Basileus' Interference Timeline is an extremely involved, far-reaching, complex timeline of human history from the times of Jesus onwards, to a newer, stimulating possibile scenario. Its development can be followed at the forum.

It has been created in the last three years by Stefano D'Adamo, an Italian fan of AH, as a mean of both studying REAL history “in depth”, exercising a bit of fantasy and employing some spare time in a creative but orderly way.

Features: Do you wanna see how Besilarius and Totila befriend? Or how the Muslims are stopped in North Africa and Maghreb remains Christian? Do you wonder why Charles the Great has been assassinated in 799, and why it was his father Pepin who founded the Holy Roman Catholic Empire of the West? And what about the Bulgarian Emperors of Byzantium and the Roman Western Empire reborn? And the Norse discovery of Hesperia (America)? This and many, many other PoDs and sub-PoDs in the Interference Timeline, with some map here and there, for your amusement and delight…

ca. 1st c. AD - The Ligurian language and traditions prove resistant to the process of Latinization, resulting in an area of stable bilingualism between the Po and the Ligurian Sea. The Pictish language is born out of contact between the Iberic language of northern Britannia and Celtic Briton.

The Chinese invent paper. Roman colonization of the Danube basin and the Rhine river valley. The dromedary is introduced to Egypt and the Sahara.

The Kingdom of Kushan is powerful and controls the area between Central Asia and India.

30-33 Jesus of Nazareth preaches in Palestine. The kingdom of Osrhoene (between Syria and Cappadocia, with its capital at Edessa) is the first state to adopt Christianity, under King Abgar V Ukkama (Abgar the Black), a correspondent with and admirer of Jesus.

33 Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ, is crucified in Jerusalem as a blasphemer, rises from the dead after three days and ascends to heaven. His followers (the Apostles) spread Christianity.

34-44 The Romans incorporate the Jewish kingdoms of Bethany and Galilee after the death of their rulers from the dynasty of Herod.

37-47 The Parthians occupy Gordiene (central Kurdistan) and subjugate Armenia, but within ten years the Romans reestablish their influence, extending it as far as Caucasian Albania (Azerbaijan).

42 There is an abortive revolt against the Roman emperor Claudius in Dalmatia. The Roman empire absorbs Mauretania. The small kingdoms of Geumgwam, Tae and Karak arise, and unite in the Kaya/Gaya Confederation, a Japanese “enclave” at the tip of the Korean peninsula.

43 The Roman empire absorbs Lycia (Southeast Asia Minor) and conquers southern Britannia. Ma Yuan, the Chinese general of the Han, conquers Tonkin and Annam, bringing about an end to the Vietnamese revolt led by the Trung sisters.

44 Some natives of Hesperia (*OTL America), thrown off course in their canoes by Atlantic storms, land in Lusitania/Portugal and are enslaved by Romans. Upon the death of Herod Agrippa I, king of Galilee and Peraea (the eastern part of the Jordan river valley), the Romans annex the two kingdoms.

46 Thrace and Noricum are definitively incorporated into the Roman Empire.

47 The Romans exact tribute from the Frisians.

48 The vast empire of the Xiongnu/Huns is divided into northern (or western) and southern (or eastern) portions.

ca. 50 The kingdom of Colchis (NW Georgia) becomes a vassal of Pontus (Tauride; OTL Crimea). The Iazyges, forerunners of the Sarmatians, are expelled from eastern Moldavia (Bessarabia) by their close relatives, the Roxolani, and occupy Slovakia, exchanging their influence there for the kingdom of Dacia. In eastern Turkestan, the kingdom of Su Lih (the region of Kashgar) is established, to escape the Tocharians/Yüeh-Ch’ih and as a close ally of Han China.

51 The Romans capture the Briton chieftain Caratacus, leader of the anti-Roman resistance.

55 After the restoration of the Arsacid Tiridates I (a member of the ruling dynasty of Parthia), the war between Parthia and Rome for supremacy over Armenia breaks out. Iberia (central Georgia) also liberates itself from Roman supremacy under other Arsacids, Bartom II and Qartam, who establish a kingdom with two kings (as in ancient Sparta).

58 An unsuccessful rebellion against the Romans in Frisia; the alliance with Rome is confirmed under the new Ubbo dynasty.

58-60 The Roman general Corbulo conquers Armenia and secures its fealty by deposing King Tiridates.

ca. 60 The Iazyges establish themselves in the valley of Tisza river (Pannonia). The Kushan Empire conquers the kingdom of Suren (a vassal of the Parthians).

61 The Romans suppress the rebellion of Queen Boudicca (Boadicea) in Britannia.

62 The Parthians defeat the Romans under General Peto at Rhandeia (Armenia). The Romans seize overlordship over Colchis (NE Georgia) from the Pontus kingdom.

62-68 The Cimmerian Bosphorus kingdom (Bosporon/Kerč) is briefly annexed by Rome.

63 A peace without annexations is declared between the Romans and the Parthians, who renounce all claims to Armenia; Tiridates I returns to his throne as a Roman vassal.

64 The Romans explore the Nile as far as Bahr al-Ghazal (Sudan); an enormous fire devastates Rome; the Emperor Nero, a sadistic lunatic, blames the Christians and persecutes them.

65 Unsuccessful plot of Lucius Calpurnius Piso against Nero in Rome.

66 The rebellion of the Jews breaks out in Palestine.

67 Rome reconquers Galilee from the rebellious Jews.

68-69 Suicide of Nero, end of the Julio-Claudians, and year of the Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) in Rome; Vespasian triumphs in the second battle of Bedriacum (northern Italy) and founds the Flavian dynasty. The Romans reconquer Judea and Idumea and lay siege to Jerusalem, which resists them fanatically.

69-71 The Roman legions between Batavia (Holland) and Treviri revolt; the Roxolani invade Moesia but are deflected.

70 The Roman general Titus, son of the emperor Vespasian, seizes Jerusalem and razes it to the ground, destroying its temple and putting an end to the millennial line of the High Priests (the Jewish “Popes”).

ca. 70 The satrap Bhumaka of the Satakani kingdom (also known as the Satavahana or Andhra) of the Deccan establishes the supremacy of the Sakas (Scythians) as far as the western coast of India.

72 The Alans, an Iranian people of Central Asia and the eastern branch of the Sarmatians, invade the transcaucasus region, establishing themselves there. Rome definitively annexes the kingdom of Commagene (NE of Antioch). Rome defeats the Brigantes of northern Britannia and forces them into submission.

73 Mass suicide of the defenders of the fortress of Masada, the last stronghold of the Jewish revolt in Palestine.

73-74 Rome conquers the Agri Decumates between the Upper Rhine, the Main, and the Danube, and subjugates the Siluri of SE Cambria / Wales.

74-76 The Chinese general Ban Chao subjugates Turkestan for the Han, but it is subsequently reclaimed by Luoyang.

78-96 King Kanishka expands the Kushan empire to its greatest extent, from Central Asia to Northern India.

79 The violent eruption of Vesuvius destroys Pompeii.

80 The Colosseum is dedicated in Rome while a plague rages.

ca. 80 The Kushan empire conquers the kingdom of Margiana (Turkmenistan).

80-97 Ban Chao, having returned to eastern Turkestan, obtains an astounding victory against the Tocharians who have not yet submitted to Han rule, and advances through Central Asia as far as the Caspian sea.

83 Germany: the Romans rout the Chatti (Germany), who had migrated from Lower Saxony to Franconia.

84 The Roman general Agricola defeats the Britanni, occupies Cambria (Wales), and advances as far as Caledonia (Scotland), where he defeats the Picts under Calgacus at Mons Graupius, before retreating below the southern boundaries of Caledonia.

ca. 85 The kingdom of Gurat secedes from the kingdom of Saba, which is in decline.

85-89 The Romans fight against the Dacians, who have invaded Moesia, and deflect them.

89 Saturninus, Roman legate of Germania Superior, attempts an abortive revolt.

ca. 90 The ancient republic of Cherson (*OTL Sebastople) is annexed by the Cimmerian Bosphorus kingdom, a Roman vassal.

92-96 An inconclusive war is waged by the Roman emperor Domitian against the Quadi, the Marcomanni, and the Iazyges.

93 The Xianbi (ancestors of the Mongolians) defeat the northern Xiongnu (Huns), who are expelled from Mongolia into the region of Tarbagataj, between Siberia, Dzungaria, and Kazakhstan, and begin to migrate towards the west.

95 An envoy of the Han Chinese empire reaches Rome, where he speaks with Emperor Domitian prior to dying from an illness.

96 The assassination of Domitian puts an end to the Flavian dynasty in Rome.

97 The Chinese general Gan Ying briefly reaches the Persian Gulf.

98-117 The glorious reign of Trajan in the Roman Empire.

ca. 100 A brief, fruitless attempt by the Romans to conquer Hibernia (Ireland). The final decline of the great Olmec civilization in Mexico. The three Tamil states of Chera (Kerala), Chola (in the southeast) and Pandya (the deep south) occupy the southern Deccan. The legendary foundation of the Funan empire, with its center on the Mekong river basin, at the hands of the Indian brahmin priest Kambu; the kingdom experiences a strong Hinduization in its culture. Axum becomes the capital of a strong Ethiopian empire. Bokhara becomes the capital of an independent Sogdian kingdom. The local kingdom of Puya arises in SW Korea. In Yemen, the kingdom of Saba is decisively conquered by Himyar; nonetheless, a number of them escape the conquest to found the kingdom of Ma’rib.

101-107 After two bloody campaigns (101-102, 105-107), Rome conquers Dacia and introduces the Latin language.

106 The Romans conquer the kingdom of Arabia Nabatea (the Sinai and Jordan) seizing its fabled capital, Petra.

114-117 Trajan conquers Armenia and Mesopotamia, extending the Roman Empire to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian, but is repelled at Hatra (117); his successor Hadrian abandons the conquests as a result of the anti-Roman rebellions raging from Cyrenaica to Syria.

116 The Romans conquer Harran / Carrhae (northeastern Syria), annex the kingdom of Adiabene in northeastern Syria (which they name Assyria), and force Osrhoene to submit as a vassal.

ca. 120 The Goths migrate from Scandinavia to the mouth of the Vistula river, while the Rugi and the Lemovii establish themselves on the southeastern Baltic coast. The Romans build Hadrian's Wall between Roman Britannia and Caledonia. Tiastane/Chashtana, son of Bhumaka, founds a dynasty of eastern Kshatrapas (satraps) at Ujjain in Malwa, seceding from the empire of the Kushanas. Under King Agros, Colchis (northwestern Georgia) liberates itself from Roman rule and becomes the kingdom of Lazica/Egrisi.

129 In Iberia/Georgia, the custom of the two co-kings is brought to an end by the accession of King Rhadamist to the throne.

132-135 The great rebellion of the Jews under the religious leader Akiva and the “messiah” Simon bar Kokhba, which is repressed by the Romans with extreme brutality. The Jews are finally sent into diaspora.

139-143 The Romans quell the rebellion of the Brigantes in Britannia and build the Antonine Wall (abandoned shortly afterwards) in southern Caledonia.

146 The kingdom of Arakan (western Burma) converts to Buddhism.

150 The Romans defeat the Alans at Olbia (near today's Odessa) at the mouth of the Lower Bug river.

ca. 150 The kingdom of Teotihuacàn emerges as a strong power in central Mexico.

156 The Xianbi (forerunners of the Mongols) chase the Xiungnu/northern Huns from the Kazakh steppe; one part of these travels towards the west under Kama Tarkhan, and another part travels south, giving life to the kingdom of Yuehban between the Aral and the Balkhash lakes.

ca. 160 The Mayans found the kingdom of Xukpi/Copàn between western Honduras and Guatemala.

161-163 The (successful) Roman attempt to replace the Armenian Arsacid ruler with Sohamus of Emesa provokes a new conflict with Parthia.

161-180 Pestilence and invasions wrack the Roman Empire under Marcus Aurelius, the “Philosopher Emperor.”

162-166 Roman victories against the Parthians under Vologaeses (Walakhsh) III: the general Gaius Avidius Cassius conquers Ctesiphon, whereupon his army is decimated by a plague. The Roman legions bring the plague back to their homeland.

167-174 The Marcomannic War: a confederation of Germanic and Sarmatian peoples invades the Danube valley and reaches as far as Furlania/Friuli before they are turned back and defeated.

169 Roman merchants reach China bearing gifts for the emperor. German barbarians enter Italy and besiege Aquileia.

ca. 170 The Lombards abandon Mauringia (Lower Saxony) and travel towards the southeast.

170-180 Dardjegwe/Tanshihuai briefly unifies the Xianbi tribes.

174 The Romans invade “Slovakia”, defeating the Iazyges, whom they deport to Britannia by the thousands.

175 A rebellion by Gaius Avidius Cassius in Syria is promptly crushed by Rome.

178-180 Rome subdues the Marcomanni and the Sarmatians to their rule, from Bohemia to Pannonia and the Carpathians, but upon the death of Marcus Aurelius, his son Commodus renounces any expansion of the imperial borders, and in Armenia the Arsacids return to power under Vologaeses (Walakhsh) II the Great.

184 The great rebellion of the Yellow Turbans in China, after years of famine and other natural disasters.

185 Foundation of the kingdom of Nepal under Jayavarma Licchavi.

186 The Arsacids of Armenia confirm their hold on the throne of Iberia/Georgia with Rev I the Just after Hamzasp’s rebellion.

190-192 Dong Zhuo governs China through a Han puppet emperor, but is subsequently eliminated by Cao Cao.

191 The king of Armenia Vologaeses II rises to the throne of Parthia as King Vologaeses IV.

192 Emperor Commodus is slain in Rome by his Praetorian Guards. Chinese sources describe for the first time the Malay Cham kingdom in southern-central Vietnam.

193 Civil war in Rome after the assassination of the emperor Pertinax and the purchase of the imperial throne by the rich banker Didius Julianus; the legions react by nominating as emperor the Pune Septimus Severus, who is supported by the legions of the Danubian limes (which march on Rome and eliminate Didius Julianus); Pescennius Niger in Syria and Clodius Albinus in Britannia are also acclaimed as emperors by their men.

194 Septimius Severus recognizes Clodius Albinus as his heir, and then defeats Pescennius Niger in the battles of Cyzicus, Nicaea and Issus, killing him in the vicinity of Antioch.

197 Septimius Severus kills Clodius Albinus at the battle of Lyon.

199 Septimius Severus sacks Ctesiphon and defeats the Parthians, fostering their decline, then fails in the siege of Hatra and is forcd to retreat.

198-217 The isle of Lesbos is de facto independent from Rome under Apelles Menemachos, then it’s reabsorbed by the Empire. 3rd century Severe crisis in the Roman Empire, run by barbarians and wracked by civil wars (235-284, the Thirty Tyrants). Birth of the Frank and Alamannic tribal confederations, respectively forerunner of France and Germany. The Saxons sack Britannia’s coasts. The Dorset culture Inuits abandon Greenland. Decline and fall of the Nok civilization in Nigeria. A wave of Indonesian peoples colonizes Madagascar.

ca. 200 The Rugi move south from Pomerania; the Asdingian Vandals, pushed towards south-east, expels the Iazyges from Slovakia. The Gepids too move form the lower Vistula river in the footsteps of the Goths, settling down in Galicia. Yax Ch’aktel Xok founds the royal dynasty of the powerful Mayan city-state of Mutul/Tikal. In the lower Mississippi valley the native Hopewell culture replaces the previous Adena culture.

205-211 Septimus Severus routs the Caledonians and Picts in Britannia and withdraws from the Antonine Wall to Hadrian's Wall.

208 Cao Cao attempts to reunify China, but is defeated at the Battle of Chibi (the Red Wall) in Hubei.

212 The emperor Caracalla grants Roman citizenship to all free men of the Empire.

214 Caracalla stops the Alemanni in Germany and the first Goths on the lower Danube.

216 Rome annexes western Armenia after having defeated and taken prisoner the Arsacid king of Armenia, Chosroes I. The Chinese subjugate the southern Xiongnu/Huns, who divide themselves into five tribes.

217-218 Assassination of Caracalla in Syria at the hands of the Praetorian Guard prefect Macrinus, who for his part was eliminated by his son Macrinus II; Severan restoration under Heliogabalus

220 Fall of the Han dynasty in China, replaced by the Wei (Cao Pei, son of Cao Cao): here begins the Period of Three Kingdoms. Jafnah I ibn Amr establishes the kingdom of Ghassan at Damascus, a client of Rome between Jordan and Syria

221 Liu Bei founds the Shu-Han dynasty in Sichuan (SW China)

222 Sun Quan founds the Wu dynasty in Nanking

224 Ardashir I the Sassanian, son of Pabag, king of Persia, overthrows the Parthians, defeating and killing the last emperor of the Arsacid dynasty, Artabanus V, at Hormuz, and establishes the Sassanian Empire of Persia

ca. 225 The Goths begin to split into the Visigoths (to the west of the Dnieper) and the Ostrogoths (to the east)

227 The Sassanians conquer Samarkand from the Kushans, making it a vassal city.

230 The Sassanians begin a new war with Rome, plundering Syria, and establish hegemony over Caucasian Albania.

232 The emperor of Rome, Severus Alexander, stops the Sassanians in Syria, where they had seized Harran/Carrhae

233 In Bactria, Ardashir I the Sassanians destroys the Kushan Empire, of which only fragments remain in the East (Kabul and the Hindus Valley under the Kushanshahs).

234-235 The Alamanni make trouble with the Romans. The assassination of the emperor Severus Alexander causes the beginning of the so-called Age of Thirty Tyrants in the Roman Empire (235-284)

238 Civil War in the Roman Empire; after the murder of Emperor Maximinus Thrax, the young Gordian (III), scion a noble Senatorial family, ascends to the throne.

239 Destruction of the Roman border stronghold, Dura Europos (Mesopotamia), at the hands of the Sassanians.

242 The Romans, led by the Praetorian Guard prefect Timesitheus, decisively defeat the Sassanians at Resaina (Assyria).

244 Philip the Arab, who is perhaps a Christian, usurpes the Roman throne of Rome by assassinating Gordian (III), is beaten by the Sassanians near Ctesiphon and must accept a scarcely satisfactory peace, according to which Rome annexes Osrhoene.

The Chinese kingdom Wei seizes the capital of the Korean kingdom of Koguryo, reducing it to servitude.

247 The millennial celebrations of the foundation of Rome are celebrated in the Roman Empire

248 Taking advantage of the crises within the Chinese Empire, the Cham conquer northern Vietnam and some of the southern Chinese provinces.

249 The Roman general Decius rebels in Dacia, marches on Italy and defeats and kills Philip the Arab in Verona

249-251 Most serious anti-Christian persecution in the Roman Empire under Decius

ca. 250 The Goths establish themselves between Dacia and the Taurida (*OTL Crimea) absorbing the Germano-Sarmatian Bastarnae and thwarting the Sarmatians in Pannonia, while the Gepids establish themselves in Transylvania in a close relationship with the Goths.

End of the major Satakani/Andhra dynasty in the Deccan; foundation of the Traikutaka dynasty in the Maharashtra; the Ganga dynasty emerges in Mysore. The Persian priest Mani starts spreading the religious doctrine of Manichaeism.

Foundation of the Mayan kingdom of Calakmul (the Head of Snake) in the Yucatàn, historical rival of Mutul/Tikal.

The Kedarites, Arab marauders of the uninhabited Syro-Jordanian desert, are subjugated by the kingdom of Tayma.

Under the Mamikonian dynasty, the Armenian kingdom of Taron (region of Daron/Muş) arises, a “buffer vassal” between Rome and the Sassanians.

The kingdom of Himyar suppresses and conquers the kingdoms of Gurat and Ma'rib, completing the conquest of the former kingdom of Saba and the unification of Yemen.

251 The Roman emperor Decius dies at Abrittus on the lower Danube, in a defeat against the Goths that have invaded Dacia

252 Taking advantage of serious Roman tribulations, the Persian Sassanians conquer Gordiene (central Kurdistan), advancing to destroy the Roman town of Zeugma/Belkis on the Euphrates, and placing Artavasdes V on the Armenian throne

253 Valerian ascends to the throne of Rome and for the first time divides the empire into the East (under his own rule) and the West (under his son Gallienus).

256 The Ripuarian Franks (southern or eastern Franks, located in Franconia and distinguished from the Salians, who are located in southern Holland) invade the Rhine valley. Second war between Rome and the Sassanians for Armenia: the Persians win the battle at Barbalissa and plunder Antioch (Syria).

257-260 The Roman emperor Valerian fights the Persians in Syria but is taken prisoner by them in Edessa, ending his days as a slave.

260 After capturing Valerian, the Persians invade Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia but are thwarted by the king of Palmyra (Syria), Odenathus, who gains virtual independence from Rome (though still paying lip service to the empire).

ca. 260 The eruption of the volcano Ilopango results in the decline of the Mayan city state of Kaminaljuyú

260-274 Secession of Gaul and Britannia from the Roman Empire

261 The Roman emperor Gallienus defeats the Alamanni at Milan. The Palmyrenes of Odenathus establish their own supremacy over the kingdom of Ghassan (Jordan and southern Syria) and reconquer Antioch from the Persian Sassanians.

261-293 Sassanian interval on the throne of Armenia under Hormizd and Narses.

262 Odenathus of Palmyra reconquers northern Mesopotamia for Rome.

264 The Wei conquer the Shu-Han kingdom of Sichuan.

264-269 Wave of invasions, plunder and maritime piracy at the hands of the Goths in the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans) and in the Roman East

265-266 Sima Yan replaces the Cao (Wei) dynasty of Luoyang with his own dynasty, the Jin, and quells a revolt of the Xiongnu/Huns

267 The Heruli, another Germanic nation of Scandinavian origin, devastate Athens and Greece. The Roman emperor Gallienus recognizes the de facto independence and imperial title of Odenathus of Palmyra.

268 The Roman emperor Gallienus besieges the rebel Aureolus at Milan but is killed by his troops; Claudius II eliminates Aureolus and takes power.

269 The Roman emperor Claudius II annihilates the Goths at Naissus (Moesia), then puts down the Alamanni at the battle of Lake Garda (northern Italy). Zenobia of Palmyra, succeeding her father Odenathus, rebels against Rome and conquers Egypt and Cappadocia.

270 Germanic invasion of northern Italy

ca. 270 The Goths conquer the Tauris (*OTL Crimea) (or Taurian Chersonese) subjugating the Roxolani kingdom of Pontus. The Romans abandon Dacia to the Goths, and a good part of the Latin colonists are transplanted in Moesia (Bulgaria) around Vidin where they form the nucleus of the Vlachs of the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans); also, the Agri Decumates between Rhine and Main come to be abandoned to the Alamanni. The Arab kingdom of Hirah arises under Amr I ibn Uday of the clan of the Lakhmids, a servant of the Persian Sassanians, extending from the lower Euphrates to Qatar.

271 The Persian emperor Hormizd I dies in battle against the Sogdians of Bukhara. The new Roman emperor Aurelianus turns back the Germanic invasion at Milan.

272 Aurelianus smashes the empire of Palmyra, destroying the town and deporting queen Zenobia to Rome. The Alamanni and Iazyges penetrate as far as Umbria before being destroyed by the Romans. Hormizd, the king of Armenia, of the Sassanian royal family, ascends to the throne of Persia as Hormizd II.

274 Aurelian defeats the Gallic Empire, reunifying the Roman Empire

275-276 Devastating Franco-Alamannic invasion of Gaul after the assassination of Aurelianus. The Goth and Alan marauders are chased from Asia Minor.

277 The reaction of the Zoroastrian clergy in Persia leads to the crucifixion of Mani and the persecution of the Manichaeans. The Roman emperor Probus repels the barbarians back beyond the Rhine.

279 Armenia is divided in two kingdoms, western and eastern, both subjects to Persia: but the western one returns under rule of the Arsacids, while the eastern becomes an appanage (feudal territory) for heirs to the throne of the King of Kings of Ctesiphon.

280 The Jin conquer the Wu kingdom of Nanking, briefly reunifying China.

282-283 The victorious Roman invasion of Mesopotamia, accompanied by the conquest of Ctesiphon, ends with a withdrawal upon the sudden death of the emperor Carus; his sons Numerianus and Carinus divide the empire, the East going to the former, and the West going to the latter.

284 The Roman armies of the East elect Diocletian as emperor. The Khusrawids replace the local branch of the Arsacids on the throne of Iberia/Georgia.

285 Diocletian reunifies the Roman Empire, defeating and killing Carinus, son of Carus, at the battle of the Margus (Moravia), and puts an end to the chaos. The Xianbi invade Manchuria and overwhelm the Korean kingdom of Fuyu/Buyeo (region of Harbin), the forces of which come to be “inherited” by the kingdom of Koguryo, to which it is bound.

286 The Romans suppress the rebellion of the Bagaudi in Gaul. Diocletian entrusts the governing of the Roman West to his colleague Maximianus, with its capital at Milan, and maintains control of the East, establishing his own capital at Nicomedia (Bithynia, Asia Minor). Under the new dynasty of the Offo, the Frisians free themselves from Roman suzerainty, taking advantage of Carausius’ rebellion against Maximian.

286-296 Separatist empire in Britannia under Carausius (the former commander of the Roman North sea fleet) and his assassin and successor Allectus.

287 Diocletian retakes from the Persians Gordiene (central Kurdistan) and western Armenia, where he installs the Roman candidate Tiridates V of the Arsacids on the throne

290 Diocletian quashes a serious rebellion in Egypt, setting fire to Alexandria and putting the rebels to the sword. Liu Yuan-hai reunifies the southern Xiongnu/Huns.

293 Diocletian establishes the system of the tetrarchy (the division of the Roman Empire in four parts, managed by different men but ultimately under the sovereignty of one alone) adopting as his heir (Caesar) Galerius, while Maximianus adopts Constantius Chlorus. Reunification of Armenia under Roman suzerainty with Tiridates V as king.

296 The Sassanian emperor Narses expels Tiridates V from Armenia, inciting a new conflict with Rome. Constantius Chlorus and his praetorian prefect Asclepiodotus reconquer Britannia

297-298 The Romans defeat the Sassanians and the Alamanni. Galerius, Caesar of Diocletian in the Roman East, is first beaten by the Persians at Harran/Carrhae, then in the following year crushes them, invading Mesopotamia and forcing them to recognize Roman suzerainty over Armenia.

4th century Barbarian invasions by Xiongnu/Huns, proto-mongolic and Tungusic tribes foster a fragmentation of centralized power in China. The Ethiopian Axumite kingdom is Christianized. Christianization and lack of new conquests wrack the slaveholding economy of the Roman Empire

Ca. 300 The Polynesians colonize the Marquesas Islands. The Guptas wrest Punjab from the Kushanshas. Foundation of the Dravidian kingdom of Pallava at Kanchi (south-eastern india) under a Persian dynasty. Hinduism spreads amongst the Malay Chams of southern-central Vietnam. The Danish people is forming between Sjælland island and southern Sweden under the sway of the Skioldung dynastic clan. The Arab tribal princedom of Kindah is born west of Hadramaut.

301 Northern China is swept up by barbarian invasions; there begins the Sixteen Kingdoms era.

303 Armenia converts to Christianity under king Tiridates V by the work of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

303-306 Last heavy round of persecution against Christians in the Roman Empire under Diocletian and the Tetrarchs.

304 Liu Yuan-Hai, Lord of the southern Xiongnu/Huns, founds in the Shanxi region th Hunnic Han/Zhou imperial dynasty; eastern Turkestan rejects his authority and the local Indoeuropean Tocharian kingdoms (partly Zoroastrian, partly Buddhist) regain complete independence.

305 Diocletian abdicates voluntarily, forcing his colleague Maximian to follow his example; Constantius Chlorus rules the Roman West with Flavius Severus as his Caesar (vice-emperor), whereas Galerius rules the East with Maximinus Daia as Caesar. Khorezm (region between the Caspian Sea, The Aral lake and the Amu Darja) overthrows Persian suzerainty and becomes a free state under the Afrigids.

306 The Tetrarchy crumbles upon the death of Constantius Chlorus; his son Constantine is hailed as emperor in Britannia, while in Rome Maxentius, son of Maximian, becomes emperor.

307 War of succession in China inside the Jin dynasty. Constantine and Maxentius defeat and kill Flavius Severus, Constantius Chlorus’ legitimate Caesar and heir. Subsequently Maximian chooses to support his son-in-law Constantine over his own son Maxentius. Galerius’ invasion of Italy aborts quickly.

308 At the conference of Carnuntum Licinius, a clos frined of Galerius, is appointed Augustus (that is, full emperor) of Pannonia (modern Hungary west of the Danube, parts of Austria and Croatia) with a right to the lands currently under the sway of Maxentius (Italy, Spain, Africa).

310 Besieged in Massilia/Marseille by his son-in-law Constantine, Maximian kills himself. Maximinus Daia has himself proclaimed emperor in Syria; the Roman Empire is now carved up amongst no less than five pretenders (Constantine, Maxentius, Licinius, Galerius and Maximinus Daia).

ca. 310 The Axumite Ethiopians conquer the kingdom of Himyar (Yemen), which becomes a vassal to Axum.

311 The Chinese capital of Luoyang is taken and destroyed by Liu Yuan-Hai’s Xiongnu/Huns. In the Roman empire Galerius quits the persecution against Christians, then dies, and Licinius takes over his domains in the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans), while Maximinus Daia extends his power to all of Anatolia. Berber revolt led by Alexander in eastern Numidia; the imperial army razes to the ground the city of Cirta, subsequently refounded with the name of Costantina.

312 Constantine defeats Maxentius at Verona and Milvius Bridge/Saxa Rubra, entering Rome as the victor and the ruler of Roman West; just before the battle at Milvius bridge a cross is said to appear in the sky (“In hoc signo vinces”, “Through this sign you’ll win”) and Constantine considers conversion to Christianity.

312-316 Donatist schism in the African Church of Carthage. Its cause is the request by local Christians to elect their bishop instead of waiting for an appointment from Rome. Constantine sides with the Roman bishop, but the reasons behind the schism endure; Donatists will characterize themselves as an autonomous African force, known for their martyr-worship, their refusal to pardon “unworthy” priests (those who backed down under the persecutions renegading the faith) and to accept the Church-State alliance sealed under Constantine.

313 Edict of Milan. Constantine and Licinius, now allies, recognize Christianity and proclaim it a State tolerated religion. After that Licinius reverts to his domanins in the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans) and decisively defeats Maximinus Daia at Campus Serenus near Adrianople, then pursues him through Asia Minor and besieges his enemy at Tarsus in Cilicia. On Maximinus’ death, Licinius obtains the entire Roman East.

313-668 Three Kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekche and Silla) era in Korea.

314 The reign of Caucasian Albania (*OTL Azerbaijan) converts to Christianity under king Urnayr – but the country, firmly in the Persian sphere of influence, will long reamin divided between Christians and Zoroastrians. Constantine appoints his brother-in-law Bassianus as Caesar in Italy and Pannonia (which was Licinius’ domain); Licinius, in turn, fosters a rebellion by Bassianus which is promptly crushed.

316 Constantine wrests from Licinius the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans), except for Thrace, after the battle of Cibalae (Pannonia), then after a new inconclusive battle at Campus Ardiensis, the two rivals divide anew the Roman Empire between themselves, recognizing the “status quo”. Members of the Jin dynasty of China refound an eastern Jin empire based in Nanking after the barbarians overrun northern China.

317 Liu Yuan-Hai, the Hunnic emperor of northern China founder of the self-proclaimed Han/Zhou dynasty, dies in Chang’an/Xian.

318 Chandragupta I, son-in-law of the Licchavi ruler of Magadha (India), obtains Pataliputra/Patna as a dowry, thus founding the Gupta dynasty and empire.

319 Arius starts preaching in Alexandria the Arian version (heresy) of Christianity, which will gain wide acceptance amongst newly Christianized barbarians.

320 The island of Dioskoris/Socotra, previously under Himyar’s control, is annexed by the Hadramaut kingdom.

ca. 320 Under Kidara I the Red Huns or Chionites create a kingdom between Bactria (Afghanistan) and Central Asia after vanquishing the local Kushanshas, puppet rulers for the Persians Sassanids. In the lake Van region two Armenian principalities emerge: Rshtuniq under the Rshtuni dynasty and Vaspurakan under the Artzrunis. In the Roman Empire Licinius reverts to an anti-Christian policy whilst Constantine is more and more pro-Christian.

323 Foundation of a proto-Mongolic khanate in the Hangaj region of Mongolia.

324 Constantine reunifies the Roma Empire after the battles of Adrianople and Chrysopolis, in which he defeats, captures and kills Licinius; he then proceeds to transfer the Imperial capital at Byzantium.

325 The Council of Nicaea, strongly influenced by the emperor Constantine himself (not still a Christian, technically!) builds the foundations of Catholic christianity, condemns Arianism and imposes the celebration of the Easter on Sunday.

327 Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, begins the practice of pilmigrages to Jerusalem; she is rumoured to have found the True Cross.

330 Byzantium is officially rechristened as Constantinople and confirmed as the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantine enacts a law that binds peasants to the land they work, heralding their reduction to serfs. In Rome, Christmas is celebrated for the first time on the 25th of December (former feast of Mithra and Sol Invictus). Frumentius, a Syrian, becomes the first Christian bishop of Axum (Ethiopia).

ca. 330 The Goths divide themselves between Visigoths (Western Goths) abnd Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths). The Ostrogoths wrest Germonassa (opposite Bosporon/Kerč on the other side of the strait) from the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The Christian Arab tribesmen of the Bani Tanukh migrate from southern Arabia towards the boundaries of the Roman Empire, where they settle as allies of Constantinople.

332 Constantine repels a Gothic invasion of the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans).

337 Constantine accepts baptism before dying (“Let’s hope not to make a mistake…”); the Roman Empire is carved amongst his three sons Constantine II (West), Constantius (East) and Constans (Illyricum, Africa, Italy). The Georgians convert to Christianity. Shapur II the Great of Persia begins a new war against Rome. A vanguard of the Huns reach the Volga-Don region pushing ahed Sarmatians and Goths; the latter sack and destroy Olbia (near modern Odessa).

338 The Romans, under Gothic pressure, evacuate their modets forces in Taurida (*OTL Crimea).

339 Christians, Jews and Manichaeans suffer persecution at the hands of Sassanian Persia.

340 The Western Roman emperor Constantine II attacks his brother Constans, but he falls in a trap and is killed in Aquileia. The Red Huns/Chionites invade the Indus valley overwhelming the local Kushana states (Kushanshahs).

ca. 340 After a schism inside the African Donatists the paleo-communist movement of the Circoncellions is born; they soon prove to be harsh enemies of the rich and of the power-subservient Church. The Sino-barbaric kingdom of Qian Qin forms in northwestern China.

344 The Xiongnu/Huns unify northern China under the Han/Zhou Hunnic dynasty.

345 The Kadamba dynasty emerges on the western coast of India (in the region of Goa) with Mayurasarma/Mayuravarma.

346 The Korean kingdom of Puyo falls at the hands of his rival Paekche.

347 The eastern Jins of Nanking reconquer Sichuan. Manchuria hosts the foundation of the Xianbi kingdom of the earlier Yen. The Arian bishop Wulfila translates the Bible in the Gothic language.

349-361 Emperor Constantius patronizes Arianism in the Roman Empire.

350 The invading Red Huns/Chionites from Central Asia force Shapur II of Persia to come to terms with Rome. The Goth Magnus Magnentius usurps the Western throne in the Roman Empire, forcing the beleaguered Constans to suicide.

ca. 350 Pushya Varman founds the Varman dynasty in Kamrupa (Assam); Samudragupta extends the Gupta Empire towards the Deccan. Taking advantage of the political chaos in the Roman West, Ripuarian Franks and Alamanni invade Gaul again and again. The Sarmatians renew their invasions of Pannonia and Illyricum but they are defeated by the Roman emperor Constantius, who recruits them in great numbers in the imperial army. The Ethiopian Axumite empire vassalizes the Gojjam region in western Ethiopia and conquers the millenary kingdom of Meroe (northern Nubia/Sudan); the latter’s unseated dynasty takes refuge southwest in the Darfur region. The Samaritan High Priest Baba Rabba gains wide autonomy for Samaria in the Roman Empire. The Kushanshas of Afghanistan and the Sogdians of Bukhara, frightened by Hunnic invasions, recognize Persian suzerainty.

ca. 350-450 The Chinese slowly but surely retake from the Chams their southernmost lands plus Vietnam (Tonkin) and Annam.

351 The rebel Tibetan general Fu Jin conquers part of northern and northwestern China and sacks Chang’An/Xian (the ancient capital), then he’s defeated and killed by the Xiongnu/Hun general Wu Er-han, founder of the Xin dynasty in northern China. Constantius defeats Magnentius in the great and bloody battle of Mursa/Osijek (52,000 casualties).

352 Taking advantage again of Roman inner troubles, Ripuarian Franks and Alamanni leak through the Roman limes into the region between the Rhine and the Moselle river.

353 Magnentius commits suicide in Lyon and Constantius remains sole ruler of the Romna Empire.

354 First mention of “Bulgars” amongst the Hunnish peoples of Tanais/Don and Kuban regions.

355 The Roman emperor Constantius enacts harsh laws against sorcery and astrology.

357 The Caesar of Gaul Julian gains a crushing victory over the Alamanni at the battle of Argentorate (Strasbourg). Shapur II of Persia defeats and vassalizes the Red Huns/Chionites.

359 New Persian attack on the Roman Empire: the Roman border fortress at Amida (*OTL Diyarbakir) is starved into submission and razed.

360 Julian, once fully reestablished the Rhine “limes”, is hailed as emperor by his legions in Gaul. Balamber’s western Huns attack and defeat the Alans north of the Caucasus; part of the Alan stock flees to the Caucasian range, part in the Ukraine where they divide into groups moving westwards.

361 When Constantius dies before confronting him, Julian restores State paganism in the Roman Empire.

362 Julian interdicts Christians from teaching classical authors and philosophy.

363 Julian, last pagan emperor of Rome, dies fighting the Persians in Assyria after winning them again and again on the battlefield and being eventually forced to retreat due to Persian “scorched earth” strategy.

364 The new Roman emperor, Jovian, a Christian elected by the army, accepts a shameful peace favorable to the Persians, then dies by excessive banqueting. Then the two brothers Valentinian and Valens, chosen by the army, again divide the Roman Empire amongst themeselves: the former gets the West, the second the East.

365 The Persians of the Sassanian Shah-in-Shah Shapur II the Great invade and ravage Armenia in support to the local Zoroastrian faction.

365-366 Failed rebellion led by Procopius, a relative of Julian, in the Roman east.

366-370 The quarrel between Ursinus and Damasus for the Bishopric of Rome provokes a massacre in the Urbs Aeterna and divides the Church for some years.

367 Saxons, Picts and Scots (Irish) attack Britannia at the same time but are repelled.

368 The Western Roman emperor Valentinian I defeats the Alamanni along the Rhine.

370 “Witch hunt” in Antioch and Rome: hundreds of people (even senators) are tortured and killed on charges of alleged sorcery. Balamber’s Huns migrate to Ukraine, where they defeat and kill the aged Ostrogothic king Hermanaricus; Ostrogoths and Alans alike run away in awe and begin to fight each other for supremacy over Dacia. The Sino-barbaric Qian Qin kingdom conquers Manchuria form the Xianbi dynasty of the earlier Yens, imposing itself as the dominant power in the region.

371-376 New, futile war between Ro,me and Persia, with no victors.

372 The Huns subdue the Alans of the Tanais/Don region.

372-375 Revolt by Firmus, son a Berber landlord, in Numidia, repressed by the Roman general Theodosius.

374 Aurelius Ambrosius, a State officer, lay and not even baptized, is hailed as Bishop of Milan by the populace against his very will. In their desperate flee from the Huns, the Ostrogoths crush the Anti on the Dnieper.

375 Balamber’s Huns, jointly with the Alans, rout the Ostrogoths of king Vitimir/Vinitharius (fallen on the battlefield) in the battle of the Erac/Tiligul river (Ukraine), pushing them beyond the Dnieper; then they proceed to vassalize the Cimmerian Bosphorus kingdom. Ostrogoths and Alans, now both under Hunnic suzerainty, occupy Dacia, pushing in turn the Visigoths on the Danube “limes”.

376 Young Gratian, Valentinian’s heir in the Western Roman empire, relinquishes the tradional pagan title of “pontifex maximus”. The Huns occupy eastern Moldavia/Bessarabia; the Roman Empire admits the fleeing Visigoths in Moesia.

378 The angered and ill-treated Visigoths, together with Ostrogoth, Hun and Alan forces, defeat and killed the eastern Roman emperor Valens at Adrianople and fiercely sack the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans). The Alamanni invade Alsace, Helvetia and the Alpine regions. The Persians of the aged Shapur II the Great make Armenia a vassal and confirm Sassanian supremacy over Iberia/Georgia. The kingdom of Teotihuacàn (Mexico) impose its suzerainty over the Maya city-State Mutul/Tikal. The Yemenite kingdom of Himyar frees itself from the Axumite yoke under Malik-Karib Yuhamin.

379 Niall Noìgillach of the Nine Hostages, of the O’Neill clan, becomes High King of Ireland at Tara.

380 The new eastern Roman emperor Theodosius (a Spaniard) “admits” (=recognizes) the Visigoths into the Roman Empire as “foederati” (=allies). The Arab kingdom of Hirah conquers the island kingdom of Tylos/Bahrain.

ca. 380 The Huns, now led by Alypbi, impose their yoke over northern Caucasus. The Saracene kingdom of the Salihids, ally of Rome, forms amongst the northern Arab tribes.

380-381 With the Edict of Thessalonica and the Council of Constantinople the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius enforces Catholic (Nicene) Christianity as the sole State religion, persecuting pagans and heretics.

380-395 The western branch of the Alans, subservient to the Huns, becomes the paramount power in Dacia.

382 The Celto-Roman Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig reestablishes the kingdom of Strathclyde between Roman Britannia and Caledonia and resettles Irish and Pictish clans in western Wales (Cambria), then is hailed as emperor by the legions in Britannia, Germany and Belgium. The Western Roman emperor Gratian has the altar of Victory removed from the Senate in Rome. The Gupta Empire vassalizes the kingdom of Malwa.

383 The eastern Jin of Nanking defeat the Xin in the battle of river Fei in the Anhui, but, wracked by inner struggles, can’t exploit their victory; the Xin empero Wu Er-han crushes his own nephews’ rebellion in the northern provinces. Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig usurps the Roman throne in Gaul and Britain; the Western emperor Gratian is slain in Lyon. The Visigothic king Athanaricus, fierce persecutor of Christians, abandons Dacia after vain attempts to resist Huns and Alans and dies (allegedly by poisoning) in Constantinople.

384 Armenia is divided in two kingdoms under close Roman and Persian proctetorate: West (Roman, with Gordiene too), and east (Persian). This settlement has been achieved thanks to diplomatic efforts of the Vandal Stilicho, loyal to Theodosius. Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig is acknowledged as emperor in Britannia, Gaul and Spain, the legitimate Valentinian II in Italy, Africa and Illyricum. Syricius succeeds to Damasus as Bishop of Rome, and for the first time he assumes the title of “Papa” (Pope). Buddhism is introduced in Korea and officially adopted by the Paekche kingdom.

386 Upon Wu Er-han’s death a civl war of succession explodes in the Xin empire; northern China is quickly conquered by the Toba, former mercenaries in the Xin army, who establish the northern Wei dynasty.

387 Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig invades and occupies Italy with his British legions.

388 Theodosius win the battle at Poetovio/Ptuj against Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig, then pursues, captures and eliminates the usurper at Aquileia. He then proceeds to reinstall Valentinian II in Milan and enacts repressive laws against Jews. The Celts of Britannia who supported the usurper settle on the continent in Armorica/Brittany (the so-called “first migration”), while Magnus Maximus/Macsen Wledig’s many sons found several reigns amongst the Britanni: Anthony Donatus Gregory/Anwn Dynod ap Macsen becomes the de facto ruler of southern Wales/Cambria.

390 Chandragupta II conquers Gujarat for the Gupta Empire. Massacre of Tessalonica (7,000 slain) perpetrated by Theodosius’ Gothic troops to avenge the assassination thir commander Buterichus lynched by the mob for arresting a very popular auriga (horse chariot driver); Theodosius is forced to make public penintence in Milan by Bishop Ambrosius. The kingdom of Western Armenia is directly annexed to the Roman Empire upon the death of king Arsaces IV.

ca. 390 Following the death of their supreme ruler Alypbi the western Huns swarm back to the Pontic steppes, where they divide into an eastern horde under Uldin and a western one under Mundzuk/Aybat. The Alchon Huns defeat the Red Huns/Chionites chasing them from Bactria towards Gandhara (between eatern Afghanistan and the Indus valley).

392 The Western Roman emperor Valentinian II dies in Vienne (Gaul), allegedly assassinated. The magister militum per Occidentem, the Frank Arbogast, has the pagan Eugenius chosen as emperor.

392-394 Last pagan reaction in the Roman West under Arbogast and Eugenius.

394 Theodosius reunifies the Roman Empire for the last time by defeating and killing Arbogast and Eugenius at the Frigidus/Vipacco river, near Aquileia, thanks to a frightening “bora” blizzard, then banishes the millenary Olympic Games as “sinful”. The Ruanruan, forerunners of the Avars, gain a limited supremacy over eastern Turkestan.

395 Theodosius dies in Milan, dividing anew the Roman Empire between his two sons: Honorius gets the West, Arcadius the East. The dividing line between the Adriatic Sea and Sirmium becomes the millenary boundary between the Romanized West and the Romaic (Byzantine) East. The Huns sack the Caucasus region up to Syria. The kingdom of Iberia/Georgia annexes Lazica (northwestern Georgia), menaced by Huns and Alans. The northern Weis, Toba barbarians, crush the Sino-barbaric kingdom of Qin Qian, who formerly held sway over Manchuria and northwestern China. The Gupta Empire directly annexes the kingdom of Malwa.

396-397 The Visigoths devastate Greece but are eventually expelled by the Roman-Vandal general Stilicho.

397 St. Ambrosius dies in Milan. In Roman Africa the Berber prince Gildon, brother of the former insurgent Firmus, asks to pass under the sovereignity of the Eastern Roman Empire and quits the grain transports to Rome; the revolt indicates the strength of African drive for autonomy following the Donatist schism.

398 Mascizel, Gildon’s brother and arch-enemy, reestablishes the Western Empire’s authority over Roman Africa. The eunuch Eutropius and the Goth Gaina keep the Huns at bay along the Danube.

399-401 The Visigoths newly invade Greece, but Stilicho once again beats them. The revolt led by the Goth Tribigildus in Galatia and Bithynia (Asia Minor) provokes an antibarbaric reaction at Constantinople, where Gaina’s Gothic mercenaries are massacred or expelled from the city. Gaina is later defeated and killed on the Danube by the Huns.

ca. 400 Teotihuacàn rules over the Mayans in the Chiapas region. The Gupta Empire unifies northern central India centrosettentrionale and terminates the last Saka kingdoms in western India. The Bantus, coming from the area between Congo and Camerun, invade eastern Africa from Kenya to Beira (*OTL southern Mozambico), briging there their iron-working technology. Apogee of the powerful Funan Empire, helding sway over Indochina from the Menam river in the west to the boundaries of Annam in the east. The Eastern Roman Empire retakes Amida (*OTL Diyarbakir) from Persian hands. The Soninke people found the Ghana Empire with capital in Kumbi, Mali (western Africa). A Swabian horde fleeing the internecine tribal struggles of Germany occupies Moravia; the Vandali, pushed by the Huns, abandon Slovakia migrating westwards. The Saracene Salihids crush the Christian Tanukh kingdom between Jordania and northern Arabia.

5th century In the central eastern Alps a Rhaeto-Romano-Germanic koiné takes shape, which in the centuries will form the Ladinian nation.