All Events

Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, discovers in Jerusalem the cross on which Christ died - or so it is later claimed

Constantine's new Christian city on the site of Byzantium is inaugurated, as Constantinople

The Cushite dynasty fades away in Nubia, after lasting for 1000 years or more

The clan ruling the Yamato plain becomes so powerful that its chieftain is seen as the emperor of Japan

Frumentius, brought to Ethiopia as a slave, becomes the kingdom's first Christian bishop

Greece begins to find a new and influential role in a Christian context, through the Byzantine empire

The Christian missionary Ulfilas devises an alphabet for the language of the Goths, so that he can translate the Bible into Gothic

St Martin founds the first monastery in western Europe, at Ligugé near Poitiers

The first church of Santa Sophia in Constantinople, begun by Constantine himself, is completed

An apocryphal story states that Julian the Apostate, dying at Tarsus, acknowledges the victory of the Galilean, Jesus Christ

A document is distributed by the bishop of Alexandria, formally establishing the contents of the New Testament

The Huns, moving from the steppes north of the Black Sea, defeat the Ostrogoths and drive the Visigoths westwards - starting a chain reaction

The Visigoths inflict a devastating defeat on a Roman army at Adrianople, and win for themselves the status of Roman federates

Kalidasa, the most distinguished of India's authors in classical Sanskrit, is at the Gupta court in Patna

The Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete New Testament, is copied out - probably in Egypt

Roman legions begin to be withdrawn from Britain, leaving the Celtic population increasingly vulnerable

St Jerome settles in Bethlehem, where his holy women organize a monastery for his residence and a nearby convent for themselves

St Ambrose asserts the authority of the church, refusing communion to the emperor Theodosius in Milan until he does penance for a massacre

The church of Santa Pudenziana in Rome begins the great tradition of Christian mosaics

The ancient games at Olympia, with an unbroken tradition of more than 1000 years, are brought to an abrupt end by the emperor Theodosius

Niall of the Nine Hostages is the first man to be called king of Ireland, though his direct control does not extend beyond Ulster

The Chinese solve the difficult problem of harnessing a horse without strangling it

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