date: July 24

text: July 24 – Emperor Tenji ascends to the throne of Japan after his mother Empress Saimei’s death. He sends an expeditionary force under Abe no Hirafu to Korea, to help the allied kingdom of Baekje.


section: Conflict & Security

text: Approximate date – The imperial fleet of Japan invades Kyūshū by the order of Empress Saimei. On its way, princess Nukata composes a famous poem at Nikitatsu in Iyo Province.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


text: Battle of Posbury: King Cenwalh of Wessex invades Dumnonia (south-west England). He is victorious over the native Briton tribes near Crediton in Devon, and drives them to the coast.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: King Wulfhere of Mercia and his army harry the Berkshire Downs (south of Thame) and move south to conquer the Meonwara and the Isle of Wight.


date: January 26

section: Religion & Belief

text: January 26 – Assassination of Ali: Ali ibn Abi Talib, first Shia imam and fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, is struck on the head with a poisoned sword by the Khawarij Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, while at prayer at a shrine at Kufa (modern-day), dying two days later. His son, Hasan ibn Ali, is chosen by Muslims to succeed him as the next leader. According to the Umayyads, he is succeeded by Muawiyah I as Caliph, age 59, who moves his seat of government to Damascus, and founds the Umayyad Caliphate, ending the Rashidun Caliphate.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire (Islamic Caliphate)


text: Approximate date – In Gaul all Roman bishops are replaced with Frankish bishops. They become increasingly common, as Frankish leaders control the episcopate.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: King Chlothar III of Neustria and queen regent Balthild found Corbie Abbey in Picardy (northern France), giving it immunity from taxation, and visits from local bishops in exchange for prayer.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Maximus the Confessor, Christian monk, is recalled from exile in Thrace. He is tried, and sentenced to mutilation. His tongue and his right hand are cut off to prevent his further opposition to the Monothelites.


text: Approximate date – Muawiya I imprisons patriarch Giwargis I, after his refusal to pay tribute. Christians are persecuted and their churches are destroyed.


section: Culture & Society

text: King Munmu becomes the 30th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla.

source_section: Events › By place › Korea


date: February 12

section: Births

text: February 12 – Ōku, Japanese princess (d. 702)

source_section: Births


text: Early June – Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Arab governor (d. 714)


text: Liu Zhiji, Chinese historian (d. 721)


text: Chen Zi'ang, Chinese poet and official (d. 702)


text: Approximate date – Ælfwine, Northumbrian king of Deira (k. 679)


date: January 3

section: Deaths

text: January 3 – Benjamin, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria (b. c.590)

source_section: Deaths


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Ali, first Shia Imam and Fourth Rashidun Caliph (b. 601) (martyred)


date: February 17

text: February 17 – Finan of Lindisfarne, Irish-born bishop


text: July 24 – Kōgyoku (also Saimei), twice empress of Japan (b. 594)


text: Perctarit and Godepert become co-rulers of the Lombards, following the death of their father Aripert I. They split the kingdom, and establish their capitals in Milan and Pavia (northern Italy).


text: c. May – Empress Saimei builds the palace of Asakura in Kyūshū, from trees cut down from the shrines. Two months later she dies. People say it is because the gods are angry with her for destroying the shrines.


text: Cenberht, West Saxon king in Wessex


text: Aripert I, king of the Lombards


text: Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, companion of the Muhammad


text: Cuthred, West Saxon prince in Wessex


text: Approximate date – Landry, bishop of Paris


text: King Godepert makes war against his brother Perctarit. He seeks the aid of Grimoald I, duke of Benevento, who has him assassinated; his son Raginpert escapes. Grimoald usurps the throne and becomes ruler of the Lombard Kingdom. Perctarit is exiled, and seeks refuge in Gaul and Britain.


text: The Franks take advantage of the Lombard civil war and invade Northern Italy, but are defeated by Grimoald I. King Chlothar III gives Austrasia to his youngest brother Childeric II. He is raised on the shield of his warriors and proclaimed king of Austrasia.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Muslim Conquest: Arab forces of the Umayyad Caliphate resume the push to capture Persian lands, and begin to move towards the lands east and north of the plateau, towards Greater Khorasan (Iran) and the Silk Road along Transoxiana.

source_section: Events › By place › Arab Empire


text: Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, Muslim general and a member of the Umayyad clan, is appointed governor of Iraq (Basra) and the former Persian provinces (approximate date).


text: King Swithelm of Essex is converted to Christianity and baptised by Cedd, at the court of King Æthelwald of East Anglia, who acts as his sponsor. East Anglia may have held some sort of overlordship over Essex at this time (approximate date).


date: June 22

text: June 22 – Rui Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 716)


text: Rumwold of Buckingham, Anglo-Saxon prince and saint


text: Odile of Alsace, Frankish abbess (approximate date)


text: Kusakabe, Japanese crown prince (d. 689)


text: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Japanese poet (approximate date)


text: Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn, Muslim martyr (d. 680)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Maximus the Confessor, Byzantine monk and theologian, dies in exile in Lazica (modern Georgia), on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea.


text: August 13 – Maximus the Confessor, Byzantine theologian


text: Lai Ji, official of the Tang dynasty (b. 610)


text: Godepert, king of the Lombards


text: Qais Abdur Rashid from whom all Pashtuns descend according to local Pashto folklore


date: May 8

text: May 8 – Battle of Forino: The Byzantine army, led by Constans II, is defeated by the Lombards under Romuald I. He seizes Taranto and Brindisi, receiving military aid from the Bulgar Alcek horde, who are settled in the area of Ravenna.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: King Oswiu of Northumbria invades Pictland (modern Scotland). He establishes overlordship of, at least, the Southern Pictish sub-kingdoms of Fortriu and Fib (and possibly Circinn).


text: Battle of Baekgang: Korean Baekje forces and their Japanese allies are defeated in a naval battle, by a joint Silla–Tang coalition.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Emperor Constans II launches an assault against the Duchy of Benevento (Southern Italy). Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard king Grimoald I is engaged against Frankish forces from Neustria, Constans disembarks at Taranto, and besieges Lucera and Benevento.


text: Mount Fuji is estimated to have been first climbed by a monk in this year.


text: Constans II moves the imperial court from Constantinople to Syracuse. He tries to stop the Arab conquest of Sicily, and restores Rome as seat of the Byzantine Empire. Constans strips sacred altar vessels from churches all over Rome.


text: Constans II visits Rome for 12 days (the only emperor to set foot in Rome for two centuries), and is received with great honor by Pope Vitalian. Constans gives the order to strip buildings, including the Pantheon, of their ornaments, which will be carried back to Constantinople.


text: Wine, bishop of Winchester, moves the episcopal see north again to Dorchester.


section: Health & Medicine

text: A brief outbreak of plague hits Britain (approximate date).


date: June 5

text: June 5 – In China, the Daming Palace becomes the government seat and royal residence of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang dynasty.


text: Yamanobe, Japanese princess (approximate date)


text: Nasr ibn Sayyar, Arab general (d. 748)


text: Zhang Yue, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 730)


text: Ōtsu, Japanese prince and poet (d. 686)


text: Song Jing, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 737)


text: Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Cunibert, bishop of Cologne (approximate date)


text: Gartnait IV, king of the Picts (approximate date)


text: Ago, duke of Friuli (approximate date)


text: Gwisil Boksin, Korean general of Baekje (Korea)


text: Muslim Conquest: Arab forces under Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra begin launching raids from Persia, striking at Multan in the southern Punjab (modern Pakistan). Muslims conquer the city of Kabul, invading from eastern Afghanistan.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


text: Synod of Whitby: King Oswiu of Northumbria calls for a meeting at Whitby Abbey to settle the church practices in his kingdom—those of the Celtic Church (of Wales, Scotland and the north of England – preached by Irish missionaries) or the Roman Church (of the south of England). The matters discussed include how to calculate the date of Easter. It is decided to follow the practice of Rome. As a result, many Irish clergy leave Northumbria and return to Ireland.


date: May 1

section: Science & Discovery

text: 1 May – A solar eclipse affects areas along a line from Central America, through eastern North America, the North Atlantic, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany.

source_section: Events › By place › North America & Europe


date: October 26

text: 26 October – The plague claims Cedd, Bishop of London.

source_section: Events › By place › Great Britain & Ireland


text: King Ealdwulf succeeds Æthelwald as king of East Anglia. He becomes the last ruler recorded known to Bede. During Ealdwulf's reign the plague sweeps across the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.


text: The epidemic significantly depopulates southern coastal areas of England.


text: Adomnan of Iona, a contemporary Irish abbot and saint, writes that the epidemic affects all of Ireland and Great Britain, except for Dál Riata and Pictland.


text: According to Bede, a Northumbrian monk and historian, the plague begins shortly after the eclipse of 1 May.


text: Muawiya II, Muslim caliph (d. 684)


text: Shangguan Wan'er, Chinese poet (d. 710)


text: Constantine I, Syrian-born pope of the Catholic Church (d. 715)


date: January 6

text: January 6 – 'Amr ibn al-'As, Arab general


date: July 14

text: July 14 – Eorcenberht, king of Kent


text: July 14 – The plague claims King Eorcenberht of Kent, who dies after a 24-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Ecgberht. Queen Seaxburh becomes regent, ruling Kent until Ecgberht comes of age.


text: October 26 – Cedd, bishop of London


text: The Kingdom of Gwynedd is also devastated by the plague; King Cadafael Cadomedd dies and is succeeded by Cadwaladr, who reasserts himself in his kingdom by sending his son Ivor from Brittany to be regent.


text: Deusdedit of Canterbury, archbishop of Canterbury


text: Æthelwald, king of East Anglia (approximate date)


text: Cadafael Cadomedd, king of Gwynedd (Wales)


text: Swithelm, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: King Swithelm of Essex dies after a four-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousins Sighere and Sæbbi (approximate date).


text: Xuanzang, Chinese Buddhist monk and traveler


text: Alhfrith, king of Deira (approximate date)


text: Wu Zetian, the wife of the Chinese emperor, unofficially becomes an absolute ruler by eliminating her political rivals.


text: The city of Seongnam (South Korea) is renamed Hansanju (approximate date).


text: According to the Annales Cambriae, the Anglo-Saxons convert to Christianity after the Second Battle of Badon.


text: Muslim Conquest: An Arab army (40,000 men) advances through the desert, and captures the Byzantine city of Barca (Libya).


text: Jaruman, bishop of Mercia, is dispatched with Christian missionaries to reconvert Saxon tribes, which have returned to paganism.


text: Brahmagupta writes his Khandakhadyaka.

source_section: Events › By topic › Science


text: Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon abbot, refuses to be consecrated in Northumbria as bishop, and travels to Compiègne (France) to be consecrated by Agilbert, archbishop of Paris.


section: Climate & Environment

text: Conflict erupts between King Sighere of Essex and his brother Sæbbi, as they struggle for overlordship between Mercia and Wessex.


text: Sighere encourages his subjects to reject Christianity and return to their indigenous religion (approximate date).


text: Ōtomo no Tabito, Japanese poet (d. 729)


text: Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Muslim scholar (d. 714)


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop


text: Li Zhong, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 643)


text: Féchín of Fore, Irish monk and saint


text: Hafsa bint Umar, wife of Muhammad


text: Kubrat, ruler (khagan) of Great Bulgaria


text: Yu Zhining, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 588)


text: Kubrat, ruler (khagan) of Great Bulgaria, dies after a 33-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Batbayan, who rules from Poltava (modern Ukraine), the lands north of the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.


text: Duke Lupus of Friuli revolts against King Grimoald I, with allied Avars. Grimoald takes and devastates Friuli, tracks down Lupus's son Arnefrit (allied with the Slavs), and beats him and kills him in battle at the castle of Nimis. Grimoald appoints Wechtar as the new duke of Friuli.


text: Chinese Buddhist monks Zhi Yu and Zhi Yuo craft more south-pointing chariot vehicles (a non-magnetic, mechanical-driven directional-compass vehicle that incorporates the use of a differential).


text: Earconwald, Anglo-Saxon abbot, establishes the Benedictine abbeys, Chertsey Abbey (Surrey) for men and Barking Abbey (now in east London) for women.

source_section: Events › By place › Religion


text: Emperor Constans II grants the request of Bishop Maurus of Ravenna, allowing the city to consecrate its bishop without approval from Rome (approximate date).


section: Crime & Justice

text: In modern popular culture, the year 666 is sometimes associated with the symbolic "birth" of Eddie, the mascot of the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, reflecting the number’s connection to the "number of the beast".


section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Wilfrid returns to Great Britain, but is shipwrecked in Sussex. When he finally reaches Northumbria, he finds he has been deposed and is forced to retire to Ripon.


text: Zhang Jiazhen, Chinese official


text: Arnefrit, duke of Friuli (Northern Italy)


text: Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, first child of first Rashidun caliph, Abu Bakr


text: Li Yifu, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Yŏn Kaesomun, military dictator of Goguryeo


text: Linghu Defen, official of the Tang dynasty


text: Dou Dexuan, official of the Tang dynasty


text: Liu Xiangdao, Chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: King Javanshir of Caucasian Albania (modern Azerbaijan) revolts against the Muslim-Arabs, but is defeated (approximate date).


text: The Lombards, under King Grimoald I, destroy Oderzo (Northern Italy). Much of its population flees to the nearby city of Heraclea.


text: The Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras (France) is founded.


text: Arab–Byzantine War: Caliph Muawiyah I launches a series of attacks against Byzantine holdings in Africa, Sicily and the East.


text: Qasim ibn Hasan, son of Hassan ibn Ali


text: Hisham ibn Urwah, prominent narrator of hadith and scholar


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo


text: Daoxuan, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 596)


text: Wighard, archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date)


text: Su Dingfang, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 591)


text: Severus Sebokht, Syrian scholar and bishop


text: Wighard, archbishop of Canterbury, dies of the bubonic plague while returning from his consecration in Rome.


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Ebroin, mayor of the palace, becomes de facto ruler of Neustria and (in theory) "of the Franks". According to Bede, he runs the nation's foreign policy and internal security.


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Emperor Constans II is killed under mysterious circumstances in his bath, during a mutiny at Syracuse. The Byzantine court returns to Constantinople after an absence of 5 years, in which the Muslim-Arabs have made annual invasions and devastations of Anatolia. Probably assassinated by his chamberlain after a 27-year reign, Constans is succeeded by his son Constantine IV (the "Bearded"), alongside his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius as co-emperors.


text: Kotrag, ruler (khagan) of Great Bulgaria, leads the Khazars in overthrowing his brother Batbayan of the Onogurs, and moves south into the Carpathian Mountains.


text: Arab forces conquer the Garamantes in the Sahara desert (Libya).


text: Emperor Tenji of Japan officially accedes to the throne, and hunts on the Moor of Ōmi-Gamōno. The letters exchanged between prince Ōama and princess Nukata are recorded in Man'yōshū.


text: Yazid reaches Chalcedon in Bithynia, and takes the important Byzantine center Amorium (modern Turkey).


text: Asparukh, leader of the Utigurs, leaves the Ongal area to Kotrag, and leads his people into Moesia in Northern Bulgaria (approximate date).


text: Chinese troops sent by the Tang dynasty emperor Gao Zong complete their expedition in the Korean Peninsula. Leaders of the expedition have been selected by the emperor's powerful concubine Wu Zetian. The kingdom of Goguryeo is overthrown; the Unified Silla period starts.


text: Mezezius, Byzantine general and patrikios ("first patrician"), is proclaimed emperor by the army in Syracuse. Constantine IV organizes an expedition to suppress the military revolt in Sicily.


text: Theodore of Tarsus is made archbishop of Canterbury. He introduces a strict Roman parochial system that becomes the model for the secular state.


text: Colman of Lindisfarne, accompanied by 30 disciples, sails for Ireland, settling down at Inishbofin and founds a monastery.


text: Caliph Muawiyah I receives an invitation from Saborios, Byzantine commander of the troops in Armenia, to help overthrow Constantine IV in Constantinople. He sends a Muslim army under his son Yazid, against the Byzantine Empire.


text: The monk Gyōki, one of the founders of Japanese Buddhism, is born in the Ōtori District of Kawachi Province.


text: Al-Walid I, Muslim caliph (d. 715)


text: Gyōki, Japanese Buddhist priest (d. 749)


text: Justinian II, Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 711)


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Constans II, Byzantine emperor (b. 630)


text: Saborios, Byzantine general (approximate date)


text: Judoc, Breton noble and Catholic saint (b. 600)


text: Wandregisel, Frankish monk and abbot


text: Brahmagupta, Indian mathematician and astronomer (b. ca. 598)


text: Zhiyan, Chinese (Buddhist) patriarch (b. 602)


text: King Ecgberht of Kent loses the overlordship of Surrey to King Wulfhere of Mercia. Ecgberht then grants the old Saxon Shore Fort at Reculver (south-east England) to a priest named Bassa, in order to establish a monastery dedicated to St. Mary (approximate date).


text: Spring – Arab forces that have taken Chalcedon, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, threaten the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Muslim-Arabs are decimated by famine and disease. Yazid, the Arab commander, retreats to the island of Cyzicus (modern Turkey).


text: Qutayba ibn Muslim, Arab general (approximate date)


text: Gregory II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 731)


text: Justinian II, Byzantine emperor (approximate date)


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Javanshir, king of Caucasian Albania (b. 616)


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Kamatari, Japanese statesman and reformer, receives the surname Fujiwara from Emperor Tenji as a reward for his services, but dies in Yamato prefecture (modern-day Sakurai City). [Significance of this event is unclear]


text: November 14 – Fujiwara no Kamatari, founder of the Fujiwara clan (b. 614)


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Li Shiji, general and chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 594)


text: Jaruman, bishop of Mercia (approximate date)


text: Mezezius, Byzantine usurper (approximate date)


year_label: 67 CE

text: Vespasian is joined by his son Titus, who brings Legio XV Apollinaris from Alexandria. By late spring the Roman army numbers more than 60,000 soldiers, including auxilia and troops of King Herod Agrippa II.

source_title: AD 67

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: The Jewish fortress of Gamla in the Golan falls to the Romans, and its inhabitants are massacred.


text: Gaius Julius Vindex revolts, first in a series of revolts that lead to Nero's downfall.


text: Siege of Yodfat: Its 40,000 Jewish inhabitants are massacred. The historian Josephus, leader of the rebels in Galilee, is captured by the Romans. Vespasian is wounded in the foot by an arrow fired from the city wall.


text: First Jewish–Roman War: Vespasian arrives in Ptolemais in Phoenicia along with the Legio X Fretensis and Legio V Macedonica, to put down the revolt.


text: Gaius Licinius Mucianus replaces Gaius Cestius Gallus as governor of Syria.


text: Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (possible date).


text: Linus succeeds Peter, as the second Bishop of Rome.


text: Nero, jealous of the success of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in Armenia, orders that he be put to death. Corbulo literally "falls on his sword".


text: Jewish leaders at Jerusalem are divided through a power struggle, and a brutal civil war erupts. The Zealots and the Sicarii execute anyone who tries to leave the city.


text: Nero travels to Greece, where he participates in the Olympic Games and other festivals.


text: Myeongnim Dap-bu, Korean prime minister (d. 179)


text: Publius Juventius Celsus, Roman consul (d. 130)


text: Lucius Domitius Paris, Roman freedman and actor


text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Roman general (b. c. AD 7)


text: Paulinus of Antioch, Roman bishop and martyr


text: Publius Anteius Rufus, Roman politician


text: Cestius Gallus, Roman politician and governor


text: Publius Sulpicius Scribonius, Roman politician


text: Paul the Apostle, Christian martyr (b. c. AD 5)


text: Tarumanagara (modern Indonesia) is divided into two kingdoms (Sunda Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom), with the Citarum River as the boundary (approximate date).


text: Arab-Byzantine War: The Arab fleet dominates the Aegean Sea and conquers the strategic islands, Rhodes, Cos and Chios. The shore on the southern part of Sea of Marmara is taken, providing an excellent base at Cyzicus to begin the blockade of Constantinople by sea.


text: Battle of Dafei River: Chinese forces (80,000 men), under general Xue Rengui of the Tang dynasty, are annihilated by the Tibetans, who take over control of the Tarim Basin.


text: Muslim Conquest: A 10,000-man Arab army under the command of general Uqba ibn Nafi invades the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa. He establishes a military base at Kairouan (Tunisia) for further invasions, and founds the Great Mosque, also known as the "Mosque of Uqba".


text: The diocese of Dorchester-on-Thames in England is replaced by the Diocese of Winchester (approximate date).


text: A Goguryeo restoration movement, led by Geom Mojam in northern Korea, places Anseung on the throne. Geom is later murdered, and Anseung flees to neighboring Silla.


text: Hōryū-ji, a Japanese Buddhist temple, burns to the ground after being hit by lightning; its reconstruction is immediately begun.


text: A family register, Kogo-nenjaku, is prepared in Japan (approximate date) [Significance of this event is unclear] .


text: Tariq ibn Ziyad, Muslim general (d. 720)


text: Smbat VI, Armenian prince (approximate date)


text: Wihtred, king of Kent (approximate date)


text: Tatwine, archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date)


text: Bertrada of Prüm, Merovingian princess (approximate date)


text: Tridu Songtsen, emperor of Tibet (d. 704)


text: Corbinian, Frankish bishop (approximate date)


text: Petronax, Italian monk and abbot (approximate date)


text: Drogo, Carolingian duke of Champagne (d. 708)


text: Childebert III, king of the Franks (approximate date)


date: February 15

text: February 15 – Oswiu, king of Northumbria


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Fiacre, Irish hermit


text: Li Chunfeng, Chinese mathematician and historian (b. 602)


text: Hasan ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad and second Shi'a Imam (b. 625)


text: Audomar, bishop of Thérouanne (approximate date)


text: Javanshir, king of Caucasian Albania


text: Merewalh, king of Magonsæte (approximate date)


text: Geom Mojam, military leader of Goguryeo


text: Godeberta, Frankish abbess (approximate date; b. ca. 640)


text: Theodard, bishop of Maastricht (approximate date)


text: Safiyya bint Huyayy, wife of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Silla seizes control of the former Baekje capital of Sabi from the Tang Protectorate General to Pacify the East.


text: Battle of Two Rivers: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria defeats the Picts under King Drest VI, in the vicinity of Moncreiffe Island, near Perth (Scotland). After the battle the Picts are reduced to slavery, and subject to the yoke of captivity for the next 14 years.


text: Yijing, Chinese Buddhist monk, travels by boat from Guangzhou, and visits the capital of the partly Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya in Palembang (Indonesia). He stays for 6 months to study Sanskrit grammar and the Malay language.


date: June 10

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: June 10 – Emperor Tenji introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu in Japan.


date: December 7

text: December 7 – An annular solar eclipse is visible from Tibet to the Maghreb.

source_section: Events


text: Sigebert IV, Frankish prince (approximate date)


text: Grimoald I, king of the Lombards


text: Perctarit returns to Lombardy from exile and reclaims his realm, which is being ruled on behalf of Garibald, since his father King Grimoald I died. He deposes the young king, and becomes the new ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy. During his reign Perctarit makes Catholicism the official religion, but does not recognize papal authority. Grimoald is buried in the St. Ambrogio Church (Milan).


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Kōbun is deposed after 8 months, during a brief but violent battle called the Jinshin War. He is succeeded by his uncle Ōama, who becomes the 40th emperor of Japan with support from the Fujiwara family. He takes the name Tenmu, and begins a reign that will continue until 686.


text: As part of the Second Tikal–Calakmul War, Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil is again forced to abandon Dos Pilas, after it is attacked by an insurgency led by Nuun Ujol Chaak against Calakmul.

source_section: Events › By place › Americas


text: Wilfrid, bishop of York, brings stonemasons, plasterers and glaziers from France and Italy to build Ripon Cathedral (England).


text: Máel Ruba, Irish abbot, founds one of the first Christian monasteries in Applecross (Scotland) located in hostile Pictish territory.


text: Cædmon, Anglo-Saxon poet, writes a nine-line hymn on the Creation. A onetime illiterate herdsman, he becomes a monk under the rule of Hilda of Whitby, where he will turn various biblical themes into vernacular poetry (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: Wamba succeeds Recceswinth as king of the Visigoths. After ascending to the throne he faces a revolt from Hilderic, governor of Nîmes, who has himself aspired to the kingship. He is supported by Gumild, bishop of Maguelone. Wamba sends dux Paulus to Septimania (Southern France) to end the hostilities, but on his arrival at Narbonne, Paulus proclaims himself king.


text: Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, Muslim governor (d. 720)


text: Chilperic II, king of the Franks (approximate date)


text: Bede, Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian (approximate date)


date: January 7

text: January 7 – Tenji, emperor of Japan (b. 626)


text: January 7 – Emperor Tenji dies after a 10-year reign, in which he has given the Fujiwara clan its name. Following his death, there ensues a succession dispute between Tenji's 14 children (many by different mothers). He is succeeded by his favorite son Kōbun, age 23, who was the first accorded with the title Daijō-daijin.


date: January 27

text: January 27 – Pope Vitalian dies at Rome after a reign of more than 14 years. He is succeeded by Adeodatus II as the 77th pope.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: March 2

text: March 2 – Chad of Mercia, Anglo-Saxon abbot


text: August 21 – Kōbun, emperor of Japan (b. 648)


text: Jiang Ke, general of the Tang dynasty

source_section: Deaths › Date unknown


text: Recceswinth, king of the Visigoths


text: Xu Jingzong, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 592)


text: King Cenwalh of Wessex dies after a 31-year reign, in which he has lost much of his territory to Welsh and Mercian forces. He is succeeded by his widow Seaxburh. His sub-kings divide Wessex amongst themselves (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Cenwalh, king of Wessex (approximate date)


date: September 3

text: September 3 – King Wamba of the Visigoths puts down the revolt by Hilderic, governor of Nîmes and rival for the throne. He captures the rebel leaders, who are brought to trial and, for their crimes, scalped and imprisoned for life.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Burgundian nobles, under the leadership of bishop Leodegar and Adalrich, invite Childeric II to become king in Neustria and Burgundy. He invades Theuderic's kingdom and displaces his brother, becoming sole king of the Frankish Kingdom.


text: Æthelthryth, Anglo-Saxon princess, returns to East Anglia and founds the Abbey of Ely (Cambridgeshire). At about this time a small nunnery is also founded in her name, in Stow Green.


text: King Frithuwold of Surrey flourishes under Mercian domination. The marriage of his daughter Osgyth to King Sighere of Essex breaks down. She desires the religious life, and flees the Essex court to the protection of bishop Bedwinus of North Elmham (Norfolk).


text: The Council of Hertford is held and convened by Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of Canterbury. The council makes canons for the English Church.


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Emperor Tenmu assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan at the Palace of Kiyomihara, in Asuka.


text: Zhang Jiuling, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 740)

source_section: Births


text: Bede, Anglo-Saxon theologian and historian (or 672)


text: Æthelburg, queen of Wessex (approximate date)


text: Pega, Anglo-Saxon anchoress (approximate date)


date: July 4

text: July 4 – King Ecgberht I of Kent dies after a reign of nearly 9 years. He is succeeded by his brother Hlothhere.


text: July 4 – Ecgberht, king of Kent

source_section: Deaths


text: August 18 – Kim Yu-shin, general of Silla (b. 595)


text: Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, Muslim general


text: Chlothar III, king of Neustria and Burgundy (b. 652)


text: Agilbert, Anglo-Saxon bishop (approximate date)


text: Yan Liben, painter and official of the Tang dynasty


text: Domangart mac Domnaill, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)


text: Remaclus, Frankish missionary (approximate date)


text: King Domangart mac Domnaill of Dál Riata (Scotland) dies, and is succeeded by his nephew Máel Dúin mac Conaill. He probably submits to King Ecgfrith of Northumbria as his overlord.


text: Spring – King Chlothar III of Neustria and Burgundy dies after a reign of 16 years, in which he has been a puppet — roi fainéant — of the Neustrian mayor of the palace, Ebroin. He is buried in the Basilica of St. Denis, and succeeded by his brother Theuderic III.


date: April

text: April – A Muslim expeditionary force disembarks on the Thracian shore (near Hebdomon), and lays siege to the massive Theodosian Walls, on the landward side to the west.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Siege of Constantinople: The Arab fleet enters the Sea of Marmara and appears before the southern walls of Constantinople, in an attempt to blockade the Byzantine capital.


text: The Muslim-Arabs raid Crete, killing and enslaving many soldiers (approximate date).


text: King Æscwine succeeds his father Cenfus as ruler of Wessex (approximate date).


text: Summer – Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, companion and standard-bearer of Muhammad, is killed during the first attempt of the siege of the city (approximate date).


text: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria defeats a coalition led by the Mercians. He annexes the region of Lindsey (Lincolnshire).


text: King Vikramaditya I of Chalukya defeats the Pallavan army in battle, and destroys its capital Kanchi (modern India).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Winter – Arab forces under Yazid (son of caliph Muawiyah I) retire to Cyzicus (Turkey). For the next 4 years the Arab fleet installs a loose blockade around Constantinople.


text: The first glass windows are placed in English churches (approximate date).


text: Æthelthryth, former queen of Northumbria, gives large areas of land to bishop Wilfrid to found Hexham Abbey.


text: The Monkwearmouth monastery is founded by Benedict Biscop in Northumbria.


text: In Korea, Anapji is constructed by order of King Munmu of Silla.


text: In Japan, Princess Ōku proceeds to the Ise Jingu.


text: Guthlac of Crowland, Anglo-Saxon hermit ((approximate date; d. 714)


text: Hassan ibn Thabit, Arab poet and companion of Muhammad


text: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, friend (sahabah) of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Hongren, Chán (Buddhist) patriarch of the Tang dynasty (b. 601)


text: Disibod, Irish monk and hermit (b. 619)


text: Seaxburh, queen of Wessex (approximate date)


date: April 1

text: April 1 – King Hlothhere of Kent re-establishes Kentish supremacy in London.


text: Theuderic III retakes the throne of his elder brother Childeric II. He inherits the Frankish kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy.


date: March 14

text: March 14 – Princess Tōchi and Princess Abe of Japan proceed to Ise Jingū.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – Emperor Tenmu decrees the end of serfdom. He also orders an end to granting lands to Princes of the Blood, to Princes and to Ministers and Temples.


text: The abbeys of Abingdon and Bath, England are founded (approximate date).


text: Aldhelm is made abbot of Malmesbury Abbey in England.


text: Clovis III, an illegitimate son of Chlothar III, is proclaimed king of Austrasia by the Austrasian nobles.


date: May 8

section: Economy & Finance

text: May 8 – Tenmu issues a decree to distribute the tax-rice for peasants in poverty, as well as a decree regulating fishing and hunting, and ordering a halt to eating the flesh of cattle, horses, dogs, monkeys and barn-yard fowl, a prohibition which lasts until 1872.


date: January 5

text: January 5 – In Japan, a platform to observe the stars for astrologers is erected for the first time.


text: King Childeric II is murdered by a band of dissatisfied Neustrians, along with his wife Bilichild and 5-year-old son Dagobert, while hunting in the forest of Livry (modern-day Lognes) near Chelles.


text: Some Japanese ministers who oppose Tenmu are banished to an isolated island. A man climbs the hill east of the Palace, curses the emperor and kills himself.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – A typhoon strikes Japan.


text: 25-year-old poet Wang Bo (王勃) writes Tengwang Ge Xu, to celebrate the Tengwang Pavilion (approximate date).


text: Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary (approximate date)


text: Huoching, Alamannic nobleman (approximate date)


text: Wigbert, Anglo-Saxon monk (approximate date)


text: Niu Xianke, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 742)


text: Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, Muslim caliph (approximate date; d. 717)


text: Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire (d. 721)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne


date: February 21

text: February 21 – Randoald of Grandval, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval


date: May 25

text: May 25 – Li Hong, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 652)


text: Lupus I, duke of Aquitaine (approximate date)


text: Máel Dub, Irish monk (approximate date)


text: Germanus of Granfelden, Frankish abbot


text: King Wulfhere of Mercia dies after a 17-year reign, in which he has extended his sway over much of England south of the Humber River, including Essex, Surrey, and part of Wessex north of the Thames. Wulfhere is succeeded by his brother Æthelred.


text: Childeric II, king of the Franks


text: King Æthelred of Mercia invades Kent, in an attempt to enforce overlordship and diminish Kentish influence in Surrey and London. His armies destroy the Diocese of Rochester (seat of the bishops in West Kent), and ravage the surrounding countryside.


text: The broad-based peninsular effort under Silla's leadership, to prevent Chinese domination of Korea, succeeds in forcing Chinese troops to withdraw into Manchuria, in northeast China.


text: Summer – Siege of Constantinople: Caliph Muawiyah I sends his son Yazid with Muslim reinforcements to Constantinople. At the same time, the Byzantines have to face a Slavic attack on Thessaloniki and Lombard attacks in Italy.


text: Æthelred of Mercia founds the monastery at Breedon on the Hill on the site of The Bulwarks, an Iron Age hill fort.


text: Aldhelm, Anglo-Saxon scholar-poet, founds Malmesbury Abbey on the site of the hermitage of his old tutor Máel Dub.


text: Dagobert II, son of the late king Sigibert III, becomes (partly with the help of Bishop Wilfrid) the new ruler of Austrasia, after his predecessor Clovis III is murdered.


text: Cuthbert of Lindisfarne retires to a hermitage near Holburn, at a place now known as St. Cuthbert's Cave.


text: Emperor Tenmu of Japan promulgates a decree about taxes from fiefs, and the employment of persons for the service from the outer provinces. Men of distinguished ability are allowed to enter the service, even though they are of the common people, regardless of their ranks.


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Toneri, Japanese prince (d. 735)


text: John of Damascus, Syrian monk and priest (approximate date)


text: Muhammad al-Baqir, fifth Shia Imam (approximate date; d. 733)


date: June 17

text: June 17 – Pope Adeodatus II dies at Rome after a reign of 4 years. He is succeeded by Donus as the 78th pope.


text: King Æscwine of Wessex dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by Centwine, son of the late king Cynegils. He reasserts the power of his Anglo-Saxon kingdom over the Welsh.


text: Le Yanwei, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Mangsong Mangtsen, emperor of Tibet


text: Tang China declares the deposed Bojang of Goguryeo "King of Joseon", placing him in charge of the Liaodong area under the Protectorate General to Pacify the East.


text: At Pulil, the army of Calakmul vanquishes the insurgency led by Nuun Ujol Chaak, meaning Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil is able to return to rule Dos Pilas, from his exile in the kingdom of Hix Witz.


text: 25 – 27 July: Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica: Slavic forces launch a large-scale assault on the city walls, but are repelled.


text: The Onogur Bulgars are scattered by the Khazars, who then establish a great Steppe empire, centered on the Lower Volga. The Onogurs depart to the Pannonian Plain.


text: Warinus, Frankish nobleman, is stoned to death near Arras, because of a feud between his brother, Leodegar (bishop of Autun), and Ebroin, the Mayor of the Palace of Neustria.


text: Nanyue Huairang, Chinese Zen Buddhist patriarch (d. 744)


text: Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik, Arab general (approximate date)


text: Clovis IV, King of the Franks (d. 694)


text: Vincent Madelgarius, Frankish monk


text: Constantine I, patriarch of Constantinople


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Tōchi is buried at a place which could be Akō (Hyōgo Prefecture). Tenmu is graciously pleased to raise lament for her.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


date: July 27

text: July 27 – The Siege of Thessalonica (676–678) ends, when the Sclaveni withdraw.


text: Autumn – Siege of Constantinople: Emperor Constantine IV confronts the Arab besiegers in a head-on engagement. The Byzantine fleet, equipped with Greek fire, destroys the Muslim fleet at Sillyon, ending the Arab threat to Europe, and forcing Yazid (a son of caliph Muawiyah I) to lift the siege on land and sea. The victory also frees up forces that are sent to raise the two-year siege of Thessalonica by the local Slavic tribes.


text: King Æthelred of Mercia defeats the Northumbrian forces under King Ecgfrith, in a battle near the River Trent. Archbishop Theodore helps to resolve differences between the two, Æthelred agreeing to pay a weregild to avoid any resumption of hostilities (approximate date).


text: Wilfrid, bishop of York, is at the height of his power and owns vast estates throughout Northumbria. After his refusal to agree to a division of his see, Ecgfrith and Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, have him banished from Northumbria.


text: The Beomeosa temple complex in Geumjeong-gu (modern South Korea) is constructed, during the reign of King Munmu of Silla.


date: April 27

text: April 27 – Emperor Tenmu holds divination for the purpose of proceeding to the Abstinence Palace.


text: Childebrand I, duke of Burgundy (d. 751)


text: Childebert III, Merovingian Frankish king and son of Theuderic III


text: Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III, Maya ruler of Palenque


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Pope Donus dies at Rome, after a reign of 1 year and 160 days. He is succeeded by Agatho I, who becomes the 79th pope. He is the first pope to stop paying tribute to Emperor Constantine IV upon election.


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Tōchi, Japanese princess


text: May 3 – Princess Tōchi suddenly takes ill and dies within the palace. Tenmu, her father, is unable to sacrifice to the Gods of Heaven and Earth.


text: Wechtar, Lombard duke of Friuli


text: In Japan, the national worshiping to the Gods of Heaven and Earth is planned. Tenmu tries to select his daughter Tōchi as a Saiō to make her serve the Gods. However, Tōchi suddenly takes ill and dies.


text: Zhang Wenguan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 606)


text: Abdullah ibn Aamir, Arab general (b. 626)


text: Arbogast, bishop of Strasbourg


text: Nuun Ujol Chaak, an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal, is by this year deceased, after his final defeat at the hands of Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil, during the Second Tikal–Calakmul War.


date: October 2

text: October 2 – Leodegar, bishop of Autun, is tortured and executed by Neustrian nobles at Fécamp (Normandy).


text: Adomnán, clerical lawyer, becomes abbot of the monastery of Iona Abbey, located on the island of Iona (modern Scotland).


text: Emperor Constantine IV signs a peace treaty, of a nominal 30-year duration, with Caliph Mu'awiya I of the Umayyad Caliphate. Constantine pays an annual tribute of 3,000 (nomismata) pounds of gold, 50 horses and 50 slaves. The Arab garrisons are withdrawn from their bases on the Byzantine coastlands, including Crete & Cyzicus.


date: December 23

text: December 23 – King Dagobert II is murdered in a hunting accident, near Stenay-sur-Meuse (Ardennes), probably on orders from Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia. He is succeeded by Theuderic III, who becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.


text: King Æthelred of Mercia marries Princess Osthryth, sister of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (approximate date).


text: Zachary, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 752)


text: Sima Zhen, Chinese historian (d. 732)


date: June 23

text: June 23 – Æthelthryth, queen of Northumbria


text: October 2, Leodegar, bishop of Autun


text: December 23 – Dagobert II, king of Austrasia


text: Amandus, bishop and saint (b. ca. 584)


text: Xu Yushi, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Sigebert IV, Frankish prince (approximate date)


text: Ælfwine, king of Deira (approximate date)


text: Dai Zhide, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Cenn Fáelad mac Ailella, Irish scholar


year_label: 68 CE

date: June 9

text: June 9 – The Roman Senate accepts Servius Sulpicius Galba, as Roman Emperor.

source_title: AD 68


text: Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, father of Trajan, becomes consul.


text: Legio I Macriana liberatrix and Legio I Adiutrix are created.


text: Lucius Clodius Macer revolts against the reign of Nero.


text: Venutius successfully deposes his wife Cartimandua and becomes the ruler of the Brigantes.


text: King Dodu of Galsa Buyeo offered the country to Taejodae of Goguryeo, Galsa Buyeo was destroyed by Goguryeo.


text: Winter – Titus sets up camp at Jericho and the Romans cut off escape routes toward Jerusalem.


text: Kingdom of Funan is established in the Mekong Delta comprising present-day Cambodia, Southern Vietnam, Southern Thailand and Eastern Thailand, the first known civilization in Southeast Asia. The capital city is Vyadhapura or modern-day Ba Phnum District in Cambodia.


text: The Essenes place the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves at Qumran.


text: Trajan moves to Scythopolis and crosses the Jordan River with Legio X Fretensis. He lays siege to Jericho and destroys the monastery of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are originated.


text: Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (latest possible date).


text: Buddhism officially arrives in China with the building of the White Horse Temple.


text: Ignatius of Antioch becomes the third bishop of Antioch.


text: Final year that Tacitus records Annals, a written history of the Roman Empire.


text: June 9 – Emperor Nero commits suicide four miles outside Rome. He is deserted by the Praetorian Guard, and then stabs himself in the throat.


text: The Senate declares Nero as persona non grata.


date: July 4

text: July 4 – Salonia Matidia, niece of Trajan (d. AD 119)


text: Flavius Scorpus, Roman charioteer (approximate date)


text: Gaius Bruttius Praesens, Roman consul (d. AD 140)


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Mark the Evangelist, pope of Alexandria


text: June 9 – Nero, Roman emperor (suicide) (b. AD 37)


text: Lucius Clodius Macer, Roman general (murdered)


text: Onesimus, bishop of Byzantium (approximate date)


text: Nymphidius Sabinus, Roman praetorian prefect


text: Basilissa and Anastasia, Christian martyrs (beheaded)


text: Ananus ben Ananus, Jewish high priest of Israel


text: Gaius Julius Vindex, Roman governor (suicide)


text: Tiberius Julius Mithridates, Roman client king


text: Publius Petronius Turpilianus, Roman consul (suicide)


text: King Perctarit makes his son Cunipert co-ruler of the Lombard Kingdom. He signs a formal peace treaty with Constantine IV.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Battle of Karbala: Forces under Yazid I kill Hussein ibn Ali and his closest supporters. This event leads to the civil war known as the Second Fitna.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


text: Battle of Ongal: The Byzantine army (25,000 men) under Constantine IV is defeated by the Bulgars and their Slavic allies in the Danube Delta. Bulgar cavalry force the Byzantines into a rout, while Constantine (suffering from leg pain) travels to Nesebar to seek treatment.


text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgars under Asparukh subjugate the country of current-day Bulgaria, north of the Balkan Mountains. Emperor Constantine IV leads a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieges their fortified camp in Dobruja.


text: King Cædwalla of Wessex becomes overly ambitious in a power-struggle with his rival, King Centwine, for Wessex overlordship. He is banished into the forests of Chiltern and Andred.


text: The emporium (market town) of Dorestad is founded near the mouth of the Rhine, and soon becomes a major trading settlement in the North Sea region (approximate date).


text: The Book of Durrow is created, probably in Northumbria or on the island of Iona in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.


date: September 17

text: September 17 – Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of Canterbury, convenes a synod at Hatfield that clears the English Church from any association with the heresy of monothelitism.


date: November 7

text: November 7 – The Third Council of Constantinople (Sixth Ecumenical Council) opens in Constantinople to settle the theological controversies of monoenergism and monothelitism, ending September 16, 681.


text: Yazid I, son of Muawiyah I, becomes the sixth caliph (second Umayyad caliph) but Kufans in Mesopotamia rebel and invite Hussein ibn Ali (grandson of Muhammad) to take the throne.


text: Boniface begins his education at an English Celtic Christian monastery, probably in Exeter near his birthplace and one of many monasteriola built by local landowners and churchmen.


text: Wilfrid returns to Northumbria, with papal support, but is imprisoned by King Ecgfrith, and again exiled. He travels to the Kingdom of Sussex and begins to evangelise the people.


text: King Wamba is deposed after an 8-year reign, and forced to retire to a monastery. He is succeeded by Erwig who becomes ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: King Merewalh of Magonsæte founds the monastery of Wenlock Priory in Shropshire, England, appointing his daughter Milburga as Benedictine abbess.


text: In Japan, Princess Uno Sarara is unwell, and Emperor Tenmu begins the erection of the Temple of Yakushi-ji (Nara Prefecture). He makes 100 people enter religion as priests, wishing her to recover her health.


text: Pippin of Herstal becomes Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia.


text: Fujiwara no Muchimaro, Japanese politician (d. 737)


text: Genshō, empress of Japan (d. 748)


text: Umar II, Muslim caliph (d. 720)


text: Oda of Scotland, Christian saint (approximate date)


date: January 30

text: January 30 – Balthild, queen of the Franks


date: October 9

text: October 9 – Ghislain, Frankish anchorite and saint


text: October 10 – Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn, son of Al-Husayn


text: October 10 – Husayn ibn Ali, third Shia Imam and grandson of Muhammad (b. 626)K


text: October 10 – Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn, son of Al-Husayn


text: Agatho, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church


text: Reineldis, Frankish saint (approximate date; b. ca. 630)


text: Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria (or 681)


text: Wulfoald, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia


text: Vikramaditya I, king of Chalukya (India)


text: Muawiyah I, founder of the Umayyad Caliphate (b. 602)


text: Bhāskara I, Indian mathematician (approximate date)


text: Hilda of Whitby, Northumbrian abbess and saint


text: Sinmun becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Silla.


text: A Muslim Arab army led by Uqba ibn Nafi reaches Morocco, before being forced back into Cyrene by the Berbers.


text: Constantine IV agrees to a compromise, and persuades the army to return to their barracks in Anatolia. He invites the leaders of the rebellion to come to Constantinople and consult the Senate as to how to implement the terms. On their arrival, he arrests the leaders and has them hung at Sycae.


text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine IV is forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia, and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace. Consequently, Constantine creates the Theme of Thrace of the Byzantine Empire (located in the south-eastern Balkans).


text: Autumn – A military revolt breaks out in the Anatolic Theme (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army marches to Chrysopolis, and sends a delegation across the straits of the Hellespont to Constantinople, demanding that the two brothers should remain co-emperors alongside Constantine IV.


text: Kutluk Khan revolts and establishes the Second Turkic Khaganate.


date: January 9

text: January 9 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council, in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews. Laws against violence to slaves are suppressed.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council (see 680) ends at Constantinople. The council reaffirms the Orthodox doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and condemns monothelitism.


text: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria requests that the monks of Monkwearmouth found a new monastery at Jarrow (or 682).


text: King Æthelwalh of Sussex gives Wilfrid, exiled bishop of York, lands in Selsey to found a cathedral, named Selsey Abbey.


date: September

text: September/November – Constantine IV has his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius mutilated, so they will be unable to rule. He orders that their images no longer appear on any coinage, and that their names be removed from official documentation.


text: In Japan the Asuka Kiyomihara Code is commenced under Emperor Tenmu.


text: Kusakabe, second son of Tenmu, is made crown prince.


text: Fujiwara no Fusasaki, Japanese counselor (d. 737)


text: Pei Yaoqing, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 743)


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Pope Agatho dies at Rome of plague after a 2½-year reign, in which he has persuaded Constantine IV to abolish the tax heretofore levied at the consecration of a newly elected pope.


text: Queen Jaui, Korean queen consort


text: Jayavarman I, king of Chenla (Cambodia)


text: Queen Munmyeong, Korean queen consort


text: Hao Chujun, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 607)


text: Ebroin, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria (or 680)


text: Gistemar becomes mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy, after he deposes his father Waratto. He reverses the peace treaty with Austrasia, signed with Pepin of Herstal at Namur.


text: Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I starts to rule in Tikal (modern Guatemala) during the Late Classic period.

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Bridei III, King of the Picts, campaigns violently against Orkney.


text: At about this time, Muslim Umayyad Caliphate forces led by Uqba ibn Nafi overrun the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He occupies the cities of Tripoli and Carthage, the last Byzantine bases in Africa. In 682 or 683 the Umayyads are ambushed at the Battle of Vescera near Biskra (modern Algeria) by Romano-Berbers of King Caecilius and their Byzantine allies from the Exarchate of Carthage. Uqba ibn Nafi is killed and his army evacuates the city of Kairouan in Tunisia and withdraws to Barca.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


text: Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil begins a program to inscribe monuments recording his travails and ultimate victory, during the Second Tikal–Calakmul War.


text: The wandering ex-Wessex sub-king, Cædwalla, seeks St. Wilfrid as his spiritual father, but does not convert to Christianity.


text: The West Saxons, led by King Centwine, drive the Britons of Dumnonia (West Country) to the sea (possibly around Bideford).


date: August 17

text: August 17 – Pope Leo II succeeds Agatho as the 80th pope, after a period of sede vacante ("vacant seat") of a year and 7 months.


text: King Ecgfrith requests Benedict Biscop to build a second monastery at Jarrow (Northumbria). Benedict leaves Monkwearmouth with 20 monks, (including his protégé, the young Bede).


text: King Erwig of the Visigoths continues oppression of the Jews in Spain. He makes it illegal to practice any Jewish rites (brit milah), and presses for the conversion or emigration of the remaining Jews.


date: January 3

text: January 3 – Venus occults Jupiter.

source_section: Events › By topic › Astronomy


text: The first entry is made in the Welsh chronicle Brut y Tywysogion.


text: Due to a culmination of major droughts, floods, locust plagues and epidemics, a widespread famine breaks out in the dual Chinese capital cities of Chang'an (primary capital) and Luoyang (secondary capital). The scarcity of food drives the price of grain to unprecedented heights, ending a once prosperous era under emperors Taizong and Gaozong on a sad note.


text: Emperor Tenmu issues a decree forbidding the Japanese-style cap of ranks and garments, and changing them into Chinese ones. He also makes a decree forbidding men to wear leggings and women to let down their hair on their backs. It is from this time, that the practice begins of women riding on horseback like men. He issues an edict prescribing the character of ceremonies and language to be used on occasions of ceremony. Ceremonial kneeling and crawling are both abolished, and the ceremonial custom of standing at the Tang court is practiced.


date: July 20

text: July 20 – Taichō, Japanese Buddhist monk (d. 767)


text: Li Chongrun, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 701)


text: Bilal ibn al-Harith, companion of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Zaynab bint Ali, sister of Husayn ibn Ali (b. 626)


text: Li Jingxuan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 615)


text: Buyeo Yung, prince of Baekje (in exile in Luoyang)


text: Cenn Fáelad mac Colgan, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Maslama ibn Mukhallad, companion of Muhammad


text: Lady Kʼawiil Ajaw, queen regnant of the Maya city-state of Cobá (b. 617)


text: Cadwaladr, king of Gwynedd (Wales)


text: Sun Simiao, Chinese medicine doctor


text: Bojang, king of Goguryeo (Korea)


date: August 26

text: August 26 – Battle of al-Harra: The Umayyad Caliphate defeats the rebel defenders of Medina, at a lava field northeast of the city.


text: September–November – Siege of Mecca: The Umayyad army led by Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni besieges Mecca, during which the Kaaba ("Sacred House") catches fire and is burned down.


text: Approximate date – Seaxwulf, bishop of Mercia, founds All Saints' Church at Brixworth in England.


text: Emperor Tenmu decrees a reform in Japan; copper coins must be used instead of silver coins. Three days later he issues a decree to allow the continued use of silver.


text: Srivijaya is founded by Sri Jayanasa in Sumatra


text: According to Bar Hebraeus, a great comet appeared for eleven days, and there was a severe winter, and the Euphrates froze over, and olive groves and vineyards withered, and beasts, and cattle, and birds came to an end.


text: Approximate date – The sarcophagus lid in the tomb of K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Shield 2), Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque, Mexico (Maya culture) is made.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Prince Ōtsu, son of Tenmu, starts to attend to matters of State at about this time.


text: Yi Xing, Chinese astronomer and mechanical engineer (d. 727)


text: Monmu, emperor of Japan (d. 707)


text: Bilge Khan, ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate (or 684)


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Pope Leo II dies at Rome 10 months after being consecrated.


text: June 28 – Leo II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 611)


date: November 11

text: November 11 – Yazid I, Muslim caliph (b. 647)


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Caliph Yazid I dies at Damascus, after a 3-year reign marked by civil war. He is succeeded by his son Muawiya II as ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate.


date: December 27

text: December 27 – Gao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (b. 628)


text: December 27 – Emperor Gaozong dies at Luoyang, age 55, after a 34-year reign in which he expanded the Chinese Empire by acquiring Korea as a vassal state.


text: Cui Zhiwen, official of the Tang dynasty (b. 627)


text: K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of the Maya state of Palenque (Mexico), dies after a 68-year reign. He is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions. He is the longest-reigning monarch in the world until Louis XIV breaks that record in 1711, almost 1028 years later and remains the longest-reigning monarch in the Americas until Elizabeth II breaks that record in 2020, almost 1337 years later


text: K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of Palenque (b. 603)


text: Anseung, king of Goguryeo (Korea)


text: Æbbe, Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess


text: Waningus, Frankish abbot (approximate date)


text: King Sighere of Essex dies after a 19-year joint reign. His brother Sæbbi becomes the sole ruler of Essex until his death in 694.


text: Xue Rengui, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 614)


text: January 3 – Zhong Zong succeeds his father Gao Zong, and becomes emperor of the Tang dynasty. His mother Wu Zetian remains the power behind the throne in China.


date: February 10

text: February 10 – Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II accedes to the rulership of the Maya polity of Palenque (modern Mexico).


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Muslim partisans under Marwan I defeat the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, and cement Umayyad control of Syria.


text: Summer – The Pallava Empire (modern India) invades the kingdom of Ceylon. A Pallavan naval expedition employing Tamil mercenaries ends the Moriya dynasty.


text: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria sends a punitive expedition to Ireland under his ealdorman Berht, laying waste to the territory of Meath, ruled by High King Fínsnechta Fledach.


date: June 26

text: June 26 – Pope Benedict II succeeds Leo II as the 81st pope of Rome, after a period of sede vacante ("vacant seat") of 1 year.


text: Cuthbert is elected Bishop of Hexham, and receives a visit from a large group under Ecgfrith. He agrees to return to Lindisfarne (Northumbria) to take up duties.


date: September 7

text: September 7 – A large comet is observed in Japan (it's Japan's oldest observation record of Halley's Comet).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia › Japan


date: February 27

text: February 27 – Wu Zetian replaces Zhong Zong in favor of his younger brother Rui Zong. He becomes a puppet ruler, and Zhong Zong is placed under house arrest.


date: November 26

text: November 26 – 684 Hakuho earthquake. A great earthquake strikes Japan. The people, houses, temples, shrines and domestic animals are greatly damaged.


date: November 13

text: November 13 – Emperor Tenmu institutes eight titles of eight classes (Yakusa-no-kabane) in Japan.


text: Tachibana no Moroe, Japanese prince and minister (d. 757)


text: Nagaya, Japanese prince and politician (d. 729)


text: Li Guo'er, princess of the Tang dynasty (approximate date)


text: Gao Lishi, official and eunuch of the Tang dynasty (d. 762)


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Audoin, bishop of Rouen (b. 609)


text: Aldegund, Frankish Benedictine abbess


text: Mu'awiya II, Muslim caliph (b. 661)


text: Caliph Mu'awiya II dies at Damascus, after a brief reign that ends Sufyanid rule. A new caliph is proclaimed in Syria amidst tribal wars, but Marwan I will reign until next year.


text: Adarnase II, king of Iberia (approximate date)


text: Ghislemar, mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy


text: Luo Binwang, Chinese poet and official


text: Cædmon, Northumbrian poet (approximate date; b. ca. 657)


text: Philibert of Jumièges, Frankish abbot


text: Ghislemar, mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy, dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by his father Waratto. He makes peace between the three Frankish kingdoms.


text: Pei Yan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Li Xian, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 653)


text: Constantine of Mananali, founder of the Paulicians


text: Severus II bar Masqeh, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.


text: Aldfrith, illegitimate half-brother of Ecgfrith, becomes (possibly with Irish and Scottish help) king of Northumbria. He is brought from Iona (Inner Hebrides), where he is studying for a career in the church.


text: Empress Wu Zetian sends a pair of giant pandas to the Japanese court of Emperor Tenmu, as a diplomatic gift (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › China


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Battle of Dun Nechtain: The Picts under King Bridei III revolt against their Northumbrian overlords. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, advises King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (Bridei's cousin) not to invade Pictland (modern Scotland). Undeterred, Ecgfrith marches his army north to engage the enemy near Dunnichen. The Picts, possibly with Scottish and Strathclyde Briton help, defeat the Saxon guard, killing Ecgfrith, who has reigned for 15 years, routing his army and forcing the Anglo-Saxons to withdraw south of the River Forth.


text: King Eadric revolts against his uncle Hlothhere, and defeats him in battle. He becomes sole ruler of Kent until his death in 686.


text: Battle of 'Ayn al-Warda: An Umayyad army (20,000 men) under Husayn ibn Numayr defeats the pro-Alid Kufans at Ras al-'Ayn (Syria).


text: Kuber, brother of Asparukh of Bulgaria, defeats the Avars in Syrmia (Pannonia). He leads his followers of around 70,000 people to Macedonia (modern North Macedonia).


text: John Maron is elected as the first patriarch in the Maronite Church (approximate date).


text: Wu Zetian exiles her son Zhong Zong, former emperor of the Tang dynasty, and his family to the island of Fang Zhou.


date: September 8

text: September 8 – Xuan Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 762)


text: Wu Daozi, Chinese painter (approximate date; d. 759 or 760)


text: Pelagius, king of Asturias (approximate date)


text: Kul Tigin, general and prince of the Second Turkic Khaganate (d. 731)


text: Miao Jinqing, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 765)


text: Theodbert, duke of Bavaria (approximate date)


text: Leo III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (d. 741)


text: Li Xianhui, princess of the Tang dynasty (d. 701)


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Hlothhere, king of Kent


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Caliph Marwan I dies at Damascus, and is succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.


date: May 8

text: May 8 – Pope Benedict II dies at Rome after a reign of less than 11 months. He is succeeded by John V as the 82nd pope.


text: May 8 – Benedict II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 635)


text: May 20 – Ecgfrith, king of Northumbria


date: July 10

text: July 10 – Constantine IV, Byzantine emperor (b. 652)


text: July 10 – Emperor Constantine IV dies of dysentery at Constantinople after a 17-year reign, and is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Justinian II.


text: King Centwine of Wessex dies after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by his distant cousin, Cædwalla, who manages to fully re-unite the sub-kingdoms of Wessex. He attacks Sussex with a large army, and kills King Æthelwealh in battle, in the South Downs (Hampshire). He is expelled by Æthelwealh's ealdormen, Berthun and Andhun, who jointly rule the South Saxons. Cædwalla invades Kent, lays it waste, and carries off an immense booty.


text: Liu Rengui, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 602)


text: Centwine, king of Wessex (approximate date)


text: Beornhæth, Anglo-Saxon nobleman


text: Berthun, king of Sussex (approximate date)


text: Anania Shirakatsi, Armenian astronomer (b. 610)


date: August 6

text: August 6 – Battle of Khazir in Mosul: Alid forces of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi defeat those of the Umayyad Caliphate.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Prince Ōtsu, son of Tenmu, is falsely accused of treason by Jito and forced to commit suicide, along with his wife Yamanobe.


text: King Cædwalla of Wessex establishes overlordship of Essex, and invades Kent for a second time. King Eadric is expelled, and Cædwalla's brother Mul is installed in his place. The sub-kings Berthun and Andhun are killed, and Sussex is subjugated by the West Saxons.


text: Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, former governor of Mesopotamia, tries to regain control of his province, as the various Muslim tribes in the region Kufa (Iraq) are engaged in an Islamic civil war.


text: Cædwalla conquers Surrey, and tries to exterminate the Jutes of the Isle of Wight. He executes King Arwald and his two brothers. Cædwalla probably also overruns the Meonware, a Jutish people who live in the Meon Valley (Hampshire).


text: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan imprisons and tortures patriarch Mar Khnanishu I. He is the first caliph to insist on the collection of the poll tax from the Christians (approximate date).


text: Wilfrid, bishop of York, becomes an advisor of Cædwalla, and is sent to the Isle of Wight to evangelise the inhabitants.


text: Plague kills almost all of the Benedictine monks in the monastery of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (Northumbria), aside from the abbot Ceolfrith and one small boy – future scholar Bede.


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Pope John V dies at Rome after a 12-month reign, in which he has made handsome donations to the poor. He is succeeded by Conon I as the 83rd pope of the Catholic Church.


text: August 2 – John V, pope of Rome (b. 635)


date: October 1

text: October 1 – Tenmu, emperor of Japan


text: October 1 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan dies after a 13-year reign, and is succeeded by his widow (and niece), Empress Jitō. She will reign until 697.


text: October 25 – Ōtsu, Japanese prince (b. 663)


text: October 25 – Yamanobe, Japanese princess


text: Landelin, Frankish abbot and saint


text: Eanflæd, queen of Northumbria (approximate date)


text: Eadric, king of Kent (approximate date)


text: Arwald, king of the Isle of Wight


text: Waratton, mayor of the palace of Neustria


text: Waratton, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy, dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law Berchar. He advises King Theuderic III to break the peace treaty with Pepin of Herstal, and declares war on Austrasia.


text: Wonhyo, Korean Buddhist monk (b. 617)


text: Eata of Hexham, bishop of Lindisfarne


text: Ilterish Qaghan leads the Göktürks northward from Inner Mongolia and occupies the Mongolian Plateau, marking the restoration of the Turkic Khaganate.

source_section: Events › By place › East Asia


text: Battle of Tertry: King Theuderic III of Neustria is defeated by Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, near Péronne (modern France), at the River Somme. Theuderic withdraws to Paris and is forced to sign a peace treaty. Pepin becomes "de facto" ruler of the Frankish Kingdom, and begins calling himself Duke of the Franks. He establishes a base for the future rise of the Pippinids and the Carolingians. Pepin appoints Nordebert as Duke of Burgundy, and puts him in charge of Neustria and Burgundy (as a sort of regent).


text: King Mul of Kent and 12 companions are burnt to death, during a Kentish uprising. His brother, King Cædwalla of Wessex, ravages the kingdom in revenge.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe › Britain


text: Emperor Justinian II negotiates a peace treaty with the Umayyad Caliphate (resulting in caliph Abd al-Malik paying tribute). He removes 12,000 Christian Maronites, who continually resist the Arabs, from Lebanon. Justinian reinforces the Byzantine navy on Cyprus, and transfers cavalry troops from the Thracesian Theme in Anatolia to the Theme of Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula.


text: Construction of the Dome of the Rock, located on the Temple Mount, is started in Jerusalem (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Adomnán, Irish abbot of Iona, visits the court of King Ecgfrith, to ransom Irish captives (60 Gaels who had been captured in a Northumbrian raid).


text: Wei Jiansu, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 763)


text: Wittiza, king of the Visigoths (approximate date)


text: Eucherius, Frankish bishop (d. 743)


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Cuthbert, Anglo-Saxon bishop


date: September 21

text: September 21 – Pope Conon I dies at Rome after a 1-year reign, and is succeeded by Sergius I as the 84th pope of the Catholic Church.


text: King Erwig dies after a 7-year reign, and is succeeded by his son-in-law Ergica as ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, resigns his office and retires to his hermitage on Inner Farne (Northumberland) where he dies, after a painful illness.


text: Abd Allah ibn Abbas, cousin of Muhammad


text: King Caedwalla of Wessex abdicates the throne and departs on a pilgrimage to Rome, possibly because of the wounds he suffered while fighting on the Isle of Wight. The power vacuum is filled by Ine, son of his second cousin, sub-king Coenred of Dorset.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Justinian II carries out a Balkan campaign and marches through Thrace, where he restores Byzantine rule. He establishes a theme administration, and migrates many Bulgars and Slavs to the Opsician Theme (Asia Minor).


text: Alahis, duke of Brescia, starts a civil war in Northern Italy. He besieges Cunipert on an island in Lake Como (Lombardy), who breaks out with Piedmontese troops.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: King Perctarit of the Lombards is assassinated by a conspiracy, after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Cunipert, who is crowned ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy.


text: King Æthelred of Mercia establishes Mercian dominance over most of Southern England. He installs Oswine, minor member of the Kentish royal family (second cousin of king Eadric), as king of Kent. Prince Swæfheard of Essex is given West Kent.


text: Eadberht is appointed bishop of Lindisfarne (Northumbria). He founds the holy shrine to his predecessor Cuthbert, a place that becomes a centre of great pilgrimage in later years.


text: Justinian II reestablishes Byzantine settlement on Cyprus, signing a treaty with Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (and paying an annual tribute) for joint occupation of the island.


text: Jianzhen, Chinese Buddhist monk (d. 763)

source_section: Births


text: Wang Zhihuan, Chinese poet (d. 742)


text: Charles Martel, Frankish statesman and founder of the Carolingian dynasty (d. 741)


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Ségéne, bishop of Armagh (b. c. 610)

source_section: Deaths


text: Perctarit, king of the Lombards


text: Máel Dúin mac Conaill, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)


text: Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Muslim scholar (or 689)


text: The Asuka Kiyomihara Code, a collection of governing rules commenced in 681 under Emperor Tenmu, is promulgated in Japan.


text: Battle of Coronate: The Lombards under King Cunipert defeat the army of Duke Alahis, at the River Adda (Lombardy). He executes the rebel leaders; Alahis is captured and his head and legs are cut off. The southern Lombard duchies take advantage of Cunipert's distraction, and extend their territories.


text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Justinian II defeats the Bulgars of Macedonia and recaptures Thessalonica, the second most important Byzantine city in Europe. He resettles the subdued Slavs in Anatolia (modern Turkey), where they are required to provide 30,000 men to the Byzantine army.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Battle of Dorestad: The Frisians under King Radbod are defeated by the Frankish mayor of the palace, Pippin of Herstal. The Rhine delta and Dorestad (modern Netherlands) become Frankish again, as well as the castles of Utrecht and Fechten (approximate date).


text: Prince Oswald, brother of King Osric of Hwicce, founds Pershore Abbey in Worcestershire (England) (approximate date).


text: Othmar, Swiss abbot (approximate date)


text: Rōben, Japanese Buddhist monk (d. 773)


date: April 20

text: April 20 – Cædwalla, abdicated king of Wessex


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Kusakabe, Japanese prince (b. 662)


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Irish missionaries, apostles to Franconia, martyred (approximate date)


date: September 10

text: September 10 – Guo Zhengyi, official of the Chinese Tang dynasty


text: Cædwalla of Wessex arrives in Rome and is baptised by pope Sergius I, taking the name Peter. He dies 10 days later and is buried at St. Peter's Basilica.


text: Grimoald II, duke of Benevento (Italy)


text: Liu Jingxian, official of the Chinese Tang dynasty


text: John III, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria


text: Alahis, king (usurper) of the Lombards


year_label: 69 CE

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

source_title: AD 69

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


date: July 1

text: July 1 – two legions in Egypt, a legion in Syria, and a legion in Judea declare Vespasian emperor


text: The Danubian legions of Raetia and Moesia proclaim Vespasian as emperor.


text: Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaims himself emperor, and reigns for three months before committing suicide.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – First Battle of Bedriacum: Vitellius defeats Otho's legions; Otho commits suicide.


date: April 17

text: April 17 – After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes emperor.


text: July 1 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as emperor.


date: July 3

text: July 3 – The army of Judea swears allegiance to Vespasian as emperor.


date: August 1

text: August 1 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.


date: October 24

text: October 24 – Second Battle of Bedriacum: Flavians under Antonius Primus defeat the Vitellians.


text: In Gallia Belgica, cohors II Tungrorum, raised from the inhabitants of Atuatuca Tungrorum in the north-west of the Ardennes Forest, revolt against the Romans.


text: Marcus Vettius Bolanus becomes the new governor of Britain and faces a second insurrection of Venutius, king of the Brigantes.


text: Judea: The Jewish Revolt – Vespasian lays siege to Jerusalem; the city is captured the following year by his son Titus.


text: Legio I Macriana liberatrix is disbanded.


text: The Batavians attack Roman forts on the Rhine frontier; Fectio and Traiectum (modern Utrecht) are destroyed.


text: The Year of the Four Emperors: After Nero's death, Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian succeed each other as emperor during the year. The year is marked by numerous instances of a breakdown in discipline and mutinous conduct amongst the Roman legions and the praetorian guard.


text: German warbands cross over to join the revolt and attack the fortress at Mainz.


text: Marcus Trebellius Maximus, governor of Britannia, is forced to flee to Gaul after a mutiny of Legio XX Valeria Victrix at Deva Victrix (Chester).


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is adopted by Galba and appointed to deputy Roman Emperor.


text: Josephus, Jewish rebel leader, is dragged before Vespasian and becomes his historian (he "prophesied" him his elevation to the purple).


date: January 15

text: January 15 – Galba and his adopted son Piso are murdered by the Praetorian Guard on the Roman Forum.


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Vitellius is captured and murdered by the Gemonian stairs. Vespasian becomes emperor.


text: Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Roman historian (approximate date)


text: Polycarpus, bishop and martyr of Smyrna (d. AD 155)


text: January 15 – Cornelius Laco, Roman praetorian prefect (murdered)


text: January 15 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus, Roman deputy emperor (b. AD 38)


text: January 15 – Sempronius Densus, Roman bodyguard (killed)


text: January 15 – Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman emperor (b. AD 32)


date: December 20

text: December 20 – Titus Flavius Sabinus, Roman consul (murdered)


text: December 22 – Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, Roman emperor (b. AD 15)


text: Lucius Vitellius (the Younger), Roman politician (executed)


text: Sextilia, mother of Aulus Vitellius and Lucius Vitellius (suicide)


text: Titus Vinius, Roman general and consul (b. AD 12)


text: Sporus, Roman freedman and male lover of Nero (suicide)


text: Titus Flavius Sabinus, brother of Vespasian


text: Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes (approximate date)


text: Locusta, Roman female poison expert to Nero (executed)


text: King Oswine of Kent is toppled by Wihtred, brother of the late king Eadric of Kent, after a 2-year reign. He takes his lands north of the River Thames, in revenge against the East Saxons (approximate date).


text: Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, travels from York with 12 Benedictine monks to Westkapelle, (modern Netherlands) to Christianize the pagan Frisians.


text: The approximate date of the earliest known blindfold chess, played by Sa'id ibn Jubayr

source_section: Events › By topic › Entertainment


date: October 16

text: 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.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Tassilo II, duke of Bavaria (approximate date)


text: Ashot III, Armenian prince (approximate date)


text: Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal, king of Gwynedd (approximate date)


text: Yazid II, Muslim caliph (approximate date; d. 724)


date: September 19

text: September 19 – Theodore of Tarsus, age 88, dies at Canterbury. He is succeeded by Berhtwald as the 9th Archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date).


text: September 19 – Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 602)


text: Bertha of Val d'Or, Frankish abbess (approximate date)


text: Kusaila, Berber leader (approximate date)


text: Amalberga of Maubeuge, Lotharingian saint (approximate date)


text: Oswine, king of Kent (approximate date)


text: Benedict Biscop, Anglo-Saxon abbot


text: Julian, archbishop of Toledo (b. 642)


text: Nukata, Japanese poet (b. c. 630)


text: Landrada, Frankish abbess (approximate date)


text: 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.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


text: Wilfrid, abbot of Ripon, tries to make himself bishop of all Northumbria. King Aldfrith seizes many of his Ripon Abbey estates, and proposes to create a bishopric there. Wilfrid is banished and flees to Mercia, where King Æthelred makes him bishop of Leicester.


text: 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.

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


text: Marwan II, Muslim caliph (d. 750)


text: Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, Muslim caliph (d. 743)


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Fu Youyi, official of the Tang dynasty


date: November 7

text: November 7 – Cen Changqian, official of the Tang dynasty


text: November 7 – Ge Fuyuan, official of the Tang dynasty


text: Theuderic III, king of the Franks (b. 654)


text: Sun Guoting, Chinese calligrapher (b. 646)


text: 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.


text: Fithceallach mac Flainn, king of Uí Maine (Ireland)


text: Empress Wu Zetian regains control of the Kingdom of Khotan in the Tarim Basin (Northwest China).


text: 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.


text: King Ine of Wessex installs his kinsman, Nothelm, as ruler of Sussex. According to Bede, Sussex is subjected to Ine for a number of years.


text: Arab–Byzantine War: Muslims conquer Armenia, Iberia and Colchis, the last remaining Byzantine holdings east of the Taurus Mountains. Emperor Justinian II is forced to agree to joint Byzantine-Arab control of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (approximate date).


text: The Quinisext Council is held in Constantinople; it lays the foundation for the Orthodox canon law. Justinian II suppresses non-Orthodox religious practices, and orders the arrest of Pope Sergius I; the militias of Rome and the Exarchate of Ravenna refuse, and take the pope's side.


text: 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).

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Chrothildis, Frankish queen regent


text: Asmā' bint Abi Bakr, companion of Muhammad


text: Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil, a Maya ruler of Dos Pilas (b. 625)


text: Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Arab sahabi (b. 624)


text: Two Ewalds, Saxon priests (approximate date)


text: King Ine of Wessex establishes his West Saxon "Law of Codes", to regain authority in his kingdom. He consolidates Wessex's territory in the western peninsula (approximate date).

source_section: Events › Britain


text: Sisebert, archbishop of Toledo, leads a rebellion against King Ergica of the Visigoths. He plans to assassinate Ergica and his wife Liuvigoto but fails, and is defrocked and excommunicated.

source_section: Events › Europe


date: April 25

text: 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.


text: Wulfram of Sens attends the assembly of bishops at Valenciennes (Northern France).


text: Callinicus I becomes the 71st patriarch of Constantinople, after Paul III.


date: May 31

text: 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.

source_section: Events › Britain › Central America


text: Alfonso I, king of Asturias (approximate date; d. 757)


date: August 20

text: August 20 - Paul III, patriarch of Constantinople


date: December 17

text: December 17 - Begga, Frankish abbess (b. 615)


text: Fáelchar ua Máele Ódrain, king of Osraige (Ireland)


text: Oshere, king of Hwicce (Mercia)


text: Earconwald, bishop of London, dies and is succeeded by Waldhere. He is buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, and later revered as a saint.


text: King Oshere of Hwicce (sub-kingdom of Mercia) dies after a 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his four sons as apparent joint-kings: Æthelberht, Æthelheard, Æthelweard and Æthelric.


text: King Sæbbi of Essex abdicates the throne, and is succeeded by his sons Sigeheard and Swæfred (approximate date).


date: November 9

text: November 9 – King Ergica of the Visigoths accuses the Jews of aiding the Muslims, and sentences all Jews to slavery.


text: Qapaghan Khan (694–716) succeeds his brother Illterish Khan, as ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).


text: Asuka, imperial capital of Japan, is abandoned by Empress Jitō. She moves her court to Fujiwara-kyō (Nara Prefecture).


text: The Mardaites raid Muslim-held territories, from their chief stronghold Hagioupolis, in northern Syria (approximate date).


text: King Ine of Wessex attacks Kent, and extorts 30,000 pence from its people, in recompense for the murder of King Mul.


text: Fujiwara no Umakai, Japanese statesman (d. 737)


text: Hammad Ar-Rawiya, Arab scholar (approximate date)


text: Xue Huai-yi, Chinese Buddhist monk


text: Clovis IV, King of the Franks (b. 677)


text: Coenred, king of Dorset (approximate date)


text: Rodoald, duke of Friuli (Italy)


date: September 6

text: 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.


text: The population of Byzantium revolts under Leontios, the strategos (military governor) of the Anatolic Theme, and proclaims him emperor. Justinian II is deposed and his nose is cut off (leading to his subsequent nickname of "the Slit-nosed"). He is exiled to Cherson (Crimea), and begins to plot an attempt to retake the throne.


text: Childebert III succeeds Clovis IV as sole king of the Franks. He is the son of Theuderic III and becomes a puppet—a roi fainéant—of Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia.


text: The Saxons defeat the Bructeri between the Lippe and the Ruhr, and occupy Westphalia in Germany (approximate date).


text: The Mayan city state of Tikal defeats Calakmul in what is now Guatemala, ending a centuries-long rivalry, but ushering in another century of warfare that ultimately leads to both cities' abandonment in the 9th century.

source_section: Events › By place › Central America


date: November 21

text: November 21 – Willibrord, Northumbrian missionary, becomes the first bishop of Utrecht (Netherlands). He returns to Frisia to preach, and builds numerous churches (approximate date).


text: Suitbert, Anglo-Saxon missionary, founds a monastery at Kaiserswerth (near Düsseldorf) in Germany (approximate date).


text: Pepin institutes his son Drogo as mayor of the palace of Burgundy. His younger son Grimoald II becomes mayor of the palace of Neustria.


text: Willibrord establishes a Benedictine training centre for priests and young noblemen. This seminary later becomes Utrecht University.


text: King Aldfrith of Northumbria marries Princess Cuthburh, sister of King Ine of Wessex (approximate date).


text: Emperor Shang of Tang, Chinese ruler (or 698)


text: Zayd ibn Ali, Arab imam and grandson of Husayn ibn Ali (d. 740)


text: Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, Umayyad general (d. 715)


text: Kibi no Makibi, Japanese scholar (d. 775)


text: Ōtomo no Koshibi, Japanese general (d. 777)


text: Herlindis of Maaseik, Frankish abbess (approximate date)


text: Theophilus of Edessa, Greek astrologer (d. 785)


text: Fujiwara no Maro, Japanese statesman (d. 737)


date: June 15

text: 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.


text: Ado, duke of Friuli (Northern Italy)


text: Chan Imix K'awiil, Mayan ruler (ajaw)


text: Stephen the Persian, chief eunuch and sakellarios of the Byzantine Empire under Justinian II


text: Ansbert of Rouen, Frankish bishop


text: Sæbbi, king of Kent (approximate date)


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


text: Kim Gyo-gak, Korean Buddhist monk (d. 794)


text: Osred I of Northumbria, King of Northumbria from 705 until his death in 716.

source_section: Births › Disputed


text: Vijayaditya, king of the Chalukya dynasty (d. 733)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Takechi, Japanese prince (b. c. 654)


text: Woncheuk, Korean Buddhist monk (b. c. 613)


text: Domnall Donn, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)


text: Vinayaditya of Vatapi, king of the Chalukya dynasty and predecessor of Vijayaditya.


text: Chlodulf, bishop of Metz (b. 605)

source_section: Deaths › Disputed


text: 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.


text: Syrian forces under Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, governor of Iraq, defeat the Persian Kharijites, who have captured the city of Mosul and occupy large parts of Mesopotamia (approximate date).


text: The Mayan city of Bahlam Jol is destroyed by Naranjo as retaliation for rebelling against its suzerain.


text: Paolo Lucio Anafesto is elected the first Doge of Venice, which begins its rise as a major power in the Mediterranean Sea. Built up from fishing villages settled by fugitives from the Huns (see 452), the city of Venice occupies some 60 marshy islands (Venetian Lagoon).


text: Radbod, king of the Frisians, retreats to the island of Heligoland in the North Sea (approximate date).


text: Council of Birr: The northern part of Ireland accepts the Roman calculations for celebrating Easter. At this synod Adomnán, abbot of Iona (Scotland), promulgates his Cáin Adomnáin ("Law of the Innocents").

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Queen Osthryth of Mercia is murdered by her own noblemen. She is buried at Bardney Abbey (Lincolnshire), and later revered as a saint.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: A festival, for the opening of the eyes of Buddhist images, is held in Yakushi-ji Temple in Japan (approximate date).


text: Osred I, king of Northumbria (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Guo Ziyi, general of the Tang dynasty (d. 781)


text: Fang Guan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 763)


text: Nordebert, mayor of the palace of Neustria

source_section: Deaths


text: Hugobert, Merovingian noblemen (seneschal)


text: Osthryth, queen of Mercia (English Midlands)


text: Ferchar Fota, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)


text: Eochaid mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Itzamnaaj K'awiil becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city state at Dos Pilas in Guatemala and reigns until 726.


text: Fiannamail ua Dúnchado becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland), until his death around 700 (approximate date).


text: Wittiza, son of King Ergica, becomes co-ruler of the Visigoth Kingdom in Hispania (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Dae Jo-young establishes the kingdom of Balhae in Manchuria (approximate date).


text: Berber forces led by Queen Kahina ("The Diviner") are crushed by Arab invaders at Aures (Algeria). She has rallied the Berbers since the collapse of Byzantine power (see 647).


text: Spring–summer – Arab forces under Hasan ibn al-Nu'man capture Carthage, ending Byzantine rule in North Africa. The defeated Byzantine fleet revolts and proclaims Tiberios III, who deposes Leontios after a brief siege of Constantinople, Byzantine Emperor.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Autumn–winter – The Byzantine general Heraclius, brother of Tiberios III, crosses the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains into Cilicia with an army. He launches a campaign in Syria, defeats an Arab force from Antioch, and raids as far as Samosata (modern Turkey).


text: Berhtred, Anglo-Saxon nobleman, is killed leading a Northumbrian army against the Picts. The kingdom of Cait (or Cat) in northern Scotland is absorbed (approximate date).


text: Khun Lo, a Thai prince, conquers Muang Sua, an early Laotian kingdom.


text: Qapaghan Qaghan conquers parts of Transoxiana (Central Asia).


text: 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.


text: Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, establishes an abbey at Echternach (Luxembourg), presented to him by Irmina, daughter of King Dagobert II.


text: Princess Taki is sent to Saikū, as a Saiō of the Ise Shrine (Japan).


text: Outbreak of bubonic plague in Constantinople, Syria and Mesopotamia: Theophanes the Confessor reports that the plague lasted four months and describes a large number of deaths in Constantinople. Emperor Leontios orders the destruction of a market in the Neorion cargo port of Constantinople, where animals are sold and which is considered to be the source of infected animals brought from Syria. The Arab army is forced to suspend its military operations. According to Syrian sources, the plague in Syria lasted another two years.


text: Probable date of Cuthbert's burial behind the altar at Lindisfarne (approximate date).


text: The festival of first-fruits (Daijo-sai) is held in Japan.


text: Shang, emperor of the Tang dynasty (or 695)


text: Wang Changling, Chinese poet and official (d. 756)


date: May 6

text: May 6 – Eadberht, bishop of Lindisfarne


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Wu Chengsi, nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian


text: Ainbcellach mac Ferchair, king of Dál Riata (Scotland)


text: Rieul, bishop of Reims (approximate date)


text: Trudo, Frankish abbot (approximate date)


text: Suraqah al-Bariqi, Arab poet (b. 621)


text: Berthtred, Anglo-Saxon noblemen (approximate date)


text: 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).

source_section: Events › By place › Umayyad Caliphate


date: June 26

text: 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.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: September 5

text: September 5 – Abū Hanīfa, Arab imam and scholar (d. 767)


text: Wasil ibn Ata, Muslim theologian (d. 748)


text: Wang Wei, Chinese poet (d. 759)


text: Dagobert III, king of the Franks (approximate date; d. 715)


text: Seaxburh of Ely, queen of Kent


year_label: 7 CE

text: AD 7 – Illyrian tribes in Pannonia and Dalmatia continue the Great Illyrian Revolt against Roman rule.

source_section: Events › Roman Empire


text: AD 7 – Publius Quinctilius Varus is appointed governor of Germania, charged with organizing Germania between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. He carries out a census, devises tributes and recruits soldiers, all of which creates dissension among the Germanic tribes.


text: AD 7 – Vonones I becomes ruler of the Parthian Empire (approximate date).

source_section: Events › Persia


text: AD 7 – The epoch of the Ethiopian calendar begins.

source_section: Events › Africa


text: AD 7 – Abgarus of Edessa is deposed as king of Osroene.


text: AD 7 – Zhai Yi, Governor of the Commandery of Dong (modern Puyang, Henan) declares Liu Zin, Marquess of Yang Xiang (modern Tai'an, Shandong), emperor. This proves to be the largest of the rebellions against Emperor Ruzi of Han.

source_section: Events › China


text: AD 7 – Wang Mang puts down the rebellion during the winter. Zhai is captured and executed while Liu Xin escapes.


text: AD 7 – Construction of the Temple of Concord begins.


text: AD 7 – Julia Livia, daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla (d. AD 43)


text: AD 7 – Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, Roman general (d. AD 67)


text: AD 7 – Aulus Licinius Nerva Silianus, Roman consul


text: AD 7 – Lucius Sempronius Atratinus, Roman politician


text: AD 7 – Glaphyra, daughter of Archelaus of Cappadocia (approximate date)


text: AD 7 – Athenodoros Cananites, Stoic philosopher (b. 74 BC)


year_label: 70 CE

text: Emperor Vespasian and his son Caesar Vespasian (the future Emperor Titus) become Roman consuls.

source_title: AD 70

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


date: August

text: August – Titus captures Jerusalem.


text: 21st of Artemisios (about May 20 or 21) – A "certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon", "chariots and troops" seen running in the clouds around Jerusalem


text: Naval clashes on the Rhine during the Batavian Revolt; the crew of a captured Roman flagship is imprisoned at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier).


text: Ze-Hakèlé (Zoskales in Greek) becomes king of Aksum.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


text: Roman legions V Alaudae and XV Primigenia are destroyed by the Batavi. Later, Quintus Petillius Cerialis puts down the Batavian rebellion of Gaius Julius Civilis.