Chronology of the 16th Century

19 August 1493–12 January 1519 – Maximilian I is Archduke of Austria:

16 February 1486–12 January 1519 – King of the Romans
4 February 1508–12 January 1519 – Holy Roman Emperor

1500–15101500
1504–1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon is King of Naples

1505
1505–1610 – fictional date of life of Vigo the Carpathian (Vigo Von Homburg Deutschendorf) in Carpathia (in Hungary?) and Moldavia

6 November 1505–13 December 1533 – Vasily III is Grand Prince of Moscow (Rurikid)

c. 1506 – fictional siege of the castle of Klatka and killing of Ezzelin von Klatka in Karl von Wachsmann’s novella The Mysterious Stranger in the Karst Plateau

18 April 1506–18 November 1626 – the construction of new St. Peter’s Basilica

20 May 1506 – death of Christopher Columbus in Valladolid, Spain

25 September 1506–25 October 1555 – Charles V is Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy:

23 January 1516–16 January 1556 – Charles V is King of Spain
12 January 1519–28 April 1521 – Charles V is Archduke of Austria
28 June 1519–27 August 1556 – Charles V is Holy Roman Emperor
26 October 1520 – Charles V is crowned as King of the Germans in Germany
22 February 1530 – Charles V is crowned King of Italy
24 February 1530 – Charles V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Bologna

10 July 1509–27 May 1564 – life of John Calvin

1510s1510 – Ferdinand of Aragon orders the expulsion of Jews from Naples

12 March 1510 – assassination of Mihnea cel Rău in the Roman Catholic Church of Sibiu while attending Mass

c. 1514 – John Knox born in or near Haddington, the county town of East Lothian

1 January 1515–31 March 1547 – Francis I is king of France (House of Valois)

1516–22 January 1517 – the Ottoman–Mamluk War of 1516–1517 between Mameluke Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire

13 March 1516–29 August 1526 – Louis II is king of Hungary (Jagiellon)

24 January 1517 – the Battle of Ridaniya near Cairo between Selim I and Tuman Bay, in which the Mamelukes were defeated

31 October 1517 – Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg

1519
12 January 1519 – death of Maximilian I in Wels, Upper Austria

April 1519 – Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) and 700 soldiers land near Tabasco on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

28 June 1519–27 August 1556 – Charles V (grandson of Maximilian I) is Holy Roman Emperor

1520s1520
22 May 1520 – massacre in the Great Temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan

1 July 1520 – the Aztec emperor Moctezuma was killed

30 September 1520–6/7 September 1566 – Suleiman I is Ottoman Sultan

1521
3 January 1521 – Martin Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo X in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem

28 January–25 May 1521 – Diet of Worms, the general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire in Worms, on the Rhine, with Emperor Charles V presiding

28 April 1521–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I is Archduke of Austria:

24 October 1526 – the Bohemian Diet elects Ferdinand King of Bohemia
24 October 1526–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I is King of Bohemia
17 December 1526–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I is King of Hungary
5 January 1531–3 May 1558 – Ferdinand I is King of the Romans
January 1556 – Charles V abdicats as Emperor
3 May 1558 – Imperial Diet accepts the abdication of Charles V
27 August 1556–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I is Holy Roman Emperor
14 March 1558 – coronation in Frankfurt of Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor
28 November 1562–25 July 1564 – Maximilian II is King of the Romans

c. May 1521–6 March 1522 – Martin Luther at Wartburg Castle at Eisenach

13 August 1521 – the Aztec Empire was captured

1521–1524 – Cortés personally governed Mexico

1522
26 June–22 December 1522 – the second siege of Rhodes of 1522, in which Knights of Rhodes are expelled by Ottomans

29 August 1526 – the battle of Mohács between king Louis II of Hungary and Suleiman the Magnificent, fought near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary

29 August 1526 – death of Louis II (king of Hungary) after the battle of Mohács

11 November 1526–16 August 1570 – rival kings of Hungary:

House of Zápolya (1526–1570)
11 November 1526–22 July 1540 – John Zápolya King of Hungary
13 September 1540–16 August 1570 – John II Sigismund

House of Habsburg (1526–1780)
17 December 1526–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I
26 July 1564–12 October 1576 – Maximilian

1529
27 September–15 October 1529 – siege of Vienna led by Suleiman the Magnificent

1530
1530–1534 – Stephen (VIII) Báthory of Somlyó is voivode of Transylvania

13 December 1533–28 March 1584 – Ivan IV the Terrible is Grand Prince of Moscow (Tsar from 26 January 1547)

13 September 1540 – the Diet of Hungary elected John Sigismund king

13 September 1541 – return of John Calvin to Geneva, Switzerland

1545 – fictional date of Hernando de Estrada’s expedition of 40 men through West Texas, with the vampire Don Santiago de Valdez in Robert Ervin Howard’s “The Horror from the Mound”

18 February 1546 – death of Martin Luther at 2:45 a.m., aged 62, in Eisleben

16 January 1547–28 March 1584 – Ivan IV the Terrible is Tsar of All Rus’ (Grand Prince of Moscow from 13 December 1533)

16 January 1547 – coronation of Ivan IV the Terrible

31 March 1547 – death of Francis I at the Château de Rambouillet

31 March 1547–10 July 1559 – Henry II of France is king of France (House of Valois)

1550s18 July 1551 – unsuccessful Ottoman invasion of Malta

July 1551 – Ottoman invasion of the island of Gozo, of the Maltese archipelago

15 August 1551 – the siege of Tripoli: the Ottomans besieged and conquered the Knights of Malta in the fortress of Tripoli, modern Libya

15 August 1551–3 April 1559 – the Italian War of 1551 (Habsburg–Valois War; Last Italian War) between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V with the goal of recapturing Italy

1553
13 August 1553 – Michael Servetus arrives in Geneva

25 October 1555 – Charles V announces to the States General of the Netherlands his abdication of those territories and the county of Charolais

1556
January 1556 – Charles V abdicates as ruler of the Spanish Empire

16 January 1556–13 September 1598 – Philip II is king of Spain:

25 July 1554–13 September 1598 – King of Naples and Sicily (as Philip I)
16 April 1581–13 September 1598 – King of Portugal and the Algarves

27 August 1556 – Charles V abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor in favour of his brother Ferdinand

5 February 1557 – Charles V and a small court move into a residence near the monastery of Yuste in Extremadura

24 February 1558–25 July 1564 – Ferdinand I is Holy Roman Emperor

21 September 1558 – death of Charles V in the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura

3 April 1559 – peace of Cateau-Cambrésis signed between Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 20 kilometres south-east of Cambrai

10 July 1559–5 December 1560 – Francis II is king of France (House of Valois)

28 September 1559 – Philip II meets Don John of Austria in the Monastery of Santa María de La Santa Espina

1560
August 1560 – the Scottish Parliament establishes the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), a Presbyterian national church of Scotland, by abolishing the jurisdiction of the Pope and establishing a new confession of faith

5 December 1560–30 May 1574 – Charles IX is king of France (House of Valois)

1564
27 May 1564 – death of John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland

25 July 1564–12 October 1576 – Maximilian II is Holy Roman Emperor

25 July 1564–10 July 1590 – Charles II is Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola and Carinthia)

18 May–11 September 1565 – the Great Siege of Malta: the Ottomans invade the island of Malta, held by the Knights Hospitaller, who withstood the siege and repelled the invaders

29 September 1566–21 December 1574 – Selim II is Ottoman Sultan

24 July 1567–27 March 1625 – James VI (later James I) is King of Scotland

1568–1648 – Dutch Revolt: the northern, largely Protestant Seven Provinces of the Low Countries rebel against King Philip II of Spain

May 1568–28 May 1573 – Marian civil war in Scotland between supporters of James VI (a minor) and Mary (Queen of Scots) after she escaped to England

13 April 1569–autumn 1570 – Don John of Austria is Captain General in the war against the Rebellion of the Alpujarras

1570s1570
c. 1570 – construction of the current Predjama Castle, Carniola

16 August 1570–14 March 1571 – John Sigismund Zápolya is Prince of Transylvania

1571
February 1571 – Philip II signs the decree of expulsion of all the moriscos from the Kingdom of Granada

25 May 1571–1576 – Stephen Báthory is voivode of Transylvania

7 October 1571 – naval battle of Lepanto between the Holy League (led by the Venetian Republic and the Spanish Empire) and the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras, Ionian Sea

1572
24 November 1572 – death of John Knox in Edinburgh, Scotland

1573
12 November 1573 – charter promulgated of Jesuit College of Graz

1574
30 May 1574–2 August 1589 – Henry III is king of France (House of Valois)

22 December 1574–16 January 1595 – Murad III is Ottoman Sultan

1575
8 May 1575 – marriage of Elizabeth Báthory and Ferenc Nádasdy at the palace of Vranov nad Topľou

c. May 1575 – Elizabeth Báthory moves to Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár

1 May 1576–12 December 1586 – Stephen Báthory is King of Poland is Grand Duke of Lithuania

12 October 1576–20 January 1612 – Rudolf II is Holy Roman Emperor:

1576–1608 – Archduke of Austria
1576–1611 – King of Bohemia
12 October 1576–26 June 1608 – King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I)

1 October 1578 – death of Don John of Austria

1580s26 July 1581 – signing in the Hague of the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence by many provinces of the Netherlands from Philip II during the Dutch Revolt

1582
24 February 1582 – Pope Gregory XIII issues the Inter gravissimas papal bull to reform the Julian calendar; the reform was later regarded as a new calendar called the Gregorian calendar

1584
28 March 1584–17 January 1598 – Feodor I is Tsar of All Rus’ (Rurikid)

14 April 1586 – Jesuit College of Graz turned into the University of Graz by papal bull of Pope Sixtus V

December 1586–23 March 1598 – Sigismund Báthory is Prince of Transylvania

2 August 1589–14 May 1610 – Henry IV is king of France (House of Bourbon)

1590s29 July 1593–11 November 1606 – Long Turkish War (Thirteen Years’ War), between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, over the Principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia

11 October 1593–9 August 1601 – Michael the Brave (Mihail I Viteazul) is Prince of Wallachia:

October 1599 – Michael the Brave elected as voivode of Transylvania
1600 – Michael the Brave is prince of Moldavia

27 January 1595–20/21 December 1603 – Mehmed III is Ottoman Sultan

21 February 1598–13 April 1605 – Boris Godunov is Tsar of All Rus’ (Godunov)

18 October 1599 – battle of Şelimbăr (Battle of Sellenberk), in which Michael the Brave defeated Andrew Báthory near the village of Șelimbăr

October 1599 – Michael the Brave elected as voivode of Transylvania

1600s9 August 1601 – assassination of Michael the Brave near Câmpia Turzii

4 January 1604 – death of Ferenc Nádasdy

28 September 1604–23 June 1606 – the Bocskai uprising in Hungary, Transylvania and modern Slovakia, against Rudolf II, led by István Bocskai, a Protestant Hungarian nobleman

21 February 1605 – Stephen Bocskai is elected Prince of Transylvania by Transylvanian noblemen and Székelys in Nyárádszereda (now Miercurea Nirajului in Romania):

21 February 1605–29 December 1606 – Stephen Bocskai
12 February 1607–5 March 1608 – Sigismund Rákóczi
7 March 1608–21 October 1613 – Gabriel Báthory
October 1613–15 November 1629 – Gabriel Bethlen
15 November 1629–21 September 1630 – Catherine of Brandenburg

20 April 1605 – Stephen Bocskai acclaimed prince of Hungary by delegates of 22 counties from Upper Hungary and Partium at Szerencs

April–summer 1606? – fictional date of Karl von Wachsmann’s The Mysterious Stranger

23 June 1606 – signing of the Treaty of Vienna between Stephen Bocskay and Rudolph: all constitutional and religious rights and privileges were granted to the Hungarians in both Transylvania and Royal Hungary

24 October–11 November 1606 – negotiations for the Peace of Zsitvatorok at the former mouth of the Žitava River

11 November 1606 – the Peace of Zsitvatorok (or Treaty of Sitvatorok) between the Ottomans and Habsburgs

12 February 1607–5 March 1608 – Sigismund Rákóczi is Prince of Transylvania

5 March 1608 – Sigismund Rákóczi abdicates as Prince of Transylvania at the Diet in Kolozsvár

7 March 1608–21 October 1613 – Gabriel Báthory is Prince of Transylvania

25 June 1608 – Rudolf II cedes Hungary, Austria and Moravia to Matthias

30 December 1610 – arrest of Elizabeth Báthory at Čachtice Castle by György Thurzó, the Palatine of Hungary

7 January 1611 – second trial of Elizabeth Báthory

c. January 1611–21 August 1614 – imprisonment of Elizabeth Báthory in Čachtice Castle

March 1611 – Matthias enters Prague

April 1611 – Matthias declared king of Bohemia

20 January 1612 – death of Rudolf II

13 June 1612–20 March 1619 – Matthias is Holy Roman Emperor

October 1613–15 November 1629 – Gabriel Bethlen is Prince of Transylvania

23 May 1618–15 May 1648 – Thirty Years’ War

Chronology of the Roman Empire 100–300 AD

18 September 96 – the emperor Domitian is assassinated in his bedroom in the Domus Augustiana around ten or eleven AM; Nerva hailed as emperor by the praetorian guard

18 September 96–27 January 98 – reign of the emperor Nerva

19 September 96 – the Senate passes a decree giving Nerva his official power; the Senate passes a damnatio memoriae against Domitian, and imperial shields and images torn down

c. December 96 – publication of Book 11 of Martial’s Epigrams, shortly after the accession of Nerva

winter 96–97 – T. Vestricius Spurinna (24–c. 105) is in Rome; by late 97 is away from Rome

97
1 January 97 – Imp. Nerva Caesar Augustus III (January–February) and L. Verginius Rufus III are ordinary consuls

4–19 September – the Ludi Romani (Roman Games)

September 97 – mutiny of the praetorian guard led by Casperius Aelianus; Sex. Julius Frontinus, L. Julius Ursus Servianus, and L. Licinius Sura support Trajan

October 97 – Nerva announces the adoption of Trajan in the Forum, who now takes the name Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus

October 97 – T. Vestricius Spurinna sent as an embassy to Trajan to announce his adoption?

4–17 November – the Ludi Plebeii (Plebeian Games)

winter 97–98 – Trajan spends the winter at Colonia Claudia Agrippina (Cologne), capital Germania Inferior

17–23 December – the Saturnalia, the winter solstice festival of Saturn, with a sacrifice at the temple of Saturn and a public feast

98
c. 98 – Tacitus writes the Agricola

98 – return of Martial to his home at Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud) in Hispania Tarraconensis, Spain

98–100 – Pliny is prefect of the treasury of Saturn (praefectus aerari Saturni)

98–102 – Pliny writes the 14 letters of Book 10 of his Letters

1 January 98 – Imp. Nerva Caesar Augustus IV (to 13 January) and Imp. Caesar Nerva Trajanus II (January–June) are ordinary consuls

27 January 98 – death of the emperor Nerva at his villa in the Horti Sallustiani

27 January 98–8 August 117 – reign of the emperor Trajan

28 January 98 – the dies imperii of Trajan

c. January 98 – publication of a revised edition of Book 10 of Martial’s Epigrams, about the time of Trajan’s entrance into Rome

after January 98 – the execution of Casperius Aelianus and the ringleaders of the insurrection against Nerva

2 February 98 – the public funeral of Nerva

January 98 – suffect consuls with Trajan down to June:

13 January 13–31 January – Cn. Domitius Tullus II and Trajan
February – Sex. Julius Frontinus II and Trajan
March – L. Julius Ursus II and Trajan
April – T. Vestricius Spurinna II and Trajan
May–June – C. Pomponius Pius

summer 98? – Trajan inspects the Danube frontier

99
autumn 99 – Trajan’s entry into Rome

before October/December 99 – Trajan’s donativium and congiarium

100–110100
c. 100–110 – publication date of Juvenal’s first satire

c. 100 – publication of Book 12 of Martial’s Epigrams; death of Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, 35–c. 100 AD)

January 100 – Imp. Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus III (January) and Sex. Julius Frontinus III (January–February) are ordinary consuls

c. September–October 100 – Pliny the Younger is suffect consul with C. Julius Cornutus Tertullus

100 – Pliny gives his Panegyricus Traiani in the Senate

101
25 March 101 – Trajan leaves Rome for Dacia

101–102 – the first Dacian War of Trajan

25 March 101 – Trajan leaves Rome for Dacia
c. June 101 – Roman army crosses the Danube at Viminacium
September 101 – second battle of Tapae
winter 101–102 – Trajan on the Danube
winter 101–102 – Decebalus attacks the Roman province of Moesia; battle of Nicopolis and Adamclisi
spring 102 – Roman army crosses the Danube at Lederata;
summer 102 – Lusius Quietus and Moorish cavalry attack Decebalus via the Vulcan Pass; Laberius Maximus marches along the Olt valley and takes the Red Tower Pass
summer 102 – Trajan, Quietus and Maximus join forces at the hot springs of Aquae (Calan), 20 miles from the Dacian capital.
summer – submission of Decebalus; annexation of the Banat; permanent bridge over the Danube at Drobeta built

winter 101–102 – Decebalus attacks the Roman province of Moesia; battle of Nicopolis and Adamclisi

102
c. 102–104 – death of Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial)

January 102 – L. Julius Ursus Servianus II (January–April) and L. Licinius Sura II (January–February) are ordinary consuls

spring 102 – Roman army crosses the Danube at Lederata;

summer 102 – Lusius Quietus and Moorish cavalry attack Decebalus via the Vulcan Pass; Laberius Maximus marches along the Olt valley and takes the Red Tower Pass

summer 102 – Trajan, Quietus and Maximus join forces at the hot springs of Aquae (Calan), 20 miles from the Dacian capital.

summer – submission of Decebalus; annexation of the Banat; permanent bridge over the Danube at Drobeta built

late 102 – Trajan returns to Rome

28 December 102? – Trajan’s Dacian triumph

103
103 – Silius Italicus commits suicide by starvation in Campania, because of a tumour

103 – Pliny is propraetor of Bithynia; from 103–104 Pliny is publicly elected Augur

c. 103/104 – death of Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40–103 AD)

104
104–106 – Pliny is superintendent for the banks of the Tiber (curator alvei Tiberis)

104–107 – Pliny is three times a member of Trajan’s judicial council

105
4 June 105? – Trajan leaves Rome for Dacia

June 105–106 – Trajan’s Second Dacian War, after the Dacian King Decebalus violates the peace terms with the Rome

4 June 105? – Trajan leaves Rome for Dacia
autumn 105/106 – Trajan arrives in Drobeta
spring 106 – crossing of the Drobeta bridge and invasion of Dacia
spring 106 – invasion via Danube plain and Vulcan Pass route and the Petroseni Basin
c. July 106 – capture of Sarmizegethusa Regia
after 2 September 106 – Ti. Claudius Maximus and a band of auxiliaries kill Decebalus in the Carpathians
autumn 106 – Trajan at Ranisstorium (Piatri Craivii)
summer 106? – foundation of Porolissum
106/107? – battle of Porolissum

106 AD
early 106 – annexation of the Nabataean kingdom?
spring 106 – crossing of the Drobeta bridge and invasion of Dacia

spring 106 – invasion via Danube plain and Vulcan Pass route and the Petroseni Basin

c. July 106 – battle of Sarmisegetusa, with the legions II Adiutrix and IV Flavia Felix and a detachment (vexillatio) from Legio VI Ferrata; capture of Sarmizegethusa Regia

after 2 September 106 – Ti. Claudius Maximus and a band of auxiliaries kill Decebalus in the Carpathians

autumn 106 – Trajan at Ranisstorium (Piatri Craivii)

summer 106? – foundation of Porolissum

106/107? – battle of Porolissum

107
by 107 – annexation of the Nabataean kingdom

January 107 – L. Licinius Sura III (January–February or April) and Q. Sosius Senecio II are ordinary consuls

c. June 107 – Trajan leaves the Balkans

June 107 – Trajan arrives in Rome

108
c. 108 – publication of early books of Tacitus’ Historiae?

108 – the IX Hispana legion at York building the fort

c. 108 – Arrian studies under Epictetus at Nicopolis in Epirus

c. 108 – death of Lucius Licinius Sura; Trajan gives him a public funeral

June 108 – P. Aelius Hadrianus is suffect consul

109
c.109/111 – Trajan appoints Pliny as legatus Augusti to Bithynia-Pontus

11–24 November 109 – Trajan inaugurates a naumachia (for mock-sea battles) and holds Dacian games

110
c. 110 – Trajan appoints Pliny as legatus Augusti to Bithynia-Pontus

c. 110–c.113 – Pliny is legatus Augusti to Bithynia-Pontus

110s
111
autumn 111 – departure of Hadrian for Syria?

112 AD
112/113 – Tacitus is governor of Asia

January 112 – Imp. Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus VI (January) and T. Sextius Cornelius Africanus (January–March) are ordinary consuls

1 January 112 – dedication of Forum and Basilica build by Trajan

28 January 112 – 15 days of games in theatris tribus

before 29 August 112 – Plotina and Marciana are given the title Augusta

29 August 112 – death of Marciana (the sister of Trajan)

3 September 112 – funeral of Marciana (the sister of Trajan)

113
c. 113 – possible death of Pliny during his appointment in Bithynia-Pontus

113 – the Parthian king Osroes deposes the Armenian ruler Exedares and appoints Parthamasiris

early May 113 – Trajan holds the third set of Dacian games

12 May 113 – Trajan dedicates his Column

autumn 113 – Trajan leaves Rome for the east

December 113 – Trajan arrives in Antioch

114
7 January 114 – Trajan and Hadrian enter Antioch

January–April 114 – Trajan in Antioch

c. May 114–117 – Trajan’s Parthian war, between the Parthian Empire and Rome in Mesopotamia

c. May 114 – Trajan arrives in Satala, with an army of 8 legions or 80,000 men
summer 114 – Trajan marches to Elegeia in Armenia and receives the submission of Parthamasiris; Trajan annexes Armenia
summer 114 – Trajan remains in Elegeia and receives the submission of local rulers
late 114 – Roman forces occupy Armenia
winter 114–115 – Trajan in Armenia
spring 115 – Trajan invades northern Mesopotamia from Armenia
summer 115 – Trajan takes Batnae, Nisibis and Adiabene
winter 115–116 – Trajan spends the winter in Antioch; great earthquake in Syria
early 116 – Trajan leaves Antioch; one division invades Adiabene, including Ninus, Arbela and Gaugamela; a second division moves along the Tigris and attacks Babylon
summer 116 – Trajan accompanies a fleet along the Euphrates; he has fleet dragged over land by engines to the Euphrates to capture Seleucia and Ctesiphon; Trajan travels to Charax
later 116 – Trajan visits Babylon; rebellion in Mesopotamia; Lusius Quietus recovers Nisibis and Edessa; Seleucia is burnt
later 116 – battle of Ctesiphon; Trajan crowns Parthamaspates as client-king of Parthia in Ctesiphon and cedes part of Armenia to Parthia
later 116 – siege of Hatra
winter 116–117 – Trajan in Antioch
c. July 117 – Trajan leaves Seleucia-in-Pieria for Rome
8 August 117 – death of the emperor Trajan in Selinus (modern Gazipasa) in Cilicia

late 114 – Roman forces occupy Armenia

winter 114–115 – Trajan in Armenia

115
spring 115 – Trajan invades northern Mesopotamia from Armenia

summer 115 – Trajan takes Batnae, Nisibis and Adiabene

after October 115?–summer/autumn 117 – the Kitos War, major uprisings by ethnic Jews in Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus during Trajan’s Parthian War

winter 115–116 – Trajan spends the winter in Antioch; great earthquake in Syria

116
21 February 116 – a letter of Trajan reaches the Senate informing them of the new provinces of Armenia and Mesopotamia

February 116 – Trajan honoured with the title of Parthicus

early 116 – Trajan leaves Antioch; one division invades Adiabene, including Ninus, Arbela and Gaugamela; a second division moves along the Tigris and attacks Babylon

summer 116 – Trajan accompanies a fleet along the Euphrates; he has fleet dragged over land by engines to the Euphrates to capture Seleucia and Ctesiphon; Trajan travels to Charax

summer 116 – Jewish uprisings in Cyprus, Egypt and Cyrene

later 116 – Trajan visits Babylon; rebellion in Mesopotamia; Lusius Quietus recovers Nisibis and Edessa; Seleucia is burnt

later 116 – battle of Ctesiphon; Trajan crowns Parthamaspates as client-king of Parthia in Ctesiphon and cedes part of Armenia to Parthia

later 116 – siege of Hatra

winter 116–117 – Trajan in Antioch

117
c. 117 – publication of Book 2 of Tacitus’ Ab excessu divi Augusti (Annals)? (alternative date: from 106–115); later books possibly in the 120s

summer/autumn 117 – Marcius Turbo ends the Jewish war

8 August 117 – death of the emperor Trajan in Selinus (modern Gazipasa) in Cilicia

9 August 117 – Trajan’s letter of adoption reaches Hadrian at Antioch

10 August 117 – accession of the emperor Hadrian

10 August 117–10 July 138 – reign of the emperor Hadrian

11 August 117 – news of Trajan’s death reaches Antioch

c. 12 August 117 – Hadrian orders the evacuation of Mesopotamia, Assyria and Greater Armenia; Lusius Quietus (governor of Judaea) removed from office

13–19 October 117 – Hadrian in Mopsucrene, 12 miles beyond Tarsus, then northwards over the Taurus into Cappadocia, via Tyana

late October 117 – Hadrian in Ancyra; he founds a “mystic contest” (mystikos agon) for the worship of Dionysus

11 November 117 – Hadrian was in Bithynia

late 117 – Hadrian withdraws from plains of Oltenia and Muntenia, the south-eastern flank of the Carpathians and southern Moldavia

118
c. 118 – publication of Arrian’s Parthica, a history of Trajan’s Parthian war

January 118 – Hadrian at Byzantium; he is consul with Pedanius Fuscus (the husband of his niece Julia)

Marcius Turbo made governor of both Dacia and Pannonia Inferior

early 118 – the Senate orders the executions of C. Avidius Nigrinus, in alleged conspiracy against Hadrian (he returns to Faventia (Faenza) in northern Italy); Lusius Quietus executed; A. Cornelius Palma executed at the Campanian resort of Baiae, and L. Publius Celsus at Tarracina in Latium

spring 118 – Hadrian in Pannonia

9 July 118 – Hadrian’s return to Rome

10 July 118 – Hadrian addends the senate?

c. 118 – dismissal of Publius Acilianus Attianus as praetorian prefect

summer 118? – Hadrian gave the people a double congiarium, in person (praesens), or six aurei a head

summer 118? – retirement of Servius Sulpicius Similis as Praetorian prefect; appointment of Gaius Septicius Clarus

summer 118? – appointment of Suetonius Tranquillus as ab epistulis

late 118? – Hadrian remits nine hundred million sesterces in tax arrears owed to the fiscus in the years from 104–118

119
119 – war in northern Britain

January–April 119 – Hadrian is ordinary consul at Rome

August 119 – victory in the Danubian war or British war?

119 – Hadrian’s trip to Campania; the Stoic philosopher, Euphrates of Tyre, commits suicide

December 119 – Augusta Matidia (Trajan’s niece) dies

end of 119 – funeral and consecration of Matidia

120s120
120–125 – birth of Apuleius

120s – publication of the Anabasis of Arrian of Nicomedia

c. 120–130 – death of Tacitus

121
c. April 121 – Hadrian leaves Rome for Gaul, possibly from Ostia, Massilia, and the Rhonel Turbo stays in Rome, with M. Annius Verus as Prefect of the City

121 – Hadrian’s army reforms begin

winter 121–122 – Hadrian in Germany

122
122 – Hadrian in Rhaetia and Noricum

122–128 – construction of Hadrian’s wall, which starts in the east and proceeded westwards

c. June 122 – Hadrian crosses to Britain

by 17 July 122 – Platorius Nepos governor of Britain

summer – Hadrian in Britain

c. 122/123 – Hadrian dismisses Septicius Clarus (praetorian prefect) and Suetonius Tranquillus and others

autumn/winter 122 – death of Borysthenes, Hadrian’s horse

winter 122–123 – Hadrian spends the winter at Tarraco, Spain

123

124

125

126

126 – Arrian of Nicomedia appointed to the Senate

127

128

129

130

c. October 130 – Antinous falls into the Nile and dies while on Hadrian’s journey down the Nile after the visit to Hermopolis Magna

130s131

132

summer/autumn 132 – beginning of the Bar Kokhba revolt in Modi’in

132–136 – the Bar Kokhba revolt (or The Third Jewish–Roman War or Second Revolt of Judea), led by Simon bar Kokhba

133

134

135

136

137

138
1 January 138 – death of Lucius Aelius Caesar (Lucius Ceionius Commodus), heir of Hadrian

c. 138 – death of Juvenal after the year of Hadrian’s death

11 July 138–7 March 161 – reign of Antoninus Pius

161
8 March 161–17 March 180 – reign of Marcus Aurelius

8 March 161–January/February 169 – reign of Lucius Verus

summer/autumn 161–166 – the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166:

summer/autumn 161 – Vologases enters Armenia, expels the king and installs Pacorus (an Arsacid)
winter 161–162 – Marcus Aurelius decides to send Lucius Verus to the east
summer 162 – Lucius Verus travels to Brundisium
summer 163 – Legions I Minervia (under M. Claudius Fronto) and V Macedonica (under P. Martius Verus) under Marcus Statius Priscus invade Armenia and capture Artaxata; Parthians invade Osroene
late 163 – Roman forces occupy Dausara and Nicephorium
165 – Martius Verus and the V Macedonica take Edessa and Nisibis; Avidius Cassius and the III Gallica move down the Euphrates and fight a battle at Dura-Europos
late 165 – Cassius’ army takes Seleucia and Ctesiphon; Ctesiphon’s royal palace burned
165/166 – Cassius’ army crosses the Tigris into Media
spring 166 – army withdraws from Mesopotamia

162
summer 162 – Lucius Verus travels to Brundisium

163
summer 163 – Legions I Minervia (under M. Claudius Fronto) and V Macedonica (under P. Martius Verus) under Marcus Statius Priscus invade Armenia and capture Artaxata; Parthians invade Osroene

late 163 – Roman forces occupy Dausara and Nicephorium

164

166
spring 166 – army withdraws from Mesopotamia

166/167–175 – First Marcomannic War

spring 168 – Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus’ expedition to Aquileia

169
January 169 – death of Lucius Verus

autumn 169 – Marcus Aurelius with his son-in-law Claudius Pompeianus begin a campaign against the tribes (especially the Iazyges) between the Danube and Dacia

170
spring 170 – battle of Carnuntum between the Marcomanni and Germanic tribes (under Ballomar) and the Romans

172 – the Romans cross the Danube and subjugate the Marcomanni, the Varistae or Naristi and the Cotini

173 – the Romans campaign against the Quadi

175
c. April 175 – Avidius Cassius declares himself emperor

July 175 – murder of Avidius Cassius in Egypt

176
23 December 176 – Marcus Aurelius and Commodus celebrate a joint German triumph

177
177–autumn 180 – Second Marcomannic War

180
17 March 180–31 December 192 – sole reign of Commodus

182
182/183 – conspiracy of Lucilla; execution of Claudius Pompeianus and Ummidius Quadratus; exile of Lucilla to Capri

9 December 182 – coins record that Commodus has the title Pius

183
c. 183 – assassination of Saoterus

185 – execution of the praetorian prefect Sextus Tigidius Perennis after a plot by Cleander

190
June 190 – execution of Cleander

193 AD
1 January 193 – 28 March 193 – reign of Pertinax

28 March 193–1 June 193 – reign of Didius Julianus

14 April 193–4 February 211 – reign of Septimius Severus

1 June 193 – execution of Didius Julianus in the palace

198 – Severus makes Caracalla Augustus

200
22 January 205 – execution of the praetorian prefect Lucius Fulvius Plautianus

208–4 February 211 – Septimius Severus’ expedition to Britain

c. 208–224 – Artabanus V of Parthia

4 February 211–8 April 217 – Caracalla is emperor

4 February 211– 26 December 211– Geta (rule with Caracalla)

26 December 211 – murder of Geta

winter 215–216 – Caracalla in Nicomedia with the army

April 215 – Caracalla arrives at Antioch

November 215 – Caracalla arrives in Pelusium

December 215–March/April 216 – Caracalla in Alexandria

spring 216–summer 217 – Caracalla’s Parthian war:

summer 216 – Caracalla attacks country east of the Tigris near borders of Adiabene
winter 216/217 – Caracalla winters at Edessa
8 April 217 – assassination of Caracalla
summer 217 – battle of Nisibis between Macrinus and King Artabanus V

11 April 217–8 June 218 – Macrinus

16 May 218–11 March 222 – Elagabalus

11 March 222–18/19 March 235 – Severus Alexander

28 April 224 – Ardashir I defeats Artabanus V of Parthia at the battle of Hormozdgan; end of Parthian dynasty

28 April 224–651 – Sasanian Empire

224–242 – reign of Ardashir I, first king of Sasanian Empire:

224–242 – Ardashir I
12 April 240–May 270 – Shapur I
May 270–June 271 – Hormizd I
June 271–September 274 – Bahram I
September 274–293 – Bahram II
293 – Bahram III
293–302 – Narseh
302–309 – Hormizd II
309 – Adur Narseh
309–379 – Shapur II
379–383 – Ardashir II
383–388 – Shapur III
388–399 – Bahram IV
399–21 January 420 – Yazdegerd I

28 April 224 – Ardashir I, crowned at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia (alternative dates: 226 or 6 April 227)

20 March 235–early May 238 – Maximinus Thrax

22 April–29 July 238 – Pupienus and Balbinus

22 March–12 April 238 – Gordian I and Gordian II

22 April–29 July 238 – Gordian III

244–249 – Philip the Arab

249–251 – Decius

253–260 – Valerian

253–268 – Gallienus

September 268–January 270 – Claudius Gothicus

September 270–September/October 275 – Aurelian

25 September 275–June 276 – Marcus Claudius Tacitus

July–September 276 – Florianus

276–September/October 282 – Probus

282–283 – Carus

20 November 284–1 May 305 – reign of Diocletian:

20 November 284–July 285 – (in competition with Carinus)
July 285–1 April 286 – (alone)
1 April 286–1 May 305 – (as Senior Augustus of the east, with Maximian in the west)
2 April 286–1 May 305 – Maximian is Augustus of the West
305–306 – Constantius Chlorus is Augustus in the west

300
305–306 – the Synod of Elvira in Hispania Baetica, now Granada in southern Spain

1 May 305 – in Milan and Nicomedia, Diocletian and Maximian retired simultaneously

1 May 305–summer 306 – Valerius Severus appointed Caesar of the West

East 1 April 286–1 May 305 – Diocletian Senior Augustus of the east 1 May 305–late April/early May 311 – Galerius Augustus in the East 11 November 308 – Licinius appointed Augustus (Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia and the West) 310–May 313 – Maximinus II Augustus in the east 311 – Maximinus divides Eastern Empire between Licinius and himself 313–324 – Licinius is Augustus in the east

West 2 April 286–1 May 305 – Maximian is Augustus of the West 1 May 305–25 July 306 – Constantius Chlorus is Augustus in the west 25 July 306–29 October 312 – Constantine is Caesar in the west 28 October 306–28 October 312 – Maxentius 11 November 308 – Galerius’ general council at Carnuntum 28 October 312 – battle of the Milvian Bridge between Constantine I and Maxentius

25 July 306–22 May 337 – reign of Constantine the Great:

25 July 306–29 October 312 – Constantine is Caesar in the west
309 – Constantine self-proclaimed Augustus
29 October 312 – Constantine enters Rome
29 October 312–19 September 324 – Constantine undisputed Augustus
February 313 – Edict of Milan
3 July 324 – the Battle of Adrianople between Constantine I and Licinius
18 September 324 – the battle of Chrysopolis between Constantine and Licinius
19 September 324–22 May 337 – Constantine is emperor of whole empire
324 – foundation of Constantinople
11 May 330 – dedication of Constantinople

summer 306–March/April 307 – Valerius Severus Augustus in the west

28 October 306 – Maxentius and his father Maximian declared Augusti

28 October 306–28 October 312 – Maxentius

late 307 – Galerius leads an invasion of Italy against Maxentius but retreats north with his army

early 308 – Maximian forced to leave Italy in disgrace after trying to remove his son from power

11 November 308 – Galerius’ general council at the military city of Carnuntum (with Diocletian, Galerius, and Maximian): Maximian forced to abdicate; Constantine was again demoted to Caesar; Licinius appointed Augustus in the western regions

11 November 308–313 – Licinius appointed Augustus in the west (Danube, Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia and the West)

309 – Maximian returns to the court of Constantine in Gaul

c. July 310 – Maximian hanged himself

April/May 311 – death of Galerius on journey from Thessalonica to Romuliana, perhaps Serdica; he is buried in mausoleum at Gamzigrad-Romuliana, part of his palace, in Zaječar in Serbia

9 June 311 – Licinius in Serdica

28 October 312 – battle of the Milvian Bridge between Constantine I and Maxentius

28 October 312 – death of Maxentius while crossing the Tiber in Rome

3 December 312 – death of Diocletian at his Palace

February 313 – Edict of Milan

30 April 313 – battle of Tzirallum between Licinius and Maximinus, at Çorlu, in Tekirdağ Province, in the Turkish region of Eastern Thrace; Maximinus defeated and he flees to Tarsus

July/August 313 – death of Maximinus II in Tarsus

East 313–324 July/August 313–18 September 324 – Licinius is Augustus I in the East July–18 September 324 – Martinian is Caesar of Licinius

West 313–324 28 October 312–18 September 324 – Constantine the Great is Augustus in the West 1 March 317–326 – Crispus is Caesar of his father Constantine I 25 July 306–22 May 337 – reign of Constantine the Great

1 March 317–326 – Crispus is Caesar of his father Constantine I

3 July 324 – the Battle of Adrianople between Constantine I and Licinius

July 324 – battle of the Hellespont, two separate naval clashes between Constantine’s fleet (led by Crispus) and a larger fleet under Licinius’ admiral, Abantus

18 September 324 – battle of Chrysopolis (modern Üsküdar), near Chalcedon between Constantine I and Licinius; Licinius defeated

19 September 324–22 May 337 – Constantine is emperor of whole empire

8 November 324 – foundation of Constantinople when Constantine marks out the perimeter

winter 324–325? – Constantine tours Asia Minor and Antioch

spring 325 – death of Licinius in Thessalonica

20 May–19 June 325 – Constantine presides over the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea

spring/summer 326 – execution of Crispus

11 May 330 – Constantine I dedicates Constantinople

22 May 337 – death of Constantine at his suburban villa Achyron, near Nicomedia

summer 337 – killing of Dalmatius (Caesar of Thracia, Achaea and Macedonia)

September 337 – death of Hannibalianus (nephew of Constantine I and Rex Regum et Ponticarum Gentium)

9 September 337 – Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans meet at Pannonia and divide the empire

East 337–350 – Constantius II co-Augustus (Constantinople, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Cyrenaica) 18 January 350–11 August 353 – Magnentius

West September 337–340 – Constantine II is Augustus (Gaul, Britannia and Hispania) 337–350 – Constans (Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Pannonia, Macedonia, and Achaea)

337–340 – Constantine II is joint emperor (over Gaul, Hispania, and Britannia) with Constantius II and Constans

337–3 November 361 – rule of Constantius II:

337–340 – Constantius II is co-Augustus (ruling Asian provinces and Egypt) with Constantine II and Constans
340 – killing of Constantine II in an ambush outside Aquileia in civil war with Constans
340–350 – Constantius II is co-Augustus with Constans
350 – assassination of Constans in Helena (now Elne) in the eastern Pyrenees of southwestern Gaul by supporters of the general Magnentius
350–361 – Constantius II is sole Augustus of the Roman Empire

350 – assassination of Constans in Helena (now Elne) in the eastern Pyrenees of southwestern Gaul by supporters of the general Magnentius

350–361 – Constantius II is sole Augustus of the Roman Empire

351 – battle of Mursa Major between Constantius II and Magnentius

6 November 355–February 360 – Julian the Apostate is Caesar in Gaul

3 November 361 – Constantius II dies of fever in Mopsucrene, Cilicia

3 November 361–26 June 363 – Julian the Apostate is emperor of the entire empire

11 December 361 – Julian entered Constantinople as sole emperor

27 June 363–17 February 364 – reign of Jovian