The town
Slaný in the
Central Bohemian Region (
Czech Republic) is founded at the site of a salt spring, according to one chronicle written in the sixteenth century (approximate date).
The city of
Teotihuacan (modern
Mexico) is destroyed and left in ruins, its
palaces burned to the ground.
Indonesia
Borobudur, or Barabudur (a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, as well as the world's largest Buddhist temple, and also one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world) is built (approximate date).
Battle of Talas: First recorded encounter (and the last) between Arab and Chinese forces. The rulers of
Tashkent and
Ferghana are both nominal
vassals of the
Tang Dynasty; the Chinese have intervened on behalf of Ferghana in a conflict between the two; the
Abbasid Caliphate, competing with the Chinese for control of
Central Asia, has become involved. Arab forces from
Samarkand have marched to challenge a Chinese army (30,000 men) under
Gao Xianzhi. Gao has had a series of military victories in the region, but his
Turkish contingent,
Karluk mercenaries, defects. Out of 10,000 Tang troops, only 2,000 manage to return from the
Talas River to
China. The Arabs triumph, and they will remain the dominant force in
Transoxiana for the next 150 years.
Muslim introduction of
papermaking: The first
paper mill in the
Islamic world begins production at Samarkand. Captured craftsmen, taken at the Battle of Talas River, have by some accounts revealed the technique of papermaking (although
paper may have arrived from China much earlier via the
Silk Road). Arab scholars will use paper to produce translations of
Ancient Greek and Roman writings.
Asia
Like the storm of
721, the
storm of this year at the southern Chinese seaport of
Yangzhou reportedly destroys over 1,000 ships engaged in canal and river traffic (approximate date).
King
Pepin III ("the Short") begins a Frankish military expedition down the
Rhône Valley, and receives the submission of eastern
Septimania (i.e.
Nîmes,
Melguelh,
Agde and
Béziers), after securing Count
Ansemund's allegiance.
Siege of Narbonne: Pepin III lays
siege to the fortress city of
Narbonne, occupied by
Gothic-
Muslim forces. The
garrison and residents are able to withstand the attacks, thanks to the supplies provided by sea by the Arab fleet.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri launches an assault on the island of Sardinia, perhaps the beginning of the occupation of the island by the
Muslim Arabs that lasts until
1005.[6] He also attempts to invade
Sicily, but finds the defenses too strong.
March 22 –
Pope Zachary dies at
Rome after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by
Stephen, but he dies four days after, and is not considered legitimate because he was not
consecrated.
July – Stephen II anoints Pepin's sons, Charles (later known as
Charlemagne) and
Carloman, consecrating them as patricians. At
Quierzy he proclaims the
Carolingian dynasty holy, and appeals for help against the
Lombards. Finally, the
Frankish nobles give their consent to a campaign in
Lombardy.
Jianzhen, Chinese
Buddhist monk, arrives in
Nara, where he is welcomed by former emperor
Shōmu and empress
Kōmyō. During his visit Jianzhen introduces
sugar to the Japanese court, using it to mask the flavors of foul-tasting
herbal tea.
A
Tang census shows that 75% of the Chinese live north of the
Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River. The capital of
Chang'an has a population of 2 million and more than 25 other cities have well over 500,000 citizens (approximate date).
Alliances and
trade between
Mayan city-states have begun to break down.
Malnutrition is on the rise. A diminishing of the
food supply creates social upheaval and war (approximate date).
Battle of Marcellae: Constantine V sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (500 ships and 6,000
cavalry) to
Thrace, and defeats the Bulgars around the
Danube Delta and near the fortress city of
Markeli (modern
Bulgaria). Kormisosh is forced to accept a
peace treaty, and confirms the existing frontier.[11] Due to the constant political crisis, the Bulgarian Empire is on the verge of destruction. Kormisosh is deposed during a palace
coup and succeeded by
Vinekh, a member of the
Vokil clan.
Aistulf dies in a hunting accident, and is succeeded by
Desiderius as king of the Lombards.[12] Ex-king
Ratchis attempts unsuccessfully to seize the throne, but is opposed by Stephen II.
Galla Gaulo is deposed, blinded and exiled. He is succeeded by
Domenico Monegario as the sixth
doge of Venice. During his reign Venetian maritime traders become increasingly active.
Ibn al-Muqaffa', Muslim writer and thinker, is tortured at
Basra (modern
Iraq), on orders from Caliph
al-Mansur. His limbs are severed and he is thrown, still alive, into a burning oven (approximate date).
Battle of Yongqiu: A
Tang garrison (2,000 men), under
Zhang Xun, successfully defend their fortress against the rebel army at
Yongqiu. Zhang achieves a victory after a 4-month
siege, and prevents the rebels from capturing the fertile Tang territory south of the
Huai River.
February 5 – An Lushan declares himself emperor at Luoyang, establishing a new empire, called the
Great Yan. He pushes on towards the primary Tang capital at
Chang'an (now
Xi'an). An decides to seize southern China, to cut off loyalist reinforcements. Meanwhile, numerous soldiers join the rebellion.
May – Emperor
Xuan Zong hires 4,000 Muslim
mercenaries to help defend Chang'an against the rebels. Loyalist forces take defensible positions in the mountain passes, but chancellor
Yang Guozhong gives orders for them to leave their posts.
July 7[14][note 1]– An Lushan crushes the Tang troops at the
Tong Pass, leaving the road to the capital wide open.
July 14 – Xuan Zong flees the capital of Chang'an (along with the
imperial court) for
Sichuan, as rebel forces advance through the
Tongguan Pass toward the city. Meanwhile, An Lushan is ailing, perhaps with
diabetes. He is nearly blind and suffers from extreme
irascibility.
July 15 – Xuan Zong is ordered by his
Imperial Guards to execute Yang Guozhong, by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. He permits his consort
Yang Guifei to be strangled by his chief
eunuch. An Lushan also has other members of the emperor's family killed.
August 12 – Xuan Zong abdicates the throne after a 44-year reign. He is succeeded by his son
Su Zong, as emperor of the
Tang Dynasty. He hires 22,000 Muslim mercenaries to reinforce his decimated army at
Lingzhou.
November 19[17] – Tang General
Fang Guan is defeated at
Xianyang. The imperial forces consisted of two thousand oxcarts with cavalry and foot soldiers on two fronts, but the rebels took advantage of their upwind position and attacked with fire. Imperial forces killed or wounded numbered more than 40,000 men.
King
Alfonso I ("the Catholic") dies at
Cangas (modern
Spain), after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded by his son
Fruela I as ruler of
Asturias.
Britain
King
Æthelbald of Mercia is murdered by his own household in a palace coup. He is succeeded briefly by
Beornred, but he is, in turn, ousted by Æthelbald's distant cousin,
Offa. In the meantime,
Mercian supremacy over
Southern England is lost.
King
Sigeberht of Wessex acts unjustly and is removed from power by a council of
nobles, in favor of
Cynewulf. Sigeberht is given control of
Hampshire, probably as
ealdorman, but he murders one of his own men and is driven out.
January 29 –
An Lushan, leader of a revolt and emperor of
Yan, is murdered by his own son
An Qingxu at
Luoyang. He succeeds his father, and appoints
Shi Siming as his deputy. The military leaders of the
Tang Dynasty are able to retake both of the capitals at
Chang'an and at
Luoyang. The rebel army is forced to retreat east.
Battle of Suiyang: A Tang
garrison (7,000 men) under
Zhang Xun defend their
fortress against the rebel army at
Suiyang. Zhang makes multiple attempts to get food from nearby fortresses, but this is refused. After a desperate 10-month siege, Suiyang is overrun by rebel forces who take the city. Because of famine an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 citizens are
cannibalized, only 400 people are left.
Desiderius deposes
Alboin, duke of
Spoleto (
Central Italy), and exercises
ducal authority himself, tying the duchy more closely to the Lombard capital of
Pavia.
An Lushan Rebellion: The Chinese seaport of
Guangzhou is sacked by
Muslim and
Persian raiders. The port is shut down for the next 5 decades, while foreign vessels dock at
Hanoi (modern
Vietnam) instead. Guangzhou thrives again, once it is reopened to foreign
trade in the early
9th century.
June –
Abbasid Arabs and
Uyghur Turks arrive simultaneously at the
Tang capital of
Chang'an, in order to offer
tribute to the
imperial court. The Arabs and Turks bicker and fight over diplomatic prominence at the
gate, to present tribute before the other. A settlement is reached when both are allowed to enter at the same time, but through different gates to the palace.
Empress Kōken abdicates the
throne, after a 9-year reign. She is succeeded by her adopted son
Junnin, grandson of the late emperor
Tenmu. He becomes the 47th emperor (tennō) of
Japan.
An Lushan Rebellion: Tang forces under
Guo Ziyi lay siege to the city of
Yanjing (Northern
China) as they increase their efforts to end the rebellion. The fighting creates such a shortage of
food within its walls that
rats sell at enormous prices.
The town
Slaný in the
Central Bohemian Region (
Czech Republic) is founded at the site of a salt spring, according to one chronicle written in the sixteenth century (approximate date).
The city of
Teotihuacan (modern
Mexico) is destroyed and left in ruins, its
palaces burned to the ground.
Indonesia
Borobudur, or Barabudur (a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, as well as the world's largest Buddhist temple, and also one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world) is built (approximate date).
Battle of Talas: First recorded encounter (and the last) between Arab and Chinese forces. The rulers of
Tashkent and
Ferghana are both nominal
vassals of the
Tang Dynasty; the Chinese have intervened on behalf of Ferghana in a conflict between the two; the
Abbasid Caliphate, competing with the Chinese for control of
Central Asia, has become involved. Arab forces from
Samarkand have marched to challenge a Chinese army (30,000 men) under
Gao Xianzhi. Gao has had a series of military victories in the region, but his
Turkish contingent,
Karluk mercenaries, defects. Out of 10,000 Tang troops, only 2,000 manage to return from the
Talas River to
China. The Arabs triumph, and they will remain the dominant force in
Transoxiana for the next 150 years.
Muslim introduction of
papermaking: The first
paper mill in the
Islamic world begins production at Samarkand. Captured craftsmen, taken at the Battle of Talas River, have by some accounts revealed the technique of papermaking (although
paper may have arrived from China much earlier via the
Silk Road). Arab scholars will use paper to produce translations of
Ancient Greek and Roman writings.
Asia
Like the storm of
721, the
storm of this year at the southern Chinese seaport of
Yangzhou reportedly destroys over 1,000 ships engaged in canal and river traffic (approximate date).
King
Pepin III ("the Short") begins a Frankish military expedition down the
Rhône Valley, and receives the submission of eastern
Septimania (i.e.
Nîmes,
Melguelh,
Agde and
Béziers), after securing Count
Ansemund's allegiance.
Siege of Narbonne: Pepin III lays
siege to the fortress city of
Narbonne, occupied by
Gothic-
Muslim forces. The
garrison and residents are able to withstand the attacks, thanks to the supplies provided by sea by the Arab fleet.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri launches an assault on the island of Sardinia, perhaps the beginning of the occupation of the island by the
Muslim Arabs that lasts until
1005.[6] He also attempts to invade
Sicily, but finds the defenses too strong.
March 22 –
Pope Zachary dies at
Rome after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by
Stephen, but he dies four days after, and is not considered legitimate because he was not
consecrated.
July – Stephen II anoints Pepin's sons, Charles (later known as
Charlemagne) and
Carloman, consecrating them as patricians. At
Quierzy he proclaims the
Carolingian dynasty holy, and appeals for help against the
Lombards. Finally, the
Frankish nobles give their consent to a campaign in
Lombardy.
Jianzhen, Chinese
Buddhist monk, arrives in
Nara, where he is welcomed by former emperor
Shōmu and empress
Kōmyō. During his visit Jianzhen introduces
sugar to the Japanese court, using it to mask the flavors of foul-tasting
herbal tea.
A
Tang census shows that 75% of the Chinese live north of the
Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River. The capital of
Chang'an has a population of 2 million and more than 25 other cities have well over 500,000 citizens (approximate date).
Alliances and
trade between
Mayan city-states have begun to break down.
Malnutrition is on the rise. A diminishing of the
food supply creates social upheaval and war (approximate date).
Battle of Marcellae: Constantine V sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (500 ships and 6,000
cavalry) to
Thrace, and defeats the Bulgars around the
Danube Delta and near the fortress city of
Markeli (modern
Bulgaria). Kormisosh is forced to accept a
peace treaty, and confirms the existing frontier.[11] Due to the constant political crisis, the Bulgarian Empire is on the verge of destruction. Kormisosh is deposed during a palace
coup and succeeded by
Vinekh, a member of the
Vokil clan.
Aistulf dies in a hunting accident, and is succeeded by
Desiderius as king of the Lombards.[12] Ex-king
Ratchis attempts unsuccessfully to seize the throne, but is opposed by Stephen II.
Galla Gaulo is deposed, blinded and exiled. He is succeeded by
Domenico Monegario as the sixth
doge of Venice. During his reign Venetian maritime traders become increasingly active.
Ibn al-Muqaffa', Muslim writer and thinker, is tortured at
Basra (modern
Iraq), on orders from Caliph
al-Mansur. His limbs are severed and he is thrown, still alive, into a burning oven (approximate date).
Battle of Yongqiu: A
Tang garrison (2,000 men), under
Zhang Xun, successfully defend their fortress against the rebel army at
Yongqiu. Zhang achieves a victory after a 4-month
siege, and prevents the rebels from capturing the fertile Tang territory south of the
Huai River.
February 5 – An Lushan declares himself emperor at Luoyang, establishing a new empire, called the
Great Yan. He pushes on towards the primary Tang capital at
Chang'an (now
Xi'an). An decides to seize southern China, to cut off loyalist reinforcements. Meanwhile, numerous soldiers join the rebellion.
May – Emperor
Xuan Zong hires 4,000 Muslim
mercenaries to help defend Chang'an against the rebels. Loyalist forces take defensible positions in the mountain passes, but chancellor
Yang Guozhong gives orders for them to leave their posts.
July 7[14][note 1]– An Lushan crushes the Tang troops at the
Tong Pass, leaving the road to the capital wide open.
July 14 – Xuan Zong flees the capital of Chang'an (along with the
imperial court) for
Sichuan, as rebel forces advance through the
Tongguan Pass toward the city. Meanwhile, An Lushan is ailing, perhaps with
diabetes. He is nearly blind and suffers from extreme
irascibility.
July 15 – Xuan Zong is ordered by his
Imperial Guards to execute Yang Guozhong, by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. He permits his consort
Yang Guifei to be strangled by his chief
eunuch. An Lushan also has other members of the emperor's family killed.
August 12 – Xuan Zong abdicates the throne after a 44-year reign. He is succeeded by his son
Su Zong, as emperor of the
Tang Dynasty. He hires 22,000 Muslim mercenaries to reinforce his decimated army at
Lingzhou.
November 19[17] – Tang General
Fang Guan is defeated at
Xianyang. The imperial forces consisted of two thousand oxcarts with cavalry and foot soldiers on two fronts, but the rebels took advantage of their upwind position and attacked with fire. Imperial forces killed or wounded numbered more than 40,000 men.
King
Alfonso I ("the Catholic") dies at
Cangas (modern
Spain), after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded by his son
Fruela I as ruler of
Asturias.
Britain
King
Æthelbald of Mercia is murdered by his own household in a palace coup. He is succeeded briefly by
Beornred, but he is, in turn, ousted by Æthelbald's distant cousin,
Offa. In the meantime,
Mercian supremacy over
Southern England is lost.
King
Sigeberht of Wessex acts unjustly and is removed from power by a council of
nobles, in favor of
Cynewulf. Sigeberht is given control of
Hampshire, probably as
ealdorman, but he murders one of his own men and is driven out.
January 29 –
An Lushan, leader of a revolt and emperor of
Yan, is murdered by his own son
An Qingxu at
Luoyang. He succeeds his father, and appoints
Shi Siming as his deputy. The military leaders of the
Tang Dynasty are able to retake both of the capitals at
Chang'an and at
Luoyang. The rebel army is forced to retreat east.
Battle of Suiyang: A Tang
garrison (7,000 men) under
Zhang Xun defend their
fortress against the rebel army at
Suiyang. Zhang makes multiple attempts to get food from nearby fortresses, but this is refused. After a desperate 10-month siege, Suiyang is overrun by rebel forces who take the city. Because of famine an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 citizens are
cannibalized, only 400 people are left.
Desiderius deposes
Alboin, duke of
Spoleto (
Central Italy), and exercises
ducal authority himself, tying the duchy more closely to the Lombard capital of
Pavia.
An Lushan Rebellion: The Chinese seaport of
Guangzhou is sacked by
Muslim and
Persian raiders. The port is shut down for the next 5 decades, while foreign vessels dock at
Hanoi (modern
Vietnam) instead. Guangzhou thrives again, once it is reopened to foreign
trade in the early
9th century.
June –
Abbasid Arabs and
Uyghur Turks arrive simultaneously at the
Tang capital of
Chang'an, in order to offer
tribute to the
imperial court. The Arabs and Turks bicker and fight over diplomatic prominence at the
gate, to present tribute before the other. A settlement is reached when both are allowed to enter at the same time, but through different gates to the palace.
Empress Kōken abdicates the
throne, after a 9-year reign. She is succeeded by her adopted son
Junnin, grandson of the late emperor
Tenmu. He becomes the 47th emperor (tennō) of
Japan.
An Lushan Rebellion: Tang forces under
Guo Ziyi lay siege to the city of
Yanjing (Northern
China) as they increase their efforts to end the rebellion. The fighting creates such a shortage of
food within its walls that
rats sell at enormous prices.