Directory

531 CE

Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army (20,000 men), commanded by Belisarius, is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria). Emperor Justinian I negotiates an end to the hostilities, and Belisarius is hailed as a hero. Some members of the Blue and Green chariot racing factions in Constantinople are imprisoned for murder, precipitating the Nika riots the next year. The reign of Chang Guang Wang, ruler of Northern Wei, ends. Gao Huan, Chinese general, begins a rebellion and declares another member of the imperial clan, An Ding Wang, emperor.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Anwon becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.source
  • Theudis, sword-bearer of former king Theodoric the Great, succeeds Amalaric as new ruler of the Visigoths.source

Conflict & Security

  • April 19 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army (20,000 men), commanded by Belisarius, is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria). Emperor Justinian I negotiates an end to the hostilities, and Belisarius is hailed as a hero.source
  • King Childebert I receives pleas from his sister Clotilde, wife of King Amalaric, claiming that she is abused by her husband. Childebert invades Septimania (Gaul).source
  • Hermanafrid, last king of the Thuringi, is defeated by the Franks near the Unstrut River. During negotiations he is pushed from the town walls of Zülpich (northern Germany).source
  • Childebert I defeats the Visigoths and conquers the capital Narbonne. Amalaric flees south to Barcelona, where he is assassinated by his own men.source
  • The reign of Chang Guang Wang, ruler of Northern Wei, ends. Gao Huan, Chinese general, begins a rebellion and declares another member of the imperial clan, An Ding Wang, emperor.source
  • The Franks under King Chlothar I march against the Thuringi with Chlothar's nephew Theudebert I. The Kingdom of Thuringia comes under Frankish domination.source

Crime & Justice

  • Some members of the Blue and Green chariot racing factions in Constantinople are imprisoned for murder, precipitating the Nika riots the next year.source

Culture & Society

  • Ankan, age 66, succeeds his father Keitai as the 27th emperor of Japan.source

Births

  • Yan Zhitui, Chinese scholar and official (d. 591)source
  • Waldrada, Lombard princess (d. 572)source
  • Li Delin, Chinese official and writer (d. 591)source
  • Liu Jingyan, Chinese Empress (d. 615)source

Deaths

  • May 30 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)source
  • Drest IV, king of the Picts (approximate date)source
  • Clotilde, Visigoth queen and daughter of Clovis Isource
  • Clotilde returns with the Frankish army and dies on the journey home. She is buried in Paris alongside her father Clovis I.source
  • Hermanafrid, king of the Thuringi (murdered)source
  • Amalaric, king of the Visigoths (assassinated)source
  • Xiao Zhuang Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 507)source
  • Keitai, emperor of Japan (b. 450)source
  • King Kavad I, age 82, dies after a 43-year reign. Khosrau I, his favourite son, is proclaimed successor over his elder brothers.source
  • Kavadh I, king of the Persian Empire (b. 449)source
  • Maine mac Cearbhall, king of Uí Maine (or 537)source