Chronology of Military Events, 400-1500

This chronology includes major battles and sieges and a few political markers such as the accession of important rulers. For brevity rulers of Germany are noted as HRE (Holy Roman Emperors), whether crowned only as King of the Romans or not. Byzantine Emperor is abbreviated as Byz., France as Fr., England as Eng., Spain as Sp. With long-lasting events, generally just the beginning is noted. * represents a battle; # a siege. The number in brackets shows the section in which details of the event can be found.

Date Western Europe Central and eastern Europe Elsewhere
410 Alaric [1] sacks Rome    
415 Visigoths reach Sp.    
439 *Toulouse [1]    
451 *Châlons [1]    
452 *Aquileia [1]    
453   d. Attila [1]  
455 Sack of Rome    
471   Theoderic king of Ostrogoths [1]  
476 Odoacer [1] deposes Romulus Augustulus  
481 Clovis [1] king of Franks    
486 *Soissons [1]    
490 *Adda [1]    
496 *Tolbiac [1]    
527   Justinian I Byz. [7]  
531     Chosroes I Persia [7]
532   Nika Revolt [7]  
541   Totila king of Ostrogoths [1]  
552 *Busta Gallorum [1]    
577 *Deorham [4]    
582   Maurice Byz. [7]  
610   Heraclius Byz. [7]  
632     d. Mohammed
634 *Heavenfield [4]    
636     *Yarmuk [7]
638     Muslims take Jerusalem
695 #Dorestad    
710 Rodrigo I king of Visigoths [1]    
711 Tāriq invades Sp. [1]    
732 *Tours [1]    
737 Charles Martel takes power [1]    
751 Pepin king of Franks [2]    
757 Offa king of Mercia [4]
Desiderius king of Lombards [2]
   
771 Charlemagne sole king [2]    
772   Charlemagne invades Saxony [2]  
773 Charlemagne invades Lombardy [2]    
778 *Roncesvalles; #Zaragoza [2]    
782 Verden slaughter *Süntel Mountains [2]  
786     Haroun al-Rashid
795   Charlemagne defeats the Avars  
800 Charlemagne crowned HRE
*Barcelona [2]; Godfred king Denmark [3]
   
808 Danewirk built Krum khagan [7]  
811 *Tortosa [2]    
813   LeoV Byz. [7]  
814 d. Charlemagne
Louis the Pious HRE [2]
   
834 #Dorestad [7]    
841 *Fontenoy [7]    
843 Charles the Bald king [7]    
852 #Jeufosse [3]    
858 #Oissel [3]    
860   Rus attack Constantinople [7]  
865   Rus attack Constantinople [7]  
867   Basil I Byz. [7]  
870 Harold Finehair king Norway [3]    
871 *Ashdown; Alfred the Great king Wessex [4]    
876 *Andernach [2]    
878 Athelney; *Edington [4]
Peace of Wedmore
   
885 #Paris [3]    
886   Leo VI Byz. [7]  
891 *Dyle [3]    
893   First Bulgar empire  
900 *Hafrsfjord [3]    
911 Treaty of St-Clair-sur-Epte Conrad I HRE [6]  
912 Abd er Rahman caliph [11]    
919   Henry the Fowler HRE [6]  
924 Aethelstan king Eng. [4]    
927   Symeon khan [7]  
932 #Toledo [11]    
933   *Riade [6]  
936 Louis IV king Fr. Otto I HRE [6]  
937 *Brunanburh [4]    
955   *Lechfeld [6]  
958 Harold Bluetooth king Denmark [3]    
968     Fatimids invade Egypt
973   Otto II HRE [6]  
974 *Hals [3]    
976   Basil II Byz. [7]  
978 Aethelred II king Eng. [4]    
980 *Tara [3]    
983   Otto III HRE [6]  
987 Hugh Capet king Fr. [9]    
989 Sigtrygg Silkbeard king Dublin [3]    
991 *Maldon [4]    
992 *Conquereux [2]    
993   Otto III crowned Emperor [6]  
1000   Stephen king Hungary [6]  
1014 *Clontarf [3]    
1016 *Ashdown [4]
Cnut king Eng. [4]
   
1024   Conrad II HRE [6]  
1025 St Ólaf king Norway [3]    
1026 *Holy River [3]    
1030 *Stiklestad [3]    
1031 Henry I king Fr. [9]    
1035 William II duke Normandy [5]
Magnús the Good king Norway [3]
   
1038 George Maniakes invades Italy [7]    
1040 Macbeth king Scots    
1042 Edward the Confessor king Eng.    
1045 Harold Hardrada king Norway [3]    
1053 *Civitate [5]    
1056   Henry IV HRE [6]  
1060 Philip I king Fr. [9]    
1061 Normans invade Sicily    
1063   Alp Arslan sultan [7]  
1066 *Stamford Bridge [5]
*Hastings [5]
   
1071 *Cassel [9] *Manzikert [7] Seljuks over Anatolia
1072 Alfonso VI king León [11]    
1075     Seljuks take Jerusalem
1077 Meeting at Canossa    
1080 *Flarcheim [6] *Durazzo [5]
Alexius I Comnenus Byz. [7]
 
1086 *Zalaka [11]   Kilij Arslan sultan [8]
1087 William Rufus king Eng. [5]    
1094 El Cid takes Valencia [11]    
1096     First Crusade
1097 #Huesca [11] #Antioch [8]  
1099     #Jerusalem *Ascalon [8]
1100 Henry I king Eng. [5]    
1106 *Tinchebrai [5]    
1108 Louis VI king Fr. [9]    
1109 Alfonso I king Aragon [11]    
1111 Henry V HRE [6]    
1119 *Brémule [5]    
1127 Charles the Good killed    
1130 Roger II king Sicily [5]    
1135 Stephen king Eng. [5]    
1137 Louis VII king Fr. [9] Conrad III HRE [6]  
1138 *Standard [5]    
1141 *Lincoln [5]    
1143   Manuel I Byz. [7]  
1144     #Edessa [8]
1147     Second Crusade
1148     #Damascus [8]
1152   Frederick Barbarossa HRE [6]  
1154 Henry II king Eng. [10]    
1155   Barbarossa crowned HRE [6]  
1165 William the Lion king Scots [10]    
1166 Alfonso VI king Castile [11]    
1169 Strongbow to Ireland [10]    
1170 d. Becket    
1175     Saladin rules Egypt and Syria
1176 *Legnano [6]    
1180 Philip Augustus king Fr. [9]    
1187   *Hattin #Jerusalem [8]  
1189 Richard the Lionheart king Eng. [10]    
1190     Third Crusade
1191     #Acre *Arsuf [8]
1196 *Alarcos [11]    
1197   Otto IV HRE [6]  
1199 John king Eng. [10]    
1202   #Zara, Fourth Crusade [8]  
1203 #Château-Gaillard [9]    
1204   #Constantinople [8]
  Baldwin I Byz. [7]
Emergence Genghis Khan
1208 Albigensian Crusade Otto IV HRE [6]  
1212 *Las Navas de Tolosa [11]    
1213 *Muret [9]    
1214 *Bouvines [9]    
1215 Magna Carta Frederick II HRE [6]  
1217 *Lincoln *Sandwich [10]
Jaime I king Aragón [11]
Fifth Crusade  
1224 #Bedford [10]    
1226 St Louis king Fr. [9]    
1227     d. Genghis Khan
1228     Frederick II's Crusade
1229 Jaime I invades Mallorca    
1232 Jaime I attacks Valencia [11]    
1236 #Córdoba [11]   Mongols attack Hungary
1237 *Cortenuova [6]    
1241   *Leignitz [6]
Mongols to Vienna
 
1242 *Taillebourg [9] *Lake Peipus [6]  
1243     #Jerusalem
1244 Montségur [9]   *La Forbie [8]
Fall of Jerusalem
1247     Alexander Nevsky prince of Kiev [6]
1248     St Louis' Crusade
1250     *Mansurah [8]
1258 Treaties of Corbeil and Paris   Mongols take Baghdad
1260     *Ayn Jalut [8]
1261   Michael VIII enters Constantinople [7] Emergence of Kublai Khān
1263 *Largs [10]    
1264 *Lewes [10]    
1265 *Evesham [10]    
1266 Charles of Anjou takes Sicily [12]
*Benevento [12]
   
1268 *Tagliacozzo [12]    
1270     St Louis' Tunis Crusade
1271     d. St Louis [9]
1272 Edward I king Eng. [10]   Marco Polo goes east
1273   Rudolf I HRE [6]  
1279     Qalawun sultan [8]
1280     Othman sultan [7]
1282 Sicilian Vespers [12]    
1285 Philip IV king Fr. [9]    
1290     al-Ashraf sultan [8]
1291     Fall of Acre [8]
1296 *Dunbar [10]    
1297 *Stirling [10]    
1298 *Falkirk [10]    
1302 *Courtrai [9]    
1304 *Mons-en-Pévèle [9]    
1306 *Methven [10]    
1308   Henry VII HRE [6]  
1314 *Bannockburn [10]    
1315   *Morgarten [6]  
1322 *Boroughbridge [10]    
1324     Orhan sultan [7]
1327 Edward III king Eng. [10]    
1328 Philip VI king Fr. [9]
*Cassel [9]
   
1333 *Halidon Hill [10]    
1336   Stephen Dušan king Serbia [7]  
1337 Opening of Hundred Years' War    
1340 *Sluys [9] *Salado [11]    
1346 *Neville's Cross [10]
*Crécy [9]
Charles IV HRE [6]  
1347 #Calais [9]
Black Death through Europe
   
1356 *Poitiers [9]    
1358 Jacquerie [9]    
1359     Murad I sultan [7]
1360 Treaty of Brétigny    
1364 Charles V king Fr. [9]    
1366 Enrique de Trástamara king Castile [11]    
1367 *Nájera [11]    
1369     Tamberlane khan [7]
1370 #Limoges [9]    
1371   *Maritsa [6]  
1372 *La Rochelle [9]    
1376 War of the Eight Saints [12] Wenceslas IV HRE [6]  
1378 Gian Galeazzo Visconti over Milan [12]  
1380 Charles VI king Fr. [9] *Chioggia [12]  
1381 Peasants' Revolt [10]    
1382 *Roosebeke [9]    
1385 *Aljubarrota [11]    
1386 Louis of Anjou king Naples [12]   *Sempach [6]
1387 *Radcot Bridge [10]    
1388 *Otterburn [10]    
1389   *Kosovo [7] Bayezit I sultan [7]
1391   Manuel II Byz. [7]  
1396   *Nicopolis [7]  
1399 Henry IV king Eng. [10]    
1402 *Homildon Hill [10]   *Ankara [7]
1403 *Shrewsbury [10]    
1407 Murder of Louis of Orléans    
1408 *Bramham Moor [10]    
1410   Sigismund HRE *Tannenberg [6]
1412 Filippo Maria Visconti over Milan [12]    
1413 Henry V king Eng. [10]    
1415 *Agincourt [9]    
1419   Opening of Hussite Wars  
1420 Treaty of Troyes    
1421 *Baugé [9]   Murad II sultan [7]
1422 Henry VI king Eng. [10]    
1423 *Cravant [9]    
1429 Orléans relieved [9]    
1431 d. Joan of Arc [9]    
1434 Cosimo Medici over Florence [12]    
1435 Treaty of Arras    
1438   Albert II of Habsburg HRE  
1440   Frederick III HRE [6]  
1442 Alfonso I of Aragón king Naples [12]   #Rhodes [8]
1444 *Varna [8]  
1448   *2nd Kosovo [7]  
1450 Cade's Rebellion [10]
*Formigny [9]
Francesco Sforza over Milan [12]
   
1451     Mehmet II sultan [7]
1453 *Castillon [9] Fall of Constantinople [7]  
1455 *1st St Albans [10]    
1460 * Wakefield [10]   Ottomans over Peloponnese
1461 *2nd St Albans *Towton [10]
Louis XI king Fr. [9]
   
1465 *Montlhéry [9]    
1469 Lorenzo the Magnificent over Florence [12]    
1471 *Barnet *Tewkesbury [10]    
1474 Ferdinand and Isabella over Castile [11]    
1476 *Grandson *Morat [6]    
1477 *Nancy [6]    
1479 *Guinegate    
1480   #Rhodes [8]  
1481     Bayezit II sultan [7]
1485 *Bosworth [10] Henry VII king Eng.    
1486   Maximilian I HRE [6]  
1487 *Stoke [10]    
1492 Taking of Granada [11]   Voyage of Columbus
1494 Charles VIII invades Italy [12]
Ludovico il Moro over Milan [12]
   

A-Z of Major Castles

Abinger Aigle Alhambra Amboise
Arques Arundel Beaufort Beaumaris
Bled Bodiam Bodrum Bonaguil
Bouillon Burghausen Burwell Caernarvon
Carisbrooke Castel del Monte Castello Sforzesco
Castel Sant'Angelo Châteaudun Château-Gaillard Chepstow
Chillon Chinon Cochem Colchester
Conway Corfe Domfront Doue-la-Fontaine
Dover Drachenfels Falaise Gisors
Grandson Habsburg Hälsingborg Harlech
Hastings Haut Koenigsbourg Herstmonceux Hochosterwitz
Hüsterknupp Karlštejn Kerak Kirby
Muxloe Krak des Chevaliers Langeais Lewes
Linz Loches London Louvre
Málaga Mantua Margat Marienburg
Montréal Montreuil-Bellay Montségur Muiderslot
Niort Nuremburg Nyborg Orford
Plessis-Bourré Plessis-Grimoult Rhodes Rhuddlan
Riga Roche-Guyon Rochester Salzburg
San Gimignano Saumur Segovia Silifke
Sirmione Stirling Stokesay Tarascon
Thun Trifels Trim Valladolid
Vincennes Visborg Wartburg Werlar
Windsor York    

A-Z of Terms

adulterine castles archères artillery ashlar
bailey balearic sling balista barbican
bastide bastion belfry bergfried
berm bore brattice brigola
cannon castellan castle-guard cat
catapult combustibles concentric castles counter
castles crakkis crenellation curtain
donjon drawbridge en bec fonevol
forebuilding funda Greek Fire hoarding
keep machicolation mangonel mantlet
merlon meutrières mining moat
motte parapet paterell pavise
pele petrary portcullis postern
ram rampart ravelin rendability
ribaudequin scaling scorpion sow
spur talus testudo trebuchet
ward