8th century BC Phoenician colonists found the city of Tharros in the Sinis peninsula.
6th century BC Tharros is conquered by the Carthaginians.
238 BC Following the first Punic war, Sardinia becomes a Roman province. During the following centuries, Tharros prospers greatly, reaching the peak of its glory in the 3rd century AD.
456 The Vandals occupy Tharros. In 474 they take control of the whole of Sardinia.
534 Sardinia is annexed by the Byzantine Empire which, over the following centuries, loses control of the island, leaving it in a state of anarchy.
10th-11th century Four independent kingdoms are formed in Sardinia, known as giudicati: Cagliari, Gallura, Torres and Arborea, the capital of the latter being Tharros.
1070 To escape the Saracen raids, the bishop of Tharros moves his base to Aristanis, today Oristano, which would become the new capital of the giudicato of Arborea.
1265 Marianus II is crowned giudice (ruler) of Arborea. Forming an alliance with the Republic of Pisa, he gains control of a large part of Sardinia.
1323 The giudice Hugh II allies himself with the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon, securing the Pisan territories in Sardinia.
1347 The reign of giudice Marianus IV begins. Oristano experiences its most prosperous period, due to the grain trade. The army of the giudicato controls the whole of Sardinia, leaving only Alghero and Cagliari under the control of the Aragonese crown.
1383 Eleanor of Bas-Serra comes to the throne of Arborea as giudicessa. During her reign the Carta de Logu is drawn up, written in the Sardinian language. This document was to remain central to the Sardinian civil and legal code until 1827. Eleanor dies of the plague in 1404.
1410 The giudicato of Arborea is finally defeated by the Kingdom of Aragon, which ten years later takes control of the whole of Sardinia.
1546 The first documented edition of the Sartiglia takes place in honour of the emperor Charles V.
1713 At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaty of Utrecht assigns Sardinia to the Holy Roman Empire, which seven years later gives it to the House of Savoy.
1861 Sardinia becomes part of the unified Italian state.
1948 Sardinia is given a degree of autonomous government.
1974 Oristano becomes the capital of the fourth province of Sardinia.