Chapter XVII: Part 17

GEORGE FINLAY

(From the enthronement of the Commenian dynasty in A.D. 1081, which was accomplished through a successful rebellion, attended by shameful treachery and rapine, the Byzantine empire, and especially Constantinople, its capital, passed through many vicissitudes; but the sack of the city by Alexius Commenus, the founder of the line, was remembered by the populace to the disadvantage of all his successors; the last of whom, Andronicus I, ended his reign in 1185. John, the son of Alexius [1118-1143], ruled with discretion and ability, and recovered some territory from the Turks.

Manuel I, the son of John [1143-1181], ruled during a period of almost constant war, and for a time he held the enemies of the empire in check. But he appears to have been more endowed with courage and the spirit of enterprise than with good judgment, and his conduct of the empire coincided with events that, as seen in history, contributed to its decline, which after his death followed rapidly. As this decline is to be dated especially from the passing but not ineffectual invasion of Roger II, King of Sicily, in 1146, some account of that, together with a view of conditions immediately preceding, becomes important in a work like this.

The century and a half before Roger's invasion had been a period of tranquillity for the distinctively Greek people of the empire, who had increased rapidly in numbers and wealth, and were in possession of an extensive commerce and many manufactures. Therefore they were perhaps the greatest sufferers from the adverse events which befell the State.)

The emperor Alexius I had concluded a commercial treaty with Pisa toward the end of his reign. Manuel renewed this alliance, and he appears to have been the first of the Byzantine emperors who concluded a public treaty with Genoa. The pride of the emperors of the Romans--as the sovereigns of Constantinople were styled--induced them to treat the Italian republics as municipalities still dependent on the Empire of the Caesars, of which they had once formed a part; and the rulers both of Pisa and Genoa yielded to this assumption of supremacy, and consented to appear as vassals and liegemen of the Byzantine emperors, in order to participate in the profits which they saw the Venetians gained by trading in their dominions.

Several commercial treaties with Pisa and Genoa, as well as with Venice, have been preserved. The obligations of the republics are embodied in the charter enumerating the concessions granted by the Emperor, and the document is called a _chrysobulum_, or golden bull, from the golden seal of the Emperor attached to it as the certificate of its authenticity.

In Manuel's treaties with the Genoese and Pisans, the republics bind themselves never to engage in hostilities against the empire; but, on the contrary, all the subjects of the republics residing in the Emperor's dominions become bound to assist him against all assailants; they engage to act with their own ships, or to serve on board the imperial fleet, for the usual pay granted to Latin mercenaries. They promise to offer no impediment to the extension of the empire in Syria, reserving to themselves the factories and privileges they already possess in any place that may be conquered. They submit their civil and criminal affairs to the jurisdiction of the Byzantine courts of justice, as was then the case with the Venetians and other foreigners in the empire. Acts of piracy and armed violence, unless the criminals were taken in the act, were to be reported to the rulers of the republic whose subjects had committed the crime, and the Byzantine authorities were not to render the innocent traders in the empire responsible for the injuries inflicted by these brigands. The republicans engaged to observe all the stipulations in their treaties, in defiance of ecclesiastical excommunication or the prohibition of any individual, crowned or not crowned.

Manuel, in return, granted to the republicans the right of forming a factory, erecting a quay for landing their goods, and building a church; and the Genoese received their grant in an agreeable position on the side of the port opposite Constantinople, where in after-times their great colony of Galata was formed. The Emperor promised to send an annual of from four hundred to five hundred gold bezants, with two pieces of a rich brocade then manufactured only in the Byzantine empire, to the republican governments, and sixty bezants, with one piece of brocade, to their archbishops. These treaties fixed the duty levied on the goods imported or exported from Constantinople by the Italians at 4 per cent.; but in the other cities of the empire, the Pisans and Genoese were to pay the same duties as other Latin traders, excepting, of course, the privileged Venetians. These duties generally amounted to 10 per cent. The republics were expressly excluded, by the Genoese treaty, from the Black Sea trade, except when they received a special license from the Emperor. In case of shipwreck, the property of the foreigners was to be protected by the imperial authorities and respected by the people, and every assistance was to be granted to the unfortunate sufferers. This humane clause was not new in Byzantine commercial treaties, for it is contained in the earliest treaty concluded by Alexius I with the Pisans. On the whole, the arrangements for the administration of justice in these treaties prove that the Byzantine empire still enjoyed a greater degree of order than the rest of Europe.

The state of civilization in the Eastern Empire rendered the public finances the moving power of the government, as in the nations of modern Europe. This must always tend to the centralization of political authority, for the highest branch of the executive will always endeavor to dispose of the revenues of the State according to its views of necessity. This centralizing policy led Manuel to order all the money which the Greek commercial communities had hitherto devoted to maintaining local squadrons of galleys for the defence of the islands and coasts of the Aegean to be remitted to the treasury at Constantinople. The ships were compelled to visit the imperial dockyard in the capital to undergo repairs and to receive provisions and pay.

A navy is a most expensive establishment; kings, ministers, and people are all very apt to think that when it is not wanted at any particular time, the cost of its maintenance may be more profitably applied to other objects. Manuel, after he had secured the funds of the Greeks for his own treasury, soon left their ships to rot, and the commerce of Greece became exposed to the attacks of small squadrons of Italian pirates who previously would not have dared to plunder in the Archipelago. It may be thought by some that Manuel acted wisely in centralizing the naval administration of his empire; but the great number, the small size, and the relative position of many of the Greek islands with regard to the prevailing winds render the permanent establishment of naval stations at several points necessary to prevent piracy.

Manuel and Otho ruined the navy of Greece by their unwise measures of centralization; Pericles, by prudently centralizing the maritime forces of the various states, increased the naval power of Athens, and gave additional security to every Greek ship that navigated the sea.

The same fiscal views which induced Manuel to centralize the naval administration when it was injurious to the interests of the empire, prompted him to act diametrically opposite with regard to the army. The emperor John had added greatly to the efficiency of the Byzantine military force by improving and centralizing its administration, and he left Manuel an excellent army, which rendered the Eastern Empire the most powerful state in Europe. But Manuel, from motives of economy, abandoned his father's system. Instead of assembling all the military forces of the empire annually in camps, where they received pay and were subjected to strict discipline, toward the end of his reign he distributed even the regular army in cities and provinces, where they were quartered far apart, in order that each district, by maintaining a certain number of men, might relieve the treasury from the burden of their pay and subsistence while they were not on actual service. The money thus retained in the central treasury was spent in idle festivals at Constantinople, and the troops, dispersed and neglected, became careless of their military exercises, and lived in a state of relaxed discipline. Other abuses were quickly introduced; resident yeomen, shopkeepers, and artisans were enrolled in the legions, with the connivance of the officers. The burden of maintaining the troops was in this way diminished, but the army was deteriorated.

In other districts, where the divisions were exposed to be called into action, or were more directly under central inspection, the effective force was kept up at its full complement, but the people were compelled to submit to every kind of extortion and tyranny. The tendency of absolute power being always to weaken the power of the law, and to increase the authority of the executive agents of the sovereign, soon manifested its effects in the rapid progress of administrative corruption. The Byzantine garrisons in a few years became prototypes of the shopkeeping janizaries of the Ottoman empire, and bore no resemblance to the feudal militia of Western Europe, which Manuel had proposed as the model of his reform. This change produced a rapid decline in the military strength of the Byzantine army and accelerated the fall of the empire.

For a considerable period the Byzantine emperors had been gradually increasing the proportion of foreign mercenaries in their service; this practice Manuel carried further than any of his predecessors. Besides the usual Varangian, Italian, and German guards, we find large corps of Patzinaks, Franks, and Turks enrolled in his armies, and officers of these nations occupying situations of the highest rank. A change had taken place in the military tactics, caused by the heavy armor and powerful horses which the crusaders brought into the field, and by the greater personal strength and skill in warlike exercises of the Western troops, who had no occupation from infancy but gymnastic exercises and athletic amusements. The nobility of the feudal nations expended more money on arms and armor than on other luxuries; and this becoming the general fashion, the Western troops were much better armed than the Byzantine soldiers. War became the profession of the higher ranks, and the expense of military undertakings was greatly increased by the military classes being completely separated from the rest of society. The warlike disposition of Manuel led him to favor the military nobles of the West who took service at his court; while his confidence in his own power, and in the political superiority of his empire, deluded him with the hope of being able to quell the turbulence of the Franks, and set bounds to the ambition and power of the popes.

The wars of Manuel were sometimes forced on him by foreign powers, and sometimes commenced for temporary objects; but he appears never to have formed any fixed idea of the permanent policy which ought to have determined the constant employment of all the military resources at his command, for the purpose of advancing the interest of his empire and giving security to his subjects. His military exploits may be considered under three heads: His wars with the Franks, whether in Asia or Europe; his wars with the Hungarians and Servians; and his wars with the Turks.

His first operations were against the principality of Antioch. The death of John II caused the dispersion of the fine army he had assembled for the conquest of Syria; but Manuel sent a portion of that army, and a strong fleet, to attack the principality. One of the generals of the land forces was Prosuch, a Turkish officer in high favor with his father. Raymond of Antioch was no longer the idle gambler he had shown himself in the camp of the emperor John; but though he was now distinguished by his courage and skill in arms, he was completely defeated, and the imperial army carried its ravages up to the very walls of Antioch, while the fleet laid waste the coast. Though the Byzantine troops retired, the losses of the campaign convinced Raymond that it would be impossible to defend Antioch should Manuel take the field in person. He therefore hastened to Constantinople, as a suppliant, to sue for peace; but Manuel, before admitting him to an audience, required that he should repair to the tomb of the emperor John and ask pardon for having violated his former promises. When the Hercules of the Franks, as Raymond was called, had submitted to this humiliation, he was admitted to the imperial presence, swore fealty to the Byzantine empire as Prince of Antioch, and became the vassal of the emperor Manuel. The conquest of Edessa by the Mahometans, which took place in the month of December, 1144, rendered the defence of Antioch by the Latins a doubtful enterprise, unless they could secure the assistance of the Greeks.

Manuel involved himself in a war with Roger, King of Sicily, which perhaps he might have avoided by more prudent conduct. An envoy he had sent to the Sicilian court concluded a treaty, which Manuel thought fit to disavow with unsuitable violence. This gave the Sicilian King a pretext for commencing war, but the real cause of hostilities must be sought in the ambition of Roger and the hostile feelings of Manuel. Roger was one of the wealthiest princes of his time; he had united under his sceptre both Sicily and all the Norman possessions in Southern Italy; his ambition was equal to his wealth and power, and he aspired at eclipsing the glory of Robert Guiscard and Bohemund by some permanent conquests in the Byzantine empire. On the other hand, the renown of Roger excited the envy of Manuel, who, proud of his army and confident of his own valor and military skill, hoped to reconquer Sicily. His passion made him forget that he was surrounded by numerous enemies, who would combine to prevent his employing all his forces against one adversary. Manuel consequently acted imprudently in revealing his hostile intentions; while Roger could direct all his forces against one point, and avail himself of Manuel's embarrassments. He commenced hostilities by inflicting a blow on the wealth and prosperity of Greece, from which it never recovered.

At the commencement of the Second Crusade, when the attention of Manuel was anxiously directed to the movements of Louis VII of France, and Conrad, Emperor of Germany, Roger, who had collected a powerful fleet at Brindisi, for the purpose either of attacking the Byzantine empire or transporting the crusaders to Palestine, availed himself of an insurrection in Corfu to conclude a convention with the inhabitants, who admitted a garrison of one thousand Norman troops into their citadel. The Corfutes complained with great reason of the intolerable weight of taxation to which they were subjected; of the utter neglect of their interests by the central government, which consumed their wealth, and of the great abuses which prevailed in the administration of justice; but the remedy they adopted, by placing themselves under the rule of foreign masters, was not likely to alleviate these evils.

The Sicilian admiral, after landing the Norman garrison at Corfu, sailed to Monembasia, then one of the principal commercial cities in the East, hoping to gain possession of it without difficulty; but the maritime population of this impregnable fortress gave him a warm reception and easily repulsed his attack. After plundering the coasts of Euboea and Attica, the Sicilian fleet returned to the West, and laid waste Acarnania and Etolia; it then entered the Gulf of Corinth, and debarked a body of troops at Crissa. This force marched through the country to Thebes, plundering every town and village on the way. Thebes offered no resistance and was plundered in the most deliberate and barbarous manner. The inhabitants were numerous and wealthy. The soil of Boeotia is extremely productive, and numerous manufactures established in the city of Thebes gave additional value to the abundant produce of agricultural industry.

A century had elapsed since the citizens of Thebes had gone out valiantly to fight the army of Slavonian rebels in the reign of Michael IV (the Paphlagonian), and that defeat had long been forgotten. But all military spirit was now dead, and the Thebans had so long lived without any fear of invasion that they had forgotten the use of arms. The Sicilians found them not only unprepared to offer any resistance, but so surprised that they had not even adopted any effectual measures to secure or conceal their movable property. The conquerors, secure against all danger of interruption, plundered Thebes at their leisure. Not only gold, silver, jewels, and church plate were carried off, but even the goods found in the warehouses, and the rarest articles of furniture in private houses, were transported to the ships. Bales of silk and dyed leather were sent off to the fleet as deliberately as if they had been legally purchased in time of peace. When all ordinary means of collecting booty were exhausted, the citizens were compelled to take an oath on the Holy Scriptures that they had not concealed any portion of their property; yet many of the wealthiest were dragged away captive, in order to profit by their ransom; and many of the most skilful workmen in the silk manufactories, for which Thebes had long been famous, were pressed on board the fleet to labor at the oar.

From Boeotia the army passed to Corinth. Nicephorus Caluphes, the governor, retired into the Acro-Corinth, but the garrison appeared to his cowardly heart not strong enough to defend this impregnable fortress, and he surrendered it to George Antiochenus, the Sicilian admiral, on the first summons. On examining the fortress of which he had thus unexpectedly gained possession, the admiral could not help exclaiming that he fought under the protection of heaven, for if Caluphes had not been more timid than a virgin, Corinth should have repulsed every attack.

Corinth was sacked as cruelly as Thebes; men of rank, beautiful women, and skilful artisans, with their wives and families, were carried away into captivity. Even the relics of St. Theodore were taken from the church in which they were preserved; and it was not until the whole Sicilian fleet was laden with as much of the wealth of Greece as it was capable of transporting that the admiral ordered it to sail. The Sicilians did not venture to retain possession of the impregnable citadel of Corinth, as it would have been extremely difficult for them to keep up their communications with the garrison. This invasion of Greece was conducted entirely as a plundering expedition, having for its object to inflict the greatest possible injury on the Byzantine empire, while it collected the largest possible quantity of booty for the Sicilian troops. Corfu was the only conquest of which Roger retained possession.

The ruin of the Greek commerce and manufactures has been ascribed to the transference of the silk trade from Thebes and Corinth to Palermo, under the judicious protection it received from Roger; but it would be more correct to say that the injudicious and oppressive financial administration of the Byzantine emperors destroyed the commercial prosperity and manufacturing industry of the Greeks; while the wise liberality and intelligent protection of the Norman kings extended the commerce and increased the industry of the Sicilians.

When the Sicilian fleet returned to Palermo, Roger determined to employ all the silk manufacturers in their original occupations. He consequently collected all their families together, and settled them at Palermo, supplying them with the means of exercising their industry with profit to themselves, and inducing them to teach his own subjects to manufacture the richest brocades and to rival the rarest productions of the East.

Roger, unlike most of the monarchs of his age, paid particular attention to improving the wealth of his dominions by increasing the prosperity of his subjects. During his reign the cultivation of the sugar-cane was introduced into Sicily. The conduct of Manuel was very different; when he concluded peace with William, the son and successor of Roger, in 1158, he paid no attention to the commercial interests of his Greek subjects; the silk manufactures of Thebes and Corinth were not reclaimed and reinstated in their native seats; they were left to exercise their industry for the profit of their new prince, while their old sovereign would have abandoned them to perish from want. Under such circumstances it is not remarkable that the commerce and the manufactures of Greece were transferred in the course of another century to Sicily and Italy.

CHRONOLOGY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY

EMBRACING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THIS VOLUME

A.D. 843-1161

JOHN RUDD, LL.D.

Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals following give volume and page.

Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of famous persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page references showing where the several events are fully treated.

A.D.

843. Messina in Sicily captured by the Saracens.

Feudalism may be said to become an actuality from about this time. See "FEUDALISM: ITS FRANKISH BIRTH AND ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT," v, 1.

The Danes--called by Arabian writers "_Magioges_," people of Gog and Magog--land at Lisbon from fifty-four ships and carry off a rich booty.

The treaty of Verdun, between the three sons of Louis _le Débonnaire_. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

844. Lothair gives the title king of Italy to his son Louis, who is crowned at Rome.

Abderrahman fits out a fleet to resist the Danes who have infested the neighborhood of Cadiz and Seville.

845. Paris is pillaged for the first time by the Danes or Northmen. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

Hamburg is looted and destroyed by the Danes.

846. Rome is attacked by the Saracens, who, after plundering the country, lay siege to Gaeta.

Spain afflicted by a great drought and swarms of locusts.

847. A violent storm drives the Saracens from the siege of Gaeta. The distress in Spain is relieved by Abderrahman, who remits the taxes and constructs aqueducts and fountains.

848. Louis, King of Italy, drives the Saracens out of Beneventum.

Bordeaux is assailed by the Northmen, but they are vigorously repulsed. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

Pope Leo IV adds a new quarter to the city of Rome by surrounding the Vatican with walls.

849. Birth of Alfred the Great. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

Gottschalk, a German bishop who preached the doctrine of twofold predestination, sentenced by the Council of Quincy to be flogged and suffer perpetual imprisonment.

The Saracens range at will through the Mediterranean; they are defeated at the mouth of the Tiber by the combined fleets of Naples, Gaeta, and Amalphi.

On Gallic soil the _benificium_ and practice of commendation is specially fostered. See "FEUDALISM: ITS FRANKISH BIRTH AND ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT," v, 1.

850. Roric, a nephew of Harold, collects a piratical armament in Friesland and attacks adjacent coasts; Lothair grants Durstadt to him to secure his own lands.

Pépin strengthens himself in Aquitaine by leagues with the Northmen. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

851. Danes ascend the Rhine with 252 ships and plunder Ghent, Cologne, Treves, and Aix-la-Chapelle.

Roric, with 350 sail, proceeds up the Thames and pillages Canterbury and London, after defeating the King of Mercia; he is at last defeated by Ethelwulf, with great slaughter, at Ockley.

852. A revolt against the Moslems in Armenia.

853. Hastings' (the Danish chief) ruse at Tuscany. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

855. Death of Lothair, Emperor of the Franks; civil war between his sons.

A band of Danes keep the Isle of Sheppey through the winter; their first foothold in England.

860. Iceland discovered by the Northmen.

862. Rurik, the Varangian chief, conquers Novgorod and Kiov and lays the foundation of the Russian empire.

863. Cyril and Methodius, the "apostles of the Slavs," undertake the conversion of the Moravians.

Pope Nicholas deposes Photius and declares Ignatius to be the patriarch of Constantinople; Photius in turn excommunicates the Pope.

Charles the Bald founds the County of Flanders.

864. Pope Nicholas asserts his exclusive right to appoint and depose bishops; the sovereigns and prelates of France and Germany resist his claim.

Christianity first introduced into Russia; it makes little progress.

865. First naval expedition of the Varangians or Russians against Constantinople; their fleet is dispersed by a storm.

866. East Anglia invaded by a numerous body of Danes.

Accession of Alfonso the Great of Asturias.

868. Nottingham captured by the Danes; they are besieged by Burhred, Alfred, and his brother, who allow them to return to York with their booty. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

869. Eighth general council held at Constantinople; the deposition of Photius confirmed and all iconoclasts anathematized.

870. Malta captured by the Saracens.

East Anglia captured by the Danes; Edmund, titular king of the country, is treacherously slain by them; is afterward canonized.

871. Hincmar, a French prelate, encourages Charles the Bald to resist the authority assumed by the Pope over the church of France.

Bari, a Saracen fortress in Southern Italy, is surrendered to the Franks and Greeks.

Alfred ascends the throne of Wessex. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

872. Louis of Germany relinquishes to Emperor Louis his portion of Lorraine.

873. On the approach of Emperor Louis with an army the Saracens, who were besieging Salerno, retire; they land in Calabria and commit great depredations.

Locusts lay waste Italy, France, and Germany.

Organs introduced into the churches of Germany.

874. Mercia is conquered by the Danes, who set up Ceolwulf as their king.

Iceland is settled by the Danes.

875. Death of Emperor Louis; Charles the Bald and Louis of Germany contend for the succession. The former, by granting new privileges to the Church of Rome, obtains the support of the Pope, and is acknowledged as the king of Italy and emperor of the West.

Alfred, King of Wessex, fits out a fleet and conquers the Danes in a great sea battle. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

876. Death of Louis of Germany; division of his kingdom among his three sons: Bavaria to Carloman; Saxony to Louis the Stammerer; and East France (Franconia and Swabia) to Charles the Fat. Their uncle, Charles the Bald, attempts to dispossess them, but is defeated by Louis at Andernach.

Rollo, at the head of the Northmen, enters the Seine and makes his first settlement in Normandy. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

877. No emperor of the West for three years.

Carloman acquires the crown of Italy; the Pope, who opposes him, is driven from Rome by Lambert, Duke of Spoleto, and takes refuge in France.

A large traffic in slaves carried on by the Venetians.

Count Boso founds the kingdom of Florence.

878. Alfred defeats a great host of the Danes at Eddington. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

Syracuse captured by the Saracens, who become the masters of Sicily.

879. Methodius forbidden by the Pope to perform the services of the Church for the Slavonians in their own language.

The kingdom of Cisjurane, Burgundy, founded; it included Provence, Dauphiné, and the southern part of Savoy.

880. Germany is ravaged by the Northmen.

Alfred, the English King, defeats the Danes at the battle of Ethandun; by treaty he gives them equal rights, and they acknowledge his supremacy. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

881. Methodius gets leave to use the Slavonic tongue in the churches. Charles the Fat ascends the throne of Italy and Germany; is emperor of the West.

882. Albategni, the Arabian astronomer, observes the autumnal equinox, September 19th.

883. Alfred sends Singhelm and Athelstan on missions to Rome and the Christian church in India.

884. Charles the Fat reunites the Frankish empire of Charlemagne.

885. Siege of Paris by the Northmen. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

886. Alfred the Great said to have founded the University of Oxford.

887. Deposition of Charles the Fat; Arnulf, natural son of Carloman of Bavaria, elected by the nobles.

888. Death of Charles the Fat; final disruption of the Frankish empire; the crown of France in dispute between the Count of Paris, Eudes, and Charles the Simple. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

Founding of the kingdom of Transjurane, Burgundy, which includes the northern part of Savoy and all Switzerland between the Reuss and the Jura.

Alfred the Great begins his translations from Latin into Anglo-Saxon. See "AUGUSTINE'S MISSIONARY WORK IN ENGLAND," iv, 182.

890. Southern Italy constituted a province of the Greek empire and called Lombardia.

891. King Arnulf, of Germany, defeats the Northmen or Danes at Louvain.

894. Arnulf becomes emperor of Germany.

Hungarians (Magyars) cross the Carpathians and occupy the plains of the Theiss.

895. Rome is captured by Emperor Arnulf of Germany; he is crowned emperor of the West.

896. Pope Stephen VII declares the election of his predecessor, Formosus, invalid; disinters his body and has it thrown in the Tiber.

897. Pope Stephen imprisoned and strangled.

Alfred constructs a powerful navy and defeats Hastings the Dane. See "CAREER OF ALFRED THE GREAT," v, 49.

899. Accession of Louis the Child, on the death of Arnulf, to the German throne.

900. Hungarians ravage Northern Italy.

901. Death of Alfred the Great, King of England; his son, Edward the Elder, succeeds.

904. Russians, with a large naval force, attack Constantinople, and the Saracens Thessalonica.

907. Bavaria desolated by the Hungarians.

909. Founding of the Fatimite caliphate in Africa. See "CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY THE FATIMITES," v, 94.

911. End of the Carlovingian line in Germany. See "HENRY THE FOWLER FOUNDS THE SAXON LINE OF GERMAN KINGS," v, 82.

912. Rollo, converted to Christianity, takes the name of Robert and receives from Peter the Simple the province afterward called Normandy, of which he is the first duke. See "DECAY OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE," v, 22.

913. Igor, son of Rurik, by the death of his guardian, Oleg, is invested with the government of Russia.

Bodies of Hungarians and Slavs make inroads on German territory. See "HENRY THE FOWLER FOUNDS THE SAXON LINE OF GERMAN KINGS," v, 82.

914. John X elected pope through the intrigues of Theodora.

916. Berengar is crowned emperor of the West, in Italy.

918. Death of Conrad, the King of Germany. See "HENRY THE FOWLER FOUNDS THE SAXON LINE OF GERMAN KINGS," v, 82.

919. Founding of the Danish kingdom of Dublin, Ireland. "HENRY THE FOWLER FOUNDS THE SAXON LINE OF GERMAN KINGS." See v, 82.

923. Rudolph of Burgundy disputes with Charles the Simple for the crown of France.

924. Germany is overrun and devastated by the Hungarians. Death of Berengar, upon which the imperial title lapses.

925. Edward the Elder is succeeded by his son Athelstan, in England.

926. Henry the Fowler conquers the Slavonians; he establishes the margravate of Brandenburg.

928. Guido and Marozia usurp supreme temporal power in Rome and confine Pope John X in prison, where he dies. (Date uncertain.)

929. Charles the Simple dies in captivity at Péronne.

Abu Taher, the Carmathian leader, plunders Mecca and massacres the pilgrims.

930. Prague is besieged by Henry the Fowler, who becomes superior lord of Bohemia; his son, Otho, marries Eadgith, sister of Athelstan, King of England.

931. Marozia still rules in Rome; she makes her son pope John XI.

932. Hugh marries Marozia and is expelled from Rome by her son Alberic, who confines his mother, and his brother, Pope John, in St. Angelo and governs the city.

933. Henry the Fowler is victorious over the Hungarians at Merseburg. See "HENRY THE FOWLER FOUNDS THE SAXON LINE OF GERMAN KINGS," v, 82.

Union of Cis- and Transjurane Burgundy into one realm, the kingdom of Arles.

Saracens invade Castile and are defeated at Uxama.

936. Death of Henry the Fowler; accession of Otho the Great in Germany and of Louis _d'Outre-Mer_ in France. Louis was given the surname for having been in exile in England, whence he was recalled to the crown.

From this time chivalry may be said to arise. See "GROWTH AND DECADENCE OF CHIVALRY," v, 109.

937. Confederation of Scots and Irish with the Danes of Northumberland, totally defeated by Athelstan, at Brunanburh.

France is invaded by the Hungarians.

939. The Marquis of Istria levies imposts on Venetian merchants, the repeal of which is enforced by the Doge suspending all intercourse between the two states.

940. Death of King Athelstan; his brother Edmund succeeds to the English throne.

941. Constantinople attacked by the Russians under Igor; they are repelled by Romanus.

945. Death of Igor; his widow, Olga, governs the Russians during the minority of their son Swatoslaus.

Cumberland and Westmoreland, England, granted as a fief to Malcolm, King of Scotland.

946. Edmund, who had conquered Mercia and the "Five Boroughs" of the Danish confederacy, England, slain by an outlaw; his brother Edred succeeds.

951. Otho the Great marches an army in to Italy; he dethrones Berengar for cruelly ill-treating Adelaide.

952. Otho restores Italy to Berengar and his son; they do homage to him at the Diet of Augsburg.

955. Otho vanquishes the Hungarians on the Lech; he afterward conquers the Slavonians.

Olga, the Russian Princess, baptized at Constantinople; she carries back into her own country some beginnings of civilization.

956. Many provinces, including Armenia, recovered from the Saracens by the Eastern Empire.

959. St. Dunstan made archbishop of Canterbury on the accession of Edgar.

961. Berengar finally dethroned by Otho the Great; the sovereignty of Italy passes from Charlemagne's descendants to German rulers.

962. Otho the Great, master of Italy; his coronation as emperor of the Romans by Pope John XII; establishment of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.

963. Nicephorus Phocas defeats the Saracens and recovers the former provinces of the empire as far as the Euphrates.

Al Hakem, Caliph of Cordova, famous as a patron of literature and learning, and who is said to have collected a library of 600,000 volumes, employs agents in Africa and Arabia to purchase or copy manuscripts.

King Edgar, England, defeats the Welsh and exacts an annual tribute of three hundred wolves' heads.

964. Pope Leo VIII is expelled; John XII reinstated, he dies soon after; Rome is besieged and captured by the Emperor, after a revolt encouraged by Berengar.

966. After 328 years' subjection Antioch is recovered from the Saracens.

Bulgaria invaded by the Russians, who also extend their dominion to the Black Sea.

Miecislas, ruler of Poland, embraces Christianity.

969. Kahira (now Cairo) built by the Fatimites, who establish a caliphate in Egypt. See "CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY THE FATIMITES," v, 94.

Nicephorus Phocas, Emperor of the East, murdered by John Zimisces, who succeeds.

971. All munitions of war and arms are by the Venetians forbidden to be sold by their merchants to the Saracens.

973. On the death of his father, Otho the Great, Otho II ascends the throne of the German empire. His Empress, Theophania, introduces Greek customs and manners into Germany.

976. Henry, Duke of Bavaria, defeated by Otho II and deposed, takes refuge in Bohemia.

Death of Al Hakem; his reign the most glorious of the Saracenic dominion in Spain.

Commotion in Venice; the Doge attempts to introduce mercenary troops and is slain; his palace, St. Mark's, and other churches burned.

978. Otho II makes a victorious movement into France.

979. King Edward the Martyr assassinated by command of his mother-in-law, Elfrida; Ethelred the Unready succeeds. (Date uncertain.)

980. Theophania urges her husband, Otho II, to claim the Greek provinces in Italy; he advances with his army to Ravenna.

Vladimir obtains the assistance of the sea-kings, defeats his brother, Jaropolk, puts him to death, and becomes sole ruler of Russia.

982. Saracens of Africa are invited by the Greek emperors to join them in opposing Otho; battle of Basientello, total defeat of Otho; he is taken prisoner, but escapes by swimming.

983. Eric the Red, a Norseman, first visits Greenland, which he thus names, and afterward settles. See "LEIF ERICSON DISCOVERS AMERICA," v, 141.

Death of Otho II; Otho III succeeds to the throne of Germany under the regency of his mother, Theophania.

987. Death of Louis V, the last of the Carlovingian line; Hugh Capet is elected king of France; this inaugurates the Capetian dynasty.

988. Vladimir the Great of Russia embraces Christianity. See "CONVERSION OF VLADIMIR THE GREAT," v, 128.

989. Sedition in Rome; Empress Theophania arrives there and suppresses it.

In Germany rural counts and barons commence their depredations on the properties of their neighbors.

Learned men from all parts of the East flock to Cordova, Almansor, the Saracen regent, having set apart a fund to promote literature.

991. Archbishop Gerbert, of Rheims, introduces the use of Arabic numerals, which he had learned at Cordova.

Ipswich and Maldon, England, ravaged by the Danes; a tribute raised for them by means of the "Danegild" tax.

994. Hugh Capet maintains Gerbert in the see of Rheims, against the opposition of the Pope.

With a fleet of ninety-four ships the kings of Norway and Denmark attack London; they are beaten off by the citizens.

996. Death of Hugh Capet; his son Robert succeeds.

997. Venetians conquer the coast and islands of the Adriatic as far as Ragusa; their Doge styles himself duke of Dalmatia.

Death of Gejza, first Christian prince of Hungary.

Insurrection of peasants in Normandy.

998. Crescentius, having usurped power in Rome and expelled the Pope, is defeated, captured, and put to death by Otho III.

1000. Leif Ericson and Biorn discover America. See "LEIF ERICSON DISCOVERS AMERICA," v, 141.

Otho III and Boleslas the Valiant, King of Poland, meet at Gnesen.

Expectation of the end of the world causes the sowing of seed and other agricultural work to be neglected; famine ensues therefrom.

Duke Stephen of Hungary receives the royal title from Pope Sylvester II.

First invasion of India by Mahmud. See "MAHOMETANS IN INDIA," v, 151.

1002. Massacre of Danes in England; the Day of St. Brice.

Henry, Duke of Bavaria, elected king of Germany on the death of Otho III.

1003. Sweyn of Denmark invades England to avenge the massacre of his people.

1013. After various repulses and successes Sweyn takes nearly the whole of England; King Ethelred and his Queen flee to her brother Richard, Duke of Normandy.

Imperial coronation of Henry II.

1014. Death of Sweyn. Ethelred returns to England; he battles with the Danes, under Sweyn's son, Canute, who is driven from the country.

King Brian, the Brian Boroimhe or Boru, the most famous of Irish kings, defeats the Danes at the battle of Clontarf, but perishes in the conflict.

1016. Pope Benedict VIII repulses the Saracens at Luni, Tuscany; they besiege Salerno and are defeated by the aid of a band of Norman pilgrims returning from Jerusalem.

Edmund "Ironsides," the English King, assassinated. See "CANUTE BECOMES KING OF ENGLAND," v, 164.

1017. Swatopolk, Grand Duke of Russia, defeated by his brother, Jaroslav, Prince of Novgorod, seeks an asylum in Poland.

All England acknowledges Canute as king. See "CANUTE BECOMES KING OF ENGLAND," v, 164.

1018. Complete destruction of the Bulgarian realm by the Eastern emperor Basil II.

Swatopolk finally expelled from Russia by Jaroslav, who becomes ruler.

1020. Death of Firdusi, a famous Persian poet.

1022. Guido Aretinus invents the staff, and is the first to adopt as names for the notes of the musical scale the initial syllables of the hemistichs of a hymn in honor of St. John the Baptist.

1024. Death of the emperor Henry II of Germany; the Franconian dynasty inaugurated by Conrad II.

1027. Conrad II crowned emperor at Rome; Canute of England and Rudolph of Burgundy attend the ceremony.

Schleswig is formally ceded to Denmark by Conrad II.

1028. Canute invades Norway; he conquers King Olaf and annexes his dominions. See "CANUTE BECOMES KING OF ENGLAND," v, 164.

1031. End of the Ommiad caliphate of Cordova; Spain divided by the Moorish chiefs into many states.

1033. Institution of the "Truce of God." A suspension of private feuds observed in England, France, Italy, and elsewhere. Such a truce provided that these feuds should cease on all the more important church festivals and fasts, from Thursday evening to Monday morning, during Lent, or similar occasions.

Castile created an independent kingdom by Sancho the Great, King of Navarre.

Conrad II extends his dominion over the Arletan territories.

1035. Death of King Canute; his sons, Hardicanute in Denmark, Harold in England, and Sweyn in Norway, succeed him. See "CANUTE BECOMES KING OF ENGLAND," v, 164.

Aragon created an independent kingdom.

1037. Avicenna, Arabian physician and scholar, dies. (Date uncertain.)

Harold becomes king of all England.

1039. Murder of King Duncan, of Scotland, by Macbeth, who succeeds.

1042. End of the Danish rule in England; Hardicanute succeeded by Edward the Confessor.

1045. Ferdinand of Castile exacts tribute from his Moorish neighbors.

1046. Henry III holds a council at Sutri on the question of the papacy. See "HENRY III DEPOSES THE SIMONIACAL POPES," v, 177.

1047. Count Guelf given the duchy Carinthia by Emperor Henry III.

1048. On the death of Clement II, the deposed Pope again intrudes himself. See "HENRY III DEPOSES THE SIMONIACAL POPES," v, 177.

1049. Hildebrand, the monk, assumes charge of the patrimony of St. Peter, at Rome.

1050. Bérenger of Tours condemned and imprisoned for denying the doctrine of transubstantiation.

1051. William of Normandy visits England; he confers with Edward the Confessor.

1052. Archbishop Robert, with the Norman bishops and nobles, driven out of England.

1053. In Italy the Norman conquests of that country are conferred on them as a fief of the Church.

1054. Separation of the Greek and Latin churches. See "DISSENSION AND SEPARATION OF THE GREEK AND ROMAN CHURCHES," v, 189.

1055. Togrul Beg drives the Buyides from Bagdad and establishes his authority there.

1056. Death of Emperor Henry III; his son, Henry IV, is elected king under the regency of his mother, Agnes.

Malcolm defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, at Dunsinane.

1057. Harold, son of Earl Godwin, is designated heir to the throne of England. See "NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND," v, 204.

1059. Nicholas II and the Council of Rome decree that future popes shall be elected by the college of cardinals, but confirmed by the people and clergy of Rome and the emperor.

1060. King Andrew slain in battle by his brother, Bela, who ascends the throne of Hungary.

1061. Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger, at the head of the Normans, engage in the conquest of Sicily from the Saracens.

1062. The Archbishop of Cologne, Anno, assumes the reins of government after seizing the young emperor Henry IV.

1066. Death of Edward the Confessor, who is succeeded by Harold II. The Norwegians invade England; they are defeated by Harold. William, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England. See "NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND," v, 204.

1067. Council of Mantua; Hildebrand denies the imperial right to interfere in the election of a pope.

1068. Carrier pigeons are employed by the Saracens to convey intelligence to the besieged in Palermo.

1069. Morocco founded by Abu-Bekr, Ameer of Lantuna.

1071. Alp Arslan, the Seljuk Sultan, defeats and captures the Eastern Emperor, Romanus Diogenes.

1072. Palermo is taken by the Normans, who reduce the whole of Sicily.

1073. Lissa, taken by the Normans, is recovered by the Venetians.

Hildebrand elected pope; he takes the name of Gregory VII; the sale of church benefices in Germany forbidden by him. See "TRIUMPHS OF HILDEBRAND," v, 231.

1074. Gregory VII suggests the first idea of a general crusade against the Turks.

1075. Lay investiture prohibited by a council called by Gregory VII. See "TRIUMPHS OF HILDEBRAND," v, 231.

1076. Atziz, Malek Shah's lieutenant, conquers Syria from the Fatimites of Egypt, and takes Jerusalem.

Christian pilgrims are persecuted by the Seljukian Turks.

Henry IV, Emperor of Germany, holds a council at Rome which deposes Gregory VII. In union with the German princes the Pope deposes the Emperor.

1077. Pope Gregory exacts an annual tribute from Alfonso, King of Castile.

At Canossa Henry IV humbles himself before the Pope and is absolved. See "TRIUMPHS OF HILDEBRAND," v, 231.

1079. Boleslas of Poland excommunicated by Gregory and expelled by his subjects.

1080. Henry IV convenes a council which deposes Gregory VII; it elects Guibert, Antipope Clement III, in his stead.

End of the war between Henry and Rudolph of Saxony caused by the death of the latter.

1081. Constantinople captured by Alexis Comnenus, who is placed by his soldiers on the Byzantine throne.

1084. Gregory VII is besieged in the castle of St. Angelo; Robert Guiscard delivers the Pope. See "TRIUMPHS OF HILDEBRAND," v, 231.

1085. Death of Gregory VII, in exile at Salerno; the papacy vacant till the following year.

Conquest of Toledo from the Moors by Alfonso of Castile.

1086. "COMPLETION OF THE DOMESDAY BOOK." See v, 242.

The Mahometans of Spain invite the chief of the Almoravides to assist them. See "DECLINE OF THE MOORISH POWER IN SPAIN," v, 256.

1087. King William of England invades France; he dies at Rouen. His eldest son, Robert, inherits Normandy; his second son, William Rufus, secures the throne of England.

1088. Yussef is called into Spain by the Moorish princes; their jealousies and discords render his assistance unavailing. See "DECLINE OF THE MOORISH POWER IN SPAIN," v, 256.

1089. Henry IV excommunicated by Pope Urban II. A violent earthquake in England.

The disease known as St. Anthony's fire breaks out in Lorraine.

1090. Hasan, Subah of Nishapur, collects a band of Carmathians who are named after him, "Assassins."

William Rufus, King of England, invades Normandy and captures St. Valery.

1091. Yussef conquers Seville and Almeria, sends Almoatamad to Africa, and becomes supreme ruler in Mahometan Spain. See "DECLINE OF THE MOORISH POWER IN SPAIN," v, 256.

1092. Guibert's party hold the castle of St. Angelo; Guibert's title to the papacy is still asserted by Henry IV.

Complete disruption of the empire of the Seljuks follows the death of Shah Malek.

1093. King Malcolm of Scotland invades England; he is killed near Alnwick, by Roger de Mowbray.

1094. Sancho, King of Aragon and Navarre, falls in battle; he is succeeded by his son Pedro.

Peter the Hermit goes on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. See "THE FIRST CRUSADE," v, 276.

1095. Philip and Henry again excommunicated by Pope Urban II.

Henry of Besangon marries Theresa, daughter of Alfonso the Valiant, who erects Portugal into a county for his son-in-law.

1096. Aphdal, the Fatimite, expels the sons of Ortok from Jerusalem.

Movement of the first crusading armies; massacre of Jews in Europe. See "THE FIRST CRUSADE," v, 276.

1097. William Rufus expels Archbishop Anselm, from England in defiance of the papal legate.

Emperor Henry IV protects the German Jews.

Death of Albert Azzo, Marquis of Lombardy, more than 100 years old; he was father of Guelf IV, the progenitor of the Brunswick family, afterward one of the English royal lines.

The crusaders take Nicaea; the Eastern emperor Alexius, suspicious of the crusaders, obtains the city of Nicasa for himself. See "THE FIRST CRUSADE," v, 276.

1098. Edgar, son of Malcolm, seated on the throne of Scotland by Edgar Atheling with an English army.

Pope Urban II holds a council at Bari to condemn the doctrines of the Greek Church.

1099. Jerusalem captured by the crusaders. See "THE FIRST CRUSADE," v, 276.

Founding of the order of the Knights Hospitallers; Gerard of Jerusalem the first provost or grand master.

Coronation of Henry V, second son of the Emperor, as king of the Romans.

1100. New antipopes arise on the death of Guibert (Clement III), one of whom assumes the name of Sylvester IV.

William Rufus accidentally slain; Henry I becomes king of England; he renews the laws of Edward the Confessor and unites the Saxon and Norman races by his marriage with Matilda, granddaughter of Edmund "Ironside."

1101. Robert, Duke of Normandy, invades England and makes war on his brother, Henry I.

Guelf, Duke of Bavaria, and William, Duke of Aquitaine, conduct a large body of crusaders to the East. United with those who set out in the preceding year, they are met by Kilidsch Arslan, on entering Asia Minor, and are cut to pieces or dispersed.

1102. Pope Paschal II obtains from Matilda a deed of gift of all her states to the Church.

Coloman, King of Hungary, conquers Croatia and Dalmatia.

1103. Yussef's son Ali recognized as heir to the thrones of Spain and Africa.

1104. Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, defeats the Turks and captures Acre.

Emperor Henry IV faces a rebellion of his son, incited by the papal party.

1105. Interview between Emperor Henry and his son at Elbingen; a diet is called to be held at Mainz for the settlement of their dispute.

The English, under King Henry, take Caen and Bayeux in Normandy.

Defeat of the Turks in an attempt to retake Jerusalem; Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, who had taken Antioch from the Turks, made prisoner.

1106. King Henry I overthrows Duke Robert, who is captured, and secures Normandy.

Death of Henry IV and accession of his son Henry V to the German throne; the new Emperor asserts his right to appoint bishops.

1108. Death of Philip, King of France; Louis VI, the Fat, succeeds.

1109. Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, assisted by a Venetian fleet, captures Tripoli.

Portugal declared independent and the hereditary succession established in Count Henry's family.

1111. Emperor Henry V enters Rome; bloody contests between his soldiers and the people. Pope Paschal II, a prisoner, resigns the right of investiture and crowns the Emperor.

1113. Death of Swatopolk, Duke of Russia; his brother Vladimir succeeds.

1114. War in Wales; King Henry I erects castles there to secure his conquests.

1117. The Doge of Venice falls at Zara in defending Dalmatia against the Hungarians.

1118. "FOUNDATION OF THE ORDER OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR." See v, 301.

On the death of Paschal II the cardinals elect Gelasius II; the Emperor appoints the Archbishop of Braga to assume the papal dignity under the name of Gregory VIII. The factions afterward known as the Guelfs and Ghibellines arose from this event.

1119. Battle of Noyon, by which Henry I reestablishes his ascendency in Normandy.

Defeat of the Turks at Antioch by King Baldwin II and the Knights Hospitallers.

Henry I resists the papal claim to investiture in England; banishment of Thurstan, Archbishop of Canterbury.

1120. Sinking of the White Ship (_La Blanche Nef_), in which Prince William, son of Henry I, was lost. The King is said to have "never smiled again" after the receipt of the news.

1121. Siege of Sutri by the army of Pope Calixtus II, and surrender of Antipope Gregory.

1122. Henry V and Calixtus II compromise, at the Diet of Worms, the dispute respecting the right of investiture.

Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, and Jocelyn de Courtenay made prisoners by the Turks.

Abelard, a noted French theologian, accused of heresy at the Council of Soissons, is condemned to burn his writings.

1123. Ninth general council; First Lateran Council.

War renewed in Normandy by the rebellion of certain powerful barons; Henry I, King of England, takes their castles.

1124. A rich Pisan convoy, on its voyage from Sardinia, captured by the Genoese.

1125. Death of the emperor Henry V of Germany, which ends the Franconian dynasty; the Duke of Saxony, Lothair II, elected his successor; he declares war against the Hohenstaufens.

Punishment of the mintmen in England for issuing base coin.

1126. King Henry leaves Normandy and takes his prisoners to England.

1127. Marriage of Henry's daughter, Matilda, to Geoffrey Plantagenet; she is acknowledged by the English barons as heiress to her father's throne. See "STEPHEN USURPS THE ENGLISH CROWN," v, 317.

Death of William, Duke of Apulia; Roger II, Great Count of Sicily, succeeds. This unites the Norman conquests in Italy with Sicily; the Pope excommunicates him.

1128. Conrad, Duke of Franconia, of the Hohenstaufen house, crowned king of Italy at Milan, in opposition to Lothair II; he is excommunicated by the Pope.

Roger II overcomes the papal resistance and is formally acknowledged duke of Apulia and Calabria.

1129. King Henry of England releases his Norman prisoners and restores their lands to them.

1130. On the death of Pope Honorius II the cardinals divide into two factions, one of which elects Innocent II, and the other the antipope Anacletus II. The latter gains possession of the Lateran and is there consecrated; Innocent takes refuge in France.

1131. Birth of Maimonides, who, next to Moses, is believed to have had the greatest influence on Jewish thought. (Date uncertain.)

1132. Lothair II goes to Rome in support of Pope Innocent II against Antipope Anacletus II; he expels Conrad.

Wool-spinning is introduced into England by the Flemings at Worstead; hence the name "worsted."

1133. Lothair conducts Innocent to Rome and is there crowned emperor by him.

1134. Aragon and Navarre choose separate sovereigns, who are protected by Alfonso the Noble, King of Castile.

1135. Death of Henry I of England; Stephen usurps the throne. See "STEPHEN USURPS THE ENGLISH CROWN," v, 317.

A copy of Justinian's _Pandects_ said to have been discovered at Amalfi.

The house of Hohenstaufen forced into submission by Lothair.

1136. Lothair marches into Italy with a large army; the cities make submission.

Matilda resists Stephen's usurpation of the English crown, and invades Normandy.

1137. Death of Louis VI; his son, Louis VII, succeeds to the French crown.