The peoples of late antiquity, then, when they imagined themselves to be living through the End Days foretold by the prophet Daniel, had been mistaken. Not the empire of the pagan Romans, nor that of their Christian successors, nor that of the Ishmaelites had proved to be the Fourth Beast. Nevertheless, those who saw in the convulsions of the age a process of transformation unlike any other, by means of which a kingdom would end up established on earth “which shall be different from all the kingdoms,” were not so far wrong. Caesars, Shahanshahs and Caliphs, none of them remain—but the words of the rabbis who taught in Sura, the bishops who met in Nicaea and the ulama who studied in Kufa still shape the world as living things today. There could be no more conclusive testimony to the impact of the revolution witnessed by late antiquity than the existence, in the twenty-first century, of billions upon billions of people who profess belief in a single god and lead their lives in accordance with that belief.
The pen, it seems, is indeed mightier than the sword.
Timeline
Italicised dates are either approximate or traditional.
753
BC
The foundation of Rome.
586
The Babylonians’ sack of Jerusalem.
539
Cyrus captures Babylon.
330
Alexander the Great burns Persepolis.
29
Virgil starts work on the
Aeneid
.
AD
33
The crucifixion of Jesus.
70
The Romans’ sack of Jerusalem.
220
The death of Tertullian.
224
Ardashir establishes the Sasanian Empire.
226
Ardashir conquers Mesopotamia.
250
The seven sleepers of Ephesus take refuge from persecution in a cave.
260
Defeat and capture of Valerian by Shapur I.
301
The conversion of Tiridates, King of Armenia, to Christianity.
312
The conversion of Constantine to Christianity.
324
The foundation of Constantinople.
325
The Council of Nicaea.
326
Helena discovers the True Cross in Jerusalem.
363
Death of Julian on campaign in Mesopotamia; Rome cedes Nisibis to Persia.
428
Nestorius becomes Bishop of Constantinople.
430
Simeon the Elder climbs his pillar.
451
The Council of Chalcedon.
476
The deposition of the last Roman emperor of the West; Italy comes under the rule of the Ostrogoths.
484
The Hephthalites defeat Peroz.
496
The forced abdication of Kavad.
498
The return of Kavad to the Persian throne.
502
Kavad crowns Mundhir as King of Hira.
503
Kavad captures Amida.
505
The foundation of Dara.
524
The martyrdom of the Christians of Najran.
525
The defeat and death of Yusuf of Himyar; Justinian marries Theodora.
527
Justinian becomes emperor; Simeon the Younger leaves Antioch.
528
The execution of Mazdak.
529
The closure of the philosophical schools of Athens; the Samaritan revolt; Arethas is crowned King of the Ghassanids.
531
Kavad is succeeded as
Shahanshah
by Khusrow I.
532
Mass rioting in Constantinople almost topples Justinian; Justinian and Khusrow sign the “Eternal Peace.”
533
Justinian’s commissioners publish their Digest of Roman Law; Belisarius invades North Africa.
535
Belisarius invades Sicily.
536
Belisarius captures Rome.
537
The dedication of Hagia Sophia.
540
Khusrow sacks Antioch.
541
The plague spreads from Egypt.
554
Arethas defeats Mundhir at the Battle of Chalcis.
557
The collapse of the Hephthalite Empire.
565
The death of Justinian.
570
The birth of Muhammad.
579
The death of Khusrow I.
590
The coup and usurpation of Bahram Chobin.
591
The defeat of Bahram Chobin and accession of Khusrow II.
602
The murder of Maurice and usurpation of Phocas.
610
The overthrow of Phocas by Heraclius
610
Muhammad receives his first divine revelation.