4 June, 1679 AD: A 6.4 magnitude heavy earthquake strikes in the Yerevan region of Armenia, in the southern Caucasus Mountains Region, then part of the Persian Empire. Numerous buildings were destroyed as a result of the earthquake. In Yerevan (Erivan) most notable structures were damaged. The Erivan Fortress was destroyed completely, so were the following churches: Poghos-Petros, Katoghike, Zoravor and the Gethsemane Chapel. The event goes down in history as the (1679) Yerevan earthquake or Garni earthquake (or simply as 1679 Armenia earthquake).
Furthermore, the nearby Kanaker village was completely destroyed. The classical Hellenistic Temple of Garni also collapsed. Among many churches and monasteries that were reduced to ruins were Havuts Tar, Saint Sargis Monastery of Ushi, Hovhannavank, Geghard, and Khor Virap
November 1680 AD: sees the spectacular passing of a comet which had an unusually long tail and became bright enough to be visible in the daytime sky. Today also identified as scientifcally as C/1680 V1, and more popularly identified as the Great Comet of 1680 comet it became the brightest such passing by far in the 17th century as was subsequently much discussed among the religious as well as among scientists. It also became the first comet in history to be first discovered by use of the telescope the very first primitive parts of which had been invented in The Netherlands at around 1600 AD and from then on rapidly developed and taken into use as astronomical instrument. The first discovery was made by Gottfried Kirch on 14 November 1680 and hence the comet is also named Kirch's Comet (Comet of Kirch). However, it may have been the remnant of a comet which was recorded to have in the year 372 B.C. by none other than Aristotle (the Great Philosopher).
1717 AD: Dzungars of East-Turkestan invade the Nation of Tibet. Soon they start destroying Tibetan Monasteries and Cultural Treasures drawing outrage among the Population as well as a swift response from the nominally Buddhist-Lamaist Ching Court in Beijing. In 1718 AD a First assault by Qing Armies against the Islamic Dzungars in Tibet is repelled and defeated.
26 April, 1721: A massive 7.7 Richter magnitude earthquake hits Shebli (Persian: دهستان شبلي), which today is a mountainous rural district in Botanabad County of East Azerbaidjan Province of north-western Iran. Although records of reports are inadequate sources it is estimated that up to 250 thousand lives may have been lost in this earthquake (or as few as 8000 thousand) which has gone down in history as the 1721 Tabriz Earthquake.
Between 1720 AD and 1730 AD the Dutch Adventurer Samuel van de Putte traveled from his home in The Netherlands via Persia, India and Tibet to Beijing, after which he managed to make his return in the year 1730 AD.
Little is known about van de Putte's Journey, his motivations as oddly, the traveler refused to divulge to anyone what sights he had witness and who he had encountered on his historic and unusual Travels. Before his Death in 1745 AD he personally burned all his notes, diaries and evidence of the entire 10 year period, leaving but one rough map which provided data on the Route he had traveled.
The Map, preserved in the Netherlands, was destroyed in an bombing raid during world war 2.
November 29, 1743 - April 1744 AD: One of the Great Comets in recorded human history appears within sight of human observers on the earth. First sighted as a distant faint object on November 29 of 1943 by Jan De Munck in the Dutch Port City of Middelburg, The Netherlands, the object soon developed a coma and subsequently a full double tale associated with a comet. The comet brightened steadily as it approached to its closest point to the sun. By February 18, 1744,while tracked by astronomers across the globe, it reportedly was as bright as the planet Venus (with an apparent magnitude of -4.6) and at this time displayed a double tail. On March 1 of 1744 it made its closest pass near the sun at a mere 0.2 Astronomical units, that is 0.2 the distance to earth. Not surprisingly, during this very close grazing of the sun the comet seems to have broken up in parts, subsequently developing (at least) 6 large visible tales (some sources record 7). Very unusually, in China, observers reported audible sounds occurring in conjunction with the appearance of the many tales.
Around March 9 it passed out of sight of observers in the northern hemisphere while in the southern hemisphere observers reported the comet tale to grow to 90 degrees of the visible sky with a highpoint around March 18.
Dimming fast after its high speed pass near the sun, the broken object was last visible on April 22. Today recorded and known as the object C/1743 X1, and which is also known as Comet de Chéseaux or Comet Klinkenberg-Chéseaux, the Great Comet of 1744 is counted as among the 6 brightests comet appearances in recorded human history. It seems to have been a non recurring, sun grazing comet and no return date or sun orbit has been determined.
1755 to 1757 AD: Qing Dynasty of China campaigns in the West with the aim of destroying the East Turkestan State and regaining the Western Territories once held by the Chinese. Independent East-Turkestan is violently subdued after the capture of the Dzungar Khan in 1755 AD. In the aftermath Dzungar Tribes fight for their lives against overwhelming odds. 70 to 80% of the Dzungars, some 500 thousand to 800 thousand individuals, are massacred in a campaign of ethnic cleansing and cultural annihilation. The Dzungar, numbers exhausted, are finally defeated in 1759 AD, the remainder fleeing towards newly established Russian Territories to the North.
Map of the Modern Silk Road, connecting Istanbul in Turkey via highways, roads and railways to Beijing in the Far East. Travel beyond that point is possible to Vladvostok, Dalian and Dandong in Liaoning Province, or Pyongyang in North Korea, DPRK.
On the Western side, Istanbul connects via former Yugoslavia to the European Railway network.
