DATE: EVENT
Unknown: The creation of Golarion is a hotly debated subject among scholars and priests, with as many theories attempting to chronicle such an ancient event as there are philosophies and religions. Most of these theories agree that for uncounted ages, mortal life did not exist on the world of Golarion. Yet even this primeval world was far from abandoned. If they are to be believed, the aboleths ruled the oceans, while the land was the domain of even more mysterious races, such as the unknowable Vault Builders. Eventually, mortal life appeared—yet again, whether as a result of aboleth experimentation or divine creation, the truth is unclear. Certainly, the gods themselves had a far more direct role in the world in these early days, for it was during the Age of Creation that the deity Rovagug was confronted and defeated by an alliance of gods and goddesses, primarily through the acts of Sarenrae (who cut open the world and sealed Rovagug in a strange dimension at the world’s core) and Asmodeus (who provided a lock and key capable of imprisoning a god).
DATE: EVENT
Unknown: The first, and arguably the greatest, of humanity’s civilizations was the continental empire of Azlant, a realm of powerful magic and technology whose secrets are still valued today. The empire of Thassilon rose near the end of the Age of Legend, founded by exiles from Azlant and ruled by wizards known as Runelords. When the people of Azlant grew too proud of their deeds, their old aboleth enemies decided to end things on their own terms by destroying Azlant by using powerful magic to cause Earthfall.
DATE: EVENT
-5293: Earthfall. The Starstone tumbles to Golarion, creating the Inner Sea and kicking off a thousand years of darkness. Azlant and Thassilon are destroyed. The elves depart Golarion via the Sovyrian Stone or retreat into the far north, the southern jungles, or the Darklands.
-5133: King Taargick founds the Kingdom of Tar Taargadth, uniting the dwarves in a common cause to abandon the subterranean Darklands.
-5102: The orcs first emerge onto the surface world, fleeing vicious pogroms by righteous dwarves tunneling toward a prophesied land of the open sky.
-4987: The dwarves fulfill the Quest for Sky, emerging for the first time on the surface of Golarion.
DATE: EVENT
-4294: The Age of Darkness draws to a close. Humanity begins rebuilding civilization.
-4202: The gnome race, fleeing an unknown terror from the First World, arrives in various locations throughout the Inner Sea region where the boundaries between dimensions have worn thin.
-4120: Founding of the Jistka Imperium.
-3923: The Pit of Gormuz opens in central Casmaron, disgorging the Spawn of Rovagug on the surface of Golarion for the first time.
-3708: Belkzen besieges Koldukar.
-3502: Old-Mage Jatembe and his Ten Magic Warriors bring the light of learning back to a world overcome with fear and despair in the deep Mwangi Expanse. His discoveries will eventually inspire the flying cities of the Shory empire.
DATE: EVENT
-3470: Ancient Osirion is founded.
-3300: Betrayal by powerful outsider allies and raids from desert nomads weaken Jistka.
-3250: Desert nomads form the Tekritanin League.
-3047: The Song Pharaoh overthrows the Pharaoh of Forgotten Plagues and founds Shiman-Sekh.
-3000: Osirion is at its height under the reign of the God-Kings.
-2764: The Jistka Imperium collapses in a prolonged series of succession wars.
-2323: Shory aeromancers, working from thousand-year-old traditions begun by Old-Mage Jatembe, establish Kho as the first of their legendary flying cities.
-1498: The Four Pharaohs of Ascension join forces to rule Osirion, initiating that empire’s Second Age.
-1452: The armies of the Four Pharaohs break the Tekritanin League, absorbing some city-states and razing others.
-1431: The power of the Four Pharaohs breaks, and Osirion again slips into decline.
-1281: Taldor is founded by descendants of Lost Azlant and indigenous primitive humans.
-892: Nex and Geb go to war.
-841: Osirion fails to replace the assassinated governor of Thuvia, effectively ceding the province to barbarism.
-632: The Tarrasque, greatest of the Spawn of Rovagug, destroys Ninshabur and devastates Avistan until it’s defeated and sealed away in a hidden cavern.
-473: The Linnorm King Ulvass discovers Arcadia, establishing the colony of Valenhall as an earthly paradise.
-43: Soldiers of Kelesh claim Qadira in the name of Padishah Emperor Adalan IV.
DATE: EVENT
1: Aroden, the Last Azlanti, raises the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea and becomes a living god. Absalom is founded.
23: First Siege of Absalom—Warlord Voradni Voon’s ill-planned siege fails catastrophically.
37: Taldor’s First Army of Exploration destroys the Goroth Lodge in the Verduran Forest and charts the Sellen River as far north as Sevenarches.
166: Nex unsuccessfully sieges Absalom, creating the infamous Spire of Nex.
253: Nex captures the Isle of Jalmeray.
499: Taldor’s Second Army of Exploration pushes north beyond Lake Encarthan.
563: Khiben-Sald, the legendary Maharaja of Vudra, spends a decade on the Nexian Isle of Jalmeray, bringing Vudran culture to the Inner Sea.
576: Nex vanishes from his capital in Quantium during a Gebbite attack that kills thousands.
632: Geb attempts to escape Golarion in an act of ritual suicide, but soon returns as a ghost.
896: Aroden mortally wounds the wizard-king Tar-Baphon on the Isle of Terror at the center of Lake Encarthan.
1140: Artokus Kirran formulates the sun orchid elixir.
1520: Taldor’s Third Army of Exploration conquers the northern shore of the Inner Sea; Corentyn is founded.
1532: Qadiran operatives topple the decadent Pharaoh Menedes XXVI, establishing the first in a long line of foreign rulers over Osirion.
1551: The Glorious Empire of Tar Taargadth collapses when orc raiders launch massive assaults against the Sky Citadels, conquering several of them and throwing the dwarves into uncharacteristic chaos for several years.
1571: The First Five Kings War erupts, engulfing all of the Five Kings Mountains and many of the surrounding human settlements.
1683: Taldor’s Fourth Army of Exploration maps and claims the lands that will one day become Andoran.
1707: Andoran is founded as a province of Taldor when General Khastalus of Corentyn clears much of the Arthfell Forest and establishes Augustana.
1893: Norgorber passes the Test of the Starstone, following Aroden’s path to divinity.
1975: Ulfen longships raid heavily along the west coast of Avistan and in the region now known as Cheliax.
2009: Taldor’s Fifth Army of Exploration expands throughout the River Kingdoms and brushes against the wilds of Iobaria.
2089: Taldor’s Sixth Army of Exploration loses a powerful magical siege engine known as the Worldbreaker to the Gorilla King in a disastrous attempt to tame the Mwangi Expanse.
2133: Taldor’s Seventh Army of Exploration pacifies the Isgeri tribe of Kellids inhabiting the valleys between the Menador and Five King Mountains, forming the protectorate of Isger to capitalize on trade from Druma and inner Avistan.
2187: The teachings of Irori reach mainland Tian Xia.
2217: The cult of Sarenrae flourishes in Osirion, threatening the Qadiran satrap, who banishes the zealots to the western deserts.
2253: The resurgent Cult of the Dawnflower vanquishes the satrap of Osirion, establishing an independent dynasty of Keleshite sultans.
2332: The Kerse Accord is established in Druma.
2361: Varisian wanderers settle the region know today as Ustalav north of Lake Encarthan. 2498 The Oath Wars begin in northwest Garund. The clergies of Nethys, Norgorber, and Sarenrae vie for dominance.
2497: The demon Treerazer begins his perversion of the forests of Kyonin.
2555: The city of Azir exiles all clerics, burns their temples, and enacts the Laws of Man.
2560: The bloody Oath Wars come to an end as the Laws of Man spread throughout the region. The Red Mantis flees Rahadoum to establish a new base of operations on Mediogalti Island.
2632: The elves return en masse to Golarion via the Sovyrian Stone in Kyonin.
2664: In Tian Xia, Yixing courtiers perform the first chadao tea ceremony for their emperor.
2742: The Choking Death spreads west from Iobaria, devastating human populations throughout northeastern Avistan.
2765: In Absalom, Cayden Cailean drunkenly survives the Test of the Starstone.
2822: Vudrani rajahs wrest control of Jalmeray from the decadent Arclords of Nex.
2920: A violent earthquake rocks Qadira and Taldor, killing tens of thousands in both nations.
3001: Daralathyxl, known as the Sixth King or Emperor of the Mountains, arrives at the Five Kings Mountains.
3007: Cheliax is founded as the western frontier of Taldor.
3129: Assassins murder Grand Prince Jalrune of Taldor.
3203: Tar-Baphon returns to life as the Whispering Tyrant. The lich king unifies the orc hordes of Belkzen and terrorizes central Avistan.
3250: Katapesh becomes a nation.
3313: The nation of Irrisen is born when the Witch Queen Baba Yaga conquers the eastern reach of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings.
3332: The famed dwarven engineers of Jernashall, within Droskar’s Crag, create the first successful and safe magmafall in the middle of their city.
3616: In Tian Xia, the Perfect Swordswoman, Setsuna Kuga, leads the armies of the Minkai against the forces of the Teikoku Shogunate in the Battle of Eight Bridges. With the shogun’s forces routed, Minkai’s armies march on the old capital and raze it.
3619: The Minkai Empire is established in Tian Xia. Kasai is named the new capital.
3754: Taldor launches the Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant.
3801: The Shining Crusade secures a beachhead on the northern shore of Lake Encarthan, in Ustalav.
3818: The Knights of Ozem summon Arazni, the warrior goddess Herald of Aroden.
3823: Tar-Baphon humiliates and kills Arazni.
3827: The Whispering Tyrant is imprisoned in Gallowspire.
3828: The Shining Crusade officially comes to an end with the founding of Lastwall, a holding of Taldor tasked with watching over the prison of the Whispering Tyrant.
3832: Iomedae, heroine of the Shining Crusade, successfully attempts the Test of the Starstone and becomes Aroden’s Herald.
3890: Geb abducts Arazni’s corpse from the Knights of Ozem, reanimates her as a lich, and takes her as his Harlot Queen.
3923: Merivesta Olinchi of Nex, a famed satiric playwright, is assassinated during the premiere of her masterpiece, The Conception Exception.
3980: The Rending. Droskar’s Crag erupts, rocking much of southern Avistan and causing widespread destruction in Darkmoon Vale. Sections of Almas wash away in massive flooding.
4043: Kazavon drives the Belkzen orcs from western Ustalav.
4079: The Qadiran army crosses Taldor’s southern border.
4081: Chelish King Aspex the Even-Tongued breaks from Taldor, claiming Andoran and the winged folk of the Devil’s Perch by diplomacy and Galt and Isger by force. The decadelong power grab becomes known as the Even-Tongued Conquest, and greatly undermines Taldan influence throughout western Avistan.
4113: Karas “the Falcon” Novotnian enters Darkmoon Vale and begins pacifying the region. 4137 Under the banner of the mad prince Haliad I, Cheliax unsuccessfully sieges Absalom for the first time. Gains in Garund, however, grant Cheliax complete control of the Arch of Aroden, cementing a naval supremacy that remains to this day.
4138: Cheliax establishes the colony of Sargava on Garund’s western coast.
4142: Imperial Lung Wa is established in Tian Xia, uniting 10 of the 16 Kingdoms of Shu.
4217: The Yellowtongue Sickness ravages Avistan.
4275: A powerful earthquake off the coast of Vudra causes devastating flooding in coastal areas, killing thousands.
4300: The efreeti warlord Jhavhul is imprisoned on the slopes of Pale Mountain at the conclusion of the Genie Wars by the Templars of the Five Winds.
4305: King Haliad III of Cheliax launches the Wars of Expansion to broaden the empire’s northern borders by claiming land in Molthune and Varisia. This lasts more than a century and spans the reign of five Chelish monarchs, eventually becoming known as the Everwar.
4307: The Pathfinder Society is founded in Absalom.
4317: Pathfinder Durvin Gest explores significant portions of the ruins of Azlant.
4329: Geb petrifies the invading army of the Pirate Queen Mastrien Slash, creating the Field of Maidens.
4332: Durvin Gest casts the Lens of Galundari into the Nemesis Well near Osibu.
4338: Nidal falls to Cheliax.
4369: Ordrik Talhirk murders his cousin and seizes the throne of the Five Kings, triggering the Forge War.
4382: The Forge War ends with Ordrik’s triumph.
4407: Cheliax founds Korvosa in the northern frontier region of Varisia.
4410: Cheliax cedes territorial ambitions in Varisia and Belkzen, officially ending the Everwar.
4466: Ordrik’s theocracy crumbles.
4499: Choral the Conqueror carves Brevoy from the corpses of Rostland and Issia.
4507: The Chelish army at Korvosa forces the Shoanti barbarians to retreat to the Storval Plateau.
4508: Forest King Narven dies in the Arthfell Forest.
4552: Mengkare, the great gold dragon, begins his grand experiment on the Isle of Hermea.
4576: The first Hellknight order, the Order of the Rack, is founded in Westcrown.
4584: Chelish explorers from Korvosa settle Magnimar.
4588: Alkenstar, fleeing persecution from Nex, enters the Mana Wastes and discovers Dongun Hold.
4601: The Duchy of Alkenstar is founded—construction of the Gunworks begins.
4603: Taldor and Qadira reach an uneasy peace.
4605: King Gaspodar of Cheliax prepares for the prophesied manifestation of Aroden, foretold to mark the advent of the Age of Glory.
DATE: EVENT
4606: Aroden dies, leaving the Empire of Cheliax without a divine mandate. The Eye of Abendego forms off of Garund’s northwestern coast, drowning the nations of Lirgen and Yamasa. The Worldwound opens in the north, consuming the barbarian kingdom of Sarkoris. Storms wrack the Inner Sea region for several weeks.
4608: Thousands abandon Korvosa for Magnimar.
4609: Osirians overthrow their Keleshite masters and Prince Khemet I takes control, citing a bloodline that dates back to the ancient pharaohs. Ulizmila, reportedly the granddaughter of Baba Yaga, arrives in Darkmoon Vale.
4613: Baba Yaga installs her daughter Elvanna as sovereign of Irrisen.
4615: The astrological philosophers of Lirgen take their own lives after evacuating their people from what becomes known as the Sodden Lands.
4620: The Gunworks of Alkenstar are completed—the first firearms begin emerging from Alkenstar to be purchased by rich collectors and curious scholars.
4622: The faltering Church of Aroden launches the First Mendevian Crusade.
4632: The province of Molthune declares its independence from Cheliax.
4638: Drezen falls to Worldwound demons. The Second Mendevian Crusade begins.
4640: Diabolists of the House of Thrune seize control of Cheliax, brutally ending 3 decades of vicious civil war. A dark shadow envelops the empire.
4648: The northern half of Molthune rebels against the avaricious nobles in Canorate.
4655: The conflict in Molthune ends with the founding of Nirmathas. Irgal Nirmath is assassinated.
4661: Razmiran is established.
4665: The third Mendevian Crusade begins.
4667: The Red Revolution begins in Galt.
4669: The People’s Revolt transforms Andoran.
4672: Razmir founds Thronestep.
4674: The pirates of the Shackles unite under one banner to harass the fleets and merchants of the north.
4676: Shadow beasts first appear in Westcrown.
4682: Queen Domina of Korvosa gains the service of the Hellknight Order of the Nail.
4695: A contingent of 173 heavy cavalry from Lastwall routs Warlord Graukrad’s force of 2,000 orcs.
4696: The Beast of Bloodcove, huge froghemoth, claims 204 victims over the course of a record hot summer.
4690: Gorilla King Ruthazek attacks Alkenstar and seizes the Gunworks’ largest bombard as a trophy.
4697: The Goblinblood Wars shake Isger.
4698: A terrible earthquake rocks Absalom.
4699: The royal house of Rogarvia vanishes in Brevoy, leaving the nation in turmoil. House Surtova takes the contested crown. The great wyrm red dragon Daralathyxl makes his last appearance.
4700: Over the course of the month of Rova, the eyeless bodies of 13 krakens wash up on the western shores of the Isle of Kortos.
4701: Gnolls surge from White Canyon in Katapesh, attempting to enslave the population of Solku.
4702: The runelords stir to life in Varisia. In the sleepy town of Sandpoint, gifted artist Jervis Stoot murders 25 men, women, and children.
4703: The Night Terror, a Chelish merchant ship thought lost to the Eye of Abendego years ago, is found adrift off the Andoren coast in pristine condition but with its entire crew missing.
4704: White Estrid defeats Boiltongue and becomes a Linnorm King; her use of strange weapons that she claims were gifts from “earth spirits” enrages other rulers of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings.
4705: The Gray Corsairs sink three Katapeshi slave galleons in the Inner Sea.
4706: Followers of the Gorilla King behead 17 missionaries and Aspis Consortium merchants in the Mwangi Expanse.
4707: Adventurers reopen Bloodsworn Vale. Pharaoh Khemet III opens the ruins of Osirion to foreign explorers.
4708: An aging King Eodred retreats from rule of Korvosa, leaving his untested young wife, Queen Ileosa, in charge of Varisia’s largest city.
4709: A monstrous metal scorpion capable of spitting fire from its mouth and tail destroys several villages in western Numeria—the beast retreats into the Felldales after harvesting dozens of living prisoners.
4710: Many travelers of the Inner Sea report sightings of an immense blue dragon flying north from Thuvia toward Avistan—later that year, several remote villages in Isger, Druma, and Molthune are mysteriously destroyed by fire and lightning.
4712: The current year.