Medieval
500 AD–1450 AD · 167 events
Politics
- Tiwanaku Empire Rises (500 AD)
- Sui Dynasty Unifies China (581 AD)
- Ghana Empire Rises (600 AD)
- Srivijaya Empire Rises (600 AD)
- Tang Dynasty Founded (618 AD)
- Rashidun Caliphate Founded (632 AD)
- Umayyad Caliphate Founded (661 AD)
- Wari Empire Expands (700 AD)
- Abbasid Caliphate Founded (750 AD)
- Khmer Empire Rises (800 AD)
- Kingdom of Zimbabwe Emerges (900 AD)
- Tang Dynasty Falls (907 AD)
- Song Dynasty Founded (960 AD)
- Ly Dynasty in Vietnam (1010 AD)
- Pagan Empire Unifies Burma (1044 AD)
- Kingdom of Jerusalem Founded (1099 AD)
- Kamakura Shogunate in Japan (1185 AD)
- Delhi Sultanate Founded (1206 AD)
- Magna Carta (1215 AD)
- Mali Empire Founded (1235 AD)
- Sukhothai Kingdom Founded (1238 AD)
- Mamluks Seize Egypt (1250 AD)
- Solomonic Dynasty Restored in Ethiopia (1270 AD)
- Alauddin Khalji Rules Delhi (1290 AD)
- Majapahit Empire Founded (1292 AD)
- Aztec (Mexica) Arrive in Valley of Mexico (1300 AD)
- Ottoman Empire Founded (1300 AD)
- Mansa Musa Becomes Emperor of Mali (1312 AD)
- Tenochtitlan Founded (1325 AD)
- Vijayanagara Empire Founded (1336 AD)
- Ayutthaya Kingdom Founded (1350 AD)
- Ming Dynasty Expels Mongols (1368 AD)
- Joseon Dynasty Founded in Korea (1392 AD)
- Inca Empire Expands Rapidly (1400 AD)
- Malacca Sultanate Rises (1400 AD)
- China Abandons Ocean Voyages (1433 AD)
- Inca Empire Begins (1438 AD)
- Benin Empire Expands (1440 AD)
- Aztec Triple Alliance Dominates (1450 AD)
Culture
- Bantu Migrations Complete (500 AD)
- Maya City of Palenque Flourishes (600 AD)
- Teotihuacan Collapses (650 AD)
- Baghdad Founded (762 AD)
- Harun al-Rashid Rules (786 AD)
- Maya Classic Collapse (800 AD)
- Swahili Coast Trade Begins (800 AD)
- Tales of the Thousand and One Nights (800 AD)
- Chichen Itza at Peak (900 AD)
- Mississippian Culture Begins (950 AD)
- Leif Eriksson Reaches America (1000 AD)
- Timbuktu Founded (1000 AD)
- Tale of Genji Written (1000 AD)
- The Shahnameh Finished (1010 AD)
- Cahokia at its Peak (1050 AD)
- First University Founded (1088 AD)
- Anasazi Cliff Dwellings Built (1100 AD)
- Kingdom of Ife Flourishes (1100 AD)
- Angkor Wat Construction (1113 AD)
- Kalila and Dimna Retold (1258 AD)
- Rumi's Followers Found the Mevlevi Order (1273 AD)
- Renaissance Begins (1300 AD)
- Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca (1324 AD)
- Black Death Arrives (1347 AD)
- Great Zimbabwe at Peak (1400 AD)
- Zheng He's First Voyage (1405 AD)
- Portuguese Begin African Exploration (1418 AD)
- Forbidden City Completed (1420 AD)
- Machu Picchu Built (1438 AD)
- Portuguese Reach Saharan Africa (1441 AD)
- Korean Hangul Alphabet Created (1443 AD)
Disaster
- Antioch Earthquake (526 AD)
- Plague of Justinian (541 AD)
- Galilee Earthquake (749 AD)
- Aleppo Earthquake (1138 AD)
- Great Syrian Earthquake of 1202 (1202 AD)
- Great Famine of Europe (1315 AD)
Religion
- Benedict Founds Monte Cassino (529 AD)
- Buddhism Reaches Japan (550 AD)
- Birth of Muhammad (570 AD)
- Augustine's Mission to Kent (597 AD)
- Horyu-ji Temple Founded (607 AD)
- The Hijra (622 AD)
- Islam Spreads East (630 AD)
- Death of Muhammad (632 AD)
- Xuanzang Returns to China (645 AD)
- Islam Spreads Across North Africa (670 AD)
- Battle of Karbala (680 AD)
- Baptism of Poland (966 AD)
- Great Schism (1054 AD)
- Honen Founds Pure Land Buddhism in Japan (1175 AD)
- Zen Buddhism Reaches Japan (1200 AD)
- Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela (1200 AD)
- Franciscan Order Approved (1209 AD)
- Western Schism Begins (1378 AD)
- Jan Hus Burned at Constance (1415 AD)
Science
- Grand Canal of China Built (605 AD)
- Brahmagupta Defines Zero (628 AD)
- Printing Invented in China (700 AD)
- Al-Khwarizmi Writes on Algebra (820 AD)
- House of Wisdom in Baghdad (830 AD)
- Gunpowder Invented (850 AD)
- Al-Kindi Writes on Cryptography (850 AD)
- First Printed Book (868 AD)
- Al-Razi Writes Medical Encyclopedia (900 AD)
- Ibn al-Haytham Born (965 AD)
- Ibn Sina Born (980 AD)
- Ge'ez Astronomical Tables (1000 AD)
- Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics (1011 AD)
- Ibn Sina Dies (1037 AD)
- First Written Gunpowder Formulas (1044 AD)
- Omar Khayyam Born (1048 AD)
- Shen Kuo Describes the Magnetic Compass (1088 AD)
- Fibonacci Brings Arabic Numerals to Europe (1150 AD)
- Al-Jazari Writes Book of Machines (1206 AD)
- Gunpowder Reaches Europe (1242 AD)
- Eyeglasses Invented (1286 AD)
- Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press (1440 AD)
Exploration
- Xuanzang Travels to India (629 AD)
- Accounts of Sulayman the Merchant (851 AD)
- Ibn Fadlan Travels North (921 AD)
- Erik the Red Discovers Greenland (982 AD)
- Tabula Rogeriana Completed (1154 AD)
- Benjamin of Tudela Travels East (1159 AD)
- Marco Polo Departs Venice (1271 AD)
- Ibn Battuta Begins Travels (1325 AD)
- Ibn Battuta Crosses the Sahara (1352 AD)
- Ahmad ibn Majid Charts the Indian Ocean (1432 AD)
War
- Arabs Conquer Persia (636 AD)
- Arabs Capture Jerusalem (638 AD)
- Moors Invade Spain (711 AD)
- Arabs Conquer Sind (711 AD)
- Battle of Tours (732 AD)
- Battle of Talas River (751 AD)
- Viking Raids Begin (793 AD)
- Mahmud of Ghazni Invades India (1001 AD)
- Seljuk Turks Take Baghdad (1055 AD)
- Battle of Hastings (1066 AD)
- Almoravids Conquer Ghana Empire (1076 AD)
- First Crusade Called (1095 AD)
- Jin Dynasty Challenges Song China (1115 AD)
- Minamoto Clan Wins Genpei War (1185 AD)
- Saladin Recaptures Jerusalem (1187 AD)
- Third Crusade (1190 AD)
- Muhammad of Ghor Defeats Rajputs (1192 AD)
- Mongol Empire Founded (1206 AD)
- Genghis Khan Destroys Samarkand (1220 AD)
- Battle of Kirina (1235 AD)
- Mongols Sack Baghdad (1258 AD)
- Mamluks Defeat Mongols (1260 AD)
- Mongols Conquer all of China (1279 AD)
- Mongol Invasion of Japan Failed (1281 AD)
- Battle of Kosovo (1389 AD)
- Timur Sacks Delhi (1398 AD)
- Timur Defeats Ottomans (1402 AD)
- Portugal Captures Ceuta (1415 AD)
- Battle of Agincourt (1415 AD)
Economy
- Islamic Golden Age Trade (700 AD)
- Ghana Empire Controls Gold Trade (750 AD)
- Viking Trade Routes (800 AD)
- Song Dynasty Commerce (900 AD)
- Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (1000 AD)
- First Paper Money (1088 AD)
- Champagne Fairs (1100 AD)
- Florentine Florin Minted (1252 AD)
- Hanseatic League at Peak (1300 AD)
- Medici Bank Founded (1397 AD)
- Medici Bank Dominates Europe (1450 AD)
Further reading
- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
- A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman
- The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry
- Lost Enlightenment by S. Frederick Starr
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Other eras
- Ancient World (3200 BCE – 500 BCE)
- Classical Era (500 BCE – 500 AD)
- Early Modern (1450 AD – 1800 AD)
- Industrial Age (1800 AD – 1945 AD)
- Modern (1945 AD – 2025 AD)
Explore the full timeline · On This Day · About · Privacy Policy · Contact