The First Millenium

[Vince]

Basiliscus, the brother-in-law of Eastern Emperor Zeno, had seized power, but the people, the Church, the government, and everybody else quickly united against him, and Emperor Zeno returned in triumph and executed him. Now, faced with Italy's revolt, Zeno made the best of it. He was too intelligent to believe Italy's pledge of loyalty, but he couldn't do anything at the time. The Eastern treasury was too drained from an unsuccessful war with the Vandals for him to launch a war against Italy, and there were too many Germans around for him to launch a major war against Italy. With European nations developing their own identities independently of Rome, the Middle Ages had begun.

Eleven centuries later, a single pro-Roman historian, described September 4, 476, as the beginning of the Dark Ages. It just isn't true.

In India, the birth of Aryabhata marks the beginning of the classical period of Indian mathematics and astronomy. Aryabhata taught that the earth rotated on its own axis, advanced trigonometry by compiling tables of sines and cosines, calculated the speed of the planets, and developed understanding of the importance of pi.

 

[Vince]

Finally! We've reached the year 477!

The Saxon chieftain, Aelle, lands on the Sussex coast, in the southeast corner of England, with his sons. Britons engage him upon landing but his superior force drives them into the forest. Over the next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded in Sussex as Aelle keeps defeating the English and massacring the inhabitants of lands he conquers. He rules for decades, eventually becoming king of all of southern Sussex and having various minor Saxon kingdoms under his control.

Italy wins its first war, invading Sicily, defeating the Vandals, and driving them out of Europe.

The Shaolin Monastery is built in China. There, martial arts, especially kung-fu, are developed.

Huneric becomes king of the Vandals. He concentrates on internal policies, persecuting Catholics and Manichaeans.

 

[jasoncran]

Finally! We've reached the year 477!

The Saxon chieftain, Aelle, lands on the Sussex coast, in the southeast corner of England, with his sons. Britons engage him upon landing but his superior force drives them into the forest. Over the next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded in Sussex as Aelle keeps defeating the English and massacring the inhabitants of lands he conquers. He rules for decades, eventually becoming king of all of southern Sussex and having various minor Saxon kingdoms under his control.

Italy wins its first war, invading Sicily, defeating the Vandals, and driving them out of Europe.

The Shaolin Monastery is built in China. There, martial arts, especially kung-fu, are developed.

Huneric becomes king of the Vandals. He concentrates on internal policies, persecuting Catholics and Manichaeans.

wu-shu is the better name for kung-fu. wu-shu is that actual art and kung-fu is the dance thing that has no defense use.

most do the latter but it should be called that still as that is what they do. if they really teach self-defense and as such then its called wu-shu.

 

[Vince]

Thank you, Jasoncran. Anybody else who would like to post on this thread is welcome to do so.

And now, welcome to the year 478.

From now one, we'll be referring to the Eastern Empire as the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Zeno's mother-in-law organizes a revolt that fails, and Zeno holds onto his throne.

Japan is having a conflict between the native Shinto religion and Buddhism. This year, the first Shinto shrines are built. And the Emperor of China confirms the Emperor of Japan's claim that the Japanese Emperor is in charge of all military affairs of Japan and Korea.

Ailill the Ram, High King of Ireland, is killed in battle against Irish rivals.

 

[Vince]

We have now reached the year 479.

In southern China the Song Dynasty had become marked with increasing bloodshed. The Emperor had killed thousands of members of the extended royal family before being replaced by his weakling son. General Xiao Daocheng kills the son and any survivors of the family he can find and declares himself Emperor, thus ending the Song Dynasty.

Italian and Byzantine politicians are striving to prevent war. They agree that there is no need for a Western Emperor (especially since there is no longer a Western Empire) and declare Zeno Emperor of the entire Empire. Zeno announces that Italian king Odoacer is military ruler of Italy and pretends that Italy is still part of the Empire.

 

[Vince]

Let's see how things go in the year 480.

Julius Nepos, the deposed Roman Emperor who pretended to rule from Dalmatia, had been organizing a plot to re-seize Italy. General Syagrius still ruled his rump state in northwestern France and had acknowledged Julius as the Emperor. Perhaps fearing the disaster that would follow if they invaded Italy in a war that would do them no good, Julius's own soldiers, urged on by some bishops, assassinated him.

The government of Dalmatia floundered on for a few months, and then Italy suddenly invaded them, annexing Dalmatia. The Adriatic Sea was now bounded on three sides by Italy.

The once-mighty Gupta Empire of northern India is collapsing under attacks from the Huns. Conflicting records disagree on who the Emperor is.

 

[Vince]

481

Fifteen-year-old Clovis I becomes king of the western Franks upon the death of his father. An Arian , he will later convert to Catholicism. Most importantly, he will later unite all the Franks and become King of France.

The three small kingdoms of South Korea unite into a confederation against powerful north Korea.

Byzantine Emperor Zeno executes General Sabinianus Magnus. Magnus had stood by the Emperor during the revolt that had driven him out of power and had won a major victory over the Goths. But he was too ambitious in seizing power.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to the year 482.

It was a quiet year. The Henotikon (the "act of union") was issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalcedon and the miaphysites. It was followed by the Acacian schism.

The Council of Chalcedon is regarded by many Church historians as the last true Church Council, in that it allowed all sides to participate. The Council had condemned those who believed that Jesus had one nature, and insisted that He had two. The miaphysites taught the Deity of Christ, but insisted that He had only one nature. For the record, the Bible does not teach anything about how many natures Jesus had.

The Church split, but when it was eventually re-united, much of the Eastern Church still held that Jesus had one nature.

Emperor Wu ascends to the throne of southern China. Quickly murdering some people he was angry at, he then establishes a stable and competent reign.

 

[Vince]

We are now at the year 483.

Felix III (483-492), a widower with two children, becomes Pope. He excommunicates Peter the Fuller, the Patriarch of Antioch, who had been made patriarch after the people deposed the current one. He also excommunicates Pope Peter III of Alexandria, creating a schism that lasts until 519. Both these disputes had involved complex theories about the nature of Christ.

Angry at the current Empress, General Illus and Verina (an aged woman who was a former Empress) attempt to overthrow Emperor Zeno and place a general named Leontius on the throne. They quickly raise an army and defeat Zeno's army, but are unable to seize Constantinople.

 

[Vince]

484
After several years of civil war, the Persian Empire invades the Huns with a 75,000 man army. Tricked into an ambush, the Persians suffer a massive defeat, and their king is killed. The king's brother Balash is made the new king of Persia.

Pope Felix III excommunicates Peter Mongus, patriarch of Alexandria, and Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, causing a schism between eastern and western Christianity that lasts 35 years.

Gunthamund succeeds his unpopular uncle as king of the Vandals in north Africa. Benefiting because his enemies are all involved in wars, Gunthamund brings in financial stability and peace, easing up on the persecution of Catholics.

Located on Italy's northwestern border, the Burgundian Kingdom is going through a bloody consolidation of power, as rival rulers execute their enemies.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 485

China introduces the Equal-Field System. Claiming that it owns all land, the government assigns land, rent-free, to farmers. Bigger families, families with more oxen, and able-bodied men, get more land, since they can farm more land. This increases agricultural production, provides more taxes, and keeps the wealthy from accumulating vast estates that prevent the peasants from being able to have their own farms. At death, the land reverts back to the government to be re-assigned, although the land is often re-assigned to families already living there.

Did he really exist? King Arthur starts defeating the Germans, winning twelve battles in the next nine years, and gaining a reputation for being invincible. All of his battles take place in Scotland or northern England. He becomes High King of Britain, establishing justice throughout his realm. When Roman emissaries arrive, asking for tax money, he treats them kindly but informs them that Britain is independent of Rome.

But in southern Britain, Aelle of Sussex has begun uniting the various Saxon communities under himself. He wins a major battle against the Britians this year.

Once again, Peter the Fuller is excommunicated, and once again he ignores it. The powerful Patriarch of Antioch, he had vigorously deposed bishops with whom he disagreed on the nature of Christ, and he claimed authority to ordain bishops on his own authority.

 

[Vince]

It is now 486.

Battle of Mercredesburne. Aelle, king of the Saxons, leads the Germans in a massive battle against the British. Although fought to a draw, losses are so heavy that the British give all of Sussex to the Germans in exchange for making peace. Then the Germans keep sending back to the mainland for more warriors.

Syagrius was still ruling over a rump state in northwestern France that claimed to be the real Roman Empire. But the Franks under Clovis I invade and seize most of his territory. Over the next several years, the Franks steadily seize the rest of his territory.

Records are scarce, but about this time, Provence, the territory in south-eastern France that had been part of the Western Empire, is seized by the Germans.

 

[Vince]

Let's see how things work out in the year 487.

Syagrius, having been defeated by the Franks, flees what's left of his rump state and goes to the Visigoths for refuge. The Visigoths quickly arrest him and send him to Clovis I, king of the Franks. Clovis quickly kills him.

If you have a long memory, you'll recall that "Caspar," a Mayan ruler in southern Mexico, got his name because the symbol for him looks like Caspar the Friendly Ghost. He dies this year and is replaced by B'utz Aj Sak Chiik. The only two records of him, carved in stone, tell us that he was 28 years old and he reigned until his death in 501.

 

[Vince]

It is now 488 AD.

Zeno, Emperor of the East, has grown suspicious and jealous of Odoacer, King of Italy. Odoacer has been defeating too many Germans. Zeno makes a deal with his German enemies: if they will help him invade Italy and kill Odoacer, he will give them Italy. This removes large numbers of Germans warriors from the Eastern Empire’s border and also gets rid of Odoacer, who has done no wrong to Zeno.

The Germans agree, and the army invades Italy, which had also done Zeno no wrong.

After the defeat of the Huns, the Gepids, a minor German tribe, had managed to establish a kingdom in the Carpathian Mountains of eastern Europe. They start expanding, and this year they seize Belgrade.

Peter the Fuller, Patriarch of Antioch, dies and nobody misses him.

 

[Vince]

And now we are at the year 489.

Theodoric the Great leads his Ostrogoth army into Italy. He defeats Odoacer and the Italians twice, advancing farther south down the Italian peninsula. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Empire can re-arrange its defenses, since the Ostrogoths have left the Balkans in eastern Europe.

Northern China constructs its first Confucian temple.

About this time, Ninken becomes Emperor of Japan. For some reason, his younger brother had been Emperor before him, as part of an agreement between the two.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 490, which is a bad year for Italy.

On April 1, the majority of the Italian army surrenders to the Visigoths. King Odoacer still has some soldiers left, and four months later he counter-attacks but is defeated.

Euphemius becomes Patriarch of Constantinople. Highly-educated and virtuous, he tries to heal the schism with Rome but refuses to denounce previous Patriarchs who disagreed with Rome's latest views on how many natures Jesus had.

 

[Vince]

It's 491, and things aren't getting much better.

In southern Britain, Aelle of Sussex, king of the Saxons, besieges and conquers the fortified town of Anderitum. He massacres all the inhabitants.

Byzantine Emperor Zeno dies. His widow is Empress and she quickly marries Anastasius I, a palace official, and makes him Emperor. The new Emperor carefully reduces taxes, gaining a lot of popular support.

 

[Vince]

492 will get better. Won't it?

Gelasius I (492-496), the third and last African Pope, is elected. He continues the policies of his predecessors, striving to increase Papal authority over the bishops. A prolific writer, he deluged eastern bishops with letters asserting his supremacy over them.

Seeking to eliminate the Manichaeans, he commanded that Holy Communion be given as both bread and wine, knowing that the Manichaeans would not drink wine.

The Isaurian War begins. Isauria was a poverty-stricken province in the Byzantine Empire, and its people were despised by both the Germans and the Romans. When Zeno became Emperor, one reason for the revolt that drove him temporarily from power was that he was an Isaurian. When Anastasius I, a palace official, was made the new Emperor, instead of Zeno's Isaurian brother, a five year long civil war broke out, with the Isaurians eventually defeated.

King Odoacer of Italy is trapped in the city of Ravenna, where his remaining army tries to hold off the Ostrogoths, who now control most of Italy.

 

[Vince]

493

Sorry, Folks. I posted this yesterday, but it didn't "take."

After five years of extensive warfare in Italy, Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, wins. He gets King Odoacer of Italy to recognize Theodoric as King of Italy and then murders him with his own hands. A Trinitarian, Theodoric is quickly befriended by the Catholic Church. The Ostrogoths steadily migrate into Italy and settle down, blend in with the population, and become Italians.

The Ostrogothic Papacy was a period from 493 to 537 in which the papacy was strongly influenced by the Ostrogothic Kingdom, with the Pope sometimes being appointed by the Ostrogothic King. The selection and administration of popes during this period was strongly influenced by Theodoric the Great and his successors Athalaric and Theodahad.

On March 17, Saint Patrick dies. Two Irish clans prepare to go to war for possession of his remains, but a sudden flood frightens them into making peace.

Clovis I, King of the Franks, marries the Burgundian princess Clotilde. The Catholic queen converts the Arian king to Catholicism, and eventually, the Frankish kingdom converts as well.

Isauri was a poverty-stricken province of the Eastern Empire, and the Isaurians were despised by both the Germans and the Byzantines. Emperor Zeno had been an Isaurian, and he had stopped mistreatment of his people, but when he died, his brother was not named Emperor. The Isaurians now begin a five-year revolt that eventually fails.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 494.

Latakia is the principal port of Syria. Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Israel, it is devastated by an earthquake this year.

Pope Gelasius I declares George the dragon-slayer to be a saint.

"Candlemas," which occurs forty days after Christmas, is declared an official Christian holy day. It is designed to replace the pagan holiday of Lupernia. Candlemas celebrates the presentation of the Baby Jesus in the Temple.