775 CE

Battle of Bagrevand: The Abbasids put an end to an Armenian rebellion. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified, while several major Armenian nakharar families, notably the Mamikonian, lose power and flee to the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine V dies while on a campaign in Bulgaria. In his 34-year reign he has suppressed monasticism and image worship, restored aqueducts, revived commerce, and repopulated Constantinople. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Leo IV ("the Khazar"), who continues Constantine's campaigns against the Bulgars and Muslim Arabs. Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) dies after a 21-year reign, in which he has made Baghdad the residence of the Abbasid Caliphate. He is succeeded by his son al-Mahdi.

In the 770s, the 8th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Dharmapala begins his reign of Bengal (South Asia).source
  • Tibet subdues her Himalayan neighbors, and concludes a boundary agreement with the Chinese Tang dynasty (approximate date).source

Conflict & Security

  • April 25 – Battle of Bagrevand: The Abbasids put an end to an Armenian rebellion. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified, while several major Armenian nakharar families, notably the Mamikonian, lose power and flee to the Byzantine Empire.source
  • Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne holds a major assembly at Quierzy (Northern France). He leads a Frankish army into Saxony to retake the castrum of Syburg (near Dortmund), then rebuilds and garrisons fortified Eresburg. He reaches the Weser at a place called Braunsberg, where the Saxons stand for battle, but are defeated when Frankish troops cross the river.source
  • At around this time, Baghdad becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Chang'an, capital of China.source
  • Westphalian Saxons, probably commanded by Widukind, cross the Weser and fight an inconclusive battle at Hlidbeck (modern-day Lübbecke). Charlemagne claims victory, but perhaps in reality suffers a setback. He reunites his forces and inflicts a real defeat upon the Saxons, seizing considerable booty and taking hostages, though Widukind escapes.source
  • The German city of Giessen (Hesse) is founded.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Autumn – Charlemagne retakes the Hellweg (main corridor) along the Lippe Valley, establishing communications between Austrasia, Hesse and Thuringia. It is used as a trade route under Frankish supervision.source
  • Andalusian merchants set up an emporium (trade settlement) on the Maghreb coast at Ténès (modern Algeria). It is early evidence of the revival of the maritime trade in the Western Mediterranean, after the chaos of the early 8th century.source

Science & Discovery

  • A 1.2% growth of carbon-14 concentration recorded in tree rings suggests that a very strong solar storm may have hit Earth, in either 774 or 775. Known as the 774–775 carbon-14 spike, corresponds to the first Miyake event.source

Births

  • Theophanes the Branded, Byzantine monk (died 845)source
  • Tahir ibn Husayn, 9th-century Persian Abbasid governor (or 776)source
  • Amalarius, archbishop of Trier (approximate date)source
  • Rotrude, Frankish princess, daughter of Charlemagne (or 778)source
  • Leo V, Byzantine emperor (died 820)source
  • Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu, Japanese general (died 826)source
  • Ebbo, archbishop of Reims (died 851)source
  • Einhard, Frankish scholar (died 840)source
  • Theodosia, Byzantine empress (approximate date)source
  • Hilduin, bishop of Paris (died 840)source
  • Wetti of Reichenau, German scholar (approximate date)source

Deaths

  • April 25 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian noblesource
  • September 14 – Constantine V, Byzantine emperor (born 718)source
  • September 14 – Emperor Constantine V dies while on a campaign in Bulgaria. In his 34-year reign he has suppressed monasticism and image worship, restored aqueducts, revived commerce, and repopulated Constantinople. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Leo IV ("the Khazar"), who continues Constantine's campaigns against the Bulgars and Muslim Arabs.source
  • October 6 – Al-Mansur, Muslim caliph (born 714)source
  • Isma'il ibn Jafar, Shī‘ah Imām (approximate date)source
  • Fujiwara no Kurajimaro, Japanese politician (born 734)source
  • Kibi no Makibi, Japanese scholar (born 695)source
  • Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) dies after a 21-year reign, in which he has made Baghdad the residence of the Abbasid Caliphate. He is succeeded by his son al-Mahdi.source
  • Princess Inoe of Japan (born 717)source
  • Ruyuan, Chinese Buddhist abbess and mastersource