Dossier №224

1,455 AD

Finished copies of Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible become available in Mainz around this time.

This question uses 1455 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The first finished copies are dated to 1454 or 1455, and in March 1455 the future Pope Pius II reported seeing pages displayed in Frankfurt.

1,215 AD

King John seals Magna Carta after a confrontation with rebellious English barons.

A failed peace settlement became a durable symbol of limited government.

Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede and quickly collapsed as an immediate political agreement. Reissued versions survived, and later generations drew on its language to argue that rulers are subject to law.

1,683 AD

Qing forces defeat the Zheng regime and bring Taiwan under imperial administration.

This question uses 1683 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The campaign ended the last major Ming-loyalist state and integrated the island into the Qing realm.

319 AD

Chandragupta I begins the reign in which Gupta power first takes an imperial form.

This question uses 319 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

His reign is conventionally dated from around 319, and his title “king of great kings” distinguishes him from his less powerful predecessors.

840 BC

King Mesha of Moab records his reign and building projects on a basalt stele around this time.

A royal inscription became a cornerstone of Northwest Semitic epigraphy.

The Mesha Stele, dated to about 840 BCE, contains a long Moabite inscription written in a variant of the Phoenician alphabet. It supplies rare evidence for the kingdom of Moab, its language, and its political relationship with Israel.