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The early medieval period lasted from around the time of the fall of the western roman empire c. 476 until the end of the 10th century, earlier parts of the medieval period are also sometimes described as being the Dark Ages.
Even though it is debated by some scholars, the first-ever event of any significance during these times was the sacking of Rome by Alaric, the king of Visigoths.
This event led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The second more damaging attack that marked the end of the Roman Empire was in 455 when Rome was once more sacked by its enemies, this time being Genseric, King of the Vandals.
Important Events of the 6th Century
During this war, other significant deeds have happened, like the start of the migration of the great prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, a great battle where the Persians were crushed versus the Byzantines under the lead of Heraclius.
They were defeated which lead to the forestalling of the Islamic Conquest of all of Europe
| 711 – The first invasions by the Muslims, formed of Arabs and Berbers, happened in Spain which begin the rule of the Muslims in the Iberian peninsula which will last around the end of the fifteenth century. |
| 718 – The Muslims tried their luck again on the city of Constantinople in the year 718, but the merged forces of the Byzantines and Bulgarians held off the attack and managed to drive them off. |
| 732 – The battle of Tours in 732 was the decisive battle where Charles Martel held off the Muslim invaders which lead to the forming of the Carolingian Empire for the Franks and halted all advancement of the Moors in southwest Europe. |
| 735 – The father of English history called Bede died in the year 735 on May the 25th. |
| 750 – The third caliphate called Abbasid began in the year 750 and would grow up to be the longest-lasting caliphate until 1519 when it would become combusted and annexed by the Ottoman Empire. |
| 768 – The first signs of the Viking age started out with the attack of Lindisfarne where the Vikings attacked Britain. |
| 800 – the reign of Charlemagne began and in the year 800 he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor and had his kingdom recognized by the Papacy as the largest in Europe. |
| 814 In the year 814, the reign of Emperor Charlemagne ended with his death which would be the reason why only 30 years later the empire split up. |
| 827 – Muslims invade Sicily and in 840 they capture Bari and much of Southern Italy. |
| 862 – A Viking state is formed in 862 by Rurik, first at Novgorod and then in Kiev. |
| 866 – The great army of the Vikings arrived in England in 866 which lead to the territories of Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia getting totally overwhelmed. |
| 886 – The Cyrillic script was created by Saint Cyril and Methodius which would lead to a great spiritual and cultural age in the Eastern Orthodox part of the Slavic World. |
| 893 – Simeon I 893 becomes ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in the Balkans. |
| 899 – the great king of England, Alfred the Great, dies”. |
Some Historians consider Alfred the Great to be the first true King of England
| 911 – The Viking Rollo and his tribe of Vikings settle in what is now Normandy founding the Duchy of Normandy. |
| 917 – Simeon I defeats the Byzantines in the Battle of Anchialus near the river Anchialus, the coast of the Black Sea. |
| 919 – the first King of the Germans was elected, Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony marking the start of the Ottonian Dynasty. |
| 925 – The first king of the Croatians, King Tomislav (910-928) was crowned in the year 925. |
| 927 – The kingdom of England was founded in 927 when King Aethelstan the Glorious united the heptarchy of the Anglo-Saxon nations. |
| 927 – Simeon I the Great, ruler of Bulgaria dies. After the battle of Lechfeld in 955 where Otto the Great defeated the Magyar, he then gets crowned holy emperor of the Romans in 962. |
| 969 – In the year 969 the last living emperors of the Byzantines, John I Tzimiskes and Nikephoros II are executed and the Sultane of Rums is proclaimed. Bazil II the co-emperor of John I Tzimiskes takes the sole power in 976 and in 981, after getting the nickname Bulgar Slayer, starts his conquest of Bulgaria which will end in 1018. |
