531
Year 531 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Probus. The denomination 531 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.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
- April 19 - Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army, commanded by Belisarius, is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa. 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.
Europe
- The Franks under King Chlothar I march against the Thuringii with Chlothar's nephew Theudebert I. The Kingdom of Thuringia comes under Frankish domination.
- Hermanafrid, last king of the Thuringii, is defeated by the Franks near the Unstrut River. During negotiations he is pushed from the town walls of Zülpich.
- King Childebert I receives pleas from his sister Clotilde, wife of King Amalaric, claiming that she is abused by her husband. Childebert invades Septimania.
- Childebert I defeats the Visigoths and conquers the capital Narbonne. Amalaric flees south to Barcelona, where he is assassinated by his own men.
- Clotilde returns with the Frankish army and dies on the journey home. She is buried in Paris alongside her father Clovis I.
- Theudis, sword-bearer of former king Theodoric the Great, succeeds Amalaric as new ruler of the Visigoths.
Persia
- King Kavad I, age 82, dies after a 43-year reign. Khosrau I, his favourite son, is proclaimed successor over his elder brothers.
Asia
- 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.
- Ankan, age 66, succeeds his father Keitai as the 27th emperor of Japan.
- Anwon becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.
Unidentified
- Major volcanic eruption.