European History

A timeline of the major political empires, wars and invasions

Events

Greek and Hellenistic Period

850 BCE - 31 BCE

Roman Empire

753 BCE - 476 CE

Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire https://dare.ht.lu.se/

Roman Republic

509 BCE - 27 BCE

Destruction of Pompeii

79 CE

Animation (8 minutes) of the destruction of Pompeii when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY_3ggKg0Bc

Byzantine Empire

330 CE - 1453 CE

Byzantine Studies on the Internet https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/byzantium/
Dumbarton Oaks Research Center is one of the leading museums and research archives on Byzantium: https://www.doaks.org/

Visigoths sack Rome

410 CE

The Sack of Rome in 410 CE marks the expansive power of the various Northern and Eastern European based Gothic tribes, that included Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Huns, who overran the Western Roman Empire during the 5th and 6th centuries. After their ascendance, only the Eastern Roman Empire, renamed as the Byzantine Empire remained in successive power. The Gothic peoples however absorbed many of the Roman civil, cultural and political forms of organization.

Vikings

425 CE - 1066 CE

Carolingian Dynasty

751 CE - 987 CE

Holy Roman Empire

962 CE - 1806 CE

Norman Invasion of Britain

1066 CE

The Bayeux Tapestry is a visual representation of the Norman Invasion and Battle of Hastings in 1066 CE. Explore the tapestry at this link. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/discover-the-bayeux-tapestry/

The Magna Carta

1215 CE

The Magna Carta is signed by King John of England. Among other provisions, this document established the rights of individuals to justice and a trial by peers according to the law of the land. Explore the history of the Magna Carta at the UK National Archives link http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/medieval/magna-carta/index.php
Create a log-in with email to revist this site. Students earn badges online as they complete each chapter.

Hundred Years War

1337 CE - 1453 CE

Age of Exploration and Empires

1400 CE - 1800 CE

The British, Spanish, French, Dutch and Russian Empires compete to dominate exploration of the ocean systems and create colonial systems around the world of settler occupation, slavery and trade.

Habsburg Dynasty

1438 CE - 1740 CE

Fall of Constantinople

1453 CE

Columbus Discovers the Americas

1492 CE - 1502 CE

The consequences of Columbus' Four Voyages and subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange. The theory was put forth by Norman Crosby and lessons to study this are found at this link. Part 1:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/columbian.htm
Part 2 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/columbianb.htm
Part 3 Student discussion: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/columbianc.htm

Atlantic Slave Trade

1500 CE - 1866 CE

Students may examine maps and actual documentation for each slave ship at Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database http://digitalscholarship.emory.edu/projects/featured/voyages-slave-trade.html

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1535 CE - Present

Thirty Years War

1618 CE - 1648 CE

Treaty of Westphalia

1648 CE

Russian Empire

1721 CE - 1917 CE

First World War

1914 CE - 1918 CE

Second World War

1939 - 1945

European Union

1991 CE - Present