Contents: 601 A.D.–625 A.D.626 A.D.–650 A.D. 651 A.D.–675 A.D. 676 A.D.–700 A.D. |
The Franks, Merovingians, and Carolingians will successively control most of Europe in this century as royal power declines and strong feudal lords rise in power to gain the allegiance of the people and replace state governments.
A Japanese feudal nobility will rise in this century.
601 A.D.: medicine
Indian physicians compile the Vaghbata. At least one Indian medicinal herb mentioned in the classic work—Rauwolfia serpentina—will be employed in Western medicine (see 1949 A.D.).
601 A.D.: agriculture
Food production increases in northern and western Europe as a result of agricultural technology introduced by the Slavs, who have made it possible to farm virgin lands whose heavy clay has discouraged agriculture. The Slavs employ a new, lightweight plow with a knife blade (coulter) that cuts vertically, deep into the soil, and a plowshare that cuts horizontally at grassroots level, together with a shaped board, or moldboard, that moves the cut soil or turf neatly to one side.
601 A.D.: population
A population explosion begins in northern and western Europe as the new agriculture increases the availability of food.
602 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Maurice (Maurikios) succeeds in winning over the Avars to imperial rule, but his campaigns against the Avars, Lombards, Persians, and Slavs have drained the imperial treasury, requiring an increase in taxes. His legions fighting the Avars on the Danube proclaim the centurion Phocas emperor. Maurice is forced to witness the slaughter of his five sons and all his supporters, and he is then executed at Constantinople at age 63 (approximate) after a 20-year reign in which he has helped to transform the failing late Roman Empire into a well-organized Byzantine Empire, which Phocas will rule ineptly until 610 as Phocas I.
602 A.D.: religion
Augustine of Canterbury establishes the archepiscopal see of Canterbury and is made its first archbishop.
603 A.D.: political events
The Bernician king Ethelfrit (Aethelfrith) defeats the combined forces of Strathclyde Britons and Scots, establishing the supremacy of the Angles in the northern part of what will become known as the British Isles. A grandson of the late king Ida, he will be remembered as Ethelfrit (Aethelfrith) the Destroyer (see 605 A.D.).
603 A.D.: religion
England's bishopric of Rochester is founded, St. Andrews Church of Rochester is built, and London's first St. Paul's Church is built.
604 A.D.: political events
China's Sui emperor Wendi (Wen-ti) is assassinated by his son after a 23-year reign in which he has attacked hereditary privilege, reduced the power of the military aristocracy, and established civil service examinations. The patricide son will reign until 618 as the emperor Yangdi (Yang-ti).
604 A.D.: religion
Pope Gregory I (the Great) dies at Rome March 12 at age 64 (approximate) after a 14-year papacy that has laid the foundations for claims to papal absolutism, pioneered the conversion of Britain to Roman Catholicism, led the war against the Lombards, and enunciated what will come to be known as the "seven deadly sins:" pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust (see Thomas Aquinas, 1274 A.D.). Gregory is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 606 as Sabianus.
The Shotoku Taishi code issued by Japan's crown prince Shotoku is a constitution of sorts that demands veneration of Buddha, Buddhist priests, and Buddhist laws.
605 A.D.: political events
Bernicia's king Ethelfrit (Aethelfrith) annexes the neighboring kingdom of Deira (see 603 A.D.). The region between the Forth and Humber rivers will hereafter be known as Northumbria, the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon states.
Persia's Chosroes II (Khosrow II) resumes war with the Byzantines (see 591 A.D.). He will soon control Armenia and Syria (see 608 A.D.).
605 A.D.: transportation
China's Sui dynasty emperor Yangdi (Yang-ti) orders construction of a canal that will link existing waterways to the new Chinese capital, established last year at Luoyang. Built by a million laborers, the canal will be extended to Hangzhou by 610 (see 1280 A.D.).
606 A.D.: political events
A northern India empire is established by Harsha of Thanesar, who will reign until 647.
606 A.D.: religion
Pope Sabianus dies at Rome after a 2-year reign and will not be replaced until next year.
607 A.D.: political events
Japan's empress Suiko sends the first Japanese envoy to China's Sui Court, beginning a long interchange that will lead to the sinoization of Japan.
607 A.D.: religion
The vacancy that has existed on the papal throne since the death last year of Pope Sabianus ends February 19 with the election of a Rome-born deacon of the Church who was sent by Gregory I in 603 to obtain an edict from the Byzantine emperor Phocas recognizing the Roman see as the head of all churches. The deacon reigns until his death November 12 as Boniface III (see 608 A.D.).
608 A.D.: political events
Persian forces cross the Taurus mountains into Asia Minor, meeting little resistance from the Byzantines.
608 A.D.: religion
The late Pope Boniface III is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 615 as Boniface IV.
609 A.D.: architecture, real estate
The Pantheon at Rome is consecrated May 13 as the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda with permission from the Byzantine emperor Phocas.
610 A.D.: political events
Constantinople comes under attack October 5 from a fleet under the command of Heraclius, 35-year-old son of the governor of Africa. Gaining popular support, the blond, grey-eyed Heraclius overthrows the incompetent Byzantine emperor Phocas and has him hanged. Heraclius gains the throne with his father's help and will reign until his death early in 641 as Heraclius I.
610 A.D.: religion
The prophet Mohammed at Mecca has a vision that he is a messenger of God and begins secretly to preach a new religion that will be called Islam (see Imam Ghazzali, 505 A.D.). Now 40, Mohammed was orphaned at age 6, raised by an uncle, and hired in his early 20s by a rich widow, Khadija, to escort a caravan of her goods to Syria. She proposed marriage upon his return, and by one account got her uncle drunk so that he would approve. Although she was about 15 years his senior, Mohammed married her and became a merchant. Khadija's money gave him leisure to think, and after meditating for some years in a mountainside cave on the ignorance and superstition of his fellow Arabs, he has developed a faith with the encouragement of Khadija, who becomes his first disciple. He feels called upon to teach the religion, which will grow to embrace a major part of the world's population in the millennium ahead (see 619 A.D.).
Pope Boniface IV presides over a Council of Rome for the restoration of monastic discipline. Attendees include Mellitus, first bishop of London.
611 A.D.: political events
The Saxon chief Cynegils becomes king of the West Saxons, or Wessex, which he will rule until his death in 643 (see 614 A.D.).
Antioch is sacked by forces of Persia's Chosroes II (Knosrow II), who is creating a neo-Persian empire rivalling the one that flourished more than 8 centuries ago.
612 A.D.: political events
The Frankish king Clotaire II's counselor Arnulf becomes bishop of Metz, his wife enters a convent, and his son marries the daughter of Clotaire's mayor of the palace Pepin of Landen.
Harsha of Thesar takes the title "Emperor of the Five Indies" (see 606 A.D.; 635 A.D.).
Chinese troops cross the Yalu River into Korea and attack Pyongyang; only 2,700 return out of 300,000 (but see 668 A.D.).
612 A.D.: religion
The monastery of St. Gallen is founded by Gallus, a disciple of the Irish missionary Columban, 69.
613 A.D.: political events
Clotaire II of the Franks unites Austrasia and Burgundy. He captures the queen mother, Brunhilda, 80, widow of the late Sigibert I, who was his uncle, and has her dragged to death behind a wild horse.
Northumbrian forces under the command of Ethelfrit (Aethelfrith) defeat the Britons near Chester (see 605 A.D.; Cynegils, 614 A.D.).
613 A.D.: religion
The prophet Mohammed begins to teach openly, discouraging clerical hierarchies and encouraging a personal and direct devotion to God (see 610 A.D.). Mecca's leaders oppose any change in the traditional tribal and religious customs, persecuting those attracted to Mohammed's teachings (see 622 A.D.).
614 A.D.: political events
The Battle of Bampton in Oxfordshire ends in defeat for advancing Britons at the hands of Cynegils, king of Wessex, and his son Cwichelm.
The Frankish king Clotaire II issues the Edictum Chlotacharii defining the rights of king, nobles, and the Church.
Damascus is sacked by the advancing Persian armies of Chosroes II (Khosrow II), who sweep all before them.
614 A.D.: religion
The Italian monastery of Bobbio is founded by Columban.
615 A.D.: political events
Jerusalem is sacked by the Persians, who take the "True Cross" as part of their booty (see 628 A.D.).
615 A.D.: religion
Pope Boniface IV dies at Rome May 8 after a 7-year reign in which he has converted the Roman Pantheon into the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda. He is succeeded by a Rome-born cleric who will reign until his death in 618 as Deusdedit.
The Irish missionary Columban dies at age 72 just 1 year after founding a monastery in the Appenines.
616 A.D.: political events
The East Anglian king Raedwald defeats Ethelbert of Kent and kills him, Kent passes to Wessex, and Northumbria becomes the leading Anglo-Saxon state of what later will be called the British Isles. The Northumbrian king Ethelfrit (Aethelfrith) dies, having ruled Bernicia and Deira since 605; Raedwald installs Ethelfrit's (Aethelfrith)'s 12-year-old son Edwin (Eadwine) on the throne, which Edwin will occupy until he himself is killed in battle in 632. Edwin's nephews Oswald and Oswiu flee to Iona in the Hebrides, where they will be converted to Christianity (see religion, 627 A.D.).
Persian forces overrun Egypt and subjugate her people.
617 A.D.: political events
The Chinese city of Chang-sen falls to the 51-year-old Sui official Li Yüan, who has gained support from Turkish allies; his sons Li Chien-cheng and Li Shih-min help him defeat the forces of the crumbling Sui regime and march on the Sui capital, Luoyang (see 618 A.D.).
618 A.D.: political events
The Tang dynasty that will rule China until 907 is founded by the rebel leader Li Yüan, who last year took Chang-sen; he captures Luoyang, has the Sui emperor Yangdi (Yang-ti) murdered, and establishes himself as the emperor Gao Zu (Kao-tsu), meaning High Progenitor, while his second son, Li Shih-min, eliminates rival claimants to the imperial throne. Gao will reign until his abdication in 627, and the Tang dynasty will bring a golden era to Chinese culture (see 621 A.D.).
618 A.D.: religion
Pope Deusdedit dies at his native Rome November 8 after a 3-year reign in which he has reversed the policies of his predecessors, popes Gregory I and Boniface IV, who favored monks over the secular clergy, and tried to resume Byzantine hostilities against the Lombards in Italy (see 619 A.D.).
619 A.D.: political events
Jerusalem is sacked once again by Sassanian Persian forces (see 615 A.D.).
619 A.D.: religion
Mohammed's wife, Khadija, dies at age 64 after 24 years of marriage to her third husband. Mohammed has not taken any other wives but will marry 12 in the next 12 years, mostly for political reasons.
The late Pope Deusdedit is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 625 as Boniface V.
620 A.D.: political events
Chosroes II (Khosrow II) captures Rhodes and restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 495 B.C. under Darius I.
621 A.D.: political events
China's Tang dynasty emperor Gao Zu (Kao-tsu) delegates control of his military and civil administration in the east to his second son, Li Shih-min, who distinguished himself as a strategist 4 years ago. Gao concentrates on reforming coinage and taxation. Li sets up headquarters at Luoyang, where he will build up a cadre of talented officials. His elder brother Li Chien-cheng schemes to undo him (Li Chien-chung will recruit some of his younger brother's officials, be implicated in a coup attempt but later absolved, and make at least one attempt on Li Shin-min's life) (see 626 A.D.).
621 A.D.: technology
The Chinese establish an imperial bureau for the manufacture of porcelain. Their technology will advance further under the Tang dynasty (see 1708 A.D.).
622 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius lands at Issus and defeats the Persian forces of Shar-Baraz.
622 A.D.: religion
The prophet Mohammed leaves Mecca July 16 because the city's leaders oppose his teachings (see 613 A.D.). Violence has long been outlawed at Mecca, which is the site of a centuries-old monument and has become a center of trade in a desolate country riven by vendettas between tribes struggling for survival. Mohammed moves 200 miles away to the town of Yahrib, which will later be called Medina (his emigration will be called the Hegira). Civil war begins (see religion, 629 A.D.).
623 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius invades Armenia, which has been controlled by the Persians since early in this century but will remain a Byzantine province until 653.
624 A.D.: political events
The prophet Mohammed and some 300 of his followers surprise a reinforced Meccan caravan returning from Syria and defeat about 1,000 Meccans in March at the Battle of Badr. Mohammed and his Muslims have survived at Yahrib (Medina) by making raids on such caravans; having heard that the Umayyad clan's leader Abu Sufyan is escorting an especially rich caravan, they have filled the wells along its route with sand in order to lure Abu Sufyan into battle. Muslim veterans of the encounter will become known as the badriyun and make up one group of the Companions of the Prophet (see 628 A.D.).
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius surprises and defeats Persian forces under Shar-Baraz.
625 A.D.: political events
Avars and Persians attack Constantinople, but the Byzantine emperor Heraclius repels their attacks.
625 A.D.: religion
Pope Boniface V dies at Rome October 25 after a 6-year reign in which he has established the right of asylum and helped to spread Christianity in Northumbria and other parts of England by encouraging missionaries. He is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 638 as Honorius I.
Forces of the Northumbrian king Edwin (Eadwine) defeat forces fielded by Cynegils, king of Wessex, who has tried to thwart the growing strength of Edwin by having him assassinated. Now 22, Edwin obliges Cynegils to acknowledge Northumbria's supremacy (see 628 A.D.).
The Chinese prince Li Shih-min travels to the Tang capital in November to bid farewell to his younger brother Li Yüan-chi, who has been given command of an expedition against Turkish forces on the western border. Hearing of a plot by his two brothers to murder him, Li Shih-min and a few supporters seize the northern entrance to the emperor's palace, they ambush and kill the brothers, and Li Shih-min informs their father of his coup, demanding that Gao Zu (Kao-tsu) step down (see 627 A.D.).
Japanese strongman Umaku Soga dies; he has effectively controlled the government since at least 593.
626 A.D.: exploration, colonization
Edinburgh is founded by the Northumbrian king Edwin (Eadwine).
627 A.D.: political events
Chinese emperor Gao Zu (Kao-tsu) abdicates in January at age 61 after an 8-year reign that has inaugurated the Tang dynasty (see 626 A.D.). He is succeeded by his fratricide second son Li Shih-min, now 27, who has usurped the throne and will reign until 649 as the emperor Taizong (Tai-tsung).
627 A.D.: religion
Enemies of the prophet Mohammed move on Medina from Mecca and slaughter 700 Jews (see 622 A.D.; religion, 629 A.D.).
Northumbria's king Edwin (Eadwine) is converted to Christianity along with many of his subjects through the influence of his wife, Aethelburh of Kent, who has brought the Roman missionary Paulinus to her husband's realm. Edwin will soon begin converting his subjects to Christianity (but see 632 A.D.).
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius invades Syria and Mesopotamia with an army aroused by religious enthusiasm. Refusing to be distracted by the Avars who are constantly attacking his Balkan territories, Heraclius gains a decisive victory December 12 in the Battle of Nineveh and saves Constantinople from the Persians.
628 A.D.: political events
The 51-year-old Anglo-Saxon warrior Penda defeats the West Saxon (Wessex) king Cynegils at the Battle of Cirencester in what later will be Gloucestershire and annexes territory (see 626 A.D.). By 632 Penda will have made himself king of Mercia (see 632 A.D.).
Persia's military mutinies following last year's disastrous Battle of Nineveh and imprisons Chosroes II (Khosrow II). Having regained his throne in 591, he is murdered April 3 by his son, who takes power as Kavadh II and makes peace with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. Prisoners are exchanged, conquered lands are mutually restored, and the "True Cross" carried off by the Persians in 615 is returned to Jerusalem.
Mecca falls to the forces of Mohammed, who has fought his pagan enemies with troops that include women (see 624 A.D.).
The Japanese empress Suiko dies at age 74 after a 35-year reign and is succeeded by a grandson of her late husband Bintas. The 35-year-old grandson will reign until 641 as the emperor Jomei.
628 A.D.: science
The Opening of the Universe (Brahmasphutasiddhanta) by the Indian mathematician and astronomer Brahmagupta, 30, in Rajasthan examines subjects such as mean longitudes of the planets and their true longitudes, diurnal rotation, lunar and solar eclipses, the moon's crescent and shadow, rising and settings, conjunctions of the planets with each other, and their conjunctions with the fixed stars. He believes in a static Earth and calculates the length of the year at 365 days, 6 hours, 5 minutes, and 19 seconds, but although he tries to extend arithmetic to negative numbers and zero (he defines zero as the result of subtracting a number from itself), he errs in saying that zero divided by zero is zero (see zero, 1000 A.D.).
628 A.D.: religion
Mohammed's letters to world leaders explain the principles of the new monotheistic Muslim faith, as they will be contained in his book, the Koran (Qur'an), which will instruct its readers, "Fight the unbelievers who are near to you."
Muslims (Mohammedans) will recognize the authority of the Shariah, a complex legal system much like that of the Jewish Talmud. It calls for circumcision of boys (but not girls) and forbids gambling, public entertainment, and art that portrays the human figure. By some interpretations the Shariah requires women to remain veiled and segregated, and it orders severe punishments for crimes—murderers to have their hearts cut out, thieves to have a hand severed, adulterers to be tied in a sack and stoned to death. It condones polygamy to a limited extent, castration to create eunuchs, torture, slavery, and rape of slaves. It permits a man to own as many female slaves as he can afford, but it permits women to manage their own property and keep whatever money they earn without interference.
628 A.D.: education
The Shariah enjoins women as well as men to obtain secular and religious educations.
628 A.D.: food and drink
The Shariah forbids eating pork, domesticated donkey, and animals or birds of prey but permits camel meat and other flesh denied to Jews by Mosaic law (see Deuteronomy, 621 B.C.) While no animal may be eaten unless slaughtered for the table or for Islamic religious sacrifice, fish and insects, notably locusts, are exempt from this rule. Consumption of intoxicating beverages is forbidden, but some of Mohammed's followers circumvent his prohibition against wine by boiling it down to a concentrate and sweetening it with honey and spices.
629 A.D.: political events
The Frankish kingdom gets its last strong Merovingian ruler January 4 as Clotaire II dies and his 16-year-old son Dagobert succeeds to the throne (see 613 A.D.). Counseled by Arnulf, bishop of Metz, and by Pepin the Elder (Pippin of Landen), Dagobert will make wide dynastic alliances, reuniting Aquitaine with Austrasia and Neustria, but his firm rule will lead to revolt (see 630 A.D.).
The eastern Roman emperor Heraclius recovers Jerusalem from the Persians, who have held it since 619, and restores it to Byzantine suzerainty.
629 A.D.: religion
Mohammed returns to Mecca as master, bringing with him the Koran in which he has established the monotheistic principles of Islam and its five principles (Witnessing that God is one and Mohammed is his prophet, praying five times each day, giving a portion of one's wealth each year to charity, fasting during daylight hours in the holy month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage [the Hadj] to Mecca at least once). The Koran's Arabic name Qur'an means "recitation." Its passages are designed to be recited in a society where few people can read or write. It is written in beautiful poetry that will endure for ages. It states: "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is His messenger." The Koran inspires courtesy and dignity in even the humblest peasant and peddler, it abjures taking of innocent lives. But it also contains some violent passages: "Believers! Wage war against such of the infidel who are your neighbors, and let them find you rigorous"; and "when the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them in every kind of ambush." Christian and Jewish teachings have similar instructions, but only fundamentalist religious extremists will follow them.
"Your women are a field for you to cultivate, so go to your field as you will," says the Koran (Qur'an) (2:223). "Men are superior to women on account of the qualities in which God has given them preeminence, and because they spend of their property [for the support of women]" (4:34). The Koran allows a man to have as many as four kadins (wives) if he is able to keep them all in the same style and accord each one the same amount of affection. Mohammed's intent is to eliminate the female infanticide that has been traditional among pagan Arabs and deal with the surplus of women. "If any of your women be guilty of whoredom, then bring your witnesses against them from among themselves; and if they bear witness to the fact, shut them up within their houses till death release them, or God make some way for them" (4). "Lo! The guile of women is very great" (12:28). But the Koran permits a husband to divorce a wife simply by saying three times, before a kadi (judge), "I divorce thee."
The Koran (Qur'an) depicts the joys of heaven and the pains of hell in vivid imagery while warning that the last day is approaching. Written largely in the first person as if voiced by God, it requires Muslims to offer prayers five times a day according to an elaborate ritual, to fast during daylight hours in the lunar month of Ramadan, to give one-fortieth of their income in alms, and to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once during their lives if such a pilgrimage is not physically or financially impossible.
The Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar Hsuan Tsang sets out for India from the Tang dynasty capital, traveling by foot, on horseback, and by camel on a pilgrimage in search of truth and enlightenment that will continue for 17 years as he looks for texts and makes offerings to the footprints of the prince Gautama Siddartha who died in about 483 B.C.
630 A.D.: political events
The Frankish king Dagobert cedes several territories in Aquitaine and Gascony to his brother Charibert, who becomes king of Aquitaine with his capital at Toulouse (but see 631 A.D.).
Norway has her beginnings in a colony founded in Vermeland by Olaf Tratelia, who has been expelled from his native Sweden.
The Chinese Tang court established 12 years ago receives its first Japanese ambassadors.
631 A.D.: political events
Aquitaine's king Charibert II is assassinated along with his infant son (see 630 A.D.). His lands in Aquitaine and Gascony revert to his brother Dagobert (see 634 A.D.).
632 A.D.: political events
The pagan Welsh king Cadwallon of Gwynedd joins with Mercia's pagan king Penda in an invasion of Northumbria, whose Christian king Edwin (Eadwine) is defeated October 12 at the Battle of Heathfield (Hatfield Chase) near Doncaster and killed at age 48 (approximate). Edwin's widow, Aethelburh, flees the realm, as does the Roman missionary Paulinus who has converted many in Northumbria to Christianity, and a period of anarchy begins (see 633 A.D.).
632 A.D.: religion
Celtic Christianity supplants the Roman Church in many parts of the British Isles through efforts by Oswald of Northumbria (Aidan from Iona). Cynegils, king of Wessex, is baptized at Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, where he establishes a bishopric.
The prophet Mohammed dies at Medina June 7 at age 63 (or 65), leaving behind an Islamic monotheism whose believers will soon conquer the Near East and North Africa. The prophet's third (and favorite) wife, Aïshah, married him at age 9, is still only about 19, and has not borne any children; she resists claims by the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali (who has accused her of infidelity), and supports those of her father, Abu-Bakr, 59. Mohammed's youngest daughter, Fatima (accent on first syllable), has been Ali's wife but dies at age 26, leaving two sons—Abbas (or Hussan) and Hussein—who will found the Fatimid dynasty that will rule Egypt and North Africa from 909 to 1171. Ali accepts the choice, but what later will be called Shiite Muslims will insist that the prophet selected Ali as his successor and that Ali was therefore divinely chosen to transmit the faith; Sunni Muslims will insist that Mohammed died without naming a successor, the Sunni branch will become dominant, but the dispute will be the source of schism that will continue into the 21st century. The prophet's closest followers elect Abu-Bakr to succeed him as ruler of Islam and he adopts the title khilafat rasulitlah (viceregent of the messenger of God), which is soon simplified to khalifa and will be the basis of the word caliph; as the first caliph, he makes Medina his seat of power and will rule until his death in 634, but most of Mohammed's followers will forsake his invitation to private contemplation and flexibility, falling back, instead, to religious dogma.
The Chinese traveler Hsun Tsang writes about two huge statues of the Buddha carved out of a mountainside in the Bimiyan Valley of what will become Afghanistan: one is 175 feet tall, the other 120 feet, and they will survive until 2001.
633 A.D.: political events
Northumbrian forces oblige the Mercian king Penda to recognize their overlordship (see 632 A.D.); he will not regain his independence until 642 (see 634 A.D.).
Muslim forces attack Persia, beginning the conquests that will give them power over much of the world (see 634 A.D.).
633 A.D.: religion
Christian churches at Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem are turned into Muslim mosques.
634 A.D.: political events
The Battle of Heavenfield near Hexham ends in defeat and death for the pagan Welsh king Cadwallon of Gwynedd, who has ravaged Northumbria since killing her Christian king Edwin (Eadwine) last year at Hatfield Chase. The 29-year-old Bernician prince Oswald returned from Iona after the death of Edwin and gains the throne of Northumbria, which he will hold until his death in 642, reestablishing Christianity with help from the monk Aidan, whom he summons from Iona to establish a bishopric on the holy island of Lindisfarne (see 642 A.D.).
Popular demand forces the Frankish king Dagobert to give Austrasia her own ruler (see 631 A.D.). He cedes the Austrasian throne to his infant son, who will reign until his death in 656 as Sigebert III, but Dagobert will free himself from dependence on Pepin (Pippin) of Landen and the other great nobles as he extends his rule over the Bretons in the north and Basques in the south.
The Battle of the Bridge in Mesopotamia ends in victory for Persian forces who defeat a 5,000-man Muslim army under the command of Abu Ubayad ath-Thaqafi.
An Arab army sent into Palestine by the caliph Abu Bakr gains a victory in the Battle of Ajnadayn.
Islam's first caliph Abu Bakr dies at Medina August 23 at age 61 and is succeeded by Mohammed's 52-year-old adviser Omar (or Umar), whom he has selected and who will reign until 644, conquering Syria, Persia, and Egypt in a "holy war."
635 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius makes an alliance with Kuvrat, king of the Bulgars, to break the power of the Avars.
Damascus falls to Muslim forces under Khalid ibn-al-Walid, the "Sword of Allah," who defeats the Byzantines at nearby Marj al-Saffar. Damascus is made the seat of the caliphate and will remain so until 750.
Gaza falls to the Muslims.
Chalukyas in India repel an invasion by Harsha.
The former Chinese emperor Gao Zu (Kao Tsu) dies at Chang-sen at age 69 (approximate), having abdicated to his fratricide second son in 627.
635 A.D.: exploration, colonization
Basra is founded at the head of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers converge. The port will become a major trading center for commodities from Arabia, India, Persia, and Turkey.
636 A.D.: political events
The Battle of Yarmuk east of the Sea of Galilee August 15 ends in victory for Islamic forces who crush a Byzantine army. The Arab general Amr ibn al-As conquers southwestern Palestine while another Arab army gains control of Syria.
636 A.D.: religion
Churches go up at Glastonbury, St. Albans, and Winchester; Christians in southern Ireland submit to Roman Catholicism.
636 A.D.: communications, media
French and German language differences appear in the Frankish Empire.
637 A.D.: political events
A large Arab army under the command of Sad ibn Abi Waqqas decisively defeats the main Persian army in June at the Battle of Qadisiya on the Euphrates River; they do so again at Ualula, ending the Sassanian Empire founded by Ardashir in 224. The Arabs loot Ctesiphon and go on to invade Mesopotamia.
637 A.D.: religion
The Muslims replace Zoroastrianism with Islam in what later will be Iraq; they do not force their conquered subjects to embrace Islam, but they do require acceptance of the Koran (Qur'an) as the doctrine of divine teaching and will oblige their subjects to learn Arabic, thus building an empire united by a common tongue.
638 A.D.: political events
Jerusalem falls to Islamic forces under the caliph Omar. Another Arab army spreads out through Mesopotamia (later Iraq), where it founds the garrison town of Kufah on the Hindiyah branch of the Euphrates River, while a third reaches into central Persia. The Persians appeal for Chinese aid, but by year's end the Arabs have conquered nearly all of Mesopotamia and the last Sassanian king Yazdegerd (Yazdgird) III has fled to Persia. The Sassanian defeat at Nahawand will result in the Islamization of Persia.
638 A.D.: religion
Arian Visigoths on the Iberian Peninsula declare that only Christians may live in Spain (see Moors, 711 A.D.).
Pope Honorius I dies at Rome October 12 afer a 13-year reign and is succeeded by a son of the Roman consul Petronius who will reign until 640 as Severinus, but the emperor Byzantine emperor Heraclius will delay the new pope's consecration until May 640.
639 A.D.: political events
The Merovingian Frankish king Dagobert I dies January 9 after a 10-year reign as king of all the Franks in which his realm has prospered. His 6-year-old son succeeds him and will reign until his death in 657 as Clovis II of Neustria and Burgundy, but he will not enjoy the personal rule exercised by his father nor will any of his successors.
An Arab army of some 4,000 men invades Egypt under the command of Amr ibn al-As, a rich member of the Auraysh tribe (see 640 A.D.).
640 A.D.: political events
A Welsh army defeats a Saxon army in what later will be called the British Isles, where the Roman Church has lost power and where anarchy reigns. The Welsh victory is credited partly to the fact that each Welsh soldier has affixed a leek to his helmet so that Welshmen will not accidentally kill Welshmen, and the leek will become the national emblem of Wales.
A large Byzantine army meets with defeat at Heliopolis as the Islamic conquest of Egypt continues under the command of Amr ibn al-As, who has been joined by another 12,000 men (see 639 A.D.; Alexandria, 642 A.D.); but when Arab forces make their first raid into Armenia they find that country strongly defended by the Byzantine general Procopius and the nakhara Theodor Rshtuni (see 642 A.D.).
The governor of Syria Yazid I dies after a brief reign; the caliph Omar appoints Yazid's brother Muawiya, 38, to succceed him at Damascus, and within 7 years Muawiya will have built up a Syrian army able to withstand any Byzantine attack (see Cyprus, 648 A.D.).
640 A.D.: religion
Pope Severinus dies at Rome August 2 only 2 months after being consecrated; he is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 642 as John IV.
640 A.D.: food and drink
A Chinese mission sent by the Tang emperor Taizong (Tai-tsung) studies Indian techniques of sugar manufacturing at Behar in the Ganges Valley dating to 100 B.C. Extensive cultivation and manufacture of sugar in China will begin within a few years.
641 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius dies in agony at Constantinople February 11 at age 65 (approximate) of a prostate gland enlargement that prevents urination. In his enlightened 31-year reign he has reorganized and shored up the imperial administration but lost Armenia, most of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and much of Mesopotamia to the Arabs. His tubercular son by his first wife, the late Eudocia, has served as co-emperor since 613 and succeeds to the throne as Constantine III (Constantinus) but dies May 24 at age 29. Rumors spread that the new emperor has been poisoned by Heraclius's second wife (and niece), Martina, and her 25-year-old son Heracleon (Heraclonas), who are both mutilated and exiled in September to Rhodes, whereupon the late Constantine III's 12-year-old son succeeds to the throne and will reign until his death in 668 as Constans II Pogonatus.
The Japanese emperor Jomei dies at age 48 and is succeeded by his widow, 47, who will reign until 645 as the empress Kogyoku.
642 A.D.: political events
Mercia's pagan king Penda attacks Northumbria once again and kills the 38-year-old Christian king Oswald in August at the Battle of Maserfeld (Old Oswestry) (see 633 A.D.; 634 A.D.). In the next 13 years Penda will ravage Wessex and East Anglia (see 655 A.D.).
Arab forces make another raid on Armenia (see 640 A.D.); the nakharar Theodor Rshtuni is unable to prevent them from pillaging Dvin (see 643 A.D.).
The Battle of Nahawand (Niharvand) gives the Arabs a final victory over the Persians and ends the Sassanian dynasty that has ruled Persia for 4 centuries. Some 30,000 Arab troops under the command of Numan attack a Sassanian army, said to number 150,000, whose commander, Firuzan, is strongly entrenched. Numan feigns a withdrawal, pretending to have been defeated but actually intending to draw the Persians out of their stronghold. Forced to fight between two narrow mountain passes, the Sassanians are slaughtered. Both commanders fall in battle, and Persian casualties will later be estimated at 100,000. A grandson of the late Chosroes II (Khosro Parviz), the Persian king Yezdigird (Yazdgird) III appeals to the Chinese emperor Taizong (Tai-tsung) for help, but his provinces are incorporated into the Arabian caliphate (see 651 A.D.).
Alexandria capitulates to the Arab forces of Amr ibn al-As, who completes his conquest of Egypt and moves its capital to Cairo (see 640 A.D.). The city has become a center of Coptic Christianity; its patriarch Cyrus has arranged the capitulation on condition that the Muslims guarantee security of persons and property and free exercise of religion in return for a payment of tribute.
642 A.D.: religion
Pope John IV dies at Rome October 12 after a 2-year reign and is succeeded November 24 by a Jerusalem-born cleric of Greek descent who will reign until 649 as Theodore I.
642 A.D.: architecture, real estate
Arabs in Egypt begin construction of the Amr Mosque at Cairo, the country's new capital.
643 A.D.: political events
The West Saxon king Cynegils dies after a 32-year reign as king of Wessex and is succeeded by his son Cenwalh, who has married a daughter of the Mercian king Penda and remained a pagan (see 645 A.D.).
The Armenian nakharar Theodor Rshtuni gains a victory over invading Arab forces (see 642 A.D.). The young Byzantine emperor Constans II names him commander of the Armenian army.
644 A.D.: political events
The second Arab caliph Omar (Umar) dies of wounds inflicted by a Persian slave at Medina November 4 after a 10-year reign. He has appointed a committee to determine his successor and it has selected the 68-year-old Othman (Uthman), who will rule until his own assassination in 656, trying to centralize the administration of newly conquered territories, antagonizing provincial governors by ordering them to send taxes and revenues seized by conquest back to Medina for distribution, continuing the conquest of the Persian plateau, and ordering the creation of a definitive written version of the Koran (Qur'an).
644 A.D.: food availability
Japan has a terrible famine, thousands die, and a new religion springs up (Tokoyonomushi). Devotees worship a large worm, get drunk on sake, dance in the streets, and give away all their money.
645 A.D.: political events
The wife of Cenwalh, king of Wessex, makes war on her faithless husband and drives him into exile in East Anglia (see 643 A.D.; 648 A.D.).
Alexandria revolts from Arab rule at the appearance of a Byzantine fleet, and Byzantine forces recapture the city, but Egypt's Arab governor Abdalla ibn Sad mounts an assault that retakes it, and he begins building an Arab fleet.
Japan has a coup d'état in June. Iruka, grandson of the late Umako boga, is killed at the imperial palace by Nakanō-ōenō-ōji, a cousin of the late Shotoku, and by Nakatomi Kumatari, 31, who founds the Fujiwara (Kumatari) clan that will later control the Japanese throne, usually by having its daughters become consorts or chief concubines of emperors. The empress Kogyoku is removed, the 49-year-old grandson of the emperor Bintas is made emperor to begin a 9-year reign as Kotoku, Nakanō-ōenō-ōji becomes crown prince and prime minister, and the Taika period begins as the Japanese adopt the Chinese custom of giving names to periods.
646 A.D.: political events
A Great Reform edict changes Japan's political order. It will lead to the establishment of a centralized government with the emperor presiding over a Chinese-style bureaucracy and ruling from a palace in a permanent capital city (see Nara, 710 A.D.).
648 A.D.: political events
The West Saxon king Cenwalh of Wessex returns from a 3-year exile in East Anglia, regains his throne, and builds St. Peter's at Winchester, having been baptized (see 658 A.D.).
Cyprus falls to Arab naval forces under the command of Abd Allah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh, governor of upper (southern) Egypt, and Syrian forces led by the governor Muawiya, who has joined with Ibn Abi Sarh in founding the first Muslim navy. Arab ground forces invade Armenia, which will be conquered by 653.
649 A.D.: political events
China's second Tang emperor Taizong (Tai-tsung) dies at age 49 (approximate) after a 23-year reign in which he has restored normal civil administration after years of rebellion and civil war. His eldest son has been banished for unacceptable behavior and has died, Taizong's concubine Wu Hou, now 24, has become the concubine of Taizong's ninth son, now 21, who rescues her from the convent to which she was sent following his father's death; he will reign until his death in 683 as the emperor Gaozong (Kao-tsung), but his powers will be largely usurped within 11 years by Wu as she gradually eliminates not only the rivals for the emperor's affections but also her political opponents, having elder statesmen (including the new emperor's uncle) dismissed, exiled, or in many cases executed.
649 A.D.: religion
Pope Theodore I deposes the patriarch Paul of Constantinople, who has relapsed into Monothelitism, but Theodore dies at Rome May 13 after a 7-year reign in which he has shown generosity to the poor. He is succeeded in July by the Tuscan cleric who will reign until 655 as Martin I. The new pope convenes a Lateran Council which condemns Monothelitism and also condemns the Typos—an order by the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus forbidding discussions of Christ's wills. The emperor has not approved Martin's election and orders his arrest (see 654 A.D.).
The former Sassanian king of Mesopotamia Yazdegerd (Yazdgird) III is murdered in a Persian miller's hut near Merv (see 638 A.D.). His demise marks the end of the Zoroastrian Empire
652 A.D.: political events
An Arab fleet under the command of Abd Allah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh defeats a Byzantine fleet off Alexandria. Ibn Abi Sarh and the future caliph Muawiyah I have attacked the Christian kingdom of Nubia and force the Nubians to sue for peace.
653 A.D.: political events
The Visigoth king Recessuinth at Toledo draws up the Liber ludicorium, a code based on Roman law that establishes equality between Goths and Hispano-Romans without regard to racial or cultural differences.
The Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus voluntarily surrenders Armenia to the Arabs following a truce with the Syrian governor Muawiyah, but the Arabs grant the Armenians virtual autonomy and appoint the nakharar Theodor Rshtuni governor (ostikan). Rshtuni's successor, Hamazasp Mamikonian, will ally himself with the Byzantines, but the Arabs will reestablish suzerainty after 661 (see 771 A.D.).
654 A.D.: political events
Arab invaders under the command of Abd Allah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh and the Syrian governor Muawiya plunder Rhodes, going on to seize Cos in the Dodecanese Islands. They take the remains of the Colossus of Rhodes that was completed in 282 B.C. and toppled by an earthquake less than 60 years later, selling the 900 camel loads of bronze for scrap metal.
Arab forces cross the Oxus (later Amu Darya) River in what later will be Uzbekistan, but nomadic Turkic tribes and sedentary Persian tribes that include the Sogdians and Khwarizmians continue to control Central Asia (see 705 A.D.).
The Japanese emperor Kotoku dies at age 58, and the empress Kogyoku is restored. Removed in 645 and now 60, she begins a 7-year reign under the name Saimei.
654 A.D.: religion
Pope Martin I is taken to Constantinople September 17 and publicly humiliated for having condemned the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pognatus (see 649 A.D.). A Rome-born cleric is elected to succeed Martin and will reign until his death in 657 as Eugenius I (see 655 A.D.).
655 A.D.: political events
Mercia's pagan king Penda makes another attack on Northumbria but comes to grief November 15 at the Battle of Winwaed, near what later will be Leeds in Yorkshire, where he is defeated and killed by the Christian king Oswin (see 657 A.D.).
An Arab fleet under the command of Abd allah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh defeats a Byzantine fleet under the personal command of the emperor Constans II Pogonatus in the Battle of Dhat as-Sawari off the Lycian coast, but disaffection grows among Arab forces in Mesopotamia and Egypt as a result of blatant nepotism on the part of the caliph Othman (Uthman), who has ruled the Islamic Empire since 644. The late prophet Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib claims Othman's throne and gains support from the Muslims of Kufah (see 656 A.D.).
655 A.D.: religion
Pope Martin I is banished to the Crimea in May, Pope Eugenius I writes a letter in September acknowledging Martin as the legitimate pope, but Martin dies at Cherson September 16 after a 6-year reign, leaving Eugenius as the uncontested pope (see 654 A.D.).
656 A.D.: political events
The Frankish king Sigibert III of Austrasia dies February 1 at age 24 after a 22-year reign. His 5-year-old son Dagobert is kidnapped by the boy's guardian Grimoald, a court chancellor who makes his own son king; exiled to an Irish monastery, Dagobert is placed with Dido, bishop of Poitiers, while Grimoald's son assumes the Austrasian throne as Childebert II (see 675 A.D.; Dagobert, 679).
The third Arab caliph Othman (Uthman) ibn Affan is assassinated at Medina June 17 at age 80 after a reign of 11 years, 11 months, and 14 days (see 655 A.D.). He is succeeded by the prophet Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib, now about 56, who has been Islam's first imam since 632. He becomes the fourth caliph and makes Kufah his capital, but the succession is disputed (see Battle of Siffin, 657); Mohammed's widow, Aïshah, leads a revolt against Ali, but she is defeated and captured at the Battle of the Camel at Basra December 9. Ali exiles her to Medina (see 661 A.D.).
The governor of Upper (southern) Egypt Abd Allah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh dies after a 12-year regime in which he has defeated his neighboring Nubians and opposed Amr ibn al-As, governor of Lower Egypt, who has conquered most of the country for the Umayyads (see 657 A.D.).
657 A.D.: political events
Mercians defeat the forces of Northumbria's king Oswiu and enthrone a younger son of their late king Penda (see 655 A.D.). Kept in concealment after his father's death, he seizes Lindsey from Northumbria and will reign until his death in 674 as Wulfhere, extending his borders and working to spread Christianity throughout his realm.
The Merovingian king Clovis II of Neustria and Burgundy dies and is succeeded by his son, who will reign until his death in 673 as Clotaire III.
Syria's governor Muwiyah fights against the fourth caliph Ali ibn Talib for the right to succeed the third caliph Othman (Uthman). He gains the support of Amr ibn al-As in the Battle of Siffin, but Ali prevails (see 656 A.D.; 661 A.D.).
657 A.D.: religion
Pope Eugenius I dies at his native Rome June 2 after a reign of nearly 2½ years in which he has refused to recognize Constantinople's patriarch, Peter, because the man is a Monothelite. Eugenius is buried at St. Peter's and succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 672 as Vitalian.
The Northumbrian abbess of Hartlepool founds a monastery at Streaneshalch (Whitby) that she will head until shortly before her death in 680. Now 43, Hilda was baptized at age 13 by Paulinus, the first archbishop of York.
658 A.D.: political events
The West Saxon king Cenwalh of Wessex drives opposing Britons to the River Parret, but invading Welsh and Mercian forces have seized the Isle of Wight, southern Hampshire, and all of his territories north of the Thames.
Several states on the North China plain join in building a defensive wall against nomadic incursions and annex part of what later will be called Inner Mongolia to their agricultural territory.
661 A.D.: political events
The fourth caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib is assassinated while at prayer at a shrine at Kufah in Mesopotamia (later Iraq) January 24 by a former supporter who has become a Kharajite (see 657 A.D.). Dead at age 60 (approximate), Ali was the last caliph to come from the group of Muslims that was converted before the hejira in 622, the Orthodox caliphate ends with his death, and leadership of the caliphate passes after a period of indecision to the rival Banu Umayyah clan of Syria. Ali is succeeded by his Umayyad relative Muawiya, now 59, who becomes the fifth caliph and moves his seat of government to Damascus, although Kufah will remain a center of Arab culture and learning until the 10th century. Muawiya appoints Amr ibn al-As governor of Egypt and will himself reign until his death in 680, founding the Umayyad caliphate that will rule the Islamic Empire until 750. Ali's sons Hassan (Abbas), now 37, and Hussein (al-Husayn) by the late Fatima survive him, and his supporters will be called Shiites (from the Arabic shiat Ali, or taking the part of Ali) (see 680 A.D.).
The Japanese empress Saimei dies at age 67 and is succeeded by a son of the late emperor Jomei. Now 35, he will reign until 671 as the emperor Tenji.
663 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine court moves from Constantinople to Italy as the emperor Constans II Pogonatus tries to stop the Arab conquest of Sicily and restore Rome as the seat of empire. The Lombards resist Constans, and no Byzantine emperor will hereafter visit Rome.
The Arab conqueror of Egypt Amr ibn al-As dies at al-Fustat has ruled since 661 as governor for the Umayyad caliphate.
664 A.D.: political events
Kabul falls to Arab forces that have invaded eastern Afghanistan.
664 A.D.: medicine
A sudden pestilence depopulates the southern coasts of England and soon moves into Northumbria, taking a fearsome toll of life before proceeding to Ireland. The Irish call it the Yellow Plague (Buidhe Connail) but do not let it prevent them from supplying books and food to English scholars of the nobility and lower ranks who are studying theology and leading monastic lives in Ireland.
664 A.D.: religion
The Synod of Whitby returns what later will be called the British Isles to the orbit of the Roman Church. Having founded a monastery 7 years ago, the Synod adopts the Roman Catholic faith, and the Northumbrian king Oswiu accepts the Roman ritual (see Theodore of Tarsus, 669 A.D.).
668 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus dies under mysterious circumstances in his bath at Syracuse July 15 at age 37 during a mutiny. The Byzantine court returns to Constantinople after an absence of 5 years in which the Arabs have made annual invasions and devastations of Anatolia. Probably murdered by his chamberlain after a 27-year reign, Constans is succeeded by his sons Pogonatus, Heraclius, and Tiberius, but Pogonatus (the "Bearded") will reign alone beginning in 680 as Constantine IV and remain on the throne until 685.
Chinese troops sent by the Tang dynasty emperor Gaozong (Kao-tsung) complete their conquest of the Korean Peninsula, making Korea a vassal state. Leaders of the expedition have been selected by the emperor's powerful concubine Wu Hou.
669 A.D.: political events
Theodore of Tarsus becomes seventh archbishop of Canterbury at age 67 and introduces a system that will become the model for the secular state, creating a new concept of kingship. Rival kingdoms will come together in the next 30 years in what later will be called the British Isles, beginning an evolutionary process that will create an English nationality and English national institutions destined to spread throughout much of the civilized world.
Arab forces that have taken Chalcedon lay siege to Constantinople, but the city's defenders mount a successful resistance and it will remain the Byzantine capital until 1453 (see 677 A.D.).
The Japanese reformer Kamatari is given the surname Fujiwara as a reward for his services but dies in Yamato prefecture November 14 at age 55, having implemented measures that have helped to strengthen the power of the central government. The so-called "Reforms of Taika" ("Taika no kaishin") have inaugurated the practice of counting time by arbitrary year periods as has been the custom in China.
669 A.D.: religion
The new archbishop of Canterbury introduces a strict Roman parochial system and a centralized episcopal system. Born in Cilicia in Asia Minor and appointed by Pope Vitalian last year, Theodore of Tarsus has arrived in England with Adrian, abbot of Nerida, whom Theodore will make abbot of the Saints Peter and Paul monastery (which will be renamed St. Augustine's); and Benedict Biscop, who will become abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow, Durham.
670 A.D.: political events
Northumbria's king Oswin dies and is succeeded by his son Egfrith, who will reign until his death in 685, fighting Picts to his north and Mercians to his south (see 678 A.D.).
The founding of Quairawan (Tunis) consolidates the conquest of North Africa (Ifrikquiya) by Arabs.
671 A.D.: political events
The Japanese emperor Tenji dies at age 45 after a 10-year reign in which he has given the Fujiwara family its name. He is succeeded by his son Kobun, 23, but Tenji's brother Ooama objects that Kobun's mother was the late emperor's mistress, a commoner, and insists that the emperor must be entirely of royal blood.
672 A.D.: political events
The Japanese emperor Kobun is deposed after 8 months by his uncle Ooama, Kobun commits suicide, and Ooama makes himself emperor with support from the Fujiwara family. He takes the name Tenmu and begins a reign that will continue until 686.
672 A.D.: religion
Pope Vitalian dies at Rome on or about January 27 after a reign of more than 14 years and is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until 676 as Adeodatus (Deusdedit) II.
Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, summons the first general synod of the English Church. Convened at Hertford, its purpose is to divide dioceses and terminate certain Celtic practices. The first of these issues is postponed, but the synod does forbid monks to interfere in other dioceses, establishes obedience for clerics and monks, imposes the date of the Roman Easter, and reaffirms Church teachings on marriage and divorce.
672 A.D.: literature
Poetry: The elderly Anglo-Saxon poet Caedmon writes a nine-line hymn on the Creation (year approximate). A onetime illiterate herdsman, he becomes a monk under the rule of Hilda at Whitby, where he will turn various biblical themes into vernacular poetry.
673 A.D.: political events
The Merovingian king of Neustria and Burgundy Clotaire III dies the night of March 10 after a reign of nearly 16 years in which he has been largely dominated by the Neustrian mayor of the palace, Ebron.
674 A.D.: political events
Northumbrian forces under the command of their king Egfrith defeat a coalition led by Mercians; Egfrith annexes the region of Lindsey.
Mercia's king Wulfhere dies after a 17-year reign in which he has extended his sway over much of England south of the Humber River, including Essex, London, Surrey, and parts of Wessex north of the Thames. Wulfhere is succeeded by his brother Ethelred (Aethelred), who will reign until 704 (see 676 A.D.).
The West Saxon king Cenwalh of Wessex dies after a 31-year reign in which he has lost much of his territory to Welsh and Mercian forces. His widow, Seaxburh (or Seaxburg), will rule until 676.
675 A.D.: political events
The Frankish king Childeric of Austrasia is murdered while hunting; his father usurped the throne for him in 656, and his death leads to civil war and anarchy in the kingdom (see Dagobert II, 679 A.D.).
Wessex crowns a new king in the person of Centwine, a younger son of the late Cynegils and brother of the late Cenwalh (see 674 A.D.). He will reassert the power of his Anglo-Saxon state over the Welsh and reign until his death in 685, but Ethelred (Aethelred) of Mercia will hold parts of Wessex.
Mercia's new king Ethelred (Aethelred) ravages Kent, taking Rochester as he lays waste the surrounding countryside.
677 A.D.: political events
A Byzantine fleet destroys the Arab fleet at Syllaeum, ending the Arab threat to Europe (see 669 A.D.; 678 A.D.).
678 A.D.: political events
The Mercian king Ethelred (Aethelred) defeats Northumbria's Egfrith in battle near the River Trent; Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, helps to resolve differences between the two, Ethelred agreeing to pay a wergild to avoid any resumption of hostilities.
Arab forces lift a 5-year blockade of Constantinople and conclude a peace that will last for 30 years.
Arab horsemen sweep across North Africa to the Atlantic, where their leader Uqba ibn Nafi rides into the waves.
678 A.D.: religion
Pope Adeodatus (Deusdedit) II dies at his native Rome June 17 after a 4-year reign in which he has defended orthodoxy against Monothelitism and inaugurated the practice of dating events in terms of his own reign; he is succeeded by a Sicilian-born son of Jovinian who will reign until his death early in 681 as Agatho.
679 A.D.: political events
Austrasian noblemen recall the son of the late Merovingian king Sigebert from exile for a "reunion" (see 656 A.D.). Now 28, Dagobert II has married an English princess, who has borne him several children, but he is lanced through the eye by his own godson in a "hunting accident" December 23 in what later will be called Lorraine. The anarchy that has prevailed since 675 continues, and it is generally believed that Dagobert was murdered on orders from Pepin (Pippin) the Fat of Heristal, now 44, to remove him permanently from consideration for the Austrasian throne (see 687 A.D.).
679 A.D.: religion
Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, convenes a synod at Hatfield that clears the English Church from any association with the "heresy" of Monothelitism.
680 A.D.: political events
Bulgar forces defeat a Byzantine army. They have occupied the territory between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains while other Bulgars control Wallachia, Moldavia, and Bessarabia (see 675 A.D.; 681 A.D.).
The Ummayad caliph Muawiya I dies at Damascus in April or May at age 77 (approximate) after a 17½-year reign in which he has restored unity to the Muslim empire despite opposition from Shiites and renewed military offensives against nonbelievers. His son Yazid succeeds as sixth caliph (the second Umayyad caliph), but Kufans in Mesopotamia rebel and invite al-Hussein, son of the late caliph Ali and a grandson of Mohammed, to take the throne. Yazid I sends an army to the city of Kufah under the command of Ubayd Allah, governor of Basra, who calls in the tribal chiefs and makes them responsible for their people's actions. Hussein advances from Mecca with his family and followers, but the Kufans desert him October 10 at the Battle of Karbala west of the Euphrates; the pretender, his brother Abbas (or Hassan), and their family are killed, but dissension continues.
680 A.D.: religion
Descendants of Mohammed's daughter Fatima will celebrate the martyrdom of Hussein and his brother Abbas each year with a 10-day holiday of mourning (Ashura) in the month of Muharram (see 632 A.D.). They will claim that only Mohammed's descendants have the right to interpret the Koran (Qur'an). They are inspired to build a new fundamentalist sect, the Shiites, who will make the tomb of the decapitated Hussein near Karbala their most sacred place, consider themselves to be more faithful to Islamic law than Sunnis, resent the ascendancy of the Umayyad dynasty, and impose strict rules on women.
681 A.D.: political events
Migrating Bulgar tribes subjugate the Slavs and found the kingdom of Bulgaria, having crossed the Danube from the east under Khan Asparukh (see 680 A.D.; 811 A.D.).
681 A.D.: medicine
Rome suffers a plague that kills thousands.
681 A.D.: religion
The Catholic Church's sixth ecumenical council ends at Constantinople with a condemnation of Monothelitism, but when Pope Agatho returns to Rome he dies of plague January 10 after a 2½-year reign in which he has persuaded the Byzantine emperor to abolish the tax heretofore levied at the consecration of a newly elected pope. He has also ordered the restoration of Wilfrid, bishop of York, to his see. Pope Agatho is succeeded by a fellow Sicilian who will reign until 683 as Leo II.
682 A.D.: political events
Muslim forces led by Uqbah ibn Nafi overrun the south coast of the Mediterranean and occupy Tripoli, Carthage, and Tangier—the last Byzantine bases in Africa.
683 A.D.: political events
The Ummayad caliph Yazid II dies at Damascus after a 2-year reign marked by civil war and is succeeded by his brother, who will reign until next year as Muawiya II, but civil war erupts in the wake of Yazid's death; the citizens of Kufah recognize Abd Alla ibn az-Zubayr as caliph.
China's third Tang dynasty emperor Gaozong (Kao-tsung) dies at age 55 after a 34-year reign in which he expanded the empire by acquiring Korea as a vassal state. His son by Wu Chao, who will reign until 690 as the emperor Chung Tsung, accedes but the late emperor's concubine Wu Hou remains the power behind the throne.
683 A.D.: religion
Pope Leo II dies at Rome July 3 after a 2½-year reign; no successor will be consecrated until next year pending approval by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus.
684 A.D.: political events
The Umayyad caliph Muawiya II dies at Damascus after a brief reign that ends Sufyanid rule (see 683 A.D.). A new caliph is proclaimed in Syria amidst tribal wars, but Marwan I will reign only until next year.
684 A.D.: religion
Pope Benedict II is consecrated at Rome June 26 and will reign until his death next year (see 683 A.D.). He persuades the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus to decree that future papal elections will not require imperial ratification and that there will be no further delays between the election of a pope by the clergy and citizens of Rome and that pope's consecration (not all of Constantine's successors will heed the decree).
The Northumbrian-born monk Cuthbert receives a visit from his king, who entreats him to accept the bishopric of Hesham. Now 49, Cuthbert headed the monastery at Lindisfarne in 676 and built a hermit's cell on Farne Island; he reluctantly accedes to the king's wishes, but soon exchanges the position at Hesham for the one at Lindisfarne, will return to his cell on Farne Island 2 years hence in search of solitude, and will die there in 687.
685 A.D.: political events
Northumbrian forces under the command of their king Egfrith invade unoccupied territory of the Picts, whose king Brudei has sent his warriors on raids into Northumbria. The Picts pretend to flee but lure the Northumbrians into a trap between a hill fort and a swampy area, defeating Egfrith May 20 in what later will be called the Battle of Nechtansmere (Duin Nechtain) in Forfarshire, killing Egfrith after a 15-year reign, routing his army, killing most of them or making them slaves, forcing the Angles to withdraw south of the River Forth, and thwarting Northumbrian efforts to gain control of Scotland. The Angles have remained undefeated since arriving in the middle of the 5th century A.D. but will never again be a threat to their neighbors.
The West Saxon king Centwine of Wessex dies after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by the 26-year-old former outlaw Cadwalader (Caedwalla), a pagan whose great-grandfather was king. He has been harrying Sussex, invades it again after obtaining the throne, and will soon invade Kent and the Isle of Wight.
The Byzantine emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus dies at Constantinople after a 17-year reign in which he has been sole emperor for the past 5; he is succeeded by his 16-year-old son, who will reign until 686 as Justinian II.
The Umayyad caliph Marwan I dies at Damascus and is succeeded by his Medina-born son abd Al-malik ibn Marwan, 38, who is proclaimed caliph at Mecca and will reign until 705 as Abalmalik, but although many provinces pay him at least nominal allegiance there is widespread resistance to the succession, and Abalmalik's opponents at Kufah take violent exception to having Shiite doctrine imposed on them and set up an anti-caliph at Mecca in the person of Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr (see 686 A.D.).
685 A.D.: religion
Pope Benedict II dies at his native Rome May 8 after a reign of less than 11 months in which he has restored some Roman churches and confirmed the restoration of Bishop Wilfred to the see of York. A learned and generous Syrian-born deacon is elected to succeed Benedict and will reign until next year as John V.
686 A.D.: political events
The former Umayyad governor of Mesopotamia Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad tries to regain control of his province as the various tribes in the region engage in internecine warfare (see 687 A.D.).
The Japanese emperor Tenmu dies after a 14-year reign and is succeeded by his widow (and niece), 21, who has her late husband's son executed for alleged treason in order that she may be succeeded by her own son by Tenmu, but the boy soon takes ill. His mother will reign until 697 as the empress Jito.
686 A.D.: religion
Pope John V dies at Rome August 2 after a 12-month reign in which he has made handsome donations to the poor; he is succeeded by a cleric who will reign until next year as Conon.
Sussex accepts conversion to Christianity, ending pagan resistance to the faith.
686 A.D.: architecture, real estate
Yakushi Temple is completed at Nara before his death by the Japanese emperor Tenmu.
687 A.D.: political events
The Carolingian mayor of Austrasia Pepin (Pippin) the Fat of Heristal defeats a Neustrian army at Testry and unites the Frankish kingdom that has been engulfed in civil war since 675 (see Dagobert II, 679). Now about 52, Pepin will reign until his death in December 714.
The city of Venice elects Paolo Lucio Anafesto as its first doge (from the Latin dux, meaning leader) and begins its rise as a major power in the Mediterranean. Built up from fishing villages settled by fugitives from the Huns (see 451 A.D.), the city occupies some 60 marshy islands near the head of the Adriatic Sea, and its citizens have grown prosperous in the fish trade, in their salt monopoly, and by virtue of their central location (see 1071 A.D.).
Shiites in Mesopotamia kill the former Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad (see 686 A.D.). The Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik remains aloof as Musab, the brother of the anti-caliph Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr, defeats Shiite forces but then has to face Kharijites who oppose him (see 689 A.D.).
687 A.D.: religion
Pope Conon dies at Rome in September after a 1-year reign and a power struggle for the succession begins between the archpriest Theodore and the archdeacon Paschal, who has bribed the exarch John Platyn, imperial deputy at Ravenna, to favor his election. The higher clergy favor the Palermo-born candidate Sergius, from whom John extorts the gold that was originally promised by Paschal. Theodore is elected antipope September 21, but Sergius is consecrated December 15, and although Theodore promptly recognizes him Paschal refuses to yield, is deposed, and will die in prison in 692; Sergius will reign until 701 as Sergius I.
688 A.D.: political events
The Anglo-Saxon king Cadwalader (Caedwalla) of Wessex subdues Essex and parts of Kent (see 689 A.D.).
689 A.D.: political events
The Anglo-Saxon king Cadwalader (Caedwalla) of Wessex abdicates, having adopted Christianity last year. He journeys to Rome, is baptized April 10, dies April 20 at age 29 (approximate), and is buried at St. Peter's.
The Byzantine emperor Justinian II defeats the Slavs in Thrace and transfers many of them to Anatolia.
The Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik marches out to fight the forces of Musab but a rebellion at Damascus forces him to turn back (see 687 A.D.; 690 A.D.).
690 A.D.: political events
Wintred becomes king of Kent to begin a 35-year reign in which he will draw up a code of laws.
The Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik tries again to defeat the rebellious forces of Musab but without success (see 689 A.D.; 691 A.D.).
The onetime concubine Wu Hou proclaims herself ruler of China as "Holy and Divine Emperor" (see 649 A.D.). Now 65, she has destroyed most of the Tang princes, overthrown two of her own sons, virtually ruled the country since 682, and demonstrated remarkable abilities as an administrator, albeit a cruel one (she had the arms and legs of a rival in love chopped off) (see 705 A.D.).
690 A.D.: religion
Theodore of Canterbury dies at Canterbury September 19 at age 88 (approximate). The seventh archbishop of Canterbury, he has been the first to rule the entire English Church.
691 A.D.: political events
The battle of Dayr Aljthalik ends in victory for the Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik over the rebel forces of Musab, who is killed in the fighting. He has been weakened by his wars against the Kharijites, and Abdalmalik has bribed many of his followers to desert, enabling the caliph to secure control over almost all of what later will be Iraq (see 692 A.D.).
691 A.D.: architecture, real estate
The Dome of the Rock is completed at Jerusalem by the caliph Abdalmalik.
692 A.D.: political events
The Battle of Sevastopol in Cilicia ends in a crushing defeat for the Byzantine emperor Justinian II at the hands of Arab warriors.
The Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik sends a 31-year-old former school teacher named (ibn Yusuf ath-Thaquafi) al-Hajjaj to restore discipline among his troops in Mesopotamia. Hajjaj is then sent to his native Hejaz, in Arabia, where he lays siege to Mecca and in September brutally kills the aging anti-caliph Ibn az-Zubayr, enabling Abdalmalik to unify the Muslim community (see 691 A.D.).
695 A.D.: political events
Byzantine army officers depose the emperor Justinian II, cut off his nose, and exile him to the Crimea (Cherson). One officer assumes the throne to begin a 3-year reign as the emperor Leontius (but see 702 A.D.).
695 A.D.: commerce
The first Arab coins are minted.
697 A.D.: political events
Syrian troops under the command of al-Hajjaj defeat Persian Kharijites who have captured Mosul and occupy large parts of central Mesopotamia; the Kharijite movement remains strong among the Bakr tribes between Mosul and Kufah, but the Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik makes Hajjaj governor of all the eastern provinces and Hajjaj is ruthless in his administration of order.
Arab forces sent by the Umayyad caliph Abdalmalik destroy Carthage, ending Byzantine rule in North Africa forever.
The Japanese empress Jito abdicates in favor of a 14-year-old grandson of the late emperor Tenmu, who will reign until 707 as the emperor Momu. Still only 32, Jito has established the foundations of law in her 11-year reign; her trusted lady-in-waiting Michiyo Tachibana, who has served as Momu's wet nurse and governess, will exercise great power over the court. Michiyo has left her first husband and married Fuhito Fujiwara, a government minister whose daughter Miyako by a previous wife will have children by Momu.
697 A.D.: literature
Poetry: Poems by the empress Jito will be included in the 20-volume Manyoshu (Ten Thousand Words) and Hyakuninisshu (One Hundred Most Famous Poets), which will be classics of Japanese literature.
698 A.D.: political events
The Byzantine emperor Leontius is deposed by the commander of the fleet, who begins a 7-year reign as the emperor Tiberius III Apsimar. The new emperor will gain military triumphs over the Saracens.
Berber forces led by resistance fighter Al-Kahina ("The Diviner") are crushed by Arab invaders at Aures in North Africa and she is killed in battle. She has rallied the Berbers since the collapse of Byzantine power in the area but has accused the Byzantine landowners who once supported her of having betrayed the Aures people.
698 A.D.: exploration, colonization
The island of Heligoland is discovered by Willibrord, bishop of Utrecht.
698 A.D.: food and drink
Byzantine soldiers bring sugar from India to Constantinople. They found it last year upon capturing the Persian castle at Dastagerd.
699 A.D.: political events
The Umayyad caliphate's provincial governor al-Hajjaj sends a "Peacock Army" of Kufans and Basrans to suppress a rebellion in Kabulistan, but winter sets in and his commanding general Muhammad Ibn al-Ashath decides to wait until spring to resume the offensive. The aristocratic general has been increasingly restive under the control of the Umayyads, whom he considers less than true believers, and has become estranged from Hajjaj, who sends orders that the pursuit of the rebels must not be delayed, but instead of continuing the move eastward Al-Ashath moves westward, gathering support from Arabs and non-Arabs alike in a massive revolt that will continue until 701.
699 A.D.: literature
Poetry: Beowulf has probably been completed by this time. The heroic epic of more than 3,000 lines in Old English poetry chronicles the deeds of the Geatish (southern Swedish) hero Beowulf who freed the court of the Danish king Hrothgar from the ravages of the ogre Grendel and Grendel's mother, became king of the Geats, and ruled for 50 years until called upon to rescue the country from a fire-breathing dragon. Mortally wounded while slaying the dragon, Beowulf was cremated on a giant funeral pyre.
700 A.D.: political events
Thuringia becomes part of the Frankish Empire ruled by Childebert III.
Algiers falls to the Arabs, who extend their control over North Africa.
700 A.D.: literature
Fiction: The Adventures of the Ten Princes (Dasakuitiaracharita) by the Indian Sanskrit poet-novelist Dandin.
601 A.D.–625 A.D. 626 A.D.–650 A.D. 651 A.D.–675 A.D. 676 A.D.–700 A.D.
