742 CE

The Great Berber Revolt: Muslim forces under Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, governor of Egypt, break out of besieged Kairouan (Tunisia). He scatters the Berbers, the western and central Maghreb remained under the control of the Berber Kharijites. King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom. Emperor Xuan Zong begins to favor Taoism over Buddhism, adopting the new reign title Tianbao ("Heavenly Treasures"), to indicate his divine mandate. The total number of enlisted troops in the Tang armies has risen to about half a million, due to Xuan Zongs's earlier military reforms.

In the 740s, the 8th century.

Conflict & Security

  • The Great Berber Revolt: Muslim forces under Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, governor of Egypt, break out of besieged Kairouan (Tunisia). He scatters the Berbers, the western and central Maghreb remained under the control of the Berber Kharijites.source
  • Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Arab forces under Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, governor (wali) of Al-Andalus, suppress the Berber rebellion in the region of Mértola (modern Portugal).source
  • Arab-Byzantine Wars: Arab forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham invade Anatolia, reaching as far as Herakleia, and return with much wealth and livestock.source

Religion & Belief

  • The Holy Face of Lucca is transferred to Lucca from Luni (approximate date).source
  • Teodato Ipato succeeds his father Orso Ipato, as the fourth doge of Venice. He moves the capital from Heraclea to Malamocco.source
  • Chrodegang, chancellor of Charles Martel, is appointed bishop of Metz and embarks on a reorganisation of the Frankish church.source
  • King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom.source
  • Emperor Xuan Zong begins to favor Taoism over Buddhism, adopting the new reign title Tianbao ("Heavenly Treasures"), to indicate his divine mandate. The total number of enlisted troops in the Tang armies has risen to about half a million, due to Xuan Zongs's earlier military reforms.source
  • After a 40-year vacancy, Stephen IV becomes Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, at the suggestion of caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.source
  • Sturm, disciple of Boniface, establishes the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda (present-day Hesse) in Germany (or 744).source

Health & Medicine

  • For the municipal census of the Chinese capital city Chang'an and its metropolitan area of Jingzhou (including small towns in the vicinity), the New Book of Tang records that in this year there are 362,921 registered families with 1,960,188 people.source

Culture & Society

  • Li Bai (also Li Po), Chinese poet, is summoned by Xuan Zong to attend the imperial court. He and his friend Du Fu become the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry, during the mid-Tang dynasty.source

Births

  • Himiltrude, wife of Charlemagne (approximate date)source
  • Charlemagne, king and emperor of the Franks (approximate date)source
  • Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi, Muslim caliph (or 745)source
  • De Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (died 805)source
  • Odo of Metz, Frankish architect (died 814)source
  • Ludger, Frisian missionary (approximate date)source
  • Liu Congyi, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (died 785)source
  • Ibrahim al-Mawsili, musician and singer (died 804)source

Deaths

  • Cathal mac Finguine, king of Munster (Ireland)source
  • Áed Balb mac Indrechtaig, king of Connacht (Ireland)source
  • Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri, Arab general and governorsource
  • Wang Zhihuan, Chinese poet (born 688)source
  • Itzamnaaj B'alam II, ruler of Yaxchilan (born 647)source
  • Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, Arab governorsource
  • Liutfrid, duke of Alsace (approximate date)source
  • Acca, bishop of Hexham (or 740)source
  • Ōno no Azumabito, Japanese samurai and officialsource
  • Niu Xianke, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (born 675)source