Why is the West the way it is today? Modern history explains much, but a full picture is impossible without at least knowing these early medieval history highlights.

From the Christian conversion of pagan kings to the repeated sieges of Constantinople, let’s explore them. By the end you’ll see why these early medieval events are so important.

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330 AD – Due to the Eastern half of the empire being more populated and prosperous compared to the stagnating Western half, and due to its strategic location for defense and trade, connecting Asia with Europe, Constantine makes Constantinople the new capital of the Roman Empire.

443 AD – The Huns under Attila, after continued raids and several failed peace agreements, forge a new peace treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire, wherein Emperor Theodosius II agrees to pay more tribute. Despite the treaty, the Huns continue to attack regions of the Empire.

c. 450 AD – Following the withdrawal of Roman forces, Germanic tribes such as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes begin to invade and settle in parts of Great Britain, giving dawn to the Anglo-Saxon period.

455 AD – Vandals from North Africa, enraged by broken treaties and wishing to take advantage of the death of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, are led by King Gaiseric to sack Rome where they destroy much of the city.

476 AD – Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, gets deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer, and the Western Roman Empire falls. Odoacer proclaims himself king of Italy, but eventually gets killed by the next conqueror Theodoric the Great in 493 when the Ostrogothic rule of Italy begins.

481 AD – Clovis I becomes the first king of Francia by uniting the Salian Franks and conquering various Germanic tribes and Romanized populations in Gaul. Influenced by his wife Clotilde, a Catholic princess, Clovis I also converts to the Catholic Church and helps to spread Catholicism among the Franks.

527 AD – After the death of Justin I, Justinian I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor. This is an important event as Justinian I became renown for his codification of Roman law and his military expansion. Justinian’s appointed commander Belisarius recaptures Rome in 536.

568 AD – Led by King Albion who saw opportunity due to the waning forces of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Lombards began their conquest of Italy where they would rule much of the peninsula for over 200 years. By the late 7th century, the majority of Lombards convert to Catholicism.

570 AD – A young boy is born after his father’s death, to the poor but prominent Quraysh tribe in Mecca where he’s raised by his grandfather and later his uncle. This is a significant event because this seemingly unfortunate boy was Muhammed, the founder of Islam. He remains in Mecca until fleeing to Medina in 622 with his followers due to persecution.

644 AD – King Oswiu of Northumbria establishes Roman orthodoxy over Celtic tradition at the Synod of Whitby, marking an important event for Christianity because it solidifies the adoption of Roman practice across England.

674 AD – Following the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, which had its capital in Damascus, Muslim forces besiege Constantinople in 674. The siege ends in 678 after Eastern Roman forces destroy the Arab fleet with Greek fire.

697 AD – Venice elects its first doge, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, who repels Umayyad attacks. This event is important as the election of a doge, rather than a hereditary monarchy, leads Venice to become an autonomous republic that continues to act as a powerful bulwark against Muslim expansion for over a millennium.

702 AD – The Islamic conquest of North Africa completes, and the Arab slave trade takes off. By 714, the Visigoth kingdom in Spain is replaced by the Umayyad Caliphate.

732 AD – Charles Martel, de facto ruler of the Franks and Charlemagne’s grandfather, defeats the Muslim forces of the Umayyad Caliphate at the battle of Tours (or Poitiers), preventing the Muslim takeover of Francia and putting an end to Umayyad expansion. This marks a turning point for the Reconquista which had already begun earlier in 718 after Pelagius and other Visigoth nobles, having been conquered by the Umayyad expansion in 711 (even though they themselves had only conquered the area from the Western Roman Empire several centuries before), refused Umayyad rule and began to organize a Christian resistance.

750 AD – Marwan II, the last Umayyad caliph, is defeated at the battle of the Great Zab River, during the Abbasid Revolution, and the Abbasid dynasty is established in Baghdad.

771 AD – Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Franks, after the Frankish kingdom divides at Pepin III’s death. Charlemagne fosters learning, reforms administration, wars with Saxons in Germany to unite much of Europe, and in 774 conquers the Lombards in Italy. In 800, he’s crowned Emperor of Rome by Pope Leo III. Ultimately, he ensures the classical culture and learning of the Romans resumes in Europe, which is why he’s known as the “father of Europe” today.

795 AD – The Vikings, Norse pagans from Norway, raid mainland Ireland for the first time, targeting settlements and monasteries. Inland raids intensify in the early 800s. In 841 they found Dublin as a trading hub, and in 860 they discover Iceland.

827 AD – The Aghlabids from Ifriqiya, a region in North Africa, begin their invasion of the island of Sicily, and establish Muslim control by 831. The last major Eastern Roman stronghold on the island, Taormina, falls in 902.

882 AD – Varangians (Vikings) seize Kiev in modern-day Ukraine, and establish the city as the capital of the first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus’. The city becomes important due to its strategic location along the Dnieper River connecting Europe to the Black Sea.

886 AD – Due to a peace treaty between King Guthrum of East Anglia, who was originally part of the Great Heathen Army from Scandinavia, and King Alfred of Wessex, Danelaw is established in England, creating a period of peaceful coexistence lasting until the Norman invasion.

966 AD – Majorly due to Duke Mieszko I’s conversion to Catholicism, because he was the founder of the first Polish state, the Poles adopt Christianity, and in 1024 his son Boleslaw I becomes Poland’s first king.

1066 AD – Following the Viking leader Rollo becoming the first duke of Normandy in 911 on condition by King Charles III that he converts to Catholicism, his great-great-great-grandson William the Conqueror invades England and beats King Harold at the battle Hastings. Soon after, in 1072, Normans take Sicily from the Muslim Emirate and the island becomes predominantly Christian again.

This has been an introductory overview of important events in early medieval history, but of course there were so many other events that shaped the Western world.

What events would you add to these highlights? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments!