Talisman's End Era
167 AD - First outbreak of plague in Rome for several hundred years.
179 AD - Legions returning from the east bring the plague to Rome again. At the height of the outbreak, people die at a rate of 2000 a day. From then on, plague becomes a regular occurrence and is spread by soldiers and traders throughout the empire. Harpies are lost to the plague due to their unhygenic lifestyle.
193-194 AD - Second crisis of the Empire: second year of four emperors, Pertinax, Clodius Albinus, Pescennius Niger, Septimius Severus. Severus recognizes Albinus as Caesar but marches against Pescennius. Defeat and death of Pescennius. His followers hold out for two years in Byzantium. Most Leprechauns wiped out by the plague except for the few who isolate themselves in Britannia.
199 AD - The province of Mesopotamia is brought back into the Empire.
206-207 AD - Septimius Severus in Africa. The Satyr fall to the plague.
208-211 AD - Septimius Severus heads the campaign in Britain and dies there.
212 AD - The Constitutio Antoniniana, issued by Caracalla confers citizenship on all free men in the Empire.
216 AD - War again breaks out in Parthia. Mimics blamed for the plague and hunted down.
224-241 AD - Artaxerxes I reigns over the new Persian empire of the Sassanids (or Sasanians).
230-232 AD - Campaign against the Sassanids.
242-243 AD - Victorious campaigns against the Persians; battles of Resenae, Carrhae, and Nisibis.
248 AD - Celebration of millenium of Rom. First Duellist.
253 AD - Persian War flares up again. Antioch lost to Persia.
254-262 AD - Revolts of Bagaudae, insurgent peasants, in Gaul and Spain. Centaurs and Pegataurs disappear.
260-272 AD - Queen Zenobia of Palmyra seizes large areas of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. She sets up an independent empire until defeated and taken prisoner by Aurelian.
261-274 AD - Separatist empire set up in Gaul by Postumus (261-268) and Tetricus (270-274).
297 AD - The Empire is divided administratively into twelve dioceses, each ruled by a vicarius.
301 AD - The Edict of Maximum Prices imposed throughout the Empire.
306 AD - Constantine declared co-Augustus after death of his father Constantius Chlorus, but Galerius recognizes the Illyrian Severus in that rank and confers the title of Caesar on Constantine. Maxentius, son of Maximian, hailed as legitimate successor by the Praetorian Guard and the city of Rome; heads revolt against Constantine. His father comes out of retirement to profit from the situation, first on one side, then on the other.
308 AD - At an imperial conference of Diocletian, Galerius and Maximian at Carnuntum Licinius is declared Augustus of the West, setting off an armed conflict between all rival contenders.
312 AD - Constantine's victory over Maxentius in battle at the Milvian Bridge puts Rome in his hands.
313 AD - Victory of Licinius over Maximinus Daia at the Hellespont is followed by reconciliation of the two victors.
314 AD - Armed conflict breaks out between the co-emperors: truces, claims, counterclaims, and wars follow for ten years with Constantine increasingly victorious. Dryads disappear.
324 AD - Constantine sole emperor after final defeat, abdication, and execution of Licinius.
326 AD - Constantine chooses Byzantium as the new capital of the Empire and renames it Constantinopolis. Last of Half Dragons die.
337 AD - May 22, death of Constantine the Great. 'The Collapse'; division of the empire between Constantine's three sons: Constantine II (west), Constans (middle), Constantius (east). Execution of all other princes of royal blood, but for the children Gallus and Julian.
340 AD - Constans and Constantine II at war. Battle of Aquileia; death of Constantine II. Nymphs disappear.
344 AD - Persian victory at Singara.
350 AD - Third siege of Nisibis. Owing to incursions of the Massagetae in Transoxiana, Sapor II makes truce with Constantius. Magnentius murders Constans and becomes emperor in the west. Vetranio proclaimed emperor on the Danube frontier. On appearance of Constantius, Vetranio resumes allegiance.
351 AD - Magnetnius defeated at the very bloody Battle of Mursa. Misrule by Gallus, left as Caesar in the east.
352 AD - Italy recovered. Magnentius in Gaul.
353 AD - Final defeat and death of Magnentius.
356 AD - Julian dispatched as Caesar to Gaul. War with the Alemanni, Quadi and Sarmatians. Military achievements by Julian.
359 AD - Sapor II invades Mesopotamia. Constantius goes to the east.
360 AD - The Gallic army forces Julian to revolt. Julian marches down the Danube to Moesia.
363 AD - Disaster and death of Julian. Retreat of the army which proclaims Jovian emperor. Humiliating peace with Persia. Renewed toleration decree.
366 AD - Damasus pope. Social and political influences become a feature of papal elections.
368 AD - War of Valens with Goths. Last of Minotaurs die out.
369 AD - Peace with Goths.
369-377 AD - Subjugation of Ostrogoths by Hun invasion. Valens receives and settles Visigoths in Moesia.
378 AD - Gratian defeats Alemanni. Rising of Visigoths. Valens killed at disaster at Adrianople. Destruction of the Roman Army at the Battle of Adrianople.
382 AD - Treaty of Theodosius with Visigoths.
383 AD - Revolt of Maximus in Britain. Flight and death of Gratian. Theodosius recognizes Maximus in the west and Valentinian II at Milan.
386 AD - Revolt of Gildo in Africa.
395 AD - Death of Theodosius. Permanent split of the empire. Arcadius succeeds to emperor in the east. Honorius emperor of the west.
396 AD - Alaric the Visigoth overruns Balkan peninsula.
400 AD - Division of China into north and south. Japan dominated by Korea.
402 AD - Alaric invades Italy, checked by Stilicho.
403 AD - Alaric retires after defeat at Pollentia. Ravenna becomes imperial headquarters.
404 AD - Martyrdom of Telemachus ends gladiatorial shows.
405-406 AD - German band under Radagaesus invades Italy but is defeated at Faesula.
406-407 AD - Alans, Sueves and Vandals invade Gaul. Revolt of Constantine III who withdraws the troops from Britain to set up a Gallic empire.
408 AD - Alaric invades Italy and puts Rome to ransom.
410 AD - Fall of Attalus. Alaric sacks Rome but dies. Rome sacked by Visigoths. Most Half Elves die out.
414 AD - Athaulf attacks the barbarians in Spain. Pulcheria regent for her brother Theodosius II.
417 AD - Visigoths establish themselves in Aquitania.
427 AD - Revolt of Boniface in Africa.
429 AD - The Vandals invited by Boniface migrate under Geiseric from Spain to Africa which they proceed to conquer.
434 AD - Rugila king of the Huns dies; Attila succeeds him.
439 AD - Geiseric takes Carthage. Vandal fleet dominant. Vandals conquer Carthage. At some point after 440 AD The Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain. The traditional story is that they were invited there by Vortigern. Geiseric invades Sicily, but is bought off.
441 AD - Attila crosses Danube and invades Thrace.
443 AD - Attila makes terms with Theodosius II. Burgundians settled in Gaul.
447 AD - Attila's second invasion.
449 AD - Attila's second peace.
450 AD - Marcian succeeds Theodosius II. Marcian stops Hun tribute.
451 AD - Attila invades Gaul. Attila heavily defeated by Aetius and Theodoric I the Visigoth at Châlons.
452 AD - Attila invades Italy but spares Rome and retires. Attila the Hun conquers large parts of Europe, threatens to attack Rome. Mantis wiped out.
453 AD - Attila dies. Theodoric II King of the Visigoths.
454 AD - Overthrow of the Hun power by the subjected barbarians at the Battle of Netad.
455 AD - Murder of Valentinian III and death of Maximus, his murderer. Geiseric sacks Rome, carrying of Eudoxia. Avitus proclaimed emperor of the Visigoths. Vandals sack Rome. Buddhism reaches Myanmar and Indonesia. Stirrup invented in China. Heavy plow in use in Slavic lands. Metal horseshoes become common in Gaul.
458 AD - Lyonese of the Lake now the last remaining Earthlord begins training Merlyn to take over.
466 AD - Euric, King of the Visigoths begins conquest of Spain.
475 AD - Romulus Augustus last western emperor. Usurpation of Basiliscus at Constantinople. Zeno escapes to Asia. Theodoric the Amal becomes King of the Ostrogoths.
476 AD - Odoacer the Scirian, commander and elected King of the German troops in Italy, deposes Romulus Augustus and resolves to rule independently, but nominally as the viceroy of the Roman Augustus of Constantinople. From a meteor Merlyn fashioned two weapons Excalibur and Albion, empowering both with mystical enchantments. Last of Halflings die. End of the western empire.
477 AD - Fall of Basiliscus. Merlyn rescues Gilad from Morgana and convinces him to unite the remainders of the collapsing Roman Catholic empire. Gilad renames himself Arthur Pendragon and is given the Harmonic psi-sword Excalibur by Lyonese. Camelot is founded as the last bastion of Rome against the various barbarian armies sweeping Europe. Merlyn makes contact with the Parliament of Nature.
485 AD - Morgana and her Normandy forces attack Camelot. Merlyn is slain by Morgana with her recently forged Spear of Destiny. Arthur kills Mordred but is badly wounded. Launcelot saves Arthur from death by impaling Morgana on her own Spear of Destiny from behind. He is the only surviving knight. The Normans are routed. Arthur survives his wounds but feeling spiritually crushed by his comrades' deaths abandons his Pendragon persona and moves to Spain. The general population believes Arthur slain, Launcelot continues to act as defender of the poor. The Parliament of Nature takes over the role of training the next Earthlord.
489 AD - Theodoric invades Italy to supplant Odoacer.
500 AD - Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland). Zen Buddhists enter Vietnam from China. Chinese writing introduced into Japan. India overrun by Huns. Buddhism introduced in Japan. First Sheriff.
502 AD - Persian war of Anastasius.
530 AD - Persian incursions. Victory of Belisarius at Daras.
533 AD - Belisarius oblitarates the Vandal Kingdom.
536 AD - Theodahad deposed and killed. Wittiges elected. Belisarius captures and holds Rome. Death of last Half Elf.
537 AD - Wittiges besieges Rome, Franks invade northern Italy.
538 AD - Wittiges buys off Franks by ceding to them the Roman Province.
540 AD - Fall of Ravenna. Belisarius leaves Italy. First Dabbler.
541 AD - Chosroes invades Syria and sacks Antioch. Goths, led by Totila begin reconquest of Italy.
542 AD - General paralysis caused by the great plague.
546 AD - Totila captures and evacuates Rome.
547 AD - Belisarius reoccupies Rome.
548 AD - Belisarius recalled. Totila dominates Italy.
550 AD - Justinian's troops occupy Andalusia. Third Persian War.
552 AD - Narses sent to recover Italy. Fall of Totila at Battle of Taginae. Introduction of silk-worm from China. Buddhism introduced to Japan from Baekje (Korea) in, thus contributing to the changes that occured in the Asuka period. Outbreak of bubonic plague in Constantinople and the rest of the Roman Empire. Gnomes and Duergar wiped out by plague.
553 AD - Last stand and annihilation of the Ostrogoths. Last of Lizardmen die.
554 AD - Narses shatters a Frank invasion.
555 AD - Narses rules Italy from Ravenna.
561 AD - End of Persian war.
565 AD - Heavy plow in use in Po Valley, Italy. Breast-strap horse harness in use in Frankish kingdom. Byzantine Empire acquires silk technology from China.
570 AD - Muhammad; the Qur'an is written, the basis of Islam.
572 AD - Persian war renewed.
573 AD - Lombards masters of northern Italy and of provinces in the south, though without a king.
590 AD - Xuan Zang (aka Hsuan-Tsang) travelled from China to India, before returning to Chang An in China to translate Buddhist scriptures. Pope Gregory the Great. The stirrup introduced to Persia from China. Earliest known record of the game Chatrang, predecessor to Chess.
591 AD - Accession of Chosroes II in Persia by help of Maurice. End of Persian war.
600 AD - Kingdom of Ethiopia. Last of Goblins die.
609 AD - Revolt of Heraclius the elder in Africa. Last of Hobgoblins die.
614 AD - Chosroes II completes conquest of Syria by taking Jerusalem, carrying off the true cross.
616 AD - Persian conquest of Egypt.
620 AD - Persian overrun Asia Minor. Last of Trollslayer dies.
621 AD - The eastern empire devotes itself to a holy war against Parthia.
622 AD - First Persian campaign of Heraclius who splits Parthian forces of Syria and Asia Minor.
623 AD - Victorious campaigns of Heraclius in and beyond Mesopotamia.
626 AD - Persians and Avars besieging Constantinople are completely repulsed. Last of Orcs dies.
628 AD - Fall of Chosroes II. End of Persian War, all Roman possessions restored.
632 AD - Death of Mohammed. Abu Bekr first Khalif. First Syrian Expedition.
634 AD - Roman defeat at Yermak.
635 AD - Fall of Damascus. Last of Kobolds die.
636 AD - Fall of Antioch. Heraclius evacuates Syria.
637 AD - Fall of Jerusalem.
640 AD - Amru invades Egypt.
642 AD - Persian Empire ended at battle of Nehavend.
646 AD - Alexandria recovered and lost again.
651 AD - Moawiya begins invasion of Asia Minor.
655 AD - Naval victory of Constans II at Phoenix.
659 AD - Truce between Moawiya and Constans II.
662 AD - Constans II invades Italy.
673 AD - Second siege of Constantinople. Saracens repulsed. Last of Dark Elves dies.
673-677 AD - Defeats of Saracens by Constantine.
691 AD - Justinian II's successful campaign in Bulgaria.
693 AD - Justinian II's campaign in Cilicia.
700 AD - Moslems conquer parts of India. China conquers Vietnam and Korea.
711-715 AD - Saracens overrun Asia Minor.
717 AD - Theodosius III abdicates in favour of Leo III. Moslemah besieges Constantinople by sea and land. Leo III defeats fleet.
718 AD - Saracens reinforced. Leo III shatters their fleet, crosses the Bosporus and cuts them off from the east. Bulgarians advance and defeat a Saracen army. Moslemah withdraws. Remnants of Saracen grand fleet destroyed in a storm.
719 AD - Campaigns to expel Saracens from Asia Minor.
727 AD - Saracen defeat at Nicaea drives them from Asia Minor.
750 AD - Beowulf is composed. Buddhist Jataka stories are translated in to Syriac and Arabic as Kalilag and Damnag. Buddha's life is translated in to Greek by Saint John of Damascus, and widely circulated to Christians as the story of Jalaam and Josaphat. Heavy plow in use in the Rhine valley. Horse collar in use in Northern Europe in 8th or 9th century, perhaps introduced from Asia. Papermaking introduced from China to Arabs. Begin of the decline of the Classical Mayan culture.
753 AD - Iconoclast Council of Constantinople.
755 AD - First Bulgar War of Consantine V.
761 AD - Constantine begins persecution of the monks. Last of Felinar dies.
764 AD - Second Bulgar War of Constantine.
770 AD - Iron horseshoes come into common use.
800-909 AD - Rule of Aghlabids as independent dynasty in North Africa.
800 AD - Mayan culture ends. Chinese defeated by Arabs. Gunpowder discovered.
813 AD - Serious Arab naval raids on shores of Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas.
831 AD - Mamun invades Cappadocia. Beginning of prolonged was between empire and khalifate.
842 AD - Saracens in Sicily capture Messina. Michael III the Drunkard aged four, succeeds Theophilus.
850 AD - Buddhism repressed in China.
859 AD - Fall of Enna completes Saracen conquest of Sicily.
861 AD - Conversion of Bulgars to Christianity.
863 AD - Pope Nicholas I excommunicates Patricarch Photius.
863-879 AD - Period of schism between eastern and western churches.
866 AD - Synod at Constantinople condemns heresies of the Latin church. Permanent severance of the Latin and Greek churches.
876 AD - Basil takes up Saracen war in South Italy.
878 AD - Saracens take Syracuse, completing conquest of Italy. Last of Dwarves dies.
900 AD - Mayan calendar abandoned.
950 AD - Mongols rule Manchuria. Al Azif translated into Greek as Necronomicon.
961 AD - Crete recovered from the Saracens for the empire. Syrian campaign.
965 AD - Nicephorus recovers Cyprus from Saracens.
968 AD - Nicephorus recovers Antioch.
971 AD - Zimisces defeats Russians. Russian treaty.
1000 AD - Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, establish small settlements at and around Vinland in North America. Mayans migrate to Yucatan. Russian empire forms. Mongols conquer Korea. Shogunite begins in Japan.
1014 AD - Basil II destroys the Bulgar army.
1017 AD - Norman adventurers in Italy take part against the Byzantines in the south.
1018 AD - End of the first Bulgar kingdom.
1050 AD - Greek text of Necronomicon burnt by the Patriarch of Constantinople (Arabic text lost at this point).
1054 AD - The Great Schism, in which the Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern Orthodox churches separated from each other. After a number of earlier such schisms, the breach was later repaired, but this one continues nearly 1000 years later.
1066 AD - Norman conquest of England.
1076 AD - Seljuk Turks seize Jerusalem.
1094 AD - El Cid the great Spanish hero, conquers the Moorish city of Valencia.
1096 AD - Crusade assembled at Constantinople.
1097 AD - Crusaders invade Asia Minor, take Nicaea, cross the Taurus, secure Edessa, and besiege Antioch.
1098 AD - Crusaders take Antioch. Fatimids recapture Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks.
1099 AD - Crusaders capture Jerusalem. Beginning of the Latin Kingdom. First Crusade captures Jerusalem. King Anawrahta of Myanmar made a pilgrimage to Ceylon, returning to convert his country to Theravada Buddhism. Invention of military rockets by the Chinese.
1139 AD - Portugal declares independence from the kingdom of León and Castille in.
1146 AD - Second Crusade.
1148 AD - Collapse of the Second Crusade.
1149 AD - A corrupt Spanish monk, gathers together most of the pieces of the Heresy scrolls. For his evil acts the monk is burned at the stake and killed. However his soul became imprisoned within the Heresy parchments. Pope Eugene III appoints a young monk, Paolo Montesi, as curator of the Catholic Church's collection of occult literature and artifacts. The Catholic Church takes possession of the Heresy parchments and turns them over to Paolo Montesi. Along with the scrolls, Montesi also discovers what would become known as the Malachy Prophecy, a parchment which foretells details of the reigns of every pope to come. Upon presenting his findings, Pope Eugene III decrees that only Montesi will be able to handle the Heresy scrolls and ordered that it be rebound together into a single volume, which is named the Book of Sins. The Pope also allows Montesi to marry and sire children so that his descendants can be trained to be the library's curator. The then lord of vampires learns that the Catholic Church is in possession of and studying the Heresy. Invading Rome, the vampires kill Montesi but are driven off before they can steal the Heresy. At the moment of his death, Montesi's wife is giving birth to his son Giacomo, who becomes the new curator of the Heresy when he grows to adulthood.
1150 AD - Zen buddhism begins in Japan.
1187 AD - Saladin captures Jerusalem.
1189 AD - Third Crusade.
1190 AD - Robin Hood of Sherwood is known by many different names including Robin Hood, Robin Wood, Robert Earl of Huntington, Roberd Hude, and Robert Hood. Robin stands as the hero of the common people and yeomans, and a symbol of right against might. Because of the Sheriff of Nottingham's and Prince John's tyrannical rule and exploitation of the common people in Nottinghamshire, Robin unites his fellow folk and rebells against the Sheriff. Robin is also known for robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Ivanhoe, a trusted ally of Richard-the-Lion-Hearted, returns from the Crusades to reclaim the inheritance his father denied him. The wicked Prince John plots to usurp England's throne, but Richard-the-Lion-Hearted and the famous outlaw, Robin Hood, team up with Ivanhoe to defeat the Normans and regain the castle.
1192 AD - Treaty of Richard and Saladin ends Third Crusade. The Anasazi Native American civilization emerges.
1200 AD - Incas and Aztecs at their height.
1202 AD - Fourth Crusade assembles at Venice, diverted at Constantinople.
1203 AD - First capture of Constantinople. Isaac restored.
1204 AD - Second capture and sack of Constantinople. Crusaders divide the spoils, Venice taking the lion's share. Baldwin of Flanders emperor.
1228 AD - Necronomicon translated into Latin.
1232 AD - Pope Gregory IX places Necronomicon on Index Expurgatorius.
1261 AD - Michael VIII captures Constantinople, restoring Greek and ending Latin empire.
1272 AD - Marco Polo and his family reach China.
1300 AD - Turk moslems conquer northern Africa. Chinese navy attacks Japan.
1312 AD - Templars disbanded. Taken over by Hospitallers and Teutonics.
1347-1351 AD - Black Death kills about one third of European population. Last of Elves dies.
1354 AD - Turks occupy Gallipoli.
1361 AD - Turks capture Adrianople.
1378 AD - The Great Schism of the West, eventually leading to 3 simultaneous Popes. Beginning of the Ottoman Empire.
1417 AD - Great Schism of the Catholic Church ends.
1429 AD - Jeanne d'Arc leads French forces to a victory against England in a battle of the Hundred Years' War.
1451 AD - Accession of Mohammed the Conqueror in the east.
1453 AD - Fall of Constantinople to Mohammed the Conqueror. Death of Constantine XI. Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Empire.
1459 AD - Count Vlad Dracula, also called Vlad the Impaler is captured when a Turk army invades Transylvania. Dracula is brought before a vampiress, Tatiana, who attacks and kills him. Dracula rises from the grave three days later as a vampire.
1460 AD - Dracula kills the current lord of vampires and takes his place. For subsequent centuries, Dracula preys on humanity for a supply of blood to sustain him. Dante Alegheri writes The Inferno. Spanish conquistador expeditions.
1492 AD - Muslims and Jews are expelled from southern Spain after almost 800 years of Moslem rule. Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean islands.
1498 AD - Christopher Columbus reaches South America. Vasco da Gama completes sea voyage to India. Rise of Modern English language from Middle English. John Badby is the first person burnt at the stake for heresy in England. The Spanish Inquisition is established. The Anasazi Native American civilization mysteriously disappears. Leonardo da Vinci, inventor and painter. Printing technology refined by Johann Gutenberg.
1500 AD - Creation of Cult of Kali. Copy of Necronomicon rumoured to exist in the British Museum.
1512 AD - The Ottoman Empire reaches its peak during the reign of sultan Suleiman.
1522 AD - First circumnavigation of the globe by a ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition. Only one ship survived the journey, under the command of the Basque captain Sebastian Elkano. European explorers explore the New World; Spain conquers Indians in Central and South America, resulting in the destruction of the native civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Vast increase in amount of gold in circulation in Europe. The horse introduced to the Americas.
1525 AD - First Animated and Avenging Golems.
1529 AD - Troops of the Ottoman Empire lay siege upon Vienna, but fail to conquer the city.
1533 AD - King Henry VIII of England breaks with Roman Catholic Church and forms Church of England.
1540 AD - The Reformation. Nostradamus prophecies.
1543 AD - Copernicus publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun.
1547 AD - Duelling made illegal. Duellist class disappears.
1550 AD - Greek text of Necronomicon printed in Italy. Last known copy vanished in burning of a Salem library in 1692.
1560 AD - Adventures of Cain Able the last Inquisitor.
1568-1648 AD - Dutch revolt, a small nation gains independence from the superpower of the day (Spain).