Middle Ages
Third Council of Toledo (589): Visigothic Spain Turns Catholic
The Visigothic monarchy and most Arian bishops formally adopted Catholic Christianity, ending the religious divide between Goths and Hispano-Romans.
Era · c. 500 – 1500
Middle Ages
Kingdoms, crusades and plagues: the medieval world from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople.
Middle Ages
Sui Dynasty Reunification of China (589): End of Division
The Sui captured the Chen capital Jiankang and its last ruler, reuniting northern and southern China under one dynasty for the first time since the early 4th century.
Middle Ages
Columbanus and the Irish Mission to the Continent (c. 590)
Columbanus founded influential monasteries at Luxeuil and Bobbio and spread an Irish style of monastic life and penance across Frankish Gaul and northern Italy.
Middle Ages
Pope Gregory the Great (590–604): Shaping the Medieval Papacy
Gregory strengthened papal leadership in Rome and the West and left writings that became standard reading for the medieval church.
Middle Ages
Zhaozhou Bridge: The World's Oldest Open-Spandrel Stone Arch
A segmental stone arch of about 37 m span with open spandrels, still standing after more than 1,400 years.
Middle Ages
Augustine's Mission to Kent (597): Christianity Returns
King Æthelberht accepted Christianity and Canterbury became the seat of the first archbishop of the English church.
Middle Ages
Law Code of Æthelberht of Kent (c. 600): Oldest English Laws
Kent gained the first written law code in the English language, and the first of a long series of Anglo-Saxon royal law codes.
Middle Ages
Wari Empire: The First Andean Empire Before the Inca
Wari created the first large multi-regional state in the Andes, whose roads, administration and record-keeping anticipated the Inca Empire.
Middle Ages
Calakmul and the Snake Kingdom: Great Rival of Tikal
The Snake kingdom dominated much of the Classic Maya lowlands until its defeat by Tikal in 695 began a long decline.
Middle Ages
Chichen Itza: History of the Great Maya-Toltec City
Chichen Itza became the dominant city of the northern Maya lowlands before declining, while remaining a major pilgrimage site.
Middle Ages
Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628: Heraclius Against Persia
Byzantine victory after near-collapse; Persia returned its conquests, but both empires were exhausted on the eve of the Arab conquests.
Middle Ages
Prince Shotoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution (604)
A set of moral instructions for court officials that promoted harmony, Buddhism and loyalty to the sovereign, and became a founding text of Japanese political tradition.