View source for 544

{{short description|Calendar year}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{Year dab|544}}
{{Year nav|544}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Otranto dal bastione dei Pelasgi.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|[[Otranto]] seen from the castle (2008)]]
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Year '''544''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DXLIV]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Friday]] (link will display the full calendar) of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 544 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 ==
<onlyinclude>
=== By place ===
==== the [[Mediterranean]] World, Europe, and the [[Middle East]] ====
* [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]]: Emperor [[Justinian I]] sends [[Belisarius]] back to the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] (Italy) with an inadequate [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] expeditionary force (4,000 men and 200 ships).<ref name="Norw">J. Norwich, ''A Short History of Byzantium'', p. 77</ref>
* Belisarius defeats the [[Goths|Gothic]] army under King [[Totila]], who unsuccessfully [[Siege|besiege]]s the city of [[Otranto]] (southern Italy). After their retreat, the [[East Roman army|Byzantines]] march towards the [[Rome|city of Rome]].
* Justinian I issues a new edict [[Three-Chapter Controversy|condemning the Three Chapters]]. In Western Europe, [[Pope Vigilius]] refuses to acknowledge the imperial edict and is ordered to summon to [[Constantinople]].
* King [[Khosrau I]] unsuccessfully attacks the Byzantine fortress city of [[Dara (Mesopotamia)|Dara]]. The [[Siege of Edessa (544)|siege of Edessa]] is repulsed, and the [[Sasanian Empire|Persians]] are forced into a stalemate.
* Battle of [[Kasserine|Cillium]]: A medium-sized Byzantine army under [[Solomon (magister militum)|Solomon]] is defeated by the [[Moors]] on the border of [[Numidia]]. Solomon and his bodyguard are forced to retreat and are later killed.<ref name="ODB">{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|loc="Solomon", pp. 1925–1926}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Martindale|Jones|Morris|1992|pp=1175–1176}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1958|p=145}}</ref>
==== Asia ====
* February &ndash; [[Lý Bí]] is declared emperor and establishes the empire Van Xuân (modern [[Vietnam]]). His armies repel attacks from the kingdom of [[Champa]].
* October &ndash; The [[Liang dynasty]] retaliates against Van Xuân, and sends an imperial army (120,000 men) under [[Emperor Wu of Chen|Chen Baxian]] to re-occupy the region.
=== By topic ===
==== Religion ====
* [[Jacob Baradaeus]] consecrates Sergius of Tella as [[patriarch of Antioch]], opening a permanent [[schism]] between the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].
</onlyinclude>
== Births ==
* [[Dugu Qieluo]], empress of the [[Sui dynasty]] (d. [[602]])
* [[Emperor Jing of Liang|Jing Di]], emperor of the [[Liang dynasty]] (d. [[558]])
* [[Yuwen Xian]], prince of [[Northern Zhou]] (d. [[578]])
== Deaths ==
* [[October 18]] &ndash; [[Saint Wenna|Wenna]], Cornish saint (approximate date)
* [[Dionysius Exiguus]], inventor of the [[Anno Domini]] era (approximate date)
* [[Solomon (magister militum)|Solomon]], Byzantine general and [[Praetorian prefecture of Africa|prefect of Africa]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Martindale |editor1-first=John Robert |editor2-last=Jones |editor2-first=Arnold Hugh Martin |editor3-last=Morris |editor3-first=J. |title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641|year=1992|location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-20160-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElkwedRWCXkC}}
* {{cite book |last=Bury |first=John Bagnell |authorlink=J. B. Bury |title=History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, Volume 2 |location=Mineola, New York |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |year=1958 |isbn=0-486-20399-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxWifqqPtUcC}}
*{{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium}}
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[[Category:544| ]]