"A wise man judges the new after the old."
(Sophocles)
To give a better idea of the chronology of Germanic history I will use this page to list the most important events:
Prehistory:
? - 2500BC: native northern European cultures.
2500BC: Around this period the Indo-European influences on northern Europe start / mixture of native culture and Indo-European elements.
1500BC: Bronze Age begins in Scandinavia and northern Europe.
600BC: The Jastorf culture comes into existence in northern Europe.
500BC: Official start date of the Germanic identity / The Jastorf culture adopts iron use / Iron Age begins in Scandinavia and northern Europe / Expansion of Germanic tribes.
200BC: Eastern Germanic tribes expand into eastern Europe and the Black sea area / Western Germanic tribes conquer most lands between the rivers Rhine, Danube, and Vistula.
120BC: A coalition of Teutons and Cimbrians (and some small groups of Ambronians, Tigurinians, Marcomannians, and Cheruscians) migrate from Jutland (Denmark) into Gaul where they start plundering.
105BC: The Teutons and Cimbrians defeat the Romans at the city of Arausio (Orange in southern France).
102BC: The Teutons are defeated and exterminated by the Roman general Marius at Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence in France).
101BC: The Cimbrians are defeated by the Roman general Marius at Vercellae (Vercelli in northern Italy), the surviving Cimbrians prefer death over slavery and commit mass suicide.
78BC: The Marcomannians conquer Bohemia and drive out the Celtic tribe of the Boii, Bohemia is named after the Boii and its old name was "Böheim" (Home of the Boii).
71BC: Germanic tribes under Ariovistus conquer northern Gaul.
60BC: The Romans acknowledge Germanic rule over northern Gaul and sign an alliance with Ariovistus.
58BC: Ariovistus is defeated by Julius Caesar in the battle of Vosges, all Germanic lands west of the Rhine are conquered by the Romans.
55BC: The Usipetians invade Gaul but are defeated by Julius Caesar / Julius Caesar attacks the Germans and the Britons to encourage them not to take part in the conflict in Gaul, he even builds a bridge over the Rhine for this purpose which takes him 10 days.
16BC: The Romans conquer all lands south of the Danube and establish the river as the border between the Germans and the Romans.
12BC: The Roman general Drusus Germanicus invades Germania and conquers all land west of the river Elbe in the years thereafter.
1st century AD:
0AD: The Goths settle in eastern Prussia (east of the river Vistula) and they call their new land "Gothiskandza" (Gothic Scandinavia).
9AD: Germanic tribes under Arminius defeat three Roman legions at the Teutoburg forest.
12AD: the Roman general Claudius Drusus Germanicus crosses the Rhine and attacks Arminius, after an undecided battle he retreats with heavy losses.
15AD: the Roman general Claudius Drusus Germanicus defeats the army of Arminius at Idistaviso (a valley in western Germany) and captures his wife Thusnelda, the Germanic princess is brought to Rome where she is shown to the public in a victory parade. / Despite the victory at Idistaviso the Romans can not defeat the Germans and decide to abandon the border near the Elbe and retreat to the Rhine.
69AD: Many Germanic and Celtic tribes in the Roman occupied territories rebell against Roman rule under the Batavian king Julius Civilis but are forced to sign a peace treaty.
70AD: The Romans officially establish the river Rhine as the northernmost border of their empire.
98AD: Tacitus writes his "Germania".
2nd century AD:
100AD: The Vandals settle the land between the rivers Elbe and Vistula.
160AD: The Vandals settle in Slesia (southern Poland).
174AD: The Chaukians cross the Rhine and plunder northern Gaul.
3rd century AD:
200AD: The Goths split up into two factions; the Visigoths (also known as Tervingian Goths) who settle in central Europe and the Ostrogoths (also known as Greuthungian Goths) who settle between the rivers Don and Dnjestr.
235AD: Several Germanic tribes cross the rivers Rhine and Danube into Roman occupied Gaul.
238AD: The Goths invade the Roman empire.
250AD: The Goths settle in Scythia north of the Black Sea.
251AD: The Goths defeat a Roman army at the battle of Abrittus and kill the Roman emperor and his son, after that they settle in the Balkan.
268AD: The Goths invade the Balkans and plunder the city of Athens, later that year they are defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Naissus.
270AD: The Vandals cross the river Rhine into Roman territory.
4th century AD:
330AD: The Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine allows the Vandals to settle in Pannonia (former Yugoslavia).
332AD: The Goths attack the Sarmatians between the rivers Don and Tisza (Theiss) but are defeated by a Roman army that was sent to aid the Sarmatians.
340AD: The Goths are converted to Christianity by bishop Wulfila.
360AD: The Vandals are converted to Christianity.
370AD: Ermanarik becomes king of all Ostrogoths from the East Sea to the Black Sea.
375AD: The Huns invade Europe and defeat the Ostrogothic army, Ermanarik commits suicide.
376AD: All Ostrogoths are subjected by the Huns. / The Visigoths under king Athanarik are defeated by the Huns and retreat into the Carpathian mountains (Rumania). / Fritigern converts to Christianity to gain Roman support and impeaches king Athanarik, he takes over control of the Visigoths and the Romans allow him to settle in the Balkans.
378AD: The Visigoths rebell against the Romans because of their bad treatment / The Visitgoths defeat a Roman army at the 2nd Battle of Adrianople and kill emperor Valens, after that they take big parts of the Balkan which separates the Roman empire in two parts.
395AD: The Vandal Stilicho is appointed commander-in-chief of the western Roman army. / Alarik I becomes king of the Visigoths.
397AD: The Romans attack the Visigoths under king Alarik, but Stilicho who is the commander of the Roman army and an old friend of Alarik allows him to escape multiple times.
5th century AD:
401AD: King Alarik invades Italy but is defeated by the Roman army, after the defeat his friend Stilicho allows him to escape Italy.
406AD: Germanic tribes cross the river Rhine and retake northern Gaul. / The Vandals conquer parts of Spain.
407AD: The Vandals invade Italy but are defeated by the Roman general Stilicho (who was a Vandal himself).
408AD: Assassination of Stilicho.
410AD: The Visigoths under Alarik invade Italy and conquer Rome.
411AD: King Alarik dies in southern Italy and Athaulf becomes the new king of the Visigoths.
412AD: The Visigoths are driven out of Italy by the Romans and settle in southern Gaul.
415AD: King Ataulf is assassinated during the Visigothic invasion of Spain.
419AD: Gunderik becomes king of the Vandals in Spain.
421AD: The Vandals defeat the Roman army and expand their empire in Spain.
428AD: King Gunderik dies and his brother Gaiserik becomes the new king of the Vandals.
429AD: The Vandals under Gaiserik cross the strait of Gibraltar and invade northern Africa.
435AD: The Vandals and Franks are defeated by a coalition of western Romans and Huns under general Aetius.
436AD: The Burgundians are defeated by Aetius and his Roman/Hunnic army.
439AD: The Vandal king Gaiserik takes the Roman city of Carthage.
447AD: Valamer becomes king of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia and teams up with the Huns to fight the Eastern Roman Empire, within 2 years they reach the walls of Constantinople and force the Eastern Roman emperor to sign a peace treaty.
449AD: The Anglo-Saxons under Hengest and Horsa invade and conquer England.
451AD: The Visigoths sign an alliance with the western Roman empire and help them fight the Huns and the Ostrogoths. / The Huns invade Gaul but are defeated by Romans and Visigoths on the Catalaunian fields (Chalons-sur-Marne in France), king Theodorik I loses his live in the battle.
453AD: Death of Attila the Hun.
454AD: King Valamer turns against his Hunnic allies and regains the independance of the Ostrogoths by driving the Huns out of Pannonia.
455AD: The Vandals under king Gaiserik capture and plunder Rome, they do this in such a brutal way that until this day a needless destruction is still called "vandalism".
456AD: The Visigoths invade Spain.
466AD: Eurik becomes king of the Visigoths.
468AD: The Vandals in northern Africa under king Gaiserik are attacked by the Roman army but the Romans are defeated and have no other choice than to officially accept Vandalic rule over northern Africa.
469AD: Fights break out in the Loire valley in Gaul between Visigoths and Celtic Britons who had (possibly under Anglo-Saxon pressure) migrated from Britain into Bretagne.
471AD: The Ostrogoths in Tracia (Bulgaria) revolt against Rome but are defeated, the Romans appoint Strabo as their new king and the Ostrogoths become Roman "foederati" (protectors of the Roman border against invasions).
473AD: The Visigoths under king Eurik commit to an alliance with the Romans and invade Catalonia in Spain.
475AD: The Visigoths under king Eurik declare their independence from Rome and found their own kingdom in Spain.
476AD: Odoaker (who was the general of Germanic mercenaries working for Rome) defeats the Roman army at the 2nd Battle of Pavia which ends the western Roman empire, he impeaches the last emperor and becomes king of all Germanic peoples in Italy. / The Ostrogoths under king Strabo declare their independence from Rome. / Death of king Strabo. / Theodorik the Great becomes the new king of the Ostrogoths. / The Visigoths invade southwestern France.
477AD: Death of the Vandal king Gaiserik.
484AD: Death of the Visigothic King Eurik. / The Ostrogothic king Theodorik the Great is made consul by the eastern Roman emperor.
488AD: King Theodorik the Great unifies the Ostrogoths in Pannonia and Thracia. / 500.000 Ostrogoths under Theodorik the Great invade the kingdom of Odoaker in Italy on request of the eastern Roman emperor.
493AD: The Visigoths conquer Italy and kill Odoaker, Theodorik the Great establishes Ravenna as his new capital.
496AD: The Franconians are converted to Catholicism by king Clovis (Chlodovech). / The Franconians invade the Visigothic empire in France.
6th century AD:
500AD: An Anglo-Saxon army is defeated by a coalition of Celts at the Battle of Mound Badon.
507AD: The Visigoths in France are defeated by the Franconians at the Battle of Vouille, their king Alarik II gets killed and the Goths move to Spain under their new king Leovigild.
508AD: Theodorik the Great annexes the Visigoths in Gaul and Spain, creating a big kingdom of Italy, Spain, and Southern France.
526AD: King Theodorik the Great of the Ostrogoths dies after a reign of 30 years and his kingdom falls apart, what is left of it is ruled by his daughter Amalaswintha until his grandson Athalarik is old enough to take over.
533AD: The Vandals in northern Africa are defeated by an eastern Roman army in the Battle of Ad Decimum and lose Carthage.
534AD: The Vandals are defeated by an eastern Roman army under general Belisarius at the battle of Ticameron and lose northern Africa to the Eastern Roman Empire.
536AD: Italy is invaded by General Belisarius who tries to recapture it for the eastern Roman empire.
539AD: The Ostrogoths invade Italy and conquer Milan.
546AD: The Ostrogoths under their new king Totila (whose real name was Baduila) capture and plunder Rome. / The Langobardians under king Audoin settle in what is now Austria.
552AD: The Ostrogoths in Italy are defeated by the eastern Roman army at the Battle of Taginae, king Totila dies.
553AD: The Ostrogoths are expelled from Italy by the eastern Roman empire.
561AD: The Ostrogoths are destroyed by the eastern Roman empire.
568AD: The Langobardians under king Audoin invade northern Italy.
569AD: Leovigild becomes the new king of the Visigoths and begins his unification of Spain.
577AD: The Anglo-Saxons defeat the Celts in Southern Britain in the Battle of Deorham.
586AD: Death of the Visigothic king Leovigild.
587AD: Leovigild's son Recared becomes the new king of the Visigoths and he converts them to catholicism to gain the favour of the Franconians, the Visigothic language in Spain slowly disappears and gives way to Latin.
7th century AD:
600AD: At this time the Germanic cultural unity starts falling apart.
603AD: The Langobardians are converted to Christianity (Arianism).
638AD: the Anglo-Saxon king Redwald dies and is buried at Sutton Hoo.
650AD: The Langobardians are converted to Catholicism which ends the existence of the old Christian religion of Arianism.
655AD: Penda, the last heathen king of England dies in battle, the whole of England is now Christian.
8th century AD:
711AD: The Visigothic kingdom in Spain is destroyed by the Islamic general Tarik Ibn Zijad.
751AD: The Langobardians under king Aistulf conquer Ravenna and parts of northern Italy from the Byzantine empire (former eastern Roman empire).
772AD: The Franconians under Charlemagne defeat the Saxons and force them to convert to Christianity.
774AD: The Langobardians are subjected to the Franconian empire.
793AD: Beginning of the Viking raids on Europe by the plundering of the monastery at Lindisfarne.
796AD: The Franconians defeat the Sarmatian tribe of the Avars.
9th century AD:
831AD: The Vikings invade Ireland and found the city of Dublin.
839AD: The Vikings destroy Armagh.
841AD: Death of Charlemagne / The Vikings plunder Rouen.
843AD: The Franconian empire is divided at the treaty of Verdun / The Vikings plunder Nantes and settle at the mouth of the river Loire.
845AD: The Viking warlord Turgeis is captured and drowned by the Irish. / the Vikings plunder Paris.
852AD: The Vikings establish a kingdom in Russia.
853AD: The Vikings establish a kingdom in Ireland.
859AD: The Vikings invade western Russia and the Ukraine. / The Vikings under Hasteinn and Bjorn begin plundering cities around the Mediterranian Sea and found several kingdoms there.
860AD: The Vikings discover the White Sea near the Russian city of Archangelsk / The Vikings attack Constantinople (which they call Miklågard).
862AD: Roerik founds the Viking city of Holmgard (Novgorod) in Gardariki (western Russia)
864AD: The Vikings conquer the city of Kyawh (Kiev).
865AD: The Vikings establish a kingdom in England.
866AD: A coalition of Vikings and Bretons defeat the Franconians in Normandy.
870AD: The Vikings settle in Iceland.
886AD: The Vikings lose south and western England to king Alfred.
10th century AD:
907AD: The Vikings attack Constantinople and enforce a tribute.
909AD: The Vikings reach the Aral lake in Russia.
910AD: The Vikings lose all territories in England to king Alfred.
911AD: The Viking warlord Gangr Hrolf (also known as Rollo) gains Normandy in exchange for his conversion to Christianity.
912AD: The Vikings reach the Caucasus mountains.
913AD: The Vikings plunder the city of Landévennec.
919AD: The Vikings invade England again and retake the kingdom of York. / The Vikings defeat the Celtic Bretons.
921AD: The city of Nantes becomes the capital of the Viking territories in Bretagne and Normandy.
922AD: Ibn Fahdlan writes his "Risala".
937AD: A coalition of Vikings and Scots are defeated by the Anglo-Saxons at Brunanburgh.
965AD: Denmark is converted to Christianity.
968AD: Brian Boru defeats the Vikings in Ireland.
982AD: Erik the Red discovers Greenland.
986AD: The Viking explorer Bjarni Herjulfsson discovers America (5 centuries before Columbus).
991AD: The Vikings defeat the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Maldon and take Northumbria.
998AD: The Vikings in Russia are converted to Christianity.
11th century AD and beyond:
1000AD: Iceland is converted to Christianity. / Formation of the Varangian guard.
1002AD: Leif Erikson is the first European to land in America.
1027AD: King Knut unifies England and Scandinavia into a North Sea empire.
1056AD: Creation of the Poetic Edda.
1066AD: King Harold of the Anglo-Saxons defeats invading Vikings at Stamford bridge and kills Harald Hardrada. / William the Conquerer defeats the Anglo-Saxons in the battle of Hastings and kills king Harold, ending the Anglo-Saxon rule over England.
1100-1200AD: The last Germanic heathens are converted to Christianity.
1130AD: Roger II is appointed king of the Viking territories in Sicily and southern Italy by pope Anacletus II.
1194AD: The Vikings discover the islands of Svalbard/Spitsbergen.
1220AD: Snorri Sturluson writes the Proza Edda.
1266AD: The last Viking territories in Scotland are transferred to Scottish rule.
