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, with Rome claiming all lands in Europe north of the Ebro River and Carthage all lands south.

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 and increasingly positioned to intervene in Greece.

• 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.

• 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 annexation of the remainder of mainland Greece.

• 155-121: Rome puts down multiple revolts in its territory in northern Iberia and continues expansion into southern Gaul. Despite northern Iberia eventually being firmly under Roman rule, the Republic opts against testing strong Carthaginian defenses along the Ebro, and the two states remain at peace.

• 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.

100 BCE

• 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 the Battle of Alesia and the establishment of Roman Britannia. Caesar gains significant power and prestige from the war.

• 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 assassinated. 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. Ptolomaic Egypt annexed by Rome. The Carthaginian suffet signs a treaty with Octavian recognizing Roman expansions and establishing the border between Carthaginian Libya and Egypt.

• 27: Formation of Roman Empire under Octavian. The Empire stretches from Britannia to Egypt. Beginning of the Pax Romana. Carthage continues expanding into Africa along the Atlantic coast.

100 CE

• 117: Roman Empire reaches the height of its power.

• 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.

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, most of Iberia, the northern Sahara through the Garamantes, and tributary states and allies comprising the tribes of the Atlantic African coast.

• 202-299: Tikal, the most powerful of the Maya city-states, launches an aggressive campaign of conquest against nearby Mayan city-states, bringing them under the control of Tikal. Skirmishing with Teotihuacan begins.

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

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

• 293: Diocletian partitions the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western halves. Birth of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

300 CE

• 330s: First Byzantine-Sassanid War.

• 378-389: 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.

400 CE

• 400: Beginning of stagnation in Carthage due to population increase and food shortages.

• 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.

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

• 453-466: The Roman Emperor sends 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 over Iberia north of the Ebro. Carthage signs a treaty with the Visigoths recognizing their control of the north and establishing the Ebro as the continued border.

• 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 Oadacer.

• 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.

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 and destroyed by an alliance of the Gupta and Sassanid Empires. Sassanids regain control of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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

• 526-532: Third Byzantine-Sassanid War (Iberian War). Roman victories at Dara and Satala leads 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 provides the foundation of Western legal tradition.

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

• 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.

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.

• 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 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.

• 648-659: The rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul breaks out into open war after the defection of the King of Tikal's son, the ruler of Dos Pilas. Tikal's eventual victory leads to Calakmul falling under the suzerainty of King of Tikal. Tikal continues the process of centralizing the other Mayan city-states.

• 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.

700 CE

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

• 717-718: Second Umayyad Siege of Constantinople. Arab forces thrown back by Leo III. 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. Sizable Arab army defeated outside Constantinople with the aid of the Bulgarians.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 738: Tikal comes to the aid of its strongest ally, Copán, after an attempted coup. Copán swears suzerainty to Tikal.

• 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 Venice.

• 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.

• 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. Decline of Islam, which remains a minor religion in both the Levant and Arabia. 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. Decisive Bulgarian victory over the Byzantines results in significant territorial expansion of the Bulgarian Empire.

• 814: Death of Charlemagne.

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

• 843: Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian Empire into three, which provides the foundations for the modern states of France and Germany.

• 851-861: Chichen Itza, the largest remaining Mayan state not aligned with Tikal, comes under the control of Tikal after a ten year war. Tikal reforms the Mayan city-states into the Mayan Empire, centralized around Tikal. Over the following decades, autonomy of Mayan cities is steadily reduced. Jasaw Chan K'awiil becomes the first Emperor of the Maya, and begins expansion further south into Nicaragua.

• 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.

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.

• 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: Æthelstan unites the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and forms the Kingdom of England.

• 962: Otto 1 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.

• 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.

1000 CE

• 1000: 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: Basil II, 'the Bulgar-Slayer', despite early defeats, wins crushing victories at Kleidion, Setina, and Dyrrhachium and annexes the Bulgarian Empire.

• 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: Settlement of Panama by Mayans. Integration of native tribes into Mayan Empire.

• 1066: Battle of Stamford Bridge. End of the Viking Era. Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Battle of Hastings. Establishment of medieval England.

• 1071: Fall of Bari. Catepanate of Italy is dissolved, end of Byzantine presence in Italy.

• 1081: Coronation of Alexios I Komnenos. Invasion of Balkan provinces by the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard.

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

• 1091: Battle of Levounion. Pecheneg horde defeated by Alexios I and Cuman allies.

1100 CE

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

• 1117-1124: Seventh Byzantine-Sassanid war begins due to territorial dispute in Armenia. Eventual ceasefire leads to no change in territory.

• 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: Bulgarian Uprising of Peter III. Put down by Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos. End of large-scale Bulgarian nationalist revolts. Third Norman invasion of the Balkans. Intervention of the Republic of Venice on the side of the Byzantines stabilizes the war, allowing the Normans to be pushed back into Italy. Venice officially granted independence from the Byzantine Empire. Expansion of Venetian 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 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 Empire, 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. However, 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.

• 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.

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.

• 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-scal 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 put 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.

• 1354-1387: Decline of the Yuan Dynasty, as Ming rebels conquer much of China, establishing the Ming Dynasty. 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.

• 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.

• 1370-1415: Tamerlane conquers the Chagatai Khaganate and turns south into the Sassanid Empire, where he conquers parts of modern Iran before being turned away into India. Tamerlane's successors later found the Mughal Empire.

• 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.

Renaissance

1400 CE

• 1410: Battle of Grunwald: Defeat of the Teutonic Order and rise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. 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, signed in 1419 by the English, Burgundians, and French, married Henry V to Catherine of Valois, delegitimized Charles VI, and made 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. Kingdom of Cusco reformed as 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.

• 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.

• ~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 Mapuche Confederation into a more centralized state.

• 1478: Conquest of Novgorod by Muscovy concludes.

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

• 1492: Discovery of Americas by Punic-Iberian expedition. Dawn of the Age of Exploration. Beginning of Carthaginian colonization of the Caribbean.

• 1493: Beginning of Carthaginian colonization of Brazil. Slave trade becomes a major aspect of Carthaginian economy. Skirmishing between Incan and Carthaginian border outposts.

• 1494-1497: First Trade War between Carthage and Venice. Carthaginian victory assured after the Battle of Palermo. Venetian trade with Byzantine Empire decreases exponentially as Carthaginian merchants dominate the Mediterranean.

• 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 the Kingdom of Naples.

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 Empire is temporarily forced from the war. Concerned about French aims on northern Italy, 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 Spain, the Empire, and Naples 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, but is unable to attack Paris. 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, Pope Clermont VII 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, Ferdinand I, Duke of Austria and brother of the Holy Roman Emperor, invades Hungary and deposes the Byzantine vassal, retaking the territory previously lost. 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.

• 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 army. An Imperial naval expedition against Greece also fails, as does a subsequent siege of Pest in 1542.

• 1542-1546: With Byzantine support, France again declares war on the Holy Roman Empire. After four years of inconclusive fighting, a peace is signed.

• 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 revoking Papal claims on 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.

• 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: Second Trade 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 Southern 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.

• 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. The Revolt of the Three Feudatories emboldened the Gozen generals, who then marched north, forcing the Trinh to finally submit to Shogunate control.

• 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.

• 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 Viet Nam and resumed the Haijin (sea ban), which restricted Qing fleets to coastal defense and allowed for Gozen to completely dominate trade.

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: Second wave of Japanese colonization of the Philippines. Increasing integration of Philippines 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.

• 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.

• 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. 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: Seven Years' War fought in Europe, resulting in British territorial gains abroad and status quo antebellum in Europe. Britain establishes colonial hegemony in North America, 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 invading 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.

• 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. Europe becomes embroiled in a series of coalition wars against France and the rise of new governments threatening the old order.

• 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.

• 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.

Industrial Age

• 1798-1802: War of the Second Coalition. 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.

• 1804-1812: Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, continuing a string of remarkable French victories on land stemming back to the French Revolution. The French Empire defeats a variety of European states in the Wars of the Third, 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.

• 1810-1812: Mayan Revolution. The Mayan army deposes the Emperor 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 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.

• 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 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 Emperor 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 1885: Third Venetian-Burmese War results in annexation of Burma and establishment of loose Venetian protectorate over Thailand.

• 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.

• 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.

• 1930-1937: Brazilian Revolution of 1930 ends the 'Brazilian Old Republic' as Getúlio Vargas seizes power. After 7 years of consolidating power, the 'Estado Nova' was 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.

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 Japanese Empire 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 Golden Khanate, Mapuche Republic, 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.

• 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, the states of Latin America 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.