845 CE

42 captured Byzantine officials from Amorium are executed at Samarra, then the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, after they repeatedly refuse attempts to convert them to Islam. Or 29 (Easter) – Siege of Paris: Viking forces under the Norse chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok enter the River Seine, with a fleet of 120 longships (5,000 men). They pass through the city of Rouen and plunder the countryside. King Charles the Bald assembles an army and sends it to protect Paris, the capital of the West Frankish Kingdom. Ragnar routs the enemy forces, and hangs 111 of their prisoners in honour of Odin. Charles — to keep them from plundering his kingdom — pays a large tribute of 7,000 livres (pounds) of silver or gold, in exchange for their leaving. The Vikings also sack the cities of Hamburg and Melun. Battle of Ballon: Frankish forces (3,000 men) led by Charles the Bald are defeated by Nominoe, count of Vannes, near Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine. After the battle, Brittany becomes a regnum 'kingdom' within the Frankish Empire.

In the 840s, the 9th century.

Conflict & Security

  • March 28 or 29 (Easter) – Siege of Paris: Viking forces under the Norse chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok enter the River Seine, with a fleet of 120 longships (5,000 men). They pass through the city of Rouen and plunder the countryside. King Charles the Bald assembles an army and sends it to protect Paris, the capital of the West Frankish Kingdom. Ragnar routs the enemy forces, and hangs 111 of their prisoners in honour of Odin. Charles — to keep them from plundering his kingdom — pays a large tribute of 7,000 livres (pounds) of silver or gold, in exchange for their leaving. The Vikings also sack the cities of Hamburg and Melun.source
  • November 22 – Battle of Ballon: Frankish forces (3,000 men) led by Charles the Bald are defeated by Nominoe, count of Vannes, near Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine. After the battle, Brittany becomes a regnum 'kingdom' within the Frankish Empire.source
  • Viking forces destroy Hamburg.source
  • Byzantine–Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate, at the River Lamos in Cilicia (modern Turkey). The exchanges last for 10 days, and the Byzantines recover 4,600 prisoners.source

Religion & Belief

  • Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution: Emperor Wu Zong begins the persecution of Buddhists and other foreign religions in China, such as Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity and Manichaeism. More than 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 temples and numerous shrines are destroyed. More than 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns are forced to return to secular life.source
  • John Scotus Eriugena, Irish theologian, travels to France and takes over the Palatine Academy in Paris, at the invitation of Charles the Bald (approximate date).source

Births

  • August 1 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese politician (died 903)source
  • Berengar I, king of Italy (approximate date)source
  • Liutgard of Saxony, Frankish queen (approximate date)source
  • Ricfried, Frankish nobleman (died 950)source
  • Charles of Provence, Frankish king (died 863)source
  • Minamoto no Yoshiari, Japanese official (died 897)source
  • Richilde of Provence, Frankish empress (approximate date)source
  • Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians (approximate date)source

Deaths

  • February 22 – Wang, empress and concubine of Mu Zongsource
  • March 6 – 42 captured Byzantine officials from Amorium are executed at Samarra, then the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, after they repeatedly refuse attempts to convert them to Islam.source
  • Theophanes the Branded, Byzantine monk (born 775)source
  • Mislav, duke of Croatia (approximate date)source
  • Sahl ibn Bishr, Muslim astrologer (approximate date)source
  • Abdallah ibn Tahir, Muslim governor (or 844)source
  • Turgesius, Viking chieftain (approximate date)source
  • Guerin, Frankish nobleman (or 856)source
  • Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, Muslim historian (born 784)source
  • Abu Tammam, Muslim poet (born 788)source