Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I dies and is succeeded by Justin I.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Succession, Emperor, Roman Empire

Justinian I succeeds Justin I as Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Roman Empire, Emperor, Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian I, Succession, Imperial Rule

Second Council of Constantinople

Tags: Christianity, Byzantine Empire, Ecumenical Council, Theology, Church History, Eastern Orthodox Church

Heraclius arrives by ship from Roman Carthage at Constantinople, overthrows Eastern Roman Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor. His first major act is ...

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Emperor, Coup, Political Transition, 600s

Bulgaria is recognized as independent country by the Byzantine Empire.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Independence, Political Recognition, Empire, Expansion, Diplomacy, 600s

Justinian II is forced to give the title Caesar of Byzantium to the Bulgarian Emperor Tervel. The Byzantine Empire begins to pay annual tributes to Bu...

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Emperor, Political Alliance, Tribute, Caesar, Military Defeat

Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian destroys the icon of Christ above the Chalke Gate in the capital city of Constantinople, beginning the first ph...

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Iconoclasm, Christianity, Religious Art, Theology

Buddhist monk Prajna reaches Chang'an and translates the sutras into Chinese.The Second Council of Nicaea was set up to restore the use and veneration...

Tags: Buddhism, Translation, Byzantine Empire, Iconoclasm, Religious Doctrine

The Empress Irene of Athens convenes the Seventh Ecumenical Council, ending the first phase of Byzantine Iconoclasm.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Iconoclasm, Orthodox Christianity, Council, Religious Doctrine, Heresy, Theology, Christianity

A 30-year peace agreement is signed between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Peace Treaty, Diplomacy, Middle Ages, Military History

Christianization of Bulgaria under Boris I

Tags: Christianization, Eastern Orthodox Church, Byzantine Empire, Slavs, Middle Ages, Religious Conversion, Political Power, Cultural Impact

Christianization of the Serbs.

Tags: Christianization, Slavs, Byzantine Empire, Religious Conversion

Arrival of the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Clement of Ohrid and Naum of Preslav in Bulgaria. Development of the Cyrillic Alphabet.

Tags: Orthodox Christianity, Literacy, Religion, Middle Ages, Cultural Diffusion

Council of Preslav - Vladimir-Rasate is dethroned and succeeded as Prince of Bulgaria by Simeon I; the capital is moved from Pliska to Preslav; the By...

Tags: Capital City, Byzantine Empire, Political Transition, Middle Ages

The medieval Croatian state becomes a unified kingdom under King Tomislav

Tags: Kingdom, Monarchy, Croatia, Slavic History, Political Unification

official recognition of the first independent national Church in Europe, the Bulgarian Patriarchate.Political divisions within England, 10th century.

Tags: Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Byzantine Empire, Church History, Religious Authority, Middle Ages

the Great Schism, in which the Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern Orthodox churches separated from each other. Similar schisms in the past had been ...

Tags: Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Schism, Religious History, Byzantine Empire, Catholicism, Church History, Theology

Pope Urban II calls upon Western Europeans to take up the cross and reclaim the Holy Lands, officially commencing the First Crusade.

Tags: Crusades, Religious Warfare, Catholicism, Holy Land, Middle Ages, Pilgrimage, Islam, Christianity, Medieval Europe

King Coloman unites Hungary and Croatia under the Hungarian Crown.

Tags: Monarchy, Succession, Political Consolidation, Territorial Expansion

By the Treaty of Devol, signed in September, Bohemond I of Antioch has to submit to the Byzantine Empire, becoming the vassal of Alexius I.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Crusades, Treaty, Diplomacy, Political Agreements, Feudalism

Manuel I Komnenos is crowned as Byzantine emperor after the death of John II Komnenos.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Emperor, Succession, Eastern Roman Empire, Political Transition, Imperial Rule

Kilij Arslan II, Sultan of Rum, makes peace with the Byzantine Empire, recognizing the emperor's primacy.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Peace Treaty, Political Relations, Middle Ages, Diplomacy, Empire

On September 24, Andronicus I Comnenus has his nephew Alexius II Comnenus strangled.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Political Intrigue, Dynastic Succession, Usurpation, Regicide, Middle Ages

The Uprising of Asen and Peter against the Byzantine Empire leads to the restoration of the Bulgarian Empire.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Middle Ages, Rebellion, Peter, Political Upheaval

Andronicus I Comnenus is deposed and, on September 12, executed as a result of the Norman massacre of the Greeks of Thessalonika.

Tags: Byzantine Empire, Emperor, Deposition, Execution, Political Instability

Pope Innocent III writes to Kaloyan, inviting him to unite the Bulgarian Church with the Roman Catholic Church.

Tags: Christianity, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholicism, Diplomacy, Religious Politics, Bulgarian Empire, Middle Ages

Ottoman Empire is established under Osman I.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Turkish History, Middle Ages, Political Formation, Islamic World, Expansionism, Sultanate

The Albanian league is established in Lezha, Skanderbeg is elected leader. A war begins against the Ottoman Empire. An Albanian state is set up and la...

Tags: Albania, Ottoman Empire, Resistance, Middle Ages, State Formation, Warfare, Nationalism

The Transylvanian Diet, under the patronage of the prince John Sigismund Zápolya, the former king of Hungary, inspired by the teachings of Ferenc Dávi...

Tags: Religious Freedom, Christianity

Michael the Brave unifies the three Romanian countries: Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania after the Battle of Șelimbăr from 1599.

Tags: Unification, Romanian History, Principality, Political Geography

Michael the Brave (first unifier of Romania), voivode of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, is assassinated by the order of the Habsburg general Gi...

Tags: Assassination, Romanian History, Habsburgs, Political Intrigue

Assassination of Stephen Bocskay of Transylvania.

Tags: Assassination, Hungarian History, Habsburg Empire, Rebellion, Ottoman Empire, Nobility

Deposition and regicide of Ottoman sultan Osman II.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Sultan, Regicide, Political Instability, Power Struggle, Military

Seven-year-old Mehmed IV becomes sultan.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Sultan, Monarchy, Succession, Islamic World

1661: Mehmed Köprülü is Grand Vizier.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Grand Vizier, Administration, Turkish History

Mehmed Köprülü dies and is succeeded by his son Ahmed.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Succession, Grand Vizier, Political Power, Military Campaign, Imperial Politics, Governance

Kara Mustafa becomes Grand Vizier.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Grand Vizier, Sultanate, Government, Administration, Military Leadership

The Treaty of Karlowitz ends the Great Turkish War.

Tags: Treaty, Warfare, Ottoman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Territorial Changes

Mahmud I takes over Ottoman Empire after the Patrona Halil revolt, ending the Tulip period.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Succession, Regime Change, Imperial History

Principality of Serbia becomes suzerain from the Ottoman Empire. Officially independent in 1867.

Tags: Nationalism, Ottoman Empire, Serbian Revolution, Independence, Sovereignty

Ioannis Kapodistrias, the First Governor of Greece is murdered at Nauplion.

Tags: Assassination, Civil War, Monarchy, Diplomacy

Revolutions of 1848 across Europe; crushed by conservatives.

Tags: Revolution, Liberalism, Conservatism, Nationalism, Unification, Monarchy, Social Reform, Working Class

The Principality of Serbia passes a Constitution which defines its independence from the Ottoman Empire. International recognition followed in 1878.

Tags: Nationalism, Independence, Ottoman Empire, Constitution, Diplomacy, Self-determination

1877–1878: Following the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin recognizes formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania....

Tags: Treaty, Independence, Autonomy, Nationalism, Russo-Turkish War, Geopolitics, Diplomacy, Eastern Question

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation is formed.

Tags: Nationalism, Revolution, Ottoman Empire, Insurgency, Political Organization

June 11: King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga are assassinated in a military coup.

Tags: Monarchy, Assassination, Coup d'état, Political Instability, Regicide

July: Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Revolution, Constitutionalism, Modernization, Balkan Wars, Nationalism

early October: Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina, triggering the Bosnian Crisis.

Tags: Imperialism, Annexation, Nationalism, Austria-Hungary, Diplomacy, Great Powers, Pre-World War I, Geopolitics

October 5: Bulgarian Declaration of Independence.

Tags: Independence, Ottoman Empire, Nationalism, Sovereignty

May 30: Treaty of London.

Tags: Balkan Wars, Treaties, Diplomacy, Ottoman Empire, Nationalism, Territorial Disputes

July 4: Mehmed VI becomes the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the last Caliph.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Sultan, Caliphate, World War I, Succession, Islamic World, Decline

October: the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs is established.

Tags: World War I, Nationalism, Self-determination, Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia

Greece restores its monarchy after a referendum.

Tags: Monarchy, Referendum, Constitutional Monarchy, Greek History

November 1: Ottoman Sultanate abolished by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; Sultan Mehmed VI is deposed.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Sultanate, Republic, Political Transition, Nationalism

March 3: The Caliphate is abolished by Kemal Atatürk.

Tags: Secularism, Political Reform, Ottoman Empire, Islam, Republic, Modernization, Nation-building, Religious Institutions

August 22: General Georgios Kondylis overthrows General Theodoros Pangalos in Greece.

Tags: Coup d'état, Military Dictatorship, Interwar Period, Political Instability

September 1: King Zog I is crowned in Albania.

Tags: Monarchy, Albania, King, Balkan History, Interwar Period, Nationalism

March 12: Harry Truman establishes the Truman Doctrine of containment of Communism.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Containment, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Ideology

February 19: Independence of Cyprus.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Cold War, Post-Colonialism, Ethnic Conflict, Self-determination, British Empire

April 21: Greek military coup establishes a military dictatorship led by Georgios Papadopoulos. The dictatorship ends in 1974.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Coup d'état, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Human Rights

August 1: The Helsinki Accords, which officially recognize Europe's national borders and respect for human rights, are signed in Finland.

Tags: Cold War, Human Rights, Detente, International Relations, Soviet Union, Diplomacy

January 1: Greece joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Union, European Integration, Political Alliances, International Relations, Economic Development, Cold War, Post-War

May 13: Pope John Paul II assassination attempt.

Tags: Assassination, Pope John Paul II, Cold War, Terrorism, Religion, International Relations, Catholicism

Revolutions of 1989 bring down Communist and authoritarian regimes around the world.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Eastern Bloc, Democracy, Political Transition, Revolutions, Human Rights, Globalization, Iron Curtain

November 9: Fall of the Berlin Wall; the Revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc begin in Europe, which leads to the end of the Cold W...

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Soviet Union, Democracy, Geopolitics, Iron Curtain

December 25: Romanian Revolution: Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu in Romania.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Revolution, Dictatorship, Political Violence, Human Rights, Romania

February 7: The Maastricht Treaty is signed, creating the European Union.

Tags: European Integration, European Union, Treaty, International Relations, Political Union, Globalization, Multilateralism, Sovereignty, Economic Cooperation

April 3: End of communism in Albania.

Tags: Communism, Albania, Political Transition, Cold War, Democratization

November 1: The Maastricht Treaty comes in to effect.

Tags: European Union, Treaty, European Integration, Political Union, International Relations

January – August: The Albanian civil unrest (Lottery Uprising), sparked by pyramid scheme failures, in which the government was toppled, with new parl...

Tags: Civil Unrest, Political Instability, Elections, Albania

October 5: Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević resigns following a revolution in Belgrade.

Tags: Yugoslavia, Revolution, President, Authoritarianism

NATO and the European Union incorporates most of the former Eastern Bloc.

Tags: NATO, European Union, Cold War, Geopolitics, Integration, International Relations

January 1: Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union.

Tags: European Union, EU Enlargement, Political Integration, International Relations, Political Geography

December 13: 27 EU member states sign the Treaty of Lisbon, with the treaty coming into effect on December 1, 2009.

Tags: European Union, Treaty, Political Integration, International Relations, Law, EU Enlargement, Governance

Kosovo declares independence, though it is not recognised by the United Nations.

Tags: Independence, Self-determination, Ethnic Conflict, Sovereignty, Nation-building, International Relations

July 1: Croatia becomes a member of the European Union.

Tags: European Integration, European Union, International Relations

The government of Turkey begins a series of purges in reaction to a failed coup d'état attempt.

Tags: Coup d'état, Purges, Authoritarianism, Human Rights, Political Repression

Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated at an art exhibition in Ankara.

Tags: Assassination, Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Violence, Terrorism

October 2: Exiled Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, triggering a diplomatic crisis fo...

Tags: Assassination, Human Rights, Journalism, International Relations, Freedom of Speech, Political Repression

Macedonia and Greece reach a historic agreement in the Macedonia naming dispute, in which the former is renamed in 2019 to the 'Republic of North Mace...

Tags: Diplomacy, Nationalism, Identity, European Union, International Relations, Political Agreement

July 9: Protests begin in Bulgaria against the government of prime minister Boyko Borisov.

Tags: Protests, Political Opposition, Government Corruption, Political Instability, Democracy

July 10: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan orders the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to be reverted to a mosque following the annulment of a 1934 presi...

Tags: Islam, Istanbul, Religious Conversion, Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Cultural Heritage

March 20: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces his country's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the first country to do so.

Tags: Human Rights, International Law, Women's Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights

May 23: Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

Tags: Journalism, Human Rights, Political Repression, Aviation, International Relations, Authoritarianism

December 6: Results of Romanian presidential election annulled by Constitutional Court amid allegations of Russian interference

Tags: Elections, Romania, Political Crisis, International Relations