User:Byzantine Empire/Sandbox

Antiquity

300 BCE

• 202: End of the Second Punic War. A pyrrhic Carthaginian victory at Zama leads to negotiations between Rome and Carthage. Widespread military, economic, and political exhaustion forces both sides to agree to a settlement. Roman armies in Africa and Carthaginian forces in Italy withdraw, and Iberia is divided into Roman and Carthaginian spheres along the axis of the Turia and Douro Rivers.

200 BCE

• 200-197: Philip V of Macedon attempts to expand his territory in southern Greece and Asia Minor. The Greek city-states appeal for help from Rome, sparking the Second Macedonian War. The Roman legions' flexibility over the phalanx proves decisive at the Battle of Cynoscephalae, and the war ends with Rome again ascendant.

• 195: Having restored some measure of strength, Carthage continues fortifying Iberia and exploring further south into Africa.

• 171-168: The ambitious new Macedonian King, Perseus, stirs up anti-Roman feelings around Macedonia and Greece, leading Rome to declare war. The Third Macedonian War is a disaster for Macedon. The legions again shatter the Macedonian army at the Battle of Pydna. Macedonia ceases to be an independent kingdom and is divided into four Roman client states.

• 165-132: Mithradates the Great of Parthia conquers much of the Seleucid Empire, transforming Parthia from a small nation to a major power.

• 155-121: Rome puts down multiple revolts in its territory in northern Iberia and continues expansion into southern Gaul.

• 151-146: After being diplomatically isolated by the Carthaginian victory at Zama, King Masinissa of Numidia attempts to provoke a war between Rome and Carthage. The invading Numidian army is decisively defeated at the Battle of Oroscopa, ending the possibility of Roman intervention. Carthage conquers the remainder of Numidia and renews the peace treaty with Rome.

• 146: After putting down a revolt in Macedonia and annexing it, Rome comes into conflict with the Achaean League, made up of the remaining independent city-states in Greece. The Achaeans are switftly defeated in the Achaean War, leading to Roman control of the remainder of mainland Greece.

• 141-87 Reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Ancient China reaches its territorial height, stretching from the Fergana Valley in Central Asia in the west, to northern Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south.

• 134-44 Destabilization and crisis in the Roman Republic, which suffers multiple civil wars, slave revolts, and coups, as well as significant societal tension.

• 133: After the death of the last Attalid King of Pergamum, Rome puts down a rebellion and annexes much of western Asia Minor.

• 113-101: Cimbrian War breaks out, as barbarian migration threatens northern Italy. Eventual Roman victory in the war brings Gaius Marius to power, who reforms the Roman legions from levied soldiers to a professional army.

• 109-108: Emperor Wu conquers Gojoseon Korea, which results in Han control of Korea for several hundred years.

100 BCE

• 91: Sima Qian, a court official, publishes Records of the Grand Historian, which covers the past two thousand plus years of Chinese history and mythology. The text is a considered one of the foundations of Chinese civilization and historiography.

• 88-63: Onset of the Mithridatic Wars. In three separate wars, Rome defeats and annexes the Kingdom of Pontus, as well as the remainder of Asia Minor and Syria. Rome also pushes the Armenian Empire out of the Levant and forces them to become a client state.

• 58-50: Gallic Wars. Julius Caeasar expands Roman territory to the northwest, culminating in a Roman victory against a Gallic coalition at the Battle of Alesia. The Romans invade Britain in both 55 and 54 BCE, establishing client states. Caesar gains significant power and prestige from the wars.

• 49-45: Caesar crosses the Rubicon, starting a civil war against Pompey. Caesar wins a decisive victory at the Battle of Pharsalus, though the war drags on for several more years. Upon the defeat of the last of Pompey's lieutenants, Caesar returns to Rome in triumph and is made dictator for life.

• 44: Julius Caesar is assassinated as the Roman Republic plunges into Civil War.

• 31: Octavian defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, ending the last of the post-Caesar civil wars. Ptolemaic Egypt is annexed by Rome. The Carthaginian suffet signs a treaty with Octavian recognizing Roman expansions and establishing the border between Carthaginian Libya and Egypt.

• 27 BCE-14 CE: Octavian adopts the title Augustus, marking the effective end of the Roman Republic. Octavian utilizes his vast wealth and control of the legions to effectively rule as Emperor, transitioning the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. After further conquests, the Empire stretches from Britannia to Egypt. Peace after Octavian's conquests marks the beginning of the Pax Romana, a golden era of order and stability. Carthage continues expanding into Africa along the Atlantic coast.

• 43-87: Roman Emperor Claudius launches an invasion of Britain. The Romans steadily gain more territory in England and Wales, but are unable to maintain control of Scotland. After the Romans defeat a significant uprising by the Iceni Queen, Boudica, effective resistance to Rome ends for several hundred years.

• ~90: Yax Ehb Xook becomes the dynastic founder and Ajaw (King) of Tikal. As el Mirador continues declining, Tikal becomes the strongest city in the Mayan lowlands.

100 CE

• 117: The Roman Empire reaches the height of its power during the reign of Trajan after Parthia is invaded and forced to become a client state.

• 122: Construction of Hadrian's Wall in Britain, marking the boundary between Roman territory in the south and unconquered Caledonia in the north.

• 180: Death of Marcus Aurelius, last of the Five Good Emperors. End of the Pax Romana, as the Roman Empire suffers increasing instability and internal discord.

• 189-220: Gradual collapse of Han authority during the reign of the last Han Emperor, Xian.

200 CE

• 201: Hasdrubal Mago reforms the Republic of Carthage into the Carthaginian Empire, installing the Magonid dynasty as rulers. Carthage reaches the height of its power in antiquity, controlling northern Africa west of Egypt, much of Iberia, the northern Sahara through the Garamantes, and tributary states and allies comprising the tribes of the Atlantic African coast.

• 220-280: Three Kingdoms Period marks the beginning of four centuries of internal division in China.

• 224: Ardashir I defeats the last Parthian King, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan. The heavy defeat ends five centuries of Parthian rule and marks the start of the Sassanid Empire.

• 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire puts the Empire on the brink of collapse as it faces barbarian invasion and migration, multiple civil wars and many different claimants to the Imperial throne, leading to significant political and economic instability. The Empire briefly splits into the Gallic, Roman, and Palmyrene Empires. Aurelian reconquers the breakaway provinces from 270 to 275 and stabilizes the political and economic downturns.

• 240: Beginning of Sassanid invasions of the Kushan Empire. Sassanid expansion into modern Pakistan continues until the arrival of the White Huns.

• 293: Diocletian forms the Tetrarchy, dividing governance of the Roman Empire between two senior Emperors and designated successors. Commonly viewed as the birth of the Eastern Roman (later known as the Byzantine) Empire.

300 CE

• 313: Constantine the Great begins the Christianization of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Milan, establishing offical tolerance for the religion within the Empire.

• 330: Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman Empire.

• 378-394: Intervention by Teotihuacan into a Tikal secession dispute leads to a rapid agreement on new King. Teotihuacan becomes a loose protectorate of the Tikal Kingdom, though actual authority is limited due to distance. Continuation of centralization of Mayan city-states around Tikal. The largest city not under Tikal control, Calakmul, begins forming a coalition and vassalizing the remaining independent cities, leading to the Maya being largely divided between two rival cities.

• 395: Death of Theodosius I, the last to rule the unified Roman Empire. His sons ascend to the thrones of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, finalizing the split.

400 CE

• 400: Beginning of stagnation in Carthage due to population increase and food shortages. Nomadic tribes begin pillaging the eastern territories of the Sassanid Empire, marking the start of a century of consistent warfare in the region.

• 406: Battle of Mainz. Roman-allied Franks are defeated by the Vandals, Suevi, and Alans, who pour into Gaul.

• 410: Saxons occupy entirety of Britain, Western Roman presence is completely expelled. Sack of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth.

• 412-418: Visigoths settle in Toulouse and are granted territory in Gaul by the Romans. The Visigoths steadily increase their territory, as the Western Empire is too weak to respond.

• 421: Tradition founding of Venice by Roman refugees fleeing waves of invasions by Germanic tribes.

• 422-427: The Vandals, previously settled as foederati in Iberia, construct a sizable fleet and ravage the Western Mediterranean, including major Carthaginian cities.

• 429: Genseric, King of the Vandals, turns south to establish a kingdom in North Africa, but is bought off by the Carthaginians. The Vandals return to Iberia.

• 441: First Byzantine-Sassanid War.

• 451: Attila the Hun defeated at Battle of the Catalaunian Plains by a West Roman-Visigoth Coalition.

• 453-466: The Romans send the Visigoths over the Pyrenees, where they conquer the Suebi.

• 455: Rome is sacked by the Vandals as Imperial power in the West continues to wane rapidly.

• 461: Visigoths conquer the Vandal Kingdom in Iberia, extending their control to all of Iberia north of the Iberian System and Valentia (Valencia). After initial skirmishes, Carthage signs a treaty maintaining the Turia and Douro as the border.

• 471: A Roman army sent against the Visigoths is crushed at the Battle of Arles, largely confining Imperial authority in the Western Empire to Italy and a few rump states in Gaul.

• 476: Romulus Augutulus deposed by Odoacer, who establishes the Kingdom of Italia. Conventionally viewed as the end of the Western Roman Empire.

• 480: Murder of Julius Nepos, last claimant to the throne of the Western Empire. Annexation of Dalmatia by Odoacer.

• 488-493: Zeno, Eastern Roman Emperor, allies with Theodoric the Great, who invades Italy and assassinates Odoacer at a banquet. Establishment of Ostogothic Kingdom of Italy. Theodoric is nominally King of the Visigoths as well, and rules an empire that stretches from the Balkans to the Atlantic.

Middle Ages

500 CE

• 500-519: Height of the White Hun (Hephthalite) Empire. The Hephthalite Empire controls much of modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. The Hephthalite Empire is later defeated by an alliance of the Gupta and Sassanid Empires. Sassanids regain control of Baluchistan, but are unable to expand into Khorosan.

• 502-506: Second Byzantine-Sassanid War (Anastasian War). Peace eventually signed, leading to minor territorial changes.

• 507-511: Having already conquered the Roman rump state of Soissons and the rest of northern Gaul, Clovis I defeats the Visigoths, eliminating Visigoth power in Gaul and uniting most of it under the Franks.

• 526-532: Third Byzantine-Sassanid War (Iberian War). Roman victories at Dara and Satala lead to the Treaty of Eternal Peace. War is largely inconclusive.

• 529-534: The Corpus Iuris Civilis, or Body of Civil Law, is released, resulting in a fundamental transformation of Byzantine Law and also providing the foundation of Western legal tradition.

• 533-555: Justinian the Great reconquers much of Rome's former territory, returning Italy, Dalmatia, and parts of Iberia to the Byzantine Empire. Height of the Byzantine Empire.

• 537-572: First of the Tikal-Calakmul Wars, as both rival cities and their vassals engage in open warfare. Tikal emerges victorious and on the ascension due to the construction of sophisticated citadels to guard strategic positions, though Calakmul conquers Naranjo, previously a Tikal vassal.

• 539-571: Reign of Emperor Kinmei of the House of Yamato. While he was the 29th Emperor according to Japanese order of succession (the first Emperor, Jimmu, traditionally reigned beginning around 660 BCE but is largely considered to be mythical), Kinmei is the first verifiable Emperor and is considered the historical founder of the Imperial Dynasty that rules Japan to this day.

• 541-562: Fourth Byzantine-Sassanid War (Lazic War). With Justinian distracted by conquests in the West, the Sassanids break the peace treaty and invade Georgia. Byzantine victory at the Siege of Phasis leads to status quo antebellum, and signing of Fifty Year Treaty of Dara.

• 568-576: The Lombards invade and overrun Northern Italy. Repeated conflicts with the Sassanids, along with Emperor Justin II's fits of insanity, lead to a waning of Byzantine influence in Italy.

• 572-591: Fifth Byzantine-Sassanid War begins after defection of Armenia to the Byzantine Empire. After Byzantine victories at Martyropolis and Araxes, a civil war breaks out in the Sassanid Empire. Byzantine efforts led by Maurice to restore Khosrow II leads to a Byzantine victory in the war, and results in Byzantine dominance of the Caucasus.

• 599-611: Calakmul and Palenque engage in a war in which Palenque is sacked twice. However, Calakmul's military strength is sapped by the conflict.

600 CE

• 602-628: Sixth, and largest, Byzantine-Sassanid War. Assassination of Maurice by Phocus, and subsequent Byzantine civil war, leads to Sassanid ascendancy, and the conquest of Egypt, the Levant, and much of Anatolia. Height of the Sassanid Empire (620). Siege of Constantinople (626) puts the survival of the Byzantine Empire on the brink. Skillful generalship by Heraclius leads to the reclamation of lost territory. Ceasefire after the Battle of Nineveh (627) restores the Byzantine Empire's borders in the Middle East.

• 608: Tang Dynasty re-unifies China. The Tang Dynasty is a golden age for cosmopolitan culture in China, and introduces flourishing developments in science, technology, poetry, economics, and geographical influence.

• 624: The Visigoths push Byzantine forces completely out of Iberia.

• 629: Byzantine victory at the Battle of Mu'tah, often noted as the opening of the Byzantine-Arab wars.

• 632: The Prophet Muhammad finishes the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula.

• 633: Khalid ibn Walid invades Iraq, beginning a prolonged period of Islamic expansion.

• 634: Arab victory at Battle of Ajnadayn over Byzantine Empire threatens the Levant.

• 636: Rashidun victory at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah causes chaos in Sassanid court. Emperor Yazdegerd III is murdered by Piruz Khosrow, who assumes the throne, becomes a vassal of the Rashidun Caliphate, and converts to Islam. The Sassanids move their capital to Isfahan, and cede direct control of all lands west of the Zagros Mountains to the Rashidun Caliphate.

• 636: Rashidun victory at the Battle of Yarmouk. Byzantine armies are forced out of the Levant, though the Arab forces suffer significant casualties.

• 637-639: Rashidun forces push north towards Antioch, and launch an invasion of Armenia from Sassanid lands. Both are repulsed.

• 640-642: Arabs invade and conquer Egypt. Byzantine losses at Yarmouk and repeated conflicts with Sassanids leave them unable to respond. Heraclius dies in 641.

• 643: Carthaginian troops halt the Rashidun expansion into North Africa at the Battle of Cyrene, while the Byzantine navy defeats the Rashidun fleet at the Battle of Phoenix off the coast of Lycia. The Rashidun Caliphate signs peace treaties with Byzantines and Carthaginians, wary of the rumored formation of a Byzantine-Carthaginian alliance against the Rashiduns.

• 648-695: The rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul again breaks out into open war after the defection of the King of Tikal's son, the ruler of Dos Pilas. The war's initial phase was marked by Calakmul's ascendance, and Tikal itself is sacked and briefly occupied in 657. Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil takes the throne of Tikal in 682 and destroys Calakmul's main army in 695, ending the war. Victory in the war marks the beginning of Calakmul's decline and a resugence in the political and military strength of Tikal. Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil makes singificant political gains in the ongoing centralization of Tikal's kingdom.

• 660: The Yamato government sends envoys directly to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure.

• 661: Assassination of Ali leads to end of Rashidun Caliphate and formation of Umayyad Caliphate. First Fitna.

• 674-678: First Umayyad Siege of Constantinople. Constantine IV leads the Byzantines to a decisive victory. The Arab fleet is annihilated by the use of Greek fire, while the land forces are defeated and forced to retreat back to the Levant.

• 680: Second Fitna upon the death of Muawiya I, first Umayyad Caliph. Battle of Karbala. Stalemate at the Battle of Ongal checks Bulgarian expansion into the Byzantine Empire, but allows for the continuation of the Bulgarian Empire.

• 692: End of Second Fitna. Umayyad dynasty continues.

• 695-717: Twenty Years' Anarchy in the Byzantine Empire, as six separate emperors rapidly rise and fall. The prolonged internal instability significantly weakens the Empire, leaving its borders vulnerable.

700 CE

• 700-710: Umayyad Caliphate invades Carthaginian Libya and is defeated at the Battle of Sabrata.

• 717-718: Second Umayyad Siege of Constantinople. Leo III ascends to the throne, ending the time of anarchy, and is able to resist Umayyad attacks on the city. The Byzantines again use Greek Fire to defeat the Arab navy, but are also aided by the mass defection of the Christian crews of the Arab Fleet, many conscripted from Egypt. A sizable Arab army is defeated outside Constantinople with the aid of the Bulgarians, forcing the Umayyads to withdraw.

• 720-744: Calakmul revolts against Tikal rule, assembling a coalition of other recently occupied cities. Tikal's strongest ally, Copán, faces revolts from vassals spurred on by Calakmul. Copán's significant losses and the execution of the Ajaw lead to it being vassalized by Tikal. Tikal eventually emerges victorious, and the subsequent purging of former royalty and aristocracy and replacement by Tikal loyalists aids in further centralization around Tikal.

• 721-723: Leo III, striking from Antioch, invades the Levant. Two years of fighting results in the cession of the land north of a Damascus-Tripoli axis.

• 718: Kingdom of Asturias founded in northern Iberia by a Visigothic nobleman, as a successor state of the Visigothic Kingdom.

• 726: Iconoclastic disputes, brought on by Leo III, drive a wedge between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople, further weakening the Byzantine hold on Italy. Byzantine iconoclasm later influences the Protestant Reformation.

• 734-755: Reign of Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil of Tikal. In 736, Tikal finally defeats and conquers Calakmul. Calakmul's remaining vassals and allied cities, El Perú and Naranjo are occupied in 743 and 744. Yik'in Chan K'awaiil proclaims himself K'uhul Ajaw (Supreme Divine King) of all the Maya, not just Tikal, effectively finalizing the centuries long centralization process. The majority of the Mayan cities accept his rule, transitioning the Maya from a group of city states to a largely unified Empire.

• 736: Leo negotiates an alliance with the Carthaginians against the Umayyads. Ardashir IV crowned Sassanid Emperor in Isfahan by Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.

• 737: Carthaginian armies invade Egypt, while the Byzantines strike south from Damascus and from Asia Minor into Armenia. Byzantine victory at the Battle of Akroinon ends Umayyad raids into Asia Minor.

• 742-764: Factional division in Venetian politics between pro-Byzantine, pro-Lombard, pro-Frankish factions, and republican (pro-independence) factions. Multiple doges are assassinated, but Domenico Monegario provides stability and transitions Venice from a fishing town into a vibrant city focused on marine trade.

• 743: Revolts break out in the former Sassanid territories due to high taxes, mass conscription, and the treatment of non-Arabs as 2nd class citizens. Zoroastrianism, previously hidden away, returns to a place of prominence in the still vassalized Sassanid Empire. Significant resurgence in Persian national identity.

• 744: Byzantine armies retake Jerusalem. Wracked by internal dissent and losing significant ground in the war, the Umayyads cede the Levant to the Byzantines and parts of western Egypt to Carthage. Constantine V re-establishes the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, but continues his father's strong iconoclasm.

• 746-750: Third Fitna. End of the Umayyad Caliphate, formation of Abbasid Caliphate. Sassanid Emperor Ardashir IV revolts against the newly established Abbasid Caliphate, which lacks the strength to re-establish control over Persian lands. The Sassanids rebuff an Abbasid invasion and declare independence from the Caliphate.

• 751: Fall of the Exarchate of Ravenna. End of Byzantine control of northern and central Italy outside of nominal control over Venice.

• 755-763: An Lushan Rebellion in China by several military commanders. While it is eventually put down, this marks the beginning of the decline of the Tang dynasty, as central authority begins waning and regional warlords increasingly gain power.

• 764-787: Rule of pro-Byzantine doge Maurizio Galbaio, the first of the "great doges." Galbaio opposes the pro-Lombard, pro-Frankish, and pro-republican factions, and is rewarded with titles and imperial consent for making the title of doge hereditary. Venice continues its expansion along the Adriatic.

• 765: The Abbasid Caliphate invades the Sassanid Empire, but is again unable to penetrate the Zagros Mountains.

• 766: Sassanid counter-attack breaks Abbasid border defenses. Sassanid armies overrun Iraq and much of the Gulf coast, but are unable to maintain control of the interior of Arabia.

• 768: Charlemagne crowned King of the Franks.

• 772: Abbasids cede Iraq to the Sassinids, who move their capital back to rebuilt Ctesiphon.

• 774: Charlemagne crowned King of Italy after defeating the Lombards.

• 793: Beginning of Viking raids on Western Europe, which do not subside until the 11th Century.

• 799: Invasion of interior of Arabia by Sassanids. Fall of Mecca and Medina marks the end of the Abbasid Caliphate, resumption of Zoroastrian dominance of non-Byzantine Middle East. Islam remains a minor religion in both the Levant and Arabia, but still dominates much of Central Asia. The Tulunids come to power in Egypt as an Islamic successor state to the Caliphate.

800 CE

• 800: Charlemagne crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III, making him the first Holy Roman Emperor.

• 803-814: Ongoing negotiations between Charlemagne and Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I and his successor result in the Pax Nicephori, which delineated Frankish and Byzantine borders and spheres of influence in Italy and Dalmatia. Venice is recognized as Byzantine territory, however, the city becomes de facto independent after repelling a Frankish siege led by Pepin of Italy in 810.

• 811: Battle of Pliska. With the help of the allied Magyars, the Bulgarians achieve a decisive victory over the Byzantines which results in significant territorial expansion of the Bulgarian Empire. Magyars begin raiding Central and Western Europe.

• 815-845: Carthage begins a series of economic and military campaigns to conquer Tulunid Egypt, culminating in the razing of al-Qata'i in 845.

• 840-843: Carolingian Civil War breaks out upon the death of Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious. The war ends with ths signing of the Treaty of Verdun, which divides the Carolingian Empire into three and provides the foundation of medieval France and Germany.

• 851-871: Chichen Itza, the largest remaining Mayan state not aligned with Tikal, comes under the control of Tikal after a twenty year war. Tikal dominates both the northern and southern Mayan lowlands and the Yucatan peninsula, as well as integrating Chichen Itza and its former allies. The Mayans annex and integrate the Nicarao people in Nicaragua as they continue to expand to the south.

• 863-869: Byzantine Greek monks Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translate parts of the Bible into the Slavonic language for the first time, paving the way for the Christianization of the Slavs and Slavicized peoples of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Southern Russia.

• 871-899: Rule of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex. Alfred is able to repeatedly drive off Viking invasions, and becomes the dominant ruler of what would eventually be called England.

• ~896: The Magyars settle in the plains of the Carpathian Basin in what would later be known as Hungary. Over the ensuing decades, they launch repeated raids into the Frankish kingdoms, Italy, and Byzantine Empire.

900 CE

• 900-975: Expansion of the Mayan Empire into the Valley of Mexico brings the Mayans into a long conflict with the Toltec and Zapotec. Aid from Teotihuacan allows for the annexation of both into the Mayan Empire. The Mayans face significant difficulties in the integration and centralization of city-states outside of the Yucatan and put down repeated rebellions.

• 907: Fall of the Tang Dynasty. Beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

• 910: Rulers of Asturias shift their capital to Pamplona, transitioning the Kingdom of Asturias to the Kingdom of Navarre.

• 917: Battle of Achelous. Significant Byzantine defeat results in the loss of much of the Balkans. Height of the Bulgarian Empire.

• 919: First use of gunpowder in combat occurs in China.

• 927-937: Æthelstan unites the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and forms the Kingdom of England. The new Kingdom is immediately attacked by an alliance of the Vikings and Scots, but the invaders are crushed at the Battle of Brunanburh. The victory at Brunanburh is later noted as the birth of English nationalism.

• 938: Viet forces defeat the Chinese at the Battle of Bạch Đằng, ending Chinese control over Vietnam.

• 955: Otto I defeats the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld, ending raids into Central and Western Europe. This allows for the preservation of the Kingdom of East Francia, as well as significantly strengthening Otto's position in the Germany.

• 960: Reunification of China under the Song Dynasty.

• 962: Otto I crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Birth of the Holy Roman Empire.

• 964: Nri Kingdom bars trade with Carthage.

• 968-971: Kievan Rus invade Bulgaria, and eventually go to war with the Byzantines. The Byzantine victory at the Siege of Dorostolon ends Rus involvement in Bulgaria, and the annexation of Eastern Bulgaria and Crimea to the Byzantine Empire.

• 975: Massacre of Carthaginian caravan by Nri warriors. Invasion of Nri lands by Carthage.

• 977: Formation of the Ghaznavid Empire in Khorosan (modern Afghanistan). The Ghaznavids later expand and conquer much of Transoxiana and northwest India.

• 988: Baptism of Vladimir the Great. Final Christianization of the Kievan Rus.

• 995: Due to Mayan expansion into the Valley of Mexico, Teotihuacan loses much of its autonomy and is increasing bound to the Mayan Empire.

• 998: Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni campaigns against the Sassanid Empire, conquering many border regions in Persia due to weakness in the Sassanid court.

1000 CE

• 1000: The collapse of the Tiwanaku Empire leads to a migration into Mapuche lands. The migrants assimilate into Mapuche culture, and bring advanced agricultural techniques that leads to a significant population increase.

• 1002-1018: Despite early defeats, Byzantine Emperor Basil II 'the Bulgar-Slayer' wins crushing victories at Kleidion, Setina, and Dyrrhachium and annexes the Bulgarian Empire.

• 1009-1018: Lombard nobles revolt against Byzantine rule in Southern Italy. Though the rebellion is defeated, Norman mercenaries establish a foothold in the region and expand their territory over the next several decades.

• 1025: Death of Basil II. For the next 50 years, weak and ineffective Byzantine emperors squander the wealth and stability of the Empire and significantly degrade the quality of the army and navy. Numerous revolts by the aristocracy continually sap the Byzantines' remaining military strength.

• 1040: After being driven out of Transoxiana, the Seljuks defeat the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan. In the ensuing years, much of the western territory of the Ghaznavid Empire is conquered by the Seljuks. The Sassanids reclaim lands previously lost to the Ghaznavids.

• 1048: The Sassanids incite the Seljuks against the Byzantines. With Imperial troops tied up in the Balkans fighting a revolt and provincial troop strength having been degraded, Seljuk troops significantly outnumber the local Byzantine forces. However, aid from Georgia leads to a stalemate at the Battle of Kapetron, temporarily preventing further Seljuk raids into the interior of Anatolia.

• 1054: The East-West Schism permanently divides the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, as the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope excommunicate each other.

• 1055-1099: Mayans begin settling in Panama and continue integration of native tribes into the Mayan Empire.

• 1066: Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, presses his claim to the English throne until he is defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, which is typically marked as the end of the Viking Era. William the Conqueror invades England from Normandy and defeats the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.

• 1066-1072: William finishes the conquest of England and secures the English throne. Establishment of medieval England.

• 1068-1071: Siege of Bari by the Normans. Upon the fall of the city, the Catepanate of Italy is dissolved, marking end of sustained Byzantine presence in Italy for the remainder of the Medieval Era.

• 1071: The Byzantines are decisively defeated at the Battle of Manzikert by the Seljuks. The subsequent war of succession allows for the Seljuks to penetrate deep into Anatolia.

• 1081: Coronation of Alexios I Komnenos. The Normans invade the Balkans from southern Italy.

• 1085: Alexious I Komnenos, with significant Venetian aid, defeats the Normans at the Battle of Larissa, pushing them back into Ialy.

• 1091: Spurred on by the Seljuks, the Pecheneg horde invades the Byzantine Empire. Skillfully utilizing diplomacy, Alexois I employs the aid of the Cumans and crushes the Pechenegs at the Battle of Levounion. After a half century of ineffectual rule, civil war, and numerous defeats, the battle marked a resurgence in Byzantine strength and secured the Empire's European territory.

1100 CE

• 1104: Building of the Venetian Arsenal, which provides the bulk of the Venetian navy throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

• 1118-1185: Komnenian Restoration marks the revival of Byzantine military, financial, and territorial strength. The Pechengs are annhiliated at the Battle of Beroia (1122) and cease to exist as an independent people. A decisive victory over the Hungarians at the Battle of Sirmium (1167) leads to the vassalization of Hungary and the strengthening of the Balkan frontier. John II Komnenos and Manuel I Komnenos campaign repeatedly against the Seljuks in the interior of Anatolia. The last remaining Seljuks in Byzantine territory are defeated at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 and the Battle of Hyelion and Leimochair in 1177. Many Seljuks are absorbed into the Empire, while some return to Sassanid lands. Andronikos I Komnenos inherits the throne of Georgia, which is annexed to the Empire.

• 1124-1171: Mayan colonists push into modern-day Colombia and conquer the both the Sinu and Tairona along the Caribbean coast before pushing into the interior. Skirmishing begins with the Muisca Confederation and the Quimbaya.

• 1154-1189: Rule of Henry II, King of England. After a series of aggressive campaigns, the Angevin Empire, as it was later known, extended over roughly half of medieval France, all of England, and parts of Ireland and Wales.

• 1171-1172: Byzantine-Venetian War. After Venetian merchants in Constantinople attack and destroy the Genoese settlement, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos orders the arrest of all Venetian citizens in the Empire and confiscates their property. Venice launches a large fleet to retaliate, but the fleet is slowed by diplomatic stalling by the Byzantines. An outbreak of plague over the winter devastates the fleet, which returns home empty-handed and the war ends.

• 1185-1196: The Bulgarian Uprising of Peter III is put down by Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos, marking the end of large-scale Bulgarian nationalist revolts. The Normans invade the Balkans for the third time, but intervention by Venice on the side of the Byzantines stabilizes the war, allowing the Normans to be pushed back into Italy. Venice is officially granted independence from the Byzantine Empire, and expands its territory into Dalmatia and Albania.

• 1198: Beginning of Northern Crusades, in which Catholic Denmark, Poland, and Sweden, as well as the Teutonic and Livonian Orders, campaign against Lithuanian pagans and the Russian Eastern Orthodox Christians. Later referred to as the "First Corridor War" by Romantic Nationalist European historians.

1200 CE

• ~1200: Formation of the Kingdom of Cusco, the predecessor of the Incan Empire.

• 1202-1214: Anglo-French War. Philip II of France defeats an alliance assembled by the Pope which is made up of England, the Holy Roman Empire, Flanders, and Boulogne. Final collapse of the Angevin Empire, as the English are unable to reclaim territories lost after the death of Henry II. Continued English claims set the stage for the Hundred Years War.

• 1206: Genghis Khan is proclaimed Ruler of all Mongols and unifies the Mongol and Turkic tribes.

• 1215: Signing of the Magna Carta in England, as powerful barons curtail the power of King John.

• 1216-1221: Genghis Khan conquers the Qara-Khitai, along with much of the eastern areas of the Sassanid Empire and Central Asia.

• 1227-1241: Death of Genghis Khan. Ögedei Khan becomes the Second Great Khan. Ögedei expands the Mongol Empire into China and Korea. Ctesiphon is sacked, forcing Sassanid forces out of Iraq and into the Arabian Peninsula. Byzantine armies in Armenia and Georgia are defeated by the Mongols. Byzantine Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes agrees to pay tribute to Ögedei. Mongol armies conquer the Rus, and begin probing into Poland. Ukraine and the steppes conquered. Shattering victories at the Battle of Legnica and the Battle of Mohi, along with Mongol practice of the mass execution of prisoners, leave Eastern Europe largely in ruins and depopulated. Death of Ögedei Khan leads to the withdrawal of the Mongol armies back to Asia, sparing Western and Central Europe.

• 1242: Alexander Nevsky defeats the Teutonic Order at the Battle on the Ice, ensuring the survival of the Republic of Novgorod and a halt to the Order's eastern expansion.

• 1248: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, suffers a significant defeat against the forces of the Lombard League at the Battle of Parma, largely ending Imperial attempts to conquer Northern Italy and creating a vacuum of power.

• 1251-1259: After a decade of infighting, Möngke Khan stabilizes the Mongol Empire and orders further expansion. Much of China is conquered. The truce with the Byzantine Empire is renounced, and Mongol armies invade Anatolia, the Levant, Crimea, and south into Thrace. The Byzantines are forced back in Thrace and lose Crimea, but the Mongol army in the Levant is shattered at the Battle of the Well of Harod. Möngke Khan dies, and a ceasefire is established by the marriage of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos's daughter to Nogai Khan.

• 1254: Final occupation of many West African lands by Carthage.

• 1256-1270: First Venetian-Genoese War. Venice invades Ferrera and Mantua, prompting a response from Genoa. The Genoese fleet is nearly annihilated in the Adriatic, forcing Genoa to end the war and acknowledge Venetian control of the two cities.

• 1259-1264: Mongol Civil War breaks out after the death of Möngke Khan. After years of conflict, Kublai Khan emerges as ruler of the Mongol Empire, and begins further conquests.

• 1264-1294: Kublai Khan conquers Song China, but two invasion fleets intended for Japan are wrecked by typhoons. Successful conquests, however, lead to the Mongol Empire reaching its territorial height in 1279. Kublai Khan dies in 1294, and the resulting breakdown in central authority results in the Mongol Empire dividing into four autonomous states: the Ilkhanate, Yuan Dynasty, Chagatai Khanate, and the Golden Horde.

• 1277-1283: Edward I of England conquers Wales, marking its end as an independent kingdom.

• 1283: Daniil Aleksandrovich, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, becomes duke of Moscow and establishes it as an independent duchy.

• 1294-1299: Second Venetian-Genoese War. Despite early Genoese victories, civil strife in Genoa prevents victory. Venetian raids on Genoese colonies and the city proper leads to further Venetian expansion and the annexation of Bologna, Brescia, and the surrounding regions to the Republic.

• 1296-1328: First War of Scottish Independence, as a succession of English Kings attempt to establish authority over Scotland. De facto Scottish independence is achieved after a victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

1300 CE

• 1302-1318: Seeing the weakness and internal division amongst the Mongols, the Byzantines and Sassanids form an alliance and invade the Ilkhanate, restoring the Byzantine Empire's control of Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, and the Caucasus. In successive wars, the Sassanids reclaim Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, resulting in the dissolution of the Ilkhanate and the improvement of Byzantine-Sassanid relations.

• 1320: After years of conquests and political maneuvering by its succession of dukes, Moscow emerges as the most powerful and influential city in the region.

• 1321: Andronikos II Palaiologos reforms the Byzantine Senate, establishing a bicameral system with representatives of nobles and town elders. Increase in power of Byzantine Senate.

• 1337-1360: Opening of the Hundred Years War, as Edward III of England claims the throne of France. The French navy raids the English coast, and plans are laid for a full-scale invasion of England until Edward's navy decisively defeats them at the Battle of Sluys. Edward the Black Prince invades France, winning a crushing victory at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. After the Black Death puts the war on hold, the Black Prince wins a second great victory at Poitiers in 1356. The Treaty of Brétigny is signed in 1360, expanding English territory in France while removing them from French vassalage.

• 1346-1353: The Black Death devastates Europe. Between 75 and 200 million people die in Europe, which is approximately 30-60% of the total population. The plague spreads from southern Italy into the Byzantine Empire, Carthage, and the Sassanid Empire, causing widespread death in all three.

• 1350-1355: Venice allies with the Papal States and other Italian states and again launches a war against Genoa. After a crushing defeat off Sardinia, Genoa allies with Milan, then attempts to betray them after the war turns in Genoa's favor. Milan attempts to ally with Venice, which instead launches an aggressive and successful campaign which results in the annexation of the Duchy of Milan and Venetian dominance of northern Italy.

• 1351-1368: Decline of the Yuan Dynasty due to nationalist rebellions. Decisive Ming victory at the Battle of Lake Poyang leads to the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, whose remnants flee north. Yuan is left in control of Mongolia, Tibet, and part of Central Asia. Yuan rulers continue to claim title of Great Khan, which is largely ignored by the Chagatai Khaganate and Golden Horde. Ming Dynasty established in China.

• 1369-1389: The second stage of the Hundred Years War, the Caroline War, marks a period of French ascendency. A revolt in English-controlled Aquitaine over taxes leads French King Charles V to declare the previous ceasefire, as well as all English possessions in France, to be invalid. The English are soundly defeated, and much of the territory gained from Treaty of Brétigny is returned to the French. The Treaty of Bruges is signed, leading to a ceasefire.

• 1370-1405: Tamerlane conquers the Chagatai Khaganate and turns south into the Sassanid Empire, where he conquers the northern and eastern provinces of Abarshahr, Harev, Marv, and part of Padishkhwargar before turning away.

• 1377-1385: Final Venetian-Genoese War. Genoa attempts to form an anti-Venetian league, but is unsuccessful due to French involvement in the Hundred Years War. Angered by the attempt, Venice declares war, and successfully occupies and annexes Genoa. Total Venetian dominance of Northern Italy complete.

• 1378-1380: Mamai of the Blue Horde seeks to reassert Mongol control over Muscovy and other Russian principalities. Russian victory in the Battle of Kulikovo results in temporary independence of the Russian principalities.

• 1382: Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde successfully reasserts Mongol control over the Russian principalities left independent after the Battle of Kulikovo.

• 1386-1395: Tohktamysh, previously a vassal of Tamerlane, revolts. The subsequent war between the Golden Horde and the Timurids results in the complete defeat of the Golden Horde, as Tohktamysh's army is annihilated at the Battle of the Terek River. Tamerlane subsequently destroys all the Khanate's major cities. Tohktamysh's defeat marks the beginning of the decline of Mongol power over the early Russian principalities.

• 1398-1405: Tamerlane invades and conquers the declining Delhi Sultanate. He shows tactical ingenuity wins a crushing victory at the Battle of Delhi, and as is typical, sacks the city and massacres the inhabitants. Tamerlane launches additional campaigns against the Sassanids, sacking Baghdad in 1398 and penetrating further into the interior. The Sassanids defeat several of Tamerlane's generals, forcing an end to the invasion. Tamerlane dies in 1405 while preparing a campaign against the Ming, ending his reign of the Timurid Empire as one of the few generals never directly defeated in a battle.

Renaissance

1400 CE

• 1405-1430: Decline of the Timurid Empire, as Tamerlane's successors fall into disputes and petty conflicts and are unable to maintain the previous conquests. Resurgent Sassanid forces restore the pre-Tamerlane borders in repeated campaigns against Timurid armies.

• 1410: The Teutonic Order is fatally crippled after a significant defeat against Polish-Lithuanian forces at the Battle of Grunwald. The participation of three Smolensk regiments plays a major role in future Russian propaganda.

• 1415-1420: King Henry V of England revives the English claim to the French throne and invades Normandy. The cream of the French army is decimated at the Battle of Agincourt. The Treaty of Troyes is signed in 1419 by the English, Burgundians, and French and marries Henry V to Catherine of Valois, delegitimizes Charles VII, and makes Henry's sons heirs to the throne of France.

• 1422-1453: Henry's death in leads to a resumption of hostilities. With the English on the verge of total victory, French victory at the Siege of Orléans, as well as the collapse of the Anglo-Burgundian Alliance, leads to steady English reversals until their final defeat at the Battle of Castillon.

• 1438-1472: Pachacuti takes the throne of the Kingdom of Cusco and launches a series of wars of conquest that greatly expands the territory of Cusco. The Kingdom of Cusco is reformed into the Incan Empire, and controls much of modern-day Peru and Ecuador.

• 1440-1490: Repeated Venetian campaigns lead to the conquest of much of central Italy. Venice now controls much of northern and central Italy, save French territory in Piedmont, Rome, Ancona, and the Kingdom of Naples. Venetians guarantee temporal power of the Pope, continuing the independence of the Papal States.

• 1442: King Alfonso V of Aragon unites Naples into his Aragonese dominions.

• 1455-1487: Wars of the Roses. The House of York and House of Lancaster battle for the English throne. Despite initial victories, the House of York is defeated, and Henry VII reunifies England and becomes the first King of the House of Tudor.

• 1462: Coronation of Ivan III (the Great) of Muscovy.

• 1467: The Ōnin War marks the de facto end of the Kamakura Shogunate, beginning a nearly 150 year period of civil war known as the Sengoku period in Japan.

• 1469: Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Navarre, unifying the Kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre into the Kingdom of Spain, with its capital at Barcelona. Spanish territory includes Iberia north of the Turia and Douro, Sicily, and southern Italy.

• ~1475: Battle of the Maule. Incan expansion south into the territory of the Mapuche Confederation is halted due to large losses on both sides. Encounter with the well-organized Incan Empire leads to steady reformation of the Mapuche Confederation into a more centralized state.

• 1478: Ivan III of Muscovy annexes Novgorod.

• 1480: The 'Great Stand on the Ugra River' results in Muscovite independence from the Golden Horde.

• 1492: The discovery of the Americas by a Punic-Iberian expedition marks the Dawn of the Age of Exploration and the beginning of Carthaginian colonization of the Caribbean.

• 1493: Carthaginian colonists land in Brazil and establish coastal settlements while exploring the vast interior. The slave trade becomes a major aspect of the Carthaginian economy. Skirmishing begins between Incan and Carthaginian border outposts.

• 1494-1497: First Trade War between Carthage and Venice as Venice seeks to challenge Carthage's near total control on western Mediterranean trade. The conflict primarily involves repeated naval battles, with small scale land raids in North Africa and Venetian Italy. Carthaginian victory assured after the Venetian fleet is crushed at the Battle of Palermo. Venetian trade with Byzantine Empire decreases exponentially as Carthaginian merchants dominate the Mediterranean. Carthage continues to expand New World holdings.

• 1498-1500: First Italian War. King Charles VIII of France conquers southern Italy. Increasing French power leads to the Pope forming the League of Venice, which is comprised of the Holy Roman Empire, Venice, Spain, and the Papal State. League efforts to destroy Charles's withdrawing army leads to a French victory at the Battle of Fornovo, allowing the French forces to retreat. Out of money and exhausted, Charles and the League sign a peace treaty restoring southern Italy to Spanish rulership.

1500 CE

• 1508: Outbreak of the War of the League of Cambrai. The Holy Roman Empire, led by Maximillian I, invades Venice. The Republic requests help from France, but after repelling the Imperial army at the Battle of Cadore, signs a separate peace treaty with Maximillian without the knowledge of the French. The Papal State, France, and the Holy Roman Empire form the League of Cambrai, and all declare war on Venice.

• 1509-1510: Despite significant initial setbacks leading to French occupation of much of Venice's territory in the duchies of Milan and Ferrara, Venice wins a crushing victory over League forces at the Siege of Padua. The Holy Roman Empire is temporarily forced from the war. Concerned about French aims on northern Italy and Rome, the Papal State exchanges Ancona and its remaining territory in the Marche for a ceasefire with Venice and declares war on France.

• 1511-1514: Pope Julius II proclaims a new Holy League against France. Venice and the Papal State are joined in the war by England, the Swiss Confederation, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire. Scotland declares war on England to honor the Auld Alliance. League forces push French troops out of Venetian territory until Venice abandons the league in 1512 due to Papal designs to restore the independence of Milan and Genoa. A combined English and Imperial army invades France. England defeats Scottish forces at the Battle of Flodden, forcing them from the war.

• 1515-1516: Venice allies with France following an agreement regarding borders in northern Italy. The Franco-Venetian army annihilates the combined army of the Swiss and Milanese rebels at the Battle of Marignano. A peace is signed shortly afterwards solidifying Venetian control of the vast majority of northern and central Italy.

• 1517: Protestant Reformation begins with Martin Luther's objections to the excesses and corruption in the Catholic Church. Weakening of Catholic influence in the Holy Roman Empire and beginning of religious conflict between Lutheranism and Catholicism.

• 1519: Charles V of the House of Hapsburg, previously King of Spain, is also crowned Holy Roman Emperor, uniting the possesions of Spain and the Empire under one man. France is completely surrounded by the Hapsburg domain, and prepares for war.

• 1521-1522: Beginning of the Italian War of 1521–1526 as French troops launch a simultaneous invasion of Spain and the Low Countries, while Venetian forces strike north against the remaining Imperial territories in Italy. The Papal State declares war on France and Venice. Franco-Venetian troops and Swiss mercenaries suffer a heavy defeat at the Battle of Bicocca, one of the first European battles in which firearms plays a decisive role.

• 1523-1526: England joins the war and pillages northern France. The Venetian doge dies and his successor negotiates a treaty allowing Venice to exit the war. French troops in Italy are defeated in detail by Imperial forces at the Battle of Pavia. French King Francis I is captured, and requests aid from the Byzantine Empire. Concerned about Hapsburg dominance of Central and Western Europe, Byzantine forces invade Imperial allied Hungary, inflicting a heavy defeat on Hungarian troops at the Battle of Mohács. Much of Hungary becomes a Byzantine protectorate. Mohács marks the opening of the Byzantine-Hapsburg Wars. Francis is forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid, renouncing French claims in Italy and ceding significant territory. Francis renounces the treaty as soon as he is released.

• 1526-1530: War of the League of Cognac. Wary of Hapsburg power, the Pope organizes an anti-Imperial alliance consisting of France and Venice. While the League forces are initially successful, Imperial troops devastate the Italian peninsula and sack Rome in 1527. England declares war on the Holy Roman Empire. French forces attempt to besiege Naples, but are hampered by plague and desertion. France signs a humiliating treaty in 1529, and Venice cedes territory to the Empire in 1530, ending the war. Holy Roman Empire reaches the height of its power.

• 1527-1529: With the Byzantines distracted by internal revolts, the Holy Roman Empire invades Hungary and deposes the Byzantine vassal, retaking the previously lost territory. Byzantine forces retaliate, retaking Hungary and pushing Imperial troops out of the country. Byzantine armies march on Vienna, but are bought off by Charles V. Hungary remains a Byzantine vassal for the next 150 years.

• 1532-1534: English Reformation. Henry VIII forms the Anglican Church for political reasons.

• 1534: Jacques Cartier begins exploration and colonization of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, establishing New France.

• 1535: Punic-Iberian colonists make contact with the Mapuche Confederation and establish small colonies and trading settlements along the coast/major rivers.

• 1536-1538: France, Venice, and the Holy Roman Empire again go to war after Charles V attempts to place a pro-Imperial family in power in Milan and remove it from Venetian control. The Italian War of 1536–1538 also involves the Byzantine Empire, which honors its alliance with the French and sends its fleet to assist in attacks on Imperial territory in Italy. Imperial defeats and concerns of a Byzantine invasion of Naples lead to a treaty leaving France in possession of Savoy and Venice regaining control of territory lost in the War of the League of Cognac.

• 1540: Zenith of Carthaginian global influence. Trade begins with India and Sengoku-period Japan.

• 1541-42: An Imperial attempt to remove Byzantine influence in Hungary leads to a disastrous defeat at the Siege of Buda (1541) after a Byzantine relief army mauls the Hapsburg forces. A Holy Roman naval expedition against the Byzantines also fails, as does a subsequent siege of Pest in 1542.

• 1545-1560: Internal divisions and general unrest begin to surface in Carthage due to an increasingly ineffective and corrupt monarchy. Clashes with Mayans in Central America and sub-Saharan rebels drain Empire of resources. Repeated skirmishing with Carthage results in the beginning of transition to gunpowder based military by Mayans, with arms primarily supplied by the French and English. Small Punic-Iberian colonies in Mapuche territory are abandoned.

• 1547: Coronation of Ivan IV (Grozny) as Tsar of all the Russias. Formation of the Tsardom of Russia.

• 1548-1555: Pope Marcellus II is strong-armed by the Venetians into ceding the remainder of Papal State lands in central Italy, reducing Papal territory to only the city of Rome. Venetian claims to Corsica, Sardinia, and Malta are rebuffed by Carthage.

• 1552: Russian conquest of Kazan. A pro-Russian party comes to power in Astrakhan as a result.

• 1555: Peace of Augsburg allows the ruler of each of the 224 German states to choose either Catholicism or Lutheranism. Charles V abandons his multi-national project and abdicates. His hereditary and imperial domains are divided between the Austrian and Spanish Hapsburgs, ending unified rule of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, though the states remain allied.

• 1556: A plot by Darwish Khan to evict Russian sympathizers and troops from Astrakhan fails and results in the Russian annexation of Astrakhan.

• 1568: Beginning of the 80 Years War, as Dutch Rebels struggle for independence against the Austrian Hapsburgs.

• 1570: Beginning of Carthaginian decline.

• 1572-1589: Yuan conquers the Timurid Empire, as Yuan rulers attempt to re-unite the Mongol Empire under their banner. Yuan begins transition back to Mongol customs and away from Chinese. Reunification of Mongolian Empire, which controls Mongolia, much of Central Asia, and Tibet.

• 1574-1578: End of the 'Little War in Hungary' between Byzantine and Imperial vassals. Byzantine forces capture an important Hungarian fortress at the Siege of Szigetvár, but heavy casualties on both sides prevent the war from progressing any further. An uneasy peace settles along the Byzantine-Imperial border.

• 1575-1578: Last of the Italian Wars. Venetian forces invade the Kingdom of Naples. With Spain mostly tied up in border skirmishes with Carthage and their Imperial allies at war with the Byzantines, Spain is only able to send a small relief fleet, which is blocked by the Venetian fleet and forced to return home. Kingdom of Naples annexed by Venice, leading to total Venetian control of the Italian peninsula, save Rome. Venetian galleys based in Sicily begin harassing Carthage's Mediterranean Fleet and trade ships, making future conflict inevitable.

• 1582: Russian Empires conquers the Siberian Khanate, leaving the Crimean Khanate as the only remaining Golden Horde successor state.

• 1584: Tsar Ivan IV Grozny of Russia dies of a stroke. Coronation of Tsar Fyodor I of Russia. Fyodor's mental disability results in a regency headed by Boris Godunov, a Russian minister and Fyodor's brother-in-law.

• 1585: Gozen Eboshi is given permission by the Emperor Go-Yōzei to assume the title of sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍) and establish a new bakufu to administer the empire.

• 1587: Siege of Kagoshima ends with the marking and ritual suicide of the Shimazu clan, heralding the end of the Sengoku period of Japan and ushering in the Sendai period.

• 1590-1598: Venice, England, and France declare war on Carthage, marking the start of the Second Trade War. With much of the Carthaginian army putting down revolts in southern Africa and the bulk of its fleet scattered throughout Carthage's overseas possessions, Venice makes significant gains in the early years of the war. The Carthaginian Mediterranean Fleet is destroyed at the Second Battle of Palermo and the Atlantic Fleet defeated by a French force at the First Battle of Trafalgar. With resources largely depleted, Carthage sues for peace. Egypt, Sinai, Corsica, and Sardinia are ceded to Venice.

• 1591: Tsarevich Dmitri Ivanovich, younger half-brother of Tsar Fyodor I, dies under uncertain circumstances. An official investigation gave the cause as an accident arising out of an epileptic seizure, but Maga Nagaya, widow of Ivan IV and mother of Dmitri, claimed it was due to an assassination by agents of Boris Godunov.

• 1594-1606: First Mayan-Incan War. With Carthage embroiled in war in Europe, the Mayan Empire invades the Incan Empire after an Incan political intervention into a succession crisis of a border tribe under the suzerainty of the Mayans. Despite early victories, the Mayans are unable to penetrate into the Andes and peace is agreed upon. Incas cede some of Ecuadoran and Peruvian coastline. Continued reformation of Mayan military into a European-style, gunpowder army.

• 1598: Tsar Fyodor I of Russia dies without an heir. Boris Godunov summons a Grand National Assembly and is unanimously elected Tsar. The Russian Time of Troubles begins.

1600 CE

• 1600-1630: Revolts in sub-Saharan Africa firmly put down. New wave of Punic immigrants allows for full integration of region to the Carthaginian state.

• 1601-1603: Intense famine arises in Russia, causing starvation and unrest.

• 1603: The first of the 'False Dmitris', men claiming to be the Tsarevich Dmitri Ivanovich who died in 1591 and to have survived an assassination attempt by Boris Godunov, appears in Poland-Lithuania and gains significant support for his claim to the Russian throne, especially in Poland and Lithuania. With the support of Polish magnates he crosses into Russia at the head of a small army beginning the First Dmitriad.

• 1605: Boris Godunov dies of a stroke and his son, Fyodor II, and wife are assassinated shortly after. False Dmitri I enters Moscow and is crowned Tsar.

• 1605-1607: Gozen Shoichi invades Korea. Heroic efforts by Admiral Yi Sun-sin prolongs the war, earning the respect of Japanese admirals. The decisive battle of Busan (1606) is fought in two lines of battle as Admiral Yi seeks to use the crane formation against the Japanese line, their answer to the maneuver. It turns into a battle of attrition that eventually allows Japanese forces to gain the upper hand and drive Admiral Yi back to his base, hotly pursued by the Gozen fleet. Blockading Yi effectively kept him out of the war until its conclusion.

• 1606: False Dmitri I's Catholic sympathies and proposed social and economic reforms earn him the enmity of the Russian public and nobility. In a palace coup, Prince Vasiliy Shuisky and co-conspirators assassinate False Dmitri I. Prince Vasiliy is elected Tsar by an assembly of his confederates, but has little real authority even within Moscow.

• 1607: Establishment of Jamestown Colony, the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

• 1607-1609: The Second Dmitriad begins when False Dmitri II emerges in western Russia and is 'recognized' by the widow of False Dmitri I. He is supported primarily by Polish magnates and nobles.

• 1610: The Ryuukyuu Kingdom is annexed by Gozen Shoichi.

• 1611: First failed invasion of Taiwan is blamed on widespread strategic and tactical mistakes. Gozen Shoichi is unable to attempt another invasion of Taiwan again, due to rebellions by Korean loyalists and disgruntled daimyo.

• 1609-1612: Russo-Polish War. Provoked by the newly signed military alliance between Russia and Sweden and hoping to take Russia for himself, King Sigismund III of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth declares war and invades Russia. Much of False Dmitri II's Polish supporters desert him in favor of the Polish king and he is later captured and executed by Tsar Vasiliy IV. Following Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky's victories in the Battle of Klushino and the Relief of Smolensk and renewed boyar support, Tsar Shuisky repels the Polish army from Russia. Later known as the "2nd Corridor War" by European historians.

• 1611-1625: Second Mayan-Incan War. The Mayan Empire invades the Incas, with the war culminating at the Siege of Macchu Piccu. Fall of Macchu Piccu leads to annexation of Incan Empire by Mayans. Former Incan provinces remain restive for decades, limiting Mayan expansion to the south.

• 1613: Concerned about the rising popularity of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky following his victories over the Poles, Tsar Vasiliy IV and Dmitri Shuisky plot his assassination, but fail and are discovered. Skopin-Shuisky, with broad support from the military, deposes the Tsar and assumes the throne as Tsar Mikhail I Skopin-Shuisky.

• 1618-1648: The Thirty Years War begins as a war between Protestant and Catholic states in Central and Northern Europe, and eventually spreads to involve all of Europe's great powers, as well as developing into a political struggle between France and the Hapsburgs. Despite initial non-military support by the Byzantine Empire and Russian Tsardom, the initial Protestant Revolt is defeated after the battles of White Mountain and Stadtlohn, however, the intervention of Sweden (1630), France (1635), and the Byzantine Empire (1635) turns the tide in favor of the anti-Hapsburg states. The war results in France becoming the dominant power in western Europe, ensures the independence of the Dutch Republic from the Hapsburgs as the Eighty Years War ends, the rise of Sweden as a major power, the annexation of Transylvania to the Byzantine Empire, the decline of the influence of the Catholic Church, and the devastation of much of Central Europe.

• 1620: Puritan Separatists, fleeing religious persecution in England, found the Plymouth Colony.

• 1627: First Jurchen (later Manchu) Invasion of Korea is defeated by Gozen Shoichi. Hoping that foreign aid will help against the Japanese occupiers, Korean loyalists rallying around King Injo ally with the growing Manchu power. The failed invasion convinces Shoichi to build up massive fortifications along the Yalu River to deter another Manchu invasion as well as protect against burgeoning Manchu power.

• 1627 - 1672: Trịnh–Nguyễn Civil War began up between the Trinh, north Vietnam, and Nguyễn, south Vietnam, families, splitting Đại Việt in two. Though the Trinh were substantially more populous than the Nguyễn, the Nguyễn benefited from more easily defensible terrain and a brilliant engineer who fortified the border with two impenetrable layers of fortifications. The Nguyễn, more open to foreign trade, had also the capacity to domestically produce its own bronze cannon. The civil war ends with the invasion of Nguyễn lands by Gozen Shogunate forces.

• 1635: Hong Taiji renames the Jurchen to the Manchu, and his dynastic name of his household from Jin to Qing, formalizing the united Manchu political and social structure and establishing the name and character of the last Chinese imperial dynasty.

• 1636: Second Manchu Invasion of Korea, led by Hong Taiji at the head of a combined Manchu, Mongol, and Chinese army of 120,000. This is also the last gasp by organized Korean loyalists. The Yalu line is breached at Sinuiju after the defensive line is simultaneously attacked by Manchu in the north and last Korean loyalists in the south. The combined Manchu/Korean army pushes as far south as Pyongyang. Gozen decisively defeats Hong Taiji at the Battle of Taedong (1637), driving the Manchu back north. Hong Taiji defeats General Date Munetoki at the Battle of Yongchon (1638), enabling the Manchu army and Korean loyalists to escape back north into Manchu territory. Mongol atrocities committed against Korean civilians confirms Gozen propaganda that paints the Japanese occupiers as benevolent protectors; Shogunate aid and other policies directed at those who were hurt by and aided in fighting the invasion leads to the greatly increased integration of Korea into the Shogunate.

• 1636-1683: Manchu forces under the command of Hong Taiji and his successors begin the conquest of the Ming empire, which is completed by the Kangxi Emperor. Formation of Qing Dynasty.

• 1650: Gozen Jyuushin conquers Taiwan.

• 1652: Establishment of Dutch colony in South Africa.

• 1652-1689: Sino-Russian border conflicts pits Qing forces against Cossacks from Tsarist Russia over a dispute of land ownership in the Amur region. The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed in 1689 ended the conflict, defined the border, and opened trade between Russia and Qing China.

• 1654: Gozen Jyuushin finishes conquering the Philippines. He dies shortly thereafter of malaria, while directing efforts to pave the way for invasions of Vietnam and Indonesia. The ensuing regency puts the invasion plans on hold.

• 1660-1672: Byzantine Civil War. Sudden death of reigning Emperor Constantine XIV Tornikios leads to a dispute over the throne between his older son, John, and his younger, Constantine XV, who has the backing of the Senate. Much of the war is fought in Anatolia and Greece, devastating both regions. The Fall of Antioch, John's capital, in 1672, ends the war. The Byzantine Senate becomes an increasingly strong force in Byzantine politics, as the power of the Emperor begins to wane. Often recognized as the beginning of the transition to a Constitutional Monarchy in the Byzantine Empire.

• 1662: Invasion of Taiwan by Ming loyalists seeking to establish a base to use against the Qing overrunning mainland China. Distracted by the Qing fleet, the Ming fleet under Koxinga escapes Gozen notice initially and lands unopposed north of Kaohsiung, the former staging area for the Gozen invasion of the Philippines. Word is sent out by the garrison before it is put under siege and a Gozen relief fleet arrives, commanded by Admiral Shie Sanjuro. The Battle of Kaohsiung (1662) sees Admiral Shie decisively using the naval line, learned from the Gozen invasion of Korea, to effectively engage and defeat Koxinga's fleet, forcing those who had landed to surrender and ending the Ming threat to Taiwan.

• 1672-1673: Invasion of Vietnam by the Gozen Shogunate, timed to take advantage of the latest round of attacks by the Trinh against the Nguyễn. The Nguyễn's extensive use of foreign aid allowed Gozen spies to penetrate its hierarchy, rendered the Nguyễn complacent to the massive invasion carried out by the Shogunate and aided significantly in Gozen planning. Rapid Gozen marches quickly secured the northern Nguyễn fortifications and capitol, leading the Nguyễn to capitulate in quick order. Fruitless Trinh attacks on the newly secured Gozen fortifications waste away Trinh strength. Initially, the Shogunate refused to secure lands too far north of the walls, fearing Qing reprisals.

• 1673-1681: Revolt of the Three Feudatories began as Wu Sangui, the powerful warlord controlling southern Qing territories, declared independence from the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing. Eventually, the Kangxi Emperor, using the Han Chinese Green Standard Army, put down the rebellion, ending it in 1681. However, the revolt emboldened Gozen generals, who then marched north, forcing the Trinh to finally submit to Shogunate control.

• 1683: The First Qing-Gozen War began as the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing attempted to eliminate the stranglehold Gozen maintained over sea-borne Qing trade. Mustering an army of 100,000 men and an armada of 600 ships, the Qing struck toward the major Gozen deepwater naval base at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. After being delayed by a hurricane, Qing Admiral Shi Lang aggressively divided his large fleet into several smaller fleets and attempted to simultaneously engage the smaller Gozen fleet, as well as land and attack the naval base. Unfortunately for the Qing forces, the faster Gozen ships were able to engage and defeat the ponderous Qing junks in detail, isolating the army on the island. The Qing Emperor signed a humiliating peace treaty for the return of the remaining soldiers, which recognized Gozen territory in Vietnam and resumed the Haijin (sea ban), which restricted Qing fleets to coastal defense and allowed for Gozen to completely dominate trade.

• 1683-1699: Final Byzantine-Hapsburg War. The Holy Roman Empire, backed by the Austrian Hapsburgs, Poland-Lithuania, Russia, Spain, and Venice, invades Byzantine Hungary. The Byzantines suffer a crushing defeat at the Second Battle of Mohács (1687) and lose most of Hungary, along with Pannonia and Moesia. With the Holy Roman Empire and Spain distracted by a war with France, Byzantine troops counterattack and retake much of Pannonia after a successful siege of Belgrade in 1690. However, the Byzantines are decisively defeated at the Battle of Zenta in 1697 and sue for peace, ceding Hungary and the vassal state of Transylvania to the Holy Roman Empire. Venice occupies part of Dalmatia. Byzantine Empire enters into a period of decline in strength and European influence.

• 1688-1697: William of Orange ascends to the throne of England in the Glorious Revolution. Concerned with Hapsburg victories against their allies in the Byzantine Empire, France crosses the Rhine and invades the Holy Roman Empire, starting the Nine Years' War. France is fought to a standstill by the Grand Alliance of the Dutch Republic, England, Scotland, Spain, and Holy Roman Empire. Both sides are financially exhausted by 1697, and the war ends with a reshuffling and solidification of French borders with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain and the recognition of William of Orange as King of England, but with the question of Spanish succession left unanswered.

Enlightenment

1700 CE

• 1700: Russia, led by Tsar Mikhail II Alekseyevich, forms an alliance with Denmark-Norway, Saxony, and Poland-Lithuania and invades Swedish territory, starting the Russo-Swedish War. Denmark-Norway is outmaneuvered by the Swedish navy, allowing Charles XII to land an army near Copenhagen, forcing the Danes out of the war. Charles redeploys his army to the Baltic, smashing the Russian coalition at the Battle of Narva.

• 1700-1730: Beginning of the second wave of Japanese colonization of the Philippines allows for increasing integration of the islands to the Gozen Shogunate.

• 1701-1706: Sweden invades the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and wins crushing victories over the Polish, Lithuanian, Saxon, and Russian armies at Riga (1701), Klissow (1702), Pultusk (1703), and Fraustadt (1706). Russia stands alone.

• 1701-1715: The death of Charles II, King of Spain, leads to a crisis between French and Austrian claimants of the Spanish throne. The War of the Spanish Succession opens with initial French success, but by 1706 France is forced on the defensive. Mutual exhaustion leads to an eventual peace in which Philip V becomes King of Spain, but renounces his place in the French line of succession. Spain is forced to cede the Netherlands to Austria, significantly reducing Spanish power.

• 1707-1709: Charles XII rejects a peace offer from Mikhail II and invades Russia. The Carolean Army is worn down by Russian scorched earth tactics and the brutal winter of 1708/09. His army starving, Charles makes the fatal decision to strike south into Ukraine. Lewenhaupt's supply convoy is halted at the Battle of Battle of Lesnaya (1708) by Mikhail II, and he is eventually forced to burn his wagons, leaving Charles isolated in Ukraine. He is decisively defeated at the Battle of Poltava (1709), which effectively decides the war.

• 1710-1721: Poland-Lithuania, Great Britain, Prussia, and Denmark-Norway declare war on Sweden. Russian naval victories at Battle of Gangut (1714) and Battle of Grengam (1720) mark both the first significant naval victories for the modern Russian navy and the end of Swedish naval presence in the Baltic. Charles XII is killed at Fredriksten (1718). Treaty of Nystad (1721) marks the decline of Sweden and ascension of Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe. Despite continental Europe largely fighting with Russia and against Sweden, the Russo-Swedish War is often referred to as the "Third Corridor War" by revisionist European historians.

• 1712: New France reaches its height, extending from Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) to the Canadian Prairies, to Louisiane (Louisiana) in the south.

• 1725-1731: Russia conquers the Crimean Khanate, annexing the last Mongol successor state in Europe.

• 1735-1746: 1st Russo-Byzantine War. Russia invades the Caucasus, but is halted by strong defenses in the mountains, leading to a stalemate. The Byzantines land in Crimea and Ukraine, winning several victories and leading to peace treaty. Chersonesus and the surrounding area are ceded to the Byzantines.

• 1754-1763: Colonial conflict between British America and New France escalates to full scale war. The initial British invasion of French Canada is a disaster, leading to the fall of British government. Formal war is declared between Britain and France in 1756, beginning the Seven Years' War in Europe. The Seven Years' War is noted as the first truly global war. In Europe, Britain, Prussia, and Russia fight against an alliance of France, Spain, and Austria. Later British gains in Canada, including the fall of the large French fortress of Louisbourg, bring the war in North America to an end. The subsequent peace treaty results in British territorial gains abroad and status quo antebellum in Europe. Britain establishes colonial hegemony in North America by annexing most of New France, while Brazil and the Caribbean remain Carthaginian.

• 1757: Battle of Plassey. The Venetian East India Company defeats the Mughal Empire and the allied French. Establishment of Venetian Raj. Beginning of Venetian dominance of the subcontinent.

• 1766-1771: Second Russo-Byzantine War. Russia revokes the previously established treaty and begins laying siege to Chersonesus, and again invades the Caucasus. The superiority of the Byzantine Black Sea fleet allows Chersonesus to remain supplied, limiting the effectiveness of the siege. The fighting in the Caucasus results in a stalemate after early Russian gains. After the Siege of Chersonesus is broken by a Byzantine relief army, a status quo antebellum peace treaty is established.

• 1772-1795: Partitions of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. End of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

• 1775-1783: The American Revolution begins at the Battle of Lexington and Concord. By the end of the year, the English colonies in North America are in open rebellion and English troops are dispatched to the continent. The Sassanid and Carthaginian empires send aid to the American revolutionaries in 1783, contributing to the Battle of Yorktown and the Battle of Chesapeake.

• 1780-1799: Gozen Shogunate begins colonization and occupation of Borneo, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and New Guinea. The Mataram Kingdom on the island of Java becomes a vassal of the Shogunate.

• 1781-1790: Venetian-Sassanid War erupts after years of skirmishing between the Venetian Raj and the Sassanid Empire. Eventual ceasefire finalizes borders between the Raj and Sassanids' eastern frontier.

• 1788: Establishment of Venetian Penal Colony in Australia. Venice eventually controls the entire continent, as well as New Zealand and much of the South Pacific.

• 1789: French Revolution begins with the Storming of the Bastille on July 14. The French monarchy is overthrown and a republican government put in place.

• 1790-1797: Third Russo-Byzantine War. Byzantine naval superiority is undone by an extensive Russian shipbuilding program and poor weather, enabling the Russian army to take and hold Chersonesus, which is ceded back to Russia in the ensuing peace treaty. Chersonesus renamed Sevestapol, and expanded into Russia's primary military base on the Black Sea.

• 1792: Brazil petitions Carthage for independence. Understanding the impossibility of holding the empire's largest colony against its will, independence is granted. Formation of the Empire of Brazil.

• 1792-1797: War of the First Coalition, as the monarchies of Europe seek to contain Revolutionary France. French victory over Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Valmy emboldens the National Convention to declare a formal end of the monarchy. After several setbacks, a little known French officer named Napoleon Bonaparte wins several stunning victories over Venetian and Austrian forces in Italy, leading to the end of the war. The French victory ensures the survival of the nascent republic and significantly weakens and indebts Venice and Austria.

• 1793-1794: The Committee of Public Safety comes to power in Revolutionary France, which marks the beginning of the Reign of Terror.

• 1796: Annexation of the Dutch Cape (South Africa) Colony by Venice. Continuation of frontier wars against the native population expands the colony into the interior. Qing Empire reaches its zenith. Death of the Qianlong Emperor marks the start of Qing decline due to an increasingly restive population, as well as outside threats.

Industrial Age

• 1798-1802: War of the Second Coalition. Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Venice declare war on France. Napoleon launches an invasion of Venetian Egypt, then invades Byzantine Syria. Napoleon is defeated at the Siege of Acre and abandons his army in Egypt due to political instability in France. He returns to France and launches a coup, declaring himself First Consul. A Byzantine-Venetian force defeats the French in Egypt, but the European coalition members are unable to effectively cooperate and sign separate treaties after French victories in Italy and Bavaria. The Republic of Venice becomes a vassal of Revolutionary France. Venetian overseas colonies technically come under French suzerainty, but local colonial governments and forces remain under control of Venetian governors.

• 1803: Last royal veto of a Senate bill by a Byzantine monarch, as Emperor Ignatios Tzykandeles vetoes a bill regarding spending for forts along the Venetian border. The Russian ambassador to the Gozen Shogunate successfully negotiated a trade agreement, setting a precedent for the warm relations between the two nations.

• 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, forming the First French Empire.

• 1805-1806: War of the Third Coalition breaks out. Britain, already at war with France, is joined by the Holy Roman Empire and Russia. Napoleon is forced to indefinitely postpone the invasion of Britain after the Franco-Spanish fleet is mauled by the Royal Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. However, the war comes to a successful conclusion for France after what is perhaps Napoleon's finest victory at Austerlitz. The victory at Austerlitz allows for Napoleon to create the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German client states. The Holy Roman Empire is formally dissolved, and the Austrian Empire formed in its place.

• 1806-1809:The French Empire defeats a variety of European states in the Wars of the Fourth and Fifth Coalitions. Carthage lends minor support to the Fifth Coalition, but remains neutral in subsequent wars. The French Empire, its vassals, and its allies eventually stretch from the Kingdom of Spain to the eastern borders of Poland, and from Denmark-Norway in the north to Sicily and Albania in the south. Napoleon's empire is often cited as the forerunner of the future European Commonwealth. After the Finnish War (1808-1809), Finland becomes part of Russia.

• 1807-1814: Napoleon betrays allied Spain and invades, installing his brother as King. While the French troops are able to initially take control of much of the country, the Peninsular War is a disaster for France, as constant guerrilla warfare and significant resistance by Spanish irregulars wears the Grand Armée down. British forces under the Duke of Wellington land to assist the Spanish and decisively defeat the French in 1812. With French reinforcements unavailable, French troops retreat across the Pyrenees, ending the war. Wellington invades France in 1814.

• 1810-1812: Mayan Revolution. The Mayan army deposes the Divine King of the Maya, and assumes full control of the government. The country enters a period of several decades of significant instability, as the military government purges much of the loyalist government and military forces.

• 1812-1814: Napoleon, at the height of his powers, invades Russia. The Grand Armee is steadily worn down by extreme weather, poor logistical support, scorched earth tactics, and Cossack raids. Napoleon wins a pyrrhic victory at Borodino and occupies a burnt Moscow, then loses nearly all of the remainder of his army retreating back to the Polish border. Later referred to as the Fourth Corridor War. The War of the Sixth Coalition erupts shortly after, as Russia, Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Sweden form an alliance against the French. After a titanic loss at Leipzig, most of the German states switch sides, and the Republic of Venice revolts against French rule. Despite several fine victories during the Six Days' Campaign, Napoleon is defeated and forced to abdicate, and exiled to Elba.

• 1815: Emperor Hisdrubal VII abolishes the slave trade in Carthage, and decrees that all new-born children henceforth will be free. Rather than create the hoped-for economic surge, a severe recession ensues, weakening the power of the monarchy. Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and exiled to St. Helena.

• 1825-1828: Outbreak of the Cisplatine War between the Empire of Brazil and the Mapuche Confederation. The war is largely inconclusive, but does establish a firm border between the Confederation and Brazil.

• 1826: Establishment of Venetian Straits Settlements in Malaysia, including Singapore. Establishment of Venetian East Indies. Signing of treaty between Venice and the Gozen Shogunate recognizing Japanese claims to much of the East Indies and the Philippines, and Venetian control over western islands and Singapore. Venice comes to the forefront of Southeast Asian trade.

• 1846-1851: Mayan-American War. After the Texas Revolution a decade prior, the United States annexes the Republic of Texas in 1845. The Mayan Empire, while still viewing Texas as a breakaway province, skirmishes with American troops, and the US promptly declares war. American forces win many victories over the outmatched Mayan military, which still had not recovered from the revolution of 1810, and eventually capture Tikal after an amphibious landing on the Yucatan coast.

• 1848: Revolutions of 1848 break out in Europe. The death of Queen Victoria leads to the establishment of the Republic of Great Britain. A wave of republicanism spreads throughout Europe, leaving liberal governments in power in France, the Low Countries, and Sweden. Kingdom of Prussia allows for some liberal reforms, and forms the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation despite Austrian opposition. Continuation of Prussian-Hapsburg rivalry for control of various German states. Abdication of Ferdinand I and ascension of Franz Joseph I prevents a republican government in Austria, though the assistance of Russia is required to put down the Hungarian Revolution. The doctrine of Imperial neutrality in Byzantine politics in the becomes tradition, though it is neither codified nor an official law. Violet Revolution in Carthage overthrows the monarchy and senate, which was primarily based on wealth, with a republican government. The new Republic of Carthage commences rapid industrialization and modernization.

• 1850: Taiping Rebellion begins in China between religious zealots of the self-established Heavenly Taiping Kingdom and the existing Qing dynasty government.

• 1853: After the humiliating defeat in the Mayan-American War, the Mayan military government is overthrown by Ix Une’ B’alam IV, a descendant of the previous Divine King who was deposed in 1810. Restoration of the Imperial Mayan government.

• 1854: Increased Russian conscription following the Revolutions of 1848 combined with repeated violations of the Polish constitution and suppression of patriotic and republican Polish movements by the de facto Russian viceroy, Grand Duke Pavel results in the Junist Uprising in Poland. Young Polish officers attack the Belweder Palace and seize the arsenal of Warsaw. Large parts of the Polish public, especially young republicans, soon join the revolt.

• 1855-1859: War of Polish Independence. The Byzantine Empire, Prussia (along with the North German Confederation), Great Britain, and France declare war on the Russian Empire to reverse losses in the Crimea and to support Polish revolutionaries and republicans. The British-Byzantine navy wins a major victory over the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the Battle of the Bosphorus. Allied landings in Crimea culminate in Allied victory in the Siege of Sevastopol (1856-1857). German and Polish victories in the Battle of Warsaw (1857) and Battle of Gusino (1858) force Russia to negotiate despite the Austrian Empire entering the war in 1857. The Treaty of Berlin (1859) creates an independent Polish republic, cedes parts of Moldova to the Byzantines, bans Russian naval vessels from the Black Sea, and reduces Austrian influence amongst the German states. Later called the Fifth Corridor War.

• 1860: Mongolian intervention in the Taiping Rebellion turns the tide of the war against the Qing dynasty. Taiping troops capture Shanghai, dealing a severe blow to the Qing government.

• 1864: The last Qing loyalist army is defeated in the Battle of Peking, and former Qing territories split between the Golden Khanate and the Taiping Kingdom. The Gozen Shogunate invades and occupies Hainan.

• 1861-1865: American Civil War begins with the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. After early Confederate victories and the decisive Battle of Sharpsburg, Britain and France extend diplomatic recognition to the Confederacy and provide economic and naval assistance, breaking the Union blockade. Carthaginian support for the Union is insufficient to prevent the defeat of President Lincoln in the 1864 elections, and the war ends in 1865 in a negotiated settlement recognizing Southern independence

• 1865-1870: Northern refugees from the United States emigrate en masse to Carthage, leading to increased industrial expansion.

• 1866-67: Austro-Prussian War. Prussia, joined by the North German Confederation, the Republic of Venice, and the Byzantine Empire, declare war on Austria over disputes regarding the cessation of Silesia after the War of Polish Independence. With the Russians unable to mobilize quickly enough, the Austrians are decisively defeated at the Battle of Königgrätz by Prussia, Custovza by the Venetians, and the Battle of Lissa by the combined Byzantine-Venetian Fleet. Lissa marks the first major sea battle between ironclads. End of the war results in the dissolution of the German Confederation and end of Austrian influence over German states, as well as Venetian annexation of Lika and expansion of Byzantine holdings in the Balkans.

• 1867: Death of Franz Joseph I, brought on by illness and severe stress from the Austro-Prussian War. Peace of Prague leads to the dissolution of the Austrian Empire and the annexation of Austria proper by Prussia, as well as the independence of Hungary and various Balkan states. Treaty of Ayacucho establishes an agreement on the border of the Mayan and Brazilian Empires. Formation of the Dominion of Canada as a self-governing polity of the British Empire.

• 1869: Mistreatment of the indigenous Métis people in Canada leads to the Red River Rebellion. The new Canadian federal government is ineffective at quelling the uprising, forcing it to make significant concessions to the Métis. Inuit and other First Nations peoples seek similar automony, which is refused by the Canadian government.

• 1871: Declaration of the Second German Reich. Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, crowned first German Kaiser. German Constitution establishes constitutional monarchy, maintaining some liberal elements with the Kaiser as the Head of State. The German Empire includes all of modern Germany, as well as Austria.

• 1874: Constitutional Crisis in the CSA. The Confederate Constitution proves ineffective, and the Confederate military, utilizing romantic nationalism stemming from the Civil War, takes control of the government. President William Waters Boyce is ousted by Nathan Bedford Forrest, as the Confederacy evolves into a military dictatorship, though the Confederate Congress is retained for appearance's sake.

• 1875-1895: Severe economic recession in the United States, as well as a failed Constitutional convention and an identity crisis after the loss in the Civil War, leads to continued wide-scale emigration back to Europe, and to Carthage. Beginning of resurgence of Native Americans, both in population and political authority.

• 1877: The Confederacy is again thrown into crisis after the sudden death of Confederate President Nathan Bedford Forrest. The threat of violence dissipates when Jubal Early eventually takes control of the government and establishes an order of succession. Early is "re-elected" every six years until his death and greatly centralizes power in the executive office.

• 1878: The Punic Navy completes its conversion to ironclad and iron-hulled warships, and begins exporting this technology to Japan. Carthage and Japan sign the Treaty of Assistance and Friendship, formally binding the two nations diplomatically.

• 1879: Venetian-Zulu War. Hasty, poorly planned and poorly led initial invasion of Zululand leads to Venice's most decisive defeat by a native state at the Battle of Isandlwana. Venice returns several months later with a stronger army, which annexes Zululand after a victory at the Battle of Ulundi.

• 1879-1912: First rubber boom leads to the settling of the Amazonian Interior by the Empire of Brazil. Brazil briefly gains a near monopoly of the global rubber trade, resulting in immense wealth for the state and aristocracy.

• 1884: Third Venetian-Burmese War results in annexation of Burma and establishment of loose Venetian protectorate over Thailand.

• 1884: Seeing the resurgence of Native Americans in the United States, the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations launch a rebellion in Canada after the government refuses to abide by the treaty signed after the Red River Rebellion. Decisive victories at the Battle of Fish Creek and the Battle of Cut Knife, as well as significant aid to the rebels from the native dominated United States governemnt, leads to the fall of the Canadian government. Canadians of European ancestry began emigration back to Europe.

• 1887: The House of Kalothetos, which can trace its roots back to the Justinian the Great, assumes the Byzantine throne. Their ceremonial role as the Head of Government continues into the Modern Era.

• 1889-1894: Ethiopian troops invade Venetian protectorate Sudan. Death of Emperor Yohannes IV leads to a succession crisis in Ethiopia, and establishment of Venetian suzerainty over the country. Sudan integrated into Venetian-Egyptian Sudan.

• 1889: The Brazilian military launch a coup and depose the reigning monarch. Establishment of the First Brazilian Republic.

• 1890s: Development of the Carthaginian oil industry. Boom towns crop up all over Atlantic coast and Niger River Delta, leading to vast industrial expansion.

• 1899-1903: Outbreak of the Acre War, a border conflict between the Empire of Brazil and Mayan Empire, over the Acre Region, which was particularly rich in rubber and gold. Multiple Brazilian attempts to place a secessionist government in power fail, ending with Brazil agreeing to exchange land and pay a large sum of money for the transfer of the region.

Early Modern Era

• 1900-1908: Dominance of Native Americans in political affairs, as well as continued decline of European-rooted American population, leads to the formal dissolution of the United States in 1906 and the formation of Inukirinwdene. The new nation is recognized by all world powers, save the Confederacy, and a formal constitution is established in 1908.

• 1909: Tsar Aleksandr and Tsarevich Alexei Aleksandrovich are assassinated, leading to the accession of Tsar Anatoly to the throne of Russia. The more liberal Anatoly begins a process of democratic reform.

• 1910-1913: Occasional skirmishing between Confederacy and Inukirinwdene occurs as small bands of Confederate troops test Inukirinwdene's borders. Formal ceasefire signed in 1913, along with official recognition of post-Civil War borders. CSA still refuses to recognize Inukirinwdene as sovereign nation.

• 1912: After a referendum, Canada joins Inukirinwdene, forming the two nations into one country.

• 1914-1915: A series of elections in Russia lead to the creation of a socialist government under the New Russian People's Party, formally transforming the state into the Socialist Empire of Russia.

• 1917: In response to the growing power of Carthage and Russia on the borders of Europe, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Poland form the League of European Powers, a precursor to the European Federation.

• 1929: A stock market crash in London triggers a global financial crisis, creating the Great Depression. Worldwide GDP falls significantly as most nations slide into a period of prolonged economic contraction. Efforts to combat the depression are met with varying levels of success.

• 1930: Military coup d'état in the Mapuche Confederation, which leads to steady economic and social decline.

• 1930-1937: Brazilian Revolution of 1930 ends the 'Brazilian Old Republic' as Getúlio Vargas seizes power. After 7 years of consolidating power, the 'Estado Nova' is proclaimed in 1937, cementing Brazil's transformation into a dictatorship.

• 1931: Tyrrhenian Sea Incident triggers two months of ongoing skirmishes between Carthaginian and European warships in the Mediterranean. With neither side willing to escalate matters to a full war, a ceasefire is signed in September, but occasional encounters continue throughout the 1930s.

• 1939: Council of Paris. League of European Powers reformed into European Federation, establishing a unified European government, while maintaing partial self-governance of the various states that form the Federation. Spain, the Low Countries, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the non-Byzantine Balkan states join the Federation.

Atomic Era

Cold War

• 1947: Inukirinwdene, Carthage, and the Sassanid Empire sign the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon. The combination of these signatories would later become known as the Ctesiphon Pact.

• 1948: First nuclear weapon is tested in Greenland by the European Federation, setting off a global rush to develop similar weapons. The European Federation, Venetian Commonwealth, Taiping Kingdom, and Confederate States sign the Treaty of Mutual Assistance and Protection, which would later become known as the Montgomery Pact.

• 1949: Brazil, Russia, and the Gozen Shogunate join the Ctesiphon Pact. Economic and political ties between members of the Pact begin to deepen.

• 1951: Carthage detonates Ctesiphon Pact's first atomic weapon with assistance from Russia. With the rapid proliferation of nuclear technology, most powers begin stockpiling significant quantities of nuclear weapons.

• 1952: The Mongol Empire, Mapuche Confederation, Mayan Empire, and Byzantine Empire sign the Montgomery Pact.

• 1955: Venetian expulsion of natives leads to influx of Africans into Carthaginian lands. Carthage begins diplomatic expansion in Congo River Basin.

• 1957: Russia launches Sputnik 1, the first human satellite, into orbit. Venice answers by launching the Da Vinci probe two months later, initiating a period of competition known as the Space Race.

• 1960s: Carthage, Inukiriniwdene, and Russia begin collaboration on a program to land humans on the moon.

• 1961: Russia launches Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, marking the first successful launch of a human into space. The European Federation answers sixth months later with the launch of Michel Forestier into orbit.

• 1974: The Mongol Empire, with support from the Heavenly Taiping Kingdom, invades Shogunate Korea. Both states are sanctioned by other Ctesiphon Pact powers, but none enter the war.

• 1975: Alex Helfelt, Yuri Cheknov, and Carthalo Theveste are the first humans to set foot on the moon aboard the Nirliq 1 capsule, launched by Carthage, Russia, and Inukirinwdene. While transporting materials for the launch, a Russian freighter is shadowed and nearly fired upon by European warships, escalating tensions.

Global War

Great Northern War

• 1975-1976: Great Northern War between the alliances of Carthage, Russia, Japan, and Inukirinwdene against Europe, the Golden Khanate, Taiping, and Venice occurs. Despite the treaty system, roughly half of the signatories on both sides refuse to become involved. After a series of campaigns across the globe and the defection of the Byzantine Empire, the war ends in a Ctesiphon Pact victory and results in a significant realignment of the global balance of power.

• 1977: Having remained neutral during the Great Northern War, Brazil, the Mapuche Confederation, and the Mayan Empire form the Latin Security Framework, wary of the new balance of power which establishes the victorious former Ctesiphon Pact states as the dominant political bloc.

Second Cold War

• 1979: Carthage, Russia, Japan, Inukirinwdene, and Byzantium sign the Treaty of Alexandria, creating a new framework for future defense and economic cooperation. Despite not being signed in Ctesiphon or including the Sassanid Empire, the presence of so many former Ctesiphon Pact powers leads to the new treaty commonly being referred to as the New Ctesiphon Pact.

• 1980: The Sassanid Empire, Golden Khanate, and Taiping Kingdom sign the Asian Security Agreement (ASA), establishing their own regional power bloc.

• 1981: The European Federation and Venetian Commonwealth establish the European Liberation Treaty Organization (ELTO), focused on mutual defense assistance and a clear message to the New Ctesiphon Pact regarding their intentions.

• 1987: Representatives from ELTO and ASA sign the Pretoria Agreement, pledging mutual cooperation and defense assistance in the event of an attack by an outside power. While the members of the Latin Security Framework are not formal signatories, most commentators consider them observers and aligned with the sphere of the Pretoria states. With most of the world divided into two major blocs again, the Second Cold War begins.