Anatine
Timeline of the Dark Ages
AD 500 to 800

Cuthred (r.798 - 807)

Coenwulf (r.796 - 821)

Pope St. Leo III (r.795 - 816)

Haian Period in Japan (794 - 1185)

Lindisfarne raided by Vikings (793)

1st Viking raid in Britain (789)

Beorhtric (r.786 - 802)

Battle of Bensington (779)

Battle of Otford (776)

Charlemagne conquers northern Italy (774)

Pope Adrian I (r.772 - 795)

Charlemagne, King of France (r.768 - 814)

Pope Stephen III (IV) (r.768 - 772)

Harun al-Rashid (763 - 809)

Pope St. Paul I (r.757 - 767)

Offa, King of Mercia (r.757 - 796)

Pope becomes temporal ruler of Papal States (756)

Pope St. Stephen II (III) (r.752 - 757)

Pope St. Stephen II (r.752)

Pepin III, King of France (r.752 - 768)
Pepin III and Childerich III, Kings of France (r.751 - 752)

Battle of River Talas (751)

Abbasid Caliphate founded (750)

Uighur Empire in Mongolia (745 - 840)

Charlemagne (742 - 814)

Pope St. Zachary (r.741 - 752)

Battle of Poitiers (732)

Pope St. Gregory III (r.731 - 741)

Arabs defeated at Constantinople (718)

Pope St. Gregory II (r.715 - 731)

Arab conquest of Sind and Samarkand (712)

Fall of the Goths (711)

Arabs invade Spain (711)

Pope Constantine (r.708 - 715)

Pope Sisinnius (r.708)

Pope John VII (r.705 - 707)


Pope John VI (r.701 - 705)

St. Walpurga (8th century)

Alcuin of York (735 - 804)

Roland (d.778)

Cynewulf (?)

Tu Fu (712 - 770)













Li Po (701 - 762)

Arabic numerals developed (c.770)








Algebra and trigonometry developed by Arabs (c.760)

Arabs adopt Indian numerals (c.760)












Paper making spreads to Islamic world (751)
































Printing developed in China (c.730)



Koran written (c.725)

Carthage destroyed by Arabs (698)

Arabic becomes language of administration for Umayyad (c.690)

Pope St. Sergius I (r.687 - 701)

Battle of Tertry (687)

Pope Conon (r.686 - 687)

Pope John V (r.685 - 686)

Pope St. Benedict II (r.684 - 685)

Pope St. Leo II (r.682 - 683)

Bulgars invade Balkans (680)

Pope St. Agatho (r.678 - 681)

Silla unifies Korea (676)

Pope Donus (r.676 - 678)

Arab conquest of Tunisia (675)

Pope Adeodatus II (r.672 - 676)

Synod of Whitby (664)

Umayyad Caliphate (661 - 750)

Islam divided into Shiites and Sunnites (661)

Pope St. Vitalian (r.657 - 672)

Pope St. Eugene I (r.654 - 657)

Pope St. Martin I (r.649 - 655)

Buddhism reaches Tibet (c.645)

Pope Theodore I (r.642 - 649)

Pope John IV (r.640 - 642)

Pope Severinus (r.640)

Arab conquest of Egypt (639 - 641)

Arabs capture Jerusalem (638)

Arabs invade Iraq (637)

Arabs capture Syria (636)

Lindisfarne Monasetry founded (635)

Battle of Nineveh (627)

Pope Honorius I (r.625 - 638)

Start of Islamic calendar (622)

Pope Boniface V (r.619 - 625)

Chinese T'Ang Dynasty (618 - 906)

Pope St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus) (r.615 - 618)

Anarchy in China (c.612 - 618)

Start of Hellenistic period in Eastern Roman Empire (610)

Pope St. Boniface IV (r.608 - 615)

Unification of Tibet (607)

Pope Boniface III (r.607)

St. Oswald (c.605 - 642)

Pope Sabinianus (r.604 - 606)

Han Yu (768 - 824)

Caedmon (c.7th century)

Cotton introduced to Arabia (c.630)




St. Peter's School, York, founded (627)





























Grand Canal of China built (605)

Pope St. Gregory I (r.590 - 604)

Pope Pelagius II (r.579 - 590)

Battle of Deorham (577)

Pope Benedict I (r.575 - 579)

Lombard conquest of northern Italy (568)

Venice founded (568)

St. Columba visits Iona and founds Monastery (563)

Pope John III (r.561 - 574)

Pope Pelagius I (r.556 - 561)

Justinian restores Roman rule in Italy (552)

Buddhism reaches Japan (c.550)

Plague in Europe (542)

Hagia Sophia in Constantinople consecrated (538)

Pope Vigilius (r.537 - 555)

Pope St. Silvarius (r.536 - 537)

Pope St. Agapetus I (r.535 - 536)

Justinian issues Legal Code (534)

Justinian restores Roman rule in North Africa (533)

Pope John II (r.533 - 535)

Pope Boniface II (r.530 - 532)

Closure of Athens schools (529)

Pope St. Felix IV (III) (r.526 - 530)

Pope St. John I (r.523 - 526)

Battle of Mount Badon (c.520)

Pope St. Hormisdas (r.514 - 523)

Visigothic Empire (507 - 711)

King Arthur (?)

St. Brendan (?)

St. Columba (521 - 597)

Ostragoths take control of Italy (493)

Pope St. Gelasius I (r.492 - 496)

Pope St. Felix III (II) (r.483 - 492)

Clovis, 1st Frankish Emperor (r.481 - 511)

Gupta Empire defeated (480)

Fall of Western Roman Empire (476)

Pope St. Simplicius (r.468 - 483)

Pope St. Hilary (r.461 - 468)

Battle of the Catalonian Plains (451)

Jutes, Angles and Saxons colonise Britain (from c.450)

Pope St. Leo I (r.440 - 461)

Pope St. Sixtus III (r.432 - 440)

Vandal Empire (429 - 534)

Vandal Kingdom established in North Africa (429)

'White Huns' invade India (c.428)

Pope St. Celestine I (r.422 - 432)

Pope St. Boniface I (r.418 - 422)

Pope St. Zosimus (r.417 - 418)

Burgundian Empire (413 - 534)

Visigoths sack Rome (410)

Vandals invade Spain (409)

Last Roman garrison leaves Britain (407)

Vandals invade Gaul (406)

Attila the Hun (c.406 - 453)

Pope St. Innocent I (r.401 - 417)