Editing 542 (section)

== Events ==
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=== By place ===
==== Byzantine Empire ====
* [[Plague of Justinian]]: [[Bubonic plague]], spread from [[Egypt]], kills at least 230,000 in [[Constantinople]] (modern Istanbul; before counting stops), and perhaps two million or more in the rest of the empire. Emperor [[Justinian I]] contracts the disease but recovers.
* [[Lazic War]] &ndash; Justinian I sends a Byzantine army (30,000 men) to [[Armenia]]. The [[Sassanid Empire|Persians]], severely outnumbered, are forced to retreat, but at [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]] the [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantines]] are defeated by a force of 4,000 men in an [[ambush]], and are completely routed.<ref>{{Citation|title=Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War|last=Farrokh|first=Kaveh|isbn=978-1-84603-108-3|year=2007|publisher=Osprey Publishing|p=235}}</ref>
*The [[542 Sea of Marmara earthquake]] takes place in the winter of 542, in the vicinity of the [[Sea of Marmara]]. It also affects the coasts of [[Thrace]] and the [[Edremit Gulf]].<ref>{{citation | last1=Antonopoulos | first1= J. | title=Data from investigation of seismic Sea waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from 500 to 1000 A.D. | year=1980 | publisher=Annals of Geophysics | url =https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/4702/4786}}</ref>

==== Europe ====
* Spring &ndash; [[Battle of Faventia]]: King [[Totila]] scatters the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] forces near Faventia (modern [[Faenza]]) with 5,000 men, beginning the resurgence of [[Ostrogoths|Gothic]] resistance to the [[Gothic War (535–554)|reconquest of Italy]].
* [[Battle of Mucellium]]: Totila marches down into [[Tuscany]] and defeats the Byzantines at [[Florence]], in the valley of [[Mugello region|Mugello]]. He treats his prisoners well, and many are induced to join his [[banner]].
* [[March]] &ndash; Totila bypasses [[Rome]] and begins his expedition in [[Southern Italy]].<ref>J.B. Bury, 1923. ''History of the later Roman Empire'', chapter XIX</ref> He captures [[Benevento|Beneventum]] and receives the submission of the provinces of [[Apulia]], [[Lucania]] and [[Calabria|Bruttium]].
* [[Siege of Naples (542–543)|Siege of Naples]]: Totila [[Siege|besiege]]s the city of [[Naples]] in [[Campania]]. A Byzantine relief force from [[Sicily]] is intercepted and almost destroyed by Gothic [[warship]]s.
* King [[Childebert I]] and his brother [[Chlothar I]] invade [[Visigoth Kingdom|Visigothic Spain]]. They capture [[Pamplona]], but [[Zaragoza]] withstands a siege and the [[Franks]] retreat to [[Gaul]]. From this expedition Childebert brings back to [[Paris]] a [[relic]], the [[tunic]] of [[Vincent of Saragossa|Saint Vincent]].

=== By topic ===
==== Religion ====
* [[Brendan the Navigator|Brendan]] establishes a monastic settlement on [[Eileach an Naoimh]] (approximate date).

==== Literature ====
* [[Gildas]], British [[monk]], writes his work ''"[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]"'' (approximate date).
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