350 - 379 A.D.

(Feature Photo: Interior of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul; Credit: Maksym Kozlenko, Wikimedia Commons)

 

350 

RULERS & ROYALTY:  Constans I dies, leaving Constantius II as Roman Emperor

January, Constans, one of the rulers of the Roman Empire, dies

The Gaulish (modern-day France) poet Ausonius (d. 395) is writing a set of poems called the Order of Noble Cities; These poems (19 in all) describes the cities and their buildings in the Roman Empire (The Inheritance of Rome, Pg. 24)

 

351

RULERS & ROYALTY:  Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

 

352   

RULERS & ROYALTY: Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

Pope Julius I dies and Pope Liberius is installed as Pope/Bishop of Rome

 

353

 

354  

RULERS & ROYALTY: Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

Augustine is born in Tagaste, a little town in the hill country of Numida (a region we now know as Algeria)

 

355

 

356

 

357

 

358

RULERS & ROYALTY: Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

The Romans are compelled to abandon the area between the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers (in modern day Belgium) to the Salian Franks, who have been trying to conquer that area for over a century (Encyclopedia Britannica)

 

359   

RULERS & ROYALTY: Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

Roman Emperor Julian organizes a fleet of 600 ships to transport corn from England to the war zones of the Rhine, England has become the bread basket of Europe (Foundation, pg. 35) 

 

360 

RULERS & ROYALTY: Constantius II is emperor of the Roman Empire

The Hagia Sophia is built in Constantinople as a Christian Cathedral and remains as a Christian Cathedral until 1204, when it becomes a Roman Catholic Cathedral

In the 360's, Roman Britain starts being invaded by the Scots and the Attacots from Ireland (The Anglo Saxons, pg. 17)

 

361

 

362

 

363

 

364

 

365

 

366 

 

367   

A list of all the books of the Bible (as we know them today) comes in an Easter Letter from Athanasius (though not in the order which is now usual) 

A force overcomes Hadrian’s Wall (along the border between modern-day England and Scotland) and then, in dispersed bands, moves southward to ravage the country; The commander of the forts of the Saxon Shore is murdered and the provincial leader known as the Dux Britanniarum is captured; It is a notable defeat for the British (Foundation, pg. 38)

Roman Britain has been invaded by the Scots and the Attacots from Ireland for several years, and the crisis becomes so acute that it provokes widespread mutiny among the army this year, requiring another military expedition from the continent to restore order (The Anglo Saxons, pg. 17)

 

368

Roman senators are tried and convicted in "show trials" for magic, this lasts until 371 (The Inheritance of Rome, Pg. 22) 

 

369

 

370

 

371

 

372

 

373

 

374

 

375

Roman Britain is experiencing turbulent times due to the raids of the Saxons, Scots, Attacots and Picts; "By 375 the occupancy of the villas had fallen by a third, and in towns it had fallen by a half. Such figures suggest that the property-owning classes had indeed been hit hard by repeated barbarian incursions. But what really sealed Britain's fate were similar attacks on the other side of the empire." (The Anglo Saxons, pg. 17) 

 

376

The Goths, a more settled people who lived outside the eastern empire, seek refuge within the borders of the Roman Empire because they are being attacked by the Huns, a nomadic people who originated on the wide grasslands of central Asia; The Huns are, according to a contemporary Roman writer, a 'wild race, moving without encumbrances, and consumed by a savage passion to pillage the property of others'; Though the Goths are originally given permission by the Romans to cross the Danube and settle in imperial territory, "the relations between the refugees and their Roman hosts soon soured, leading to rebellion and a full-scale battle at Adrianople (now Edirne in modern-day Turkey) The battle is a disaster for Rome, they lost about 10,000 men, and Valens, the Roman Emperor, is among those killed (The Anglo Saxons, pg. 18) 

 

377

 

378

 

379