JOHN RUDD, LL.D.
Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals following give volume and page.
Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of famous persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page references showing where the several events are fully treated.
A.D.
410. Britain is abandoned by the Roman Empire. Franks join in the Barbarian attack on Gaul.
Siege, capture, and pillage of Rome by Alaric; he dies and is succeeded by Adolphus. See [VISIGOTHS PILLAGE ROME], iv, I.
411. Count Gerontius makes Constans prisoner and slays him; he besieges Constantine in Aries, where he, is put to flight by Constantius, Honorius' general, and, after being deserted by his soldiers, he stabs himself. Constantine surrenders to Constantius, is sent to Ravenna and beheaded.
Jovinus revolts at Mainz.
Conference between Catholics and Donatists at Carthage, after which more severe laws are enacted against the latter.
412. Jovinus makes his brother Sebastian his colleague. The Visigoths enter Gaul.
413. Adolphus overcomes Jovinus and Sebastian and sends their heads to Honorius.
Title of augusta taken by Pulcheria at Constantinople; she governs in the East in the name of her brother Theodosius.
415. Adolphus lays the foundation of the Visigoth dominion in Spain.
Brutal murder of Hypatia, a lovely woman and a Neo-Platonic philosopher of Alexandria.
Persecution of Jews at Alexandria.
Adolphus assassinated at Barcelona by Sigeric, who usurps the throne, but is killed seven days afterward, and Wallia chosen king by the Visigoths.
418. Wallia relinquishes a part of his conquests in Spain to Honorius, and receives the province of Aquitaine in Gaul.
420. St. Jerome dies in Palestine.
A persecution of the Christians in Persia leads to war between that nation and the Eastern Empire.
422. Peace concluded with Persia. Incursion of the Huns into Thrace.
423. Death of Honorius; usurpation of Joannes the Notary.
425. Joannes is beheaded. The young Valentinian is proclaimed emperor, and his mother, Placidia, regent.
A synod at Carthage forbids appeals to the Bishop of Rome. The revenues of the Church are become very large.
428. Conquests of the Vandals in Spain.
Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, founds the sect of Nestorians, which still subsists in Persia and Turkey.
429. Wild Moors join the Vandals who have invaded Africa.
430. Bonifacius unsuccessfully opposes the Vandals in Africa; they besiege Hippo Regius. St. Augustine dies there in the third month of the siege.
431. Hippo Regius falls.
Third general council of the Church, held at Ephesus; one of the most turbulent in history.
432. Bonifacius, although victorious, perishes in the conflict with his rival Aetius.
433. Attila, King of the Huns, begins his reign.[75] St. Patrick preaches in Ireland.
435. Nestorius exiled to the Libyan desert.
439. The Vandals, under Genseric, take Carthage.
440. Leo the Great elected pope.
441. Attila and his Huns pass the Danube; they invade Illyricum. See [HUNS INVADE THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE], iv, 28.
442. Valentinian by a treaty of peace cedes Africa to Genseric. A comet is visible.
444. Attila murders his brother, Bleda, and rules alone over the Huns.
446. Britons in vain apply to Aetius for aid against the Picts and Scots.
Thermopylæ passed by the Huns; the Eastern Emperor makes humiliating terms of peace with Attila. See [HUNS INVADE THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE], iv, 28.
Pope Leo assumes a tone of high authority, and asserts the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff over all other bishops.
449. Landing of the Jutes under Hengist and Horsa in Britain, called there to repel the Picts and Scots. See [THE ENGLISH CONQUEST OF BRITAIN], iv, 55.
The "Robber Synod" meets at Ephesus. It reinstates Eutyches in the office of priest and archimandrite, from which he had been expelled, and exposes Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who is so roughly attacked that he dies soon afterward of his injuries.
A synod at Rome reverses the acts at Ephesus.
450. Death of Theodosius II; by a nominal marriage his sister Pulcheria raises Marcian to the throne.
Attila demands the princess Honoria in marriage.
451. Gaul invaded by Attila; battle of Châlons. See [ATTILA INVADES WESTERN EUROPE], iv, 72.
Fourth general council of the Church, held at Chalcedon; the acts of the "Robber Synod" are annulled.
452. Attila, after withdrawing from Gaul, ravages Italy; he besieges and destroys Aquileia; its inhabitants flee to the marshes; Rome is saved by its Bishop, Leo the Great. Venice is founded. See [FOUNDATION OF VENICE], iv, 95.
453. Death of Attila; dissolution of his empire. Death of the empress Pulcheria.
454. Hengist founds the kingdom of Kent.
455. Maximus murders Valentinian III and usurps the throne of the Western Empire; at the end of three months Maximus is killed by the people.
The Vandals pillage Rome. Avitus is proclaimed emperor of the West.
456. Ricimer, commander of the Barbarian mercenaries in the West, destroys a Vandal fleet near Corsica; he declares against Avitus, who abdicates.
457. Majorian placed on the throne of the West by Ricimer and the senate.
Leo I ascends the throne in the East.
460. Genseric destroys Majorian's fleet at Carthagena. Peace is made between them.
461. Majorian is assassinated by Ricimer, who places his puppet Severus on the throne, exercising the Imperial power himself.
465. Death of Severus; Ricimer still wields the supreme power in Rome.
467. Anthemius made emperor of the West.
The Vandals ravage the coasts of Italy and Sicily.
468. Leo I, Emperor of the East, aided by the Western Empire, makes an earnest but ineffectual effort against the Vandals under Genseric.
472. Ricimer besieges and storms Rome; death of Ricimer and of Anthemius; Olybrius and Glycerius are emperors successively.
473. Invasion of Italy by the Ostrogoths diverted to Gaul. Glycerius emperor of the West.
474. Julius Nepos becomes emperor of the West. Zeno rules the Eastern Empire.
475. Romulus Augustulus emperor of the West. Zeno and his wife flee to Isauria.
476. Odoacer, a leader of German mercenaries, dethrones Augustulus and puts an end to the Western Empire for three centuries. The title of king of Italy assumed by Odoacer.
486. Clovis founds the kingdom of the Franks. He defeats Syagrius at Soissons, and thus puts an end to Roman dominion in Gaul. See [CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS], iv, 113.
488. The Eastern Emperor commissions Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, to invade Italy.
489. Theodoric defeats Odoacer at Verona.
490. Odoacer is again defeated; he retires to Ravenna.
491. Anastasius becomes emperor of the East by marrying the widow of Zeno, who had recently died.
The South Saxons capture Anderida.
492. Anastasius grants liberty of conscience and remits oppressive taxes.
493. Theodoric besieges Odoacer in Ravenna; he is captured and murdered; Theodoric becomes king of the whole of Italy.
494. An earthquake overthrows the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Tripolis.
Pope Gelasius makes the distinction between the canonical and apocryphal books of the Scriptures. He asserts his divine right, as Bishop of Rome, to universal supremacy.
495.[76] Cerdic and his band of Saxons, who sail in five ships, land in Britain.
496. Clovis vanquishes the Alemanni; he is baptized. See [CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS], iv, 113.
497. The Arabs (Saracens) invade Syria; they are repulsed by Eugenius.
Many Athanasian bishops are banished from Africa to Sardinia.
498. Publication of the Babylonian Talmud or Gemaras.
Violent contest between Symmachus and Laurentius for the episcopal throne at Rome, decided by Theodoric in favor of the former.
500. Clovis, King of the Franks, defeats the Burgundians near Dijon.
502. Syria and Palestine ravaged by the Saracens. The Bulgarians again devastate Thrace.
504. Expulsion by the Franks of the Alemanni from the Middle Rhine. Theodoric defeats the Bulgarians and retakes Sirmium, which they had captured.
505. Peace is declared between the Eastern Empire and Persia, ending desultory conflicts that had continued some years.
507. Clovis overthrows the Visigoths near Poitiers; he becomes master of nearly the whole of Aquitania. See [CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS], iv, 113.
Amalarich, Alaric's infant son, and Giselich, his natural son, are proclaimed joint kings of the Visigoths by Theodoric; he preserves for them all Spain and a part of Gaul.
508. Natanleod, a British prince, is defeated and slain, in a desperate battle, by Cerdic the Saxon.
510. Clovis adds the territory of certain minor Frank princes to his own territory; he makes Paris his capital. See [CLOVIS FOUNDS THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS], iv, 113.
511. Death of Clovis; the Frankish kingdom is divided equally among his four sons: Theodoric I (Thierry), Metz; Clodomir, Orleans; Childebert I, Paris; and Clotair, Soissons.
Monophysite riot at Constantinople, caused by the controversy respecting the nature of Christ.
512. Second Monophysite riot at Constantinople.
515. A body of Huns breaks through the Caspian gates and invades Cappadocia.
Publication of St. Benedict's monastic rule.
518. Death of Anastasius, the Eastern Emperor, and accession of Justin I.
519. Cerdic gives the name of Wessex to that part of Britain conquered by him; he assumes the title of king; Cynric is his coadjutor.
523. Sigismund, the Burgundian King, assumes the monastic habit, but is betrayed into the hands of the Franks, who throw him, with his wife and children, into a well at Orleans. His brother, Gondemar, is elected king.
525. Theodoric, King of Italy, orders the execution of Boethius and Symmachus.
526. Death of Theodoric and accession of Athalaric.
Great earthquake at Antioch, which destroys the city; 250,000 persons perish.
The Eastern Empire begins war with Persia.
527. Justinian proclaimed joint augustus, soon after which, by the death of Justin, he becomes sole emperor.
Use of the Christian era introduced by Dionysius Exiguus.
528. Thuringia conquered by the Franks.
529. Julian, leader of a Jewish and Samaritan revolt, is made prisoner and beheaded.
Justinian issues edicts against philosophers, heretics, and pagans. See [PUBLICATION OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE], iv, 138. Closing of the schools at Athens.
530. Benedict founds his new monastic order; the principal seat is Monte Casino, Campania.[77]
Belisarius, the greatest general of the Byzantine empire, defeats the Persians at Dara.
531. Alamundarus, at the head of the Persians and Saracens, defeats Belisarius, who maintains his ground against their nearly overwhelming force.
Accession of Khusrau to the throne of Persia.
532. End of the war between the Eastern Empire and Persia.
533. Justinian's general, Belisarius, destroys the Vandal kingdom in Africa.
Publication of the Pandects and Institutes of Justinian. See [PUBLICATION OF THE JUSTINIAN CODE], iv, 138.
Philosophers, who were driven from Constantinople by Justinian's orders, return disappointed from Persia.
534. Overthrow of the Burgundian kingdom by the Franks, who divide the dominions between the three Frankish kings.
Solomon, left by Belisarius to command in Africa, defeats the Moors.
535. Belisarius is sent by Justinian to recover Italy from the Ostrogoths; he occupies Sicily.
536. Rome is occupied by Belisarius.
537. Vitiges unsuccessfully besieges Belisarius in Rome; great distress in the city.
538. Vitiges retreats from before Rome and takes shelter in Ravenna.
539. The Franks, under Theodebert, invade Italy and plunder Genoa; attacked by disease they return into Gaul.
540. Vitiges surrenders Ravenna and is sent a prisoner to Constantinople. Justinian recalls Belisarius from Italy.
Khusrau, King of Persia, invades Syria and takes Antioch.
A total eclipse of the sun, June 20th.
Justinian makes a formal relinquishment of Gaul to the Franks.
541. Belisarius takes the command of the Roman forces against the Persians; he defeats Khusrau.
Totila, King of the Ostrogoths, is successful in Italy. End of the succession of Roman consuls.
542. Belisarius compels the Persians to recross the Euphrates.
The great plague spreads from Egypt and rages for many years in Asia and Europe.
543. Naples surrenders to Totila, who then advances against Rome. Belisarius recalled from the East, after which the Persians again advance and defeat the Romans.
Moors renew the war in Africa; Solomon is slain in battle against them; Sergius, his successor, is incompetent.
Spain invaded by the Franks.
544. Again Belisarius is sent into Italy, but without supplies and with very inadequate forces.
Stotzas, leader of the Moors, defeats the Romans, but is slain in the battle.
545. While Belisarius awaits reinforcements Totila takes Asculum and Spoletum, and lays siege to Rome.
546. Rome is betrayed to Totila; Belisarius is joined by fresh troops, but arrives too late to prevent the capture and pillage.
547. Rome is utterly deserted for six weeks; it is retaken by Belisarius, who repairs the walls.
Ida founds the kingdom of Bernicia, in Northumberland, and builds Bamborough.
Bavaria becomes subject to the Franks.
548. Death of Theodora, Empress of the East.
Crotona and Tarentum are captured by Belisarius, after which he is recalled to the East.
549. Second siege and capture of Rome by Totila.
The Lazic War begins—a contest of Rome and Persia on the Phasis; called Lazic from the Lazi, a tribe which still subsists.
550. Vigilius, at Constantinople, urges Justinian to rescue Italy from the dominion of Arians.
Illyrium is freed of the Slavonians.
551. Totila restores the senate at Rome.
Silkworms said to have been first reared in Europe from eggs brought out of the East.
552. Totila defeated and slain by Narses, Belisarius' successor, to whom the greater part of Italy submits.
Teias is appointed their king by the Ostrogoths.
Cyric puts the Britons to flight at the battle of Searobyrig (Sarum).
553. Narses puts an end to the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and annexes it to the Eastern Empire.
Fifth general council of the Church at Constantinople. The exarch is established at Ravenna, representing the Emperor of the East.
554. Italy is invaded by the Franks and Alemanni; they are defeated by Narses.
555. Tzathes declared king of the Lazi; the Persians are defeated by the Romans at Phasis.
War between Clotaire and the Saxons.
558. Death of Childebert; the Salic Law prevents his daughters reigning; their brother, Clotaire, becomes sole king of the Franks.
559. Belisarius' last achievement is to expel the Bulgarians, who advanced to within twenty miles of Constantinople.
561. Death of Clotaire; the Frankish kingdom again divided.
The services of Belisarius excite the jealousy of Justinian and his courtiers.
562. Conspiracy of Marcellus and Sergius against Justinian; Belisarius unjustly accused of having taken part in the plot.
563. Belisarius is acquitted of the charges brought against him; he is restored to his honors.
St. Columba founds the monastery of Iona in Scotland.
565. Death of Belisarius, also of the emperor Justinian. Justin II succeeds to the throne.
566.[78] Alboin, at the head of the Lombards, and aided by the Avars, destroys the kingdom of the Gepidæ in Pannonia.
War in Britain between the kings of Kent and Wessex.
567. Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy formed by the division of the Frankish kingdom.
568. Invasion of Italy by the Lombards; Pavia besieged. Longinus, the successor of Narses, is styled the exarch of Ravenna by the Byzantines.
570.[79] Birth of Mahomet. See [THE HEGIRA], iv, 198. Death of Narses.
571. Khusrau persecuting the Armenians, they place themselves under the protection of Justin; this leads to war between the Persians and Romans.
Uffa founds the kingdom of East Anglia in Britain.
572. Marcianus is sent by Rome to conduct the war against the Persians.
Alboin, Lombardy, grants allotments of territory to his chief captains, with titles of princes or dukes, for which they are to render military service.
573. Alboin, King of the Lombards, is murdered by Rosamond, his wife; she flees to Ravenna with her lover Helmichis, where she poisons him; before he dies he compels her to drain the cup. Cleoph is elected king of Lombardy.
The Visigoths subjugate the Suevi in Spain.
574. Tiberius is appointed Cæsar at Rome; he concludes a peace with the Persians. He is defeated by the Avars on the Danube.
Cleoph, the Lombard King, is slain; his son being a child, many of the dukes assume royal power and great anarchy prevails.
575. Justinian, son of Germanus, defeats the Persians and advances to the Araxes.
576. Armenia is occupied by the Persians; Justinian arrives too late to prevent it.
578. Death of Justin. Accession of the emperor Tiberius Constantinus in the East.
579. Maurice, commanding the Romans, is victorious over the Persians.
580. Further successes of Maurice in Mesopotamia.
582. Death of Tiberius and accession of Maurice, Emperor in the East.
584. Many native Gauls retire into Armorica, where they preserve their Celtic tongue.
586. Cridda founds the last Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The Britons retire to the western side of the island, unite in a general league, and call themselves Cymri.
588. Northumberland is founded by the union of the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira, under Ethelric.
589. Arianism is abandoned by the Visigoths in Spain. 591. Peace between Persia and the Eastern Empire.
597. Augustine sent by Gregory the Great to preach Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. See [AUGUSTINE'S MISSIONARY WORK IN ENGLAND], iv, 182.
602. Revolt in Constantinople; Phocas is proclaimed emperor; flight of Maurice with his family; they are taken and put to death.
603. Khusrau, the Persian ruler, declares war against Phocas to revenge the death of his benefactor, Maurice.
605. Phocas begins his cruelties; Constantina, the widow of Maurice, is tortured and afterward beheaded with her daughters; Narses is decoyed to Constantinople and there burned alive. The hippodrome is defaced by the heads and mangled remains of the tyrant's victims.
607. Phocas concedes to Boniface III the supremacy of Rome over all Christian churches.
608. Boniface IV consecrates the Pantheon—built by Agrippa to the memory of his divine ancestors B.C. 27—as the Church of Santa Maria Rotunda.
Khusrau II, King of Persia, invades Asia Minor.
610. Phocas is given up to Heraclius and beheaded; Heraclius declared emperor of the East.
Venetia has an incursion of the Avars.
612. Cæsarea, Cappadocia, taken by the Persians.
Syria is invaded by the Saracens.
613. Clotaire unites under his rule all the territories of the Franks.
The youthful Ali becomes Mahomet's vizier.
614. Damascus and Jerusalem are taken by the Persians under Khusrau II.
616. Alexandria and Egypt conquered by the Persians; another army encamps at Chalcedon. Their general, Saen, introduces to Khusrau an embassy from Heraclius, for which he is flayed alive, and the ambassador imprisoned.
Death of Ethelbert; his son Eadbald succeeds him and restores the pagan worship to England; he is afterward converted to Christianity.
First expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
619. Heraclius, while holding a conference with Baian, is treacherously attacked by the Avars; he escapes with difficulty.
622. Roused from his apathy, Heraclius leaves Constantinople and lands at Alexandria; he defeats the Persians, recovers Cilicia, and places his army in secure winter quarters.
Flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina: the era of the Hegira commences, July 16th. See [THE HEGIRA], iv, 198.
623. Heraclius occupies Armenia, takes Thebarma (Ooramiah), the birthplace of Zoroaster, reconquers Colchis and Iberia, and winters in Albania, having released 50,000 captives.
Suintilla takes the few remaining places in Spain that were still held by the Greek empire.
624. Ispahan, Persia, is taken by Heraclius; he defeats Sarbaraza at Salban.
625. Heraclius carries away an immense booty from Persia; he recovers Amida and Samosata.
626. Constantinople is besieged by the Persians and Avars; the siege fails. The emperor Heraclius contracts an alliance with the Turks, who, passing the Caspian gates, invade Persia.
627. Khusrau II is overwhelmed by Heraclius and his Turkish allies.
King Edwin, of Northumberland, embraces Christianity and builds the first minster of wood, at York.
628. Recovery of Jerusalem and of the presumed true Cross by Heraclius from the Persians.
Khusrau 11 deposed and slain; by treaty all the possessions captured by the Persians are restored to Rome.
630 (629). Mecca surrenders to Mahomet; he invades Palestine.
631. After many revolutions in Persia, Cesra is made king.
Dagobert I reunites the Frankish empire.
632. Death of Mahomet; his successor, Abu-Bekr, sends an army into Syria. See [THE SARACEN CONQUEST OF SYRIA], iv, 247.
Oswald builds the first minster of stone at York.
634. Death of Abu-Bekr; accession of Omar as head of the Saracens.
635. Defeat of the Welsh by the English at Heavenfield.
636. The Roman army is overcome by the Saracens. See [THE SARACEN CONQUEST OF SYRIA], iv, 247.
637. Emesa, Balbec, and Jerusalem taken by the Saracens.
638. Heraclius, unable to resist the Mahometans, retires to Constantinople, where he publishes his Ecthesis.
Death of Dagobert; his two sons succeed, Clovis to Neustria and Burgundy, Sigebert to Austrasia.
640. Capture of Cæsarea. Invasion of Egypt by Amru, the general of Omar. See [SARACENS CONQUER EGYPT], iv, 278.
641. Death of Heraclius, Emperor of the East; three rival emperors succeed; accession of Constans II.
The Sassanian kingdom ends.
642. Victory at Nehavend by the Saracens; this places Persia in their power.
Istria and Dalmatia invaded by the Slavonians.
643. Rotharis publishes the Lombard code of laws.
644. Assassination of Omar; Othman succeeds. See [SARACENS CONQUER EGYPT], iv, 278.
646. Alexandria recaptured by the Greeks and again lost.
647. Abdallah advances, at the head of the Saracens, from Egypt to Roman Africa.
648. Constans II issues his Type, or model of faith.
649. Constans II orders the new exarch Olympius to enforce the adoption of his Type by the Western Church; it is rejected by the First Lateran Council.
650. The Moslems conquer Merv, Balkh, and Herat.[80]
Many orthodox churches are plundered by Constans II.
651. Death of Yezdejerd and end of the Persian kingdom.
652. Conversion of the East Saxons in England.
653. Pope Martin I is seized and banished by Constans II.
654. Martin, in Constantinople, is stripped of his pontifical robes and imprisoned; after long hesitation Eugenius is elected pope in his stead.
656. Assassination of Caliph Othman; Ali succeeds; Moawiyah revolts against him; he is supported by Ayesha the widow of Mahomet, Amru, Telhar, and Zobeir. These dissensions suspend the conquests of the Saracens. Ali is victorious on "the Day of the Camel"; Telhar and Zobeir are slain; Ayesha is made prisoner and sent to Medina.
657. Kufa is made the seat of government by Caliph Ali.
658. Constans takes the field against the Slavonians and repulses them.
Amru is sent by Moawiyah into Egypt and expels Ali's partisans. The two caliphs publicly pray for each other while waging fierce war.
660. Ali is assassinated; Hasan, his eldest son, is elected caliph.
661. Hasan resigns the caliphate; Moawiyah, the first of the Ommiads, becomes undisputed ruler of the Moslems; he makes Damascus his capital.
Death of Aribert; Lombardy is divided between his two sons. Constans, detested by all classes, leaves Constantinople and goes to Italy; the senate detains the Empress and his sons.
663. Constans visits Rome and carries away much spoil and retires to Syracuse.
664. Caliph Moawiyah appoints as his lieutenant in Persia, India, and the East his half-brother, Ziyad, "the greatest man of the age."
668. Constans is assassinated in a bath at Syracuse; Constans IV succeeds to the throne of the Eastern Empire.
The Sicilians set up Mecezius as emperor. Constantinople is first besieged by the Saracens.
669. Sicily is invaded by the Saracens, who capture Syracuse.
670. Kairwan, or Kayrawan, a holy Mahometan city in Northern Africa, founded.
Death of Clotaire III; Theodoric, or Thierry III, becomes king of Neustria and Burgundy.
671. Ebroin and Thierry are compelled by the Franks to retire into a monastery; Childeric for a time reigns alone.
672. Death of Ziyad; his son, appointed by Caliph Moawiyah lieutenant of Khorassan, penetrates into Bokhara and defeats the Turks.
673. First council of the Anglo-Saxon Church, at Hereford.
Year after year the Saracens repeat their attacks on Constantinople; Callinicus invents the Greek fire used successfully in its defence.
Thierry III and Ebroin leave their monastery and resume the government of Neustria.
Birth of the Venerable Bede.[81]
674. Revolts of the Gascons and Duke Paulus repressed by Wamba, King of the Visigoths in Spain.
The Bavarians, Thuringians, and other German subjects of Austrasia regain their independence.
677. Siege of Constantinople raised by the Mahometans; peace concluded.[82]
Domnus restores the authority of Rome over the Church at Ravenna.
678. Bulgarians establish themselves in the north of Thrace. Egfrid expels Wilfrid from York and divides his diocese; Wilfrid goes to Rome and obtains from Pope Agatho an order for his restoration. Egfrid resists the papal interference. A large comet visible for three months.
679. A council held at Rome for the reunion of the Greek and Latin churches.
680. Sixth general council of the Church, at Constantinople; Monothelite heresy condemned.
Establishment of a kingdom in Mæsia (modern Bulgaria) by the Bulgarians.[83]
Hoseyn, son of Ali, and his followers massacred at Kerbela.
Murder of Dagobert II, after which Pépin of Héristal and Martin rule Austrasia with the title of dukes.
Attempt to poison Wamba; he resigns his crown and retires into a monastery; Ervigius succeeds him as king of the Visigoths.
683. For twelve months the papacy is vacant after the death of Leo II.
684. Constantine sends to Rome locks of the hair of his two sons, in token of their adoption by the Church.
Egfrid sends Beort with an army into Ireland and lays waste the country.
685. Justinian II becomes emperor of the East on the death of Constantine IV.
The Picts defeat the Angles of Northumbria under King Ecgfrith, at Nactansmere.
687. Battle of Testri; the victory of Pépin of Héristal gives him the sway over the whole Frankish empire.
688. Cædwalla resigns the crown of Wessex to Ina and goes to Rome; he dies there one year later.
690. On the death of Theodore, Berthwald becomes the first archbishop of Canterbury.
Two Anglo-Saxon bishops, Kilian and Wilbrord, preach in Germany. Pépin allows Clovis III to succeed Thierry III as nominal ruler of Neustria.
691. Council of Constantinople, called "Quinisextum in Trullo"; not acknowledged by the Western Church.
692. The Mahometans defeat the army collected by Justinian at Sebastopolis.
Armenia is conquered by the Mahometans.
694. Justinian's two ministers provoke his subjects by their oppressions; Leontius imprisoned.
695. Leontius, released from prison, is proclaimed emperor of the East; Justinian, with his nose cut off, is banished.
696. Pépin favors the preaching of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries among the Franks and Frisians; he appoints Wilbrord, under the name of Clemens, bishop of Utrecht.
697. Election of the first doge, with a council of tribunes and judges, in Venice. See [EVOLUTION OF THE DOGESHIP IN VENICE], iv, 292.
698. Hasan, at the head of the Saracens, storms and destroys Carthage.
699. At Mount Atlas the Berbers, or wild shepherds, successfully resist the advance of the Mahometans.
705. An army of Bulgarians, under Terbelis, restores Justinian to his throne; he inflicts bloody vengeance for his expulsion.
Accession of Caliph Welid.
706. Pope John VII refuses to accept, or even revise, the acts of the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 691, which Justinian requires him to adopt.
707. The Mahometans, under Musa, overcome the Berbers and are masters of all Northern Africa; they establish themselves in the valley of the Indus and conquer Karisme, Bokhara, and Samarkand, whence they introduce the manufacture of paper.
708. Justinian, unmindful of his obligations to Terbelis, attacks the Bulgarians, but is defeated.
709. Roderic ascends the Gothic throne in Spain.
Theodorus, by order of the Emperor Justinian, plunders Ravenna and sends the principal inhabitants to Constantinople, where they are cruelly murdered.
711. Tarik, with a large force of Arab-Moors, lands in Spain. See [SARACENS IN SPAIN], iv, 301.
Justinian's continued cruelties provoke a revolt at Ravenna; he sends a fleet and army to destroy Cherson and massacre its inhabitants. The citizens of Cherson proclaim Bardanes emperor, under the name of Philippicus; his cause is espoused by both the fleet and army, which conduct him to Constantinople, where he is acknowledged, and Justinian is put to death.
713. Musa, at the head of the Saracens, crosses the Pyrenees.
715. Charles Martel gains the ascendency in Austrasia; he contends against Chilperic II, the successor of Dagobert in Neustria.
717. Leo the Isaurian ascends the throne of the Eastern Empire. Constantinople is again besieged by the Moslems.
The Saracens suffer a disastrous defeat at the Cave of Covadonga, Spain.
718. Charles Martel is victorious at Soissons; both Frankish kingdoms acknowledge him.
719. Narbonne is captured and occupied by the Saracens under Zana.
721. Zana defeated and slain at the battle of Toulouse. Egbert, Abbot of Iona, translates the four gospels into Anglo-Saxon.
726. Iconoclastic edicts by Leo the Isaurian, against the worship of images, causes tumult and insurrection in Constantinople.
730. Image worship prohibited throughout the Eastern Empire.
731. Last confirmation of a papal election by the Eastern Emperor, the occasion being the election of Gregory III.
732. Battle of Tours, when Charles Martel utterly routs the Saracens and saves the empire of the Franks. See [BATTLE OF TOURS], iv, 313.
Pope Gregory III calls a council at Rome; an edict is issued against the iconoclasts.
733. Emperor Leo marries his son Constantine to a Tartar or Turkish princess, who at her baptism takes the name of Irene.
740. The Saracens are expelled from the greater part of France by Charles Martel and his ally, Lieutprand.
Death of Leo the Isaurian; accession of Constantine V as emperor of the East.
742. Birth of Charlemagne.
744. Carloman defeats the Saxons; they are forced into baptism.
746. King Carloman relinquishes the throne of the Franks, and retires into a monastery. See [FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY], iv, 324.
747. Great plague in Constantinople.
748. Venetian merchants having purchased slaves to be sold in Africa to the Saracens, Pope Zachary forbids the traffic.
Virgilius, a priest, convicted of heresy for believing in the existence of the antipodes.
750. End of the Ommiad and rise of the Abbasside dynasty of caliphs; all the family of the former, except Abderrahman, put to death.
751. Pépin the Short founds the Carlovingian dynasty of the Franks. See [FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY], iv, 324.
752. Extinction of the exarchate of Ravenna by the Lombards under Astolphus.
753. Pope Stephen II journeys to France.
754. Pépin the Short is crowned by Stephen II. See [FOUNDING OF THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY], iv, 324.
755. Pépin the Short defeats Astolphus, King of the Lombards, and invests Pope Stephen II with Ravenna, and other places taken from the Lombards. The Papal States founded.
St. Boniface is martyred in Germany.
756. Abderrahman founds the kingdom of the Ommiads at Cordova.
757. Emperor Constantine courts the favor of Pépin; among other presents he sends him the first organ known in France.
759. Pépin conquers Narbonne and expels the last Saracens from France.
762.[84] Founding of Bagdad, the capital of the eastern caliphs.
767. Death of Pope Paul I; usurpation of Constantine, antipope.
768. Pépin dies and is succeeded by his sons Charles (Charlemagne) and Carloman. See [CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE], iv, 334.
769. Council of Rome annuls all acts of the deposed pope Constantine; he, although blinded by the populace, is led into the assembly, insulted, and beaten. Laymen are declared incapable of being made bishops.
771. Death of Carloman; Charlemagne becomes sole king of the Franks. See [CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE], iv, 334.
772. Charlemagne begins his long war against the Saxons.
774. Charlemagne visits Rome; he captures Pavia after a siege of eight months; and also puts an end to the kingdom of Lombardy. The papal temporalities are increased by Charlemagne. Forgery of the "Donation of Constantine" used as a plea to urge Charlemagne still more to aggrandize the see of Rome.
778. Spain is invaded by Charlemagne; on his return to repel the Saxons his rear-guard is surprised; there ensues the "Dolorous Rout" of Roncesvalles. See [CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE], iv, 334.
780. The government of the Eastern Empire is assumed by Irene in the name of her son, Constantine VI.
781. Charlemagne visits Rome; his two sons are crowned by the Pope—one king of Italy, the other of Aquitaine.
785. Irene proposes a general council to establish the worship of images.
Fierce struggle of the Saxons against Charlemagne; Wittikind and Alboin submit and profess Christianity.
786. On the death of Al Hadi, the famous Harun-al-Rashid succeeds to the eastern caliphate.
787. Second Council of Nice—- the seventh general council of the Church; it decrees the worship of images.
788. Bavaria is brought completely under the sway of Charlemagne.
789.[85] The first recorded inroad of the Northmen (Danes) into England.
790.[86] Publication of the Caroline Books, being the judgments of the general council of the bishops of the West on certain religious dogmas.
791. First campaign of Charlemagne against the Avars or Huns; they are defeated.
792. King Offa murders Ethelbert and annexes East Anglia to Mercia; in atonement for his crime he levies a tax on his subjects to support the school founded at Rome by Ina; this is afterward converted into "Peter's pence."
797. Irene deposes and puts out the eyes of her son, Emperor Constantine VI of the Eastern Empire.
799. Charlemagne finally conquers the Avars or Huns.
800. Pope Leo III presides at the coronation of Charlemagne as emperor of the West. See [CAREER OF CHARLEMAGNE], iv, 334.
Egbert is recalled from France by the West Saxons, who make him their king; the name of England is given to his dominions.
801. Barcelona is conquered from the Moors by the Franks.
802. Harun-al-Rashid murders the Barmecides, a powerful Persian family of high renown.
807. Harun-al-Rashid founds public schools; he sends an embassy to Charlemagne with rich presents, among which is a curious clock of brass.
The Saracens of Spain repulsed in their attempt on Sardinia and Corsica.
812. Civil war ensues between the sons of Harun-al-Rashid, who had died three years previously.
813. Constantinople menaced by the Bulgarian khan Krumn.
814. Death of Charlemagne; Louis le Débonnaire, his only surviving son, succeeds.
815. Louis exacts an apology from Pope Leo for having exercised civil judicial power at Rome.
817. Partition of the Frankish empire by Louis le Débonnaire.
826. Harold of South Jutland baptized; he receives from Louis a grant of land in Friesland.
827. The Saxon heptarchy founded by Egbert, King of Wessex. See [EGBERT BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY], iv, 372.
Beginning of the Saracen conquest of Sicily.
828. Syracuse and a great part of Catalonia captured by the Saracens.
829. North Wales submits to Egbert. Dungallo, a monk who had written a book in defence of image-worship, is placed over the school of Pavia.
830. First rebellion of the sons of Louis le Débonnaire.
832. Danes land on the Isle of Sheppey, England.
833. Louis is a prisoner in the hands of his son Lothair, who assumes full imperial power after the "Field of Lies."
Danes land in Wessex from thirty-five ships, and defeat Egbert.
The regular succession of Scottish kings begins with Alpine.
834. Continuance of the differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Roman clergy in England. See [EGBERT BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY], iv, 372.
Lothair compelled by his brother to restore their father, Louis, to his throne.
835. Egbert defeats a combined army of Danes and Cornish Britons at Hengston.
Danes invade the Netherlands and sack Utrecht.
836. Antwerp is burned and Flanders ravaged by the Danes.
Death of the first English king, Egbert.
837. First incursion of the Danes up the Rhine.
838. The Danes sail up the Loire and ravage the country as far as Tours.
Caliph Montassem invades Asia Minor.
839. Venetians repress the piracy of the Dalmatians, but lose their ships in an attack on the Saracens at Tarento.
840. Death of Louis le Débonnaire at Ingelheim; his empire divided into three separate states: Lothair (Emperor), taking Italy; Charles, France; Louis, Bavaria or Germany. Disputes follow.
841. Louis and Charles unite to resist the pretensions of Lothair; he is defeated at the battle of Fontenailles (Fontenay).
Rouen plundered by the Danes under Hastings.
842. A final sanction to image-worship is given by the Council of Constantinople.
The "Oath of Strasburg," a valuable matter of philology and history, which shows that in 841 the distinctions of race and language were beginning to make themselves felt. It sealed the pact made between Louis of Austrasia and Charles of Neustria.