1.
April
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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early Julian and the first month to have the length of 30 days. The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain, jacob Grimm suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus. April was the month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the month of the calendar year during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, the Venerable Bede says in The Reckoning of Time that this month ēastre is the root of the word Easter. He further states that the month was named after a goddess Eostre whose feast was in that month and it is also attested by Einhard in his work, Vita Karoli Magni. In China the symbolic ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood took place in their third month, in Finnish April is huhtikuu, meaning slash-and-burn moon, when gymnosperms for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled. In Slovene, the most established traditional name is mali traven and it was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript. In Ancient Rome, the festival of Cerealia was held for seven days from mid-to-late April, feriae Latinae was also held in April, with the date varying. Other ancient Roman observances include Veneralia, Megalesia, Fordicidia, Parilia, Vinalia Urbana, Robigalia, floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, and lasted until May 3. However, these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, the Lyrids meteor shower appears on April 16-April 26 each year, with the peak generally occurring on April 22. Eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in April. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with activity on or around May 6. The Pi Puppids appear on April 23, but only in years around the parent comets perihelion date, the Virginids also shower at various dates in April. The birth flower is typically listed as either the Daisy or the Sweet Pea, the zodiac signs for the month of April are Aries and Taurus. This list does not necessarily imply either official status nor general observance, in Catholic tradition, April is the Month of the Resurrection of the Lord. Seharane is celebrated by Kurdish Jews outside of Israel on this date. A. R. E, Day Fast and Prayer Day Air Force Day Kamakura Matsuri at Tsurugaoka Hachiman, lasts until third Sunday
2.
May
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May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the third month to have the length of 31 days. May is also the month with the shortest name, may is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere. Late May typically marks the start of the vacation season in the United States and Canada and ends on Labor Day. The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the days of May. Eventually, mayovka came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May. See May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in May. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with activity on or around May 6. The Arietids shower from May 22-July 2, and peaks on June 7, the Virginids also shower at various dates in May. Under the calendar of ancient Rome, the festival of Bona Dea fell on May 1, Argei fell on May 14 or May 15, Agonalia fell on May 21, and Ambarvalia on May 29. Floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, lemuria fell on 9,11, and 13 May under the Julian calendar. The College of Aesculapius and Hygia celebrated two festivals of Rosalia, one on May 11 and one on May 22, Rosalia was also celebrated at Pergamon on May 24–26. A military Rosalia festival also occurred on May 31, ludi Fabarici was celebrated on May 29-June 1. Mercury would receive a sacrifice on the Ides of May, tubilustrium took place on May 23 as well as in March. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, mays birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success. The May birth flower is the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna, the mayflower Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, the zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus and Gemini
3.
June
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June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the second month to have the length of 30 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the astronomical summer is 21 June. In the Southern hemisphere, meteorological winter begins on 1 June, at the start of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Taurus, at the end of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Gemini. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the sign of Gemini. The Latin name for June is Junius, ovid offers multiple etymologies for the name in the Fasti, a poem about the Roman calendar. In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June was considered inauspicious for marriage, ovid says that he consulted the Flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughters wedding, and was advised to wait till after June 15. Plutarch, however, implies that the month of June was more favorable for weddings than May. Certain meteor showers take place in June, the Arietids takes place May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Beta Taurids June 5 to July 18, the June Bootids take place roughly between 26 June and 2 July each year. The Secular Games were held roughly every 100 years in either May or June and these dates does not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. In Catholic tradition, June is the Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, african-American Music Appreciation Month ALS Awareness Month Caribbean American Heritage Month Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday in August. The birth flowers are rose and honeysuckle, the zodiac signs for the month of June are Gemini and Cancer
4.
Leap year
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A leap year is a calendar year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. By inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected, a year that is not a leap year is called a common year. For example, in the Gregorian calendar, each year has 366 days instead of the usual 365. In the Bahai Calendar, a day is added when needed to ensure that the following year begins on the vernal equinox. For example, Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday in 2001, Wednesday in 2002, the length of a day is also occasionally changed by the insertion of leap seconds into Coordinated Universal Time, owing to the variability of Earths rotational period. Unlike leap days, leap seconds are not introduced on a regular schedule, in the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are multiples of 4 are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28, adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. Some exceptions to this rule are required since the duration of a tropical year is slightly less than 365.25 days. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 were not leap years, over a period of four centuries, the accumulated error of adding a leap day every four years amounts to about three extra days. The Gregorian calendar therefore removes three leap days every 400 years, which is the length of its leap cycle and this is done by removing February 29 in the three century years that cannot be exactly divided by 400. The years 1600,2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1700,1800,1900,2100,2200 and 2300 are common years, by this rule, the average number of days per year is 365 + 1⁄4 − 1⁄100 + 1⁄400 =365.2425. The rule can be applied to years before the Gregorian reform, the Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter remains close to the vernal equinox. The Accuracy section of the Gregorian calendar article discusses how well the Gregorian calendar achieves this design goal, the following pseudocode determines whether a year is a leap year or a common year in the Gregorian calendar. The year variable being tested is the representing the number of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Care should be taken in translating mathematical integer divisibility into specific programming languages, if then else if then else if then else February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, the Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a calendar and named many of its days after the syzygies of the moon, the new moon. The Nonae or nones was not the first quarter moon but was exactly one nundina or Roman market week of nine days before the ides and this is what we would call a period of eight days
5.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
6.
Second Council of Constantinople
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The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized as such by both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Old Catholics unanimously recognise it, protestant opinions and recognition of it are varied. Some Protestants, such as Calvinists and Lutherans, recognise the first four councils, Constantinople II was convoked by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I under the presidency of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople. It was held from 5 May to 2 June 553, participants were overwhelmingly Eastern bishops – only sixteen Western bishops were present, including nine from Illyricum and seven from Africa, but none from Italy – out of the 152 total. The main work of the council was to confirm the condemnation issued by edict in 551 by the Emperor Justinian against the Three Chapters. The council also condemned the teaching that the Virgin Mary could not be called the Mother of God. Justinian hoped that this would contribute to a reunion between the Chalcedonians and monophysites in the provinces of the Empire. Various attempts at reconciliation between these parties within the Byzantine Empire were made by many emperors over the four following the Council of Ephesus. The Council was presided over by Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, Pope Vigilius was also invited, but even though he was at this period resident in Constantinople, he declined to attend, and even issued a document forbidding the council from preceding without him. For more details see Pope Vigilius, the council, however, proceeded without the pope to condemn the Three Chapters. Vigilius was then imprisoned in Constantinople by the emperor and his advisors were exiled, after six months, in December 553, he agreed, however, to condemn the Three Chapters, claiming that his hesitation was due to being misled by his advisors. His approval of the council was expressed in two documents, condemning the Three Chapters, on his own authority and without mention of the council, in Northern Italy the ecclesiastical provinces of Milan and Aquileia broke communion with Rome. Though ranked as one of the councils, it never attained in the West the status of either Nicaea or Chalcedon. It used to be argued that the extant acts are incomplete, however, the solution generally accepted today is that the bishops signed the canons condemning Origenism before the council formally opened. This condemnation was confirmed by Pope Vigilius and the subsequent ecumenical council gave its assent in its Definition of Faith to the five previous synods, the last, that is the Fifth holy Synod assembled in this place, against Theodore of Mopsuestia, Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius. Its full conciliar authority has only been questioned in modern times and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Thomas J. Shahan. The Formation of Christendom, revised, illustrated paperback edition, london, Princeton University Press and Fontana. Imperial unity and Christian divisions, The Church 450-680 A. D, crestwood, NY, St. Vladimirs Seminary Press
7.
1215
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Year 1215 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. March 4 – King John of England makes an oath to Pope Innocent III as a crusader, june 1 – Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, after the long Battle of Zhongdu, Genghis Khans Mongols capture and torch Beijing. August – King John of England rejects the Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons War, august 24 – Pope Innocent III declares the Magna Carta invalid. November 11 – The Fourth Council of the Lateran gathers in Rome under Pope Innocent III, december – First Barons War, Alexander II of Scotland invades northern England. Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated and forced to abdicate as Emperor and King of Burgundy, the Dominican Order is founded, according to some sources. Bhiksu Ananda of Kapitanagar completes writing the holy Buddhist book Arya Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita, 1215–1216 – The Macy Jug, from Iran, is made. It is now kept at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Kalinga Magha, from Kalinga Province in India, lands in Sri Lanka with a force of 24,000 men, to capture the city of Polonnaruwa and depose its king, Parakrama Pandya
8.
John, King of England
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John, also known as John Lackland, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. The baronial revolt at the end of Johns reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henrys favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England, Johns elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young, by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richards royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade, John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. Johns judicial reforms had a impact on the English common law system. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to Johns excommunication in 1209, Johns attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over Johns allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France and it soon descended into a stalemate. John was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166, Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard—Anjou, Normandy and England—and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany. The result was the Angevin Empire, named after Henrys paternal title as Count of Anjou and, more specifically, its seat in Angers. The Empire, however, was fragile, although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry. As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of Henrys power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the concept of an empire at all. Some of the ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time. It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henrys death, most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, and hoping that his children would continue to work together as allies after his death. To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was held by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the line of the House of Capet. Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families. Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and this may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career
9.
Magna Carta
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Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta, is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, at the end of the 16th century there was an upsurge in interest in Magna Carta. Lawyers and historians at the believed that there was an ancient English constitution, going back to the days of the Anglo-Saxons. Both James I and his son Charles I attempted to suppress the discussion of Magna Carta, until the issue was curtailed by the English Civil War of the 1640s and the execution of Charles. The political myth of Magna Carta and its protection of ancient personal liberties persisted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 until well into the 19th century. In the 21st century, four exemplifications of the original 1215 charter remain in existence, held by the British Library, there are also a handful of the subsequent charters in public and private ownership, including copies of the 1297 charter in both the United States and Australia. The original charters were written on parchment sheets using quill pens, in heavily abbreviated medieval Latin, each was sealed with the royal great seal, very few of the seals have survived. The four original 1215 charters were displayed together at the British Library for one day,3 February 2015, to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Magna Carta originated as an attempt to achieve peace between royalist and rebel factions in 1215, as part of the events leading to the outbreak of the First Barons War. England was ruled by King John, the third of the Angevin kings, although the kingdom had a robust administrative system, the nature of government under the Angevin monarchs was ill-defined and uncertain. Following the defeat of his allies at the Battle of Bouvines, John had to sue for peace, John was already personally unpopular with many of the barons, many of whom owed money to the Crown, and little trust existed between the two sides. John held a council in London in January 1215 to discuss potential reforms, both sides appealed to Pope Innocent III for assistance in the dispute. John also began recruiting mercenary forces from France, although some were sent back to avoid giving the impression that the King was escalating the conflict. Letters backing John arrived from the Pope in April, but by then the rebel barons had organised into a military faction and they congregated at Northampton in May and renounced their feudal ties to John, marching on London, Lincoln, and Exeter. Johns efforts to moderate and conciliatory had been largely successful. The King offered to submit the problem to a committee of arbitration with the Pope as the supreme arbiter, John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, a water-meadow on the south bank of the River Thames, on 10 June 1215. Here the rebels presented John with their demands for reform. By 15 June, general agreement had been made on a text, and on 19 June and it focused on the rights of free men—in particular the barons
10.
1260
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Year 1260 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. October 24 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, the civil servant and bard longing for lost al-Andalus, Ibn al-Abbar, is burnt at the stake by the Marinid ruler. The Toluid Civil War begins between Kublai Khan and Ariq Böke, for the title of Great Khan, may 5 – Kublai Khan becomes a claimant to the Mongol Empire, after the death of Möngke Khan. Chancellor Jia Sidao imprisons the entire embassy of Kublai and this slight will not be forgotten by Kublai, but he is unable to assault the Song, due to the civil war with his rival brother Ariq Böke. September 3 – Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee, The Mamluks defeat the Mongols, marking their first decisive defeat, isa ibn Muhanna is appointed amir al-ʿarab under the Mamluks. The Chinese era Jingding begins and ends in the Southern Song Dynasty of China, the Japanese Shōgen era ends, and the Bunō era begins. July 12 – Battle of Kressenbrunn, King Ottokar II of Bohemia captures Styria from King Béla IV of Hungary, july 13 – Livonian Crusade, The Baltic Samogitians and Curonians of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania decisively defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Durbe. This leads the Estonians of Saaremaa Island to once again rebel against the Livonian Order, september 4 – Battle of Montaperti, The Sienese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs. The Duchy of Saxony is divided into Saxony-Lauenberg and Saxony-Wittenberg, marking the end of the first Saxon state, War breaks out in the Valais, as the Bishopry of Sion defends against an invasion by the County of Savoy. Croatia is divided into two sub-regions ruled by ban, the Croatian region on the south and Slavonian region on the north, october 24 – The Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. Jacobus de Voragine compiles his work, the Golden Legend, a late medieval best-seller, the mosaic Christ between the Virgin and St Minias is made on the facade of Florences Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. Construction begins on the Dunkeld Cathedral in Perthshire, Scotland, construction begins on the cathedrals at Meißen and Schwerin. Nicola Pisano sculpts the pulpit of the Pisa Baptistery, the newly formed Sukhothai Kingdom of Thailand adopts Theravada Buddhism. The advent of the Age of the Holy Spirit predicted by Joachim of Fiore, according to his interpretation of the Book of Revelation, chapter 6
11.
Kublai Khan
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Kublai Khan, born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu, was the fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He also founded the Yuan dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271, Kublai was the fourth son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He succeeded his older brother Möngke as Khagan in 1260, but had to defeat his younger brother Ariq Böke in the Toluid Civil War lasting until 1264 and this episode marked the beginning of disunity in the empire. Kublais real power was limited to China and Mongolia, though as Khagan he still had influence in the Ilkhanate and, to a lesser degree. In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China, Korea, and some adjacent areas, by 1279, the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty was completed and Kublai became the first non-native emperor to conquer all of China. Kublai Khan was the son of Tolui, and his second son with Sorghaghtani Beki. As his grandfather Genghis Khan advised, Sorghaghtani chose a Buddhist Tangut woman as her sons nurse, on his way home after the Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia, Genghis Khan performed a ceremony on his grandsons Möngke and Kublai after their first hunt in 1224 near the Ili River. Kublai was nine years old and with his eldest brother killed a rabbit and his grandfather smeared fat from killed animals onto Kublais middle finger in accordance with a Mongol tradition. After the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, in 1236, Ögedei gave Hebei to the family of Tolui, Kublai received an estate of his own, which included 10,000 households. Because he was inexperienced, Kublai allowed local officials free rein, corruption amongst his officials and aggressive taxation caused large numbers of Chinese peasants to flee, which led to a decline in tax revenues. Kublai quickly came to his appanage in Hebei and ordered reforms, Sorghaghtani sent new officials to help him and tax laws were revised. Thanks to those efforts, many of the people who fled returned, the most prominent, and arguably most influential, component of Kublai Khans early life was his study and strong attraction to contemporary Chinese culture. Kublai invited Haiyun, the leading Buddhist monk in North China, when he met Haiyun in Karakorum in 1242, Kublai asked him about the philosophy of Buddhism. Haiyun named Kublais son, who was born in 1243, Zhenjin, Haiyun also introduced Kublai to the formerly Daoist and now Buddhist monk, Liu Bingzhong. Liu was a painter, calligrapher, poet, and mathematician, Kublai soon added the Shanxi scholar Zhao Bi to his entourage. Kublai employed people of other nationalities as well, for he was keen to balance local and imperial interests, Mongol, in 1251, Kublais eldest brother Möngke became Khan of the Mongol Empire, and Khwarizmian Mahmud Yalavach and Kublai were sent to China. Kublai received the viceroyalty over North China and moved his ordo to central Inner Mongolia, during his years as viceroy, Kublai managed his territory well, boosted the agricultural output of Henan, and increased social welfare spendings after receiving Xian. These acts received great acclaim from the Chinese warlords and were essential to the building of the Yuan Dynasty, Möngke dismissed Mahmud Yalavach, which met with resistance from Chinese Confucian-trained officials
12.
Mongol Empire
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The Mongol Empire existed during the 13th and 14th centuries and was the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of tribes in the Mongol homeland under the leadership of Genghis Khan. The empire grew rapidly under the rule of him and his descendants, the Toluids prevailed after a bloody purge of Ögedeid and Chagataid factions, but disputes continued even among the descendants of Tolui. Kublai successfully took power, but civil war ensued as Kublai sought unsuccessfully to control of the Chagatayid and Ögedeid families. The Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 marked the point of the Mongol conquests and was the first time a Mongol advance had ever been beaten back in direct combat on the battlefield. In 1304, the three western khanates briefly accepted the suzerainty of the Yuan dynasty, but it was later taken by the Han Chinese Ming dynasty in 1368. What is referred to in English as the Mongol Empire was called the Ikh Mongol Uls, in the 1240s, one of Genghiss descendants, Güyük Khan, wrote a letter to Pope Innocent IV which used the preamble Dalai Khagan of the great Mongolian state. After the succession war between Kublai Khan and his brother Ariq Böke, Ariq limited Kublais power to the part of the empire. Kublai officially issued an edict on December 18,1271 to name the country Great Yuan to establish the Yuan dynasty. Some sources state that the full Mongolian name was Dai Ön Yehe Monggul Ulus, the area around Mongolia, Manchuria, and parts of North China had been controlled by the Liao dynasty since the 10th century. In 1125, the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens overthrew the Liao dynasty, in the 1130s the Jin dynasty rulers, known as the Golden Kings, successfully resisted the Khamag Mongol confederation, ruled at the time by Khabul Khan, great-grandfather of Temujin. The Mongolian plateau was occupied mainly by five powerful tribal confederations, Keraites, Khamag Mongol, Naiman, Mergid, khabuls successor was Ambaghai Khan, who was betrayed by the Tatars, handed over to the Jurchen, and executed. The Mongols retaliated by raiding the frontier, resulting in a failed Jurchen counter-attack in 1143, in 1147, the Jin somewhat changed their policy, signing a peace treaty with the Mongols and withdrawing from a score of forts. The Mongols then resumed attacks on the Tatars to avenge the death of their late khan, the Jin and Tatar armies defeated the Mongols in 1161. During the rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century and it is thought that as a result, a rapid increase in the number of war horses and other livestock significantly enhanced Mongol military strength. Known during his childhood as Temujin, Genghis Khan was the son of a Mongol chieftain, when he was young he was from one of Yesugis orphaned and deserted families, he rose very rapidly by working with Toghrul Khan of the Kerait. Kurtait was the most powerful Mongol leader during this time and was given the Chinese title Wang which means Prince, Temujin went to war with Wang Khan. After Temujin defeated Wang Khan he gave himself the name Genghis Khan and he then enlarged his Mongol state under himself and his kin
13.
1494
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Year 1494 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar). January 4 – The Cetinje Octoechos, the first incunabulum written in the Serbian recension of Church Slavonic, january 25 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples. May – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, recognises Perkin Warbeck as rightful King of England, may 5 – Christopher Columbus first sights Jamaica. May 7 – The infant Amda Seyon II succeeds his father Eskender as Emperor of Ethiopia, may 31 – First Battle of Acentejo, Natives of the island of Tenerife, known as Guanches, defeat the invading Spanish forces. 1st June – Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey pays duty on 8 bolls of malt in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls to make aqua vitae for King James IV and this is first written reference to Scotch Whisky. June 7 – Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal divide the New World between themselves, June 25 – The first hurricane ever observed by Europeans strikes the Spanish settlement of La Isabela on Hispaniola. October 22 – Ludovico Sforza becomes Duke of Milan and invites Charles VIII of France to invade Italy in support of his claim, october 26 – Amda Seyon II is deposed and killed and his uncle Naod succeeds him as Emperor of Ethiopia. November 9 – The house of Medici are expelled from Florence, november 17 – Italian War of 1494–98, Armies of Charles VIII of France enter Florence. December 25 – Second Battle of Acentejo, The Spanish crush the forces of the island of Tenerife. Aztec forces conquer and sack Mitla, aldus Manutius prints Pietro Bembos De Aetna in Venice, considered to be the first book to include the semicolon. Johann Reuchlin publishes De verbo mirifico
14.
Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World. Western imperialism and economic competition were emerging among European kingdoms through the establishment of routes and colonies. During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named San Salvador. Over the course of three voyages, he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America. These voyages had, therefore, an impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. He spearheaded the transatlantic trade and has been accused by several historians of initiating the genocide of the Hispaniola natives. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of spreading the Christian religion, Columbus never admitted that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies for which he had set course. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios, the name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. His name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo and, in Spanish and he was born before 31 October 1451 in the territory of the Republic of Genoa, though the exact location remains disputed. His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked both in Genoa and Savona and who also owned a cheese stand at which young Christopher worked as a helper. Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo were his brothers, Bartolomeo worked in a cartography workshop in Lisbon for at least part of his adulthood. He also had a sister named Bianchinetta, Columbus never wrote in his native language, which is presumed to have been a Genoese variety of Ligurian. In one of his writings, he says he went to sea at the age of 10, in 1470, the Columbus family moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. In the same year, Christopher was on a Genoese ship hired in the service of René of Anjou to support his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. Some modern historians have argued that he was not from Genoa but, instead and these competing hypotheses have generally been discounted by mainstream scholars. In 1473, Columbus began his apprenticeship as business agent for the important Centurione, Di Negro, later, he allegedly made a trip to Chios, an Aegean island then ruled by Genoa. In May 1476, he took part in a convoy sent by Genoa to carry valuable cargo to northern Europe
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Jamaica
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Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island,10,990 square kilometres in area, lies about 145 kilometres south of Cuba, Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean, by area. Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as labourers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on slaves imported from Africa. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British imported Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations, the island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962. With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, Kingston is the countrys capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700. Jamaicans predominately have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as the head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2016, the indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan, meaning the Land of Wood and Water or the Land of Springs. Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their island as the Rock. Slang names such as Jamrock, Jamdown, or briefly Ja, have derived from this, the Arawak and Taíno indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were more than 200 villages ruled by caciques, the south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Taino still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655, the Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawak. Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay, although there is some debate that it might have been St. Anns Bay. St. Anns Bay was named Saint Gloria by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land, the capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called St. Jago de la Vega, around 1534. Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral of the British colonies in the Caribbean, the Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655, the English, led by Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables, the English continued to import African slaves as labourers
16.
1640
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As of the start of 1640, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. February 9 – Ibrahim I succeeds Murad IV as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, march 8–13 – Siege of Galle, Dutch troops take the strategic fortress at Galle on Sri Lanka from the Portuguese. April 13 – The Short Parliament assembles as King Charles I of England attempts to fund the second of the Bishops Wars, may 5 – The Short Parliament is dissolved. May 22 – Catalan Revolt breaks out in Catalonia, august 9 – Forty-one Spanish delegates to Japan at Nagasaki are beheaded. August 20 – Second Bishops War, A Scottish Covenanter army invades Northumberland in England, august 28 – Second Bishops War, Battle of Newburn – The Scottish Covenanter army led by Alexander Leslie defeats the English army near Newburn in England. September – Sebastien Manrique reaches Dhaka, october 26 – The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between the Scottish Covenanters and Charles I of England. November 3 – The English Long Parliament is summoned, the Spanish Habsburgs do not recognize Portugals new dynasty, the House of Braganza, until the end of the Portuguese Restoration War in 1668. Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg starts to rule, the first university in Finland, the Academy of Åbo, is founded in Turku. The first book to be printed in North America is published, the first known European coffeehouse opens in Venice. Carlisle Cullen is said to be born in 1640 in the worldwide famous, Twilight Saga
17.
Charles I of England
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Charles I was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was the son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England. He became heir apparent to the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones on the death of his brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. Two years later, he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France instead, after his succession, Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. Charles believed in the right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent and he supported high church ecclesiastics, such as Richard Montagu and William Laud, and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years War. From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War, after his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament. Charles refused to accept his captors demands for a constitutional monarchy, re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight, Charles forged an alliance with Scotland, but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwells New Model Army had consolidated its control over England. Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and a called the Commonwealth of England was declared. The monarchy was restored to Charless son, Charles II, in 1660, the second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. James VI was the first cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth I of England, in mid-July 1604, Charles left Dunfermline for England where he was to spend most of the rest of his life. His speech development was slow, and he retained a stammer, or hesitant speech. In January 1605, Charles was created Duke of York, as is customary in the case of the English sovereigns second son, Thomas Murray, a Presbyterian Scot, was appointed as a tutor. Charles learnt the usual subjects of classics, languages, mathematics, in 1611, he was made a Knight of the Garter. Eventually, Charles apparently conquered his physical infirmity, which might have been caused by rickets and he became an adept horseman and marksman, and took up fencing. Even so, his public profile remained low in contrast to that of his stronger and taller elder brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. However, in early November 1612, Henry died at the age of 18 of what is suspected to have been typhoid, Charles, who turned 12 two weeks later, became heir apparent
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Short Parliament
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The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks. After 11 years of attempting Personal Rule, Charles recalled Parliament in 1640 on the advice of Lord Wentworth and he was forced to call the Short Parliament primarily to obtain money to finance his military struggle with Scotland in the Bishops Wars. John Hampden, in contrast, was persuasive in private, he sat on nine committees, charless attempted offer to cease the levying of ship money did not impress the members of parliament. A flood of petitions concerning abuses were coming up to Parliament from the country and it was followed by the Long Parliament. List of MPs elected to the English parliament in 1640 List of Parliaments of England David Plant, The Short Parliament John Hampden in the Short Parliament
