Category: Biblical Timeline Chart

The Ghana Empire flourished between AD 300 and 1200; it is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History around 1000 AD. It was one of the richest empires in Africa at its height between AD 750 and 1000. The Empire, also known as Wagadou, was located in the western part of the Sahel region. It was also the largest and most powerful empire in the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The modern countries of Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso occupy the former territories of the Ghana Empire.

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The Sahel region seemed incapable of sustaining life at first glance. Thanks to the Senegal, Gambia, and Niger rivers, people had inhabited this region for thousands of years. The first settlers of the Ghana Empire were hunter-gatherers who settled in to farm the land. The small settlement grew into a village where the people made a living by planting crops, mining, and trading with other tribes. The tiny village grew into a kingdom ruled by their king or as they called it, the ghana in the local Soninke language.

Gold Trade in the Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire first appeared on the records of learned men such as al-Khwarizmi and al-Fazari who called it “the land of gold.” The most important source of information on the Ghana Empire was the historian al-Bakri who visited its capital, Koumbi Saleh. In his records of the Ghana royal court, al-Bakri told his audience that the king wore many gold jewelry. This was not strange at all since he kept the finest gold nuggets while the common people only kept gold dust.

The abundance of gold in the Ghana Empire was the reason behind their wealth. It also fueled the gold and salt trade that thrived in the region during the Medieval Period. Berber merchants were the Ghana Empire’s best trading partners as they brought in salt that was important to the Sahel region. Salt was such a prized product for its people that they taxed a donkey-load of salt at one dinar when it entered the empire. Another two dinars were required each time it was sent out of the empire. The Ghana Empire traded with the Berbers for hundreds of years. But they sometimes fought because the Berbers liked to raid even the people they traded with.

Nicholas II (born Gerard de Bourgogne or Gerard of Burgundy) served as the canon of Liege in his youth and was appointed as Bishop of Florence in 1046. He is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History during 1059 AD. When Pope Stephen X (IX) died on the 19th of March, 1058, the Lombard nobles led by Count of Tusculum Gregory de Alberico, Gerard Count of Galeria, and the sons of Crescentius of Monticello orchestrated the “election” of John, Bishop of Velletri, as pope. He adopted the name Benedict X, but the cardinals fled from Rome so that the Lombard counts had no choice but hire an illiterate priest of the Church of Ostia to confirm Benedict.

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Benedict’s election was opposed by the Romans and particularly by the powerful Roman pontiff Hildebrand (later Pope Gregory VII) who then elected Gerard as pope. The Bishop of Florence was previously nominated by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III as pope. It helped that he was a favorite of the German court. Hildebrand’s equally powerful allies condemned Benedict’s election in 1059 and branded him as an antipope. Gerard, meanwhile, entered Rome with a large force behind him in the same year so that Benedict had no choice but flee to one of the sons of Crescentius in Passarano.

Nicholas was officially elected as pope in January of 1059, and Benedict’s deposition came shortly in the same ceremony. He was enthroned at Saint Peter’s, and he adopted the name Nicholas II. However, his problems were far from over as he was in a delicate position amidst a chaotic political landscape. Italy, at that time, was the battleground for political issues which involved the Germans, the Franks, the Byzantines, the Lombards, and the formidable newcomers, the Normans. Benedict, meanwhile, had fled Passarano and had taken refuge in the castle of Gerard, Count of Galeria.

To end the issue once and for all, Hildebrand encouraged the Norman Richard of Aversa (who occupied southern Italy) to pledge his loyalty to Pope Nicholas. Richard accepted the alliance and sent 300 men to besiege the castle of Galeria in spring of 1059. They failed to breach the castle, but the alliance definitely improved the relationship between the Normans and the pope.

Synod of 1059 (Papal Election Decree)

To address the irregularity of Benedict’s election and the issues that went along with it, Nicholas convened the Synod of 1059 with 113 bishops in attendance. The council came up with rules that would prevent the repetition of corrupt papal election practices (such as simony and bribery) and it was followed by an affirmation of the legality of Nicholas’ own election. Simony (the practice of selling church offices) and concubinage committed by the clergy were also condemned; additional condemnation for the heresies of Berengarius of Tours (was condemned years before) was also issued by the same council. The Lombard bishops, however, did not publish the decrees after they were bribed by the enemies of Nicholas. The only exception was the bishop of Brescia who was beaten to death for publishing the decrees.

Nicholas and Robert Guiscard

The Norman adventurer and one-time bandit chief Robert Guiscard rose to prominence when he became the Count of Apulia after he distinguished himself in the battle against Pope Leo IX’s troops. Robert Guiscard established the Norman rule in Italy and apart from the Lombards, the Normans were the most powerful force in Southern Italy during the eleventh century. According to Byzantine princess and historian Anna Komnena, Robert was renowned for his strength in battle but mostly for his cunning. In 1059, he sent Pope Nicholas envoys to establish goodwill and negotiated with the pope by returning the papal lands (patrimonies) in the Council of Melfi held in 1059.

Nicholas, in turn, absolved him of “ecclesiastical disapproval” and recognized Robert as the Duke of Apulia, Calabria, and the island of Sicily when the Normans drove out the Saracens from the island. Robert later pledged his loyalty to the pope and agreed to become the vassal of the Church. The pope’s deal with Robert did not sit well with the Germans, but in the long run, it resulted in a long-term peace in Southern Italy during the eleventh century. Robert also contributed Norman warriors to the pope’s troops when they defeated the Lombards.

Later Years and Death

In late 1059, Nicholas repaid Hildebrand’s support by appointing him as an archdeacon. His fortunes, however, suddenly took a downturn when German bishops tried to depose him because of the unpopular papal election decrees he approved in the Synod of 1059l. In the last year of his life, Nicholas supported the Siege of Alipergum and reaffirmed the decrees of the synod when he returned to Rome after the siege. On July 27, 1061, Nicholas fell sick and died in the city of Florence. His remains were buried in the church of Santa Reparata in the same city.

Early Life

Pope Sylvester II was born in or near the town of Aurillac in Western Francia around 945/946. He is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History at 1003 AD.The boy was the son of a commoner named Agilbert, a native of Aquitaine, and he named his son Gerbert upon his birth. The boy was sent to the Benedictine monastery of St. Gerald where he learned theology and grammar under the Benedictine monk Raimond and the Abbot Gerauld.

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Gerbert was an enthusiastic student. He was liberated from the cloistered life of a monk when Count Borell II visited the monastery on his way home to Catalonia from Aquitaine in 967. When it was time for Count Borell to leave, the abbot Gerauld asked him whether there were men of learning in Spain. When the count said that there were many, Gerauld convinced his young charge to accompany the count to the Spanish March. In another version, it was Gerbert himself who asked the Count whether he could accompany him to Spain which offered more opportunity to learn than the monastery in Aurillac.

Rise to Prominence

Gerbert lived in Santa Maria de Ripoll, a Benedictine monastery near Barcelona in Catalonia. He lived there for three years before Count Borell took him to Rome on a pilgrimage. This was where Gerbert met the Pope John XIII and Emperor Otto I. Impressed with the young monk, John XIII convinced Gerbert to enter the service of Otto I by becoming the tutor of the emperor’s son Otto II. He did so around 971/972. There he met Gerannus, Lothair of France’s envoy in Otto’s court who also happened to be a renowned logician. Gerbert was so impressed with the ambassador that he requested Otto to let him go and accompany Gerannus back to Reims as his student.

Politics

He stayed in Reims for some time and was promoted as abbot of the Bobbio Abbey in 984. His stint as the abbot of Bobbio was short-lived for the call of the scholarly life was too strong. He returned to Reims in the same year to be the student of Bishop Adalbero. He became entangled in politics the moment he arrived in Reims when he helped the bishop secure the throne of the young Otto III in Germany and of Hugh Capet in France against the Carolingian king Louis V the Lazy. He later became the secretary of Otto’s aunt and Louis V’s mother Emma whose relationship with her son was not too amicable because of her frustrations with his idleness (hence the “Lazy” nickname).

The two clerics’ endorsement of Otto III as emperor did not sit well with Louis V. So he attacked Reims but failed to take it and retaliated by destroying the properties held by Bishop Adalbero. The distraught bishop was forced to send Gerbert to Otto III’s mother Theophanu to appeal for help, but Louis died in 987 before Theophanu could do anything about it. His death heralded the end of the Carolingians. He was succeeded by Hugh Capet as king of Western Francia in the same year. Adalbero, however, died as Louis V, so the archbishop’s office remained vacant just in time for Hugh Capet’s accession.

Many people, including Gerbert himself, expected him to succeed Adalbero as archbishop of Reims but he was passed over when Hugh Capet rejected Gerbert’s appointment. He appointed Arnulf (a member of the Carolingian family) as the archbishop of Reims instead. With this act, Hugh Capet sought to divide the Carolingian heirs among themselves through the appointment of one of their own to an esteemed position in the Frankish political scene. To appease Gerbert, however, Hugh Capet offered other clerical positions to him except for the archbishopric of Reims.

Hugh’s strategy backfired when Arnulf, along with his Carolingian uncle Charles, took over Reims and ruled it without the king’s help. Gerbert sided with Arnulf and Charles for some time (perhaps out of fear for his safety or he wanted to retaliate for Hugh’s rejection). He did not stay in their service for long and he reconciled with Hugh Capet in 990. Hugh tried to disentangle the whole mess he created when he appointed Arnulf. Together with Gerbert, he assembled the Synod or Council of Reims in June of 991 to remove Arnulf from the position. They also tried to elect Gerbert as archbishop of Reims, but Arnulf only ignored the ruling when news of his deposition reached him. It did not help that the Synod of Reims itself was not recognized by Pope Gregory V.

Gerbert asked Otto III’s grandmother for help, but she, too, was unable to get Arnulf out of Reims. He also personally appealed to Gregory V in Rome in 996 to no avail. Hugh Capet died in 996, and Otto III left Italy in the same year, so he was left without his backers at that time. He departed Western Francia for good in 997 and lived in Otto III’s court in Germany where he served in a monastery in Sasbach.

Pope Sylvester II

Gerbert accompanied Otto to Ravenna in 998. There he readily accepted the archbishopric of the city when it was offered to him. Perhaps in an effort to make amends and as a way to settle the problems with Arnulf, Pope Gregory V ratified his archbishopric immediately. He was proclaimed the archbishop of Ravenna in 999. However, this was short-lived as Gregory died in February of the same year. Otto endorsed his adviser Gerbert as the deceased pope’s successor. He adopted the name Sylvester II after his election.

The newly elected Pope Sylvester II also confirmed Arnulf’s election as Archbishop of Reims (whether he felt generous at that time or he simply wanted to mock Arnulf, his motive was never really determined). His tenure as pope, however, was extremely short as the Romans rebelled against Otto and Sylvester II in 1001. Both were forced to flee to Ravenna and other non-hostile cities in Italy soon after. Otto tried to retake Rome several times but he died on his way there in 1002. His death was followed by Sylvester in 1003.

The Abbasid caliphate that thrived in Baghdad for three-hundred years was destroyed by the Mongols led by Hulagu Khan in 1258 which is where it is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History. Many people were killed during the Siege of Baghdad, and it took several years before the city recovered.

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The Muslim World

The Abbasid Caliphate was one of the dynasties that ruled Western Asia in the Medieval Period. It thrived between the eighth and tenth centuries. Its influence faded in AD 946 after a Persian general rose to power. The Abbasid royal family and its rulers still existed, but they became puppets under the Persian rulers of the Persian Buyid Dynasty.

The Muslim world then split into different independent caliphates and emirates in the Medieval Period. Al-Andalus (Spain) stayed under the Umayyad rulers but it later split into many kingdoms called Taifas. Meanwhile, some parts of Syria, the Levant, and Egypt were ruled by the Fatimid dynasty. The Samanid, Safavid, and Hamdanid dynasties also took large parts of the Abbasid territories and ruled them independently.

Other enemies of the Abbasid caliphate rose later on. During the eleventh century, the Turkic dynasties of the Ghaznavid and Seljuk rose in Central and Western Asia. The fierce Seljuks first defeated the Ghaznavids, and they later crossed the Oxus River (Amu Darya) to conquer Iraq. They removed the Buyids from power in Baghdad but kept the Abbasid caliph on the throne as their own puppet. They also conquered Syria and some parts of Palestine. The Seljuks later turned north and took away a big part of Asia Minor from the Byzantine Empire to set up the Sultanate of Rum.

The city of Baghdad had withstood sieges and civil wars over the years. But nothing prepared its people and the Abbasid caliphate for the arrival of the fierce Asian warriors in the middle of the thirteenth century: the Mongols.

The Mongols

The Mongols first rose as different groups of nomadic peoples in the first century AD. They lived on the northern borders of the Han empire. They later influenced the Sui and Tang Dynasties of China. The Mongolic empire of the Khitan Liao crumbled under the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchen people in the 1190s. Because of this, their people were scattered in the area for many years. A Mongol warrior named Temujin rose around this time to become his people’s khan (supreme leader or king). He later united the different Mongol tribes under his rule as khagan (king of kings).

Temujin was later renamed as Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan) or ‘universal lord’ after he led the Mongols in the conquest of Central Asia and northern China. In 1218, he led his soldiers into present-day Uzbekistan and northern Iran. He then sent envoys to the ruler of Iran to establish trade with them. But the Muslim ruler made a huge mistake after he accused the Mongols envoys as spies and had them killed. In his anger, Genghis Khan ordered his men to sack the Central Asian cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and others in Transoxiana. It was followed later by the fall of Persia into Mongol hands.

The peoples of Central Asia knew that it was useless to fight, so they surrendered to Mongols instead. Genghis Khan then conquered Georgia and southern Russia but he died in 1227 before his army could enter Europe. His son Ogedei became the new khan, and he made Kiev a tributary. They also pushed into Poland and Hungary, as well as the borders of Germany and Austria in the years that followed.

The Siege of Baghdad

Ogedei died in 1241 and the Mongol leaders returned to Asia to elect a new leader. The greatest Mongol Khan, Mongke, rose in 1251. Many of his battles were fought in Muslim-held lands in Asia. He defeated the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and later ordered his brother Hulagu Khan to attack the city of Baghdad. Before the expedition, Mongke Khan told Hulagu to demand the submission of the Abbasid caliph al-Musta’sim. But if the caliph refused to submit, the khan gave Hulagu his permission to destroy Baghdad. Hulagu led as much as 150,000 Mongol soldiers into Iraq in 1258. Many Christian, Chinese, Persian, and some Turkic soldiers also helped the Mongols in this battle.

When Hulagu arrived near Baghdad, he immediately demanded al-Musta’sim to submit to Mongke Khan. The Abbasid caliph refused because his chief minister told him that the Abbasid army could easily defeat the Mongols. His refusal angered Hulagu, and he ordered the Mongol army to besiege Baghdad on January 29, 1258. The Mongol army immediately broke down the city walls. When he saw that they had no chance of winning against the Mongols, al-Musta’sim tried to negotiate with Hulagu. The Mongol leader did not accept his offer. The city surrendered on the 10th of February 1258. The Mongols entered Baghdad three days later and killed many people in the city.

Al-Musta’sim was the last of the Abbasid caliphs after he and the noblemen were killed by the Mongols. Baghdad was destroyed in 1258. Those who survived the massacre fled the city. It would take many years before Baghdad rose once again.

During the eleventh century, many of the Maya city-states in Mesoamerica fell apart. But the Maya experienced a brief revival in 1250 following the collapse of Chichen Itza. The revival would be brief as the great Maya civilization completely crumbled in the fourteenth century until the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. The Mayan revival following the collapse of Chichen Itza is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History during 1250 AD.

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The Collapse of Chichen Itza

The Maya city of Chichen Itza was built around AD 800. It grew until it became the most powerful force in the northern Yucatan. At its peak, Chichen Itza ruled over thousands of people. It was regarded as the largest of all Maya cities. Its military captured other cities and the tribute that these cities paid made Chichen Itza very rich. The city was a popular pilgrimage site because of its temples and its sacred pool. The sea trade centered in the nearby Isla Cerritos also made it very wealthy. Its influence extended as far east as Nohmul in present-day Belize and south into Seibal in Guatemala.

Around 1050, the central Mexican city of Tula was destroyed and the Toltec people who lived in it fled from their homes. Some went south, while others later ventured north to the Yucatan Peninsula and invaded the city of Chichen Itza. Stone reliefs in Chichen Itza showed the violence with which the Toltecs conquered the city. The Toltecs celebrated their victory with the construction of a tzompantli (skull rack), Chac Mool, and Temple of the Warriors. The city continued to reign until it was conquered by Mayapan, but by then it was not as important as it once was.

The Rise of Mayapan and Brief Maya Revival

The city of Chichen Itza continued to exist after it was conquered by the Toltecs, but it was not as influential as it once was. The rulers of Chichen Itza also built an alliance with the rulers of Uxmal and Mayapan in the years that followed. War later broke out between the allied cities and the city of Izamal after its ruler kidnapped the wife of the king of Chichen Itza. King Hunak Keel of Mayapan later turned on his former allies and conquered Chichen Itza. Mexican mercenaries and the people of Izamal also helped him destroy the great Maya city.

Because of this victory, Mayapan became the most powerful Maya state in the Yucatan Peninsula. A local noble family called the Cocom also emerged as powerful rulers of Mayapan for the next two hundred years. Mexican mercenaries and Maya priests helped the Cocom family impose peace and order. The people of Mayapan traded with neighboring Belize, Honduras, and central Mexico which added to their wealth. The Cocom family continued to rule until they were overthrown by the Xiu noble family in 1440.

Apart from the famed Machu Picchu, the ancient Peruvian city of Cuzco was the Incas’ most important center. Cuzco was the cradle of Inca civilization. They started to settle this great city around the twelfth century. The Inca migration to the city of Cuzco appeared on the Bible Timeline Poster withWorld History around AD 1200.

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Origin of the Incas

The Incas had two origin stories. Both stories featured the mythical sibling-couple Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo. In the Pacariqtambo Legend and Lake Titicaca Legend, the Inca king Manco Capac and Inca Queen Mama Ocllo were created by the sun god Inti (the creator god also Viracocha played a part in the creation of the couple). In the first legend, the couple was created in and emerged from one of the three caves in a place called Pacariqtambo which, according to tradition, was said to be located 33 kilometers from the great Inca city of Cuzco.

The second legend, meanwhile, asserted that the couple was created in the Lake Titicaca region of Peru and Bolivia. In both legends, they were told to go and civilize the world. Manco Capac was given a golden staff which he used along the way to test whether they had arrived in their promised land. The same golden staff sank on the ground when they arrived in the Cuzco Valley.

Cuzco

The word “Cuzco” was taken from the Aymara and Quechua word “Qusqu” which was derived from the phrase qusqu wanka or Rock of the Owl (in reference to the Ayar siblings which included the Inca ancestors of Mama Ocllo and Manco Capac). The Cuzco Valley region was considered as the cradle of the Inca civilization. According to tradition, Manco Capac taught the people who settled there the science of agriculture, while Mama Ocllo taught the women the art of spinning and weaving. The small community gradually grew until the first Inca people extended their influence beyond the valley and into the regions inhabited by other tribes.

The modern city of Cuzco is nestled in a valley located on an elevated portion of the plateau. It is bounded by mountains which, in the past, served as natural defensive walls against marauding tribes. Despite the arid surroundings, the city is fed by rivers that run from the mountains and into the valley. According to early Spanish chroniclers, the pre-Columbian city of Cuzco had long and narrow streets lined with low houses that were made of clay and reeds. Magnificent royal palaces and plazas dotted the ancient city. It was home to the Inca’s holiest place, the Temple of the Sun, where other tribes gathered together after a long journey.

The city was heavily fortified with defensive walls and towers that were made up of heavy blocks of stones. What made these structures amazing (even for the Spanish conquistadores) was that the stones were quarried outside of Cuzco, and were transported to the city without the aid of draft animals, such as llamas and donkeys. Although the Inca did not have moderns tools, each stone was cut so precisely that it is impossible to slip a knife between each heavy slab. The Inca structures still exist today—a testament to the Inca masons’ outstanding skills and their people’s ingenuity.

The Hohokams (the “vanished ones” in O’odham language) were Native Americans who lived in the southern parts of Arizona to the northern portions of the Mexican state of Sonora. The culture flourished between 100 BC and 1500 AD. They were the ancestors of modern day Pima people or Akimel O’odham who spoke a variant of the Uto-Aztecan language. The Hohokams were known for their innovative irrigation systems in areas that they settled, particularly the Gila and Salt River valleys. These canals allowed them to grow food that was enough to support their people and allowed them to thrive in an inhospitable environment. Their society was highly organized and complex—something which they shared with the other Southwest Culture peoples, such as the Mogollon and the Anasazi. Hohokam built Platform mounds between 1100 -1200 AD according to the Biblical Timeline with World History.

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Hohokam Platform Mounds

The Hohokam settlements showed a distinct Mesoamerican influence, as shown in the ballcourt and platform mounds they constructed. The earliest mounds were built around 800 AD, but the majority were constructed between 1150 and 1350 AD. Platform mounds were typically rectangular in shape which covered an area of hundreds to thousands of square feet and reached up to ten feet high. Many of these earthworks can be found in Pueblo Grande, Mesa Grande, Plaza Tempe, and Tres Pueblos. As much as fifty platform mounds were discovered in thirty Hohokam villages in recent years. At the culture’s peak, there must have been around a hundred platform mounds.

The Hohokams usually built the mounds along major canals, and initially did not build structures on top. By 1250, however, the Hohokams began to build homes for their leaders and priests, as well as temples on top of the mounds. The construction of these platforms was pretty simple. The Hohokam started by building a single cell made of adobe, granite, and sandstone. Other cells would be built around it, and the structure would be filled with trash and soil. The top was covered with a natural cement made of calcium carbonate called caliche. Structures would be built on top of the finished mound. The largest mounds in the Salt River Valley reached up to 30 feet high and were as big as a football field.

The Vikings

The word “Viking” was the English name given to a group of fierce warriors whose ships appeared out of the mists of the Atlantic to pillage Western Europe. For the English, the word meant “men who came from Viken (present-day Sweden)”, but for the Franks and other Western Europeans, they were simply known as Danes or Northmen. They started to spill out from their homeland in western Sweden, Denmark, and Norway during the eighth century and proceeded to become raiders and colonizers. The first of these fierce raiders to venture out of their homeland were the Norwegians, and the Danes quickly followed them beyond the sea. This led to Leif Ericson’s explorations around 1000 AD according to the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History.

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Reasons for Expansion

The Vikings sailed out of their homelands for several reasons. First was the shortage of land available for farming after the Vikings experienced explosive growth in population. Some men simply sought the wealth of Western Europe, such as precious stones, gold, silver, and coins that came from tribute or plunder. The ransom money exchanged for prominent captives, and the profit from selling slaves in Muslim Spain and North Africa were also important additional sources of income for the Vikings. Many Vikings also willingly sailed away from Scandinavia to prove their reputation as mighty warriors or to show their strength and gain a loyal following of fellow warriors. Others were exiled for one reason or another, and the possibility of going home was simply out of the question.

The New “Scourge of God”

Just as Attila and the Huns were considered by the Romans as the God’s brutal punishment for their sins, the Vikings, too, were feared in Britain and Western Europe for their ferocity. Their favorite targets were monasteries on British islands and those constructed near the coast as these were commonly unguarded. Their first raid in England was on the island of Lindisfarne and its monastery in 793 AD. They followed it up with attacks on the abbeys on Jarrow, Iona, the Isle of Skye, and Rathlin.

By 799, groups of Vikings had ventured into the western coast of Europe, and their first victim was the Frankish monastery located near the estuary of Loire river, the St. Philibert on the island of Noirmoutier. Viking attacks were also recorded in southern England during the ninth century. These raids became so severe that both the English and the Franks considered them a very serious threat. Throughout the ninth century, the Vikings conducted lightning raids on coastal areas of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Western Francia. They also tried Iberia, but they were repelled when the caliph of Cordoba built a navy, so they continued on to North Africa.

Resistance

The Vikings were slightly repelled from sailing further into the Seine and Loire when the Franks built bridges on the banks of the two rivers. Deprived of the opportunity to plunder the Franks, the Vikings returned to raiding the English and Irish coasts. This time, they brought a “Great Army” to conquer the land. During the early years, the Vikings usually spent winter on land but went home in spring to tend to their farms in Scandinavia. But this time, the Vikings chose to stay in England and Ireland which was bad news for the locals as it meant that they planned to settle permanently on the islands.

Westward Expansion

The search for additional farmland drove the Norwegian Vikings to sail further west at the same time their compatriots were settling in England. They landed in Iceland in 874 AD  followed by the Vikings who had settled in Ireland. They immediately claimed any available farmlands. Sixty or so years later, there were few available lands for the newcomers to claim so they, led by the Norse Viking Eric the Red, sailed further west into Greenland which was where Leif Ericson’s North American saga began.

First Europeans in North America

Rumors of a land west of Greenland first reached Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericson in 985 AD when the wealthy Norse merchant Bjarni Herjolfsson’s ship got lost in the North Atlantic waters. He was on his way from Iceland to Greenland to see his parents, but his ship got trapped in fog and the north wind. When the sun came out again, they saw a forested, mountainous coast, so they requested to explore the land. The captain refused, so they turned back east and landed this time in Greenland where he told stories to other Vikings of his little adventure.

Leif Ericson wanted to see whether the stories about a land further west were true or not, so he bought Bjarni’s ship and asked his father (as well as other Vikings) to accompany him west. Eric the Red was a middle-aged man by then, but he agreed when his son asked him to come for another adventure. Eric the Red, however, was not fated to sail west when his horse threw him off the saddle as they rode to board the ship and was injured. He took it as a sign that he was not meant to leave, so his son, Leif Ericson, took over the expedition.

The Vikings sailed northwest and saw land just as Bjarni Herjolfsson told them. They skirted the coast as they sailed south and Leif named the islands they passed by (Helluland for Baffin Island, Markland for Labrador, and Vinland or Wineland for Nova Scotia after they saw grapevines there). They spent the winter in Vinland. They were amazed at how abundant the salmons were in this new found land. They brought with them timber and wine when they sailed back to Greenland in spring the following year.

The Temporary Immigrants

When Leif’s brother, Thorvald, heard the news that land was available west of Greenland, he immediately launched another expedition to establish a permanent colony in what is now North America. They settled on Leif’s original colony in Vinland and started to partition the land for farms on a place that they thought was uninhabited. Thorvald and his men saw no other settlers during the first year, but the next summer proved fatal for him and his men when they explored the northeastern part of their new territory. The men were on their way back to their boats they came across three hide-covered boats sheltered in a cove. They saw nine men hidden inside the boats and proceeded to kill eight of them except for one who got away. Thorvald and his men fell asleep on the shore, but they were woken up by arrows being shot at them by the inhabitants of the place. Their leader, Thorvald, was pierced in his armpit and died there, but the rest of his men were safe and made it back to their settlement in Vinland. They stayed there until winter, gathered more grapes, and went back to Greenland next winter.

From the ancient up to the modern times, no other metal was prized by humans more than gold. The ease with which it could be molded or hammered into brilliant accessories made it a favorite among the elites. Over time, it was also molded into statues and coins which further increased its value. Although the mining of gold decreased during the Early Medieval Period (between the fifth and tenth century) due to wars and instability, the gold trade across the Sahara flourished because of the expansion of the trade routes in Muslim North Africa. This is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History at 800 AD.

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Trans-Saharan Gold Trade

As common as salt may seem to modern people, it was a prized commodity in seventh century Ghana Empire (which encompassed not just Ghana but also present-day Senegal, Mali, and the southern part of Mauritania) where it was exchanged for more-abundant gold. It was especially prized by the Soninke Wangara—the ancient inhabitants of Ghana and the first group of the Sudanese people who had experience in metallurgy—whose land was abundant in gold but produced little salt. The gold was mined from the region of Bambouk (in present-day Mali) and a place called Ghiyaru which was rumored to have the best gold in the empire. Meanwhile, camel or donkey-loads of salt were transported from the Mediterranean coast into various trading posts in the Sahel region of the Sahara. They eventually made their way into the Ghana Empire.

To illustrate the importance of salt in the Ghana Empire, Muslim chroniclers recorded that the king taxed a donkey-load of salt with one gold dinar and additional two gold dinars were needed if the merchants wanted to sell it outside the capital. Gold was so abundant in the empire that it was not taxed when it was sent out from Ghana to other kingdoms for trade. It later became the foundation for the empire’s enormous wealth. The Berber merchants—the main transporters of salt and gold in the Sahara—also brought with them the Muslim religion. Many West Africans eventually converted to Islam as the years progressed. The trade continued to flourish until the thirteenth century when Muslim raiders started to invade the empire.

Early Life

Pope Nicholas, I was the son of a Roman citizen named Theodore, a regionarius (cleric or lay official responsible for the administration of a certain region in the city) of Rome.  He is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History at 858 AD. Just like his father, the young Nicholas developed a deep love for learning. The people who surrounded him knew that the boy was destined for great things. The boy’s brilliance did not escape the notice of Pope Sergius II who brought him to the Lateran Palace and appointed him as sub-deacon when he came of age. Pope Leo IV then promoted him to the position of deacon, but he was especially close to Pope Benedict III and became influential during his papacy. Nicholas, I was elected as Benedict’s successor when the pope died on April 17, 858 AD.

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Election as Pope

Nicholas’ election was unanimous, but it seemed that he was neither ready nor willing to accept the position. He fled to St. Peter’s when his election was announced. He had to be taken back to the Lateran Palace so he could accept his election as pope. He was consecrated later on April 24, 858. The Carolingian emperor Louis II, Frankish noblemen, Italian aristocracy, and Roman citizens all attended his consecration. Nicholas was later crowned when they reached the Lateran Palace. Louis II supported his election, and both men parted on good terms after the celebration of his consecration.

Photian Schism

The issue of the Photian Schism in Constantinople dominated Nicholas’ reign as pope. However, it would be resolved only after his death. The relationship between the Eastern and Western churches had broken down since the fall of Italy to the Ostrogoths and the Lombards. This particular schism further drove a wedge between the two churches. Some of the factors in the breakdown of their relationship included the differences in languages used (the East used Greek in liturgy while the West used Latin), their disdain for each other (the East thought that the West’s Romanness had been diluted since the domination of the Ostrogoths and the Lombards. While the West thought the Eastern patriarchs were too much under the emperor’s thumb), and the controversial iconoclasm issue that dominated since the time of Emperor Leo III. The Italians also resented the fact that Constantinople shrank their dominion when they wrested Sicily and other papal lands after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Photian Schism was primarily a political issue which evolved into a religious spat. It involved the Byzantine emperor Michael III, Patriarch Photius (the East’s equivalent of an antipope), and Pope Nicholas I. It all started when Michael III’s father, the Emperor Theophilos, died in 842 AD at the age of 28. His widow, Empress Theodora, served as the young Michael III’s regent. She appointed her brother Bardas as co-ruler while a distant relative named Photius served as their secretary.

The root of the issue pointed to Bardas when he left his wife to live with his widowed daughter-in-law. Their relationship was not a secret to the citizens of Constantinople, including the Patriarch Ignatius who, upon learning of Bardas’ domestic issues, refused to let him take part in the Holy Communion during the Epiphany of 857 AD. Bardas became so enraged with the rejection that he plotted for years to have Ignatius removed from his role as patriarch. His opportunity finally came when his young nephew, Michael III, came of age. Michael, though married to Eudokia Dekapolitissa, had a relationship with another woman that his mother and the Patriarch Ignatius disapproved of. Bardas convinced the prince to get rid of their mutual enemies. To do away with his mother, Michael told the Patriarch Ignatius to order Theodora’s transfer to a convent where she would stay for the rest of her life. But Ignatius refused his order—an act which angered Michael and played into the hands of Bardas.

The pair finally succeeded in sending Theodora (as well as Michael’s sisters) into a convent in September, 857 AD. They brought up false charges against the Patriarch Ignatius who was then banished to the Prince Island on the 23rd of November in the same year. Bardas and Michael chose the layman and secretary Photius as Constantinople’s new Patriarch while they continued to convince Ignatius to sign his abdication. Although he consistently refused to sign his abdication, Photius had already been announced as patriarch on December 25, 857 AD.

Photius knew that his hold on the patriarchate was very weak as he only had Michael and Bardas as primary supporters. In a bid to legitimize his rule, he sent a letter to Nicholas I and requested the pope’s confirmation of his appointment. His envoys carried the letter to Rome. Although he left out Michael’s plot in ousting Ignatius, the Pope was not an idiot as it did not take long for him to figure out the charges against the former patriarch were all trumped up. The Pope sent the bishops of Porto and Anagni as papal legates (envoys) to Constantinople to investigate. He sent them two letters, one of which was addressed to Photius and the other was to the emperor Michael III. In his letter, he expressed his dismay to Photius for allowing himself to be appointed as a patriarch when he was just a layman before that and Nicholas regretted that he could not confirm his appointment.

The second letter was addressed to Michael III. In this letter, the Pope expressed his dismay that as the head of the church, he was not consulted during the deposition of Ignatius. Nicholas also reiterated his refusal to confirm Photius’ appointment. He ended the letter with an exhortation to Michael to restore Ignatius as patriarch (or at least, his patriarchal rights over Illyricum and Sicily). Displeased with Nicholas’ rejection, Michael and Photius threatened the two legates and had them imprisoned. They resisted for some time until Michael decided to bribe them. They sided with Photius thereafter.

The emperor and his accomplices convened a council on May, 861 AD at the Church of the Holy Apostles to legitimize the consecration of Photius. Michael, Photius, Ignatius, Nicholas’ legates, some bishops, and Byzantine senators attended this sham synod. They proceeded to put Ignatius on trial on false charges and announced his deposition. Ignatius told them that only the pope had the power to remove him from the office. He insisted on traveling to Rome to face the pope, but this protest was also ignored. In an attempt to lend legitimacy to the synod, Photius read an altered version of the pope’s letter and issued twenty-seven canons. They returned Ignatius to prison, while the legates returned to Nicholas with a sugarcoated version of the events in Constantinople. Photius also sent a letter to the pope telling him that he did not want the position of the patriarch in the first place, but he had no choice but to accept and proceeded to justify his acceptance of it. He also shredded Ignatius’ reputation in the letter.

It did not take long for the Pope to find out the truth. He publicly admonished the errant legates in a council in Rome in 862 AD. Sometime in spring of 862, Nicholas once again sent Michael, Photius, and the bishops of the Eastern churches a letter and admonished them in their roles in the controversy. Ignatius also sent the pope a letter and implored him to investigate the events in Constantinople. The beleaguered former patriarch still clung to his position around this time and consistently refused to sign his abdication.

Pope Nicholas assembled a council in the Lateran Palace in 863 to resolve the issue once and for all. The council agreed to deprive Photius of his priestly rights and threatened him with excommunication if he persisted in his claim as Patriarch of Constantinople. The council also issued the deposition and excommunication of the papal legates, the bishops of Porto and Anagni, for their part in the plot. Finally, they reinstated Ignatius as Patriarch of Constantinople—something that Photius, Michael, and Bardas only ignored when they learned of the council’s decrees.

When Nicholas heard that the trio ignored the council’s orders, he wrote another letter of admonishment to Michael and told him to refrain from interfering in church matters. The pope also summoned both Ignatius and Photius (as well as their supporters) to Rome. Around this time, Michael had his uncle Bardas killed and replaced him with his Macedonian groom Basil as co-emperor. Basil was crowned by no other than Photius himself.

Around 866, the frail Nicholas once again sent a letter to the East with another appeal to reinstate Ignatius. His letter never arrived in Constantinople after Byzantine imperial officers harassed his envoys when they tried to cross the border. They tried to get the papal envoys to sign a declaration of faith which listed the heresies of the West. The pope’s representatives refused and promptly turned back to Rome.

Photius later issued an encyclical against Rome in 867 AD, where he listed the East’s grievances against the West and discredited the West’s teachings as heresies. He then sent this encyclical to the bishops of the East and held another fake synod, wherein the contents of encyclical were confirmed by signatures of the bishops and by Emperor Michael (the signatures were forged, and Michael was said to be drunk when he signed the document). The synod also issued their own excommunication of Pope Nicholas. They sent the document to the most powerful ruler of the west at that time, Emperor Louis II, for additional recognition. Gifts accompanied this letter, but Michael’s envoys never reached the Frankish ruler. Constantinople had changed hands once again when Basil had his dissolute Michael III murdered on September, 24, 867. He also had Photius exiled in the same year. Nicholas did not live to see the end of this issue as he also died on November 13, 867 AD.