Founding of the kingdom of Sussex. 477
Genseric (or Gaiseric), king of the Vandals, dies. 477
Huneric. Vandal King of North Africa. 477-484
Fierce persecutions of Christians by Hunneric, the king of the
Vandals, the son and successor of Gaiseric (Genseric). 477-484
Zeno retakes the Eastern throne from Basiliscus. 477 Zeno recovers the East Roman throne aided by Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogoth ruler.
The Vandal Kingdom is at its greatest extent. 477 It includes Corsica and Sardinia.
First Shinto shrines appear in Japan. c. 478
Birth of St. Benedict (480-547) in the city of Nursia located in the Sabine hills near Rome. 480
Birth of Boethius (c.473-524), Roman philosopher. 480
Birth of Cassiodorus. 480
Bodhidharma.
Twenty eighth Patriarch of Indian Buddhism. ca.480-528
The Burgundy area of France is invaded by the Burgundii, from Savoy. 480
Death of Childeric I, the King of the Salian Franks.
He is succeeded by his fifteen year old son Clovis (c.465-511). 481
The Salian Franks were about half of the Franks.
Clovis rules as the King of the Salian Franks. 481-511
Clovis will rule until his death in 511.
Reign of Clovis I (Chlodwig). 481-511
Clovis, the son of Childeric I, is the first king of the Franks and founder
of the Merovingian Dynasty.
Clovis establishes the kingdom of Franks in northern France and southern Germany with its
capital at Paris.
Clovis is considered the true founder of the French monarchy (France).
Clovis and the Franks begin the conquest of Gaul. 481
Schism between Rome and Constantinople. 481
Zeno, Byzantine Emperor, publishes the “Henoticon,” or edict for reunion.
Zeno implicitly condones Monophysitism.
Published by Zeno in an attempt to end the turmoil associated with the Monophysite Heresy.
The suggestion however was, that the fathers at Chalcedon had erred.
The Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria and also the patriarch
of Constantinople regarded the Henotikon as permission to openly repudiate the Council of
Chalcedon, and the “Tome” of Pope Leo I, which had been accepted by the Council (451).
Pope Simplicius.
After the sending of two embassies, excommunicates the patriarch of Constantinople, the
patriarch of Alexandria, and the Emperor Zeno himself. 481
They are supporters of Monophysitism (the Monophysitic Heresy).
Schism between the Roman Church and Constantinople. 481
Continues until the accession of Emperor Justin in 518.
Revolt of Vahan Mamikomian. 481-484
Secures the religious and political freedom of Armenia.
Edict of toleration is granted to Christians.
The Bulgarians (related to the Huns) settle northeast of the Danube River. 482
Death of Pope Simplicius.
Succeeded by Saint Felix II. 49th Pope. 483-492
Birthplace: Rome.
Saint Brigid of Ireland (c.450-525).
Founds monastery at Cill-Dara (Kildare) and is abbess of the convent, the first in Ireland. c.483
The Nestorian Church (Nestorianism) breaks away from the Catholic (Christian) Church. 483
Basilica of S. Stefano Rotondo, Rome.
Construction begins. 483
Acacian Schism. 484
Excommunication of Acacius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, by
Pope Felix II. Part of the first schism between the Western Church and Constantinople.
The church at Constantinople will finally permanently split from the Catholic Church in the year 1054.
Acacian Schism. 484-519
Beginning of the Acacian Schism (484-519) between the Western Church
and Constantinople.
Death of Hunneric, king of the Vandals. 484
He is succeeded by his nephew Gunthamund who rules as the Vandal
King of North Africa 484-496.
Alaric II is King of the Visigoths. 484-507
Overthrow of the Gupta empire in northern India by Epthalite invaders from beyond the Oxus River. c.484
Drought causes great famine in Africa. 484
Thousands perish.
Death of Saint Calogerus. Exorcist. June 18, 486
Italian: Calogero.
Battle of Soissons. 486
The Franks conquer Gaul.
Clovis I, King of Franks, crushes the Romans under Syagrius, the last Roman governor
of Gaul, at Soissons.
End of the last remnant of Roman rule in Gaul (what is now France).
Merovingian Dynasty in Gaul. 486-751
Clovis (Clodovech) is King of all the Franks. 486-511
Hui-k’e (Hui-k’o). Chinese Ch’an Buddhism. 486-593
Successor of Bodhidharma.
The Second Patriarch of Ch’an in China.
Originally named Shen-kuang until told to change his name to
Hui-k’e by Bodhidharma.
Beginning of the conquest of Italy by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths.Theodoric King 487-493. Theodoric invades Italy at the instigation of Zeno, the Byzantine Emperor. 487
Destruction of the school of the Nestorians (Nestorianism) at Edessa by Zeno the Eastern
Roman Emperor. 489
Zeno builds the Church of St. Simeon Stylites around the actual pillar of St. Simeon Stylites (c.390-459).
Defeat of Odoacer by Theodoric the Ostrogoth, on the Isonzo River near Aquileia, at Verona,
and again at the River Addua, ten miles from Milan. The Ostrogoths begin their conquest of Italy. 489
Theodoric the Ostrogoth establishes the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy. 489
Rules 489-526.
Ostrogothic rule in Italy. 489-555
Siege of Ravenna. 490
Theodoric the Ostrogoth lays siege (to 493) to the city of Ravenna, Odovacer’s capital city.
Dracontius of Carthage.
“De Laudibus Dei.” 490
2,327 hexameters written in three books.
Capture of Pevensey, Sussex by the Saxons. 491
Death of Zeno, Byzantine Emperor. 491
Reign of Anastasius I, Byzantine (East Roman) Emperor. 491-518
Anastasius I is a Monophysite (Monophysitism).
Gondebald. King of Burgundy. 491-516
Rejection by the Armenian church of the Council of Chalcedon (451).
The Armenian church secedes from the Roman Catholic Church. 491
The Armenian church maintains its Monophysitic position (Monophysitism).
Saint Gelasius I. 50th Pope. 492-496
Birthplace: Rome.
Reaffirms the claims pertaining to the authority of Rome over all of the Catholic churches in the
West or in the East.
Theodoric, the Arian king of the Ostrogoths, seizes Ravenna (after a three year siege). 493
He treacherously murders Odoacer at a banquet.
Theodoric establishes the Ostrogothic kingdom (East Gothic) in Italy.
Theodoric, the Arian King of all Italy, marries a sister of Clovis, King of the Franks, and becomes
the King of Rome.
Theodoric makes all of Italy an Ostrogothic kingdom.
Theodoric attempts to rule largely in the Roman tradition.
He is nominally subject to Constantinople.
Theodoric makes the city of Ravenna his residence.
Theodoric, the Arian king of the Ostrogoths, rules Italy. 493-526
Kingdom of the Ostrogoths (East Goths) in Italy. 493-555
Appearance of Michael the Archangel in a cave of the Gargano mountains in Apulia, Italy. May 8, 492
A city arises around it known as Monte Sant’ Angelo.
Marriage of Clovis I, the pagan King of the Franks, to the Burgundian Christian princess Clothilda
(St. Clotilda), c.474-June 3, 545. 493
Pope St. Gelasius I.
Declares in a letter to the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I that the pope has power and authority
over the emperor in spiritual matters. 494
Pope Gelasius I denies the right of the state to interfere in the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church.
Earthquake. Asia Minor. 494
Destruction of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Tripoli.
Thousands are killed.
Battle of Tolbiacum (Tolbiac). 496
Clovis, King of the Salian Franks, defeats the savage Alamanni tribe swarming across the Rhine River. Clovis becomes king of the Ripuarian Franks, thus uniting all of the Franks.
Conversion of Clovis. 496
Conversion of Clovis I, King of the Frankish Kingdom, from paganism to Christianity, during the
Battle of Tolbiac, when the invading Alemanni are on the verge of defeating his forces.
The tide of the battle turned and Clovis is victorious.
Baptism of the Merovingian King Clovis I (with 3,000 of his men) at Reims by St. Remigius (St. Remi), Bishop of Rheims (on Christmas Day).
Clovis is a staunch opponent of Arianism (the Arian Heresy). Dec. 25, 496
Beginning of the conversion of all of the Franks from paganism to Christianity. 496
Thrasamund. Vandal King of North Africa. 496-523
Death of Pope Gelasius I. 496
He is succeeded by Anastasius II (Pope: 496-498).
The Gelasian Missal. 496
Book of prayers, chants, songs and instructions for the celebration of the Catholic Mass.
Anastasius I. Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Quells a serious revolt in Isauria in Asia Minor. 497
Nestorians (Nestorianism) settle in Nisibis, Persia. 498
Saint Symmacus (St. Symmachus). Pope. 498-514
Birthplace: Sardinia.
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, or St. Fulgentius (468-533).
Tortured by the Arian heretics (Arianism). 499
Synod of Rome. 499
Issues first decree on papal election.
St. Vedastus (Vedast), d.539.
Sent by Bishop Remigius to become Bishop of Arras. 499
Sixth Century
Golden age of Irish Christian monastic scholarship begins. c.500
Completion of the Jewish Babylonian Talmud. c.500
An Influential Neoplatonic treatise is written by the so-called Pseudo-Dionysus. ca.500
Codex Bezae. 500
New Testament in Greek and Latin.
Arabs invade Palestine. ca.500
Fire destroys the library at Alexandria, Egypt. 500
Clovis attacks the Burgundians (Arians/Arianism).
Clovis defeats the Burgundian King Gondebald. 500
Clovis attacks but does not conquer Burgundy.
Invasion of Bavaria by the Marcomanni, a barbarian Germanic tribe from Bohemia. 500
Occupation of the area north of the Danube River by the Lombards (also called Langobards). 500
Saxons establish the kingdom of Wessex in southern England. c.500
Basilica of Turmanin and Kalb-Luzch, Syria. c.500
Church of St. John. Ephesus, Asia Minor. c.500
Destroyed.
Siege of Amida. 502
The Persians sack the city of Amida in Mesopotamia in a struggle
against the forces of the Byzantine Empire.
Kavadh I, the Sassanid ruler of Persia, kills thousands of the defenders.
Anastasius I. Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Wages a long war against the Persians. 502-506
Wu-Ti. Emperor of China. 502-549
Battle of Mons Badonicus (Mount Badon).
Arthur, war leader of the Britons, defeats the Saxon forces at Mount Badon, in Dorset, England. 503
Caesarius of Arles (470-543).
Elected against his wishes as Bishop of Arles. 503
Alaric II, King of the Visigoths (Arian).
Issues the “Lex Romana Visigothorum”, law code, based on the ancient Roman Law. 506
Burgundy is tributary to the Franks. 506
Battle of Campus Vogladensis (Vouillé, in southern France). 507
Clovis (now Christian), King of the Franks, is intent on driving the
Visigoths (Arian) out of France. Clovis seeks out the Visigoth army which is under Alaric II.
With their deadly axes, the Franks crush the Visigoths.
Clovis meets Alaric II (son of Euric) in single combat and kills him.
The Visigoths abandon Toulouse, their capital, and retreat into Spain. Clovis annexes the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse.
Bulgars, Huns, and Slavs invade the Byzantine (Eastern) Empire. 507-512
Clovis conquers the Visigothic kingdom as far as the Pyrenees with the aid of the Burgundians. 507
Clovis conquers the Visigothic kingdom of Old Castile (to 711).
Anastasia Wall. 507
Walls are built in Constantinople for protection from the barbarians.
Will be completed in 512.
Capital of the West Gothic kingdom is moved to Toledo (to 711). 507
The Lombards, a Germanic tribe, crush the Heruli from Scandinavia. 508
The Italian Ostrogoths under Theodoric drive the Franks out of Provence (southeastern France). 508
They will control it until 563.
The Ostrogoths recover Septimania (later will be called Languedoc) from the Visigoths.
Amalric. King of Visigoths. 508-531
Clovis, King of the Franks.
Establishes his capital at Lutetia (now called Paris). 508
Clovis has built there a church dedicated to the Twelve Holy Apostles.
Convent at St. Césaire, Arles. 511
Saint Sabbas (439-532).
Sent as one of a delegation of abbots to Emperor Anastasius I, a supporter of Eutychianism,
which the Catholic Church and Sabbas oppose. 511
Sabbas pleads with the Emperor to stop his persecution of Catholic bishops and religious.
Saint Sabbas is unsuccessful.
Council of Orléans.
Clovis, King of the Franks, presides over a church council at Orléans. 511
Eugippius.
“The Life of Saint Severinus.” Written. 511
The death of Clovis, King of the Franks. 511
Partition of the Frankish kingdom between the four sons of Clovis:
Theodoric I (to 534) at Soissons.
Chlodomer (to 524) at Paris.
Childebert I (to 558) at Metz (succeeds his father Clovis).
and Chlothar I (to 561) at Orléans.
Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I.
Completes the continuation of the Anastasian Wall from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara
to keep out the barbarians. 512
Death of St. Genevieve (c.422-500). 512
She is eighty nine years old.
Bosra Cathedral. Syria. 513
Muchtertach, chief of king of Ireland reigns. 513-533
Converts from Irish paganism to Christianity.
The Persians crush the White Huns. 513
Anicius Manlius Servinus Boëthius.
“De Institutione Musica.” c.513
His writings on music.
St. Hormisdas. Pope. 514-523
During his papacy will be the end of the Acacian Schism (519).
This schism had divided the Western Church and Constantinople since 484.
Conflict between Anastasius I, Byzantine Emperor, and the pretender Vitalian, commander of
the Bulgarian foederati. 514-518
Famine in England. 515
Described as “most afflictive.” Unknown number of thousands perish.
Gundobad, King of Burgundy, dies.
He is succeeded by his son Sigismund (Sigmund). Rules 516-524. 516
Sigismund works to convert his people from Arianism to Christianity.
Sigismund will later be proclaimed a saint of the Church.
Arthur, Celtic King of Britain.
Resists Saxon invaders for twenty years. 516-537
Wu Ti, the Emperor of China, becomes a Buddhist and introduces
the new religion to Central China. 517
Death of Anastasius I (Monophysite ruler of the Byzantine Empire).
Reign of Justinus I (Illyrian), Byzantine Emperor. 518-527
The accession of Justin marks the downfall of the Monophysite heresy.
On his accession, he solemnly reaffirms the Anti-Monophysite decisions of the Council of Chalcedon that had been held in 451.
End of the Acacian Schism (484-519).
Permanent separation of the Monophysites from Roman Catholicism.
End of the Acacian Schism (484-519) that broke out in 484. 519
Temporary reconciliation of the Western Church and Constantinople.
St. Hormisdas (Pope).
Formal end of first schism (484-519) between Rome and Constantinople.
Eastern and western churches are temporarily reconciled.
The Church in Constantinople is temporarily reunited to the Catholic Church as a result of the
“Formula of St. Hormisdas”. 519
Founding of the kingdom of Wessex (West Saxons). 519
Will ultimately unite to itself the entire English monarchy.
Cassiodorus.
“Chronica”. 519
A history of the world up to the year 519.
Christian monasteries and academies continue to flourish throughout Ireland, as a center for
education, translation, scholarly activity, study, teaching, and missionary training. 520
Founding of Clonard Monastery in Ireland. 520
Will be a source of future missions from Ireland into much of Europe.
Priscian.
“Institutiones Grammaticae.” 18 volumes. 520
A systematic Latin grammar.
Famine. Venice, Italy. 520
Thousands perish.
Amalaric, the first Gothic king who establishes his court in Spain. 522-531
Capital is Seville.
The oldest known pagoda from the Sung Yuen temple of Honan, China.
A towerlike structure, derived from the stupa of ancient India. 522
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (c.480-524), a Roman scholar, philosopher, and theologian,
is imprisoned.
“De Consolatione Philosophia.” 523-524
He writes his “Consolation of Philosophy,” while he is in prison.
Death of Thrasamund, king of the Vandals. 523
He is succeeded by Hilderic.
Hilderic. Vandal King of North Africa. 523-530
Saint John I. Pope. 523-526
Birthplace: Tuscany.
Sigismund, King of Burgundy, is killed by Chlodomer, son of Clovis I. 524
He is succeeded by Godomar. Godomar II is the last king of Burgundy.
Execution of Boëthius (c.480-524) is ordered by Theodoric, the Arian (Arianism) heretic. 524
Persia is again at war with the Byzantine Empire (524 to 531). 524
Saint Deiniol (English: Daniel) of Wales (d.572).
Founds the Abbey of Bangor, Caernarvonshire, Wales. c.525
This is not to be confused with the Bangor Abbey which will later be founded by St. Comgall in 558.
Death of Saint Brigid of Ireland (c.450-525). February 1, 525
Invasion and conquest of Yemen by Caleb of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). 525
Cosmas Indicopleustes. Alexandrian Greek explorer and geographer.
Travels up the Nile River. c.525
Writes his “Topographia Christianae.”
St. Nicetius (also called Nizier). Bishop of Trier. c.525-c.565
Pope John I is thrown in prison by Theodoric, the Arian King of the Ostrogoths. 526
John will die shortly after.
Saint Felix III. Pope. 526-530
Birthplace: Rome.
Death of Theodoric, Arian King of the Ostrogoths. 526
Theodoric was king of the Ostrogoths, ruler of Italy, and an Arian heretic.
His daughter Amalaswintha becomes regent of Italy (526-534) for her ten year old son Athalaric.
The Tomb of Theodoric in Ravenna, Italy. 526
A mausoleum built for the Arian Ostrogothic king.
Cassiodorus.
“The History of the Goths.” 526-533
The Church of San Vitale. Ravenna, Italy. 526-547
The city of Antioch, Syria is buried with all of its inhabitants by an earthquake. 250,000 are killed.
May 26, 526
Rebuilding of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem. 527-565
Constantine’s church that was built on the original site of the birth of Jesus
Christ is rebuilt.
Justinian (b.483-d.565).
Succeeds his uncle Justinus (Justin) as Emperor of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople. 527
Justinian I (483-565), the Great, Byzantine Emperor. 527-565
Under Justinian I, the Great, the Byzantine Empire reaches its height.
Justinian I rebuilds the Byzantine Empire against the influence of paganism.
Justinian I. Byzantine Emperor.
Sends forces led by generals Belisarius and Narsus in order to drive
the Goths out of Italy. 527
The Church of St. Sergius and St. Bachus in Constantinople. 527
Founded by Justinian I the Great.
First Persian War of Justinian I. 527-532
Justinian I, the Great, issues laws for the punishment of heretics. 527-528
For the heretics, said Justinian “to exist is sufficient.”
During his reign, he sends Christian missions against the Monophysites
in Asia Minor.
Justinian closes the yet remaining pagan sanctuaries of Isis at Philae and Ammon at Augila.
Throughout his reign Justinian I viewed as heretics, the Arians, Manichaeans, Gnostics, Nestorians, Jews, Donatists, Montanists, and Monophysites.
Saxon kingdoms of Essex and Middlesex. 527
Battle of Daras (Dara). 528
Belisarius (age 23), Justinian’s commander, leads imperial forces to victory over the Persians.
St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543). Italian.
Founds the Order of Benedictine Monks (the Benedictine Order). 529
St. Benedict of Nursia founds the Monastery of Monte Cassino in Subiaco, Italy (near Naples),
the first Benedictine monastery.
Monte Casino becomes the center of Western monasticism.
This is the same year in which the Academy and Lyceum are closed in Athens.
Belisarius (505-565).
Becomes general of the Byzantine armies of Justinian I, the Great. 529
Belisarius was probably the greatest general of the Byzantine Empire.
Belisarius (505-565) takes Naples. 529
Ratisbon becomes the capital of Bavaria. 529
Justinian the Great.
Orders the building of Santa Sophia in Constantinople. 529
Justinian I. Byzantine Emperor.
Issues the Justinian Code (“Corpus Juris Civilis” or “Codex Justinianus”). 529-534
This is a comprehensive code based on Roman Law.
His legal code becomes the basic Roman Law that will be used later as a model for the nations of Europe.
This is the first code of civil law. It is not completed however until 565.
His code is written in Latin, for Byzantium was still Latin speaking.
Consists of three volumes or sets of writings: the “Digests,” the “Corpus,” and the “Institutes”
including an appendix.
Justinian I, the Great, closes the pagan schools of philosophy. 529
Closes the Academy and the Lyceum at Athens, which had existed
for nearly a thousand years.
Justinian’s action is directed against paganism and not on Greek
science, education, and knowledge.
Second Council of Orange. 529
Condemns Pelagianism (the Pelagian Heresy) and Semi-Pelagianism.
Death of Saint Remigius (c.437-530) at Rheims. January 13, 530
Pope Boniface II. 530-532
Death of Hilderic, king of the Vandals. 530
Gelimer (nephew of Gunthamund and Thrasamund) becomes king of
the Vandals in North Africa.
Gelimer is the last King of the Vandals (Arians).
Gelimer rules 530-534.
Theudes. King of the Visigoths. 531-554
Construction begins on the Santa Sophia Basilica (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople under Justinian (finished 537). 531
Built by the Greek architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus.
The Hagia Sophia will be completely built in six years and dedicated on Christmas Day of 537.
The Hagia Sophia will later be turned by the Mohammedans into a mosque (1453) when the Byzantine Empire and the city of Constantinople is destroyed.
Anushirwan (Chosroes I) becomes Persian Emperor. 531
Reign of Khosru I (or Chosroes) king of Persia. 531-579
Chosroes I fought the Byzantine Empire and overthrew the Abyssinian control of Yemen.
Battle of Callinicum. 531
Byzantine army under Belisarius (505-565) is defeated by the Persians under Chosroes I (Kavadh),
the Sassanian ruler of Persia.
Overthrow and conquest of the Kingdom of Thuringia by the Franks. 531
Belisarius (505-565). Byzantine general.
Recalled to Constantinople by Justinian I. 531
Pope John II. 532-535
Succeeds Pope Boniface II (d.532).
The Basilica Cistern in Constantinople. 532
Designed possibly by Anthemius of Tralles for Justinian I.
It is the largest of the city’s underground cisterns for storing water.
Death of St. Sabbas (439-532). December 5, 532
Nika Revolt against Justinian. 532
Belisarius crushes the Nika Rebellion in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Restores calm, and
saves the throne of Justinian. 30,000 rioters are killed.
Destruction of Constantinople during the Nika revolt. It is soon rebuilt.
They rebelled against taxes.
Named for the rebels’ cry “Nika!” (victory).
Cerdic.
First king of the West Saxons, accedes to the throne of Wessex. 532
Justinian I signs peace treaty with Chosroe, the Sassanian ruler of Persia.
Chosroe will break the treaty however in 540. 532
First Persian War of Justinian I is ended in order to free the imperial armies for operations in the west.
Justinian I. Byzantine Emperor.
Sends an army under general Belisarius to attack the Vandals (Arian) that are in North Africa. 533
A great attack is launched by the Byzantines under general Belisarius (505-565), on the kingdom
of the Vandals (Arians) in North Africa. 533
Wars of Justinian I against the Vandals (Arians) in North Africa. 533-534
Conquest of the Vandal (Arian) Kingdom of North Africa by the great Byzantine general Belisarius.
Belisarius makes North Africa a province (534) of the Byzantine Empire.
Gelimer is the last King of the Vandals.
Justinian I. Byzantine Emperor.
The Digest or Pandects is issued. 533
This is the second part of the Corpus Iuris Civilis (Body of Civil Law). The Institutes, the third
part of the Corpus Iuris Civilis, comes into
force of law.
Conquest of the kingdom of Burgundy by the Merovingians (Franks). 534
The island of Malta becomes a province of the Byzantine Empire. 534
Until 870.
Belisarius occupies the former Vandal (Arian) capital of Carthage. 534
Johannes Philoponus Grammaticus (c.485-555).
Refutes the teachings of Neo-Platonism in Proclus and other
Neo-Platonists. c.534
Justinian I declares war against the Goths in Italy. 535
The Goths had murdered their Queen Amalasuntha.
War of Justinian I against the Ostrogoths. 535-555
Justinian I.
Embarkation of a Byzantine army for Italy in order to re-conquer Roman provinces that were lost
to the Ostrogothic Kingdom. 535
Belisarius. Byzantine general.
Begins the conquest of Italy from the Ostrogothic Kingdom (to 555). 535
Conquest of Sicily by Belisarius. 535
Belisarius (505-565) lands in Sicily and successfully overruns the island.
Belisarius moves north with the objective of taking the Ostrogothic
kingdom of Italy from the Ostrogoths.
Anthimus, a Monophysite (Monophysitism) bishop, is elected patriarch of Constantinople. 535
Church of St. Apollinaire in Classe, near Ravenna, Italy. Begun. 535
Built by Justinian I on the site of an old pagan temple of Apollo.
The Church is built on the site of the remains of St. Apollinaire.
The Church will be completed in 549.
Saint Agapitus I (also Agapetus I). Pope. 535-536
Birthplace: Rome.
Christian Basilica. Leptis Magna in North Africa. 535
Porec’ Cathedral, a Christian basilica. 535-543
In modern day Yugoslavia.
St. Agapitus (Pope).
Travels himself to Constantinople on a mission for the Ostrogoth King Theodahad in order to
get Emperor Justinian to call off a threatened invasion of Italy. 535
While St. Agapitus (Pope) is in Constantinople, he declares Anthimus, the newly elected Monophysite bishop deposed. 535
Agapitus is unsuccessful in stopping the threatened invasion of Italy.
He does convince Justinian to remove Anthimus and replace him with Mennas, whom Agapitus consecrates.
This stirs up the Monophysite (Monophysitism) conflict again.
Belisarius (505-565) leads his forces into Italy.
Recaptures parts of Italy from the Ostrogothic kingdom. 535-540
The “Gothic War” in Italy. 535-555
This is an agonizing struggle of twenty years in Italy, fought between the Byzantine Empire and
the Ostrogothic kingdom.
St. Agapitus (Pope) dies in the city of Constantinople after his eleven month reign. April 22, 536
Saint Silverius. Pope. 536-537
Birthplace: Campagnia, Italy.
St. Silverius (Pope).
Refuses Theodora’s request to accept the monophysites Anthimus and Severus as Patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch respectively. 536
Vitiges (Witiges), Ostrogothic general.
Overruns and devastates the area outside of the city of Rome. 536
St. Silverius (Pope).
In an attempt to save Rome from the Ostrogothic general Vitiges (Witiges) invites the imperial
general Belisarius. 536
Witiges (Vitiges). King of the Ostrogoths. 536-540
Belisarius.
Crosses the Straight of Messina in Sicily and enters into southern Italy. May 536
Conquest of Southern Italy by general Belisarius.
Belisarius lays siege to and captures Naples (536). 536-537
Belisarius (505-565) of the Byzantine Empire.
Recaptures the city of Rome from the Ostrogoths. December 9, 536
Naples becomes part of the Byzantine Empire. 536
Witiges, King of the Ostrogoths.
Surrenders his possessions in Gaul to the Franks. 536
After the destruction of the Ostrogoth kingdom, Provence becomes part of the kingdom of the Franks. 536
St. Silverius (Pope) dies on the island of Palmarola off Naples. 537
Pope Vigilius. 537-555
Completion and dedication of the Basilica of Hagia Sophia (Holy wisdom) on Christmas Day of 537. Dec. 25, 537
Battle of Camlan. ca.537 Traditional date of the death of Arthur, King of the Britons, killed at the Battle of Camlan.
Witiges, King of the Ostrogoths, besieges Belisarius, of the Byzantine Empire, in Rome for a
whole year but fails to take it. March 537-March 538
Justinian I sends reinforcements to help Belisarius during the Ostrogothic siege of Rome. 538
The Ostrogoths finally withdraw from the territory of Rome in March after a siege of 12 months
and 9 days. March 538
Famine. Italy. Thousands perish. 538
New War breaks out between the Byzantine Empire and Persia. 539
From 539 to 562.
Belisarius conducts the war with Persia.
Sack of Milan by the Ostrogoths. 539
Totila (Badwila), the new Ostrogoth leader, besieges Milan, Italy.
The inhabitants of Milan are massacred by the Ostrogoths.
Cassiodorus (c.490-585). Born in Calabria, Italy.
Founds the great Monastery of Vivarium, near Squillace. 540
Birth of Saint Gregory the Great in Rome. c.540
Conquest of Ravenna by Belisarius (505-565). 540
Belisarius captures Witiges.
Completion of the conquest and occupation of the Ostrogothic
Kingdom in Italy by Belisarius (begun in 535).
The Huns, the Bulgars, and other barbarians cross the Danube River
and raid the Balkans as far south as the Isthmus of Corinth. 540
Belisarius is recalled to Constantinople. 540
Invasion of Syria by the Persians.
The Persians capture the city of Antioch. 540
Tomb of Galla Placida. Ravenna, Italy. 540
St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543). Founder of the Benedictine Order.
Establishes his “Rule” - his book describing the monastic life. c.540
Hildebad, king of Ostrogoths, dies.
Totila becomes king of the Ostrogoths after the violent death of Hildebad, his uncle. 541
Totila rules the Ostrogoths 541-552.
Totila (Badwila) conquers Italy as far as Naples. 541-543
Temporarily ends the rule of the Byzantine Empire in Italy.
Totila re-establishes Ostrogothic rule in Italy (541-552).
Great plague (bubonic plague) originates in Syria and Egypt. 541
Great Plague is carried by infected rats coming from Syria and Egypt to Constantinople (541-544).
Bubonic Plague spreads from the east and throughout most Europe and the Byzantine Empire (542-546).
The plague kills many thousands of people in Constantinople.
Columned basilica with mosaics in Parenzo (Istria). 542
St. Gildas (c.500-570).
“De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae.” 542
This is an important source of very early British history.
Totila (Badwila) leads the Ostrogoths and defeats the Byzantine army at Faenza and Mugello. 542
Saint Columba of Iona (c.521-597).
Begins to develop Christian monasticism in Ireland. c.543
Totila, the barbarian ruler of the Ostrogoths, goes to meet St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543) at
Monte Cassino. 543
Death of St. Scholastica. February 10, 543
Scholastica is the sister of St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543).
Death of St. Benedict of Nursia (480-543). March 21, 543
Benedict dies at Monte Cassino.
Synod of Constantinople. 543
Condemns the doctrine of Origen that the devil, all of the fallen angels, and all human beings,
will all ultimately receive salvation and enter into Heaven. This doctrine is known as “Apocatastasis” meaning “complete restoration.”
Death of Saint Caesarius of Arles (470-543). August 27, 543
The known world is shaken by a series of disastrous earthquakes. 543
Belisarius (505-565) completes the re-conquest of North Africa. 543
Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, captures Naples. 543
Edict of the Three Chapters. 544
Justinian I repudiates the anti-Monophysitic position (Monophysitism) of the Council of Chalcedon (451).
The Monophysites are delighted.
Belisarius (505-565).
Takes command once again against the Ostrogoths in Italy. 544
Persians besiege Edessa. 544
They fail to take it.
Turks settle in Asia. c.545-550
Birth of St. Columban (also known as Columbanus). 545
Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, captures the city of Rome (first entry) after siege and sacks it. 546
Totila, king of Ostrogoths, rules most of Italy until his death. 546-552
Cassiodorus founds another monastery at Beneventum. 546
Audoin founds the new Lombard dynasty and establishes his reign beyond the Save River. 546
Completion of the building of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. Built in a double octagonal shape (begun in 526). 547
Includes mosaics of Justinian and his wifeTheodora.
Founding of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria in England. c.547
Italy. Second famine in decade. 547
Thousands perish.
Belisarius recaptures the city of Rome from the Ostrogoths. 547
Totila leaves Rome.
For forty days in this year, the ancient city of Rome is emptied of all of its inhabitants.
Kingdom of Bernicia is founded. 547
Ida accedes to the throne of Bernicia, one of the two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Ida, King of Bernicia, builds Bamburgh Castle. 547
The bubonic plague from the east reaches England. 547
Theodora, the wife of Justinian, encourages Jacob Baradaeus (Monophysite) to ordain a Monophysite patriarch of Antioch. 548
Death of Theodora. Theodora is only forty years old. 548
Justinian is left to rule alone.
Belisarius is superseded by Narses. 548
Siege of Petra. 548
The Persians will take Petra in 549.
Justinian I.
Builds a monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Mount Sinai. 548-645
In the ninth century it will be renamed for St. Catherine.
St. Felix of Nantes (c.513-584).
Named bishop of Nantes. 549
St. Felix is responsible for the conversion of the Saxons of the Loire from heathenism to Christianity.
Belisarius is called back to Constantinople. 549
He will not return to Italy again.
Totila, the Ostrogoth, captures Rome for the second time. 549
Church of St. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna. Completed. 549
Begun in 535.
Throne of Archbishop Maximian at Ravenna. ca.550
This is the most famous ivory carving of its period.
It is decorated with panels of scenes from the life of Christ,
St. Joseph, and the Virgin Mary.
Procopius. Byzantine historian.
“De Bellis.” 550
Provides a description of the Persian, Vandal, and Gothic Wars.
Saint David of Wales.
Works towards the conversion of parts of Wales from paganism to Christianity. c.550
Mosaic at the Church of St. Apollinare in Classe with one of the first representations of the Last Supper. 550
St. Servatius Church. Maastrict, Holland.
Begun (to 1450). 550
Justinian I allows the Lombards to settle in Noricum and Pannonia (modern Austria and Hungary). 550-557
Founding of the Anglian kingdom of East Anglia in England. c.550
Invasion of Europe by the Avars. 550-551
Avars (Turkic tribes) and Bulgars from the east begin their westward migration towards the lower
Danube provinces.
Justinian I.
Continuation of Nea Church and Hospice, Jerusalem. 550
The Voyage of Saint Brendan of Ireland. March 551
St. Brendan leaves Ireland.
Defeat of the Ostrogoth fleet by the Byzantines. 551
Justinian I sends an army of 20,000 men led by Narsus (c.478-573)
against Totila, the king of the Ostrogoths. 551
Battle of Busta Gallorum (Battle of Taginae). July 552
Narsus, the general of Justinian, and successor of Belisarius, defeats Totila and the Ostrogoths.
Totila, the king of the Ostrogoths, is killed fighting against the Byzantines who are now under
Byzantine general Narses (c.478-573).
Narses totally defeats the Ostrogoths.
This victory brings much of Italy under Byzantine rule.
Italy is once again a Byzantine province (but only until 568 when the Lombards arrive).
Teias. Last King of the Ostrogoths. 552-553
Conquest of Bavaria by the Franks. 552
Justinian I.
Introduces the silk industry into Europe (Morea) after Emperor Justinian’s missionaries bring
silkworms and the silk culture from China. 552
For the fifth time during the reign of Justinian, Rome falls, this time to his general Narses (c. 478-573). 552
Japanese begin to adopt many aspects of Chinese culture. c.552
Japanese use Chinese script.
Arrival of Buddhist images and sutras in Japan. 552
The Emperor of Japan allows the building of a temple to house and worship all of the Buddhist images.
A terrible epidemic immediately sweeps through the land.
The images are all thrown into the Nanuia canal.
Fifth General Church Council (553-555). 553
(Second Council of Constantinople).
Called by Justinian I, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Formally condemns the “Three Chapters” and with them Vigilius.
Reiterates the condemnation of Nestorianism and all Nestorian writings.
Condemns the errors of Origen of Alexandria (Origenism).
Byzantine general Narses goes south into Campania, after the last remnants of the Ostrogoths
near Nuceria (Noceria). 553
Teias, the last Ostrogothic King is killed.
Narses. Byzantine general.
Annexes Rome and Naples for the Byzantine Empire. 553
Frankish embassy is sent to Constantinople. 553
Crypt of St. Médard at Soissons. 553
Narses is appointed Exarch, the highest military and civil authority in Italy. 554
Byzantines rule Italy from the city of Ravenna.
Belisarius, Byzantine general, invades Spain. 554
Conquest of only the southeast of Spain by the imperial armies.
Cordova becomes the capital of the Byzantine province.
Justinian I reforms administration of Egypt. 554
Athanagild. King of the Visigoths. 554-567
St. Germanus of Paris (c.496-576).
Named Bishop of Paris, by Childebert I, one of the sons of Clovis. 554
England is divided into seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy): c.555
Saxon Essex, Sussex, and Wessex;
Anglian East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria;
and Jutish Kent.
Narses (c.478-573), the Byzantine aged eunuch general, completes the destruction of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy, and again makes Italy a Byzantine province.
End of the “Gothic War (535-555) in Italy. 555
Hereafter, the Ostrogoths, like the Vandals, and other barbarian Germanic tribes, disappear from history.
The kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Italy, originally formed by Theodoric, ceases to exist.
Pope Pelagius I. 556-561
The great city of Constantinople is struck by an earthquake. 557
Thousands are killed.
St. Comgall (516-601).
Founds the great Bangor Abbey in Ireland. 558
Death of Childebert I (511-558), king of Paris. 558
Lothair (Clotaire) I, the sole survivor of Clovis’s warring sons, reunites the Kingdom of the Franks. 558 Clotaire is sole monarch of the Franks.
Clotaire I rules 558-561.
Bubonic plague sweeps through Asia, Africa, and Europe. 558
At its peak, in Constantinople thousands die daily.
Unknown number of thousands perish.
A hoard of Huns and Slavs reach the gates of Constantinople. 559
Belisarius (505-565) comes out of retirement to defend Constantinople.
He repels the invading barbarian army of Huns and Slavs.
Constantinople is rescued from destruction by the pagans.
Ethelbert I, son of Eormenric, and great grandson of Hengist, becomes King of Kent, England. 560
Ethelbert of Kent is the chief Anglo-Saxon king.
Reign of Aethelberht (Ethelbert), King of Kent. 560-616
Ethelbert will later receive Saint Augustine (597) and himself will undergo his conversion from
paganism to Christianity.
Ethelbert makes Kent supreme in England. Ethelbert prepares the first code of English Law.
Rise of the Tritheist Heresy (Tritheism). 560-575
Maintains the separate existence of the three persons of the Holy
Indivisible Trinity (Tritheism). The implication is that there are three gods.
Christianity is based on monotheism, not polytheism.
Eutocius.
Writes commentaries on the writings of Archimedes and Apollonius. c.560
Pope John III. 561-574
Consecration of the Basilica of San Juan Batista of Banos de Cerreto, Spain. 561
Death of Chlothar I (Lothair), son of Clovis, and King of the Franks. 561
His four sons divide the Frankish Kingdom again.
Sigibert rules as Frankish king of Austrasia (to 575).
Guntram (Gontram) rules Burgundy (to 592). Capital at Orléans.
Chilperic I rules Nuestria (Soissons) to 584.
Charibert, King of Franks, rules Paris (to 567).
St. Guntram (Gontram) (b.c.532-592).
King of Burgundy. 561-592
Avar tribesmen from the Volga River reach Thuringia. 562
End of the great Persian war against Chosroes. 562
Peace between Justinian I and Chosroes.
Saint Columba (521-597). Irish abbot and missionary to pagan Scotland.
St. Columba sets sail from Ireland with twelve companions.
St. Columba settles at Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland. 563
Saint Columba (521-597). Irish.
Founds Christian monastery and Church on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland. 563
From Iona, Columba, works toward the conversion of the savage Picts of Scotland from paganism
to Christianity.
Columba evangelizes all of Pictland.
Saint Columba (521-597).
Converts Brude, Scotland’s King of the Picts, from paganism to Christianity (at Inverness). 563
Consecration of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) at Constantinople. Dec. 24, 563
Council of Braga. Condemns Priscillianism (the Priscillian Heresy). 565
St. Columbanus (c.540-615).
Enters the monastery of Bangor in Ireland, which had recently been founded by St. Comgall in 558. 565
Break up of the White Hun settlement in Western Turkestan by migrating Turks. 565
The death of Belisarius, the great general of the Byzantine Empire. 565
Death of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. 565
He is succeeded by his nephew Justin II.
Justin II rules 565-578.
Death of Audoin, Lombard ruler. 565
Alboin, his son and successor, with the help of the Avars, destroys the Gothic kingdom of the
Gepidae on the lower Vistula.
Death of Charibert I, King of Franks. 567
His Kingdom of Paris is divided between the surviving brothers: Guntram, Sigibert I, and Chilperic I.
Partition of the Frankish Kingdom into Austrasia (Lorraine, Belgium,
the right bank of the Rhine), Neustria (France), and Burgundy. 567
From 567 to 613.
St. Honoratus (d.570).
Appointed Bishop of Milan, Italy. 567
Arrival of the Lombards in Italy. 568
Appearance on the plains of Northern Italy, after crossing the Alps, of an army of men called Lombards. They are from the region of the Upper Danube River, where they were one of the most powerful
Germanic tribes.
Invasion and conquest of Northern Italy by the Lombards (Langobards) under Alboin (son of King Audoin). 568
The Lombards, a barbarian and savage Germanic tribe, invade and conquer Northern Italy.
Alboin founds the Lombard Kingdom in northern and central Italy that will last for 206 years. The Lombard kingdom in Italy will last until 774.
Ravenna is left to the Byzantine Empire.
The Lombards drive the Byzantines from Northern Italy, to the south, but leave them in Ravenna (exarchate).
The Lombards do not take Rome however due to the efforts of Pope Saint Gregory the Great.
Alboin. King of the Lombards in Italy. 568-573
Ethelbert, King of Kent.
Defeated and driven back by the West Saxons, under Ceawlin and Cutha at the Battle of Wimbledon. 568
Death of Narses, the great general of the Byzantine Empire. 568
Belisarius had previously died in 565.
Leovigild, King of the Visigoths. 568-586
The Visigoths rule most of Spain, except for the area that is controlled by the Byzantine Empire.
The Avars, conquering nomads from the steppes of Asia, invade the Byzantine Empire, and spread
over Hungary (568), Poland, and what is now called Prussia. 568-601
The Turks send embassies to the Byzantine emperor. 569
In a treaty between them, the Western Turks are allies with the Byzantine Empire against their
mutual enemy, the Sassanid Persian empire.
Treaty lasts 569-582.
Mohammed (570-632).
Born at Mecca in Arabia (what is now called Saudi Arabia). 570
He will be the founder of Mohammedanism.
At the time of his birth, Mecca owes its importance to the Kaaba, the shrine of the heathen god Hobal and his oracle.
The god of the Kaaba was the god of the city territory.
The Meccans were his subjects, paying him the tithe of their crops and the first born of their herds.
He is born 94 years after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD.
The birth of Mohammed marks the end of the pre-Moslem era of the history of the world.
Death of St. Gildas (c.500-570) at Rhuys, Brittany. January 29, 570
Overthrow of Abyssinian rule in the Yemen by the Persians. 570
Yemen will remain under Persian rule until the Mohammedan conquest.
Leovigild, King of Visigoths.
Drives out the remaining Byzantine forces from western Spain. 570
Lombards led by Alboin take Pavia after a three year siege (569-572). 571 Pavia becomes the capital of the Lombard kingdom.
By 572, the Lombards (Langobards) have conquered most of northern and central Italy. 572 The Lombard kingdom is established in northern Italy.
The Persians dominate Arabia from 572 (until 628). 572
Byzantine-Persian Wars (572-591). Begin. 572
New wars between the Byzantine Empire and Persia.
St. Martin of Braga (519-579). Pannonian.
By 572 he is bishop of Braga (the Roman Bracara Augusta), in what is now northern Portugal. 572
Beginning of Frankish civil wars. 573
War between Chlothar’s son Chilperic and Sigibert I, King of Austrasia.
Sigibert, King of Austrasia, is encouraged by his wife Brunhilda, to declare war on his brother Chilperic, king of Soissons.
Chilperic had murdered his wife Galswintha, Brunhilda’s sister, in order to marry Fredegund.
Sigibert I appeals to the Germans to the east of the Rhine River for help.
Murder of Alboin, King of Lombards. 573
Arranged by his wife Rosamund.
Cleph. King of the Lombards. 573-574
St. Nicetius of Lyons (513-573). Exorcist.
Dies at Lyons, France. April 2, 573
St. Nicetius was Archbishop of Lyons from 552-573.
St. Gregory of Tours (b.538-d.594).
Made Bishop of Tours. 573
He is bishop until his death.
St. Gregory of Tours (538-594).
Writes the “Ten Books of Histories”.
His work will later be known as the “History of the Franks.” 573-594
This is one of the greatest original sources on the history of the Franks.
The future Pope Gegory the Great founds six monasteries in Sicily. 574
Cleph, King of the Lombards, is stabbed to death. 574
Saint Columban (540-615).
Arrives at the court of Sigibert I, King of Austrasia, and reveals the Gospel to him. 574
Sigibert I, King of Austrasia, pursues his brother Chilperic to Tournai. 575
Sigibert is raised in triumph on a shield.
Sigibert is assassinated on orders from Fredegund.
Sigibert is succeeded by his son Childebert II, with his widow Brunhilda as regent of the kingdom
of Austrasia (575-613).
Chilperic invades the kingdom of Sigibert. 575 Guntram sends his general Mummolus to remove him.
Mummolus defeats Chilperic’s general Desiderius and the Neustrian forces retreat from Austrasia.
East Anglia is formed into a kingdom. 575
The name of Angle-land is given to a small part of the eastern coast.
This is East Engla-land.
Pope Benedict I. 575-579
St. Columba of Iona (521-597). 575
Attends the Synod of Drumceat in Meath, Ireland.
The Slovenes move into Carniola. 575
Persians overthrow Abyssinian rule over Yemen. 575
Alexander of Tralles (c.525-605).
“De re medica.” 575
Buddhism begins to have a strong hold on Japan. 575
Martyrdom of St. Cadoc. c.575
He is lanced by the chief of the pagan Saxons, that were overrunning the country at the time.
Scotland is struck by a most fatal famine. 576
Thousands perish.
The Persians drive Auxumite invaders from southern Arabia. 576
The Byzantines and the Turks combine forces in an unsuccessful invasion of Persia. 576-578
Death of St. Germanus of Paris (c.496-576). May 28, 576
Battle of Deorham (Dyrham). 577
Cuthurine and Ceawlin and the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex defeat the Britons.
They kill three of their Briton kings, Coinmail, Condidan, and Farinmail.
The Pope takes Gregory (the Great) from the monastery, and ordains him “Seventh Deacon”. 578
Justin II, Byzantine Emperor, dies insane. 578
He is succeeded by his general, Tiberius.
Tiberius II Constantinus. Byzantine Emperor. 578-582
Tiberius fails to stop a huge influx of Slavs into the Balkan territories.
Pelagius II. Pope. 579-590
Pope Pelagius II sends Gregory (540-604) as secretary to Constantinople in order to get help from
the Byzantine Emperor against the Lombards who are ravaging Italy. 579
Emperor Tiberius II does not help. Gregory will remain there until 586.
Death of St. Finnian. Ireland. c.579
Death of Chosroes, king of Persia. 579
Hormisdas IV. King of Persia. 579-589
Theodoric, king of Bernicia dies. He is succeeded by Friduuald. 579
The Lombards successfully drive the last of the Ostrogoths that are in Italy north of the Alps. 580
Death of St. Sorus (French: Sour) (501-580). February 1, 580
Founder of the Abbey of Terrasson (France).
Destruction of Monte Casino by the Lombards. 581
Founding of the short lived Sui Dynasty in China. 581-618
Founded by Wen-ti.
Sui Dynasty rules China. 581-618
The Great Wall of China is reconstructed as defense against the Turks and the Mongols.
Five million people are employed to construct a water transport system.
A Civil Service Examination is introduced.
The Sui Dynasty will end in 618.
The Turk empire splits into two parts: the Western Turks and the Eastern Turks. 581
Death of Tiberius II Constantinus, Byzantine Emperor. 582
Maurikios, (Maurice) is the Byzantine Emperor. 582-602
Founding of the kingdom of Mercia in England. c.582
Mercia is the last kingdom that is founded by the Angles.
Death of Cassiodorus (c.490-583), at age 92. 583
He is a Roman author, scholar, historian, teacher, and monk.
He wrote the “Chronica,” the “Institutiones Divinarum et saecularium litterarum,” and in his 92nd year, the “Ostrographia,” an account of the Ostrogoths and Ostrogothic rule.
Avars, conquering nomads from the steppes of Asia, reach the Danube River and seize Danube forts. 583
Death of Chilperic I, King of Neustria. 584 Clotaire II (Clothar), his son, becomes King of Neustria.
Rules 584-629.
Slavs in the Balkan peninsula overrun Greece and begin to menace the Byzantine Empire. 584
Autharis (Authari), son of Cleph. King of the Lombards (also called Langobards). 584-590
Kurt. Becomes the first known Bulgarian ruler. 584
St. Leander of Seville (c.534-c.600).
Appointed Bishop of Seville. 584
The king of Paikche (part of Korea) sends another image of Buddha to Japan. Another Buddhist
temple is built. Another epidemic strikes Japan, and Moriyo Mononabe burns the Buddhist temple down. 585
Martyrdom of St. Hermenegild. 585
Hermenegild was the son of Leovigild, the Arian Visiogothic king of Spain.
Leovigild imprisons and has his own son killed, then takes over the entire Iberian peninsula.
Leovigild, King of the Visigoths (Arian).
Overthrows the Suevic kingdom in Spain. Conquers all of Spain. 585
St. Columban (540-615).
Leaves Ireland with twelve other monks as a missionary to Gaul.
Their objective is the conversion of the pagans in Gaul. 585
Leovigild dies. Reccared is made King of the Visigoths. 586
Reccared I is King of the Visigoths 586-601.
Gregory returns to Rome from Constantinople. 586
Gregory is made Abbot of his old monastery (rules 586-590).
Beginning of the conversion of the Visigoths in Spain from Arianism
(Arian Heresy) to Christianity (Roman Catholicism). 587
Battle of Cuil Feda near Clonard. 587
First Buddhist monastery in Japan. 587
Japanese emperor Yomei converts to Buddhism. c.587
Wars of the Heptarchy in England. 588-828
Death of St. Frediano of Lucca (Frigidian; Fridianus). March 18, 588
Arabs, Khazars, and Turks invade Persia, but are defeated. 589
Persian general Varahran defeats Turkish invaders of Persia. 589
Under King Authari and Queen Theodelinda, the barbarian Lombards begin their conversion from paganism to Christianity. 589
Conversion of Reccared, King of Spain, from Arianism to Christianity. 589
Reccared I is the first Christian King of the Visigoths.
Provincial Church Council of Toledo. 589
The “filioque” clause is added to the Nicene Creed.
The Visigoths renounce Arianism (the Arian heresy).
St. Leander of Seville begins the organization of the Church in Spain.
Hormisdas (Hormizd), the Persian emperor, is deposed and murdered after several defeats by
the Byzantine Empire. 589
Chosroes II, is deposed by the Persian army, and leaves for Constantinople. 589
He seeks help from the Byzantine emperor to regain his throne.
Khusru Parviz (Chosroes II in Greek) ascends the throne of Persia. 590
He renews the war with the Byzantine Empire.
He conquers Jerusalem, Damascus, and Egypt and restores the Persian boundaries.
Chosroes II rules as Sassanian king of Persia in 590 and then again in 591-628.
Varahran, Persian general, rebels against Chosroes II and rules briefly as Varahran (Bahram) VI. 590-591
Wen Ti, the Sui Emperor, defeats Chen forces at Jian-Kang (later called Nanjing) and brings the
Chen dynasty (557-589) to an end. 589
Bubonic plague in Rome. 590
In April, while the bubonic plague rages in Rome, Gregory organizes a sevenfold penitential procession to march to the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, and implore deliverance from the plague. April 590
The plague subsides when Gregory sees a vision of the Destroying Angel sheathing his sword
on Hadrian’s mausoleum.
Hadrian’s mausoleum is renamed the Castel Sant’Angelo.
Gregory (b.540-d.604) is elected Pope. September 3, 590
Papacy of Saint Gregory I the Great (b.540-d.604). 590-604 ● Sends Augustine, a Roman Benedictine, and 40 other monks to England (596).
● Lays reaffirms papal claims to temporal authority and independence from secular powers.
● Codifies church music. The Gregorian chant is named after him.
● Undertakes the union of the Western Church under Rome.
● Canon of the Mass is established; changes liturgy (597).
● Repairs the aqueducts of Rome.
Saint Gregory the Great (540-640).
“40 Homilies on the Gospel.” 590-591
Great flood followed by famine in England. 590
Thousands perish.
Death of Authari, King of the Lombard (Langobards). 590
Succeeded by Agilulf. Rules 590-615.
Agilulf, Duke of Turin. Builds the Lombard state in Italy. 590-615
St. Gregory of Tours (c.540-594).
Mentions church window glass in his writings. 590
Supremacy of Ethelbert of Kent. 590-616
Ethelbert has been ruling since 560.
St. Columban (545-615).
Builds his first monastery at Annegray in the Vosges Mountains. 590
He will found two more monasteries, one at Luxeuil in Burgundy and
later another at Fontes (Fontaine).
Two Lombard leaders become dukes of Spoleto and Benevento. 591
Maurice, Byzantine Emperor.
Restores Chosroes II (Khusru Parviz) to the throne of Persia, in return for most of Armenia. 591
Constantinople is threatened by invading barbarian Avars. 591
Byzantine Empire wars with the invading Avars. 591-601
Chosroes II of Persia. His second reign. 591-628
Battle of Adam’s Grave. England. 591
Ceawlin is deposed and succeeded by Ceol as King of Wessex (“Old King Cole”).
Hussa, king of Bernicia dies. He is succeeded by Ethelfrith. 591
Ethelfrith, King of Bernicia 591-616.
Death of Guntram of Burgundy. 592
Gregory the Great (540-604).
Arranges a peace with the Lombard Duke of Spoleto, Italy. 592
Long drought and locusts in England. Jan.-Sept. 592
Thousands perish.
Redwald (Raedwald).
First historical king of East Anglia, an early English kingdom. 593-617
Priscus. Byzantine general.
Attacks the invading Avars. The Avars are driven back. 593
Constantinople is saved from the barbarians.
Suiko, Empress of Japan (593-628). 593
After 593, Empress Suiko and Crown Prince Shotoku establish
Buddhism and Chinese culture in Japan.
Ceawlin, the deposed King of Wessex, dies. 593
Aethelfrith (Ethelrid). King of Northumbria. 593-617
He is the son of Aethelric, whom he succeeds to the kingdom of Northumbria.
Gregory the Great (540-604).
“22 Homilies on Ezechiel.” 593
“The Four Books of Dialogues on the Life and Miracles of the Italian Fathers (i.e., Saints) and on
the Immortality of the Soul.” Written. 593-594
After killing almost half of the population in Europe, the bubonic plague which began in 542,
begins to subside. 594
St. Gregory the Great (540-604).
Arranges a peace with Agilulf the king of the Lombards. 595
Byzantine emperor Maurice is angered, but the peace stands.
Pope Gregory I the Great (540-604).
Sends Saint Augustine, a Roman Benedictine, and forty other monks as missionaries to pagan England.
They are to travel from Italy up the Rhone Valley, over the Alps, to Tours, Paris, and then to England. 596
The objective is the conversion of Britain from paganism to Christianity.
They are sent to Ethelbert, King of Kent.
Augustine is to become its first Archbishop.
Augustine had previously trained under the Bishop of Messina, Italy.
The mission involved lifelong banishment from civilization in what was at that time a savage country.
One of the monks that accompanied Augustine was Lawrence, who would later succeed him at Canterbury.
Augustine (d.604) is consecrated bishop by St. Virgilius of Arles, the metropolitan and papal vicar
of Gaul. 597
Saint Augustine of Canterbury (d.604).
Lands on the Isle of Thanet, England with thirteen monks from St. Andrew’s Monastery at Rome.April 597
His first objective is the conversion from heathenism to Christianity of Ethelbert, King of Kent
and High King of southern England.
Ethelbert, King of Kent, agrees to receive St. Augustine in audience in the open air. 597
Augustine and his companions are given a place to live in Canterbury.
Death of Saint Columba of Iona (c.521-597) on Iona. June 9, 597
St. Augustine (d.604) begins the conversion of Ethelbert and the Kingdom of Kent from paganism
to Christianity. 597
St. Augustine baptizes Ethelbert, King of Kent (June 1, 597).
Beginning of the conversion of all of England from paganism to Christianity by Augustine and
the men that are with him.
Augustine receives the support of Ethelbert, King of Kent.
Ethelbert is the first Christian English King.
Ethelbert, King of Kent.
Grants religious freedom to all of his subjects, Ethelbert understands that
conversion to Christianity by conviction is the only true conversion. 597
St. Augustine of Canterbury (d.604).
Baptizes 10,000 Saxon new converts (probably in the river). December 25, 597
Ceol, king of Wessex dies. He is succeeded by Ceowulf. 597
Death of St. Simeon Stylites the Younger (521-597). May 24, 597
St. Augustine of Canterbury (d.604).
Builds and founds a Benedictine monastery at Canterbury, England on land that is given to him
by King Ethelbert of Kent. 598
St. Augustine of Canterbury sets up the first English school at Canterbury, England. 598
Treaty of peace between the exarch Callinicus, and Agilulf, King of the Lombards, in the name
of the Byzantine Empire and the Lombards. 599
Lombard rule in Italy is strengthened.
Seventh Century
St. Gregory the Great (540-604).
Works for the peaceful conversion of the Jews. 600
Introduces illustrated books for illiterates to replace the Scriptures.
St. Gregory, the Great.
Founds the “Schola Cantorum” (music school) in Rome. 600
St. Gregory the Great.
“Antiphonar;” Gregory’s collection of church chants (vocal music). 600
Gregorian chant.
Saint Augustine of Canterbury (d.604).
Founds the Christian Church at Canterbury, England.
Augustine becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury. 600
Codex Usserianus Primus. c.600
A copy of the gospels. Written in ink on parchment.
Now preserved in Trinity College, Dublin.
St. Isidore of Seville. Becomes Bishop of Seville. 600
Smallpox Plague. 600
Spreads from India via China to Asia Minor and to Southern Europe.
Ethelbert, King of Kent.
Issues the first of the Anglo-Saxon codes of law. 600
St. Gregory the Great.
Writes a guide describing the duties of the clergy. c.600
Long period of severe famine throughout France. 600-604
Thousands perish.
Barbarian invasions gradually begin to cease in Western Europe. 600
Arles Cathedral. Begun. 600
The Khazars form an empire between the lower Volga River and the lower Don River. 600
Coptic art is established in Egypt. c.600
Coptic art is a mixture of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Egyptian, and Arab influences.
Beginning of the gradual formation and development of the Italian language. c.600
Czechs and Slovaks settle in Bohemia and Moravia. 600
Yugoslavs settle in Serbia.
Chinese artists begin to settle in Japan. c.600
Battle of Viminacium. 601
Byzantine forces under general Priscus crush a large body of the barbarian Avars, a tribe from
Asia, at Viminacium.
Priscus kills some 20,000 of the Avar barbarians.
This victory only wins 18 years of peace.
Development of the Tantric school of Buddhism in India.
Will spread to Tibet, China, and Japan. c.600
Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604).
Sends additional missionaries to England to aid St. Augustine. 601
Paulinus is one of them. Gregory sends Augustine “the pallium.”
The first cathedral is built in England. 601
St. Augustine of Canterbury (d.604).
Establishes the archbishopric of Canterbury in England. 602
The child of Agilulf, King of the Lombards, and Theudelinda both receive Christian baptism. 602
Mauricius, Byzantine Emperor, is killed by Phocas. 602
Phocas, a soldier, reigns as his successor, after seizing his throne.
Phocas rules 602-610.
Phocas is anti-Monophysitism and anti-Judaism.
Disastrous floods of the Yellow River (Huang Ho) in China. 602
Beginning of the conversion of the barbarian Lombards in Italy from paganism to Christianity. c.603
Founding of the bishopric of Rochester, England. 603
The first St. Andrew’s Church is built in Rochester, England. 603
The first St. Paul’s Church is built in London. 603
St. Columbanus (540-615).
Refuses to attend a Gallican synod at Chalons when he is summoned to explain his Celtic usages. 603
Aethelfrith, King of the Northumbrians (Anglo-Saxon). Defeats Aidan (Aedhan) at the Battle of Daegsastan (Degsastan). 603
Persian invasion of the Byzantine Empire. 603
The Persians start a new war with the Byzantine Empire (603 to 628).
Shotoko Taishi code in Japan. 604
Demands the veneration of Buddha, his doctrines, his laws, his
teachings, and all of the Buddhist writings.
Death of Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604). March 12, 604
He is succeeded by Sabinian (604-606).
Death of Saint Augustine of Canterbury.
Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury. May 26, 604
St. Lawrence of Canterbury.
Succeeds Augustine as the second Archbishop of Canterbury. 604
St. Mellitus (d. 624).
Responsible for the conversion of the East Saxons (Essex) under King Sigibert (Sabert) from
paganism to Christianity. 604
A bishopric is founded for them at London.
Intense heat and drought cause famine throughout England. 605
Unknown numbers of thousands perish.
Fatima, daughter of Mohammed, is born (d.632). 606
Building of St. Trophime Cathedral in Arles, France. 606
Pope Boniface III. 606-607
First Japanese ambassadors in China. 607
St. John the Almsgiver (c.550-c.619).
Named Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt. 608
St. Boniface IV. Pope. 608-615
Consecration of the Pantheon, previously a pagan temple in Rome, as a Christian church (Church
of Santa Maria Rotonda). 609
Phocas, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, is deposed and killed. 610
Heraclius assumes power as emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Heraclius rules from 610 until his death in 641.
Marks the beginning of the Heraclian Dynasty.
Reign of Heraclius I, Byzantine Emperor. 610-641
During his reign he will recover lands lost to Persia and then lose
them to the Arab Moslems at the end of his reign.
Rise of the Monothelite heresy (Monothelitism). 610-640
Denies that Jesus Chist had both a human will and a divine will.
Sergius becomes Patriarch of Constantinople (610 to 638). 610
Theodoric II, King of Burgundy.
Orders all Irish monks banished from his realm. 610
He exiles St. Columbanus (540-615).
St. Columbanus visits the tomb of St. Martin of Tours.
The Arabs defeat the Persians at Dhu-Qar. 610
Ceowulf, king of Wessex dies. He is succeeded by Cynegils. 611
Mohammed, on Mount Hira, at age 44, begins the founding of Mohammedanism.
He proclaims and begins teaching his new religion. 611
Sack of Antioch by the Persian armies. 611
Persians conquer Syria. 611
Burgundy wars against and conquers Neustria. 612
Sisibut (Sisebuto). King of the Visigoths in Spain. 612-621
St. Columbanus (540-615).
When Burgundy conquers Neustria he is banished from Neustria.
At age 73, Columbanus crosses the Alps and goes into Italy.
He is welcomed to Milan by Agilulf, King of the Lombards. 612
St. Columbanus (540-615).
Constructs his final monastery at Bobbio, in northern Italy. 612
The monastery at Bobbio is built upon the ruins of an old basilica that was dedicated to St. Peter.
In the course of the Byzantine wars, the Persians invade Cappadocia, and reach Antioch. 612
St. Gallus (or Gall); a student of St. Columbanus (540-615).
Founds the Monastery of St. Gallen, in what is now called Switzerland. 612
Peace of Paris ends Frankish civil wars. 613
Reign of Clotaire (Lothair) II, Merovingian king from 584-629.
Unites Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. 613-629
Reunites the Frankish realm and appoints Pepin of Landen and his counsellor Arnulf, Bishop
of Metz (ancestors of the Carolingians) to govern.
Clotaire II, King of the Franks.
“Edictum Chlotacharii.” Oct. 18, 614
Defines the rights of the Church, kings, and nobility.
Conquest of Damascus by the Persians. 614
Sack and capture of Jerusalem by the Sassanian Persian armies. 614
They massacre 50,000 of the inhabitants.
Removal of the True Cross from Jerusalem by the Sassanian Persians. The True Cross is carried
to Ctesiphon.
St. Columban, aka Columbanus (540-615).
Dies in Bobbio, Italy. November 23, 615
Originally of the Celtic rite, his foundations will follow St. Benedict’s rule of Benedictine Order.
Death of Agilulf, King of the Lombards.
Agilulf introduced Christianity to his people, the Lombards. 615
Saint Deusdedit I (St. Adeodatus I). Pope. 615-618
Birthplace: Rome.
The Persian armies overrun and take Egypt. 616-619
The Persians will subjugate Egypt by 619.
Benedictine Church and convent for women at Folkestone. 616
Death of Saint Ethelbert, King of Kent. February 24, 616
Ethelbert ruled wisely for 56 years from 560 to 616.
Battle of Chester. 616
Aethelfrith, King of Northumbria (Anglo-Saxon, defeats the Welsh (Britons) at the Battle of Chester.
The pagan Anglo-Saxons massacre twelve hundred monks of Bangor Monastery.
Edbald (Eadbald). King of Kent.
Succeeds his father, Ethelbert, as King of Kent. 616
Eadbald marries his father’s wife.
Kent lapses back into paganism once again.
Adaloald (Adalwald) becomes King of the Lombards. 616
Adaloald rules 616-625.
Redwald, King of East Anglia, takes an army into Mercia and defeats the Northumbrians on their
own frontier. 616
Aethelfrith, King of Northumbria, is defeated and killed by Raedwald, King of East Anglia, at the
Battle of the Idle River. 616
Aethelfrith is succeeded by Edwin. Edwin rules Northumbria 616-633.
The Visigoths take remaining lands in what is now Spain from the Byzantine Empire. 616
Edwin (Eadwine) of Northumbria.
Enlarges his kingdom located in the north of England. 617
Northumbria becomes the dominant kingdom in England until 685.
Persian armies are at Alexandria, Egypt. 618
Each of the three parts of the kingdom of the Franks, Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy, has a
mayor (“majordomus”), who presides over the royal court. He is usually called the “mayor of the palace”. 618
An official of the Sui regime has emperor Yangdi murdered.
He then installs himself as emperor Kao Zu. 618
The T’ang Dynasty replaces the Sui Dynasty in China (see 581). 618
Foundation of T’ang Dynasty in China. Annexes Korea and leads
successful campaigns in Mongolia, Tibet, and Turkestan.
It marks the Golden Age of China with advances in the development of printing, painting, and poetry.
T’ang Dynasty in China. 618-907
Death of St. Lawrence (Laurentius) of Canterbury. February 2, 619
Mellitus is made the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Death of St. John the Almsgiver (c.550-c.619). November 11, 619
Paulinus of Rome.
Travels from the kingdom of Kent to the court of Edwin, the King of Northumbria, in what is now
called Yorkshire. 619
Jerusalem is sacked by the Persians. 619
Chosroes II.
The Persians hold Egypt, Jerusalem, and Damascus and have armies at the Hellespont, one mile
away from Constantinople. 619
Persian troops threaten Constantinople.
Kurt. King of the Bulgars. 619
Converts from heathenism to Christianity.
Pope Boniface V. 619-625
“Suan-Ching” (“Ten Classics”). 619
Scientific books written in China.
Chosroes II. The Persians take Rhodes and Ancyra. 620
The Sassanian Persian Empire is now at its largest in terms of territory.
Origins of the Khazar State. c.620
The Vikings (Northmen) begin their invasions of Ireland. 620
Recared II. King of the Visigoths. 621
Swinthilla (Swintilla). King of the Visigoths. 621-631
In Japan, an imperial edict establishes Buddhism as the official religion of the land. 621
St. Isidore of Seville (b.c.560-636).
Philosopher, theologian, and encyclopedist.
“Etymologia.” “Originum sive etymologiarum librii XX.” 622
(“Etymologies”).
Produces an encyclopedia on the arts and sciences.
His “Etymologia” becomes a general reference work for the next eight hundred years.
The controversy surrounding the Monothelite heresy (Monothelitism) intensifies. 622-680
The Hegira of Mohammed to “Yathrib” (later called Medina). July 622
Mohammed’s flight from Mecca to Medina.
After his proclamation, Mohammed is forced to flee from Mecca.
Mohammed enters Medina and is acknowledged as the military sovereign.
The Hegira marks the beginning (year 1) of the Mohammedan Calendar (Moslem Era).
This is the traditional date of the Hegira.
Between 611 and 622, the Sassanian Persians have conquered much of the southern Byzantine Empire. 622
Persians have intermittently threatened the Byzantine Empire from 540.
Heraclius I, Byzantine Emperor .
Begins to successfully drive the Persians from the Byzantine Empire. 622
His campaigns will continue from 622 to 628.
Heraclius I (b.575-d.641). Byzantine Emperor.
Heraclius invades Persia. 622
Heraclius lands at Issus and defeats the Persian army at the Battle of Issus.
Byzantine forces invade Armenia. 623
Samo, a Frank from Sens, encounters Slav tribes in Carinthia.
He frees them from the Avars, and founds the Slavonic Kingdom. 623
Dagobert, elder son of Clothar II, becomes king of Austrasia. 623
Dagobert I rules 623-639.
Arnulf, Bishop of Metz is his advisor.
Pepin of Landen is his “Mayor of the Palace”.
Visigoths in Spain reconquer the Mediterranean shore from the Byzantine Empire. c.624
Battle of Badr. 624
Mohammed (570-632) launches his first military operation.
Mohammed with 310 of his followers intercept, and route a caravan of 1000 Meccans on its return
from Syria to Mecca.
Captures the caravan which was defended by his old enemy Abu Sufyan.
Mohammed (570-632), age 54, asks Abu Bekr (his future successor) permission to betroth his
daughter Aisha (she is 6 years old). 624
Mohammed’s marriage to Aisha will not be consummated until she is nine years old. During his
lifetime Mohammed will have over 13 other wives.
St. Justus of Canterbury (d.c. 627).
Succeeds as the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury, England. 624
St. Justus, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Consecrates Paulinus as Bishop of the Northumbrians. 625
Pope Honorius I. 625-638
Mohammed (570-632).
Begins to dictate to his scribe the Koran (Qur’ân), 114 Suras. 625
Arioald. King of Lombards. 625-630
Dagobert I. King of Austrasia.
Founds the Abbey of St. Denis. 625
Mohammed (570-632).
Orders the slaughter of the 800 males of the Jewish Beni Qoreiga tribe in Medina. 625
He sells the women and children into slavery. Mohammed has over 700 of the Jews beheaded at Medina.
Gourdon gold chalice, France. 625
“Grievous” famine throughout Britain. 625
Thousands perish.
Siege of Constantinople by the Persians and Avars. 626
Constantinople successfully resists the ferocious double siege of
Persians (Sassanian Empire) and Avars.
Heraclius I (b.575-d.641), Byzantine Emperor, successfully repulses the double attack of the
Persians and barbarian Avars on Constantinople. 626
Heraclius I (b.575-d.641). Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Expels the Sassanian Persians from Egypt. 626
Siege of Medina. 627
Alarmed at the growing strength of Mohammed’s movement in Medina, over 10,000 anti-Mohammedans organize an attack on the city of Medina (from Mecca). Medina is defended by Mohammed and
3,000 of his followers.
After 20 days the besieges under Abu Sufyan give up the attack and disperse.
Edwin, King of Northumbria.
Converts from paganism to Christianity as a result of his wife Ethelburga and the Roman missionary Paulinus. 627
Edwin, King of Northumbria (England).
Founds the city of Edinburgh and begins the conversion of his country from paganism to Christianity. Edwin is baptized on Easter Day 627, by Paulinus. 627
Edwin is the first Christian King of Northumbria.
Heraclius I (b.575-d.641). Invades Assyria and Mesopotamia. 627
Heraclius I. Byzantine Emperor.
Decisively defeats the Persians in a great battle at Nineveh. Dec. 12, 627
The Battle of Nineveh gives the Byzantines a decisive victory over Mesopotamia.
marches his army on to Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sassanian Empire. Chosroes II of Persia
is forced to flee for his life.
The True Cross will be surrendered to the Byzantines, who return it back to Jerusalem.
Honorius (d.653). Originally born at Rome.
Named the fifth Archbishop of Canterbury in England. 627
Beginning of the conversion of the Kingdom of Northumbria in England from heathenism to
Christianity (see Paulinus, 625). 627
Reign of T’ai Tsung, Emperor of China. 627-649
Under T’ai Tsung, China reaches the highest stage of its history.
Annihilation of the Eastern Turks. 627
Building of many new churches in Rome by Pope Honorius I. 627-638
Deposition and murder of Chosroes II, King of Persia, by his son and successor Kavadh II. 628
Kavadh II makes peace with the Byzantine Empire. War began in 603.
After the defeat of the Persians by Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, prisoners are exchanged.
Heraclius is given back the True Cross of Jesus Christ that the Persians had carried off.
The True Cross is returned to the city of Jerusalem. 628
After the Persian king, Chosroes II is killed by Kavadh II, his own son,
Heraclius and the Byzantine Empire regain all possessions that were previously lost to Persia. 628-630
Conquest of Yemen by the Mohammedans. 628
Founding of Lincoln Church. 628
St. Fiacra (d.670).
Leaves his native Ireland and travels to France (Meaux). 628
Recovery of the city of Jerusalem from the Persians by Heraclius I, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 629
Persia (Sassanian Empire) lapses into a period of anarchy. 629-634
Death of Clothar II (Clotaire II).
Dagobert I, his son, is made king of the whole Frankish Kingdom. 629
Dagobert I rules the Frankish Kingdom 629-639.
Dagobert is advised by Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, and Pepin the Elder.
Pope Honorius I.
Sides with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the controversy over the Monothelite heresy (Monothelitism). 629
Honorius will be anathematized many years after his death for this action.
Hsüan Tsang (Yuan Chuang), Chinese Buddhist.
Travels to Cambodia to study Buddhism. 629
Continued spread of the Monothelite heresy in Armenia, Syria, and other parts of the Byzantine Empire. 629
The True Cross is brought back to Constantinople and given to Byzantine Emperor Heraclius I. 630
Fall of Mecca to Mohammed. Jan. 630
Mohammed (570-632) returns to Mecca and leads an attack from Medina and storms into Mecca,
the city of his birth.
Mohammed and his Mohammedans successfully capture Mecca.
Mecca becomes the center of Mohammedanism.
Mohammed begins the conversion of Arabia to Mohammedanism.
Mohammed (570-632) subdues many of the Arab tribes. 630-632
Church of “St. Agnese Fuori Le Mura” in Rome. c.630
Late example of an early Christian basilica.
Expulsion of Olaf Tratelia from his native Sweden. 630
He founds a colony at Vermeland (Norway).
Mohammed finishes the Koran, the book of the Mohammedans. 630
Mohammed (570-632) writes letters to all of the rulers of the world explaining the principles of
his new religion, Mohammedanism. 630
He explains that everyone in the entire world must accept these doctrines.
Brahmagupta (b.c.598).
“Brahmasphuta siddhānta.”
Mathematical writings concerning mensuration, early algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and
diophantine equations. c.630
T’ang Dynasty court in China, receives its first Japanese embassy. 630
Sisenando. King of the Visigoths. 631-636
St. Braulio (d.651).
Elected bishop of Saragossa, Spain. 631
He is strongly anti-Arianism, and encourages education and learning throughout the kingdom.
Sigibert becomes King of East Anglia. 631
Sigibert is a Christian convert from paganism.
Beginning of the conversion of East Anglia from paganism to Christianity (Roman Catholicism). 632
Mohammed marches into Mecca with 10,000 of his followers. 632
Establishes the tradition of “jihad” and pilgrimage.
Mohammed finally completes his conquest of all of Arabia that he had begun in 623.
Mohammed (570-632) dies at Medina. June 8, 632
At the time of his death, he is ruler of all Arabia.
He is 62 years old at the time of his death.
At the time of his death he has nine wives. He is buried at Medina.
His tomb remains there to this day.
Mohammed (570-632) is succeeded as leader of Mohammedanism by one of his many father-in-laws,
Abu Bakr. 632
Abu Bakr becomes the first Mohammedan Caliph (“successor”).
Abu Bakr rules 632-634. Medina becomes the seat of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph.
Abu Bakr ends many Arab revolts and rules from the Mediterranean Sea to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Yezdigird (Yazdigird) III becomes the last Sassanian ruler of Persia. 632
Yezdigird III rules 632-651.
Georgios Pisides.
“The Hexameron.” 632
Didactic poem on the Creation.
St. Eligius (c.590-660).
Founds and builds a monastery at Solignac. 632
Buddhism becomes the prevalent state religion in Tibet. 632
Beginning of the Mohammedan Wars fought against the Sassanian Persian Empire (633-651). 633
Battle of the River of Blood. May 633
Also called the Battle of Ullais (near Baghdad).
18,000 Moslems under Khālid ibn al-Walīd, kill over 70,000 Sassanid Persians (Persian Sassanian Empire) at the river of Ullais.
Battle of Hira. 633
(Part of the Mohammedan conquest of Sassanian Persia).
Moslem attack against the Persian empire of the Sassanians.
A force of Arab horsemen under Khālid ibn al-Walīd, attack the city of Hira in Persia. The Moslems demand a tribute and then withdraw.
The Persian ruler at this time is Rustam, the regent for the young Yazdegerd III (Sassanian).
Christian Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria are captured and turned into Mohammedan mosques. 633
Oswald, King of Northumbria and Bernecia. 633-642
Fourth Council of Toledo. 633
Death of St. Finbar at Cloyne. 633
St. Aidan. Irish Christian monk.
Comes from Iona, at the invitation of King Oswald of Northumbria.
St. Aidan works toward the conversion of Northumbria from paganism to Christianity. 633
Wars among the Saxon Kings in England. 633-654
Penda, the pagan King of Mercia, and Cadwallon of North Wales, invade the Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. 633
Battle of Heathfield (Hatfield). Oct. 12, 633
Edwin, King of Northumbria, is defeated and killed in the Battle of Heathfield, with his son Osfrith.
The forces of Penda, the pagan King of Mercia, and Cadwallon of North Wales defeat the Northumbrian army at the Battle of Hatfield.
Return of paganism to Northumbria. 633
Moslem conquest of Syria begins (633-641). 633
Arrival of St. Birinus in West Saxony. 634
Battle of Heavenfield. 634
Oswald, the successor of Edwin, King of Northumbria, destroys Cadwallon
(Caedwalla) and his Briton forces in the last pitched battle fought between the Britons and their
and Saxon conquerors. Caedwalla is killed in battle.
Death of Abu Bekr, Caliph (“the successor”). 634
Abu Bekr is succeeded by Omar I, the second caliph (634-644).
Battle of Ajnadain. July 30, 634
The Moslem attack toward Syria is checked at Ajnadain (Jannabatain),
by a Byzantine army led by Theodorus, brother of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius.
Khālid ibn al-Walīd, the Moslem general, marches from Hira across the Syrian desert with reinforcements.
The combined Arabian force of 45,000 moslems route the Byzantine army.
Battle of Pella. Jan. 23, 635
Khālid ibn al-Walīd leads his Arabian horsemen toward Damascus.
At Pella, in Palestine, the retreating Byzantine army makes a stand but is defeated.
Khālid ibn al-Walīd moves on toward Damascus.
Oswald, King of Northumbria, who had been baptized and educated at the monastery of Iona,
wins back Northumbria from the pagans. 635
St. Aidan. Irish.
Founds monastery on the island of Lindisfarne off the northeast coast of Northumberland. 635
St. Aidan is the first Bishop of Lindisfarne.
Fall of Damascus to the Mohammedans. 635
Khālid ibn al-Walīd conquers Damascus.
Damascus becomes the capital of Mohammedanism (to 750).
Beginning of the conversion of the English Kingdom of Wessex from paganism to Christianity. 635
The conversion of Wessex to Christianity is due to St. Birinus, the Italian monk, who was made
Bishop of Dorchester near Oxford.
Conversion of Cynegils, King of Wessex, from paganism to Christianity.
Cynegils was taught by St. Birinus. 635
Reception of Christian missionaries in China by the Chinese emperor T’ai-Tsung. 635
Battle of the Yarmuk River. August 20, 636
An Arab Mohammedan force of some 25,000 men defeats a
Byzantine army of 50,000 men, on a tributary of the Jordan River.
Byzantine dominance in Syria and Palestine is broken.
Mohammedans continue the conquest of Syria (633-641) and Iraq (to 642) from the Byzantine Empire.
Fall of Antioch to the Mohammedans. 636
Rotharis. King of the Lombards (Italy). 636-652
Beginning of the advancement of Anglo-Saxon culture and civilization
with the conversion from the worship of pagan gods to Christianity. c.636
Chintilla. King of the Visigoths. 636-640
Churches are built at Glastonbury, St. Albans, and Winchester. 636
Castles are built at Conisborough, Castletown, etc. 636
Beginning of the appearance of the differentiation between the French and German languages
in the Frankish Empire. c.636
Southern Irish Church submits to the Roman Catholic date of observing Easter and method of tonsure. 636
Persian fire worshippers settle in central India. 636
Death of St. Isidore of Seville (c.560-636). April 4, 636
Battle of Kadessia (Kadisiya). 637
Rustam, the regent of Yazdegerd III, takes an army of about 100,000 men across the Euphrates
River to Kadisiya, in Iraq. Expecting the Persian attack, Caliph Omar I sends out 30,000 Arabian cavalry.
Rustam is caught and beheaded.
The Persian army disintegrates suffering terrible losses.
Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanian ruler of Persia, is forced to abandon his capital at Ctesiphon
to the Mohammedans. 637
Omar I, the moslem Caliph.
The Mohammedans take and sack the rich Sassanian Persian capital city of Ctesiphon on the
Tigris River. 637
Battle of Jalula. 637
The Mohammedan army of Sa’d ibn Abi-Waqqās rides north in pursuit of the Sassanians (Persians).
At Jalula, Yazdegerd’s horsemen are decisively defeated.
Fall of Jerusalem to the Arab Mohammedans.
Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, surrenders Jerusalem after a four month siege to Omar I,
the second Caliph of the Mohammedans. 637
Apse mosaics in the Church of St. Agnese, Rome. 637
Birth of Hui-Nêng (also called Wei Lang or Wei Nang) (637-713).
Chinese philosopher. 637
Death of St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. 638
Maximus the Confessor (580-662) takes his place.
Maximus the Confessor is anti-Monothelitism (Monothelite heresy).
Council of Toledo. 638
Condemnation of the Jews for helping the Moslems in Spain that are fighting against the Christians
and Christianity.
Heraclius’ attempt to resolve the controversy over Monophysitism gives support to the new heresy, Monotheletism, that had previously appeared around 610. 638
The Sassanian Empire of Persia appeals to China for help against the Mohammedan invaders. 638
Chintila. King of the Visigoths (636-640).
Decrees that no one is to be permitted in the Visigothic kingdom who is not a Christian. 638-640
Jews are expelled.
All of Palestine is now under Moslem rule. 638
Omar I, the second Moslem Caliph, sends an Arabian army under the general Amr ibn al-As,
westward toward Egypt, which at this time is held by the Byzantine Empire. 639
Mohammedans begin the invasion and conquest of Egypt.
Moslem conquest of Egypt begins 639. Egypt will finally fall in 642.
Death of Dagobert I, King of the Franks. Jan. 639
Dagobert is the last Merovingian king to rule a united Frankish kingdom. Dagobert I united Austrasia, Neustrasia, and Aquitaine.
Dagobert I is succeeded by Clovis II.
Increasing importance of the Carolingian “mayors of the palace.”
Clovis II, King of Neustria and Burgundy.
Clovis II succeeds Dagobert I. Clovis II rules 639 to 657. 639
Mohammedan invasion of Armenia. 639
A second army of Mohammedans penetrates into and seizes Mesopotamia and enters Fars and
Susiana. 639
St. Aidan begins his missionary work in Northumbria. 640
Pope John IV. 640-642
Syracuse Cathedral. Sicily. Begun.
Integrates a Greek Doric temple of c.470 BC. 640
Amr ibn al-As, with an army of 4,000 horsemen, rides along the ancient road of conquest, seizes Pelusium and then Heliopolis. 640
At Heliopolis, the Egyptian priests still worship the Sun.
Amr ibn al-As destroys the Byzantine army and permits the survivors to fall back on Alexandria,
the greatest naval base in the world at that time.
Entry of the Slavs into the Balkans. 640
The Slavs found the kingdom of Servia and Croatia.
The Slavs invade Italy. c.640
They are repulsed.
Chen Ch’üan. Chinese physician.
First to note the symptoms of diabetes mellitus, including thirst and sweet urine. c.640
Tulga. King of the Visigoths. 640-641
Chindaswinth. King of the Visigoths. 641-653
Death of Heraclius I (b.575-d.641). 641
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.
He is succeeded by Constans II Pogonatus, his grandson.
Rules 641-668.
Constans II (630-668). Byzantine Emperor. 641-668
Constans II forms themes (provinces under military governors) in an attempt to resist the constant Mohammedan invasions.
Battle of Nehavend (Nihawand). 641
Mohammedan armies under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqāṣ, the general of the Caliph Omar I, completely
defeat a Persian army of 100,000 men. Yazdegerd III flees for his life.
The Mohammedan conquest of Persia is completed.
St. Ouen (also Audoenus, Audoen) (c.610-684).
Consecrated Archbishop of Rouen, France. 641
Encourages learning and education.
Battle of al-Fustat. 641
The moslems make al-Fustat (later to become Old Cairo) a moslem city.
The Byzantine army is forced to surrender.
Peak of Armenian architecture under the Patriarch Nerses III. 641
Umar (Omar) ibn-al-Khattab, the second Caliph, orders general
Amr ibn al’As to destroy all of the books that are contained in the great Library of Alexandria.
The Arab Mohammedans, during their conquest of Egypt, destroy by fire the library and book
copying center at Alexandria. 641
They burn down the great Library of Alexandria that contains over
300,000 books (Papyrus scrolls).
End of the Alexandrian school, one of the centers of Western education, learning and culture
since the first century AD.
The Mohammedan armies complete the destruction of the Library of Alexandria and also the
great Museum of Alexandria.
The great Library formerly kept the writings of Euclid, Eratosthenes, Apollonius, Pappus, and
countless other Greek and Roman writers.
On the orders of the Byzantine Empress Martina, the Byzantines abandon the great city of
Alexandria and set sail for Rhodes. 641
Amr ibn al-As enters into the third greatest city in Christendom.
Battle of Maserfield. 642
The Mercians under King Penda again defeat the Northumbrians, this time at Maserfield (Oswestry) Oswald, King of Northumbria is killed in the battle.
Oswiu. King of Northumbria and Bernecia. 642-670
Fall of Babylon to the Mohammedans. 642
Pope Theodore I. 642-649
Fredegar Scholasticus. 642
“Historia Francorum.”
Arab Moslems complete the conquest of Egypt (begun in 639). 642
Egypt is lost to the Mohammedans.
The Moslem rule of Egypt begins under the Arab caliphs of the Empire of the Caliphate.
Moslem rule of Egypt: 642 to the present.
Mosque of Amr is built at Cairo, Egypt. 642
Complete take over of the city of Alexandria, Egypt by the Mohammedans under Amru ibn al’As,
the leader of the moslem invasionary forces. Sept. 642
Moslem Conquest of North Africa. 642-643
Following their rapid conquest of Egypt, the Moslems send an army westward along the African
coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The moslem army, under Abdullah ibn-Sa’d (d.656), overruns the Pentapolis cities of Cyrenaica- Appolonia, Arsinoë, Berenice, Cyrene, and Ptolomäis.
Teutonic conquest of Britain. 642-655
Mohammedan forces now stand at the borders of India. 643
Grimoald, son of Pepin, is the “mayor of the palace” in Austrasia. 643-656
Ambassadors from Persia and Constantinople visit China. 643
Famine in Japan kills thousands. 644
The Tang Chinese invade by land and sea what is now called Korea. 644
Murder of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab (the second Caliph).
Othman I. Third Caliph (“successor”). 644-656
Othman I builds a fleet. 644-655
Rothari (Rotharis). The last Arian Lombard king.
Codifies Lombard law. 644
Brief recapture of Alexandria by Byzantine fleet. 645
The people of Alexandria rise up against the Arab Mohammedans.
Hsüan-tsang, Chinese philosopher.
Returns from India to China with an account of Indian culture. 645
In Japan, period begins of imitation of all aspects of Chinese culture and way of life. 645
The Sutton Hoo ship burial (will be discovered in 1939) takes place in Suffolk, England. c.645
Death of St. Sulpitius (St. Sulpice). January 17, 646
The Church of St. Sulpice will be built later in Paris.
Pope Theodore I.
Declares the patriarch of Constantinople deposed due to his adherence to the Monothelite heresy (Monothelitism). 646
The Arab Moslems recapture Alexandria from the Byzantines. 646
Fall of Tripoli to the Arab Moslems. 647
Abdullah bin Sa’ad ibn Abi’l Sarh brings Libya under moslem rule.
Over 10,000 people are killed in the process.
Amru ibn al’As, has captured nearly all of northern Africa. 647
The Moslems enter into Armenia and Cappadocia and sack Caesarea Mazaca. 647
Constans II (b.630-d.668). Byzantine emperor.
Issues the “Type of Constans,” an edict that makes it illegal to discuss in any matter, the subject
of Christ possessing either one will or two wills.
He declares that this controversial subject be forgotten. 648
Early Armenian Church is built at Mastara. c.648
Fall of Phrygia to the moslems. 648
St. Wilfrid (634-709).
Enters the monastery of Lindisfarne. 648
St. Aidan is head.
Marriage of King Clovis II to St. Bathildis. 649
They will later have three sons, each of whom will become a king.
They are Clotaire III, Childeric II, and Theirry III.
Death of St. John Climacus (c.569-649) on Mount Sinai. March 30, 649
Saint Martin I. Pope. 649-655
Pope Martin I.
Calls the Lateran Council. 649
Final condemnation of Monothelitism (the Monothelite heresy). Constans II, Byzantine emperor,
had attempted to stop all debates over it (“Type of Constans,” 648).
Fall of Cyprus to the Mohammedans. 649
The Mohammedans launch their first invasion of the island of Cyprus with two fleets with a total
of 1,700 ships.
They murder most of the population. The rest are sold into slavery.
Conquest of the so called Great Bulgarian Empire in Southern Russia by the Khazars. 650
St. Emmeramus.
Founding of a Benedictine Monastery at Ratisbon. 650
Building of St. Martin’s Church, Canterbury, England. 650
The Caliph (“successor”) Othman puts the Koran into 114 chapters. 650 The first edition of the Koran is issued (651-652).
Continued Mohammedan conquests in Asia. 650
Caedmon. First known English poet.
“Beowulf.” c.650
Occupation of Bosnia by Croats and Serbs. 650
Bhartrihari. Buddhist.
Writes 100 proverbs about love, life, and resignation. 650
Othman (Uthman), the third patriarchal Caliph, completes the conquest of Persia. 651
Murder of Yazdegerd III (ex-king), the last of the Sassanian rulers of Persia.
Ctesiphon, the capital falls to the moslems. 651
Fall of the Sassanian (Persian) Empire. 651
End of the Dynasty of the Sassanides (226-651).
Mohammedanism replaces Zoroastrianism in Persia.
The Sassanid Dynasty was the last ancient Persian dynasty to rule
prior to the Mohammedan conquest of Persia.
Destruction of the Sassanian kingdom by the moslems.
The moslems will rule this country from 651 until the present time.
Saint Aidan dies in the church at Bamburgh. August 31, 651
Conversion of Cuthbert (the future St. Cuthbert). 651
Fall of Crete to the Mohammedans. 651
Abdulla bin Sa’ad bin Abi’l Sarh (d.656), as governor of Egypt, attacks the Christian kingdom of Nubia. 651-652
Benedictine Abbey at Stavelot, Belgium. 651
Saint Cuthbert (d.687). Admitted to the abbey of Melrose. c.651
Rothari, the last Arian King of the Lombards, dies.
Aribert I. King of the Lombards. 652-661
Deusdedit of Canterbury (d.664).
A South Saxon named Frithona, he becomes the first native Englishman (Anglo-Saxon) to be
primate when he succeeds Honorius as the Archbishop of Canterbury. 653
Invasion of Syracuse, Sicily by Moslem forces. 652
Saint Wilfrid (634-709).
Leaves England for Rome in the company of Saint Benedict Biscop (c.628-690). 653
He is away until 658.
Saint Benedict Biscop (c.628-690).
Original name: Biscop Baducing.
Goes on pilgrimage to Rome with Saint Wilfrid. 653
Death of Chindaswinth. King of the Visigoths. 653
Recceswinth. King of the Visigoths. 653-670
Constans II, the Monothelete Byzantine emperor, sends an exarch to Rome, who arrests Pope
Martin I in the Lateran Church. Martin I is anti-Monothelitism. 653
Pope Martin I is forcibly taken prisoner to Constantinople.
After many indignities he will die in 656.
The Mohammedans attack Cyprus for the second time. 653
Their first invasion was in 649.
They plunder the island of Cyprus.
Beginning of the fall of Armenia to the Mohammedans (to 661). 653
Conversion from paganism to Christianity of the Mercian prince Peada, son of King Penda the
pagan king of Mercia. 653
St. Cedd (d.664).
Is sent from Lindisfarne to evangelize the Middle Angles, when their King Peada converts from
paganism to Christianity. 653
St. Philibert (c.608-c.685).
Founds monastery at Jumièges in Neustria on land given to him by King Clovis II. 654
St. Cedd (d.664).
Consecrated bishop of the East Saxons by Saint Finan (d.661) at Lindisfarne. 654
Battle of Mutah (located in present day Jordan). 654
A moslem army meets the Byzantine Christians and is defeated.
The Mohammedans capture and plunder the island of Rhodes. 654
They destroy the “Colossus of Rhodes.”
Battle of the Masts (off the coast of Lycia). Aka the Battle of Lycia. 655
A moslem fleet of two hundred ships under Abdullah bin Sa’ad bin
Abi’l Sarh (d.656), governor of Egypt, defeats a Byzantine fleet of 500 ships under Constans II,
the Monothelite emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
The battle is fought off the coast of Anatolia off southern Asia Minor.
Constantinople, the Byzantine capital is now in danger.
It is only a civil war of successors among the moslems that postpones the next moslem attack on Constantinople for almost 20 years.
Saint Eugene I (or St. Eugenius). Pope. 655-657
Birthplace: Rome.
His predecessor, Martin I, is still alive, as an exile and prisoner of Constans II, the Monothelite
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Clothar (Lothair) III succeeds as the sole King of the Franks. 655
Clothar III rules 655-668.
Founding of Benedictine Monastery at Peterborough (see 870). 655
Battle of Winwaed. 655
Penda, the heathen king of Mercia, and 30 other kings and princes are defeated and killed including Aethelhere, king of East Anglia who is succeeded by Ethewold. They are defeated by Oswiu, the
brother of Oswald.
Oswiu, the Christian King of Northumbria and Bernicia, rules Mercia. 655
St. Martin I (Pope) dies of neglect and ill treatment in the Crimea.
He is the last of the Popes to die a martyr. September 16, 656
Murder of Othman, the third Caliph (=successor). 656
Othman, the leader of the Umayyads, is killed by the followers of Ali, Mohammed’s son-in-law
and cousin.
Othman, the third Caliph, is succeeded by Ali ibn Abi-Talib, Mohammed’s son-in-law and cousin.
Ali is the fourth Caliph (“successor”). 656-661
Muawiya, leader of the Umayyads, opposes the succession of Ali as the fourth Caliph. 656
Outbreak of First Moslem Civil War (656-661). 656
Omayyads vs. Ali (Sunni vs Shi’a).
Battle of the Camel (Basra). Dec. 9, 656
Victory of the caliph Ali ibn Abi-Talib over his opponents during the First Moslem Civil War.
Ali, commanding 29,000 loyal troops attacks the larger rebel force.
Ali bases his capital near Basra, in modern day Iraq. 656
Death of King Clovis II. 657
Founding of Whitby Monastery by Oswy (Oswiu), King of Northumbria. 657
Saint Vitalian. Pope. 657-672
Birthplace: Segni, Campania, Italy.
Wulfhere, son of Penda, becomes King of Mercia. 658
Wulfhere rules 658-675.
Muawiya (Moawiya). Omayyad governor of Syria.
Revolts and seizes Egypt. 658
West Saxons conquer as far as the Parret. 658
St. Wilfrid (634-709).
Returns to England and is made abbot of the monastery of Ripon, in Yorkshire. 658
Caedmon, the first known English poet, enters the Christian monastery at Whitby that was founded
in 657. c.660
Founding of Christian Monastery at Jarrow in Northumbria, England. c.660
Death of St. Eligius (c.590-660). December 1, 660
Many aspects of Japanese culture are now modeled on those of China. c.660
Constans II, the Monothelite (Monothelitism) emperor of the Byzantine Empire, has Theodosius,
his younger brother, killed. 660
Moawiya (also Muawiya) takes the Caliphate from Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed,
by force. 661
End of the First Moslem Civil War (656-661). 661
Moawiya I (an Omayyad) becomes the first Caliph of the Omayyad
Dynasty of caliphs.
Moawiya rules 661-680.
Ali, the fourth Caliph, is murdered while planning to take back his position as caliph. 661
Muawiya (Moawiya) founds the Omayyad Dynasty (Caliphate or Caliphs of Damascus), which
will hold the Caliphate until 750. 661
Omayyads become the caliphs.
Muawiya (Moawiya) moves the capital of the moslem empire, which had been at Medina prior to
the civil war, to Damascus in Syria. 661
The supporters of Ali are called Shiites.
The Omayyad Dynasty will rule 661-750.
The Omayyads rule Egypt as part of the Empire of the Caliphate. 661-750
St. Juan de Banos.
A rare surviving Church of the Visigothic period. 661
Founding of Ripon Monastery in England. 661
St. Cuthbert (d.687) accompanies St. Eata (d.686) to Ripon Abbey. 661
Grimoald, Duke of Benevento, comes to aid Gondebert, but kills him instead, and seizes the
Lombard crown. 662
Grimoald is King of the Lombards 662-671.
Bishop Severus Sebokht of Syria.
Mentions Hindu numerals as using only nine digits. 662
Hindu numerals are introduced in Syria.
Death of St. Maximus the Confessor. 662
Constans II, the Monothelite Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, transfers the Byzantine court to
Italy, while the Mohammedans ravage Asia Minor. This is the last visit to Rome by a Byzantine
Emperor. 663-668
Childeric II. King of Austrasia. 663-674
Destruction of Paekche, in what is now called Korea, by T’ang Chinese forces. 663
Synod of Whitby. 664
Oswiu (Oswy), King of Northumbria, at the monastery of Whitby, accepts the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter. This method is strongly advocated by St. Wilfrid (634-709) who is
present at the Synod.
Oswiu, King of Northumbria, also decides in favor of the Roman ritual.
Mohammedans begin another series of attacks on the city of Constantinople. 664
The Mohammedans invade Afghanistan. 664
Fall of Kabul.
First Mohammedan invasion of India. 664
Outbreak of plague in Saxon England. 664
King Sigehere of Essex and his people revert back to heathenism.
Ecgberht (Egbert) of Kent (and Surrey). 664-673
St. Chad (d.672).
Chosen Bishop of York by Oswy (Oswiu), King of Northumbria. 664
Founding of St. Peter’s School, York, England. 664
Famine. Ireland.Thousands perish. 664
Saint Wilfrid (634-709) is made Bishop of York. 664
He is consecrated by St. Agilbert (d.685) in Francia (Gaul).
Mohammedan invasion of the island of Sicily. 664-665
They murder much of the population of Sicily.
Saint Benedict Biscop (Biscop Baducing) (c.628-690).
Becomes a monk at Lérins and remains there for two years. 666
Scotland is struck by a “most grievous” famine. 667
Thousands perish.
Death of St. Ildephonsus (607-667). January 23, 667
Constans II (b.630-d.668), the Monothelite emperor of the Byzantine Empire, is killed while he is
in his bath. Sept. 668
He is 37 years old.
The Byzantine court returns back to Constantinople.
Constans II is succeeded by his three sons, Tiberius, Heraclius, and Pogonatus (Constantine IV).
Constantine IV. Byzantine Emperor. 668-685
St. Agilbert (d.685).
Made Bishop of Paris. 668
St. Theodore of Tarsus (602-690).
Named Archbishop of Canterbury (668-690) by Pope St. Vitalian. 668
Childeric II (Merovingian Dynasty). King of Franks. 673-675
Attempt to unite Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. 668
Ends in failure, since these two religions are totally different.
Destruction and takeover of Koguryo (Korea) by Tang Chinese forces. 668
Korean refugees flee to Manchuria.
Silla rules over the kingdom of Koguryo and Paekche.
However, the Tang Chinese take control and are the actual overlords of the entire Korean peninsula.
Both Manchuria and Korea are now under the control of the Tang Chinese ruler.
St. Theodore of Tarsus (602-690), a Greek Catholic monk, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
(668-690), arrives in England. 669
Pope St. Vitalian assigns St. Benedict Biscop to accompany St. Theodore, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and St. Aidan back to England.
St. Theodore of Tarsus organizes the Roman Catholic Church in England.
St. Theodore teaches Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
St. Wilfrid (634-709) is made Bishop of Northumbria, England.
He chooses York as the center of his diocese. 669
France is struck by a serious famine. 669
Thousands perish.
Famine. Ireland. 669
Thousands perish.
The Mohammedans continue their attacks on North Africa. 670
By 670, the Arab Mohammedans have conquered all of North Africa west of what is now Algeria. 670
Caliph Mu’āwiya attacks Constantinople by sea. 674
The campaign will ultimately be unsuccessful and finally abandoned on the death of Mu’āwiya (680).
Caedmon. English Christian author.
Translates a very early English version of the Old Testament. c.670
Death of Oswiu, King of Northumbria. 670
Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria (670-685).
Building of Brixworth Church in England. c.670
Death of Saint Fiacre. August 18, 670
Cross of St. Osyth (d.675) at Ely. 670
Silla kingdom is established in Korea. 670
Gains control over peninsula and forms first unified Korean government.
Confucianism is introduced from China into Korea.
The Silla Period lasts from 670 to 935.
Saint Etheldreda (630-679).
Is given the veil by St. Wilfred (at Coldingham Convent). 671
Garibald. King of the Lombards. 671-674
Wamba is King of the Visigoths. 672-680
Death of Pope St. Vitalian. January 27, 672
Pope Adeodatus II. 672-676
Death of St. Chad, Bishop of Lindisfarne. March 2, 672
St. Wilfrid (634-709).
Refounds Ripon as a Benedictine monastery. 672
St. Theodore of Canterbury (b.602-d.690).
Holds the first nation wide synod of the English Church at Hertford. 673
St. Etheldreda (630-679).
She founds Ely Abbey on the island of Ely. 673
Hlothhere of Kent. 673-685
Continued siege of Constantinople by the Mohammedans. 674-677
The Arab Mohammedans besiege Constantinople without success.
The attacks will continue for three years.
The Mohammedan threat to the Byzantine Empire increases. 674-677
Constantinople withstands siege by Arab Mohammedans through 677.
30,000 total war dead by 677.
First great siege of Constantinople by the Mohammedans. 674-677
The Arabs sail from Syria with over 50,000 Moslems.
They land in Gallipoli, and lay siege to the city of Constantinople.
The siege will continue intermittently for three years.
The Byzantines use “Greek fire” against the invading forces.
Half of the Mohammedan ships are destroyed.
Half of the remaining Mohammedans return by ships.
30,000 Mohammedans walk across Anatolia back to Damascus.
Most of the Moslem fleet is destroyed in a terrible storm.
The Arabs on foot are continually attacked by the pursuing Byzantine army.
The Jihad upon Christian Europe ends in failure.
Arab Mohammedans eastward conquest reaches the Indus River, in what is now Pakistan. 674
St. Benedict Biscop (c.628-690).
Founds a monastery at the mouth of the Wear River (Wearmouth), dedicated to St. Peter. 674
It is built of stone, with a lead roof and glass windows, all unknown in the buildings in England
of that time.
It is built by artisans that he brought over from France.
St. Benedict Biscop builds the first stone churches England had seen.
St. Wilfrid (634-709) begins the building of Hexham Abbey. 674
Bertharit. King of Lombards. 674-688
By 670, the Bulgars, under pressure from the Avars and Khazars,
cross the Danube River. The Bulgars begin settling south of the Danube River, founding their
first empire. c.675
Baptistery St. Jean, Poitiers. 675
Wulfhere, King of Mercia, dies. 675
He is succeeded by his brother Aethelred (Ethelred), dies 704.
Lombard kings rule in Farentum (Apulia), Italy. 675
Continued Mohammedan attack on the city of Constantinople.
Last of the sea attacks by Muawiya on Constantinople. 675
Unsuccessful attack on Thessalonica by the Slavs. 675-681
Martyrdom of St. Osyth. 675
She is killed in a raid by heathen Danish Vikings.
Murder of Childeric II of the Franks.
Leads to civil war and anarchy in the Frankish kingdom. 675
Dagobert II. King of Franks. 675-678
Thierry III. King of Franks. 675-691
Ethelred of Mercia ravages Kent. 676
St. Cuthbert. Catholic English monk.
Retires to Farne Island (near Lindisfarne) to live as a hermit. 676
Pope Donus. 676-678
Byzantines use “Greek fire” against the besieging moslem fleet at Syllaeum. 677
Constantinople is saved from the first moslem siege. 677
The moslems will eventually destroy the city in 1453.
St. Willibrord (b.658), Northumbrian, goes to Ireland. 677
He spends twelve years in Ireland studying at Irish monasteries.
Huai Jang (Hui-chung). Chinese Ch’an Buddhism. c.677-744
Student of Hui Neng.
A quarrel breaks out between St. Wilfrid and Egfrith, King of Northumbria.
Wilfrid is expelled from his bishopric by King Egfrith.
Wilfrid sets out for Rome to appeal to the pope.
He travels by way of Frisia (modern day Netherlands). 678
St. Wilfrid of York (634-709).
Mission in Frisia (the modern day Netherlands). 678
Frisia is completely heathen at the time.
St. Eata (d.686). Appointed Bishop of Lindisfarne. 678
Later exchanges sees with St. Cuthbert and becomes bishop of Hexham.
Saint Agatho (or St. Agathonus). Pope. 678-681
Birthplace: Sicily.
St. Theodore of Canterbury (b.602-d.690).
Acts as peacemaker between King Egfrid and King Ethelred. 679
Ends their war and establishes a peace between the two kings for years.
Bulgars under Isperikh (Asparuhk) defeat a Byzantine force and settle between the Balkan
mountains and the Danube River. 679
Founding of the First Bulgarian Empire. 679
Between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains by Khan Asparuhk. The First Kingdom of
the Bulgarians will last from 679 to 1018 when it will once again become a Byzantine province.
Pepin of Heristal (d.714).
Becomes “mayor of the palace” of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia. 680
Sixth General Church Council. Nov. 7, 680-Sept. 16, 681
A council is held for the third time at Constantinople.
Condemns the heretical doctrine of Monothelitism (the Monothelite Heresy).
The Christian position is accepted.
Byzantine emperor deposes the patriarch of Constantinople.
Elects an anti-Monothelite patriarchy.
Condemnation of Monophysitism is reaffirmed. End of the schism.
Famine follows three years of drought in England. 680
Thousands perish.
Church council at Hatfield, England. 680
Condemns Monophysitism (the Monophysitic heresy).
Death of St. Bathildis. Jan. 30, 680
Wamba, the King of the Visigoths, becomes a Christian monk. 680
Ervigius (Euric). King of the Visigoths. 680-687
Pogonatus now rules alone in Constantinople as Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV. 680-685
St. Wilfrid (634-709) is upheld by the Pope St. Agatho.
Wilfrid returns back to Northumbria with a papal ruling in his favor. 680
King Ecgfrith refuses to accept the papal decision of St. Agatho and imprisons St. Wilfrid (until 681).
Death of Muawiya I, Caliph of the house of Umayya (Umayyads). 680
Yazid I succeeds to the caliphate as successor to his father Muawiya.
Yazid I rules 680-683.
al-Hussain, son of Ali, is chosen by one group of moslems to be the ruler of Islam. 680
Battle of Karbalā (Kerbala). October 10, 680
al-Hussain, the son of Ali, and a small group of his followers are massacred by the Umayyad
supporters of Yazid I at the Battle of Karbalā.
al-Hussain is beheaded at Karbalā.
Causes great opposition to Umayyad rule.
This defeat splits off the Shiite branch of Islam, which commemorates al-Hussain’s death each year.
Moslem Civil War. 680-683
Rival claimants fight for the caliphate.
The Shi’ites are supporters of Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed.
Their enemies are the Sunni sect.
The struggle for leadership amongst the moslems leads to the permanent division of Islam into
Sunni and Shi’ite Moslems. 680
St. Julian of Toledo (d.690).
Named Archbishop of Toledo. 680
King Ecgfrith of Northumbria releases St. Wilfrid (634-709) from prison only on the condition that
he leave the kingdom. 681
This is the second exile of St. Wilfrid: 681-686.
St. Wilfrid (634-709) goes to Sussex. 681-686
Wilfrid converts the South Saxons (Sussex) from paganism to Christianity.
Founds monastery at Selsey in Sussex.
Gloucester Abbey founded. 681
Earthquake. Tosa, Japan. 681
Thousands perish.
Saint Leo II. Pope. 682-683
Birthplace: Sicily.
Saint Benedict Biscop (c.628-690).
Builds a second monastery, six miles away from Wearmouth, on the Tyne River, dedicated to
Saint Paul. He calls it Jarrow. 682
Mohammedans overrun the coast of North Africa. 682
Occupy Tripoli, Tangiers, and Carthage.
Last Byzantine bases in North Africa have fallen to the Mohammedans.
Death of Saint (Pope) Leo II. June 28, 683
Famine. Syria. Thousands perish. 683
Famine. Libya. Thousands perish. 683
Yazid I, the Umayyad Caliph, dies unexpectedly. 683
Muawiya II ibn Yazid. Third Umayyad caliph. 683-684
Rules for only six months.
Second Moslem Civil War (683-692). 683
Caused when Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr seeks the caliphate after the unexpected death of Yazid I.
Saint Benedict II. Pope. 684-685
Birthplace: Rome.
Marwan I becomes Umayyad Caliph. 684
Rules 684-685.
Centwine, King of Wessex, is deposed. 685
He is succeeded by Ceadwalla.
St. Cuthbert (d.687).
Against his will, he is elected bishop of Hexham. 685
St. Cuthbert (d.687). Bishop of Lindisfarne. 685-687
Founding of Winchester Cathedral. England. 685
Pope John V. Syrian. 685-686
“Ravenna Cosmography.” c.685
An anonymous Italian MS. listing all of the continents, rivers, nations, cities, and towns of the
known world up to that time.
Constantine IV dies.
Justinian II Rhinotmetus, becomes Byzantine Emperor.
First part of his reign. Second reign: 705-711. 685-695
Justinian II, Byzantine Emperor, breaks the truce with the Mohammedans
and is defeated. He is compelled to relinquish Armenia. 685
Battle of Nechtansmere. 685
Defeat of the Northumbrians by the Picts under King Bruide.
The Picts halt the Northumbrian expansion northward into Scotland, stopping them from gaining
control over Scotland.
Scotland begins to develop independently of England.
Death of Egfrith, King of Northumbria. 685
Egfrith is defeated and killed at the Battle of Nectansmere.
Northumbrian domination of England is ended.
Aldfrith is King of Northumbria. 685-704
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan succeeds as the tenth caliph. 685 Caliph: 685-705.
Conversion from paganism to Christianity of Sussex.
Sussex is the last heathen kingdom in England. 686
Pope Conon. Sicilian. 686-687
St. Theodore of Canterbury (602-690).
Requests that Aldfrith, King of Northumbria, and Ecgfrith’s successor, recall St. Wilfrid from exile
and restore him to Ripon. 686
St. Wilfrid is reconciled with Ecgfrith’s successor Aldfrith, and is allowed to return to York from
his second exile.
St. Julian of Toledo, leader of the Church in Spain, writes a work to counter the persistent claims
of the Jews that Jesus Christ is not the Messiah, and that God the Father and God the Son are
not one. 686
Death of St. Cuthbert on Farne Island, Northumbria. March 20, 687
Battle of Tertry. 687
Pepin the Younger of Héristal (the father of Charles Martel), the “Mayor
of the Palace” of Austrasia and the Austrasians defeats Thierry III, the
“mayor of the palace” of Neustria and the Neustrians at Tertry.
The Austrasians capture Thierry III of Neustria.
Pepin d’Héristal (d.714).
Reunites Austrasia and Neustria. 687
Pepin of Héristal becomes the ruler of all of the Frankish kingdoms except for Aquitaine.
Establishes Carolingian hegemony.
Pepin is the first of the Carolingian Mayors of the Palace.
Pepin is Mayor of the Palace 687-714.
Saint Sergius I. Pope. 687-701
Birthplace: Palermo, Sicily.
Ergica. King of the Visigoths. 687-702
Caedwalla, King of the West Saxons.
Abdicates and leaves England for Rome in order to be baptized. 688 Ine becomes King of Wessex.
Ine rules 688-726.
Ine (d.726). King of Wessex. 688-726
Subjugation of Essex and part of Kent by Ine, the King of Wessex. 688
Birth of Charles Martel (the “Hammer”) (688-741). 688
Charles Martel is the son of Pepin of Héristal (d.714).
Cunibert. King of Lombards. 688-700
Justinian II, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, defeats the Slavs in Thrace. 689
Death of Caedwalla. April 20, 689
Caedwalla is baptized by Pope Sergius at Rome.
Seven nights later he dies in his baptismal vestments.
He is 30 years old.
Death of St. Benedict Biscop (c.628-690). Jan. 12, 690
Death of St. Theodore of Canterbury (b.602-d.690). Sept. 19, 690
Wihtred. King of Kent. 690-725
St. Willibrord (b.658-739).
Sets off for the continent. He goes to Friesland with eleven English
monks as missionaries in order to convert the heathens of Friesland. 690
Clovis III (son of Thierry III).
King of all the Franks. 691-695
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the tenth caliph.
Builds the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 691-692
Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. 691-694
Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr, rival caliph in Arabia, is defeated and killed in battle at Mecca, ending
the Moslem Civil War (683-692). 692
Rise of Abd al-Malik as leader of the Moslems.
Quarrel breaks out between St. Wilfrid and Aldfrith King of Northumbria. 692
Wilfrid goes into exile once again. Goes to Mercia where king Ethelred requests that Wilfrid
minister the vacant see of Litchfield.
Quinisext Council at Constantinople. 692
(aka Council of Trullo).
Council is convened by Justinian II, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Pope Sergius I refuses to recognize its canons due to the many
erroneous doctrines that are presented by this council.
Battle of Sevastopolis (Sebastopol). 692
Byzantine troops of Justinian II are crushed by the Mohammedans at Sevastopolis, Cilicia.
Berthwald (Brihtwold) becomes the first English Archbishop of Canterbury (693-731). 693
He is the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury.
Fall of Armenia to the Mohammedans. 693
The Arabs overrun Armenia.
Mohammedan rule is established in Armenia (693-862).
Famine. England. Thousands perish. 695-700
Famine. Ireland. Thousands perish. 695-700
Justinian II, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, is deposed by Leontius and exiled to Crimea. 695
Justinian II is succeeded by his rival Leontius (rules 695-698).
The Byzantine Empire enters into two decades of anarchy.
Childebert III. King of all the Franks. 695-711
Anti-Jewish movement in Spain. 695
Law code of Wihtred, King of Kent. 695
St. Willibrord (658-739), the “Apostle of the Frisians”.
Ordained Bishop of the Frisians (Netherlands) by Pope Sergius I. 695
Hui-Nêng is declared the Sixth Patriarch of Ch’an Buddhism in China. 696
With the death of Hui-Nêng, the institution of the Patriarchate is ended.
Paoluccio Anafesto becomes the first Doge (chief official) of Venice.
Venice begins its rise to power. 697
The Doge of Venice will be the chief magistrate from 697 until 1797.
Northern Irish Church submits and accepts Roman Catholicism. 697
St. Willibrord (658-739), the “Apostle of the Frisians”.
Appointed Bishop of Utrecht by Pepin of Hérestal. 697
St. Willibrord had been previously trained in the monasteries of Ireland.
Seizure and total destruction of Carthage by the Mohammedans.
Carthage falls to the Moslems ending Byzantine rule in North Africa. 698
Mohammedans (Umayyads) complete the conquest of Byzantine North Africa (begun in 647). 698
St. Rupert (aka Hrodbert). Frankish.
Founds the Monastery of St. Peter’s in Salzberg Austria. 698
St. Willibrord (658-739), Bishop of Utrecht.
Discovers Heligoland. 698
Byzantine Emperor Leontius is deposed by revolt. 698
Tiberius III Apsimar, Byzantine Emperor (698-705).
Bewcastle Cross. Cumbria, England. 698
The Lindisfarne Gospels. 698
Illuminated monastic manuscripts, produced in Northumbria, England.
Eighth Century
St. Willibrord (658-739), Anglo-Saxon priest.
The first Christian missionary to enter into pagan Denmark. c.700
The official language of the Byzantine Empire becomes Greek, instead of Latin. 700
The Psalms. Translation into the Anglo-Saxon language. 700
Major kingdoms in the West. 700
The Visigothic kingdom in Spain, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain, the Frankish kingdom
in Gaul and Germany, the Lombard kingdom in Italy, and the Byzantine Empire which still retains
footholds in Italy in the regions of Rome and Ravenna.
In England, churches are being made of stone instead of wood. 700
Begun by St. Benedict Biscop in 674.
St. Mary Pamakaristos, Constantinople. c.700
Structure built on the typical Byzantine plan of the Greek cross.
St. Jean’s Church at Poitiers, France. 700
This is a rare survivor of the seventh century Merovingian period.
It is a basilican style church.
Conquest of Algiers (Tunis) by the Moslems. 700
Moslems complete the conquest of northern Africa, which will become their base for the future
invasions of Europe. 700
Christianity in North Africa is virtually exterminated by the Mohammedans.
Beowulf. ca.700-730
This is the oldest extant English epic poem.
It is composed in Old English.
Thuringia becomes part of the Frankish kingdom. 700
Mayan temples are built at Tikal, in the jungles of Guatemala. c.700
Buddhism begins to be gradually driven out of India by Hinduism. 700
Pope John VI. 701-705
Codification of Japanese law.
The Mikado becomes the sole proprietor of all land. 701-1192
Aribert II. King of Lombards. 701-712
Witiza. King of the Visigoths. 702-709
Arab Mohammedans occupy Ethiopian ports. 702
Ethiopians attack Arab ships in the Red Sea.
The Mohammedans make Arabic the official language of Egypt replacing the Coptic language. 702
Egyptians must now speak Arabic.
Famine of long duration in Italy. 703-706
Thousands perish.
St. Wilfrid (634-709).
After being exiled since 692, St. Wilfrid sets off once again to appeal to the Pope at Rome. 703
Death of St. Adamnan (625-704) in Ireland. 704
Attributed to him are a “Life of St. Columba of Iona”, a mystic poem
called “Adamnan’s Vision,” and one of the earliest European accounts
of the Holy Land, “De Locis Sancti.”
Duke Hetan II.
Builds a circular church at Marienberg near Würzburg. 705
Justinian II becomes Byzantine Emperor once again. 705
Justinian II rules 705-711 (his second reign).
Osred. King of Northumbria. 705-716
Aldfrith, King of Northumbria, dies, but first repents of all of his past actions against St. Wilfrid. 705
St. Wilfrid returns to Northumbria, where Osred, Aldfrith’s successor is willing to receive him,
but not restore him to the see of York.
John VII. Pope. 705-707
Wells Cathedral is founded. 705
Walid I. Umayyad Caliph. 705-715
The Ummayad Mosque of Damascus, Syria. 705-715
Built on the site of an ancient Roman temple.
St. Hubert (d.727).
Succeeds St. Lambert (d.705) as Bishop of Liège. 705-727
St. Willibrord (658-739) is helped by Pepin of Héristal to found the Monastery of Efternach in
what is now called Luxemburg. 706
Fall of Tangiers to the Mohammedans. 707
Pope Constantine I. Syrian. 708-715
Constantine I is the last Pope to visit the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
Ceolred becomes King of Mercia. 709
Coenred and Offa journey to Rome (709).
Coenred remains in Rome until his death.
Death of St. Wilfrid (634-709) in Northumbria, England. 709
Oratory at Mont Saint-Michel. 709
Death of St. Aldhelm of Malmesbury (c.639-709). May 25, 709
Fall of Ceuta to the Mohammedans. 709
Roderic, the last King of the Visigoths in Spain. 709-711
Under his reign the Visigothic kingdom in Spain will be destroyed
by the Moslems in the year 711.
Pepin of Héristal (d.714) subdues the Alamanni. 709-710
Ma-Tsu (also Tao-I) of Chiang Hsi (Kiangsi) China. 709-788
Chinese Ch’an Buddhism.
The most influential of the Sixth Patriarch’s indirect successors.
Death of St. Bonitus (623-710). January 15, 710
Also known as Bonet. Dies at Lyons.
During his life, Bonitus was the fourth successor of St. Benedict of Nursia as abbot of Monte
Casino, Italy.
Advance of the Bulgarians toward Constantinople. 710
Death of St. Adrian in Canterbury. Jan. 9, 710
China refuses to help the Kashgarians against the Arab moslems. 710
Ine. King of Wessex.
Wars with the Britons of Cornwall. 710
Justinian II. Byzantine Emperor. 710
Confirms papal privileges.
The Mohammedans assemble over 12,000 men in Tangiers.
The fleet sails for Spain in April 711. 711
They land at present day Gibraltar.
Destruction of the Visigothic kingdom in Spain. July 711
Tariq Ziyad (Berber), Arab leader of the Arab and Berber Mohammedan
army, crosses the Straits of Gibraltar and invades Spain from North Africa.
Battle of Rio Barbate. July 19, 711
Xeres de la Frontera.
Between 15,000 Visigoth defenders under Roderic, King of the Visigoths, and 12,000 Mohammedans
plus African auxiliaries under Tariq.
In a great battle, Tariq destroys the Visigothic army under Roderic, the last King of the Visigoths.
Roderic is drowned crossing the Guadalquivir River.
The Visigothic kingdom in Spain vanishes from history.
Mohammedan invaders take Cordoba, Granada, and the Visigothic capital Toledo largely with
the compliance of the Jews in Spain. 711
Spain becomes a Moslem state.
Beginning of Mohammedan rule in Spain. 711
The Mohammedans will rule Spain from 711 until 1492.
Beginning of Spanish-Mohammedan Wars (711-1492). 711
These wars are the “Reconquista” from 711 until 1492.
Mohammedan conquest of Spain. 711-714
300,000 total war dead.
Dagobert III. King of all the Franks. 711-716
Murder of Justinian II by Philip Bardanes, who ascends the Byzantine throne as Emperor Philippicus (rules 711-713). 711
In return for helping the Mohammedans in the conquest of Spain, the Spanish Jews are freed
by the Arab Mohammedans. 711
Musa, lands at Algeciras with over 18,000 Mohammedans.
Musa captures Carmona, Midina Sidonia. 712
Musa captures Seville after a siege of a few months.
Liutprand. King of the Lombards. 712-744
Height of the Lombard Kingdom in Northern Italy.
Pope Constantine I.
Opposes the Byzantine emperor Philippicus Bardanes on the question of the Monothelite heresy (Monothelitism). 712
The Mohammedans cross the Pyrenees mountains and briefly hold the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea. 712
Famine throughout Wales. 712
Thousands perish.
Constantinople is threatened by the Bulgars. 712
Fall of Samarkand to a Moslem army under Abu Qasim al-Thagafi. 712
Moslem state is established in Sind (India) by Mohammed ibn Kasim. 712
Moslem conquest of the Indus Valley.
First Moslem conquests in India during the Islamic wars of conquest. 712-745
Kojiki (= records of ancient matters).
Book of Shinto is completed. 712
It is the earliest known Japanese book.
A historical chronicle, it is written in Chinese.
Musa takes Mérida in Spain. June 1, 713
Tarik and Musa complete the moslem conquest of Spain. 713-714
Some Christians maintain themselves in the Asturias and Navarre.
Anastasius II. Byzantine Emperor. 713-716
Ming Huang. Emperor of China. 713-756
Aldwulf, King of East Anglia dies.
He is succeeded by Alfwold. 713
Charles Martel (688-741), Frankish ruler, son of Pepin of Héristal (d.714), and grandfather of Charlemagne. Is made Mayor of the Palace. 714-741
St. Willibrord (658-739).
Baptizes Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel. 714
Founding of the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau at Lake Constance. 714
Radbod, the pagan leader of Lower Friesland, regains the territory that Pepin of Héristal had
conquered earlier. 715
The Mohammedan empire, under Caliph Walid I, now extends from the Pyrenees to China. 715
Its capital is at Damascus.
Saint Gregory II. Pope. 715-731
Birthplace: Rome.
Ordination of Saint Boniface (c.680-754). c.715
St. Gregory II (Pope).
Dispatches St. Boniface as missionary to Germany (Frisia). 715
Ine, King of the West Saxons.
Defeats Ceolred of Mercia at Wanborough. 715
Suleiman ibn Abd al Malik becomes Caliph (715-718). 715
Suleiman is son of Walid I.
Suleiman plans (715-716) a vast new expedition by land and sea to invade and take over the city
of Constantinople.
Theodosius III. Byzantine Emperor. 716-717
Winfrith, the future St. Boniface, Benedictine monk, sets sail for Frisia. 716
He arrives on the continent, and begins his missionary activities in pagan Frisia (the present
day Netherlands).
He is unsuccessful in this first attempt. Wynfrith returns home.
Osred, King of Northumbria, is killed.
He is succeeded by Cenred. 716
Ceolred, King of Mercia, dies. 716
Ethelbald. King of Mercia.
Controls all of England except for Northumbria. 716-757
Ethelbald is the son of Alweo, grandnephew of Penda, and successor of Ceolred.
Charles Martel (688-741). Son of Pepin of Héristal (d.714).
Conquers the Neustrians. 716-717
Conquest of Lisbon, Portugal by the Mohammedans. 716
Chilperic II. King of Franks. 716-721
Accession of Leo III, the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor. 717
Leo III is the first of the Iconoclast Emperors of the Byzantine Empire.
Leo III, the Isaurian, reigns 717-741.
Charles Martel (688-741).
Becomes “mayor of the palace” (chief minister) in Austrasia, Neustria,
and Burgundy reuniting the Frankish kingdom. 717
Siege of Constantinople (717-718). 717
Umayyads (Arabian Mohammedans) prepare to launch their second major attack on the city of Constantinople.
Siege of Constantinople by the Mohammedans is under the Caliph Suleiman, the son and
successor of Walid I. 717-718
The Mohammedans cross the Hellespont and besiege Constantinople
by both land and sea.
120,000 Mohammedans, under Maslama (Moslemah), brother of the Caliph Suleiman, advance
on Constantinople. 717
Mohammedans on 1800 ships join the blockading force.
Leo III destroys a large number of the Mohammedans in their ships by using his “fireships.”
For 13 months, Leo III, the Byzantine Emperor, successfully defends Constantinople from the Mohammedan invaders. 717-718
Emperor Leo III successfully destroys the large Arab fleet.
Caliph Suleiman dies (718). The Mohammedans withdraw.
Suleiman’s attempt to conquer Constantinople does not succeed.
Constantinople survives the second Mohammedan siege.
When winter comes, thousands of Mohammedans die from freezing cold.
Lifting of the Siege of Constantinople (717-718) by the Mohammedans. 718
End of the Moslem-Byzantine Wars of 717-718. 718
40,000 total war dead.
The Caliph Suleiman reacts to the defeat of the Mohammedans at Constantinople, by going on
a great eating spree of eggs, figs, and bone marrow.
He dies of severe indigestion. 718
Famine brings about mass starvation and suffering in Syria.
Thousands perish. 718
The Mohammedans cross the Pyrenees in order to prepare to attack the land of the Franks. 718
Saint Boniface (c.680-754).
Having earlier (716) left and then returned back to his place of birth, Wessex, a kingdom in the
south of England, journeys to Rome with a group of companions. 718
In 719, Wynfrith receives a missionary commission from Pope Gregory II, to evangelize the
heathens in Germany. It is on this occasion that he receives his new name (he was originally
baptized Wynfrith) after the early Roman martyr Boniface.
Cenred, King of Northumbria, dies. 718
He is succeeded by Osric, son of King Aldfrith.
Umar II. Omayyad Caliph. 718-720
Umar II begins his rule by ordering that all Christians in his domain who refuse to reject Christ
and become Mohammedans be killed (718).
Pelayo. Visigothic prince.
Founds the Christian kingdom of the Asturias in the mountains in the extreme northern part of Spain.
The Mohammedans now hold all of the rest of Spain and Portugal. 718
They now advance northwards.
Pelayo is proclaimed king, and establishes his capital at Cangas de Oni.
Pelayo rules 718-737. 718
He will rule until his death in 737.
The Mohammedans have conquered all of Spain except for the extreme northern part of Spain,
where Christians established the kingdom of Asturias (718). 718
Battle of Covadonga. 718
Christians defeat the Moslems in Spain at the Battle of Covadonga.
St. Boniface (c.680-754) now returns back to Frisia. 719
Radbod, the pagan leader of Lower Friesland, dies. 719
First Mohammedan inroad into Gaul. 719
Saint Boniface (c.680-754).
On learning of the death of the pagan leader Radbod, joins St. Willibrord (658-739) at Utrecht. 719
Begins the conversion of the pagans in Germany east of the Rhine River to Christianity.
St. Boniface works with St. Willibrord for three years until 722.
Charles Martel (son of Pepin of Héristal).
Subdues Aquitaine. 720
Charles Martel (688-741), son of Pepin of Héristal.
Begins to strengthen his hold on the Frankish kingdom. c.720
Beginning of the invasion of France by the Mohammedans from Spain (720-732). 720
The moslems seize what was the Visigothic kingdom of Septimania. 720
The Mohammedans settle in Syria. 720
Rebuilding of Glastonbury Abbey by Ine, King of Wessex. 720
Theodoric IV. King of the Franks. 720
Yezid II. Caliph. 720-724
Bede (c.672-735).
“Commentary on the Book of Genesis”. c.720
Hui Hai (Ta Chih) of Pai Chang Mountain. Also called Po Chang.
Chinese Ch’an Buddhism. Follower of Ma Tsu. 720-814
The Mohammedan armies under Al-Semah ibn Malik having conquered Spain, now cross the
Pyrenees from Spain. They enter into France and seize Narbonne. They murder half of the population.
Al Semah ibn Malik makes his capital at Narbonne. 721
They sack the great monasteries of southern France.
Eudes (Odo), Duke of Aquitaine.
The Mohammedans invading France, are several times defeated and driven back by Eudes,
Duke of Aquitaine. 721-729
The Mohammedans continue their northward march from Spain into France. 721
They reach as far as Poitiers.
Battle of Toulouse. June 9, 721
Al Semah ibn Malik marches west to Toulouse. Al Semah and is killed fighting the forces of Eudes,
the Duke of Aquitaine. 721
Abd-er-Rahman, the second in command, takes over and leads the remaining Mohammedans back into Spain.
Thierry IV. King of Franks. 721-737
St. Boniface (c.680-754).
Summoned by Pope Gregory II, he journeys back to Rome. Nov. 722
Takes an oath of obedience and is consecrated Bishop for Germany.
Leo III, the Isaurian. Iconoclastic Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Outlaws Judaism in the Byzantine Empire. 722
Fall of Sardinia to the Mohammedans. 723
St. Boniface leaves Rome, and returns to Germany, by crossing the Alps.
St. Boniface visits Charles Martel (son of Pepin of Héristal) in Francia. 723
St. Boniface (c.680-754).
Journeys to Hesse and Thuringia to evangelize the untouched heathen.
St. Boniface wins over the chieftains there, and baptizes large numbers of converts. 723
St. Pirminus (also Pirmin) (d.753).
Founds the Benedictine monastery of Reichenau on an island in Lake Constance. 724
A Mohammedan army, led by Ambissa, the new emir of Spain, arrives at Narbonne, and takes Carcassonne and Nimes. 724
Ambissa is killed and the army returns back into Spain.
Hisham. Umayyad Caliph. 724-743
Mohammedan attacks devastate Gujarat, India. 724-743
Death of St. Giles. Born in Athens, Greece. Sept. 1, 725
Ch’ang-an, the capital of China, is the largest city in the world.
Constantinople is the second largest city. 725
Civil Wars trouble the Moslem Empire.
Descendants of Mohammed’s uncle, Abbas, begin to press claims to the Caliphate. c.725
St. Boniface (c.680-754).
Fells the famous Donar oak tree near Fritzlar, Hesse, attacking the old Germanic heathen beliefs. 725
Arab Mohammedans continue to ravage southern France. 725
Charles Martel (688-741).
Crosses the Rhine River and conquers Bavaria. 725
Copts in Egypt rebel against Mohammedan rule. 725
Leo III, the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor (717-741).
First of the so-called Iconoclast emperors of the Byzantine Empire.
Iconoclastic Edict of 726 forbids all images, paintings, icons, etc. 726
Beginning of the Iconoclastic movement in the Byzantine Empire.
Opposition to the use of images in Byzantine churches.
Leo III orders the destruction of all icons throughout the Byzantine Empire.
Results of the “Edict of 726”:
- Immediate popular riot when soldiers destroy the image of Jesus Christ
above the entrance to the palace.
- The proclamation of a rival Byzantine emperor.
- Rebellion in the imperial cities throughout Italy.
Pope Gregory II.
Explains to Leo III, the Byzantine emperor, that the crucifix, relics, paintings, sculpture, and
images are but symbols of veneration and not objects of worship. 726
Leo III, the Isaurian.
Enraged by the explanations of Pope Gregory II, and denial of idol worship, Leo III now issues
his Edict on Iconoclasm.
Edicts forbidding images in the Eastern Empire. 726
Edicts order the destruction of all images, statues, crucifixes, paintings, and pictures in churches.
Leo III outlaws all images in the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Gregory II.
Refuses to publish the decree on Iconoclasm issued by Leo III, the Isaurian. Gregory II explains
the errors of Iconoclasm. 726
Controversy over the use of images, between Pope Gregory II and the iconoclastic Byzantine
Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian. 726
Iconoclastic schism: 726-787 and then once again 815-843.
Leo III, the Isaurian (iconoclast), orders desecration of all churches. 726
All of the emblems of Christianity are publicly burned.
Libraries of the Church are destroyed.
Walls decorated with paintings are destroyed.
Note: Leo III had been previously educated by the Paulician heretical sect, which held similar iconoclastic views.
Leo III, the Iconoclast.
Sends an army to Ravenna in northeast Italy in order to enforce his edict concerning Iconoclasm. 726
Pope Gregory II.
Assembles an armed force in order to protect both his refusal to destroy statues and paintings
in all churches and his secular rule in Italy. 726
After a sharp struggle the Byzantines are driven back to their ships and forced to re-embark back
to Constantinople.
Beginning of the eighth century exodus of anti-iconoclastic Greek monks and scholars from Constantinople to Calabria, Italy. 726
Ine, King of Wessex, dies while he is at Rome. 726
He is succeeded by Ethelheard.
St. John Damascene (c.675-c.749).
The last of the Greek Fathers, called Chrysorrhoas, “Stream of Gold”, because of his powerful
speaking ability. Ordained. 726
Death of St. Hubert. May 30, 727
Pope Gregory II.
Severely rebukes Byzantine Emperor Leo the Isaurian, at a synod in Rome. Gregory II condemns
the Iconoclastic Heresy (Iconoclasm). 727
Conquest of Georgia on the Black Sea by the Mohammedans. 727-733
The Lombards briefly take the city of Ravenna. 728
Recaptured by exarch in 729.
St. Boniface (c.680-754).
Founds Murbach Monastery. 728
Charles Martel (688-741).
Conquers the Alemanni. 728-730
Osric, King of Northumbria, dies. 728
He is succeeded by Ceolwulf.
Ceolwulf of Northumbria rules 729-737.
Angus Mac Fergus. Pictish king.
Conquers Dalriada and Strathclyde in Scotland. 730
Leo III, Byzantine Emperor.
Deposes the anti-Iconclast patriarch of Constantinople. 730
Places the dioceses in Calabria, Sicily, Crete, and Illyricum, which had belonged to the western patriarchate, under the eastern patriarch.
Leo III, the Isaurian.
Second Greek edict against images (Iconoclasm) is issued. 730
Pope Gregory II.
Excommunicates Leo III, the iconoclastic Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 730
St. Willibald (c.700-786). West Saxon.
Returns to Italy and spends the next ten years at the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino. 730
Gregory III is proclaimed Pope while accompanying the funeral cortege of his predecessor,
Gregory II. 731
Saint Gregory III. Pope. Gregory III is a Syrian. 731-741
Pope Gregory III.
Convokes two synods in Rome which reaffirm the condemnation of the Greek Iconoclastic
Heresy and the Emperor Leo III. 731
Gregory III excommunicates all adherents of the Iconoclastic Heresy.
Gregory III condemns the destruction of Christian images, paintings, icons, sculpture, etc.
Pope Gregory III.
Sends his message condemning Iconoclasm to Leo III, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 731
The emperor imprisons the messengers and embarks his war fleet to Italy.
The Byzantine fleet is destroyed by a storm at sea.
St. Boniface.
Appointed metropolitan of Germany beyond the Rhine River by Pope Gregory III. 731
Ethelbald (Aethelbald) of Mercia.
Acknowledged overlord by the English kings as far as the Humber. 731
St. Bede. (the Venerable Bede) (c.672-735).
Completes his “Ecclesiastical History of the English People.” 731
(“Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum”).
It is written in Latin with great concern for accuracy.
St. Tatwine is made the ninth Archbishop of Canterbury (731-734). 731
The Mohammedans mount a great invasion of France. 732
They burn Christian churches at Bordeaux and Poitiers.
The Battle of Tours (sometimes called the Battle of Poitiers). October 732
Charles Martel (688-741), “the Hammer”, son of Pepin of Héristal, grandfather of Charlemagne,
mayor of the palace, and ruler of the Franks, decisively defeats 60,000 Mohammedans under
Abd-ar-Rahman, between Tours and Poitiers, France. The Battle of Tours marks the high-water
mark of the moslem invasion halting the northward and westward advance of the Mohammedans
into first Francia and then into Europe.
Abd-ar-Rahman the Emir of Spain is killed.
The Mohammedans are forced to retreat back into Spain.
Charles Martel saves western civilization and the freedom of Europe.
Liutprand, King of the Lombards, temporarily takes the city of Ravenna. 732
Egbert (d.766). Appointed Bishop of York by King Ceolwulf. 732-766
Egbert was one of the teachers of Alcuin of York.
Constantinople is struck by the bubonic plague. 732
The “Virgin of Hodigitria” which was probably the most famous image in Byzantium is condemned
by Leo III, the Isaurian, the iconoclast Emperor.
Two Greek monks secretly bring it to Bari, Italy. 733
Conquest of Wessex by Mercia. 733
Leo III, the iconoclastic Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, attempts to withdraw Byzantine provinces
in southern Italy from papal jurisdiction. 733
St. Boniface.
Founds Fritzlar Monastery. 734
Boniface appoints St. Wigbert (English) to be its first abbot.
Death of Saint Bede (c.672-735). English author and scholar. May 25, 735
Wrote on theology, history, philosophy, natural history, grammar, the Scriptures, astronomy, mathematics, and cosmology.
York, England becomes an archbishopric. 735
Egbert (d.766) becomes Archbishop of York.
Founding of the School of York, England. 735
Charles Martel (688-741).
Conquers Burgundy. 735
St. John Damascene (700-754).
Enters the monastery of St. Sabas located near Jerusalem. 735
Founding of Benedictine Abbey at Hersfeld, Hesse. 736
Death of Pelayo of the Asturias. 737
Favila (his son). King of Asturias (rules 737-739).
Charles Martel (688-741) sends his brother Childebrand, to recapture Avignon from the Mohammedans. Childebrand attacks Avignon, kills the Mohammedan occupation force there, and takes 737
back Avignon.
Charles Martel (688-741), son of Pepin of Héristal. 737
Recaptures from the Mohammedans the cities of Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier, and Nimes.
Christians from the south invade Egypt in order to protect the patriarch of Alexandria. 737
The Danish Vikings build their seventeen mile long bulwark across the neck of their peninsula. 737
Death of St. Leufroi of Evreux (French). Benedictine Order. June 21, 738
Also called Leufredus.
Liutprand, King of the Lombards, takes away the sacred lamps from the Church of Saint Peter’s
at Rome. 738
Alfonso I, “the Catholic”.
King of Asturias. 739-757
Pope Gregory III.
Asks Charles Martel (the “Hammer”) for help against the Lombards and the Moslems that are
in Italy. 739
The Frankish minister refuses to help Pope Gregory III because he is indebted to the king of the Lombards, for helping him to clear southern Gaul of the Mohammedans.
Death of St. Willibrord (658-739). Nov. 7, 739
“The Apostle of the Frisians.”
St. Boniface.
Founds the bishoprics of Passau, Ratisbon, and Salzburg. 739
The Byzantines crush the Mohammedans at Akroinon in Anatolia. 739
Outbreak of another Coptic rebellion in Egypt. 739
Founding of St. Leodegar Monastery in what is now Switzerland. 740
The oldest known western painting of the “Crucifixion” at the St. Quirico (Quiricus) chapel of
Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome. c.740
Berber revolt.
Continued revolutions in the Moslem Empire. 740-742
Church of St. Irene is built in Constantinople. 740
St. Willibald (c.700-July 7, 786).
St. Willibald is sent by Pope Gregory III to help St. Boniface in the conversion of what is now Germany. 740
St. Willibald arrives in Thuringia on November 30, 740.
Severe earthquake at Constantinople. 740
Saint Zachary (Zacharias). Pope. 741-752
Birthplace: Calabria.
Death of Charles Martel (688-741). 741
Frankish kingdom is divided between his two sons Carloman and Pepin.
Carloman receives Austrasia, Alemannia, and Thuringia.
Pepin the Short receives Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence.
Pepin the Short (c.714-768).
Succeeds his father, Charles Martel as Mayor of the Palace. 741
Rules 741-768.
Pope Zacharias appoints St. Boniface legate for the purpose of reforming the Frankish church. 741
Death of Leo III, the Isaurian (age 61), iconoclastic heretic and Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 741
Constantine V Copronymus (son of Leo III) becomes Byzantine Emperor.
Constantine V rules: 741-775. 741
Constantine V Copronymus renews and even intensifies the prohibition of images (Iconoclasm) throughout the Byzantine Empire. 741-775
Constantine V continues the persecution of all Christians who do not accept the Iconoclasm edicts.
Many anti-iconoclasts suffer having their eyes put out, their faces disfigured, their bodies
mutilated, and their flesh scourged with the most fiendish and atrocious cruelties.
Thousands of anti-iconoclasts are cast into prison where they die victims of the Iconoclastic
Heresy throughout the entire Byzantine Empire.
In his mad rage, the emperor Constantine V commands that the monks that do not accept Iconoclasm
be burned.
Constantine V follows in the footsteps of his father, Leo III, the Isaurian.
Constantine V burns monasteries, destroys churches, destroys holy vessels, and breaks wooden
figures and crucifixes over the heads of his enemies the anti-iconoclasts.
The infuriated Constantine V digs up the bodies of the anti-iconoclast Saints and burns them with fire.
“All beauty”, says one contemporary, “disappeared from the Byzantine Churches.”
St. Boniface ordains St. Willibald (700-786). 741
Birth of Charlemagne (742-814), the son of Pepin the Short (c.714-768), at Aachen. 742
Earthquake. Syria and Palestine. 742
More than 500 Mohammedan cities are destroyed.
Over 10,000 perish.
Pepin and Carloman put down rebellions of the Aquitainians and Alemanni.
At Vieux-Poitiers they swear a treaty dividing the “regnum Francorum” according to the wishes
of their father, Charles Martel (688-741). 742
Accession of Childeric III (Merovingian). 743
Childeric III is the last Merovingian King of the Franks.
Rules 743-751.
St. Boniface.
Appointed Archbishop of Mainz. 743
Walid II. Umayyad Caliph. 743-744
Called “the unbelieving caliph.”
Acceptance of the Benedictine Order and Benedictine Rule in the Frankish Kingdom. 743
Yazid III. Umayyad Caliph. 744
Ibrahim. Umayyad Caliph. 744
Marwan (Mervan) II ibn Mohammed.
Last of the Omayyad Caliphs. 744-750
St. Boniface.
Establishes the Monastery of Fulda. 744
Boniface appoints St. Sturmi as its first abbot.
Swabia becomes part of Childeric III’s Frankish Empire. 744
Pepin the Short (c.714-768), son of Charles Martel (688-741), won over to ecclesiastical reform,
convokes the Council of Soissons. 744
Rachis of Friuli. King of Lombards. 744-749
Byzantine forces invade Arab held Syria. 745
Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Copronymus (to 751) defeats the Arab Mohammedans.
Synod at Rome is presided over by Pope Zacharias. 745
The heretical teachings of Aldebert and Clement are condemned at the insistence of St. Boniface.
Constantine V re-captures Cyprus from the Mohammedans. 746
Founding of a school for singing at the Monastery of Fulda. 746
Wales. “A great dearth.” Thousands perish. 746
During the rule of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V, Constantinople is struck by the bubonic plague. Plague spreads to Greece, Calabria, and Sicily. 746-749 Almost 200,000 people perish.
Abbasids revolt against Umayyad (Omayyad) rule of the Arab Empire. 747
Carloman, Mayor of the Palace, abdicates.
Carloman retires to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino. 747
Pepin III, the Younger, is sole Mayor of the Palace (to 750).
Saint Boniface (c.680-754) is appointed to the see of Mainz by Pepin le Bref (the Short). 747
Famine throughout Scotland. 748
Thousands perish.
Tassilo, the last independent Duke of Bavaria. 748-788
Aistulf becomes King of the Lombards (Langobards). 749-756
Continuation of Lombard expansion in Italy.
Death of St. John of Damascus (c.675-c.749), in Arabia. 749
He was the first organizer of Christian liturgical song.
He also dealt with the problem of musical notation.
Battle of the Zab River. Feb. 750
The Abbasids decisively defeat the Umayyads at the river Zab.
Marwan (Mervan) II, the Umayyad Caliph is defeated.
Overthrow of the Umayyad (Omayyad) Caliphate (651-750) by the Abbasids (Baghdad). 750
Abu al Abbas (rules 750-754) wipes out the Umayyads in Damascus, Syria and founds the Abbasid Dynasty (the Abbasid caliphate).
The Abbasid caliphs will rule until 1258 when Baghdad will be ravaged by the Mongols. The Abbasid caliphate is centered at Baghdad.
Abu al Abbas becomes the first Abbasid Caliph of Arabia (House of Abbas).
Abu al Abbas has all of the Umayyads hunted down and slaughtered. 750 Abu al Abbas in Damascus opens the tombs of every one of the Umayyad caliphs, and has their bones burned and their ashes scattered.
The Umayyads are the descendants of Abu Sufyan.
The Omayyads represented the “Sunni” branch of Mohammedanism.
The Abbasids represent the “Shia” branch.
Abd-ar-Rahman I is the only Omayyad (Sunni) to escape the executions that follow the Abbasid takeover. Abd-ar-Rahman flees for his life from his Abbasid (Shiite) pursuers through Egypt and North Africa. 750
Abu al Abbas. Abbasid Caliph (the successor). 750-754
Abbasid caliphs rule over Egypt. 750-969
Founding of the Monastery of Heidenheim. 750
Founding of Granada. 750
St. Vitus’ dance epidemic in Germany. c.750
Medicine and Pharmacology become two separate sciences. c.750
Wind organs, coming from Byzantium, replace water organs. 750
There are now four sects of Mohammedanism:
Sunnites, Hafenites, Shafites, and Malikites.
Civil wars among the Mohammedans. 750
The Byzantine Empire fights the Mohammedans that had taken over Armenia in 693. 751-752
Lombards under Aistulf seize the city of Ravenna from the Byzantines. 751
End of the Byzantine Exarchate in Italy. 751
Final fall of Ravenna and the Byzantine exarchate to Aistulf, the King of the Lombards since 749.
Aistulf, King of the Lombards, defeats the Greek exarchs and seizes Ravenna from the Byzantine Empire.
Collapse of Byzantine rule in Italy.
Aistulf, King of the Lombards, demands tribute from Rome.
Up until this date the Byzantine Empire had maintained its claim on Italy, because the Exarch
still ruled at Ravenna, with ever narrowing lands.
Pepin le Bref (the Short), son of Charles Martel, with the consent of the Pope, deposes Childeric III,
the last Merovingian King of the Franks. 751
End of the Merovingian line in France.
The Carolingians take the title of King of the Franks.
Pepin III, the Short, rules 751-768.
Pepin le Bref (the Short), son of Charles Martel, is elevated to the throne by “all the Franks” at
Soissons and is anointed with holy oil. 751
He is crowned first King of the Franks by St. Boniface, the Papal Legate.
As Pepin III, he becomes the first Carolingian King of the Franks.
Pepin III le Bref reigns 751-768.
Founding of the great Carolingian Dynasty of Frankish kings.
Beginning of the Carolingian Dynasty of Frankish kings. 751
The Carolingians will rule from 751-987.
Battle of Samarkand. 751
Arabs defeat the Chinese at Samarkand.
China loses western Asian dominions to the Arab Mohammedans.
Pope Stephen III (d.757). 752-757
Sometimes referred to as Stephen II.
Lombards threaten to take the city of Rome itself. 753
The Lombards advance on Rome.
Pepin le Bref (714-768).
Leads a large army into pagan Saxony in order to restore order there. 753
The pagan Saxons had recently (752) burnt down thirty churches in Saxony.
St. Boniface sets off for Frisia. 753
He destroys many heathen shrines, and baptizes many thousands of people throughout Frisia.
While Aistulf, the king of the Lombards, is threatening Rome, Pope Stephen III undertakes the first recorded papal journey north of the Alps to meet Pepin the Short at Ponthion in southern Gaul. Jan. 754
Stephen III asks Pepin the Short for protection from the Lombard invaders.
Pepin promises to invade Italy and save Rome from the threatening Lombards.
Pope Stephen III.
Crowns Pepin the Short (714-768) ruler of the Franks at St. Denis. 754
Pepin III, the Short (714-768).
Crosses the Alps with a large army, in his expedition into Italy to protect Rome and Pope
Stephen III from the Lombard invaders. 754
Pepin III, the Short, wars against the Lombards (754-756).
Aistulf, the Lombard, is made a Frankish vassal.
Two successful campaigns of Pepin III force the Langobards under Aistulf of Lombardy to return the conquered territories of Ravenna to the Church. Pepin III, the Short, successfully drives the Lombards out of Ravenna.
Pepin III, the Short, defends Rome from the Lombards.
Pepin III takes a large part of Lombard possessions.
Battle of Burford. 754
Ethelbald of Mercia is defeated by his West Saxon under-king Cuthred. Wessex recovers freedom.
Constantine V Copronymus. Iconoclastic Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
Continues his iconoclastic position and anti-monasticism. 754
Constantine V begins the dissolution of monasteries because of his opposition to anti-iconoclastic monasticism.
A council of 338 Byzantine bishops defend the errors of Iconoclasm. 754
This council and all of its actions will be later formally rejected and condemned by the Lateran (Roman) Synod of 769 (anti-Iconoclasm).
St. Boniface.
Resigns his see in order to reconvert the Frieslanders, who had lapsed back into paganism after
the death of St. Willibrord. 754
Martyrdom of St. Boniface (c.680-754). June 5, 754
Boniface, the great Christian missionary in Germany, and a group of thirty Christians are
attacked by a band of pagans.
They are all murdered.
Abu Ja'far al-Mansur. Second Abbasid caliph (=successor). 754-775
Consolidates Abbasid rule.
Al-Mansur begins the building of the new Abbasid capital at Baghdad.
The Caliphate will be transferred from Syria to Baghdad (762).
Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan (known as Geber) (b.c.721). Arab scholar.
Describes how to prepare aluminum chloride, white lead, nitric acid, and acetic acid. c.754
War between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarians. 755-764
Revolt disrupts China. 755
The Donation of Pepin the Short. 756
Formation of the Papal States in Italy when Pepin the Short gives the
Pope lands around Ravenna that he had conquered from the Lombards.
Marks the beginning of the temporal power of the Popes.
Pope has direct temporal rule 756-1870.
Abd-al-Rahman.
The only Omayyad to escape from the massacres of 750 in Baghdad, he lands near Gibraltar. 756
He meets the ruler of Cordoba (Yusuf-al-Fihri) in battle and defeats him.
Abd-al-Rahman claims all of Spain as his.
Wrests Spain from the Caliphate of the Abbasids.
Founding of the Omayyad Caliphate of Cordoba by Abd-al-Rahman.
Establishes at Cordoba his own government independent of Baghdad.
Abd-al-Rahman himself will rule 756-788.
The Omayyad Dynasty of Córdoba, founded by Abd-al-Rahman, comes to power in Mohammedan controlled Spain.
The Omayyad line in Spain will rule from 756 until 1031.
Division of the Mohammedan Empire. 756
Damascus (Abbasid) and Cordoba, Spain (Umayyad).
Desiderius (Didier). 756-774
Last King of the Lombards.
Ming Huang, Chinese emperor abdicates. 756
An Lushan seizes the capital and proclaims himself emperor.
Al Mansur, the Abbasid caliph, sends military aid to Hsüan Tsung in China to crush a rebellion
after the resignation of the Emperor Ming Huang. 756
Offa. King of Mercia. 757-796
Saint Paul I. Pope. 757-767
Birthplace: Rome.
Fruela I. King of Asturias. 757-768
Ethelbald, King of Mercia, is killed by his ealdormen at Seckington. 757
Offa, seizes the kingdom of Mercia. Offa unites most of England.
Offa rules as King of Mercia 757-796.
Offa assumes the title of “Rex totius Anglorum patriae.”
An Lushan is killed at Luoyang. End of the insurrection in China that has caused the death of
almost one million people. 757
The Mutazilites reject the writings of Mohammed’s Koran. 757
They will be tolerated until 847.
Edbriht, King of Northumbria.
Decides to become a monk and is succeeded by his son Osulf.
Osulf is killed by his own household. 758
Abd-al-Rahman (Umayyad).
Overcomes rebellions in Spain against his rule. 758-763
The Byzantines defeat the Slavs in Thrace. 758
Famine of long duration throughout the kingdom of Ireland. 759
Thousands perish.
The Franks recapture Narbonne from the Mohammedans. 759
See 720.
Pepin III, the Short (714-768).
Drives the Mohammedans back to the Pyrenees.
Extends Frankish rule to the Pyrenees. 759
“The Book of Kells.”
Illuminated Latin gospels written in Irish. c.760
Now at Trinity College, Dublin.
Founding of Turkish Empire by a Tartar tribe in Armenia. 760
Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora, India. Begun. 760
Cut out from the rock as a complete building in the round.
Death of St. Winnibald. December 18, 761
St. Winnibald is the brother of St. Willibald.
“St. Maria in Valle”, at Cividale, Italy. 762-776
An unusual survival of Roman style Architecture.
Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur. Abbasid Caliph.
Moves the capital of the Mohammedan empire from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad where he built
a new capital. 762
Baghdad becomes the seat of the Abbasid Caliphs.
Baghdad is made the new Abbasid capital of the Moslem Empire by Al-Mansur, the Abbasid Caliph.
The ancient city of Babylon is located 55 miles south of Baghdad.
Founding of Benedictine monastery at Lorsch, Hesse. 763
Founding of Benedictine abbey of Ottobeuren, Bavaria. 764
Aix-la-Chapelle becomes the capital of the Frankish Empire. 765
Alhred of Northumbria. 765-774
Building of Baghdad by the Abbasids nears completion. 765
Aethelbert is Archbishop of York, England. 766-780
Ethelbert, the Archbishop of England, and Alcuin make York a major center of Christian learning,
study, teaching, education, and translation. c.766
Alcuin (c.735-804).
Becomes head of the York Cathedral school in England. 767
Coptic revolt in Egypt. 767-772
Pope Stephen III (IV). 768-772
Death of Pepin the Short (714-768). 768
The Frankish kingdom is ruled by his two sons.
Carloman becomes King of Austrasia (768-771).
Charlemagne (742-814) is joint ruler 768-771.
Charlemagne will soon become sole king of the Franks 771-814.
Aurelius. King of Asturias. 768-774
Ireland is struck by a great famine accompanied by earthquake. 768
Thousands perish.
Lateran Synod. 769
Condemns Iconoclasm (the Iconoclastic Heresy) and the iconoclastic Byzantine council that
was held in 754.
Death of St. Sebaldus (Sebald). Benedictine Order. August 19, 770
Missionary to Germany.
Carloman, King of Austrasia, the son of Pepin the Short (714-768), retires voluntarily to a monastery. 771
Death of Carloman (brother of Charlemagne), King of Austrasia. 771
Charlemagne (742-814) is elected sole King of the Frankish kingdom.
Charlemagne reigns 771-814.
Epidemical disease. Chichester, England. 772
Thousands perish.
Drought causes famine in Ireland. 772
Thousands perish.
Hadrian I. Pope. 772-795
Beginning of Charlemagne’s Saxon Wars (772-804). 772
Charlemagne (742-814) wars against the pagan Saxons which are under Widukind and will subdue them.
Conquest of Saxony by Charlemagne.
Charlemagne (b.742-d.814).
Advances to the borders of the Hessian Franks, to the Eresburg, a fortress just within the Saxon
borders, where the pagan Saxons congregated at certain seasons to honor the Irminsul.
This was a tall pillar of wood, symbolic of the “all-sustaining” earth tree, Igdrasil.
Charlemagne takes the Eresburg and destroys the Irminsul. 772
Charlemagne (742-814).
Gradual conversion of Saxony from paganism to Christianity. 772-804
Desiderius (Didier), the last King of the Lombards opposes Pope Hadrian (Adrian) I. 772
The Lombards once again threaten Rome. 772
Pope Hadrian I appeals to Charlemagne (742-814) for help against the Lombard forces that are threatening the city of Rome. 772
Renewal of hostilities between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgars. 772
At the request of Pope Hadrian (Adrian) I, Charlemagne crosses the Great St. Bernard from
Geneva and invades Italy in order to confront the Lombards. 773-774
Charlemagne (b.742-d.814).
Lacking machinery to break through the defenses of Pavia, Charlemagne orders his troops to
surround the city (September). He plans to starve out the Lombard enemy. 773
Siege of Pavia. 773-774
Charlemagne proceeds to visit Pope Adrian I at Rome.
St. Benedict of Aniane (c.750-821).
Leaves the army and enters the Benedictine Order at St. Seine. 773
Conquest of the Langobard (Lombard) Kingdom by Charlemagne. 774
Charlemagne takes Pavia and dethrones Didier (Desiderius).
Charlemagne, King of the Franks, conquers and annexes the Lombard kingdom of Northern Italy, absorbing it into the Frankish Empire.
Charlemagne assumes the iron crown.
Corsica, Dalmatia, Istria, Venetia also come under his rule.
Charlemagne ends the Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy which had lasted 206 years (since
their invasion in 568).
After surrendering the city of Pavia and his kingdom, Desiderius, the last King of the Lombards,
enters a monastery in France.
Plague and famine in Scotland. 774
Thousands perish.
Offa II, King of Mercia. Subdues the kingdom of Kent. 774
St. Juan de Pravia, Spain. 774-783
Earliest surviving Asturian church.
Charlemagne arrives at Rome. He is received by Pope Hadrian I. 774
Charlemagne confirms Pepin III’s donation of territory to the pope.
He will enlarge it in 781.
Kôbô Daishi (Kukai).
Japanese Buddhist studied in China, returned and established the Shingen sect in Japan. 774-835
Silo. King of Asturias. 774-783
Translation of the “Elements of Geometry” of Euclid from the original Greek into Arabic. 774
Charlemagne.
Makes a fast return trip to northern Italy during the winter of 775-776 in order to crush a
Lombard rebellion against his rule in Treviso. 775-776
Hereafter the Lombard Kingdom vanishes from history.
Death of Constantine V.
Leo IV (b.750-d.780). Byzantine Emperor. 775-780
Leo IV continues enforcing Iconoclasm in the Byzantine territories.
Alcuin of York.
Writes elementary texts on arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. c.775
Death of Al-Mansur (aged 63), the second Abbasid Caliph. 775
Succeeded by his son Mohammed Al-Mahdi (rules 775-785).
Defeat of the Bulgarians by the Byzantines at Lithosoria. 775
Institution of a Mohammedan purge by the Abbasid Caliph Mohammed Al Mahdi (775-785). 775
Expansion of the Carolingian Empire into Bavaria. 775-777
Charlemagne (b.742-d.814).
Completes the takeover of fortresses of the pagan Saxons. 776
Completes the conquest of Saxony.
Charlemagne is in Dalmatia. 776
Beatus of Liebana.
“Commentary on the Apocalypse.” 776
Will be revised in 784 and again in 786.
Tassilo of Bavaria.
Builds the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster. 777
Offa, King of Mercia, subdues the Kingdom of Wessex. 777
Charlemagne invades Moslem Spain. He is halted at Saragossa. 777
Battle of Roncesvalles. 778
Defeat of Charlemagne’s army by the Moslems and Basques at Roncesvalles, in the Pyrenees
while they are retreating.
Death of Roland. Subject of the “Song of Roland.”
“Song of Roland.” Written. 778
Victory of the Byzantines over the moslems at Germanikeia and their expulsion from Anatolia. 778
Widukind, the leader of the pagan Saxons, leads the Saxons to rebellion.
The Saxons raid the Rhineland. 778
Spanish March (later called Catalonia) is formed in northern Spain by Charlemagne out of lands
he re-captured from the Mohammedans. 778
Cynewulf, King of Wessex, and Offa, King of Mercia, meet in battle near Benson in Oxfordshire. 779
Offa of Mercia defeats Cynewulf of Wessex.
Offa II, King of Mercia, becomes King of all England. 779
Death of Saint Walburga (West Saxon). 779
Death of St. Leoba. Abbess. 779
Leo IV, iconoclast emperor of the Byzantine Empire, dies (age 30).
Constantine VI (b.770-d.797), his son, ascends to the Byzantine throne at the age of ten.
Constantine VI is Byzantine emperor 780-797. 780
Irene, his mother, rules the Byzantine Empire as regent (780-790) for her son Constantine VI.
Irene is an anti-Iconoclast.
Arabs bring decimal numbers from India. 780
Desolation of England by famine. 780
Desolation of Scotland by famine. 780
Desolation of Wales by famine. 780
Charlemagne (742-814).
Subdues Aquitaine and places his son Louis on the throne. 781
Charlemagne enlarges the territory that was originally given to the Church by his father Pepin
the Short. 781
Pope Adrian I.
Crowns Pepin, the son of Charlemagne, King of the Frankish kingdom, as King of Italy. 781
Charlemagne meets the Christian monk Alcuin of York in Italy. 781
Charlemagne invites Alcuin of York to set up and head the palace
school at his court at Aachen.
Charlemagne (742-814).
Sets up the Palace School at his capital, Aix-la-Chapelle. 781-796
This school helps to preserve classical scholarship, knowledge, learning, translation, and
education in Europe.
The Nestorians, who had settled in China since 645, develop missionary activities and build
Christian (Nestorian) monasteries. 781
Godescalc. Frankish.
“Evangelistary,” 781-783
An illuminated manuscript in Latin produced at Aix-la-Chapelle.
Alcuin of York (735-804). Christian monk.
Invited by Charlemagne, Alcuin leaves monastery at York (see 735) to head Charlemagne’s
Palace School at his capital at Aix-la-Chapelle. 782
Arrival of Alcuin of York (735-804) arrives at Aix-la-Chapelle. 782
Alcuin of York (735-804), institutes a system of basic education, and establishes a higher
educational system based on the study of the seven “Artes liberales” (the liberal arts). 782-796
Knowledge is conveyed through:
- The Trivium: Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectics.
- The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music.
Alcuin is a member of the court of Charlemagne. 782-796
Battle of Verden. 782
Execution of 4000 Saxons by beheading at Verden by Charlemagne.
Final annexation of Saxony as a Frankish province.
Charlemagne issues the “Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae.” 782
(The Saxon Capitulary).
The Arabs advance to the Bosporus.
Once again Constantinople is threatened and raided by the Mohammedans. 782-783
Staurakios, Byzantine general.
Defeats the Slavs in Macedonia and Greece. 783
Mauregato. King of Asturias. 783-788
The pagan Widukind leads another Saxon rebellion against Charlemagne and massacres a
Frankish army. 783
Charlemagne re-invades Saxony.
Charlemagne (742-814).
Leads his army to the banks of the river Elbe. 784
No Frankish ruler had ever campaigned as far to the east as this.
Completion of the construction of Offa’s Dyke (begun in 779). 784
Marks the frontier between Mercia and Wales.
It is built against Welsh attacks on Mercia.
Floating magnetic compass in China. 785
Pope Hadrian I.
Condemns Adoptionism (the Adoptionist Heresy). 785
Charlemagne once again subdues pagan Saxony. 785
Charlemagne continues his efforts to establish Christianity there.
Widukind, the leader of the Saxons, finally converts from paganism to Christianity. 785
Baptism of Widukind, leader of the Saxons. 785
Cologne becomes an archbishopric. 785
Charlemagne takes control of Catalonia. 785-811
Al-Hadi. Abbasid Caliph (Baghdad). 785-786
Charlemagne.
“Saxon Capitulary” of 785. 785
Cremation is prohibited.
Blue Mosque of Cordoba, Spain. 785-990
Building is begun under Abd-el-Rahman, the Umayyad ruler of Spain.
Harun-al-Rashid becomes Abbasid Caliph of the moslem Empire at Baghdad. Rules 786-809. 786
Baghdad becomes the major Mohammedan city.
Death of St. Willibald (c.700-786), a West Saxon, at Eichstätt. July 7, 786
Theodulf (d.821) is made Bishop of Orléans, France. 786
The Mohammedans conquer Kabul, Afghanistan. 787
Pope Adrian I calls the Seventh General Church Council.
Also called the Second Nicene Council. Held at Nicaea (Nice). Sept. 24-Oct. 23, 787
377 Bishops condemn Iconoclasm (the Iconoclastic Heresy).
The Council emphasizes that religious works of art are not worshipped as idols, they are only inspirational.
The Council also condemns Adoptionism (the Adoptionist Heresy), which claims that Christ is
not the Son of God by nature but only by “Adoption.”
This is the last council that the Eastern Church is in agreement with.
Founding of the archbishopric of Lichfield by Offa, King of Mercia. 787
Offa has his son Egfrith anointed king (to 796).
Charlemagne (742-814).
Annexes the Lombard duchy of Beneventum. 787
Paul the Deacon (c.720-799). Historian and scholar.
“Historia gentis Langobardorum”. c.787
(“The History of the Lombards”). Six books. Written at Monte Casino.
First Viking (Northmen) invasion of England. 787
The Vikings, whom the Anglo-Saxons inaccurately called the Danes, first arrive in England.
Surrender of Tassilo III of Bavaria to Charlemagne.
Deposition of Tassilo of Bavaria by Charlemagne.
Annexation of Bavaria by Charlemagne. 788
Burmudo I, “the Deacon”. King of Asturias. 788-791
Abd-el-Rahman (Umayyad).
Makes Cordoba, Spain, the western Mohammedan capital. 788
Abd-el-Rahman of Cordoba (Umayyad) dies. 788
His empire breaks out into a number of separate states upon his death.
Hisham I. Omayyad Amir of Spain (Cordoba). 788-796
Idris establishes Shiite kingdom in Morocco. 788
Irene, Regent for her son Constatnine VI, rejects Iconoclasm (the Iconoclastic Heresy). 789
Irene accepts the conclusions of the Second Council of Nicea (787).
Charlemagne.
“Admonitio generalis.” 789
Designed to bring closer the realization of a “societas christiana.”
Centula (St. Riquier) Abbey. 790-799
A large Carolingian Church.
Discovery of Iceland by Irish Christian monks.
They reached Iceland in skin-frame vessels. 790
Byzantine army puts Constantine VI in power.
Constantine VI imprisons his mother Irene (anti-Iconoclast).
End of the regency of his mother Irene (780-790). 790
Constantine VI. Byzantine Emperor. 790-797
Offa, King of Mercia.
Founds St. Alban’s Abbey. 790
Under the supervision of the Schola Cantorum in Rome, schools for church music are established
at Paris, Cologne, Soissons, and Metz. 790
“Libri Carolini”. 790
Rejects the Iconoclastic heresy (Greek Iconoclasm).
Alcuin (735-804) is appointed principal of the Frankish court school. 790
A most “grievous” famine strikes Wales. Thousands perish. 791
Frankish wars with the pagan Avars. 791-796
Hisham I, Amir of Cordoba, the successor of Abd al-Rahman.
Proclaims Jihad against the Christians in the Asturias and in France. 792
Over 100,000 Mohammedans answer the call of Hisham I.
They invade France, set fire to Narbonne, march on Carcassone where they meet the Christians
in battle.
The Mohammedans are stopped and return to Cordoba.
Alfonso II, the Chaste. King of Asturias.
Defeats and expels from the Asturias, the Mohammedans who invade his dominions. 792-842
Constantine VI. Byzantine Emperor.
Recalls his mother, Irene, and makes her co-ruler. 792
Fulda Cathedral. Building begins. 792
Offa, King of Mercia.
Annexes East Anglia to Mercia. 793
Vikings attack the island of Lindisfarne. 793
They destroy the church and Lindisfarne Monastery.
The Vikings will also ransack Egfrith’s monastery at Jarrow (794).
Charlemagne summons the Synod of Frankfurt in order to refute the Adoptionist Heresy (Adoptionism). Condemnation of Adoptionism, an early heresy originating in the East. 794
This heresy states that the Virgin Mary gave birth to a wholly human Jesus, who was later
“adopted” by God as his Son.
That is, God the Son was “adopted,” not eternally co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father.
In other words God the Son is not uncreated.
Christianity, however, is based on the co-equality and co-eternality of the God the Father, and
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The capital of Japan is moved (to 1867) from Nara to Heian (will later be called Kyoto). 794
Japan enters into its Heian period (794-1185).
Battle of Tisza River (Theiss River). 795-796
Charlemagne, King of the Franks, defeats the Avars on the Danube River.
Eric of Friuli leads the Frankish charge that routes the Avars.
The Avars vanish from history.
The Vikings raid the coast of Ireland. 795
The Vikings sack the Monastery of Iona. 795
Revolts in Egypt. 795
Saint Leo III. Pope.
Elected Pope on the day that his predecessor, Hadrian is buried. 795
Birthplace: Rome. Papacy: 795-816.
Cynewulf, Old English Anglo-Saxon poet.
Writes “The Fates of the Apostles”, and “The Ascension”. c.795-800
Palatine Chapel, Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). 796-805
Built by Charlemagne (by Eudes of Metz).
Part of the Carolingian Renaissance.
Hisham I, Omayyad Amir of Cordoba, is succeeded by al-Hakam I. 796
Hakam I. Amir of Spain (Cordoba). 796-822
During Hakam’s rule, he suspects a rebellion among the people of Toledo.
He has over 5,000 Christian Toledans beheaded.
This day is remembered in Spanish history as “The Day of the Ditch.”
Charlemagne.
Makes the monastery school at St. Martin of Tours Abbey a university.
He makes Alcuin (735-804) its head. 796
Charlemagne appoints Alcuin abbot (798-804).
Eardwulf of Northumbria. 796-810
Alcuin of York (735-804).
Orders sacred Christian writings to be copied at the monastery school of St. Martin of Tours. 796-804
Death of Offa, King of Mercia.
Offa”s death marks the end of Mercian dominance in England. 796
Cenwulf. King of Mercia. 796-821
Irene overthrows her son Constantine VI, blinds him, kills him, and assumes sole power as
the first ruling Byzantine empress. 797
Irene. Byzantine Empress. 797-802
Irene opposes Iconoclasm (the Iconoclastic Heresy).
Irene restores the use of icons in the Byzantine churches.
London, England is destroyed by fire. 798
Irene, ruler of Byzantine Empire, purchases peace with the Arabs. 798
Cenwulf of Mercia, stamps out an attempted coup of Kent against him.
End of the Kentish dynasty. 798
Charlemagne.
Conquest and destruction of the Adriatic port of Fiume. 799
Civil war is about to break out in Rome, arising from disputes between the Western Church and
the Byzantine Empire. 799
Enemies of Pope Leo III ambush him, throw him off his horse, beat him, and attempt to gouge
out his eyes and cut out his tongue. 799
Pope Leo III calls upon Charlemagne to help him in subduing his enemies and stopping the
conflict in Rome. 799
St. Peter’s Church. Niederzell, Switzerland. 799
Abbey Church of St. Riquier (France) is completed. Begun in 790. 799