Church of the East Timeline

by Mark Dickens

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549-330 BC Achaemenid Dynasty in Persia
330 BC Alexander the Great defeats the last Achaemenid, Darius III, in Mesopotamia
312-239 BC Seleucid Dynasty in Persia
247 BC-AD 226 Parthian Dynasty in Persia
130 BC Defeat of the Seleucids by the Parthians, resulting in the independence of Edessa
106 BC Inauguration of the Silk Road
53 BC Battle of Carrhae between Rome and Persia (first battle between the two, won by Persia)
20 BC Treaty between Rome and Persia fixes boundary between the two empires along the Euphrates
AD 19 Beginning of reign of King Gundaphar in northern India (mentioned in Acts of Thomas)
c. 50? Arrival of Thomas in India (according to tradition)
64? Arrival of first Christians in China (according to tradition)
70 Destruction of Jerusalem by Roman Emperor Titus
72? Martyrdom of Thomas in India (according to tradition)
c. 80-100? Odes of Solomon written in Syriac (probably in Edessa)
c. 110? Birth of Tatian in Mesopotamia
112? Martyrdoms of Sharbil, Babai and Barsamy in Edessa (according to tradition)
117 or 123? Martyrdom of Bishop Semsoun in Arbela (according to tradition)
c. 120-140? Evangelization of the Gilanians (on the shores of the Caspian Sea) and the lands of Gog and Magog (possibly referring to the Turks beyond the Oxus River), according to tradition
150 First historical records of Christians in Edessa
154 Birth of Bardaisan in Edessa
c. 170 Diatessaron translated by Tatian into Syriac
172 Tatian returns to Arbela from Rome
177-212 Reign of Abgar VIII of Edessa, probably the first Christian king anywhere
179 Conversion to Christianity of Bardaisan in Edessa
179 or 189 Pantaenus visits India and records meeting Christians there
180 Death of Tatian
196 Bardaisan writes of Christians amongst the Parthians, Bactrians (Kushans) and other peoples in the Persian Empire
c. 200 Acts of Thomas written & Liturgy of Mar Addai and Mar Mari develops
201 First historical record of a church building (anywhere) in Edessa
214 Edessa becomes a Roman colony
220 Several bishoprics in Persia, according to Tertullian
222 Death of Bardaisan
225/6 The Sassanid dynasty overthrows the Parthian dynasty in Persia (More than 20 bishoprics in Mesopotamia and Persia at the time)
c. 225-250 Syriac Didascalia Apostolorum (Doctrine of the Apostles) written (mentions evangelization of the Gilanians and the land of Gog and Magog)
241 Mani begins to preach in Seleucia-Ctesiphon
258 Edessa sacked by Persia and made part of Persian Empire
270 First priest ordained in Seleucia-Ctesiphon
273-276? Mani crucified and his followers (Manichaeans) flee eastward
c. 285 Papa ordained as first bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and later adopts title of "Catholicos"
290 Brief persecution of Persian Christians under Bahram II
298 Rome captures Nisibis
300 Bishop David of Basra goes to India & Birth of Aphrahat (?)
301 Armenian king Tiridates I converted by Gregory the Illuminator
303 Arnobius speaks of the Chinese as "united in the faith of Christ"
306 James ordained as first bishop of Nisibis & Birth of Ephrem the Syrian in Nisibis
311 Conversion to Christianity of Constantine the Great
313 Constantine's Edict of Toleration legalizes Christianity in the Roman Empire & First cathedral built in Edessa by Bishop Qona (first bishop mentioned in Edessa)
314 Persian Synod of Seleucia deposes Papa after he proposes that the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon should have primacy over the other Eastern bishops & Death of Tiridates I of Armenia
315 Letter from Constantine to Shapur II urging him to protect Christians in his realm & Papa restored as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and begins to use the title "Catholicos"
325 First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea asserts Christ's deity (James of Nisibis and a Persian bishop from "India" recorded as attending) & James of Nisibis establishes theological school in Nisibis after the Council of Nicaea
326/7 Death of Papa and succession of Shimun bar Sabbaeas as Catholicos
330 First Syrian monastery founded by Mar Augin north of Nisibis
334 First bishop concecrated for Merv
337 Death of Constantine the Great and division of the Roman Empire & Aphrahat writes Demonstrations, Part I
337-350 Persian wars against Rome
340 Beginning of Persian monasticism under Aphrahat north of Mosul
340-363 The Great Persecution of the Persian church
344 Martyrdom of Catholicos Shimun bar Sabbae, 5 bishops and 100 priests
345 Martyrdom of Catholicos Shahdost; Aphrahat writes Demonstrations, Part II & Thomas of Cana arrives in India (according to tradition)
346 Martyrdom of Catholicos Barbashmin
350 Ephrem the Syrian helps Nisibis repel Persian attack & Birth of Theodore of Mopsuestia
354 Theophilus "the Indian" reports visiting Christians in India
356 Theophilus "the Indian" consecrated as a bishop and converts king of the Himyarites in Yemen
360 Julian "the Apostate" becomes Emperor of Rome and invades Persia
363 Persia defeats the Romans, killing Julian, and recaptures Nisibis & School of Nisibis moves to Edessa, along with Ephrem the Syrian
373 Mawiyya becomes first Christian Arab queen of Tanukh tribe
379/80-401/2 Continuation of the Great Persecution of the Persian church
381 Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople asserts Christ's humanity and declares Rome and Constantinople equal & Birth of Nestorius
390 Nestorian missionary Abdyeshu builds monastery on the island of Bahrain
390-430 Doctrine of Addai written
392 Theodore ordained as bishop of Mopsuestia
394 Death of Diodore of Tarsus
399 End of the Great Persecution under Yazdegerd I
409/10 Yazdegerd I's Edict of Toleration
410 First General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Isaac) confirms the primacy of the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon as "Catholicos of all the Orient" and the equality of Seleucia-Ctesiphon with the sees of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Rome, adopts the Nicene Creed and establishes metropolitans for Jundishapur, Nisibis, Basra, Arbela, and Kirkuk; The Lakhmid Arabs of Hirta receive a Nestorian bishop & Alaric the Goth sacks Rome
420 Second General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Yaballaha I); Ma'na, a student at the School of Edessa, translates Syriac works into Pahlavi (Middle Persian) & Second persecution of the Persian church under Yazdegerd I and Bahram V
424 Third General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Dadyeshu) confirms Catholicos of the Church of the East as "Patriarch of the East" and asserts him as equal to all other patriarchs (no longer subject to Antioch or Rome) & Bishops appointed for Herat and Merv
428 Nestorius ordained as Patriarch of Constantinople & Death of Theodore of Mopsuestia
431 Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus condemns Nestorius as a heretic; Rabbula, Bishop of Edessa, burns writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia & School of the Persians in Edessa first closed by Romans
440 The Hephthalites (White Huns, later known in the West as the Avars) move south from the Altai region to occupy Transoxiana (Central Asia), Bactria (Afghanistan), and Khurasan (eastern Persia)
443 John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria conclude a theological peace by compromise over Nestorianism
448 Third persecution of the Persian church under Yazdegerd II, including the massacre at Kirkuk
449 Second Council of Ephesus (Robber's Council)
451 Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon denounces Monophysitism & Death of Nestorius in exile in Egyptian desert
455 First Persian embassy reaches northern China
457 Barsauma flees from Edessa to Nisibis & Formal split between Syrian Monophysites and Syrian Nestorians
c. 460 The Hephthalite Huns conquer the Kushans and invade India
470 Ma'na, another student of the School of Edessa, writes religious discourses, canticles and hymns in Pahlavi for use in the Persian church
482 Emperor Zeno (Constantinople) issues the Henoticon, an edict of union designed to bridge the gap between the Monophysites and the Orthodox
484 Persian Church Council in Jundishapur approves marriage of bishops, honors memory of Theodore of Mopsuestia and adopts a Nestorian confession of faith under influence of Barsauma, Metropolitan of Nisibis & Rome, angry at Constantinople over the Henoticon, excommunicates Emperor Zeno and the Patriarch of Constantinople
486 Fourth General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Acacius) officially adopts Nestorian Christology and affirms right of priests and bishops to marry
489 School of the Persians in Edessa closed for last time by Roman Emperor Zeno, resulting in remaining Nestorians fleeing to Persian Empire to relocate in Nisibis
491 Birth of Abraham of Kaskar (later to become founder of Monastery of Mt. Izla)
496 Narsai draws up rules for School of Nisibis & Romulus Augustus, last Western Roman Emperor, deposed by Odovacar the German
497 Fifth General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Babai II)
498 Nestorians accompany Shah Kavad I to Turkestan and evangelize the Hephthalite Huns, north of the Oxus River
c. 500 The Arabs of Najran (southern Arabia) become Christians
519 Constantinople repudiates the Henoticon, ending its schism with Rome
522 Beginning of persecution of Christians by Jewish Himyarite kings of Yemen
523 The Ethiopians invade Arabia in response to pleas for help from Christians in Najran & The Himyarites defeat the Ethiopians and massacre the Christians of Najran
527 Jacob Bardaeus arrives in Constantinople
c. 535 The Hephthalite Huns learn to write, as a result of the work of Nestorian missionaries
540 The Persians, under Shah Khosro I, sack Antioch
540-552 Patriarchate of Mar Aba I, greatest Nestorian patriarch under the Sassanids
542-578 Jacob Bardaeus wanders throughout Syria, consecrating Monophysite priests and bishops
544 Sixth General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Mar Aba I) adopts the creed and decrees of the Council of Chalcedon; Metropolitan appointed for Merv & Some persecution of Persian Christians
549 Bishop consecrated for the Hephthalite Huns
550 Chronicle of Edessa written
552 The Turks destroy the Juan-juan Empire and establish the Turkic Khaganate, nominally divided into Western and Eastern Khanates
553 Ecumenical Council of Constantinople condems Theodore of Mopsuestia
553-68 The Turks and Persians ally to destroy the Hephthalite Empire
554 Seventh General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Yusuf) appoints metropolitans for Merv and Rewardashir
566/7 Eighth General Synod of the Persian Church
570 The Battle of the Elephant, in which the Meccans defeat the invading army of Christian Ethiopia & Birth of Muhammad
571 Henana becomes director of the school of Nisibis and proceeds to deviate from Nestorian orthodoxy
572-91 The Turks and the Byzantines ally against the Persians
575 Yemen becomes a Persian province with some probable conversion of Christians there to Nestorianism
579 Reference to a Nestorian Mar Sergius settling in China
581 Turkish prisoners captured by Persians discovered to have crosses tatooed on their foreheads
582 The Turkic Khaganate officially breaks up into Western and Eastern Khanates
585 Ninth General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Yeshuyab I) disapproves of Henana's teachings; Metropolitan appointed for Herat
586 Death of Abraham of Kaskar
591-602 Detente between Constantinople and Persia
596 Tenth General Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Sabaryeshu) condemns Henana's teachings, resulting in breakup of School of Nisibis
602 al-Numan, last king of the Christian Lakhmid Arabs, dies
607 The Persians capture Edessa
611 The Persians sack Antioch again
615 The Persians capture Jerusalem, massacring thousands, burning churches and carrying off "the true cross"
618 Establishment of the T'ang dynasty in China
622 Constantinople pushes the Persians back from the Mediterranean & Muhammad flees to Medina in the Hijra
627 Roman armies reach Dastegherd, causing the Persian Emperor Khosro I to flee
628/9 Maruta named as first maphrian (chief bishop) of Jacobite church in Persian Empire
628-643 Patriarchate of Yeshuyab II, during which metropolitans are possibly appointed for Samarkand and India
632 Death of Muhammad and Arab conquest of Mesopotamia
635 Arrival of Alopen in China as first Nestorian missionary
636 The Arabs defeat both the Persians and the Byzantines
637 Seleucia-Ctesiphon falls to the Arab armies
638 Emperor Tai Tsung issues Edict of Toleration for Christians in China and first Chinese church is built at Chang'an & The Arabs capture Jerusalem and conquer Syria
642 Arab conquest of Egypt and defeat of Persian Shah Yazdegird III at the Battle of Nahavand & Synod of the Persian Church (Synod of Yeshuyab II) establishes Halwan as a metropolitanate
644 Eliyah, Metropolitan of Merv, converts a Turkish king and his army
649 Arab conquest of Persian Empire completed
650-660 Patriarchate of Yeshuyab III, at which time there are two metropolitans and more than 20 bishops beyond the Oxus River and a metropolitanate is possibly established for India
651 Death of Yazdegird III, last Sassanid shah
652 The Arabs first capture Khurasan
661 Assassination of 'Ali at Kerbala, Iraq and beginning of Sunni-Shi'ite rift & Begining of the Umayyad caliphate, based in Damascus
667 The Arabs first cross the Oxus River
c. 670 Canons of Shimun (Simon), Metropolitan of Rewardashir, written in Pahlavi and later translated into Syriac
673/74-704 Arab raids across the Oxus in an attempt to capture Bukhara and Soghdiana
691 The re-establishment of the Eastern Turkic Khanate in the Tarim Basin
698-705 Persecution of Chinese Christians under Empress Wu
705 The Arabs, under Qutayba ibn Muslim, launch a holy war against Transoxiana from Merv
709 The Arabs capture Bukhara and Samarkand
711 The Arabs capture Khiva
712 First mosque built in Bukhara, later the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca & The Arabs subdue Khwarezm and recapture Samarkand
712-728 Patriarchate of Saliba-Zalkha, during which metropolitanates of Samarkand and China possibly created
713 The Arabs sack Kashgar
714 The Chinese, under emperor T'ai-tsong, defeat the Turks at Lake Issiq-kul
715 The end of the Arab conquest of Transoxiana as a result of the death of Qutaiba
724-748? Visit of Christian physicians to Japan and reported conversion of Empress (according to tradition)
728 Arab attempt to forcibly convert Transoxiana to Islam, resulting in general revolt
732 Charles Martel stops Arab advance into Europe
744 Arrival of new Nestorian missionaries in China & Formation of the Uighur Empire in Mongolia
750 Overthrow of the Umayyad caliphate and beginning of the 'Abbasid caliphate, based in Baghdad
751 The Arabs defeat the Chinese at the Battle of the Talas River and discover the secrets of making paper and silk from captured prisoners
755 Jacob, son of the Christian king of the Uighurs, joins with Kuang, son of the Chinese emperor Hsuan-Tsung, to put down the rebellion of An-Lu-Shan
756 Turkish general Tsz-i, a Nestorian Christian, defeats the rebel Amroshar
c. 760-790 Possible writing of a letter purported to be by Philoxenus which mentions Christianity among the early Turks
762 Uighurs adopt Manichaeism as state religion & 'Abbassids move capital of the Caliphate to Baghdad
775 Patriarchate moved from Seleucia-Ctesiphon to Baghdad
779-823 Patriarchate of Timothy I, greatest Nestorian patriarch under the Arab Caliphate, during which metropolitans are appointed for Armenia and Syria and the Kaghan of the Turks is said to have been converted
779 or 781 Nestorian monument erected in Hsi-an-fu
781 Timothy I debates the Caliph al-Mahdi & Bishops consecrated for the Turks and for Tibet
807 Caliph Harun al-Rashid orders some churches to be torn down
830 Dar al-Hikmah ("House of Learning") established by Caliph al-Ma'mun, composed primarily of Nestorians
830s The Kirghiz drive the Uighurs west to the Tarim Basin
845 Imperial Edict in China results in persecution for Nestorians
849/50 Caliph al-Mutawakkil deposes the patriarch and institutes persecution of Christians
c. 850 Probable date of the Kerala copper plates, which give details of Christians in India
867-69 The rise of the Saffarid dynasty (Shi'ite) in Persia
874/75 The Persian Samanid dynasty (Sunni) obtains the administration of Transoxiana, with its capital in Bukhara, from the Caliph
878 Last definite reference to Christians in China before the Mongol era
900 The Samanids overthrow the Saffarids, thus extending their rule into all of Persia
907 Collapse of the T'ang dynasty in China
932 The Turkic Qarakhanid dynasty is established, with its initial center in Kashgar
942 Possible references to Christians in China by Arab poet from Bukhara who visited China
945 Persian Shi'ites sieze Baghdad and establish Buwayhid Amirate (with the Caliph as puppet)
962 The Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty is established in Afghanistan
969 Shi'ite Fatimid dynasty founded in Egypt
981 Visit of Nestorian monks to China finds no traces of Christian community left
985 The Seljuq Turks, a ruling tribe of the Oghuz, move to the vicinity of Bukhara
999 The Ghaznavids defeat the Samanids in Khurasan and the Qarakhanids seize Bukhara, deposing the Samanids
1007-1008 Conversion of 200,000 Kerait Turks to Nestorian Christianity
1040 The Seljuqs defeat the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanqan, near Merv
1055 The Seljuqs enter Baghdad, overthrow the Buwayhids and become the official protectors of Islam
1063 Metropolitan ordained for Khitai (northern China)
1065 Establishment of Nestorian metropolitanate of Jerusalem
1071 The Seljuqs defeat the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, capturing the Byzantine emperor Romanus Diogenes, and establish the Turkish sultanate of Rum in Anatolia
1073 The Seljuqs defeat the Qarakhanids
1095 Pope Urban II issues the call for the First Crusade
1097 The first Crusaders arrive in the Middle East
1099 The Crusaders capture Jerusalem
1124 The Tungusic Juchen drive the Mongol Khitans (Liao dynasty: 916-1124) from China, resulting in the creation of the Qara-Khitai state in Semirechye
1137 The Qara-Khitai defeat the Qarakhanids (now vassals of the Seljuqs) at Khojent
1141 The Qara-Khitai defeat the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar (possible basis for the Prester John legend)
1142 Formal reconciliation between Nestorian patriarch and Jacobite primate
1145 First mention of Prester John in Europe
1155/62/67? Birth of Temüchin (Chingiz Khan)
c. 1180 Metropolitan appointed for Kashgar
1187 The Muslims, under Saladin, recapture Jerusalem from the Crusaders
1194 The death of Tüghril III, the last Persian Seljuq ruler, resulting in the end of Seljuq power in Iran and the rise of the Turkic Khwarezmians in Transoxiana
c. 1200 Suleyman of Bakirghan, a subject of the Khwarezmshahs, writes a poem on the death of the Virgin, inspired by Nestorian writings
1203 Temüchin defeats Toghril Wang Khan
1206 Temüchin proclaimed Chingiz Khan (Great Khan of all Mongols)
1209 The Mongols defeat the Kirghiz and the Uighurs
1210 The Khwarezmians conquer Transoxiana, defeating the Qara-Khitai
1218 The Mongols defeat Küchlüg, Naiman ruler of the Qara-Khitai & then capture Semirechye and the Tarim Basin, occupying Kashgar and crushing the Qara-Khitai
1220 The Mongols capture Bukhara and Samarkand
1221 The Mongols defeat the Khwarazmshah Aladdin Muhammad and capture Nishapur
1222 Patna, India becomes a metropolitan see (?)
1223/24 The Mongols defeat the Russians on the river Kalka
1227 Death of Chingiz Khan
c. 1230? Birth of Rabban Sauma
1236-1241 Mongol invasion of Europe
1240 Kiev falls to the Mongols and Russia comes under the Mongol yoke
1241 Death of Khan Ogetai saves Europe from further destruction by the Mongols
1243 The Mongols defeat the Seljuqs at the Battle of Ksedagh
1245 Birth of Markos (later Yaballaha III) in China
1247 Visit of John of Plano Carpini to Karakorum
1248 Appointment of metropolitan for Khanbalik (Peking)
1249/50 The establishment of the Kipchak Turkic Mamluke dynasty in Egypt
1249-1345 Date of inscriptions on Nestorian gravestones near Bishkek
1252 Death of Sorkaktani, Christian mother of Mönke (Mangu), Hulagu and Kublai Khan
1253 Visit of William of Rubruck to Karakorum
1258 Overthrow of the 'Abbasid caliphate by the Mongols, led by Hulagu, the first Il-khan
1260 Capture of Aleppo and Damascus by Kitbuka, Christian Mongol general; Defeat of the Mongols by the Mamlukes at 'Ayn Jalut & Kublai Khan conquers China and establishes the Mongol Yüan dynasty
1260-1264 Civil war between Kublai Khan and Arikbuka (who was backed by Mongol Christians)
1264 Bar Hebraeus becomes Jacobite maphrian of the East
1265 Death of Hulagu and Dokuz Khatun, his Christian wife
1265/6 Maffeo and Niccolo Polo reach the court of Kublai Khan
1269 Mongol Chaghatayid khanate splits into eastern and western parts
1275 The Polos return to China with Marco
1277?-1279 Journey of Markos and Rabban Sauma from Khanbalik to Baghdad
1278-1281 Governorship of Mar Sergius (a Nestorian Christian) in Gansu Province, China
1280 John of Monte Corvino's first mission to Persia & Defeat of the Mongols by the Muslims in the Middle East
1281 Election of Markos as Yaballaha III, first and only Turkic Nestorian patriarch
1284 Bar Hebraeus restructures the Jacobite church in the Persian Il-khanate & The Uighur Kingdom is absorbed into the Chagatai Khanate
1286 Death of Bar Hebraeus
1287 Rebellion of Nayan (nominal Christian) against Kublai Khan
1287-1288 Mission of Rabban Sauma to Europe
1289 Kublai Khan creates a department to deal with Christians in his empire and appoints Nestorian Ai-hsueh as its first president
1289-1290 Other Mongol diplomatic missions to Europe
1291 Monte Corvino stops in India en route to China, visits the tomb of St Thomas, and baptizes 100 people as Catholics & Muslims capture the last Crusader fortress of Acre (Akka)
1293 Death of Rabban Sauma
1294 Death of Kublai Khan & First Catholic mission to China, led by Monte Corvino, reaches Khanbalik
1295 Conversion of the Il-khans of Persia to Islam under Ghazan (Mahmud)
1298 Death of Ongut Christian Prince George in the service of the Mongols & The Uriyan-gakit, a Turkic tribe, is recorded as having a Christian queen (possibly the sister of Prince George)
1299-1300 The Seljuq Sultanate of Anatolia breaks up into smaller principalities, to be succeeded by the Ottoman Turk Emirate
1301 Khanate of Eastern Turkestan absorbed into Khanate of Western Turkestan
1303 The Mamlukes stop the last Mongol invasion of Syria
1307 Il-khan Oljaitu orders Georgian king to convert to Islam & Monte Corvino appointed Catholic archbishop of Khanbalik
1310 Muslim massacre of Christians in Arbela
1313-41/42 The rule of the Golden Horde by Khan Uzbek, under whom the Horde converts to Islam
1317 Death of Yaballaha III
1318 Last recorded Synod of the Nestorian Church in Persia elects Timothy II as patriarch & Pope John XXII divides Asia into missionary districts, giving China to the Franciscans and Persia to the Dominicans
1320 Catholic bishopric established in Almaliq (Kulja) & Catholic vicarate of Cathay (China) established
1321 Jordanus, a Dominican monk, arrives in India as the first resident Catholic missionary
1322 Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan monk, arrives in China
1324 Odoric of Pordenone visits the tomb of St. Thomas in India but finds only Nestorians there (not Catholics)
1326 Chaghatayid Khan Ilchigedai grants permission for Catholics to build a church dedicated to John the Baptist in Samarkand & Conversion of the Chaghatayid Khan Tarmashirin to Islam
1328 While in Italy, Jordanus is consecrated as the Catholic bishop of Columbum (Quilon, India) with a mission of converting the Muslims and bringing the Nestorians into the Catholic Church (but he never returns to India)
1334 Chaghatayid Khan Buzun allows Nestorians and Jews to rebuild churches and synagogues and permits Franciscans to establish a missionary episcopate in Almaliq
1335 Abu Said, last Il-khan, dies and the dynasty ends
1336 Birth of Timur
1339 Christians in Almaliq (including Catholic bishop and priests) massacred by Muslims
1340 Nestorian college for "Tatars" still operating in Merv
1342 John of Marignolli, last resident Catholic bishop of Peking, arrives in China
1346 Chaghatayid khanate again splits into western and eastern Turkestan, both effectively ruled by Turkic governors
1348 Catholics leave Persia
1363 Timur expels Chaghatayid Khan Tughlug Timur and sets up a puppet khan under his control
1368 Mongol Yüan dynasty falls to Ming dynasty in China
1369/70 Timur becomes the sole ruler of Transoxiana
1374 Date of a Nestorian lectionary written in Samarkand
1380-87 Timur conquers Iran
c. 1390 Final conversion of the Uighurs in Turfan to Islam
1395 Timur defeats Khan Tokhtamysh, destroys the Golden Horde capital of Sarai Berke, and briefly occupies Moscow
1398 Timur sacks Delhi
1400 Timur defeats the Mamlukes in Syria
1401 Timur sacks Baghdad, killing thousands of Muslims and Christians
1402 Timur defeats the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara
1403-1406 Clavijo, Spanish ambassador from Castile, at the court of Timur
1405 Death of Timur en route to his planned invasion of China
1440 Nicolo Conti reports meeting Nestorians in "Cathay" (China)
1453 The Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople, thus bringing to an end the Byzantine Empire
1467 Last khan of the line of Chingiz Khan dies in Mongolia, leaving the area in a state of anarchy
1490 St. Thomas Christians from India travel to the Nestorian patriarch in Gagarta, near Mosul, to bring back bishops for India
1498 The Portuguese arrive in India and begin to force many Nestorians to convert to Catholicism
1499-1736 Safavid Dynasty in Persia
1503 Patriarch Mar Eliyah consecrates Metropolitans for India, Java and China
1542 St. Francis Xavier arrives in India
1552 Formation of Chaldean Patriarchate (Uniate body in communion with Rome)
1608 Matteo Ricci reports finding a small remnant of Nestorians in China
1625 Discovery of Nestorian monument in China
1665 Jacobite bishop appointed for India
1670 Chaldean Patriarch cuts off ties with Rome
1831 Arrival of first American missionaries amongst Nestorians
1846 Revival in Nestorian girl's school, Printing of Syriac New Testament & Kurdish masscre of 10,000 Nestorians
1852 Printing of Syriac Old Testament
1855 Formation of Protestant Nestorian congregation
1885 Discovery of Nestorian cemetaries in Russian Turkestan by Russian explorers
1917 Nestorian Patriarch Mar Shimun murdered by Kurds
1935 The Patriarch and many other Nestorians emigrate to USA and other Western countries

© Mark Dickens 1999

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