History Timeline AD: First Millennium

To fully appreciate what history has to offer, sometimes we need to take a couple of steps back to view its' bigger picture. Perhaps, if we looked across the broad spectrum, we would realize that nothing happens in isolation. No one gets ups one morning and says, "... hmm, think I'll invent pottery or maybe even a religion today". History is an evolutionary development that happens over time.

6	4	Birth of Jesus.
9		Hermann(Arminius) defeats the Romans at the battle of Teutoberger Wald.
25		Buddhism introduced - China Han Dynasty
27	30	Period of Jesus' ministry.
29	69	Christianity spreads - Syria Asia Minor and Italy.
43		Successful Roman invasion begun by Claudius
48		Paul's Conversion
50	100	Gnosticism
50 c.		Danish Meldorf Brooch; the first surviving artifact with runes on it.
65	95	The Gospels are written.
98		Tacitus writes the Germania, the earliest account of the culture of Germanic people.
100	250	Administrative structure of the Church develops. 150-250 Modalism / Monarchianism (Sabellius, Praxeus, Paul of Samosata and Noetus)
122		Hadrian Wall built by Romans
142		Taoism
150	230	Clement of Alexandria
250		Emperor Decius begins systematically persecuting Christians
300	700	Migration Age (The Heroic Age)
303		Emperor Diocletian issues his laws against Christianity
312		Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity.
325	400	The Goths are converted to Aryan Christianity Ulfias writes his translation of the New Testament, the only surviving work of written Gothic.
330		Constantinople is dedicated as the capital of a Christian Empire.
350		Goths and Vandals are converted to Aryan Christianity.
370		St. Basil writes first monastic rules.
378		The Goths defeat the Romans in the East at the Battle of Adrianople.
389		sacrifices banned
394		Emperor Theodosius declares Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
399	414	Fa-hsien travels to India
400		The Kingdom of Axum converts - Christianity. Nestorian Christianity becomes dominant Christian sect in Sassinid Empire
406	407	A coalition of Germanic tribes cross the Rhine into Roman territories and take land for settlement.
410		Alaric, king of the Visigoths, conquers Rome Roman legions withdraw from Britain; Emperor Honorius tells the cities in Britain that they must defend themselves.
436		The Huns, encouraged by the Roman Emperor Aetius, overrun the East Germanic kingdom fo the Burgundians on the Rhine, killing King Gundahari (the historical antecedent for Gunther/Gunnar of Nibelungenlied/Volsunga saga.)
438		Theodosian Code
449		Hengest and Horsa begin the Anglo Saxon conquest of Britian The Venerable Bede writes that Vortigorn invited the Saxons, lead by Hengest and Horsa (brothers,) to Britain as mercenaries in defense against the Picts.
450		St. Patrick missionary journey - Ireland. c. 450 The West Germanic tribes living around the North Sea (Angles, Saxons and Frisians) begin to add runes to the Elder Futhark to deal with sound changes in their dialects, creating the Anglo-Frisian Futhork.
476	542	T'an-luan is first master of the Pure Land School
480	547	St. Benedict and the spread of monasticism.
483		Edict of toleration granted - Christians in the Sassanid Empire
493	517	The legend of King Arthur may be based upon the great Romano-celtic military leader who defeated the Anglo Saxon forces at Mons Badonicus, a site that has never been identified.
493	526	King Theodoric the Great, later a prominent hero in Germanic tales, rules in Rome until his death.
500	530	Lives the historical antecedents of Beowulf, Hrothgar and Hrolf Kraki
500	1000	Early Middle Ages
538	597	Chih-i organizes the T-ien-t'ai School
563		St. Columba brings Celtic Christianity to Iona.
571		Anglo Saxon victory leading to the eventual final defeat of the British.
574	622	Prin Shotuku the "founder" of Buddhism in Japan
590	604	Pope Gregory the Great. -Roman Catholicism
590	616	Æthelbert reigns in Kent.
596		St. Augustine's missionary trips to England and does another one in 601
597		St Augustine brings Roman Christianity to Kent.
599	624	East Anglia is ruled by Redwald
610		Mohammed founder of Islam
600	800	Moslem conquests of Christian Asia North Africa and Spain.
616	633	Edwin is king of Northumbria
622		Islam begins to be established
630	640	Conquest of the Near East and Egypt
636		Date of Sutton-Hoo ship burial; a rich Germanic grave containing artifacts of Swedish orgin.
659		Penda last heathen King of England dies in battle.
664		At the Synod of Whitby, Roman Christianity is endorsed as supreme over the Celtic tradition.
675		Development of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism
688	726	Wessex has Ine as King
690	710	Conquest of North Africa and Spain
696		Radbod King of the Frisians rejects attempts to convert him to Christianity.
700		Primitive Norse (or Runic Norse) gives way to the Old Norse
717	718	Attempt - conquer Constantinople.
722	754	St. Bonifa 's missionary work in eastern Germany.
731		Bede completes his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum ; His book is referred to in the Malleus Maleficarum
737	1160	Building of the Danevirke
751		Battle of Talas
757	796	Offa is king of Mercia, and he builds his dike on the Welsh border, consolidates power in Mercia, and views himself as equal to Charlemagne.
772		Charlemagne begins his war of extermination against the heathen Saxons, destroying the Irminsul.
793	1066	The Viking Age
793	850	Sporadic but constant Viking raids on England.
793		Norse sea-raiders (Vikings) sack the Anglo-Celtic monastery at Lindisfarne
795		Norse raids on Ireland begin Vikings sack the monastry at Iona.
800		The Elder Futhark is replaced by the Younger or Sixteen Rune Futhark
800	810	Reign of King Godfrid of Denmark
810	827	Reign of King Harald Klak of Denmark
814		Death of Charlemagne
814		Arrival of pagan normans in France
827	853	Reign of King Horik Godfredsson of Denmark
835		Danish raiders ally with the Cornish against the rule of King Eegbehrt of Wessex.
840	870	Reign of King Halfdan the Black of Norway
844	845	Norse raids on Moorish Spain begin
845		Al-Ghazal's embassy in Turgeis, King of the Vikings in Ireland
851		First Norse raid on Wales recorded in the Welsh chronicles Annales Cambriae, Brut y Tywysogion and Brut y Saeson stating that a certain Cyngen or Cinnen died on the swords of the Heathens. First Viking winter encampment in England.
852		The Swedish Rus becomes dominant among the Volga
853	873	Reign of King Rorik of Denmark
860		Norse discovery of Iceland Ragnar Loddbrok killed at York The Rus found Novgorod and Kiev.
865		Great Viking army lands in East Anglia
866		Viking army enter York on November 1
867		Northumbria is defeated and is no longer a major political force
868		The oldest printed book in the world a Chinese translation of the Diamond-Cutter Sutra
870		Settlement of Iceland begins
870	945	Reign of King Harald Harfagra of Norway
870		Vikings attack Wessex
871	899	Alfred the Great reigns as king of Wessex.
873	891	King Sigfred and Halfdan are co-rulers of Denmark Alfred the Great defeats Guthrum/Guthorm and forces the Vikings forces to accept Christianity in return for English as a settlement.
878		Harald Harfagra completes his conquest and unification of Norway, Orkney Islands, many Norwegians flee to Iceland.
879		Alfred the Great retreats to the fens west of Selwood and builds a fortress at Athelney. He wins major battles.
886		Alfred occupies London: the Danelaw is established.
887		Alfred learns Latin.
890		Reign of King Helgi of Denmark, followed by Swedish rule of Denmark under King Olaf the Swede.
899	955	Alfred's son Edward the Elder and Alfred's grandsons Ædmund and Eadred carry out the reconquest of England.
900		Canon Episcopi
910	990	Life of poet/warrior Egill Skallagrimsson.
912		Gongu-Hrolf and his men take lands in Normandy as vassals of the French King. Their descendants become the Normans.
920		Ulfljotr the Norwegian brings the Gulathing Law to Iceland, where it is used as a model upon which Icelandic Law is based.
922		Ibn-Fadlan, an Arab ambassador to the Scandinavian Rus along the Volga, writes his accounts of their customs, including a full description of a ship/cremation funeral.
924	939	Æthelstan is king of the English.
930		First Althing held at Thingvellir in Iceland, establishment of Icelandic Free State
930	1011	Life of Njal of Berthorsknoll.
935	950	Reign of King Gorm the Old of Denmark
946		Reign of King Hakon the Good of Norway
947		Start of reign of King Olafr Tryggvasson of Norway Norway adopts Christianity
950	983	Reign of King Haraldr Bluetooth of Denmark Denmark adopts Christianity
954		Expulsion of Eric Bloodaxe, son of King Harold Fairhair of Norway from his position as the las Scandinavian king of York.
959	975	Edgar reigns in England
978	1016	Æthelred the Unready (Uræd or without counsel) rules. Within two years of his accession, Viking resume attacks and at the end of his reign, Cnut of Denmark becomes King of England.
982		Eirikr inn Rauda (Eric the Red) discovers Greenland.
983		Starting of reign of King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark
986		Settlement of Greenland
988		Kievan Russia converts - Orthodox Christianity.
991		Vikings overcome the resistance of Byrhtnoth and the army as recounted in The Battle of Maldon

 

Notes:
All dates are approximations and you may find a source with contradicting information and as such I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the dates. This is intended to be used as a guideline.

European Paganism —Ken Dowden
Encyclopedia Britannica 1991
The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions —edited by Keith Crim
Media History Timeline (article)— Irving Fang and Kristina Ross
Paganculture.com