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The 730s

180 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 8th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

730 CE21 entries

  • September–October – Umayyad forces sack the Byzantine fortress of Charsianon in central Anatolia (modern Turkey), which remains a contested stronghold during the next century of Byzantine–Arab warfare.
  • December 9 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars under Barjik invade the provinces of Jibal and Adharybaydjian. He defeats an Umayyad army (25,000 men) at Ardabil (Iran), killing al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah.
  • Emperor Xuan Zong has four palace walls in the northeast sector of the capital city Chang'an dismantled and reassembled to construct a new Daoist abbey, the grounds of which are formally a large garden for the Bureau of Agriculture.

731 CE23 entries

  • February 11 – Pope Gregory II dies at Rome after a 16-year reign, in which he has fought Iconoclasm. He is succeeded by the Syrian-born cleric Gregory III, as the 90th pope of the Catholic Church.
  • June 10 – The Mercian Tatwine is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • November 1 – Synod of Rome: Gregory III summons a council at the shrine of Saint Peter. All western bishops participate, including the Roman nobility. Gregory condemns Iconoclasm as a heresy.

732 CE18 entries

  • September – Charles Martel leads his Frankish army (30,000 men) to Orléans and crosses the Loire River, probably accompanied by Eudes of Aquitaine, with his remaining troops. He makes camp near Tours, probably at Ballan-Miré south-west of the fortress city, in order to protect the abbey of Saint Martin. Charles defeats or forces back Umayyad scouts or an advance guard, between the rivers Indre and Creuse. Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi pulls back to establish a position at the Vienne River.
  • October 10 – Battle of Tours: The Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles Martel defeat a large army of Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, near Poitiers, halting the Islamic advance into Western Europe; Rahman Al Ghafiqi is killed during the battle. Charles extends his authority in the south of France, which gives him the nickname Martellus ("The Hammer"). The outcome of the victory is a turning point, and establishes a balance of power between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire.
  • Pope Gregory III confers on Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, the pallium as archbishop, with jurisdiction over Bavaria (modern Germany). He orders him to forbid the consumption of horseflesh by his Christian converts.

733 CE13 entries

  • Emperor Leo III confiscates the papal territories in Sicily and Calabria (Southern Italy), from which Pope Gregory III derives most of his income tax. He transfers ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the former Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum to Anastasius, patriarch of Constantinople. Gregory begins his support of a revolt in Italy against iconoclasm. By now the break between the papacy and the Byzantine Empire is almost complete.
  • Arab-Byzantine Wars: Arab forces under Mu’awiya ibn Hisham penetrate deep into Anatolia and conquer the cities of Antalya, Doralyum and Afyonkarahisar. These conquests differ from previous ones, as Arab military settling occurs in them, making them a base to raid Byzantium.
  • Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim forces under Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri, governor (wali) of Al-Andalus, cross the Pyrenees and ravage both sides of the mountains. He establishes colonies along the Ebro Valley, and within Basque territory. The Moorish main military efforts are in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and Septimania (Southern France), strengthening the towns already in their hands.

734 CE17 entries

  • March 23 – A large earthquake strikes the Tang dynasty city of Qinzhou (in the vicinity of modern-day Tianshui City), causing serious damage and killing around 4000 people.
  • December – Khitan military chief Ketuyu and khagan Yaonian Qulie are assassinated by their subordinate Li Guozhe, ending the Ketuyu rebellion.
  • Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I, ruler (ajaw) of Tikal (Guatemala), dies after a 52-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil, who becomes one of Tikal's most successful and expansionary rulers during the Late Classic period.

735 CE20 entries

  • May 26 – Bede, Anglo-Saxon monk-historian, dies at Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey. He will be remembered as "the Venerable", and is the author of books that are copied and studied later all over Europe. His greatest book is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, a major source for the history of Britain, in the immediate post-Roman period.
  • The Khöshöö Tsaidam Monuments of Bilge Khan, ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate, and his brother Kul Tigin, are erected. (Bilge has already erected Kül Tigin's monument and Bilge's son erects Bilge's monument.)
  • During the Tang dynasty in China, by this year there is 149,685,400 kg (165,000 short tons) of grain shipped annually along the Grand Canal.

736 CE12 entries

  • June 15 – Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ("Eighteen Rabbit"), ruler of the Mayan city state of Copán in Honduras is defeated in battle by Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat, the ruler of Quiriguá (in Guatemala), and is beheaded. K'ak' ("Smoke Monkey") rules until his death in 749.
  • Battle of Nîmes: The Franks under Charles Martel fail to capture Narbonne but devastate most of the other settlements, including Nîmes, Agde, Béziers and Maguelonne, which Martel views as potential strongholds of the Umayyads.
  • Rōben, scholar-Buddhist monk, invites Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at Kinshōsen-ji (later Tōdai-ji); this event is considered to be the roots of the Kegon school of Buddhism founded in Japan.

737 CE27 entries

  • September 30 – Battle of the Baggage: The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, pursue them south of the River Oxus (northern Afghanistan), and capture their baggage train. In the winter, the Turgesh and their Transoxianan allies launch a major counter-invasion but are halted and their army is destroyed. Khuttal is then conquered by the Arabs.
  • Second Arab–Khazar War: The Khazars led by Hazer Tarkhan are defeated by a Muslim force, sent by Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan near the Volga River, which destroy what remains of the Khazar forces. The Umayyad Caliphate now has full control of the Caucasus after completely destroying the Khazar Empire. After its destruction the Arab-Khazar wars are stopped, Muslim sources indicate the Khazar Khan paid tribute to Marwan and converted to Islam.
  • King Ceolwulf of Northumbria abdicates in favour of his cousin, Eadberht, and becomes a monk at Lindisfarne Priory.

738 CE16 entries

  • The Mayan city-state Xukpi (Copán) is defeated by a rival city-state, Quiriguá. Xukpi leader Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ("Eighteen Rabbit") is deposed thereafter.
  • Moors under Uqba ibn Al-Hajjaj cross the Pyrenees into France. Uqba fortifies Narbonne and reconquers Avignon, Arles, Nimes. He then advances into Provence, and penetrates as far as Piedmont; he then heads North, and conquers Dauphiné, destroying the city of Saint-Paul, taking Valence, Vienne and Lyon, which he uses as a base to attack Bourgogne.
  • Kormesiy, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, is deposed by the nobility. He is replaced on the throne by his son Sevar, who is a descendant of the royal Dulo clan.

739 CE13 entries

  • King Favila of Asturias dies after a 2-year reign (probably killed by a bear). He is succeeded by his brother-in-law Alfonso I, husband of his sister Ermesinda.
  • The Great Berber Revolt: The Berbers break out in revolt against the Umayyad rulers at Maghreb, in response to the oppressive, (and, by Islamic law, illegal) tax-collection and slave-tribute. The rebellion is led by the chieftain (alleged water-carrier) Maysara al-Matghari. He successfully seizes Tangier, and rapidly captures much of western Morocco. The Berber rebellion which erupts not only undermines caliphal rule and fragments the wilayat or province of Ifriqiya (North Africa), but paves the way for the emergence of autonomous local Arab dynasties.
  • Willibrord, the first bishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Northumbrian missionary, dies at Echternach (modern Luxembourg).