Timeline 300-400 (Interference)

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.