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The 690s

147 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 7th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

690 CE18 entries

  • September 19 – Theodore of Tarsus, age 88, dies at Canterbury. He is succeeded by Berhtwald as the 9th Archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date).
  • October 16 – Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty, and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire as "Holy and Divine Emperor". She becomes the first and only female "emperor" in 5,000 years of Chinese history. Wu Zetian changes the dynasty's name to the Zhou Dynasty, and begins to murder throne pretendants and ministers who try to oppose her. During her reign she elevates the status of Buddhism above Taoism.
  • Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, travels from York with 12 Benedictine monks to Westkapelle, (modern Netherlands) to Christianize the pagan Frisians.

691 CE12 entries

  • Battle of Maskin: An Umayyad army under caliph Abd al-Malik defeats the rebel forces in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). He reconquers the Arabian Peninsula, taking the holy city of Medina.
  • King Theuderic III dies and is succeeded by his son Clovis IV, age 9, as sole ruler of the Franks. He becomes a puppet—a roi fainéant—of his uncle Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia.
  • The Dome of the Rock is completed in Jerusalem (under the patronage of Abd al-Malik) during the Second Fitna, becoming the first work of Islamic architecture.

692 CE11 entries

  • Battle of Sebastopolis: The Byzantine army under Leontius is defeated at Sebastopolis, (modern Turkey) by Arab forces led by Muhammad ibn Marwan. During the battle, a "special military corps" (some 20,000 Slavs) under Neboulos deserts the Byzantine lines, and goes over to the Muslim Arabs.
  • Empress Wu Zetian regains control of the Kingdom of Khotan in the Tarim Basin (Northwest China).
  • The Temple of the Cross at Palenque (Mexico) is constructed to commemorate the rise of King Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II to the throne (approximate date).

693 CE13 entries

  • April 25 – Sixteenth Council of Toledo: Ergica calls for a council of the church to deal with the security of the kingship. The rebels are anathematised and the Forum ludicum is modified.
  • May 31 – Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak is installed as the new ruler of the Mayan city state of Naranjo in Guatemala at the age of 5-years-old, under the regency of his mother, Wak Chanil Ajaw (Lady Six Sky) of Dos Pilas, and reigns until his death in 720.
  • Earconwald, bishop of London, dies and is succeeded by Waldhere. He is buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, and later revered as a saint.

694 CE12 entries

  • Qapaghan Khan (694–716) succeeds his brother Illterish Khan, as ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).
  • Asuka, imperial capital of Japan, is abandoned by Empress Jitō. She moves her court to Fujiwara-kyō (Nara Prefecture).
  • The Mardaites raid Muslim-held territories, from their chief stronghold Hagioupolis, in northern Syria (approximate date).

695 CE24 entries

  • June 15 – Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ("Eighteen Rabbit") becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city state of Copán in Honduras upon the death of Chan Imix K'awiil, and rules until his death in 736.
  • September 6 – King Wihtred of Kent, who maintains Kentish independence against the growing expansion of Mercia, issues one of the earliest known law codes of Britain.
  • The Saxons defeat the Bructeri between the Lippe and the Ruhr, and occupy Westphalia in Germany (approximate date).

696 CE9 entries

  • St. Peter's Abbey is founded by Rupert, bishop of Worms, at Salzburg (modern Austria).

697 CE16 entries

  • A festival, for the opening of the eyes of Buddhist images, is held in Yakushi-ji Temple in Japan (approximate date).
  • Queen Osthryth of Mercia is murdered by her own noblemen. She is buried at Bardney Abbey (Lincolnshire), and later revered as a saint.
  • Empress Jitō abdicates the throne in favor of the 14-year-old Monmu (grandson of late emperor Tenmu). During her 11-year reign she has established the foundations of law in Japan.

698 CE25 entries

  • March 24 – Itzamnaaj K'awiil becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city state at Dos Pilas in Guatemala and reigns until 726.
  • Wittiza, son of King Ergica, becomes co-ruler of the Visigoth Kingdom in Hispania (approximate date).
  • Council of Aquileia: The bishops of the diocese of Aquileia decide to end the Schism of the Three Chapters and return to communion with Rome.

699 CE7 entries

  • June 26 – En no Ozunu, Japanese ascetic, is banished to Izu Ōshima (a volcanic island in the Izu Islands), and accused of confusing the mind of the people with magic. He will be later regarded as the founder of a folk religion called Shugendō.
  • Umayyad troops invade Armenia, and secure the submission of Prince Smbat VI Bagratuni. The South Caucasus becomes a viceroyalty called al-Arminiya, and is divided into four regions: Caucasian Albania, Caucasian Iberia, the area around the Aras River, and Taron (modern Turkey).