- 1st millennium
The first millennium is a period of time that commenced on
January 1 ,1 , and ended onDecember 31 ,1000 , of theJulian calendar . This millennium is the beginning of theAnno Domini /Common Era for this calendar as there is no "year zero ."The early first millennium marks the peak of the
Roman Empire and its subsequent decline. In analysis groupinghistory by period this same era is a period of transition also known asLate Antiquity , culminating in the transformation of theEastern Roman Empire into theByzantine Empire , while theWestern Roman Empire collapses, giving rise to theEarly Middle Ages .As the millennium ages,
Christianity andIslam rise to power in the 4th and 7th centuries, respectively. The late 1st millennium sees theVikings incursions and settlements, founding of the Carolingian dynasties, and as the millennium closes, the gradual transition to what is known as theHigh Middle Ages .World population , which had tripled over the preceding millennium, grew more slowly during the thousand year era and could well have diminished. One optimistic estimate the world's population rose from approximately 170 to 300 million, but other estimates vary; one estimate suggests that the world population actually declined from 400 million people to 250 million people.Events
* Beginning (
30s ) and rise (4th century ) ofChristianity
* Volcanic destruction ofPompeii ,Herculaneum , andStabiae (AD 79)
* In Albion —London founded by Romans asLondinium
*Diaspora of theJew s (1st century)
* Rise of theSassanid Empire (226 )
* The Olympic Games observed until393
* TheLibrary of Alexandria , largest library in the world, burned
* High point, and fall of the WesternRoman Empire (5th century)
* Rise of theByzantine Empire
* Rise of theBulgarian Empire
* Rise of theMerovingian dynasty (5th century )
* Germanic kingdoms established in Northern and Western Europe (Migration Period ,Dark Ages )
*Greek fire invented c. 670 inConstantinople
* Beginning ofIslam (7th century )
*Maya civilization at its height
*Three kingdoms inChina
* The height ofHindu culture inIndia under theGupta Dynasty
* The height of Tamil civilization under theCholas . Indian colonization of South-East Asia.
*Islamic conquest of theMiddle East andNorth Africa
*Viking raids common in northern Europe (Viking Age , from the 8th century)
* Beginning of theMiddle Ages in Europe
* Rise of theGhana Empire inMauritania
* Settlement of theMagyar s inHungary (800–900)
* TheJelling stones (AD 958) are erected inDenmark ; the stones are identified with the unification of Denmark as one nation
* TheBattle of Hafrsfjord in872 AD,Harald Fairhair unites Norway by defeating his opponents in a great naval battle outside the west coast of Norway.ignificant people
*
Caesar Augustus , Roman emperor (63 BC –14 )
* Jesus of Nazareth,Rabbi and iconoclast apotheosized by the Christian religion; also viewed by theIslam ic religion as having been aprophet (d. c.29 –33 )
*Paul of Tarsus (d.67 ), central apostle of Christianity to thegentiles
*Pliny the Elder (23 –79 ), Roman author
*Cai Lun (d.121 ), Chinese inventor of paper
*Plutarch (d. c.127 ), Greek historian
*Zhang Heng (d.139 ), Chinese astronomer and mathematician
*Ptolemy (c.83 –161 ), Greek astronomer and mathematician
*Chandragupta (280 –319 ), founder of the IndianGupta Empire
* Constantine I (d.337 ), Roman emperor
*Augustine of Hippo (354 –430 ), theologian andFather of the Church
* Attila (d.453 ), Hunnic king and warlord
*Theodoric the Great (454 –526 ), king of the Goths and of Italy
*Clovis I (466 –511 ), united all the Frankish tribes under his rule
*Aryabhata (b.476 ), Indian astronomer and mathematician
*Justinian I (482 –565 ),Byzantine Emperor
*Belisarius (c.505 –565 ), Byzantine general
*Khosrau I (d.579 ),Sassanid King of Persia
*Muhammad (570 –632 ), prophet and founder ofIslam
*Ali ibn Abu Talib (599 –661 ) firstShi'a Imam
*Saint Isidore of Seville (d.636 ), archbishop and encyclopedist
*Brahmagupta (d.668 ), Indian mathematician and astronomer
*Saint Bede (672 or673 –735 ) English historian
*Abi Ishaq (d.735 ) Arab grammarian
*Charles Martel (d.741 ), defeated the Arabs at Tours,732
*Li Bai (701 –762 ), Chinese poet
*Geber (c.721 –c.815 ), Muslim chemist
*Charlemagne (742 –814 ), Frankish conqueror and founder of theHoly Roman Empire
*Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (c.780 –c.850 ), Persian mathematician
*Alfred the Great (c.849 –899 )
*Al Battani (850 –923 ), Arab astronomer and mathematician
* Simeon I (d.927 ),Tsar of Bulgaria
* Otto the Great (912 –973 )
*Bjarni Herjólfsson , Norwegian explorer; first knownEurope an discoverer of the mainland of theAmericas , sighted in986 .
*Harald I of Norway , first king of Norway and mightiest ruler in Northern Europe at his time. Reigned from872 to933 Inventions, discoveries, introductions
*
Paper invented in China
*Algebra developed in the Middle East
*Coffee discovered in Ethiopia
* Various horse-riding improvements including thehorseshoe and thestirrup
* Hops added tobeer for the first time
*Ptolemaic system used to describe the motion of the planets
* Chess developed, gaining widespread use
* Magnetic compass invented
* Steel first used in IndiaCenturies and decades
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