Chronological Table of Important Events
There are many problems in preparing a chronological table for a period of 2525 years. The fixing of the actual year of occurrence of an event is the chief among them. For example, although the historicity of the Buddha is now well established, there are several views regarding the year that is ascribed to the Parinibbana (demise) of the Buddha, which is the beginning of the Buddhist era. The year 544 B.C. was taken as the date of Parinibbana and the chronological table was constructed on this basis.
Due to scantiness of information, certain events are placed by historians within broad periods, running into sevral centuries. In such cases the event is included under the first year or century. As far as possible, the dates occurring in standard books were taken in preparing the chronology.
| B.E. | C.E. | ||
| -80 | -462 | Birth of Prince Shiddhartha | |
| -45 | -589 | The Enlightenment | Bimbisara, King of Magadha; Confucius and Lao-Tse in China and Mahavira in India, lived during this century. |
| 1 | -544 (-383) | Parinibbana of the Buddha and First Council at Rajagha | Ajatasattu, King of Magadha |
| 100 | -444 (-383) | Second Council at Vesali and first schism | Kalasoka King of Magadha |
| 218 | -326 | Expedition of Alexander the Great to India. | |
| 280 to | -264 -227 | Reign of Emperor Asoka | Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage began (264BC) |
| 294 | -250 | Emperor Asoka becomes a Buddhist after Kalinga war | |
| 297 | -247 | Third Council at Pataliputta, sending of missionaries to Kasmira Gandhara, Mahisamandala, Vanavasa, Aparantaka, Maharattha all regions in India, Yona country (Greece), Himalaya Region, Suvannabhumi (Lower Burma, Siam and Cambodia) and Lanka (Ceylon) | |
| 298 | -246 | Greco - Bactrian Kingdom founded by Dicdotus | |
| 304 | -240 | Kustana, son of Asoka founded the kingdom of Khotan, Central Asia | |
| 330 | -214 | Great Wall of China begun | |
| 333 | -211 | First Buddhist Monastery in Khotan | |
| 359 to | -185 -72 | Sunga Period in Central India. | |
| 443 to | -101 -77 | Building of the Great Thupa, Suvannamali in Anuradhapura. Beginning of the tradition of Rock cut temples at Karle (1st century BC) Nasik, Kanheri, Junnar, Bhaja (2nd century BC) Ajanta (2nd century BC-7 century CE) and Ellora (5 century - 8 century CE). | King Dutugemunu in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Andras in Ujjeni. |
| 489 | -55 | Julius Caeser’s first expedition to Britain. | |
| 500 | -44 | King Menander, theBactrian king meets Van Nagasena in Sialkot, and becomes a Buddhist: writing of Milinda Pañha: Beginning of Greco-Buddhist Gandhara School of art and architecture which greatly influenced Central Asia. | Bactrian Empire. |
| 514 | -30 | Establishment of Roman Empire by Augustus. | |
| 515 to | -29 -17 | The Ti-pitaka rendered into writing for first time at Aloka-vihara, Matale, Sri Lanka: The Fourth Buddhist Council according to Theravada tradition held in Sri Lanka | Reign of Vattagamini Abhaya in Sri Lanka (29-17 BC) |
| 540 | -4 | True date of birth of Jesus of Nazareth | |
| 542 | -2 | Yi-chen, an envoy of the King of Yueh-chis arrived in Chang-an and taught Buddhist scriptures | |
| 544 | Christian era began. | ||
| 569 | 25 | Eastern Han dynasty in China. (25-221 CE) | |
| 611 | 67 | Official introduction of Buddhism to China | |
| 622 | 78 | Fourth Buddhist Council (not recognized by Theravada) at Jalandhar in Kashmir: Ven. Vasumitra and Asvaghosa: writing of Vaibhasa-Sastra | Reign of Kushan King, Kanishka. Beginning of Saka Era. (other dates 128 CE, 144 CE) |
| 694 | 150 | Ven Nagarjuna, the propounder of the Madhymika philoshophy a contemporary of Yajna Sri Gautamiputra | |
| 710 | 166 | Reign of Satavahana King of India, Yajna Sri Gautamiputra (166-196CE) | |
| 708 | 164 | Great Plague began and lasted to the death of M. Aurelius (180CE) This devastated all Asia. Century of war and disorder in the Roman Empire began. | |
| 719 | 175- 225 | Ven. Mon-tseu of China who wrote a treatise comparing Buddhism with the teachings of Confucius and Lao Tse. | |
| 814 | 270- 350 | Ven. Maitreya (natha) the founder of the Yogacara school | |
| 824 | 280 | Vasubandhu, brother of Asanga. (280-360 CE) | |
| 843 | 299 | Goodwill mission from King Vasudeva of Gandhara to China | |
| 847 | 303 | Persecution of Christian by Emperor Diocletian | |
| 864 | 320 | Beginning of reign of Chandra Gupta and of the Gupta era (300-606 CE) | |
| With permission from King Chandragupta a Sinhalese monastery established at BuddhaGaya by King Sri Meghavanna (304-333 CE) | |||
| 888 | 344 | Birth of Kumarajiva. | |
| 894 | 350 | Asanga, most prominent teacher of Yogacara | |
| 916 | 372 | Buddhism introduced to Kogaryu in North Korea by a Chinese monk | |
| 928 | 384 | Buddhism introduced from Central Asia to Pakche in S. W. Korea by a monk called Ven. Marananda | |
| 930 | 386 | Buddhism declared State religion in China | Northern Wei dynasty in China 386-353 CE. |
| 943 | 399 | Travels of Fa-Hien (Fa-hsien) in India (399-414 CE) | Reign of Chandragupta II of India 375-413 CE |
| 946 | 402 | Buddhism introduced to Silla in SE Korea: Buddhapalita and Bhavaviveke of Madhyamika school (1st half of 5 century CE): Dinnaga, acclaimed to be the founder of Buddhist logic; Buddhadatta | |
| 953 | 409 | Hiu Shen undertakes a mission to Mexico during the reign of King Yung Yuan. Returned 543 CE. | |
| 964 | 420 | Ven. Sanghavarman translated books on Vinaya from Sanskrit to Chinese | |
| 975 | 431 | Ven. Gunavarman’s mission to Vietnam, Java and China. Java became a Buddhist country under his influence. | |
| 979 | 435 | Ven. Gunabhadra, a Sri Lankan arrived in Indrapuri (Hue) from China. | |
| 1002 | 458 | Arrival of Ven. Buddhaghosa, the great pali commentator in Mahavihara, Anuradhapura; Samantapasadika, the Vinaya commentary was begun in the 20th and finished in the 21st year of the king’s reign. | Reign of King Mahanama in Sri Lanka 458-480 CE |
| 1032 | 488 | Ven. Sangabodhi from Sri Lanka arrived in Tonking and proceeded to Jetavana Vihara Canton | |
| 1046 | 502- 549 | Ven. Bodhidharma, founder of the Chinese, Ch’an sect. | |
| 1070 | 526 | Ven. Bodhidharma left for China from Vietnam | |
| 1092 | 548 | Arrival of Ven. Paramartha (Po-lo-mo-tho) (513-569 CE) of Ujjain in Nanking | |
| 1096 | 552 | Buddhism introduced to Japan from Kudara (Pakche) one of the kingdoms of Korea. | |
| 1114 | 570 | Muhammad was born | |
| 1119 | 575 | Ven. Chandrakirti of the Madhymika school | |
| 1138 | 594 | Prince Shotoku issued an Imperial Ordinance supporting and urging the development of the Three Jewels | |
| 1150 | 606 | Ascendancy of King Harsadeva of Kanauj, a great Buddhist benefactor (606-647 CE) | |
| 1161 | 617 | Ascendancy of King Sron-btsan-sgam-po in Tibet and official introduction of Buddbism into Tibet. | |
| 1162 | 618 | Tang dynasty in China 618-906CE | |
| 1173 | 629 | Ven Yuan Chwang or Hieun Tsang (602-660CE) starts on his journey to India; Travelled in India from 633-644 and returned to China in 645 CE. | |
| 1215 | 671 | I’Tsing’s visit to kingdom of Sri Vijaya. On his outward journey to India, Sri Vijaya a Theravada centre; Travelled from 671-695 CE. | |
| 1228 | 684 | Talang Tuwo Ins. in Sri Vijaya Kingdom. | |
| 1239 | 695 | Re-Visit to Sri Vijaya by I’tsing: Sri Vijaya had become a Mahayana outpost. | |
| 1254 | 710 | Beginning of Nara period in Japan. | Nara made the capital |
| 1258 | 714 | Persecution of Buddhists in China by Yen T’sing: Pala Rule in Bengal - a Buddhist dynasty: Rise of Nalanda University and the Universities of Vickremasila and Odantipuri. | |
| 1299 | 755 | Ascendancy of King Khri-Sron-Ide-btsan. | |
| 1319 | 775 | Ligor Inscription-patronage of the Sri Vijaya Kingdom to Mahayana Buddhism | |
| 1338 | 794 | Kyoto period in Japan | Helan, Kyoto became the capital (794-1194 CE) |
No comments:
Post a Comment