1058 Fatimite caliph publicly recognised caliph in Baghdad by Buyids. About this time occurs persecution of Christians in Alexandria.
1060 Beginning of Norman conquest in Sicily.
1061 Commencement of struggle between blacks and Turks in Egypt.
1069 Great famine in Egypt, followed by pestilence. Nasir ad-Daulah (Turk) conquers caliph, who is only nominal ruler thereafter till death of Nasir (1072).
1071 Aleppo recognises Alp Arslan. All Syria taken by Turkomans.
1072 Assassination of Nasir. Gemali, general and governor of Damascus, recalled.
1076 Egypt invaded by Turkomans, Kurds, and Arabs, under Aksis; routed in second battle by Gemali.
1086 Mahdiya captured and burned by Pisans and Genoese.
1090 Last Sicilian town surrenders to Normans.
1094 Death of Mustansir, succeeded by his son Mustali Abul-Kasim. Government in hands of Afdal, son of Gemali. In his reign occurs First Crusade.
1098 Jerusalem, taken by Afdal from Turks, a few months later yields to crusaders.
1099 Fatimite army under Afdal defeated at Askalon.
1101 Death of Mustali, succeeded by his son Emir, aged five years. Country governed by Afdal until Emir reaches majority, when he puts Afdal to death. Baldwin takes Ptolemais.
1104 Baldwin takes Tripolis.
1129 Emir put to death by partisans of Afdal, whose son Abu Ali Akhmed usurps government, making Hafidh, grandson of Mustansir, nominal caliph.
1149 Dhafir, son of Hafidh, succeeds to caliphate. After short reign, on account of his licentiousness is in
1154 assassinated by his vizir. Succeeded by Al-Faïz, only five years old. Reign filled with contentions of rival vizirs.
1160 Death of Faïz, succeeded by Adid, grandson of Hafidh, and last of Fatimite caliphs. Contentions of vizirs continue.
1162 Adil, son of Adid, dispossesses Shawir of his government in Upper Egypt. Shawir marches against Adil, kills him, and makes himself vizir in his place. Is put to flight by Al-Dirgham, and takes refuge with Nur ad-Din.
1163 Nur ad-Din sends army under Shirkuh to reinstate Shawir. Dirgham defeated, and Shawir restored. He soon throws off allegiance to Nur ad-Din, and allies himself with crusaders. Shirkuh withdraws.
1165 Nur ad-Din again sends Shirkuh to Egypt with a great army, accompanied by Saladin. Battle at Al-Babain, victory of invaders. Alexandria falls into their hands. Crusaders oppose them; Adid beseeches aid from Nur ad-Din. Shirkuh sent again. Shirkuh and Saladin enter Cairo. Shirkuh appointed vizir by Adid; on his death, succeeded
1169 by Saladin as vizir.
1171 Adid’s name suppressed in prayers, by order of Nur ad-Din. Adid dies without knowing of his degradation. THE KINGDOM OF ARMENIA (189 B.C.-1375 A.D.)
The Armenians throw off the Macedonian yoke in 317 B.C., choosing Ardvates as king. He dies about 284, and the country returns to Seleucid rule. In 189 B.C. (according to Roman historians), after the defeat of Antiochus the Great by Rome, Artaxias or Ardashes and Zadriades, the governors of Armenia Major and Armenia Minor respectively, become independent kings with the connivance of Rome. Artaxias rules at Artaxarta. Hannibal takes refuge at his court.
B.C.
166 Antiochus IV takes Artaxias prisoner, but restores him to his kingdom.
149 According to Armenian historians Mithridates I of Parthia establishes his brother Valarsaces (Waharshag) on the Armenian throne and the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia is founded. Following the Armenian king list
127 Arshag I succeeds his father.
114 Artaces succeeds his father.
94 Tigranes I (II) succeeds his father. He is the next king mentioned by Roman historians. He is put on the disputed throne by Mithridates II the Great of Parthia. Tigranes removes the capital to Tigranocerta, and conquers Lesser Armenia and many Parthian provinces. He assumes the title “King of Kings.”
83 Tigranes makes himself master of the whole of Syria, having been invited by the Syrians to put an end to the civil strife among the Seleucid princes.
76 Tigranes’ father-in-law Mithridates the Great of Pontus instigates him to invade Cappadocia.
69 Tigranes refuses to surrender Mithridates to the Romans. War with Rome results, and Lucullus defeats him at Tigranocerta.
66 Tigranes surrenders his conquests to Pompey. Armenia becomes a vassal state of Rome. The Parthian monarch recovers the title “King of Kings.”
64 Defeat of Tigranes by Phraates III of Parthia. Pompey settles their dispute.
56 Death of Tigranes. His son Artavasdes I succeeds. He is the ally of Rome in Crassus’ campaign against the Parthians.
36 Artavasdes joins the Romans in the campaign against Artavasdes of Media. He deserts Antony and the expedition fails.
34 In revenge Antony proceeds against Artavasdes and captures him. His son Artaxias II is placed on the throne. He is defeated by the Romans and flees to Parthia. He soon recovers the throne and massacres all the Romans in Armenia.
20 The discontented Armenians complain to Augustus about Artaxias and ask that his brother Tigranes, then at Rome, be made their king. Tiberius Nero is sent after Artaxias, who is murdered by his relatives, and Tigranes II (III) is crowned by Tiberius. After a short reign Tigranes is succeeded by his son Tigranes III (IV). The land is full of civil discord.
6 Augustus places Tigranes’ brother Artavasdes II on the Armenian throne.
5 Tigranes recovers his kingdom. Both kings seem to rule simultaneously. They are finally driven out.
2 Ariobazanes or, according to some historians, Tigranes IV (V) is placed by Augustus on the disputed throne. He may have been a Mede or perhaps an Armenian exile.
A.D.
2 Death of Ariobazanes. Erato, probably widow of Tigranes III (IV), succeeds.
4 According to Armenian historians a son of Ariobazanes (Artavasdes III) takes the throne from Erato, but she regains it in a few months. After Erato’s death or deposition (date uncertain) and a short interregnum,
16 Vonones the exiled monarch of Parthia is chosen king, but Tiberius persuades him to retire to Syria.
18 Artaxias III chosen king after a short interregnum. He is succeeded by (date unknown) Arsaces I, placed on the throne by his father Artabanus III of Parthia.
35 Death of Arsaces through treachery of Mithridates, brother of Pharasmanes king of Iberia. Mithridates invades Armenia, and Tiberius gives him the throne. Caligula summons him to Rome, imprisons him, but restores him about 47.
52 Mithridates slain by his nephew Rhadamistus of Iberia.
54 Vologases I of Parthia expels Rhadamistus and makes his own brother Tiridates I king.
58 Corbulo drives out Tiridates I and puts Tigranes V (VI) Herodes the Cappadocian on the throne.
61 Vologases crowns Tiridates king of Armenia and proceeds against Tigranes.
66 Tiridates goes to Rome to receive the crown as a gift from Nero. Meanwhile, Erorant, of the younger Arsacid branch, has established himself, about 58, over a large portion of Armenia. He is the contemporary of Tiridates, and after the latter’s death, probably rules the whole country. He cedes Edessa and Mesopotamia to the Romans.
78 Exeardes, son of Pacorus II of Parthia, is appointed to the throne. He is several times driven out, but always manages to recover his throne.
112 Osroes, brother of Mithridates VI of Parthia, expels Exeardes and makes Parthamasiris, another son of Pacorus, king, for which act Trajan invades Armenia. Parthamasiris is humbled.
117 Trajan appoints Parthamaspates, son of Oroes, king. He is expelled, and recovers the kingdom from Hadrian. He is succeeded by his son, Achæmenides, and he in turn by Soemus or Sohæmus.