536
Year 536 (Roman numerals: DXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year after the Consulship of Belisarius. The denomination 536 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
| Millennium: | 1st millennium |
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| 536 by topic |
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| Gregorian calendar | 536 DXXXVI |
| Ab urbe condita | 1289 |
| Assyrian calendar | 5286 |
| Balinese saka calendar | 457–458 |
| Bengali calendar | −57 |
| Berber calendar | 1486 |
| Buddhist calendar | 1080 |
| Burmese calendar | −102 |
| Byzantine calendar | 6044–6045 |
| Chinese calendar | 乙卯年 (Wood Rabbit) 3232 or 3172 — to — 丙辰年 (Fire Dragon) 3233 or 3173 |
| Coptic calendar | 252–253 |
| Discordian calendar | 1702 |
| Ethiopian calendar | 528–529 |
| Hebrew calendar | 4296–4297 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 592–593 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 457–458 |
| - Kali Yuga | 3636–3637 |
| Holocene calendar | 10536 |
| Iranian calendar | 86 BP – 85 BP |
| Islamic calendar | 89 BH – 88 BH |
| Javanese calendar | 423–424 |
| Julian calendar | 536 DXXXVI |
| Korean calendar | 2869 |
| Minguo calendar | 1376 before ROC 民前1376年 |
| Nanakshahi calendar | −932 |
| Seleucid era | 847/848 AG |
| Thai solar calendar | 1078–1079 |
| Tibetan calendar | 阴木兔年 (female Wood-Rabbit) 662 or 281 or −491 — to — 阳火龙年 (male Fire-Dragon) 663 or 282 or −490 |
In 2018, medieval scholar Michael McCormick nominated 536 as "the worst year to be alive" because of the extreme weather events probably caused by a volcanic eruption early in the year, causing average temperatures in Europe and China to decline and resulting in crop failures and famine for well over a year.[1][2] Other researchers have noted additional adverse events during the year, including a mysterious fog, possibly due to the volcanic eruption.[3]
Events
Byzantine Empire
- Spring – Emperor Justinian I appoints his cousin Germanus as magister militum to deal with the crisis in Africa. He sends a mobile force of comitatenses (mostly cavalry) and an elite guard. Solomon, the previous magister militum, returns to Constantinople.[4]
- Summer – Gothic War (535–554): Belisarius crosses the Strait of Messina and invades Italy. He conquers the city of Rhegium and advances to Naples.
- November – Siege of Naples: Belisarius captures Naples after a month's siege, by sending troops into the city through an abandoned Roman aqueduct.[5]
- December 9 – Belisarius enters Rome through the Porta Asinaria, and the Gothic garrison of 4,000 men flees the city. He sends an urgent request for reinforcements to Justinian I, meanwhile preparing Rome for a siege, by bringing in great quantities of food and other supplies.[6]
- Winter – Belisarius sets up his headquarters on the Pincian Hill, and repairs the neglected city walls of Rome. He stations a 5,000-man garrison, of whom half are his personal bodyguard (bucellarii). To hold parts of the city, he recruits 20,000 young Romans to man the walls.
Europe
- Early in 536 (possible) – Volcanic winter of 536: A volcano erupts in Iceland.[1] Famine is described in the Annals of Ulster.[7]
- March – Ostrogothic King Theodahad cedes Provence and upper Alamannia to the Franks, gaining their support in the war. He sends a large Gothic army into Dalmatia. They defeat the Byzantines, Mundus is killed during the fighting at Salona, and the Byzantine army withdraws.[6]
- Summer – Constantinianus, magister militum per Illyricum, retakes Dalmatia. The Goths abandon Salona and withdraw to the north. The Byzantines rebuild its walls and reclaim the province.[8]
- December – Vitiges deposes his rival Theodahad at Ravenna, and marries Matasuntha (daughter of queen Amalasuntha). He becomes king of the Ostrogoths and assembles an army to fight against Belisarius.[5]
Africa
Asia
- January 26 – Senka succeeds his brother Ankan, as the 28th emperor of Japan.
- August – Volcanic winter of 536: Snow falls in China, which causes the harvest to be delayed.[10]
Religion
- Before March 13 – Anthimus I is deposed as patriarch of Constantinople in favour of Menas.
- April 22 – Pope Agapetus I dies in Constantinople, after a reign of just ten months. He is succeeded by Silverius as the 58th pope.
- May 2–June 4 – Council of Constantinople.
- September 19 – Council of Jerusalem.
- The Little Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (begun in 527) is completed as the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.
Climate
- Extreme weather events of 535–536, thought to have been caused by an extensive veil of dust in the atmosphere, begin in the Northern Hemisphere. They continue until the following year, causing unseasonal weather and crop failure worldwide. It is possible this is caused by the eruption of a volcano: Krakatoa, Ilopango in El Salvador (Central America); in North America; or in Iceland.[1]
Births
- unknown date – Li Ezi, Chinese empress dowager of Northern Zhou (d. 588)
- probable
- Evagrius Scholasticus, Syrian church historian (or 537) (d. 594)[11]
- Venantius Fortunatus, Merovingian bishop and poet (d. c. 600/609)
Deaths
- January 25 – Ankan, emperor of Japan (b. c. 466)
- April 22 – Pope Agapetus I[12]
- December – Theodahad, king of the Ostrogoths (assassinated) (b. c. 480)
- unknown date – Mundus, Gepid Byzantine general (killed in action)[13]
Notes and references
Notes
References
- Gibbons, Ann (November 15, 2018). "Why 536 was 'the worst year to be alive". Science. AAAS. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Walsh, Bryan. "Despite the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 wasn't the worst year ever – by a long shot". Axios.
- Ciaccia, Chris (January 21, 2020). "Vikings may have predicted climate change on ancient stone carving". Fox News – via New York Post.
- Bury (1958). pp. 143–144.
- Massimiliano Vitiello (January 1, 2014). Theodahad: A Platonic King at the Collapse of Ostrogothic Italy. University of Toronto Press. pp. 157–160. ISBN 978-1-4426-4783-1.
- Bury (1923). Vol. II, Ch. XVIII. pp. 174-180.
- Bambury, Pádraig; Beechinor, Stephen (2000). "The Annals of Ulster" (Electronic ed.). Cork, Ireland: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork. pp. U536.3n.
Failure of bread.
- Procopius, De Bello Gothico I.VII.
- Earl Philip Henry Stanhope Stanhope (1848). The Life of Belisarius. J. Murray. pp. 154–158.
- Ochoa, George; Hoffman, Jennifer; Tin, Tina (2005). Climate: the force that shapes our world and the future of life on earth. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-59486-288-5.
- Pauline Allen (1981). Evagrius Scholasticus, the Church Historian. Peeters Publishers & Booksellers. p. 1.
- J. B. Bury (January 1, 1958). History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I. to the Death of Justinian. Courier Corporation. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-486-20399-7.
- T. F. Lindsay (1949). Saint Benedict: His Life and Work. Burns, Oates. p. 102.
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