I, future Eastern Roman Emperor, born (approx. year)
+ British monk Pelagius dies (approx. year)
436
+ Western General Aëtius defeat King Theodoric I/Visigoths at Battle of Narbonne, Gaul.
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns invade Burgundian Rhineland
437
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns end Burgundian raids in Augusta Vangionum, overwhelm city, kill ~20,000 Burgundians (source for “Nibelungenlied”).
+ Western General Aëtius/Huns defeat Burgundians; kill Burgundian King Gundahar & royal family.
+ Galla Placidia, mother of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III (age 18th), quits as his regent.
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II; unifies two branches of House of Theodosius (Oct 29).
+ Childeric I (future king of Salian Franks) born (approx. year)
438
+ Last known Gladiator combat in Rome Coliseum.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II finishes Roman law reform; compiled/clarified Roman law since Constantine, published as single “Codex Theodosianus” (Feb 15).
439
+ King Geiseric/Vandals take Carthage (Oct 19), make it their capital.
+ Licinia Eudoxia, wife of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, granted title “Augusta” after birth of their daughter Eudocia.
+ Greek becomes an official language in East Roman Empire.
440
+ King Geiseric/Vandals invade/pillage Sicily, bribed to leave.
+ Vandals begin pirate raids (approx. year).
+ Persia & Eastern Roman Empire start 2-year war.
+ Pope Sixtus III dies (Aug 18th).
+ Bishop Leo I becomes 45th pope (Sep 29). (Discourages mixing of Christianity with Sun worship. Rebukes people reverencing Sun god on St. Peter’s steps before entering basilica. Sends letter to emperor, stating “by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration the emperor needs no human instruction and is incapable of doctrinal error.” First pope to claim “plenitude of power” over church (later plays large role in papal monarchy over medieval church).
441
+ King Attila/Huns invade Balkans.
+ Persia fights short war with Eastern Roman Empire.
+ Chrysaphius has Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II’ dismiss his sister Pulcheria, becomes Theodosius’ chief advisor.
442
+ Saxons take Britain, despite pleas for help to Western General Aëtius.
+ Western Roman treaty with Geiseric, recognize Vandal conquest of north Africa, Vandal Kingdom as independent state.
+ Placidia, second & last child of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III & Licinia Eudoxia, born.
+ Persia & Eastern Roman Empire end 2-year war.
443
+ Burgundians create new kingdom in Rhone valley, Lake Geneva area, as Roman foederati.
+ King Attila/Huns destroy Naissus.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II/Eastern Empire make terms with King Attila/Huns, who move focus to west.
+ Britain goes into civil war, Groans of the Britons, Western Emperor Valentinian III abandons Britain (approx. year).
444
445
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III states whatever “See of Peter” sanctions, or shall sanction, shall be law for all. Apparently quoted from Valentinian’s Novel 17, which gives Pope authority over provincial churches.
+ Attila the Hun/Huns & Eastern Romans fight indecisive Battle of the Utus.
+ Huns invade Balkans as far as Thermopylae, destroy Serdica (Sofia).
+ Earthquakes level most of walls of Constantinople, which are rebuilt within 60 days.
+ Merovech becomes King of Franks.
446
+ Vortigern/Britons/Anglo-Saxon mercenaries campaign against Picts (from Scotland) & Scots (from Wales).
+ Huns take Pannonia.
447
+ King Attila/Huns invade Moesia.
+ Theodosius II sends ambassador to Attila; Priscus records one of few eyewitness accounts of Hun kingdom. (or in 448th)
+ Germanus of Auxerre dies
448
+ Salian Franks defeated in Battle of Vicus Helena,
449
+ Anglo-Saxon elite mercenaries land in Britain.
450
+ Angles, Saxons & Jutes invade Britain (approx. year).
+ Celts from Britain settle in Bretagne, get status as foederati.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II dies after fall from hunting horse.
+ Soldier Marcian, married to Theodosius II’ sister Pulcheria, becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Aug 25).
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian stops paying tribute to King Attila/Huns.
+ Justin I (future Eastern Roman Emperor) born in Illyria.
+ Galla Placidia dies (Nov 27).
+ Rome population estimated down to ~500,000.
+ Baptistry of Neon dome, Ravenna, Italy, remodeling starts (approx. year).
451
+ King Attila/Huns cross Rhine, invade Gaul.
+ King Attila/Huns with Frankish, Gothic & Burgundian mercenaries devastate Gaul, sack Trier & Metz, Siege of Orléans.
+ Western General Aëtius/King Theodoric I/Visigoths/Franks repulse King Attila/Huns/Ostrogoths at Battle of Châlons, Gaul; 10,000 to 20,000 men die on Catalaunian Fields; Visigoth King Theodoric I dies in battle, his son Theodoric II becomes king.
+ 4th Ecumenical Council, in Chalcedon. Pope’s representatives say they lack instructions on Constantinople’s privileges, absent themselves from discussions. While absent, council reassert Constantinople’s rights as patriarchate, with equal privileges to Rome, 2nd in standing to Rome, because Constantinople is new Rome.
452
+ King Attila/Huns invade northern Italy; sack Aquileia, Vicetia, Verona, Brixia, Bergamum, (Emona, most inhabitants desert), and Milan.
+ King Attila/Huns target Rome, Pope Leo I meets them outside Rome, King Attila decides to spare Rome & Huns leave.
+ Venice founded by fugitives from Attila's army.
+ Anglo-Saxon mercenaries push Picts back to Scotland.
+ Anglo-Saxon mercenaries rebel in Britain.
+ Saxon 50-year invasion of Britain; food shortages in Britain (approx. year).
453
+ King Attila the Hun (polygamist) marries Germanic woman Ildico.
+ Attack on Constantinople,
+ King Attila the Hun dies.
+ King Attila’s sons divide Hunnic Empire.
+ King Thorismund of Visigoths dies, his brother Thorismund becomes king.
+ Eastern Empress Pulcheria dies.
454
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III has Western General/Governor of Gaul Aëtius enforce papal summons of bishops.
+ Vandals conquer Malta.
+ Ostrogoths/ Gepids defeat Huns in Battle of Nedao.
+ King Ellac of Huns dies,
+ Hunnic Empire collapses with revolts by subjugated peoples, internal power struggles & enemy attacks.
+ Pope Saint Dioscorus the Great dies (Sep 17)
+ Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, with Hun threat gone, fears Western General Aëtius’ power, kills him in throne room in Ravenna (Sep 21).
+ Alemmani invade across Danube.
+ Bishop Hilary of Arles asserts church of Gaul independent of Rome.
+ Theodoric the Great (future king of Ostrogoths) born.
455
+ Aëtius’ former soldiers kill Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, revenge for his killing Aëtius ~6 months earlier; & kill Heraclius, Valentinian III’s Courtier/Primicerius Sacri Cubiculi (Mar 16).
+ Petronius Maximus becomes Western Roman Emperor (Mar 17).
+ Visigoths depose Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus.
+ Roman mob stones fleeing former Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus to death (Apr 22).
+ King Geiseric/Vandals, at Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III's widow Eudoxia’s request, sail from Africa, invade/plunder Rome for two weeks (June 2-??); also take Eudoxia & her daughters, leave power vacuum in Western Empire.
+ Visigoths proclaim Avitus (dead Western General Aëtius’ former general) Western Roman Emperor at Tolosa (Jul 9).
+ Pope Leo I prevents wholesale destruction & massacre of Rome.
+ Ostrogoths conquer Pannonia & Dalmatia.
456
+ Vandals conquer Sardinia, destroy Capua.
+ Ricimer sends fleet against Vandals’ naval attacks; fleet defeats Vandals in battle near Corsica.
+ Roman general Remistus dies (Sep 17)
+ King Theodoric II /Visigoths, in name of Western Roman Emperor Avitus, defeat Suevi at river Urbicus near Astorga, Gallaecia; sack Suevi’s capital of Braga, break Suevi’s power (Oct 5).
+ Suevi retain north-western corner of Iberian peninsula.
+ Visigoths start to act increasingly independent from Rome.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer & Majorian defeat Western Roman Emperor Avitus, compel him abdicate & become Bishop of Placentia (Oct 17).
+ Ostrogoths settle in Pannonia.
457
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian dies (Jan 27).
+ Leo I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Feb 7); apparently first to accept crown from hands of patriarch of Constantinople. (Later emperors do same. Roman coronations, previously secular, take on religious character.)
+ Western Roman Emperor Avitus executed.
+ Western Roman Army proclaims Majorian Western Roman Emperor (Apr 1).
+ Majorian crowned Western Roman Emperor, recognized by Pope Leo I (Dec 28th).
458
+ Western Roman Emperor Majorian defeats Visigoths in southern Gaul.
+ Childeric I succeeds Merovech as king of Franks (or in 457).+ Anglo-Saxons send Celtic Britons fleeing westward toward & into Wales, to Ireland & across English Channel into Brittany.
459
+ Franks seize Trier,
460
+ Vandals destroy Western Roman Emperor Majorian's fleet off Cartagena.
+ Visigoths defeat Western Roman Emperor Majorian.
+ Swabians invade Lugo, Gaul, kill governor (Mar 27, night).
+ Baptistry of Neon (Ravenna, Italy) dome remodeling finished.
+ Aelia Eudocia, wife of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, dies (Oct 20)
+ Anglo-Saxons kill all British chieftains (Night of the Long Knives), start violent land grab (approx. year).
+ Salian Frank King Chlodio dies.
461
+ Saint Patrick dies (Mar 17).
+ Western Roman Emperor Majorian resigns.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer declares Libius Severus Western Roman Emperor (Aug2).
+ Ex-Western Roman Emperor Majorian executed (Aug 7).
+ Battle of Cartagena,
+ Pope Leo I dies (Nov 10).
+ Bishop Hilarius becomes 46th pope (Nov 19).
462
463
+ Western General Aegidius/ King Childeric I /Salian Franks prevents Visigoths from crossing Loire.
+ King Frumar of Southern Galicia dies.
+ King Richimund of Northern Galicia dies.
464
+ Olybrius becomes consul in Constantinople.
+ Western General Aegidius dies.
+ Roman official Syagrius rules as “governor” of independent, northern Romano-Gallic state.
465
+ Western Roman Emperor Libius Severus dies (Aug 15).
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer rules Western Empire as Patrician under Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I.
+ King Theodoric II of Visigoths dies.
+ Euric becomes King of Visigoths.
+ King Euric/Visigoths start conquest of Spain.
466
+ Battle of Wippedesfleot.
467
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I appoints General Anthemius as Western Roman Emperor (Apr 12).
+ Leo II, future Byzantine Emperor, born.
468
+ Pope Hilarius dies (Feb 29).
+ Bishop Simplicius becomes 47th pope (Mar 3).
+ Eastern Roman General Basiliscus invades Africa, attacks King Geiseric/Vandals, but his army is destroyed.
+ Vandal fleet overpowers Eastern Roman navy.
+ Vandals conquer Sicily.
+ Huns re-invade Dacia; Eastern Roman Emperor Leo repels them.
469
+ Vandals conquer Corsica.
+ Pope Gelasius I dedicates Feb 14 as "Valentine's Day", after Roman Catholic Church moves pagan Feast of Lupercalia to same day.
+ Hunnic Empire falls.
470
+ King Euric/Visigoths defeat Celtic military leader Riothamus’ attempted invasion of Gaul.
+ Dionysius Exiguus, inventor of the Anno Domini era, born.
471
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths.
472
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer deposes Western Roman Emperor Anthemius, proclaims Olybrius as new Western Roman Emperor.
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer besieges Rome, where Anthemius is located; Anthemius is caught & killed fleeing.
+ Ex-Western Roman Emperor Anthemius executed (Jul 11).
+ Western Magistri Militum Ricimer dies of malignant fever (Aug 18th).
+ Western Roman Emperor Olybrius dies (Oct 23).
+ Mount Vesuvius erupts.
Chieftain Theodoric Strabo/Ostrogoths revolt in Thrace.
473
+ Western Master of Soldiers Ricimer proclaims Glycerius as Western Roman Emperor.
+ Gundobad becomes King of Burgundians.
+ Ostrogoths leave Pannonia, migrate to Macedonia & Moesia, from there ravage Balkan Peninsula the following years.
474
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I dies (Jan 18th).
+ Leo II (age ?) becomes Eastern Roman Emperor (Jan 18th).
+ Zeno becomes Eastern Co-Emperor (Feb 9).
+ King Euric of Visigoths deny Roman emperor's supremacy, start to conquer remaining parts of Roman Gaul.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo II dies (Nov 17)
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Leo II’s death leaves Zeno sole Eastern Roman Emperor (Nov 17); his mother-in-law Verina conspires against him.
+ Western Roman Emperor Glycerius deposed.
+ Nepos becomes Western Roman Emperor with Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno’s support.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno's envoys conclude peace with King Geiseric, end 45 years of conflict between Roman Empire & Vandals.
+ King Theodomir of Ostrogoths dies.
475
+ Basiliscus usurps Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno; Zeno flees from Constantinople (Jan 9).
+ Eastern usurper Basiliscus acclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople (Jan 12).
+ Hunnic Western General Orestes installs his son Romulus Augustus as Western Roman Emperor (Aug 28th).
+ Western Roman Emperor Nepos flees from Rome to Dalmatia (never returns to Rome).
+ King Euric of Visigoths returns Provence to Rome in exchange for full independence.
+ Burgundian princess Clotilde born.
476
+ Eastern usurper Basiliscus deposed, Zeno restored as Eastern Roman Emperor (Aug, or Winter, or early 477).
+ Heruli, Scirian, & Torcilingi mercenaries in Italy revolt.
+ Battle of Ravenna
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, kills Hunnic Western General Orestes.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, deposes Orestes’ son Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus; ends Western Roman Empire (Sep 4, traditional date).
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer, commander of troops in Italy, exiles ex Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus to Castellum ??? near Naples, with 6,000 solidus annual pension.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer offers to Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno to rule Italy as King in Zeno’s name.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno keeps Nepos as Western Roman Emperor, counteroffers to Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer to be Lieutenant in the West.
+ Heruli/Rugian Western General Odoacer accepts Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno’s offer, serves as Lieutenant in the West (de fact King of Italy); issues coins, governs in Western Roman Emperor Nepos’ name (until 480), is effectively King of Italy.
+ Western Roman Emperor Nepos, legally last “Western Roman Emperor”, only rules Dalmatia, has no power in rest of Western Roman Empire.
+ Vandals cede Sicily to King Odoacer.
477
+ King Geiseric of Vandals dies (Jan 25)
+ Vandal Kingdom decline starts
+ Huneric becomes King of Vandals.
478
479
+ Ostrogoths start 4-year war against Eastern Empire, are generally successful.
480
+ King Odoacer of Italy defeats Western Roman Emperor Nepos’ attempt to recapture Italy.
+ King Odoacer of Italy has Western Roman Emperor Nepos, legally last Western Roman Emperor, killed in Dalmatian exile.
+ King Odoacer of Italy captures Dalmatia.
+ Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, future ??? & Christian philosopher, born.
+ Gelimer, last King of Vandals, born.
+ Benedict of Nursia, early monasticist, born (approx. year).
+ Scholastica, Benedict of Nursia’s twin sister, born.
481
+ Ostrogothic Chieftain Theodoric Strabo dies.
+ King Childeric I of Salian Franks dies (or 482?).
+ Clovis I becomes King of Salian Franks (or 482?). (Later converted to Orthodox Christianity under influence of wife, Burgundian princess Clotilde, & Bishop Remigius of Rheims.)
481
482
+ Monk Severinus of Noricum dies (Jan 8th)
+ Justinian I, future Eastern Roman Emperor, born (approx. year).
483
+ Bishop Felix III succeeds Pope Simplicius as 48th pope (Mar 13).
+ Ostrogoths given status as foederati, stop ravaging the Balkans, control large part of Balkans.
484
+ Gundobad proclaims Burgundian Code
+ King Theoderic the Great of Ostrogoths appointed consul.
+ Pope Felix III excommunicates Patriarch of Alexandria Peter Mongus & Patriarch of Constantinople Acacius, causing “Acacian” schism between eastern & western Christianity that lasts 35 years.
+ King Huneric of Vandals dies (Dec 23).
+ Gunthamund becomes king of Vandals.
+ King Euric of Visigoths dies.
+ Alaric II becomes King of Visigoths (Dec 28th).
485
+ Battle of Mercredesburne.
486
+ Clovis I/Franks defeat Roman governor Sygerius at Battle of Soissons, take northern Romano-Gallic rump state “Kingdom” of Soissons.
+ Sygerius escapes to ____ & seeks help, is imprisoned & given to ___.
487
+ Sygerius former "King of the Romans" executed in Soissons
488
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths.
+ Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, to protect his back as he put down revolt in Syria, betrays Rugian Western General Odoacer, gives Italy to King Theodoric of Ostrogoths (descended from Greuthingi), sends Theodoric/Ostrogoths against Odoacer.
+ Popes, with King Theodoric of Ostrogoths’ support, become relatively free of Eastern Roman Emperor (until 536).
489
+ King Theodoric/Ostrogoths continue invasion of Italy with Zeno’s approval.
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Isonzo (Aug 28th).
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Verona (Sep 27).
490
+ Most of King Odoacer of Italy’s army, including Magister Militum Tufa, surrenders to King Theodoric/Ostrogoths in Milan (Apr 1).
+ King Odoacer of Italy attacks King Theodoric/Ostrogoths & loses at Battle of Adda (Aug 11).
491
+ South Saxons siege Pevensey.
492
+ Pope Felix III dies (date?).
+ Pope Gelasius I becomes 49th pope (Mar 1).
+ Pope Gelasius I (492-6) claims “See of Peter” has right revoke any other bishop’s decisions. Gelasius states political theory the church has auctoritas (legislative) authority, superior in Roman law to secular rulers’ potestas (executive) authority; states imperial potestas derived from papal auctoritas; implies church superior to state. (Gelasius’ theory driving force behind church-state relations until Aristotelian rediscovery in 12c.)
493
+ Theodoric becomes King of Ostrogoths, moves Ostrogoth capital to Ravenna (Feb 25).
+ King Odoacer of Italy agrees to mediated peace with King Theodoric, meets in Theodoric’s dinner to commemorate peace, Theodoric personally chokes Odoacer to death (Mar 15 or 17).
+ Bishop of Rome befriends King Theodoric.
+ Patrick, missionary Bishop to the Irish (Mar 17) dies.
+ King Clovis I of Franks marries Burgundian princess Clotilde.
494
+ Pope Gelasius I changes pagan Lupercalia festival into Roman Catholic Candlemas feast of Purification.
+ Pope Gelasius I delineates relationship between church & state.
+ Pope Gelasius I canonizes Saint George.
495
496
+ King Clovis/Franks & Alamanni war for supremacy on Rhine.
+ King Clovis/Franks defeat Alamanni at Battle of Tolbiac, Alamanni become subject to Franks.
+ King Clovis of Franks’ wife, Clotilda, is ____ Christian. Clovis accepts her faith for himself & his subjects.
+ Christianizing of Europe starts.
+ Pope Gelasius I decrees list of recommended & banned books (predecessor of 16c “Index of Forbidden Books”).
+ Alamannic King Gibuld dies.
+ Pope Gelasius I dies (Nov 21).
+ Pope Anastasius II becomes 50th pope (Nov 24).
497
+ King Arthur/ Britans defeat Anglo-Saxons in Battle of Mons Badonicus (approx. year).
498
+ Pope Anastasius II dies (Nov 19).
+ Bishops Symmachus & Laurentius fight for papal office. Candidates allow King Theodoric (Arian, ruling from Ravenna) to decide, to limit bloodshed in Rome. King Theodoric chooses clergy’s candidate, Symmachus, also inclined against King Theodoric’s enemy, Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno.
+ Bishop Symmachus becomes 51st pope, in official papal selection in Lateran Palace (Nov 22).
+ Antipope Laurentius elected "pope" in Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.
499
+ Bishop Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of Nocera, Campania, during synod in Rome (Mar 1).
500
+ Barbarian invasions effectively limit Pope’s jurisdiction to central & southern Italy (approx. year).
+ Rome population estimated down to ~100,000 (~50,000 in 550).
+ Roman catacomb burials end (approx. year).
+ 5c AD ends.
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AMDG
Wm. / *r
Wm. / *r
Trying to use minimal text.
