Decade
The 530s decade ran from January 1, 530, to December 31, 539.
Events
530
By place
Byzantine Empire
Persia
Africa
- King Hilderic is deposed by his cousin Gelimer after a seven-year reign. Gelimer restores Arianism as the official religion of the Vandal Kingdom and puts Hilderic in prison along with other supporters.
- Justinian I sends an embassy to Carthage to negotiate with Gelimer. Gelimer replies: “Nothing is more desirable than that a monarch should mind his own business.”[1]
China
By topic
Art
Religion
531
By place
Byzantine Empire
Europe
Persia
- King Kavadh I, age 82, dies after a 43-year reign. Khosrau I, his favourite son, is proclaimed successor over his elder brothers.
Asia
Unidentified
532
By place
Byzantine Empire
- January 11 – Nika riots in Constantinople:[5] Anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—escalates into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the capital is in chaos. The fires that start during the tumult result in the destruction of much of the city. The insurrection is put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus; 30,000 people are killed in the Hippodrome.
- February 23 – Emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. He chooses Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles as architects. The material for the construction is brought from all over the empire, such as large stones from quarries in Porphyry, Egypt. More than 10,000 people are employed.
- September – Justinian I signs a peace treaty, the "Eternal Peace", with the Persian king Khosrau I, ending the Iberian War (527-531). Both sides agree to return all occupied territories, and Justinian makes a one-off payment of 110 centenaria (11,000 pounds of gold), as a contribution to the defense of the Caucasus passes.
Europe
Asia
By topic
Arts and sciences
- First year in which the Anno Domini calendar is used for numbering the years.
Religion
533
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Spring – Vandalic War: Anti-Vandal revolt in Tripolitania and Sardinia; Gelimer, king of the Vandals, dispatches the bulk of the Vandal fleet (120 ships and 5,000 men) under his brother Tzazo to Sardinia. Byzantine forces from Cyrenaica occupy Leptis Magna and Tripolis.
- March 25 – In a letter, Emperor Justinian I declares the Bishop of Rome (currently John) to be "head of all Bishops, and the true and effective corrector of heretics."
- Summer – Emperor Justinian I holds a war council in Constantinople. His advisers warn him against launching an expedition to North Africa, because of the supply-lines (1,000 miles into Vandal waters) and the huge drain on the imperial treasury. Justinian appoints Belisarius to command the Byzantine army.
- June 21 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails in 500 transports, escorted by 92 war vessels (dromons), manned by 20,000 seamen from Constantinople, to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. The fleet carries 10,000 infantry, about half Byzantine and half foederati, and 5,000 cavalry, consisting of 3,000 Byzantine horsemen, 1,000 foreign allies (Huns and Heruli) and 1,500 of Belisarius' retainers (bucellarii).[7] On the flagship Belisarius is accompanied by his military secretary Procopius, and his wife Antonina.
- September – Belisarius arrives at Sicily, which he uses as a staging area, with the permission of the Ostrogoth queen Amalasuntha, daughter of Theodoric the Great and regent of Italy. The Ostrogoths help him with supplies and the fleet is prepared for the final attack.
- September 9 – The Byzantine army lands at Caput Vada (modern Tunisia). Belisarius marches his army northwards, towards Carthage (over 140 miles), following the coast, accompanied by the fleet and shadowed by Gelimer. During the march, the Vandal towns fall without a fight.[8]
- September 13 – Battle of Ad Decimum: Gelimer attempts to ambush the Byzantines in a defile at the "10th milestone" from Carthage; due to inadequate coordination and the alertness of Belisarius, the attack is repulsed and the Vandals are scattered into the desert. Belisarius enters the capital and orders his soldiers not to kill or enslave the population. The fleet is stationed in the Lake of Tunis.
- December 15 – Battle of Tricamarum: Gelimer assembles an army of about 50,000 men at Bulla Regia (Numidia), and advances towards Carthage. Belisarius moves out to meet the Vandals; he leads the Byzantine cavalry (5,000 men) into battle. Without waiting for his infantry to come up, he charges, despite odds of almost 10-to-1, and throws Gelimer in confusion. Belisarius captures the Vandal camp by storm. Tzazo is killed in an all-cavalry fight, and Gelimer is forced to seek refuge in the mountains of Tunis with the Berbers.
- December 16 – The Digesta or Pandectae, a collection of jurist writings and other sources, is completed (see Corpus Juris Civilis).
Europe
By topic
Religion
- January 2 – Pope John II becomes the 56th pope of Rome, and the first to adopt a regnal name upon elevation to the papacy (his birth name, Mercurius, being of pagan origin).
534
By place
Byzantine Empire
Europe
- Toledo becomes the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom that controls the Iberian Peninsula. King Theudis expands Visigoth rule in the southern regions (Hispania Baetica).
- The Frankish kings Childebert I and Chlothar I overthrow Godomar, king of the Burgundians, and end the Kingdom of Burgundy.
- Cynric becomes king of Wessex (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).
- October 2 – King Athalaric dies of tuberculosis, age 18, having dissipated his youth in drink and debauchery. His mother, Amalasuntha, proposes to her cousin Theodahad, the kingdom's largest landowner and her father's last male heir, that he share the throne with her but that he will be king of the Ostrogoths in name only. Theodahad has secret conversations with the Byzantine ambassador, and promises to turn over Tuscany in exchange for a large sum of money, the rank of senator, and permission to live at Constantinople.
535
By place
Europe
Byzantine Empire
- Gothic War: Emperor Justinian I appoints Belisarius commander-in-chief (stratēgos autokratōr), and sends a Byzantine expeditionary force of only 8,000 soldiers (half are heavy East Roman cavalry) to begin the reconquest of Italy.[10]
- Summer – Belisarius lands in Sicily and meets little opposition, save for the Gothic garrison of Palermo. Laying siege to the citadel, he blockades the harbour with his ships. Mundus invades Dalmatia and captures its capital, Salona.
- Justinian I issues the Lex Julia and declares that a wife has no right to bring criminal charges of adultery against a husband. This makes divorce almost impossible in the Byzantine Empire.
- December 31 – Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending his consulship for the year.
Africa
Asia
- The Northern Wei dynasty ends: The northern region of China is split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei during a civil war. The first ruler is Wen Di; he makes his son Fei Di crown prince.
- Significant to the history of agriculture, Chinese author Jia Sixia writes the treatise "Chimin Yaoshu" in this year, and although it quotes 160 previous Chinese agronomy books, it is the oldest existent Chinese agriculture treatise. In over 100,000 written Chinese characters, the book covers land preparation, seeding, cultivation, orchard management, forestry, animal husbandry, trade, and culinary uses for crops.
- Reports of the eruption of Krakatoa (Java), which possibly led to several years of climate change (see Extreme weather events of 535–536), are recorded in the Javanese Book of Kings.
By topic
Religion
Meteorology
536
By place
Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire
- Spring – Emperor Justinian I appoints his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis in Africa. He sends a mobile force of comitatenses (mostly cavalry) and an elite guard. Solomon, the previous magister militum, returns to Constantinople.[13]
- Summer – Gothic War (535–554): Belisarius crosses the Strait of Messina and invades Italy. He conquers the city of Rhegium and advances to Naples.
- November – Siege of Naples: Belisarius captures Naples after a month's siege, by sending troops into the city through an abandoned Roman aqueduct.[14]
- December 9 – Belisarius enters Rome through the Porta Asinaria, and the Gothic garrison of 4,000 men flees the city. He sends an urgent request for reinforcements to Justinian I, meanwhile preparing Rome for a siege, by bringing in great quantities of food and other supplies.[15]
- Winter – Belisarius sets up his headquarters on the Pincian Hill, and repairs the neglected city walls of Rome. He stations a 5,000-man garrison, of whom half are his personal bodyguard (bucellarii). To hold parts of the city, he recruits 20,000 young Romans to man the walls.
Europe
Africa
Asia
By topic
Religion
Climate
537
By place
Byzantine Empire
- March 2 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogothic army (45,000 men) under King Vitiges begins the siege of the city. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.[21]
- Vitiges sets up seven camps, overlooking the main gates and access routes to the city, in order to starve it out. He blocks the Roman aqueducts that are supplying Rome with water, necessary both for drinking and for operating the corn mills.[22]
- March 21 – Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls with four siege towers, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.[23]
- April – The Goths capture the Portus Claudii at Ostia; the harbor is left unguarded by the Romans. Belisarius is forced to unload his supplies at Antium; he sends urgent messages for reinforcements to Constantinople.[24]
- April 9 – Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements: 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. Despite shortages, he starts raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.[25]
- June – In Rome, famine brings the city to despair; Belisarius sends his secretary Procopius to Naples for more reinforcements and supplies. Vitiges arranges a three-month armistice for Gothic envoys to travel to Constantinople.[26]
- November – Belisarius brings his long-awaited reinforcements, namely 3,000 Isaurians and 1,800 cavalry embarked in Ostia, along with a supply convoy, safely to Rome. The Goths are forced to abandon the Portus Claudii.[27]
- December – Belisarius sends John "the Sanguinary" with a force of 2,000 men towards Picenum, to plunder the east coast of Italy. He arrives at Ariminum (Rimini), where he is welcomed by the local Roman population.[28]
- December 27 – The construction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (begun in 532) is completed.
Britain
Africa
Asia
- Eastern Wei sends an advance guard of three army columns through the Tong Pass, to attack Western Wei. The Western army under Yu-Wen Tai defeats one of the columns while the others retreat. Yu-Wen follows up, but runs into the main Eastern army (200,000 men). The Westerners are pushed back through the pass, and the Eastern army emerges from the mountains. Unexpectedly they are charged in the flank by 10,000 Western cavalry, and 6,000 Easterners are killed and 70,000 captured.[30]
- John Cottistis starts a short-lived rebellion against Justinian I. He is declared emperor at Dara, but is killed four days later by conspiring soldiers.[31]
America
By topic
Construction
- The Aqua Virgo aqueduct is destroyed by the Goths; they try to use the underground channel as a secret route to invade Rome.[32]
Religion
Society
538
By place
Byzantine Empire
- March 12 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges of the Ostrogoths ends his siege (after 374 days) and abandons Rome. He retreats with his Gothic army northeast along the Via Flaminia.
- Belisarius attacks the Goths when they have crossed the Milvian Bridge. After fierce resistance, Vitiges routs in panic, and many are slain or drowned in the river.[34]
- Gothic War: Vitiges strengthens the garrisons of various towns and besieges Ariminum. Byzantine forces under the Armenian general Narses arrive at Picenum.[35]
- April – Belisarius secures Liguria, Mediolanum (modern Milan) and Ariminum, but disagreements, especially with Narses, leads to disunity in the Byzantine army.
- Summer – King Theudebert I sends a small Frankish force across the Alps, and defeats the Goths and Byzantines at the River Po. Belisarius retreats to Tuscany.
- Sittas, Byzantine general, suppresses a revolt in Armenia in protest against heavy taxation. During the campaign he is killed by Artabanes, leader of the revolt.[36]
Britain
Asia
By topic
Religion
Society
539
By place
Byzantine Empire
- March – Gothic War: The Goths and the Burgundians recapture Mediolanum (modern Milan), after many months of siege, the city reaching the point of starvation. The Byzantine garrison (1,000 men) surrenders and is spared, but the inhabitants are massacred (according to Procopius 300,000 people are murdered), and the city itself is destroyed.
- Belisarius, still besieging Ravenna, negotiates a treaty with Theodebert I (whose forces are suffering from dysentery), and the Franks retreat to Gaul. The Byzantine fleet controls the Adriatic Sea and blockades the port of the capital from supplies.
- Emperor Justinian I becomes alarmed by renewed barbarian incursions across the Danube frontier from the Slavs, the Bulgars, the Gepids, and the Avars.[38]
- November 29 – Antioch is struck by an earthquake.
Europe
Asia
By topic
Society
Significant people
Births
530
531
532
534
535
536
537
538
539
Deaths
530
531
532
- March 3 – Winwaloe, saint and founder of Landévennec Abbey (b.c. 460)
- October 17 – Pope Boniface II
- An Ding Wang, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 513)
- Chang Guang Wang, emperor of Northern Wei
- Ecclesius, bishop of Ravenna (approximate date)
- Erzhu Shilong, official of Northern Wei (b. 500)
- Erzhu Tianguang, general of Northern Wei (b. 496)
- Guntheuc, princess of Burgundy (approximate date)
- Hypatius, Byzantine nobleman (executed)
- Jie Min Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 498)
- Pompeius, Byzantine politician (executed)
- Sabbas the Sanctified, monk and saint (b. 439)
533
534
535
536
537
- December 2 – Pope Silverius
- King Arthur, King of the Britons, in the Battle of Camlann (historicity debated)
- Mordred, son (or nephew) of King Arthur, also in the Battle of Camlann
- Fortunatus, Bishop of Todi
- Gartnait I, King of the Picts
- Husi Chun, general of Northern Wei (b. 495)
- Isidore of Miletus, Byzantine architect
- John Cottistis, Byzantine usurper
- Maine mac Cearbhall, king of Uí Maine (or 531)
- Vigor, Bishop of Bayeux
538
539
Notes
References
- ^ Hodgkin, Thomas (1885). Italy and Her Invaders: 476-535, Volume 3. Рипол Классик. p. 662. ISBN 9785876357366.
- ^ Isidore of Seville, History of the Goths, chapter 40. Translation by Guido Donini and Gorden B. Ford, Isidore of Seville's History of the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi, second revised edition (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970), p. 19.
- ^ "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ Connor, Steve (2014-07-07). "Our explosive past is written in the Antarctic ice". i. London. p. 17.
- ^ Greatrex, Geoffrey (1997). "The Nika Riot: A Reappraisal". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 117: 60–86. doi:10.2307/632550. ISSN 0075-4269. JSTOR 632550.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Boniface II". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ Procopius, BV, Vol. I, XI. 7–16
- ^ Bury (1923), Vol. II, p. 130–131
- ^ Jordanes, Vol. LIX, p. 51 and Herwig Wolfram (1998), p. 338
- ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, p. 215
- ^ Rome at War (p. 55). Michael Whitby, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-359-4
- ^ Breviarium S. Liberati, ap. Mansi, Concilia, Vol. IX, p. 695
- ^ Bury (1958). pp. 143–144.
- ^ a b Massimiliano Vitiello (1 January 2014). Theodahad: A Platonic King at the Collapse of Ostrogothic Italy. University of Toronto Press. pp. 157–160. ISBN 978-1-4426-4783-1.
- ^ a b Bury (1923). Vol. II, Ch. XVIII. pp. 174-180.
- ^ Bambury, Pádraig; Beechinor, Stephen (2000). "The Annals of Ulster" (Electronic ed.). Cork, Ireland: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork. pp. U536.3n.
Failure of bread.
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico I.VII.
- ^ Earl Philip Henry Stanhope Stanhope (1848). The Life of Belisarius. J. Murray. pp. 154–158.
- ^ Ochoa, George; Hoffman, Jennifer; Tin, Tina (2005). Climate: the force that shapes our world and the future of life on earth. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-59486-288-5.
- ^ Gibbons, Ann (2018-11-15). "Why 536 was 'the worst year to be alive". Science. AAAS. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ Bury (1923), Ch. XIX, p. 182–183
- ^ Bury (1923), Ch. XIX, p. 185
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico I.XXIII
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico I.XXVII
- ^ Bury (1923), Ch. XIX, p. 188
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico II.VI
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico II.V
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico, II.VII
- ^ Bury 1958, pp. 144–145
- ^ Imperial Chinese Armies (p. 42). C.J. Peers, 1995. ISBN 978-1-85532-514-2
- ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, pp. 639–640
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico II.IX
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico II
- ^ Procopius, De Bello Gothico I.XIII
- ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, pp. 125, 255, 641
- ^ The Making of the Slavs (p. 190–226). Florin Curta, 2001. ISBN 978-0-511-49629-5
- ^ Bambury, Pádraig; Beechinor, Stephen (2000). "The Annals of Ulster" (Electronic edition compiled by the CELT Team (2000) ed.). CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland—http://www.ucc.ie/celt. pp. U539.1.
- ^ "Colmán mac Lénéni". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ BRENNAN, BRIAN (1996). "Deathless Marriage and Spiritual Fecundity in Venantius Fortunatus's De Virginitate". Traditio. 51: 73–97. doi:10.1017/S0362152900013374. JSTOR 27831930. S2CID 152047997.
- ^ Pauline Allen (1981). Evagrius Scholasticus, the Church Historian. Peeters Publishers & Booksellers. p. 1. ISBN 9789042928091.
- ^ "Dioscorus - pope". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Cerdic | king of Wessex". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "John II | pope". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ J. B. Bury (1 January 1958). History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I. to the Death of Justinian. Courier Corporation. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-486-20399-7.
- ^ T. F. Lindsay (1949). Saint Benedict: His Life and Work. Burns, Oates. p. 102.
- Bibliography
- Mac Airt, Seán (2000–2008). "Annals of Inisfallen". UCC (Electronic edition compiled by Beatrix Färber ed.). CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland—http://www.ucc.ie/celt.
- Bury, John Bagnell (1958). History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, Volume 2. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Incorporated. ISBN 0-486-20399-9.
- Martindale, John Robert; Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Morris, J., eds. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20160-5.
- Mac Niocaill, Gearóid (2010). "The Annals of Tigernach". CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
